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Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Kanyakumari
ABOUT
Swami Vivekananda visited Kanyakumari on December 24, 1892, prior to his Chicago trip to take part in the 1893 ‘World Religious Conference’. It is said that he meditated on the rock for two days and attained enlightenment. He was one of the eminent disciples of Ramakrishna, an Indian mystic and yogi of the 19th century, and later played an instrumental role in introducing Indian philosophies of Yoga and Vedanta to the Western countries. In January 1962, marking the birth centenary of Swamiji, the ‘Kanyakumari Committee’ was set up by a group of people who aimed at establishing a memorial of Swamiji on the rock as also a bridge for people to visit the rock. The ‘Ramakrishna Mission’ in Madras also conceived of such a memorial during that time. However the concept met with certain hurdles with the local Catholic fishermen displaying aversion and putting up a big Cross on the rock and on the other hand the Hindus were protesting such move of the Catholic populace. As matters became worse, the rock was marked as a prohibited place and armed guards were stationed to patrol it. On January 17, 1963 as permitted by the government, a tablet was put up at the rock that mentioned its association with Swami Vivekananda.
