Tea and ice cream

Now my sister Lily has disappeared from the earthly scene, but in those days, since I had passed my tea examination, she used to make tea for me whenever I visited her at the Ashram. But it was controlled. Twice a day she would make it — morning and evening — and sometimes only once. By that time she herself had started drinking tea, but only once, perhaps, or twice a day.

Talking about quantity, Swami Vivekananda used to drink tea thirty times or even more during the day. Somebody used to make him a big flask and then he would take cup after cup. He started drinking tea in his childhood. Later he took both tea and coffee, but specially tea.

Then, when he came to America, he discovered ice cream, which we call kulfi. How he loved and adored ice cream! In the winter, he would go with his admirers to a restaurant. The first thing he would ask for was ice cream. The restaurant manager would say to him, “At this time of year?”

Then Swami Vivekananda wanted the ice cream to be served before the main course. They would tell him, “But this is dessert!”

“No, I like it,” was Swami Vivekananda’s answer. So, because he liked it, everybody had to take ice cream before the real meal. Love is like that.

From:Sri Chinmoy,My book of tea and coffee experiences, Agni Press, 2009
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/tce