{"id":292,"date":"2013-07-13T01:27:08","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=292"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:27:08","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:27:08","slug":"148-the-next-step-vol-01-bande-mataram-volume-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/01-bande-mataram-volume-01\/148-the-next-step-vol-01-bande-mataram-volume-01","title":{"rendered":"-148_The Next Step.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n

\n\t\tThe
\nNext Step<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n               
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span>    T<\/font><\/span>HE<\/font><\/b>
\ncondition of the poorer classes in this country is a subject which has till now
\nbeen too much neglected, but can be neglected no longer if the blessing of God
\nis to remain with our movement. The increasing poverty of the masses has been
\nthe subject of innumerable pamphlets, speeches and newspaper articles, but we
\nare apt to think our duty done when we have proved that the poverty problem is
\nthere; we leave the solution to the future and forget that by the time the
\nsolution comes, the masses will have sunk into a condition of decay from which
\nit will take the nation many decades to recover. We have been accustomed to deal
\nonly with the economical side of this poverty, but there is a moral side which
\nis even more important. The Indian peasantry have always been distinguished from
\nthe less civilised masses of Europe by their superior piety, gentleness,
\nsobriety, purity, thrift and native intelligence. They are now being brutalised
\nby unexampled oppression; attracted to the liquor shops which a benevolent
\nGovernment liberally supplies, bestialised by the example of an increasingly
\nimmoral aristocracy and gradually driven to the same habits of looseness and
\nbrutality which disgrace the European proletariats. This degeneration is
\nproceeding with an alarming rapidity. In some parts of the country it has gone
\nso far that recovery seems impossible. We have heard of districts in which the
\npeasantry are so far reduced to poverty by the exactions of Zemindars, planters
\nand police that the sturdier classes among them are taking to highway robbery
\nand dacoity as the only possible means of livelihood. We have heard of villages
\nwhere the liquor shop and the prostitute, institutions unknown twenty-five years
\nago, have now the mastery of the poorest villagers. Many of the villages in West
\nBengal are now well supplied with these essentials of Western civilisation. The
\npeople ground down between the upper millstone of the indigo planter and the
\nnether millstone of the<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/h3>\n

\n
\nPage-807<\/font><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n

\nZemindar,
\nare growing full of despair and look to violence as their only remedy. These
\nconditions of the worst districts tend to become general and unless something is
\ndone to stem the tide of evil, it will sweep away the soul of India in its
\nturbid current and leave only a shapeless monstrosity of all that is worst in
\nhuman nature.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n           
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span>We are convinced, of course, that India is destined to rise again, we
\nawait with confidence the coming of the Avatar of strength who will follow the
\nAvatar of love, but in order that He may come, we must prepare the atmosphere,
\npurify it by our own deeds of love, strength and humanitarian self-sacrifice.
\nThe educated classes are now the repositories of the hope of resurgence; it is
\nin them that the spirit has entered, to them the masses look for guidance. Their
\nduty is to be worthy of their mission, to bring hope, strength and light into
\nthe lives of their down-trodden countrymen. We have so far been occupied with
\nSwadeshi as the economical means of saving the people: we must now set ourselves
\nto the restoration of the moral tone of the nation by ourselves setting an
\nexample of mercy, justice, self-denial, helpfulness and patient work for the
\npeople. The work is one for the young. It was they who made the Swadeshi
\nmovement a success and ensured its permanence; they also must set themselves to
\nthe task which now calls us and go to the succour of their suffering countrymen,
\npoint their spirits to the help which is to come, support them in their present
\nsufferings, relieve them so far as possible and bind the educated class and the
\nmasses together by the golden bond of love and service. This is the next step in
\nthe development of the present movement. Swadeshi is fairly begun and will now
\ngo on of its own impetus; but when the work of which we speak is taken in hand,
\nSwadeshi will receive a fresh impetus which will make it so irresistible that
\nall the tyranny of the officials, all the police oppression, every obstacle and
\nhindrance which man can interpose will be swept away like so much chaff, and all
\nBengal become the fortress of Swadeshi, its temple and its domain. This is the
\nwork to which the finger of God has been pointing us from the beginning of the
\npresent year, by the success of the Ardhodaya Yoga <\/i>organisation, by the
\ncall to the<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-808<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nvillage
\nwhich was the dominant note of the Pabna Conference, by signs and omens of many
\nkinds which those who keep their eyes open will easily understand. We have now
\nSamitis for spreading Swadeshi, Samitis for physical culture and self-defence,
\nSamitis for the organisation of meetings, festivals and other great occasions.
\nAll these are good, but we want now Samitis for giving help and light to the
\nmasses. The Anusilan Samiti has given a right direction to its activities when
\nit undertook Famine Relief, but Famine Relief is a temporary work, one which
\nneeds an immense fund to be really effective, and only a united body of the
\nleading men of Bengal could successfully cope with it. What our Samitis can do
\nis to take up the work which we have indicated as a permanent part of their
\nduties, put themselves in touch with the people, lead them to hope, inspire them
\nwith the spirit of self-help, organise them and make them ready for the coming
\nof the Avatar.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\nA
\nStrange Expectation<\/font><\/a><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n


