{"id":3227,"date":"2013-07-13T01:46:47","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3227"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:46:47","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:46:47","slug":"40-east-and-west-vol-writings-in-bengali-translation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/02-other-editions\/writings-in-bengali-translation\/40-east-and-west-vol-writings-in-bengali-translation","title":{"rendered":"-40_East and West.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\n
\nEast and West <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nThe main difference between our country and Europe is
\nthis, our life is turned inward, Europe’s outward. We judge
\nof good and evil, etc., from the point of motive, Europe
\njudges it on the basis of action done. Knowing God as one
\nwho dwells within and who knows all that passes in our
\nminds we seek Him in the soul, Europe looks upon Him as
\nthe King of the world and seeks and worships Him in the
\nworld outside. The heaven of Europe is in the material
\nworld; worldly riches, beauty, luxury are welcome and to be
\nsought after; if they imagine any other heaven, that too is a
\nreflection of these riches, beauty and luxury. Their God is
\nakin to our Indra, who rules his world empire, sitting like an
\nearthly monarch on a bejewelled throne, swollen by the
\nhymns and prayers of a thousand flatterers. Our Shiva is the
\nsupreme among gods, yet he is but a beggar, out of his
\nsenses, uncaring and forgetful; our Krishna is a youth, fond
\nof laughter, fun and love, it is in his nature to be playful. The
\nGod of Europe never laughs or plays, since His majesty is
\nhurt by these activities. His godhead suffers. The extrovert
\nattitude is at the back of it\u2014signs of wealth are, for them,
\nthe support of splendour, they cannot see a thing unless they
\nsee the sign, they have no divine, no subtle vision, everything
\nis material. Our Shiva is a beggar, but to the spiritual seeker
\nhe easily gives away all the wealth and wisdom of the three
\nworlds; he is generous to a fault, but the wisdom beyond the
\nreach of the wise is his inborn possession. Our loving, gay
\nKrishna is the hero of the Kurukshetra, father of the worlds,
\nfriend and companion of the universe; India’s immense
\nknowledge and subtle vision, unfettered divine vision pierces <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-253<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthrough the material veils and brings out the inner attitude,
\nthe true truth, the inner and subtle principles. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

\n*    *<\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe same order is observed about good and evil. We look
\nat the inner attitude. There may lurk holy feeling behind an
\nactivity that we condemn, just as behind the outwardly good
\nor sanctimonious conduct may lie hidden the self-seeking of
\na scoundrel; good and evil, joy and sorrow are subjective
\nfactors, the outer activity is but a veil. We know this; though
\nfor the sake of the social order we respect outward good and
\nevil as evidence of the activity, but the inner attitude is what
\nwe really cherish. The renunciant, sannyasi,<\/i> who behaves
\nlike inert-mad-fiend, jadonmattapisacabat,<\/i> as beyond rules
\nand conventions, duty or otherwise, beyond good and evil,
\nsuch a one, who has risen above laws, we call the supreme
\nperson. The western intellect is unable to accept such a
\nprinciple; he who behaves as inert it treats him as inert, he
\nwho behaves as if he is mad it treats him as off his head, he-
\nwho behaves like a fiend, it treats him as a disgusting, lawless
\ndevil; for it has no subtle vision, and is unable to look at the
\ninner attitude or truth. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n* <\/font><\/p>\n

