RESPONSE IN THE LIVING AND NON-LIVING 91 



So much for the reception of these ideas among Western 

 men of science. Far deeper was the effect produced on 

 the thoughtful among his own countrymen. Europe was 

 still unconscious of a renaissance in India the uprising of 

 an intellectual activity which was gathering strength ; but 

 Indians rejoiced to find in Bose an exponent of the new in 

 science, whom the West could understand and appreciate. 

 Independent expressions of the feeling came ; Swami 

 Vivekananda, who had impressed America by his eloquent 

 enunciation of the philosophical and religious spirit of 

 Vedanta, was then in Paris, and went to hear Bose at the 

 Congress. In one of his letters (collected later as ' The 

 Wanderer ') he writes : 



Here in Paris have assembled the great of every land, each 

 to proclaim the glory of his country. Savants will be acclaimed 

 here ; and its reverberation will glorify their countries. Among 

 these peerless men gathered from all parts of the world, where 

 is thy representative, O thou the country of my birth ? Out 

 of this vast assembly a young man stood for thee, one of thy 

 heroic sons, whose words have electrified the audience, and 

 will thrill all his countrymen. Blessed be this heroic son ; and 

 blessed be his devoted and peerless helpmate who stands by 

 him always. 



In the field of literature Bose's lifelong friend, 

 Rabindranath Tagore, not yet known in the West, but 

 who had already given a deep impress to Bengali literature, 

 sent him as his letter from India, a poem, of which the 

 following extract is a close translation : 



Whence hast thou that peace 

 In which thou in an instant stoodst 

 Alone at the deep centre of all things ; 

 Where dwells the One alone in Sun, Moon, flowers, 

 In leaves, and beasts and birds, and dust and stones ; 

 Where still one sleepless Life, on its own lap 

 Rocks all things with a wordless melody, 

 All things that move or that seem motionless. 



