Swami Vivekananda was born on 12 January 1863 and his pre-monastic name was Narendranath Datta in Kolkotta
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Narendra was mischievous and restless as a child, and his parents often had difficulty controlling him. His mother said, "I prayed to Shiva for a son and he has sent me one of his demons"
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He was a monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world
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When Swami Ji became a monk from Narendra, his name was Swami Vividishanand, but before moving to Chicago, he changed his name to Vivekananda
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He is an eminent orator known for his speech which began with the words ‘Sisters and brothers of America’ while introducing Hinduism at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893
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His speech was so impactful that an American newspaper described him as "an orator by divine right and undoubtedly the greatest figure at the Parliament"
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Swami ji founded the Ramakrishna Math, which provides spiritual training for monastics and householder devotees, and the Ramakrishna Mission, which provides charity, social work and education
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He founded Vedanta Societies in New York and San Francisco and delivered hundreds of lectures across the United States, England and Europe
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Swami Vivekananda predicted his own demise, reiterating that he would not live beyond 40 years of age died on 4 July 1902 at the age of 39 in Belur Math
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Swami Vivekananda Jayanti is celebrated as National Youth Day or Rashtriya Yuva Diwas in India and aims to share his thoughts and principles among the youth of India
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