A man from the highest caste and a man from the lowest may become a monk in India, and the two castes become equal. In religion there is no caste; caste is simply a social institution.
Shakya Muni himself was a monk, and it was his glory that he had the large-heartedness to bring out the truths from the hidden Vedas and throw them broadcast all over the world.
He was the first being in the world who brought missionarising into practice -- nay, he was the first to conceive the idea of proselytising.
- Swami Vivekananda
at Parliament of Religions, Chicago
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