We reached Colombo at 4 o'clock on Friday, January 15, and caught sight of a steam launch coming out with a sannyasi on board, who proved to be Swami Niranjanananda. There were also with him Mr. T. G. Harrison (an English Buddhist) and three native gentlemen (Tamil Hindus). It took us a long time to put ashore, but when we did, we found a dense crowd waiting, who cheered the Swami vociferously. The Swami then entered a carriage drawn by two horses, and with coachman and syces in gor-geous crimson livery. With him sat Hon. Mr. P. Coomaraswamy, member of the Legislative Council, and Mrs. Sevier. Mr. Sevier and I followed in another carriage. We drove slowly through the city to the Cinnamon Gardens. There, in Barnes St., a new house, never before occupied, was placed at our disposal. I say "our" because the Colombo Reception Committee, or Sabba [Sabha], included us in everything done for the Swami. The road leading up to the house for a quarter of a mile was beautifully decorated with palm branches, and with, at either end, a very beautify triumphal arch of bamboo, and the words "Welcome to Swami Vive-kananda". Flags and banners were everywhere. I should tell you that the procession was headed by the native band, tomtoms, etc., and the sacred umbrellas and banners brought out only when a god or idol is in procession, were also used. At the house an address was presented by Mr. Coomaraswamy and the Swami briefly replied. Then we had dinner and rest. All the meals were of native dishes ... A sannyasin is supposed to identify himself with Shiva, and in that sense becomes Shiva himself. The Swami is worshipped therefore as God Himself (and I may add that I myself consider that they are perfectly right). On the Saturday [Janu-ary 16] evening the Swami lectured to a crowded audience. The report I have sent you. I did it myself, because the reporters here made an awful mess of it, but you will see that they made lots of mistakes in setting it up.... On Sunday the Swami went to the temple to be worshipped. We drove through the City and in the Tamil street had to stop at nearly fifty houses while the inhabit-ants (Hindus) placed _x000d_ garlands of flowers round the Swami's neck, mostly tuberose and jasmine, and sprinkled him with rose-water, also giving him fruit or bouquets of flowers. Then we reached the gate of the temple. We all got out and a procession was formed, headed by their band, all of us marching barefoot round the outside of the temple, but all the time within the temple precincts. I had to stay just outside of the temple, as Europeans are not allowed within, but I could see all that went on. As soon as the Swami entered, accompanied by the largest crowd ever seen at the temple, the people shouted, "Jai Jai Mahadeva — All hail highest Deva", clapped their hands and cheered to the echo. More garlands and rose-water were given him, and he was offered sandalwood paste with which to touch the forehead between two eyes (representing the psychic eye). I may mention, if you will pardon me, two things relating to myself which interested me very much. The people here, especially the intelligent classes, are very much pleased at seeing the Swami bring with him some English disciples. The consequence has been that the Seviers and 1, but particularly myself, have come in for an enormous amount of attention. We are always sprinkled with rose-water and given sandalwood. One man wanted me to be photographed with the Swami so that he might worship me with Swamiji…. Then again, outside the temple, I had a huge crowd round me, staring at me, and asking all sorts of questions about me.

On Monday the pilgrimage continued and in the evening the Swami lectured again. . . _x000d_ During the Swami's stay at Colombo the bungalow, which lie occupied (from that time named "Vivekananda Lodge"), was incessantly thronged by visitors. It became, indeed, a place—of pilgrimage, the honour and respect shown to the Swami being undreamt-of by those who are unaccustomed to the religious demonstrativeness of the East. Among the visitors were men of all stations in life, from high officials in Ceylon to the poorest of the poor. One incident may be mentioned . A poor woman, who was evidently in distress, came to see the Swami, bearing in her hand the customary offering of fruits. Her husband had left her in order that he might be undisturbed in his search for God. The woman wanted to know more about God, so that she could follow in his footsteps. The Swami _x000d_ advised her to read the Bhagavad-Gita, and pointed out to her that the best way for one in her station was the proper fulfilment of household duties. Her reply was significant. "I can read it, Swamiji," she said, "but what good will that do me if I cannot understand it and feet it?" This simple woman's knowledge of the truth that religion does not lie in the study of books was part of that fund of spiritual understanding to he found even among the poor and apparently uneducated of the East.

There was a reception of an informal nature early the following morning at Elephant Pass, where a bridge connects Ceylon with the island of Jaffna. Twelve miles from Jaffna town the Swami was met by many of the leading Hindu citizens, and a procession of carriages accompanied him for the remainder of the distance. Every street in the town, nay every house, was decorated in his honour. The scene, in the evening, when the Swami was driven in a torchlight procession to a large pandal erected at the Hindu College, was impressive. All along the route there was intense enthusiasm. At least ten to fifteen thousand people must have accompanied him.

The distance from Anuradhapuram to Jaffna is one hundred and twenty miles. As the road and the horses were equally bad, the journey was troublesome, and saved from being sheer penance only by the scenic beauty. On two successive nights they had no sleep. The reception of the Swami with all honour at Vavoniya (Vavuniya), and the presentation of an address, made a welcome break. After the Swami had replied briefly, the journey continued through the jungles of Ceylon to Jaffna.

The homecoming of Swami Vivekananda was a notable event in the history of modern India, for it was a united India that rose to do him honour. Looming as he did upon the national horizon as the Prophet and Apostle of a reinterpreted and re-invigorated Hinduism, Vivekananda was the Man of the Hour and the Harbinger of a New Era. No wonder, therefore, that his home-coming was keenly awaited by millions of his fellow-countrymen. For more than three years the people of India had been aware that the Swami was, with marked success, presenting and interpreting Hinduism to the Western nations. All India looked to him as to some mighty Acharya of old, born again to revivify the Eternal Religion, and to carry her banner through the civilized world. New forces had come into play in India ever since his triumph at the Parliament of Religions. Through study of the Swami's lectures and utterances, the eyes of educated Indians had been opened to the hidden treasures of their religion. They had come to see more and more how Vedanta alone could claim to be a universal religion. The Swami, they had discovered, was a man of powers and spiritual realizations. As a true patriot he had made a deep study of his country's complex problems. Many, among the educated, were eager to see him and hear his message. They had accepted him as the torch-bearer of the Indian nation.

When it was known that Swami Vivekananda had left Europe for India, committees were formed in the large cities to organize his reception. Two of his brother-disciples went south to meet him: Swami Niranjanananda met him when he landed at Colombo, and Swami Shivananda met him at Madurai. Others, disciples of the Swami himself, made their way from Bengal and the northern provinces to Madras, and awaited his arrival there. Newspapers and journals throughout the country commenced a series of editorials praising him and his work. This further aroused the nation's expectancy.

The Swami was in ignorance of these preparations in his honour. Indeed, from Goodwin's letter of November 14, 1896, it appears that he was distinctly doubtful about the reception that he would have in conservative India. In this letter Goodwin writes to Mrs. Ole Bull: "The Swami is feeling very uncertain as to the way in which he will be received in India, and expects to get the cold shoulder to a great extent, in which case he says that he will consider his proper course to he to revisit America and England after a short rest merely, in India. He intends to arrange lectures in Japan and China on his way back to the States. "

During the voyage the Swami spent his time quietly in meditation, or in discoursing on the history of nations, or in resting. His conversation was much taken up with drawing comparisons and with reflecting on his experiences in Western lands. While he had been in the West, his mind had been habitually occupied with world history, with the relation of India to the world, and vice versa, and with the problems and destiny of India herself. More and more the spirit of an awakened national consciousness had stirred in him. In his letters he had tried to fire his brother-disciples and his own disciples with his enthusiasm. He had written to them of the means of awakening this national consciousness, and of how to set the Indian work in motion.

Besides the general reflections mentioned above, the Swami was always turning over in his mind, both when in the West and now on board the Prinz Regent Luitpold, plans for the reanimation and reorganization of the Indian Dharma. We get a glimpse of one of his plans from Goodwin's letter of November 20, 1896 to Mrs. Ole Bull: "I wonder if I can tell you of the Swami's biggest project in India…. It is the building of the Monastery in Calcutta as a training ground for Vedanta teachers.. Miss Muller … has offered him £200 per annum towards its maintenance. Miss Souter, a wealthy lady here who has done an immense lot for him in a very quiet and unostentatious way, is giving him £1000, Mr. Sturdy £500, and he has himself about £200 towards it. I am also writing to Miss MacLeod about this."

Many months before this time of his return to India, when in Detroit, the Swami was talking with some disciples about the difficulties he had met with in presenting Hinduism to Christian audiences, and was telling them how he had spent himself in creating, in the West, a reverence for India's spiritual and intellectual contributions to the world. Suddenly, as he was speaking, his body began to shake with emotion, and he cried out: "India must listen to me! I shall shake India to her foundations. I shall send an electric thrill through her national veins. Wait! You shall see how India will receive me. It is India, my own India, that knows truly how to appreciate that which I have given so freely here, and with my life's blood, as the spirit of Vedanta. India will receive me in triumph." As we are about to see, his fervent words were prophetic. Those who heard him realized that it was not recognition for himself that he was seeking, but recognition for what he felt must become the gospel of all nations, namely, India's gospel, the gospel of the Vedas and Vedanta.

