A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

The538 THE RELIGION WE ARE BORN IN.relic of a hoary antiquity has, out of neglect or disuse,into a dilapidated condition ;accumulations of d:rtand dust ma^ be lying everywhere within it ; may be, someportions are tumbling down to the ground. What willyou do to it ? Will ^ou take in hand the necessary" cleansing and repairs and thus, restore the old, or will youthe whole edifice down to the ground and seek to bu^d; vanother in its place, after a sordid modern plan whose permanence has v yet to be established We ? have to reform &,.which truly means to make ready orperfect by necessarycleansing and repairs, not by demolishing the whole thing, *There the function of reform ends. When the work ofrenovating the old is finished, what further necessity doesit serve ? Do that ifyou can, if not, hands off !" ban* 3 .of reformers in our country want, on the contrary, to buildup a separate sect of their own. They have, however,.done good work ; may the blessings of God be showered ontheir heads ! But why should you Hindus, wantto separate yourselves from the great common fold ?Why should you* feel ashamed to take the name of Hindu,which isyour greatest and most glorious possession?This nationalship of ours, ye*children of the Immortals,my countrymen, has been plying for ages, carrying civilisation and enriching the whole world with its inestimabletreasures. For scores of shining centuries this nationalship of ours has been ferrying across the ocean of life, andhas taken millions of souls to the other shore, beyond allmisery. But to-day itmay have sprung a leak and gotdp.maged through your own fault or whatever cause itmatters not. What would you, who have placed yourselves in it,do now ? Would you go about cursing it andquarrelling among yourselves, or would you not all unitetogether and put your best efforts to stop the holes ? Let