“A man is not poor without a rupee, but a man is really poor without a dream and ambition.”
-Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda, “originally Narendranath Datta”, was born in Calcutta on January 12th, 1863. He was a Hindu spiritual leader and Indian reformer whose birthday is celebrated as ‘International Youth Day’. This day's main aim is to ignite, motivate & activate India’s youths towards nation-building. He was admitted to the school founded by Mr. Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar in 1870.
Swami Vivekananda had immense respect for his mother tongue. One such incident was when he attended an English language class in school, he said, “I shall not learn the language of the white master.” But ultimately, he learnt English due to compulsion. Later, he joined the Presidency College in Kolkata and completed his M.A. in Philosophy. This article discusses his autobiography, famous lines, institutions founded by him and many more from a competitive exams point of view. So let’s get started.
Swami Vivekananda Story
Know everything about him Who is swami vivekananda, When was Swami Vivekananda born, How swami vivekananda died and How is he related to Modern Indian History.
Born: 12 January 1863
Place of Birth: Kolkata
Childhood Name: Narendranath Dutta
Mother: Bhuvaneshwari Devi
Father: Vishwanath Dutta
Religion: Hinduism
Guru: Ramakrishna
Founder: Ramakrishna Mission (1897), Ramakrishna Math, Vedanta Society of New York
Philosophy: Advaita Vedanta
Literary works: Raja Yoga (1896), Karma Yoga (1896), Bhakti Yoga (1896), Jnana Yoga, My Master (1901), Lectures from Colombo to Almora (1897)
Death: 4 July 1902
Memorial: Belur Math. Belur, West Bengal
Swami Vivekananda’s first speech
Swami Vivekananda, when he he came to know about the World Parliament that was held in Chicago, America, wanted to attend the meeting to represent India and his Guru's philosophies. So, on 11 September 1893, he came upon the stage and shocked everyone by saying, "My brothers and sisters of America". For this line, he received a standing ovation from the audience. He deliberated the principles of Vedanta, its spiritual importance, and many more. His speech beautifully demonstrated our Indian culture.
He stayed for two and a half years in America & founded the Vedanta Society of New York. He even travelled to the United Kingdom to preach the principles & philosophies of Vedanta. So, beautifully he said: “Learn everything that is good from others but bring it in, and in your own way absorb it; do not become others.”
Who was the founder of Ramakrishna Mission?
He returned to India around 1897 & reached Calcutta, where he founded Ramakrishna Mission on 1st May 1897 at Belur Math. The mission's objectives were based on Karma Yoga, and its main goal was to serve India's poor or disturbed population. This mission included other activities like establishing schools, colleges, and hospitals.
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Swami Vivekananda is remembered for introducing philosophies like Vedanta and Yoga to the West.
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His Vedanta teachings were showered through conferences, seminars, workshops, and rehabilitation work across the country.
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Swami Vivekananda and Taraknath, another disciple of Ramkrishna Paramhansa, established the Mission subsequent to the Mahasamadhi of Shri Ramkrishna Paramhansa.
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A place believed to be a haunted house earlier was used for beginning the mission activities. Soon Shri Ramkrishna’s disciples started living there.
Famous quotes by Swami Vivekananda
“Arise, awake and stop not until the goal is achieved"
“Be an atheist if you want, but do not believe in anything unquestioningly.”-
“Take risks in your life. If you win, you can lead, if you lose, you can guide.”
“Learn everything that is good from others but bring it in, and in your own way absorb it; do not become others.”
“A man is not poor without a rupee, but a man is really poor without a dream and ambition”
Quiz on Swami Vivekananda
Few questions that are asked in the competitive exams are:
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What is the real name of Swami Vivekananda?
Ans: Narendra Dutta
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Who was known as cyclonic Hindhu?
Ans: Swami Vivekananda
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Which is the Headquarters of Ramakrishna mission?
Ans: Belur Math
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Who is the founder of Ramakrishna mission?
Ans: Swami Vivekananda
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What is the motto of Ramakrishna mission?
Ans: Atmano Mokshartham Jagat Hitaya
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Who wrote the book "Man the maker of his own Destiny"?
Ans: Swami Vivekananda
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Who raised the Slogan "Back to Gita"?
Ans: Swami Vivekananda
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Swami Vivekananda’s birthday is celebrated on ________ ?
Ans: National Youth Day (Jan 12, 1863)
When did Swami Vivekananda die?
Swami Vivekananda died on 4th July, 1902 while in a state of meditation after spending his day teaching his followers, and discussing the teachings with Vedic Scholars, like he always did. He went to his room in the Ramakrishna Math, the monastery he built in honour of his Guru to meditate and breathe his last. He was cremated on a sandalwood funeral pyre on the banks of the Ganga river opposite his guru.