The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 4/Translation: Prose/The Problem of Modern India and its Solution
THE PROBLEM OF MODERN INDIA AND ITS SOLUTION[1]
The ancient history of India is full of descriptions of the gigantic
energies and their multifarious workings, the boundless spirit, the
combination of indomitable action and reaction of the various forces, and,
above all, the profound thoughtfulness of a godly race. If the word history
is understood to mean merely narratives of kings and emperors, and pictures
of society — tyrannised over from time to time by the evil passions,
haughtiness, avarice, etc., of the rulers of the time, portraying the acts
resulting from their good or evil propensities, and how these reacted upon
the society of that time — such a history India perhaps does not possess.
But every line of that mass of the religious literature of India, her ocean
of poetry, her philosophies and various scientific works reveal to us — a
thousand times more clearly than the narratives of the life-incidents and
genealogies of particular kings and emperors can ever do — the exact
position and every step made in advance by that vast body of men who, even
before the dawn of civilisation, impelled by hunger and thirst, lust and
greed, etc., attracted by the charm of beauty, endowed with a great and
indomitable mental power, and moved by various sentiments, arrived through
various ways and means at that stage of eminence. Although the heaps of
those triumphal flags which they gathered in their innumerable victories
over nature with which they had been waging war for ages, have, of late,
been torn and tattered by the violent winds of adverse circumstances and
become worn out through age, yet they still proclaim the glory of Ancient
India.
Whether this race slowly proceeded from Central Asia, Northern Europe, or
the Arctic regions, and gradually came down and sanctified India by settling
there at last, or whether the holy land of India was their original native
place, we have no proper means of knowing now. Or whether a vast race living
in or outside India, being displaced from its original abode, in conformity
with natural laws, came in the course of time to colonise and settle over
Europe and other places — and whether these people were white or black,
blue-eyed or dark-eyed, golden-haired or black-haired — all these matters
— there is no sufficient ground to prove now, with the one exception of the
fact of the kinship of Sanskrit with a few European languages. Similarly, it
is not easy to arrive at a final conclusion as to the modern Indians,
whether they all are the pure descendants of that race, or how much of the
blood of that race is flowing in their veins, or again, what races amongst
them have any of that even in them.
However, we do not, in fact, lose much by this uncertainty.
But there is one fact to remember. Of that ancient Indian race, upon which
the rays of civilisation first dawned, where deep thoughtfulness first
revealed itself in full glory, there are still found hundreds of thousands
of its children, born of its mind — the inheritors of its thoughts and
sentiments — ready to claim them.
Crossing over mountains, rivers, arid oceans, setting at naught, as it were,
the obstacles of the distance of space and time, the blood of Indian thought
has flowed, and is still flowing into the veins of other nations of the
globe, whether in a distinct or in some subtle unknown way. Perhaps to us
belongs the major portion of the universal ancient inheritance.
In a small country lying in the eastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea,
beautiful and adorned by nature, and garlanded by well-formed and
beautiful-looking islands, lived a race of men who were few in number, but
of a very charming aspect, perfectly formed, and strong in muscles and
sinews, light of body, yet possessing steadiness and perseverance, and who
were unrivalled for the creation of all earthly beauties, as well as endowed
with extraordinary practicality and intellect. The other ancient nations
used to call them Yavanas, but they called themselves Greeks. This handful
of a vigorous and wonderful race is a unique example in the annals of man.
Wherever and in whatever nation there has been, or is, any advance made in
earthly science up to the present day — such as social, martial, political,
sculptural, etc. — there the shadow of ancient Greece has fallen. Let us
leave apart the consideration of ancient times, for even in this modern age,
we, the Bengalis, think ourselves proud and enlightened simply by following
the footmarks of these Yavana Gurus for these last fifty years, illumining
our homes with what light of theirs is reaching us through the European
literature.
The whole of Europe nowadays is, in every respect, the disciple of ancient
Greece, and her proper inheritor; so much so that a wise man of England had
said, "Whatever nature has not created, that is the creation of the Greek
mind."
These two gigantic rivers (Aryans and Yavanas), issuing from far-away and
different mountains (India and Greece), occasionally come in contact with
each other, and whenever such confluence takes place, a tremendous
intellectual or spiritual tide, rising in human societies, greatly expands
the range of civilisation and confirms the bond of universal brotherhood
among men.
Once in far remote antiquity, the Indian philosophy, coming in contact with
Greek energy, led to the rise of the Persian, the Roman, and other great
nations. After the invasion of Alexander the Great, these two great
waterfalls colliding with each other, deluged nearly half of the globe with
spiritual tides, such as Christianity. Again, a similar commingling,
resulting in the improvement and prosperity of Arabia, laid the foundation
of modern European civilisation. And perhaps, in our own day, such a time
for the conjunction of these two gigantic forces has presented itself again.
This time their centre is India.
