Swami Vivekananda, the great patriot-monk of India, was born in Calcutta in the year 1863. In his early life he was known as Narendra Nath Dutta. He graduated from Scottish Church College in 1883. While he was a student, he felt a great urge to realise God. He met many saints and religious people but none could satisfy him. Then he came in contact with Sri Ramkrishna who answered all his questions. Sri Ramktshna was God incarnate. Naren was deeply impressed and later he became his disciple. Sri Ramkrishna passed away in 1886. Naren became a monk now. He toured the whole of India and saw for himself the distress of the Indian people and devoted himself to their service. In 1893 he attended the Parliament of Religions in Chicago, America and upheld the Vedantic philosophy of ancient India. He came back to India and founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission at Belur on the western bank. of the Hooghly. It preaches the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was great as a saint, but as a patriot, he was greater still.
