Vivekananda as a wandering monk (contd-2)

Wherever he went was not the important places and he met people of all sections of the society. He found the terrible poverty and misery of the masses that caused him sad and thoughtful. He had traveled through the whole of India, often on foot, for nearly three years, coming to know India at first hand. Now he had  reached the end of his journey as it were. He prostrated himself with great feeling before the image of Mother Kumari at the Kanya Kumari Temple.  
Then he swam across the sea to a rock of the south coast, and sitting there for the whole night went into deep meditation. The vast panorama of his experiences during his travels passed before his mind's eye. He meditated on the past, the presents, and the future of India, the causes of her downfall, and the means of her resurrection. He then took the momentous decision to go to the West to seek for the poor of India and thus give shape to his life's mission.
  With this decision, he journeyed to the Rameswaram and Madurai. At the latter place, he met the Raja of Ramnad who became his staunch supporter and assured him of his help. He then went on to Madras, where a group of young men, headed by Alasinga Perumal, were eagerly awaiting his arrival. To them he revealed his intention of visiting America to attend the Parliament of Religions that was being convened at Chicago. But Swami was not yet certain that it was the Divine Mother's will that he should go. At this juncture, the Swami had a symbolic dream in which Sri Ramakrishna walked out into the sea and beckoned him to follow. This, coupled with the blessings and permission of Sri Sarada Devi, who also, in a dream, had received Sri Ramakrishna's consent, settled the question for him, and his young disciples to set about collecting the necessary funds.
He  next paid a short visit to Hyderabad. Then, while arrangements were being made for his journey to America , there came a sudden invitation from the Maharaja of Khetri to attend the celebrations in connection with the birth of his son. Te Swami could not refuse this invitation from his disciple. The Maharaja sent his personal secretary with the Swami to equip him for the journey and see him off at Bombay. His journey to America commenced on 31 May 1893.