Do not strain your brain cells with the matters of the missionaries. They will cry hoarse; this is natural. Who doesn’t when one’s morsel is snatched off? In the last couple of years, the missionary funds went dry, and the situation is getting alarmingly worse. Whatever the case may be, I wish the missionaries all the success. 

So long as you can retain love for your God and your Guru and trust in Truth, my child, nothing can harm you. But if any of these slip off, you will be jeopardised. You are right to say that my ideas are turning into reality more in the West than in India. I have done more for India than India has done for me. A piece of bread coupled with a basketful of obscenities—this is what I have received there.

I am a believer in Truth; wherever I go, my Lord sends me a horde of workers. And they are not like the Indian disciples; they are ready to give up their lives for their Guru. Truth is my God indeed, and the whole world is my land!

I am not a believer in ‘duties’; they are an imprecation to a householder, though not for a hermit. ‘Duty’ is just a cussed word. I am free; my ties have dissolved. Do I at all care for this body going hither or anywhere? You all have always helped me rightly so far. The Lord will surely reward you for that. I have never looked for any praise from either India or America, and even now I am not eager about such hollow things. I am the child of God—I have a Truth to teach the world. And He who has given me the Truth will surely send colleagues for me from among the most courageous, the greatest souls of the world. 

You, the Hindus, would see in a few years what marvel our Lord unravels in the West! You are like the Jews of ancient times, lying down in the food vessel like the dogs, who would neither eat nor let others have. You are devoid of any sense of religion; the kitchen is your God, and your scriptures are tantamount to your rice pot. And your strength gets reflected in the production of your offspring in droves. 

A few youths like you are quite daring, but I feel sometimes that you are losing faith too. Stay unwaveringly involved, my children; let none of my children be a coward. You should always be in the company of the bravest among you. Can anything great be achieved so easily? It can happen only with time, patience, and indefatigable willpower. 

I could have said many a thing that might have made your hearts leap in joy, but I shall not say. I demand iron-like, firm willpower, which will never slacken by any means. Stay involved, strongly, unflaggingly. May the Lord bless you!

 Blessing as ever,

 Vivekananda