Swami Vivekananda: Hinduism and India's Road to Modernity

by Makarand R. Paranjape

Arguably, the greatest achievement of Swami Vivekananda, one of the most celebrated icons of modern India, was the reconstruction of Hinduism. This he accomplished by reforming the religion in India and changing its image in the West. Indeed, the Hinduism that Vivekananda expounded at the Parliament of World's Religions in Chicago was a new, progressive version of an ancient tradition, devoid of the superstitions and distortions with which it had come to be associated. He revolutionized Hindu faith traditions by turning them into a repository of rational, universal philosophy. This book tries to get to the heart of Swami Vivekananda's legacy and his relevance in the contemporary world. It examines hitherto lesser-known aspects of Swamiji's life and work including his contributions to practical Vedanta, universal religion, science-spirituality and inter-religious dialogue, dharmic secularism, educational philosophy, poetry, and, above all, to the problem of Indian modernity. Despite the abundance of literature available on him, Swami Vivekananda is still not understood adequately, remaining somewhat of an enigma. A fresh reading of the life and times of the Swami by someone who has studied him closely, Makarand R. Paranjape's detailed, thought-provoking account shows that in Vivekananda's visionary thoughts lay the seeds of the creation of a modern India. This book reclaims Swami Vivekananda's stature as a pioneer of contemporary Hindu thought and nationalism.

Genres: India, Nonfiction, Biography

336 pages, Paperback

First published December 25, 2019

About the author

Makarand R. Paranjape is Professor and Chairperson, Centre for English Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He was educated at St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned a Masters and PhD in English. He is the author/editor of over forty books and has published over 150 book chapters, refereed papers, and academic articles. His latest publications include "The Death and Afterlife of Mahatma Gandhi," "Making India: Colonialism, National Culture, and the Afterlife of Indian English Authority," and "Body Offering," a novel. [Amazon author page]

Also see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makaran...

Reviews

[Krishna Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first ever book on Vivekanand. This remains special to me because of this. All throughout my school life, I knew Vivekanand was one of the makers of India but none of the subjects dealt in details as much as they dealt with Gandhi, Bhagat Singh and Nehru (not undermining their contribution)
This book opened a new way to know someone's life. I never read such a detailed analytical biography before. Again this remains special.
This book actually taught me what nobody could in all these years. We see why Vivekanand is regarded as such a great man especially by our PM Narendra Modi.
There are striking ideas on Vivekananda's secularism, education vs Indira's secularism and the leftist education system of our society. This book left me thinking– where we as a society are actually heading? Are we becoming the society which Vivekanand wanted us to be? His ideas and principles remain relevant to this date. A must read if you want to know how Vivekanand contributed to modernity in the world.

[Lasic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book on Swami Vivekananda. A must read book on this great man.

[Tapan Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I read on Swami Vivekananda. I have read some religious scriptures on Hinduism, but never found such a deeper perspective of the meaning of universal religion. On one side when Europe was experiencing Renaissance, India was getting systematically shattered by the colonial powers. A civilisation that was under a constant attack from foreigners, experienced terrible consequences on religion and belief system. After the fall of the Mughal empire, under the colonised rule, the helm of religion was in the hands of the missionaries. Education became the last priority of the society. Thus, an uneducated and repressed society was struggling to keep their religion alive.

In such time, Swami Vivekananda’s vibrant representation at the world parliament on religions in Chicago brought the fundamentals of Hinduism in the eyes of the world. His arguments on defining the universal religion is really compelling. While he shared many aspects why Vedanta fulfils all such criteria to be called as a universal religion, he listed all possibilities without fixing or rejecting the other. His magnetic persona attracted scientists like Tesla, and his influence is said to inspire Jamshed Ji Tata to build IISc in Bangalore.

His thoughts on science and religion are very intriguing to read. In the context of modernity, 125 years back he shared his ideas on making of a nation.

