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Abhedananda's Interpretation Of ABHEDANANDA’S INTERPRETATION OF NEO - VEDANTA Thesis Submitted to Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, for the Award of the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN SANSKRIT VEDANTA DIVYA N. K. DEPARTMENT OF SANSKRIT VEDANTA FACULTY OF INDIAN METAPHYSICS SREE SANKARACHARYA UNIVERSITY OF SANSKRIT KALADY – 2017. Dr. K. REMADEVI AMMA Professor, Department of Vedanta, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, Kerala, 683574. CERTIFICATE This is to certify that, this thesis entitled “ABHEDANANDA’S INTERPRETATION OF NEO-VEDANTA” submitted for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Sanskrit Vedanta, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, is an authentic record of research work carried out by Mrs. Divya N. K. under my guidance and supervision. KALADY, Date:16/ 11/ 2017. Dr. K. REMADEVI AMMA DECLARATION I, Divya N.K., Research Scholar, Department of Sanskrit Vedanta, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, do hereby declare that the present thesis entitled ‘ABHEDANANDA’S INTERPRETATION OF NEO-VEDANTA’, submitted for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sanskrit Vedanta is a record of bonafide research carried out by me. It is also declared that this has not previously been formed, in part or full, the basis for the award of any Degree, Diploma or fellowship or any other similar title. KALADY, DIVYA N.K. Date :16/ 11/ 2017. PREFACE The base of Indian culture and heritage is the unity in diversity or the oneness and this is its uniqueness. This unity in diversity, brotherhood, religious tolerance and national integrity are the pillars of Indian heritage. West Bengal is the most gifted land of India as it gave birth to many great leaders in almost all the fields, for example in the field of social reformation it was Rajaram Mohan Roy who is also known as the maker of Modern India, in the field of spiritual reformation and awakening it was Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda and so on, in the field of literature and arts it was Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and others. In such a blessed land, Abhedananda rose to the soaring heights in the field of Indian renaissance as a thinker and a humanist in the state of West Bengal. The people of India and the West accepted him as a great and intellectual leader. He was acknowledged and respected by all who knew him. The superior qualities of his parents were the base as well as the support for his character formation and future life. In India one can see the intricate bond of religion and philosophy, to make this bond, strong Ved¡nta plays a major role. From the very childhood onwards he was attracted to all religions and his intellectual thrust made him study it deeply and to sponge in all the good values of it. This has been reflected in his life too. So when one speaks of the Ved¡nta philosophy it means he is speaking of both religion and philosophy. Relevance In the arena of Indian philosophy one can come across numerous philosophers and seers who have used the Neo-Ved¡nta. Abhedananda was also an interpreter of Indian traditions and knowledge, a defender of India’s cultural achievements. His philosophical stand point of Absolute is very clear and positive. He says that the divine realization does not mean a mere intellectual apprehension of the thought. The words that he always preached were from the UpaniÀads, because he found in it, the texts of energy, individuality and manhood. So his philosophy is aptly described as neo-Ved¡ntism. He also discussed the modern view points of Vedanta without discarding the traditional concepts which are embedded in it. His language and narrative style of Ved¡nta is unique in a manner, that which communicates with the new generation. The contemporary Indian thinkers and leaders of renaissance like Rajaram Mohan Roy, Aurobindo Ghosh, Jiddu Krishna Murthi, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and the like have gone deep into it and have interpreted Ved¡nta. There has been a lot of research on these personalities and their works, but the research on Abhedananda’s philosophy and religion has not been taken up for any academic studies so far. He had composed several books related to Ved¡nta and also had used the Lingua Franca to teach or rather propagate the lofty philosophy of the Ved¡nta in the West. The philosophy of Abhedananda which is based on social expression and sentiments, stressed to uplift India from her social weakness and poverty. The cataclysm of reformation and spiritual awareness will surely bring back the Indian luster and her lost heritage. Through a series of penance which formed his life, taught a great lesson to the human society that truth could be realized only through hardships. Abhedananda has a great literary legacy as his lectures chiefly covers almost all the subjects