Vivekananda biography english

Indian Hindu monk and philosopher (1863–1902)

"Vivekananda" redirects here. For other uses, see Swami Vivekananda (disambiguation).

Swami Vivekananda^[a] (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta^[b] was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna.^[4][5] He was a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world.^[6][8] He is credited with raising interfaith awareness and bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion in the late nineteenth century.

Born into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family in Calcutta, Vivekananda was inclined from a young age towards religion and spirituality.

At the age of 18 he met Ramakrishna, later becoming a devoted follower and sannyasin (renunciate). After the death of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda toured the Indian subcontinent as a wandering monk