MARGARET NOBEL A WOMAN FROM IRELAND, the very personification of compassion and service. the deathless symbol of sacrifice and service:
 
            One day a certain friend of Margaret’s father paid a visit to their family. He was a preacher and had returned home after having served in India as a priest. He felt drawn to little Margaret whose mind was as keen as her figure was beautiful. When he said good-bye, he told his little friend,

"India, my little one, is seeking her destiny. She called me once, and will perhaps call you, too, some day. Always be ready for her call."

 These stirring words thrilled the little girl’s heart and lighted up her eyes.
 Margaret's father, Samuel was just thirty-four when death claimed his precious life. At the last moment he called his devoted wife and whispered in her ears,

 "When the call comes from Heaven, let Margaret go. The little one will reveal her talents and do great things."

1895 – the momentous year that changed the very course of Margaret’s life. Lady Isabel Margesson, a friend of Margaret, invited her to her home to meet an Indian monk on the following Sunday...  His serene face, his dignified bearing and his divine voice cast a spell upon the listeners, who felt electrified by his frequent utterance of the name of "Siva, Siva!"

Margaret, however, who had already delved deep into the sacred lore of the East, found nothing quite new in what she heard on this occasion. What was new to her was the personality of the swamiji himself. Margaret found out that this rare Swamiji with his magnetic personality was none other than Swami Vivekananda who, two years before in 1893, had attended, uninvited, the Parliament of Religions held at Chicago. His inspiring address at the Parliament had captured millions of American hearts.

Margaret at first remarked that there was nothing new in what the Swamiji had said. But in her own heart of hearts she knew that it was not so. The sayings of the Swamiji kept returning to her mind and haunted her. "God alone is the Truth," he had asserted. This assertion might not be new, but the Swamiji's conviction was indeed quite new. And he had made another assertion:

"Every religion is a highway to God."

And the radiance of His personality! There seemed to be a veritable halo about him. He had given up everything for god. His sayings were not mere repetitions from books. They were living words, which sprang from the depths of his soul, charged with the Truth he had seen and experienced.
One day, in midst of his discourse, the Swamiji said in a thundering voice:

"What the world needs to-day is twenty men and women who dare stand in the public street and declare that they have nothing to call their own except the God. Who is there among you that can say so?"

Margaret's heart seemed to whisper,

'Here I am!'

 But her tongue was yet too timid to utter those words.

 One day, speaking about the woman of India, the Swamiji said,

"Our girls over there have not even seen the face of a school. That land of ours cannot advance unless they are educated."

Then, turning at once towards Margaret, he said,

 "I have certain plans relating to the education and the welfare of the women of my country. I believe that you can be of great service to me in translating them into reality."

Margaret felt overwhelmed by the Swamiji's faith in her. Yet she had misgivings whether she was equal to such a mighty task. Sensing her mind, the Swamiji reassured her:

"You have the making in you of a world-mover, and others will also come…Awake, awake, great one!"

Margaret took the heroic resolve to leave her own dear homeland and make the Swamiji's far-off homeland her own, and render her utmost service there.Teaching, reading, discussion everything had now lost its interest for Margaret. The Swamiji's voice was always ringing in her ears. It seemed to her that India was calling her, unceasingly, insistently. She felt that it was darkness all around and only in the east there was a streak of light. And that streak of light seemed to be reaching out to her and beckoning her.

"Your place is there in India," the Swamiji had said, "but that can be only when you are ready."

But was it so easy to make herself ready? The Swamiji himself had graphically spoken of India to her. He had made her see India in all her squalor. Poverty, ignorance, jealousy, filth - these had free play everywhere in that country. The British would look down upon her. The Indians would treat her with suspicion and dislike; they were people who treated their own fellow countrymen as untouchables. It was to serve the women and educate the girls of such a country that Margaret was being called. And they were women, so conservative, so narrow-minded, that they would not let her even cross their orthodox thresholds. As for education, would they ever allow their precious daughters to be taught by a woman of an alien faith?

It was at such a moment of doubt that she received from the Master this heartening message:

 "It is not a man we need but a woman; a real lioness, to work for the Indians, women specially….

"India cannot yet produce great women, she must borrow them from other nations. Your education, sincerity, purity, immense love, determination, and above all, the Celtic blood, make you just the woman India needs.

"You must think well before you plunge in, and after all your toil, if you fail in this or get disgusted, on my part I promise you I will stand by you whether you work for India or not, whether you give up Vedanta or remain in it. 'The tusks of the elephant come out but never go back'; so are the words of a man never retracted.''

The boat bringing Margaret to India reached Calcutta on January 28, 1898. Swami Vivekananda came in person to the port to give an affectionate welcome to her.

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