The life of Vivekananda and the universal gospel - Romain Rolland

Life of vivekananda and the universal gospel

I bought this book , as best I can remember, in the year 1994. I was curious about the authors interest in the subject and motivated by the brief comment decorated on the hind cover. The book briefly catalogues the intellectual life of the sage and then discusses the concept of vedanta in, what is proposed, the universal concept. The author draws multiple similarities between christianity and hinduism, often commenting about the naive effort of presenting advaitism as a novelty by contemporary theologists. His opinion that such is the human psychology of presenting the forgotten as a new creation to the contemporary discourse, is very common among the Hindu preachers. In a critical manner , the author brings into discussion, non academic commentry about the uniqueness of the vedantic religion, as corrupted knowledge since it appears to him that all that has already been seen by the christen saints. What is remarkable is the complete disregard for the temporal gap of several thousand years. It remains unclear whether he holds similar views about the lectures by Vivekananda himself which appears to have motivated him to turn east. 
The book displays a unusual bias in term of complete acceptance of vivekananda even in quotes where his situational responses were impulsive and uncalled for in the position of a mentor. It is unclear whether such commentry was included as an example of the person or followed as a sarcasm to the jut mentioned merits. 
The information provided in the section dealing with biography is historical and will require a seperate process of review. However, there are places where the authors text generates contradictions which are typical of the western materialism way of perceiving. At times the publisher includes foot notes to correct the relevance and reiterates the need for a perspective development to deal with matters of the Hindu religion.

While "Vivekananda" by Romain Rolland is widely acclaimed, it is not without its critiques and controversies. Some critics argue that Rolland's portrayal of Vivekananda is overly hagiographic, emphasizing his virtues while downplaying his flaws and complexities. Additionally, Rolland's interpretation of Vivekananda's teachings and their application to contemporary issues has been subject to debate among scholars and practitioners.

Critics also question the accuracy of certain historical details and the potential for cultural bias in Rolland's representation of Indian spirituality. Despite these critiques, Rolland's biography remains a work that has contributed to the global understanding of Vivekananda's life and legacy.

Conclusion 
This a very brief review of a book i revisited 30 years later. I have read many books related to the subject in the meantime. I feel this book is a casual effort to deal with a very serious subject. It may not be worth spending valuable time reading the whole book. 


I have the book copy and it is available for members for reading.

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