For over two millennia, religion and spirituality is the hallmark of the lives of people of India and their art, architecture,
literature and sciences. In 1983, Swami Vivekananda stood up at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago and breathed a new life into the Vedantic spirit of India. The Age of New Vedanta had begun for the world. From then on the United States became Swami Vivekananda’s prime karma-bhoomi.
Marie Louise Burke turned out a massive recording of Swami Vivekananda in the West, which however, focused on Chicago. Now, writer Asim Chaudhuri has supplemented this recording by widening the focus to encompass the entire America. He leads the readers to all other places associated with Swami Vivekananda and reveals information, some of which indeed startling. While doing so he gives fascinating stories such as of Moses Farmer who exhibited the first electrical passenger railway car in 1847 in Dover and Swami Vivekananda silencing his critics in Detroit. The rich literature presents historical and geographical details of places like Minnesota, Iowa and Connecticut. The book is studded with rare and impressive photographs, aptly done in sepia including the Metcalf railroad station in 1893, the Prophet’s Pine at Ridgely and
Saratoga Springs Town Hall where Swami Vivekananda spoke on “The Use of Silver in India”. Readers can now see people who earlier were mere names. An objective account of occasional battles, like the one waged by Pandita Ramabai’s followers, enhance the book’s credibility. The massiveness of Asim Chaudhuri’s meticulously handled work is evidenced in the collection and presentation of all contemporary news items, newspaper announcements, reviews etc. There is certain repetitiveness which seems necessary for authentic records. There are also several passages written with love and empathy a hundred years ago that create word pictures of the famous Sage of the Himalayas.