EE7.5 - Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]

The Spirit of Society

Published in:
A Few Problems Solved Part 6
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]
Supreme Expression Volume 2 [a compilation]
Táttvika Diipiká [unpublished in book form]

Notes:

official source: A Few Problems Solved Part 6

this version: is the printed A Few Problems Solved Part 6, 1st edition, version (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition.

Published in Táttvika Diipiká as “Tritiiya Parva” (Tritiiya Parva = “Part 3”).

The Táttvika Diipiká pamphlets came out as a series of six. No copy of the first is presently available. Parts 2 through 5, so far as is known, came out only in English. Part 6, so far as is known, came out only in Hindi. (It has not yet been translated into any other language.) The series as a whole has not yet been published in book form in any language. They may be published in the future in a small book to be called Táttvika Diipiká.

The spirit of the word Samája (society) signifies a group of people who move together. All are not of equal strength or intellect. Hence the shortcomings in one must be compensated for by another. Different people have varying abilities: some have physical strength but no brains; others have the brains but not the strength to work; and others have neither the strength not the brains, but work well and with a peaceful mind under the guidance of their supervisors. We can always see around us people of differing types and qualities. Judged by the crude codes of this world, no one is totally independent. Everyone relies on someone else in some way or other. Everyone makes up for their deficiencies by taking help from others. Whenever a large group of people strive to make up for their relative differences on terms of mutual understanding, we call it a society or society.

What is society like? It is like a group of people going on a pilgrimage. Try to imagine the scene! Suppose one of the pilgrims is struck down by cholera. Will the rest of them continue on their way, leaving the sick man behind? No, that would be inconceivable for them. Rather, they will break their journey for a day or two, and cure him of his disease. If he is still too weak to walk they will carry him on their shoulders. If some people run short of food, others share what they have with them. Together they share their possessions, and together they march ahead, singing in unison. In their eagerness to move ahead with others they forget their trifling differences which might have led to angry exchanges and court cases in their families, even down to three generations. It is because of the petitions of the complainant in a land dispute that some people go so far as to spend ten or twenty times more than the piece of land is worth. The essence of cooperation resulting from this collective movement aims at expanding a person’s mind by striking down the barriers of meanness. I repeat that a true society is like such a group of pilgrims who attain a deep psychic affinity while travelling together which helps them solve all the problems in their individual and social lives.

If we take the full meaning of the term society into consideration, it will be seen that till now human beings have not been able to form a real society. If India builds a society for only Indians, Pakistan for only Pakistanis, and England for only the English, then three separate societies will exist, but we cannot look upon them as the society of humanity. Because humanity is divided into groups, one society will naturally try to thrive by exploiting the vitality of others. On observation you will notice that efforts are being made to establish so-called societies in some particular part of the world, for some particular section of the people, and based on some particular “ism” or faith. A social consciousness based on such divisions lies latent in the minds of the people, whether they are Indian, Pakistani or English, so they remain absorbed in thoughts of their smaller groups. It is actually due to some external impact that social consciousness takes the form of a really all-embracing Indian, Pakistani or English consciousness. The social consciousness of an enslaved nation is never more keenly felt than when the people are at war with the dominating colonial power. After independence that consciousness is lost.

Examples of antisocial fissiparous tendencies do not stop here. Even in different regions of the same country people do not live within one social group. The creeds of the Brahmins, the Rajputs, the Kayasthas, and other different castes urge people to belong to their own societies. And yet the antisocial spirit of self-differentiation does not end here. There are the even smaller groups of Bundellas, Rathores, Sishodiyas and Caohans among the Rajputs, and there is the antisocial eagerness for relative supremacy in the social sphere between the Paiṋca Gaodiiyas and Paiṋca Dravidiis of the Brahmins.

To what state has society effectively been reduced? I reaffirm the fact that human beings have still not been able to form a human society, and have still not learned to move with the spirit of a pilgrim. Although many small groups, motivated by self interest, work together in particular situations, not even a small fraction of their work is done with a broader social motive. By strict definition, shall we have to declare that each small family unit is a society in itself? If going ahead in mutual adjustment only out of narrow self interest or momentary self-seeking is called society, then in such a society, no provision can be made for the disabled, the diseased or the helpless, because in most cases nobody can benefit from them in any way. Hence it will not suffice to say that all people marching ahead is only a collective form of segregated psychic phenomena; for in that case there always remains the possibility of some people getting isolated from the collective. All human beings must attach themselves to others by the common bond of love, and march forward hand in hand, then only will I proclaim it a society.

You will hear many a vain and assuming person say, “I don’t need anyone’s help, I’m doing very well by myself. I don’t want to concern myself with anyone else’s affairs and I don’t expect anyone else to bother about mine.” Nothing could be more foolish than this statement. Medicine and nursing are necessary to cure diseases; the neighbours’ help is needed to cremate a dead body; and for the regular supply of food and cloth the cooperation of farmers and spinners is essential. Remember, no created being in this universe is independent. No one can exist alone, everyone has a supra-cosmic relationship with the whole, at times prominent, at times indistinguishable. In this scheme of mutual relationships, even the slightest mistake or discord will raise a furious furore in the universe. In this mighty creation, the brilliantly luminous sun and the tiny ant have the same existential value, having combined together to make the universal family. Similarly, in human society, the importance of a powerful and eminent person is no less than that of a disabled and dying patient. None can be ignored. The least injustice done to anyone will cause the break down of the entire social framework.

In this universe of living beings there are some fundamental problems applicable to all which are to be solved by all. These problems may be taken as the common features in the life and Dharma of living beings, and the all-round health of living beings depends on the happy solution of these problems. The more these problems are solved with mutual cooperation, the more beneficial it will be. We must remember in this regard that rights and responsibilities belong to all. Lack of consciousness about rights and responsibilities drives social beings towards a tragic end. It results in the collective fate of living beings being determined by a particular dominating group. The vital energy of society is sapped through such group or class exploitation. Nature’s wealth belongs to all living beings. What is a burden to the earth is a burden to all. Disregard of these ultimate truths eventually leads to disorder in social life, and society’s potentialities are destroyed before they have a chance to develop.

Why have schools been established? Is it not to enable children to learn? All parents want their progeny to acquire knowledge and develop intellect. But even today many parents are unable to send their children to schools. Why is this? Surely, everyone should be given equal opportunities to benefit from any institution established for public welfare. This is everyone’s birthright. Some people wear a mask of culture in public, but in private pursue personal or class interests. This hypocrisy has no place in the human society. It is the cause of the sad state of education in the world today. The same is true for the supply of food, clothing, housing and medical care. The significance of founding a true society lies in solving all problems in a collective way.

There are some tendencies and instincts which are manifest in both animals and humans. In fact, these tendencies are the evidence for existence of animality in humans. These tendencies may be suppressed in the face of stern rhetoric, but to do that is not only undesirable but impossible, because they support the principle structure of existence. Having identical tendencies, humans and animals both belong to the same category of living beings. The difference lies in the fact that the animal in a human body can refine those tendencies and express them in a more subtle manner. This refinement is called culture. To eat is equally essential for all, but people, even when extremely hungry, do not rush up to the table like dogs and sit down to eat with total disregard for their surroundings. Unless their hunger is more powerful than the faculty of reasoning, they will wash their hands before eating. This is a part of culture.

Civilization is not unchanging. There is nothing stationary on this earth – everything is dynamic. Civilization is also a progressive phenomenon, moving from good to better, from imperfection to perfection towards the ultimate goal: perfect Brahma. The greater the tendency of refinement in people, the more cultured they are. We must remember that refinement and hypocrisy are not the same. There is a heaven and hell difference between the external show and the inner motives of a hypocrite, and the inner and outer consistency of a refined individual. Whatever is done in a refined way, is done with reasoning and propriety, and thus, instead of being a cause of social breakdown, will be a cause of social well-being. Let me give an example. The drinking of water is basically an animal instinct. It would reveal a complete lack of culture for anyone to drink drain-water simply because they were thirsty. To ascertain whether the water is pure before drinking, and to ensure that all towns and villages receive a regular supply of pure water, are signs of a civilized society. But to say, “I’m doing a dry fast” after having secretly drunk a glass of water is the height of hypocrisy.

Judged in the relative perspective, the more civilized we become, the more helpless we become. A new-born baby is completely helpless. Just think of the plight of a helpless child in the delivery room the very first day it appears in society! The more cultured people become in a refined social environment, the greater their sense of duty for their children. For this reason children lose the capacity to do anything themselves. According to the Laws of Nature, the more developed the mother’s affection and intellect, the more dependent the child becomes on its mother. In the animal world, the lesser the maternal affection, the shorter the time it takes the offspring to grow strong and selfdependent. Nature takes the responsibility of assisting those neglected offspring by providing them with the necessary survival instincts. A baby monkey has to learn quickly to cling to its mother’s belly as the mother needs to use all four limbs to jump around the forest. The mother can’t carry her baby by its neck, because the baby would die if its neck was twisted. A kitten, however, is blind at birth and thus unable to see its mother, let alone cling to her belly. Thus mother cat is obliged to carry her babies in her mouth. A baby rhinoceros, on the other hand, runs away from its mother after birth! And rightly so, for the mother’s tongue is so rough that several licks might actually kill the baby. The baby rhinoceros waits for its skin to harden a little before returning to its mother.

Society must ensure that proper care is taken of human babies who are totally dependent on the care and protection of their parents for their existence. These helpless children can only convey their pain and discomfort through tears. To raise children from infancy to maturity is an immensely important task. I have said before that the members of society must advance in unison. The newborn babe is another traveller on the path. To adopt a child as our companion, as one included in the society, is called the “Játakarma” of the child.

Living beings may be divided into two main groups based on intellect: those who want to share their wisdom, and those who do not. Those who favour the exchange of wisdom have a greater social awareness. But those who oppose it cannot develop a collective social mind due to a lack of mutual understanding. Human beings are basically beings of social inclination. They must always remember that those possessing little strength and ability, and those not provided with the means to survive the struggle for life by Nature, must be led along in companionship. Those who take great pains to assist the helpless are more civilized and endowed with greater awareness. They are the socially-minded beings who readily embrace the underprivileged, the downtrodden and the rejected people of society.

Ananda Marga keeps its gates open so that each and every man and woman may enter. Anybody may join, anybody may sing in chorus with the rest. The united march of the people is a march of victory. Ananda Marga states this in unequivocal language.

Beware of Dogma

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 30
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]

Notes:

Words in double square brackets [[ ]] are corrections that did not appear in the printed book.

So far as structural solidarity is concerned, the best shape is the oval shape. “Oval” means (in Latin ovum means egg) “similar to an egg, not exactly like an egg but to some extent like an egg; not exactly elliptical but to some extent elliptical”. All celestial bodies are of that shape. That’s why in Sanskrit this universe is called Brahmáńd́a. (Ańd́a means “egg”. And from the Sanskrit word ańd́a it became ańd́á in the Urdu language.)

Now, this universe of ours is very big, but not infinite. It is an elliptical figure, an oval figure, which means it has a boundary line. Yes, it is very big, and actually so big that we cannot measure it; but in theory it can be measured.

Just now I said the most convenient figure is the oval, or elliptical, figure. Take the case of a small atom. Here what happens? In that structure there is the nucleus, the heaviest matter of the structure, and the electrons are moving round that nucleus. A similar structure is our ethereal structure: the earth is the nucleus, and the moon is moving round that nucleus. The next bigger structure is our solar system: the sun is the nucleus, and so many planets are moving round it. And the biggest structure is the Cosmological structure: Parama Puruśa (Puruśottama, the Supreme Nucleus, the Supreme Hub) is in the middle, and so many animated and non-animated objects are moving round it.

Now, this movement is affected by two forces. All students of science know that they are the centrifugal force and the centripetal force. The centripetal force tries to decrease the radius, and the centrifugal force tries to drift the moving object away from the nucleus. In Sanskrit this centripetal force is called Vidyá and the centrifugal force is called Avidyá. (In common parlance, for Avidyá we use the word Shaytán – “Satan” in English.)

Now knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously, each and every entity, either physical or psychic, is moving round that Parama Puruśa. In the case of finite objects or finite structures or systems, when one moving entity goes far away from its nucleus, it is attracted by another nucleus, and in the course of this there take place so many clashes among so many nuclei. But in the case of the Cosmological order, there is a single nucleus for the entire [expressed] universe. The question of going beyond the jurisdiction of that nucleus does not arise. That is, when human beings are highly influenced by Avidyá, their radius from the nucleus increases, but the radius is always there. A human being, an animal, a plant, an inanimate object – everybody will have to move; and that’s why I said movement is life. Stirlessness means death.

And when people are guided by – not guided by, controlled by – dogmas, their stir is lost, so they become lifeless. They are worse than dead bodies. So you boys and you girls, you should know that you must never allow any dogma to goad you, to drift you, away from your nucleus. Never allow your radius to increase. Always try to decrease your radius. Always try to come in closer and closer proximity to the nucleus of this universe.

You may ask, “Bábá,⁽¹⁾ what is dogma?” You should remember, you are all educated boys and girls: dogma is a psychic structure. All ideas are psychic structures; but regarding their boundary lines there should be some flexibility.

I think some of you have come in contact with our Prout theory. I think you have gone through it. There is the fifth item, the fifth fundamental factor, where it is said that the style of utilization should vary in accordance with [changes in] time, space and person. Didn’t I say like this? That is, there is, or there lies, scope for flexibility – no rigidity, flexibility. Because the human mind will not tolerate anything rigid. It wants movement. Not only movement, it wants accelerated movement.

But what is dogma? Dogma is also an idea, but there is rigidity of the boundary line. Dogma will not allow you to go beyond the periphery of that boundary line. That is, dogma goes against the fundamental spirit of the human mind.

(Knowingly or unknowingly, each and every object will have to move round the Supreme Nucleus. There is no alternative. But in case of dogma, what happens? While moving near the Nucleus, the unit mind is highly influenced by the Cosmic Mind as it proceeds towards the Nucleus for the purpose of coincidence. And when it actually coincides, the unit mind becomes one with the Cosmic Mind, and the Cosmic Mind knows no dogma.)

