virility of a warrior, and brahma-teja, or the radiance of a brahmin.... These men will
stand aside from the world, give their lives, and be ready to fight the battle of Truth,
marching on from country to country. One blow struck outside of India is equal to a
hundred thousand struck within. Well, all will come if the Lord wills it.'
The Swami was exhausted by his strenuous work in England. Three of his intimate
disciples, the Seviers and Henrietta Müller, proposed a holiday tour on the continent.
He was 'as delighted as a child' at the prospect. 'Oh! I long to see the snows and wander
on the mountain paths,' he said. He recalled his travels in the Himalayas. On July 31,
1896, the Swami, in the company of his friends, left for Switzerland. They visited
Geneva, Mer-de-Glace, Montreux, Chillon, Chamounix, the St. Bernard, Lucerne, the
Rigi, Zermatt, and Schaffhausen. The Swami felt exhilarated by his walks in the Alps.
He wanted to climb Mont Blanc, but gave up the idea when told of the difficulty of the
ascent. He found that Swiss peasant life and its manners and customs resembled those
of the people who dwelt in the Himalayas.
In a little village at the foot of the Alps between Mont Blanc and the Little St. Bernard,
he conceived the idea of founding a monastery in the Himalayas. He said to his
companions: 'Oh, I long for a monastery in the Himalayas, where I can retire from the
labours of my life and spend the rest of my days in meditation. It will be a centre for
work and meditation, where my Indian and Western disciples can live together, and I
shall train them as workers. The former will go out as preachers of Vedanta to the
West, and the latter will devote their lives to the good of India.' Mr. Sevier speaking
for himself and his wife, said: 'How nice it would be, Swami, if this could be done. We
must have such a monastery.'
The dream was fulfilled through the Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati, which commands a
magnificent view of the eternal snows of the Himalayas.
In the Alps the Swami enjoyed some of the most lucid and radiant moments of his
spiritual life. Sometimes he would walk alone, absorbed in thought, the disciples
keeping themselves at a discreet distance. One of the disciples said: 'There seemed to
be a great light about him, and a great stillness and peace. Never have I seen the Swami
to such advantage. He seemed to communicate spirituality by a look or with a touch.
One could almost read his thoughts which were of the highest, so transfigured had his
personality become.'
While still wandering in the Alps, the Swami received a letter from the famous
orientalist, Paul Deussen, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Kiel. The
professor urgently invited the Swami to visit him. The Swami accepted the invitation
and changed his itinerary. He arrived at Kiel after visiting Heidelberg, Coblenz,
Cologne, and Berlin. He was impressed by the material power and the great culture of
Germany.
Professor Deussen was well versed in Sanskrit, and was perhaps the only scholar in
Europe who could speak that language fluently. A disciple of Schopenhauer and
follower of Kant, Deussen could easily appreciate the high flights of Sankaracharya's