Vivekananda tried to assimilate all currents, which made his philosophy very unclear

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DAYANANDA AND VIVEKANANDA: a few points of difference
Submitted by BHAVESH MERJA on Sat, 2009-03-14 06:15. Swami Dayanand Saraswati

Dayananda gave four Vedas the highest importance. Vivekananda gave more importance to Udanishads and his teacher's (Ramkrishna's) thoughts and beliefs.
Dayananda taught and worshipped One Almighty Formless Omni-present God. Vivekananda practiced and taught worship of idol of goddess Kali and Sri Ramkrishna.
Dayananda believed that his teacher Swami Virajananda was a great extraordinary teacher of Sanskrit grammar, but he was a man, a mortal, and not God. Vivekanada believed that his teacher Ramkrishna was God himself.
Dayananda was against all sorts of anti-Vedic talks and superstition. Vivekananda made many compromises and accepted all forms of belief and worship.
Dayananda rejected incarnation theory. Vivekananda believed it and also tried to establish that his teacher was the latest and most perfect incarnation, greater than Sri Rama and Sri Krishna.
Dayananda was against British rule in India and he worked to make India free. Vivekananda contributed nothing significant in this matter.
Dayananda was pure Vedic personality. Vivekananda was total sum of so-called Hinduism.
Dayananda was believing in Vedic traitvad of eternally existing three fundamental entities: God, Soul and Matter. Vivekananda was monist (adwaitvadi of Shankaracharya's school) with a few modifications of his own. He tried to assimilate all philosophical currents, which made his philosophy very unclear.
Dayananda never visited any foreign country. Once Prof Max Muller proposed him to visit England, but he replied him that - "I wish to visit England, but still people of my country think that I am an atheist ! So let me make my countrymen realize that if I am an atheist, what sort of an atheist I am! Thereafter only, I may think to visit England." Vivekananda stayed in foreign lands for years.
Dayananda was against meat eating and shraddha of dead persons. Vivekananda believed in such things.
After taking Sannyas Dayananda never met his family and visited his birth place. This is not true in case of Vivekananda.
Dayananda was a man of fighting spirit throughout his life, up to his last breath - in words of Sri Aurobindo "an eternal worrier" and "a soldier of Light"! On other hand, if one very carefully go through Vivekananda's letters and correspondence (patravali) he will definitely realize that frustration and disappointment is apparently seen in his last phase of life.
There are many such salient differences between these two great men. There are many similarities too. = Bhavesh Merja

125th BALIDAN DIVAS AT AJMER › Sh bhavesh ji, Namaste, I Submitted by Anand Bakshi on Sat, 2009-03-14 12:59.
Sh bhavesh ji, Namaste,

I may add one more important point - Swami Dayanand ji spent years togather in search of TRUTH, during which he left no known Yogi, Sadhu, Sanyasi, Tapasvi, Math & Mathadhish through out the land of Bharata, through jungles, mountains, rivers and their original resources i.e., Himalayas, Gangotri, Narmada, Kashi, Mathura etc., etc. till he found the TRUTH. He was a great Tapasvi, a great Yogi and a great BRAHMCHARI. I don't think Swami Vivekanand did make such a great effort & search before he could arrive at the TRUTH. Swami Dayanand ji had achieved the state of Samadhi which made him completely fearless, that's why he could take up the flag of TRUTH against worst of odds. We don't find such a marvellous and fearless personality in thosands of years except like Shiva, Rana Pratap & Guru Govind Singh ji. He was also a great Refomer Like the Adi Shankaracharya. Dhanyawad Anand