I have always respected Swami Vivekananda's wisdom, although I was never convinced by his allegorical justifications of his religious convictions. But he was in many respects a very pragmatic man, and knew very well the limits of all airy metaphysical and spiritual treatments. That is what I found appealing about him.
While reading about the recent controversy regarding religious conversions, and witnessing the regular parochial sermons and discourses on Goanet, I remembered that Vivekananda had very strong arguments against proselytization in India, and had criticized those who did it in his time. Last week I was able to find his speech delivered in America, and reread that interesting criticism. Here is the relevant excerpt from his speech entitled "Religion Not the Crying Need of India". "Brethren of America, you erect churches all through India, but the crying evil in the East is not religion. They have religion enough, but it is bread that the suffering millions of burning India cry out for with parched throats. What they want is bread, but they are given a stone. It is an insult to a starving people to offer them religion; it is an insult to a starving man to teach him metaphysics. Therefore, if you wish to illustrate the meaning of "brotherhood," treat the Hindus more kindly, even though they are Hindus and are faithful to their religion. Send missionaries to them to teach them how better to earn a piece of bread and not to teach them metaphysical nonsense." ----------Swami Vivekananda Please see http://www.vivekananda.org/readings.asp Cheers, Santosh
