Saradakosh

Baltimore and Washington (Oct - Nov 1894)

Total Records Found: 59

A HIGH PRIEST OF INDIA_x000d_ ___________x000d_ Swami Vivekananda Arrives in Baltimore _x000d_ His Views on Religion

Swami Vivekananda, a Brahmin high priest of India, arrived in Baltimore last night, and is the guest of Rev: Walter Vrooman. He came to America over a year ago, to attend the Congress of Religions, at the World's Fair, in Chicago, and his address before that body made him one of the most popular representatives in the congress. In personal appearance Swami Vivekananda is a pictur¬esque character. He is about five and a half feet tall and heavily built, weighing probably 225 pounds. His skin is dark, but it is the shade peculiar to the Asiatic races. His face is round and plump, and his head is crowned with a wealth of jet black, wavy hair, that falls on his forehead and reaches down nearly to his eyebrows. His eyes are as black as his hair, and they are bright and sparkling, and when he smiles he displays a set of almost perfect pearly teeth. His countenance is both handsome and striking, and in addition to this, he is as good-natured and jolly as it is possible for a man to be. The garb he wore last night was rather of a clerical cut; but he carries with him a costume such as he wears among his people, in India, and it is bright with scarlet and yellow. Though but thirty¬ three years of age, he is a profound scholar, and can fluently speak seven languages, and can read as many more. His English is beyond criticism.

To an American reporter last night Swami Vivekananda said: "I have been very favorably impressed with American institutions during my stay in this country. My time has been divided between four cities Chicago, New York, Boston and Detroit. I never heard of Chicago when in India, but I had frequently heard of Baltimore. The main criticism I have to pass on America is that you have too little religion here. In India they have too much. I think the world would be better if some of India's surplus of religion could be sent over here, while it would be to India's profit if its people could have some of America's industrial advancement and civilization.

I am a believer in all religions. I think there is truth in my religion; I think there is truth in your religion. It is the same truth in all religions applying itself through various channels to the same end. I think the great need of the world is less law, and more godly men and women."

The word "Swami" means high priest or cardinal, and indicates Vivekananda's rank, while the latter is his family name. His family record reaches back 2,000 years. He is a member of the highest caste in India, and is counted an equal of the gods of his people, to whom he is an object of worship. His religion is Hinduism. His address at the Congress of Religions at Chicago last year was a profound production, and made a great impression on all who heard or read it.

Swami Vivekananda, during his stay in America, has been studying American institutions, particularly the American mode of government. He favors the establishment in this country of an international university, where all the religions of the world can be taught, for, he thinks there is no more need of American missionaries going to India than there is of Indian missionaries coming to America.

Swami Vivekananda is a charming conversationalist. He is familiar with the works of all the great writers in a dozen different tongues, and he quotes long selection from Spencer, Darwin, Mill or others of the great philosophers with a fluency that is surprising.

Tomorrow evening he will appear on the stage of the Lyceum Theater in conjunction with the three Vrooman brothers, and will deliver an address. He will wear the costume of his native country.

The three Vrooman brothers were, at the time of Swamiji's visit to Baltimore, in their early twenties; yet the career of each was already varied. The three-Walter, Hiram, and Carl ¬belonged to a family of five energetic boys, all of whom were, among other things, ministers. Three were Congregationalists, one was a Baptist, and another, Hiram, first a Congregationalist and later a Swedenborgian.

A story is told of the boyhood of Hiram and an older brother, perhaps Walter, which is illustrative of the Vrooman gift for enterprise. When they were respectively twelve and fourteen years old, Hiram and his brother, being in delicate health, were sent by their parents from their home in Kansas to one of the western springs so popular in those days as panaceas for young and old. It appears, however, that Hiram and his brother had small use for the springs, for shortly, having met a pedlar of a remarkable soap guaranteed to remove all stains, the boys, who evidently had money for their cure, bought out his stock, bought also the secret of manufacture, and forthwith proceeded to peddle soap. Starting on an itinerant enterprise, manu¬facturing the "Lightning Cleaner" and selling it along the road, they worked their way to Denver, Colorado. There, tired of peddling, and finding the Denver Exposition in progress, they invested their earnings in peanuts and opened a peanut stand. The peanut business flourished; Hiram and his brother cleared enough not only to pay all their expenses from the time they had left home, but to send two hundred dollars, a sizable amount in those days, to their parents, who by this time must surely have been at their wits' end. But the Vrooman boys were not through adventuring. They left Denver and, presumably cured by now of whatever had ailed them, embarked upon a lecture tour. The elder, who was then fifteen, lectured on phrenology, and Hiram, thirteen, acted as advance agent.

The story reads like the true American adventure story, and it could have happened, of course, only in nineteenth-century America, when the country was a vast playground and where opportunity was waiting even for small boys. But adventure never seemed to come to an end for the Vrooman brothers. It is true that, after their lecture tour, the two boys returned to Kansas and soberly went to school.

Hiram later took a special course at Harvard and then became a news paperman, working as editor and reporter on a New York daily. He soon abandoned this course of action, however, in favor of theological studies and shortly entered the Congregational Church in Worcester, Massachusetts, as a minister. This was not to last long. He began to study the doctrine of the Swedenborgians and in 1893, when he visited Baltimore to officiate temporarily at the Associate Reformed Church, was invited to occupy the pulpit of the New Jerusalem, or Swedenborgian, Church. He accepted this post and was still holding it when the Vrooman brothers invited Swamiji to Baltimore to be their guest.

Unless Walter Vrooman was the elder of the pair of adventuresome boys who peddled soap, we know little of his career prior to Swamiji's visit to Baltimore. It is said, however, that in 1886, when he must have been still in his teens, he made his reputation as a political speaker in Henry George's campaign for mayor of New York. In 1894 he was on the staff of the Arena magazine and was also pastor of the People's Congregation in Baltimore, which held weekly meetings at the Lyceum theater.

Carl Vrooman, the youngest of the brothers, was twenty-one at thc time of Swamiji's visit and was still studying for the ministry. A bright boy, he had taken all the highest oratorical honors attainable in American colleges and was president of the Intercollegiate Debating Union of America.

Although the Vrooman brothers seemed to be preoccupied with religion, their interest was primarily centered in politics. The three young man zealously crusaded for the People's Party, the platform of which included many long-needed re¬forms such as: "The abolition of `child labor' and the `sweating system' by federal statute", also, "Government ownership of all monopolies, both natural and unnatural." The Vrooman brothers' meetings on "Dynamic Religion" were avowedly political campaigns, dynamic religion being to them identical with progressive political action.

PRIEST SWAMI IN TOWN._x000d_ ___________x000d_ _x000d_ A HIGH CASTE HINDOO VISITING _x000d_ IN BALTIMORE._x000d_ ___________x000d_ _x000d_ His Gorgeous Garb Attracts Much Attention in _x000d_ the Lobby at the Rennert-He Whistles and _x000d_ Indulges in East Indian Wit-He Comes to _x000d_ Baltimore on a Tour of the Country and Will_x000d_ Speak at the Lyceum Tomorrow Night.

Swami Vivekananda, High Priest of the Hindoos, walked into the lobby of the Hotel Rennert this forenoon attired in a flaming red cloak and a gaudy yellow turban that made him the centre of all eyes.

Swami has just come to Baltimore. He arrived last night and put up at an inn near the station, where they invited him to eat salt with them.

He is a fleshy man of the swarthy, Asiatic complexion and shiny-black hair. He has white teeth, which he shows a great deal in his frequent smiles.

He will speak tomorrow night at the Lyceum Theatre in conjunction with the Vrooman brothers, who are delivering a series of Sunday-night lectures on "Religion in Motion: '

The High Priest went to the Rennert with the Rev. Hiram Vrooman and was introduced at once to the clerk, to whom he did humble obeisance and who handed him a pen. Swami writes best in Sanskrit, but, as the Rennert clerk is a little rusty on his Sanskrit conjugations, the Hindoo put down his name in readable English characters. He was shown to his room by one of an admiring group of porters who had assembled and gave audience there in the flaming red cloak to a reporter for The News.

Easily Approached._x000d_ The High Priest is a very approachable sort of person. One could almost slap him on the back the way they do Governor Brown and inquire how things are over in India. But they don't slap Swami on the back at home. There he is a very superior person of the very highest cast, who always gets complimentary tickets to the theatre and is entreated to lend the use of his name as a patron for swell society events in Bombay and as a member of the board of directors for all the county fairs they hold up in the hill country. Swami is a great man.

He is a member of a class of priests that are adored by the people of India. There are over 100,000 of his class in India, but that is not so many in a country of 300,000,000 people who are devoted in their religious life. It is proper to state that when Swami came to Baltimore he paid his fare, but he never pays at home. He goes to the railroad station and stands waiting. Pretty soon some devotee who has his eyes on standing in with the gods buys a ticket and gives it to Swami. Then Swami goes on his journey. If President Mayer and Magnate Pullman want to get solid with the gods of the Hindoos now is their chance.

