Swami Vivekananda (1863 - 1902) was a preacher of 'Divinity in Man'. Born Narendranath Dutta on 12 January, 1863 in Calcutta, he gave clear indications of self-realisation in his early days. A youth of guts and gumption - with an iron determination and a fiery zeal to seek the highest knowledge of the self, he met Sri Ramakrishna at the Dakshineswar Kali temple in 1881; the incident that channelised himself later on towards the greatest cause of humanity.

The Great Master inculcated in his foremost disciple the presence of an all-pervading stream of consciousness in every being, the immanence of divinity in all existence in this world. An ardent believer in Advaita, Vivekananda also realised & recognised the dualistic as well as qualified non-dualistic faiths that were lived and approved by the Master. He presented the quintessence of Vedanta in the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago , America , and, the rest is history. In the following years the 'Cyclonic Hindoo Monk' transfigured the world; hitherto unaware of its 'spirit free, blest & eternal'.