An Idealist in India

Posterity has often judged Margaret Elizabeth Noble (1867-1911), better known as Sister Nivedita as well as her guru, Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), in widely different ways. Opinion remains divided over whether or not the Swami was more a patriot than prophet and Nivedita’s biographers too have read her life and work variously, aided perhaps by the fact that the Sister remained deeply committed to the memory of her Master and his ideas even as she was increasingly drawn to a life of active politics, which, paradoxically, had been forbidden by none other than the Master himself. However, it is just as possible that neither Vivekananda nor his most illustrious disciple felt that there was an innate conflict between the spiritual and the social, between the quest for personal salvation and the collective emancipation of the masses. Arguably, their deep and abiding commitment to India and Indians creatively bridged such seeming differences. 

Coinciding with her 150th birth anniversary, the present Anthology puts together in a handy, commemorative volume, representative speeches and writings of Sister Nivedita. Suitably annotated, these selections cover a wide array of subjects, ranging from the education of Indian women, Hindu religion and mythology to issues born of the burgeoning Indian nationalism of the times. There is also a substantive introduction that comments upon and contextualizes the selections included.