Just In Print Exclusive : Bose Soumitra/Sinha Mukesh Kumar
9/11/1893, 123 years ago, Chicago, USA : The World Parliament of Religions –WELCOME ADDRESS : “Sisters and Brothers of America, ( the moment after this, more than five minutes of uninterrupted loud claps from everyone; no body therein before this were ever addressed as “Sisters”, “Brothers”) It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects. …We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny.
“I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.
“The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.
Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.”
TODAY : The Prime Minister : “Swami Vivekananda’s message of universal brotherhood was delivered in his soul-stirring address at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago on September 11, 1893.
“There are 2 images of 11th September – one of the trail of destruction in 2001 and the other – the message of Swami Vivekananda in 1893. Had we followed Swami Ji’s message, history would never have witnessed such dastardly acts as we saw on 11th September 2001 in USA.
“Swami Vivekananda drew the entire world’s attention to our nation’s rich history and strong cultural roots.”
With these words “Sisters and brothers of America “, the Prime Minister said, India’s message of universal brotherhood reverberated across the world.
“Let us remember the words of Swami Vivekananda and dedicate ourselves to furthering the cause of unity, brotherhood and world peace,” he said.
It’s now no secret that Swami Vivekananda is perhaps the biggest source of inspiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In most of his interviews, you can see the statue of Swami Vivekananda placed somewhere in the background.
As the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi had even launched Vivekananda Yuva Vikas Yatra to mark the 150th anniversary of the historic speech that Vivekananda had made in Chicago at the World Parliament of Religions in 1893. It’s not that there was no political angle to this Vivekananda Yuva Vikas Yatra that passed through all 182 assembly seats.
Narendra Modi had very deftly used this yatra to make inroads into the first-time voters of Gujarat and encourage them to join BJP in large numbers on the eve of 2012 assembly elections and he succeeded in his endeavor to a great extent as the assembly results showed.
- As a society should we not embrace this dream of Swami Vivekananda? We cannot let his words get proven wrong.
- 12thJanuary is no ordinary day. It is a day etched in the annals of history as a day when India was blessed with one of its most prolific thinkers, a guiding light and a man who took India’s message to the world. It was on this day, 150 years ago that Swami Vivekananda was born. Swami ji is no longer with us but his spirit, mission and his message live on- to date and continue to inspire generations of people.
- Friends, I can say with great conviction that it is possible to achieve Swami Vivekananda’s vision of a glorious India! Gujarat is blessed as Swamiji spent maximum time here, when he embarked on his nationwide journey from July 1890 to May 1893. Swamiji’s blessings have played a big part in taking Gujarat to where it is today and I see no reason why our country cannot perform wonders with his blessings. In Gujarat we are celebrating 2012 as the ‘Year of Youth Power’ to commemorate Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth year. Let us use this occasion to tirelessly work together and play our part in realizing Swami Vivekananda’s dreams. This is the best gift we can give to this proud son who consecrated our land!
- I am sure the youth is deeply inspired by Swami Vivekananda and will carry forward his ideals for India’s growth.
- I was greatly influenced by Swami Vivekananda. I visited Ramakrishna Mission and several other places. I recently visited Swami Atmaghanananda. That was another world which I have loved.
- In Swami Vivekananda’s world view, so engrained was the sprit or service and renunciation in our DNA that we will not awaken to serve Indians alone but will work for the betterment of the entire humankind. Seeing the various problems that plague the world today, one will understand the importance of what Swamiji‘s words. It is because India has been unable to occupy what rightfully belongs to her that the world is suffering from the menace of terrorism, degradation of the environment and a topsy-turvy economy.
- In today’s times, Swamiji has been immortalized by his ideals as well as by the determined efforts of many extremely dedicated individuals to live those ideals by example in their own lives based on principles laid by Swami ji.
- “India must conquer the World and nothing less than that is my ideal”, Swamiji famously said. Hehad a very strong vision for our nation and it is incumbent upon us to realize those dreams of Swamiji by making his Vision for India a reality!
- Khetri was a very important place in Swami Vivekananda’s life. He came to Khetri as Narendra but left it as Vivekananda.
- Swami Vivekananda had said, ‘youth will take India to great heights’ and I firmly believe in it.
- Swami Vivekananda has been a figure of inspiration to me personally as well and that is why I consider myself truly blessed that I have been able to make my small contribution in spreading his message to the people of my state. Once again, I pay my tributes to Swami Vivekananda and share my determination to continue working towards realising Swami Vivekananda’s dreams and integrating as many youngsters as possible with the unique development journey of Gujarat.
- Swami Vivekananda not only dreamt of a strong and glorious India but also saw the youth as those who would fulfill his dreams.[Source]
- Swami Vivekananda was a true visionary. He dreamt of a Jagat Guru Bharat.
- Swamiji embodied the spirit of India. When he returned home from his travels overseas he was asked what he thought of India; Swamiji replied, “I loved my Motherland dearly before I went to America and England. After my return every particle of dust of this land seems sacred to me.” After his lecture in Chicago the entire world was at his feet, but gazing at the skyscrapers that filled Chicago’s moonlit skies, he wrote to a disciple, “When will India be like this?” No wonder every revolutionary in the Independence movement drew great inspiration from Swami Vivekananda- he ignited the spark of a nations conscience!
- Swamiji’s message was such that it influenced virtually every movement that has shaped the destiny of our country in the past and will likely continue to do so in the future. During the freedom struggle, both the armed and nonviolent freedom fighters were deeply influenced by Swamiji’s thoughts. Over the decades Individuals may have differed in the ideology they professed and also in their means to achieve the ends but they all found a source of inspiration in Swami Vivekananda.
- Sri Aurobindo and Swami Vivekananda, both sons of Bengal, spent huge amounts of time in Gujarat. This is why I say, Gujarat has alaways had a long standing connection with West Bengal.
- This year we celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. At the centre of Swami Vivekananda’s thoughts and vision were the youth. He said give me a thousand youngsters and I will change the world. This is the faith he had in the youth. It was seeing the youth that Swami Vivekananda said one day Bharat Mata would be Jagat Guru.
- (Vivekananda) proclaimed that a resurrected India would be the leader of the world. Vivekananda had visualised India’s pre-ordained destiny of taking on the mantle of the world’s leadership.
- “You will be nearer to God by playing football than through the study of the Gita!” Swami Vivekananda would say. Sadly, due to pressures of exams and education, I have noticed that the playing fields are always empty. How can the youth of Swami Vivekananda’s dream not enjoy the beauty of sports? It is a fact that there can be no sportsmanship without sport! It is even rightly said, “Jo Khele, Woh Khile” (The person who plays, shines).
