The Man the Mysticism and the Vedanta
Part 1 – The Man and the Vedanta Philosophy
India is home to one of the world’s oldest and most popular religions in Hinduism. With Hinduism’s age has come many periods of reform, re-identification, and prominence. To many in the West, Eastern religions – particularly Hinduism – have been a mystery. Eastern religions were often associated with the superstition, idolatry, and primitive societies. In the eyes of many Western theological scholars, Hinduism stood in stark contrast to the monotheistic ideals of the Abrahamic West, and was quite often mistaken as something polymorphous, polytheistic or even pagan. The majority of Western scholars were either ignorant of the religion or denied its value on a global religious scale. It has not been until recent years that education and exposure on the part of prominent Hindu thinkers has elevated the religion’s status in the eyes of Western scholars. Swami Vivekananda was one of those who helped to change this image through the introduction of a new school of philosophy called Advaita Vedenta.
This paper will analyze the development of Swami Vivekananda’s Vedanta philosophy, its relevance to modern Hindu identity, as well as its social and theological goals. This will be achieved through a discussion and analysis of his philosophies and their impact in the modern Hindu world.
Essential to understanding the motivations behind Vivekananda’s drive to bring spirituality to the world is the idea that religion should no longer be held in private but should be brought out into the open and incorporated into daily life through social and political action. Understanding Vivekananda helps construct a better appreciation for colonial and post-colonial Hindu identity, as well as the formation of a new form of thought within Hindu philosophy.
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The Man
Swami Vivekananda was born 1863 in Calcutta as Narendra Nath Datta. His family was part of the Kayastha (warrior) caste, and he showed it, as he was often referred to as the “warrior monk”. He acquired his more popular name, Swami Vivekananda, after the passing of his guru Ramakrishna, who had a profound and long lasting impact on his life. Upon Ramakrishna’s death, fifteen of his young disciples began to live together in a dilapidated building at Baranagar in North Calcutta. Under the leadership of Narendra, they formed a new monastic brotherhood, and in 1887 they took the formal vows of a sannyasa (Hindus life stage of the renouncer), thereby assuming new names. Narendra became Swami Vivekananda.
While Ramakrishna may have been his main influence, Vivekananda showed a keen interest for education, and during his studies was influenced by many Western thinkers, such as Emmanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, Auguste Compte, and, most notably, Herbert Spencer. Swami Vivekananda had a natural propensity for philosophy, and devoured teachings of Western spirituality which would help form the foundation of his own spiritual beliefs. He was especially interested in applying Western logic and scientific reasoning to religion. Such an interest was at the core of Vivekananda’s interpretation and development of Advaita Vedanta, which later became accepted and revered by the West.
Despite his affinity for philosophy, one thing remained on Vivekananda’s mind, the search for Truth. Truth to Swami Vivekananda meant knowing God. There is a single question that will forever be linked to Vivekananda and his search for Truth, a question that plagued his mind for many years and which he asked a succession of scholars without ever receiving an answer with which he was satisfied: “Have you seen God?” It was not until he came across the presence of Ramakrishna that his question was finally answered.
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Ramakrishna was meditating at a Kali temple when he was approached by Vivekananda, who asked him this undying question. Without hesitation Ramakrishna answered, “Yes, I have. I see Him as clearly as I see you, only in an infinitely intenser sense.” This was a crucial revelation for Swami Vivekananda, as his Vedanta philosophy is based on the idea that God is found is everything, including fellow man. His mind had been agitated with the question, hampering his search for Truth. In this simple answer Vivekananda found solace. This was a crucial step forward in his search for Truth. He later described the impact that Ramakrishna’s answer had on him: “Search for the direction was now over; traversing the path remained. It was a moment of great revelation in spiritual science like that of Newton’s vision of gravitation in physical science.” Swami Vivekananda became intoxicated by Sri Ramakrishna despite some of their theological differences, and thus began the strong bond and relationship of devotee and guru which is a prevalent theme throughout the history of Hinduism.
Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda’s relationship is essential for understanding how it helped to develop the core principals of Swami Vivekananda’s Advaita philosophy. With the guidance of Ramakrishna Swami Vivekananda was able to develop his interpretation and extension of Advaita Vedanta from Sankara which forms his predominant contribution to the collective philosophical thought of modern Hinduism.
