Swami Vivekananda humanified and humanised

A biographical sketch of the Life of Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, by Prof. Max Muller is available at Sacred-texts.Com . PROF. MAX MULLER'S VIEW OF THE BIO-SKETCH OF SHRI RAMAKRISHNA, AND THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA: "...This is all that Vivekânanda sent me when I had asked him to write down whatever he could gather from his own memory and from communication with Ramakrishna's other disciples. I had warned him repeatedly not to send me mere fables, such as I had read about his Guru in several Indian periodicals, and I believe he fully understood what I meant. Yet we can hardly fail to see the first beginnings of the ravages which the Dialogic Process works even in the first generation. Given his own veneration for his departed master, there is a natural unwillingness, nay, an incapability, to believe or to repeat anything that might place his master in an unfavourable light. ... Blogger's view: Max Muller considered that Vivekananda sent only fab...

Some readers have questioned me: "Why are you concerned with what he does? Write about what he taught? Write about his philosophies. Write about his Gnaana Yoga etc." Reply for this can be found in his following quote (Complete Works, Volume 4, Bhakti Yoga): The second condition necessary in the teacher is that he must be sinless . The question was once asked me in England by a friend, "Why should we look to the personality of a teacher? We have only to judge of what he says, and take that up." Not so. If a man wants to teach me something of dynamics or chemistry or any other physical science, he may be of any character; he can still teach dynamics or any other science. For the knowledge that the physical sciences require is simply intellectual and depends on intellectual strength; a man can have in such a case a gigantic intellectual power without the least development of his soul. But in the spiritual sciences it is impossible from first to last that there can ...

So the teacher must be able to know the spirit of the scriptures . The network of words is like a huge forest in which the human mind loses itself and finds no way out. The various methods of joining words, the various methods of speaking a beautiful language, the various methods of explaining the dicta of the scriptures, are only for the enjoyment of the learned. They do not attain perfection; they are simply desirous to show their learning , so that the world may praise them and see that they are learned men. You will find that no one of the great teachers of the world went into these various explanations of texts; on their part there is no attempt at "text-torturing", no saying, "This word means this, and this is the philological connection between this and that word." You study all the great teachers the world has produced, and you will see that no one of them goes that way. Yet they taught, while others, who have nothing to teach, will take up a word and write ...

Shri Ramakrishna (was reported to have) said in his 'Gospel of Shri Ramakrishna', Volume 1, "The Master and Vijay Goswami". " One must admit the existence of tendencies inherited from previous births. There is a story about a man who practised the sava-sadhana. (A religious practice prescribed by the Tantra, in which the aspirant uses a sava, or corpse, as his seat for meditation.) He worshipped the Divine Mother in a deep forest. First he saw many terrible visions. Finally a tiger attacked and killed him. Another man, happening to pass and seeing the approach of the tiger, had climbed a tree. Afterwards he got down and found all the arrangements for worship at hand. He performed some purifying ceremonies and seated himself on the corpse. No sooner had he done a little japa than the Divine Mother appeared before him and said: 'My child, I am very much pleased with you. Accept a boon from Me.' He bowed low at the Lotus Feet of the Goddess and said: 'M...

Swami Vivekananda's Complete Works, Volume 4, Addresses on Bhakti Yoga, contains a preaching by Swami Vivekananda: The whole world reads scriptures -- Bibles, Vedas, Korans, and others; but they are only words , external arrangement, syntax, the etymology, the philology, the dry bones of religion. BLOGGER'S VIEW *Should the world read only Ramakrishna's Gospel and Vivekananda's speeches?

Here is a favorite quote of bloggers and writers from India: "Higher and nobler that all ordinary teachers in the world is another set of teachers, the Avatars of Isvara. They can transmit spirituality with a touch, even with a mere wish . At their command the lowest and most degraded characters become saints in one second. They are the Teachers of all teachers, the highest manifestations of God through man. We cannot see God except through them , We cannot help worshipping them. And indeed they are the only ones whom we are bound to worship." This quote is from his 'Bhakti Yoga, Chapter 6, Incarnate Teachers and Incarnations'. BLOGGER'S VIEW A world of devotional monopoly? Obviously, Swamiji may be referring to his own Guru Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He wrote to Mrs. Ole Bull from Los Angeles on 17.1.1900: " ... My powers I passed over to you. I see it. I cannot any more tell from the platform. Don't tell it to anyone — not even to Joe. I am glad....

Here is a link to : http://kelamuni.blogspot.com/2008/02/neo-vedanta-of-swami-vivekananda-part.html . This blog post contains an elaborate discussion on Vivekananda's writings about Gurus and Pandits, Book learning vs. realisation Talking School vs. Practising School Some quotes from Mund`akopanishat . This blog post reduced my work load. I thank the writer profusely. I do not wish to comment on what this knowledgeable, pain-staking blogger wrote. I am going to comment on what Vivekananda said/wrote and DID . VIVEKANANDA'S VIEW OF DISTINCTION BETWEEN a GURU and a PANDIT ____________________________________ GURU PANDIT ____________________________________ Tasted the divine Not. experience. Practiced the Only book chores of a seeker. knowledge. Can reproduce Cannot reproduce. the experience for the disciple. Divine experience No divine experience possible, even only with bookish without knowledge. knowledge. _________...