Nation, as a psychological unit, its importance, inevitabilty and possible shortfalls

Nation is the largest unit which is successfully developed by Nature till this date. And even when Nation is organized, the largest unit yet successfully developed by Nature, entire unity is, not always achieved, all other elements of discord remain, the conflict of classes is always a reality.

For progress of all individuals in a society is not possible at the same speed. So dominance of one class over the rest is always the case, unless those in dominating position are able to practice 'Tyaga and Seva', Nature's method in harmony is to lean completely on one and then on the other, then compromise and so on. Normaltendencyisswallowingupentirelyegoismofotherinone’s own egoism.But the ideal is swallowing of, not one by the other but each by the other. It is the last ideal of love at which the strife tries ignorantly to arrive. This constant tendency of Nature appears as the strife between the equally deep rooted human tendencies, Individualism and Collectivism. Increasing individuality is the index of human growth: a fruit of growing conscious mind. In matter uniformity is the sign of the group. Free variation and individual development progresses with the growth of aggregates is rather the hallmark of that golden age in which mind was freely allowed to sought without societal impositions through laws and plethora of institutions.However, ‘…it is also possible that our progress has not been a development in straight line, but in cycles and that in those cycles there have been periods of at least partial realization in which man did become able to live according to the high dream of philosophic anarchism associated with the inner law of love and light and right being, right thinking, right action.’Unity imposed by kings & parliaments, law and policing, is in fact a rule of collective egoism. And most of the time as Sri Aurobindo wrote so correctly, they are not the best, noblest, highest minds, they are in fact at the other extremes. State is not an organism, it is a machinery, and it works like a machine, without tact, taste and delicacy. It tries to manufacture and misses the human aspiration to create. Individual's initiative is least. State aims at uniformity for that is what is easy for it. While natural variation is impossible for its essentially mechanical nature. But uniformity is death, not life. According to Sri Aurobindo, Education, Culture, Religion are the three essentials of life and when they are controlled by State, it becomes unnatural violence. But still in this stage of our progress, State is necessary and useful, if it can restrict itself to only following duties--: provide all possible facilities for cooperation, remove obstacles, prevent harmful waste and friction, remove avoidable injustice, secure for each individual just and equal chance of self-development and satisfaction: to the extent of his powers, in the line of his nature. Always it is the individual which progresses and compels the rest to progress, for his happiness is in that, instinct of collectivity is to standstill in its established order, for its happiness is in that. As said earlier, Nation is a persistent psychological unit which Nature has been busy developing throughout the world in various forms and educating into physical and political unity. Now Nation stands on as the largest living group unit into which all others must merge or they must become subservient, there is always a geographical separateness which has made India a country and a people apart, even when it was unable to realize its political unity due to continuous invasions and as its culture faced shocks of own and other civilizations around it. From the time immemorial, Spiritual and Cultural unity existed in India. For culture and spirit were the highest priority for India. That unity was consistently nourished, reinstated and reshaped all over India. Attempts for social and political unity were also made repetitively and though it was not complete or lasting, it has been so all over the world. The average period taken is 1500-2000 years looking at the complexity of the groups and situations, and unique passion for diversity, prosperity. In the course of time as the systems get fossilized, a fresh initiative, a fresh creative restatement and vigorous impetus to practice it is needed. This is what is called cultural renaissance. Cultural renaissance means neither going back to the past nor imitation of the West. As mentioned earlier, it is to recover the past, understand the heart of our Dharma, to experience it as a truth, to feel the high emotions to which it raises mind, to express and execute it in our lives. Unless the land is first flooded with cultural and thereby of course spiritual thoughts and movements, the social, political,economic problems cannot be solved for a long time. Unless the entire Nation lifts itself to a higher level of thought and action. The problem of particular regions, sections and sects cannot be solved in totality, and unless this happens, their integration with the mainstream cannot be achieved on a deeper basis. Unless the whole 'Virata' race awakens out of the self-hypnosis, the creative minority which can solve the problems cannot be created and unless that minority is created and unless it works in collective and coordinated manner, a decisive turn cannot be given to the problems over which the whole mankind is stumbling.We must be ready to enter all the existing institutions and fill them with our thoughts and at the same time pledge and work for better institutions. Else the thoughts will remain in void. Our aim is not any destruction of the existing institutions/ systems/ ideas, and by the time any alternate institution/ system/ idea is really ready to substitute the existing counterpart, it will be daydreaming to rely only on the plans and thesis. It is fatal to disarm in the midmost of the battle. Allowing yourselves to get slaughtered by the butchers is not Spirituality. We are fully justified in using Sama , Dama, Danda , Bheda to win over our enemies and enjoy this world. We, for most of the time are in the range of the 'in between dimensions' i.e.in the range of' Newtonian Mechanics' in the 'Vyaktamadhya' and so it will be repeating of the same mistake as of history if we are advocating the wholesale rush to the caves, Moksha for all, brahmacharya for all, Ahimsa for all…- it is not possible.'All need not be put under the same table of laws for that will mean a senseless geometric rigidity which will destroy the plastic truth of life. It was not the original idea of Indian Culture. If the ideal is too lofty then the majority is either frustrated by it or is disgusted by it.Nation is not a laboratory in which these experiments can be done in seclusion.