Nationalistic and Patriotic Appeal of Swami Vivekananda

[Campus]

The Ramakrishna Mission stands for religious and social reform, but takes its inspiration from the ancient culture of India. It holds up pure Vedantic doctrine as an ideal and aims at the development of the highest spirituality inherent in man. Vivekananda who had imbibed in himself Raja RamMohan's rationalism and Dayananda Saraswathi's spirituality, was highly pragmatic in his approach and hence was able to give a dynamic leadership to the organization. In Swami Vivekananda the patriotic and spiritual impulses mingled among the nations of the world. He was, to quote the words of Sir Valentine Cirol, "the first Hindu whose personality won demonstrative recognition abroad for India's ancient civilization and for the new born claim to nationhood". He was a man who believed in humanity over self-centeredness and always worked to enhance the quality of life of the human race. Understanding the pain and ignorance of each other and to help each other was the prime trait of being a nationalist and patriotic.