Vivekananda's «Universal Religion» Project: Essence and Prospects

Abstract

The article discusses the concept of «universal religion», as reflected in the works by the world-famous Indian philosopher Swami Vivekananda. A lot of thinkers all over the world paid sufficient attention to the problem regarding the search for religious unity in human society. This problem still remains actual. Prevention of conflicts between various religions requires knowledge of historical approaches used and suggested by great public figures to their solution. Therefore, the study of Vivekananda’s ideas of «universal religion» is of a paramount importance. The present article aims to study the understanding of the idea of a single religion for the mankind as expressed by the Indian philosophers. Special attention is paid to the ideas regarding the Divine role in the «universal religion» project. The research is based on the hermeneutic analysis of Vivekan anda’s presentations and letters seen in the context of views on the possibility of existence of different faiths unity in the era of the Bengali Renaissance and nowadays. The article shows the philosopher’s attempt to reconcile the religions of the world on the basis of ideas which comprised the impersonal God of Advaita Vedanta. The article is concluded by some thoughts and suggestions regarding the development of the «universal religion» project as a component of the globalization process in the modern society.