Swami Vivekananda: This is why we celebrate National Youth Day
Swami Vivekananda, an Indian Hindu monk, a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna was born on January 12 and hailed from an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family. He was an ardent disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India.
Lucknow: Swami Vivekananda, an Indian Hindu monk, a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna was born on January 12 and hailed from an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family. He was an ardent disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India.
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He played an important role in introducing the Indian Vedanta and philosophies of yoga to the western world, which put India on the world's spiritual map. It was due to him that hinduism gained importance in the western world. He pushed for national integration in colonial India, and his famous speech remains as the one that he gave in Chicago in 1893 at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago that forever changed the way the world looked at India and made him popular as a ‘messenger of Indian wisdom to the western world’.
His birth anniversary is also celebrated as the National Youth Day and the youth of the country is expected to rise to the values, principles and beliefs that the great monk lived by.
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To honour his many contributions to the country, the government of India, in the year 1984, declared his birthday as National Youth Day, and the day has been celebrated since. On this day, the country’s youth is expected to rise to the values, principles and beliefs that the great monk lived by. As the government rightly said in 1984, “the philosophy of Swamiji and the ideals for which he lived and worked could be a great source of inspiration for the Indian Youth Day.”
The main objective is to promote rational thinking among the youth, who are believed to be the future of the country. It expected of the youth to rise to the occasion, fight for the right and channel their inner energies, just like Swami Vivekananda would have.
Numerous functions are organised in schools and colleges, where the young minds are. Speeches, music, recitation and essay-writing competitions, yogasanas, are held on this day. Students are encouraged to tap into their spirituality.
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