The Modern Monk

by Hindol Sengupta

He loved French cookbooks, invented a new way of making khichdi, was interested in the engineering behind ship-building and the technology that makes ammunition. More than 100 years after his death, do we really know or understand the bewildering, fascinating, complex man Swami Vivekananda was? Vivekananda is one of the most important figures in the modern imagination of India. He is also an utterly modern man, consistently challenging his own views, and embracing diverse, even conflicting arguments. It is his modernity that appeals to us today. He is unlike any monk we have known. He is confined neither by history nor by ritual, and is constantly questioning everything around him, including himself. It is in Vivekananda’s contradictions, his doubts, his fears and his failings that he recognise his profoundly compelling divinity—he teaches us that to try and understand God, first one must truly comprehend one’s own self. This book is an argument that it is not just because he is close to God but also because he is so tantalisingly immersed in being human that keeps us returning to Vivekananda and his immortal wisdom.

Genres: India, Biography, History, Nonfiction

182 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 16, 2016

About the author

Hindol Sengupta (born 1979) is an Indian journalist and entrepreneur, who is the award-winning author of eight books.
In 2017, he was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. His three new upcoming books are a narrative non-fiction, a historical fiction and a history of the free markets in India to be published by Penguin and Simon & Schuster. Among his recent books is the bestselling Being Hindu: Old Faith, New World and You, The Modern Monk: What Vivekananda Means To Us Today, and The Sacred Sword: The Legend of Guru Gobind Singh. He is the youngest winner of the PSF prize for public service, an award won by, among others, the late Indian scientist and President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

Reviews

[Arun · Rating 2 out of 5]

The 2 stars are for the subpar writing of Mr. Sengupta. He tries too hard to make his point about Vivekananda being a modern monk, sacrificing the objectivity of a biographer in most places. Besides, Mr. Sengupta writes repeatedly about how his own upbringing was influenced by Vivekananda, how he was also an unruly child like Vivekananda, and so on. There are several quotes from Vivekananda, but at times distributed in a way that the text loses continuity. Overall, while the reader gets to learn interesting bits about Vivekananda, there is little continuity or coherence in the book.

I'd recommend trying some other book to learn about Vivekananda and to understand his relevance in contemporary India (and the world).

[Kushagra Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second book by Mr. Hindol Sengupta after "Being Hindu" which made me a fan. The best thing about his books are that it seems as if he's directly conversing with you; A personal, intimate, conversation. He doesn't try to appear profound or more learned than you; he'll earnestly present his point of view on the subject matter without a trace of bias and keeping balance which in itself is commendable in our day and age. The Modern Monk makes someone like me piqued up to know more about Swami Vivekananda which is testimony to the content. The book left me wanting for more. I can complain that perhaps he could've shed more light on so many aspects of Vivekananda's life but then again, the book's purpose was to reintroduce the monk and highlight his relevance in our day and age, which it manages to do so really well. I'll share my favorite part from the book which defines what I feel of "Sanatan Dharm" the path I follow-
"From Christ to Mohammed to Buddha- he accepts, embraces and admits to divinity in each one of them. But he is unwilling to have Hinduism and Vedanta be subsumed or destroyed by anything or anyone. He readily admits that there are myriad ways to God, but he wants to ensure his way survives too and it's openness- and indeed its own prejudices and pettiness of its rituals-does not become a route to its destruction."

Highly recommend.

[Shameek Mookherjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swami Vivekananda is a larger than life figure not just because of his spiritual prowess because the relentless work he did in his short span of time to take the Vendanta to the world. Not once did the monk ever thought about super conciousness while working for soul of his mother land as work and work alone was is power to ulift the work conciousness, the extreme spiritual dwelling continued in the background.
To read a book written by an author from this generation is quite rivetting. Hindol Sengupta researches and takes out the normal "naren" and then compares "naren" to the 'vivekananda" he has become or the journey of transformation. Many interesting snippet for Swamiji's normal, struggling middle class life is highlighted and ofcourse there is exploits from the swamiji's speeches and writings.
I liked reading the book and the associations it tries to make with the present. Overall a nicely written book which dwells into the human aspects of Swamiji and why he is relevant even today.

[Kalyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Modern Monk
Is out now on Flipkart : http://fkrt.it/WVmot!NNNN
Author: Hindol Sengupta
Language: English
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Random House India
ISBN: 9780143426646, 0143426648
Edition: 1, 2016
Pages: 304

[Madhurya Yadunath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave a whole new insight into Vivekanda's life. Vivekanda who has always been an idol,an ideal and the most revered monk appears real and special. Giving it five stars as it struck a chord with me.

[Rugved Vadhadiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always new from hindol sengupta...best writing as per what this century need..as the name it's perfect book for understand some thoughts of vivekanda.

[Vikas Basavaraja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hindol nails it

This book sale with lot of things and ideas of Vivekananda that aren't known much. This book is a wonderful journey.

[SUBRATA DATTA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a biography of Swami Vivekananda in the conventional sense of the term. Rather Hindol Sengupta, the author of much-acclaimed Being Hindu, has tried to look at the life of the Swami to decipher his relevance to the India – and the world – of today.

In his words: “I wrote this book on Vivekananda to argue that his message is so impossible to resist today because of the life he led. … Unlike Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Vivekananda’a tasks propel him into becoming the man of the world. … That he is able to fulfil these tasks and yet remain committed to a deeper understanding of the subconscious, that he tackles the mundane and material alongside the sublime makes him a man of our times. … It is Vivekananda’s daily negotiations with the world – not just his stirring rhetoric and visionary ideas – that makes him so germane to us today.”

Sengupta has divided his book in six chapters with eye-catching titles: 1. The Bad Boy, 2. The Monk Who Smoked, 3. Can You Show Me God? 4. Wanderlust, 5. The Internationalist and 6. The Nationalist Socialist.

At a time when the idea of India (it has become almost a cliché!) is being debated furiously and when the debate threatens to come down to the street for a violent confrontation, it is indeed time to revisit Vivekananda.

We are living at a time when the humanity is standing at an epoch-making crossroads, bewildered and clueless. With burgeoning population, irreversible climate change, disruptive technology, social media revolution – we are no longer sure of what tomorrow will look like. And at a time like this we should go back to Vivekananda. Not with blind reverence (Vivekananda would have utterly rejected being deified), but to search for answers.

Because, if anything, Vivekananda’s world view is surprisingly modern and broad-minded. This much we have learnt- or at least should have learnt – that if the world is to be saved it can be saved only by being inclusive, not exclusive. And that inclusion needs to take in its warm embrace all that we know as life.

Sengupta is a well-read man. He has done a commendable job by pointing out that much of the answers of our present ills can be found in the modern monk, who could combine the worldly concerns with spiritual sublimity with effortless ease.

Modern Monk is a good read.

[Deepu George · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew Swami Vivekananda as the monk who said " Kerala is a lunatic asylum" reportedly against the prominent untouchability that was so common in the kerala society. He was a nationalist monk who travelled out side india and touched the hearts of the westerners , and introduced indian spirituality and philosophy to them. And then as the internet era emerged there started conflicting thoughts about him started emerging like he being a Hindu supremist, he supported the caste system and he quoted Kerala as a lunatic asylum against the large amount of convertions that was being taking place in kerala at that time. And what is the truth... and hence i bought this book to "cut the clutter"

This is not an autobiography of the monk. This is examining his thoughts , going into his mind through the eyes of the author. The author puts before you an aspect of the Swamis personality and supports the hypothesis using the letters and quotes of Vivekananda. After reading the book you will come to know who Swami is but nothing about the lifetimes of him. But this was what i wanted and i got what i looked for.