\n <\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\nThe
\nIndian People <\/i>of Allahabad writes in a tone of mingled pathos and disgust
\nat the supineness of the Government in allowing the Extremists to gain ground in
\nthe country by its obstinate refusal to dance to Moderate piping. It depends
\nentirely on the Government, says our contemporary, which party is to prevail; if
\nthe Government will only take the Moderate Party as the keeper of its
\nconscience, it will be saved from the Extremist peril. We do not know which is
\nto be most pitied, the Moderate Party or the Government. The former is,
\naccording to its own confession, a helpless puppet depending for its very
\nexistence on the actions of an external power over which it has no influence or
\ncontrol, for its popularity on the favour of the bureaucracy and for its
\ncontinuance on the self-sacrifice of an official class which it invites to
\ncommit suicide in order to keep an opponent in existence. Such is the grotesque
\nposition of the party which boasts for itself a monopoly of statesmanship and
\nsober wisdom that it has to depend for its continued existence not on its
\nstatesmanship and<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-809<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nwisdom,
\nbut on the will of its enemy! And as for the Government, the only choice offered
\nto it is either to fall into the Extremist fire or singe in the Moderate
\nfrying-pan. We would remind our contemporary that the English people have
\nsufficient political intelligence to see that once they begin giving
\n"substantial gifts" instead of the present "toys and
\nrattles" and "shadowy and ridiculous reforms", it is simply a
\nquestion of time when they will have to part with the last vestige of their
\npresent absolute control. Whether the bureaucratic system dies a lingering death
\nat the slow fire of Moderatism or is burned to ashes in the Nationalist
\nconflagration, the choice is one to which the bureaucracy may be pardoned if it
\nviolently objects and even prefers to take the risk of the second alternative
\nrather than the certainty of the first. The Nationalists do not expect
\nsubstantial concessions from the bureaucracy not because they attribute to the
\npresent rulers a double dose of original sin, but because they believe them to
\nhave sufficient insight to see the danger of concessions but not the almost
\nsuperhuman penetration which would show them the lofty magnanimity and real
\nwisdom of a timely surrender.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nA
\nPrayer<\/font><\/a><\/b><\/p>\n


\n <\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\nSpirit
\nof God that rulest, lord and king<\/font><\/p>\n

\nOf
\nall this universe, who from Thy throne<\/font><\/p>\n

\nIn
\nheaven, besieged by prayers, lookst down on man,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nImmeasurable
\nSpirit, if any thought<\/font><\/p>\n

\nOf
\nhuman frailty in my mind should dwell,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhile
\nat Thy feet I lay myself, forgive.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nNot
\nfor myself but for the land where Thou<\/font><\/p>\n

