Swami Vivekananda. ... Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He is perhaps best known for his speech which began with the words - "Sisters and brothers of America ...," in which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893.
That is how Wikipedia introduces this man. I came across his writings in the 60's and, re-reading him today reminds how profound his teaching is.
You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.
He offered his knowledge and experience to the world, but sadly, so few have acknowledged the profundity of his teachings. He teaches that Yoga (spiritual union with the creative power) is a science as exact as any and brings practical examples from astronomy to psychology. Basically, to me, he reminds me that peace, joy, love are attainable only within a person and that it is the inside we neglect, believing the external world brings us these feelings. No, all feelings take place inside a person, in fact we only see the external world through the bodily senses: all the action, including the interpretation of the sensory input, takes place inside us.
When I read his treatise on Raja Yoga (I've added a link to a site where this can be downloaded as a PDF for free), I'm struck how up-to-date his words are. I'm also struck by the parallels to current thinking in the world of Quantum Physics, something I want to write about too.
I can only encourage anyone seeking to get away from existential neurosis to read and ponder his words. It really is a pleasure!
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