not yet quite sure of God's will in the matter. When pressed by the Maharaja and the
Prime Minister to accept some gifts, the costlier the better, the Swami took a tobacco
pipe from the one and a cigar from the other.
Now the Swami turned his steps towards picturesque Malabar. At Trivandrum, the
capital of Travancore, he moved in the company of college professors, state officials,
and in general among the educated people of the city. They found him equally at ease
whether discussing Spencer or Sankaracharya, Shakespeare or Kalidasa, Darwin or
Patanjali, Jewish history or Aryan civilization. He pointed out to them the limitations
of the physical sciences and the failure of Western psychology to understand the
superconscious aspect of human nature.
Orthodox brahmins regarded with abhorrence the habit of eating animal food. The
Swami courageously told them about the eating of beef by the brahmins in Vedic
times. One day, asked about what he considered the most glorious period of Indian
history, the Swami mentioned the Vedic period, when 'five brahmins used to polish off
one cow.' He advocated animal food for the Hindus if they were to cope at all with the
rest of the world in the present reign of power and find a place among the other great
nations, whether within or outside the British Empire.
An educated person of Travancore said about him: 'Sublimity and simplicity were
written boldly on his features. A clean heart, a pure and austere life, an open mind, a
liberal spirit, wide outlook, and broad sympathy were the outstanding characteristics of
the Swami.'
From Trivandrum the Swami went to Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin), which is the
southernmost tip of India and from there he moved up to Rameswaram. At
Rameswaram the Swami met Bhaskara Setupati, the Raja of Ramnad, who later
became one of his ardent disciples. He discussed with the Prince many of his ideas
regarding the education of the Indian masses and the improvement of their agricultural
conditions. The Raja urged the Swami to represent India at the Parliament of Religions
in Chicago and promised to help him in his venture.
TRIP TO AMERICA
At Cape Comorin the Swami became as excited as a child. He rushed to the temple to
worship the Divine Mother. He prostrated himself before the Virgin Goddess. As he
came out and looked at the sea his eyes fell on a rock. Swimming to the islet through
shark-infested waters, he sat on a stone. His heart thumped with emotion. His great
journey from the snow-capped Himalayas to the 'Land's End' was completed. He had
travelled the whole length of the Indian subcontinent, his beloved motherland, which,
together with his earthly mother, was 'superior to heaven itself.'
Sitting on the stone, he recalled what he had seen with his own eyes: the pitiable