Swami Vivekananda: Philosophy of Man

ABOUT THE BOOK The crisis of man is the appalling absence of identity. To Swami Vivekananda, it is time, now or never, to find out, identify and evaluate the real identity of man in terms of society, education, religion, humanism, values, spirituality and aesthetics in particular. Undeniably, the new march of man necessitates thinking anew and afresh over excellence and poignancy, ascent and elegance in every aspect of life and work and beyond that.

Swami Vivekananda: Philosophy of Man would certainly be a real pointer and pathfinder in the identity-crisis of man in the yet to be sincerely exercised context of the unparalleled classic message of Vivekananda: "Whatever you think, that you will be.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mohit Chakrabarti, D. Litt. Former Professor in English and Education at Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan. Honored with the National Award as teacher educator. Former Member, National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE), New Delhi. Consistent and prolific contributor to studies and researches on Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda. Author of children's literature in Bengali and English. Books on Swami Vivekananda by the same author:

1. Swami Vivekananda: A Study on Aesthetics

2 Swami Vivekananda: Poctic Visionary

3. Swami Vivekananda: Vibrant Humanist

4.Swami Vivekananda: Excellence in Education

5.Swami Vivekananda: Education of Love

6. Swami Vivekananda: Visionary of Truth

7.Swami Vivekananda: A Quest for Spirituality

8.Swami Vivekananda: Philosophy of Goodness

PREFACE To prove the real worth of life in the world from diverse perspectives is the vision of man. To Swami Vivekananda, one of the most serene and poignant humanists the world has ever seen, it is more than that. It is to prove the real worth of life for the present in tune with the glorious past for a march ahead and beyond that. It is a never-ending process, and, as such, the true man has no holidays to while away. He must work ceaselessly to translate the divinity already in him. To manifest is to assess oneself and to assess oneself is to be on the right track of endeavor for excellence and ascent. It is a promise for man 'to strive to seek to find and not to yield' under strenuous and challenging constraints to achieve and manifest the perfection already in him. He must boldly stand up and proclaim "I am He, I am He".

The society with which man is associated is the test for his identity. It is a challenge to him to become a real partner to progress and beyond that. It is also his citadel for attuning to the pulse of the hoi polloi. It is not easy. It demands hard work and total sacrifice of personal interest. It also demands an irresistible spirit to overcome all constraints at any time without fear. The ultimate end-in-view of rebuilding the society is to put it in the proper limelight of advancement in every direction, where a man becomes men and vice versa. For this, the vision of the All Man must be a compulsory passport to realization of man as Vivekananda time and again emphasizes. Again, to be justified to all the components like education, religion, values, spirituality, aesthetics and humanism, man must march for ascent and excellence, perfection and poignancy. "Conceptual Framework of Vivekananda's Philosophy of Man" encompasses all these components as characteristic pointers to Swami Vivekananda's philosophical viewpoints of man.

A good society as Vivekananda indicates must be altruistic and dynamic, living and thrilling. It necessitates disinterested service of every human being irrespective of apparent differences like caste, creed, culture etc. It also demands kindliness of the heart well balanced by sincerity and discipline, perseverance and punctuality. It is an ardent duty and responsibility of everyone in the society to realize God in man living in the society and wholeheartedly work for excellence. "Man and Society: Vivekananda's Vibrant Vision" unfolds Vivekananda's philosophy of man and society from essential perspectives of fullness of man.

To be a real social being is to be truly educated, and to be truly educated is to understand and translate the fact that perfection in life and work is not an alien factor but it is already within every human being. Man must realize this and act accordingly in order to manifest it from diverse perspectives of experiences introspectively or in any way he would decide for the welfare of others. Education as Vivekananda suggests, needs a new platform of awareness that calls forth altruism. The religion of education is to cultivate and propagate with boldness: I am Knowledge, Existence and Bliss. The priorities in education from this invite the education of the soul which is the soul of education. "Man and Education: Vivekananda's Priorities" exposes some of the essential components of education hitherto and even now unduly denied more or less in the pursuit of purity and perfection of man.

Religion in the most apposite role in terms of man as Vivekananda defines and translates in unparalleled practice is "the manifestation of divinity already in man". How to manifest this inherent divinity in man? How to play the role for the practice and perfection of religion that cares for all and denies none? How to nurture religion of the right kind and also of the right mind even under challenging constraints? All these and similar other askance are illuminatingly negotiated in accordance with the serene thoughts and visions of Vivekananda in "Man and Religion: Vivekananda's Viewpoints".

"Man and Values: Vivekananda's Pointers" unfolds some of the essential values that endlessly contribute to the march of man. With rapid and alarming erosion of values now-a-days, it is high time to rethink and re-nurture the values as pointed out by Vivekananda for realization of the real worth of man.

**Contents and Sample Pages**