Vivekananda: A Biography

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Vivekananda: A Biography

by Swami Nikhilananda $3.49 $2.09

 

An absorbing biography of Swami Vivekananda (1863 - 1902) that

presents his vast knowledge of Eastern and Western culture, deep

spiritual insight, brilliant conversation, broad human sympathy, and

colorful personality. Swami Vivekananda, India's first spiritual and

cultural ambassador to the West, proclaimed the universal message of

Vedanta: the non-duality of the Godhead, the divinity of the soul,

the oneness of existence, and the harmony of religions. This 256

page book details the life of Swami Vivekananda and contains 28

photographs, as well as an appendix containing the Swami's most

important teachings.

 

From the Publisher:

 

Swami Vivekananda, India's first spiritual and cultural ambassador

to the West, came to represent the religions of India at the World's

Parliament of Religions, held at Chicago in connection with the

World's Fair (Columbian Exposition) of 1893. His message of the

unity of humankind and harmony of religions was embraced by the

public and press of the time as representing the essence of the

Parliament. The Swami wished to create a bridge between the East and

the West by bringing to America the gift of India's ancient

spirituality, in exchange for the scientific and industrial outlook

of the West. After four years of traveling and teaching in America

and Europe, the Swami returned to India, where he is revered as

a " Patriot Saint. " The government of India has declared his birthday

a national holiday. In 1976 on the occasion of the American

Bicentennial, Swami Vivekananda was honored by the Smithsonian

Institution's National Portrait Gallery as one who came to America

from abroad during the past 200 years and made a significant impact

on its spiritual development.

 

Upon his return to India, Swami Vivekananda founded The Ramakrishna

Order of India in the name of his teacher, Sri Ramakrishna, who is

regarded as the Prophet of Harmony of Religions. The Order is the

pre-eminent religious organization of modern India. More than 1000

monks of the Order serve throughout the world. While in the West the

work is mainly in the form of conducting worship, teaching, writing

and lecturing, in India the Order is widely known for its vast

charitable activities -- running hospitals and schools, rural

uplift, and extensive relief work in times of emergency. The Swamis

of the Order work tirelessly in the spirit of " Service of God in

Man, " regarding the service of all people as a veritable form of

worship. The Centers of the Order in America, often referred to by

such names as Ramakrishna or Vivekananda Centers, or Vedanta

Societies, were first organized by Swami Vivekananda for the

propagation of the Swami's teachings. Today there are Centers in

many of America's major cities, including New York, Boston,

Providence, Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco,

Berkeley, Sacramento, and Hollywood. Because of their belief in the

underlying truth of all religions, the Centers of the Ramakrishna

Order are at the forefront of the Interfaith Movement. (Publisher's

comments written by Swami Adiswarananda, Spiritual Leader,

Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York).

 

From the Back Cover:

 

" It may be that I shall find it good to get outside my body - to

cast it off like a worn-out garment. But I shall not cease to work.

I shall inspire men everywhere, until the world shall know that it

is one with God. " - Swami Vivekananda.

 

Swami Vivekananda (1863 - 1902), a well-known figure in intellectual

and religious circles in America during the first decade of the

nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth, is

cherished by an ever increasing number of readers of his books. His

genius was revealed to the world at large in the Parliament of

Religions held in Chicago in 1893, where he indicated India's

rightful place in the spiritual map of the world. The first cultural

ambassador of his motherland to the West, and the builder of the

spiritual bridge connecting the two hemispheres, Vivekananda dreamt

of One World based upon a synthesis of religion and science and a

knowledge of the solidarity of mankind. In his utterances the souls

of East and West, the one oppressed by the tyranny of society and

the other by the dead weight of secularism, found the way to

freedom. As Ramakrishna, the teacher, reinterpreted and relived for

the modern world the spiritual heritage of India, so Vivekananda,

the disciple, anticipates and inspires her potential contribution.

 

About the Author:

 

Swami Nikhilananda, a direct disciple of Holy Mother Sri Sarada

Devi, was born in a small Indian village in 1895 and was ordained a

monk of the Ramakrishna Order in 1924. After spending several years

in the Himalayan monastery of his Order, during which time he made a

study of Hinduism and other systems of philosophy and religion, he

was sent to America in 1931. He founded the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda

Center of New York in 1933 and was its spiritual leader until his

passing away in 1973. The Swami was a gifted writer, and his

contributions to the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda literature cannot be

overstated. His translations of the scriptures, his biographies of

Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda, his compilations

of the works of Swami Vivekananda, his other books and many articles

in various journals and publications are permanent sources of

spiritual knowledge and inspiration. Notable among these works are

the following titles: 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', 'Holy

Mother', 'Vivekananda: A Biography', 'The Upanishads (volumes I-

IV)', 'The Bhagavad Gita', 'Self-Knowledge', 'Hinduism', and 'Man in

Search of Immortality'. Many of these works were originally

introduced by major publishers, such as Harper & Row (New York) and

George Allen & Unwin (London). Time Magazine called Swami

Nikhilananda's translations of 'The Bhagavad Gita', " The first

really readable, authoritative English translation of one of the

world's greatest religious classics. " W. Somerset Maugham praised

Self-Knowledge as a " wonderful piece of exposition. " But the Swami's

monumental work, for which he will ever be remembered, is 'The

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna'. This complete translation into English

from the original Bengali of the Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, as

recorded by " M, " has made the immortal words of this great prophet

of the nineteenth century available to countless readers throughout

the world. Aldous Huxley was pleased to write a foreword to 'The

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', and high praise was given to the book by

such notable persons as Thomas Mann and Henry Miller. Time Magazine

referred to The Gospel as " One of the world's most extraordinary

religious documents. "

 

Review:

 

" My homage and respect to the very revered memory of Swami

Vivekananda . . . .after having gone through [his works], the love

that I had for my country became a thousandfold. " - Mahatma Gandhi

 

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