National and International A LEADING Nationalist has opined that he does not understand the "slogan" of viewing the nation against a background of internationalism. We can only say that the patriot has learnt nothing and forgotten nothing always like the old guards attached to the old regime who do not see how much water has flown below their feet while they stood gazing at the sky or shut themselves up in their ivory tower. Well, a village headman could in the same way assert that he does not know and cares not to know how to look upon his village against the background of the whole nation: still the village exists only in and through the life of the nation. Even so, the nation whic

The Basic Unity THERE is one unity which cannot be denied to India, because Nature has given it and man cannot withdraw or annul it. It is the geographical, the physical unity. It is so clearly and indelibly marked that it has always been looked upon as a definite unit by all outside its boundaries; one may call in question the cultural unity, if one chooses, one may be sceptic about the spiritual unity, but the unity of the body leaps to the eyes, even as the clear contour of a living organism. As we know, however, an individual human frame may contain many personalities, many Jekylls and Hydes may lodge in the same physical tenement, even so, the physical unity that is India may har

Caesar versus the Divine "RENDER unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." We do not subscribe to the motto. We do not admit that the world and the spirit are irreconcilables and incommensurables. On the contrary we assert their essential unity and identity. The spiritual force is not and need not be impotent or out of place in Caesar's domain. Rather it is the spiritual man who alone can possess the secret of mastering the forces that work out mundane things, perfectly and faultlessly. But then, it may be asked, how is it that in the history of the world we find men of action, great dynamic personalities to be mostly not spiritual but rather mundane in their characte

Panacea of “Isms” COMMUNISM COMMUNISM cannot save humanity. For if it means the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, well, a healthy normal society will not bear or tolerate it long – no Dictatorship, whether of one or of many, is likely to endure or bring in the millennium. In that sense communism is only a fascismo of small people fighting against a fascismo of big people. A society is not normally made up of proletarians only: it does not consist merely of lotuseaters nor does it consist of hewers of wood and drawers of water (peasants and labourers) alone. Even a proletariate society will slowly and inevitably gravitate towards a stratification of its 'own. In its very bosom the bur

Publishers' Note In this collection of essays only two were originally written in English ("The World War" and "The Situation of To-day"), the others are translations. The reminiscences of Nolini Kanta Gupta and those of Suresh Chandra Chak-ravarty were written in Bengali and those of Amrita (Old Long Since) in Tamil. All these essays, both in the original and in translation, were at the outset published in journals and some subsequently in book-form. The collection here is presented for the first time in book-form ; it may possess, we hope, more than an antiquarian interest. HOME

XIV ETERNAL YOUTH This is about the time when you, the young, the children had not arrived here. The few of us who were here had grown up, many had become aged, even old, that is to say, had passed the middle age. I often wondered, well, we were here, had been growing up and becoming old, what would be the nature of this institution long after, 20 or 30 years after? Would it not be the home of a band of old men, of monastic sannyasis, an immobile structure without growth or evolution? However wise or accomplished we might be inwardly, even remain young or green in consciousness, however far might our vision stretch towards the unseen future, yet externally,

II THE SITUATION OF TODAY 11-2-1965 It is not of today, nor of yesterday, but also of the day before yesterday and the day before and the day before. The story is as old as human consciousness itself. Whether it will be the same tomorrow remains to be seen. It is the fate of all spiritual endeavour to raise in its wake a contrary movement that declares and demands its negation. The Buddha says: surrounded as we are by enemies, let us not be inimical to them. The Christ, as we all know, when being led with a crown of thorns on his head and the cross on his back, heaved a sigh and prayed to the Lord to pardon all those who did not know wh

MURARIPUKUR — (1) At last I made up my mind finally to take the plunge, that I must now join the Manicktolla Gardens in Muraripukur. That meant goodbye to College, goodbye to the ordinary life. A little while ago, Prafulla Chakravarti had come and joined. Both of us belonged to Rungpore, both were of nearly the same age, and intimate friends. This too pushed me to my decision. I had already taken a vow about a year ago, in front of a picture of Kali at a secret ceremony at dead of night, a vow written out in blood drawn from the chest, that I should dedicate my life to the whole-hearted service of the Motherland. With me there was a companion, and also a local

III JANAKA AND YAJNAVALKYA King Janaka was a great king and a great sage. He wielded an empire without and equally an empire within: he had realised the Truth, known Brahman. He was svarat and samrāt. A friend and intimate of his was Rishi Yajnavalkya, who also was a sage — in fact, considered to be the greatest sage of the time, a supreme knower of Brahman. Once upon a time King Janaka invited sages from everywhere, whoever wanted to come to the assembly. The king from time to time used to call such assemblies for spiritual discussion and interchange of experiences. This time he summoned the assembly for a special reason. He had collected a herd of one tho

V THE GOLDEN RULE Today I shall speak to you of the golden rule. When we were children we were taught, specially at school, at home too, certain golden rules. If you observe these rules you become good, good boys and good girls, you are loved and appreciated by all. These rules are simple and very common-place, you know them all and must have tried them. For example such things as "speak the truth, do not tell a lie, obey your parents, respect your teachers, do not hurt anybody" etc. etc. That was the basis on which one was to build one's character, mould one's nature, prepare for a pure stainless noble life. They are good, these rules, so far as they go: but to s