Our society, our country is facing the severest of challenges and problems of a dynamic society as an organism whose limbs are individuals living in mutual dependence. While seeking the ultimate meaning of life, Albert Schweitzer had said, ?As long as we look on our existence in the world as meaningless, there is no point whatever in desiring to effect anything in the world. Without such a general spiritual experience, there is no possibility of holding our world back from ruin and disintegration towards which it is being hastened. It is our duty then to rouse ourselves to fresh reflection about the world and life.?
This book under review, by a Vedic scholar, who is a passionate advocate of Hindu values as lasting solutions for the maladies of our society, presents a worthwhile approach to meet the challenges through the purushartha scheme of ?human ends? but not by being ?Semitic, communist, humanist or other anti-national, pseudo-secular ideologies which reveal the hollowness of their claims to superiority and infallibility.?
After Independence, we had the ?freedom to debauch and destroy our cultural institutions which are the embodiments of centuries? and millenniums? distilled wisdom of the men of insights and foresights?, thus creating a vacuum with no alternative left to put in place. We erased the ?Dharmic sense? that was our people'slaw of life, the very foundation of our very existence, our real greatness. Prof. Narayanacharya asks whether human life and society should have any worthy goals at all. He examines how spiritual illiterates like politicians worked towards achieving puerile goals, such as material progress as if it was the be all and end all of man'slife, though it does have its place in life.
He compares the views of Prof. C.K. Allen, E.M. Foster, Bertrand Russell with those of the Mother of Pondicherry, who, when referring to the so-called secular communism, democracy, capitalism and other ?isms? and the ?bigoted ideologies of Islam and Christianity?, had said, ??it is a few scoundrels who push themselves forward, saying, ?I represent this. I represent that?? Unfortunately the new invader would be China and that would be frightful.? He is in favour of accepting and following of ?force and freedom in our polity and public administration? by the people in accordance with their innate tendencies (swabhava) and Dharma? as the desirable alternatives.
Quoting from Gurumurthy'sbook, Prof. Narayanacharya suggests the remedial measures to be adopted to correct the inadequacies of our present Constitution which works ?heavily? against the interests of the majority. He clarifies the present process of suppression, emancipation, Hindu-baiting, hounding Hindus under the cover of democracy and suggests restoration of Dharma for returning the nation to its old glory.
(Kautilya Institute of National Studies, Chamaraja Mohalla, Mysore-570 005.)
