A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

"""Mad""""""60 SWAMl S REPLY TO THE ADDRESSES.Kachu Panthis or independents (who do not identifythemselves with any sect),who has been instrumental in theestablishing of hundreds of schools and charitable asylumsall over Rajputana. He has opened hospitals in forests,and thrown iron bridges over the gorges in the Himalayas,and this man never touches a coin with his hands, has noearthly possession except a blanket which has given him thenickname of the Blanket Swami,"and begs his breadfrom door to door. I have never known him takinga whole dinner from one house, lest it should be a tax onthe householder. And he is only one amongst many.Do you think that so long as these gods on earth live inIndia and protect the eternal" "religionwith the impenetrable rampart of their godly character, the old religionwill die ?In this country the clergymensometimes receive ashigh salaries as Rs. 30,000 ; 40,000 ; 50,000, even 90,000a year for preaching two hours in the week on Sunday,and that too only for six months in the year. Look at themillions upon millions they spend for the support oftheir religion,and young Bengal has been taught thesegod-like, absolutely unselfish men like the Kambali-Swami are idle vagabonds.bhaktananchaye bhakta te me bhaktatamamatah."Take even an extreme case, that of an extremely ignorantEven he when heYairagi."goes into a village tries hisbest to impart to the villagers whatever he knows fromor Chaitanya charitamritam," or theAlwars" in Southern India. Is that not doing some41Tulsidas,"good ? And all this for only a bit of bread and a rag ofdoth. Before unmercifully criticisingthem think howmuch you do, my brothers, for your poor fellow- country-