Swāmī Vivekānanda
1863–1902 · Kolkata · Vedānta, Ramakrishna Mission
Narendranāth Datta, a brilliant and questioning young man of Kolkata, became the foremost disciple of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and took the name Vivekānanda. After wandering across India as a monk, he spoke at the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in September 1893, opening with “Sisters and Brothers of America”, and became the first great voice of Vedānta and Yoga in the West.
In 1897 he founded the Ramakrishna Mission, joining spiritual life with service to the poor — “service to man is service to God”. His books include Rāja Yoga and Karma Yoga. His birthday, 12 January, is India’s National Youth Day.
At the end of his wanderings, in December 1892, he swam out to a rock off Kanyākumārī, at the southern tip of India, and meditated there on India’s past and future. The Vivekananda Rock Memorial now stands on that rock.
1863–1902 · Chicago, 1893 · Ramakrishna Mission, 1897 · National Youth Day, 12 January