Increase in Sales for Vivekananda’s Books with Anna Hazare’s Help

Shimla, India – While acquiring a mass following to stand up against the Indian governments corruption, Anna Hazare has aided in boosting the sales of Swami Vivekananda’s books. The Hindu monk has preached and spread the message of Indian spirituality throughout the world but books are flying off shelves faster than ever after Anna has referred to the swami’s teachings as the core reason for all his inspiration.

Parul Sood, a management student at Himachal Pradesh University, said she purchased Vivekananda’s book, “Vivekananda: A Biography by Swami Nikhilananda,” to understand the ultimate motives of human life. Sood was inspired to purchase the book after seeing how much Anna changed after reading Vivekananda’s book. Sood is in awe of Anna’s transition from an ordinary soldier to a crusader against corruption. Sood is determined find out answers to what the aims of human beings are and that is partly why she bought the book.

At the age of 25, in 1963, Anna Hazare joined the army as a driver and his real name is Kisan Baburao Hazare. He experienced a life-changing experience in 1965 during the India-Pakistan war, when his vehicle came under heavy aerial fire, causing everyone in his vehicle to die except him. This experience left him with many questions about spirituality life and death whereon he considered suicide.

This consideration of suicide is what brought him to a slim book by Vivekananda in a New Delhi railway station. It is after reading this book that Anna learned that serving the poor is equivalent to serving God and he repeatedly credits the book for giving him this mindset and ultimate realization.

Ashok Kumar Kinger the owner of Asia Book Depot, one of the oldest bookstores in Anna’s town, said that he has never seen a book sell at such a fast pace. He said biographies of Swami Vivekananda have been in demand since the movement with Anna started. On average one to two Swami Vivekananda books were sold per month compared to 20 in a week after the movement. He has been ordering additional stock every month. Kinger said not only are the town people buying Vivekananda books but tourists are seeking his books in high numbers.

Steve Daves, an American tourist near the shop said he read many of Gandhi books in the past and they were eye openers and now he is searching for Vivekananda books but they are sold out everywhere. He hopes to find one in Delhi.

Majority of the buyers of Vivekananda books are University students, says Ramesh Thakur of the Thakur Book Store located near the campus of Himachal Pradesh University.

Many students are being motivated by Hazare and thus inspired to learn the teachings of Vivekananda to learn his influential messages of spiritual democracy, spiritual humanism, and world unity.