clean. God is not in me. There are other conditions attached; but in these conditions too I may fail; and you, my dear countrymen, may also fail ; and if we do tend this well, we should not dishonour the memory of one whose portrait you have asked me to unveil this morning. I have declared myself his disciple in the political field and I have him as my Raja Guru; and this I claim on behalf of the Indian people. It was in 1896 that I made this declaration, and I do not regret having made the choice.
Mr. Gokhale taught me that the dream of every Indian who claims to love his country, should be not to glorify in language but to spiritualise the political life of the country and the political institutions of the country. He inspired my life and is still i nspiring ; and in that I wish to purify myself and spiritualise myself. I have dedicated myself to that ideal. I may fail, and to what extent I may fail, I call myself to that extent an unworthy disciple of my master.
SPIRITUALISING THE POLITICAL LIFE What is the meaning of spiritualising the political life of the country ? What is the meaning of spiritual- ising myself ? That question has come before me often and often and to you it may seem one thing, to me it may seem another thing ; it may mean different things to the different members of the Servants of India Society itself. It shows much difficulty and it shows the difficulties, of all those who want to love their country, who want to serve their country and who want to honour their country. I think the political life must be an echo of private life and that there cannot be any divorce between the two.
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