Swami Vivekananda -Important Points
Birth Jan 12th , 1863 (Makara Sankranthi) Calcutta, India.
Swami Vivekananda was born as Narendra Nath Dutta in an aristocratic Bengali family in Calcutta.
Mother , Father Bhuavaneshwari Devi , Vishwanath Dutta (Lawyer)
Swami Vivekananda was the name he took up after he became a monk.
Originally, he was named as Vireshwara by his mother and was often referred to as ‘Biley’.
Later, he was named Narendra Nath Dutta
Childhood name Narendra
Birth Name Given by mother Vireshwar
After the death of his father, Swamiji’s family lived in extreme poverty.
His mother and sisters had to struggle hard to get a meal a day.
Often, Swamiji went without food for days together so that others in the family had
May 31st 1893 Swamiji left India to attend World Parliament of Religions in Chicago
Sep 11th , 1893 Swamiji ‘s opening speech at World Parliament of Religions, Chicago
July 4th , 1902 Death at the age of 39 years
It was to French operatic soprano Rosa Emma Calvet that Vivekananda had declared in Egypt that he would die on July 4.
He passed away on July 4th, 1902.
Maharaja of Khetri
(Ajit Singh Bahadur) Suggested the name Vivekananda to Swamiji, before he departed to
America
The Maharaja of Khetri, Ajit Singh, used to send 100 rupees to Swamiji’s mother on a regular basis to help her cope with the financial problems.
This arrangement was a closely guarded secret.
Vivekananda was a connoisseur of tea.
In those days, when the Hindu pandits were opposed to drinking tea, he introduced tea into his monastery.
In spite of having a BA degree, Swami Vivekananda had to go from door to door in search of a job.
He had almost turned an atheist as his belief in God was shaken.
Surendranath Mitra A relative who told Narendra to meet Ramakrishna at Dakshineshwar
Keshab Chandra Sen With whom Swamiji attended Brahmo Samaj
Professor Hastie Suggested students to visit Ramakrishna at Dakshineshwar
Maharaja Mangal Singh Learnt true meaning of Idol worship from Swamiji
Nivedita Famous disciple of Swamiji. Her name was Margaret Noble before becoming a sanyasi
Vividishananda and Satchidananda
Two of the names used by Swamiji during his travel throughout India
Chicago Place where Swamiji attended World Parliament of Religions
Kanyakumari Place where Swamiji meditated for 3 days and realized the mission of his life
Vividishananda Name swami ji took when he took sanyasa
1894 Swamiji started Vedanta Society in New York
Jan 1899 to December 1900 Second tour of the west
(1899) Swamiji started Vedanta Society of Northern California
January 12 is celebrated as the National Youth Day in honour of Swami Vivekananda, who was born on this day.
“Sisters and Brothers of America “ – Swamiji’s opening address at the opening session of World parliament of Religions
JC Bose The scientist from Bengal whom Swamiji met in Paris at the World congress of religions in 1899,. He called him ‘Pride and Joy of Bengal
According to the book ‘The Monk as Man’ by renowned Bengali writer Shankar, Swami Vivekananda suffered from 31 ailments.
The books lists insomnia, liver and kidney disease, malaria, migraine, diabetes and heart ailments as some of the 31 health problems that Vivekanand faced in the course of his life.
He even suffered from asthma which got unbearable many times.