UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD DAY

 

In the year 1886 Swami Vivekananda became Sanyashi. He had a great quest to know India and people of India , its culture , heritage and geography, so he started Bharat Parikrama  in the month of July 1890 on foot  and travelled all throughout India and finally reached Kanyakumari on 24^th December 1892. After reaching Kanykumari he lost his peace of mind and was completely depressed on finding the present scenario of the country. People were not getting enough food to eat, they were fighting in the name of caste, religion, language, rich- poor etc. People had forgotten their past glory and were lacking in self confidence. Indians started considering themselves as slaves under the British rule. Tears started rolling down from his eyes and he was trying to get the answers, how to rejuvenate India and how to put India in the throne of JAGAT GURU then, at that moment he saw from the shore of Kanya kumari, a big rock in the mid of Indian Ocean and  decided to meditate there. But as he was a sanyashi , so he had no money and no boat man was  interested to take him there. Without wasting any moment he swum and reached the mid sea rock and mediated there for three nights and three days, that was on 25^th to 27^th December 1892. He mediated on past, present and future of India. After 3day he sprang up and shouted, “I hit upon an idea……..’. That idea was to reunite all the Indians and to make them understand their past glory. The vision of one India was laid. From here a feelings of brotherhood spread length and breadth of India and tied everybody together. So it can be concluded here that the seeds of National Brotherhood was sowed for the first time in the fertile soil of India.

Before the advent of swami Vivekananda and his teachings, Indians localized themselves in small groups. They had revolted against British but those were to free themselves from the British imposed rules and for their own existence. Those revolts were not at all to free India from British. For example Farmers, Businessmen, sepoys, Kings and Kangs etc. all these sections had a revolt against British that is true but for their own and small cause, it was not for India as a whole. Farmers revolted to reduce their taxes and for owning the cultivable land, Businessmen also revolted as the finished products that time were coming from England. Sepoys had mutiny that was for religious ethics and kings fought against British only to safe guard their kingdom and to remained as rulers, for example Mysore , Jhanshi etc. But the thread for unifying India was not existing during that period of time otherwise British would had been thrown out from the country long time back. After the teachings and philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, feelings of oneness ignited every Indian mind and it would be difficult to find a single freedom fighters that time who was not influenced by the teachings and works of Swami Vivekananda, may it be Gandhiji, S.C. Bose, Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak, Sardar Vallab bhai Patel, Nehru, Chittaranjan Das, A.P.J Abdul Kalam, Indira Gandhi, Serojini Nidu, Rabiendra Nath Tagore,  Jamshedji Tata and host of others who were highly inspired and motivated by Swamiji’s words and work. So Swamiji was successful in raising the morale, confidence and infusing patriotic feelings among Indians. Thus the Seeds of Brotherhood sown in India.

Now coming to the World’s Parliament of religions, that took place for 17 days in Chicago, America from September 11^th to September 27^th 1893. Charles Carroll Bonney, Lawyer from Chicago and John Henry then the president of the organizing committee of World's Parliament of religions made it clear that the parliament was to show the richness and development of America to the rest of the world, Supremacy of Christianity over other religions and along with that to commemorate the completion of 400 years of  America Discovery by Columbus. On the first day that was on 11^th September 1893, Swami Vivekananda was given a chance to speak for a small duration in the afternoon session, where he spoke for only three and half minutes but was able to catch every body’s attention there. His first sentence, “Sisters and Brothers Of America” electrified the whole Auditorium and all the people at once stood up and kept clapping for more than two minutes, that was a wonderful gesture given by Americans to welcome the Hindu Monk. Next morning all the Newspapers from America published regarding him, they referred him as cyclonic man, a man of wisdom, a man who overshadowed everybody in the parliament of religions and some newspaper even went further to publish his speech.

         A Busy road in Chicago-.

Swami Vivekananda’s first day speech to me is like a preface of a book where he gave a introductory regarding his motherland, the religion which he belonged, Regarding tolerance and universal acceptance, all religions to be true and sanatana dharma the mother of all religions, about the nation which sheltered refugees from other nations, all these were introduction  but nothing was in description. Those introductory sentences might had created curiosity and interest among the masses to know about India, Vedas, Puranas, culture etc. Here we find the adventurous and curious Americans left no stone unturned to get the nectar of Spirituality from the great saint Swami Vivekananda. After the first day speech, Swami Vivekananda became famous not only in America but also around the globe through Newspapers and Radio broadcasting.