His Idea of Humor_x000d_ Swami Vivekananda has the sense of humor about him. He was talking this morning about the Food Show, which he intends to visit. He says he doesn't know much about food except to swallow it, and that is a very representative specimen of the wit of Ormus and of Ind.

Another time he spoke of women's rights and said laughingly that women had more rights the world over than they were credited with having.

When he changed his black coat, before going to the Rennert, and put on the cardinal red garment with the yellow turban he came out of his room smiling, and said:_x000d_ "A transformation!"

The High Priest can whistle and has enough music in his soul to start the tunes in class-meeting if he were Methodist instead of Hindoo. He whistled a couple of strains in his room this morning for a reporter of The News. It was not "Daisy Bell" nor yet "Sweet Marie," and must have been some sort of a heathen Hindoo jingle.

His Philosophical Side_x000d_ This is how Swami Vivekananda is funny. There is the ponderous side of him that deals of philosophy and soci-ology, of the mysteries of existence, of the eternities past and the eternities to come, of the essence of spirit and the unfoldings of destiny, of musty lore and ancient tradi¬tion. Swami revels in these things and spends much of his time meditating on them.

He is highly educated in English and Sanskrit and speaks English with only a slight brogue, hardly worse than if he hailed from Cork instead of Calcutta. He is a person of theory and does not exhibit much acquaintance with practical realities. He has spent most of his life in study and meditation, waiting for the neighbors to bring in something for dinner, and, thanks to the superstition of the Hindoos, he has never gone hungry to bed.

Swami has been in America ever since the World's Fair, where he spoke for Hindooism in the Parliament of Religions. He remembers Cardinal Gibbons, who opened the parliament, and will probably pay his respects to His Eminence before leaving Baltimore.

Views on Topics of the Day_x000d_ Swami is traveling around the country, as he says, lecturing and studying American institutions, but he seems not to have got much into the pith of American sociology, for he knows nothing of such questions as European immigration, divorce, the race problem, etc., which are worrying the economists of the land.

He is, however, posted on Oriental immigration, and says the United States has no right to bar out the Chinese. He says the law of love must prevail and force must yield. He predicts the downfall of any nation that uses force. He says also that the United States should open his doors to the world. He believes the Southern part of the con¬tinent should be filled with Hindoos and Chinese.

"There is no such thing as divorce in India," he said; "our law does not allow it. Our women are more limited in their sphere than the women of America. Some of them are as highly educated. They are entering the medical profession to some extent now. I see no reason why American women should not vote."

He evaded a question as to the position of Hindoo women in their homes and their treatment by their husbands. It may be that he does not know much about it. He is not a married man. Priests of his caste do not marry.

He mentioned two things which he said had impressed him in America. One was the absence of poverty in the country at large, and the other was the unusual prevalence of ignorance in the South.

Likes the Elevator_x000d_ When he went to the elevator at the Rennert he said:_x000d_ "There is an American institution which we do not have to any extent in India. I like it very much: '_x000d_ A lady was just coming off the elevator. She was somewhat startled by the red and yellow costume of the priest, but his imperturbable countenance gave no sign of consciousness of the attention he attracted.

His address tomorrow night at the Lyceum will be mainly introductory of himself and explanatory of the Hindoo nation. He will speak briefly, but will remain in Baltimore and speak more at length a week from tomorrow night.

A WISE MAN AMONG US_x000d_ __________x000d_ Visit of a Distinguished Hindoo Priest to This City _x000d_ ___________x000d_ He is a Guest of the Vrooman Brothers and Is _x000d_ Interested in the Establishment of an International_x000d_ University of Religions-His Gorgeous Garb.

Seated in the main lobby of the Hotel Rennert yesterday afternoon was a personage clad in maroon dressing-gown, bound with a red sash. His face was dark, and mystically dignified, its lineaments expressive at once of both intellectuality and sentiment. His complexion was a deep olive, his eyes large, black and luminous, his hair black as mid night, his brow a study for the physiognomist. Taken all in all, his head was such a one as would delight the believer in phrenology.

The man was Swami Vivecananda, the Brahmin high priest, whose arrival has created such a furore in local religious circles. He was the observed of all observers. In his hand he held a copy of a leading magazine, which he was perusing with interest.

Mr. Vivecananda conversed with a SUNDAY HERALD reporter, speaking English with ease and with an accent similar to that of an educated Italian. He displayed the greatest familiarity with the institutions of this country, religious, political and social.

Mr. Vivecananda came to Baltimore at the invitation of the Vrooman brothers, Hiram, Carl and Walter, and while in this city will be their guest. Rev. Hiram Vrooman was seen at his residence, 1122 North Calvert Street, yesterday, and talked freely in reference to the visit of the distinguished guest.

"Mr. Vivecananda," he said, "is one of the most intel¬ligent men I have ever met. He came to this city at our invitation, and while here will confer with us in reference to the founding of the international university, which it u proposed to establish as an outcome of the World's Congress of Religions, which was such an interesting feature of the World's Fair. This university is one of Mr. Vivecananda's pet ideas, and has the full sympathy of myself and my brothers, and also a number of gentlemen of wealth and position, including several religions. Among its promoters are members of the Roman Catholic and Hebrew religions. The idea of the university is education in general religion.

"When founded its head will be one of the most dis¬tinguished educators in this country, and its faculty will include professors selected from all religions.

Mr. Vivecananda was sent to this country by the ecclesiastics of the Buddhist religion in India to study our religious and political systems. His expenses are paid by the ecclesiastical authorities of the Buddhist faith. He was its representative at the World's Congress.

One of Mr. Vivecananda's ideas in the establishing of the university is that it may serve to educate a superior kind of missionary for work in India. While he is steadfast to his own religious belief, he wishes that the present system of sending ignorant men as missionaries to India may be discontinued and men sent there who can teach the Christian religion from an elevated standpoint. In this wish he is animated only by a desire for the good of general religion.

"He is one of the widest-informed men on religious topics I ever knew. It may-be of interest to Roman Catholics to know that he was the first man to translate the works of Thomas a'Kempis, the great theologian of their faith, the favorite philosopher of Pope Leo, into the Sanscrit tongue. He carries a volume of the works of St. Thomas with him constantly.

"Mr. Vivecananda told me that his father was a great believer in the Lord Jesus, as he called Him, and that when a boy he had read in the Gospel of St. John the thrilling description of the crucifixion of the Savior and wept over it. He will remain in this city for several weeks. To-morrow evening he will deliver a brief address at our meeting at the Lyceum, and on Sunday week will speak at length at our second meeting on the university plan.

"I can say relative to the university that it is to be located near Boston, and that a meeting to give it definite shape will be held soon. Mr. Vivecananda will not leave this country until it is established.

He does not receive money from any one or eat meat, both being against the laws governing this caste. Before becoming a priest he had studied English law in India: '

As has been said, the Vrooman brothers may have used the project of the international university to lure Swamiji to Baltimore, but as far as can be learned from the newspaper reports, which are fairly complete, the Sunday meetings were not remotely concerned with "the university plan."

"As for the Thomas a Kempis business," Swamiji wrote to Alasinga, to whom he had probably sent this clipping, "it is also news to me."32 (It is true, of course, that in 1889 he had translated six chapters of the Imitation of Christ into Bengali, and also true that when in India he had at times carried with him a volume of that work.)

The Lyceum Theater was crowded last night at the first of a series of meetings by the Vrooman Brothers. The subject discussed was "Dynamic Religion"._x000d_ Swami Vivekananda, the high priest [?] from India, was the last speaker. He spoke briefly, and was listened to with marked attention. His English and his mode of delivery were excellent. There is a foreign accent to his syllables, but not enough to prevent him from being plainly understood. He was dressed in the costume of his native country, which was decidedly picturesque. He said he could speak but briefly after the oratory that had preceded him, but he could add his endorsement to all that had been said. He had traveled a great deal, and preached to all kinds of people. He had found that the particular kind of doctrine preached made little difference. What is wanted is practical sort of work. If such ideas could not be carried out, he would lose his faith in humanity. The cry all over the world is "less doctrine and more bread". He thought the sending of missionaries to India all right; he had no objections to offer, but he thought it would be better to send fewer men and more money. So far as India was concerned, she had religious doctrine to spare. Living up to the doctrines was needed more than more doctrines. The people of India, as well as the people all over the world, had been taught to pray, but prayer with the lips was not enough; people should pray with their hearts. "A few people in the world," he said, "really try to do good. Others look on and applaud, and think that they themselves have done great good. Life is love, and when a man ceases to do good to others, he is dead spiritually."_x000d_ On Sunday evening next Swami Vivekananda will make the address of the evening at the Lyceum.

Both the Baltimore American of October 15 reported on the affair in articles that read as follows:_x000d_ LESS DOCTRINE, MORE BREAD_x000d_ ___________x000d_ _x000d_ The Words of the High Priest of India _x000d_ A Meeting at the Lyceum

The Lyceum Theater was crowded last night at the first of a series of meetings by the Vrooman Brothers. The subject discussed was "Dynamic Religion." The story of David and Goliath was discussed by Rev. Hiram Vrooman, Mr. Carl Vrooman and Rev. Walter Vrooman.

