With historical-critical analysis and dialogical even-handedness, the essays of this book re-assess the life and legacy of Swami Vivekananda, forged at a time of colonial suppression, from the vantage point of socially-engaged religion at a time of global dislocations and international inequities. Due to the complexity of Vivekananda as a historical figure on the cusp of late modernity with its vast transformations, few works offer a contemporary, multi-vocal, nuanced, academic examination of his liberative vision and legacy in the way that this volume does. It brings together North American, European, British, and Indian scholars associated with a broad array of humanistic disciplines towards critical-constructive, contextually-sensitive reflections on one of the most important thinkers and theologians of the modern era.
Acknowledgments Abbreviations Vivekananda's Life, Legacy, and Liberative Ethics: An Introduction Rita D. Sherma PART I: VIVEKANANDA IN RELATION TO HINDU PHILOSOPHIES & MAJOR THINKERS Swami Vivekananda and Adi Sankaracarya: Similarities and Differences T. S. Rukmani Swami Vivekananda's Interpretation of Brahmasutra 1.1.19 as a Hermeneutic Basis for Samanvayi Vedanta Ayon Maharaj Kundalini Yoga in the Spirituality of Swami Vivekananda and in Modern Yoga Michael Stoeber Vivekananda in the History of Vedanta: Continuities and Contradictions Andrew J. Nicholson Flavors of Advaita in Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, and Sri Aurobindo Debashish Banerji PART II: A LEGACY OF SERVICE Vivekananda and his Organizational Legacy with Particular Reference to Seva within the Ramakrishna Movement Gwilym Beckerlegge "This Prema Dwells in the Heart of Them All:" Swami Vivekananda on Love and Compassion Kusumita Pedersen Swami Vivekananda's Legacy of Service: A Critical Assessment Shrinivas Tilak "Perfect Independence": Swami Vivekananda, Women and Freedom Pravrajika Vrajaprana PART III: REVISITING APPRAISALS OF VIVEKANANDA Complementarity, not Contradiction: Swami Vivekananda's Theology of Religions Jeffery D. Long Neglected Advaitas: The Genealogy of Swami Vivekananda's Cosmopolitan Theology James Madaio | Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Oriental Institute De-subjugating Timeless Vocabularies - Swami Vivekananda as Intellectual Catalyst Kapil Kapoor Swami Vivekananda and Muscular Hinduism Sharada Sugirtharajah Epilogue What Is Hinduism? A Reflection on Vivekananda's Legacy in Relation to the Definition of Hinduism Arvind Sharma About the Contributors
