Swami Vivekanander Sahityadarsha o Shilpachinta – Ekti Parjalochana
Abstract:
Swami Vivekananda (1863 – 1902), a great educationist, thinker, reformer and a prophet of India has laid exclusive stress on education. The basic idea of his educational philosophy is ‘man-making’ education. His thoughts on education and society are interrelated. Literature and art both are also closely related to society. In this paper I attempt to discuss and analyze Vivekananda’s view on literature, thereby trying to assess his contribution to Bengali literature and his thoughts on art, an aspect relatively unexplored.
Vivekananda’s ideals on literature developed according to his philosophy of life. In his writings we find the manifestation of four kind of aesthetic emotions or ‘Rasa’, according to Indian theory. These are ‘Premarasa’, ‘Virarasa’, ‘Shantarasa’ and ‘Atindriyarasa’. Vivekananda was deeply influenced by the philosophical pride and splendid magnitude of the Upanishadas and the Gita. According to him the Ramayana and the Mahabharata may be considered as two great encyclopaedias of knowledge and wisdom. He said that Sita was one of the most glorious characters. In this paper I focus on his work as a translator, preacher and author on religion in English. His use of both elegant and colloquial style and use of Virarasa in Bengali Literature is also emphasized.
The second part of the paper discusses his thought on art, which has not been sufficiently explored. It takes into consideration his opinion on different Indian styles like Ajanta, Mughal, Rajput and Kangrah; in the process I also look at his influence on artists and later thinkers on art like Nivedita and Okakura.
Vivekananda’s ideals on literature developed according to his philosophy of life. In his writings we find the manifestation of four kind of aesthetic emotions or ‘Rasa’, according to Indian theory. These are ‘Premarasa’, ‘Virarasa’, ‘Shantarasa’ and ‘Atindriyarasa’. Vivekananda was deeply influenced by the philosophical pride and splendid magnitude of the Upanishadas and the Gita. According to him the Ramayana and the Mahabharata may be considered as two great encyclopaedias of knowledge and wisdom. He said that Sita was one of the most glorious characters. In this paper I focus on his work as a translator, preacher and author on religion in English. His use of both elegant and colloquial style and use of Virarasa in Bengali Literature is also emphasized.
The second part of the paper discusses his thought on art, which has not been sufficiently explored. It takes into consideration his opinion on different Indian styles like Ajanta, Mughal, Rajput and Kangrah; in the process I also look at his influence on artists and later thinkers on art like Nivedita and Okakura.
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