Swami Vivekananda’s journey to Chicago
Swami Vivekananda is considered a key figure in the introduction of Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the “Western” world, mainly in America and Europe and is also credited with raising interfaith awareness. Vivekananda is considered to be a major force in the revival of modern India. He is perhaps best known for his inspiring speech which began: “Sisters and Brothers of America, through which he introduced his religion at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893. It took almost 4 months to reach Chicago and he was there to spread message of Global Peace
Following is the synopsizes of his speech at Chicago in 1893
“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!” and “Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths that in the end lead to Me.”
Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt March
The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha began with the Dandi March on March 12, 1930, and was an important part of the Indian independence movement. The Salt Satyagraha campaign was based upon Gandhi’s principles of nonviolent protest called satyagraha, which he loosely translated as “truth-force. Literally, it is formed from the Sanskrit wordssatya, “truth”, and agraha, “asking for.” In early 1930 the Indian National Congress chose satyagraha as their main tactic for winning Indian independence from British rule and appointed Gandhi to organize the campaign. Gandhi chose the 1882 British Salt Act as the first target of satyagraha. The Salt March to Dandi, and the beating by British police of hundreds of nonviolent protesters in Dharasana, which received worldwide news coverage, demonstrated the effective use of civil disobedience as a technique for fighting social and political injustice. The satyagraha teachings of Gandhi and the March to Dandi had a significant influence on American civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., and his fight for civil rights for blacks and other minority groups in the 1960s.
Che Guevara- The motorcycle Trip
Ernesto “Che” Guevara, then a 23-year-old medical student, and his friend Alberto Granado, a 29-year-old biochemist left Buenos Aires, Argentina, in January 1952 on the back of a sputtering single cylinder 1939 Norton500cc dubbed La Poderosa (“The Mighty One”), they desired to explore the South America they only knew from books.[1] During the formative odyssey Guevara is transformed by witnessing the social injustices of exploited mine workers, persecuted communists, ostracized lepers, and the tattered descendants of a once-great Incan civilization. By journey’s end they travel for a symbolic nine months by motorcycle, steamship, raft, horse, bus, and hitchhiking, covering more than 8,000 kilometers across places such as the Andes, Atacama Desert, and the Amazon River Basin.
Sardar Patel’s Bardoli Satyagraha
The Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928, in the state of Gujarat, India during the period of the British Raj, was a major episode of civil disobedience and revolt in the Indian Independence Movement. Its success gave rise to Vallabhbhai Patel as one of the greatest leaders of the independence struggle.