Congresswoman Sonia Gandhi today said Swami Vivekananda’s slogan of unity in her historic Chicago speech was as relevant today as it was in 1893 and should be the charter of the way forward in what she described as the current atmosphere of intolerance and hatred. Saluting Vivekananda on the 125th year of her speech at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, she said her message that bigotry, bigotry and bigotry had owned the land was still as relevant as ever.
“While promoting the idea of the unity of all religions, Swamiji promoted with equal zeal the idea of the equality of all human beings,” she said.
Recalling that Vivekananda spoke of both tolerance and universal acceptance in her 1893 speech, she said, “Today, more than ever, we are engulfed in the same challenges of prejudice that Swamiji spoke of.” “In today’s atmosphere of intolerance and hatred, Swamiji’s message should be Magna Carta to move forward,” she said in a post on the occasion. The Congresswoman said she hopes her inspiring thoughts will continue to guide everyone, especially the country’s youth. “His bugle call – ‘Arise! Awake! And don’t stop until the goal is reached! – was both a call for spiritual and political liberation,” Gandhi said.
Paying tribute to the spiritual leader, she added that he traveled to Chicago in 1893 to attend the world parliament as a representative of Hinduism and India where he quoted eloquently from the “Bhagvad Gita”, saying, “Sectarianism, bigotry and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful land. They have filled the land with violence, flooded it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent entire nations to despair.” She described this “universal” message as “time-invariant.” “It is as relevant today as it was over 124 years ago,” Gandhi said.
The Congress leader said the Chicago speech was a proud moment in Indian history and heralded the arrival of one of India’s greatest spiritual leaders on the world stage. “It is a profound honor for all Indians to remember the enlightened words and to pay tribute to this great noble son of India, who by his words and his work inspired millions of people in our country as well than all over the world,” she said. .
