MĀYĀ AND REALITY: VIVEKANANDA'S MODERN INTERPRETATION OF ADVAITA VEDĀNTA

This paper explores Swami Vivekananda’s reinterpretation of the Advaita Vedānta doctrine of māyā and its implications for the modern understanding of reality, ethics, and spirituality. While classical Advaita, as systematized by Śaṅkara, understood māyā primarily as the inexplicable principle that veils Brahman and presents the world of multiplicity, Vivekananda reframed the concept in a manner accessible to both Indian and Western audiences of the late 19th century. Rather than dismissing the world as sheer illusion (mithyā), Vivekananda emphasized its paradoxical character: the world is not ultimately real in itself, yet it functions as the necessary field of spiritual growth, ethical responsibility, and divine manifestation. In doing so, he preserved Advaita’s metaphysical monism while simultaneously introducing a world-affirming dimension that has been described as a distinctive feature of modern or neo-Vedānta. The paper examines his writings in the Complete Works, situates them against Śaṅkara’s classical Advaita, and discusses both the continuities and departures. It argues that Vivekananda’s reinterpretation provides a conceptual bridge between ancient metaphysical insights and modern concerns with science, morality, and intercultural dialogue. By reframing māyā not as mere illusion but as a paradoxical mode of reality, Vivekananda helped fashion a form of Advaita that is simultaneously philosophically rigorous, spiritually rich, and socially engaged.