Now who he was... He was a monk who is a Vedanti who loved the Nation and its people very much . He loved Hinduism so much that he was opposed to caste system as a system who has lost its importance inthe mordern society. He says cast system is a societial structure and has nothing to do with the religion. He loved the ideas of Christ , Mohammed and Buddha... but hated the missionary activity that was so widespread at that time..

A good read if u want to go in to the mind of the monk

[Sumant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is a very short take on the life of Swami Vivekananda, but I really enjoyed this book because the author tries to give human aspects of Swamiji by which you can identify with him more. Because there is no doubt that Swamiji was a great yogi, and one of the greatest teachers of Hinduism since Shankaracharya, but he had lot of aspects to his personality which are simply hidden from us.

The author takes a unique approach of identifying every aspect of his life with Swamiji and what he actually he does by that is he gives a new outlook on Swamiji's life, the core aspect whose life was spirituality, but he was also interested in many aspects such as cooking, science and of course travel.

Also he gives glimpses of Swamiji through the letters he writes, because that is where we actually more about Swamiji rather than his lectures, because his lectures are awe inspiring, but his personal thoughts regarding the future of India, his idea of India and so much more is reflected in the numerous letters he wrote.

We also get to know how difficult it was for Swamiji to balance his life, because family bore down on him as he was the eldest son of the family, and to balance so many duties as well as care for his family definitely took a toll on him. It is this human aspects which I just got glimpses from this book made this book such a wonderful and unique read.

I should have rated this 5 stars but one star minus is due to the fact that this book is so short, I would have loved to read more about Swamiji, but sadly I will search for other sources.

[Nutan Maheshwari · Rating 2 out of 5]

We, as human beings, are always in a hurry to put someone on a pedestal, often forgetting that the person in question is just that—a person.

I have always HEARD godlike things about Swami Vivekananda: that he used to read books very fast, had a photographic memory, and was a great monk who transformed society in an extraordinary way.

This book is eye-opening for me, as it is the first time I have READ about Vivekananda's life. He was a chain smoker, he too struggled a lot in America, and he even begged the king of Khetri for money, etc.

Learning’s about his struggles, has allowed me to see Vivekananda as an imperfect human striving to bring about positive change in our society.

Though the author does not offer much in terms of his writing style, he has included many letters written by Vivekananda to different people, which show how he affected the author's life and why.

This book gives you a zoomed-out view of Vivekananda's life, not a panoramic view. If you want to know more about Vivekananda, you need to read another book; this one is not perfect for you.

[Sridhar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is a self-confessed convert of Swami Vivekananda.

A succinct narrative of the lives and thinking prowess of Swami V. The readers would get a glimpse of Vivekananda largeness of thoughts and his supreme ability to think centuries ahead of others- in matters of religious identity, politics, caste and secular thinking.

These are current world issues and Swami Vivekananda's principles as orated in 1898 Chicago conference still holds true, even after a century and quarter later.

A chapter on Ramakrishna- a mystic devotee of the Lord and his influence on young Swami Vivekananda was an interesting read

[Daksh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice compilation giving insights on Swami Vivekanand's life and challenges, thought process. It was brief and specific to certain aspects. I felt this could have been more interesting giving more on his day to day challenges etc..

[Ateet · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a good introduction with a lot of facts but the writing is a little stilted and not very well organized.

[Sumit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relevance of Swami Vivekanand in the modern times.

[Punit Gajera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!!!
If you want to experience the great spiritual leader's life journey with beautiful memories and best crafting by hindol sengupta then you must read this book

[Priyaranjan Mohan]

A well written book .

[Appu · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a whimsical, stream of consciousness style book on Vivekananda. This Book is a collection of some stray topics related to Vivekakanda. Unfortunately the ideas are not very well developed. Chapters have longish quotations from other other books and these make reading the book even more tedious. This book is neither a biography, nor a book about Vivekananda's ideas nor is it a book about one persons experience of Vivekananda. It is strange hodgepodge that does not work very well.