'There is one thing very remarkable about the Koran. Even to this day it exists as it was
recorded eleven hundred years ago. The book has retained its original purity and is free
from interpolation.'
He had a sharp exchange of words with the Maharaja, who was Westernized in his
outlook. To the latter's question as to why the Swami, an able-bodied young man and
evidently a scholar, was leading a vagabond's life, the Swami retorted, 'Tell me why
you constantly spend your time in the company of Westerners and go out on shooting
excursions, neglecting your royal duties.' The Maharaja said, 'I cannot say why, but, no
doubt, because I like to.' 'Well,' the Swami exclaimed, 'for that very reason I wander
about as a monk.'
Next, the Maharaja ridiculed the worship of images, which to him were nothing but
figures of stone, clay, or metal. The Swami tried in vain to explain to him that Hindus
worshipped God alone, using the images as symbols. The Prince was not convinced.
Thereupon the Swami asked the Prime Minister to take down a picture of the
Maharaja, hanging on the wall, and spit on it. Everyone present was horror-struck at
this effrontery. The Swami turned to the Prince and said that though the picture was
not the Maharaja himself, in flesh and blood, yet it reminded everyone of his person
and thus was held in high respect; likewise the image brought to the devotee's mind the
presence of the Deity and was therefore helpful for concentration, especially at the
beginning of his spiritual life. The Maharaja apologized to Swamiji for his rudeness.
The Swami exhorted the people of Alwar to study the eternal truths of Hinduism,
especially to cultivate the knowledge of Sanskrit, side by side with Western science.
He also encouraged them to read Indian history, which he remarked should be written
by Indians following the scientific method of the West. European historians dwelt
mainly on the decadent period of Indian culture.
In Jaipur the Swami devoted himself to the study of Sanskrit grammar, and in Ajmer
he recalled the magnificence of the Hindu and Moslem rules. At Mount Abu he gazed
in wonder at the Jain temple of Dilwara, which it has been said, was begun by titans
and finished by jewellers. There he accepted the hospitality of a Moslem official. To
his scandalized Hindu friends the Swami said that he was, as a sannyasin belonging to
the highest order of paramahamsas, above all rules of caste. His conduct in dining with
Moslems, he further said, was not in conflict with the teachings of the scriptures,
though it might be frowned upon by the narrow-minded leaders of Hindu society.
At Mount Abu the Swami met the Maharaja of Khetri, who later became one of his
devoted disciples. The latter asked the Swami for the boon of a male heir and obtained
his blessing.
Next we see the Swami travelling in Gujarat and Kathiawar in Western India. In
Ahmedabad he refreshed his knowledge of Jainism. Kathiawar, containing a large
number of places sacred both to the Hindus and the to Jains, was mostly ruled by
Hindu Maharaja, who received the Swami with respect. To Babu Haridas Viharidas,
the Prime Minister of the Moslem state of Junagad, he emphasized the need of