Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda on his death anniversary and said that he taught the whole world the lesson of fearlessness.

“He (Swami Vivekananda) taught the whole world the lesson of fearlessness, showed the path of compassion, and taught brotherhood!” Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi “Respectful salutations and tributes to the great spiritual master, Swami Vivekananda on his death anniversary,” he added in the tweet.

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Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also took to Twitter and paid tribute. He said that Swami Vivekananda made Indian civilization and culture famous all over the world.

“Millions of salutes to Swami Vivekananda, the great thinker and source of inspiration for the youth, who made Indian civilization and culture famous all over the world,” Kharge tweeted in Hindi. In his tweet, he gave excerpts from Vivekananda’s speech at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago, USA, which, he said, is very relevant even today.
“On his death anniversary. Some excerpts from his historic speech given in the year 1893 at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago, USA, which is very relevant even today.

‘Communalism, bigotry and its dreadful descendant dogma have long held the earth in its grip. They have filled the earth with violence. How many times has this earth turned red with blood? So many civilizations have been destroyed and don’t know how many countries have been destroyed. Had it not been for these terrible demons, today’s human society would have been far more advanced, but now their time is over. I sincerely hope that the conch shell of this convention today will destroy all dogmas, all forms of affliction, whether by sword or pen and all ill-will among men,” Kharge tweeted.

Swami Vivekananda introduced the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and yoga to the Western world. He became popular in the Western world after his famous speech at the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. He was also the chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission.

He was considered a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India and brought it to the status of major world religion in the late 19th century. Swami Vivekananda’s birthday on January 12 is also observed as National Youth Day in the country.