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Digvijay Diwas: Digvijay Diwas is observed on September 11 annually. The day is an initiative by PM Narendra Modi to celebrate the iconic speech of Swami Vivekananda at the Chicago event.
Digvijay Diwas: 11 September
Digvijay Diwas: Digvijay Diwas is observed annually on September 11 to mark the historic speech of Swami Vivekananda in Chicago. In 1893, he attended the Parliament of the World’s Religions as a representative of India and Hinduism. The inaugural World’s Parliament of Religions took place from September 11 to September 27 1893. It was attended by delegates from all across the globe. The year 2023 marks the 130th anniversary of the first World Parliament of Religion and the impeccable address of Swami Vivekananda.
In the Parliament, Swami Vivekananda represented Hinduism, and his opening words became well-known and are frequently cited around the world. The speech delivered by Swami Vivekananda at the Chicago event has been one of the most significant ones by an Indian outside for 130 years. Here is the complete text of Vivekananda’s speech’s introduction:
Swami Vivekananda’s Speech at the Parliament of World’s Religions in Chicago
Sisters and Brothers of America,
It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome that 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 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 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 comes; 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.
Swami Vivekanand began his speech with a salutation, “Sisters and brothers of America!”. He tried to explain the reason for disagreement between different sects and religions with the story of Koop Mandook. His address included the concepts of Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism and the emergence of Christianity. With a small hint of criticism, he also mentioned that religion was not the only and most important need of Indians. During his last and final address, he acknowledged the crowd with an appeal “Help and not Fight,” “Assimilation and not Destruction,” “Harmony and Peace and not Dissension.”
Important Quotes From Swami Vivekananda’s Speech at Chicago:
- I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance.
- 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.
- Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth.
- It is an insult to a starving people to offer them religion; it is an insult to a starving man to teach him metaphysics. In India, a priest that preached for money would lose caste and be spat upon by the people.
- 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.
In conclusion, the Digvijay Diwas celebration was an initiative taken by PM Narendra Modi in 2010. In his personal blog, he wrote, “This was the Day on which Swami Vivekananda gave the world-famous speech in 1893 at Chicago in the World Parliament of Religions. We are celebrating it as “Digvijay Divas”; Swami Vivekananda conquered the world on this day with his spirituality in practice and that too at a time when India was not even independent. It was for the first time that the message of universal Brotherhood and its proper understanding was given to the Western world.”
Happy Digvijay Diwas!
