It may be instructive to see what Vivekanada says of identity of Jiva and Brahman, in the light of some suggestions that his teachings diluted traditional advaita. I paste below 3 citations, which may serve as a record for further use. We may discuss the subject too.
Swami Vivekananda | Vedanta Society of Northern California
There are moments when we feel that we are one with the universe, and we rush forth to express it, whether we know it or not. This expression of oneness is what we call love, and it is the basis of all our ethics and morality. This is summed up in the Vedanta philosophy by the celebrated aphorism, Tat Tvam Asi, Thou art That.
To everyone this is taught: Thou art one with this universal Being, and, as such, every soul that exists is your soul; and every body that exists is your body. In hurting anyone, you hurt yourself; in loving anyone, you love yourself. For I am the universe, which is my body. I am the Infinite, only I am not conscious of it now; but I am struggling to get this consciousness of the Infinite.
Perfection will be reached when the full consciousness of this Infinite comes. When our eyes are opened and the heart is purified, the unfolding of the same divinity in every human heart will become manifest. When we have reached the highest, when we see neither man nor woman, neither sex, nor creed, nor color, nor birth, nor any of the differentiations, but go beyond and find that divinity which is the reality behind all human beingsonly then have we reached universal oneness.
Swami Vivekananda
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 7/Inspired Talks/Saturday, August 3 - Wikisource, the free online library
There is a vast difference between saying "food, food" and eating it, between saying "water, water" and drinking it. So by merely repeating the words "God, God" we cannot hope to attain realisation. We must strive and practise.
Only by the wave falling back into the sea can it become unlimited, never as a wave can it be so. Then after it has become the sea, it can become the wave again and as big a one as it pleases. Break the identification of yourself with the current and know that you are free.
True philosophy is the systematising of certain perceptions. Intellect ends where religion begins. ..
Progression in Maya is a circle that brings you back to the starting point; but you start ignorant and come to the end with all knowledge. Worship of God, worship of the holy ones, concentration and meditation, and unselfish work, these are the ways of breaking away from Maya's net; but we must first have the strong desire to get free.
Daily Katha: Upanishad in the Eyes of Swami Vivekananda - 3
Upanishad in the Eyes of Swami Vivekananda - 3
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So this âtman, which is unchanging, ever present, and ever pure must be sought, must be looked after. Thus the Upanishads tell us Tat tvam asi. Swamiji untiringly mentions this great Upanishadic dictum. What does it say? It says Tat, meaning That, ie the Supreme Being. Tvam is you. You are That.
Vedanta says you must be able to discern this clearly and understand that all nàma and rupa (names and forms), which are nothing but upàdhis or adjuncts, can be gradually removed. If one is able to do that one would understand that he or she is essentially the pure, undiluted, unchanging Self.
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How can you kill me? Im not the body. Im not the mind. Im the âtman, the Soul, the Spirit eternal. ..
Therefore the Upanishads declare that brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati. That is, the person who knows Brahman verily becomes Brahman. The limitations of the flesh have disappeared forever from him. Poetic imageries Swami Vivekananda was not content to look only at the philosophical side of the Upanishads. The poet in him also recognized their wonderful imageries. In his Lectures from Colombo to Almora, as also in many other lectures, he referred to one of the most poetic imageries of the Mundaka Upanishad. The verse runs as follows: Dvà suparnà sayujà sakhàyà samànam vriksham parishasvajàte; Tayoranyah pippalam svàdvattyanashnannanyo abhicàka****i. (III.1)
What does it say? It says, two birds were sitting on the branch of a tree. One of them was busy eating the fruitsbitter fruits of life. The other bird was calm, eating nothing. Both of them were friends and looked alike. Both of them clasped the branch of the tree. Yet their nature was different. One of them, the jivàtman was busy tasting the bitter and sometimes the sweet fruits of life. The Paramàtman, the other bird, sitting higher is calm in its resplendent glorious Self. Swamiji says, gradually the busy bird started hopping towards the calm, serene, majestic bird. And one day it had disappeared into the other. That is, the jivàtman gradually became nearer and nearer the Paramàtman. They become one.
This is brahmajnàna about which Vedanta tells us again and again through various imageries. We must not forget that the jivàtman is essentially the same as paramàtman.