A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

"you28 v MY MASTER.So he went on preaching to the people, and thenewspread that his body was about to pass away, and thepeople began to flock to him in greater crowds than ever.You cannot imagine the way they come to these greatreligious teachers in India, crowd around them andgods of them while they are yet living. Thousandready to touch simply the hem of their garments. It isthrough this appreciation of spirituality in others thatspirituality is produced. Whatever any man wants andappreciates, that he will get, and it is the same withnations. If you go to India and deliver a political lecture,,-r grand it may l>e,will scarcely find people tolisten to you, but just go and teach religion, lire it, notmerely talk and hundreds it,will crowd just to look at you,to touch your feet. When the people heard that this holyman was likely to go from them soon, they began to comearound him more than ever before, and my Ma-r-r wenton teaching them without the least regard for his health.We could not prevent this. Many of the people came fromlong distances, and he would not rest until he had an>\their question.-.\Vhile I can speak I must teach them,"he would say, ami he was as good as his word. One dayhe told us that he would lay down the body that day, andrepeatingthe most -acred word of the Vedas he enteredinto Samadhi and so passed away.His thoughts and his message were known to very fewwho were capable of teaching them. Among others, he lefta few young boys who had renounced the world, and wereready to carry on his work. Attempts were made to crushthem. But they stood firm, having the inspiration of thatgreat life before them. Having had the contact of thatblessed life for years, they stood their ground/ Theseyoung men were living as Sannyasins, begging through