Vivekananda had an amazing reading speed: 6 unknown facts about this spiritual leader
“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. I 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 millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects....”
These memorable lines from Swami Vivekananda’s speech at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 took the world by storm. Born on January 12, 1863 in the then capital of British-led India, Calcutta, he was the son of Vishwanath Dutta and Bhubaneswari Devi. This spiritual leader was a devout disciple of Shri Ramkrishna Paramhansa. He is credited for promoting interfaith awareness worldwide. To honour his legacy, Vivekananda’s birth anniversary is observed as National Youth Day in India. As we celebrate the 159th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda today, here are some lesser-known facts about him.
Vivekanamda’s pre-monastic name was different
Before he chose monkhood, Swami Vivekananda had a different name. He was born as Narendranath Dutta into a progressive, aristocratic Bengali family.
He had a difficult childhood
Swami Vivekananda was one of the nine siblings in his family. His father worked as an attorney at the Calcutta High Court but unfortunately passed away when Swamiji was still very young. This left the family in a state of poverty. In fact, young Narendranath would often lie on occasions about being invited for lunch or dinner to reduce the burden on his family.
Swamiji had an impressive speed-reading ability
Even as a child, Swami had mastered his skills in speed reading. A voracious reader, he was known to borrow multiple books at a go from the library and immediately return them the next day. To test him, the librarian chose one of the books that he had read the preceding day and asked him a random question. No doubt, he left the librarian stunned with the correct answer.
Vivekananda met Ramkrishna by chance
In a literature class at General Assembly’s Institution, a a professor had recommended all students to visit Ramkrishna to get into the depths of the world of ‘trance’. This prompted Vivekananda, popularly called Naren back then, to visit him in Dakshineswar.
He was a music lover
Young Naren had an affinity from a very young age. In fact, he was a qualified classical musician, who got trained in Dhrupad under two music maestros of India, Beni Gupta and Ahmad Khan. Vivekananda could play various musical instruments including sitar and dholak.
Vivekananda had predicted that he won’t live beyond 40
Swami Vivekananda devoted his life towards helping the needy and unprivileged around him. However, he did so to the extent that it affected his own health. In the 39 years of his life, he suffered from quite a few ailments like diabetes, asthma, kidney and liver problems, etc. In fact, he himself had predicted that he would not live beyond 40.