Early Cultural Writings

CONTENTS

Pre-content

Post-content

Part One

The Harmony of Virtue

The Sole Motive of Man's Existence

The Harmony of Virtue

Beauty in the Real

Stray Thoughts

Part Two

On Literature

Bankim Chandra Chatterji

His Youth and College Life

The Bengal He Lived In

His Official Career

His Versatility

His Literary History

What He Did for Bengal

Our Hope in the Future

On Poetry and Literature

Poetry

Characteristics of Augustan Poetry

Sketch of the Progress of Poetry from Thomson to Wordsworth

Appendix: Test Questions

Marginalia on Madhusudan Dutt's Virangana Kavya

Originality in National Literatures

The Poetry of Kalidasa

A Proposed Work on Kalidasa

The Malavas

The Age of Kalidasa

The Historical Method

The Seasons

Hindu Drama

Vikramorvasie: The Play

Vikramorvasie: The Characters

The Spirit of the Times

On Translating Kalidasa

Appendix: Alternative and Unused Passages and Fragments

On the Mahabharata

Notes on the Mahabharata

Notes on the Mahabharata [Detailed]

Part Three

On Education

Address at the Baroda College Social Gathering

Education

The Brain of India

A System of National Education

The Human Mind

The Powers of the Mind

The Moral Nature

Simultaneous and Successive Teaching

The Training of the Senses

Sense— Improvement by Practice

The Training of the Mental Faculties

The Training of the Logical Faculty

Message for National Education Week (1918)

National Education

A Preface on National Education

Part Four

On Art

The National Value of Art

Two Pictures

Indian Art and an Old Classic

The Revival of Indian Art

An Answer to a Critic

Part Five

Conversations of the Dead

Dinshah, Perizade

Turiu, Uriu

Mazzini, Cavour, Garibaldi

Shivaji, Jaysingh

Littleton, Percival

Part Six

The Chandernagore Manuscript

Passing Thoughts [1]

Passing Thoughts [2]

Passing Thoughts [3]

Hathayoga

Rajayoga

Historical Impressions: The French Revolution

Historical Impressions: Napoleon

In the Society's Chambers

At the Society's Chambers

Things Seen in Symbols [1]

Things Seen in Symbols [2]

The Real Difficulty

Art

Part Seven

Epistles / Letters From Abroad

Epistles from Abroad

Letters from Abroad

Part Eight

Reviews

"Suprabhat"

"Hymns to the Goddess"

"South Indian Bronzes"

"God, the Invisible King"

"Rupam"

About Astrology

"Sanskrit Research"

"The Feast of Youth"

"Shama'a"

Part Nine

Bankim — Tilak — Dayananda

Rishi Bankim Chandra

Bal Gangadhar Tilak

A Great Mind, a Great Will

Dayananda: The Man and His Work

Dayananda and the Veda

The Men that Pass

Appendix One

Baroda Speeches and Reports

Speeches Written for the Maharaja of Baroda

Medical Department

The Revival of Industry in India

Report on Trade in the Baroda State

Opinions Written as Acting Principal

Appendix Two

Premises of Astrology

Premises of Astrology

Note on the Texts

The Real Difficulty

 

The real difficulty is always in ourselves, not in our surroundings. There are three things necessary in order to make men invincible, Will, Disinterestedness and Faith. We may have a will to emancipate ourselves, but sufficient faith may be lacking. We may have faith in our ultimate emancipation, but the will to use the necessary means may be wanting. And even if there are will and faith, we may use them with a violent attachment to the fruit of our work or with passions of hatred, blind excitement or hasty forcefulness which may produce evil reactions. For this reason it is necessary, in a work of such magnitude, to have resort to a higher Power than that of mind and body in order to overcome unprecedented obstacles. This is the need of sadhana.

God is within us, an Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient Power; we & He are of one nature and, if we get into touch with Him and put ourselves in His hands, He will pour into us His own force and we shall our portion of omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience. The path is long, but self-surrender makes it short; the way is difficult, but perfect trust makes it easy.

Will is omnipotent, but it must be divine will, selfless, tranquil, at ease about results. "If you had faith even as a grain of mustard-seed," said Jesus, "you would say to this mountain, Come, & it would come to you." What was meant by the word Faith, was really Will accompanied with perfect sraddha. Sraddha does not reason, it knows; for it commands sight and sees what God wills, and it knows that what is God's will, must happen. Sraddha, not blind but using sight spiritual, can become omniscient.

Will is also omnipresent. It can throw itself into all in whom it comes into contact and give them temporarily or permanently a portion of its power, its thought, its enthusiasms. The thought

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of a solitary man can become, by exercise of selfless and undoubting Will, the thought of a nation. The will of a single hero can breathe courage into the hearts of a million cowards.

This is the sadhana that we have to accomplish. This is the condition of our emancipation. We have been using an imperfect will with imperfect faith and imperfect disinterestedness. Yet the task we have before us is not less difficult than to move a mountain.

The force that can do it, exists. But it is hidden in a secret chamber within us and of that chamber God holds the key. Let us find Him and claim it.  

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