 |
|||||||
| Religion | Hinduism | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founder of | Ramakrishna Mission (1897) Ramakrishna Math |
||||||
| Philosophy | Modern Vedanta,[2][3] Rāja yoga[3] | ||||||
| Personal | |||||||
| Nationality | Indian | ||||||
| Born | Narendranath Datta 12 January 1863 Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Kolkata, West Bengal, India) |
||||||
| Died | 4 July 1902 (aged 39) Belur Math, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day West Bengal, India) |
||||||
| Guru | Ramakrishna | ||||||
| Disciple(s) | Ashokananda, Virajananda, Paramananda, Alasinga Perumal, Abhayananda, Sister Nivedita, Swami Sadananda | ||||||
| Literary works | Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, My Master, Lectures from Colombo to Almora | ||||||
| Influenced | Subhas Chandra Bose, Aurobindo Ghose, Bagha Jatin, Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Jamsetji Tata, Nikola Tesla, Sarah Bernhardt, Emma Calvé, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Annie Besant, Romain Rolland, Narendra Modi, Anna Hazare | ||||||
| Signature | Early life (1863–88)Birth and childhood 
(left) Bhubaneswari Devi (1841–1911); "I am indebted to my mother for the efflorescence of my knowledge."[11] – Vivekananda
(right) 3, Gourmohan Mukherjee Street, birthplace of Vivekananda, now converted into a museum and cultural centre Narendranath was interested in spirituality from a young age and used to meditate before the images of deities such as Shiva, Rama, Sita, and Mahavir Hanuman.[24] He was fascinated by wandering ascetics and monks.[23] Naren was naughty and restless as a child, and his parents often had difficulty controlling him. His mother said, "I prayed to Shiva for a son and he has sent me one of his ghosts".[21] EducationIn 1871, at the age of eight, Narendranath enrolled at Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's Metropolitan Institution, where he went to school until his family moved to Raipur in 1877.[25] In 1879, after his family's return to Calcutta, he was the only student to receive first-division marks in the Presidency College entrance examination. [26] He was an avid reader in a wide range of subjects, including philosophy, religion, history, social science, art and literature.[27] He was also interested in Hindu scriptures, including the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. Narendra was trained in Indian classical music,[28] and regularly participated in physical exercise, sports and organised activities. Narendra studied Western logic, Western philosophy and European history at the General Assembly's Institution (now known as the Scottish Church College).[29] In 1881 he passed the Fine Arts examination, and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1884.[30][31] Narendra studied the works of David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Baruch Spinoza, Georg W. F. Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer, Auguste Comte, John Stuart Mill and Charles Darwin.[32][33] He became fascinated with the evolutionism of Herbert Spencer and corresponded with him,[34][35] translating Spencer's book Education (1861) into Bengali.[36] While studying Western philosophers, he also learned Sanskrit scriptures and Bengali literature.[33] William Hastie (principal of General Assembly's Institution) wrote, "Narendra is really a genius. I have travelled far and wide but I have never come across a lad of his talents and possibilities, even in German universities, among philosophical students' Some accounts have called Narendra a shrutidhara (a person with a prodigious memory).[citation needed]Spiritual apprenticeship - influence of Brahmo SamajIn 1880 Narendra joined Keshab Chandra Sen's Nava Vidhan, which was established by Sen after meeting Ramakrishna and reconverting from Christianity to Hinduism.[37] Narendra became a member of a Freemasonry lodge "at some point before 1884"[38] and of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj in his twenties, a breakaway faction of the Brahmo Samaj led by Keshab Chandra Sen and Debendranath Tagore.[37][29][39][40] From 1881 to 1884 he was also active in Sen's Band of Hope, which tried to discourage youths from smoking and drinking.[37]It was in this cultic[41] milieu that Narendra became acquainted with Western esotericism.[42] His initial beliefs were shaped by Brahmo concepts, which included belief in a formless God and the deprecation of idolatry,[24][43] and a "streamlined, rationalized, monotheistic theology strongly coloured by a selective and modernistic reading of the Upanisads and of the Vedanta."[44] Rammohan Roy, the founder of the Brahmo Samaj who was strongly influenced by unitarianism, strived toward an universalistic interpretation of Hinduism.[44] His ideas were "altered [...] considerably" by Debendranath Tagore, who had a romantic approach to the development of these new doctrines, and questioned central Hindu beliefs like reincarnation and karma, and rejected the authority of the Vedas.[45] Tagore also brought this "neo-Hinduism" closer in line with western esotericism, a development which was furthered by Keshubchandra Sen.