The Vedanta Philosophy
From a historical perspective it is clear that Vivekananda was influenced by the classical Vedanta philosophy of Sankara. His understanding and addition of Advaita must not be seen as a mere extension of existing thought, but rather as something new, which is why Vivekananda’s philosophy is often called neo-Vedanta. Paul Hacker, a noted scholar of the classical Indian tradition describes neo-Hinduism as “specifically the adoption of Western values and approaches, and the subsequent attempt to find those values imbedded in the indigenous Indian tradition.” This thought not only contributes to Vivekananda’s ideas on a universal religion, but shows his attempt to incorporate Western philosophic logic into Indian mysticism.
In Sankara’s non-dualism, Brahman is seen as having no “other”, he emphasized a discrimination between the world or, our physical reality, from transcendent Brahman. In contrast, Vivekananda had a more monistic view of non-dualism, where the world is non-other than Brahman. In a more practical view Sankara did not believe that soteriological knowledge shared a relationship with the temporal world. Vivekananda as well as other scholars such as Ram Mohan Roy saw Vedanta as being more utilitarian as well as being a tool used within the world to achieve salvation.
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Swami Vivekananda’s Vedanta philosophy “as it is generally called at the present day, really comprises all the various sects that now exists in India.” Swami Vivekananda saw three main sects which made up the collective India interpretation of the Vedas. The first sect was dualistic in nature (Dvaita), the second was qualified non-dualistic (Vishishtadvaita), and finally, the third was non-dualistic or Advaita. Before Vivekananda’s time, the first two sects held the majority of followers in India; it was due to the teachings and evolution of the philosophy by Vivekananda that Advaita Vedanta grew in popularity. Vivekananda noted that: “these different Vedanta systems have one common psychology, and that is, the psychology of the Sankhya system.” This may seem paradoxical at first as the Sankhya system of thought is focused on dualism; however, the concept of one God remains a constant theme found throughout all three schools of thought. To understand Advaita philosophy we must first explore dualism and qualified non-dualism. Dvaita (dualism) can be summed up as following:
Dualism espouses the existence of two separate realities. The first and the more important reality is that of Vishnu or Brahman. Vishnu is the supreme Self, God, the absolute truth of the universe, the independent reality. The second reality is that of dependent but equally real universe that exists with its own separate essence. Everything that is composed of the second reality, such as individual soul (Jiva), matter, etc. exist with their own separate reality.
What distinguishes this method of thought from that of Vivekananda is that it proposes a real and physical interaction with God. God is seen as being two completely separate entities with which one could engage with on a personal level.
For qualified non-dualists we see a progression of dualism from God being two separate entities to the “concept of a Supreme Being with essential qualities or attributes.” Qualified non-dualists saw Brahman as “an eternal oneness, but also as the source of all creation, which was omnipresent and actively involved in existence.” An example would be the idea of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita being the personification of Brahman.
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In the Advaita school of Vedanta, Brahman is described as:
The only reality, and there exists nothing whatsoever which is not Brahman. The appearance of dualities and differences in this world is a superimposition on Brahman, called Maya. Maya is the illusionary and creative aspect of Brahman, which causes the world to arise. Maya is neither existent nor non-existent, but appears to exist temporarily, as in case of any illusion (for example mirage).
This difference in understanding of Brahman is crucial for appreciating what is to be gained from this new perspective of Vedanta.
During the post-colonial era Vivekananda was fully aware of the social and intellectual problems that faced his fellow countryman. Once the British were driven out of India and new-found economic success began to emerge within India, materialism began to corrupt a nation that was once concerned with absolute knowledge over the pursuit of material possessions. Although the British had left India, Vivekananda was aware of the continuing Western influence the Europeans had on his nation. To Vivekananda this Westernization of India, and concern for temporal desires, was an illusion bringing Hindus away from their pursuit of Moksha. Vivekananda wanted to “deluge the country with spiritual ideals” so that India was back on the path to salvation.
While Vivekananda wanted his Vedanta philosophy to be adopted and practiced on a grand scale, Advaita Vedanta had an integral impact on the individual. Because God is non-dualistic and the nature of all things, then by reason, Vivekananda argued that man was God as well, and should be looked at and treated as such. It was this understanding, that while our physical and cognitive differences exist, they exist in a reality where everything is God. This was the basis for Vivekananda’s desire for social and political change:
The god of the Vedanta is the most known of all, and is not the outcome of imagination. We are to see God in everything we see, and worship Him. It is not the God in temples that one is to worship; it is not the God in the high heaven, whom one cannot see, it is the living God, whom one sees before him and who is in everything. One is to worship God in all men and women, in the young and the old, in the sinner and the saint, in the Brahmin and the pariah, especially the poor, the sick, the ignorant, the destitute, and the down trodden. The Vedanta says, he who sees Shiva in the jiva and serves him as an embodiment of Shiva, does indeed serve and worship God. The real practical side of Vedanta is to see God in everything, and see everything as God. The earth and the heaven, the sun, the moon and the stars, water air, and fire are all forms of Brahman. All men and women even animals are form of Brahman. Thou art that we are all that.
