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Introduction
Within our big five, the oldest religion in the world, Hinduism, had no founder, leading
this religion to have no clear source of authority. It is hard to define Hinduism in and of itself
because it “[has] no unified doctrine or system of belief set down in a creed or declaration of
faith, no single system of soteriology, and no centralized authority or bureaucracy.” 1 Hinduism
within itself having no founders yet is full of founders is such an irony. Being the oldest religion
and an inclusive one to say the least allows for ample room for religious innovation and
generational adaptation. This paper will dive into those “experiences”/influential people who
assembled and influenced each other in this religion. The two important people of the Hindu
religion that I will be touching on, are Swami Vivekananda but mainly Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa.
Swami Vivekananda was a chief follower and disciple of Ramakrishna. He also was
credited to being a high profile of Hinduism to world religions. Swami was known for being one
of the most popular Hindu monks, spiritual leaders of India and for becoming founder of the
monastic Ramakrishna Order. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born at Kumarpukar February 20th,
1833 dying August 16th, 1886, was an Indian Hindu mystic and religious leader. Ramakrishna
also had involvement with Islam and Christianity as he observed diverse religious views in life.
He lived and worked among the busy haunts of men, laboring unceasingly for their good. He
tried to reach a point of desire and contentment in life to block anything that disturbed peace.
Ramakrishna believed faith constituted many routes with one of the same ending or objectives.
1 Måns Broo, “Hinduism and the Question of Founders”
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His spiritual journey start at Dakshineswar near Calcutta where he became a priest in the temple
of the Goddess Kali. 2 His spiritual nature soon led him to worldwide recognition as a Guru.
Life Experience
The life experiences of Ramakrishna shaped his teaching though spiritual encounter at the
age of six. From childhood upward, he never came under the yoke of worldliness. Many holy
stories are told but one in the early life of Ramakrishna being told by Swami was, a householder
took him into a house where there had been dancing girls in hoax to turn Ramakrishna mind
from the highest truth and he cried out in agonizing cries of a child as he had not known what
was going on. His soul left his body and gone into Samadhi filling the room with holiness, the
women fell at the feet of the Master saying he was a Man of God. Once coming to earthly
conscious, he stretched out a hand and bless the woman. Ramakrishna was also married but
prayed to be released from matrimony to worship with a single whole heart.3
As there were many more experiences than what I have written (can refer to Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa; a Sketch of His Life and Teachings), these experiences continue to inspire us in
modern time because Ramakrishna’s life was an unwavering contemplation and devotion to God.
He accesses a level of divine that was so holy that allowed him to teach at a holy and divine
level. He attracted and discipled so many to the faith in which he believed. Ramakrishna’s life
and teachings have demonstrated the Holy intoxication lifestyle occurs at all moments and it is
not limited to a certain person, religion, time or area. He was able to create the spiritual thinking
that modern day tries to accomplish.
Social and Political Transformation
2 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa; a Sketch of His Life and Teachings
3 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa; a Sketch of His Life and Teachings (pieces of paragraph taken from here)
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Hinduism is a genuinity lifestyle. India’s society is largely influenced through this
religion alone with rich and devoted traditions. Politically the tradition of a caste ranking system
had affected the Hindu and modern religion world as it divides life and forces a certain lifestyle
according to a ranking in which they were born. This caste system could be related to modern
day economical success ranking as there are poverty, middle and high/rich class. Ramakrishna’s
transformational influence sociality and politically have been due to his overall message,
religious unity and mindful peace. All religions are in and of themselves the same mission with
different executions meeting various goals. Wherein you can put it into perspective of religion
can be ranked higher than political power.4 Ramakrishna has been a bridge for the old and
modern world of religions. He exemplified how traditional values and ways of life could be
executed while maintaining a peace of modernness.
Conclusion
Writing a paper on the founder of a faith when in fact there is no founder, is hard to say
the least. This is of course how you look at it. It could be an aspect of enlightenment and beauty
as it show the power of tradition and he entity of culture. Basis of beliefs with no true core divine
allows for an open can. But also it can be unattractive as it is inclusive and some aren’t fond of it.
Conclusively for Hinduism, having no founder is an important and powerful tool used both to
boost its legacy and authority, as being eternal, unchanging and superhuman and also create
ample room for religious innovation. Hinduism in a sense gets to have its cake and eat it too. 5
4 Whaling, Frank. Understanding Hinduism
5 Broo, Måns. “Hinduism and the Question of Founders.”
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Bibliography
Broo, Måns. “Hinduism and the Question of Founders.” OUP Academic. Oxford
University Press, September 17, 2015. Last modified September 17, 2015. Accessed
February 13, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199359714.003.0008.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa; a Sketch of His Life and Teachings. Madras: Natesan, 1921.
VivekGnanda. Index to the Complete Works of the Swami Vivekananda, Vol. I-VII. Calcutta:
Advaita Ashrama, 1926.
Whaling, Frank. Understanding Hinduism. Edinburgh: Dunedin, 2010.
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