The truth is rarely simple. The common consensus is that Swami Vivekananda, as Sri Ramakrishna's chosen disciple, spread his master's message across the world. The fact, though, is that after Ramakrishna's death in 1886, Vivekananda not only shifted the devotional emphasis of the new monastic order from Kali to Shiva, he also embraced a world far removed from Ramakrishna's - a world that was rational, scientific, masculine, orthodox and nationalistic. The essays in this volume examine Vivekananda's 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, Cosmic Love and Human Apathy is an invaluable addition to the existing scholarship on one of India's greatest religious and social icons. Swami Vivekananda's Restatement of Religion 'A book of substance and importance written in an engaging, straightforward style, illuminated by flashes of wit and, of course, by the author's deep knowledge of the cultural background and historical record. [It] will become the classic statement about Vivekananda in this generation' - David ShulmanJyotirmaya Sharma is professor of political science at the University of Hyderabad. His other recent publications include Hindutva: Exploring the Idea of Hindu Nationalism, Terrifying Vision: M.S. Golwalkar, the RSS and India and A Restatement of Religion: Swami Vivekananda and the Making of Hindu Nationalism. He has also co-edited a volume with A. Raghuramaraju titled Grounding Morality: Freedom, Knowledge and the Plurality of Cultures (2010). He has been a fellow of the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Lichtenberg-Kolleg - The Gottingen Institute of Advanced Study, Germany, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi, and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla. The International House, Japan, awarded him the Asia Leadership Fellow Programme fellowship for 2008. Sharma also held senior editorial positions at The Times of India and The Hindu between 1998-2006, and continues to write columns for Hindustan Times and Outlook.
