THE CIVILIZATION AND ETHICS OF INDIA
The distinctive feature of Hindu culture is its femininity. While the
northern branch of the Aryan family represented by the European group
had to undergo hard struggle with unyielding nature on account of a
barren soil and the severity of cold climate, which developed in them
the masculine qualities of aggressiveness, force, and exertion, the
southern branch of the Aryan family, who migrated into the smiling
valleys of the Indus and the Ganges, found in their new home abundance
of physical comfort. The extreme fertility of soil and the warm
climate made existence easy and left them leisure for speculation and
thought--conditions which have tended to make the people of India
emotional, meditative, and mystic. The bounty of nature released them
from struggle, and the resulting freedom from material cares and
security of existence developed in the Hindu character the benevolent
qualities of tolerance and thankfulness.[21]
The peace-loving nature of the Hindu mind shows itself in its early
ventures into the study of the higher and deeper problems of life.
When they began to inquire into the secrets of the universe and its
relationship to human life with a view to discovering the mystery of
our existence on this planet, they were dominated solely by an absolute
and unqualified love of truth. “They never quarreled about their
beliefs or asked any questions about individual faiths. Their only
ambition was to acquire knowledge of the universe,--of its origin and
cause,--and to understand the whence and whither, the who and what
of the human soul.” The early pioneers of Hindu thought lay down for
rest on the open, fertile plains of the Ganges during the fragrant
summer nights of India, and their eyes sought the starry heavens above.
Then they looked into themselves, and must have asked, “What are we?
What is this life on earth meant for? How did we come here? Where
are we bound for? What becomes of the human soul?” and many another
difficult question. The answer that the Hindu sages of old gave to
these difficult questions is to be found in the one simple rule of the
Unity of All Life: One Supreme Being is the source of all joy; He is
the master of all knowledge; He is eternal, stainless, unchangeable,
and always present as a witness in every conscience; He alone is real
and lasting, and the rest of this material universe is _maya_, a mere
illusion. Human soul is made of the same substance as the Supreme soul.
It is separated from its source through ignorance. Through succeeding
incarnations it strives to reach its ultimate goal, which is its
identification with the Supreme Being. That is the final end of all
human effort--the realization of the Self--which accomplished, man’s
existence becomes one with the rest of the Universe, and his life
thereafter is one of limitless love. His soul unites with the Universal
soul and he has obtained his _Moksha_ (_salvation_). He begins to see
“All things in self and self in All.”
This idea of spiritual freedom, which is the release of the self
from the ego concept, forms the foundation of Hindu culture, and has
influenced the whole character of India’s social and religious ideals.
Let us try to explain it a little more clearly. The recognition of
the unity of all life assumes the existence of one God, “one source,
one essence and one goal.” The final purpose of life is to realize
this unity, when the human soul becomes one with the Universal Spirit.
Ignorance is the cause of all evil, because it forever hides from
us the true vision. The wise man continually strives to overcome
ignorance through the study of philosophy and through self-restraint
and renunciation. He seeks to achieve knowledge of Self, in order
that he may see God face to face. Then he will attain _Moksha_
(salvation). Until he has realized the absolute Truth, he must hold
on to the relative truth as he sees it, which is accomplished through
the exercise of such virtues as universal love, faith, devotion,
self-sacrifice, and renunciation.
“Despising everything else, a wise man should strive after the
knowledge of the Self.”
Human life on this earth is a journey from one village to the other.
We are all pilgrims here, and this abode is only our temporary home
and not a permanent residence. Instead of being continually in search
of material wealth, of power, of fame, and of toiling day and night,
why should we not regard life as a perpetual holiday and learn to rest
and enjoy it? Would it not be better if we had a little less of work,
a little less of so-called pleasure, and more of thought and peace? It
does not take much to sustain life; vegetable food in small quantities
will maintain the body in good health, and the shelter of a cottage is
all that a man requires. That he should build palaces and amass riches
proves his lack of knowledge; that he should try to find happiness
from the ruin of the happiness of his fellow beings, the inevitable
consequence of the building up of great fortunes, is absurd. Nothing
is real except His law and His power. Human life, like a bubble on
the surface of a mighty ocean, may burst and disappear at any moment.