So from the very starting point you should be active, you should be vocal, in fighting against the influence of dogmas. It is due to these dogmas that human society could not progress properly. Otherwise human intellect has developed much during the last five thousand years; it has developed still more during the last two hundred years; and since the second world war – during the last few decades – it has developed still more.

Now, although there has been intellectual progress, there is a crisis of civilization. What is the breeding ground of this crisis? Why the crisis? The crisis is that human existence, which is highly [developed], has been endangered by dogmas. Its very existence on the psychic level has been endangered by dogmas. On the physical level it may or may not be endangered, but on the psychic level there is danger. If you get guarantees on the physical level regarding eating and drinking, sleeping and getting shelter, that will not suffice. You want to be danger-free in the realm of your mind, in the realm of your intellect. You want unbarred, unobstacled psychic progress – intellectual progress. But certain dogmas with their devouring mouths are trying to eat you up.

Take for example communism, Marxism. It is such a dogma. It will not allow you to think beyond its periphery. So it is the duty of all intellectuals to make people conscious of their present and future and cautious of the all-devouring influence of dogma.

Yours is a path towards Supreme Bliss, and you will have to move forward towards the Universal Nucleus. Now, [so many plants and so many animals] have all got minds. I told you that in the case of undeveloped creatures, mind is inborn instinct, but in the case of human beings, mind remains an ever-expanding force. Everybody is moving, knowingly or unknowingly, with so many ideas, with so many feelings, with so many propensities, with so many desires. But each and every aspirant, each and every artist, each and every scientist and each and every philosopher must be ensconced in this supreme veracity – that they will have to be one with the Supreme, that each will have to coincide his or her microcosmic nucleus with the Macrocosmic one. And while moving towards this Macrocosmic Nucleus, no bar should be tolerated, no obstacle should be encouraged. Let there be an unbarred movement of humanity, let there be an unbarred progress of humanity. Humanity that knows no colour, no racial or [[blood]] barrier, no historical or traditional barrier. Human beings have got the same human legacy, and they must boldly stand upon that legacy and move forward with the banner of universal humanity.

[Following the discourse, the author gave a blessing:] Let everybody in the universe be happy. Let everybody in the universe be free from all ailments. Let everybody in the universe see the bright side of everything. Let nobody be forced to undergo suffering.

(1) An affectionate name for the author, used by the author’s disciples. –Eds.

River and Civilization – Excerpt A

Published in:
A Few Problems Solved Part 5
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]

Human life is the most developed and final stage of animal life. The speciality of human life is that it has dharma. In animal life there is no dharma.

Civilization is a collection of usages, manners, etiquette, formalities, ideologies and love. The culture of the entire humanity is the same, but civilization varies from society to society.

Human civilization is created in, and moves along, river valleys. Like a river, human civilization also has three stages – hill stage, plain stage and delta stage. From the hill stage, it moves to the plain stage and from the plain stage to the delta stage. A civilization starts in the hill stage, develops in the plain stage, and matures in the delta stage.

Why are civilizations created in, and why do they move along, river-valleys? In ancient times, up until the Stone Age, humans could not dig wells and depended upon natural sources of water. As such, human habitation started from springs, fountains, waterfalls, rivers, etc. Animals also select such places for habitation; only birds do not follow this rule. Thus, human habitation started near valleys, fountains, waterfalls, springs, and particularly near rivers. Due to the assemblage of humans in the river-valleys, the first stage of civilization started there.

The relation between man and man, man and woman, individual and collective requirements, individual and collective responsibilities – how to move singularly and collectively – the collection of all these is civilization. It has already been said that civilization starts in the hill stage, develops in the plain stage, and attains maturity in the delta stage. Naturally, the delta stage is the finality of a civilization.

The hill stage of the Gangá (Ganges) river-valley civilization in India started from the Garwal and Kumaun ranges of Uttar Pradesh (UP). The rest of UP and Bihar is in the plain stage, and the delta stage starts from Maldah in West Bengal. The hill stage of the Brahmaputra valley civilization starts from Tibet and Arunachal. Its plain stage lies in Assam and its delta stage starts from the districts of Goalpara, Maymensing, and Rangpur (now in Bangladesh).

The delta is that stage where the river starts to merge in the sea by the shortest route. In the delta stage, tributaries have no prominent role. In the hill stage, tributaries play the dominant role, and there are hardly any branch rivers. In the plain stage also, tributaries have the dominant role in the growth and manifestation of civilizations, but branches also have some importance. However, in the deltaic stage, branch-rivers have a more important role than the tributaries.

Simple civilizations (maolik sabhyatá) and blended civilizations (vimishra sabhyátá) are the two basic characteristics of civilization. A particular civilization changes in a particular way as a river moves and merges with other rivers, thus giving rise to sub-civilizations.

The Mandakinii and Alakánanda river civilizations emerged. We find the blending of these two civilizations at the hill stage. After passing through so many mountains, hills, fountains, etc., these two rivers, Mandákinii and Alankánanda, come in contact with each other at the hill stage. They merge near Hardwar, and there the two simple river civilizations. Garwali and Kumauni respectively, combine to produce a blended Gangá civilization, which comes up to Prayága.

Now, another river valley civilization, the Jamuna civilization along the river Yamuna, is also a collection of several sub-civilizations comprising many customs, costumes, manners, etc. It also comes up to Prayága. The blended Gangá civilization and the blended Yamuna civilization merge at Prayága and a blended Gangá-Yamuna civilization occurs after the river confluence at Prayága and moves towards Varanasi. Prayága is the second blending of manners, customs, etc., of the Gangá and Yamuna civilizations.

After Prayága we find another blending of civilizations. Therefore, there are variations in the manners, customs, languages, intonations, physical structures and economic conditions of eastern UP and western UP. A further blending occurs in the blended civilizations of the Gangá and Yamuna when the Gomati, Papti, Sone and Saraju rivers bring new trends from the northern portion of the Himalaya and Chambal-Ghagher river from the Vindhya ranges. Thus civilizations vary and sub-civilizations, branch civilizations, emerge at different stages of the movement of a river and its blending with other river-civilizations.

The Bundela sub-civilization emerges due to the blending of the Yamuna and Chambal civilizations. The Bagheli sub-civilization emerges due to the blending of the Yamuna and Sone.

After Kashi there is another blending of civilizations where several other rivers merge. Thus in this plain stage, tributaries and branch rivers play an important role in the emergence of new civilizations.

After Madrah in West Bengal, the Gangá enters the delta stage–a stage where branches have the dominant role. The blended civilization of the Gangá attains maturity in Bengal. “Daha” means the circular movement of water in a river; so it is called Maldaha. At Maldah, the Ganga turns to the right. The blended Gangá civilization is in its highest form in the deltaic stage in Bengal.

Now it is clear that the hill stage of the India civilizations occurs in the hill area of UP and the rest of UP, and Bihar are in the plain stage, where Baghali, Bundeli, Avadhi, Bhojpuri, Magahi, Maetheli, and Aungiká sub-civilizations emerged.

The Brahmaputra civilization is a combination of the proto-Chinese and Indo-Tibetan civilizations. The civilization of Assam is a blending of the Tibetan-Chinese and Gangá civilizations, due to the proximity of Assam with the Gangá civilization. After this, the Brahmaputra turns to the left and enters Bengal, which is in its delta stage. The delta stage of the Brahmaputra civilization is its final stage. Bengal is the finality of the Brahmaputra civilization.

In Bengal there is another civilization as well, the civilization of Ráŕha. The hill stage, plain stage and delta stage of the Ráŕha civilization is in Bengal. So many rivers of Ráŕha merge in the area of lower Bengal, which results in further blending. Thus in Bengal, there is a blending of three delta civilizations – the Gangá, Brahmaputra and Ráŕha civilizations. This is the highest blended civilization of the world. Nature helps the people of Bengal in their intellectual progress, because no two great rivers like the Gangá and the Brahmaputra merge together anywhere else in the world.

In original civilizations (maolik sabhytá), people are physically strong. In blended civilizations, people are strong in the psychic stratum and the civilization is complicated as well as forceful. In the simple Gangá civilization people are simple and physically strong; in the delta stage people are complicated, less physically strong and strong psychically.

The people of Bengal are intellectually developed because first, Bengal civilization is a blending of three deltaic civilizations and secondly, it is not a simple civilization but a great, complicated civilization – the blend and finality of three deltaic civilizations. Naturally, therefore, it is a powerful civilization, advanced in the intellectual and other spheres.

River and Civilization – Excerpt B

Published in:
A Few Problems Solved Part 5
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]

Notes:

from Shadba Cayaniká Part 3

official source: A Few Problems Solved Part 5

this version: the first section is the printed A Few Problems Solved Part 5, 1st edition, version (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected). The second section is the printed Shadba Cayaniká Part 3, 1st edition, version. I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition.

While discussing destiny, or decree of fate, I still vividly remember an old story which is still vibrating my mind. I went to Allahabad to deliver a lecture on Indian philosophy in response to an invitation from the university. Usually I don’t accept such invitations, but this particular case was a little different and more significant for me. First I knew many of the university administration and teaching staff, and secondly the university of Allahabad was highly reputed and influential. My lecture was complete by evening and I left Allahabad city without delay for Muzaffarpur, where I had some important work. Suddenly, at the waiting room at Rambag railway station I happened to meet Sutanuká and her son Himaván. She was delighted to see me and exclaimed joyfully, “Elder brother, what a surprise! I would never have dreamed that I would meet you here.”

Sutanuká Mitra is my cousin. I had last seen her fifteen years before at Chandannagar at the marriage of her younger sister. Her husband Arúpratan Mitra was a veteran military officer who earned a name for himself during British rule. I met him for the first time during that marriage at Chandannagar (Boŕo Káliitalá.)

“Since we are meeting after such a long time,” I said to my cousin, “why don’t you come with me to Muzaffarpur? From there you’ll be able to go directly to Burdwan.”

“Well, I was thinking to visit your place during the winter holidays,” she replied. “Himaván has to go to college, and Arúpratan will be landing at Dumdum airport the day after tomorrow after his trip to London. He’ll be going straight to Burdwan from the airport. Our house is locked up, so if we get home late, he’ll be greatly inconvenienced.”

I realized her difficulty. We decided to travel together in the same compartment to Varanasi by narrow gauge railway and exchange stories. On reaching Varanasi I would take the narrow gauge on to Muzaffarpur and Sutanuká would take a train to Burdwan, arriving there either late at night or before dawn. It was expected that Arúpratan take a local train from Calcutta to Burdwan and reach home at about 10 A.M. the same day. That was finally decided. It had been a long time since Sutanuká and I had seen each other.

Though Sutanuká and her family were living at Burdwan they originally belonged to the Mitra family of Konnagar. Towards the end of Pathan rule, an intellectual society grew up in Hooghly District on the west bank of the river Bhágiirathii. Konnagar was one of the intellectual centres. In those days the Ráy Mitras of Konnagar were the landlords. Konnagar was considered as one of the most cultured and well-educated villages of Hooghly District of Rarh. Moreover it was one of the most famous places in the whole of Bengal. Its original name was Karńanagar. The people said that in Bengal if there was only one nagar or town it would be Karńanagar. That is why the town’s name could often be heard during a conversation between intellectuals. If anyone was asked, “Which is the best town to go to?” he or she would reply, “There is only one town. Why should you ask ‘Which town [Kon nagar in Bengali]?’ – There is only one town: Konnagar.” And that is how the place became known as Konnagar.

I said to Sutanuká, “The name of the city we’re about to leave is known as Allahabad city, but formerly it was called Prayága. It’s a fact that Prayága is older than Konnagar. It was built towards the end of the Yajurvedic period six thousand years ago. But Burdwan is even more ancient than Prayága. During Pathan rule Prayága was renamed Allahabad (Abode of Allah). Since then its popularity has been increasing. The Shia Moslems named the city Illahabad, but during the Mughal period, the prosperous growth of the city was checked. Thereafter, the city again began to flourish towards the end of the British rule when it became the capital of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (UP for short).

“In the pre-Buddhist era Burdwan was the capital of Rarh. In the Buddhist and Jain era it remained Rarh’s capital. During the Mughal period (during the reign of Akbar) Burdwan was the capital of Suba-Bángal. But Konnagar had no such royal glamour. It was just a cultured village of Burdwan District (the district of Hooghly was not created then). Iishan Chandra Ghosh, the renowned Bengali scholar of medieval Bengal; Rama Chandra Ghosh, the illustrious logician and author of scriptures; Práńatosá Biswas, the most erudite Sanskrit and scriptural scholar; and Dr. Krśńadhan Ghosh (Aurobindo’s father), the first Bengali District Medical Officer (DMO) and Civil Surgeon, were all born in Konnagar.” Then I turned towards Himaván and said, “Your father was born at Konnagar but you belong to Burdwan.”

He pointed out, “You told us a little while ago that Konnagar was within Burdwan District.”

I said, “That’s a hundred per cent true.” We were travelling from west to east – from ancient Brahmávartta or Brahmarśidesh to the ancient Káshii kingdom. That part of the Gangetic valley is considered as the middle part of the Ganges river civilization. The Prayága area is considered as the upper part of the Ganges river civilization. The area stretching from Prayága to the confluence of the rivers Shone and Ganges is the middle part of the Ganges river civilization. And the area from the Shone-Ganges confluence to Sahebganj is considered as the Gaod́á part of the Ganges river civilization. The area from Sahebganj, where the Ganges starts flowing southward, to Gangasagar is known as the final part of the Ganges valley civilization or Gaod́iiya civilization. The Gaod́iiya civilization is most developed where the rivers of Rarh – carrying with them the local cultural specialities of Rarh civilization – and the Brahmaputra river, coming from the northeast – carrying with it the flow of Mongolian civilization merge into the Ganges. The part of the Ganges valley civilization which was the home land of the pre-Gaod́iiya and Gaod́iiya civilization cannot be called the Aryan civilization in the proper sense of the term. Actually, it is the east India civilization or extended Ganges delta civilization.