With this second address at the Hindu College at Jaffna, the Swami's visit to what is now Sri Lanka came to a close. At every place he visited, he was asked to send teachers of the Order to preach the gospel of Shri Ramakrishna. And from those towns in the interior which he had not visited, telegrams and letters poured in, begging him to pay them a short visit; but he had to refuse for want of time. Besides, he was tired. _x000d_ "He would have been killed with kindness," as one of his companions remarked, "if he had stayed longer in Ceylon."

The replies duly arrived, and forty-five of them were subsequently included in a highly defamatory and vindictive little book published in 1897 in Madras by the Christian Literature Society for India and entitled at some length Swami Vinekananda and His Guru with Letters From Prominent Americans on The Alleged Progress of Vedantism in The United States. All the letters printed in this book staunchly denied that the American people had abandoned Christianity for Hinduism or Mohammedanism and affirmed with some heat that Swami Vivekananda had not made the slightest impression in the United States. Most of the letters were from prominent divines; a few were from Swamiji’s acquaintances, such as Lyman Abbott and Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard University; and one, it so happened, was from the Reverend B. Fay Mills.

Mr. Mills’s letter serves as a brief sample of the published replies: " . . . [Swami Vivekananda] did not produce a ripple in the stream of Christian thought and progress," he wrote. _x000d_ "Except for a mild curiosity to see how far Hindu dogmas might be strained to suggest Christian Ethics, I do not know that he produced any effect on American Christian thought or practice. The receiving him as a converter of American Christianity to Hinduism is too ridiculous to demand any contradiction. Most of us did not even know he had been here since the Parliament.

Mr. Mills appears to have been a man of varying words and memories. Was he not to say three years later that he and his wife had kept track of Swamiji after the Parliament of Religions and read all his works? And was he not also to say that Swami Vivekananda had altered his life? But then, few American min¬isters made such declarations publicly-particularly in 1897.

In addition to the little missionary book, and in part because of it, a number of articles derogatory to Swamiji-some of them exceedingly spiteful-appeared that year and the next in American and Indian newspapers and magazines.

Swamiji had paid no attention. "What do I care about what they talk-the babies, they do not know any better," he had written in July of 1897 to Mary Hale, who had expressed concern. "What? I, who have realized the spirit and the vanity of all earthly nonsense, to be swerved from my path by babies’ prattle? Do I look like that?"

But though Swamiji had scorned to give a rejoinder to this prattle, Dr. Lewis G. Janes, his good friend who never wavered ("the most wholly stainless man I ever knew," Thomas Wentworth Higginson was to write of him),22 had come to his defense. In two letters to the editor of the Outlook, a well-known weekly of the era, he replied to a malign editorial entitled "American Buddhists," writing in part:*_x000d_ _x000d_ * Dr. Lewis G. Janes’s letters as quoted here are taken from copies of his manuscripts (SCB). As printed in the Outlook of February 19, I898, his first letter was very much cut and vitiated, to which consorship Dr. Janes objected in a second letter. Parts of this second letter were printed in the Outlook of March 19, I898, with inimical and counteractive editorial comment. The Outlook stood firmly behind the Christian clergy.

The first thing that strikes the impartial reader is the incongruity of the title with the subject-matter of the article, inasmuch as the latter relates wholly to certain statements alleged to have been made by the Swami Vivekananda in regard to the spread of Vedantism in Europe and America. . . . The Swami Vivekananda is not and never was a Buddhist, nor is he in any way connected with the theosophical movement referred to in your article. . . ._x000d_ So far as I have had an opportunity of observing, and my opportunities have been considerable, in the Brooklyn Ethical Association, the Cambridge Conference and the Monsalvat School of Comparative Religion, at Greenacre, Eliot, Maine, where [Swami Vivekananda and Swami Saradananda] have lectured, the teachers of the Vedanta have made no efforts at proselyting or making "converts" in this country. The Vedanta has been presented as a system of philosophical thought which recognizes the truth of all religions, and which might constitute a philosophical basis of Christianity as well as of Hinduism.

This teaching has undoubtedly been welcomed and appreciated by hundreds, if not thousands, of intelligent people in this country, and permanent classes and associations have been formed in several cities for continued study._x000d_ . . . The eminent gentlemen whom you quote . . . Testify that they know of no Americans who have forsaken Christianity for Hinduism. I testify that I know of no one who has attempted to bring about such a result. If the testimony of Drs. Eliot, Angell, Boardman, and others, should be interpreted as a denial that any serious interest in the Vedanta has been created in America, the situation would appear to be very much like that of the man who was accused of stealing a dog, and confronted by three witnesses who saw him do it. He met the assault upon his character by bringing thirty entirely credible witnesses who didn’t see him do it. I report certain things that my work and relations with the teaching of Vedanta have enabled me to know. These gentlemen, whose credibility I would not for an instant question, testify that they do not know certain other things.

To the Madras Committee_x000d_ _x000d_ [After Swami Vivekananda arrived at Colombo on Friday, January 15, 1897, the Madras Committee, which was planning a reception for the Swami, sent the following message: "Mother land rejoices to welcome you back". In reply, Swami Viveka nanda sent a wire.]_x000d_ _x000d_ [Postmarked: January 15, 1897]_x000d_ _x000d_ MY LOVE AND GRATITUDE TO MY COUNTRYMEN.

The story of Swami Vivekananda's reception by his fellow-countrymen can be conveniently told in the words of eyewitnesses, such as Goodwin, and by quoting from newspaper reports. This is how the Colombo reception was reported by the local paper Ceylon Independent.

The fifteenth of January [1897] will be a memorable day in the annals of the Hindu Community of Colombo, being the day on which the Swami Vivekananda, a teacher of wonderful abilities and attainments, a member of the most sacred Hindu spiritual Order, the sannyasins of India, was welcomed by them. His visit is an epoch-making one, heralding the dawn of an unprecedented spiritual activity.

As the day was closing and the night approached, when the auspicious and sacred hour of "Sandhya" noted by the Hindu Shastras as the best suited for devotion came round as the harbinger of the coming great events of the day, the sage of noble figure, of sedate countenance with large, luminous eyes, arrived, dressed in the orange garb of a sannyasin, accompanied by the Swami Niranjanananda and others…. No words can describe the feelings of the vast masses and their expressions of love, when they saw the steam launch bearing the sage, steaming towards the jetty … . The din and clamour of shouts and hand-clapping drowned even the noise of the breaking waves. The Hon. Mr. P. Coomaraswamy stepped forward, followed by his brother, and received the Swami garlanding him with a beautiful jasmine wreath. Then came a rush …. No amount of physical force could hold back the great multitude …. At the entrance to Barnes Street, a handsome triumphal arch formed of branches, leaves, and cocoanut flowers bore a motto of welcome to the Swami. All too soon the splendid pair of horses that awaited his landing in front of the G. O. H. carried away the Swami to the pandal in Barnes Street. Every available carriage was in use and hundreds of pedestrians wended their way to the triumphal pandal which was decorated with palms, evergreens, etc. There the Swami, alighting from the carriage, walked in procession attended with due Hindu honours — the flag, the sacred umbrella, the spreading of the white cloth, etc. An Indian band played select airs. A host of persons joined the procession at Barnes Street, and then, together with the Swami, marched on to another beautiful and artistic pandal in front of the bungalow prepared for his temporary residence in Cinnamon Gardens. Both sides of the road leading from the first pandal to the second, a distance of a quarter of a mile, were lined with arches festooned with palm leaves. As soon as the Swami" entered the second pandal, a beautiful artificial lotus flower unfolded its petals and out flew a bird. These charming decorations went unnoticed, for all eyes were on the Swami. In their struggle to see him, some of the decorations were destroyed. The sage and his disciples took their seats amidst a shower of flowers. After silence was restored, a musician played a charming air on his violin; then the sacred Tamil hymns, the "Thevaram", two thousand years old, were sung; a Sanskrit hymn composed especially in the Swami's honour was also intoned. The Hon. Mr. P. Coomaraswamy, stepping forward, bowed to the Swami in oriental fashion and then read an address of welcome on behalf of the Hindus.

The Swami rose amidst deafening cheers and responded to the address in an eloquent and impressive style, peculiarly his own. The huge audience were carried away by his words, simple and plain though they were.

In the course of his reply he pointed out that the demonstration had not been made in honour of a great politician, or a great soldier, or a millionaire. "The spirituality of the Hindus", he said, "is revealed by the princely reception which they have given to a begging sannyasin." He was not a general, not a prince, not a wealthy man, yet men great in the transitory possessions of the world and much respected, had come to honour him, a poor sannyasin. "This", he said, "is one of the highest expressions of spirituality." He urged the necessity of making religion the backbone of the national life, if the nation was to live; and disclaimed any personal character in the welcome he had received, insisting that it was but the recognition of a principle.

The Swami then entered the house. Here another garland was placed around his neck, and he was escorted to a seat. The people who had taken part in the formal proceedings of the meeting were standing outside and were unwilling to disperse. Finding that many were waiting to see him again, Swamiji came out and after the manner of sannyasins he saluted and blessed them all.

