BELIEVE IN YOURSELF: LIFE LESSONS FROM VIVEKANANDA

India has produced some of the
world’s greatest religious leaders, sages, saints, philosophers, and
spiritual thinkers. They were monks, nuns, and renunciates, nationalists, and
reformers. No one religion had a Monopoly on them. They range from Mahavira and
Buddha, who lived over 2, 500 years ago, to medieval saints like Chishti,
avvaiyar, and Guru Nanak, to more recent philosophers and religious icons
such as Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, saint Teresa, and many others. The
spiritual and philosophical heritage they left behind is India’s gift to all
Indians and the world. In the ‘life lessons’ series we publish the essential
teachings of some of India’s best-known spiritual teachers, along with
commentaries and biographical notes. Each book will be a handy companion to
help the reader along the difficult pathways of life. Swami Vivekananda was a
nineteenth-century philosopher, monk, and nationalist. Born Narendranath data
into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family of Calcutta, he showed a strong
inclination towards spirituality from a young age. Initially influenced by
Brahman samaji ideas, he later came into contact with Western esotericism. He
then became a disciple of the acclaimed mystic Swami Ramakrishna who
introduced him to Advaita Vedanta. Vivekananda went on to become a proponent
of Vedanta and yoga, which he famously introduced to the world at the
Parliament of the world’s religions in Chicago in 1893. Vivekananda set up
the monastic Ramakrishna order after the death of his Guru. He then left the
monastery and led the life of a wandering ascetic, travelling through the
subcontinent, filled with the desire to reconcile and assimilate modern
scientific processes with ancient Hindu ideals. Also credited with raising
interfaith awareness, Swami Vivekananda preached the philosophy of
neo-vedanta—advaita—which reconciled the different paths to liberation. He
revived Hinduism in India and contributed to nascent nationalistic thought.
His view of Patriotism was not parochial, thus garnering him universal
respect and admiration. An accomplished orator, writer, and poet, as well as
a philosopher, his teachings remain just as relevant today as they were when
he first Thunder his message to his countrymen and the world over a century
ago. Edited by nanditha Krishna, ‘believe in yourself’ brings together Swami
Vivekananda core teachings.