DEAR JOE JOE,.
I was so glad to hear from you. I was afraid you had forgotten me.
I am going to have a few lectures in and about London. One of them, a public one, will be at Princes" Hall on the 22nd at 8-30. Come over and try to form a cla.s.s. I have as yet done almost nothing here. Of course, breaking the ice is slow always. It took me two years in America to work up that little which we had in New York.
With love for all,
Yours ever,
LV.
To Miss Josephine MacLeod
HIGH VIEW, CAVERSHAM, READING, ENGLAND,.
20th October, 1895.
DEAR JOE JOE, This note is to welcome the Leggetts to London. This being in a sense my native country, I send you my welcome first, I shall receive your welcome next Tuesday the 22nd at Princes" Hall half past eight p.m.
I am so busy till Tuesday, I am afraid, I shall not be able to run in to see you. I, however, shall come to see you any day after that. Possibly I may come on Tuesday.
With everlasting love and blessings,
Yours,
LVI.
To Miss Josephine MacLeod
80 OAKLEY STREET, CHELSEA,.
31st October, 1895.
DEAR JOE JOE,.
I shall be only too glad to come to lunch on Friday and see Mr. Coit at the Albemarle. Two American ladies, mother and daughter, living in London came in to the cla.s.s last night - Mrs. and Miss Netter. They were very sympathetic of course. The cla.s.s there at Mr. Chamier"s is finished. I shall begin at my lodgings from Sat.u.r.day night next. I expect to have a pretty good-sized room or two for my cla.s.ses. I have been also invited to Moncure Conways"s Ethical Society where I speak on the 10th. I shall have a lecture in the Balboa Society next Tuesday. The Lord will help. I am not sure whether I can go up with you on Sat.u.r.day. You will have great fun in the country anyway, and Mr. and Mrs. St.u.r.dy are such nice people.
With love and blessings,
VIVEKANANDA.
PS. Kindly order some vegetables for me. I don"t care much for rice - bread will do as well. I have become an awful vegetarian now.
V.
LVII.
80 OAKLEY ST., CHELSEA,.
31st October, 1895 (5 p.m.).
DEAR FRIEND (Mr. E. T. St.u.r.dy),
Just now two young gentlemen, Mr. Silverlock and his friend, left. Miss Mller also came this afternoon and left just when these gentlemen came in. One is an Engineer and the other is in the grain trade. They have read a good deal of modern philosophy and science and have been much struck by the similarity with the latest conclusions of both with the ancient Hindu thought. They are very fine, intelligent, and educated men. One has given up the Church, the other asked me whether he should or not. Now, two things struck me after this interview. First, we must hurry the book through. We will touch a cla.s.s thereby who are philosophically religious without the least mysterymongering. Second, both of them want to know the rituals of my creed! This opened my eyes. The world in general must have some form. In fact, in the ordinary sense religion is philosophy concretised through rituals and symbols.
It is absolutely necessary to form some ritual and have a Church. That is to say, we must fix on some ritual as fast as we can. If you can come Sat.u.r.day morning or sooner, we shall go to the Asiatic Society library or you can procure for me a book which is called Hemdri Kosha, from which we can get what we want, and kindly bring the Upanishads. We will fix something grand, from birth to death of a man. A mere loose system of philosophy gets no hold on mankind.
If we can get it through, before we have finished the cla.s.ses, and publish it by publicly holding a service or two under it, it will go on. They want to form a congregation, and they want ritual; that is one of the causes why - will never have a hold on Western people.
The Ethical Society has sent me another letter thanking me for the acceptance of this offer. Also a copy of their forms. They want me to bring with me a book from which to read for ten minutes. Will you bring the Gita (translation) and the Buddhist Jtaka (translation) with you?
I would not do anything in this matter without seeing you first.
Yours with love and blessings,
VIVEKANANDA. *.
LVIII.
80 OAKLEY STREET, CHELSEA,.