Vivekananda For You

Swami Vivekananda crammed immense labour and achievement into his short and turbulent life.Vehement in his desire to know the truth about God, he questioned people of holy reputation, asking them if they had seen God. He found such a person in Sri Ramakrishna, who became his master, allayed his doubts, gave him God vision, and transformed him into sage and prophet with authority to teach.

After the passing away of his Guru, Vivekananda renounced the world and criss-crossed India as a wandering monk. His mounting compassion for India's people drove him to seek their material help from the West. Accepting an opportunity to represent Hinduism at Chicago's Parliament of Religions in 1893, Vivekananda won instant celebrity in America and a ready forum for his spiritual teaching.

His vast knowledge and deep spiritual insight, exhuberant eloquence, unfathomable human sympathy and above all the magnetism of his countenance are a source of great inspiration to all of us in our individual as well as collective lives. His words give courage to a drooping soul, his message brings new hope for a nation in distress.

As my humble offering on the occasion of his 150th Birth Anniversary, I have in Vivekananda For You, tried to compile a selection of his masterpieces that he gave us in the forms of lectures, writings, letters and conversations which would add value and meaning to our lives. I hope and pray that you enjoy reading it as much as I did, putting it together.