It was 11th September 1893. Venue was Art Institute of Chicago. Occasion was world parliament of religions. A nervous looking saffron clad thirty years lad was representing India and Hinduism. When the lad addressed the gathering as”My dear American sisters and brothers”, the whole audience stood on their toes and applauded the lad. With in his brief speech, the lad changed the perception of west on Indian culture and Hinduism. The lad was Narendranath Dutta, popularly known as Swami Vivekananda. In a brief life span of 39 years he contributed significantly to global culture in general and Indian culture in particular. From his contribution, we will discuss upon three most important aspects Weeding out the misconception of western world towards Hinduism and India He made the western intellectuals realize that Hinduism is not all about idol worshiping, black magic, animal sacrifice and caste system. Rather, it preaches service to man is the greatest service to the God. Hinduism is about self control to attain divinity. Work and service to others are the first priority in Hinduism rather than visiting temples, adhering to a doctrine or principle. Hinduism accepts education as a manifestation for perfection. Swami Vivekananda's Influence on Indian Freedom struggle and Promotion of Indian Nationalism Writings and speeches of Swami Vivekananda inspired the Indian youth and most of the leading figures of Indian freedom struggle to accelerate the movement. His famous quote” Awake, arise, stop not till the goal is reached” strengthened the inner spirit of Indian youth to sacrifice everything for the Nation and success of the movement. Prominent leaders who were influenced by the speeches and writings of Swami Vivekananda are Subhash Chandra Bose, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, Mahatma Gandhi, Aurobindo Ghose and Bagha Jatin. Establishment of RamKrishna Mission and other organizations The major aim of Vivekananda was to inspire and motivate Indian youth for an independent, strong and prosperous India. In this direction, establishment of RamKrishna Mission is a giant leap forward. Under his inspiration, industrialist J.D. Tata set up Indian Institute of science. All the above contributions are only a small description of swami Vivekananda’s contribution to Indian culture, civilization and Hinduism. Hence, if we take the statement of Rabindranath Tagore that if you want to know India, study Vivekananda into account, it will not be an exaggeration of fact.
Ramakrishna Mission at Belur Math Swami Vivekananda has undoubtedly the major contribution in letting the world know what Indian culture is.. Ramakrishna Mission started by him at Belur Math is still enriching the world. There are many books on the life of this great legend available by Ramakrishna Mission like 'A Concordance to Swami Vivekananda' and 'Swami Vivekananda on himself'
