Rethinking Neo-Vedānta: Swami Vivekananda and the Selective Historiography of Advaita Vedānta1
This paper problematizes the prevalent model of studying the Neo-Vedānta of Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) principally in terms of an influx of Western ideas and nationalism. In particular, I demonstrate how scholarly constructions of Neo-Vedānta consistently appeal to a high culture, staticized...
| Published in: | Religions |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
MDPI
[2017]
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| In: |
Religions
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| Further subjects: | B
Modern Hinduism
B Neo-Vedānta B Advaita Vedānta B Advaita B Swami Vivekananda |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This paper problematizes the prevalent model of studying the Neo-Vedānta of Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) principally in terms of an influx of Western ideas and nationalism. In particular, I demonstrate how scholarly constructions of Neo-Vedānta consistently appeal to a high culture, staticized understanding of traditional Advaita Vedānta as the alterity for locating Vivekananda's neo or new teachings. In doing so, such studies ignore the diverse medieval and early modern developments in advaitic and Advaita Vedāntic traditions which were well-known to Vivekananda and other Neo-Vedāntins. Redressing this discursive imbalance, I propose that close attention to the way in which Swami Vivekananda drew from Indic texts opens up a wider frame for understanding the swami and the genealogy of his cosmopolitan theology. |
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| ISSN: | 2077-1444 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3390/rel8060101 |