“There is fruit on the trees in every forest, which everyone who likes
may pluck without trouble. There is cool and sweet water in the pure
rivers here and there. There is a soft bed made of the twigs of the
beautiful creepers. And yet wretched people suffer pain at the door of
the rich.”
“A man seeking for eternal happiness (moksha) might obtain it by a
hundredth part of the suffering which a foolish man endures in the
pursuit of riches.”
“Poor men eat more excellent bread than the rich; for hunger gives
it sweetness.”
Thus the doctrine of Maya has taught the people of India that all
material things are illusion.
Thus, guided by the vision of Universal Spirit, which sustains the
entire creation, and saved by the right comprehension of the doctrine
of Maya, the Hindus have developed a civilization in which people are
inspired largely by the ideals of human fellowship, by love and by
spiritual comfort. The wisdom of the Hindu’s retiring, passive attitude
toward life will not readily be acknowledged by his sturdy, aggressive,
and combative brothers in the western world. The Occidental’s
necessities of life have assumed such immense proportions, and social
relations have become so intricate and insecure, that a man’s whole
life is spent in making sure of mere existence, and in providing
against the accidents of the future. Such is the deadening influence
of the continual hurly-burly of every-day life around him, that he has
begun to regard life as synonymous with work. He has never himself
tasted the sweetness of security and peace, and when he hears anyone
else discuss it, he is likely to brand the doctrine as dreamy, unreal,
and impractical. “But is it surely wise to destroy the best objects of
life for the sake of life? Is the winning of wealth and the enjoying
of pleasure always a superior choice to that of spiritual freedom?” To
love leisure, ideals, and peace has been the criterion of Hindu wisdom.
Those who have closely studied the history of the Hindu nation know the
illumination, the peace, the joy, the strength that its lessons bring
into the lives of those simple, virtuous people.
Hindu civilization has been, on the whole, humane and wholesome, and
the life of the people of India has been one of unalloyed usefulness
and service to humanity. India has always been the home of various
religions and its people have always been divided into innumerable
faiths. At no period of its long history, however, has religious
persecution been practised by any class of people in the country.
“No war was ever waged in or outside of India by the Hindu nation in
the name of religion. India has never witnessed the horrors of an
inquisition; no holy wars were undertaken, and no heretics burned alive
for the protection of religion.” In the entire history of the Hindu
nation, not a drop of blood has ever been shed in the name of religion.
To those who have read the accounts of the bloody tortures and the
massacres that have been enacted for the sake of religion among the
Christian nations of the world, this _is saying much_.
The hobby of the Hindu is not Catholicism, Presbyterianism, Methodism,
or any other form of ism known to the western world; his interest
does not lie in Hinduism, Buddhism, or Sikhism. His passion is for
religion. “He loves not _a_ religion; _he lives for religion_.” It was
his love of religion which an old English missionary found among the
inhabitants of a small village in Northern India. Tired from walking
in the hot summer sun, this wandering friar lay down under the cool
shade of a banyan tree for rest, and fell asleep. How long he slept and
what brilliant dreams of His Master Lord Christ’s mercy this humble
mendicant had, no one knows. When in the late afternoon he opened his
eyes, he saw a beautiful young girl gently fanning his face, while her
little brother stood near, carrying in his arms a basket of choice
fruits and a jug of fresh, cool water. As the old friar’s eyes finally
met the maiden’s kindly gaze, he exclaimed: “At last after all these
weary travels I have found a Christian people!”
Religion to the Hindu is not one among the many interests in life. It
is the all-absorbing interest. The thought of a Universal Brotherhood
taught in his religion guides every social, commercial, and political
act of his life; while the hope of divine sanction inspires his efforts
in the intellectual and spiritual spheres. Religion is not the mere
profession of a certain theological faith, whose ritual may be observed
on appointed occasions and then be forgotten till time again comes for
worship and prayer. Religion is the “Yearning beyond” on the part of
man, and when once its essence is realized, the spirit must influence
every interest of the individual’s life. This is the way in which
religion is understood in India. “It is not a matter of form, but of
mind and will. To the Hindu, it is more religious to cleanse the soul
and build a good character than to mutter prayers and observe a strict
ritual. Morality should form the basis of religion, and emphasis should
be laid, not on outward observance, but on inward spiritual culture.”
