Social Philosophy Of Vivekananda And Indian Nationalism

"Among the galaxy of scholars, Swami Vivekananda stands out as a majestic tower of light who has given a new tempo to the building up of a new sense of nationalism in modern India. The uniqueness of Vivekananda was his endeavour to translate every ounce of Vedanta into a social living and was never a cold theoretician or an abstract metaphysician. He was aware that India's life is governed by her sovereign sense of the inclusiveness which nourished her national life and India has been a spiritual strength for her people, implanting the seeds that have continuously sprouted in her art, literature, religion, philosophy, science and politics. It is a civilization that should be seen, not as a closed system or as a product, but as a dynamic and unfolding process. Whatever the differences, India's spiritual heritage should be recognized as the focal point and to be appropriated in the conception of a new resurgent India. Regrettably, what we had been glorifying as the central value of this culture and civilization is disorientated today due to the brutal exhibition of barbarous instincts which were exhibited through the rivalry between religious groups. What is being experienced is the loss of inherited values and our inability in reinventing new values. By virtue of its characteristic pluralism and its continuously evolving synthesis, India represents a nation which is continuously unfolding its civilizational potentialities. In making of such an Indian ethos, the foundational ideal which has been the basis of Indian culture and civilization is the concept of Dharma and Vivekananda was able to comprehend and articulate the relation between morality and human affairs which are the concerns of practical Vedanta"--

Among the galaxy of scholars, Swami Vivekananda stands out as a majestic tower of light who has given a new tempo to the building up of a new sense of nationalism in modern India. The uniqueness of Vivekananda was his endeavour to translate every ounce of Vedanta into a social living and was never a cold theoretician or an abstract metaphysician. He was aware that India's life is governed by her sovereign sense of the infnite and inclusiveness which nourished her national life and India has been a spiritual strength for her people, implanting the seeds that have continuously sprouted and flowered in her art, literature, religion, philosophy, science and politics. It is a civilization that should be seen, not as a closed system or as a finished product, but as a dynamic and unfolding process. Whatever the differences, India's spiritual heritage should be recognized as the focal point and to be appropriated in the conception of a new resurgent India. Regrettably, what we had been glorifying as the central value of this culture and civilization is disorientated today due to the brutal exhibition of barbarous instincts which were exhibited through the rivalry between religious groups. What is being experienced is the loss of inherited values and our inability in reinventing new values. By virtue of its characteristic pluralism and its continuously evolving synthesis, India represents a nation which is continuously unfolding its civilizational potentialities. In making of such an Indian ethos, the foundational ideal which has been the basis of Indian culture and civilization is the concept of Dharma and Vivekananda was able to comprehend and articulate the relation between morality (dharma) and human affairs which are the concerns of practical Vedanta.

Swami Vivekananda, 1863-1902, Indian philosopher and religious leader.

The present work is a modest attempt to systematise Vivekanandas political ideas and preachings for the glorification of todays politics. It deals with a rich legacy of political ideas, conceived and believed by Vivekananda in the context of social, political and economic tendencies of his time. A careful study of Vivekanandas philosophy in preparing the ground for the politics of independence and giving the country a new political ideology through his re-interpretation of Vedanta and the Hindu religion. The present work is divided into five distinct chapters, the political, social and economic crisis, the early days of Swami, the concept of Vedanta, and the concept of his political ideas, besides preface and bibliography.

Unlike the West, India presents a fascinating example of a society where the pre-modern continues to co-exist with the modern. Modernity in Indian Social Theory explores the social variance between India and the West to show how it impacted their respective trajectories of modernity. A. Raghuramaraju argues that modernity in the West involved disinheriting the pre-modern, and temporal ordering of the traditional and modern. It was ruthlessly implemented through programmes of industrialization, nationalism, and secularism. This book underscores that India did not merely the Western model of modernity or experience a temporal ordering of society. It situates this sociological complexity in the context of the debates on social theory. The author critically examines various discourses on modernity in India, including Partha Chatterjee’s account of Indian nationalism; Javeed Alam’s reading of Indian secularism; the use of the term pluralism by some Indian social scientists; and Gopal Guru’s emphasis on the lived Dalit experience. He also engages with the readings on key thinkers including Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Gandhi, and Ambedkar.

Swami Vivekananda in india: A Corrective Biography attempts to inform the reader accurately about his life both before and after his historic visits to the West. Much material has been translated anew from original Bengali books. At the same time it challenges current popular and pious notions held about this humanitarian-monk. The four major chapters in this book are about his meetings with Sri Ramakrishna, his travels in India during 1886-1893, media waves about him in India, and his triumphant return from the West in 1897. Analysis of original eyewitness reports in both India and Western newspapers and periodicals forms an integral part of this biography.