Q 01/05

Swami Vivekananda was born in Calcutta on 12 January 1863, one of nine siblings, under which name?

A) Narendranath Datta

B) Gadadhar Chattopadhyay

C) Keshab Chandra Sen

D) Debendranath Tagore

Answer · why

A) Narendranath Datta

Narendranath Datta, shortened to Naren at home, had a grandfather, Durgacharan, who left his family to become a monk at twenty-five.

Q 02/05

Which word in Wordsworth's The Excursion led Professor Hastie to send Vivekananda's class to Ramakrishna?

A) Ecstasy

B) Vision

C) Trance

D) Rapture

Answer · why

C) Trance

Trance was the word Hastie was explaining in a literature class when he suggested the students meet the mystic; Vivekananda first met Ramakrishna in 1...

Q 03/05

The 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago where Vivekananda spoke was staged as part of which larger event?

A) World's Columbian Exposition

B) Centennial Exposition

C) Pan-American Exposition

D) Louisiana Purchase Exposition

Answer · why

A) World's Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago's world's fair, hosted what is called the first organised interfaith gathering, running from 11 to 27 Septem...

Q 04/05

Vivekananda's 'Sisters and brothers of America' greeting in Chicago reportedly drew a standing ovation of what length?

A) Thirty seconds

B) Two minutes

C) Five minutes

D) Ten minutes

Answer · why

B) Two minutes

Two minutes of applause from a crowd of seven thousand greeted the opening words, after which he spoke for 'the most ancient order of monks in the wor...

Q 05/05

Who suggested the name 'Vivekananda' in place of Sachidananda shortly before the monk sailed for America?

A) The Maharaja of Mysore

B) The Raja of Ramnad

C) The Gaekwad of Baroda

D) The Raja of Khetri

Answer · why

D) The Raja of Khetri

The Raja of Khetri, Ajit Singh, also funded the voyage and was later called by Vivekananda his only friend in life; the name joins viveka, discerning ...