Anandamath (Dawn over India)/Part 2/Chapter 6

After the initiation Mahatma Satya led Mahendra to a secret chamber. There they sat face to face. 'Listen, my child,' the Mahatma said, 'from your initiation I infer that God is favourable to us. You are destined to do great deeds for the Mother. Please listen carefully to what I am about to tell you. Like Jiban and Bhavan, you will be exempted from the duty of combing the woods and fight. You must return to Padachina. Strange as it may seem, you will have to observe your vow of renunciation in your own home.'

Mahendra was both sad and surprised to hear this; and yet he said not a word.

'Now,' Mahatma Satya continued, 'we are shelterless. If a powerful army surrounds us, we have no place where we can entrench ourselves. In other words, we do not have a fort. You have a splendid building, and you own the entire village. I want to build a fort there. If we surround the village with thick walls and mount guns upon them, we can build a formidable castle. Please go home and live there. In batches, two thousand Children will follow you. You can utilise them for the building of the fort. Then build a house of solid iron. That will be the treasury of the Children. One by one, I shall send you the chests full of gold, silver and jewellery. You will use this wealth for the building of the fort. And I am gathering experts in the manufacture of arms. Upon their arrival establish a factory for the manufacture of cannon and rifles, gunpowder, shells and bullets. That's the reason why I ask you to return home immediately.'

Mahendra agreed.