So the area from Allahabad to Káshii or Gańd́akii (here Gańd́akii means Náráyańii-Gańd́ak – not the Buŕi Gańd́ak of Muzaffarpur and Samastipur) is part of the pre-Gaod́iiya civilization. Burdwan can be considered as the nucleus of Ráŕiiya civilization, and Konnagar as the main source of the Gaod́iiya civilization which is itself based on the Ráŕiiya civilization. “So you see, Himaván, your Burdwan and your father’s Konnagar are both bathed in the light of the same golden moon.”

Himaván was a B.Sc. student, but I was amazed by his ardent interest in river-valley civilizations. Even though he was a young boy he had an unusually keen interest in the origins of civilization. He asked me, “Uncle, different species of plants, trees and animals and a particular human civilization have followed the Ganges downstream from its source in Gauṋgottarii. Similarly, other species of plants, trees and animals as well as a different human civilization have followed the banks of the river Yamuna downstream from its source at Yamunottarii. What is the result of the merging of the two rivers, the Ganges and Yamuna, at Prayága?”

I answered, “That’s a good question. Just as the river Ganges has brought with her saffron-coloured clay, special types of flora and fauna and its own alluvium, the river Yamuna has also carried her own distinct characteristics down from her source. A little further downstream, another river, the Charmánvatii or Chambal, carrying the special characteristics of the western Indian civilization of Málava and Bundelkhańd́a merges into the Yamuna. In this area a new mixed civilization occurred which can be called the Baghelii civilization. The Yamuna carried this mixed civilization, and merged its black waters into the Ganges at Prayága. So, the middle stage of the Gangetic valley civilization starts from Prayága.

“The Gangetic river valley civilizations upriver and downriver from Prayága are not the same. The middle stage lying to the south of the Ganges continues up to the Ganga-Shoń confluence at Patna, and that lying to the north continues up to the Ganges-Náráyańii confluence near Hajipur. After that the pre-Gaod́iiya civilization starts there. Comparatively speaking the Austric influence is comparatively less than the Mongol-Tantric influence. This area has been known as Trihotriiya Bhúmi since ancient times. On the south of the Ganges, after the Ganga-Shoń confluence, the Pre-Gaod́iiya civilization starts no doubt, but there the Mongol-Tantric influence is less than the Gondawana influence.

“From the ethnological point of view, there is a difference between Trihotriiya Bhúmi and Magadha Bhúmi. In the physical structure of the people of Trihotriiya Bhúmi the Austric influence is less than the Mongolian influence. Black people are few in number. From the complexion of the people in Magadha it is evident that the Mongolian influence is almost nil. Flat-nosed people are very few. There are many black-complexioned people but with aquiline noses.

“Although Trihotriiya Bhúmi (Videha or, Mithilá) and Magadha belong to the same language group, the Mágadhii Prákrta group, the Maethilii language belongs to the Eastern Demi-Mágadhii group, and the Magahii language belongs to the Western Demi-Mágadhii group. The difference in intonation of the languages is particularly discernible, yet both languages belong to the pre-Gaod́iiya Gangetic Civilization, is noticed in Anga Bhúmi, where the Trihotriiya and Mágadhii cultural characteristics have blended into one. These characteristics came in contact with the Gaod́iiya civilization.

“This Gangetic valley civilization has been transformed into pure Gaod́iiya civilization or deltaic civilization where the River Ganges and the Vindhya Range have come closest to each other near Sahebganj in Angadesh, and from that point the Ganges flows southwards.”

Himaván said, “ I want to do research on the subject when I’m grown up. But from my conversation with you I can clearly understand that this sort of research cannot be done sitting at our Borehat residence in Burdwan or at the Shyampur residence in Calcutta; rather we have to move a great deal in the fields and along the banks of the rivers.”

I said, “You are right. This type of work cannot be done theoretically or half-heartedly. One hundred per cent sincerity is required for this sort of task, and then one will achieve one hundred per cent success.”

Sutanuká said, “Well, brother, I think we have now almost reached Káshii. After a while we’ll reach Benares city by narrow gauge. I’d like to know how deep the Vedic influence was in this area which you describe as the second part of the Gangetic Valley civilization.”

I replied, “Look, as far as I understand, the land of Rarh is the land where Sanskrit originated. But the ancient language which we describe as the Vedic language came to India from the northwest along with the Aryans. The Aryans first migrated to the Sindhu-Saoviira, and the land of Sapta-Sindhu, the Seven Rivers (Sutlej or Shatadru, Bias or Vipásha, Ravi or Irávatii, Chenub or Candrabhágá, Jhelum or Vitastá, Kabul and Sind). These seven rivers together are known as the Sapta-Sindhu. Later on the land became known as the Punjab, that is, the land of five rivers. The names of two rivers have been dropped, so there remain only five.

“This is the first phase of the Vedic influence in India. In the second phase the Aryans moved further southeast: their influence pervaded in the northern part of the Yamuna valley. That area was known as Haritadhánya or the ‘Land of Green Vegetation’ (Haritadhánya → Hariahánna → Harihána → Hariyána).

“Then, in the next phase, the Aryans reached Prayága around the Ganga-Yamuna valley. This we can describe as the third phase of the Vedic influence. Then they moved farther east, and their influence extended to the Gańdákii river on the north and the Shon River on the south. This can be called the fourth phase of the Vedic influence. In this area was situated the ancient Káshiirájya or Kingdom of Káshii. We are now journeying through the Káshiirájya. One thing to be noted here is that in the first phase, the Vedic language left two daughters behind: Páshcáttya and Paeshácii Prákrta. In the languages born out of this Páshcáttya and Paeshácii Prákrta (for example, Pashto, Punjabi, etc.) there is a multitude of derived words from the Vedic language. In the second phase, that is, in the Hariyánavii language, the percentage of Vedic-derived words is somewhat less. In the third stage, the percentage of the Vedic-derived words is still less, for instance in languages like Máŕoyárii, Haŕaotii, Bundelii, Bághelii, Avadhii, and Vrajabháśa, etc. And in the languages of the fourth stage, like Bhojpurii, the percentage of Vedic-derived words is still less. But no one should misunderstand that in the fourth stage the Vedic influence was nil. No doubt the direct Vedic influence in the fourth stage was nil, but the indirect influence in pre-Gaod́iiya and Gaod́iiya civilizations was tremendous, and that influence still persists even today.”

Sutanuká said, “I’ve noted with interest that in the fourth stage the external appearance of the people and the size of the cattle are quite different from those of the pre-Gaod́iiya and Gaod́iiya civilizations.”

Then I said, “You’re right in your observation. The structure of the human skull of people in this area is different from that of the people of the area of pre-Gaod́iiya civilization. But the human skull of the people of Angadesh is almost the same as that of the people of the Gaod́iiya area; the difference is hardly discernible.”

Káshii is not very far from Allahabad. After a short while we reached Benares city station by narrow gauge. Himaván said with a choked voice, “Uncle, now we must get off. I don’t know when we shall meet again. It was a very lively and interesting discussion.”

Both Sutanuká and Himaván were repeatedly requesting me to visit them at Burdwan: they complained that I had forgotten Burdwan. I protested, saying “No, I haven’t forgotten it – I have so many pleasant memories of Burdwan, so many songs of sweet love filled with joys and sorrows associated with Burdwan.”

They proceeded to the city centre. My private secretary approached me and said, “My in-law is sitting in the next compartment – he’s going to Chápra.” I said, “When your in-law is sitting nearby, why don’t you go and have a chat with him for a while? I won’t mind. Tomorrow morning there is an auspicious occasion of holy bathing in the Ganges, so most of the passengers are bound for Benares. There will be relatively few passengers from Benares to Muzaffarpur. Perhaps I will be the only passenger in this compartment.”

My private secretary went to the next compartment to talk with his in-law. I supposed he was enjoying a hearty meal of lit́t́i [a type of fried unleavened bread] soaked in ghee. The train left with a whistle, and the wheels started moving. Suddenly, a handsome gentleman dressed in a military uniform came running up, and, gasping for breath, entered the compartment. Immediately he approached me with rapid steps. After a while, when I looked closely at him, I was amazed to see that he was none other than my brother-in-law, Arúpratan Mitra, Sutanuká’s husband, whom I met about fifteen years ago at Boŕokáliitalá at Chandannagar! I requested him to take his seat beside me, and said to him, “How are things going – why are you running, gasping for breath? Why are you coming to meet me at 9:00 at night in this empty compartment? I’m on my way to Muzaffarpur; where are you going?”

Arúp said, “About fifteen minutes ago, at a quarter to nine, my mind suddenly became restless and agitated with so many thoughts and feelings. I thought to myself, ‘However possible, and as fast as possible, I must come to you immediately.’ It is my firm conviction that this restlessness, this agitation, will be put to rest as soon as I come near you. I now desperately need peace… only peace. I don’t want happiness, or prosperity – I don’t want the least amount of wealth or jewels of this vast world – I want only peace. ”

Arúp sat down. He was still gasping for breath. I asked him, “When your mind became restless, where were you then?” He replied, “I was far away from here… on the shore of a sea.” I said, “If you were so far away from here, then how could you come here in fifteen minutes?”

With a glimmer of a sweet smile on his lips he replied, “I came very fast, so I am gasping for breath. Immediately after reaching you, my mind has become peaceful. Now I feel a deep tranquillity within.”

I said, “Unrest or peace are all in the mind. Well, let us talk for a while.”

Arúp said, “Some time ago I heard from someone that you have already addressed a few symposia on river valley civilizations. I couldn’t realize what it was, but I guessed that you might have said something about how at the different stages of rivers the patterns of civilizations vary.”

He answered, “Yes, I was,” and said, “Perhaps you know that Great Britain is a small country; the distance from any part of Britain to the ocean is not more than fifty miles. So naturally in that country there cannot be any large river: the distance between the source of a river and the ocean cannot be very great. Yet if we move along the banks of certain rivers, there is a difference between the civilization of the upper areas of the river and the lower ones, and there is also a variation in language.

“Take for example the case of the river Thames: it is not a big river, either in width or in breadth. The part of the river Thames where the ships sail is not really a river, it is only an estuary of the sea, just like the Mátlá river near Canning. Many people think that the Mátlá is perhaps a wide and large river. They may think that in olden days the southern branch of the river Yamuna (Vidyádharii) emerging from the Ganges at Trivenii, moved southwards, and then it and the southeastern tributary of the Ganges (Piyálii) both flowed separately for a certain distance and then joined together to form the Mátlá river. Though this is a fact, yet the collective waters of these two combined rivers is quite small. In fact, the Mátlá river is nothing but the estuary of the sea entering into the land.

“The deltaic portion of the river Thames is somewhat similar. The more one proceeds down the river from the source of the Thames, the greater is the Anglo-Saxon and Norman influence. If one moves from the southern bank of the Thames towards the Straights of Dover, there is still a tremendous Norman influence, like a subterranean flow. If one moves from the northern side of the river towards the port of Grimsby on the delta at the coast, there is a greater Anglo-Saxon influence than Norman influence. If one moves towards the coast, the Norman influence becomes negligible. Where there is Norman influence, there are large numbers of Latin derivations in the spoken language. Where the Anglo-Saxon influence is predominant, the number of Latin derivative words is comparatively little. The difference in intonation in the respective areas, too, is quite discernible.

“If one moves towards the opposite part of the Thames river, or towards Wales in the west, the ancient Briton influence is not negligible, even in the spoken language. This is the reason why, though Welsh is a language of a small country, yet it has certain specialities of its own. Even the difference in people’s external appearance, though not very prominent, is not negligible either.”

I said, “You are right, Arúp, in your observation. I notice that both you and Himaván are equally interested in river valley civilizations. I was not aware of this before!”

Arúp blushed and smiled faintly. He said, “Perhaps you once said that in our land of Rarh, on either bank of the Bakreshvar river in central Birbhum, there is a local civilization which, though small in area, has its own speciality even in the style of its temples and also in its terracotta works. There is also a difference in the use of verbal forms in the spoken language of that area. Similarly, in southern Birbhum also, there is a small river called the Kopái (Kupita or ‘angry’) in whose valleys there is also some sort of local civilization. As far as I remember, someone said that the water of the Bakreshvar valley is one of the best for it is full of sulphur. But the water of Kopái valley, though it is as good as that of many places in Bengal, is not as good as that of the Bakreshvar valley. The two small rivers, with their own distinctive streams of water, flow from the west to the east, carrying the rhythmic songs of the most ancient human civilization, in cadence with the dancing rhythms of the land of Rarh. When the two rivers meet at Melanpur (meaning ‘meeting place’) at one end of the area under the jurisdiction of the Nanur police station, they are known as Kuye, and at that point both their local civilizations become blended. Melanpur really joins the two rivers in all respects. If one listens intently to the local dialect, one will hear a particular drawled intonation which is lacking in west Birbhum. Besides this, other local variations also came into being there.”

I said, “You are right, Arúp. Really I am delighted by your description. The specialities of the river valley civilizations are very distinct in our Birbhum. In the upper reaches of Birbhum, the spoken language has no drawled intonation: it is one of the flawless branches of the Rarh language. But in the lower reaches of Birbhum, the same Rarh dialect has a local drawl – have you noticed it?”

Arúp said, “Yes, I have. This subtle difference in intonation between the area of the Khayrásol police station and the Lábpur police station, and again, between the Khayrásol police station and the Mayureshvar police station, can be easily discerned only by listening to it.”

Arúp said, “Though it is not directly concerned with culture, still it is a funny story…”

Arúp said, “At Khayrásol in the upper reaches of Birbhum, there is a widespread use of poppy seed, whereas in the lower reaches, the use of poppy seed is less by five to seven per cent. That is to say, in the upper reaches there is an empire of poppies, and in the lower reaches there is merely a kingdom of poppies!”

Arúp burst into laughter. I too joined in his laughter. To continue, I said, “The other symbols of Rarh culture – like d́iḿle [a type of pumpkin], kheŕo [another type of pumpkin], green gram, jhumur dance are equally popular in both the upper and lower reaches.”

