Chapter (অধ্যায়): INDIA: HER RELIGION AND CUSTOMS PAGE-465Page: 465 of 537
REPORTS IN AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS
INDIA: HER RELIGION AND CUSTOMS
(Salem Evening News, August 29, 1893)
In spite of the warm weather of yesterday afternoon, a goodly number of members of the Thought and Work club, with guests, gathered in Wesley chapel to meet Swami Vive Kanonda,1 a Hindoo monk, now travelling in this country, and to listen to an informal address from that gentleman, principally upon the religion of the Hindoos as taught by their Vedar2 or sacred books. He also spoke of caste, as simply a social division and in no way dependent upon their religion.
The poverty of the majority of the masses was strongly dwelt upon. India with an area much smaller than the United States, contains twenty three hundred millions [sic] of people, and of these, three hundred millions [sic] earn wages, averaging less than fifty cents per month. In some instances the people in whole districts of the country subsist for months and even years, wholly upon flowers,3 produced by a certain tree which when boiled are edible.
In other districts the men eat rice only, the women and children must satisfy their hunger with the water in which the rice is cooked. A failure of the rice crop means famine. Half the people live upon one meal a day, the other half know not whence the next meal will come. According to Swami Vive Kyonda, the need of the people of India is not more religion, or a better one, but as he expresses it, "practicality", and it is with the hope of interesting the American people in this great need of the suffering, starving millions that he has come to this country.
1 In those days Swami Vivekananda's name was spelt in various ways by the U.S.A. newspapers, and the reports were inaccurate mostly owing to the novelty of the subjects.
2 Vedas.
3 Mohua.