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THE SWAMI AND THE PEOPLE HE KNEW

 
Reminiscences of Swami Atulananda
 
 

 

From WITH THE SWAMIS IN AMERICA

By A Western Disciple 1938 edition

With the Swamis in America


Swami Atulananda reminiscences: 1899 - 1900 period (Gurudas Maharaj formerly Cornelius Heyblom)

CHAPTER V

A LION AMONGST MEN

… And now a new event took place. Swami
Vivekananda came to New York . But, alas! it
was only for a short visit. He stayed with us for
less than two weeks. Though under the kind
ministration of friends at a country-home Swamiji
had partly recuperated his health, he was still
far from being well and it had been arranged to
send him to California , three thousand miles
from New York , to the land of sunshine and
warmth and fragrant air.

On his way to California Swamiji halted at
Chicago for one week. There he was with his
devoted and admiring friends who had witness-
ed his triumph at the Religious Congress, some
years previously. Then Swamiji proceeded to
California where he soon found himself strong
enough to appear on the lecture platform from
where he attracted large audiences.
During the short period Swamiji stayed in
New York , there was great rejoicing at the
Vedanta Home. Swamiji did not give any public
lectures but he attended the classes and meetings
at the Vedanta Home and there he gave short
talks and answered questions. A public recep-
tion was given to him at the Home and his
former friends and students gathered in large
numbers to meet their beloved teacher again.
It was a very happy gathering. Others were also
present who had long desired to meet the great
Swami of whom they had heard so much.

Though public, the reception was informal.
The Swami had a smile, a joke or a kind word
for everyone of his old friends. Part of the time
he was seated on the floor, in the Indian fashion,
some of the friends following his example. There
was much talking and laughing and the Swami
showed by a gesture or a remark that he had
nowise forgotten his old students.

About Swamiji much has been written and I
do not wish to go into repetition. Let me record
only one of my impressions of the evening. I
do so because it came to me with such great
force.

Swamiji was so simple in his behaviour, so
like one of the crowd that he did not impress me
so much when I first saw him. There was
nothing about his ways that would mark him as
the lion of New York society as so often he had
been. Simple in dress and behaviour he was
just like one of us. He did not put himself aside
on a pedestal as is so often the case with lionised
personages. He walked about the room, sat on
the floor, laughed, joked, chatted—nothing
formal. Of course I had noticed his magnificent,
brilliant eyes, his beautiful features and majestic
bearing, for these were parts of him that no
circumstances could hide. But when I saw him
for a few minutes standing on a platform
surrounded by others, it flashed into my mind:

"What a giant, what strength, what manliness,
what a personality! Every one near him looks
so insignificant compared with him/' It came
to me almost as a shock, it seemed to startle me.
What was it that gave Swamiji this distinction ?
Was it his height? No, there were gentlemen
there taller than he was. Was it his build? No,
there were near him some very fine specimens
of American manhood. It seemed to be more in
the expression of the face than anything else.
Was it his purity? What was it? I could not
analyse it. I remembered what had been said
of Lord Buddha,—"a lion amongst men/' I
felt that Swamiji had unlimited power, that he
could move heaven and earth if he willed it.
This was my strongest and lasting impression of
him.

When the Swami returned from California
I was no longer in New York, so I never saw
him again. But I am grateful that I have seen
him and that during those two weeks he has
sometimes been very kind to me. And even
now as I read and re-read the Swami's lectures,
that picture of wonderful strength and purity
conies before my mental vision. And in those
printed lines there still seems to vibrate some-
thing of that great spirit that came to enlighten
the Western world. "These great and peaceful
teachers' says the sage Shankaracharya, " come
to regenerate the world like the spring that brings
forth new fruits and flowers. And after they
themselves have crossed over the ocean of world-
bondage, they help those who strive for libera
tion to reach the haven of peace and blessedness.
And this they do from a purely unselfish
motive'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- www.vivekananda.net edited by Frank Parlato Jr.

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