who is swami vivekananda?

Answer 1

Swami Vivekananda was the foremost disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (they both hailed from Bengal) and a very eloquent exponent of Vedanta, the wisdom of the Vedas. He was the first modern and possibly the best interpreter of Vedanta to the West. He was active in the last decades of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th. He created a tremendous stir in Chicago at the World Congress of Religions (I think that was the occasion). His spiritual mission was allied to social reform, humanitarian and charitable work. He was not a political leader in the sense Nehru was but all the same contributed a great deal to India's sense of itself as a nation, at once modern and ancient. He would rank as one of the greatest Indians of modern times. There are a considerable number of books by him and about him. He died young. They say, " Those whom the godes love die young."

Answer 2

Have a look here: http://www.ramakrishna.org/sv.htm