No One Can Monopolise Vivekananda
Today the Congress and other parties in opposition are desperately trying to get a foothold in the hearts and minds of voters who proudly proclaim their adherence to ‘Sanatana Dharma’. Simultaneously, strategists are working overtime on how best to market ‘Soft Hinduism’ to counter the machinations of the Hindutva Brigade. In the short term, this opportunism may bring some dividends, but it is bound to eventually boomerang.
The sanyasi believed in service before self, and couldn’t stand hypocrisy. He examined the past with ruthless detachment and tested everything with razor-sharp intelligence. He was indeed a pioneering moderniser. At the same time, one can not surgically separate the social reformer from the spiritual seeker. Like Adi Shankaracharya, whose life and outlook Vivekananda seemed to have mirrored in many ways – the disciple of the mystic Ramkrishna Paramhans – had something to offer to each person.
Swami Vivekananda…