Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda (1863 to 1902), born Narendranath Datta in Calcutta, was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author and religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the mystic Ramakrishna. He was a major figure in introducing Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world in the late nineteenth century and is credited with raising interfaith awareness and lifting Hinduism to the status of a major world religion. After Ramakrishna's death he travelled across India as a wandering monk, and in 1893 he spoke at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago, where a speech that began with the words Sisters and brothers of America made a deep impression. He lectured widely in the United States, Britain and continental Europe and founded the Vedanta Societies of New York and San Francisco. In India he founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission, and he died at Belur Math in 1902.