The air of India pre-eminently conduces to quietness, the nature of the
Yavana is the constant expression of power; profound meditation
characterises the one, the indomitable spirit of dexterous activity, the
other; one's motto is "renunciation", the other's "enjoyment". One's whole
energy is directed inwards, the other's, outwards; one's whole learning
consists in the knowledge of the Self or the Subject, the other's, in the
knowledge of the not-Self or the object (perishable creation); one loves
Moksha (spiritual freedom), the other loves political independence; one is
unmindful of gaining prosperity in this world, the other sets his whole
heart on making a heaven of this world; one, aspiring after eternal bliss,
is indifferent to all the ephemeral pleasures of this life, and the other,
doubting the existence of eternal bliss, or knowing it to be far away,
directs his whole energy to the attainment of earthly pleasures as much as
possible.
In this age, both these types of mankind are extinct, only their physical
and mental children, their works and thoughts are existing.
Europe and America are the advanced children of the Yavanas, a glory to
their forefathers; but the modern inhabitants of the land of Bharata are not
the glory of the ancient Aryas. But, as fire remains intact under cover of
ashes, so the ancestral fire still remains latent in these modern Indians.
Through the grace of the Almighty Power, it is sure to manifest itself in
time.
What will accrue when that ancestral fire manifests itself?
Would the sky of India again appear clouded over by waving masses of smoke
springing from the Vedic sacrificial fire? Or is the glory of Rantideva
again going to be revived in the blood of the sacrificed animals? Are the
old customs of Gomedha, Ashvamedha, or perpetuating the lineage from a
husband's brother, and other usages of a like nature to come back again? Or
is the deluge of a Buddhistic propaganda again going to turn the whole of
India into a big monastery? Are the laws of Manu going to be rehabilitated
as of yore? Or is the discrimination of food, prescribed and forbidden,
varying in accordance with geographical dimensions, as it is at the present
day, alone going to have its all-powerful domination over the length and
breadth of the country? Is the caste system to remain, and is it going to
depend eternally upon the birthright of a man, or is it going to be
determined by his qualification? And again in that caste system, is the
discrimination of food, its touchableness or untouchableness, dependent upon
the purity or the impurity of the man who touches it, to be observed as it
is in Bengal, or will it assume a form more strict as it does in Madras? Or,
as in the Punjab, will all such restrictions be obliterated? Are the
marriages of the different Varnas to take place from the upper to the lower
Varna in the successive order, as in Manu's days, and as it is still in
vogue in Nepal? Or, as in Bengal and other places, are they to be kept
restricted to a very limited number of individuals constituting one of the
several communities of a certain class of the Varna? To give a conclusive
answer to all these questions is extremely difficult. They become the more
difficult of solution, considering the difference in the customs prevailing
in different parts of the country — nay, as we find even in the same part of
the country such a wide divergence of customs among different castes and
families.
Then what is to be?
What we should have is what we have not, perhaps what our forefathers even
had not — that which the Yavanas had; that, impelled by the life-vibration
of which, is issuing forth in rapid succession from the great dynamo of
Europe, the electric flow of that tremendous power vivifying the whole
world. We want that. We want that energy, that love of independence, that
spirit of self-reliance, that immovable fortitude, that dexterity in action,
that bond of unity of purpose, that thirst for improvement. Checking a
little the constant looking back to the past, we want that expansive vision
infinitely projected forward; and we want — that intense spirit of activity
(Rajas) which will flow through our every vein, from head to foot.
What can be a greater giver of peace than renunciation? A little ephemeral
worldly good is nothing in comparison with eternal good; no doubt of that.
What can bring greater strength than Sattva Guna (absolute purity of mind)?
It is indeed true that all other kinds of knowledge are but non-knowledge in
comparison with Self-knowledge. But I ask: How many are there in the world
fortunate enough to gain that Sattva Guna? How many in this land of Bharata?
How many have that noble heroism which can renounce all, shaking off the
idea of "I and mine"? How many are blessed enough to possess that far-sight
of wisdom which makes the earthly pleasures appear to be but vanity of
vanities? Where is that broad-hearted man who is apt to forget even his own
body in meditating over the beauty and glory of the Divine? Those who are
such are but a handful in comparison to the population of the whole of
India; and in order that these men may attain to their salvation, will the
millions and millions of men and women of India have to be crushed under the
wheel of the present-day society and religion?
And what good can come out of such a crushing?
Do you not see — talking up this plea of Sattva, the country has been slowly
and slowly drowned in the ocean of Tamas or dark ignorance? Where the most
dull want to hide their stupidity by covering it with a false desire for the
highest knowledge which is beyond all activities, either physical or mental;
where one, born and bred in lifelong laziness, wants to throw the veil of
renunciation over his own unfitness for work; where the most diabolical try
to make their cruelty appear, under the cloak of austerity, as a part of
religion; where no one has an eye upon his own incapacity, but everyone is
ready to lay the whole blame on others; where knowledge consists only in
getting some books by heart, genius consists in chewing the cud of others'
thoughts, and the highest glory consists in taking the name of ancestors: do
we require any other proof to show that that country is being day by day
drowned in utter Tamas?
