Vivekananda

Vivekananda (vē'vəkənŭn`də), 1863–1902, Hindu mystic, major exponent of Vedanta philosophy. He was born of a well-to-do family in Calcutta (now Kolkata), and his given name was Narendra Nath Datta. As a young man he met Ramakrishna and thereafter devoted himself completely to his teachings. After Ramakrishna's death in 1886, he traveled throughout India as a wandering monk. In 1893 he went to the United States where he represented Hinduism at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. After four years of teaching in the West he returned to India, where he organized the Ramakrishna Mission and engaged in a strenuous campaign to encourage a national renaissance.

Bibliography

See his Complete Works (7 vol., 1922–31); biography by R. Rolland (5th ed. 1960); study by S. L. Mukherji (1971).

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Vivekananda

 orig. Narendranath Datta

(born Jan. 12, 1863, Calcutta—died July 4, 1902, Calcutta) Hindu spiritual leader and reformer. He received a Western education. He later joined the Brahmo Samaj and became the most notable disciple of Ramakrishna. By stressing the universal and humanistic aspects of the Veda and emphasizing service over dogma, he attempted to infuse vigour into Hinduism. He was a motivating force behind the Vedanta movement in the U.S. and England, lecturing and proselytizing in both countries. In 1897 he founded the Ramakrishna Mission, which carries out extensive educational and philanthropic work in India and expounds Vedanta in Western countries.