Swami Vivekananda’s Vision of Future Society
Book Reviews
Papers from a seminar at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture;
July 2019
Published by Secretary RMIC, Gol Park, Kolkata 700 029. 2014, hardbound, pp. 177+ix. Price not given.
The Vedanta Kesari
40
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his volume consists of some really thought-provoking scholarly essays on Swami Vivekananda’s vision on an emerging India and her society. The topics range from Spirit of Scientific Enquiry, its place in the India of the future, the role of the teacher, India’s duties and expectations. The essays are diverse – examining the role of women in contributing to a new culture and, best of all, examining the place of electronic media in contemporary education. The progression is significant; the speakers have examined Swamiji’s contributions to the thought of not just his own times but his continuing relevance a hundred and fifty years later. The underlying theme of the essays in the volume is education and, through education, the refining of the collective social consciousness and intelligence, such that humankind transforms itself into the best it can be. Every single paper proves the axiom that Swamiji’s vision was so spectacularly broad that while India was its base, its trajectory was vast and covered the whole world. This volume is one of those rare publications which has something in it for everyone interested in a positive, optimistic roadmap for the future of India and through it the whole world. Needless to say, it requires close, dedicated reading and reflection and is worth every minute spent on those two endeavours. ___________________________ PREMA RAGHUNATH, CHENNAI
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Indian Cultural Unity Edited by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya
Published by Secretary, RMIC, Gol Park, Kolkata - 700 029. 2014, hardbound, pp. 361+ ix. Price not given.
T
his scholarly work is the result of a seminar held in the Ramakrishna Institute of Culture on the occasion of Swami Vivekananda’s 150th Birth Anniversary in 2013. The book consists of thirteen essays spread over six sessions which examine a wide range of historical, anthropological, social and geographical conditions that give a culture its true identity; they focus on the way culture gains richness and a colour all of its own. The starting point is the reformist movement of 19th century Bengal, notably the part played by Raja Rammohan Roy, Keshab Chandra Sen, Sri Ramakrishna, and Swami Vivekananda. The mood of questioning and framing new belief systems, accepting those which were relevant and disregarding those which had outlived their relevance was very much in the intellectual atmosphere of the time. Swami Vivekananda went one step further: ‘I do not believe in it (tolerance),’ he said, ‘I believe in acceptance. Why should I tolerate? Toleration means I think you are wrong and I am just allowing you to live.’ (page 65). This very novel approach has
