17 May :
17 May 1894:
Newspaper Reports: " The religions of India" and "Sects and doctrines
in India" : There are various sects and doctrines in India, said
Vivekananda, some of which accept the theory of a personal God, and
others which believe that God and the universe are one; but whatever
sect the Hindoo belongs to he does not say that his is the only right
belief, and that all others must be wrong.
He believes that there are many ways of coming to God; that a man who
is truly religious rises above the petty quarrels of sects or creed. In
India if a man believes that he is a spirit, a soul, and not a body,
then he is said to have religion and not till then.
To become a monk
in India it is necessary to lose all thought of the body; to look upon
other human beings as souls. So monks can never marry. Two vows are
taken when a man becomes a monk, poverty and chastity. He is not allowed
to receive or possess any money whatever. The first ceremony to be
performed on joining the order is to be burnt in effigy, which supposed
to destroy once for all the old body, name and caste. The man then
receives a new name, and is allowed to go forth and preach or travel,
but must take no money for what he does.
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