Arúpratan smiled, and said with a voice growing in excitement, “Yes brother, I’ve noticed that too. You see, although I live in Burdwan in central Rarh, I was actually born in Konnagar in the low-lying area of Rarh. In our place also, pumpkin and green gram are very popular, and people can hardly live without poppyseed.”

“By the way, Arúp”, I said, “you rushed into this compartment at exactly nine o’clock. How long were you able to speak with Sutanuká and Himaván on the platform?”

Arúpratan exclaimed in wide-eyed amazement, “What! Did Sutanuká and Himaván come here?”

“Don’t you know that?” I asked. “They accompanied me in this very compartment from Allahabad City and got off the train in Benaras. They were in a hurry to get to Káshii where they were planning to catch an evening train which would get them to Burdwan by dawn on Wednesday morning. They told me that you were expected to land at Dumdum airport at around the same time, and that you would take a local train from Howrah to Burdwan, reaching there at about ten the same day. They have the keys of the house, so if you were to arrive there before them you would be put to great trouble. They knew they had to reach Burdwan by dawn on Wednesday by any means.”

“No, I didn’t see them,” said Arúpratan. “I missed them at Benaras railway station. But what you said was correct: I was expected to arrive at Burdwan at ten on Wednesday morning.” He paused for a while and then continued. “They shouldn’t catch any train which will get them there late at night or at dawn – I apprehend some danger.”

“If you sense some impending danger, under no circumstances should they catch any Burdwan train at that particular time. You should get off the train at the next station and find some way to go to Káshii.” And I advised him, “You’d better go to Káshii and look for them in all the probable places. They have to be prevented from taking any of those Burdwan trains.” He said, “That’s a good idea. That’s a good idea.”

The train slowed down. We were approaching a station, no doubt. Arúpratan jumped to his feet, rushed to the door, and, looking like a bird ruffled by a raging tempest, leapt onto the platform without waiting for the train to stop. He had reason enough to be worried.

As soon as the train stopped my private secretary hurriedly entered my compartment. I guessed he had just finished his dinner of lit́t́i [a type of fried, unleavened bread] with his in-law. Perhaps his in-law had also served him kaŕiibaŕii [a type of dumpling made of chick-pea flour and served in yoghurt water] and mákhána kśiir [a type of sweet rice] for dessert. My private secretary sat beside me and asked me if I had been inconvenienced in any way. I said I hadn’t. Our train was moving from west to east across the border of the ancient Káshii state. I had told Himaván that this was the last area to come under Aryan influence. In the fourth phase of the Aryan invasion of India, Káshii can be regarded as a border state of northern India (Áryávartta). The River Sarayu not only carried the Aryan influence along its banks but also Mongol and to some extent Austric influence as well. That is why its eastern bank was considered as non-Aryan land. Later on this boundary was further extended to the River Gańd́akii (Náráyańii Gańd́ak). The Kányakubja Brahmans of those days did not like to cross the River Sarayu. As the land on the other bank was non-Aryan it was considered unholy. They were afraid they would lose their Aryan purity. Those Kányakubja Brahmans who dared to cross the river, being lured by the fertile land of the trans-Sarayu area, were declared outcastes. They lost their identity as Kányakubja Brahmans and became known as Sárayupárii Brahmans.

During Pathan rule, the last boundary of Áryávartta was the present Ghazipur District. In those days north India consisted of three Subas [administrative divisions]: Suba Bángál on the east, Suba Punjab on the northwest and Suba Hindostan between the two. Even today, the people of Bengal and the Punjab call the inhabitants of the middle part of northern India “Hindustani”. Some people are of the opinion that Hindustan means the whole of India and thus why should the inhabitants of a small part of India be called Hindustani. But this is wrong, because the term “Hindustani” is used for the people who were once the inhabitants of Suba Hindostan, and not in the sense of Hindustan as being the whole of India. During the Mughal period when Akbar divided his empire into fifteen subas, the name of the northern part of Suba Hindostan was Oudh and the southern part, Suba Agra. Ghazipur District was the last boundary of Suba Agra. On the east of Ghazipur District lies Balia District. Previously it was only a subdivision of Ghazipur District. Similarly, there was no Deoria District in those days. It was only a subdivision of Gorakhpur District.

The British occupied both Agra and Oudh Subas and made one administrative area out of them – the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (UP for short) with its capital at Allahabad. In the last part of British rule, the capital was moved to Lucknow. Anyway, there was a marked influence of Mongol and Austric cultures on the Aryan society inhabiting the Sarayú river valley. Later on many Aryans crossed the Sarayú river and declared the banks of the Gańd́akii as the boundary line of Áryávartta. The area lying on the west of the Gańd́akii valley was called Shákyárańya and the area on the east was called Videha or Mithilá. This latter area was not considered as an Aryan colony. I personally consider it as part of the area covered by the pre-Gaod́iiya Gangetic valley civilization.

King Mithi occupied Videha. To sanctify the land he held a Trihotriiyá Yajiṋa [a big sacrifice presided over by three priests]. It was then declared sacred. The land sanctified by the performance of a Trihotriiyá Yajiṋa was named Trihut. The land of Shákyárańya, although not widely valued by the Aryans, was respected by the Buddhists. Lord Buddha visited it a couple of times. Later, it became known as Shárańa (Shákyárańya → Shákyárańa → Shárańa). In later years it was wrongly spelt as Sháran.

On the north of Shákyárańya was the ancient and famous place, Champakárańya. A reference is made to it in the Rámáyańa [one of the two great Sanskrit epics] (Campakárańya → Campárańya → Camparań). Shákyárańya and Campakárańya are situated in the Náráyańii-Gańd́aka valley. On the eastern bank is Videha or Mithilá or Trihut, the land which was occupied by King Mithi. Mithi + lá [holder] + d́a [suffix] + á [feminine suffix] = Mithilá. In the Buddhist period one of the famous villages of Shákyárańya was Hatthiigrám (Hastiigráma in Sanskrit). Buddha visited this place a couple of times. It is now known as Háthoyá. During British rule the Háthoyá estate was one of the biggest estates in India. Then came the river Gańd́akii – Náráyańii Gańd́aka. The biggest cattle fair in India, known as the Hariharkśetra fair, is held once a year on the banks of this river. Nearby is the Shońpur railway station.

Immediately after crossing the Gańd́akii river bridge at Shońpur we reached Mithilá. During the Mughal period and the early part of British rule, the Mithilá division of Bengal Presidency consisted of three districts: Trihut, Champaran and Shárań. The district headquarters of Champaran was Motihári, that of Shárań was Chápra, and that of Trihut was Muzaffarpur. This latter district was named after Muzaffar Shah. It covered a wide area and until the early part of the British period its fertile soils were thickly forested. The forests contained abundance of numerous species of flora and fauna, notably tigers, antelopes, crocodiles, panthers and deer. The lake on the ancient river course of the river Lakhandei covered a larger area in those days and was surrounded by extensive forest full of abundant flora and fauna. A major part of the forest was part of the king of Darbhanga’s estate. Some of it was within the Shúraśańd́a kingdom, and some part belonged to the estate of the Bettiah king. People today, out of necessity, but also out of immense greed have destroyed most of the forest, particularly in Trihut District.

At Vaeshali⁽¹⁾ in Trihut District Vardhamána Maháviira was born into a Vaeshya family. His father’s name was Siddhártha and his mother was called Trishalá. The Trihut District as well as Mithilá were located partly in the Náráyańii-Gańd́aka valley and partly in the Buŕigańdaka and Lakhandei valleys. There was more Gaod́iiya influence here than in Aŕyávaŕtta. The Bengali script is used here. It is to be noted that both Buddha and Maháviira were born in a place where there was less Aryan influence in comparison.

Trihut District was quite large in area. The British divided it into two parts: Muzaffarpur District in the west with its headquarters at Muzaffarpur, and Darbhanga District in the west with its headquarters at Laheriasarai village (which has since become so large that it almost touches the city of Darbhanga. The old Muzaffarpur District is now divided into three districts: Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur and Vaeshali (Hazipur). This is the same Muzaffarpur which was considered as one of the most cultured places in the whole of the then Suba Bángál. The old Darbhanga District has since also been divided into three districts: Madhubanii (a place where there is an abundance of forest honey); Darbhanga, named after the famous Dáŕibhangá Shah (In Maethilii the town is called “Daiŕbhanga” but spelt Daŕibhangá); and Samastipur, named after Samasti Náráyan Ray).

The Maethilii branch of the pre-Gaod́iiya valley civilization was enriched by the Mongol-Tantric civilization that flourished in the Náráyańii Ganges, Buri-Gańd́aka, Lakhandei, Bágmatii, Kamalábálán and Koshii valleys. King Prthvii Náráyan Shah established the Gorkha empire in Nepal at this time. The Gorkhas occupied Tirhut District and advanced up to Hazipur. Thereafter they were defeated by the British (The British commander-in-chief was General Octorloney in whose name the Englishmen living in Calcutta built a war memorial. In recent times, the leaders, ignorant of history, have changed the name of the Octorloney Memorial to Shahiid Minar [Martyrs’ Column]) and were forced to sign the Treaty of Sugaoli (Champaran District). According to the terms of the treaty, the British got possession of Garhwal and Kumayun regions from Nepal, which was included in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, and they also reclaimed a major portion of Champaran and Trihut Districts. Part of the northern portion of Trihut was left in Nepal and is still part of Nepalese territory. The former capital of Mithilá, Janakpur, is situated in that area. Many people of Bengal know the famous Janakpur catachu.

I got off the train at Muzzafarpur and spent two days of intense activity there. I arrived home about a week later, my mind full of pleasant memories. Waiting for me on the table was a letter from Himaván, sent from Burdwan, in which he wrote: “Dear Uncle, We had an unforgettable experience on our return to Burdwan. We left Káshii late Tuesday evening and were sure that we would reach home either late Tuesday night or Wednesday morning at dawn. Late into the night, mother and I were discussing river-valley civilizations when we suddenly heard a huge crash and felt a severe jolt. I don’t remember ever having heard such a loud noise in all my life. In a fraction of a second the train seemed to be smashed into pieces. There was commotion all around – people were screaming – chaos reigned everywhere. Mother and I were violently thrown out of the derailed compartment. Pieces of train and the passengers’ baggage were scattered here and there. We realized we were the victims of a tragic accident – who knows how many were lying dead. Both of us were violently thrown towards part of the derailed train, screaming desperately. Suddenly both of us perceived my father (Sri Aruprathan Mitra) rushing towards us. He grabbed each of us by the hand and pulled us out of the wreckage, saving us from the jaws of inevitable death. What happened next we cannot say, for we both became unconscious.

“When the rays of the rising sun fell onto our faces we regained consciousness and, looking around, discovered that we were lying on a hay-stack on the edge of a paddy field beside the railway line. As we had fallen onto hay our injuries were not severe – just a few bruises. A crowd of villagers had gathered around us. We saw the wreckage of the train in the distance and heard the pitiful screams and lamentations of the seriously wounded. The local people were very kind, as the people of Burdwan usually are. On seeing the slightest hardship of others, tears come into their eyes. Those people standing around us desperately wanted to help and kept asking what they could do to make us feel more comfortable. They were prepared to do anything to help. We asked them to look for my father and to bring him to where we were lying. They searched everywhere for him, but without success. ‘There’s no one called Arúpratan Mitra here,’ they said. They helped us get to our feet – which we could only do with great difficulty – so that we could also look for him. But our search was also unsuccessful – he was not to be seen anywhere. By that time the railway auxiliary van had arrived from Burdwan. We approached the authorities and with their help returned to Burdwan. The site of the accident was near Burdwan so we didn’t have much difficulty getting home.

“Well, uncle, how were we saved? Is it called ‘fate’ or is it perhaps the work of destiny?”

I was utterly shocked by what I read. Himaván wrote further: “Father has not yet arrived in Burdwan. We went to the airport to make some enquiries about him and learnt that the plane he was supposed to take still hadn’t reached Dumdum airport. The ground staff informed us that they had received no news as to the plane’s whereabouts, nor was it possible for them to find out for reasons of military security. The plane was carrying a military cargo and the passengers were military personnel. As a result, the military department was trying to black out all news about the non-arrival of the plane.”

No sooner had I finished reading the letter than I heard an announcement on the radio news. The news bulletin disclosed that there was a serious plane crash somewhere along the Mediterranean coast-line last Monday at 8:45 P.M. Due to certain military reasons the exact details could not be disclosed. All the passengers died in the crash. From the passenger list provided at the airport it appears there were twenty Indian passengers. Their names and addresses have been confirmed, but the dead bodies were so severely burned that identification is impossible. The names of the Indians are 1)… 2)… 3)… 4)… Among the passengers there was a man from Calcutta, a Sri Arúpratan Mitra.

I was speechless. I pieced all the events together and concluded that it was indeed at 9 P.M. on Monday that Sri Arúpratan, gasping for breath, rushed into my compartment at Benares railway station. He told me that he had been feeling considerable mental unease for the past fifteen minutes, since 8:45. His mind was terribly restless. He had come to me in quest of peace. He had travelled a long distance and that is why he was gasping for breath.

After hearing the news I was so bewildered that I was unable to decide what to do. How should I reply to Himaván’s letter, I thought.

(1) Vaeshali was the land of the Licchabis; it was the oldest republic in the world. –Trans.

Humanity Is at the Threshold of a New Era

Published in:
A Few Problems Solved Part 5
Neohumanism in a Nutshell Part 1 [a compilation]
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]

Baraśá eseche niipanikuiṋje
Vetasakuiṋje nácite nácite;
Shikhiirá sakale chande meteche –
Viińára dhvanite mandrita giitite
Chandahárá dhará práń peyeche.

Júthira suvás bháse sajala háoyáy,
Manera parág háse madhura Máyáy;
Chande chande vipulánande
Ádhmará taru sab jege’ ut́heche.

