Swamiji -- as he was affectionately addressed -- enthused his followers to sacrifice their lives for their motherland. By doing so, he said, they will easily attain 'nirvana'.
His messages were vibrant and laced with intense patriotism.
Swamiji also poured his heart out for the poor, saying: "I call him a traitor who, having being educated, nursed in luxury by the heart's blood of the downtrodden millions of toiling poor, never even takes a thought for them."
He added: "They only live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive."
It is no wonder that his books were regular companions of Indian freedom fighters. The British government, at one point, banned them altogether.
