Swami Vivekananda was a globetrotter, preaching the wisdom about Sanatan Dharma and creating awareness about the Vedas. His legacy of bringing in reform and introducing the world to the Indian philosophies is marked in the books of history and taught to students all across the country. 

His death anniversary, July 4, is observed as Swami Vivekananda Smriti Divas. In his honour, we bring you five lesser-known facts about the Indian spiritual leader: 

1: Swamiji was known for his intellectual ability however he just scored 56% in college where he was pursuing his degree in Bachelor of Arts. 

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2: Swamiji did not trust his guru Ramakrishna Paramahansa in the initial days of learning under him. He lowered his guard once Ramakrishna had answered all of Swamiji’s questions. 

3: Jogendrabala, Swami Ji’s sister committed suicide and ended her life when she was living in Shimla. It was probably because of marital discord due to differences in ideologies and values. 

4: Swamiji did not allow the entry of women into his monastery. One day when he was ill, one of the disciples brought in Swami’s mother. He ended up shouting at the disciple for breaking the rule saying that he made the rule and now for him the rule is being broken. 

5: He suffered a total of 31 ailments including live and kidney disease, malaria, dengue, diabetes, heart issues, insomnia. He even suffered from asthma which used to get unbearable during his travels. 

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6:  Swamiji’s service to Sanatan Dharma was exhausting and seemingly never-ending. His work did take a toll on his body hence he used to advise his disciples to learn from his experiences. Swamiji used to say, “Don’t be so hard on your body and ruin your health. I have harmed mine. I have tortured it severely, and what has been the result? My body has become ruined during the best years of my life! And I am still paying for it.”