Swami Vivekananda
“You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.”
Swami Vivekananda has undoubtedly impacted my personality and how I see positive changes in my life. I have learned numerous sets of lessons from his thoughts, ideologies, and actions. He introduced the concept of Humanism and Universalism to India and helped the masses dive deeper into themselves to know them better.
Being one of the most influential personalities in the country and looked upon by people worldwide, he became a source of positive thoughts and beliefs for various religions, regions, castes, etc. He believed that every human being deserves love irrespective of these societal constraints.
He firmly believed in “Simple Living and High Thinking”, inspiring me to live my life most simply and yet practising high thinking and making changes and developments using my thoughts and skills. He became what he is because he was once travelling across India and observed how miserable lives people live, just because they have no one to guide. He then took it upon himself to bring about a change in people’s lives for the good. He embarked on a journey that revolved around kindness, spiritual growth, and the development of people so that the quality of their lives escalates.
This mission was known as “Man-Making” where he strived to bring about a change in people’s lives by providing them moral and spiritual education and freeing us from the social evils that are hampering our growth nation. His in-depth knowledge of multiple subjects helped him boil it down to more specific, understandable points, which allowed people to understand them easily.
He was a source of constant inspiration for writers, artists, thinkers, and other up-and-coming personalities in the public domain. He is known for delivering a powerful speech in Chicago on September 11, 1893, that started with “Sisters and brothers of America…..” and explained Hinduism’s ins-and-outs to the world at “The Parliament of Religions”.
He was appreciated for his teachings, thought-process, and spiritual guidance by a lot of thriving leaders in the country back in the day. Here are some of the words that these two leaders had to say about him.
“IT IS UNDISPUTED FACT THAT IT WAS SWAMI VIVEKANANDA WHO FIRST HELD ALOFT THE BANNER OF HINDUISM AS A CHALLENGE AGAINST THE MATERIAL SCIENCE OF THE WEST…IT WAS SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, WHO TOOK ON HIS SHOULDERS THIS STUPENDOUS TASK OF ESTABLISHING THE GLORY OF HINDUISM IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES ACROSS THE BORDERS. AND HE, WITH HIS ERUDITION, ORATORICAL POWER, ENTHUSIASM, AND INNER FORCE, LAID THAT WORK UPON A SOLID FOUNDATION.”
– BAL GANGADHAR TILAK 
“HOW SHALL I EXPRESS IN WORDS MY INDEBTEDNESS TO SRI RAMAKRISHNA AND SWAMI VIVEKANANDA? IT IS UNDER THEIR SACRED INFLUENCE THAT MY LIFE GOT FIRST AWAKENED. LIKE NIVEDITA, I ALSO REGARD RAMAKRISHNA AND VIVEKANANDA AS TWO ASPECTS OF ONE INDIVISIBLE PERSONALITY. IF SWAMIJI HAD BEEN ALIVE TODAY, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN MY GURU, THAT IS TO SAY, I WOULD HAVE ACCEPTED HIM AS MY MASTER. IT IS NEEDLESS TO ADD, HOWEVER, THAT AS LONG AS I LIVE I SHALL BE ABSOLUTELY LOYAL AND DEVOTED TO RAMAKRISHNA – VIVEKANANDA.”
– SUBSHASH CHANDRA BOSE 
Previous
Next
He, indeed, was one of the wisest men that there ever were, and he was regarded as the pioneer to bring a plethora of developmental changes in society. His hard work and fiery attitude bring inspiration in me to do the best for the community.