In the course of his remarks, Rev. Hiram Vrooman said the most popular preachers today were generally those who mani¬fest the greatest ingenuity in arranging the lights in the heavens without disturbing the darkness that is gathered over the church pews and over the city. "We are," said he, "in a crisis of the world's history. 1f shot and shell were breaking the air and brass bands playing war marches, _x000d_ I would not be a particle more interested in what daily transpires than I am now in these times of apparent peace, when the great movements are developing which are to bless or curse the millions of our race who are yet to live."

Mr. Carl Vrooman followed. In the course of his re¬marks, he said: "What we need is less of that cowardice which calls itself humility, and less of that trust which lolls in luxurious piety, while Lazarus and his million brothers are starving and sinning within easy reach, trusting that in his own good time and way God will provide."

Rev. Walter Vrooman said: "Dynamic religion means religion in motion, and is opposed to that religion at rest which is locked up in the hundreds of huge stone buildings scattered throughout our cities, during the whole week, with the exception of a couple of hours, during which time the people are allowed to go in and nibble at it as though it had a sort of medicinal effect in easing the pains caused by conscience."

Swami Vivekananda, the high priest from India, was the last speaker. He spoke briefly, and was listened to with marked attention. His English and his mode of delivery were excellent. There is a foreign accent to his syllables, but not enough to prevent him from being plainly understood. He was dressed in the costume of his native country, which wag decidedly picturesque.

He said he could speak but briefly after the oratory that had preceded him, but he could add his endorsement to all that had been said. He had traveled a great deal, and preached to all kinds of people. He had found that the particular kind of doctrine preached made little difference. What is wanted is practical sort of work. If such ideas could not be carried out, he would lose his faith in humanity. The cry all over the world is "less doctrine and more bread."

He thought the sending of missionaries to India all right; he had no objections to offer, but he thought it would be better to send fewer men and more money. So far as India was concerned, she had religious doctrine to spare. Living up to the doctrines was needed more than more doctrines.

The people of India, as well as the people all over the world, had been taught to pray, but prayer with the lips was not enough; people should pray with their hearts.

"A few people in the world," he said, "really try to do good. Others look on and applaud, and think that they themselves have done great good. Life is love, and when a man ceases to do good to others, he is dead spiritually."

On Sunday evening next Swami Vivekananda will make the address of the evening at the Lyceum.

THE VROOMAN BROTHERS_x000d_ ___________x000d_ _x000d_ They Expound Religion of Action at the _x000d_ Lyceum Theatre_x000d_ ___________x000d_ _x000d_ Assisted by Swami Vivekananda_x000d_ ___________x000d_ The Last Mentioned is a Hindoo High Priest Who Is Travelling through the United States-Commending_x000d_ The Action of Dr. Parkhurst in New York

Dynamic religion, or religion of action, was expounded in addresses last night at the Lyceum Theatre by Rev. Hiram Vrooman, Rev. Walter Vrooman and Mr. Carl Vrooman.

The three are brothers. Rev. Hiram Vrooman is pastor of New Jerusalem Church, Baltimore. Rev. Walter Vrooraan is a member of the Arena Magazine staff. Mr. Carl Vrooman is president of the Intercollegiate Debating Union, and was last year winner in the debate for the championship between Harvard and Yale Universities.

Swami Vivekananda, a Hindoo high priest, added his testimony to that of the other speakers in urging the necessity of more practice and less preaching in overcoming evil.

The theatre was crowded with an audience which showed appreciation of the address and evident sympathy with their object by earnest attention and frequent applause.

Vivekananda was one of the delegates to the World's Congress of Religions last year at Chicago. He has since been traveling about the United States, studying American customs and institutions. He wears a costume of a bright red cloak and yellow turban, with a long streamer hanging down his back. He speaks fluently in English.

On account of his bronze skin Vivekananda had a little difficulty securing hotel accommodations when he arrived in Baltimore on Saturday. Rev. Walter Vrooman took him to four hotels before he was accepted as a guest at the Rennert.

Doctrines Enough._x000d_ _x000d_ Vivekananda sat on the stage last night with imperturb- able stolidity until it came his turn to speak. Then his manner changed and he spoke with force and Feeling. He followed the Vrooman brothers and said there was little to add to what had been said save his testimony as a "man from the Antipodes: '

"We have doctrines enough," he continued. "What we want now is practical work as presented in these speeches. When asked about the missionaries sent to India I reply all right. But we want money more and men less. India has bushels full of doctrines and to spare. What is wanted is the means to carry them out.

"Prayer may be done in different ways. Prayer with thc hands is yet higher than prayer with the lips and is more saving.

"All religions teach us to do good for our brothers. Doing good is nothing extraordinary-it is the only way to live. Everything in nature tends to expansion for life and contraction for death. It is the same in religion. Do good by helping others without ulterior motives. The moment this ceases contraction and death follow."

Goliath in Baltimore_x000d_ _x000d_ Rev. Hiram Vrooman opened the meeting by reading the story of David and Goliath._x000d_ "The same identical armies that are described in this story," he said, "are encamped now upon the hills of Baltimore. Every day Goliath comes out of the Philistine camp and proclaims his mockeries against the altruistic teachings of Jesus. Twenty-one hundred saloons, with their train of ruined Homes and blasted lives, produce the spectacle of his grinning face, and ill-gotten gold, the product of fraud, is his armour. . . ."

The Reverend Hiram Vrooman, and, later, Walter and Carl Vrooman, went on in this vein at some length. And although Swamiji listened with "imperturbable stolidity," the present readers need not be burdened with the Vrooman orations regarding the corruption in Baltimore politics in 1894.

An audience which filled the Lyceum Theatre [Baltimore] from pit to dome assembled last night at the second of the series of meetings held by the Vrooman Brothers in the interest of "Dynamic Religion". Fully 3,000 persons were present. Addresses were made by the Rev. Hiram Vrooman, Rev. Walter Vrooman and Rev. Swarri Vivekananda, the Brahmin High Priest now visiting this city. The speakers of the evening were seated on the stage, the Rev. Vivekananda being an object of particular interest to all. He wore a yellow turban and a red robe tied in at the waste [sic] with a sash of the same color, which added to the Oriental cast of his features and invested him with a peculiar interest. His personality seemed to be the feature of the evening. His address was delivered in an easy, unembarrassed manner, his diction being perfect and his accent similar to that of a cultured member of the Latin race familiar with the English language. He said in part:_x000d_ _x000d_ THE HIGH PRIEST SPEAKS_x000d_ _x000d_ "Buddha began to found the religion of India 600 years before the birth of Christ. He found the religion of India at that time mainly engaged in eternal discussions upon the nature of the human soul. There was no remedy according to the ideas then prevailing for the cure of religious ills but sacrifices of animals, sacrificial altars and similar methods._x000d_ "In the midst of this system a priest [?] was born who was a member of one of the leading families who was the founder of Buddhism. His was, in the first place, not the founding of a new religion, but a movement of reformation. He believed in the good of all. His religion, as formulated by him, consisted of the discovery of three things: First, 'There is an evil'; second, 'What is the cause of this evil?' This he ascribed to the desires of men to be superior to others, an evil that could be cured by unselfishness. Third, 'This evil is curable by becoming unselfish'. Force, he concluded, could not cure it; dirt cannot wash dirt; hate cannot cure hate._x000d_ "This was the basis of his religion. So long as society tries to cure human selfishness by laws and institutions whose aim is to force others to do good to their neighbors, nothing can be done. The remedy is not to place trick against trick and force against force. The only remedy is in making unselfish men and women. You may enact laws to cure present evils, but they will be of no avail._x000d_ "Buddha found in India too much talking about God and His essence and too little work. He always insisted upon this fundamental truth, that we are to be pure and holy, and that we are to help others to be holy also. He believed that man must go to work and help others; find his soul in others; find his life in others. He believed that in the conjunction of doing good to others is the only good we do ourselves. [sic] He believed that there was always in the world too much theory and too little practice. A dozen Buddhas in India at the present time would do good, and one Buddha in this country would also be beneficial._x000d_ "When there is too much doctrine, too much belief in my father's religion, too much rational superstition, a change is needed. Such doctrine produces evil, and a reformation is necessary."_x000d_ At the conclusion of Mr. Vivekananda's address there was a hearty burst of applause.

The following report (from which the talks of the Vroomans have here been omitted) appeared in the Morning Herald of October 22:_x000d_ BUDDHA'S HIGH PRIEST_x000d_ ___________x000d_ _x000d_ He Speaks to 3,000 People at the Lyceum_x000d_ __________x000d_ _x000d_ Second of the Vrooman Brothers' Meetings in the _x000d_ Interest Of "Dynamic Religion"-The Judiciary and_x000d_ How It Should be Maintained.

An audience which filled the Lyceum Theatre from pit to dome assembled last night at the second of the series of meetings held by the Vrooman Brothers in the interest of "Dynamic Religion." Fully 3,000 persons were present._x000d_ Half of the assembly were ladies. The interest was maintained throughout, and in several instances the remarks of the speakers were greeted with applause. Addresses were made by the Rev. Hiram Vrooman, Rev. Walter Vrooman and Rev. Swarri Vivekananda, the Brahmin High Priest now visiting this city. The speakers of the evening were seated on the stage, the Rev. Vivekananda being an object of particular interest to all.

He wore a yellow turban and a red robe tied in at the waste [sic] with a sash of the same color, which added to the Oriental cast of his features and invested him with a peculiar interest. His personality seemed to be the feature of the evening. His address was delivered in an easy, unembarrassed manner, his diction being perfect and his accent similar to that of a cultured member of the Latin race familiar with the English language. He said in part:

The High Priest Speaks_x000d_ _x000d_ "Buddha began to found the religion of India 600 years before the birth of Christ. He found the religion of India at that time mainly engaged in eternal discussions upon the nature of the human soul. There was no remedy according to the ideas then prevailing for the cure of religious ills but sacrifices of animals, sacrificial altars and similar methods._x000d_ "In the midst of this system a priest was born who was a member of one of the leading families who was the founder of Buddhism. His was, in the first place, not the founding of a new religion, but a movement of reformation. He believed in the good of all. His religion, as formulated by him, consisted of the discovery of three things: First, `There is an evil'; second, `What is the cause of this evil?' 'This he ascribed to the desires of men to be superior to others, an evil that could be cured by unselfishness. Third, `This evil is curable by becoming unselfish.' Force, he con¬cluded, could not cure it; dirt cannot wash dirt; hate cannot cure hate.

"This was the basis of his religion. So long as society tries to cure human selfishness by laws and institutions whose aim is to force others to do good to their neighbors, nothing can be done. The remedy is not to place trick against trick and force against force. The only remedy is in making unselfish men and women. You may enact laws to cure present evils, but they will be of no avail.

"Buddha found in India too much talking about God and His essence and too little work. He always insisted upon this fundamental truth, that we are to be pure and holy, and that we are to help others to be holy also. He believed that man. Must go to work and help others; find his soul in others; find his life in others. He believed that in the conjunction [sic] of doing good to others is the only good we do ourselves. He believed that there was always in the world too much theory and too little practice. A dozen Buddhas in India at the present time would do good, and one Buddha in this country would also be beneficial.

"When there is too much doctrine, too much belief in my father's religion, too much rational superstition, a change is needed. Such doctrine produces evil, and a reformation is necessary."

At the conclusion of Mr. Vivekananda's address there was a hearty burst of applause.

The Swami drew large crowds, particularly at the second meeting; when, scheduled as the main speaker, he delivered a talk on Buddhism to an audience that "filled the Lyceum Theatre from pit to dome". "Fully 3,000 persons were present", the Baltimore Morning Herald of October 22 reported, and went on to give a brief sketch of the Swami, which enables us to catch a fleeting glimpse of him as he appeared in 1894 to so many thousands of people in concert halls, lecture auditoriums, theatres, and churches throughout a large part of the United States:

The speakers of the evening were seated on the stage, the Rev. Vivekananda being an object of particular interest to all.

He wore a yellow turban and a red robe tied in at the waist with a sash of the same colour, which added to the Oriental cast of his features and invested him with a peculiar interest. His personality seemed to be the feature of the evening. His address was delivered in an easy, unembarrassed manner, his diction being perfect and his accent similar to that of a cultured member of the Latin race familiar with the English language.

THE RELIGION OF BUDDHA_x000d_ ___________x000d_ _x000d_ Swami Vivekananda's Address at the Lyceum Theater_x000d_ _x000d_ The Lyceum Theater was crowded to the doors last night at the second meeting of the series conducted by the Vrooman brothers on "Dynamic Religion." Swami Vivekananda, of India, made the principal address.

He spoke on the Buddhist religion, and told of the evils which existed among the people of India at the time of the birth of Buddha. The social inequalities in India, he said, were at that period a thousand times greater than anywhere else in the world. "Six hundred years before Christ," he continued, "the priesthood of India exercised great influence over the minds of the people, and between the upper and nether millstone of intellectuality and learning the people were ground.

Buddhism, which is the religion of more than two-thirds of the human family, was not founded as an entirely new religion, but rather as a reformation which carried off the corruption of the times.

Buddha seems to have been the only prophet who did everything for others and absolutely nothing for himself. He gave up his home and all the enjoyments of life to spend his days in search of the medicine for the terrible disease of human misery.

In an age when men and priests were discussing the essence of the deity, he discovered what people had overlooked, that misery existed. The cause of evil is our desire to be superior to others and our selfishness. The moment that the world becomes unselfish all evil will vanish.

So long as society tries to cure evil by laws and institutions, evil will not be cured. The world has tried this method ineffectually for thousands of years. Force against force never cures, and the only cure for evil is unselfishness. We need to teach people to obey the laws rather than to make more laws.

Buddhism was the first missionary religion of the world, but it was one of the teachings of Buddhism not to antagonize any other religion. Sects weaken their power for good by making war on each other."

Revs. Hiram and Walter Vrooman also spoke.

Washington,_x000d_ 27th October, 1894_x000d_ Dear Blessed and Beloved {Alasinga Perumal},_x000d_ By this time you must have received my other letters. You must excuse me for certain harshness of tone sometimes, and you know full well how I love you. You have asked me often to send over to you all about my movements in this country and all my lecture reports. I am doing exactly here what I used to do in India. Always depending on the Lord and making no plans ahead. . . . Moreover you must remember that I have to work incessantly in this country, and that I have no time to put together my thoughts in the form of a book, so much so, that this constant rush has worn my nerves, and I am feeling it. I cannot express my obligation to you, G. G., and all my friends in Madras, for the most unselfish and heroic work you did for me. But it was not at all meant to blazon me, but to make you conscious of your own strength. I am not an organiser, my nature tends towards scholarship and meditation. I think I have worked enough, now I want rest and to teach a little to those that have come to me from my Gurudeva (venerable Guru). You have known now what you can do, for it is really you, young men of Madras, that have done all; I am only the figurehead. I am a Tyagi (detached) monk. I only want one thing. I do not believe in a God or religion which cannot wipe the widow's tears or bring a piece of bread to the orphan's mouth. However sublime be the theories, however well-spun may be the philosophy--I do not call it religion so long as it is confined to books and dogmas. The eye is in the forehead and not in the back. Move onward and carry into practice that which you are very proud to call your religion, and God bless you! _x000d_ Look not at me, look to yourselves. I am happy to have been the occasion of rousing an enthusiasm. Take advantage of it, float along with it, and everything will come right. Love never fails, my son; today or tomorrow or ages after, truth will conquer. Love shall win the victory. Do you love your fellow men? Where should you go to seek for God--are not all the poor, the miserable, the weak, Gods? Why not worship them first? Why go to dig a well on the shores of the Ganga? Believe in the omnipotent power of love. Who cares for these tinsel puffs of name? I never keep watch of what the newspapers are saying. Have you love?--You are omnipotent. Are you perfectly unselfish? If so, you are irresistible. It is character that pays everywhere. It is the Lord who protects His children in the depths of the sea. Your country requires heroes; be heroes! God bless you!_x000d_ Everybody wants me to come over to India. They think we shall be able to do more if I come over. They are mistaken, my friend. The present enthusiasm is only a little patriotism, it means nothing. If it is true and genuine, you will find in a short time hundreds of heroes coming forward and carrying on the work. Therefore know that you have really done all, and go on. Look not for me. Akshoy Kumar Ghosh is in London. He sent a beautiful invitation from London to come to Miss Muller's. And I hope I am going in January or February next. Bhattacharya writes me to come over. Here is a grand field. What have I to do with this "ism" or that "ism"? I am the servant of the Lord, and where on earth is there a better field than here for propagating all high ideas? Here, where if one man is against me, a hundred hands are ready to help me; here, where man feels for man, weeps for his fellow-men and women are goddesses! Even idiots may stand up to hear themselves praised, and cowards assume the attitude of the brave when everything is sure to turn out well, but the true hero works in silence. How many Buddhas die before one finds expression! My son, I believe in God, and I believe in man. I believe in helping the miserable. I believe in going even to hell to save others. Talk of the Westerners? They have given me food, shelter, friendship, protection--even the most orthodox Christians! What do our people do when any of their priests go to India? You do not touch them even, they are MLECHCHHAS! No man, no nation, my son, can hate others and live; India's doom was sealed the very day they invented the word MLECHCHHA and stopped from communion with others. Take care how you foster that idea. It is good to talk glibly about the Vedanta, but how hard to carry out even its least precepts!_x000d_ Ever yours with blessings,_x000d_ Vivekananda _x000d_ PS. Take care of these two things--love of power and jealousy. Cultivate always "faith in yourself."

It had been, actually, Akshay Ghosh who had written to Swamiji on Miss Muller's behalf. "Akshay Kumar Ghosh is in London," he wrote to Alasinga on October 27. "He sent a beautiful invitation from London to come to Miss Muller's. And I hope I am going in January or February next.

On October 27 he wrote to Alasinga, "I think I have worked enough, now I want rest and to teach a little to those that have come to me from my Gurudeva. . . ._x000d_ Here is a grand field. What have I to do with this `ism' or that `ism'? I am the servant of the Lord, and where on earth is there a better field than here for propagating all high ideas?"

APPENDIX B_x000d_ _x000d_ The Washington, D. C. Times_x000d_ _x000d_ (See Chapter Twelve, Section Three)_x000d_ _x000d_ We owe the following two reports from the Washington times to the researches of Ray and Wanda Ellis. The first, dated October 29, 1894, amply covered Swamiji's Sunday morning talk of October 28 at the People's Church in Washington, D.C. The second and shorter article, dated November 2, 1894, reported the lecture he gave on the evening of November 1 at Metzerott Hall, also in Washington. As announced in the Times, the second lec¬ture was entitled "Kan Ax! (Reincarnation)." The two reports, though inadequate, as were all newspaper reports of Swamiji's lectures, were less muddled than most and are given below in full._x000d_ _x000d_ LOVE RELIGION'S ESSENCE_x000d_ ___________x000d_ _x000d_ Vive Kananda, a Brahmin Monk, _x000d_ Preaches at the People's Church._x000d_ ___________x000d_ _x000d_ INTRODUCED BY REV. DR. KENT_x000d_ ___________x000d_ Those Who Want God as They Want Life Will Find-Many _x000d_ People Attend Church Because It Is Fashionable in Their_x000d_ Set-True Devotion Asks No Returns._x000d_ ___________x000d_ _x000d_ Vive Kananda, the Brahmin monk, spoke to the con¬gregation of the People's Church, No. 423 G street northwest, at 11:00 a.m. yesterday._x000d_ He was dressed in a robe of scarlet which covered his en¬tire person, from throat to ankles, in large, simple folds. On his head he wore a turban of ample silk of the color of gold, which flowed back, falling as far as his waist. He has a smooth face, with large, regularly curved features; large eyes, whose light is subdued by being partly closed much of the time. Between the brown of his face and his robe below was a narrow band of white, the upper edge of a well¬ laundered linen collar, and edging his turban above, a broad touch of black hair. Large and well proportioned, his simplicity of dress gave him a majestic appearance._x000d_ Dr. Kent introduced the monk. He said that Dr. Leonard Beacon's statement to the World's Parliament of Religions that we do not sufficiently take into account the personal equation in hearing the report of missionaries, ought to be seriously pondered. These reports are honest but very mis¬leading. The World's Parliament of Religions had given the people so generally misrepresented an opportunity to tell the truth about themselves. But we must not expect too much. Many denominations, - like the turtle, have withdrawn themselves into their shells and refused to hear._x000d_ Dr. Mummery [Dr. Alfred W. Momerie], of England, has said: "What in any religion is fundamental is largely true, and what is superficial is largely false." This is being im¬pressed upon our people by the literature of other religions that has been spread through our country from the Parliament of Religions._x000d_ Vive Kananda,. coming forward, said as a boy at the university he studied comparative religion. In India are many religions. One-fifth are Mohomedans. A million are Christians. He studied all. He listened to a great Hindoo preacher, and when he had finished, said:_x000d_ "My brother, have you seen God?"_x000d_ The preacher looked up in surprise._x000d_ "No."_x000d_ "How, then, do you know these things are true?" "_x000d_ My father told me."_x000d_ "Who told your father?"_x000d_ "His father," and so on through his ancestors to the clouds._x000d_ He heard a Christian preacher of great eloquence. This man told the seeker for truth that if he was not immersed in water at once he was in great danger to be roasted alive. Upon further questions this Christian also, through the records of his books, went back to his ancestors, and so back to the clouds._x000d_ THE STUDENT NOT SATISFIED._x000d_ This did not satisfy the student. He set about praying. He prayed sometimes three days and nights with much weep¬ing and without food. He finally found a man who knew no books, not even to write his own name. This sage was preaching his religion. When asked the old question, he replied._x000d_ "Yes, I see God now and I will teach you to see Him:' This man bore the Stamp of God in his features. It was the same certificate that came to the man of Nazareth when the dove descended upon him at Jordan. He made his hearer to believe that God lives and religion is not a mockery._x000d_ For twelve [sic] years Kananda sat at this man's feet. He was the master. He said one day, "Take up this book." Kananda took up the book and read. It was a calendar [an almanac]. He read in it where the rainfall was foretold. It said that within a certain time so many tons of rain would fall in a certain district. "Now," said the teacher, "close the book and press it." He did so. "Squeeze it very hard." He obeyed. "Did any water come from the book?" "None." So are all books. The true religion is here, at the heart._x000d_ The truth is people do not want God. Far from it. _x000d_ Religion is largely fashionable. My lady has a fine parlor, elegant furniture, a piano, beautiful jewelry, well-fitting, costly dresses, a hat that is the latest thing out. She cannot get along without a dash of religion to keep up with her set. There is much of this fashionable religion, but it is hypocrisy, and hypocrisy is the root of all evil. This sort of religion is not of God. It is only the shadow. People with such religion , sometimes grow to be in earnest and talk about religious things as if they had some reality. So talking about religion without having it these people fall to quar¬reling and fighting. "Mine, mine," is the cry, never "thine, thine." "My religion is the best" "No, mine," and so they fight as did the savage tribes about their rival gods. Mumbo and Jumbo. Competition in religion, as in business, is the bane of all._x000d_ _x000d_ LOVE ABIDETH._x000d_ _x000d_ Your own Paul says "all else shall perish, but love abideth." That is the great truth. That false doctrine that my nation shall be aggrandized at the cost of every other nation is not of God._x000d_ A youth went to his master and said, "I want to know God." The master paid little attention, but the youth per¬sisted and would not be put off. Finally one day the master said: "Let us go down to the river and have a bath." So they went down and the youth plunged in. The master followed and falling upon him held him under. The youth strug¬gled, but the master would not let him up. Finally, when he seemed to be almost dead, he desisted, drew him from the water and revived him. "What did you most want when in the water?" the master asked, "Breath," was the answer. "Then you don't want God."_x000d_ So it is with men, what do you want? You want breath, without it you cannot live; you want bread, without it you cannot live; you want a house, without it you cannot live. When you want God as you want these things. He manifests himself unto you. It is a great thing to want God. A majority of men and women in this world want the enjoyments of sense. They have been told that there is a God afar off and if they will send him a cartload of words he will help them get these good things of this world. But in every land there are a few persons who want God. They would be one with the essence of good and truth. Religion is not shop keeping. Love asks no return; love begs not; love gives._x000d_ Religion is not an outgrowth of fear; religion is joyous. It is the spontaneous outburst of the songs of birds and the beautiful sight of the morning. It is an expression of the spirit. It is from within an expression of the free and noble spirit._x000d_ If misery is religion, what is hell? No man has a right to make himself miserable. To do so is a mistake; it is a sin. Every peal of laughter is a prayer sent to God._x000d_ To go back, what I have learned is this: Religion is not in books, not in forms, not in sects, not in nations; religion is in the human heart. It is engrafted here. The proof of it is in ourselves._x000d_ I make two points. There are sects. Let them go on in¬creasing in number till each [person] is a sect by himself. None can see God exactly as another; each must believe in Him and serve Him as he sees Him. Then I want a har¬monizing of the sects. Individuality is not in a fight with universality._x000d_ Let each for himself and all together fight evils. If you have a power of eight and I a power of four, and you come and destroy me, you have lost at least four. You have only four left to conquer evil. It is love alone that can conquer hatred. If there is power in hate there is infinitely more power in love._x000d_ _x000d_ *****_x000d_ _x000d_ THE HINDOO OPTIMISTIC_x000d_ Vive Kananda Compares Religions and_x000d_ Talks of Reincarnation_x000d_ _x000d_ Optimism is the feature of the belief of the Aryans or Hindoos as distinguished from Western religions, accord¬ing to the Brahmin monk, Vive Kananda, who spoke to a fair sized audience at Metzerott Hall last night. His subject was reincarnation. Much of his lecture was devoted to a comparison of Hindoo with Christian doctrine._x000d_ To illustrate the tenet of reincarnation he compared the human body to a river. Each drop of water passes on and is replaced by another. The entire body of water, he ob¬served, changes wholly in a few moments, but we call it the same river. In the same way the particles of the body are constantly replaced by others and no two days do we have the same body, yet we preserve our identity._x000d_ The spirit remains so, the Hindoos believe, that the per¬son may have a different and more sudden and violent change in death and yet pass on in its existence to some other place in the universe, to some other planet or star, and then take on a body of flesh again or of some other kind._x000d_ He said there ought to be no talk of sin. The mistakes of the past ought to be used only for guidance in the future, never to be moaned over. When the lesson is learned from them they should be forgotten._x000d_ "Strike a light," he said, "sit not in darkness and sorrow. Do always better and be happy."_x000d_ He is stopping with Hon. Enoch Totten, No.1708 I street northwest and many prominent people were to be found in his , presence, interested listeners. Mrs. Totten, though a strict Presbyterian, thinks his doctrines very help¬ful, and believes to hear him would be a great benefit to many Christians, as well as to thoughtful people outside of the churches.

Mr. Kananda spoke yesterday at the People's Church on the invitation of Dr. Kent, pastor of the church. His talk in the morning was a regular sermon, dealing entirely with the spiritual side of religion, and presenting the, to orthodox sects, rather original proposition that there is good in the foundation of every religion, that all religions, like languages, are descended from a common stock, and that each is good in its corporal and spiritual aspects so long as it is kept free from dogma and fossilism. The address in the afternoon was more in the form of a lecture on the Aryan race, and traced the descent of the various allied nationalities by their language, religion and customs from the common Sanskrit stock._x000d_ After the meeting, to a Post reporter Mr. Kananda said: "I claim no affiliation with any religious sect, but occupy the position of an observer, and so far as I may, of a teacher to mankind. All religion to me is good. About the higher mysteries of life and existence I can do no more than speculate, as others do. Reincarnation seems to me to be the nearest to a logical explanation for many things with which we are confronted in the realm of religion. But I do not advance it as a doctrine. It is no more than a theory at best, and is not susceptible of proof except by personal experience, and that proof is good only for the man who has it. Your experience is nothing to me, nor mine to you. I am not a believer in miracles--they are repugnant to me in matters of religion. You might bring the world tumbling down about my ears, but that would be no proof to me that there was a God, or that you worked by his agency, if there was one._x000d_ _x000d_ HE BELIEVES IT BLINDLY_x000d_ _x000d_ "I must, however, believe in a past and a hereafter as necessary to the existence of the present. And if we go on from here, we must go in other forms, and so comes my belief in reincarnation. But I can prove nothing, and any one is welcome to deprive me of the theory of reincarnation provided they will show me something better to replace it. Only up to the present I have found nothing that offers so satisfactory an explanation to me."_x000d_ Mr. Kananda is a native of Calcutta, and a graduate of the government university there. He speaks English like a native, having received his university training in that tongue. He has had good opportunity to observe the contact between the native and the English, and it would disappoint a foreign missionary worker to hear him speak in very unconcerned style of the attempts to convert the natives. In this connection he was asked what effect the Western teaching was having on the thought of the Orient._x000d_ "Of course," he said, "no thought of any sort can come into a country without having its effect, but the effect of Christian teaching on Oriental thought is, if it exists, so small as to be imperceptible. The Western doctrines have made about as much impression there as have the Eastern doctrines here, perhaps not so much. That is, among the higher thinkers of the country. The effect of the missionary work among the masses is imperceptible. When converts are made they of course drop at once out of the native sects, but the mass of the population is so great that the converts of the missionaries have very little effect that can be seen." _x000d_ THE YOGIS ARE JUGGLERS_x000d_ _x000d_ When asked whether he knew anything of the alleged miraculous performances of the yogis and adepts Mr. Kananda replied that he was not interested in miracles, and that while there were of course a great many clever jugglers in the country, their performances were tricks. Mr. Kananda said that he had seen the mango trick but once, and then by a fakir on a small scale. He held the same view about the alleged attainments of the lamas. "There is a great lack of trained, scientific, and unprejudiced observers in all accounts of these phenomena," said he, "so that it is hard to select the false from the true."

541 Dearborn Avenue_x000d_ Chicago_x000d_ November(?), 1894_x000d_ Dear Diwanji {Shri Haridas Viharidas Desai},_x000d_ Your letter pleased me extremely. I, of course, understand the joke, but I am not the baby to be put off with a joke; now take more._x000d_ The secret of success of the Westerners is the power of organisation and combination. That is only possible with mutual trust and co-operation and help. Now here is Virchand Gandhi, the Jain, whom you well knew in Bombay. This man never takes anything but pure vegetables even in this terribly cold climate, and tooth and nail tries to defend his countrymen and religion. The people of this country like him very well, but what are they doing who sent him over? They are trying to outcast him. Jealousy is a vice necessarily generated in slaves. Again it is jealousy that holds them down._x000d_ Here were . . .; they were all trying to lecture and get money thereby. They did something, but I succeeded better than they--why, I did not put myself as a bar to their success. It was the will of the Lord. But all these . . . except . . . have fabricated and circulated the most horrible lies about me in this country, and behind my back. Americans will never stoop to such meanness._x000d_ . . . If any man tries to move forward here, everybody is ready to help him. In India you may try tomorrow by writing a single line of praise for me in any of our papers (Hindu), and the next day they would be all against me. Why? It is the nature of slaves. They cannot suffer to see any one of their brethren putting his head the least above their rank. . . . Do you mean to compare such stuff with these children of liberty, self-help, and brotherly love? The nearest approach to our people are the freed slaves of the U.S.A., the Negroes. Why, in the South they are about twenty millions and are now free. The whites are a handful, still the whites hold them down all the same. Why, even when they have every right by law, a bloody war between the brothers has been fought to free these slaves? The same defect--jealousy. Not one of these Negroes would bear to see his brother-Negro praised or pushing on. Immediately they would join the whites to crush him down. You can have no idea about it until you come out of India. It is all right for those who have plenty of money and position to let the world roll on such, but I call him a traitor who, having been educated, nursed in luxury by the heart's blood of the downtrodden millions of toiling poor, never even takes a thought for them. Where, in what period of history your rich men, noblemen, your priests and potentates took any thought for the poor--the grinding of whose faces is the very life-blood of their power?_x000d_ But the Lord is great, the vengeance came sooner or later, and they who sucked the life-blood of the poor, whose very education was at their expense, whose very power was built on their poverty, were in their turn sold as slaves by hundreds and thousands, their wives and daughters dishonoured, their property robbed for the last 1,000 years, and do you think it was for no cause? Why amongst the poor of India so many are Mohammedans? It is nonsense to say, they were converted by the sword. It was to gain their liberty from the . . . zemindars and from the . . . priest, and as a consequence you find in Bengal there are more Mohammedans than Hindus amongst the cultivators, because there were so many zemindars there. Who thinks of raising these sunken downtrodden millions? A few thousand graduates do not make a nation, a few rich men do not make a nation. True, our opportunities are less, but still there is enough to feed and clothe and made 300 millions more comfortable, nay, luxurious. Ninety per cent of our people are without education--who thinks of that?--these Babus, the so-called patriots?_x000d_ Now, let me tell you--still there is a God, no joke. He is ordering our lives, and although I know a nation of slaves cannot but try to bite at the hand that wants to give them medicine, yet, pray with me, you--one of the few that have real sympathy for everything good, for everything great, one at least whom I know to be a man of true ring, nobility of nature, and a thorough sincerity of head and heart--pray with me:_x000d_ "Lead, kindly Light,_x000d_ amid th' encircling gloom." _x000d_ I do not care what they say. I love my God, my religion, my country, and above all, myself, a poor beggar. I love the poor, the ignorant, the downtrodden, I feel for them--the Lord knows how much. He will show me the way. I do not care a fig for human approbation or criticism. I think of most of them as ignorant, noisy children--they have not penetrated into the inner nature of sympathy, into the spirit which is all love.'_x000d_ I have that insight through the blessing of Ramakrishna. I am trying to work with my little band, all of these poor beggars like me, you have seen them. But the Lord's works have been always done by the lowly, by the poor. You bless me that I may have faith in my Guru, in my God, and in myself._x000d_ The only way is love and sympathy. The only worship is love._x000d_ May He help you and yours ever and ever!_x000d_ With prayers and blessings,_x000d_ Vivekananda

