Current Affairs Section
- National Youth Day is observed in India every year on January 12 to honour the ideals of Swami Vivekananda who was born on January 12, 1863, in Kolkata.
- 12th of January 2025 marks the 162nd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, and is celebrated as National Youth Day.
- Literary Works: Wrote books like Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Karma Yoga.
- Death: Passed away on July 4, 1902.
- He preached a philosophy called “neo-Vedanta,” which provided an interpretation of Hinduism through a Western lens.
- Vivekananda believed in the harmony between spirituality and material progress.
- Swami Vivekananda gained global recognition for his remarkable speech at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893.
- He introduced Hinduism to America and called for religious tolerance and an end to fanaticism at the Parliament.
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose referred to him as the “maker of modern India.”
Category: Important Days
- Upon the death of Gautama Buddha in 400 BC, Buddhism divided into two sects: Mahayana and Hinayana.
- The Mahayana sect, which means ‘Great Vehicle’ in Sanskrit, believed in the divinity of the Buddha. The sect encouraged idol worship in Buddhism.
- The Hinayana sect, meaning ‘Small Vehicle’ in Sanskrit, did not believe in the divinity of the Buddha. It stressed individual salvation through self-discipline and mediation.
- Buddhists all over the world will celebrate Mahayana New Year on January 14 of this year. Various Buddhist philosophies and ideologies are referred to as Mahayana.
- One of Buddhism's two main branches, Mahayana is primarily practiced in Northeast Asia.
- Tibet, Taiwan, Mongolia, China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Mahayana Buddhism is practiced according to customs and traditions unique to each region.
Category: Important Days
- Every year, January 8 is recognized as Earth Rotation Day. Today marks the anniversary of French physicist Leon Foucault's 1851 proof that the Earth revolves on its axis.
- To prove his theory, Foucault suspended a lead-filled brass sphere, now called the Foucault Pendulum from the top of the Pantheon in Paris. He showed that the plane of the swing of the pendulum rotated relative to the Earth’s rotation. You can now see the Foucault Pendulum demonstrating the rotation of the Earth in science museums around the world.
Category: Important Days
- World Day of War Orphans is celebrated on January 6 to draw the attention of people to the sufferings of the war orphans.
- his day was proposed and started by the French organisation SOS Enfants en Detresses who brought to the notice of the world the amount of suffering and trauma that war orphans go through.
Category: Important Days
- Louis Braille was born in France in 1809
- In memory of Louis Braille, the United Nations has announced that it will celebrate 4 January yearly as World Braille Day. Louis Braille has made significant contributions to education, communication and social inclusion.
The theme of World Braille Day 2023: ‘The theme for 2025 World Braille Day is Celebrating Accessibility and Inclusion for the Visually Impaired.
Date: 04-01-2025Category: Important Days