A Restatement of Religion

About the BookAN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF VIVEKANANDAS FORMULATION OF HINDUISM AS A RELIGION.The truth is rarely simple. The common consensus is that Swami Vivekananda, as Sri Ramakrishnas chosen disciple, spread his masters message across the world. The fact, though, is that after Ramakrishnas death in 1886, Vivekananda not only shifted the devotional emphasis of the new monastic order from Kali to Shiva but also embraced a world far removed from Ramakrishnasa world that was rational, scientific, masculine, orthodox and nationalistic.The essays in this volume examine Vivekanandas formulation of Hinduism as religion: the most definitive restatement of Hinduism in modern history. Erudite yet accessible, consistently probing and sceptical of hoary traditions, controversial and thought-provoking, A Restatement of Religion is an invaluable addition to the existing scholarship on one of Indias greatest religious and social icons.About the AuthorJyotirmaya Sharma is professor of political science at the University of Hyderabad, India. His other books include A Restatement of Religion: Swami Vivekananda and the Making of Hindu Nationalism; Terrifying Vision: M.S. Golwalkar, the RSS and India and an edited volume titled Grounding Morality: Freedom, Knowledge and the Plurality of Cultures (co-edited with A. Raghuramaraju). He has been a visiting fellow and lecturer at many prestigious universities and research centres, both in India and abroad. He has also held senior editorial positions at The Times of India and The Hindu from 19982006, and continues to write occasional columns.