This book puts together representative writings and speeches of Margaret Elizabeth Noble (1867-1911), better known as Sister Nivedita. Posterity has often judged Sister Nivedita and 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 have read her life and work variously, aided perhaps by the fact that she 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. Suitably annotated, this book coincides with Sister Nivedita’s 150th birth anniversary and covers 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. A substantive introduction comments upon and contextualizes the selections included.
This book provides a rare and important gloss on the intellectual history of modern India. Sister Nivedita’s immense and lasting contribution as a social reformer and educationist shaped the contours of women’s education and empowerment in not just Bengal but also India. Accordingly, this book will be pertinent to the pedagogical and scholarly work of not just historians of modern India but also scholars of gender studies, cultural studies, and autobiographical writing.