Neo-Vedantic Interpretation of Hinduism in “Lectures from Colombo to Almora” by Swami Vivekananda

Thinking on native religious tradition is an integral part of a selfunderstanding in Indian thought and culture of the 19th - early 20th centuries in the context of the Indian-Western Dialogues in British India. The representative person in the process is Swami Vivekananda, who had created a new general image of Hinduism for Indians as well as the West and the entire world. Based on hermeneutical analysis of his “Lectures from Colombo to Almora” for Indian audience, the research is a reconstruction of the Vivekananda's view of Hinduism by Vivekananda. He had built the image of Hinduism on the Vedanta foundation as a spiritual part of the Vedas (the Upanishads) as well as astika darshana. The philosopher vews Vedanta is represented by Vivekananda as all-embracing ground for the religion, spirituality, culture and civilization of India. Consequently, Hinduism is interpreted as Vedantism (“the religion of the Vedas”), based on eternal principles of the Vedanta: the faith in God (Brahman), karma, the knowledge of God through the revelation of Vedas and the perception of the human soul and freedom (mukti) as the goal of religion. The Vedanta embraces all forms of faiths and worships, the Personal God and the Impersonal One, all religious paths and methods according to spiritual levels of its believers. Vivekananda described Hinduism as the religion of love and eternal humanness. The idealization of Hinduism helps him to criticize the real traditional Hinduism with the caste system, cruel customs and rigid ritualistic ordinances. The practical meaning of Vivekananda's image of Hinduism is in an attempt to unite different Hindu believers of all Indian regions for the spiritual renaissance as well as social development.

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