Debating Vivekananda: A Reader, ed. A. Raghuramaraju, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 514 + xxviii

This is an outstanding collection of nineteen papers, including a few early accounts of Vivekananda but mostly more recent scholarly analysis. Vivekananda remains not only a significant historical figure but a significant cultural force.

The essays are in seven sections, with a significant introduction by the editor who states that “The essays collected in this volume on Swami Vivekananda have a two-fold task: to arrive at a rigorous evaluation of Vivekananda as emerging from different debates and to take stock of what is available” (xi).

The first section, “The Extent and Limits of Impact,” has three brief historical papers by Brajendranath Seal (a classmate of Vivekananda, written in 1907), Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Jawaharlal Nehru and Prabha Dixit. Dixit’s excellent paper probes the political thought of Vivekananda, whose views were not well formulated and left very little impact; “he was a protagonist of political and economic status quo and a defender of traditional culture” (38).

The second section is on “Practical Vedanta,” although other papers also look at this key aspect of Vivekananda’s heritage. Essays by Paul Hacker, Wilhelm Halbfass and Krishna Prakash Gupta make up this section. Hacker is critical of Vivekananda’s neo-Vedantic ethics, which he sees as borrowed from the West and not true to Vedantic sources. Halbfass’ paper is a response to Hacker,and Gupta provides a larger perspective on the whole question of Vivekananda borrowing from the West, showing the complexity of Vivekananda in his own Indian contexts as well as in relating to the West.

Section three on “Ramakrishna Paramahansa” is one of the most stimulating in the book. It opens with the longest and perhaps the best paper in this collection, Sumit Sarkar’s 83 pages of analysis of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda and their tenuous relationship. The differences between Ramakrishna’s Dakshineswar Temple and Vivekananda’s Belur Math, on opposite banks of the vast Bhagirathi River, is illustrative of how different the two men were. Carl Olson’s essay which follows presents a rather pedantic comparison with the thought of Emmanuel Levinas, but is also insightful into Vivekananda’s transformation of Ramakrishna’s ideas and practice.

Section four is on “Secularism,” is a reprint of four papers from the journal Quest from 1973. Krishna Prasad Gupta’s core paper is a consideration of religion and secularism in Vivekananda. This draws responses from Ashish Nandy and Nirmal Mukherjee followed by Gupta’s response to his respondents. Gupta points out Vivekanand’s pragmatism and rationalism. Nandy suggests that Vivekananda kept a religious focus due to the times in which he lived; Gandhi a generation later had a far more strongly political focus.

Section five is on “Fundamentalism,” two papers by Nemai Sadhan Bose and Jyotirmaya Sharma that show how poorly Vivekananda fits the mold of modern fundamentalist Hinduism. Sharma suggests that “he [Vivekananda] remained torn between contending notions of Hinduism all his life, some of which were his creation” (373).

Section six on “Women” has papers by Indira Chowdhury and Vrinda Dalmiya. Gender is often discussed in the book as Vivekananda is famous for his appeal for muscular masculinity in response to British rule, and Ramakrishna’s extreme reactions to femininity are outlined. Dalmiya compares love in Vivekananda’s thought with that of modern feminists.

Section seven is on “Science,” with two rather technical but interesting papers. D. H. Killingley looks at Vivekananda’s attempt to show that scientific evolution was first taught in the Yoga Sutras, which involved various ways of stretching his evidence. Anantanand Rambachan more broadly considers Vivekananda’s use of science to support his teachings, particularly with a focus on samadhi; like Killingley, Rambachan finds Vivekananda’s presentation to be lacking in numerous ways.

There is surprisingly little repetition in a book with so many authors on roughly the same topic. There are certainly disagreements, which enlivens the study. Vivekananda left behind a remarkably mixed legacy; he manipulated his guru Ramakrishna’s life and message and likewise himself has become a symbol manipulated for various causes. This book is highly recommended reading for sorting out the many conundrums and incongruities in the life and thought of a remarkable figure.