On the solemn occasion of the 132nd anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s historic address at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said it was a watershed moment which emphasised harmony and universal brotherhood. He further added that it was truly among the most celebrated and inspiring moments in our history.
Shri Modi in a post on X wrote:
“This speech by Swami Vivekananda, delivered in Chicago on this day in 1893, is widely regarded as a watershed moment. Emphasising harmony and universal brotherhood, he passionately spoke about the ideals of Indian culture on the world stage. It is truly among the most celebrated and inspiring moments in our history.
Source:- PIB, Posted On: 11 SEP 2025 8:49AM by PIB Delhi
Speech By Swami Vivekananda’s
At the World’s
Parliament of Religions, Chicago, 11 September 1893
Sisters and Brothers of
America,
It fills my heart with
joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you
have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in
the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you
in the name of the millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and
sects.
My thanks, also, to
some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the
Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the
honour of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong
to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal
acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all
religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the
persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am
proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the
Israelites, who came to southern India and took refuge with us in the very year
in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud
to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the
remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few
lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood,
which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: ‘As the different
streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the
sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different
tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.’
The present convention,
which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a
vindication, a declaration to the world, of the wonderful doctrine preached in
the Gita: ‘Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men
are struggling through paths which in the end lead to Me.’ Sectarianism,
bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this
beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often
and often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to
despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far
more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that
the bell that tolled this morning in honour of this convention may be the
death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the
pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the
same goal.
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