[46] Sen was influenced by transcendentalism, an American philosophical-religious movement strongly connected with unitarianism, which emphasised personal religious experience over mere reasoning and theology.[47] Sen strived to "an accessible, non-renunciatory, everyman type of spirituality", introducing "lay systems of spiritual practice" which can be regarded as prototypes of the kind of Yoga-exercises which Vivekananda popularised in the west.[48] The same search for direct intuition and understanding can be seen with Vivekananda. Not satisfied with his knowledge of philosophy, Narendra came to "the question which marked the real beginning of his intellectual quest for God."[39] He asked several prominent Calcutta residents if they had come "face to face with God", but none of their answers satisfied him.[49][31] At this time, Narendra met Debendranath Tagore (the leader of Brahmo Samaj) and asked if he had seen God. Instead of answering his question, Tagore said "My boy, you have the Yogi's eyes."[39][36] According to Banhatti, it was Ramakrishna who really answered Narendra's question, by saying "Yes, I see Him as I see you, only in an infinitely intenser sense."[39] Nevertheless, Vivekananda was more influenced by the Brahmo Samaj's and its new ideas, than by Ramakrishna.[48] It was Sen's influence who brought Vivekananda fully into contact with western esotericism, and it was also via Sen that he met Ramakrishna.[50] With RamakrishnaIn 1881 Narendra first met Ramakrishna, who became his spiritual focus after his own father had died in 1884.[51]Narendra's first introduction to Ramakrishna occurred in a literature class at General Assembly's Institution when he heard Professor William Hastie lecturing on William Wordsworth's poem, The Excursion.[43] While explaining the word "trance" in the poem, Hastie suggested that his students visit Ramakrishna of Dakshineswar to understand the true meaning of trance. This prompted some of his students (including Narendra) to visit Ramakrishna.[52][53][54] 
Ramakrishna, guru of Vivekananda
Vivekananda in Cossipore 1886
In late 1881 or early 1882, Narendra went to Dakshineswar with two friends and met Ramakrishna.[52] This meeting proved to be a turning point in his life.[58] Although he did not initially accept Ramakrishna as his teacher and rebelled against his ideas, he was attracted by his personality and began to frequently visit him at Dakshineswar.[59] He initially saw Ramakrishna's ecstasies and visions as "mere figments of imagination"[22] and "hallucinations".[60] As a member of Brahmo Samaj, he opposed idol worship, polytheism and Ramakrishna's worship of Kali.[61] He even rejected the Advaita Vedanta of "identity with the absolute" as blasphemy and madness, and often ridiculed the idea.[60] Narendra tested Ramakrishna, who faced his arguments patiently: "Try to see the truth from all angles", he replied.[59] Narendra's father's sudden death in 1884 left the family bankrupt; creditors began demanding the repayment of loans, and relatives threatened to evict the family from their ancestral home. Narendra, once a son of a well-to-do family, became one of the poorest students in his college.[62] He unsuccessfully tried to find work and questioned God's existence,[63] but found solace in Ramakrishna and his visits to Dakshineswar increased.[64] One day Narendra requested Ramakrishna to pray to goddess Kali for their family's financial welfare. Ramakrishna suggested him to go to the temple himself and pray. Following Ramakrishna's suggestion, he went to the temple thrice, but failed to pray for any kind of worldly necessities and ultimately prayed for true knowledge and devotion from the goddess.[65][66][67] Narendra gradually grew ready to renounce everything for the sake of realising God, and accepted Ramakrishna as his Guru.[59] In 1885, Ramakrishna developed throat cancer, and was transferred to Calcutta and (later) to a garden house in Cossipore. Narendra and Ramakrishna's other disciples took care of him during his last days, and Narendra's spiritual education continued. At Cossipore, he experienced Nirvikalpa samadhi.[68] Narendra and several other disciples received ochre robes from Ramakrishna, forming his first monastic order.[69] He was taught that service to men was the most effective worship of God.[22][68] Ramakrishna asked him to care for the other monastic disciples, and in turn asked them to see Narendra as their leader.[70] Ramakrishna died in the early-morning hours of 16 August 1886 in Cossipore.[70][71] Finding of first Ramakrishna Math at BaranagarAfter Ramakrishna's death, his devotees and admirers stopped supporting his disciples.[citation needed] Unpaid rent accumulated, and Narendra and the other disciples had to find a new place to live.[72] Many returned home, adopting a Grihastha (family-oriented) way of life.[73] Narendra decided to convert a dilapidated house at Baranagar into a new math (monastery) for the remaining disciples. Rent for the Baranagar Math was low, raised by "holy begging" (mādhukarī). The math became the first building of the Ramakrishna Math: the monastery of the monastic order of Ramakrishna.