Vivekananda & Vedanta Philosophy

Edited by Peter Y. Chou
WisdomPortal.com

“Each soul is a circle whose circumference is nowhere (limitless) but whose centre is in some body. Death is but a change of centre. God is a circle whose circumference is nowhere, and whose centre is everywhere. When we get out of the limited centre of the body, we shall realize God, our true Self.
— Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
The Vedanta Philosophy
Harvard University, March 25, 1896

This web page is my homage to Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) whose illumined mind inspired my spiritual quest of Self-Knowledge. I was introduced to his philosophy by Anthony Damiani at his American Brahmin Bookstore in Ithaca, New York. Anthony mentioned that I need to study Advaita Vedanta, and I told him that “I have no vendetta against anyone.” Anthony laughed, "Not vendetta! Advaita Vedanta— the philosophy of non-dualism." For two and half years, I participated in Anthony's study group learning the perennial philosophy of Plato, Plotinus, Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism, Sufism, Taoism, and Zen. I recall sharing a ride with Anthony's wife Ella May and two students one weekend to the Vedanta Centre, Cohasset, Massachusetts, where we met Srimata Gayatri Devi. We called her Mataji and browsed their library of Vedanta books and magazines. I admired the portrait of Swami Paramananda (1884-1940), the youngest disciple of Vivekananda, who came to America in 1909 and founded the Vedanta Centre in Boston. Mataji became the spiritual leader of the center upon his death in 1940. In their bookstore, I found a yellowed 50-page paperback published in 1901— Vivekananda's The Vedanta Philosophy— “an address before the Graduate Philosophical Society of Harvard University on March 25, 1896.” It was their last copy, and they charged me the 1901 price, 25 cents for this little book. When I showed it to Mataji, she said “You found the treasure, it's yours.”

| Vivekananda Resources | Biographies | 1893 World Parliament of Religions | Books | Lectures |
| Vivekananda Quotes | Ramakrishna | Vedanta Philosophy | Vedanta Societies | Wisdom Portal Home |

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Vivekananda Resources:
Vivekananda Vedanta Network (Vivekananda Foundation)— http://www.vivekananda.org/index2.asp
(Resources on Vivekananda & Vedanta, Biography, Bibliography, FAQ, Tutorial, Lectures)
Global Hindu Electronic Network: Swami Vivekananda Study Center (Hindu Students Council)— http://www.hindunet.org/vivekananda/
(Biography, Address to the 1893 Parliament of World Religions, Writings, Global Vision 2000)
Swami Vivekananda (C. S. Shah)— http://www.geocities.com/neovedanta/sv.html
(A series of 8 articles on the life of Swami Vivekananda)

Vivekananda Biographies:
Swami Vivekananda in America— http://www.ramakrishna.org/sv.htm
(by Swami Nikhilananda, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, New York, 1953)
Swami Vivekananda in America— http://www.ramakrishna.org/sv_sa.htm
(by Swami Adiswarananda, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York)
Swami Vivekananda (Ramakrishna Order)— http://www.vedanta.org/ramak/vivek.html
(Biography, Photographs, Paintings, Quotes, Recommended Books)
Biography of Swami Vivekananda— http://www.vivekananda.org/biography.asp
(Short biography from Vivekananda Vedanta Network)
Profile— Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)— http://www.itihaas.com/modern/vivek-profile1.html
(Early Life & Influence of Ramakrishna, Chronology, Speeches, Teachings)
Swami Vivekanada and Madame Calve— http://www.geocities.com/neovedanta/a45.html
(by Swami Tathagatananda, in Meditation on Swami Vivekananda, 1994)

