Swami Vivekananda, born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world, and the father of modern Indian nationalism who is credited with raising interfaith awareness and bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion.
Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati, born Balakrishna Menon; 8 May 1916 – 3 August 1993, was a Hindu spiritual leader and a teacher. In 1951, he founded Chinmaya Mission, a worldwide nonprofit organisation, in order to spread the knowledge of Advaita Vedanta, the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and other ancient Hindu scriptures. Through the Mission, Chinmayananda spearheaded a global Hindu spiritual and cultural renaissance that popularised these spiritual texts and values, teaching them in English all across India and abroad.
The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, though this is not a uniform practice. This theory began in the 18th century with the goal of recognizing the relative levels of civility in different societies, but this practice has since fallen into disrepute in many contemporary cultures.
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels.
"Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration" is a 1993 document by members of the Parliament of the World's Religions that details ethical commitments shared by many of the world's religious, spiritual, and cultural traditions. It is the Parliament's signature document.
Yehuda Stolov, an Israeli, is a founder and the executive director of the Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA). He currently resides in Jerusalem with his wife, Lia and his three kids.
Vedanta Societies refer to organizations, groups, or societies formed for the study, practice, and propagation of Vedanta, the culmination of Vedas. More specifically, they "comprise the American arm of the Indian Ramakrishna movement" and refer to branches of the Ramakrishna Order located outside India.
The Baháʼí Faith in Norway began with contact between traveling Scandinavians with early Persian believers of the Baháʼí Faith in the mid-to-late 19th century. Baháʼís first visited Scandinavia in the 1920s following ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's, then head of the religion, request outlining Norway among the countries Baháʼís should pioneer to and the first Baháʼí to settle in Norway was Johanna Schubartt. Following a period of more Baháʼí pioneers coming to the country, Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assemblies spread across Norway while the national community eventually formed a Baháʼí National Spiritual Assembly in 1962. The 2008 national census reported around 1,000 Baháʼís in the country however the Association of Religion Data Archives estimated some 2700 Baháʼís in 2010.
The Baháʼí Faith first arrived in Scotland during the first decade of the 20th century, and in 1913 'Abdu’l-Bahá made a three-day visit to Edinburgh at the invitation of Mrs Jane E. Whyte, wife of Dr Alexander Whyte, Moderator of the General Assembly Free Church of Scotland. Over the following decades the Baháʼí Faith spread across Scotland, with Baháʼi communities now established in most cities across the country and many of the Scottish islands, including Orkney, Shetland, Skye and Isle of Lewis.
Donald Hudson 'Don' Frew is a figure in American Wicca, the Covenant of the Goddess, national and global interfaith dialogue, and Pagan studies.
John Henry Barrows (1847–1902) was an American clergyman of First Presbyterian Church (Chicago) and Chairman of the 1893 General Committee on the Congress of Religions. He claimed that Abraham Lincoln had become a Christian in 1863.
Swami Vivekananda represented India and Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions (1893). India Celebrates National youth day on birth anniversary of the Great Swami. This was the first World's Parliament of Religions, and it was held from 11 to 27 September 1893. Delegates from all over the world joined this Parliament. In 2012 a three-day world conference was organized to commemorate 150th birth anniversary of Vivekananda.
Swami Vivekananda was an Indian Hindu monk. He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world. The 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda was celebrated all over India and in different countries in the world. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports of India decided to observe 2013 as the year of 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Year-long events and programs were organised by different branches of Ramakrishna Math, Ramakrishna Mission, central government and different state governments of India, education institutions, youth groups etc. Bengali film director Tutu (Utpal) Sinha made a film The Light: Swami Vivekananda as a tribute to Swami Vivekananda on his 150th birth anniversary. The movie was released on 23 August 2013.
"Religion not the crying need of India" was a lecture delivered by Indian Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda on 20 September 1893 at the Parliament of the World's Religions, Chicago. In the lecture, Vivekananda criticized Christian missionaries for ignoring the needs of starving people in India. He said that Indians did not need any religious education, as there was already a surfeit of religion in the East. Instead, Vivekananda pushed for humanitarian support for the hungry.
"Buddhism, the Fulfilment of Hinduism" is a lecture delivered by Indian Hindu monk and expounder Swami Vivekananda on 26 September 1893 at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago. In this lecture, he expressed his opinion that "Buddhism was the fulfilment of Hinduism."
Vedanta Society of New York (VSNY) was the first Vedanta Society founded by the Indian Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda in New York in November 1894. In 1897, Swami Abhedananda, another disciple of Ramakrishna, came to the United States and took charge of the society. He was the president of the society until 1921. The Vedanta Society is affiliated with the Ramakrishna Math religious monastic order and the Ramakrishna Mission.
Swami Vivekananda, the nineteenth-century Indian Hindu monk, is considered one of the most influential people of modern India and Hinduism. Rabindranath Tagore suggested to study Vivekananda's works to learn about India. Indian independence activist Subhas Chandra Bose regarded Vivekananda as his spiritual teacher. Mahatma Gandhi said that after reading the works of Vivekananda, his love for his nation became a thousand-fold.
The Millennium Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders was held in New York City between August 28–31, 2000. The meeting recognized the importance of religion to world peace and faith leaders’ commitment to peacekeeping, poverty relief, and environmental conservation. It preceded the Millennium Summit, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the United Nations (UN).
Ahead of the COP28 summit between political leaders of the world, the Muslim Council of Elders in partnership with the COP28 Presidency, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Catholic Church, and under the patronage of the UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, organized a Global Faith Leaders Summit convening 28 faith leaders to address climate change. The two-day summit, held on 6 - 7 November 2023, was hosted in Abu Dhabi gathering different faith leaders with climate experts to fight climate change.
