Impact
First Indian Guru In America
He was the first Indian Swami or Monk to initiate Americans into the Sanyasi tradition of India and the first to initiate women as well.
Indian Wisdom in an Indian Voice
He taught Indian Wisdom to Americans as an Indian Yogi and Swami and not as an Apologist.
First Teachings & Book on Yoga in America
He published the first book on Yoga in America called Raja Yoga in 1896 that became the seminal guide for all early western seekers.
The Interfaith Movement Began in 1893
The Parliament of Religions initiated the Interfaith Movement and Swami Vivekananda, who was the star of the conference, is still remembered as a founder and beacon of light.
Women's Liberation and Emancipation
At a time when women had few rights in America or India, his universal message attracted many women to his teachings and he was also the first yogi to initiate women into the monastic life.
Creative and Social Expression
The Vedanta Society of America, became a safe intellectual and empowering haven for women, artists, gays, authors, rebels and the new consciousness seekers that led to the New Age and Activist Generations later.
At a time when the world seems to be regressing towards nationalism, racism, religious intolerance, and increased collective traumas, it is important for us to seek out stories and beacons of universalism, humanism, love, and hope to remind us of our human potential and our common destiny as universal beings.
The Story of Swami Vivekananda and his 5-year stay in America in 2 parts between 1893 and 1899 is a message of universal love, a celebration of the innate divinity in all beings, and one of great hope in the human and humanist potential of our highest consciousness. He was no ordinary Indian monk – an educated English gentleman, a freemason, a singer and a polymath – so the impact he had on America was far more impressive than other monks could have achieved. Swami Vivekananda’s teachings of Yoga, Vedanta, and Hinduism were inclusive and universalist in their premise and were the catalyst for the birth of the global Interfaith movement that continues till today. He described his vision in these words:
“My ideal, indeed, can be put into a few words, and that is to preach unto mankind their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life.
And then he mapped out how one could experience that inner divinity in this life:
“Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy – by one, or more, or all of these – and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details.”
America’s First Guru will make an important contribution to the study of the modern history of American religion, the global dialogue on interfaith tolerance, acceptance, and harmony, and the evolution of higher forms of human consciousness that transcend national, ethnic, racial, and religious limitations. By celebrating this important tipping point in America’s history, we will demonstrate how the coming of Vivekananda and the rich universalist Indian ideas of Vedanta and Yoga contributed to not only the expansion of the American spiritual conversation but also in helping shape a century of humanist, mystical and psychological synthesis and syncretism but also a global love affair with Yoga and deep Indian philosophical ideas. The story traces how Vivekananda by the force of his personality and belief was able to single-mindedly start the Vedanta movement in America. This movement was the source of all the yoga, meditation, and other such movements that are currently practiced in America, maybe more than any other place on Earth.
The producers will work with local interfaith, humanist, religious, and progressive organizations across the US as well within the Yoga and Hindu communities to ensure the film is seen widely and a new dialogue is entered to across the country on the role of a more Universal Spiritualty and interfaith understanding at a time of so much difference and intolerance. The film will make an important contribution to educating audiences in America and around the world about how Universalist Indian philosophical ideas and wisdom traditions impacted the American psyche, especially with the huge popularity of Yoga and Self-Help Gurus in the US today. By understanding the nature of America’s first eastern Guru, Swami Vivekananda, audiences will get a better understanding of how metaphors and ideas percolated through the culture as a result of this single tipping point. Audiences will also find the story of how Yoga became so prevalent both entertaining and inspiring.