After his memorable work in the West, Swami Vivekananda landed at Colombo on the afternoon of January 15, 1897, and was given a right royal reception by the Hindu community there. The following address of welcome was then presented to him:_x000d_ SRIMAT VIVEKANANDA SWAMI_x000d_ _x000d_ _x000d_ _x000d_ REVERED SIR,_x000d_ _x000d_ In pursuance of a resolution passed at a public meeting of the Hindus of the city of Colombo, we beg to offer you a hearty welcome to this Island. We deem it a privilege to be the first to welcome you on your return home from your great mission in the West._x000d_ _x000d_ We have watched with joy and thankfulness the success with which the mission has, under God's blessing, been crowned. You have proclaimed to the nations of Europe and America the Hindu ideal of a universal religion, harmonizing all creeds, providing spiritual food for each soul according to its needs, and, lovingly drawing it unto God. You have preached the Truth and the Way, taught from remote ages by a succession of Masters whose blessed feet have walked and sanctified the soil of India, and whose gracious presence and inspiration have made her, through all her vicissitudes, the Light of the World._x000d_ _x000d_ To the inspiration of such a Master, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Deva, and to your self - sacrificing zeal, Western nations owe the priceless boon of being placed in living contact with the spiritual genius of India, while to many of our own countrymen, delivered from the glamour of Western civilisation, the value of our glorious heritage has been brought home. By your noble work and example you have laid humanity under an obligation difficult to repay, and you have shed fresh lustre upon our Motherland. We pray that the grace of God may continue to prosper you and your work, and_x000d_ _x000d_ We remain,….. Revered Sir,……Yours faithfully,…..for and on behalf of the Hindus of Colombo,…..P. COOMARA SWAMY,…..Member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon - Chairman of the Meeting…..A. KULAVEERASINGHAM - Secretary…..Colombo, January, 1897._x000d_ _x000d_ The Swami gave a brief reply, expressing his appreciation of the kind welcome he had received. He took advantage of the opportunity to point out that the demonstration had not been made in honour of a great politician, or a great solider, or a millionaire, but of a begging Sannyâsin, showing the tendency of the Hindu mind towards religion. He urged the necessity of keeping religion as the backbone of the national life if the nation were to live, and disclaimed any personal character for the welcome he had received, but insisted upon its being the recognition of a principle._x000d_ _x000d_ On the evening of the 16th the Swami gave the following public lecture in the Floral Hall:_x000d_ _x000d_ What little work has been done by me has not been from any inherent power that resides in me, but from the cheers, the goodwill, the blessings that have followed my path in the West from this our very beloved, most sacred, dear Motherland. Some good has been done, no doubt, in the West, but specially to myself; for what before was the result of an emotional nature, perhaps, has gained the certainty of conviction and attained the power and strength of demonstration. Formerly I thought as every Hindu thinks, and as the Hon. President has just pointed out to you, that this is the Punya Bhumi, the land of Karma. Today I stand here and say, with the conviction of truth, that it is so. If there is any land on this earth that can lay claim to be the blessed Punya Bhumi, to be the land to which all souls on this earth must come to account for Karma, the land to which every soul that is wending its way Godward must come to attain its last home, the land where humanity has attained its highest towards gentleness, towards generosity, towards purity, towards calmness, above all, the land of introspection and of spirituality -- it is India. Hence have started the founders of religions from the most ancient times, deluging the earth again and again with the pure and perennial waters of spiritual truth. Hence have proceeded the tidal waves of philosophy that have covered the earth, East or West, North or South, and hence again must start the wave which is going to spiritualise the material civilisation of the world. Here is the life - giving water with which must be quenched the burning fire of materialism which is burning the core of the hearts of millions in other lands. Believe me, my friends, this is going to be._x000d_ _x000d_ So much I have seen, and so far those of you who are students of the history of races are already aware of this fact. The debt which the world owes to our Motherland is immense. Taking country with country, there is not one race on this earth to which the world owes so much as to the patient Hindu, the mild Hindu. "The mild Hindu" sometimes is used as an expression of reproach; but if ever a reproach concealed a wonderful truth, it is in the term, "the mild Hindu", who has always been the blessed child of God. Civilisations have arisen in other parts of the world. In ancient times and in modern times, great ideas have emanated from strong and great races. In ancient and in modern times, wonderful ideas have been carried forward from one race to another. In ancient andin modern times, seeds of great truth and power have been cast abroad by the advancing tides of national life; but mark you, my friends, it has been always with the blast of war trumpets and with the march of embattled cohorts. Each idea had to be soaked in a deluge of blood. Each idea had to wade through the blood of millions of our fellow - beings. Each word of power had to be followed by the groans of millions, by the wails of orphans, by the tears of widows. This, in the main, other nations have taught; but India has for thousands of years peacefully existed. Here activity prevailed when even Greece did not exist, when Rome was not thought of, when the very fathers of the modern Europeans lived in the forests and painted themselves blue. Even earlier, when history has no record, and tradition dares not peer into the gloom of that intense past, even from then until now, ideas after ideas have marched out from her, but every word has been spoken with a blessing behind it and peace before it. We, of all nations of the world, have never been a conquering race, and that blessing is on our head, and therefore we live._x000d_ _x000d_ There was a time when at the sound of the march of big Greek battalions the earth trembled. Vanished from off the face of the earth, with not even a tale left behind to tell, gone is that ancient land of the Greeks. There was a time when the Roman Eagle floated over everything worth having in this world; everywhere Rome's power was felt and pressed on the head of humanity; the earth trembled at the name of Rome. But the Capitoline Hill is a mass of ruins, the spider weaves its web where the Caesars ruled. There have been other nations equally glorious that have come and gone, living a few hours of exultant and exuberant dominance and of a wicked national life, and then vanishing like ripples on the face of the waters. Thus have these nations made their mark on the face of humanity. But we live, and if Manu cameback today he would not be bewildered, and would not find himself in a foreign land. The same laws are here, the laws adjusted and thought out through thousands and thousands of years; customs, the outcome of the acumen of ages and the experience of centuries, that seem to be eternal; and as the days go by, as blow after blow of misfortune has been delivered upon them, such blows seem to have served one purpose only, that of making them stronger and more constant. And to find the centre of all this, the heart form which the blood flows, the mainspring of the national life, believe me when I say after my experience of the world, that it is here._x000d_ _x000d_ To the other nations of the world, religion is one among the many occupations of life. There is politics, there are the enjoyments of social life, there is all that wealth can buy or power can bring, there is all that the sense can enjoy; and among all these various occupations of life and all this searching after something which can give yet a little more whetting to the cloyed senses -- among all these, there is perhaps a little bit of religion. But here, in India, religion is the one and the only occupation of life. How many of you know that there has been a Sino - Japanese War? Very few of you, if any. That there are tremendous political movements and socialistic movements trying to transform Western society, how many of you know? Very few indeed, if any. But that there was a Parliament of Religions in America, and that there was a Hindu Sannyasin sent over there, I am astonished to find that even the cooly knows of it. That shows the way the wind blows, where the national life is. I used to read books written by globe - trotting travellers, especially foreigners, who deplored the ignorance of the Eastern masses, but I found out that it was partly true and at the same time partly untrue. If you ask a ploughman in England, or America, or France, or Germany to what party he belongs, he can tell you whether hebelongs to the Radicals or the Conservatives, and for whom he is going to vote. In America he will say whether he is Republican or Democrat, and he even knows something about the silver question. But if you ask him about his religion, he will tell you that he goes to church and belongs to a certain denomination. This is all he knows, and he thinks it is sufficient._x000d_ _x000d_ Now, when we come to India, if you ask one of our ploughmen, "Do you know anything about politics?" He will reply, "What is that?" He does not understand the socialistic movements, the relation between capital and labour, and all that; he has never heard of such things in his life, he works hard and earns his bread. But you ask, "What is your religion?" He replies, "Look here, my friend, I have marked it on my forehead." He can give you a good hint or two on questions of religion. That has been my experience. That is our nation's life._x000d_ _x000d_ Individuals have each their own peculiarities, and each man has his own method of growth, his own life marked out for him by the infinite past life, by all his past Karma as we Hindus say. Into this world he comes with all the past on him, the infinite past ushers the present, and the way in which we use the present is going to make the future. Thus everyone born into this world has a bent, a direction towards which he must go, through which he must live, and what is true of the individual is equally true of the race. Each race, similarly, has a peculiar bent, each race has a peculiar raison d'être, each race has a peculiar mission to fulfil in the life of the world. Each race has to make its own result, to fulfil its own mission. Political greatness or military power is never the mission of our race; it never was, and , mark my words, it never will be. But there has been the other mission given to us, which is to conserve, to preserve, to accumulate, as it were, into a dynamo, all the spiritual energy of the race, and that concentrated energy is to pour forth in a deluge on the world whenever circumstances are propitious. Let the Persian or the Greek, the Roman, the Arab, or the Englishman march his battalions, conquer the world, and link the different nations together, and the philosophy and spirituality of India is ever ready to flow along the new - made channels into the veins of the nations of the world. The Hindu's calm brain must pour out its own quota to give to the sum total of human progress. India's gift to the world is the light spiritual._x000d_ _x000d_ Thus, in the past, we read in history that whenever there arose a great conquering nation uniting the different races of the world, binding India with the other races, taking her out, as it were, from her loneliness and from her aloofness from the rest of the world into which she again and again cast herself, that whenever such a state has been brought about, the result has been the flooding of the world with Indian spiritual ideas. At the beginning of this century, Schopenhauer, the great German philosopher, studying from a not very clear translation of the Vedas made from an old translation into Persian and thence by a young Frenchman into Latin, says, "In the whole world there is no study so beneficial and so elevating as that of the Upanishads. It has been the solace of my life, it will be the solace of my death." This great German sage