"The moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him, that moment, I am free."

Said Donald Trump, quoting "the great religious teacher Swami Vivekananda," in his biggest-ever speech— to a crowd of over 100,00 — in a cricket stadium in India.

The speech begins around 1:27:00, and it begins with extolling the greatness of India, but let me pinpoint 18 seconds, when he deals with religion. He's just said that Indians and Americans believe that "every person is endowed with a sacred soul" and this belief unites our 2 countries:



Vivekananda connected the idea of seeing God in every person to one's own individual experience of freedom, and Trump continues the leaps of reasoning in a quick sequence, and the last thing on this list gets a massive cheer from the crowd:

1. Seeing God in everyone.

2. Freedom!

3. We're all here to strive for greatness.

4. Bollywood! 

ADDED: I had to look up the name Vivekananda, if only to spell it right (Trump carefully pronounces: Vee-vay-kuh-mun-nuum).  From the Wikipedia article "Swami Vivekanda":

Swami Vivekananda (Bengali...12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902)... was an Indian Hindu monk... He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century. He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India, and contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India.... He is perhaps best known for his speech which began with the words - "Sisters and brothers of America ...," in which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893.... Vivekananda conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes, disseminating tenets of Hindu philosophy in the United States, England and Europe. In India, Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saint, and his birthday is celebrated as National Youth Day....

The Parliament of the World's Religions opened on 11 September 1893 at the Art Institute of Chicago as part of the World's Columbian Exposition.... He was initially nervous... and began his speech with "Sisters and brothers of America!" At these words, Vivekananda received a two-minute standing ovation from the crowd of seven thousand.... Vivekananda quoted two illustrative passages from the "Shiva mahimna stotram": "As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take, through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee!" and "Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths that in the end lead to Me."...

Parliament President John Henry Barrows said, "India, the Mother of religions was represented by Swami Vivekananda, the Orange-monk who exercised the most wonderful influence over his auditors."

The Orange-monk... and we have the Orange President.

Vivekananda attracted widespread attention in the press, which called him the "cyclonic monk from India." The New York Critique wrote, "He is an orator by divine right, and his strong, intelligent face in its picturesque setting of yellow and orange was hardly less interesting than those earnest words, and the rich, rhythmical utterance he gave them"...

Vivekananda's speeches at the Parliament had the common theme of universality, emphasising religious tolerance. He soon became known as a "handsome oriental" and made a huge impression as an orator....

"I do not come", said Swamiji on one occasion in America, "to convert you to a new belief. I want you to keep your own belief; I want to make the Methodist a better Methodist; the Presbyterian a better Presbyterian; the Unitarian a better Unitarian. I want to teach you to live the truth, to reveal the light within your own soul."

Vivekananda adapted traditional Hindu ideas and religiosity to suit the needs and understandings of his western audiences, who were especially attracted by and familiar with western esoteric traditions and movements like Transcendentalism and New thought. An important element in his adaptation of Hindu religiosity was the introduction of his "four yogas" model.... In 1896 his book Raja Yoga was published, becoming an instant success; it was highly influential in the western understanding of yoga....

Many years after Vivekananda's death [Nobel Prize-winning poet] Rabindranath Tagore  [said], "If you want to know India, study Vivekananda. In him everything is positive and nothing negative.... His words are great music, phrases in the style of Beethoven, stirring rhythms like the march of Händel choruses. I cannot touch these sayings of his, scattered as they are through the pages of books, at thirty years' distance, without receiving a thrill through my body like an electric shock. And what shocks, what transports, must have been produced when in burning words they issued from the lips of the hero!"

If you want to know America, study Donald Trump. In him everything is positive and nothing negative....