Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) popularised Vedanta in the West and reformed Hinduism in India. He also inspired the mass movement that made India a modern nation. In showcasing his life and work, this Reader balances the two main aspects of his life: the religious and the secular, the spiritual and the practical, the devotional and the rational. Included here are the most significant and representative texts from every major genre and phase — selections from his speeches, essays, letters, poems, translations, conversations, and interviews — arranged for easy reading and reference. With a scholarly Introduction highlighting his contemporary relevance, separate section introductions and a detailed biographical Chronology, this volume provides a rare insight into one of India’s greatest minds.

This volume will interest scholars and students of modern Indian history, religion, literature, and philosophy as well as general readers.

Evgeny Tsymbal is a George Holmes University Distinguished Professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), Director of the UNL’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), and Director of the multi-institutional Center for NanoFerroic Devices (CNFD). Evgeny Tsymbal’s research is focused on computational materials science aiming at the understanding of fundamental properties of advanced ferromagnetic and ferroelectric nanostructures and materials relevant to nanoelectronics and spintronics. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, a fellow of the Institute of Physics, UK, and a recipient of the Outstanding Research and Creativity Award (ORCA).

Igor Žutić is a Professor of Physics at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York. His work spans topics from high-temperature superconductors, Majorana fermions, unconventional magnetism, proximity effects, and two-dimensional materials, to prediction of various spin-based devices that are not limited to the concept of magnetoresistance used in commercial application for magnetically stored information. Such devices, including spin photodiodes, spin solar cells, spin transistors, and spin lasers (front cover illustration) have already been experimentally demonstrated. Igor Žutic´ is a fellow of the American Physical Society, a recipient of 2006 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and 2019 State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence.