Bibekananda - Influence and Legacy

Influence and Legacy

Vivekananda revitalised Hinduism within and outside India. He was the principal reason behind the enthusiastic reception of yoga, transcendental meditation and other forms of Indian spiritual self-improvement in the West. Professor Agehananda Bharati explained that, "...modern Hindus derive their knowledge of Hinduism from Vivekananda, directly or indirectly." Vivekananda espoused the idea that all sects within Hinduism and, indeed, all religions, are different paths to the same goal. This view, however, has been criticised for oversimplification of Hinduism.

In the background of germinating nationalism in the British-ruled India, Vivekananda crystallised the nationalistic ideal. In the words of the social reformer Charles Freer Andrews, "The Swami's intrepid patriotism gave a new colour to the national movement throughout India. More than any other single individual of that period Vivekananda had made his contribution to the new awakening of India." Vivekananda drew the attention towards the prevalence of poverty in the country, and maintained that addressing such poverty was prerequisite for the national awakening. His nationalistic thoughts influenced scores of Indian thinkers and leaders. Sri Aurobindo regarded Vivekananda as the one who awakened India spiritually. Gandhi counted him among the few Hindu reformers "who have maintained this Hindu religion in a state of splendor by cutting down the dead wood of tradition."

The first governor general of independent India, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, said "Vivekananda saved Hinduism, saved India." According to Subhas Chandra Bose, a major proponent of armed struggle for Indian independence, Vivekananda was "the maker of modern India"; for Mahatma Gandhi, Vivekananda's influence increased his "love for his country a thousandfold." Vivekananda influenced India's independence movement; his writings inspired a whole generation of freedom fighters such as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Aurobindo Ghose, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bagha Jatin. Many years after Vivekananda's death, Rabindranath Tagore told French Nobel Laureate Romain Rolland, "If you want to know India, study Vivekananda. In him everything is positive and nothing negative." Rolland himself wrote that "His words are great music, phrases in the style of Beethoven, stirring rhythms like the march of Händel choruses. I cannot touch these sayings of his, scattered as they are through the pages of books, at thirty years' distance, without receiving a thrill through my body like an electric shock. And what shocks, what transports, must have been produced when in burning words they issued from the lips of the hero!"

Jamsetji Tata was influenced by Vivekananda to establish the Indian Institute of Science—one of India's best known research universities. Abroad, Vivekananda had interactions with Max Müller. Scientist Nikola Tesla was one of those influenced by the Vedic philosophy teachings of Vivekananda. On 11 November 1995, a section of Michigan Avenue, a major thoroughfare in downtown Chicago, was renamed "Swami Vivekananda Way". National Youth Day in India is observed on his birthday, 12 January. He is projected as a role model for youth by the Indian government as well as non-government organisations and personalities. In September 2010, India's Finance Ministry highlighted the relevance of teachings and values of Vivekananda in the modern competitive environment. The Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, approved in principle the "Swami Vivekananda Values Education Project" at the cost of 100 crore (US$18.2 million) with the objectives such as involving the youth through competitions, essays, discussions and study circles and publishing Vivekananda's complete work in different languages. In 2011, West Bengal Police Training College was renamed as "Swami Vivekananda State Police Academy, West Bengal".