Therefore Sattva or absolute purity is now far away from us. Those amongst
us who are not yet fit, but who hope to be fit, to reach to that absolutely
pure Paramahamsa state — for them the acquirement of Rajas or intense
activity is what is most beneficial now. Unless a man passes through Rajas,
can he ever attain to that perfect Sâttvika state? How can one expect Yoga
or union with God, unless one has previously finished with his thirst for
Bhoga or enjoyment? How can renunciation come where there is no Vairâgya or
dispassion for all the charms of enjoyment?
On the other hand, the quality of Rajas is apt to die down as soon as it
comes up, like a fire of palm leaves. The presence of Sattva and the Nitya
or Eternal Reality is almost in a state of juxtaposition — Sattva is nearly
Nitya. Whereas the nation in which the quality of Rajas predominates is not
so long-lived, but a nation with a preponderance of Sattva is, as it were,
immortal. History is a witness to this fact.
In India, the quality of Rajas is almost absent: the same is the case with
Sattva in the West. It is certain, therefore, that the real life of the
Western world depends upon the influx, from India, of the current of Sattva
or transcendentalism; and it is also certain that unless we overpower and
submerge our Tamas by the opposite tide of Rajas, we shall never gain any
worldly good or welfare in this life; and it is also equally certain that we
shall meet many formidable obstacles in the path of realisation of those
noble aspirations and ideals connected with our after-life.
The one end and aim of the Udbodhana is to help the union and intermingling
of these two forces, as far as it lies in its power.
True, in so doing there is a great danger — lest by this huge wave of
Western spirit are washed away all our most precious jewels, earned through
ages of hard labour; true, there is fear lest falling into its strong
whirlpool, even the land of Bharata forgets itself so far as to be turned
into a battlefield in the struggle after earthly enjoyments; ay, there is
fear, too, lest going to imitate the impossible and impracticable foreign
ways, rooting out as they do our national customs and ideals, we lose all
that we hold dear in this life and be undone in the next!
To avoid these calamities we must always keep the wealth of our own home
before our eyes, so that every one down to the masses may always know and
see what his own ancestral property is. We must exert ourselves to do that;
and side by side, we should be brave to open our doors to receive all
available light from outside. Let rays of light come in, in sharp-driving
showers from the four quarters of the earth; let the intense flood of light
flow in from the West — what of that? Whatever is weak and corrupt is liable
to die — what are we to do with it? If it goes, let it go, what harm does it
do to us? What is strong and invigorating is immortal. Who can destroy that?
How many gushing springs and roaring cataracts, how many icy rivulets and
ever-flowing streamlets, issuing from the eternal snow-capped peaks of the
Himalayas, combine and flow together to form the gigantic river of the gods,
the Gangâ, and rush impetuously towards the ocean! So what a variety of
thoughts and ideas, how many currents of forces, issuing from innumerable
saintly hearts, and from brains of geniuses of various lands have already
enveloped India, the land of Karma, the arena for the display of higher
human activities! Look! how under the dominion of the English, in these days
of electricity, railroad, and steamboat, various sentiments, manners,
customs, and morals are spreading all over the land with lightning speed.
Nectar is coming, and along with it, also poison; good is coming, as well as
evil. There has been enough of angry opposition and bloodshed; the power of
stemming this tide is not in Hindu society. Everything, from water filtered
by machinery and drawn from hydrants, down to sugar purified with bone-ash,
is being quietly and freely taken by almost every one, in spite of much show
of verbal protest. Slowly and slowly, by the strong dint of law, many of our
most cherished customs are falling off day by day — we have no power to
withstand that. And why is there no power? Is truth really powerless? "Truth
alone conquers and not falsehood." — Is this Divine Vedic saying false? Or
who knows but that those very customs which are being swept away by the
deluge of the power of Western sovereignty or of Western education were not
real Âchâras, but were Anâchâras after all. This also is a matter for
serious consideration.
बहुजनहिताय बहुजनसुखाय — "For the good of the many, as well as for the happiness of the many" — in an unselfish manner, with a heart filled with love and reverence, the Udbodhana invites all wise and large-hearted men who love their motherland to discuss these points and solve these problems; and, being devoid of the feeling of hatred or antagonism, as well as turning itself away from the infliction of abusive language directed towards any individual, or society, or any sect, it offers its whole self for the service of all classes.
To work we have the right, the result is in the hands of the Lord. We only
pray: "O Thou Eternal Spirit, make us spiritual; O Thou Eternal Strength,
make us strong; O Thou Mighty One, make us mighty."
- Notes
- ↑ The above is a translation of the first Bengali article written by Swami Vivekananda as an introduction to the Udbodhana, when it was started on the 14th of January, 1899, as the Bengali fortnightly (afterwards monthly) journal of the Ramakrishna Order.