Why is it in the News?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, to meditate between May 30 to June 1, to mark the culmination of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

About the Vivekananda Rock Memorial:

• The Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a monument and a popular tourist destination located approximately 500 metres off the mainland of Vavathurai, Kanyakumari in the state of Tamil Nadu.
• Situated on a big rock, it is surrounded by three water bodies – the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean.
• Vivekananda is said to have arrived here after wandering across the country.
• It is believed that the monk and the philosopher meditated on the rock and attained a vision for a developed India.
• The memorial, designed by renowned architect Eknath Ranade and completed in 1970, is located at the southernmost point of India in Kanyakumari.
  • This is where the eastern and western coastlines of India converge.
• The memorial features two primary structures:
  • The Vivekananda Mandapam, which houses an impressive bronze statue of the revered Swami Vivekananda, and
  • The Shripada Mandapam contains footprints believed to belong to Goddess Kanyakumari.
• This site holds profound cultural and spiritual significance, with legendary tales of Goddess Kanyakumari praying to Lord Shiva on this rock.
• This memorial is right next to a huge monolithic statue of Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar which was created by the Indian sculptor V Ganapati Sthapati.

About Swami Vivekananda:

• Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), born Narendranath Datta, was a renowned Hindu monk and spiritual leader.
• A foremost disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, he was recognized as a meditation expert by his guru.
• Vivekananda sought to integrate Indian spirituality with Western material progress, viewing them as complementary.
• He emphasized self-purification through helping others and advocated for selfless service and societal betterment.
• His teachings covered the four yogas, the harmony of religions, the divinity of the soul, and serving humanity as God.
• He gained international recognition by representing Hinduism at the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago.

Upon returning to India, he founded the Ramakrishna Order at Belur in 1897.