Swami Vivekananda and Sri Ramakrishna

[Ashish Chandra]

Dear Robert,

Pardon me if I have not gone through each and every message in this thread
but so far as I have read Swami Vivekanand's works (which is not a lot), I
get the impression that he is a proponent of the many-paths idea propounded
by his Guru Shri Shri Ramkrishna Paramhamsa. However, one also gets the
impression that in this day and age (Swamiji's and ours), it is indeed the
"Aham Brahmaasmi" idea that can resurrect the fallen and despondent Hindu.
He has not criticized other paths such as Vishishtadvaita or Dvaita Vedanta
but comes out identifying strongly with Advaitam. It would also not be
correct to say that Swamiji is not honored in his own land. But insofar as
Swamiji being a higher authority on Advaita than the Shankaracharyas, this
suggestion would obviously not hold. Almost without fail, Swami Vivekananda
has praised all the paths and philosophies that have emerged from the Hindu
mind but he has identified more with Advaita than with anything else. As far
as the Vedas are concerned, Swamiji, just like everyone else sees them as
being Apaurusheya and eternal and holds them as being, for want of a better
word, revelations to Rishis.

Namaste
Ashish


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