“By deed, thought, and word, one should do good to (all) living
beings. This Harsha declared to be the highest way of earning
religious merit.”
The main purpose of life is the realization of Self, to which all other
interests must be completely subordinated. The material things of the
world are but a means to this end; and the end being religion, its
thought must not be lost sight of in arranging the details of life.
Hence, religion pervades the entire fabric of Hindu society. Study
Indian art, law, ethics, and political economy; everywhere you will
find the same thought of God and his all-embracing mercy underlying
them all.
The religion of the holy Jesus, who taught the doctrine of
non-resistance and whose Sermon on the Mount is resplendent with love
for humanity, has inspired many a Gandhi in the East. It has, however,
been the cause of much bloodshed and slaughter. Under its banner
slavery was sustained until the economic conditions throughout the
world made its abolition inevitable and imperative. The negro-traffic,
involving human brutality which makes us shudder and horrors which
freeze our blood and leave us aghast, was carried on by Christian
people with the express sanction of the most holy See and her august
lieutenants of God. As late as the end of the nineteenth century
China was subdued in the name of Christian religion. The immediate
provocation of the Boxer War was the murder of two white missionaries
in the interior of China. What deeds of chivalry the soldiers of
the western nations, who were sent to China for the defence of
Christianity, did, are recorded by Mr. Gowen in his _An Outline History
of China_ thus:
“But in Tung Chow alone, a city where the Chinese made no
resistance and where there was no fighting, five hundred and
seventy-three women of the upper classes committed suicide rather
than survive the indignities they had suffered. Our civilization
of which we boast so much is still something of a veneer.”
The religion of the Hindu requires him to practise love toward his
fellowman, tenderness toward animal life, and toleration of religious
diversities with other people. He believes that the Christians,
the Mohammedans, and the Jews may be as good men in their human
relationships as he and be on as straight a road to heaven as he is.
He does not question the divine revelation of the holy books of other
religions, nor does he deny “that Christ was the Son of God, and
Mohammed the Prophet of God.” All that he wishes in this life is that
he should be allowed to worship his Deity as he chooses. Says Krishna
in Bhagvat Gita, the Bible of the Hindus: “Whosoever come to Me,
through whatever form, through that I reach him; All men are struggling
to reach Me through various paths, and all the paths are Mine.”
“There is in the Hindu religion a doctrine called _Ahimsa_, namely,
non-injury to any form of life, which transcends any ethical ideal
known to the western ethics. The idea finds expression in the Society
for Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Animals.” The Hindu religion
is the only religion in the world which forbids the eating of animal
flesh. If all life is of one essence, if the animal pleading for life
suffers as truly as man under the same conditions, is it fair to kill
the animal for the sake of a simple pleasure? This gentle doctrine of
harmlessness has helped to develop in the Hindu character the noble
virtues of benevolence and universal love. The Hindu may lack the
so-called “manly virtues”; his spiritual nature may be shocked to hear
that perfectly civilized men and women kill animals for sport, that
they go on pleasure excursions on the ocean to shoot the flying fish.
The fish is harmless, and when shot merely falls into the ocean; merely
in shooting it lies the sportsman’s amusement. Which of the two extreme
doctrines is right, we shall leave the reader to judge for himself.
But the general doctrine of “harmlessness” must commend itself to the
enlightened moral sense of the West. A right comprehension of this
principle will assist greatly in getting rid of the curse of cruelty
and war.
Two features in the Hindu character which stand out most conspicuously
are truthfulness and chivalry towards women. The name for truth in the
Sanscrit language is _satya_, which means _to be_. “So truth in the
Hindu’s language means that which is. It may not necessarily be the
same as that which is believed by the majority of people. Again, the
highest praise given to the gods in the Veda is that they are truthful
and trustworthy. We know that people will ascribe to their gods the
same qualities which are held in highest regard among themselves.
