Swami Vivekananda

at the Parliament of
the World's
Religions

Swami Vivekananda represented India and

Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's
Religions (1893). This was the first
World's Parliament of Religions and it was
held from 11 to 27 September 1893.
Delegates from all over the world joined
this Parliament.[1] In 2012 a three-day
world conference was organized to
commemorate 150th birth anniversary of
Vivekananda.[2]
 Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament of the
World's Religions (1893)

Vivekananda in Chicago in 1893

Date 11–27 September 1893

Location Chicago, America

Outcome A World Congress was

organised in 2012 to
commemorate 150th
birth anniversary of
Vivekananda

Website parliamentofreligions.org
Background
Journey to the west

Vivekananda began his journey to America

from Bombay, India on 31 May 1893,with
the great ship peninsula [3] His journey to
America took him to China, Japan and
Canada. At Canton (Guangzhou) he saw
some Buddhist monasteries. There he also
found many Sanskrit and Bengali
manuscripts. Then he visited Japan. First
he went to Nagasaki. He saw three more
big cities and then reached Osaka, Kyoto
and Tokyo and then he reached
Yokohama. He started his journey to
Canada in a ship named RMS Empress of
India from Yokohama .[4]

Vivekananda 1893 with The East Indian Group

Meeting with Jamsetji Tata

In the journey from Yokohama to Canada

on the ship Empress, Vivekananda
accidentally met Jamsetji Tata who was
also going to Chicago. Tata, a
businessman who made his initial fortune
in the opium trade with China[5] and
started one of the first textile mills in India,
was going to Chicago to get new business
ideas. In this accidental meeting on the
Empress, Vivekananda inspired Tata to set
up a research and educational institution
in India. They also discussed a plan to
start a steel factory in India.[4]

He reached Vancouver on 25 July.[4][6]

From Vancouver (of Canada) he travelled
to Chicago by train and arrived there on
Sunday, 30 July 1893.[7]

Journey to Boston
After reaching Chicago Vivekananda
learned no one could attend the
Parliament as delegate without credential
or bona fide. He did not have one at that
moment and felt utterly disappointed. He
also learned the Parliament would not
open till first week of September. But
Vivekananda did not give up his hope. To
cut his expenditure, he decided to go to
Boston, which was less costly than
Chicago.

Meeting with John Henry Wright

At Boston Vivekananda met Professor

John Henry Wright of Harvard University.
Professor Wright invited Vivekananda to
give a lecture at the University. After being
acquainted with Vivekananda's knowledge,
wisdom and excellence, Professor Wright
insisted him to represent Hinduism at the
Parliament of World's Religions.[8]
Vivekananda himself later wrote– "He
urged upon me the necessity of going to
the Parliament of Religions, which he
thought would give an introduction to the
nation".[3] When Wright learned that
Vivekananda was not officially accredited
and did not have any credential to join the
Parliament, he told Vivekananda– "To ask
for your credentials is like asking the sun
to state its right to shine in the heavens."[3]
At the World's Parliament of
Religions
Response to Welcome (11
September 1893)

The World's Parliament of Religions

started on 11 September 1893 at the
Permanent Memorial Art Palace (also
identified as the World's Congress
Auxiliary Building), now the Art Institute of
Chicago, as part of the World's Columbian
Exposition. Vivekananda gave his first
lecture on that day. Towards the afternoon
his turn came, after so much of
procrastination. Though initially nervous,
he bowed to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess
of learning, and he felt he got new energy
in his body; he felt someone or something
else had occupied his body– "The Soul of
India, the echo of the Rishis, the voice of
Ramakrishna, the mouthpiece of the
resurgent Time spirit".[3] Then began his
speech with salutation, "Sisters and
brothers of America!". To these words, he
got a standing ovation from a crowd of
seven thousand, which lasted for two
minutes. When silence was restored he
began his address. He greeted the
youngest of the nations on behalf of "the
most ancient order of monks in the world,
the Vedic order of sannyasins, a religion
which has taught the world both tolerance
and universal acceptance.!"

Why we disagree (15 September

1893)

Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religions with

Virchand Gandhi, Hewivitarne Dharmapala

In this speech Vivekananda tried to explain

the reason of disagreement between each
other and different sects and religions. He
told a story of a frog,which is popularly
known as (kuor bang). And in the story he
told, a frog used to live in a well. It was
born there and brought up there and it
used to think his well was the biggest
water land of the world. One day, a frog
from a sea came to that well. When the
frog from the sea told the frog of the well
that sea is much bigger than that well, the
frog of the well did not believe it and drove
the frog of the sea away from his well.
Vivekananda concluded– "That has been
the difficulty all the while. I am a Hindu. I
am sitting in my own little well and
thinking that the whole world is my little
well. The Christian sits in his little well and
thinks the whole world is his well. The
Muslim sits in his little well and thinks that
is the whole world."

