Swami Vivekananda and the Modernisation of Hinduism

Product Description Bringing together fourteen papers, this book gives new depth to our understanding of the aims and achievements of Swami Vivekananda. It invites us to relate him to movements and individuals outside his native Bengal; it shows how modernizing trends in Indian society wrestled with traditional features of Hinduism such as caste; and it links his religious and social ideals to thinkers and theologians in the West. The book firmly distances Swami Vivekananda from chauvinist or communal misinterpretations of his work. Review `a timely set of 14 articles ... does a marvellous job ... there is much to admire in these essays and little to criticize ... this is the kind of book that makes one proud to be an intellectual.' Jeffrey J Kripal, Bulletin of the SOAS 62:3 1999 About the Author William Radice is at University of London.