Swami Vivekananda: an Orator Par Excellence
Swami Vivekananda: An orator par excellence JAYESH SURISETTI
The time was 6 hours, 33 minutes and 33 seconds, a few minutes before sunrise. It was the 12th of January, 1863, Monday. The whole city of Kolkata was gearing up to celebrate the last day of Poush or Makar Sankranti. The chilly breeze of Kolkata’s winters brought good news to the ears of Vishwanath Datta and his wife, Bhuvaneswari Devi. Both of them were celebrating the happiest moment of their life as they got the son they had been long yearning for. They named the child Narendranath, which means King of kings. Little did they know that the baby nestled in their hands was destined to vindicate the name they had given to him. Effective oratory has always held man in thrall since the dawn of civilization. In third century B.C. the Athenian orator and statesman Demosthenes with his stirring speeches organized a unified resistance to Philip - II of Macedonia. Who can forget these lines immortalized by Shakespeare? "Friends, Romans and Countrymen, lend me your ears....." Anthony, in one of the most compelling orations in the history of human kind, unmasked the traitors who had murdered Caesar and galvanized the Romans into action. Modern times too have seen great orators. Hitler and Gandhi have been very powerful speakers. However, there were some major differences. Hitler united an entire nation fuelling sentiments of Nazi pride, supremacy, xenophobia and unabashed jingoism. Gandhi too brought people together, but his call was based on truth and non-violence. Hitler relied on propaganda, Gandhi on communication, based on peace, truth and trust. That is the reason Hitler's triumph was short-lived while Gandhi's is eternal. John F. Kennedy, the charismatic American president was a powerful speaker. "And so my fellow Americans...ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world....ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do
The time was 6 hours, 33 minutes and 33 seconds, a few minutes before sunrise. It was the 12th of January, 1863, Monday. The whole city of Kolkata was gearing up to celebrate the last day of Poush or Makar Sankranti. The chilly breeze of Kolkata’s winters brought good news to the ears of Vishwanath Datta and his wife, Bhuvaneswari Devi. Both of them were celebrating the happiest moment of their life as they got the son they had been long yearning for. They named the child Narendranath, which means King of kings. Little did they know that the baby nestled in their hands was destined to vindicate the name they had given to him. Effective oratory has always held man in thrall since the dawn of civilization. In third century B.C. the Athenian orator and statesman Demosthenes with his stirring speeches organized a unified resistance to Philip - II of Macedonia. Who can forget these lines immortalized by Shakespeare? "Friends, Romans and Countrymen, lend me your ears....." Anthony, in one of the most compelling orations in the history of human kind, unmasked the traitors who had murdered Caesar and galvanized the Romans into action. Modern times too have seen great orators. Hitler and Gandhi have been very powerful speakers. However, there were some major differences. Hitler united an entire nation fuelling sentiments of Nazi pride, supremacy, xenophobia and unabashed jingoism. Gandhi too brought people together, but his call was based on truth and non-violence. Hitler relied on propaganda, Gandhi on communication, based on peace, truth and trust. That is the reason Hitler's triumph was short-lived while Gandhi's is eternal. John F. Kennedy, the charismatic American president was a powerful speaker. "And so my fellow Americans...ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world....ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do