Swami Vivekananda                           

"HAVING NOTHING TO EAT YOUR HONOUR"

Swami Ramakrishnananda arranged an introduction to the Swami of a young man who apparently asked the Swami for money... The Swami wrote back to Ramakrishnananda (Sashi) Feb 25, 1898.
I received your letter of recommendation for the young man with the old story of "having nothing to eat, Your Honour"; only added in the Madras edition: "got a number of children too", for generating whom no recommendation was needed! I would be very glad to help him, but the fact is, I have no money; every cent I had I have made over to Raja, (Rakhal or Swami Brahmananda.) as they all say I am a spendthrift and are afraid of keeping money with me. I have, however, sent the letter to Rakhal if he can find the way to help your friend, the young man, in having some more children. He writes that the Christians will help him out if he becomes a convert, but he won't. Perhaps he is afraid that his conversion will make Hindu India lose one of her brightest jewels and Hindu society the benefit of his propagating power to eternal misery!

NATURAL IDIOCY

Sarada (Swami Trigunatitananda) has his malaria brought over from Dinajpur. I made him eat a dose of opium the other day without much benefit to him except his brain which progressed for some hours towards its natural direction, namely, idiocy.