Dear Brother Shivananda,_x000d_ Your letter just reached me. Perhaps by this time you have received my other letters and learnt that it is not necessary to send anything to America any more. Too much of everything is bad. This newspaper booming has given me popularity no doubt, but its effect is more in India than here. Here, on the other hand, constant booming creates a distaste in the minds of the higher class people; so enough. Now try to organise yourselves in India on the lines of these meetings. You need not send anything more in this country. As to money, I have determined first to build some place for Mother, for women require it first. . . . I can send nearly Rs. 7,000 for a place for Mother. If the place is first secured, then I do not care for anything else. I hope to be able to get Rs. 1,600 a year from this country even when I am gone. That sum I will make over to the support of the Women's place, and then it will grow. I have written to you already to secure a place. . . . _x000d_ I would have, before this, returned to India, but India has no money. Thousands honour Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, but nobody will give a cent--that is India. . . . In the meanwhile live in harmony at any price. The world cares little for principles. They care for persons. They will hear with patience the words of a man they like, however nonsense, and will not listen to anyone they do not like. Think of this and modify your conduct accordingly. Everything will come all right. Be the servant if you will rule. That is the real secret. Your love will tell even if your words be harsh. Instinctively men feel the love clothed in whatever language. _x000d_ My dear brother, that Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was God incarnate, I have not the least doubt; but then you must let people find out for themselves what he used to teach--you cannot thrust these things upon them--this is my only objection._x000d_ Let people speak out their own opinions, why should we object? Without studying Ramakrishna Paramahamsa first, one can never understand the real import of the Vedas, the Vedanta, of the Bhagavata and the other Puranas. His life is a searchlight of infinite power thrown upon the whole mass of Indian religious thought. He was the living commentary to the Vedas and to their aim. He had lived in one life the whole cycle of the national religious existence in India._x000d_ Whether Bhagavan Shri Krishna was born at all we are not sure; and Avataras like Buddha and Chaitanya are monotonous; Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is the latest and the most perfect--the concentrated embodiment of knowledge, love, renunciation, catholicity, and the desire to serve mankind. So where is anyone to compare with him? He must have been born in vain who cannot appreciate him! My supreme good fortune is that I am his servant through life after life. A single word of his is to me far weightier than the Vedas and the Vedanta. {Sanskrit}--Oh, I am the servant of the servants of his servants. But narrow bigotry militates against his principles, and this makes me cross. Rather let his name be drowned in oblivion, and his teachings bear fruit instead! Why, was he a slave to fame? Certain fishermen and illiterate people called Jesus Christ a God, but the literate people killed him. Buddha was honoured in his lifetime by a number of merchants and cowherds. But Ramakrishna has been worshipped in his lifetime--towards the end of this nineteenth century--by the demons and giants of the university as God incarnate. . . . Only a few things have been jotted down in the books about them (Krishna, Buddha, Christ, etc.). "One must be a wonderful housekeeper with whom we have never yet lived!" so the Bengali proverb goes. But here is a man in whose company we have been day and night and yet consider him to be a far greater personality than any of them. Can you understand this phenomenon?_x000d_ You have not yet understood the wonderful significance of Mother's life--none of you. But gradually you will know. Without Shakti (Power) there is no regeneration for the world. Why is it that our country is the weakest and the most backward of all countries?--Because Shakti is held in dishonour there. Mother has been born to revive that wonderful Shakti in India; and making her the nucleus, once more will Gargis and Maitreyis be born into the world. Dear brother, you understand little now, but by degrees you will come to know it all. Hence it is her Math that I want first. . . . Without the grace of Shakti nothing is to be accomplished. What do I find in America and Europe?--the worship of Shakti, the worship of Power. Yet they worship Her ignorantly through sense-gratification. Imagine, then, what a lot of good they will achieve who will worship Her with all purity, in a Sattvika spirit, looking upon Her as their mother! I am coming to understand things clearer every day, my insight is opening out more and more. Hence we must first build a Math for Mother. First Mother and Mother's daughters, then Father and Father's sons--can you understand this? . . . To me, Mother's grace is a hundred thousand times more valuable than Father's. Mother's grace, Mother's blessings are all paramount to me. . . . Please pardon me. I am a little bigoted there, as regards Mother. If but Mother orders, her demons can work anything. Brother, before proceeding to America I wrote to Mother to bless me. Her blessings came, and at one bound I cleared the ocean. There, you see. In this terrible winter I am lecturing from place to place and fighting against odds, so that funds may be collected for Mother's Math. Baburam's mother must have lost her sense owing to old age and that is why she is about to worship Durga in the earthen image, ignoring the living one. Brother, faith is very difficult to achieve. Brother, I shall show how to worship the living Durga and then only shall I be worthy of my name. I shall be relieved when you will have purchased a plot of land and established there the living Durga, the Mother. Till then I am not returning to my native land. As soon as you can do that, I shall have a sigh of relief after sending the money. Do you accomplish this festival of Durga of mine by making all the necessary arrangements. Girish Ghosh is adoring the Mother splendidly; blessed is he, and blessed are his followers. Brother, often enough, when I am reminded of the Mother, I ejaculate, "What after all is Rama?" Brother, that is where my fanaticism lies, I tell you. Of Ramakrishna, you may aver, my brother, that he was an Incarnation or whatever else you may like but fie on him who has no devotion for the Mother. Niranjan has a militant disposition, but he has great devotion for Mother and all his vagaries I can easily put up with. He is now doing the most marvellous work. I am keeping myself well posted. And you too have done excellently in co-operating with the Madrasis. Dear brother, I expect much from you, you should organise all for conjoint work. As soon as you have secured the land for Mother, I go to India straight. It must be a big plot; let there be a mud-house to begin with, in due course I shall erect a decent building, don't be afraid._x000d_ The chief cause of malaria lies in water. Why do you not construct two or three filters? If you first boil the water and then filter it, it will be harmless. . . . Please buy two big Pasteur's bacteria-proof filters. Let the cooking be done in that water and use it for drinking purposes also, and you will never hear of malaria any more. . . . On and on, work, work, work, this is only the beginning._x000d_ Yours ever,_x000d_ Vivekananda

c/o George W. Hale, Esq._x000d_ 541 Dearborn Ave, Chicago_x000d_ (Beginning of?) 1894_x000d_ {original in Bengali}_x000d_ My Dear__, {Swami Ramakrishnananda}_x000d_ Very glad to receive your letter. I am very sorry to hear of Mazoomdar's doings. One always behaves thus in trying to push oneself before all others. I am not much to blame. M-- came here ten years ago, and got much reputation and honour; now I am in flying colours. Such is the will of the Guru, what shall I do? It is childishness on M--'s part to be annoyed at this. Never mind, {Sanskrit}_x000d_ {Sanskrit}--Great men like you should pay no heed to what he says. Shall we, children of Shri Ramakrishna, nourished with his heart's blood, be afraid of worm-bites? "The wicked criticise the conduct of the magnanimous, which is extraordinary and whose motives are difficult to fathom" --remember all this and forgive this fool. It is the will of the Lord that people of this land have their power of introspection roused, and does it lie in anybody to check His progress? I want no name--I want to be a voice without a form. I do not require anybody to defend me--{Sanskrit}--who am I to check or to help the course of His march? And who are others also? Still, my heartfelt gratitude to them. "{Sanskrit}--Established in which state a man is not moved even by great misfortune" (Gita)--that state he has not reached; think of this and look upon him with pity. Through the Lord's will, the desire for name and fame has not yet crept into my heart, and I dare say never will. I am an instrument, and He is the operator. Through this instrument He is rousing the religious instinct in thousands of hearts in this far-off country. Thousands of men and women here love and revere me. . . . "{Sanskrit}--He makes the dumb eloquent and makes the lame cross mountains." I am amazed at His grace. Whichever town I visit, it is in an uproar. They have named me "the cyclonic Hindu". Remember, it is His will--I am a voice without a form._x000d_ The Lord knows whether I shall go to England or any other blessed place. He will arrange everything. Here a cigar costs one rupee. Once you get into a cab, you have to pay three rupees; a coat costs a hundred rupees; the hotel charge is nine rupees a day. The Lord provides everything. . . . The Lord be praised, I know nothing. "{Sanskrit}--Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood. Through Truth alone lies the path of Devayana." You must be fearless. It is the coward who fears and defends himself. Let no one amongst us come forward to defend me. I get all news of Madras and Rajputana from time to time. . . . There are eyes that can see at a distance of fourteen thousand miles. It is quite true. Keep quiet now, everything will see the light in time, as far as He wills it. Not one word of His proves untrue. My brother, do men grieve over the fight of cats and dogs? So the jealousy, envy, and elbowing of common men should make no impression on your mind. For the last six months I have been saying, the curtain is going up, the sun is rising. Yes, the curtain is lifting by degrees, slow but sure; you will come to know it in time. He knows. One cannot speak out one's mind. These are things not for writing. . . . Never let go your hold of the rudder, grasp it firm. We are steering all right, no mistaking that, but landing on the other shore is only a question of time. That's all. Can a leader be made my brother? A leader is born. Do you understand? And it is a very difficult task to take on the role of a leader. --One must be {Sanskrit}--a servant of servants, and must accommodate a thousand minds. There must not be a shade of jealousy or selfishness, then you are a leader. First, by birth, and secondly, unselfish--that's a leader. Everything is going all right, everything will come round. He casts the net all right, and winds it up likewise {Sanskrit}--ours is but to follow; love is the best instrument. Love conquers in the long run. It won't do to become impatient--wait, wait--patience is bound to give success. . . . _x000d_ I tell you brother, let everything go on as it is, only take care that no form becomes necessary--unity in variety--see that universality be not hampered in the least. Everything must be sacrificed, if necessary, for that one sentiment, universality. Whether I live or die, whether I go back to India or not, remember this specially, that universality--perfect acceptance, not tolerance only--we preach and perform. Take care how you trample on the least rights of others. Many a huge ship has foundered in that whirlpool. Remember, perfect devotion minus its bigotry--this is what we have got to show. Through His grace everything will go all right. . . . Everybody wants to be a leader, but it is the failure to grasp that he is born, that causes all this mischief. . . . _x000d_ Our matrons are all hale and hearty, I hope? Where is Gour-Ma? We want a thousand such Mothers with that noble stirring spirit. . . . We want all. It is not at all necessary that all should have the same faith in our Lord as we have, but we want to unite all the powers of goodness against all the powers of evil. . . . A besetting sin with Sannyasins is the taking pride in their monastic order. That may have its utility during the first stages, but when they are full-grown, they need it no more. One must make no distinction between householders and Sannyasins--then only one is a true Sannyasin. . . . _x000d_ A movement which half a dozen penniless boys set on foot and which now bids fair to progress in such an accelerated motion--it is a humbug or the Lord's will? If it is, then let all give up party-spirit and jealousy, and unite in action. A universal religion cannot be set up through party faction. . . . _x000d_ If all understand one day for one minute that one cannot become great by the mere wish, that he only rises whom He raises, and he falls whom He brings down, then all trouble is at an end. But there is that egotism--hollow in itself, and without the power to move a finger: how ludicrous of it to say, "I won't let anyone rise!" That jealousy, that absence of conjoint action is the very nature of enslaved nations. But we must try to shake it off. The terrible jealousy is characteristic of us. . . . You will be convinced of this if you visit some other countries. Our fellows in this respect are the enfranchised negroes of this country--if but one amongst them rises to greatness, all the others would at once set themselves against him and try to level him down by making a common cause with the whites. . . . _x000d_ At any cost, any price, any sacrifice, we must never allow that to creep in among ourselves. Whether we be ten or two, do not care, but those few must be perfect characters. . . . "It is not good to ask of one's father if the Lord keeps His promise (to look after His devotees)." And the Lord will do so, set your minds easy on that score. . . . We must spread his name in Rajputana, Punjab, U.P., Madras, and such other provinces--yes, in Rajputana, where still there are people who can say, "Such has ever been the custom with Raghu's line that they keep their word even at the cost of life."_x000d_ A bird, in the course of its flight, reaches a spot whence it looks on the ground below with supreme calmness. Have you reached that spot? He who has not reached there has no right to teach others. Relax your limbs and float with the current, and you are sure to reach your destination._x000d_ Cold is making itself scarce by degrees, and I have been almost through the winter. Here in winter the whole body becomes charged with electricity. In shaking hands one feels a shock, accompanied by a sound. You can light the gas with your finger. And about the cold I have written to you already. I am coursing through the length and breadth of the country, but Chicago is my "Math" (monastery), where I always return after my wanderings. I am now making for the east. He knows where the bark will reach the shore. . . . _x000d_ Has Dashu the same sort of love for you? Does he see you frequently? How is Bhavanath, and what is he doing? Do you visit him, and look upon him with an eye of regard? Yes, brother, the distinction between Sannyasin and layman is a fiction. "{Sanskrit}" etc.--"He makes the dumb fluent," etc. My friend, it is difficult to judge what is in a particular individual. Shri Ramakrishna has spoken highly of him; and he deserves our respect. Fie upon you if you have no faith even after so much experience. Does he love you? Please convey to him my hearty love and esteem. My love to Kalikrishna Babu, he is a very noble soul. How is Ramlal? He has got a little faith and devotion? My love and greetings to him. Sanyal is moving all right with the mill, I suppose? Ask him to have patience, and the mill will go on all right._x000d_ My heart's love to all._x000d_ Ever yours in love,_x000d_ Vivekananda

