Category: Swami Vivekananda

“Religion is not for the weak” – Swami Vivekananda

An article on Swami Vivekananda in the Wall Street Journal of 30th March titled, “What Did J.D. Salinger, Leo Tolstoy, and Sarah Bernhardt Have in Common?” makes for delightful reading. What they had in common was their devotion to Swami Vivekananda, the man who introduced Vedanta and yoga to America. I did not know that. But anyway, it’s the sort of positive article about a Hindu monk that would give conniptions to the leftist “secular intellectuals” in India. But the Wall Street Journal does not suffer from the knee-jerk negative reflex of the main stream English language media in India; the latter would recoil with horror at the mere thought of publishing a laudatory piece about a proud Hindu. Wouldn’t that be tantamount to endorsing — horror of horrors — Hindutva?
Continue reading ““Religion is not for the weak” – Swami Vivekananda”

Sept 11, 1893: Swami Vivekananda in Chicago

On this day, Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) spoke at the Parliament of the World’s Religions at Chicago in 1893. He addressed his audience as “Sisters and Brothers of America” and proceeded to introduce them to the dharma — the Sanatana Dharma which is also known as Hinduism. Here’s bit from that speech:
Continue reading “Sept 11, 1893: Swami Vivekananda in Chicago”

Where Have all the Giants Gone?

Today we have dwarfs at the helm of affairs — dishonest people such as the appointed prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his boss Antonia Maino aka Sonia Gandhi — but India has had more than its fair share of giants. Once upon a time. A time when giants like Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata and Swami Vivekananda walked the earth.
Continue reading “Where Have all the Giants Gone?”

Vivekanand on Dispassionate Work

Swami Vivekanand’s immortal words have the power to inspire and motivate. He should be required reading for the truly educated Indian. It is sad that too many of our “brothers and sisters” (to use his words) are incapable of reading.

Subhas Reddy, a visitor to this blog, was kind enough to send me some excerpts from this site.

True reformer

“If you wish to be a true reformer, three things are necessary. The first is to feel. Do you really feel for your brothers? Do you really feel that there is so much misery in the world, so much ignorance and superstition? Do you really feel that men are your brothers? Does this idea come into your whole being? Does it run with your blood? Does it tingle in your veins? Does it course through every nerve and filament of your body? Are you full of that idea of sympathy? If you are, that is only the first step.
Continue reading “Vivekanand on Dispassionate Work”

%d bloggers like this: