This book published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, India is a representative compilation of Swami Vivekananda’s teachings from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda covering the wide spectrum of his teachings. We hope the present volume gives the reader an idea of the vastness of Swami Vivekananda's mind and also inspires the reader to realize the divine within through knowledge, devotion, mind-control and service to fellow beings.
Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) popularised Vedanta in the West and reformed Hinduism in India. He also inspired the mass movement that made India a modern nation. In showcasing his life and work, this Reader balances the two main aspects of his life: the religious and the secular, the spiritual and the practical, the devotional and the rational. Included here are the most significant and representative texts from every major genre and phase — selections from his speeches, essays, letters, poems, translations, conversations, and interviews — arranged for easy reading and reference. With a scholarly Introduction highlighting his contemporary relevance, separate section introductions and a detailed biographical Chronology, this volume provides a rare insight into one of India’s greatest minds. This volume will interest scholars and students of modern Indian history, religion, literature, and philosophy as well as general readers.
On 11 September 1893, Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) made his first public appearance on the world stage as a last-minute, uninvited participant at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago. There he proclaimed his message of tolerance and universal acceptance in the ‘name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects’. Speaking against sectarianism and bigotry, this young speaker in flaming robes sounded the death-knell of all fanaticism. In the last nine years of his brief life, Swami Vivekananda taught, lectured, wrote and travelled tirelessly. After his death, his message spread all over India and in many parts of the world through the various activities, efforts and services of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, the monastic order and service institution that he had founded in the name of his guru. The Penguin Swami Vivekananda Reader is the first major independently edited selection of Vivekananda’s works. It includes speeches, essays, letters, poems, conversations and excerpts on subjects that have contemporary relevance: the condition of India, karma, spirituality, reincarnation, and the realization of the Absolute. Swami Vivekananda’s writings do not merely inspire, but propel action. With a detailed biography and a scholarly introduction, the Reader provides a rare insight into one of India’s greatest minds.
With historical-critical analysis and dialogical even-handedness, the essays of this book re-assess the life and legacy of Swami Vivekananda, forged at a time of colonial suppression, from the vantage point of socially-engaged religion at a time of global dislocations and international inequities. Due to the complexity of Vivekananda as a historical figure on the cusp of late modernity with its vast transformations, few works offer a contemporary, multi-vocal, nuanced, academic examination of his liberative vision and legacy in the way that this volume does. It brings together North American, European, British, and Indian scholars associated with a broad array of humanistic disciplines towards critical-constructive, contextually-sensitive reflections on one of the most important thinkers and theologians of the modern era.
Truth Can Be Stated In A Thousand Different Ways, Yet Each One Can Be True. Swami Vivekananda On 11 September 1893, Swami Vivekananda (1863 1902) Made His First Public Appearance On The World Stage As A Last-Minute, Uninvited Participant At The Parliament Of Religions In Chicago. There He Proclaimed His Message Of Tolerance And Universal Acceptance In The Name Of Millions And Millions Of Hindu People Of All Classes And Sects . Speaking Against Sectarianism And Bigotry, This Young Speaker In Flaming Robes Sounded The Death-Knell Of All Fanaticism. In His Brief Life Of Less Than Forty Years, Swami Vivekananda Wrote Four Outstanding Treatises On Hindu Philosophy: Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga And Raja Yoga. He Also Taught, Lectured And Travelled Tirelessly. After His Death, His Message Spread All Over India And In Many Parts Of The World Through The Various Activities, Efforts And Services Of The Ramakrishna Mission And Math, The Monastic Order That He Had Founded In The Name Of His Guru. The Penguin Swami Vivekananda Reader Is The First Major Compilation Of Vivekananda S Selected Works Aimed At A General Audience. It Includes Speeches, Essays, Letters, Poems, Conversations And Excerpts From His Books On Subjects That Have Contemporary Relevance: Celebration Of The Indian Spirit, Karma, Spirituality, Reincarnation, Realization Of The Absolute. Swami Vivekananda S Writings Do Not Merely Inspire, But Propel Action. With A Detailed Biography And A Scholarly Introduction, The Reader Provides A Rare Insight Into One Of India S Greatest Minds.
Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) popularised Vedanta in the West and reformed Hinduism in India. He also inspired the mass movement that made India a modern nation. In showcasing his life and work, this Reader balances the two main aspects of his life: the religious and the secular, the spiritual and the practical, the devotional and the rational. Included here are the most significant and representative texts from every major genre and phase — selections from his speeches, essays, letters, poems, translations, conversations, and interviews — arranged for easy reading and reference. With a scholarly Introduction highlighting his contemporary relevance, separate section introductions and a detailed biographical Chronology, this volume provides a rare insight into one of India’s greatest minds. This volume will interest scholars and students of modern Indian history, religion, literature, and philosophy as well as general readers.
The Hindu thinker Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) was and remains an important figure both within India, and in the West, where he was notable for preaching Vedanta. Scholarship surrounding Vivekananda is dominated by hagiography and his (mis)appropriation by the political Hindu Right. This work demonstrates that Vivekananda was no simplistic pluralist, as portrayed in hagiographical texts, nor narrow exclusivist, as portrayed by some modern Hindu nationalists, but a thoughtful, complex inclusivist. The book shows that Vivekananda formulated a hierarchical and inclusivistic framework of Hinduism, based upon his interpretations of a four-fold system of Yoga. It goes on to argue that Vivekananda understood his formulation of Vedanta to be universal, and applied it freely to non-Hindu traditions, and in so doing, demonstrates that Vivekananda was consistently critical of ‘low level’ spirituality, not only in non-Hindu traditions, but also within Hinduism. Demonstrating that Vivekananda is best understood within the context of ‘Advaitic primacy’, rather than ‘Hindu chauvinism’, this book will be of interest to scholars of Hinduism and South Asian religion and of South Asian diaspora communities and religious studies more generally.
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The Vedanta was an inseparable part of Swami Vivekananda’s personality. He lived and breathed this philosophy while preaching it to India and the west. While Vivekananda’s landmark address at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 established him as modern India’s great spiritual leader, his popularity and appeal is attributed to his ability to integrate his human side with his profound spiritual side. In this beautifully written biography, Chaturvedi Badrinath liberates Vivekananda from the confines of the worship room and offers an unforgettable insight into the life of a man who was the very embodiment of the Vedanta that he preached.
