Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda Birthday Highlights

Birth Name

Narendranath Datta

Place Of Birth

Kolkata, India

Age

159 years old

Birth Date

December 1 1863

Swami Vivekananda Facts

Child Star?

no

Occupation

Religious Leader

Education & Qualifications

University of Calcutta

Net Worth

$1,500,000

Parents

Vishwanath Datta, Bhuvaneswari Devi

Siblings

Bhupendranath Datta

Swami Vivekananda was a chief disciple of Ramakrishna, an Indian spiritual monk who lived in the 19th century.
He also helped with raising interfaith awareness and bringing the religion Hinduism to be perceived as a major world system during the late 19th century, influenced by Western esotericism. He was an important figure in India's modern Hindu reforms and his teachings helped shape the concept of nationalism in colonial India.
As the chief disciple of Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda created the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission.

Narendranath Datta had a spiritual interest since he was a child, and he used to meditate in front of many representations of deities like Shiva, Sita, Rama, Sita, and Hanuman.
Wandering ascetics and monks piqued his interest. As a child, Narendranath was a rowdy and restless boy, and his parents struggled to keep him under control.

On January 12, 1863, during the Makar Sankranti holiday, Vivekananda was born Narendranath Datta (shortened to Narendra or Naren) in a Bengali family at his ancestral house at number three Gourmohan Mukherjee Street in Calcutta, West Bengal, the capital of British India. 
He was the youngest of nine siblings in a typical family. Vishwanath Datta, his father, was a lawyer in the Calcutta High Court. Narendra's grandfather, Durgacharan Datta, was a Sanskrit and Persian scholar who left his family at the age of 25 to become a monk. Bhubaneswari Devi, his mother, was a dedicated housewife. He never married, and hence, had no wife.

Best Known For…

His career revolved around spiritualism. After meeting Ramakrishna and switching from Christianity to Hinduism, Swami Vivekananda (Narendra) became a member of Keshab Chandra Sen's Nava Vidhan in 1880. Narendra joined a Freemasonry lodge and the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, which was a breakaway party led by Debendranath Tagore and Keshab Chandra Sen of the Brahmo Samaj when he was in his twenties. From 1881 to 1884, Swami was a member of Sen's Band of Hope, an anti-smoking and anti-drinking organization.
Narendra grew acquainted with Western esotericism in this cultic environment. His early ideas were influenced by Brahmo philosophies, which oppose polytheism and caste discrimination. However, he believed in worshipping God as part of one religion.
Vivekananda was best known for being a multi-talented artist who wrote a number of songs and poetry, including his personal favorite, 'Kali the Mother'. Vivekananda's teachings were laced with laughter, and his language was clear.

Charity Work

Vivekananda was a very charitable person. For five years, Narendra traveled widely throughout India. He felt empathy for the people's suffering and poverty and vowed to improve the country. Narendra traveled on foot and train to areas like New Delhi, surviving solely on alms. He met with Indians of multiple faiths and walks of life during his travels, including scholars, dewans, kings, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, government officials, and all human beings whom his philosophy considered equal.

What awards did Swami Vivekananda win?

Considering how Swami Vivekananda pursued a spiritual life and was not affiliated with materiality, despite his contribution to philosophy and spirituality, he was not given any awards.

Swami Vivekananda's Hobbies And Interests

He loved teaching his disciples in Chicago, America, and other places worldwide. Even as a boy, he loved to meditate and focus on attaining mental discipline. He was also passionate about India. Vivekananda crystallized the nationalistic ideal against growing nationalism in British-ruled India and emerged a freedom fighter.

Every year on his birthday, January 12, India celebrates National Youth Day because he had great faith in the youth.
Just like National Youth Day, on the day he delivered his magnificent speech at the Parliament of Religions, Universal Brotherhood Day is observed. This speech at the parliament inspired many worldwide.
Swami Vivekananda became famous in America, where he spent three years spreading the message of Vedanta philosophy and religion.
Swami Vivekananda spoke great English. He was born into a wealthy lawyer's family and received the greatest education possible, including attending the prestigious Metropolitan Institution school in Kolkata.
This chief disciple of Ramakrishna was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian practices of Yoga and Vedanta to the Western realm and is credited with raising interfaith awareness and universal acceptance, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century.
He also conducted many private lectures in Chicago, America, and various other parts of the world.

Main image credit: JP JOSHI / Shutterstock