Swami Vivekananda and the Renaissance of IndiaVivek Ranjan ShrivastavaThe soil of India has always been the cradle of great souls. Whenever darkness thickened over society, someone appeared like a lamp to show the way. At the close of the nineteenth century, when Indian society was submerged in slavery, superstition, and a deep sense of inferiority, a young man arose whose luminous thoughts, fiery voice, and dynamic life awakened a new consciousness. That young man was Narendranath, later known as Swami Vivekananda.He was born on January 12, 1863, in Calcutta. From early childhood he was radiant, inquisitive, and passionately engaged in