The greatness of Swami Vivekanand is reflected in his numerous books and teachings. He was a yogic scholar and had mastered the techniques of meditation. His deep insight into the human mind, his views on the need for proper understanding of religion among the people and development of right human values has formed an indelible and unforgettable impression on our thinking.

Swami Vivekanand was born on January 12, 1863 in Calcutta. He was a precocious child. His affinity towards meditation manifested itself very early in his life. In childhood Vivekanand, was called Narendra. One day, he was meditating with friends. A huge cobra snake came there and went close to the boys. Narendra's friends were frightened and ran away. They started shouting and warned Narendra about the presence of the snake but Narendra remained serene and motionless in deep bliss. Later when the snake went away Narendra said, "I know nothing of the snake or anything else. I was enjoying inexpressible joy in meditation.".

Swami Vivekanand's guru was Shri Ramakrishna, who taught him 'Transcendental Consciousness'. Through the teachings and blessing of his guru Vivekanand experienced 'Nirvikalpa Samadhi' which was the supreme realization of the Vedanta philosophy.

On May 31, 1893, Vivekanand went as a representative of Hinduism to the Parliament of Religions, held at Chicago in the United States of America. His message was found to be so powerful and universal that all the participants declared that, 'Vivekanand is the representative of all the religions of the world, as he proclaims the supreme message of the Vedantas.' The message propounded by Vivekanand had as its central idea -' We are all children of god, we share immortal bliss and we are holy and perfect.

' Swami Vivekanad used to say "You do not know who you are. You imagine yourself to have a particular identity due to the name given to you. This is your fundamental and fatal mistake. Your self-esteem, which means your opinion of yourself, is also wrong. You are Brahman or eternal God. You cannot find out who you are because of ignorance. Pleasure is transitory and causes an attachment to material things and therefore lead to misery. There is a God within all of us. The emotions of anger, hatred, envy and fear are normal emotions. Human beings have desires. When you cannot fulfill these desires you feel frustrated.

Man should forget the individual identity of himself thereby forgetting 'I' element from personality. God gives his followers immense love.

The Swami urged that man should realise that God dwells within him only and when this vital fact is ignored or forgotten, man becomes restive and frustrated. According to the Swamiji, meditation is a bridge between God and man.

There are numerous meditation techniques and they all have the same intention. 'Maya' or cosmic illusion had to be banished. Meditation connectes man to god. It brings bliss and peace to man. In the modern world man is burdened with stress, pollution and frustrations. Man experiences ill health and also loneliness. An oppressive feeling of confusion engulfs man. Man seeks peace, good health and happiness.

The Swami used to say "Meditation is the answer to save man from discontent and is the salvation for his soul." Through his teachings, Swami Vivekanand proved emphatically that meditation should be made an integral part of everyone's lives. He was a great preacher of the universal truth contained in the Vedas and over a century ago paved the way for future psychologists and religious preachers.

His motto in life was "Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached."