The Genius of India:
summarised from the book ‘The renaissance in India’ by
Sri Aurobindo : essay 1
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The
renaissance, the new birth in India must become a thing of immense importance
to herself and to the world. For her
because of recovery of time-old spirit and national ideals – For the world
because of the possibilities involved in the realising of a force[A1] .
It
is unlike others, has genius of a different nature and not like the mentality
which has governed the modern idea in mankind. Although not so far from that
which is preparing to govern the future. (p1) The resemblance is to Celtic
movement in Ireland recovering Celtic culture from English influence. In India,
the turn was after the 1905 outburst. The whole is a confused chaos at the
present with few lighthouses and torchlights as pioneers. A giant Shakti
reawakening, finds herself in shackles, and bonds both self-woven and imposed. Whether[A2] the word renaissance actually applies to India is a
doubt for spirituality was always there and it kept the soul alive even in
decline. But for the children of her who are still suffering from the ill
effects which came in 18th and 19th century when creative
spirit in Science, Arts, Philosophy reduced to only scholastic punditism.
‘India will certainly keep her essential spirit, will keep her characteristic
soul, but there is likely to be great change of body (p4) Forms not
contradictory to the age old spirit but expressive of those truths, restated,
cured of defects, completed. European writers wrote about metaphysical thinking
of India saying that she was great in it but failed in all other fields. But
this one sided praise was false. Like they mistook Germany’s soul and then got
a brutal shock, so will they get, not brutal, but definitely a startling shock
when they will know India’s real power.
Spirituality
is indeed the master key of Indian mind[A3] , the sense of infinite is native to it. India saw
from the beginning and throughout her long history she never lost hold of the
insight that life cannot be lived only in its externalities. Material laws,
physical forces and physical science were known to her and they were used well
for organizing physical life. But she
saw that physical cannot get her full sense unless it stands in the right
relation to the supra physical. The complexity of the universe cannot be
understood by the present superficial sight.
That
there are other powers within man himself and he is unaware of them. Invisible surrounds physical, supra sensible
surrounds sensible and infinite engulfs finite. That there are myriads of gods,
beyond them the god and beyond is his own ineffable eternity. Then she could
see that the present life, mind and spirit is only fragment of the ranges of
life, ranges of mind and ranges of spirit which exceed and are beyond. And then with that calm audacity of her
intuition which knew no fear and littleness and shrank from no act whether of
spiritual or intellectual, ethical and vital courage, she declared that there
are none of these things which man could not attain if he trained his will and
knowledge. So, since ages this insight
was ingrained in her spirituality – this constant yearning after the infinite
to grapple it, that was the constant turn of her religion, art and
spirituality.
But
spirituality does not flourish in void. So, the next to spirituality was her
stupendous vitality. love and joy of life and prolific creativity[A4] . She creates and creates inexhaustibly, incessantly,
lavishly- republics and kingdoms, sciences, arts, yoga, psychic sciences,
temples, administrations, trade, commerce, ... and is yet unsatisfied, needs no
rest, has no inertia. There is superabundance of energy – ‘Infinite fills every
inch of space with the stirring of life and energy because it is the
infinite.’
(p7)
But this is not a confused splendour of rich tropical vegetation, for the third
power of the ancient Indian spirit is strong intellectuality-austere, rich,
robust, minute, massive in principle and curious in details. (p8) The order was
found on inner law and truth of the things. The practice of the same was
documented as India is a land of dharma and Shastra[A5] . There were successive but mutually inclusive periods
of spirit, dharma and Shastra. From Ashoka to Mohammedan epoch there was
massive creation only a glimpse of which is still surviving. Despite lack of
printing and other means by technology, it transmitted for several centuries
only on memory and vocal recitation. Literature, theology, philosophy, yoga,
logic, languages, politics, science, drama, medicine, arts like painting,
dancing, sculpture, architecture, -all that is ‘useful to life and interesting
to mind’ was covered by this ‘opulent, minute, and thorough intellectuality.
