Background
Vivekananda, Narendranath was born on January 12, 1863 in Calcutta.
Vivekananda, Narendranath was born on January 12, 1863 in Calcutta.
Studied Law in Calcutta, 1878-1884. Appointed Ramakrishna’s successor in 1886.
Founded the Ramakrishna Mission near Calcutta, May 1897.
Vivekananda (1957) My Life and Mission, Calcutta. Williams, George M. (1974) The Quest for Meaning of Swami Vivekananda. California: New Horizons Press. Vivekananda can be regarded as a modern exponent of Advaita Vedanta. According to Vivekananda Brahman, which is non-dual, eternal, qualityless, indescribable and beyond space and time, is Reality. Positing a non-dual Brahman as Reality, as he recognized, raises difficulties in explaining the existence of a universe with its natural phenomena and objects that are distinct and finite. In other words, how does the infinite Brahman become the finite universe? According to Vivekananda Brahman or the Absolute becomes the universe by coming through time, space and causation. ‘Time, space and causation are like the glass through which the Absolute is seen, and when It is seen on the lower side it appears as the universe’. At this juncture, it is natural to ask the question as to why the infinite Brahman should become finite. To this, according to Vivekananda. there is no answer since the question posed does not make sense. It is nonsensical since it requires the application of concepts to Brahman that are inapplicable to it. According to Vivekananda the ultimate goal for all individuals is awareness of Brahman. And this realization is possible through different forms of discipline which reflect the different dominant tendencies, like reason and emotions, that are found in individuals. These are jnana yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga, and raja yoga. In jnana yoga realization is achieved through the knowledge that the phenomenal world—a product of ignorance—is unreal. In bhakti yoga realization is achievedthrough love and selfless devotion to a personal God—the relative aspect of Brahman. Karma yoga brings about realization through selfless action. In other words it is doing good for good rather than doing good with selfish motives: Although a man has not studied a single system of philosophy, although he does not believe in any God, and never has believed, although he has not prayed even once in his whole life, if the simple power of good actions has brought him to that state where he is ready to give up his life and all else for others, he has arrived at the same point to which the religious man will come through his prayers and the philosopher through his knowledge. Realization through raja yoga takes place through direct awareness of Brahman brought about by a number of ethical, physical and psychical exercises. Vivekananda considered himself to be a socialist. Although there were a number of reforms taking place in areas like child marriage and widow remarriage at the time in India, he perceived these as peripheral. He regarded the improvement of the conditions of the masses to be the main task. Remember that the nation lives in the cottage. But. alas, nobody ever did anything for them. Our modern reformers are very busy about widow remarriage. Of course, I am a sympathiser in every reform, but the fate of the nation does not depend upon the number of husbands their widows get, but upon the conditions of the masses. He felt that social reform could take place only if the lower classes themselves supported it. The way the lower classes could be aroused was through religion and education. According to him, religion was an important tool for social reform in India since the 'Hindu man drinks religiously sleeps religiously marries religiously and robs religiously-. It would not be trite to say that Vivekananda was responsible for bringing Vedantism to the West and popularizing it within India. And, without doubt, he also played a major role in raising Indian national consciousness.