[In the bower of kadamba flowers, the rains have come
Dancing, dancing in the grove of cane.
And all the peacocks have started prancing in rhythm.
In the vibrant songs from the sounding lyres,
The world without rhythm has found new life.
The fragrance of jasmine floats in the wet air.
And the pollen of mind smiles in the sweetest love.
Thrilling in blissful rhythms,
The half-dead trees have all sprung into life.
And all the peacocks have started prancing in rhythm.]

Baraśár dine sabákár sane
Aekatáne egiye calo
Egiye calite náhi cáho jadi
Jhará pátári galpa balo.
(Shuye) jhará pátári galpa balo.

Sabái ájike meteche chande
Kekákalarab shikhiira kańt́he
Salája dharańii neche cale se je
Sabujer sáje man bholálo.

Hásikhushii bhará ei samárohe
Utalá pavan náná dike bahe
Álápe ábeshe gáne ulláse
Sabár jiivan bhariye tolo. ⁽¹⁾

[In these rainy days, together with all Let us move forward in concert If you do not want to move ahead, Then lie down and tell tales of fallen leaves. All are today intoxicated with joyful rhythm With the piercing sound in the throats of peacocks This blushing earth dances along Its verdant beauty enchants the mind. The people are full of gleeful mirth In all directions the restless wind blows With banter and festivity, songs and delight Let us fill the lives of all. Let us move forward together, in concert.]

Humanity is now at the threshold of a new era. We do not want any dogma. The age of dogma is gone. What we want is an idea based on Neohumanism. We are for the entire created world; and not only for human beings or living beings, but for the entire animate and inanimate universe.

Now when you are in a mood of pleasure, just distribute it throughout the universe – let all the hearts of the created universe dance in ecstasy and throb with energy. And this is the gospel of the day: we are for all, we are for the Neohumanistic progress of the entire Cosmos. This is the idea.

(Áji) calo chut́e cali lakśyer páne
Dúranta gáne durdama práńe
Phire cahibár ghume kát́ábár
Sab abasar cale’ geche
(Áj) sab abasar cale’ geche.⁽²⁾

[The rains have come, and hope has returned
The skylark’s thirst is quenched
The once-parched grasses in verdant new beauty
Carpet the earth.
The rains are pattering on the ground,
As if heavenly nectar is dripping down
The lost sweetness has returned to the trees
And all the creatures have found new life.
Let us rush today towards our goal supreme
With full-throated songs, with indomitable spirit.
And now there is no time to look back or sleep.]

In the primordial phase of human creation, say about one million years ago, when human beings [had just evolved on earth], the cranium was small, the brain was small, and the nerve-cells had meagre capacity to think and to emanate thought-waves. The nerve-fibres were also less efficient in [expressing] human ideas. But now human beings are developed creatures. The brain has much increased, the nerve-cells are more developed, and the human brain and human nerve-cells can emanate more thoughts. So under such circumstances we can say, as I just told you, that humanity is now at the threshold of a new era. We must not waste our time. There must be maximum utilization of all human potentialities.

In the first phase of human creation, when humanity, rather, civilization, was just in the form of a new[-born child], humans were almost like other animals. There was little difference amongst apes, proto-apes and humans – ape-men and humans.⁽³⁾ In the realm of physicality, humans were almost like other ape-men – there was no socio-economico-cultural life, and there was hardly any spiritual life.

[The age] moved on. Humanity passed through several transmutations, through several changes, and through many metamorphoses. Human ideas underwent changes as a result of the development of human cells – protoplasmic cells in the realm of physicality, and nerve-cells in the realm of intellectuality. Some people came forward who became the leaders of the society. Hero-worship started – [the worship of heroism] in human structure. And there came the first phase, the rudimental phase, in human socio-economico-cultural life. [And a great acceleration] of spirituality came; human values increased. Cardinal human values underwent a bit of assessment. Human existence came upon a new era. There was hardly any economic life, but there was a wee bit of cultural and social life.

Metamorphosis went on. Age after age came; era after era came; so many small and big epoch-making events took place – the collection of these became the history of prehistoric men. This was the first phase of primitive history. Then finally the reign of intellectuality started. Along with intellectuality there was certainly much intellectual extravaganza. Dogma replaced simplicity: the social life was goaded by dogma in the name of so many faiths and so many creeds and so many cults. Those creeds and faiths and cults had nothing to do with the collective progress of human beings; they did much harm to our collective body, not only in a particular corner of the earth, but in the entire universe. And the main structure of the society, rather, the bulk of the society, moved on goaded by these dogmas, and this movement of dogma was known as the mainstream of life. Those who did not accept this, those who were guided by reasoning and rationality, were treated as unwanted beings.

Now dogma is fast being replaced by rationality and reason. Human beings with their developed brains, developed nerve systems and developed nerve-cells started thinking that we are not to do something for a particular tribe or a particular clan or a particular nationality; we are to do whatever we are to do, whatever we must do, for the entire humanity of the Cosmos.

But even that is not sufficient; even that will not suffice in preserving this human stock. In this mid-portion of the Cenozoic Age, we are to think once more what we are to do. Is humanity the summum bonum of existence? No, no, no, certainly not. The universe does not consist only of humans; other animals, other creatures, other plants, also have the right to live. So our universe is not only the universe of humans but the universe of all – just now I said, for all created beings, for all living beings, and for both the animate and the inanimate universe.

So ours is the age of Neohumanism – humanism supplying elixir to all, one and all. We are for all, and with everything existent we are to build up a new society, a Neohumanistic society. So we must not waste our time. And if we are late in doing our duty, the dark shadow of complete destruction will overpower our existence. We should be conscious of this; we should be cautious of this; we must not waste a single moment of our valuable existence. So what I said just now is that now humanity is at the threshold of a new era. And so many epoch-making events, so many annals of history, are to be created by you boys and you girls. Be ready to shoulder that responsibility of ages to come. You boys and you girls, what do you say? Are you ready for your revised duties and responsibilities?

Very good, very good. “Dogma – No more, no more.” Ours is the age of Neohumanism. Very good. And let there be one more song.

Mánuś sabái ápan –
Eki marme gánthá sabára hiyá, sabákár eki áyojan.

Duhkhe kándi morá, sukhe hási, priyajan priyamukh bhálabási;
Morá kśudhár anna-jal milemishe khái;
Bujhi sabákár táhá prayojan.

Sabái bhálabási ei dharańii, ákásher cánd-tárá,
arańyánii;
Eki chánde náci morá, eki práńe gái –
D́áki Parama Puruśere haye ekman.⁽⁴⁾

[All human beings are our own –
All hearts share the same innermost heart, the needs of all are the same.
We cry in sorrow, we laugh in joy, we love to see the faces of our dear ones;
We share food and drink all together;
We realize that all share the same needs.
We all love our universe, the moon and stars above and the forest below;
We dance to the same rhythm and sing with the same life’s urge –
We link our minds together to call to the Supreme Lord.]

The feelings and sentiments of all human beings are the same; and preparation for a nobler life is the same for all. The requirements and necessities of all humanity are the same. So humanity is a singular entity, humanity is one and indivisible. And for this purpose we should always maintain an equilibrium amongst different humans, and there must be one equipoise for the development of all, irrespective of caste, creed, nationality and clan isms.

There must not be any shortage of food or water in this world. Still there are so many places where there can be more production, where there is pure water; so all the requirements, all the potentialities, all food and water should be distributed throughout the world. Nowhere in this world should men die of starvation. We are for all and everything is for all. (Go on singing.)

So many gospels of peace, so many texts and sermons, have been preached. But those who were so-called apostles of peace, preached the gospels of peace, but kept their powder dry. They were not sincere in their mission. We want no more gospels. We want something practical, something practical for the elevation, or for the exaltation, of the entire human race. As a result of the elevation of the human race, all other living beings, all other animate and inanimate objects, will also be elevated. So what is required now is the elevation of human existence, the elevation of human mind and human spirit. We require no dogma – we require more reasoning, more rationality – rationality moving unto the terminus of Parama Puruśa;⁽⁵⁾ the Supreme Desideratum is that Universal Nave.

So many waves of so many feelings have been emanated from the nucleus of this Cosmological Order. Each and every existence has its own peculiar wavelength and peculiar rhythmic order; but when the movement is towards that Supreme Unity, all those heterogeneities will become one. So many colours moving on, moving on, with so many rhythms, with so many wavelengths – but when it comes to the supreme culminating point, all the rhythms will be united – there will be complete unison. And when there will be complete unison, in that Desideratum (as I told you, there cannot be “desiderata” – it always remains in the singular number, it is a singular entity) all waves will also attain singularity, there will not remain any heterogeneity; everything will become homogeneous in the final point of this universal march of ours.

This Neohumanism, only this Neohumanism, can save our universe, can save human existence. So now we are to sing the song of Neohumanism. We should [forget] all our omissional and commissional errors of the past. Forget the past. Be the [vanguard of] a bright future; and the crimson light of that future breaks on the eastern horizon. We should welcome it – we must welcome it. There is no alternative but to welcome it.

(1) Prabháta Saḿgiita is a body of 5018 spiritual and psycho-spiritual songs composed by the author. Songs numbers 116 and 117 were sung before the author and the congregation on this occasion. The author then began to speak, elaborating, as he began, particularly on the last lines of song 117. –Eds.

(2) The author paused and allowed Prabháta Saḿgiita number 118 to be sung, after which he resumed his discourse. –Eds.

(4) Prabhát Saḿgiita number 1090, a song of Neohumanism, was then sung. The author punctuated the performance every few lines with further commentary, until both the song and his discourse were finished. The “innermost heart” of line 2 refers to the Cosmic “I”. –Eds.

Human History and Collective Psychology

Published in:
A Few Problems Solved Part 7
The Awakening of Women [a compilation]
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]

Notes:

official source: A Few Problems Solved Part 7

this version: is the printed A Few Problems Solved Part 7, 1st edition, version (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. Words in double square brackets [[ ]] are corrections that did not appear in the printed version.

Human history is made by the collective urge or collective psychology. In the past the popular concept of history was that a certain king or queen ruled for a certain period and fought a few battles; some they won, others they lost; and they killed others or they were killed themselves. But the modern concept of history is quite different. History these days is not merely the history of monarchs. History also comprises all kinds of people and their psychic urges and psychic movements.

In primitive society men and women enjoyed equal freedom. Subsequently women had greater importance and a social order emerged which can be called both matriarchal and matrilineal. In a later period the importance of physical strength became more important than any other attribute. Obviously, the males having greater physical strength, became more important than the females. This gave rise to the social order which can be called patriarchal and patrilineal. But in this modern age people are experiencing that physical strength is becoming less important than intellectual power. Previously people would apply great physical stamina to operate a hammer, but today the electric hammer is one hundred times more powerful than an iron hammer – an electric hammer operates by turning a simple electric button. This illustrates that the importance of intellect is increasing.

Well, there is now the question of how the awakening of women will take place. Let me say a few words about the future. The awakening of women will bring about equal rights between the sexes. Nobody will be considered superior or inferior. What will be given utmost importance is keenness of intellect and that keen intellect will not necessarily be the exclusive quality of men alone or women alone. Whoever will have keen intellect will gain pre-eminence in society. Of course, in this regard all persons will not be equal.

History is made by collective psychology. The days of the monarchy are gone – in those days the queen or king was the focal point of history, and history was the history of monarchs. In later times history was the history of ministers. Soon a period will come when history will move around common people.

In the days of the monarchy one could hardly think that history could be written excluding kings and queens. Even now, where there is no monarchy, the government houses are called “Rajbhavan” or “royal house”, and people cannot keep themselves free from the illusion of the word “rája”. In one town I noticed a signboard which was “Rájánukúl Háspátál” meaning “Royal Hospital”. In former days, in the Deyani Khan, monarchs and nobles were prominent, but now government employees are prominent, which gave rise to the term “secretariat”. Similarly, among the common people a new awakening will come, a keen intellect and wisdom will emerge, and a new pattern of history will be the result. In fact, a new pattern of history has already started to emerge, and in the future this development will undergo further change.

You should remember that in human society nobody is insignificant, nobody is negligible. Even the life of a 100-year-old lady is valuable. In the universal society she is an important member – she is not to be excluded. We may not be able to make a correct appraisal of her importance and we may wrongly think that she is a burden to society, but this sort of defective thinking displays our ignorance. There is a historical necessity for everything, but we do not bother finding that historical necessity out. Had we bothered, we could ascertain the historical necessity behind every incident, behind every trough and crest of this universe.

If we think deeply and try to trace the significance of different events we shall find that nothing in this universe is useless. Everything is happening with a definite message for the future, with a great potentiality for the future. Nothing in this universe is insignificant, nothing is to be belittled. Atoms and molecules were once considered very small and insignificant, but after the invention of atom bombs people started dreading the same atoms. No one really knows how much potentiality this or that object has. One can get an exact idea of the potentiality of something only after a thorough investigation. In this world everything comes to fulfil a historical necessity. Ananda Marga has also come to fulfil a historical necessity.

When I was a young boy – that was long, long ago – there was large-scale injustice in all walks of social life. In music, literature and cinema there were clear signs of social degeneration. There was widespread exploitation – imperialistic exploitation, social exploitation, economic exploitation – all types of exploitation. The position of women was very bad. Some time ago women were even deprived of their voting rights. In India women had voting rights in the Licchavi republic in Vaishali in Bihar [[Licchavi was the first republic in the world, about 2500 years ago]], but they were not allowed to contest elections. Everywhere there was a sentiment to restrict the prestige of women. In no country were equal rights granted to women by law. Only today have women acquired certain rights through some struggle. Some exploitative males (all males were not exploiters, many of them were quite rational) wanted women to live in an exploited position, and they were not inclined to grant freedom to women. They thought that women were not entitled to liberation or salvation. In their opinion females should serve males. Perhaps in their next life or one or two lifetimes after that, they might be reborn as males and only then attain salvation. Just imagine the audacity and villainy of these males. They invented ways to exploit women by permanently injecting inferiority complexes into their minds. Now all their mischievousness stands exposed. There are many other examples of women’s exploitation. According to the laws of France women were not allowed to ascend the throne. In the days of Manu,[[⁽¹⁾]] husbands would beat their wives with a shoe, but today one would resent it and protest against it.

