"JDU must not interfere in BJP affairs'."
Venkaiah Naidu
"JDU must not interfere in BJP affairs'."
Venkaiah Naidu Swami Vivekananda with other Religious Leaders at First Religions Parliament – Chicago, USA 1893
The following is the full text of Swami Vivekananda’s speech at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago on September 11, 1893:
Sisters and Brothers of America,
It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. l thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of the millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.
My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honour of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration.
I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true.
I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.
I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to the southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny.
I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings:
As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to thee.
The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world, of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.
Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now.
But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honour of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.
Reader
September 11, 2012 at 2:47 pm
Great to read, thanks for publishing!
kdpgrahi
September 11, 2012 at 10:15 pm
Happy to see the rare photo
Twitanic(Anil Kohli)
September 11, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Thank you for placing the speech which can be heard again and again.
These are the thing that make you so different from others in media.
d2thdr
September 11, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Thank you.
Padmanabhan Sogathur
September 11, 2012 at 10:38 pm
Thank you for placing this speech in web . It was an phenomenal experience
S Swarup
September 12, 2012 at 10:58 am
Delighted to hear the speech of Swami Vivekananda!
Lakshmikanth
September 12, 2012 at 1:22 pm
thanks for placing such a good thing
Dwarakanath
September 12, 2012 at 3:20 pm
Dear All,
please note that the audio was not recorded during the original Parliament of World Religions.
In fact, the only recording of Swamiji every done was a debate in the Mysore Palace – between Swamiji and the Pundits of the Palace. – And it has been lost due to a fire accident.
Yet, real appreciations for whoever made such nice recording to make Swamiji’s speech popular.
Pralay Kumar Bal
September 12, 2012 at 10:19 pm
Hindus should revisit this speech till the burning hell is closed for us.
Pralay Kumar Bal
September 13, 2012 at 11:36 am
Marx in Bengal.
Swami Vivekanand in Gujarat.
Renaissance- from Bengal to Gujarat?
Pralay Kumar Bal
November 9, 2012 at 11:03 am
My life is completed after listening to audio speech of Swami Vivekananda !