I was born in the well to do Datta Family in Calcutta in the year 1863.

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I was born in the well to do Datta Family in
Calcutta in the year 1863. My actual Name was
Narendranath Datta. I got my name Swami
Vivekaknanda later in my life from Gurudev
Tagore.
Presenter Neil Mashalkar
2
My father was a successful attorney at the
Calcutta High Court and my mother was a wise and
well respected woman. She read the great
epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana to my brothers
and sisters everyday. She wanted to instill great
character and good education to her children and
taught us to lead a life of truthfulness and
simplicity.
Presenter Adit Mukherjee
3
Sri Ramakrishna got afflicted with throat cancer
and asked me to carry on his message and spread
the true meaning of Hinduism to the world. I was
initially unsure about what to do and undertook a
pilgrimage across India, from North to South and
from East to West and preached Ramakrishnas
philosophy for the common man to understand his
religion better.
Presenter Sachin Jindal
4
I was very mischievous when I was young and my
parents had to take me out of school and assign
me to a private tutor. However, I never strayed
from the boundaries set by my parents and went on
to learn music, participate in debates and open
my mind to rational thinking and pursuit of
truth.
Presenter Atharva Kuthe
5
As student, I had a very scientific attitude. I
did not accept anything without proof of
knowledge. During his college days once my
professor told me to go to Sri Ramakrishna at
Dakshineswar Temple if I wanted to know true
meaning of God and meditation.
Presenter Sohum Mehta
6
My relationship with Sri Ramkrishna opened up a
new relationship of Teacher and Disciple
unparalleled in the history of spirituality.
Initially I did not believe in Sri Ramakrishna
but gradually with his simplicity and immense
knowledge of Advaita Vedanta won over the mind
and the heart of this young boy--Narendra--once
for all. It was from him that I learnt and
realized true spirit of Eternal Vedantic
Religion--Sanatana Dharma, and gradually evolved
into the monk I became.
Presenter Neal Bhojraj
7
It was while I was touring the whole country that
I came to see the true face of India, its people.
So many of my own people were poor and
impoverished. I thought I had to do something. I
could see missionaries from the west coming in to
preach their religion. I thought, what India
needs is not another religion but food to feed
its masses. We already had a rich philosophy and
strong religion.
Presenter Vichar Trivedi
8
Me and my friends started thinking on this and
we heard about the World Parliament of Religions
to be held in Chicago and thought that it would
be an opportunity to spread the rich spiritual
treasures of India and solicit some Humanitarian
support for the people of India.
Presenter Ujesh Vora
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With the financial support of the Raja of
Mysore, Raja of Ramnad and Raja of Khetri I set
sail for Chicago in May 1893. Once I came to
Chicago I found myself 2 months too early as the
conference did not commence until September and
found it difficult to survive in Chicago for so
many days. By chance I met Professor Wright of
Harvard University who after hearing me out
nominated me as a candidate for the World
Parliament as I had arrived without official
credentials from India.
Presenter Ujesh Vora
10
On 11th September 1893 at the Parliament of
Religions, I reached out to the, "Sisters and
Brothers of America..." with the voice of
universality and oneness of life. This is where I
narrated a story of two frogs who came across
each other when one day the frog from the sea
fell into the frog from the well
Presenter Saurabh Mehta
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The story of two frogs Frog of the well "Where
are you from?" Frog of the sea "I am from the
sea." Frog of the well "The sea! How big is
that? Is it as big as my well?" and he took a
leap from one side of the well to the other.
Frog of the sea "My friend", said the frog of
the sea, "how do you compare the sea with your
little well?" Then the frog took another leap and
asked,
Actors Adit Rohit Mukherjee
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The story of two frogs Frog of the well "Is
your sea so big?" "What nonsense you speak, to
compare the sea with your well" "Well, then,"
said the frog of the well, "nothing can be bigger
than my well there can be nothing bigger than
this this fellow is a liar, so turn him out."
