In case you don't know, PBS showed a documentary on Swami Vivekananda in America, calling him America's first guru. As their write-up said,
"America’s First Guruis the compelling story of how a young and charismatic
Indian monk named Swami Vivekananda, now nearly forgotten, forever changed American popular and spiritual culture at the first World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago. Vivekananda ultimately put in motion ideas that changed the collective conversation and became America's First Guru."
We would argue about him being forgotten, but it's actually a pretty good documentary on Swami Vivekananda. The actor who played the swami is an excellent actor, but unfortunately is not Swami Vivekananda
himself.
Click on the linkto see for yourself how PBS introduced Swami Vivekananda to the West.
To browse the many titles we have on and by Swami Vivekananda, click on this link
Swami Vivekananda is one of modern India's most influential philosophers.
Typically, scholars have viewed him either as a modern-day exponent of Sankara's Advaita Vedanta or as a "Neo-Vedantin" influenced more by Western ideas than indigenous Indian traditions.
In Swami Vivekananda's Vedāntic Cosmopolitanism, Swami Medhananda rejects these prevailing approaches to offer a new interpretation of Vivekananda's philosophy, highlighting its originality, contemporary relevance, and cross-cultural significance.
Realizing God: From the Lectures of Swami Prabhavananda
Swami Prabhavananda lived in the United States for over 50 years. His primary focus was to present Vedanta to Westerners. He adopted Western clothing, moved freely in Western society, and was the only one of his peers at the time to become an American citizen. He founded both the Vedanta Society of Southern California and the Vedanta Society of Portland.. He had an enormous literary output that
even today continues to move people and enhance their spiritual life.
