Preface 'Vivekananda on the Vedas' (1)

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SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON THE VEDAS AND UPANISADS

by Sister Gayatriprana

 

(Part I)

 

PREFACE

 

After fourteen years of continuous work, the compilation,

Swami Vivekananda on the Vedas and Upanisads, is now

ready to come to the light of day. It began, partially as a

response to the current confusion over the coherency of

Swami Vivekananda’s Neo-Vedanta and partially as a

search for the essence of his message to contemporary

humanity. As time went by, the volume of the work and

a certain compelling pattern of inner organization built up

a critical mass and momentum which swept the project

forward to its present state of completion. A number of

loose ends remain untied, however. Perhaps that is a

good thing, for it provides opportunities for readers to

make contributions and additions to the overall body of

the work.

 

The invaluable nucleus for this work is Swami Yogeshananda’s

Swami Vivekananda Quotes the Upanishads, an unpublished

compilation made from the Complete Works in 1960, before

much material now available appeared in the public domain.

The swami’s work did not include the classical four mahavakyas,

which have been researched and included in this compilation

along with some other major mantras such as Saccidananda.

I am very much indebted to Swami Yogeshananda’s pioneering work.

 

I sincerely hope that, by bringing this material to light on the

Internet we shall, on the one hand, receive feedback from

readers everywhere, improving and strengthening the work;

and, on the other, will take a step towards establishing the

Himalayan majesty of the Vedanta, particularly in its modern

incarnation of the Neo-Vedanta of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda.

 

(to be continued...)