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This is the founding principle of Advaita Vedanta. A sense of completely unqualified monistic unity of everything being one, or Brahman. The world around us, our reality, is nothing more than an illusion which we are made aware of as also being Brahman. There is no difference between the individual and the collective, they are the same matter, they are Brahman. Based on this reasoning, divine duty to the self is the same action as one takes on others. This was the basis for Vivekananda’s social and political framework.
While social and political reform were the goals set out for the collective, personal liberation from the bondage of Samsara were Vivekananda’s desires for the individual. Moksha, or liberation, was a direct product of comprehending the nature of Brahman.
For Vivekanada, Brahman, the word itself, is merely a product of linguistics which are part of our finite reality, which describe a concept beyond words: “He cannot be called a knowing, being, because all processes of perception belong to human beings who are limited by their nature. He cannot also be called a creator, for creation is possible only under certain condition, but He transcends all conditions.”
While Vedantists share this meta-physical ineffable ideation of God, it is the relation to the self (Atman) that is important in understanding the concept of man being Brahman. Moksha was the end result of absolute knowledge and Brahman is absolute knowledge. Vivekananda wanted the individual to have a keen appreciation of the self and its relation to Brahman.
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While Vivekananda taught monotheism, he was assured of the notion that there were many if not infinite paths to seeing God. Again, we see paths for both the individual and the collective in his theology. For the individual the proper method for bringing oneself to an understanding of Brahman was through Samadhi; for the collective it was through social and political action. These have been seen as having a powerful connection:
Vedanta, in his hands became an instrument for regenerating and revitalizing India by making an appeal to the masses to become strong, fearless and self-reliant. Thus his philosophy represents a synthesis of contemplation and action; Nirvikalpa Samadhi and humanitarian activity, God and the world. Individual salvation and social service run parallel to each other.
For the individual to obtain Moksha was not through some grand epiphany, but rather something far more commonplace. Because the concept of Brahman was far beyond the reach of human intellect, Vivekananda believed that the path to understanding Brahman, and eventually Moksha, came from Samadhi (meditation).
Meditation is the method one employs within physical reality that can propagate an understanding of the unity between man and God. Meditation played an integral role in Vivekananda’s own understanding of God and he advocated others to engage in daily meditation as an aide for understanding Brahman. Vivekananda says of meditation, “The greatest help to spiritual life is meditation. In meditation we divest ourselves of all material conditions and feel our divine nature. We do not depend upon any external help in meditation.” The goal of meditation for Vivekananda is to rid the mind of anything related to our temporal state, thus clearing the mind’s thoughts so that the physical being becomes unattached from the material world and connects with the spiritual.
Universal Religion
Organized religion is an interesting subject in Vivekananda’s thought, as it applies to both individual salvation and a collective community and group consciousness. To this point we have talked about routes and methods to bring one to salvation which are Hindu in nature. While Vivekananda is unquestionably a Hindu, he was greatly influenced by other religions, mainly Buddhism and Christianity, and believed that all religions held a universal message that brought all believers who practiced their own faith in Truth to the same end goal, which was salvation or Moksha.
Vivekananda believed in communal Salvation through the realization of a Universal Religion. Vivekananda saw a link between religion and social reform : “As our social struggles are represented, among different nations, by different social organizations, so man’s spiritual struggles are represented by various religions.” For Vivekananda, while there is a universal struggle for social rights, and the issue may differ from nation to nation, the end goal is the same. Religion runs parallel to this thought; there are many different religions in different nations with different practices, yet their end goal is still the same.
Vivekananda believed that religion cannot exist within the physical manifestations of religion, such as religious societies, sects, or dogmas, but was rather a relationship between the soul (Atman) and God (Brahman).
Vivekananda sought to justify the equal status amongst different religions by stripping them of their earthly attributes and focusing instead on the meta-physical connection religion shares with God and Truth: “each religion, as it were, takes up one part of the great universal truth and spends its whole force in embodying and typifying that part of the great truth. It is, therefore, an addition and not exclusion.” Vivekananda believed in the essence of all religions, and that if one were true, then all others must be true as well.
