Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), the ideal of modern India represents the very spirit of the resurgent nation and the Indo-Anglian Prose was immensely enriched by the religious writings of this great ‘Sannyashi-the Hindu Harricane’as he was often referred to. He was one of the greatest makers of modern India. He electrified the youth of India by his frank, forth right and bold utterances, like “you will be nearer to heaven through playing football than through prayers”; or “what i want are the muscles of iron and nerves of steel”, and thus, he wanted Indians to be strong and self reliant. To his countrymen, his message was to move away from the mediaeval superstitions; “our religion is in the kitchen, our God is in the cooking pot” and he wanted Indians to be strong enough to come out of all sorts of meanness.
After the death of his Guru, Sri Ramakrishna, he felt the urge of going to the west: the unknown monk of India suddenly became famous when he delivered a lecture at the Parliament of Religions at Chicago in 1873.His deep spiritual insight, his love and sympathy for humanity, his fervid eloquence and above all, his perception of God in all creations made an irresistible appeal to all who came in contact with him. He made a mesmerising effect upon all the people of America by addressing them as “my brothers and sisters of America”, and there he strone to promote peace and human brotherhood on the spiritual foundation of the Vedantic oneness of existence.
As a prophet of Hindu religion he felt the necessity of at least four Yoga and Rajya yoga, all of which are outstanding treaties of Hindu philosophy.
In addition to that, his lectures on the upliftment of human soul, his invaluable letters written to his friends, his guideline to the spiritual seekers of truth are gem like that opened a new vistas to the Indo-Anglian literature. His sermons on education and religion are worth quoting here: “Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man” and “religion is the manifestation of the divinity already in man”.
Thus, Vivekananda’s life and teaching are of inestimable value to the West for an understanding of the mind of Asia. Some of his poems like The Songs of the Sannayasi (1895), Kali, The Mother (1898), The Song of the Samadhi, To the Fourth of July (1898), Peace (1898), A Blessing (1900), etc. are of immense significance in Indo –Anglian literature and thus, he becomes famous and considered as one of the great Trio, the other two being Sri Aurovinda and Rabindranath Tagore.