- Book Review: "A Short Life Of Swami Vivekananda" by Swami Tejasananda - 📚🕉
Born in 1863 to a distinguished Bengali family, Narendra Nath Datta - better known in history as Swami Vivekananda - would go on to become one of the most well known religious figures of the late 19th and early 20th century.
He is credited with popularizing Vedanta and Yogic philosophy in the West, and this book provides a short biography of his even shorter but highly remarkable life.
Swami Vivekananda's deep rooted spirituality is a unique one. He was less inclined to lead a life of solitude as is typical of ascetic monks. Rather, his whole focus was on the uplifting of his countrymen from abject poverty. To him, religion meant nothing if people were starving. This focus on communal charity is what makes him stand out.
His global recognition came when he attended the 1893 "Parliament of World Religions" in Chicago, where as a representative of the Hindu faith, he won over the entire audience with his eloquent powers of speech.
Swami Vivekananda spent the next nine years traveling and teaching in Europe and India until his death at the tender age of 39 in 1902, which as the traditional story of his life states went on to fulfill a prophecy where he predicted that he would not live to see 40.
The book is a good read and highly recommendable to anyone interested to know more about Swami Vivekananda.
My rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️