Vivekananda 1893
Vivekananda at the 1893 World Parliament of Religions:
Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religions: Chicago 1893 (Vedanta Center of Atlanta)— http://www.vedanta-atlanta.org/vivekananda/parliament.html
(As seen by His Biographers, by Reporters, by Himself, by us a century later)
Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religions: Chicago 1893— http://www.geocities.com/neovedanta/a32.html
(Summary of 1893 address with newspaper reports and other comments)
Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religions: Chicago 1893— http://www.itihaas.com/modern/vivek-speech1.html
(Speeches given at Parliament of Religion: Sept. 11-27, 1893)
Swami Vivekananda: At the Parliament of Religions: Chicago 1893— http://www.boloji.com/hinduism/vedanta/vivekananda2.htm
(Dr. C.S. Shah's essay and summary of Vivekananda's addresses)
Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religion, Chicago 1893— http://www.sriramakrishna.org/chicago.htm
(Sept. 11- Opening Session, Sept. 15- Why We Disagree, Sept. 27- Final Session)
Vivekananda's 1893 Chicago Address 1— http://www.hindunet.org/vivekananda/chicago/response_welcome
(Sept. 11, 1893: Opening Address— Sisters and Brothers of America)
Vivekananda's 1893 Chicago Address 2— http://www.hindunet.org/vivekananda/chicago/why_disagree
(Sept. 15, 1893— Why We Disagree)
Vivekananda's 1893 Chicago Address 3— http://www.hindunet.org/vivekananda/chicago/paper_hinduism
(Sept. 19, 1893— Paper on Hinduism)
Vivekananda's 1893 Chicago Address 4— http://www.hindunet.org/vivekananda/chicago/religion_india
(Sept. 20, 1893— Religion Not the Crying Need of India)
Vivekananda's 1893 Chicago Address 5— http://www.hindunet.org/vivekananda/chicago/buddhism_hinduism
(Sept. 26, 1893— Buddhism: The Fulfillment of Hinduism)
Vivekananda's 1893 Chicago Address 6— http://www.hindunet.org/vivekananda/chicago/final_session
(Sept. 27, 1893— At the Final Session)
Columbian Exposition of 1893: The World Parliament of Religions— http://www3.edgenet.net/fcarpenter/parliam.html
(Edited by John Henry Barrows, Unitarian Universalist Historical Society)
Centennial of Vivekananda in America— http://www.ramakrishna.org/MEvents1.htm
(Pictorial Album of Vivekananda Centennial, November 5-7, 1993)
September 11, 1893 Columbian Parliament of Religions (Christian History Institute)— http://www.gospelcom.net/chi/ARCHIVEF/09/daily-09-11-2001.shtml
(Ten religions represented at the World's Columbian Exposition)
One Hundred Years of New World Dharma (Albuquerque Zen Center)— http://www.vivanewmexico.com/azc/world.html
(Rinzai Zen teacher, Shaku Soyen at 1893 Columbian Exposition; D.T. Suzuki's 1897 visit)
A SourceBook for Earth's Community of Religions— http://www.silcom.com/~origin/csb2.html
(Edited by Joel Beversluis, United Communities of Spirit)

Vivekananda Books & Bibliography
Bibliography of Vivekananda Books (Vivekananda Vedanta Network)— http://www.vivekananda.org/books.asp
(Bibliography of 35 books by and about Swami Vivekananda)
Books By Vivekananda (Author Search at Amazon.com)— http://www.amazon.com/
(27 books by Swami Vivekananda at Amazon.com)
Books About Vivekananda (Title Search at Amazon.com)— http://www.amazon.com/
(57 books about Swami Vivekananda at Amazon.com)

Vivekananda Lectures
Vivekananda Lecture Summaries (Vivekananda Foundation)— http://www.vivekananda.org/lectures.asp
(Vedanta Philosophy, What Is Religion, Immortality, Four Yogas, Macrocosm & Microcosm)
Vivekananda: The Vedanta Philosophy— http://www.vivekananda.org/lectureSummary.asp?parentListLectureId=9&target=link
(Address to the Graduate Philosophical Society of Harvard University on March 25, 1896)
Vivekananda: THE SONG OF THE SANNYASIN— http://www.vivekananda.org/lectureSummaryDetails.asp?target=detail&parentListLectureId=3
(Thousand Island Park in upstate New York, Summer 1895)
Vivekananda: Knowing How to Work— http://www.vivekananda.org/lectureSummaryDetails.asp?target=detail&parentListLectureId=6
(from The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. 1:27-31)

