Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (8 Volume Set)

As a Christian in the world today, I believe it is also important to be familiar with other religious traditions. I must also confess having a long term fascination with Hinduism simply because it is the oldest of the major religions of the world, the others being Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I also respect Hinduism as I find many of its practitioners to be humble and good people. What I like most about Swami Vivekananda is the freshness of his writing, which is saying something because it is over a century old. There is a sense of immediacy to these essays, lectures, and letters. You get a bang for the buck here with this series of 8 volumes, which are in a handsome set and easy to read. SwamiJI covers a wide range of topics including many lectures and essays on Hinduism, the Vedas, Christianity, and the place of religion in the world. For Christians, it is insightful to see how followers of another faith based tradition speak of you! In addition there are many practical lectures on meditation, and yoga, popular topics today. If you're not familiar with Swami Vivekananda, there are many videos on Youtube where you can get your feet wet as it were. I'd start there and then start reading. You can't go wrong with the Complete Works!

I have read the books over and over and I must say I have gone an enormous amount of positive change at a personal level. Swami Vivekanada makes you realize the inherent power that is present in all human beings. It helps you see that every single person on this planet has the ability to live life to its fullest provided he realizes his own self. All of sudden the big issues seem trivial in the greater scheme of things. I am an engineer by profession but some of the advanced concepts on Vedanta and advait theory can be understood after repetitive reading and contemplation, and then things start making sense. It is amazing how Vedantic philosophy explains our physical and meta physical nature/cause of our birth/suffering/our mission in life .Swamiji has done an excellent job in presenting the Vedantic wisdom to common people in simple language. . .

It’s sad to receive only one volume (volume 6) while description says 8 volumes.

I bought this 8 volume set three years ago. I have yet to complete reading the first two volumes. I have given one of the volumes to a friend to read. The nice thing about this is I probably would not have to read them all in order. The price for the 8 volume set is pretty reasonable. Also the photo that came with the books was the best pleasant surprise. I am looking forward to reading the books in coming years. The language is fluid. The reader is definitely engaged while reading. Like other reviewers wrote, it is truly a spiritual encyclopedia. I am truly grateful to whoever has compiled the Complete Works and made them available so easily.

It is humanly impossible to ingest all this in one's lifetime. I am still meditating on Swami Vivekanand's definition of Atma (soul, sort of) and Parmatma (supreme soul/creator), the former being a circle with the center in the body and circumference nowhere (with transmigration moving the center of the circle from one body to other) and the latter a circle with the center everywhere and circumference nowhere. Only a genius can decode the most complex of all complexities with such logic. He was a spiritual giant. Not to offend any Hindu, Vedanti or Eastern philosopher, but this Works in itself is no less an upanishad or a Hindu scripture. May we all be granted enough wisdom and courage to understand and experience just a bit of what is laid out here!

This is really a masterpiece. I recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about great philosophies of Karam yoga, Bhakti yoga and Gyan yoga. Great work by authors in collecting all the speeches and works of Swami Vivekananda ji from different sources and giving us this gem.

I have just finished the first volume and I must say that this is one of the most inspiring and practical instructions I have ever read. The price you pay for the Complete Works is too good to pass up. I do recommend assisting the Advaita Ashrama with their publishing endeavour by purchasing this set.

