##31 (Vivekananda) Some Strange Events Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

During his wanderings
In the vicinity of Himalayas,
A Tibetan family kept
Swamiji as their guest.

He was surprised to see,
They practiced polyandry.
One wife for six brothers
As a strange practice.

“I should enjoy any good thing,
With my brothers, by sharing;
It’s our customary practice.
I’ll be selfish otherwise.”

When Swamiji questioned,
Like this, the eldest replied,
But Swamiji remained silent
Without making any comment.

In the name of tradition,
Either good or evil one,
People followed the same
Blindly as their custom.

In his opinion, he judged
A thing by its own standard
Of a social group only,
And condemned it not openly

Once, he travelled by train.
With him two Englishmen,
Sat in his compartment
Making a silly comment.

An illiterate beggar he was.
They joked at him like this.
Swamiji simply kept quiet.
Without making any retort.

When the train stopped,
In perfect English he talked
With the Station Master,
O’er some general matter.

They asked him, “Why didn’t
You make any protest
Against our rudeness
And comments baseless? ”

He replied, “Friends,
I’ve seen such fools
Not for the first time.”
This provoked them.

They wanted to fight,
But, in fear, kept quiet,
After seeing his body
That was so sturdy.