The whole literature of ancient and modern India is full of episodes
proclaiming the virtue of truth. Rama’s answer to Bharata in the epic
poem of _Ramayna_ [quoted on page 13] is typical of the Hindu’s regard
for truth. In Mahabharata again we find the same devotion to a pledge
once given. Bhisma, for example, was willing to suffer death rather
than to disregard his pledge never to hurt a woman. The poets of the
Vedas, the sages of Upnishads, and the writers of the law books were
all inspired by feelings of profound love and reverence for truth. The
whole literature of India is vibrant with the same keynote--highest
regard for truth.”[22] A perusal of the accounts of the character and
culture of the people of India left by foreign travelers in ancient and
modern times shows that the traveler was most deeply impressed in each
instance by the Hindu’s love of truth. Let us examine a few of these
accounts.
The Chinese traveler Hiouen-thsang writes:
“Though the Indians are of a light temperament, they are
distinguished by the straightforwardness and honesty of their
character. With regard to riches, they never take anything
unjustly; with regard to justice, they make even excessive
concessions.... Straightforwardness is the distinguishing feature
of their administration.”[23]
The Mohammedan historian, Idris, writes thus in his Geography (11th
century):
“The Indians are naturally inclined to justice, and never depart
from it in their actions. Their good faith, honesty, and fidelity
to their engagements are well known, and they are so famous for
these qualities that people flock to their country from every
side.”[23]
Marco Polo, the Venetian explorer, says:
“You must know that these Abraiaman (Brahman) are the best
merchants in the world, and the most truthful, for they would not
tell a lie for anything on earth.”[23]
Major-General Sir W. H. Sleeman, K. C. B., who resided in India nearly
a quarter of a century, and who was during this period employed in
various capacities in which he came in direct contact with hundreds of
people every day, writes of the Indians thus:
“I have had before me hundreds of cases in which a man’s property,
liberty, or life depended upon his telling a lie, and he has
refused to tell it.”
At another place while speaking about the Indian merchants Major
Sleeman says:
“I believe there is no class of men in the world more strictly
honorable in their dealings than the mercantile classes of
India. Under native government a merchant’s books were appealed
to as ‘holy writ,’ and the confidence in them has certainly not
diminished under our rule.”
Finally we shall quote from a speech made by Sir Guy Fleetwood Wilson
in 1913 when he was retiring from the high office of Finance Member of
the Indian Government:
“I wish to pay a tribute to the Indians whom I know best. The
Indian officials, high and low, of my department, through the
years of my connection with them, have proved themselves to be
unsparing of service and absolutely trustworthy. As for their
trustworthiness, let me give an instance. Three years ago, when it
fell to my lot to impose new taxes, it was imperative that their
nature should remain secret until they were officially announced.
Everybody in the department had to be entrusted with this secret.
Any one of these, from high officials to low-paid compositors of
the Government Press, would have become a millionaire by using the
secret improperly. But even under such tremendous temptation no
one betrayed his trust.”[24]
Comment after these unequivocal testimonies of eminent foreign
chroniclers of India is unnecessary. Where else in the world could
the experience of the Finance Member Sir Guy Wilson be repeated? If
everyone who visited the country was equally impressed by the truthful
character of the Hindus there must surely be meaning in the statement
that the Hindus are honest, truthful, and straightforward. Foreign
travelers have visited other lands during various historical periods,
but nowhere else were they so singularly impressed by the integrity of
the people as in India. But we are not obliged to look into ancient
histories to establish the Hindu’s honesty and love for truth. Go
to-day into any town of India. Walk in the business section of Bombay,
Calcutta, or Karachi and there you will find transactions amounting
to hundreds of thousands carried on day after day without a receipt
taken or given. An entry in the ledger books of both parties is all
that is held necessary in such cases. In my own family, low-paid
household servants drawing salaries up to a couple of hundreds a year
were intrusted in the course of their duties with the handling of many
thousands of dollars. And there was no least feeling of hesitation
or anxiety on the part of the family, not because the servants were
bonded, but because they were trusted.
A people who respect truth so highly must be lovers of learning. At
every period in the history of India, a genius has been recognized and
accorded assistance, even if his thesis ran contrary to the popular
prejudice of the day. Whether a new sage lifted his head in the field
of religion, or a thinker in the philosophical or scientific field was
born, he was always allowed an opportunity to express himself under the
most favorable circumstances. He did not have to fear persecution on
account of his ideas. So long as he had a message to offer to mankind,
he was assured an audience. “_Freedom of thought has always prevailed
among all classes of people in India._”
Chivalry toward women, which has been named as another outstanding
feature of Hindu character, has already been discussed in a previous
chapter.
