Great Indians on

Swami Vivekananda
Just as only an athlete understands another
athlete, so also, only great men truly
understand other great men.  

Let us have a look at what some of the great

men of India have had to say of
Swami Vivekananda
 Rabindranath
Tagore
 If you want to
know India, study
Vivekananda. In him
everything is positive
and nothing negative.
 Sri Aurobindo
 We perceive Vivekananda’s
influence still working
gigantically, we know not well
how, we know not well where, in
something that is not yet formed,
something leonine, grand,
intuitive, upheaving that has
entered the soul of India and we
say, ‘Behold, Vivekananda still
lives in the soul of his Mother and
in the souls of her children.’
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
 Twelve centuries ago
Sankaracharya was the only great
personality, who not only spoke of
the purity of our religion, not only
uttered in words that this religion
was our strength and wealth, not
only said that it was our sacred duty
to preach this religion in the length
and breadth of the world—but also
brought all this into action. Swami
Vivekananda is a person of that
stature—who appeared towards the
last half of the 19th century.
Mahatma Gandhi

 I have gone through

Vivekananda’s works
very thoroughly, and
after having gone through
them, the love that I had
for my country became a
thousand-fold.
 Jawaharlal Nehru
 Rooted in the past and full of pride
in India’s prestige, Viveka-nanda was
yet modern in his approach to life’s
problems and was a kind of bridge
between the past of India and her
present. . . He was a fine figure of a
man, imposing, full of poise and
dignity, sure of himself and his
mission, and at the same time full of a
dynamic and fiery energy and a
passion to push India forward
 Swamiji was a full-blooded
masculine personality —and a Netaji Subhas
fighter to the core of his Chandra Bose
being. I can go on for hours
and yet fail to do the slightest
justice to that great man. He
was so great, so profound, so
complex. If he had been
alive, I would have been at his
feet.
 Vinoba Bhave
 Vivekananda not only made us
conscious of our strength, he also
pointed out our defects and
drawbacks. . He taught us: ‘The same
Soul resides in each and all. If you
are convinced of this, it is your duty
to treat all as brothers and serve
mankind.’ . . . The word ‘Daridra-
narayana’ (God manifested in the
hungry, destitute millions) was
coined by Vivekananda and
popularized by Gandhiji.
 C. Rajagopalachari
 Swami Vivekananda saved
Hinduism and saved India. But
for him we would have lost our
religion and would not have
gained our freedom. We
therefore owe everything to
Swami Vivekananda. May his
faith, his courage and his
wisdom ever inspire us so that
we may keep safe the treasure
we have received from him.
 R.C. Majumdar
 Though an ascetic,
Vivekananda was a patriot
of patriots. The thought of
restoring the pristine glory
of India by resuscitating
among her people the
spiritual vitality which was
dormant, but not dead, was
always the uppermost
thought in his mind. . .
 Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
 If there is any call which
Vivekananda made to us, it is to
rely on our own spiritual
resources. . . Man has inexhaustible
spiritual resources. His spirit is
supreme, man is unique. . . . He told
us: ‘Do not be led away by the
appearances. Deep down there is a
providential will, there is a purpose
in this universe. You must try to co-
operate with that purpose and try to
achieve it.
  
Before closing this presentation, let us recall
that every year 12th January, Swami
Vivekananda’s birthday (according to English
calendar), is celebrated as the National Youth Day
all over the country. In 1985, while declaring this,
the Government of India affirmed ‘the philosophy
of Swamiji and the ideal for which he lived could
be a great source of inspiration for the Indian
youth.’
 
 Are the youth listening? Listening to
Swamiji’s eternal call reverberating through
more than hundred years? He said:

‘My faith is in younger generation, the

modern generation. They will work out the
whole problem like lions. . .’
 ‘Arise, awake and
stop not till the goal
is reached!’

Thank You