[58] Narendra and other disciples used to spend many hours in practising meditation and religious austerities every day.[74] Narendra later reminisced about the early days of the monastery:[75]We underwent a lot of religious practice at the Baranagar Math. We used to get up at 3:00 am and become absorbed in japa and meditation. What a strong spirit of detachment we had in those days! We had no thought even as to whether the world existed or not.In 1887, Narendra compiled a Bengali song anthology named Sangeet Kalpataru with Vaishnav Charan Basak. Narendra collected and arranged most of the songs of this compilation, but could not finish the work of the book for unfavourable circumstances.[76] Monastic vowsIn December 1886, the mother of Baburam[note 2] invited Narendra and his other brother monks to Antpur village. Narendra and the other aspiring monks accepted the invitation and went to Antpur to spend few days. In Antpur, in the Christmas Eve of 1886, Narendra and eight other disciples took formal monastic vows.[74] They decided to live their lives as their master lived.[74] Narendranath took the name "Swami Vivekananda".[77]Travels in India (1888–93)In 1888, Narendra left the monastery as a Parivrâjaka— the Hindu religious life of a wandering monk, "without fixed abode, without ties, independent and strangers wherever they go".[78] His sole possessions were a kamandalu (water pot), staff and his two favourite books: the Bhagavad Geeta and The Imitation of Christ.[79] Narendra travelled extensively in India for five years, visiting centres of learning and acquainting himself with diverse religious traditions and social patterns.[80][81] He developed sympathy for the suffering and poverty of the people, and resolved to uplift the nation.[80][82] Living primarily on bhiksha (alms), Narendra travelled on foot and by railway (with tickets bought by admirers). During his travels he met, and stayed with Indians from all religions and walks of life: scholars, dewans, rajas, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, paraiyars (low-caste workers) and government officials.[82] Narendra left Bombay for Chicago on 31 May 1893 with the name "Vivekananda", as suggested by Ajit Singh of Khetri,[83] which means "the bliss of discerning wisdom".[84]First visit to the West (1893–97)Vivekananda started his journey to the West on 31 May 1893[85] and visited several cities in Japan (including Nagasaki, Kobe, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo),[86] China and Canada en route to the United States,[85] reaching Chicago on 30 July 1893,[87][85] where the "Parliament of Religions" took place in September 1893.[88] The Congress was an initiative of the Swedenborgian layman, and judge of the Illinois Supreme Court, Charles C. Bonney,[89][90] to gather all the religions of the world, and show "the substantial unity of many religions in the good deeds of the religious life."[89] It was one of the more than 200 adjunct gatherings and congresses of the Chicago's World's Fair,[89] and was "an avant-garde intellectual manifestation of [...] cultic milieus, East and West,"[91] with the Brahmo Samaj and the Theosophical Society being invited as being representative of Hinduism.[92]Vivekananda wanted to join, but was disappointed to learn that no one without credentials from a bona fide organisation would be accepted as a delegate.[93] Vivekananda contacted Professor John Henry Wright of Harvard University, who invited him to speak at Harvard.[93] Vivekananda wrote of the professor, "He urged upon me the necessity of going to the Parliament of Religions, which he thought would give an introduction to the nation".[94][note 3] Vivekananda submitted an application, "introducing himself as a monk 'of the oldest order of sannyāsis ... founded by Sankara,'"[92] supported by the Brahmo Samaj representative Protapchandra Mozoombar, who was also a member of the Parliament's selection committee, "classifying the Swami as a representative of the Hindu monastic order."[92] Parliament of the World's Religions 
(left) Vivekananda on the platform at the Parliament of Religions, September 1893; left to right: Virchand Gandhi, Dharmapala, Vivekananda
(right) Swami Vivekananda with the East Indian group, in the photo: (from left to right) Narasimha Chaira, Lakeshnie Narain, Vivekananda, H. Dharmapala, and Virchand Gandhi Parliament President John Henry Barrows said, "India, the Mother of religions was represented by Swami Vivekananda, the Orange-monk who exercised the most wonderful influence over his auditors".[99] Vivekananda attracted widespread attention in the press, which called him the "cyclonic monk from India". The New York Critique wrote, "He is an orator by divine right, and his strong, intelligent face in its picturesque setting of yellow and orange was hardly less interesting than those earnest words, and the rich, rhythmical utterance he gave them". The New York Herald noted, "Vivekananda is undoubtedly the greatest figure in the Parliament of Religions. After hearing him we feel how foolish it is to send missionaries to this learned nation".[106] American newspapers reported Vivekananda as "the greatest figure in the parliament of religions" and "the most popular and influential man in the parliament".