\nWert
\nonce a mighty warrior, lord and king,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nFor
\nIndia, for her sons, I pray, who now<\/font><\/p>\n

\nFallen,
\nabject, cringing to a foreign hand,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nForget
\nThee. Thou immeasurable Lord<\/font><\/p>\n

\nOf
\nall this universe, august, unborn,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nBy
\nThy unspeakable compassion urged<\/font><\/p>\n

\nEnteredst
\na human body, of Thy huge<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-810<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nEmpire
\na little province camest down<\/font><\/p>\n

\nFrom
\nfoes within and foes without to save.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nAgain
\nthe land is full of Thee and full<\/font><\/p>\n

\nOf
\nhope; a stir is in the air, a cry<\/font><\/p>\n

\nIs
\nin men’s hearts, the whole terrestrial globe<\/font><\/p>\n

\nThrills
\nand vague rumours, huge presentiments<\/font><\/p>\n

\nMove
\nlike the visions born of mist and dream<\/font><\/p>\n

\nAcross
\nthe places where Thou once wast born<\/font><\/p>\n

\nProphesying
\nThy advent. Wilt Thou come<\/font><\/p>\n

\nLord,
\nin a form such as Thou worest once<\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhen
\nMathura was free, when Kamsa fell,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nAnd
\nfrom Brindavan came the avenging sword<\/font><\/p>\n

\nTill
\nthen concealed. So would we have Thee come.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe
\nnations of the earth are full of sin;<\/font><\/p>\n

\nGreed,
\nlust, ambition are their gods, and keep<\/font><\/p>\n

\nRevel
\nwith Science for their caterer<\/font><\/p>\n

\nTo
\ngive the food by which they live. All forms<\/font><\/p>\n

\nOf
\nmercy, gentleness and love are lost<\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhile
\nstrength alone is worshipped, strength divorced<\/font><\/p>\n

\nFrom
\njustice, uninspired by noble aims.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe
\ngreatnesses of earth forget their source<\/font><\/p>\n

\nAnd
\nlimit; they desire to break and build,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nTo
\nfill their lust, to hold majestic rule<\/font><\/p>\n

\nFor
\never, but forget the source of strength,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nForget
\nthe purpose for which strength is given.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nOppression
\nfills the spaces of the world,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nHatred
\nand pain reply with murder, One<\/font><\/p>\n

\nIs
\nneeded who will break the strengths of earth<\/font><\/p>\n

\nBy
\nHis diviner strength; and till He comes<\/font><\/p>\n

\nIn
\nvain we struggle and in vain aspire.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nCome
\ntherefore, for Thou saidst that Thou wouldst come;<\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhenever
\nstrong injustice lifts her head<\/font><\/p>\n

\nTo
\nslay the good, \u2014<\/span> Thou saidst that Thou wouldst come<\/font><\/p>\n

\nFor
\nrescue of the world. Today the globe<\/font><\/p>\n

\nWaits
\nfor Thy coming, as it waited then<\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhen
\nRavan was the master of the world<\/font><\/p>\n

\nAnd
\nLanka, full of splendid strength and sin,<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-811<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nPossessed
\nmankind. Now many Ravans rule<\/font><\/p>\n

\nAnd
\nmany Lankas. Therefore come; the earth<\/font><\/p>\n

\nCan
\nbear no more the burden of their pride,<\/font><\/p>\n

\nHellward
\nshe sinks. Unless Thou come, the end<\/font><\/p>\n

\nApproaches.
\nSave Thy fair creation, Lord.<\/font><\/p>\n


\nBande
\nMataram<\/i>,
\n<\/i> <\/font> March 31, 1908<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-<\/font>812<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Next Step                       THE condition of the poorer classes in this country is a subject which has till now been too much…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-01-bande-mataram-volume-01","wpcat-8-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}