Page:The Message and Ministrations of Dewan Bahadur R. Venkata Ratnam, volume 2.djvu/387

 most intricate questions that interested few and benefited none. To pass for a learned dialectician was the be-all and the end-all of his existence. His constitution was an entire stranger to that persuasive meekness, that calm earnestness and that ennobling purity, which are the salient features of a religious teacher. The Vaish- navas he scorned; and the Saktas he ignored. Religion was beneath his dignity. He was indifferent to the moral and spiritual mell-being of his fellow-men. All hope seemed to be lost; the whole prospect looked dreary. Bengal was longing for truth and righteousness, when relief came from a most unexpected quarter. How and whence we will see presently.

India has always been noted for her bent towards religion. That such was the case even in the pre-historic ages is amply proved by the rich legacy bequeathed to us by our ancestors; while History from its very dawn testifies to this fact. But with the close of that long campaign which defeated and expelled Buddhism; and with