foretold that "The world is about to see a revolution in thought more extensive and more powerful than that which was witnessed by the Renaissance of Greek Literature", and today his predictions are coming to pass. Those who keep their eyes open, those who understand the workings in the minds of different nations of the West, those who are thinkers and study the different nations, will find the immense change that has been produced in the tone, the procedure, in the methods, and in the literature of the world by this slow, never - ceasing permeation of Indian thought._x000d_ _x000d_ But there is another peculiarity, as I have alreadyhinted to you. We never preached our thoughts with fire and sword. If there is one word in the English language to represent the gift of India to the world, if there is one word in the English language to express the effect which the literature of India produces upon mankind, it is this one word, "fascination". It is the opposite of anything that takes you suddenly; it throws on you, as it were, a charm imperceptibly. To many, Indian thought, Indian manners, Indian customs, Indian philosophy, Indian literature are repulsive at the first sight; but let them persevere, let them read, let them become familiar with the great principles underlying these ideas, and it is ninety - nine to one that the charm will come over them, and fascination will be the result. Slow and silent, as the gentle dew that falls in the morning, unseen and unheard yet producing a most tremendous result, has been the work of the calm, patient, all - suffering spiritual race upon the world of thought._x000d_ _x000d_ Once more history is going to repeat itself. For today, under the blasting light of modern science, when old and apparently strong and invulnerable beliefs have been shattered to their very foundations, when special claims laid to the allegiance of mankind by different sects have been all blown into atoms and have vanished into air, when the sledge - hammer blows of modern antiquarian researches are pulverising like masses of porcelain all sorts of antiquated orthodoxies, when religion in the West is only in the hands of the ignorant and the knowing ones look down with scorn upon anything belonging to religion, here comes to the fore the philosophy of India, which displays the highest religious aspirations of the Indian mind, where the grandest philosophical facts have been the practical spirituality of the people. This naturally is coming to the rescue, the idea of the oneness of all, the Infinite, the idea of the Impersonal, the wonderful idea of the eternal soul of man, of the unbroken continuity in the march of beings, and the infinity of the universe. The old sects looked upon the world as a little mud - puddle and thought that time began but the other day. It was there in our old books, and only there that the grand idea of the infinite range of time, space, and causation, and above all, the infinite glory of the spirit of man governed all the search for religion. When the modern tremendous theories of evolution and conservation of energy and so forth are dealing death blows to all sorts of crude theologies, what can hold any more the allegiance of cultured humanity but the most wonderful, convincing, broadening, and ennobling ideas that can be found only in that most marvellous product of the soul of man, the wonderful voice of God, the Vedanta?_x000d_ _x000d_ At the same time, I must remark that what I mean by our religion working upon the nations outside of India comprises only the principles, the background, the foundation upon which that religion is built. The detailed workings, the minute points which have been worked out through centuries of social necessity, little ratiocinations about manners and customs and social well - being, do not rightly find a place in the category of religion. We know that in our books a clear distinction is made between two sets of truths. The one set is that which abides for ever, being built upon the nature of man, the nature of the soul, the soul's relation to God, the nature of God, perfection, and so on; there are also the principles of cosmology, of the infinitude of creation, or more correctly speaking -- projection, the wonderful law of cyclical procession, and so on -- these are the eternal principles founded upon the universal laws in nature. The other set comprises the minor laws which guided the working of our everyday life. They belong more properly to the Puranas, to the Smritis, and not to the Shrutis. These have nothing to do with the other principles. Even in our own nation these minor laws have been changing all the time. Customs of one age, of one Yuga, have not been the customs of another, and as Yuga comes after Yuga, they will still have to change. Great Rishis will appear and lead us to customs and manners that are suited to new environments._x000d_ _x000d_ The great principles underlying all this wonderful, infinite, ennobling, expansive view of man and God and the world have been produced in India. In India alone man has not stood up to fight for a little tribal God, saying "My God is true and yours is not true; let us have a good fight over it." It was only here that such ideas did not occur as fighting for little gods. These great underlying principles, being based upon the eternal nature of man, are as potent today for working for the good of the human race as they were thousands of years ago, and they will remain so, so long as this earth remains, so long as the law of Karma remains, so long as we are born as individuals and have to work out our own destiny by our individual power._x000d_ _x000d_ And above all, what India has to give to the world is this. If we watch the growth and development of religions in different races, we shall always find this that each tribe at the beginning has a god of its own. If the tribes are allied to each other, these gods will have a generic name, as for example, all the Babylonian gods had. When the Babylonians were divided into many races, they had the generic name of Baal, just as the Jewish races had different gods with the common name of Moloch; and at the same time you will find that one of these tribes becomes superior to the rest, and lays claim to its own king as the king over all. Therefrom it naturally follows that it also wants to preserve its own god as the god of all the races. Baal - merodach, said the Babylonians, was the greatest god; all the others were inferior. Moloch - Yahveh was the superior over all other Molochs. And these questions had to be decided by the fortunes of battle. The same struggle was here also. In India the same competing gods had been struggling with each other for supremacy, but the great good fortune of this country and of the world was that there came out in the midst of the din and confusion a voice which declared [Sanskrit]--"That which exists is One; sages call It by various names." It is not that Shiva is superior to Vishnu, not that Vishnu is everything and Shiva is nothing, but it is the same one whom you call either Shiva, or Vishnu, or by a hundred other names. The names are different, but it is the same one. The whole history of India you may read in these few words. The whole history has been a repetition in massive language, with tremendous power, of that one central doctrine. It was repeated in the land till it had entered into the blood of the nation, till it began to tingle with every drop of blood that flowed in its veins, till it became one with the life, part and parcel of the material of which it was composed; and thus the land was transmuted into the most wonderful land of toleration, giving the right to welcome the various religions as well as all sects into the old mother - country._x000d_ _x000d_ And herein is the explanation of the most remarkable phenomenon that is only witnessed here -- all the various sects, apparently hopelessly contradictory, yet living in such harmony. You may be a dualist, and I may be a monist. You may believe that you are the eternal servant of God, and I may declare that I am one with God Himself; yet both of us are good Hindus. How is that possible? Read then [Sanskrit]--"That which exists is One; sages call It by various names." Above all others, my countrymen, this is the one grand truth that we have to teach to the world. Even the most educated people of other countries turn up their noses at an angle of forty - five degrees and call our religion idolatry. I have seen that; and they never stopped to think what a mass of superstition there was in their own heads. It is still so everywhere, this tremendous sectar - ianism, the low narrowness of the mind. The thing which a man has is the only thing worth having; the only life worth living is his little life of dollar - worship and mammon - worship; the only little possession worth having is his own property, and nothing else. If he can manufacture a little clay nonsense or invent a machine, that is to be admired beyond the greatest possessions. That is the case over the whole world in spite of education and learning. But education has yet to be in the world, and civilisation -- civilisation has begun nowhere yet. Ninety - nine decimal nine per cent of the human race are more or less savages even now. We may read of these things in books, and we hear of toleration in religion and all that, but very little of it is there yet in the world; take my experience for that. Ninety - nine per cent do not even think of it. There is tremendous religious persecution yet in every country in which I have been, and the same old objections are raised against learning anything new. The little toleration that is in the world, the little sympathy that is yet in the world for religious thought, is practically here in the land of the Aryas, and nowhere else. It is here that Indians build temples for Mohammedans and Christians; nowhere else. If you go to other countries and ask Mohammedans or people of other religions to build a temple for you, see how they will help. They will instead try to break down your temple and you too if they can. The one great lesson, therefore, that the world wants most, that the world has yet to learn from India, is the idea not only of toleration, but of sympathy. Well has it been said in the Mahimnah - stotra: "As the different rivers, taking their start from different mountains, running straight or crooked, at last come unto the ocean, so, O Shiva, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead unto Thee." Though they may take various roads, all are on the way. Some may run a little crooked, others may run straight, but at last they will all come unto the Lord, the One. Then and then alone, is your Bhakti of Shiva complete when you not only see Him in the Linga, but you see Him everywhere. He is the sage, he is the lover of Hari who sees Hari in everything and in everyone. If you are a real lover of Shiva, you must see Him in everything and in everyone. You must see that every worship is given unto Him whatever may be the name or the form; that all knees bending towards the Caaba, or kneeling in a Christian church, or in the Buddhist temple are kneeling to Him whether they know it or not, whether they are conscious of it or not; that in whatever name or form they are offered, all these flowers are laid at His feet; for He is the one Lord of all, the one Soul of all souls. He knows infinitely better what this world wants than you or I. It is impossible that all difference can cease; it must exist; without variation life must cease. It is this clash, the differentiation of thought that makes for light, for motion, for everything. Differentiation, infinitely contradictory, must remain, but it is not necessary that we should hate each other therefore; it is not necessary therefore that we should fight each other._x000d_ _x000d_ Therefore we have again to learn the one central truth that was preached only here in our Motherland, and that has to be preached once more from India. Why? Because not only is it in our books, but it runs through every phase of our national literature and is in the national life. Here and here alone is it practised every day, and any man whose eyes are open can see that it is practised here and here alone. Thus we have to teach religion. There are other and higher lessons that India can teach, but they are only for the learned. The lessons of mildness, gentleness, forbearance, toleration, sympathy, and brotherhood, everyone may learn, whether man, woman, or child, learned or unlearned, without respect of race, caste, or creed. "They call Thee by various names; Thou art One."

