Swami Vivekananda’s inspiring personality was well known both in lndia and in America during the last decade of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth. The unknown monk of lndia suddenly leapt into fame at the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893, at which he represented Hinduism. His vast knowledge of Eastern and Western culture as well as his deep spiritual insight, fervid eloquence, brilliant conversation, broad human sympathy, colourful personality, and handsome figure made an irresistible appeal to the many types of Americans who came in contact with him. People who saw or heard Vivekananda even once still cherish his memory after a lapse of more than half a century. In America Vivekananda’s mission was the interpretation of lndia’s spiritual culture, especially in its Vedantic setting. He also tried to enrich the religious consciousness of the Americans through the rational and humanistic teachings of the Vedanta philosophy. In America he became lndia’s spiritual ambassador and pleaded eloquently for better understanding between lndia and the New World in order to create a healthy synthesis of East and West, of religion and science. This encylopaedia attempts to inform the reader accurately about his life both before and after his historic visits to the west. Much material has been translated a new from original Bengali books. At the same time it challenges current popular and piousnotions held about this humanitarian-monk. The chapters in this book are about his meetings with Sri Ramakrishna, his travels in lndia during 1886-1893, media waves about him in lndia, and his triumphant return from the west in 1897. Analysis of original eyewitness reports in both lndian and western newspapers and periodicals forms an integral part of this biography.
