Nationalism

NATIONALISM IN THE WEST 5 being internal, our history has been tlie history of continual social adjustment and not tliat of organized power for defence and aggression. Neither the colourless vagueness of cosmo- politanism, nor the fierce self-idolatry of nation- worship, is the goal of human history. And India has been trying to accomplish her task through social regiilation of differences^ on the one hand, and the^^spiritual recognition of unity on the other. She has made grave errors in setting up the boundary walls too rigidly between races, in perpetuating in her classifications the results of inferiority ; often she has crippled her children’s minds and narrowed their lives in order to fit them into her social forms ; but for centuries new experiments have been made and adjustments carried out. Her mission has been like that of a hostess who has to provide proper accommodation for numerous guests, whose habits and requirements are different from one another. This gives rise to infinite complexities whose solution depends not merely upon tactfulness but upqn sympathy and true realization of the unity of man. Towards this realization have worked, from the early time of the Upanishads up to the present moment,* a series of great spiritual teachers, whose one NATIONALISM NATIONALISM object has been to set at naught all differences of man by the overflow of our consciousness of God. In fact, our history has not been of the rise and fall of kingdoms, of fights for political supremacy. In our country records of these days have been despised and forgotten, for they in no way represent the true history of our people. Our history is that of our social life and attainment of spiritual ideals. But we feel that our task is not yet done. The world-flood has swept over our country, new elements have been introduced, and wider adjustments are waiting to be made.…