Actors Adit Rohit Mukherjee
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The moral of the story is 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.
Presenter Saurabh Mehta
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This new universal all encapsulating philosophy
shook the Western thought of reason and science
at its very root. I extracted scientific truths
from Upanishads and Vedanta and put breaks on the
criticism of religion as non-scientific mumbling.
The old philosophy of Vedanta was given new form
suited to the modern scientific thinking. After
the World Parliament, I was invited to deliver a
series of lectures and tried to generate as much
awareness and aid for India as possible.
Presenter Sameer Jindal
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The more we come out and do good to others, the
more our hearts will be purified and God will be
in them.
Presenter Sumiran Shah
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Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is
worse.  
Presenter Sharvari Brahme
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The mistake is that we cling to the body when it
is the spirit that is really immortal.  
Presenter Shaan Karnani
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Great work requires great and persistent effort
for a long time.  Character has to be established
through a thousand stumbles.  
Presenter Vidhi Patel
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We are what our thoughts have made us so take
care about what you think.  Words are secondary. 
Thoughts live they travel far.  
Presenter Harika Madisetty
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You can not believe in God until you believe in
yourself.
Presenter Parth Patel
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This earth is higher than all the heavens this
is the greatest school in the universe.
Presenter Maansi Dasari
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By the study of different religions, we find that
in essence they are one.
Presenter Aniv Thanikella
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The greatest religion is to be true to your own
nature.  Have faith in yourself.
Presenter Nikita Bhojraj
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We reap what we sow.  We are the makers of our
own fate. None else has the blame, none has the
praise.
Presenter Bhakti Dixit
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Strength is life, weakness is death.  Strength is
felicity, life eternal, immortal.  Weakness is
constant strain and misery weakness is death.
Presenter Rushil Naik
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Be brave!  Be strong!  Be fearless!  Once you
have taken up the spiritual life, fight as long
as there is any life in you.  Dont  die of
fright.  Die fighting.
Presenter Ajmita Sangtani
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Let us not depend upon the world for pleasure.
Presenter Rahul Bais
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Be not afraid, for all great power throughout the
history of humanity has been with the people. 
From them have come all the greatest geniuses of
the world, and history can only repeat itself. 
Be not afraid of anything.  You will do marvelous
work.
Presenter Shivani Bhatt
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Be a hero.  Always say, I have no fear.  Tell
this to everyone Have no fear.
Presenter Shohan Shetty
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The first sign that you are becoming religious is
that you are becoming cheerful.
Presenter Shruti Dixit
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This is the great lesson that we are here to
learn through myriads of births and heavens and
hells-that there is nothing to be asked for,
desired for, beyond ones spiritual Self (Atman).
Presenter Navdeep Bais
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So long as millions live in hunger and ignorance,
I hold every person a traitor, who having been
educated at their expense, pays not the least
heed to them.
Presenter Ajlita Sangatani
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So long as there is desire or want, it is a sure
sign that there is imperfection.  A perfect, free
being cannot have any desire.
Presenter Akshay Ramanujan
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Desire, want is the father of all misery. 
Desires are bound by the laws of success and
failure.  Desires bring misery.  The great secret
of true success, of true happiness is this  the
person who asks for no return, the perfectly
unselfish person, is the most successful.
Presenter Anjali Naik
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Do not look back upon what has been done.  Go
ahead!
Presenter Priya Varanasi
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Books are infinite in number and time is short. 
The secret of knowledge is to take what is
essential and try to live up to it.
Presenter Aakash Ramanujan
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We pay our respect today to Swami Vivekanada on
his birthday as the world today is rich because
of his tremendous contribution in the realm of
true Spirituality which he has elevated to the
category of Science.
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In 1897, I returned from the West and formed the
New Monastic Order - Ramakrishna Math and Mission
- with its Head Quarters at Belur, India. I
toured the country extensively trying the spread
the teachings of Vedanta and it universality to
the rich and the poor