Swami Vivekanada's most renowned speech

Sisters and Brothers of America,It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to
rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. l
thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank
you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of the
millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.
My thanks,
also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates
from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well
claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud
to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal
acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all
religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the
persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am
proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the
Israelites, who came to the southern India and took refuge with us in the very
year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am
proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the
remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few
lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood,
which is every day repeated by millions of human beings:

"As the different
streams having their sources in differentplaces all mingle their water in the
sea, so, O Lord, thedifferent paths which men take through different
tendencies,various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to
Thee."

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies
ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world, of the
wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita:
"Whosoever comes to Me, through
whatsoever form, I reach him;all men are struggling through paths which in the
end lead to Me."Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism,
have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with
violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization,
and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons,
human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time has
come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of
this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions
with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons
wending their way to the same goal.
..This speech was delivered by Swami Vivekanda At The World's Parliament of ReligionsChicago, 11th September 1893