LETTERS FROM ABROAD
them some special expression of Truth. Facts are like atoms in gases. They fight with, or else fly away from, one another. But when they are united into a drop of dew they attain beauty and reality. Man must have that creative magic to bring the facts of his time ‘into some unity of creation. In Christ and in Buddha, this creative ideal tried to unite men who were divided because of their formalism in religious faith.
Formalism in religion is like nationalism in politics. It breeds sectarian arrogance, mutual misunderstanding and a spirit of persecution. Our Indian medieval saints, through their light of love and inner perception of truth, could realise the spiritual unity of man. For them, the innumerable “barriers of formalism had no existence. Therefore the mutually antagonistic creeds of Hindus and Muhammadans, irreconcilable as they seemed, did not baffle them. Our faith in truth has its trial in the apparent difficulty of its realisation.
The most important of all facts in the present age is that the East and West have met. So long as it remains a mere fact, it will give rise to interminable conflicts; it will even hurt man's soul. It is the mission of all men of faith to raise this fact into truth. The worldly-wise will shake their heads and say it is not possible—that there is a radical difference between the East and the West and that only physical power will have its sway in their relationship.