One of Vivekananda’s main goals for Vedanta Philosophy was to revive its interest in India as well as the West. The belief that India is the home of tolerance and spirituality was important for revitalizing the spirits of a people who had lost their land and confidence through the British colonization of India. Throughout his writings he gives rather stereotypical descriptions of the West. It is seen as materialistic, indulgent, and secular, while he views the East as being the home of spirituality.
During colonial rule, the British often saw a disorganized people with no central political or religious core. They saw Hinduism as being divided into thousands of different sects with no universal identity. Politically, this perceived fragmentation was dis-advantageous for the British who wanted to deal with one people, one culture, and one political body so that they might have a more efficient administration. They remedied this problem by encouraging and supporting a re-emergence of the Brahminical classes as internal leaders of India. The British saw loose parallels between the Hindu caste system and their own system of classes which would help the British better understand and control Hindus. What this did was strip Hindus of their national and spiritual identity. The British supported the Vishishtadvaitin’s worship of Krishna as it mirrored their worship of Christ. In turn, the Indian ruling class, who held influence over the people of India, were happy to co-operate with the British in this type of devotion because it advanced their own interests.
Vivekananda and his neo-Vedanta philosophy was a direct response to this colonial interference. There were other anti-colonial groups combating the influence of the British, such as the Brahmo Samaj, whose goals were to rid India of European influence, however, their motives were at times paradoxical; they wanted to modernize Hinduism while returning it to its roots. One aspect that both Vivekananda and the Brahmo Samaj could agree upon was that the current form of Hinduism was corrupt, separated, and far too weak to defeat the British. That being said, Vivekananda did not believe that returning to the roots of Hinduism would bring the people of India the power they needed to defeat the British; instead, he felt that the creation of something new, something the people of India could call their own, could resist British influence and thus was the way to end British rule.
When Vivekananda began preaching this new Advaita philosophy to the people of India, he was not simply declaring a new religious truth, but was also aiming to strengthen Indian and Hindu nationalism around a singular cultural theme taken from its own tradition. He believed that Hinduism could resist British rule by coming together in opposition to it, rather than in support of it. The theme of oneness found within Advaita philosophy created a sense of unity amongst the Indian people and politically it unified separate or distant branches of Hinduism into one voice. Advaita philosophy allowed a people who had historically been separated by language, religious practice, and cultural beliefs to identify themselves as one people with a common sense of values and purpose.
Vivekananda said that the West had mastered the “outer world”, while the East retained mastery over “the inner.” Vivekananda applied Advaita to the Indian tradition, making it not only the basis for harmonizing the various traditions of Hinduism, but the inspiration behind his view of Hindu Nationalism; he refers to Advaita Vedanta as “our national philosophy.” This is tremendously important as it re-identifies post-colonial Hindus as predominantly concerned with spirituality as opposed to the material world of the Europeans.
To this point we have discussed and analyzed the concept of Vivekananda’s Vedanta Philosophy. We are aware that Advaita is the creation of a new form from a pre-existing Hindu philosophy which was applied practically to restore Hindu national identity to the people in wake of the colonization of India by the British. What remains to explore are the methods in which Vivekananda used to teach Advaita to both the people of India and the West. As well as the motivations and implications the perceived validation of Hinduism by West had on modern Hindu identity. In what remains, I will talk about the importance of the Bhagavad Gita and its teachings, as well as the impact Vivekananda’s influence on the West had on India, and its importance.
The Bhagavad Gita and the West
Colonial and post-colonial social life in India was in turmoil. Vivekananda sought to lift India out from under the blanket economic slavery and social misery imposed by the British. It was through selfless action and a re-emergence of the Gita and its activist teaching that Vivekananda thought freedom would be brought back to his people. Vivekananda interpreted the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita in terms of social activity and the Karma yoga doctrine as selfless action and resistance to injustice:
Vivekananda wanted India to be rejuvenated with selfless activity to attain social and political freedom. Though a man of renunciation, he prescribed activity to the common man and monk alike to realize freedom, individual and social. As he said, ‘Karma Yoga, therefore, is a system of ethics and religion intended to attain freedom through unselfishness and by good works’.