A fast change in the collective psychology is taking place. In human society the value of intellect is considered much greater than that of physical strength. This intellect is not only with a handful of people, but is in our collective life. Because of the development of intellect, the change in collective psychology will be very comprehensive and very quick.

(1) [[Manu was the author of the Manusmrti, an authoritative collection of social rules, customs and etiquette for Hindus. He lived about two thousand years ago. –Trans.]]

Renaissance in All the Strata of Life

Published in:
A Few Problems Solved Part 7
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]

Notes:

official source: A Few Problems Solved Part 7

The subject of today’s discourse is, “Renaissance in all the strata of life.”

The real meaning of the word “renaissance” is reawakening. That is, humanity was sleeping, and now it must wake up from that cimmerian slumber and do something in all the spheres of life, in all the strata of existence.

There are three important strata in life: the physical stratum, the psychic stratum and the spiritual stratum. In the physical stratum, there are many strata: say, scientific achievement, social progress, political life, economic life, culture life. People often say that this twentieth century is the century of science. No, it is not the truth. Human life has been associated with science from the prehistoric era, from the very birth of humanity on this earth about one million years ago, and not only in this twentieth century. And as long as there will be a single human being, there will be an age of science.

Nowadays science means creating new weapons – strengthening the hands of warmongers; but the spirit of science should not be like this, and at the start, in the primordial phase of human life, it was not so. Yes, there is necessity of weapons – weapons not for strengthening the hands of warmongers, but for providing security for good ideas, good thoughts and good persons. Science should be just like art: science for service and beatitude. Art for service and beatitude, I said; and now I say, science is also for service and beatitude. Science should always be utilized for the proper progress of human society.

Then the social. In the social sphere there are several sub-strata, and the real spirit of social progress is to dispel all social disparities. Each and every member of the human society should enjoy equal rights as members of the same family, but there is disparity and it is the duty of the Renaissance movement to dispel the disparity and bring about equality, equilibrium and equipoise amongst human beings.

There are disparities, disparities of different types and different kinds. For instance, there are biological disparities existing in the society, which are being encouraged by certain selfish persons. The biological disparity between human and animal, between human and plant, between animal and plant – that disparity must not be there. Just as a human being wants to survive, a pigeon also wants to survive – similarly a cow also wants to survive, or a tree. Just as my life is dear to me, so the lives of created beings are also equally dear to them. It is the birthright of human beings to live in this world, and it is the birthright of the animal world and plant world also to remain on this earth. To recognize this right, and to get it recognized by the entire human society, the Renaissance movement will have to do something concrete.

Then there is disparity due to birth – disparity between people of higher caste and people of so-called lower caste. People of a particular country die of starvation, and people of another country die due to overeating due to voracity. It is a disparity – it is bad. It is a creation of selfish people, not of Parama Puruśa. The Renaissance movement will have to do something concrete in this respect also. All are equal, with equal glamour as human beings.

Now, difference of colour. Due to geographical conditions, due tm historical facts, there are differences in colour. A particular human beings may be of white complexion, someone black, someone very black, someone yellow. It is not an innate difference, it is an external difference. Why should there be a special type of scripture based on these differences? No, there must not be any difference of colour, or any social disparity because of difference of colour.

Now, there is the sex difference. Females are debarred from many socio-political rights. You know, a few hundred years ago they had no voting rights in many countries of the world. Why? They are also human beings – they also have the same rights as men. Renaissance people will have to start a movement for social equality and fight against such inequality based on sexual difference. Are women like cattle, or sacks of cloth that people give as gifts at the time of marriage? Are they slaves to be sold to others? As long as women lacked courage or intellect, they tolerated these things – but what a great humiliation! To submit them to such indignities is far worse than to whip them publicly on the road. Are women simply like bundles of cloth to be sent to the washerman’s house? Women must not be suppressed, and there should not be domination of males in the society. Society should have a cooperative leadership, not a subordinated leadership; there should be a coordinated, cooperative leadership, leadership between males and females. Renaissance people will have to start a movement immediately to fight against all these disparities; otherwise if fifty percent of the population, that is the ladies, remain downtrodden, how can there be all-round progress of human society? So these are all the social duties, the social responsibilities of the Renaissance movement. Renaissance people will have to wage war on these disparities, these inequalities – they will have to be rooted out of the society.

In political life, a group of people exploit another group of people of the same country, or of some other country. There is political inequality. Still there is a sort of economic polarization, economic exploitation, and not only that, there are social and cultural disparities, and social and cultural exploitation also. Renaissance people will have to bring this fact to the notice of one and all: this disparity cannot be supported by good thinking, by right thinking people, and so we will not support it. Yes, in the political sphere, there should be the rule of moralist people, for immoralist people cannot lead the society: they cannot goad the people onto the path of righteousness. And this political life should also be based on universalism, without forgetting the fact that a particular area of the world has its own particular problems and its own particular conditions.

Economic life. In economic life there is extreme inequality and exploitation. Although colonialism no longer exists openly in the political and economic spheres till it persists indirectly, and this should not be tolerated. The Renaissance movement will have to do something in this respect. You should remember that in economic life, we will have to guarantee the minimum requirements to one and all. There cannot be any second thought, there cannot be any sort of adjustment as far as this point is concerned. The minimum purchasing requirement must be guaranteed to all. Today these fundamental essentialities are not being guaranteed. Rather, people are being guided by deceptive economic ideas like outdated Marxism, which has proved ineffective in practical life, and has not been successfully implemented in any corner of the world. Why do people still believe in such a theory, which has never been proved successful? The time has come for people to make a proper assessment whether they are being misguided or not.

Then comes one of the important points: cultural life. What is culture? Culture is the collection of different expressions of human life. The culture of the entire human race is one, but there are different local expressions. This difference in local expressions does not mean that people of different corners of the earth have different cultures – culture is the same, but the expressions vary.

Education is a part of cultural life. Education should be free, and education must be based on universalism. While imparting education you should also remember that there are certain local conditions, local problems and local requirements; so while formulating the educational structure, we should do everything remembering this fundamental fact.

So you see, the scope of the Renaissance movement is vast, and you will have to start your work from this very moment: it brooks no delay.

There are the different types of inequalities prevailing in the physical world. In the psychic world also there are so many ailments, and Renaissance people will have to wage war against these inequalities and man-made differences. There must be progress in the psychic realm, in the psychic arena. In the psychic arena, the progress should be unbarred and unaffected. There are so many ailments in the psychic sphere. You see, in the psycho-physical sphere, many people are guided by – rather goaded by – dogmas. Dogmas have taken root in the human mind. People cannot get rid of these false ideas because they have been injected into their minds since childhood. As a result, one human society is divided into different nations, and one nation is divided into different religions; religions also have different castes, and caste also have different sub-castes – what kind of situation is this? We have only learned how to divide and subdivide humanity, and we never learned how to unite the people. This is all due to the defective teachings of dogmas.

Some people think that the particular group of people to which they belong are the blessed beings of Parama Puruśa, and others are cursed beings. This is a very bad type of dogma opportunists have introduced all this. Renaissance people will have to fight against these dogmas, and carry on the struggle endlessly. For that, they may have to confront numerous obstacles, censure and humiliation, but they will have to move on undaunted and unaffected. Dogmas are psycho-physical diseases.

Then there are physico-psychic ailments. Some people argue that animals have been created by Parama Puruśa for our food. I knew a certain person who used to say that if people do not eat goats’ meat, the world would become populated only by goats. And others said that if people don’t eat chickens, there would not be even a single inch of space on this earth – it would be filled with chickens! Now my point is, even though human beings do not eat vultures, is there a crowd of vultures in the world? How foolish such people are! People don’t eat earthworms – has there been an uncontrollable growth of earthworms on earth? Only out of excessive greed, people eat chickens and goats and are simply searching for logic to support their actions and cover up their weakness. This sort of cunning will not do. In the mobility of the psychic world, there are certain defective thoughts prevailing – that we humans are destined to rule this earth, and the creatures are destined to be ruled by us. You will have to fight against this type of psychology with the help of your strong weapon. What is that weapon? Neohumanism. All have the equal right to live here: this universe is for all. It is not the patrimony of human beings only. This is also the duty of Renaissance people.

Then there is the progress in the pure psychic level. In the pure psychic level, defective thoughts prevail in human society, and as a result, an individual or a group of people often try to suppress or oppress others. Due to this type of defective psychology, a vast section of the populace suffers from psychic depression. The Renaissance movement will have to be active against this sort of exploitation, and it will have to save human society from the clutches of these defective philosophies. These ailments should be removed and dispelled from the minds of human beings.

There may be another disease, another psychic ailment, and that is in the psycho-spiritual stratum. In the psycho-spiritual stratum, the movement is a pinnacled one; that is, all ideas coincide in a particular point, and that point moves towards the Supreme Entity. But the movement is certainly a synthetic one, not analytic. However, if the movement is extroversial, the path naturally becomes an analytic one, and that is dangerous. In the name of psycho-spiritual approach, in the false name of religion, disparities are created in the human society, differences are created between human beings. In the name of religion so many sanguinary battles were fought in the past, and even now people belonging to one religious group cannot rely on other groups, or pay credence to other groups. Thus one should remember that only the pinnacled Entity, the apexed Entity is our Saviour – He is the only goal of our life. This is the panacea for all psychic ailments.

And the third stratum is the spiritual stratum. In this stratum the natural path is to convert everything into spirituality. This conversion should be in the realm of learning, in the realm of language, in the realm of studies, in the realm of solidarity. That is, in every arena of our spiritual life, this conversion should take place – the conversion of your entire existence, the parts and portions of your existence, into spirituality. But due to defective philosophy, defective guidance, people forget this fact, and they convert spirit into mind and mind into matter. That is, they take the path of negative Pratisaiṋcara [devolution], and that is detrimental to the cause of human progress.

Renaissance people will have to raise their voices against this, and they will have to do it now – they will have to do it immediately. And I also desire that you all should move on the path of Renaissance, which is fully supported by rationality, from today – from this very moment. Let victory be yours.

Pramá – 1 / Dynamic Equilibrium and Equipoise

Published in:
A Few Problems Solved Part 8
Neohumanism in a Nutshell Part 2 [a compilation]
Pramá [a compilation]
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]
Proutist Economics [a compilation]

Notes:

official source: A Few Problems Solved Part 8

this version: is the printed Proutist Economics, 1st edition, version (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. Words in double square brackets [[ ]] are corrections that did not appear in the printed version.

Triguńátmiká srśt́imátrká asheśátrikońa dhárá. That is, “In the primordial phase of creation, the three attributional principles [[of the Cosmic Operative Principle]] evolve countless geometric figures which all eventually get transformed into triangles of forces (guńatrikońa).” Whenever there are more than three forces operating, the tendency is invariably to form a stable triangular figure.

As long as this guńatrikońa or guńayantraka is in a balanced state, the sentient is converted into mutative, the mutative into static, and the static into sentient. This process of mutual conversion has been going on endlessly.

Due to this homomorphic conversion, the balance of the triangle of forces is maintained. But in this process of constant metamorphosis, a stage comes when, due to the pressure of the static Prakrti, the balance of the triangle is lost and the process of creation begins through one of its vertices: there ensues in the flow of creation a lokatrikońa. Human existence is trifarious – physical, psychic and spiritual. These three aspects give rise to pramátrikońa or lokatrikońa in individual entities as well as in the collective body.

Now, what is the actual meaning of pramá? The word pramá is derived as the root má prefixed by pra and suffixed by d́a and t́á. The meaning of the root verb má is “to measure”, “to fathom”. So the etymological meaning of pramá is “balance”. In English the two words “equilibrium” and “equipoise” are used in this sense, but there is some practical difference between these two words. “Equilibrium” is used in the sense of balance in physical strength and “equipoise” is used in the sense of balance in weight. Suppose there is a tug-of-war between two parties. If both the parties are equally strong, neither party is able to pull the other party towards itself; that is, there is a physical equilibrium between the two parties. Take another case. Suppose there is a weight of one kilo on one side of a scale and on the other side there is one kilo of brinjal. As there is equality of weight on both sides, the scale is evenly balanced. This balanced state in weight is called “equipoise”. Equilibrium and equipoise are collectively known as pramá.

Just as pramá is indispensable in individual life, it is indispensable in collective life. The superiority or excellence of the social structure, culture or civilization of a community of people is derived from the degree of pramá which that community attains in its individual and collective life. It is somewhat strange that although human beings came onto the earth about a million years ago, and although human civilization started about fifteen thousand years ago, human beings could not bring about perfect balance or pramá in the three spheres of individual and collective life. And what is even more strange is that they did not even feel the necessity of establishing this pramá in individual and collective life.

For instance, though the western world has made some material progress and tried to bring about a certain degree of pramá in the physical sphere, in the past no sincere effort was made to establish pramá in the spiritual sphere, nor is such effort being made to do this even today. Of course, it made some effort to bring about pramá in the psychic sphere by bringing about some intellectual development. India is the only country in the world where at least some attempt was made to introduce pramá in the spiritual sphere, but it did not reach the state of perfection. Like the West, India also made some attempt to establish pramá in the psychic sphere, but that attempt was not remarkably successful.

If we analyse the history of different [[communities of people of]] the world, we notice that despite their tremendous physical, psychic and spiritual potentialities, they did not utilize the opportunity they had to establish pramá in individual and collective life. This was due to their defective ideas and practices and their faulty social and economic systems. They were not able to strengthen human society by developing different branches of knowledge, by evolving culture and civilization, or by bringing about intellectual and spiritual advancement. In the absence of pramá, they could not make the fullest possible contribution to human society by developing different branches of human knowledge, uplifting the standard of culture and civilization, and raising the level of intellect and intuition.