Paper on Hinduism (19 September

1893)

This section needs expansion.

Learn more

Vivekananda gave a short introduction of

Hinduism and spoke on "The meaning of
the Hindu religion". He also talked about
the 3 oldest religions of the world, namely
Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism
and their survival and the emergence of
Christianity. He then went ahead and
shared his knowledge of the Vedanta
philosophy, the concept of god, soul and
body in Hinduism.[9]

Religion not the Crying need of

India (20 September 1893)

In this brief address Vivekananda made a

"little criticism" and told, religion was not
the most important need of Indians at that
moment. He regretted for sending of
Christian missionaries and trying to save
the souls of Indians although poverty had
been a much more important issue at that
time. He then told, his aim was to join the
Chicago Parliament of Religions and to
seek aid for his impoverished people.

Buddhism, the Fulfillment of

Hinduism (26 September 1893)

In this speech Vivekananda talked on

Buddhism. He talked about origin of
Buddhism, relation between Buddhism and
Brahmanism, Buddhism and Vedas. He
concluded "Hinduism cannot live without
Buddhism, nor Buddhism without
Hinduism." and showed how Buddhism is
the fulfillment to Hinduism.

Address at the Final Session (27

September 1893)

This was Vivekananda's final address at

the Parliament of World's religion. In his
last speech he told that the Parliament had
become an accomplished fact. He thanked
the "noble souls" for organizing the
Parliament which he felt "proved to the
world that holiness, purity and charity are
not the exclusive possessions of any
church in the world, and that every system
has produced men and women of the
most exalted character". He finished his
speech with appeal "Help and not Fight,"
"Assimilation and not Destruction,"
"Harmony and Peace and not Dissension.".
Impact
The lectures of Vivekananda shook
America and the whole world.[9] After the
Parliament Vivekananda immediately
became a hero in America.It took about 10
minutes for the crowd to stop clapping.

Parliament of the World's Religions

(2012)

In 2012, a three-day world conference was

organised by the Institute of World
Religions (of the Washington Kali Temple),
Burtonsville, Maryland, in association with
the Council for A Parliament of World
Religions, Chicago, Illinois to
commemorate the 150th birth anniversary
of Vivekananda.[10]

See also
Bibliography of Swami Vivekananda

References
1. Swami Vivekananda; Dave DeLuca (14
April 2006). Pathways to Joy: The
Master Vivekananda on the Four Yoga
Paths to God . New World Library.
pp. 251–. ISBN 978-1-930722-67-5.
Retrieved 17 December 2012.
2. "World Congress of Religions 2012" .
Parliament of the World's Religions.
Retrieved 18 December 2012.
3. P. R. Bhuyan (1 January 2003). Swami
Vivekananda: Messiah of Resurgent
India . Atlantic Publishers & Dist.
pp. 16–. ISBN 978-81-269-0234-7.
Retrieved 17 December 2012.
4. Niranjan Rajadhyaksha (5 December
2006). The Rise of India: Its
Transformation from Poverty to
Prosperity . John Wiley & Sons.
pp. 30–. ISBN 978-0-470-82201-2.
Retrieved 18 December 2012.
5. Huggler, Justin (1 February 2007).
"From Parsee priests to profits: say
hello to Tata" . The Independent.
Retrieved 27 December 2012.
6. "Swami Vivekananda chronology"
(PDF). Vedanta.org. Archived from the
original (PDF) on 4 November 2013.
Retrieved 17 December 2012.
7. Chaturvedi Badrinath (1 June 2006).
Swami Vivekananda: The Living
Vedanta . Penguin Books India.
pp. 158–. ISBN 978-0-14-306209-7.
Retrieved 17 December 2012.
8. G. S Banhatti (1 January 1995). Life
And Philosophy Of Swami
 Vivekananda . Atlantic Publishers &
Dist. pp. 27–. ISBN 978-81-7156-291-
6. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
9. Bhawan Singh Rana; Mīnā Agravāla
Meena Agrawal (2005). The Immortal
Philosopher Of India Swami
Vivekananda . Diamond Pocket Books
(P) Ltd. pp. 55–. ISBN 978-81-288-
1001-5. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
10. "World Congress of Religions 2012" .
Parliament of the World's Religions.
Archived from the original on 28
September 2013. Retrieved
28 September 2013.

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Sisters and brothers of America
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