The Swami, with his scanty belongings and regal bearing, came to Delhi, for ages the capital of India under Hindu and Mogul dynasties, and the scene of numerous historic events. The royal sepulchres and palaces, the sites of deserted capitals, the ruins of imperial greatness, make Delhi the ancient Rome of India. Its very atmosphere is imperial. The crisp winter air, the grandeur of the place, its noble history, filled him with physical and spiritual elation. He put up at the residence of Seth Shyamaldas, where he was received with open arms._x000d_ Here in Delhi he went everywhere and saw everything. The ruins of royal and imperial greatness impressed on the young monk the ephemeral nature of all human glory and the perma-nence of the spirit, which neither comes nor goes. At the same time, the historian in him found in Delhi the symbol of the immortal glory of the Indian people, with its grand, composite culture.

After about ten days, the other brother-disciples at Meerut left for Delhi, where they inadvertently met the Swami again. The brethren were no doubt happy to meet him, but the Swami was not pleased. He said to them, "Brothers, I told you that I wanted to be left alone. I said that I had work to do. I asked you not to follow me. Now I insist that you obey me. I do not want to be followed. With this I leave Delhi. And he who follows me, does so at his peril; for I am going to lose myself to all old associations. Where the Spirit leads, there I shall wander, no matter whether it is a forest or a desert waste, a mountain region or a densely populated city. I am off." The brother-disciples, stunned by his resolve, said, "We did not know that you were staying here. We have come to Delhi to see the old imperial capital. Here we heard of a Swami Vividishananda, an English After speaking monk, and we were curious to see him. It is by accident that we have met you."_x000d_ It appears that the Swami had introduced himself in Delhi as Swami Vividishananda, which, as we have seen, was the name taken at the time of his formal initiation into Sannyasa. But his brother-disciples seem to have almost forgotten the name. To them he was always their beloved "Naren". Nor, to their knowledge, had the Swami used the name openly before. Thus it was that when they went to meet Vividishananda, they found to their surprise that he was none other than the Swami. Even after this parting from his brothers, the Swami lingered on in Delhi for a few days more. Though they lived apart, they gathered at the Sethji's house to take their food.

One day Dr. Hemchandra Sen, a well known Bengali physician of Delhi, spoke slightingly about the Swami to Akhandananda. A few days earlier, when the Swami had consulted him about his tonsils, the doctor's attitude had been distinctly antagonistic. The doctor now, however, expressed to Akhandananda a desire to meet the Swami again. One evening many professors of the local college assembled at the doctor's house, where the Swami and his two brother-disciples had also been invited. A great discussion ensued. Many questions were asked, and the Swami with his erudition impressed them all. As a result, Dr. Sen was attracted to the small group of monks. The following day he invited them to a feast at his house.

Shortly afterwards the brother-disciples left Delhi one after another. Saradananda went to Etawah; and because he was ill, Kripananda went with him. Brahmananda and Turiyananda left for the Punjab; Akhandananda made for Vrindavan; and the Swami set out for Rajputana (now Rajasthan). His brothers knew in which direction their Leader had gone, but they dared not follow him. They knew that his soul was in the grip of a great restlessness to fulfil the mission for which he had been born; they knew that it was under the guidance of the Master, by the will of the Mother, that he wanted to be left alone. So, with moist eyes and anguish in their hearts, they had bidden him farewell and sought his blessings. But the Swami himself was glad to cut this last attachment of his soul his love for his brother-disciples. He remembered the words of the Dhammapada:_x000d_ Go forward without a path! _x000d_ Fearing nothing, caring for nothing, _x000d_ Wander alone, like the rhinoceros!_x000d_ Even as the lion, not trembling at noises, _x000d_ Even as the wind, not caught in the net, _x000d_ Even as the lotus leaf; unstained by the water, _x000d_ Do thou wander alone, like the rhinoceros!_x000d_ These words upheld and inspired him. Renouncing all ties, loosing all bonds, breaking down all limitations, destroying all sense of fear, the Swami went forth, even as the rhinoceros¬ towards Alwar, in the beautiful and historic land of Rajputana.