Page:The Message and Ministrations of Dewan Bahadur R. Venkata Ratnam, volume 2.djvu/398

 the lasting gratitude of posterity. Himself placed on the highest step of the social ladder, this Brahman of Brahmans made bold to wage a crusade against caste. He convened a meeting of his friends and followers to consider the question. Among the assembly was a Mahammedan convert, Haridas by name, who had renounced the faith of his fathers but could not, owing to caste prejudices, get recognition among the Vaishnavites. Touched by the moving example of this devotee, who has since come to be ranked among the early sages of Vaishnavism, and roused by the glowing words of Chaitanya, the assembly accepted the lofty position that "the mercy of God regards no tribe or family" and that the division into castes was an iniquitous distinction. To us, who live in an advanced age, the rare boldness of the step may not be quite patent. But when we remember that Chaitanya lived in the dark ages of Indian History, when caste was riding rampant over Hindu society, when vested interests and conflicting ambitions