The world Parliament of Religions which continued in Chicago for 17 days and if somebody dominated completely the duration with religious thoughts, religious belief, religious scripts, culture, logic and wisdom then it was only one man, the saint from India-Swami Vivekananda. After the first day(11/09/1893), Swami Vivekananda was invited again and again to give speech on different topics.

 Let me give a little idea related to the topics that Swamiji delivered during the Parliament of Religions.

1^st speech 11/09/1893: Swamiji electrified everybody with his salutation “Sisters and Brothers of America”. He made the world clear that he was from a Nation and a religion which taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance and thus in the first day itself he laid the stone of Brotherhood. Within his short duration of speech, four times swamiji pronounced that he was proud of the Nation and of Religion that he belonged, that showed his love for the country and its values.

2^nd Speech 15/09/1893: Topic – “Why we disagree”- To explain the topic, Swami Vivekananda told a story of a frog. The story goes like this-

Once upon a time there lived a frog in a well and it had been living there for a long time. One day another frog that lived in the sea came and fell into the well.

” Where are you from ?” asked the frog from the well. “I am from sea” replied the frog that entered.

 “The Sea! How big is that ?…..is it as big my well?”, enquired the frog of the well after taking a leap from one side of the well to the other.

“ My friend “ said the frog from the sea, ”how do you compare the sea with your little well.”

Then the frog took another leap and asked” Is your sea so big?”. “What nonsense", replied the frog from the sea,” how you compare a well with the sea.”

Then the frog of the well  proclaimed that nothing can be bigger than his well and that frog was a liar and they threw him out from the well.

So swamiji through this story showed the difficulty that arise, the variation that develops and that leads to disagree. Hindu seats in his well and thinks whole world is his little well, Christians seats in their well and thinks that to be the world and same way Mohomodian seats in their well and believes that the world is like that.

Swamiji in his speech thanked America for taking steps in breaking the wall of each world and for giving an opportunity for every religion to understand another.

Thus in the second day of his speech, he gave another steps in developing brotherhood among all the people of the globe.

3^rd speech 19/09/1893:  Topic-  Paper on Hinduism – In his third speech he spoke about Vedas. Swamiji explained about Accommodation and Spirituality that one would find in Hinduism. Swamiji made everybody understood  the concept of God, soul and body in Hinduism

4^th speech 20/09/1893:  Topic – Religion is not a crying need for India – In that speech he placed in front of the world that Religion was not the important need of Indians. Instead of sending missionaries to India for spreading religion, it would had been better if AID were provided that would impoverished the masses in India.

     

     Art institute of Chicago where swami Vivekananda gave his speech,

   The stairs of the institute has the writings of Swamiji’s first day speech

Swamiji also stressed for Universal religion, where all the religion would remain but there would be ample scope for every religion to grow, in Swamiji’s words there would be infinite space for the development of every religion.

5^TH speech 26/09/1893:  Topic – Buddhism in fulfillment of Hinduism- Swami Vivekananda in his speech explained about Buddhism and its origin. He also made it clear in front of everybody that Hinduism could not live without Buddhism and nor Buddhism could live without Hinduism.

6^th speech 27/09/1893:  Topic – Concluding Speech- That was Swamiji’s concluding speech in the concluding day of the parliament of religions. Swamiji was invited to address the final session. Swamiji in his bold voice made it clear that the parliament of religions was not for the victory of one religion and destruction of other and each religion should assimilate the spirit of other religion and should preserve its individuality and grow. He stressed that Religions should help and not to fight.

Swamiji wanted that the science of the west and spirituality of India should combine together for the progress of the world.

Swamiji thus gave to the west, the nectar of spirituality of India and values from our Vedas and in return Americans  also did not fail to play their role. Within a short period of time Swami Vivekananda had thousands of Disciple in America and England. People of America showered him with so much love and respect that none before him might have reached that pinnacle. Roads were named after him, Art institute of Chicago where swami Vivekananda gave his speech, the stairs of the institute has the writings of Swamiji’s first day speech.

Later on, to commemorate Swami Vivekananda’s iconic speech that propagated religious tolerance and harmony, Universal brotherhood day was coined. It is observed on  11^th September around the world to honour the historic speech delivered by Swami Vivekananda on this day in 1893.

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