Vivekananda : The Philosopher of Freedom

Known by many but understood by few Swami Vivekananda is a figure shrouded in mystery. However in recent years therehas been a greater tendency to understand explain and appropriate the monk and his legacy especially by the Hindu Right. In<i>Vivekananda: The Philosopher of Freedom</i> Govind Krishnan V. contests the Hindu Right’s appropriation of Swami Vivekanandaone of the most influential and defining figures of modern Hinduism and attempts to show readers that Vivekananda’s religiousphilosophy social thought and ideology make the monk the Sangh Parivar's arch nemesis.<br><br>Divided into three sections this book brings into focus multiple facets of Vivekananda’s deeply original thought and the complexand contested times he lived in. ‘Part I: Life Ideology and Historical Context’ begins with a short biography of Swami Vivekanandabefore introducing the reader to important features of Vivekananda’s writing and thinking which have become lost to our publicmemory. It explores Vivekananda’s views on themes relevant to the Hindutva project: Indian civilization society and culture;the nature of the caste system and Brahminism; the history of Islam in India; Hindu mythology belief and rituals; individual liberty; attitudes towards the West; and so on. It then explores Vivekananda’s understanding of and relationship with Islam andChristianity. The section ends with an examination of the role Western civilization plays in Vivekananda’s and the RSS’s respectiveworld views and the obvious clash between the former’s internationalism and the latter’s nativism. ‘Part II: Hinduism the Sanghand the West’ examines how the RSS and the Sangh have used Hindu symbols motifs and issues like Ram Janmabhoomi andcontrasts this usage with Vivekananda’s Hinduism. Finally it situates Vivekananda’s public life in the global context during aperiod of much change in fin de siècle Europe and America. Also surveyed is the cultural and intellectual framework of colonialismwithin which Vivekananda operated. ‘Part III: Vivekananda’s Philosophy’ begins with an exposition of Vivekananda’s philosophyof universal religion and his theoretical framework of Advaita and an explication of his famous assertion that religion shouldconform to reason as much as science does. The closing part of the book deals with Vivekananda’s position on caste and genderand posits him as an anti-caste and proto-feminist reformer of his time.<br><br>Cogently argued <i>Vivekananda: The Philosopher of Freedom</i> pulls back the curtain on Vivekananda’s outlook and shows why thegreat monk deserves to be reinstated as a liberal thinker in the popular cultural imagination.