CHICAGO: Over 50 Ramakrishna Mission monks and nuns from all over the world are gathering from November 8-11 in Chicago for a massive commemoration of Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary hosted by the Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago (VVS).
The program also celebrates the 120th Anniversary of the 1893 World Parliament of Religions (WPR) where the Swami introduced Hinduism to the West amidst thunderous applause and which laid the historic foundations for contemporary interfaith dialogue. VVS is a branch of the Ramakrishna Mission, which has over 175 centers throughout the world.
The main celebration, “Chicago Calling,” is at the downtown Chicago Hilton from 9 am to 5 pm on November 9 and 10. The Hilton is actually built on the site of the Lyon’s home, where Swami Vivekananda stayed during the WPR. On Saturday Nov. 9 the “International Vedanta Devotees’ Conference” will take place in the Grand Ballroom. Monks and nuns, including the General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission, will speak on various aspects of Swami Vivekananda.
On Sunday Nov 10, the 120th Anniversary of WPR will be celebrated in the International Ballroom. The program will include speakers from six different faiths, as well as experts on Swami Vivekananda and the Ramakrishna Movement in America. Both days will provide lunch and music.
On Nov 11, there will be “Remembering Swami Vivekananda,” a tour of places associated with the Swami which will end with a brief program at the Art Institute of Chicago, where the 1893 WPR was held.
On Nov. 8 there will be an “International Ramakrishna Mission Monastic Conference” at the Vivekananda Retreat in Ganges, MI. The same evening, there will also be a program at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago in Lemont, IL.
The 1893 WPR, a part of the Columbian Exposition, was the first interfaith gathering ever held, and the entire interfaith movement, which seeks to establish harmony among religions, began right here in Chicago. It had a tremendous impact on both India and America as Swami was the first monk to bring India’s ancient spiritual teachings to the United States.
Every schoolchild in India learns of his historic visit to Chicago. It is ironic that the opening day of the Parliament was September 11, 1893, exactly 108 years before 9/11 (2001), which unleashed a “conflict of civilizations” underpinned by the violent fanaticisms that the Swami from India had so clairvoyantly denounced.
The registration fee for the two-day event at the Hilton Chicago is $100 for two days, $50 for one day, and $25 for students/children.
Asian Media USA