Vivekananda saw selfless activity as a means to realize Brahman or the true-self. The individual, through selfless action, realizes his or her true nature and serves his fellow man as well as society to the best of their ability. The Bhagavad Gita can be located as the foundation for most, if not all, of Vivekananda’s religious and political thought. More about the Gita and Vivekananda is found in his book The Bhagavad Gita according to Swami Vivekananda, but it cannot be discussed further in the scope of this paper.
The West has always been a paradox for Vivekananda’s thinking and action. In one sense Vivekananda condemns the West for enslaving India and encouraging a life of materialism and temporal pursuits; but in another sense, he remained concerned with bringing Vedanta philosophy to the West and encouraging Westerners to adopt Hindu concepts so that they might see the error of their ways. Furthermore, as stated earlier, Vivekananda wanted to bring confidence back to his people and his nation. Too much of the monotheistic West, Hinduism was not a valid religion. Vivekananda sought to remedy this problem and wanted to bring Hinduism into the spectrum of an accepted world religion, which he did during his time in Chicago at the parliament of world religions in 1893. It was then that he enraptured audiences with his speeches and elevated Hinduism’s status amongst Western philosophical and theological scholars. He was able to do so by relating monotheism to his ideas of Advaita Vedanta. The idea that Hinduism had a central monotheistic God was something the West could accept and relate to:
Realizing the opportunity that now presents itself, he begins to utilize his recognition by the West, and Western interest in Vedanta, to bring attention to the Vedanta in India, and to generate Hindu confidence in its own traditions. Aghenanda Bharati has referred to this phenomenon as the “pizza effect” — the idea being that the foreign acceptance of an idea or tradition helps to foster its appreciation among the indigenous populace.
While this sense of prostylization may seem superficial, in that there should not be a need for validation from the West for the people of India to have confidence in their religion, it speaks to the nature of Vivekananda’s Vedanta Philosophy and its call for active engagement and selfless action to help realize one’s true nature. Vivekananda knew that the people of India were suffering from a sense of inferiority to the West and were engaging in Western social customs, which he was strictly opposed to. Vivekananda, “ridiculed the idea of imitating the West because Western civilization was too young, and had yet to manifest the stability of the Indian tradition.” He understood that the emotions of his people, which were keeping them from realizing their true nature, were part of a constructed reality and ultimately an illusion (maya).
Thus he sought to do what was necessary, letting go of egotistical and emotional thinking, and engaging the West to accept Hindu and India’s worth in order to save his fellow man. This type of utilitarian and positivist thinking is what distinguishes Vivekananda’s Vedanta philosophy from others.
While much of Vivekananda’s thinking was leery of Western ideals, he was aware of certain attributes of Western civilization which were beneficial: “He wanted India to retain her spirituality and then learn the useful things from other nations…He wanted the combination of the best of the West and the East, of materialism and spirituality, of action and contemplation.” Vivekananda was not an opportunist nor a hypocrite. He spoke of a partnership between the East and the West and truly believed in their congruency, understanding that each civilization could mutually benefit from one another; it was simply a matter of understanding each other. This coming together as one was the foundation for his universal religion, explored above. Vivekananda wanted to make both sides aware that were not separate entities, but one people working together to achieve the same goal through different methods.
Conclusion
To understand Vivekananda’s religious thoughts is an attempt at creating a bridge between the divine, our own reality, and the connective fabric from which we are all made. In terms of theological constructs it would be right to identify Vivekananda as a neo-Vedantist. As a neo-Vedantist he based his new perspective on the pre-existing ideas of Vedanta philosophy, which was individualistic by nature. Vivekananda created a new and dynamic point of view which was in contrast, inclusivist and utilitarian in nature. The idea that everything in our reality is manifest Brahman is not only theologically different, in that it is monistic in nature, but had social and cultural implications that were ignored by older system of Vedantic thought. Vivekananda used this idea to re-build Indian cultural and religious identity by creating a unified system of thought which all Hindus could relate to. What was once an isolated religion became a unifying force which spread across an entire nation, through thousands of sects, and was heard from many different voices.
The arrival of modernity through the colonization of India by the British brought social and political enslavement, and an upheaval of millennia-old religious ideas. With modernity came consumerism, materialism, and by consequence, the desire for Hindu’s to become concerned with the temporal world rather than the spiritual. Materialism created an identity crisis amongst Hindus. What was at first perceived as social progress and an arrival of “civilization” brought by the British, was quickly discovered as being inherently non-Hindu in nature. Following this realization the Indian people were lost on how they could fight this invasion of their homeland, and return themselves to the civilization they once were.
