Sister Gargi (1911–2004) born Marie Louise Burke was an eminent researcher on Swami Vivekananda. Burke is known for her six volume work, Swami Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries.
Burke was initiated into the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement in 1948 by Swami Ashokananda, the then abbot of the Vedanta Society of Northern California in San Francisco. Burke took her first vows in India from the Ramakrishna Order in 1974 and was given the monastic name "Gargi" after the Vedic scholar in recognition of her brilliant accomplishments as researcher and writer. In 1983, the first Vivekananda Award was given by theRamakrishna Mission for her research on Vivekananda. Later on, she took her final vows of sannyasa and was given the name Pravrajika Prajnaprana.
Marie Louise Burke became Sister Gargi in 1974 when she took her first vows in India from the Ramakrishna Order. She was honored with the monastic name of Gargi after the renowned Vedic scholar in recognition of her brilliant accomplishments as a researcher and a writer-and later, in 1983, with the first Vivekananda Award given by the Ramakrishna Mission.She is the well-known author of the monumental six-volume classic Swami Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries, as well as other works. The New Discoveries books have been highly acclaimed in India and in Vedanta circles worldwide, and the knowledge they have given of Swami Vivekananda's personality has changed the lives of many readers. "You have become immortal, Gargi, for your colossal and pioneering work on Swamiji," wrote Bharat Maharaj, a revered senior monk of the Ramakrishna Order.
Ms. Burke met Swami Ashokananda in 1948 when he was in charge of the Vedanta Society of Northern California in San Francisco-with which she became closely associated and where she still lives. He encouraged her to write about Swami Vivekananda, and told her that she could write about Swami Ashokananda himself only when all her other work was finished. Now, at the age of ninety, Sister Gargi has at long last rewarded her many readers with this powerful and wise biography of her own spiritual teacher.