Swami Vivekananda, the Hindu delegate, who proceeded to Chicago to represent the Hindus at the Parliament of Religions, and who had spent his time since in America and Europe, arrived here last evening by the Prinz Regent Luitpold. He was accom-panied by three American and European converts. The Hindus of Colombo mustered in strong numbers at the jetty to give him a welcome. Several leading Hindus went on board and brought him ashore in a steam launch and on landing at the jetty [he] was received by the Hindus headed by the Hon. P. Coomaraswamy and Mr. P. Arunachalam. The Swami and his companions were driven then to the Cinnamon Gardens, the Hindus following in carriages. At the turn to Barnes Street a pandal had been put up. Here the Swami alighted and was taken in procession with Hindu flags, music, and torch lights along Barnes Street to the resi-dence of Mr. Ratnasabapathy, which has been placed at his disposal during his stay here. On arrival here, after the singing of a Hindu song said to be 3,000 years old, the Hon. P. Coomaraswamy read and presented an address from the Hindu Community according him a hearty welcome. The Swami replied at length extolling the principles of their religion and how it had flourished from days immemorial, etc.

The following day, Sunday, was again spent in receiving visitors until the evening, when the Swami paid the visit to the Shiva temple (at Kochchikade) mentioned in Goodwin's letter just quoted. After worshipping the Lord and having a short conversation with the priests of the temple and others who had assembled there, he returned to his bungalow. There he found a number of Brahmins with whom he con-versed until half past two the following morning.

On Monday, January 18, the Swami paid a visit to Mr. Chelliah, whose house was artistically decorated for his reception. Hearing that the monk was coming, thousands of people were waiting for him. As his carriage drew near, the cheering grew more and more, and garlands and loose flowers were showered on him. He was seated in a place specially prepared for him, and sacred Ganga-water was sprinkled over him. The Swami then distributed sacramental ashes which all received with gladness. A picture of his own Master, Bhagavan Shri Ramakrishna, having caught his eye, he at once got up and with great reverence made obeisance to it. He partook of light refreshments, and expressed joy at finding that the house had pictures of saints. The occasion concluded with a few sacred songs.

That evening the Swami delivered a second lecture to another large audience, this time in the Public Hall of Colombo. As he stood on the platform in the gerua-coloured garb and turban of a sannyasi, with his well-built figure and with face radiating intelligence and spirituality, he made a striking sight. The audience was treated to a lucid exposition of the Advaita doctrine. His central theme was that of a universal religion based on the Vedas. In the course of his lecture the Swami noticed that many Indians were wearing European dress. He was evidently annoyed; and feeling it his duty, he cautioned them against slavish imitation. European dress, he said, did not suit Orientals. Not that he recommended any form of dress in particular: rather, it was his countrymen's unintelligent aping of foreign ways that called forth his criticism.

On the morning of the 19th he left Colombo for Kandy by a special railway saloon. At Kandy station a large crowd awaited him with an Indian band and the temple insignia, to take him in procession to a bungalow where he could rest. When the cheering had subsided, an address of welcome was read. The Swami's reply was brief After rest and a visit to places of interest, the journey was resumed.

On Wednesday morning, January 20, a coach-ride of two hundred miles began. It was to take them to Jaffna, at the northern tip of Ceylon, through country outstanding for the beauty of its vegetation. A few miles beyond Dambool (Dambulla), one of the front wheels of the coach broke in half, causing a stop of three hours by the roadside. Fortunately the wheel was not smashed entirely, or the carriage would have overturned, since the horses were going at a gallop. After a long wait, only one bullock-cart could be secured from a distant village. In it Mrs. Sevier was put, with all the luggage. The Swami and his companions had to walk several miles before they could get other bullock-carts. They spent the night in the carts and, passing through Kanahari and Tinpani, reached Anuradhapuram some eight hours late.

On Tuesday [January 19] morning at 7.30 we left for Kandy, reaching there at 11.20 through marvellous scenery. At Kandy another address was presented and the Swami was feted; there was again a procession etc. In the afternoon we drove round to a Buddhist temple (in company with the Buddhist leader there), and round the lake. We left at 6.20 for Matala [Matale], sleeping there the night at the rest-house, a beautifully quiet spot. In the morning [Wednesday, January 201 we left by "coach", which was really a brake, for Anuradhapuram, seventy miles away. We went all right as far as Dambool, passing through pepper trees, fruit trees of all kinds (bread, jack, bananas, coconut, etc.) through irrigated lands which reminded me of Patanjali's aphorism — Evolution, or the manifestation of God is by the infilling of nature. Then we saw buffaloes, jungle birds of wonderful colour, and colour indeed everywhere. Well and justly has Ceylon been termed the world's brightest and choicest gem. At Dambool we had breakfast, and then proceeded with our journey. The first stage was all right, but then one of the pair of horses was a jibber and refused the hills. After ourselves pushing the carriage up half a dozen, the coachman sent the horses going at hand to hand gallop which ended in a bolt, and in the middle of this the front wheel broke in half. There we were, four miles from a house, stranded. If the wheel had not held good (or rather the spokes), we must almost surely have been killed. For three hours we were camped out by the side of the road, in the heat of the afternoon, waiting for a bullock-cart. This came at 5 and we went on to Kakariawa [Kekirawa]. Here we dined and at 10.30 at night, with great difficulty, got hold of a second bullock-cart. In this we started on a twenty-eight mile ride. The details of this I need not give you. Suffice it that any discomfort conceivable came in our way. I walked eighteen miles of the journey, from preference, and being hardy suffered nothing. Neither the two Swamis, beyond lack of sleep; but Mr. and Mrs. Sevier were completely knocked up and, indeed, have not yet recovered. We reached Anuradhapuram at 10 a.m., the Swami was received, and we slept. We went round the place in the evening and this morning [January 22] the Swami, Mrs. Sevier, and I went to offer reverence to the sacred Bo tree, 2,000 years old, and a shoot of the original Bo tree at Buddha Gaya. I send you a leaf of it.... Anuradhapuram is a marvellous place. Two thousand years ago it was larger than London is now, but the Tamils invaded it, famine ensued, the population deserted it, and it became a dead city. The ruins extend for many miles, and include palaces, temples, Dagobhas (monuments of solid brickwork and enormous size built to conceal jewels etc.). Very wonderful …. The Swami lectures here this afternoon. I also had an interesting experience. About thirty Hindus, mostly Brahmins, came to me to he told about the Swami and his work, and about his philosophy, and for an hour I was engaged in true sannyasin fashion under a Bodhi tree….

As is well known, the whole of India had risen to welcome and honor its great sannyasin who, having vindicated Hinduism in the eyes of the West, had returned to his motherland at the beginning of 1897. One of the first tributes to Swamiji appeared in the form of an editorial published in the Calcutta Indian Mirror on January 21, six days after his arrival at Colombo, Ceylon. The editorial was, to be sure, enthusiastic. "Hundreds of men and women have enlisted themselves under the standard which [Swami Vivekananda] unfolded in America," it read, "and some of them have even taken to the bowl and the yellow-robes. . . . The tide of conversion seemed to have rolled back from the East to the West-the tables were completely turned-and the Hindu mission in the West was crowned with a greater and more glorious success than what has ever been vouchsafed to Christian missions in the East " These were fighting words; they sent a spasm of alarm and indignation through the Christian community. A Mr. Wilbur W. White, secretary of the Calcutta Young Men’s Christian Association grabbed up a pen and wrote to "a number of prominent men and women in my beloved land [America]."

In each letter (they were identical) he enclosed a copy of the editorial and requested his addressee to comment in reply upon "the likelihood of America abandoning Christianity and adopting either Hinduism or Mohammedanism in its stead." "I desire to secure for wide circulation in India," he concluded, "a symposium on Hinduism and Mohammedanism in America. Or if you please to be more particular, Swami Vivekananda in America.

Under the shade of the sacred Bo tree the Swami gave a short address to a crowd of two to three thousand people. As he proceeded, interpreters translated his words into Tamil and Sinhalese. The subject was "Worship". He exhorted his hearers to give practical effect to the teachings of the Vedas, rather than pay attention to mere empty worship. When the Swami had got thus far, a large crowd of fanatical Buddhists, Bhikshus, and householders — men, women, and children — gathered round him and created such a noise by beating drums, gongs, cans, and so forth, in order to stop the lecture, that he was obliged to conclude abruptly. There might have been a serious clash between the Hindus and Buddhists. had the Swami not urged the Hindus to practise restraint, although they had been provoked. This led him to speak of the harmony of the various religions. In this stronghold of Buddhism, he urged that He who is worshipped as Shiva, as Vishnu, as Buddha, or under any other name, is one and the same; and that there is thus need, not only of tolerance among, but also of sympathy between, the followers of the different creeds.