Nature has been bountiful to each and every region of the world, and has endowed us with enormous wealth both on and under the surface of the earth. In fact, different areas of the world are full of agricultural, mineral, aquatic, medicinal and forest resources, yet in many economic regions of the world there is utmost poverty, a low standard of living, and cultural and industrial backwardness. As a result, with the curse of the acute scarcity of food, clothes and accommodation, as well as lack of educational facilities, even today in the twentieth century when material science claims to have made rapid progress, millions of people are fighting for their physical survival. Due to the blessings of nature, there is no shortage of physical resources in any economic region. But due to the lack of benevolent propensities, those materials have not been utilized for social and economic development. Consequently, the people’s basic physical necessities (food, clothes, accomodation, medical treatment and education) could not be met. Obviously, there is a gross lack of pramá in the physical sphere.

Let us take the case of Ráŕh – the starting-point of human civilization. Nature has provided the hilly land of Ráŕh with enormous resources. In the different strata of old hard rock there are gold, silver, copper, mercury, mica, manganese and many other minerals. There are large deposits of quartz and various types of other valuable minerals in the stratum of hard igneous rock. There is good quality coal and sand in the strata of ancient alluvial rock and dead rock. Western Ráŕh is rich in mineral wealth. The soil of eastern Ráŕh, having been formed from the seabed, is comparatively new. There is a great possibility that mineral ore may be extracted from it, especially in those areas which were covered by a sargasso sea in ancient times.

Eastern Ráŕh is as rich in surface wealth as western Ráŕh is rich in underground wealth. The sort of rich fertile land we find in Burdwan, Hooghly, Howrah, eastern Midnapore and Kandi subdivision is extremely rare in the world. The reason is that the rivers of Ráŕh such as the Damodar, Ajay, Mayuraksi, Kangsavati, Suvarnarekha, Vakreshwar, Kopai, Shilavati and Hinglo have carried alluvial soil enriched with calcium and various mineral resources to eastern Ráŕh and made the surface of the land very rich, as precious as gold. In that fertile soil there can be bumper harvests of paddy, wheat, sugar cane, pulses, cotton, mulberry and non-mulberry silk, and many other agricultural products. The laterite soil of Ráŕh is so rich with calcium that good-quality apples, pears, oranges, papayas, guavas, grapes, custard-apples and many other fruits can be grown in abundance. By introducing various kinds of irrigation systems (small-scale irrigation, lift irrigation, excavation of tanks, etc.), efforts may be made to grow orchards and to cultivate three crops of rice in a year (early autumn, winter and summer). On the basis of the tremendous potentiality for agricultural production, numerous agrico-industries and agro-industries could be established in Ráŕh, but unfortunately this potentiality has not been tapped so far. The forests of Ráŕh are also full of resources. They have an abundance of sal [Shorea robusta Gaertn. f.], piyasal [Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb.], hizal [Barringtonia acutangula Gaertn.], palásh [Butea frondosa Koenig-ex Roxb.], ashok [Saraca indica Linn.], kusum [Schleichera trijuga Willd.], jám [Eugenia jambolana Linn.], jackfruit and other trees.

So although there are enormous natural resources of various types in Ráŕh, its people are undernourished, half naked, poorly accommodated, illiterate and ridden with disease. Had the economic planning of the country been based on the principle of pramá, the social and economic picture of Ráŕh would be completely different from what it is now.

There is another economic region, the adjacent state of Orissa, which is equally rich in natural resources, and yet equally poor. The economic potential of Orissa, abundant in tremendous agricultural, mineral and forest resources like Ráŕh, is very bright. On its long coastal belt there is immense potential for starting large numbers of farms and factories. There are also good prospects for the growth of the iron and steel industries and the shipbuilding industry, for the [[port industry]], and for the generation of tidal electricity. Moreover, on the basis of the agricultural resources of Orissa, thousands of agro-industries and agrico-industries can be started. But due to the absence of any social and economic planning based on pramá in this region, a large percentage of the people of Orissa are living in abject poverty.

Why should we single out only Ráŕh and Orissa? Almost all the countries of the world are faced with nearly the same sort of economic crises due to a lack of pramá.

The human mind has two main functions: thinking and recollecting. The human being is predominantly a mental being. So the greatness and excellence of human beings lies in their thinking capacity, intellectual subtlety and brilliance, and wisdom. Human beings, in the process of expressing their creative faculties, externalize the colourful and varied ideas of their psychic world in a variety of ways: on canvas with colours and brushes, in poetry and literature with the strokes of their pens, and in sculpture with the subtle use of hammers and chisels. Their philosophical ideas, their scientific observations and experiments, and the study and analysis of various branches of knowledge are exclusively within the psychic preserve of the human mind, and have been honoured as the golden harvest of the psychic realm. But if there is a lack of pramá in the psychic sphere, then many omissional and commissional mistakes and defects are bound to enter into their art, architecture, literature, philosophy, science and other branches of human knowledge. Dance may lose its rhythm, painting may lack proportion, music may lose the harmony of its melody and rhythm, and in the various branches of literature there may be an overgrowth of the parasitic weeds of immature expression.

Suppose a painter is drawing a picture of a small pond. The pond is full of beautiful transparent water upon which sits a full-blossomed lotus. Suppose the pond occupies a square inch of space, whereas the petals of the lotus occupy two square inches of space. In this case the painter has clearly lost the basic sense of proportion and artistic [[balance, has]] violated the principle of pramá in the creation of art. Naturally, in the absence of pramá, artistic creation cannot be symmetrical or systematic.

Let us take the case of poetry. Successful poetry is a balanced blending of idea, language, metre and expressional beauty. But if a poet has only a flair for language and depth of ideas and is not skilled in metrical rhythm or cannot introduce subtle beauty into his or her composition, then the poetry will suffer from lack of pramá. Poetry devoid of pramá cannot attain the height of success.

Similarly, song is the inner blending of idea, language, melody and rhythm. In the absence of any of the four, pramá will be lost and the song will lose its charm and beauty. It will be nothing but a random composition, a few lines of lifeless words.

Philosophy began in the distant past in an effort to understand the mysteries of creation. Various scholars in different branches of human knowledge established various schools of philosophy in different ages. Some of these philosophies were idealistic, some were materialistic. What is the purpose of philosophy? The purpose is to discover the unmistakeable link between the Creator and the creation. But philosophers, in spite of their sincere efforts, have not yet been able to build a bridge between the relative world and the absolute world. It seems philosophy has lost its way in a labyrinth of metaphysics. The defective conclusions of philosophers have made respective schools of philosophy merely dogmatic intellectual extravaganza. Regarding these kinds of philosophies, Lord Shiva said, Lokavyámohakáraka. That is, “They are the cause of psychic diseases.”

The main purpose of spirituality is to discover Parama Shiva who is lying quiescent in every human existence, and to establish oneness between the Macrocosm and microcosms, between the Cosmic Being and human beings, between Paramátma and jiivátmá.

Very often, ignorant of real spirituality and goaded by religious dogma, people undertake long and hazardous journeys to places of pilgrimage, sometimes even selling their earthly possessions such as houses and cultivable land to make the trip possible. They hope to attain virtue by taking a holy dip in sacred rivers. Needless to say this not only causes a loss of energy, time and money, but also causes much trouble and brings no spiritual gain. This is one of the glaring examples of lack of pramá in the spiritual sphere.

It has already been said that the importance of pramá in all three phases of human existence is tremendous. Physical progress is deeply associated with the psychic and spiritual development of human beings. When the balanced state of material development, having reached a supreme height, maintains proper adjustment with the psychic and spiritual elevation of individuals and the collectivity, it is called pramá saḿvrddhi.

Similarly, pramá rddhi occurs when the balanced psychic stratum attains the peak of progress and maintains adjustment with the material and spiritual progress of individuals and the collectivity. In this state of pramá rddhi, the ectoplasmic stuff of the mind gets powdered down. It develops not only in mass and volume, but moves forward towards the pinnacled intellect (agryábuddhi), while maintaining psychic adjustment, in order to attain sharp penetration of the mind.

Finally, pramá siddhi is a state in which the mind, having transcended the psycho-spiritual stratum, attains a pinnacled state and absolute equilibrium in spiritual progress, and at the same time maintains an adjustment with the physical and psychic development of individuals and the collectivity.

Lokatrikońa or pramátrikońa of individuals and the collectivity is attained in the physical, psychic and spiritual spheres. In the flow of evolution, lokatrikońa occurs at the first phase of creation emanating from the first expression of Supreme Consciousness.

In the first phase there is balance in the lokatrikońa of individuals, but in subsequent stages, due to the influence of time, space and person and the clash of propensities, the balance of lokatrikońa or pramátrikońa gets lost. This state of loss of balance in pramatrikońa or lokatrikońa is called “the stage of derangement”.

If at this stage the lost pramá is re-established, well and good. If it is not re-established, the lokatrikońa degenerates and enters the stage of disruption. If people fail to counteract this trend of downward movement, the lokatrikońa further descends to the stage of degeneration.

Human society today has reached the stage of degeneration and, as a result, is lost in the wilderness of economic bankruptcy, social unrest, cultural degeneration and religious superstition.

Once the society reaches the state of degeneration, the balance in the lokatrikońa cannot be immediately restored. Rather, society will have to be lifted up step by step from the stage of degeneration to the stage of disruption, and then from the stage of disruption to the stage of derangement; and in the final stage balance in pramátrikońa or lokatrikońa will have to be established. Although all three aspects of life – physical, psychic and spiritual – carry equal significance, the physical stage should be given greater importance in the initial stage. If pramá is lost in the physical sphere, the antisocial elements will have the upper hand in society. They will pollute the entire social environment. Consequently, pramá in the mental and spiritual spheres will be lost, and the mental condition will further degenerate. So, the establishment of pramátrikońa or lokatrikońa in the physical sphere is the foremost necessity.

Now the question is, what should be done to restore order in lokatrikońa and pramátrikońa? First, we must divide each stratum into various substrata. For example, we may divide the physical stratum into the following substrata: agriculture, industry, trade and commerce, medicine, irrigation, physical education, etc. Here it should be mentioned that as far as education is concerned, the science subjects come within the scope of the physical stratum as they are directly concerned with the material world. On the other hand, the humanities subjects (language, literature, history, philosophy, etc.) come within the scope of the psychic stratum. By forming subtriangles for each substratum, a greater degree of balance can be established. The physical stratum will then have to be gradually elevated from the stage of degeneration to the stage of disruption. Later, after restoring a greater balance in the subtriangles, the physical stratum will have to be raised from the stage of disruption to the stage of derangement. There will be a perfect balance in the lokatrikońa or pramátrikońa of the physical stratum when all the subtriangles are in perfect equilibrium.

Similarly, there are many substrata in the psychic stratum, such as physico-psychic, psychic, psycho-spiritual, etc. When the degree of balance within these substrata increases, the psychic stratum will be elevated from the state of degeneration to the state of disruption, and from the state of disruption to the state of derangement; and finally there will be a perfect balance in lokatrikońa or pramátrikońa in the psychic stratum.

Now, let us come to the question of the spiritual stratum. It too, may be divided into several substrata, although they will be comparatively few in number. The degree of balance within the substrata will also have to be increased gradually. Thus, the spiritual stratum will be raised through the stages of degeneration, disruption and derangement. Balance in the lokatrikońa of the spiritual stratum will then be established.

To restore balance in the lokatrikońa or pramátrikońa of the physical stratum, the following four factors should be considered:

1) The physical demand at present and the physical demand in the foreseeable future.

2) The physical supply at present and the physical supply in the foreseeable future.

4) The Five Fundamental Principles of PROUT as they apply to the physical stratum.

For example, while trying to solve the food problems of any socio-economic unit, the subtriangle of agriculture will have to be created. A proper irrigation system may have to be introduced, and high-breed varieties of seeds may have to be used. By extensive cultivation of land, using tractors and necessary fertilizers, three or four crops may be harvested every year. The proper crops for the proper soils will have to be selected. Agricultural cooperatives and agricultural producers cooperatives will have to be started, and farmers’ brigades will have to be formed. Agriculture should be conducted on the basis of the principle of consumption, and not the principle of profit. There should be a proper preservation and distribution of agricultural products. A proper balance in the lokatrikońa or pramátrikońa of agriculture will help establish balance in the lokatrikońa or pramátrikońa in the physical stratum.

In the same way, if there is a perfect balance in the subtriangles of the substrata, there will also be a balance in the lokatrikońa or pramátrikońa in the psychic and spiritual strata.

When all the lokatrikońas or pramatrikońas of the physical, psychic and spiritual strata collectively form the final lokatrikońa or pramátrikońa, its central point will coincide in a perfect balance with the central point of the supreme guńatrikońa. A perfect state of balance will be established between individuals and the collectivity, and between the collectivity and the Cosmos. This supreme balance in all spheres will bring a perfect state of pramá everywhere. The society will attain pramá saḿvrddhi in the physical stratum, pramá rddhi in the psychic stratum and pramá siddhi in the spiritual stratum. That will be the stage of all-round welfare, progress and perfection for all humanity, for the entire living world.

Pramá – 4

Published in:
Discourses on Neohumanist Education [a compilation]
Neohumanism in a Nutshell Part 2 [a compilation]
Pramá [a compilation]
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]

Notes:

official source: Prama’

this version: is the printed Prout in a Nutshell Part 9, 1st edition, version (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition.

The Discourses on Neohumanist Education chapter “Pramá – 4” is Question and Answer 3, only, from this article.

(1) Question: Suppose in a particular land there is no shortage of food and other physical necessities of life, but psychic structure moves within the four walls of a particular “ism” – there is no scope for free psychic movement. Can there be physical or psychic Pramátrikońa in that land?

Answer: No. Even if nature is bountiful or human dexterity is bountiful in a particular country, there cannot be physical pramátrikona if there is want or shortage in neighbouring countries.

In India, Punjab and Haryana are a bit affluent; Orissa, East UP and Bihar are extremely poor. Side by side light and darkness cannot remain. Naturally, political peace is sure to be disturbed. America is affluent, Mexico is poor.

In Africa, countries south of the Sahara are extremely poor; physical Pramátrikońa is not possible in such countries. For physical Pramátrikońa there must be sufficient food and other physical necessities for the entire world.

(2) Question: There are certain psychic diseases which have their origin in the physical sphere – they are physico-psychic diseases. Can there be a radical cure of these diseases if there is no free psychic movement?

Answer: There are certain diseases which have their origin in the psychic sphere – they come to the physical level from the psychic level. Microvita may create physico-psychic diseases also – diseases starting from the physical level and coming to the psychic level. If the psychic self is not properly balanced, a radical cure is not possible.

(3) Question: Suppose in a particular country people are very much moralist: there is no dearth of food and other physical necessities, and there is free psychic movement also – there is no bar in reading a particular book or coming in contact with a particular philosophy. Even in that case can there be spiritual Pramátrikońa in that country?

Answer: For spiritual practice you are to create a spiritual urge. Therefore you are to create a proper system of education. Education should be imparted in a spiritual and psychic style. When they get proper education, a proper spiritual urge is created and then they will start Sádhaná. So we must start primary schools throughout the entire world to create a spiritual urge amongst the little pupils. I am not in favour of starting colleges; I am in favour of starting primary schools. In the entire world we have got one degree college at Ananda Nagar and thousands of kindergarten schools.

That is why it is desirable in the first phase to start many primary schools instead of colleges. Merely opening high schools and colleges without a proper system of education will not serve the purpose. Rather, thousands of kindergarten and primary schools must be started with this new system of education, to create a spiritual urge amongst children throughout the entire world.

(4)(a) Question: Suppose a particular country is very poor. There is no shortage of food, but there are other shortages in the realm of physicality. Can there be psychic Pramátrikońa or spiritual Pramátrikońa there?

Answer: No. As the country suffers from shortages of physical necessities other than food, physical Pramátrikońa is not possible. So the question of psychic or spiritual Pramátrikońa does not arise.

(b) Question: Then what is that country to do? Should that country attack another affluent country to get its necessities of life?

Answer: No. Unless agricultural production is increased no Pramátrikońa can be established in that country. To attack or think to attack another country to get sufficient necessities will cause political unrest in the region, and will undoubtedly increase economic instability. As a result no Pramátrikońa can be established.

(c) Question: Suppose the country is densely populated. Then how is it to develop? Can the problem be solved through barter trade?

Answer: The problem can be solved through commercial transaction or barter trade. Say there is surplus food or hide or leather or jute in one country; and there is another country which is willing to enter into barter trade with that country in order to meet its shortages – won’t the problem be solved? Burma has a shortage of leather and hide, and Bangladesh has a surplus of leather and hide, but a shortage of rice; there can be barter trade between them.

(5) Question: Suppose in a particular country people suffer from dogma, but there is no shortage of physical necessities, can there be any spiritual Pramátrikońa?

Answer: What to speak of spiritual Pramátrikońa, even physical Pramátrikońa is not possible where there is dogma.

(6) Question: Suppose, there is freedom of thought in a particular country but people’s minds are influenced by innumerable dogmas – What is the remedy? What step can be taken to remove the dogmas?

Answer: All the countries of the world suffer from dogma. Religion means dogma, communism means dogma, capitalism means dogma – all the political “isms” are expressions of dogma. There is no shortage of money in a number of countries of the world they may be rich, but they are still undeveloped and backward due to the influence of dogma. There physical Pramátrikońa has not been attained. There are certain countries whose dogma does not support money-lending and the taking of interest; but if there is no interest, no rolling of money, no movement of coins, how can there be development? But those very countries also have banking, which is fundamentally against the doctrine of their dogma.

There are dogmas in certain other countries which preach mutual tolerance; if someone slaps you on one side of the face, you must give the other side to be slapped. But those are the same countries which fight against each other. Both great wars, one and two, were fought by those very countries. Can there be any physical Pramátrikońa? Not even physical Pramátrikońa is possible where there is dogma.

Dogma is rampant in the political sphere also. The dogma of a number of countries does not even recognize the existence of a certain other country even though the people of that country were the original settlers and they have every right to live there. But that country is a developed country – according to cardinal human principles, should it not get proper recognition by the nations of the world? These are the plays of dogma.

Even those countries professing religion are fighting amongst themselves; take the case of Iran and Iraq. It is all a fight of dogma.

(7) Question: Suppose in a particular country, there is a balanced physical Pramátrikońa, balanced psychic Pramátrikońa and balanced spiritual Pramátrikońa but these three types of Pramátrikońas do not coincide – generally they coincide in the spiritual stratum – in that case how can the good thinking people fight against the depraving effects of enemy microvita?

Answer: If millions of physical Pramátrikońas, psychic Pramátrikońas and spiritual Pramátrikońas do not coincide, there would be a tug-of-war amongst them and finally they will get deranged… they will reach the stage of disruption. Their inner balance will be destroyed. When they coincide, the triangles of forces come in close proximity of Guńatrikona. If Pramátrikońas are destroyed, in that case good people would take the help of friend microvita. Some microvita are, in effect, your friends and some are your enemies. By nature, no microvitum is either a friend or enemy of human beings.

Na kashcit kasyacit mitraḿna kashcit kasyacit ripuh
Vyavaháreńa mitráńi jáyante ripavastathá.

[No one is the enemy of anyone by nature. By one’s behaviour a person may become friendly or inimical to others.]

By nature inimical microvita may also become your friends if controlled by good people. Though poison is fatal for humans, it is also a life-saving drug. Even snake venom is recognized by all as a medicine.

(8) Question: In order to encourage the movement of positive microvita and to discourage the movement of negative microvita, should the education system of the entire world and the entire universe be reoriented? What should be the phases, the physico-psychic and the psycho-spiritual approach?

Answer: We must develop the physico-psychic aspect of the students through proper physical culture, which will include Yoga Ásanas, proper diet, games and sports, etc. And to develop the psycho-spiritual aspect, we must reorient the entire curriculum of all schools from kindergarten to post-university level according to the Neo-Humanist philosophy, and must incorporate the practices of Astáuṋga Yoga into the curriculum in all grades. This will be the practical approach. And the guiding philosophy, the controlling philosophy should be: “This universe is ours” – and “we” means humans, animals and plants.

The Neo-Ethics of Multi-Lateral Salvation

Published in:
A Few Problems Solved Part 8
Microvitum in a Nutshell [a compilation]
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]

Notes:

official source: A Few Problems Solved Part 8

this version: is the printed Microvitum in a Nutshell, 3rd edition, second impression, 2005 version (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. Words in double square brackets [[ ]] are corrections that did not appear in the printed version.

Until now scientists were under the impression that no structure can come into being without carbonic fundaments; that is, the survival, multiplication and decaying of any structure is not possible without carbonic locus standii. Carbons and non-carbons both get their atomic structure from microvita. Microvitum requires space in theory, but not in the realm of physicality. A carbonic framework requires space both in theory and practice. Microvitum is not of carbonic origin.

Let us consider the case of the structure of a carbon atom. An atom has a nucleus around which electrons revolve. The weight of an atom is decided by the mass of its nucleus. The difference between two atoms is mainly one of nuclear difference. In this respect, the mass of the satellites is of little importance. If the nucleus of an atom is split up, tremendous energy or calories will surely be released.

It is true that every protozoic structure is based on carbon atoms. A single microvitum is insufficient to form one carbon atom, but when billions of microvita get solidified, a carbon atom is formed – generally or naturally of heterogeneous nature, and under special circumstances of homogeneous nature. Singularity or plurality of atoms constitutes one molecule and many molecules acquire the status of an element, either elements of homogeneous nature – hydrogen, carbon, helium, etc. – or elements of heterogeneous nature – hydrogen monoxide, hydrogen peroxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, etc. An atom may be internally of both homogeneous and heterogeneous character and also externally of both homogeneous and heterogeneous character. Similar is the case with a molecule. But it is internally more of heterogeneous character and externally more of homogeneous wonts. So an atom stands with its unitary glamour according to its internal homogeneity or internal heterogeneity.

Hydrogen, sulphur and oxygen collectively form sulphuric acid. When these combine under certain temperatures and in particular barometric conditions and in specified proportions, we get the result. If one of these conditional factors varies, the result will also vary.

When there is no carbon atoms, protoplasmic structures cannot be formed. Protoplasmic cells are molecular ones of heterogeneous nature. If the nuclei of protoplasmic cells are split up, they release innumerable times more energy than a nuclear explosion does. Obviously, living bodies, being composed of countless protoplasmic cells, possess huge proportions of energy – something which is beyond ordinary comprehension.

Billions of microvita produce a single carbon atom. That is why it cannot be said that everything comes from carbon atoms. Rather, the carbon atoms come from microvita. Not only carbon atoms, but all other kinds of atoms are the creation of microvita. Naturally, chemistry, biochemistry and all other associated branches of science will undergo a revolutionary change. A day is sure to come when an omega of mathematics will coincide with an omega of biochemistry. All formulae and theories followed up till now will have to be reformulated, redefined and reclassified.

Since an atom does not come within the range of an ordinary microscope or an ordinary telescope, how can microvita – which are innumerable times more subtle and smaller than atoms – come within the scope of an ordinary microscope, an ordinary telescope, or ordinary perception in the psychic sphere, or also of inferences?

Each structure of carbonic origin in this universe, whether animate or inanimate, has a mind. That is, a mind is associated with every structure either in manifested form or in dormant form. Where the mind is not expressed there is no endoplasmic coverage, and where the mind is expressed, endoplasmic coverage shall be there. Wherever there is mind, it must require pabula of both carbonic and non-carbonic nature. When psychic pabulum is of carbonic nature, psychic movement is towards the crude, and if psychic pabulum is of non-carbonic nature, psychic movement is towards subtlety. Non-carbonic psychic pabulum helps in spiritual and supra-psychic motivation. A genuine spiritual aspirant must be very careful in selecting his or her food. Pabula of carbonic nature help in maintaining and nourishing the physical structure, and pabula of non-carbonic nature help in strengthening the psychic structure. An intake of more and more defective carbonic pabula adversely affects the psychic triangle of forces, and thus hinders one’s psycho-spiritual progress. A stage may come when the physical structure becomes almost mindless. The mythological fable of Ahalyá (who was turned into stone for a sin she committed in the epic Rámáyana) may be cited as a case in point.

When people get detached from non-carbonic pabula and become increasingly engrossed in carbonic pabula, there are two ill-effects as a consequence. First, the arena of one’s own carbonic pabula will increase and the mind will gradually and steadily drift towards crude matter. Secondly, one’s mind will think in terms of devouring other’s carbonic pabula. This is the psychological explanation of imperialism. That is, imperialism has its origin in the psyche and functions in the psychic arena. When expressed externally it takes various forms, such as capitalism, state capitalism, communism, nationalism, communalism, parochialism, provincialism, socialism, caste-imperialism, male chauvinism, lingualism, (Once I went to a big village where the people’s language was Bengali, but even in the primary school Hindi was taught there substituting the mother-language. It is a glaring example of lingual imperialism.) etc., which are all the same psychic ailments in various forms and figures.

Goaded by this psychic ailment, a superpower forces its own selfish national interests on other weaker states to establish its suzerainty politically, militarily, etc. An imperialist power wants to dominate and exploit other socio-politico-economic units as an expansion, perpetration and consolidation of its vested interests; a powerful linguistic group suppresses other minority linguistic groups; the so-called upper castes subjugate the so-called lower castes in society and suck their vital juice under so many pleas and disguises; and opportunistic males curtail the rights of women in various ways. In all these cases, the same inherent psychological malady of imperialism prevails.

Imperialism is anti-human. It runs counter to the spirit of Neo- humanism and the ethics of human life. It is detrimental to pramá saḿvrddhi, pramá rddhi and pramá siddhi in human society. In a word, it thwarts human progress and creates global wars and all sorts of divisive and destructive forces in society.

Imperialism is a negative force, a destructive phenomenon, which generates exploitative and unjust conditions in individual and collective life. Such a poisonous radiation of black force attracts negative forces like negative microvita. Those negative microvita intensify and escalate the demonic activities of imperialism in all aspects of human society – art, literature, education, trade, commerce, industry, agriculture, morality and social relations. They cultivate a psychology based on slavery, inferiority complex, pseudo-culture and psycho-economic exploitation, and in certain cases are the cause of nihilism and cynicism.

In order to wipe out imperialism, which is rooted deep in the human psyche Neo-ethics based on the following points is indispensable:

1) The Macrocosmic Entity must be accepted as the supreme desideratum in human life.

2) There should be happy adjustment and balanced blending between carbonic and non-carbonic pabula.

This is the Neo-ethics of the present age; a panacea for the present imperialistic social ills and a mesh of psychic disorders. The application of Neo-ethics will lead to multi-lateral salvation of human society by removing economic exploitation, political suppression, religious indoctrination, cultural imposition and social subordination.

I have already said that if there is a happy adjustment and balanced blending between carbonic and non-carbonic pabula in the human mind and corpor, there will be no imperialism at all. Rather, heaven will descend on the dusty earth.

While following the path of Neo-ethics, human beings will attain enormous progress in the spiritual sphere with greater speed. With the help of non-carbonic pabula they will sharpen their psychic penetration within inter- and intra-atomic and molecular space. With the help of microvita they will be able to powder down their ectoplasms and transform them into cognitive faculto-factors.

The majority of people today do not know the technique of using microvita. The Universal Entity, sitting in one place, has been using microvita to accelerate the spiritual growth of individuals in different celestial bodies in different ways. Only that Supreme Entity who is conversant with these techniques and can teach them to individual spiritual aspirants is the Supreme Guru. He keeps all within His contact, and with the help of microvita, elevates all spiritually.

Living beings, through their own individual efforts, can achieve only a little progress in the carbonic world, but in the non-carbonic world only the grace of the Supreme Guru can lead them towards the supreme goal.


Chapter 1	Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]


Chapter 2	Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]


Chapter 3	Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]


Chapter 4	Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]


Chapter 5	Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]


Chapter 6	Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]


Chapter 7	Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]


Chapter 8	Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]


Chapter 9	Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 9 [a compilation]