the thing that i most loved about this collection is his photograph that came with the books like a little book mark, but also much of what he says is truly inspired. i was most impressed by his knowledge of bhakti yoga - the yoga of love, which to my mind is the greatest gift of hinduism to the rest of the world. love is the word of all true mystics which points us toward ultimate reality/unity. i do not agree however with his analysis that all yogas are equally valid. i see that a quite sizable chunk of jnana yoga is mislead in its analysis and understanding of the nature of things. vedanta is significant in that it is the science of religious truth. it seeks to uncover those truths that are universal to all religious or spiritual journeys... whether by believer or non believer... certain verifyable and repeatable truths and practices and results of these practices. vedanta is more than a religion it is the truth that is out there waiting to be found again and again, in being after being, life after life. i see 'advaita' vedanta as primarily seeking union with God, or the super- self/paramatman. i would however warn that the mundane 'i' must undergo radical transformation, or complete extinction with renewal and re-birth if union/yoga with God is to be attained. (i speculate!!!) as mentioned above, the ultimate is true love, personified in hinduism as bhakti. true love has been known to be in definition, to be 'loving kindness' by the worlds greatest proponents of truth. take for example the jews (proponents of one true god) and their use of the word 'chesed' and then the diametrical opposition of buddhism (proponents of the budda ideal) which uses the word 'metta'. these two great religions have recognised the meanining of 'loving kindness' over vast stretches of time. but it is clear too that Jesus, a jew also had a profound experience of and egagement with 'chesed'. Vivekananda also was a very loving human being it would seem from his writings. however i think he was wrong in that he did not consider that 'loving kindness' is more than merely an attribute, but it is infact the very being and persona of ultimate reality. of which there is only one persona. (manifesting in three persons, though one would not expect him to know that without a profound experience of Jesus). vivekanandas books give a brilliant over-view of the various aspects of hindu faith... but am i right in thinking that he was an impersonalist, despite what he wrote on bhakti. i dont know. hard to pin down. there is a slight shadow over the first book in the compendium, but is this because of a 'blessing' on the book, or simply that he is in areas misguided. as i see it his greatest error is to embrace non-dualism in relation to good and evil. yes, it is true to say that evil may be good and good may be evil, as well as to say that good may be good and evil evil, but simply because the two extremes may cancel one another out one should not assum that all reality is always an illusory construct. non-dualism is valid, but not very helpful, a lower truth. if one is careful, one will see that with an understanding of the mundanities of good and evil, that one may aspire to and better understand the nature of good, that is 'true' good, the third and apexal point on the triangle. 1,2,3 and or 1,1,2 (there is a progression in the first set, and a correspondence in the second set - if one applies these numerals to a basic triangle). taking love for example, one does not have to be clever to realize that love may lead to hate, and in some cases love is a form of hate. if a country goes to war or an individual is angry at someone, it can usually be understood as an offence against love. and loving ones country so much that one goes to war for her is a sad example of mundane love. however this love is love without kindness and therefore is not 'true' love. true love is loving kindness, since true love must be kind, it must love its enemies (so what enemies has it). thus asserting, socratese was expected to drink poison, for 'corrupting' the youth of athens. interestingly vivekananda follows the argument that india maintained her identity and beliefs in the face of invasion, simply because she did not resist the occupiers (islamic and christian). she bent like a reed in the wind. vivekananda would have benefitted from a better understanding of the mystic sides of christianity and islam, both of which he seems to misunderstand on certain important points, or simply not to know about. all in all an intersting read. not as developed as ramana marharshis vedanta, and though he may have been an impersonalist of sorts he does not go into the details of the process of impersonalist union with/becoming god. yoga is described but not actual process of union with God, though he does mention this as a possiblity that was sometimes avoided by the bhakta who wished to worship God as the object of their love. they found this more fullfilling than becoming a god. he covers a wide area and its hard without deeper study to understand his personal position on things. all in all, what impresses me most about him is that he was clearly a very decent human being. a shame though about his philosophical indifference toward the dualism of good and evil. (but he cant be blamed. a reading of the baghavad ghita can either assert this dualism or deny it. you will find people in both camps who have studied the ghita). anyway, these books need to be read with discernment, as i have said, there is a slight shadow over the first book. dont let this scare you away from reading them, but approach with prayer. with very much love, from, snow-flake. xxx

I'll keep this brief as it's hard to put into words how profound these works are. I think perhaps the best thing I can say that comes to mind is that when I start reading these books I almost instantly feel more relaxed, focused on my spiritual goals, and that bit wiser. It's like the words carry a force. Plus the price (28.99 at time of purchase) is unbelievably good considering the quality of the source and volume of information.

It’s definitely a very good book to read but the print and paper quality of the book is terrible. Price should be $40 not that high as quality is not good.

Uno de los más grandes maestros y pensadores de la filosofía Dvaita de India.

It's great experience with the seller. Book quality is good. Reading material is so useful when you'll read it then you would found what's so necessary to read this book.

!!!!!!!!!!! so viel für so wenig Geld Danke an die Krshnas Hindus whatever. Es geht halt über Gott und so. Philosophie. Gute Qualität, gebunden wär halt dann noch robuster!