It was arranged by the Reception Committee that the Swami was to be received privately at Uppar [Upar] on Sunday morning by a deputation of seven members, and that the public demonstration in the town in his honour should be reserved for the evening. But it was found that one hundred persons, the elite of the Hindu society, were collected at Uppar anxiously awaiting his arrival on Sunday morning. Till 9 a.m. the coach with the distinguished monk and party accompanying him did not make its appearance. I t was then resolved to go ahead another five miles and wait at Chavakachari [Chavakachcheri]. No sooner had that place been reached than the Swami and his party arrived by the mail coach. A procession was then formed to drive to the town, with the Swami. his Gurubhai, Swami Niranjanananda, and Mr. (advocate) Nagalingam in the first carriage — a landau drawn by a pair — and the rest following in twenty carriages. It was 11.30 a.m., when the procession reached the town by the Central Road. In spite of the short time at the disposal of the Committee, grand preparation had been made to accord the Swami a fitting reception at the Hindu College in the evening. A magnificent pandal had been put up in front of the institution and most tastefully decorated. The whole way from the town to the College — a distance of about two miles — was festooned and illuminated, more especially that part of the route from the Grand Bazaar. Hundreds of banana palms were planted on both sides of the road, and bunting and flags adorned the whole route. The scene was exceedingly picturesque, and great enthusiasm prevailed among the people. Thousands from all parts of the Island came to the city to get a glimpse of the renowned monk, and gathered all along the route to give him welcome. From 6 p.m. to 12 p.m., the Jaffna Kangesantura Road, as far as the Hindu College, was impassable for carts and carriages. The torchlight procession, which started at 8.30 p.m., attended with Indian music, was unprecedentedly imposing. It is estimated that more than fifteen thousand persons, all on foot, took part in it. The whole distance of two miles was so densely crowded that it looked like a sea of heads, yet perfect order prevailed from start to finish. At the gate of almost every house on both sides of the road throughout the entire distance, were placed Niraikudam and lamps, the inhabitants expressing in this manner the highest honours that could he offered, according to the Hindu idea, to a great sannyasin. The Swami alighted from the carriage and wor-shipped at the Sivan and Kathiresan temples where he was garlanded by the temple priests. Along the way also, many garlands were offered him by the local residents, so that when he reached the College at 10 p.m., he was most beautiful to look upon. The pandal was crammed even hours before the Swami arrived. Hundreds were outside seeking admission. People of all denominations had come, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, and Mohammedans. At the entrance to the pandal the Swami was received by Mr. S. Chellappa Pillai, retired Chief Justice of Travancore, who conducted him to a raised dais and garlanded him.

An address of welcome was then read, to which the Swami replied in a most eloquent way for about an hour.

