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Which of the statements given below about Viyekananda are correct ? 1. He believed that Vedanta was fully rational. 2. He criticized his countrymen for having lost touch with the outside world. 3. He condemned the caste system. 4. He considered the Veda to be infallible. Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Explanation
Swami Vivekananda was a proponent of 'Practical Vedanta', which he explicitly declared to be a fully rational system [c1][c2]. He criticized his countrymen for becoming 'stagnant and mummified' due to losing touch with the rest of the world [c1]. Regarding social reform, he condemned the caste system as a social custom opposed to the religion of Vedanta, advocating for the upliftment of the downtrodden [c3][t6]. While he held the Vedas in high regard, he did not consider them 'infallible' in the dogmatic sense associated with Dayananda Saraswati; rather, he emphasized personal experience (Anubhava) and reason over blind scriptural authority [t2][t3]. He believed that any scripture must be discarded if it contradicts reason. Thus, statements 1, 2, and 3 are correct, while statement 4 is incorrect as the doctrine of Vedic infallibility is primarily attributed to the Arya Samaj.
Sources
- [1] Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 13: Growth of New India Religious and Social Reform After 1858 > Ramakrishna and Vivekananda > p. 218
- [2] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 9: A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements > Swami Vivekananda > p. 218
- [3] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 9: A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements > Swami Vivekananda > p. 219