To a town on the other side of the Ganges I had to go occasionally to worship idols. During the holidays I was sent by my mother there to worship the goddess of Learning. I did not repeat any prayer. I sat down before the idol, and scattered flowers in the usual way. The matron said, “I wonder how you could perform this worship in so short time!” I felt embarrassed, and sitting before the idol in the next house, spent more time in reciting slowly my English lessons learned long ago,--such as “The English Grammar is the art of speaking and writing the English language correctly.” “The Caspian sea or lake is surrounded by Russia, Tartary, and Persia.” “A straight line that divides a circle in two equal parts is called its diameter,” etc., and no complaint was made then. I am fully aware I did a great many things at this stage of my experience which certainly wore a double aspect,--not daring to let these changes in my faith be known to my friends, and at the same time not wishing to follow what I conceived to be superstition. Finding me going daily toward the wrong way, as it seemed to my dear mother, she determined to commit me to the charge of our family Gooroo, or spiritual guide, and to put his yoke on my neck! This I resisted with my indifference, argument, and obstinacy, because the life under Gooroo is indeed a life of foolishness. The Gooroo selects from the hosts of gods a certain one for his disciple,--the name and the nature of which he is to hide from the world and worship it as his own. Again, what is worse still, he is to regard the Gooroo as identical with his god, to worship him and do homage unto him, just as he would to his God himself! When he visits the family every member prostrates before him, and worships him. I hated to do that for three reasons,--first, that since I had lost my faith and loyalty to the very gods, I could not have any regard for a man whose only office was to bind me into slavery unto him and the gods; secondly, I felt satisfied with that unerring, unselfish Teacher who said, “Call no man thy master,” etc., “I seek not mine own glory,” “Why callest thou me good?” etc.; and hence, thirdly, I believed that the Gooroo and myself were walking on the same road, side by side, so that neither ought to gain a mastery over the other. But my good mother, like all other Hindoos, felt otherwise. She sincerely believed that the influence of Oopodesh, or regeneration by the hands of the Gooroo, would fill my heart with new grace from _Istdele_ (the god selected by the Gooroo).