Vivekananda accomplished this through restoring nationalism that evoked a sense of national unity through the synthesis of common religions. Vivekananda was aware of the impression the West had made on India’s political and social thought processes. While he condemned Western civilization for its lack of spirituality in everyday life, Vivekananda sought to bring Vedanta philosophy to the West not solely for their benefit, but also so that the people of India could realize their contribution to universal religion. This idea of a universal religion had far reaching social and moral implications. He believed that with an education of Eastern philosophy the West would become enlightened and begin to see the value of India’s religious history and introduce spirituality into their way of life. With his success, came a validation of Hinduism from the West, which inspired the people of India to once again believe in their ideals.
One can get lost in trying to compartmentalize the ideas of Vivekananda. His views and ideas are mainly based on his understanding of Vedanta, but there were other influences such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. What is important to remember is that despite these influences, Vivekananda maintained his own independent thinking and attempted to synthesize strengths and weaknesses from different works to strengthen his main ideal, the universal principle.
Accepting that everything is Brahman, or God, was the basis for understanding social, moral, and political reform. He identified man with God and sought to strengthen the individual through selfless service to our fellowman. Vivekananda saw human nature as pure, and this concept led him to realize that all life is one. Even though Vivekananda’s Advaita philosophy was new, his goal was not. Freedom from the bondage of Samsara and the understanding of perfect knowledge through Brahman and lead one to spiritual liberation (Moksha) was the goal of Vivekananda. This was not simply a goal for the people of India, but for the world. Salvation was only possible for one if it were possible for all. This is why the works of Vivekananda are so essential. His mode of thinking and operation can be used as an example to understand how spirituality, culture, and human consciousness are inter-related and alter over time, within which a cycle can be identified of change and reform. As Vivekananda saw modernization sweep through the East and the West, impacting both civilizations in different ways, he saw that their needed to be a re-balancing of spirituality in both cultures. Vivekananda’s spiritual contribution is continuing to mold
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[ 1 ]. Gopal Shrinivas Banhatti, Life And Philosophy Of Swami Vivekananda (New Dehli: Atlantic, 1989), 4.
[ 2 ]. Gopal Shrinivas Banhatti, Life And Philosophy Of Swami Vivekananda (New Dehli: Atlantic, 1989), 8.
[ 3 ]. Ibid.
[ 4 ]. Gopal Shrinivas Banhatti, Life And Philosophy Of Swami Vivekananda (New Dehli: Atlantic, 1989), 9.
[ 5 ]. Willhelm Halbfass, India in the History of Self-Understanding (New York: University Press, 1988), 221.
[ 6 ]. Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Words of Swami Vivekananda (Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 1989), 357.
[ 7 ]. Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Words of Swami Vivekananda (Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 1989), 401.
[ 8 ]. Christopher Etter, A Study of Qualitative Non-Pluralism (Lincoln: iUniverse, 2006), 61.
[ 9 ]. Christopher Etter, A Study of Qualitative Non-Pluralism (Lincoln: iUniverse, 2006), 62.
[ 10 ]. Ibid.
[ 11 ]. Ibid.
[ 12 ]. .
[ 13 ]. http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/journal_archive/10165320/86.pdf.
[ 14 ]. Gopal Shrinivas Banhatti, Life And Philosophy Of Swami Vivekananda (New Dehli: Atlantic, 1989), 41.
[ 15 ]. S.S. Mital, The Social and Political Ideas of Swami Vivekananda (Meerut: B.V. Gupta, 1979), 45.
[ 16 ]. http://www.vivekananda.org/quotes.aspx.
[ 17 ]. .
[ 18 ]. Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Words of Swami Vivekananda (Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 1989), 587.
[ 19 ]. Vidyarathna Sastri, An Introduction to Adwaita Philosophy: A Critical and Systematic Exposition of Sankara School of Vedanta (Dehli: Bharatiya Publishing House, 1979) 172.
[ 20 ]. S.S. Mital, The Social and Political Ideas of Swami Vivekananda (Meerut: B.V. Gupta, 1979), 26.
[ 21 ]. Willhelm Halbfass, India in the History of Self-Understanding (New York: University Press, 1988), 221.
[ 22 ]. S.S. Mital, The Social and Political Ideas of Swami Vivekananda (Meerut: B.V. Gupta, 1979), 121.
[ 23 ]. S.S. Mital, The Social and Political Ideas of Swami Vivekananda (Meerut: B.V. Gupta, 1979), 126.
