THE BEGINNING OF AMERICAN WORL:- In the last days of January 1895, Awami Vivekananda established himself in lodgings at 54 West 33rd Street in the city of New York. It was a poor & unfashionable neighbourhood, but he was tired & disgusted with the fame he had acquired & he felt that the interest he had awakened was not what he wanted; to his mind it was too superficial. He desired earnest-minded followers whom he could teach freely, while living in a place of his own. Thus he announced that he would hold classes free of charge in his own quarters. Many came, some from curiosity, others in carnest sincerity, “to learn the ancient teachings of India & the all-embracing character of its philosophy . . . &, above all, to hear the constant lessons of the Swami on world-wide universal toleration. ” Miss Sarah Ellen Waldo of Broowlyn, who became one of the Swami’s foremost disciples, writes as follows, taking up the thread of her narrative, from the time of his lectures before the Brooklyn Ethical Association: BACK TO LONDON---------------------------------------------------1 On April 15, 1896 Swami Vivekananda sailed from New York for Liverpool on the S.S. Gremanic of the White Star Line. Form Liverpool he travelled to Reading, for he was again to be the guest of Mr. Edward T. Sturdy. The journey had been uneventful; he wrote, shortly after his arrival, to Mary Hale on April 20: “The voyage has been pleasant & no sickness this time. I gave myself treatment to avoid it. I made quite a little run through Ireland & some of the Old English towns, & now am once more in Reading amidst Brahman & Maya & Jiva, the individual & universal soul, etc. The other monk is here; he is one of the nicest of men I see, & is quitc a learned monk too. We busy editing books now. Nothing of importance happened on the way. It was dull, monotonous, & prosaic as my life.” TOWARDS INDIA:- Now London was left behind. It was as if a great burden had suddenly dropped from the Swami’s shoulders. He well satisfied with his work in England; he had planted there the seed of his Master’s message & power, & as he had earlier written in connection with his work in America, he knew without doubt that “wherever the seed of His power will find its way, there it will fructify—be it today or in a hundred years.” He rejoiced that he was free again. He had moreover, the satisfaction of knowing that Western work was in the able hands of his brother-disciples Swamis Saradananda & Adhedananda. “Now I have but one thought & that is India,” he said to Captain & Mrs. Sevier. “I am looking forward to India—to India!” On the eve of his departure an English friend asked, “Swami, how do you like now your motherland after four years’ experience of the luxurious, glorious, powerful West?” His significant reply was: “India I loved before I came away. Now the very dust of India has become holy to me, the very air is now to me holy; it is now the holy land, the place of pilgrimage, the Tirtha!” TRIUMPHAL MARCH THROUGH CEYLON & SOUTH INDIA:- The home-coming of Swami Vivekananda was a notable event in the history of modern India, for it was a united India that rose to do him honour. Looming as did upon the national horizon as the Prophet of a re-interpreted & re-invigorated Hinduism, Vivekananda was the Man of the Hour & the Harbinger of a New Era. No wonder, therefore, that his home-coming was keenly awaited by millions of his fellow-countrymen. For more than three years the people of India had been aware that the Swami was, with marked success, presenting Hinduism to the Western nations. All India looked to him as to some mighty Acharya of old, born again to revivify the Eternal Religion, & to carry her banner through the civilized world. New forces had come into play in India ever since his triumph at the Parliament of Religions. Thrio study of the Swami’s lectures & utterances, the eyes of educated Indians had been opened to the hidden treasures of religion. They had come to see more & more how Vedanta alone coued claim to be a universal religion. The Swami, they had discovered, was man of powers & spiritual realizations. As a true patriot he had made a deep study of his country’s problems. Many, among the educated, were eager to see him & hear his message. They had accepted him as the torch-bearer of the Indian nation.