Page:The Message and Ministrations of Dewan Bahadur R. Venkata Ratnam, volume 1.djvu/51

 I

THE SPIRIT OF RAJAH RAMMOHAN ROY :

Presidential Address,

INDIAN THEISTIC CONFERENCE, CALCUTTA.

(1906.)

At a Theistic Conference a president in flesh and blood is a concession to custom — at best a recognition of human limitation. In the present instance it is a mere formality. The generous but mistaken partiality of some brethren forces into this position — no doubt, a great honor when deserved — a humble and obscure individual who, more than content with his Heaven-ordained lot in life, should have been so happy to be left alone like a weak, tender plant in its secluded cranny. But brotherly persuasion, exercised with such tact and sweetness, has drawn him out; and now he throws himself on fraternal indulgence and clemency. The loving-kindness,, shown in such richness in various ways, by the Brahmos of Bengal to their sisters and brethren of Madras is entitled to hearty and