From a wide range of references, Makarand Paranjape has covered the thoughts of Swami Vivekananda on the aspects of religion, science, society, youth, education, nation, and modernity. I cam completely understand why a monk who had a public life of less than a decade left such a profound impact to the minds and hearts he touched personally and inspired many by his & his followers’ work.

[Nishant Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written not by a devotee but a professor at Department of English, JNU. I loved the book. The book talks about how Vivekananda took up Vedanta philosophy and toured the west, giving speeches about Hinduism.

You will learn a lot about Vivekananda. He was not just a monk but also someone who truly and deeply believed in rationality and also the upliftment of women and dalits.

Is was a social reformer too who urged that Indians nor just think about their next life or moksha for it; but also work actively to better the situation of the people around them.

He talked vociferously about the need to deal with religious intolerance and fanaticism.

All in all, a very scholarly book.

[Nishant Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swami Vivekananda is very tall figure to be described in words, and we all know the facets of him which are disclosed or known to us , but this book describes the "unknown" facets of Vivekananda, which includes his journey from an ordinary modern boy reading in an English medium school to the historical lecture at the Chicago's Parliament of world religions. This book touches on views of Vivekananda on caste, tolerance etc . It's a book which can bring us closer to the "unknown" Vivekananda.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only thing that the author has somewhat tried to achieve is to show, in the words of A. L Basham, that Vivekananda’s greatest contribution to the modern world was that he led ‘the counter-attack from the East’. He was the first ‘Indian religious teacher’ in recent times ‘to make an impression outside India.’

Apart from that, it is extremely forgettable.

[Bharathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fact check on Swami Vivekananda's life and philosophy of his messages are clearly expounded.

[Shrikant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Explores various aspects of Swami Vivekananda. Lots of details in each chapter. You can even take one chapter and study it independently. A book where you can come back again and again to refer and read some specific points. Liked the chapter on education. Would keep coming back to this.

ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti

[Akash Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I consider that, we should first read a person before worshipping him, that will make more advantages in our lives. Especially Vivekananda, by reading him, I have completely changed myself. This book is one of the best books written of Swamiji. Everyone who is curious about Swamiji, should read this book.
As we know, for the Western world, Swamiji was a representative of India’s cultural and religious spirit. But in India, he was a staunch social reformer, who wanted to dismiss every ill-rituals like the birth-based caste system and promoted education of women. The first chapter traces his activities from the time of parliament of World religions to his death.
Then, the author discusses Swamiji’s early life and how he came in contact with his master, Sri Ram-Krishna Dev. Author discussed why a large part of 18th century Bengali ‘Bhadraloks’ were deeply influenced by Ram-Krishna Dev.
Was the Hinduism a globalized version of the original ancient Indian faith? Was it inspired by colonialization? The author answers many questions like these which were quite satisfactory.
In today’s World, representative of all the religions claim that, their religion is the true science. But we all know that truth can’t be confined in one holy eternal truth. According to Swamiji, in 18th century, when all religious foundations were being destroyed by the hard blow of the hammer of modern science, Hindus must reconstruct their religious foundations to survive. Author described that Swamiji has tried to connect the missing common dots of the double helix, science and religion.
My favorite chapter was that about the reconstruction of national education system according to Swamiji’s guidance. This chapter is the most important chapter in the book. Author present’s Swamiji’s poetic spirit by introducing us to poems and songs composed by him.
We know that the word ‘modern’ is a European construct. But as author suggests, there can’t be only one version of modernity, that is a true decolonial approach. Author just not tells us about the importance of modernity in India, but also introduces us about ‘Indian Modernity’, which is a combination of ancient spirituality and modern science, that will lead us to a glorious future. As the author said, “what appears to be tradition has been reinvented in modern times and what is patently modern has its roots deep in the seedbed of tradition”.

[Kushagra Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but a drag on many instances. Pokes relevant question on Modern India and the role of Vivekananda in it. A book for classes and not the masses.

[Venkat Krishnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book. The author has successfully accomplished his goal of getting to the heart of Swami Vivekananda’s legacy and his relevance in the contemporary world.