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Book No. – 8 (Political Science)
Book Name – Indian Political Thought (Himanshu Roy/ M.P. Singh)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. The Man and His Work
2. Life and Times
3. Vivekanand and Problems in Contemporary India
4. Vivekanand and the Revitalization of Indian Life
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LANGUAGE
Vivekananda: Cultural Nationalism
Chapter – 18
Table of Contents
The Man and His Work
- Swami Vivekanand (1863–1902) was open to diverse interpretations and continuously redefined his life and objectives.
- Despite rejecting political praxis, he was listed in the Sedition Committee Report of 1918 as an instigator for war against the British Empire.
- After his first visit to the West (1893), his followers debated whether to see him as a speculative monk or a social crusader.
- Some viewed him as a fiery patriot, while others, including Vivekanand himself and his admirers, emphasized his decision to stay away from organized politics.
- Sister Nivedita (1867–1911) saw him as intensely patriotic but not political, which raised questions about his disagreement with the methods of contemporary Indian politics.
- Vivekanand has been paradoxically considered a key founder of modern Hinduism, even though he was critical of traditional Hinduism during his time.
- His polarized interpretations were due to selective aspects of his life being highlighted at different times.
- In the early 1890s, during his West tour to garner support for India’s social uplift, his mission was seen as a counter to the excesses of materialism.
- His Kayastha background led Hindu orthodoxy to question his credentials to represent Hinduism, yet he later became a symbol of political militancy and resurgent Hinduism during the Swadeshi agitation.
- Vivekanand himself contributed to the idea of a materialist West needing spiritual messages from the East, and he debated the rationale for work and human intervention.
- He contributed to the essentialization of Hinduism, defining it more clearly than before, despite promoting its universalism and pluralism.
- Rammohan Roy may have first used the term Hinduism, but its ideological constituents were more fully shaped by Vivekanand.
- As a philosopher, Vivekanand was not highly original but was an eager learner and admitted when he had changed his views.
- His impatience and crusading spirit led to inconsistency, but his attachment to his country and concern for the social and spiritual welfare of his countrymen remained unwavering.
- The idea of India coalesced around Vivekanand, symbolizing unity and empathy for the poor and humble while emphasizing the underlying unity of human life.
- Vivekanand’s life reveals the inter-penetration of seemingly opposite categories, with spiritual awakening linked to social transformation.
- He saw the edification of the soul and self as interconnected aspects of the same human revolution.
- As a monk, he was unconventional, taking interest in modern civilization, smoking cigars, enjoying French music, and being familiar with continental cuisine.
- Despite criticizing aspects of modernity, he was a modern figure, believing that movement and change were essential to life, while stillness represented decadence.
- He believed that traditions should be reinterpreted to meet new social and historical needs rather than being fossilized in time.
- Vivekanand emphasized that change begins in the minds of men before it manifests in earth-shaking events.
- His overarching mission in life was man-making, aiming to transform individuals into more empowered and capable human beings.