“Despite the abundance of literature available on him, Swami Vivekananda is still not understood adequately, remaining somewhat of an enigma” said Prof.Makarand Paranjape author of the book and Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study. He was speaking at the launch of his book ‘Swami Vivekananda: Hinduism and India’s Road to Modernity’. The event was organised by Indica Coimbatore recently, and it was hosted by Sri Ramakrishna College of Arts and Science for Women (SRCW), New Siddhapudur.
Prof. Makarand R. Paranjape shared the story behind what inspired him to write this book. He said when the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Swami Vivekananda were held in the year 2013, he heard many a speaker waxing eloquent on Swami Vivekananda’s life and message. But the more he heard them, the more he felt that many of them had not even read or understood Swami Vivekananda properly.
Prof. Paranjape feels that millennia of foreign invasions and colonial rule essentially destroyed the spirit of Indian Civilization. We cannot revive what is gone but we can rebuild it if we understand what India really stood for. He spoke of how Swami Vivekananda believed in emancipation of women and how he was able to deliver messages which were rooted in our tradition yet modern in outlook. He appealed to students to take an interest in reading the works of Swami Vivekananda which are also available online.
Around 200 students and staff of SRCW and members of Indica attended the book launch event.