(p9) insatiable curiosity and a spirit of organization and order.
‘Thus,
an ingrained and dominant spirituality, an inexhaustible vital creativeness and
gust of life and mediating between them a powerful, penetrating scrupulous
intelligence combined of the rational and aesthetic mind each at a high
intensity of action created harmony of the ancient Indian culture. ‘(p9[A6] )
The
Buddhist and illusionist denial is only one of philosophic tendencies which
assumed exaggerated proportions in the period of India’s decline. ‘Without a fine
excess, we cannot break limits and so such philosophic tendencies were carried
to the extreme. Not just idealism but even atheism and materialism was treated
in this way. Self-assertion and self-abnegation, opulence and poverty,
splendour and ‘satisfied nudity’ -all are attempted at extreme of pendulum
stroke only to come back to the balance of the ‘middle path[A7] .’
Even
caste system was originally the idea of Varnashram dharma in which it was clear
that each one is great in his own place and each one can become god. ‘Yet it is
notable that this pursuit of the most opposite extremes never resulted in
disorder and its most hedonistic period offers nothing that at all resembles
the unbridled corruption which a similar tendency has more than once produced in
Europe…for both the rule of the intellect and the rhythm of beauty are hostile
to the spirit of chaos[A8] .’
(p12)
So India is not monotone of metaphysical abstraction, rather it is a many
phased, many faced multi-coloured endeavour of spiritual realization with
supple adaptability and high pitches.
The first stage was spiritual, with intuitive mind, spiritual
experiences and realizations, passion for truth in physical and psychical[A9] . This was the age of Veda and Upanishads. That stamp
is still unforgettable, was never lost by her even in the decline and was
always enriched by fresh spiritual experience and discovery. The second stage is the stage of intellect,
age of dharma. Then thirdly was the age when the whole lower life was lifted,
as in the age of Purana, Bhakti sampradayas and Tantra. It was the ‘last flower
of the Indian spirit. The[A10] decline was in
stages- sinking of vital energy, cessation of old intellectual activity, a
slumber of the scientific and critical mind and creative intuition, and finally
spirituality losing its clear synthetic flame and remaining only as sporadic
jets. With great beginning and development, Indian culture fell short of
spiritualising mind and life. The essence remained same but then it was in
smoke of confusing and momentary helplessness in face of unprecedented conditions[A11] . At that moment,
Europeans swept over India and destroyed much of the remnants which had no
power to stand. India’s first reaction was that of awe and blind imitation of
the west, she survived such onslaught only because of the energy of her life.
But this onslaught served a purpose, of reviving intellectuality,
rehabilitating life and creativity, and reviving her spirit, while facing the
novel systems and conditions. Indian renaissance is arriving out of this vision
and impulse.
1. The Recovery of the old spiritual knowledge in all its
splendour, depth and fullness
2. Flowing of this spirituality into new forms of
philosophy, literature, art, science, and critical knowledge.
3. Original dealing with modern problems in the light of
the Indian spirit and the endeavour to formulate a greater synthesis of a
spiritualised society.
The
spirit is a higher infinite of varieties, life is the lower infinite of
possibilities, which seek to grow and fulfil themselves in the light of the
higher. Our intellect, aesthetic being, ethical being are mediators and
reflectors. While the West’s method is to call down as much as possible to
stimulate and embellish life- the east or Asia /India’s method is to discover
the spirit within, to evoke the higher powers to dominate life, and to make
this spirit responsive and expressive of the spirit.
The
work of renaissance is to make this spirit, the higher view of life once again
the creative and dominant power in the world. But at present it is half
awakened and most of the action is under the European impress and because it is
foreign to the spirit within so the action is poor in will, feeble in form and
ineffective in results. (p17) The action must come from the roots with a
greater light and be more generalised to make renaissance possible not only in
prospect but also in fact. (p17[A13] )
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