A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

You444 THE MISSION OF THE VEDANTA.moral and the most highly godly, and our institutions are,in their plan and purpose, best suited to make mankindhappy. I do not, therefore, want any reformation.^ Myideal is growth, expansion, development on national lines.As I look back upon the history of my country, I do notfind in the whole world another country which has done-quite so much for the improvement of the human mind.Therefort, I have no words of condemnation tor my"nation. I tell them have done well ; Snly tryto trtrbetter." Great things have been done in the past in thisland ;there is both time and room for greater things to bedone. I am sure you know that we cannot stop. If westop we We die. have either to go forward or to go backward. We have either to progress or to degenerate. Ourancestors did great things in the past, but we have to growinto fuller life and march on even beyond their greatachievements. How can we now go back and degenerateourselves ? That cannot be : that must not be ; going backwill lead us all to decay and death. Therefore, letus go forward and do yet greater things ; that is what Ihave to tell you. I am no preacher of any momentarysocial reform. I am not trying to remedy evils, I only askyou to go forward and to complete the practical realisation-of the scheme of human progress that has been laid out inthe most perfect order by our ancestors. I only ask you towork, to realise more and more the Vedantic ideal of the-solidarity of man and his inborn divine nature. Had I thetime I would gladly show you how every bit of what wehave now to do was laid out years ago by our ancient lawgivers, and how they actually anticipated all the differentchanges that have taken place and are still to take place inour national institutions. They also were breakers of caste,but they were not like our modern men. They did not