6) Some say that Vivekananda's departure from this life, on 4th July 1902, at Belur Math, had the appearance of a premeditated act. For several months previously, he had been releasing himself from his various responsibilities, and training successors. His health was better. He ate his midday meal with relish, talked philosophy and went for a two-mile walk. In the evening, he passed into deep meditation, and the heart stopped beating. For hours they tried to rouse him. But his work, it seemed, was done and Ramakrishna had given him back the key to the treasure."

7) "...he was supremely indifferent if his words of today seemed to contradict those of yesterday. As a man of enlightenment, he knew that the truth is never contained in arrangements of sentences. It is within the speaker himself. If what he is is true, then words are unimportant. In this sense, Vivekananda is incapable of self-contradiction."

8) "The policy of the Ramakrishna Order has always been faithful to Vivekananda's intention. In the early twenties, when India's struggle with England had become intense and bitter, the Order was harshly criticised for refusing to allow its members to take part in Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement. But Gandhi himself never joined in this criticism. He understood perfectly that a religious body which supports a political cause - no matter how noble and just - can only compromise itself spiritually and thereby lose that very authority which is its justification for existence within human society. In 1921 Gandhi came to the Belur Math on the anniversary of Vivekananda's birthday and paid a moving tribute to him. The Swami's writings, Gandhi said, had taught him to love India even more. He reverently visited the room overlooking the Ganga in which Vivekananda spent the last months of his life. You can visit that room today; it is still kept exactly as Vivekananda left it. But it does not seem museum-like or even unoccupied. Right next to it is the room which is used by the President of the Ramakrishna Order. There they are, dwelling side by side, the visible human authority and the invisible inspiring presence. In the life of the Belur Math, Vivekananda still lives and is as much a participant in its daily activities as any of its monks."