ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how the colonised self negotiated with the other and examines self and colonialism; and the self outside the colonial power nexus. It discusses the relation between self and the other in the life of Vivekananda and attempts to systematically classify claims in the existing scholarship on Vivekananda. This will provide a platform to better understand Vivekananda's engagement with the other. The chapter focuses on a point of singular importance in the scholarly discussion of the relationship between Ramakrishna and Vivekananda. Tracing the origin of Vivekananda's idea of common universal faith, Jyotirmaya Sharma asserts that this idea is drawn from Sri Ramakrishna. Like Jesus, Sri Ramakrishna was after all the pure sort, unencumbered by history or context, but immensely rich in experience. Vivekananda was like Paul Hacker, the thundering sort, who had to spread the light quickly and effectively. He understood well that religion was not an intellectual activity but an act of realization.
