If there is any land on this earth that can lay claim to be the blessed Punya Bhumi, to be the land to which all souls on this earth must come to account for Karma, the land to which every soul that is wending its way Godward must come to attain its last home, the land where humanity has attained its highest towards gentleness, towards generosity, towards purity, towards calmness, above all, the land of introspection and of spirituality — it is India. (III, 105)
After Swamiji’s lecture tours in the West on 15th January 1897 Swamiji landed at Colombo where he was given a right royal reception. In his eloquent reply Swamiji expressed his loyalty to his Motherland through the above words.
Mother India was the object of his adoration and worship. The Command that he received from his Guru Sri Ramakrishna was fully absorbed by Swamiji through his Bharat Parikrama, during which he visited the great centres of pilgrimage and learning, held discussions with renowned Pandits, accepted the hospitality of the Royalty and also made intimate contact with the lowest in the society. Thus he discovered his mission of doing ‘Mother’s work’ and dedicated himself fully for it.
The beauty and the grandeur of the land, the uniquely noble and generous nature of its people as well as their weaknesses and above all the spiritual Oneness of the whole nation and its most universal, spiritual heritage – they all left their deep impressions on Swamiji’s mind. Fortunately we can relive all these experiences by going through Swamiji’s valuable descriptions, discourses and letters. There is hardly any leader who has, like Swamiji, enjoyed and absorbed the rare flavor of Indian spiritual heritage through travels across the country. One great tragedy which has happend to us today is our total inability to identify with and dedicate ourselves for Mother’s work. Study of Vivekananda literature will awaken in us a great yearning to contemplate on Mother’s glory and also motivate us to do Her work.
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