Swamiji was bold and fearless. He never tried to please or flatter others: he told people what was good for them. Ida Ansell, Swamiji’s stenographer, wrote in her memoirs: “What becomes of one’s individuality when one realizes his oneness with God? ‘You people in this country are so afraid of losing your in-di-vid-u-al-i-ty!’ he would exclaim. ‘Why, you are not individuals yet. When you realize your whole nature, you will attain your true individuality, not before. In knowing God you cannot lose anything.There is another thing I am constantly hearing in this country, and that is that we should live in harmony with nature. Don’t you know that all the progress ever made in the world was made by conquering nature? We are to resist nature at every point if we are to make any progress.’” (Source: God Lived with Them)