This scholarly study offers a nuanced re-examination of the spiritual development of Swami Vivekananda, one of modern India's most influential religious figures. Moving beyond the common hagiographical portrayals of unwavering conviction, George M. Williams charts Vivekananda's life as a dynamic and often tumultuous "quest for meaning."

The book meticulously traces the evolution of Vivekananda's "patterns of ultimate concern" through various distinct phases: his early intellectual explorations as a member of the Brahmo Samaj, a Freemason, and a skeptic influenced by Western philosophy; his transformative and complex discipleship under Sri Ramakrishna; and a subsequent, lesser-known period of profound doubt that led him to question scriptural authority and even seek guidance from another guru.

Drawing primarily on a chronological analysis of Vivekananda's own writings, the author focuses on the historical development of his beliefs rather than their ultimate truth. The study culminates in an exploration of Vivekananda's mature philosophy of "The Religion Eternal" and "Practical Vedanta," presenting it not as a static doctrine but as the hard-won outcome of a lifelong spiritual struggle. This work provides a critical and humanizing portrait, essential for understanding the internal tensions that shaped both the man and the modern Hindu Renaissance.

Lecture delivered at an ecumenical conference held in Budapest in October 2023 by Prof. George M. Williams. 

This document outlines a methodological approach to the academic study of religion, with a specific focus on the major Asian traditions of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Shinto, and Hinduism. The author, George Williams, advocates for a method he terms "experiential phenomenology." This approach prioritizes understanding the inner, lived experience of religion and its transcendent dimensions, rather than reducing it to social, psychological, or historical functions.

Key principles of this method include suspending the "truth question" to study a religion on its own terms and analyzing phenomena as if they may point to a transcendent reality. The author presents a four-fold framework for interpreting religious experience (cognitional, devotional, mystical, and actional), a model influenced by the work of Swami Vivekananda and Carl Jung. The paper serves as a primer for studying Eastern religions as felt, experienced phenomena.

Professor George Williams delivered this keynote address on the intersection of religion and psychology at the "Ecumenism and Religions" international conference, held on October 19, 2023. The event was organized by the Ut Unum Sint Ecumenical Research Group, a body based at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University's Faculty of Theology dedicated to fostering Christian unity through theological research and dialogue. The conference brought together international and interdenominational speakers to discuss the relationship between ecumenism and world religions from various perspectives, marking the research group's second major academic event.

Cosmic Sage attempts to weave together Imaoka Shin'ichirō's life story and his message. It will reveal the spiritual pilgrimage of a Bodhisattva-Kami-Christian-Unitarian-sage, the Emerson of Japan. Each chapter will provide a setting from which Imaoka's thought and insights can be understood. However, his thought and their expressions were never put together in extended studies or systematically developed. Metaphor, paradox and wordplay merit him being compared with Emerson. This book has been written to explore his influence on liberating religious traditions of Japan, to probe the paradoxes in having multiple religious identities, to follow the faith journey of a "student of life." Each segment of his life was "like a school, a place of learning with its time for graduation," as Imaoka-sensei would say. Each graduation was to be valued as it had contributed to one's life and growth.

Provides a history of the Japanese religion, discussing its worship of spiritual presences known as kami, its emphasis on rituals and festivals, its calendar, and its choice of leaders.