After his return to India, Dr. Bose attended the Indian Science Congress
at Lucknow. He then attended the ceremony of the laying of the
foundation stone of the Hindu University at Benares. On that occasion he
delivered a masterly address. He said:--
"In tracing the characteristic phenomena of life from simple beginnings
in that vast region which may be called unvoiced, as exemplified in the
world of plants, to its highest expression in the animal kingdom, one is
repeatedly struck by the one dominant fact that in order to maintain an
organism at the height of its efficiency something more than a
mechanical perfection of its structure is necessary. Every living
organism, in order to maintain its life and growth, must be in free
communion with all the forces of the Universe about it.
"Further, it must not only constantly receive stimulus from without, but
must also give out something from within, and the healthy life of the
organism will depend on these two-fold activities of inflow and
outflow. When there is any interference with these activities, then
morbid symptoms appear, which ultimately must end in disaster and death.
This is equally true of the intellectual life of a Nation. When through
narrow conceit a Nation regards itself self-sufficient and cuts itself
from the stimulus of the outside world, then intellectual decay must
inevitably follow.
"So far as regards the receptive function. Then there is another
function in the intellectual life of a Nation, that of spontaneous flow,
that going out of its life by which the world is enriched. When the
Nation has lost this power, when it merely receives, but cannot give
out, then its healthy life is over, and it sinks into a degenerate
existence, which is purely parasitic.
"How can our Nation give out of the fulness of the life that is in it,
and how can a new Indian University help in the realisation of this
object? It is clear that its power of directing and inspiring will
depend on its world status. This can be secured to it by no artificial
means, nor by any strength in the past....
"This world status can only be won by the intrinsic value of the great
contributions to be made by its own Indian scholars for the advancement
of the world's knowledge. To be organic and vital our new University
must stand primarily for self-expression and for winning for India a
place she has lost. Knowledge is never the exclusive possession of any
particular race, nor does it recognise geographical limitations. The
whole world is interdependent, and a constant stream of thought has been
carried out throughout the ages enriching the common heritage of
mankind. Although science was neither of the East nor of the West but
international, certain aspects of it gained richness by reason of their
place of origin."[43]