[107] The Boston Evening Transcript reported that Vivekananda was "a great favourite at the parliament... if he merely crosses the platform, he is applauded".[108] He spoke several more times "at receptions, the scientific section, and private homes"[101] on topics related to Hinduism, Buddhism and harmony among religions until the parliament ended on 27 September 1893. Vivekananda's speeches at the Parliament had the common theme of universality, emphasising religious tolerance.[109] He soon became known as a "handsome oriental" and made a huge impression as an orator.[110] Sponsorship of Swami Vivekananda for Parliament of the World's Religions In 1892, Swami Vivekananda stayed with Bhaskara Sethupathy, who was a Raja of Ramnad, when he visited Madurai[111] and he sponsored Vivekananda's visit to Parliament of the World's Religions held in Chicago. Lecture tours in the UK and US
"I do not come", said Swamiji on one occasion in America, "to
convert you to a new belief. I want you to keep your own belief; I want
to make the Methodist a better Methodist; the Presbyterian a better Presbyterian; the Unitarian a better Unitarian. I want to teach you to live the truth, to reveal the light within your own soul."[112]
Vivekananda spent nearly two years lecturing in the eastern and central United States, primarily in Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and New York. He founded the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894.[113] By spring 1895 his busy, tiring schedule had affected his health.[114] He ended his lecture tours and began giving free, private classes in Vedanta and yoga. Beginning in June 1895, Vivekananda gave private lectures to a dozen of his disciples at Thousand Island Park in New York for two months.[114] During his first visit to the West he travelled to the UK twice, in 1895 and 1896, lecturing successfully there.[115] In November 1895 he met Margaret Elizabeth Noble an Irish woman who would become Sister Nivedita.[114] During his second visit to the UK in May 1896 Vivekananda met Max Müller, a noted Indologist from Oxford University who wrote Ramakrishna's first biography in the West.[105] From the UK, Vivekananda visited other European countries. In Germany he met Paul Deussen, another Indologist.[116] Vivekananda was offered academic positions in two American universities (one the chair in Eastern Philosophy at Harvard University and a similar position at Columbia University); he declined both, since his duties would conflict with his commitment as a monk.[114]  
Left: Vivekananda in Greenacre, Maine (August 1894).[117] Right: Vivekananda at Mead sisters' house, South Pasadena in 1900.
Vivekananda attracted followers and admirers in the US and Europe, including Josephine MacLeod, William James, Josiah Royce, Robert G. Ingersoll, Nikola Tesla, Lord Kelvin, Harriet Monroe, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Sarah Bernhardt, Emma Calvé and Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz.[22][114][116][123] He initiated several followers : Marie Louise (a French woman) became Swami Abhayananda, and Leon Landsberg became Swami Kripananda,[124] so that they could continue the work of the mission of the Vedanta Society. This society still is filled with foreign nationals and is also located in Los Angeles.[125] During his stay in America, Vivekananda was given land in the mountains to the southeast of San Jose, California to establish a retreat for Vedanta students. He called it "Peace retreat", or, Shanti Asrama.[126] The largest American centre is the Vedanta Society of Southern California in Hollywood, (one of the twelve main centres). There is also a Vedanta Press in Hollywood which publishes books about Vedanta and English translations of Hindu scriptures and texts. [127] Christina Greenstidel of Detroit was also initiated by Vivekananda with a mantra and she became Sister Christine,[128] and they established a close father–daughter relationship.[129] From the West, Vivekananda revived his work in India. He regularly corresponded with his followers and brother monks,[note 5] offering advice and financial support. His letters from this period reflect his campaign of social service,[130] and were strongly worded.[131] He wrote to Akhandananda, "Go from door to door amongst the poor and lower classes of the town of Khetri and teach them religion. Also, let them have oral lessons on geography and such other subjects. No good will come of sitting idle and having princely dishes, and saying "Ramakrishna, O Lord!"—unless you can do some good to the poor".[132][133] In 1895, Vivekananda founded the periodical Brahmavadin to teach the Vedanta.[134] Later, Vivekananda's translation of the first six chapters of The Imitation of Christ was published in Brahmavadin in 1889.[135] Vivekananda left for India on 16 December 1896 from England with his disciples Captain and Mrs. Sevier and J.J. Goodwin. On the way they visited France and Italy, and set sail for India from Naples on 30 December 1896.[136] He was later followed to India by Sister Nivedita, who devoted the rest of her life to the education of Indian women and India's independence.[114][137] | ||||||
