He loved to tell the story of a Christian missionary who was sent to preach to the
cannibals. The new arrival proceeded to the chief of the tribe and asked him, 'Well,
how did you like my predecessor?' The cannibal replied, smacking his lips, 'Simply de-
li-cious!'
Another was the story of a 'darky' clergyman who, while explaining the creation,
shouted to his congregation: 'You see, God was a-makin' Adam, and He was a-makin'
him out o' mud. And when He got him made, He stuck him up agin a fence to dry. And
den—' 'Hold on, dar, preacher!' suddenly cried out a learned listener. 'What's dat about
dis 'ere fence? Who's made dis fence?' The preacher replied sharply: 'Now you listen
'ere, Sam Jones. Don't you be askin' sich questions. You'll be a-smashin' up all
theology!'
By way of relaxation he would often cook an Indian meal at a friend's house. On such
occasions he brought out from his pockets tiny packets of finely ground spices. He
would make hot dishes which his Western disciples could hardly eat without burning
their tongues. They were, no doubt, soothing to his high-strung temperament.
But the Swami's brain was seething with new ideas all the time. He very much wanted
to build a 'Temple Universal' where people of all faiths would gather to worship the
Godhead through the symbol Om, representing the undifferentiated Absolute. At
another time, in the beginning of the year 1895, he wrote to Mrs. Bull about buying
one hundred and eight acres of land in the Catskill Mountains where his students
would build camps and practise meditation and other disciplines during the summer
holidays.
A touching incident, which occurred in 1894, may be told here; it shows the high
respect in which some of the ladies of Cambridge, Massachusetts, held the Swami and
his mother. The Swami one day spoke to them about 'the Ideals of Indian Women,'
particularly stressing the ideal of Indian motherhood. They were greatly moved. The
following Christmas they sent the Swami's mother in India a letter together with a
beautiful picture of the Child Jesus on the lap of the Virgin Mary. They wrote in the
letter: 'At this Christmastide, when the gift of Mary's son to the world is celebrated and
rejoiced over with us, it would seem the time of remembrance. We, who have your son
in our midst, send you greetings. His generous service to men, women, and children in
our midst was laid at your feet by him, in an address he gave us the other day on the
Ideals of Motherhood in India. The worship of his mother will be to all who heard him
an inspiration and an uplift.'
The Swami often spoke to his disciples about his mother's wonderful self-control, and
how on one occasion she had gone without food for fourteen days. He acknowledged
that her character was a constant inspiration to his life and work.
The love and adoration in which the Swami was held by his Western disciples can
hardly be over-emphasized. Some described him as the 'lordly monk,' and some as a
'grand seigneur.' Mrs. Leggett said that in all her experience she had met only two
celebrated personages who could make one feel perfectly at ease without for an instant