By M.S.N. Menon
Who is there who truly knows,
And who can say, whence this
Unfathomed world, and
From what cause!
?Rig Veda
Here was profound doubt. Doubt led to enquiry. Enquiry led to freedom. Freedom led to diversity. Diversity led to the richness of our civilisation. Richness of our civilisation led to tolerance. And tolerance became our way of life.
The Hindu way of life is built on the freedom of the mind and the freedom of the senses. The mind gave us our religions and philosophies, our sciences and literatures. And the senses gave us music and dances, paintings and sculptures, arts and architecture.
We have put no restraint either on the mind or on the senses as other civilisations have done.
Time is pressing on the Hindu, for India is on the move. It is on the way to be a super power. There can be no dispute on this. Are we ready for the role of a global Indian?
No, we are not.
There is nothing to compare with this question of the Hindu in the world. It is incomparable.
This great quest of the Hindu civilisation for the final truth was snapped by foreign invasions. For a thousand years, we were under foreign rule, first under Muslim invaders and then under the British. We will never know what damage these thousand years have done to us, for it is a taboo territory. And yet the damage is all too evident.
It is time for the Hindu to resume his quest, for man is still in his infancy and he has not answered these three basic questions: from where we came, what are we here for and where do we go. The Hindu alone can pursue these questions. Others are bound to silence by their books. But time is pressing on the Hindu, for India is on the move. It is on the way to be a super power. There can be no dispute on this. Are we ready for the role of a global Indian? No, we are not.
To be a global Indian, an Indian must be a true Indian?not an American or British clone. He must be a nationalist. He must know more about our country, about its civilisation. And above all, he must know 1) what sustained our civilisation (more precisely Hindu civilisa-tion) for so long and 2)
why some civilisations rose and fell and others are in a state of crisis today.
Unfortunately, official India is yugas away from such thoughts and our educational system is least competent to produce the Indian who can face the world with confidence.
Facing the world will not be easy, for the world is still prejudiced against India. That is why the global Indian must know more about the world.
The Hindu Way, (reviewed by Organiser on June 20) is the first of a series of books to be brought out over a period of time. Naturally this is in the nature of a movement. As days go by, we expect kindred spirits to help this re-awakening of India. Our next book is on Mahatma Gandhi, wart and all, in both his sublime and profane natures. Our judgement: Partition was natural (there was no other way); Gandhi made it unnatural.
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