An eloquent reply was given, and on the following evening the Swami lectured on Vedantism, a report of which is here appended: _x000d_ The subject is very large and the time is short; a full analysis of the religion of the Hindus is impossible in one lecture. I will, therefore, present before you the salient points of our religion in as simple language as I can. The word Hindu, by which it is the fashion nowadays to style ourselves, has lost all its meaning, for this word merely meant those who lived on the other side of the river Indus (in Sanskrit, Sindhu). This name was murdered into Hindu by the ancient Persians, and all people living on the other side of the river Sindhu were called by them Hindus. Thus this word has come down to us; and during the Mohammedan rule we took up the word ourselves. There may not be any harm in using the word of course; but, as I have said, it has lost its significance, for you may mark that all the people who live on this side of the Indus in modern times do not follow the same religion as they did in ancient times. The word, therefore, covers not only Hindus proper, but Mohammedans, Christians, Jains, and other people who live in India. I therefore, would not use the word Hindu. What word should we use then? The other words which alone we can use either the Vaidikas, followers of the Vedas, or better still, the Vedantists, followers of the Vedanta. Most of the great religions of the world owe allegiance to certain books which they believe are the words of God or some other supernatural beings, and which are the basis of their religion. Now of all these books, according to the modern savants of the West, the oldest are the Vedas of the Hindus. A little understanding, therefore, is necessary about the Vedas._x000d_ This mass of writing called the Vedas is not the utterance of persons. Its date has never been fixed, can never be fixed, and, according to us, the Vedas are eternal. There is one salient point which I want you to remember, that all the other religions of the world claim their authority as being delivered by a Personal God or a number of personal beings, angels, or special messengers of God, unto certain persons; while the claim of the Hindus is that the Vedas do not owe their authority to anybody, they are themselves the authority, being eternal--the knowledge of God. They were never written, never created, they have existed throughout time; just as creation is infinite and eternal, without beginning and without end, so is the knowledge of God without beginning and without end. And this knowledge is what is meant by the Vedas (Vid to know). The mass of knowledge called the Vedanta was discovered by personages called Rishis, and the Rishi is defined as a Mantra-drashta, a seer of thought; not that the thought was his own. Whenever you hear that a certain passage of the Vedas came from a certain Rishi, never think that he wrote it or created it out of his mind; he was the seer of the thought which already existed; it existed in the universe eternally. This sage was the discoverer; the Rishis were spiritual discoverers._x000d_ This mass of writing, the Vedas, is divided principally into two parts, the Karma Kânda and the Jnâna Kânda--the work portion and the knowledge portion, the ceremonial and the spiritual. The work portion consists of various sacrifices; most of them of late have been given up as not practicable under present circumstances, but others remain to the present day in some shape or other. The main ideas of the Karma Kanda, which consists of the duties of man, the duties of the student, of the householder, of the recluse, and the various duties of the different stations of life, are followed more or less down to the present day. But the spiritual portion of our religion is in the second part, the Jnana Kanda, the Vedanta, the end of the Vedas, the gist, the goal of the Vedas. The essence of the knowledge of the Vedas was called by the name of Vedanta, which comprises the Upanishads; and all the sects of India--Dualists, Qualified-Monists, Monists, or the Shaivites, Vaishnavites, Shaktas, Sauras, Ganapatyas, each one that dares to come within the fold of Hinduism--must acknowledge the Upanishads of the Vedas. They can have their own interpretations and can interpret them in their own way, but they must obey the authority. That is why we want to use the word Vedantist instead of Hindu. All the philosophers of India who are orthodox have to acknowledge the authority of the Vedanta; and all our present-day religions, however crude some of them may appear to be, however inexplicable some of their purposes may seem, one who understands them and studies them can trace them back to the ideas of the Upanishads. So deeply have these Upanishads sunk into our race that those of you who study the symbology of the crudest religion of the Hindus will be astonished to find sometimes figurative expressions of the Upanishads--the Upanishads become symbolised after a time into figures and so forth. Great spiritual and philosophical ideas in the Upanishads are today with us, converted into household worship in the form of symbols. Thus the various symbols now used by us, all come from the Vedanta, because in the Vedanta they are used as figures, and these ideas spread among the nation and permeated it throughout until they became part of their everyday life as symbols._x000d_ Next to the Vedanta come the Smritis. These also are books written by sages, but the authority of the Smritis is subordinate to that of the Vedanta, because they stand in the same relation with us as the scriptures of the other religions stand with regard to them. We admit that the Smritis have been written by particular sages; in that sense they are the same as the scriptures of other religions, but these Smritis are not final authority. If there is anything in a Smriti which contradicts the Vedanta, the Smriti is to be rejected--its authority is gone. These Smritis, we see again, have varied from time to time. We read that such and such Smriti should have authority in the Satya Yuga, such and such in the Treta Yuga, some in the Dwapara Yuga, and some in the Kali Yuga, and so on. As essential conditions changed, as various circumstances came to have their influence on the race, manners and customs had to be changed, and these Smritis, as mainly regulating the manners and customs of the nation, had also to be changed form time to time. This is a point I specially ask you to remember. The principles of religion that are in the Vedanta are unchangeable. Why? Because they are all built upon the eternal principles that are in man and nature; they can never change. Ideas about the soul, going to heaven, and so on can never change; they were the same thousands of years ago, they are the same today, they will be the same millions of years hence. But those religious practices which are based entirely upon our social position and correlation must change with the changes in society. Such an order, therefore, would be good and true at a certain period and not at another. We find accordingly that a certain food is allowed at one time and not another, because the food was suitable for that time; but climate and other things changed, various other circumstances required to be met, so the Smriti changed the food and other things. Thus it naturally follows that if in modern times our society requires changes to be made, they must be met, and sages will come and show us the way how to meet them; but not one jot of the principles of our religion will be changed; they will remain intact._x000d_ Then there are the Purânas. {Sanskrit}--which means, the Puranas are of five characteristics--that which treats of history, of cosmology, with various symbological illustration of philosophical principles, and so forth. These were written to popularise the religion of the Vedas. The language in which the Vedas are written is very ancient, and even among scholars very few can trace the date of these books. The Puranas were written in the language of the people of that time, what we call modern Sanskrit. They were then meant not for scholars, but for the ordinary people; and ordinary people cannot understand philosophy. Such things were given unto them in concrete form, by means of the lives of saints and kings and great men and historical events that happened to the race etc. The sages made use of these things to illustrate the eternal principles of religion._x000d_ There are still other books, the Tantras. These are very much like Puranas in some respects, and in some of them there is an attempt to revive the old sacrificial ideas of the Karma Kanda._x000d_ All these books constitute the scriptures of the Hindus. When there is such a mass of sacred books in a nation and a race which has devoted the greatest part of its energies to the thought of philosophy and spirituality (nobody knows for how many thousands of years), it is quite natural that there should be so many sects; indeed it is a wonder that there are not thousands more. These sects differ very much from each other in certain points. We shall not have time to understand the differences between these sects and all the spiritual details about them; therefore I shall take up the common grounds, the essential principles of all these sects which every Hindu must believe._x000d_ The first is the question of creation, that this nature, Prakriti, Maya is infinite, without beginning. It is not that this world was created the other day, not that a God came and created the world and since that time has been sleeping; for that cannot be. The creative energy is still going on. God is eternally creating--is never at rest. Remember the passage in the Gita where Krishna says, "If I remain at rest for one moment, this universe will be destroyed." If that creative energy which is working all around us, day and night, stops for a second, the whole thing falls to the ground. There never was a time when that energy did not work throughout the universe, but there is the law of cycles, Pralaya. Our Sanskrit word for creation, properly translated, should be projection and not creation. For the word creation in the English language has unhappily got that fearful, that most crude idea of something coming out of nothing, creation out of non-entity, non-existence becoming existence, which, of course, I would not insult you by asking you to believe. Our word, therefore, is projection. The whole of this nature exists, it becomes finer, subsides; and then after a period of rest, as it were, the whole thing is again projected forward, and the same combination, the same evolution, the same manifestations appear and remain playing, as it were, for a certain time, only again to break into pieces, to become finer and finer, until the whole thing subsides, and again comes out. Thus it goes on backwards and forwards with a wave-like motion throughout eternity. Time, space, and causation are all within this nature. To say, therefore, that it had a beginning is utter nonsense. No question can occur as to its beginning or its end. Therefore wherever in our scriptures the words beginning and end are used, you must remember that it means the beginning and the end of one particular cycle; no more than that._x000d_ What makes this creation? God. What do I mean by the use of the English word God? Certainly not the word as ordinarily used in English--a good deal of difference. There is no other suitable word in English. I would rather confine myself to the Sanskrit word Brahman. He is the general cause of all these manifestations. What is this Brahman? He is eternal, eternally pure, eternally awake, the almighty, the all-knowing, the all-merciful, the omnipresent, the formless, the partless. He creates this universe. If he is always creating and holding up this universe, two difficulties arise. We see that there is partiality in the universe. One person is born happy, and another unhappy; one is rich, and another is poor; this shows partiality. Then there is cruelty also, for here the very condition of life is death. One animal tears another to pieces, and every man tries to get the better of his own brother. This competition, cruelty, horror, and sighs rending hearts day and night is the state of things in this world of ours. If this be the creation of a God, that God is worse than cruel, worse than any devil that man ever imagined. Ay! Says the Vedanta, it is not the fault of God that this partiality exists, that this competition exists. Who makes it? We ourselves. There is a cloud shedding its rain on all fields alike. But it is only the field that is well cultivated, which gets the advantage of the shower; another field, which has not been tilled or taken care of cannot get that advantage. It is not the fault of the cloud. The mercy of God is eternal and unchangeable; it is we that make the differentiation. But how can this difference of some being born happy and some unhappy be explained? They do nothing to make out that difference! Not in this life, but they did in their last birth and the difference is explained by this action in the previous life._x000d_ We now come to the second principle on which we all agree, not only all Hindus, but all Buddhists and all Jains. We all agree that life is eternal. It is not that it has sprung out of nothing, for that cannot be. Such a life would not be worth having. Everything that has a beginning in time must end in time. If life began but yesterday, it must end tomorrow, and annihilation is the result. Life must have been existing. It does not now require much acumen to see that, for all the sciences of modern times have been coming round to our help, illustrating from the material world the principles embodied in our scriptures. You know it already that each one of us is the effect of the infinite past; the child is ushered into the world not as something flashing from the hands of nature, as poets delight so much to depict, but he has the burden of an infinite past; for good or evil he comes to work out his own past deeds. That makes the differentiation. This is the law of Karma. Each one of us is the maker of his own fate. This law knocks on the head at once all doctrines of predestination and fate and gives us the only means of reconciliation between God and man. We, we, and none else, are responsible for what we suffer. We are the effects, and we are the causes. We are free therefore. If I am unhappy, it has been of my own making, and that very thing shows that I can be happy if I will. If I am impure, that is also of my own making, and that very thing shows that I can be pure if I will. The human will stands beyond all circumstance. Before it--the strong, gigantic, infinite will and freedom in man--all the powers, even of nature, must bow down, succumb, and become its servants. This is the result of the law of Karma._x000d_ The next question, of course, naturally would be: What is the soul? We cannot understand God in our scriptures without knowing the soul. There have been attempts in India, and outside of India too, to catch a glimpse of the beyond by studying external nature; and we all know what an awful failure has been the result. Instead of giving us a glimpse of the beyond, the more we study the material world, the more we tend to become materialised. The more we handle the material world, even the little spirituality which we possessed before vanishes. Therefore that is not the way to spirituality, to knowledge of the Highest; but it must come through the heart, the human soul. The external workings do not teach us anything about the beyond, about the Infinite, it is only the internal that can do so. Through soul, therefore, the analysis of the human soul alone, can we understand God. There are differences of opinion as to the nature of the human soul among the various sects in India, but there are certain points of agreement. We all agree that souls are without beginning and without end, and immortal by their very nature; also that all powers, blessing, purity, omnipresence, omniscience are buried in each soul. That is a grand idea we ought to remember. In every man and in every animal, however weak or wicked, great or small, resides the same omnipresent, omniscient soul. The difference is not in the soul, but in the manifestation. Between me and the smallest animal, the