SWAMI VIVEKANANDA AND RELIGION

"The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him - that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free." These words clearly reflect Swami Vivekananda's belief that 'Religion is the manifestation of divinity already in man'.

Swami Vivekananda or Narendranath Dutta, was born in Calcutta, on the 12th of January 1863. His father Vishwanath Dutta was an attorney and was considered to be a generous man who believed in social equality. His mother Bhuvaneshwari Devi was a very religious lady and she was the one who initiated Swamiji into the world of religion. His boyish imagination was captivated by the life of Shri Ram. He started meditating playfully but sometimes he became so engrossed that he lost all awareness of the world around him. From a very young age he had a great sense of equality and interacted with people of different castes & classes without any hesitation. As he grew older his intellectual horizon began to widen as he came in contact with Western Philosophy and Science. Soon he started questioning orthodox beliefs. No doubt he had faith & devotion but he wanted reason to support it. He longed for the unknown and finally found solace at the 'Sadharan Brahmo Samaj', which protested against certain forms and tenets of orthodox Hinduism. However, he soon lost interest in it because he understood that it did not help him in reaching his goal of realizing 'God'. So he started practicing other religions and came to the conclusion that "All religions pointed to the same God". His meeting with Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, changed his life. He wanted freedom from worldly shackles. He realized that God had manifested himself in all living beings. It was at this juncture, that he said, "If it be the will of Lord, the day will soon come when I shall proclaim this grand truth before the world at large."

This day did come, almost 10yrs later on Monday, the 11th of September, 1893, at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago, USA. Here were gathered representatives of different religions from all across the world. He began his address in a very informal manner by saying, "Sisters & Brothers of America", which clearly reflected his belief in the oneness of the human race. It was a short speech but its spirit of universality completely captivated the whole assembly. He placed before the audience, the cardinal truths of Vedanta. He said that if there is ever to be a universal religion, it must be one which will have no location in place or time. It will be infinite, and its impact will be felt equally by the followers of Krishna & Christ; saints and sinners, rich and poor, savage and the civilized. It will not be Brahminic or Buddhist, Christian or Mohammedan but the sum total of all these and still have scope for improvement. Its whole force will be centered in aiding human beings to realize their true & divine nature. The Parliament of religions, he concluded had shown the world that holiness, purity and charity were not the exclusive possessions of any church and that every system of belief had produced men and women of the most exalted character. The effect of these mighty words was tremendous. The New York Herald wrote, "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."

The world would become a better place if there is wide propagation and implementation of Swamiji's teachings.