Swami Vivekananda's Legacy of Service (A Study of Ramakrishna Math and Mission)

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Item Code: IDF418
Author: Gwilym Beckerlegge
Publisher: Oxford University Press, New Delhi
Language: English
Edition: 2006
ISBN: 0195673883
Pages: 306 (Illustration: Plates: 8, Figures: 8)
Cover: Hardcover
Other Details 8.6" X 5.5"
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Book Description
From the Jacket:

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S LEGACY OF SERVICE
A STUDY OF THE RAMAKRISHNA MATH AND MISSION

Was the concept of 'social service' rooted in Hindu traditions or did it originate from India's encounter with the West? Did the Ramakrishna Math and Mission's commitment to seva, later known as sadhana of service, owe more to Vivekananda than to Ramakrishna himself? This book offers a distinctive analysis of the Ramakrishna movement's legacy of service by focusing on the continuities and discontinuities in the movement.

It argues that the movement's commitment to seva was shaped by complex and varied influences. The author examines the impact of individuals such as Vivekananda and other followers of Ramakrishna, and the interaction between Indian and western ideals. He also investigates the dramatic changes taking place in the delivery of organized philanthropy in societies disrupted by industrialization and colonization during the nineteenth century.

Gwilym Beckerlegge emphasizes the ways in which social, economic, and political factors beyond the movement's direct control, conspired to make ever-increasing demands on the Ramakrishna Math and Mission. For the kind of issues it raises, this book will be important for students and scholars of modern Indian history, sociology, philosophy, and religion, particularly Hinduism.

People interested in the growth of voluntary organizations and emergence of modern social service will also find this work useful.

About the Author:

Gwilym Beckerlegge is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies, Department of Religious Studies, The open University, United Kingdom.

CONTENTS
List of Plates x
List of Figures xi
List of Abbreviations xii
Acknowledgement xiii
INTRODUCTION: A Precious Acquisition in the World's Storehouse of Religious Sadhanas 1
PART ONE: SEVA IN THE RAMAKRISHNA MATH AND MISSION: ITS DEVELOPMENT AND APPEAL
1. The Birth Of The Ramakrishna
Math and Mission
17
2. SERVICE TO HUMANITY: 27
Early Expression of Service to Humanity 27
Service to Humanity in the Mature Ramakrishna Math and Mission 32
Service to Humanity: The Problem of Terminology 53
Seva and the Appeal of the Ramakrishna Tradition 58
3. UNDERSTANDINGS OF SEVA AND CONTINUITY WITHIN THE RAMAKRISHNA MATH AND MISSION 67
A Life but Recently Passed 67
Straying from the Path? An Early Controversy about the Practice of Seva 68
More Recent Perspectives on the Practice of Seva 72
PART TWO: RAMAKRISHNA AS THE INNOVATOR OF THE SADHNA OF SERVICE TO HUMANITY
4. RAMAKRISHNA AS THE INSTIGATOR OF A SADHANA OF SERVICE TO HUMANITY: HIS ACTIONS 81
The Search for Precedents 81
Frequently Cited Examples of Ramakrishna's Performance of Act of Service 85
5. RAMAKRISHNA'S TEACHING ON SERVICE AND PHILANTHROPY: HIS JUDGEMENT ON THE NATURE OF HUMAN BEINGS 94
Sayings of Ramakrishna Used to Justify Service to Humanity 94
Ramakrishna's Criticism of Philanthropic Activity 98
The Sattvika Ideal of Humanitarian Activity 105
The Search for a 'Life-Affirming' Worldview in Ramakrishna's Teachings 113
6. RAMAKRISHNA AND SEVA: SOME CONCLUSIONS 121
PART THREE: VIVEKANANDA AND 'ORGANIZED SEVA'
7. SETTING A 'FRAME' AROUND VIVEKANANDA'S ORGANIZATION OF SEVA 129
8. VIVEKANANDA'S EARLY EXPOSURE TO IDEAS OF SERVICE 135
Vivekananda's Education in India 136
Vivekananda and Brahmo Philanthropy 138
Family Difficulties and Personal Doubt 150
9. THE BEGINNINGS OF AN IDEA IN INDIA: FROM THE QUEST FOR SELF-PERFECTION TO SEVA 156
Corresponding with Pramadadas Mitra 156
An Ambivalent Encounter with Pavhari Baba 161
Health and Ties to Family and Gurubhais 163
10. SWAMI VIVEKANAND IN ACTION: A NEW RESPONSE TO THE PRESSING SOCIAL PROBLEM OF MODERN FAMINE 170
From Famine to ' Modern Famine' in Nineteenth-Century India 170
Vivekananda and Famine-Relief 172
The Different Responses of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda to Famine 177
11. SWAMI VIVEKANANDA IN THE UNITED STATES AND SWAMI AKHANDANANDA IN INDIA 181
Thinking about the Problem in the United States 181
The Inception of Akhandananda's Vow of Service at Jamnagar 189
The evolution of Akhandananda's Vow of Service at Khetri 192
Difference between the Attitudes of Vivekananda and Akhandananda to Service 197
12. SEVA AND A PLANNED PROGRAMME OF PRACTICAL VEDANTA 201
Service as Worship 201
Practical Vedanta and Service to Humanity 206
Karmayoga and Service to Humanity 228
A Project in the Background or a Project Transformed? 236
Two Projects-'Service as Worship' and Practical Vedanta 246
13. CONCLUSION 252
Appendix 261
Bibliography 263
Index 284

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