difference is only in manifestation, but as a principle he is the same as I am, he is my brother, he has the same soul as I have. This is the greatest principle that India has preached. The talk of the brotherhood of man becomes in India the brotherhood of universal life, of animals, and of all life down to the little ants--all these are our bodies. Even as our scripture says, "Thus the sage, knowing that the same Lord inhabits all bodies, will worship every body as such." That is why in India there have been such merciful ideas about the poor, about animals, about everybody, and everything else. This is one of the common grounds about our ideas of the soul._x000d_ Naturally, we come to the idea of God. One thing more about the soul. Those who study the English language are often deluded by the words, soul and mind. Our Atman and soul are entirely different things. What we call Manas, the mind, the Western people call soul. The West never had the idea of soul until they got it through Sanskrit philosophy, some twenty years ago. The body is here, beyond that is the mind, yet the mind is not the Atman; it is the fine body, the Sukshma Sharira, made of fine particles, which goes from birth to death, and so on; but behind the mind is the Atman, the soul, the Self of man. It cannot be translated by the word soul or mind, so we have to use the word Atman, or, as Western philosophers have designated it, by the word Self. Whatever word you use, you must keep it clear in your mind that the Atman is separate from the mind, as well as from the body, and that this Atman goes through birth and death, accompanied by the mind, the Sukshma Sharira. And when the time comes that it has attained to all knowledge and manifested itself to perfection, then this going from birth to death ceases for it. Then it is at liberty either to keep that mind, the Sukshma Sharira, or to let it go for ever, and remain independent and free throughout all eternity. The goal of the soul is freedom. That is one peculiarity of our religion. We also have heavens and hells too; but these are not infinite, for in the very nature of things they cannot be. If there were any heavens, they would be only repetitions of this world of ours on a bigger scale, with a little more happiness and a little more enjoyment, but that is all the worse for the soul. There are many of these heavens. Persons who do good works here with the thought of rewards, when they die, are born again as gods in one of these heavens, as Indra and others. These gods are the names of certain states. They also had been men, and by good work they have become gods; and those different names that you read of, such as Indra and so on, are not the names of the same person. There will be thousands of Indras. Nahusha was a great king, and when he died, he became Indra. It is a position; one soul becomes high and takes the Indra position and remains in it only a certain time; he then dies and is born again as man. But the human body is the highest of all. Some of the gods may try to go higher and give up all ideas of enjoyment in heavens; but, as in this world, wealth and position and enjoyment delude the vast majority, so do most of the gods become deluded also, and after working out their good Karma, they fall down and become human beings again. This earth, therefore, is the Karma Bhumi; it is this earth from which we attain to liberation. So even these heavens are not worth attaining to._x000d_ What is then worth having? Mukti, freedom. Even in the highest of heavens, says our scripture, you are a slave; what matters it if you are a king for twenty thousand years? So long as you have a body, so long as you are a slave to happiness, so long as time works on you, space works on you, you are a slave. The idea, therefore, is to be free of external and internal nature. Nature must fall at your feet, and you must trample on it and be free and glorious by going beyond. No more is there life; therefore no more is there death. No more enjoyment; therefore no more misery. It is bliss unspeakable, indestructible, beyond everything. What we call happiness and good here are but particles of that eternal Bliss. And this eternal Bliss is our goal._x000d_ The soul is also sexless; we cannot say of the Atman that it is a man or a woman. Sex belongs to the body alone. All such ideas, therefore, as man or woman, are a delusion when spoken with regard to the Self, and are only proper when spoken of the body. So are the ideas of age. It never ages; the ancient One is always the same. How did It come down to earth? There is but one answer to that in our scriptures. Ignorance is the cause of all this bondage. It is through ignorance that we have become bound; knowledge will cure it by taking us to the other side. How will that knowledge come? Through love, Bhakti; by the worship of God, by loving all beings as the temples of God. He resides within them. Thus, with that intense love will come knowledge, and ignorance will disappear, the bonds will break, and the soul will be free._x000d_ There are two ideas of God in our scriptures--the one, the personal; and the other, the impersonal. The idea of the Personal God is that He is the omnipresent creator, preserver, and destroyer of everything, the eternal Father and Mother of the universe, but One who is eternally separate from us and from all souls; and liberation consists in coming near to Him and living in Him. Then there is the other idea of the Impersonal, where all those adjectives are taken away as superfluous, as illogical and there remains an impersonal, omnipresent Being who cannot be called a knowing being, because knowledge only belongs to the human mind. He cannot be called a thinking being, because that is a process of the weak only. He cannot be called a reasoning being, because reasoning is a sign of weakness. He cannot be called a creating being, because none creates except in bondage. What bondage has He? None works except for the fulfilment of desires; what desires has He? None works except it be to supply some wants; what wants has He? In the Vedas it is not the word "He" that is used, but "It", for "He" would make an invidious distinction, as if God were a man. "It", the impersonal, is used, and this impersonal "It" is preached. This system is called the Advaita._x000d_ And what are our relations with this Impersonal Being?--that we are He. We and He are one. Every one is but a manifestation of that Impersonal, the basis of all being, and misery consists in thinking of ourselves as different from this Infinite, Impersonal Being; and liberation consists in knowing our unity with this wonderful Impersonality. These, in short, are the two ideas of God that we find in our scriptures._x000d_ Some remarks ought to be made here. It is only through the idea of the Impersonal God that you can have any system of ethics. In every nation the truth has been preached from the most ancient times--love your fellow-beings as yourselves--I mean, love human beings as yourselves. In India it has been preached, "love all beings as yourselves"; we make no distinction between men and animals. But no reason was forthcoming, no one knew why it would be good to love other beings as ourselves. And the reason, why, is there in the idea of the Impersonal God; you understand it when you learn that the whole world is one--the oneness of the universe--the solidarity of all life--that in hurting any one I am hurting myself, in loving any one I am loving myself. Hence we understand why it is that we ought not to hurt others. The reason for ethics, therefore, can only be had from this ideal of the Impersonal God. Then there is the question of the position of the Personal God in it. I understand the wonderful flow of love that comes from the idea of a Personal God, I thoroughly appreciate the power and potency of Bhakti on men to suit the needs of different times. What we now want in our country, however, is not so much of weeping, but a little strength. What a mine of strength is in this Impersonal God, when all superstitions have been thrown overboard, and man stands on his feet with the knowledge--I am the Impersonal Being of the world! What can make me afraid? I care not even for nature's laws. Death is a joke to me. Man stands on the glory of his own soul, the infinite, the eternal, the deathless--that soul which no instruments can pierce, which no air can dry, nor fire burn, no water melt, the infinite, the birthless, the deathless, without beginning and without end, before whose magnitude the suns and moons and all their systems appear like drops in the ocean, before whose glory space melts away into nothingness and time vanishes into non-existence. This glorious soul we must believe in. Out of that will come power. Whatever you think, that you will be. If you think yourselves weak, weak you will be; if you think yourselves strong, strong you will be; if you think yourselves impure, impure you will be; if you think yourselves pure, pure you will be. This teaches us not to think ourselves as weak, but as strong, omnipotent, omniscient. No matter that I have not expressed it yet, it is in me. All knowledge is in me, all power, all purity, and all freedom. Why cannot I express this knowledge? Because I do not believe in it. Let me believe in it, and it must and will come out. This is what the idea of the Impersonal teaches. Make your children strong from their very childhood; teach them not weakness, nor forms, but make them strong; let them stand on their feet--bold, all-conquering, all-suffering; and first of all, let them learn of the glory of the soul. That you get alone in the Vedanta--and there alone. It has ideas of love and worship and other things which we have in other religions, and more besides; but this idea of the soul is the life-giving thought, the most wonderful. There and there alone is the great thought that is going to revolutionise the world and reconcile the knowledge of the material world with religion._x000d_ Thus I have tried to bring before you the salient points of our religion--the principles. I have only to say a few words about the practice and the application. As we have seen, under the circumstances existing in India, naturally many sects must appear. As a fact, we find that there are so many sects in India, and at the same time we know this mysterious fact that these sects do not quarrel with each other. The Shaivite does not say that every Vaishnavite is going to be damned, nor the Vaishnavite that every Shaivite will be damned. The Shaivite says, this is my path, and you have yours; at the end we must come together. They all know that in India. This is the theory of Ishta. It has been recognised in the most ancient times that there are various forms of worshipping God. It is also recognised that different natures require different methods. Your method of coming to God may not be my method, possibly it might hurt me. Such an idea as that there is but one way for everybody is injurious, meaningless, and entirely to be avoided. Woe unto the world when everyone is of the same religious opinion and takes to the same path. Then all religions and all thought will be destroyed. Variety is the very soul of life. When it dies out entirely, creation will die. When this variation in thought is kept up, we must exist; and we need not quarrel because of that variety. Your way is very good for you, but not for me. My way is good for me, but not for you. My way is called in Sanskrit, my "Ishta". Mind you, we have no quarrel with any religion in the world. We have each our Ishta. But when we see men coming and saying, "This is the only way", and trying to force it on us in India, we have a word to say; we laugh at them. For such people who want to destroy their brothers because they seem to follow a different path towards God--for them to talk of love is absurd. Their love does not count for much. How can they preach of love who cannot bear another man to follow a different path from their own? If that is love, what is hatred? We have no quarrel with any religion in the world, whether it teaches men to worship Christ, Buddha, or Mohammed, or any other prophet. "Welcome, my brother," the Hindu says, "I am going to help you; but you must allow me to follow my way too. That is my Ishta. Your way is very good, no doubt; but it may be dangerous for me. My own experience tells me what food is good for me, and no army of doctors can tell me that. So I know from my own experience what path is the best for me." That is the goal, the Ishta, and, therefore, we say that if a temple, or a symbol, or an image helps you to realise the Divinity within, you are welcome to it. Have two hundred images if you like. If certain forms and formularies help you to realise the Divine, God speed you; have, by all means, whatever forms, and whatever temples, and whatever ceremonies you want to bring you nearer to God. But do not quarrel about them; the moment you quarrel, you are not going Godward, you are going backward, towards the brutes._x000d_ These are a few ideas in our religion. It is one of inclusion of every one, exclusion of none. Though our castes and our institutions are apparently linked with our religion, they are not so. These institutions have been necessary to protect us as a nation, and when this necessity for self-preservation will no more exist, they will die a natural death. But the older I grow, the better I seem to think of these time-honoured institutions of India. There was a time when I used to think that many of them were useless and worthless; but the older I grow, the more I seem to feel a diffidence in cursing any one of them, for each of them is the embodiment of the experience of centuries. A child of but yesterday, destined to die the day after tomorrow, comes to me and asks me to change all my plans; and if I hear the advice of that baby and change all my surroundings according to his ideas, I myself should be a fool, and no one else. Much of the advice that is coming to us from different countries is similar to this. Tell these wiseacres: "I will hear you when you have made a stable society yourselves. You cannot hold on to one idea for two days, you quarrel and fail; you are born like moths in the spring and die like them in five minutes. You come up like bubbles and burst like bubbles too. First form a stable society like ours. First make laws and institutions that remain undiminished in their power through scores of centuries. Then will be the time to talk on the subject with you, but till then, my friend, you are only a giddy child."_x000d_ I have finished what I had to say about our religion. I will end by reminding you of the one pressing necessity of the day. Praise be to Vyâsa, the great author of the Mahabharata, that in this Kali Yuga there is one great work. The Tapas and the other hard Yogas that were practised in other Yugas do not work now. What is needed in this Yuga is giving, helping others. What is meant by Dâna? The highest of gifts is the giving of spiritual knowledge, the next is the giving of secular knowledge, and the next is the saving of life, the last is giving food and drink. He who gives spiritual knowledge, saves the soul from many and many a birth. He who gives secular knowledge opens the eyes of human beings towards spiritual knowledge, and far below these rank all other gifts, even the saving of life. Therefore it is necessary that you learn this and note that all other kinds of work are of much less value than that of imparting spiritual knowledge. The highest and greatest help is that given in the dissemination of spiritual knowledge. There is an eternal fountain of spirituality in our scriptures, and nowhere on earth, except in this land of renunciation, do we find such noble examples of practical spirituality. I have had a little experience of the world. Believe me, there is much talking in other lands; but the practical man of religion, who has carried it into his life, is here and here alone. Talking is not religion; parrots may talk, machines may talk nowadays. But show me the life of renunciation, of spirituality, of all-suffering, of love infinite. This kind of life indicates a spiritual man. With such ideas and such noble practical examples in our country, it would be a great pity if the treasures in the brains and hearts of a