The Swami used to say that absolute loyalty and devotion between husbands and wives
for three successive generations find their expression in the birth of an ideal monk.
Okakura earnestly requested the Swami to accompany him on a visit to Bodh-Gaya,
where Buddha had attained illumination. Taking advantage of several weeks' respite
from his ailment, the Swami accepted the invitation. He also desired to see Varanasi.
The trip lasted through January and February 1902, and was a fitting end to all his
wanderings. He arrived at Bodh-Gaya on the morning of his last birthday and was
received with genuine courtesy and hospitality by the orthodox Hindu monk in charge
of the temple. This and the similar respect and affection shown by the priests in
Varanasi proved the extent of his influence over men's hearts. It may be remembered
that Bodh-Gaya had been the first of the holy places he had visited during Sri
Ramakrishna's lifetime. And some years later, when he was still an unknown monk, he
had said farewell to Varanasi with the words: 'Till that day when I fall on society like a
thunderbolt I shall visit this place no more.'
In Varanasi the Swami was offered a sum of money by a Maharaja to establish a
monastery there. He accepted the offer and, on his return to Calcutta, sent Swami
Shivananda to organize the work. Even before Swami Vivekananda's visit to Varanasi,
several young men, under the Swami's inspiration, had started a small organization for
the purpose of providing destitute pilgrims with food, shelter, and medical aid.
Delighted with their unselfish spirit, the Swami said to them: 'You have the true spirit,
my boys, and you will always have my love and blessings! Go on bravely; never mind
your poverty. Money will come. A great thing will grow out of it, surpassing your
fondest hopes.' The Swami wrote the appeal which was published with the first report
of the 'Ramakrishna Home of Service,' as the institution came to be called. In later
years it became the premier institution of its kind started by the Ramakrishna Mission.
The Swami returned from Varanasi. But hardly had he arrived at Belur when his illness
showed signs of aggravation in the damp air of Bengal. During the last year and a half
of his life he was, off and on, under the strict supervision of his physicians. Diabetes
took the form of dropsy. His feet swelled and certain parts of his body became
hypersensitive. He could hardly close his eyes in sleep. A native physician made him
follow a very strict regime: he had to avoid water and salt. For twenty-one days he did
not allow a drop of water to pass through his throat. To a disciple he said: 'The body is
only a tool of the mind. What the mind dictates the body will have to obey. Now I do
not even think of water. I do not miss it at all.... I see I can do anything.'
Though his body was subjected to a devitalizing illness, his mind retained its usual
vigour. During this period he was seen reading the newly published Encyclopaedia
Britannica. One of his householder disciples remarked that it was difficult to master
these twenty-five volumes in one life. But the Swami had already finished ten volumes
and was busy reading the eleventh. He told the disciple to ask him any question from
the ten volumes he had read, and to the latter's utter amazement the Swami not only
displayed his knowledge of many technical subjects but even quoted the language of
the book here and there. He explained to the disciple that there was nothing miraculous
about it. A man who observed strict chastity in thought and action, he declared, could