Swami Vivekananda (Bengali: 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta was an Indian Hindu monk, a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century. He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India, and contributed to the concept of Indian nationalism as a tool of fight against the British empire in colonial India. Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He is perhaps best known for his speech which began with the words - "Sisters and brothers of America .. in which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893.Born into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family of Calcutta, Vivekananda was inclined towards spirituality. He was influenced by his guru, Ramakrishna, from whom he learnt that all living beings were an embodiment of the divine self; therefore, service to God could be rendered by service to humankind. After Ramakrishna's death, Vivekananda toured the Indian subcontinent extensively and acquired first-hand knowledge of the conditions prevailing in British India. He later travelled to the United States, representing India at the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions. Vivekananda conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes, disseminating tenets of Hindu philosophy in the United States, England and Europe. In India, Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saint, and his birthday is celebrated as National Youth Day.As a young person of 23 years or so, Swami Vivekananda spoke to the Master in this strain: "I want to remain immersed in samadhi for three or four days, continuously, breaking it only for a little food." But the Master reprimanded him: "Shame on you! You are seeking such an insignificant thing. There is a state higher than that even. Is it not you who sing, 'Thou art all that exists?' I thought you would be like a banyan, sheltering thousands from the scorching misery of the world. But now I see you seek your own liberation." A few days later, however, Shri Ramakrishna blessed him with the experience of Nirvikalpa Samadhi. When the beloved disciple came back from that state, the Master said: "Now, then the Mother has shown you everything. Just as a treasure is locked in a box, so will this realization be hidden from you and the key shall remain with me. You have work to do. When you have finished it, the treasure will be unlocked again, and you will know everything then just as you do now." And, thus, the beloved disciple of the Master worked on incessantly for the next 16 years with a zeal that one rarely sees, surmounting mountain high and unthinkable obstacles, not even caring for his own liberation on the way, till his body broke down under the stress of intense work at the relatively young age of 39 years and five months. And a work was set into motion that laid a strong foundation once more for Hinduism to stand on a firm footing - this time against the onslaught of narrow-mindedness and sectarianism and bigotry on the one hand and western and modern science on the other hand - and thereby vindicating Sri Krishna's teaching that the Lord manifests his power again and again to protect the Eternal Religion!
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