like Yoga, UpaniÀads and Ved¡nta. He was well versed in the fields of Science, Astronomy, and Psychology and almost in all fields of education, yet there have not been many studies on him or his contributions. The present work focuses mainly on the traditional and modern perspectives. The present work attempts to evaluate ABHEDANANDA’S INTERPRETATION OF NEO-VEDANTA. It is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is Introduction, which gives a detailed explanation of Neo-Ved¡nta. It also depicts the philosophy of the spiritual leaders like Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. Hinduism is an accumulation of many organizations, traditions, practices, faith, ideologies, sects, etc. Sri Ramakrishna Mission and their ideologies marked a rejuvenation of the monastic system of India. The main motto of the mission is ‘Work is Worship’ and also non- sectarian outlook, the fire of inner purity, sacrifice and universal brotherhood. The second chapter is The Life, Mission and Works of Abhedananda. It includes Abhedananda’s life, education, initiation, spiritual and philosophical backdrops, his major works and also his missionary activities. A brief comparison of Abhedananda and Swami Vivekananda is dealt here. Metaphysical Idealism Reflected In Abhedananda’s Works constitutes the third chapter. It reflects the philosophical thoughts of Abhedananda. According to him philosophy roots on realisation of the absolute truth. The three pillars of philosophy is the World, Brahman or Truth and the Individual Soul. He has given his opinion of the principles of Brahman, M¡ya, liberation, the power of the mighty mind, the concentration, will power etc. and also compared the Ved¡nta philosophy with other philosophies. The fourth chapter explains Relevance And Reflection of Neo- Vedantic Interpretations in Abhedananda’s Philosophy. It gives a clear picture of Abhedananda’s traditional interpretation of Bhagavad G¢t¡, Yoga and UpaniÀads. He has also analyzed the cardinal principles of the G¢t¡ such as NiÀk¡ma Karma, the ideology of knowledge, Ëtman, and MokÀa in his interpretation. He has gone deep into the realms of Yoga by emphasizing the Kriy¡yoga and Ha¶hayoga besides other Yogas. Abhedananda was greatly attracted to Ka¶hopaniÀad. The one who moves along the path of truth by abstaining from worldly and material pleasures will achieve the goal of his life. Abhedananda, here, says that the knowledge of external world should be erased off to imbibe the knowledge of self, is the essence of UpaniÀad. The practicality of Ved¡nta was stressed by Abhedananda. The ethics of human life underlined by Abhedananda are virtues like d¡na, dharma, daya, charity, purity, forgiveness and the like. The philosophy of Ved¡nta which is coined by Abhedananda is the one that accepts all the good and the best qualities of each and every religion, rites and rituals at the same time discards the bad and the worst. The philosophy of Ved¡nta and also the religious interpretation have been dealt in detail in this chapter. Abhedananda is of opinion that the aim of all true religions is unity. This unity is the base on which the teaching of Ved¡nta is built on, stage by stage. The Ved¡nta can be considered to be the universal religion as it includes in it the essence of all religions. It has no contempt for other religions, rites and rituals but instead imbibes all the moral and ethical teachings in its right spirit and wisdom. Today the philosophy of Ved¡nta has been accepted worldwide because it is the one which throws light into the very spirit of human being and leads them to the path of salvation or immortality. The fifth and last chapter is the Conclusion and Findings. The observations and findings on this research have been detailed here. The Ved¡nta movement started by Swami Vivekananda gave birth to many inspiring and dedicated sany¡sins and here the role of Abhedananda was that of a conqueror and innovator. He waved his magic wand of speeches and lectures and soon the soul of America was revealed to him. When he once understood the soul of the Americans, he overwhelmed it with the exalted ideals of the universal Truth. He was a monk of a very calm nature, positive in his outlook, never annoyed, which proves that he had kept his word given to his Master or rather he never broke his Master’s heart. Methodology The methodology used in the research is descriptive and at the same time analytical. The works of Abhedananda is so vast that this research is focused only on the Neo-Ved¡ntic, its traditional and modern perspectives. I undertook this study under the supervision and guidance of Dr. K. Remadevi Amma, Professor, Department of Vedanta, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady. I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to her for the valuable and sagacious direction she gave me at each and every stage up to the completion of the thesis.
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