Romain Rolland:. an encounter with India

Abstract

The aim of this article is to discuss the thoughts that Romain Rolland made about India, a subject which has curiously at­tracted little critical attention. A pioneer intercultural studies, Romain Rolland laid the ground for a future development of the cultural relationship between Europe and India. Three fundamental texts conform the approach to India made by this writer. Three biographies about Gandhi, Ramakrishna and Vivekananda. These biographical works are constructed according to a non-duality logic which coincides with that of the Advaita Vedanta in stylistic and conceptual terms.