To review in detail the achievements of Hindu civilization would
require volumes. India’s contributions to the world’s study of
philosophy, science, religion, and social organization are legion.
While the continent of Europe was still in a state of barbarism, the
Hindus invented the sciences of grammar, arithmetic, and astronomy.
They were already masters of a perfect alphabet, of a polished
language, and of the most complete systems of law and social ethics
that the world has ever seen. When the forefathers of the Anglo-Saxon
races roamed in forests with painted bodies, the Hindus had an
extensive literature, an established religion, and a developed
civilization. In fact, India has ever been esteemed as the birthplace
of the most natural of natural religions, as the nurse of sciences,
as the inventress of fine arts, and as a fertile home for all forms
of genius. Her lawgivers evolved the most wonderful fabric of social
organization, and composed systems of ethics worthy of the highest
praise; her philosophers invented six most profound systems of
philosophy famous for their subtlety of thought and acuteness of logic;
and her religious teachers formed the two greatest religions of the
world, which are to this day professed by more than half of the human
race. Even in the domain of natural sciences Hindus have advanced to
a high state of development, a fact which is little realized by most
people. Says Sir Monier-Williams:
“Indeed, if I may be at all allowed the anachronism, the Hindus
were Spinozites more than two thousand years before the existence
of Spinoza; and Darwinians many centuries before Darwin; and
evolutionists many centuries before the doctrine of evolution had
been accepted by the scientists of our time, and before any word
like ‘evolution’ existed in any language of the world.”
The Hindus belong to a race of mankind which has outlasted all the
nations of the earth. “Before the days of Abraham India had achieved
a great civilization. Other civilizations had lived and died. Egypt,
Babylon, and Assyria--each came and went. After India had been
flourishing for more than two thousand years, Greece appeared and
passed on. The vast Roman Empire, dominating half the earth, paid huge
tribute to the art and industry of India, then closed its day while the
Hindu people continued to develop magnificent achievements in science,
literature, art, architecture, law and government, philosophy and
religion.” Lord Curzon, whose judgment undoubtedly was not biased in
favor of India, writes:
“India has left a deeper mark on the history, philosophy and
religion of mankind than any other terrestrial unit of the
universe.”
We have thus shown that as a nation the people of India have devoted
their efforts more to the development of the spiritual side of life
than the material. Unlike the aggressive and combative character of
western civilization, the prominent features of Hindu culture are a
passive and reflective attitude toward life. Compared with the record
of her sister nations in the West, the history of the country has been
happier, less fierce, and more peaceful and stable; the inhabitants
have been more careful and thoughtful, passive and tolerant.
Two great civilizations of the world--India and China--separated only
by a long border, have flourished for centuries, and not once in their
entire history have they been at war with each other. They early
realized the truth that the object of human life is not possession of
immense wealth and dominion over weaker races for the sake of physical
comforts. The aim of human effort, as they saw it, should be the
development of the “mental, moral, and spiritual powers latent in man.”
The Hindus evolved for themselves the idea of a God that was omnipotent
and all-merciful, of a human soul that was part of the Universal soul
and must be pure, of a life that has the divine spark in it and must
be boundless and consecrated to the service of all. Truthfulness,
generosity, kindness of heart, gentleness of behavior, forgiveness,
and compassion were taught in India as everyday precepts long before
any such thing as ethics existed in any other part of the world. Their
insistence upon kindness and charity are marks of true virtue; their
belief that ethics must form the basis of religion and a moral life is
the criterion of religious mind; their realization that all men are
brothers and that a virtuous slave is better than a corrupt master,
mark the Hindus as a race of highly intelligent and moral people.
Many of these statements may not be novel, but they have for us
a significant appeal in the fact that “they were thought out and
enunciated many centuries ago, and that they reflected life, not as
it might be imagined in a Utopia, but as it was actually lived by the
common people in the small villages and towns of India.”
Thus wrote Manu, the great law-giver of India:
“That man obtains supreme happiness hereafter who _seeks to do
good to all creatures_.”
FOOTNOTES:
[21] Max Müller.
[22] Max Müller.
[23] Quoted from Max Müller.
[24] Quoted from _Sister India_.