The Cyclonic Swami - Vivekananda in the West

The Cyclonic Swami - Vivekananda in the West

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Author: Sukalyan Sengupta
Makarand Paranjape/
Editor(s): Sukalyan Sengupta / Makarand Paranjape
Publisher: Samvad India
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 212
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8190131826

Description

The Cyclonic Hindu is how Swami Vivekananda was described in one of the many newspaper reports that appeared after his stunning debut at the Parliament of Religions in 1893. Swamiji himself mentions this in his letter of 15 March 1894 to the Hale sisters and also in an undated letter to Swami Ramakrishnananda in early 1894. In the latter, he observes, I am an instrument, and he is rousing the religious instinct in thousands of men and women here love and revere me, I am amazed at His grace. Whichever town I visit, it is in an uproar. They have named me the cyclonic Hindu (Complete Works 6:283)

In the Hale letter, however, his attitude is quite different: I am really not cyclonic at all. far from it. What I want is not here, nor can I longer bear this cyclonic atmosphere (CW 8:302). Instead, he clarifies that what he is teaching is the way to perfection, to strive to be perfect, and to strive to make perfect a few men and women (ibid). This collection of essays tries to capture the complexity and ambivalence inherent in Vivekananda’s mission to the West.

When he faces India, he recognizes that his triumphs in the West give him the requisite leverage, resources, and prestige to carryout his reformative agenda, but when he faces the West, he emphasizes, instead, the deeper Vedantic and spiritual roots of Hinduism. A rational religion, fee of dogma, and committed to self-realization and self-perfection, is what he advocates in the West; in India, he wishes to harness the long-dormant put powerful spiritual energies for social and economic development.

To commemorate 101 years of Swami Vivekananda’s passing; a seminar to assess his impact on the West and his relevance to our times was organized by the Center for Indic Studies, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. This book brings together many of the papers presented during this seminar, along with some new once. With papers by practising scholars and ordained monks from both the Us and India, this unique collection examines not only Vivekananda contemporary significance, but also assesses his unique contributions to and the New Age. Also included is a transcript of a panel discussion on Swami Vivekananda-The Next Hundred Years?

This book is compulsory reading for students and devotees of Swami Vivekananda, as well as for those interested in the impact of Indian spirituality on the West.

REVIEWS

Behold! Here is Naren. See! See! Oh, What power of insight he has! It is like the shoreless sea of radiance!
-Sri Ramakrishna

The thing that held me in Swamiji was his unlimitedness! I never could touch the bottom-or top-or sides! The amazing size of him.
-Josephine MacLeod

The going forth of Vivekananda, marked out by the Master as the heroic soul destined to take the world between his two hands and change it, was the first visible sign to the world that India was awake.
-Sri Aurobindo

Contents

FOREWORD
Sukalyan Sengupta

Swami Vivekananda in the West: An Overview
C S SHAH

Swami Vivekananda’s Message: A Synoptic Outline
PARTHA SINHA

Rediscovering Vivekananda in the East and the West
SWAMI TYAGANANDA

Representing Swami Vivekananda: Some Issues and Debates
MAKARAND PARANJAPE

Turning East: American Interest in Asian Religions Since the 1890s
CARL T JACKSON

Swami Vivekananda’s Universal Spirit And Its Modern Relevance
RINA CHAKRAVARTI

Vivekananda’s Contribution to Christology: A Christian Appreciation
PETER A HUFF

Claiming the Buddha for Hinduism: Swami Vivekananda and the Rediscovery of Buddhism in Inida
JEFFERY D LONG

Hinduism, Hindutva and the Contest for the Meaning of Hindu Identity: Swami Vivekananda and V D Savarkar
ANANTANAND RAMBACHAN

Swami Vivekanda’s Quest for a New Foundation for World Thought
SWAMI ATMARUPANANDA

The Applicability of Swami Vivekananda’s Message to the Contemporary World
HAL W FRENCH

Swami Vivekanad and Today’s World
SWAMI YOGESHANANDA

What the World Expects to Benefit from Swami Vivekananda Today
SITANSU S CHAKRAVARTI

Swami Vivekananda’s Contribution to the New Age
SISTER GAYATRIPRANA

Swami Vivekananda-The Next Hundred Years? A Panel Discussion
MODERATED BY MAKARAND PARANJAPE

Afterword
MAKARAND PARANJAPE

CONTRIBUTORS