Vivekananda Quotes:
Universal Teaching of Swami Vivekananda— http://www.ramakrishna.org/ut_sv.htm
(See God in all; God is within you, Persevere in your search for God)
Quotes from Swami Vivekananda— http://www.angelfire.com/me2/sutras/sv.html
("By the study of different religions we find that in essence they are one.")
Tributes to Swami Vivekananda— http://www.ramakrishna.org/sv_great.htm
(Gandhi, Nehru, Romain Rolland, William James, Christopher Isherwood, Smithsonian)

Ramakrishna:
Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886)— http://www.ramakrishna.org/rmk.htm
(Biography of Vivekananda's guru, Sri Ramakrishna)
Ramakrishna Biography (Ramakrishna Order)— http://www.vedanta.org/ramak/ramak.html
(Biography, Photographs, Paintings, Quotes, Recommended Books)

Vedanta Philosophy:
What Is Vedanta?— http://www.vedanta.org/wiv/index.html
(Overview, Vedanta Philosophy, Spiritual Practice, Glossary of Sanskrit Terms, Web Links)
Advaita Vedanta— http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/
(FAQ-Advaita, Sankara, Indian Philosophies, Upanishads, Creation & Causality, One & Many)
Advaita Vedanta: Satsang Online— http://dawn21.com/Advaita/Vedanta/satsang.html
(The End of All Teaching, What Is Enlightenment?)
Neovedanta of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda— http://www.geocities.com/neovedanta/index.html
(Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Poetry, Aryuveda Medicine)
Paul Brunton: Writer, Mystic, Philosopher— http://www.lightlink.com/larson/Pbpage.shtml
(Introduced Ramana Maharshi to the West in Search in Secret India)
Ramana Maharshi (India's great sage of Advaita Vedanta)— http://www.ramana-maharshi.org/
(Infomation Pages, All Publications, Photos, Video, Prints, Music Files, What's New)
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (Advaita Vedanta)— http://www.gurudeva.org/gurudeva/
(Hindu Basics, About Gurudeva, Hinduism Today, Books, Inspired Talks, Art & Aums, Resources)
Wisdom from the Hindu Tradition (Quotes from the Vedas, Gita, & Upanishads)— http://www.silcom.com/~origin/sbcr/sbcr082/
(Compiled and translated by Dr. T.K. Venkateswaran)
The Hindu Universe: Hindu Resource Center— http://www.hindunet.org/
(Dharma: Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Sikh; Hindu FAQ, Hindu Glossary, Temples, Biographies)
Spirituality, Yoga, Hinduism— http://www.geocities.com/rodeodrive/1415/
(Vedanta, Astavakra Gita, Bhaja Govindam, Shankara, Biographies of Indian Saints, Yoga Books)
Creation Theories in Advaita Vedanta— http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/creation.html
(Outline of three viewpoints of creation)

Vedanta Societies:
Vedanta on the Internet— http://omveda.tripod.com/vedanta_links.html
(Vedanta Organization Centers Outside India & In India)
Sri Ramakrishna Math (Chennai, India)— http://www.sriramakrishnamath.org/
(Guiding Lights, What It is, Activities, News, Book Order, Magazines, )
Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture (Gol Park, Calcutta, India)— http://www.sriramakrishna.org/
(Apostles, The Institute, Photo & Audio Gallery, Almanac, Sanskrit Terms, RKM Centres)
Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of Massachusetts— http://www.vedantaofboston.org/index.asp
(Programs, Sunday School, Campus Ministry, Events, More About Vedanta)
Vedanta Centre: Cohasset, Massachusetts— http://www.vedantacentre.org/
(History, Vedanta Centre, Paramananda, Gayatri Devi, Sudha Puri)
Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York— http://www.ramakrishna.org/
(Activities, Monthly Message, Teachings, Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, Vivekananda, Book Catalog)
Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago— http://www.vedantasociety-chicago.org/
(FAQs, Calendar, Chicago Center, Ganges Retreat, Bookstore, Other Centers, Related Links)