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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Book of the day-13: Vivekananda, A Biography by Swami Nikhilananda

Swami Vivekananda was born on January 12, 1863 in Calcutta and attained 'mahasamadhi' on July 4, 1902.

To understand the impact of his powerful life, I am reproducing a wonderful passage from the great book, "Eternal Values for A Changing Society" by Srimat Swami Ranganathanandaji Maharaj (Published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai):

The Intensity of Vivekananda's Brief Life

"Swami Vivekananda's span of earthly life was hardly forty years, but within this short period, he lived an intense life, first as a student in school and college, then as the foremost disciple of his great Master, Sri Ramakrishna, then as a wanderer across the length and breadth of India, and lastly as the spiritual teacher of West and East. His public teaching commenced with his speeches at the World's Parliament of Religions at Chicago in 1893; and he passed away on 4 July 1902. He spent four intense years in the United States and England, and five equally intense years in India delivering his message of a universal and practical spirituality, and setting in motion a movement as an effective conduit for the furtherance of his message.

Everywhere, he taught man to realize his divine heritage. The innate divinity of man was the constant theme of his teachings. This teaching cuts across all divisions based on political or religious affiliations. Its assimilation by man will make for a character at once deep and broad. He held that spirituality was the core of every religion; dogmatic exclusiveness and intolerance are no part of true religion. The more spiritual a man, the more universal he is. He held that the modern age stood in urgent need of this education from religion, by which men will learn to make their love of God flow into the love and service of all men. He worked hard to give this spiritual orientation to the world's religions, so that they may be transformed into wholly constructive forces and become capable of redeeming modern man from his inner impoverishment in the context of external enrichment".

I am also furnishing links to some great books related to him:

Full text of the book, Vivekananda, A Biography by Swami Nikhilananda:
http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda_biography/vivekananda_biography.htm

Full Text of the book, Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda:
http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/reminiscences/reminiscences_of_sv.htm

Full Text of the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (9 Volumes):
http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/complete_works.htm

Grateful thanks to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan; Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math; Advaita Ashrama; and Ramakrishna Vivekananda.info.

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