Times Democrat Lima, Ohio
This second hand story, recounted by John Henry Barrows, one of Vivekananda’s detractors, is not dependable. It was published in the Outlook magazine and re- published in several newspapers.
Not A Miracle
The Rev. John Henry Barrows. D. D., cites in The Outlook an amusing instance of the prompt worsting of oriental fancy by occidental-reason.
The learned Oxford professor,Max Muller, told me that he asked Vivekananda if Ramakrishna, a great Hindoo religious teacher, knew Sanskrit.
The answer at first was evasive, but finally Vivekananda said, 'When Ramakrishna was in the jungle as an ascetic, a beautiful woman came down from heaven and taught him the language."
"Nonsense" was Max Muller's reply. "The only way to learn Sanskrit is to get a grammar and a dictionary and go to work.
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- www.vivekananda.net edited by Frank Parlato Jr.
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