Chicago Council of Religions: The World Triumph of the Destitute Saint/ শিকাগো ধর্মমহাসভা : নিঃস্ব সাধুর বিশ্বজয়

Abstract

The Cyclonic Hindu Monk Swamiji after passing away of Sri Ramkrishna paramhansa in August 1886, spent several years in intense spiritual practices. He gradually realised that he was not meant to live the life of an ordinary recluse, struggling for personal salvation. He was destined to work for divine mission entrusted to him before his master, Sri Ramakrishna. The master had told him before his passing away that he would have to do mother's work to teach mankind and to be like a banyan tree, giving shelter to the tired and weary travellers. It was under Ramakrishna's mystical impact that Vivekananda felt himself to be a capable apostle of Hindu Vedanta Philosophy. He set sail for America to take part in world Religion Congress to present the West the authentic Hindu view of life. His profound and eloquence speech held the audience spellbound and for the first time in the modern era the West heard from the lips of the young Hindu Yogi the truth of Hinduism of which they had been ignorant till then. Swamiji's view was lauded with great appreciation. Many people became his disciples, who later joined the Ramakrishna Mission. Man is the builder of his own destiny. So each human being with his own capacity can guide himself, and at the same time can play a key role in the society. In his deep lecture Swami Vivekananda explained to the world that God is the one big sea, and all religions are like rivers ultimately merging in the sea. Much of his speech on Hinduism is taken up with explaining the major teaching of Vedas. Vivekananda addressed the assembly on six different occasions in 1893 the Response to the Welcome on September 11, ‘Why We Disagree’ on September 13, ‘Paper on Hinduism" on September 19, ‘Religion Not the Crying Need of India’ on September 20, ‘Buddhism the Fulfilment of Hinduism’ on September 26, and addressed the final session on September 27. For him every single Soul is divine. The aim is to channelize this divinity within by controlling nature's external and internal issues. He was a role model not only the people of his country but also to the whole world.