U.S.A._x000d_ (November?) 1894_x000d_ {original in Bengali}_x000d_ Dear Kali {Abhedananda},_x000d_ Thanks for all that I come to know from your letter. I had no news of the telegram in question having appeared in the Tribune . It is six months since I left Chicago, and I have not been yet free to return. So I could not keep myself well posted. You have taken great pains indeed! And for this how can I thank you adequately? You have all evinced a wonderful capacity for work. And how can Shri Ramakrishna's words prove false?--You have got wonderful spirit in you. About Shashi Sanyal, I have already written. Nothing remains undetected, through the grace of Shri Ramakrishna. But let him found a sect or whatever he will, what harm? "{Sanskrit}--May blessings attend your path!" Secondly, I could not catch the drift of your letter. I shall collect my own funds to build a monastery for ourselves, and if people criticise me for it, I see nothing in this to affect us either way. You have your minds pitched high and steady, it will do you no harm. May you have exceeding love for one another among yourselves, and it would be enough to have an attitude of indifference towards public criticisms. Kalikrishna Babu has deep love for the cause and is a great man. Please convey my special love to him. So long as there is no feeling of disunion amongst you, through the grace of the Lord, I assure you, there is no danger for you, "{Sanskrit}--be it in battle, in the forest, or on the top of mountains". "{Sanskrit}--All noble undertakings are fraught with obstacles". It is quite in the nature of things. Keep up the deepest mental poise. Take not even the slightest notice of what puerile creatures may be saying against you. Indifference, indifference, indifference! I have already written to Shashi (Ramakrishnananda) in detail. Please do not send newspapers and tracts any more. "Take the husking hammer to heaven, and there it will do its husking", as the Bengali saying goes. The same trudging about here as it was in India, only with the carrying of others' loads added! How can I procure customers for people's books in this land? I am only one amongst the many here and nothing more. Whatever the papers and things of that sort in this country write about me, I make an offering of to the Fire-God. You also do the same. That is the proper course._x000d_ A bit of public demonstration was necessary for Guru Maharaja's work. It is done, and so far so good. Now you must on no account pay any heed to what the rabble may be prattling about us. Whether I make my pile or do whatever else I am reported to, shall the opinions of the riff-raff stand in the way of His work? My dear brother, you are yet a boy, while I am growing grey. What regard I have for the pronouncements and opinions of such people, you should guess from this. So long as you gird up your loins and rally behind me, there is no fear even if the whole world combine against us. This much I understand that I shall have to take up a very lofty attitude, I should not, I think, write to anyone except to you. By the by, where is Gunanidhi? Try to find him out and bring him to the Math with all kindness. He is a very sincere man and highly learned. You must try your best to secure two plots of land, let people say what they will. Let anyone write anything for or against me in the papers; you shouldn't take the slightest notice. And my dear brother, I beseech you repeatedly not to send me any more newspapers by the basketful. How can you talk of rest now? We shall have rest awhile only when we give up this body. Just do once get up the celebration, brother, in that spirit, so that all the country around may burn with enthusiasm. Bravo! Capital indeed! The whole band of scoffers will be swept away by the tidal wave of love. You are elephants, forsooth, what do you fear from an ant-bite?_x000d_ The address you sent me reached me long ago and the reply to it has also been despatched to Pyari Babu (18 Nov. 1894)._x000d_ Bear in mind--the eyes are two in number and so the ears, but the mouth is but one! Indifference, indifference, indifference! "{Sanskrit}--The doer of good deeds never comes to grief, my dear". Ah! To fear! And whom are we going to fear, brother? Here the missionaries and their ilk have howled themselves into silence--and the whole world will but do likewise._x000d_ "{Sanskrit}_x000d_ --Whether people skilled in policy praise or blame, whether the Goddess of Fortune favours or goes her way, whether death befalls today or after hundreds of years--persons of steady mind never swerve from the path of righteousness" (Bhartrihari, Nitishataka )_x000d_ You need not even mix with the humdrub people, nor beg of them either. The Lord is supplying everything and will do so in future. What fear, my brother? All great undertakings are achieved through mighty obstacles. {Sanskrit}--You valiant one, put forth your manly efforts; wretched people under the grip of lust and gold deserve to be looked upon with indifference. Now I have got a firm footing in this country, and therefore need no assistance. But my one prayer to you all is that you should apply to the service of the Lord that active impulse of manliness which your eagerness to help me through brotherly love has brought out in you. Do not open out your mind, unless you feel it will be positively beneficial. Use agreeable and wholesome language towards even the greatest enemy. The desire for fame, for riches, for enjoyment is quite natural to every mortal, dear brother, and if that agrees well with serving both ways (i. e. serving both God and mammon), why, all men would exhibit great zeal! It is only the great saint who can work, making a mountain of an atom of virtue in others and cherishing no desire but that of the good of the world--"{Sanskrit}" etc., (Bhartrihari, Nitishataka, 70). Therefore let dullards whose intellect is steeped in ignorance and who look upon the non-Self as all in all, play out their boyish pranks. They will of themselves leave off the moment they find it too hot. Let them try to spit upon the moon--it will but recoil upon themselves. {Sanskrit}--Godspeed to them! If they have got anything substantial in them, who can bar their success? But if it be only empty swagger due to jealousy, then all will be in vain. Haramohan has sent rosaries. All right. But you should know that religion of the type that obtains in our country does not go here. You must suit it to the taste of the people. If you ask them to become Hindus, they will all give you a wide berth and hate you, as we do the Christian missionaries. They like some of the ideas of the Hindu scriptures--that is all. Nothing more than that, you should know. The men, most of them, do not trouble about religion and all that. The women are a little interested--that is all, but no large doses of it! A few thousands of people have faith in the Advaita doctrine. But they will give you the go-by if you talk obscure mannerisms about sacred writings, caste, or women. Everything proceeds slowly, by degrees. Patience, purity, perseverance._x000d_ Yours etc.,_x000d_ Vivekananda