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Who was the spiritual guru of Swami Vivekananda?

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Answer: Option D — Ramakrishna Paramahansa

Detailed Solution

Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886), born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay at Kamarpukur in Bengal, was a mystic and saint who served as a priest at the Kali temple at Dakshineswar, near Calcutta. He taught that God can be realised through sincere devotion, and that all religions are different paths leading to the same God ("Jato mat, tato path", "as many faiths, so many paths"). He practised Hindu, Islamic and Christian forms of devotion to experience this truth.

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), born Narendranath Datta in Calcutta, was a brilliant student with a questioning mind. He met Ramakrishna in 1881 and asked him whether he had seen God. Ramakrishna replied that he had, and could show him too. Narendranath became his most devoted disciple. After Ramakrishna's death in 1886, he became a monk and took the name Vivekananda.

Vivekananda is best known for his speech at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago on 11 September 1893, which began with the words "Sisters and Brothers of America". He presented Vedanta and Hindu philosophy to the Western world and gained international fame.

In 1897, he founded the Ramakrishna Mission at Belur, near Calcutta, to carry out social service, such as running schools, hospitals and relief work, alongside spiritual teaching. Its motto, "Atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha" ("for one's own salvation and for the welfare of the world"), combines spirituality with service. He stressed "service to man is service to God". The Belur Math is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission.

Vivekananda's birthday, 12 January, is celebrated as National Youth Day in India since 1985. He died at Belur in 1902, at the age of 39.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Dayananda Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj (1875).
  • ✗Keshab Chandra Sen was a leader of the Brahmo Samaj who founded the Brahmo Samaj of India (1866).
  • ✗Debendranath Tagore revived the Brahmo Samaj and founded the Tattvabodhini Sabha (1839).

Quick tip

Remember: Vivekananda = disciple of Ramakrishna (Dakshineswar), Chicago speech (11 September 1893), Ramakrishna Mission (1897, Belur); National Youth Day = 12 January.

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Socio-Religious Reform Movements — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Socio-Religious Reform Movements, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

In the 19th century, reformers worked to remove social evils and revive Indian society. This topic covers organisations such as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Theosophical Society, Satyashodhak Samaj and the Aligarh Movement, along with their founders and the social reforms they achieved. Questions usually ask who founded an organisation and when, or which reformer is linked to a reform. For example, Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj and campaigned against sati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar championed widow remarriage, and Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj. A table of organisation, founder, year and place covers most questions. Practise the socio-religious reform movements questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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