The fog of war continues to hangover Ukraine even after eighty days, especially with facts difficult to discern amongst the information war running in parallel, biased reportage, and contradictory narratives based on the wide swath of international political agendas. In this war of shifting objectives and seemingly endless attrition, showcased in destruction, death and human misery, it is extremely difficult to discern cogent military lessons with a significant degree of certainty.

In the history of mankind, there have been rare instances where the introductory words spoken by a person have electrified the whole audience as much as Swami Vivekananda’s groundbreaking speech to the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions. Beginning with the words “Sisters and Brothers of America,” the speech managed to not only eliminate the difference between Swamiji’s status as a person belonging to a different nation and religion, but also made the audience realise that they were in the presence of a great personality, who could really show them the path of universal brotherhood.