A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

"32iHINDUISM AS A RELIGION.a few lines from a hymnwhich I remember to haverepeated from my earliest boyhood, which Js every dayrepeated by millions of human "beings As the : different,streams have their sources in different places and mingletheir waters in the sea, Lord, so the different pathswhich men take through different tendencies, variousthough they appear, crooked or straight, all load to Thee."The present convention, which is one of the mostaugust assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, adeclaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preachedin the Gita : Whosoever comes to me, through whatsoeverform I reach him, thoy are all struggling through pathsthat in the end always lead to me."Sectarianism, bigotry,and its horrible descendant, fanatici>m,have possessed longthis beautiful earth. It has filled the earth with violence,drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyedcivilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it notbeen for this horrible demon, human society would be farmore advanced than it is now. But its time has comeand I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morningin honor of this convention may be the death-knell to allfanaticism, to all persecutions with the sword or the penand to all uncharitable feelings between person^ wendingtheir way to the same goal.IIIXDUISM: A UNIVERSAL FAITH.Swami Vivekananda, of India, presented a paper onthe Hindu faith, in which he said :Three religions stand now in the world whicli havecome down to us from time prehistoric Hinduism,Zoroastrianism, and Judaism. These all have receivedtremendous shocks and all of them prove by their survivaltheir internal strength. But while Judaism failed to