ONE MUST MAKE NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN HOUSEHOLDERS AND SANNYASINS - THEN ONLY ONE IS TRUE SANNYASIN

Our matrons are all hale and hearty, I hope? Where is Gour-Mâ? We want a thousand such Mothers with that noble stirring spirit. ... We want all. It is not at all necessary that all should have the same faith in our Lord as we have, but we want to unite all the powers of goodness against all the ...powers of evil. ... A besetting sin with Sannyasins is the taking pride in their monastic order. That may have its utility during the first stages, but when they are full-grown, they need it no more. One must make no distinction between householders and Sannyasins — then only one is a true Sannyasin. . . .

- Swami Vivekananda
541 DEARBORN AVENUE, CHICAGO, (Beginning of?) 1894.C/O GEORGE W. HALE, ESQ., The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 6/Epistles - Second Series/LIV Swami Ramakrishnanda

INCARNATIONS OF THE DIVINE MOTHER, IN OUR COUNTRY BEFORE I DIE, I SHALL DIE IN PEACE. THEN ONLY WILL YOUR COUNTRYMEN BECOME WORTHY OF THEIR NAME....

Incarnations of the Divine Mother, in our country before I die, I shall die in peace. Then only will your countrymen become worthy of their name. . .

Here you have a wonderful manifestation of grit and power — what strength, what practicality, and what manhood! Horses huge as elephants are drawing carriages that are as big as houses. You may take this as a specimen of the gigantic proportions in other things also. Here is a manifestation of tremendous energy. ... They look with veneration upon women, who play a most prominent part in their lives. Here this form of worship has attained its perfection — that is the long and the short of it. But to come to the point. Well, I am almost at my wit's end to see the women of this country! They take me to the shops and everywhere, Is if I were a child. They do all sorts of work — I cannot do even a sixteenth part of what they do. They are like Lakshmi (the Goddess of Fortune) in beauty, and like Sarasvati (the Goddess of Learning) in virtues — they are the Divine Mother incarnate and worshipping them, one verily attains perfection in everything. Great God! Are we to be counted among men? If I can raise a thousand such Madonnas, Incarnations of the Divine Mother, in our country before I die, I shall die in peace. Then only will your countrymen become worthy of their name. . . .

- Swami Vivekananda
25th September, 1894 NEW YORK
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 6/Epistles - Second Series/XLVII Brother disciples