E. P. Chelyshev On Swami Vivekananda

E. P. Chelyshev On Swami Vivekananda:

E. P. Chelyshev or Eugene Petrovich Chelyshev (Russian: Евгений Петрович Челышев, Ramakrishna Mission books' spelling: E. P. Chelishev, born 27 October 1921) iis a Russian Indologist, academician and public figure. His fields of research are— Literary and Cultural Studies, Comparative Literature, Indian philology. In 2002,he was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan.  In 2004 he became the first Russian to receive  the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship by the Government of India. Chelyshev had been an admirer and a researcher of Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. He worked as one of the vice-presidents of the Committee for Comprehensive Study of Ramakrishna Vivekananda Movement. A detailed biography of Chelyshev is available at Wikipedia. In this article you'll find E. P. Chelyshev's quotes and comments on Swami Vivekananda.

• The name of Swami Vivekananda is very popular in Soviet Russia and he is held in high esteem by our countrymen. Soviet people respect him as a great democrat, humanist and patriot who contributed immensely in the development of national consciousness and anti-colonial liberation movement in India.
• They also consider that his message and the message of Sri Ramakrishna, which are really one, are absolutely necessary for the survival of the human civilization which is now in great danger due to the menace of the devastating nuclear war. We believe that it is their message which can bring peace, harmony and understanding to the tormented world of today. They are not simply religious leaders, they are much more than that. They are prophets of peace, harmony and brotherhood. Their message was relevant in the past in India and in the world at large, but it is still more relevant in the present Indian context and in the context of the contemporary world. That is why a lot of Soviet research scholars and thinkers have dedicated to the study of Sri Ramakrishna and particularly Swami Vivekananda. I am proud that I happened to be one of the pioneers of this study in our country and contributed an article on Swami Vivekananda to the Swami Vivekananda Centenary Memorial Volume twenty years ago, published from Calcutta.

• I consider it a great honour for me to be associated with any programme connected with Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. I and my colleagues will continue to devote to the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda studies with close co-operation of the scholars of India and other countries I will do my best to contribute to the development of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda studies in the progressive direction. I consider this as a service to the humanity at large.