A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

400 VEDANTA.their misrepresentations, of which theystill stand as representatives. And with them will disappear this marvellousAdvaita, the crested jewel of all spiritual thought, therefore, arise, awake, and with allyour hands stretched out toprotect the spirituality of the world. And first of all workjjt out for your own country.What we want is not so muchspirituality as a little of bringing down of the Advaita intothe material world, first bread and then isligion. Westuff them too much with religion, when the poor fellowshave been starving. No dogmas will satisfy the craving ofhunger. There are two curses here, first our weakness,secondly our hatred, our dried-up hearts. Yx>umay talkdoctrines by the millions, you may have sects by thehundreds of millions ; aye, but it is nothing until youhave the heart to feel, feel for them as your Veda teachesyou, till you find they are parts of your own bodies, tillyou and they, the poor and the rich, the saint and the sinner, all are parts of one Infinite whole which you callBrahman.Gentlemen, thus I have tried to place before youonlya few of the most brilliant points of the Advaita system,and how that the time has come when it should be carriedout into practice, not only in this country, but, everywhere.Modern science and its sledge hammer blows are pulverising into powder the porcelain foundations of all Dualisticreligions everywhere. Not only here are the Dualists torturing texts till they will extend no longer, for texts arenot India-rubber, it is not only here that they are tryingto get into the nooks and corners to protect themselves, itis still more so in Europe and America. And even theresomething of this idea will have to go from India. It hasalready got there. It will have to increase and increase,and to save their civilisations too. For, in the West, the