A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

THE MISSION OF THE VEDANTA. 435churches f6r the religious which have come in with the objectof condemning our own religion. This is one very greatprinciple that the world is waiting to learn from us. Aye,you little know how much of intolerance is yet abroad.It struck me more than once that I would have to leave mybones on foreign shores owing to the prevalence of religiousintolerance. Killing a man is nothing for religion s sake ;to-morroV they may do it in the very heart of the* boasted^civilisation of the West, if to-day they are not really doingso. Outcasting in its most horrible forms would oftenome down upon the head of a man in the West, if hedared to say a word against his country s accepted religion.They talk glibly and smoothly here in criticism of our castelaws. If you go to the West and live there as I have done,you will know that even the biggest professors you hear ofare arrant cowards and dare not tfell,for fear of publicopinion, a hundredth part of what they hold to be reallytrue in religious matters.Therefore, the world is waiting for this grand idea ofuniversal toleration. It will be a great acquisition to civilisation. Nay, no civilisation can exist longunless thisidea enters it. No civilisation can go on growing beforefanaticism stops and bloodshed stops and brutality stops.No civilisation can begin to liftup its head until we lookcharitably upon each other, ano\ the first step towards thatmuch needed charity is to look charitably and kindly uponthe religious convictions of each other. Nay, more, tounderstand that not only should we be charitable towardseach other, but positively helpful to each other, howeverdifferent our religious ideas and convictions may be. Andthat is exactly what we in India do, as I have just relatedto you. It is here in India that Hindus have built andare still building churches for Christians, and mosques for