\n*   * <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBound to this outward view of things European scholars
\nsay that at no time was there democracy in India. In the
\nSanskrit language words to describe democracy are not
\nfound, those days there were no legislative bodies like the
\nmodern parliament, the absence of the outer signs of
\ndemocracy denotes the absence of democracy. We too on
\nour part have been content to accept as valid this western <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-254<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nview. In our ancient Aryan rule there was no lack of
\ndemocracy; its external instruments were no doubt insufficient, but the democratic attitude permeated the core of
\nsociety and the government, and stood guard over the
\npeople’s welfare and progress. First, every village was run entirely on
\ndemocratic lines, the villagers would come together and, on the basis of the general will and guided by the
\nelderly and leading personalities provided for the administration of the village, and of society; this rural democracy
\nwas kept intact during Mughal rule, it vanished only the
\nother day, under the oppression of the British government.
\nSecondly, even in the small principalities, where there
\nexisted conditions favourable to a convention of the masses,
\nthis custom was in force. In Buddhist literature, in Greek
\nrecords, in the Mahabharata<\/i> there is abundant evidence in
\nsupport of this. Thirdly, in the larger kingdoms, where it was
\nimpossible for these ingredients or external conditions to be
\navailable, the democratic attitude guided the monarchy. The
\nsubjects may not have a legislative body, but neither did the
\nking have the least right to pass laws or modify the existing
\nlaws. The king was but the keeper of the codes, conventions
\nand laws which the subjects were in the habit of observing.
\nThe Brahmins, like the lawyers and judges of today, would
\nexplain to the king these regulations admitted and observed
\nby the subjects and they would record in writing the gradual
\nchanges which they had observed. The responsibility of
\ngoverning was indeed the king’s, but that power was also
\nseverely limited by laws; other than these the king had to act
\nin accordance with the wishes of his subjects, he would never
\ndo anything that might displease his subjects, this political
\npractice was observed by all. If the king violated this rule,
\nthe subjects were no longer obliged to respect and follow
\nhim. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-255<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nThe unification of the East and the West is the religion of
\ntoday. But in this task of unification, if we consider the West
\nas the foundation or the chief support we shall be making a
\ngrievous error. The East is the foundation, the chief support.
\nThe outer world is established in the inner, not vice versa.
\n<\/i>Respect and emotion, or inner attitude (bhavā),<\/i> are the
\nsource of energy and activity, one has to be faithful to one’s
\ninner attitude (bhāva)<\/i> and sense of reverence, but one is not
\nto be attached to the application of force and the external
\nforms and means of activity. The occidentals are busy with
\nthe outward forms and means of democracy. But the external form is only for the purpose of expressing the inner
\nattitude; it is this attitude that shapes the form, it is one’s
\nreverence that creates the means or the instrument. The
\noccidentals are so attached to the forms and instruments that
\nthey are unable to notice that in their external expressions
\nthe inner attitude and reverence are languishing. These days
\nin the eastern countries the inner attitude and respect for
\ndemocracy are becoming fast clearer and creating external
\nmeans and building its outward forms, while in the western
\ncountries that feeling is getting dimmed, that respect is much
\nattenuated. The East has set its face towards the dawn,
\nmoving towards the light\u2014the West is moving back towards
\nthe dark night. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n  *<\/font><\/p>\n

\n  *     *<\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe reason for this is the ill effects of democracy that
\nfollow from an attachment to its outward forms and instruments. So long, having
\ncreated a government wholly favourable to democracy, America was fond of declaring that there was no other country which was equally free. But, in reality,
\nthe President and the executive officers, with the help of the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-256<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nCongress, rule despotically, and support the wrongs done by
\nthe rich, the injustice and the all-consuming greed, and they
\nthemselves grow fat by the abuse of power. The subjects are
\nfree only at the time of electing representatives, but even
\nthen the rich maintain their power through huge expenditure, and even later, by buying up the representatives of the
\npeople, they exploit and dominate arbitrarily. France is the
\nbirth-place of democracy and freedom, but the administrators and the police who had been created as instruments to
\nrun, according to the people’s wish, the departments, they
\nhave now turned into numerous miniature autocrats, of
\nwhom the people are afraid and tremble. Such a confusion
\nhas not taken place in England, it is true, but the other
\ndangers of democracy have declared themselves there. Since
\nthe government and politics are determined by every change
\nin the opinion of the fickle and half-educated electorate, the
\nBritish race has lost its earlier political tact and is faded with
\ndanger from within and without. In order to maintain their
\ninterest and influence, the rulers, devoid of their sense of
\nduty, by tempting or by trying to put fear into them or else
\nmisleading them, are perverting the mind of the people,
\nadding to its fickle-mindedness and restlessness. Because of
\nthese factors some people who look upon democracy as an
\nerror are becoming sworn enemies of freedom, on the other hand, the number of
\nanarchists, socialists and revolutionaries is going up. The conflict between these two groups is
\ngoing on in England\u2014in the sphere of politics; in America\u2014in the conflict between workers and capitalists; in
\nGermany\u2014 among ideological groups; in France\u2014between
\nthe army and the navy; in Russia\u2014between the police and
\nthe assassins; everywhere there is confusion, excitement,
\nabsence of peace. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-257<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nSuch a consequence is inevitable for the extrovert outlook
\non life. For a while, swelled with rājasic<\/i> forces, the asura
\n<\/i>grows powerful, great and glorious, then its inherent defects
\nbegin to come out, and everything breaks and dissolves. The
\ncountry whose main principle of education is the value of inner attitude and
\nreverence, willed and non-attached activity, only in such a country by its synthesis of the inner and
\nthe outer, the East and the West, can the social, economic
\nand political problems find a satisfactory and practical
\nsolution. But we shall not be able to arrive at a solution if we
\nfollow western knowledge and education. We shall have to
\nassimilate the West by standing firm on the basis of the
\nprinciples of the East. The foundation within, the expression
\nwithout. By adopting western instruments we shall be in
\ndanger, we have to create in keeping with our own nature
\nand the eastern view of things. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-258<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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