Vivekananda: Beyond Hinduism

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 12 January 2024 "We've had enough of all religions, their shrines and gods. We've also had enough of so-called spirituality and mysticism. All we need is a heart full of love and compassion." Vivekananda January 12 is Vivekananda's Birth Anniversary ----- Long ago, a scholar, who was an authority on Vivekananda, shared the aforementioned thought with me. He sent it in Bengali which I've translated into English. Those people, who're projecting Swami Vivekananda as the face of Hinduism, should know that even Vivekananda got disillusioned with the conventional religions and gods. It must be mentioned that Vivekananda was an atheist in the beginning but turned a believer when he came in contact with Ramakrishna Paramhans. But that atheistic rationality (all atheists are rational people) stayed with him till the end. Hindus generally don't quote the aforementioned statement of Vivekananda. Rather, they project him as the poster boy of neo-Hinduism who descanted upon the resurgence of Hinduism in his 1893 speech in Chicago World Religion Convention (also known as The World's Parliament of Religions). Jiddu Krishnamurthy said in one of his discourses at Belur near Calcutta in 1952 that after the age of 30, Vivekananda began to feel the futility of all faiths, including Hinduism, and considered all religions, shrines and gods as impediments to inner divinity but he didn't share his new awakening with many. He started feeling that only untainted love and compassion for all and sundry would help an individual realize his/her goal in life. Vivekananda was a dynamic man who believed that love, compassion, ethics and empathy were integral to humans without the help of religion and religiosity. Alas, he died young at the age of 39. I'm sure, had he lived longer, he'd have publicly derided and discarded all faiths, including his Hinduism, much to the consternation of today's Sanatanis and Anburajs. All mystics (well, Vivekananda started disliking the term mystic, though his mentor Ramakrishna was one) also urged mankind to go beyond religions and sects. They exhorted humans to go and spread love in all directions. Just like Hindus, Muslims on this portal may also take umbrage if I quote Reynold A Nicholson's definitive observation on Rumi, "Towards the fag-end of his life, Rumi began to feel suffocated and embarrassed in showcasing his Islamic identity. He secretly dropped all identities....." The same happened to Vivekananda. In fact, almost the same awakening dawned on Kumaril Bhatt, one of the greatest and most aggressive exponents of ancient Hinduism along with Vachaspati Mishra. Vivekananda would have been appalled to see what's going on at the moment. There's no love, only hatred; religious hatred to be precise. Had he been alive, would he have aligned himself with today's degenerated Hinduism? By the way, he was born on January 12. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/vivekananda-hinduism/d/131503 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism