3 Review(s)

When the historian reviews the life and words of a timeless great man in the context of history, he has to show a dispassionate view. The significance of the appearance of Yuga Purusha has to be evaluated beyond proverbs, biases, personal worship and popular hearsay. Professor Amlesh Tripathi has introduced that view in this history-laden book. The four essays in the bibliography are on Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. The author has analyzed the significance of the lives and pursuits of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda in a broad background of contemporary society, science, history and religious practice. In the first essay he shows in what sense 'Kalpatru' Sri Ramakrishna's pursuit of God has no conflict with science and in what pursuit he turned religion into a festival of joy. The second essay contains a thoughtful discussion of the historical context, importance, features and shortcomings of the book by four world-renowned biographers of Sri Ramakrishna, Max Muller, Ramon Rolland, Isherwood and Lex Hickson. The mystical explanation of how Swami Vivekananda brought the Forest Vedanta home is the subject of the third article. The author explores the history of India's soil and people in Vivekananda's call to life in Shivajnana. Discovered Swamiji's Navavedantabhashya and the fourth essay discusses Vivekananda's form of Buddha-Bhavana. This book is a brilliant and exceptional addition to the Sri Ramakrishna-Vivekananda practice.