The living world is divided into two categories according to natural law: one lives collectively, and the other lives individually. Now let us examine these two classes.

The Development of Sentiment

Those creatures whose minds have just started functioning, whose ectoplasms have been activated – those unicellular entities instinctively feel: “This is my food, that is not my food. Now is the time for sleep, now is the time for waking.” These undeveloped creatures have only this narrow sense of the minimum essentialities of a living structure. This sense is as predominant in multicellular creatures as in unicellular ones, but the difference between the two is that, while the unicellular creatures are incapable of providing their own minimum essentialities, the multicellular organisms can do so quite efficiently. In the case of a multi-cellular organism, since many cells are functioning collectively, there is greater scope for clash and cohesion. As a result, the lower mind is powdered down and transformed into the subtle mind.

And what is the consequence? At this stage, the multicellular structure itself feels the necessity of an impulse, a momentum. This momentum certainly operates on the physical layer, and on subtler layers as well. And this movement to subtler layers, this switch-over of physical momentum into subtler momentum, is known as the “sentiment” of living beings.

Individualistic Tendency and Collective Tendency

Now, this sentiment works in two ways. One category of subhuman living beings goaded by this sentiment thinks, “I will shine in my own glory – I will establish myself by my own strength.” And that is the reason why they do not want to live collectively; they prefer to roam about the world individually. They do not even have any family life. Tigers, dogs and many other creatures are extremely sentimental; their sentiment flows according to an individualistic mental tendency.

There is another category of living beings who think, “If I unite my individual intellect with another’s intellect, and still another’s intellect, and in this way we combine the intellects of twenty, thirty or fifty individuals, then we shall become very strong intellectually. We are already strong physically, and we will become strong intellectually.” Thus they choose to live collectively. For instance, lions, elephants and pigeons all live collectively, and they have family lives as well. In this way they advance.

This collective tendency or individual tendency does not always depend upon the degree of intellect. For example, sheep have very little intelligence, whereas elephants are considered to be very intelligent; but they both live in groups. Lions have very little intelligence, yet they too live in groups.

The Collective Tendency in Human Beings

So if we analyse these two categories of living beings, we see that human beings belong to the category of those having collective, or group mentality. This collective mentality depends on one’s psychic framework, on the manner of thinking. Some living beings think, “If we remain in a group, we shall be greatly benefited, so let us live collectively.” Others think instead: “Let us live separately – it will be more conducive to our development.”

Some people are of the opinion that this difference depends upon the dental structure: those creatures with canine teeth belong to one category, while those without canine teeth belong to another category. But this system of categorization is entirely incorrect, because among those with canine teeth, some live separately and others live collectively. Lions have canine teeth and they live in groups; cats also have canine teeth but they live separately. It depends upon their mentality. This proves that the progress of living beings does not depend on tooth, nail or paw; rather, it depends on mental constitution.

The Sentimentalized Collective Tendency: Groupism

Humans are social beings, but their intellectual level is much higher than that of all other creatures. Although they have a greater degree of intellect, they still possess inborn instincts and sentimentality like other creatures, and their sentimentality is of varying degrees. But the greatest human treasure, which animals do not possess, is a logical mind.

Now, the sentimentalized collective life – groupified life, groupism, demi-social mentality⁽¹⁾ – develops because humans have sentimentality like other beings, and also have logical mentality, rationalistic psychology, so between the two a conflict may arise – even within the same individual. Sometimes rationalistic mentality is victorious, sometimes sentimentality.

With the development of intellect, inborn instincts gradually wane. For instance, no one teaches a child to drink its mother’s milk, no one teaches a child to laugh or cry – it acquires all these things as inborn instincts. Undeveloped creatures survive only because of these inborn instincts, but not developed creatures. As their sentimentality develops, their inborn instincts become somewhat obscured. And as the logical minds of humans develop, sentimentality in its turn wanes.

The Danger of Socio-Sentiment

Now, within the stage of sentimentality, as mentioned previously, living beings become divided into two categories, one gregarious, or collective, and the other solitary. The collective tendency of human beings remains intact as long as they are within the scope of sentimentality, but that kind of collectivity, that groupism, that group feeling, that demi-social mentality, is goaded by sentimentality.

But when logic develops, the scope of sentimentality wanes and contracts. Wherever groupism exists, sentimentality also exists. When logic starts to operate, then people realize to their dismay, “Ah! We gave such undue importance to such-and-such religious leader – now we realize it was all merely priestcraft and gurudom – he didn’t contribute to the welfare of the people in the least!”… “Ah, we gave him so much respect; but alas, now we discover that he introduced seven hundred castes into the society, and divided it into innumerable groups, thereby bringing about society’s ruin!”… “We wrongly thought that personality to be great but now we find that he did enormous harm to society by propagating national socialism!”

At this point people begin to analyse in this way; previously they could not analyse anything logically, because their sentimentality confined them to groupism. But the moment logic developed, sentimentality decreased and simultaneously groupism was adversely affected. Rationality says, “No, no, that is not the correct path. Since all living beings of this world have originated from the same source and will merge into the same goal, into the same desideratum, they all have the equal right to survive and fulfil their needs.”

Sabái ámra samán bujhi
Shiitátap kśudhá trśńar jválá,
Kaci káncáguli dánt́o kare tuli,
Váncibár tare samán yujhi.

[We all equally feel cold and heat, We all feel the pangs of hunger and thirst; To raise tender plants into mighty trees We struggle equally hard.]

A collective tendency, a tendency to live in groups, that is based on sentiment, is called “socio-sentiment”. Socio-sentiment is a million times more harmful than geo-sentiment, because socio-sentiment leads people much further from proper thinking than does geo-sentiment. As long on this earth as group mentality or collective mentality – a collective mentality behind which operates a sentimentality based on innumerable superstitions – persists in a noticeable form, it is bound to cloud the otherwise clear human intellect – unless a rationalistic mentality awakens in humans. In the absence of rationalistic mentality, human beings are bound to harm other groups, and even subgroups of their own groups. (Here “subgroup” means a smaller group, including one’s own family. Family interest represents one’s individual interests also.) Many individual hopes and aspirations are antagonistic both to the hopes and aspirations of other individuals and to collective hopes and aspirations. If a person’s sentimentality and groupism do not get sufficient nourishment from one’s group, or subgroup, or family, or from one’s individual abilities, he or she will become a cynic.

Today this group mentality based on sentimentality is on the increase; on the other hand, human logic is not increasing at the same rate. As a result, the number of suicides and mentally-disturbed people is rapidly growing. This is all due to sentimentality, or group mentality based on sentimentality.

When a particular group, motivated by socio-sentiment, thinks only of its own socio-economico-political interests, it completely ignores the socio-economico-political interest of other groups, which ultimately results in conflict between the groups or communities. Those who seek to be victorious in this conflict and defeat others, while at the same time preaching the message of peace, are motivated by hollow vocal sentiment. They say: “Let us stop the use of this weapon or that weapon.” But they are totally guided by sentimentality and groupism – demi-socialism based on sentimentality. They are the first-class hypocrites of the world. Their inner psychology is, “Preach the gospels of peace, but keep your powder dry” – so that at any moment you can load the cannon.

At present civilization has reached such a state. Human beings will have to save themselves from the dreadful consequences of this group mentality, this demi-social psychology based on sentimentality. For this, as I said previously, study and a rationalistic mentality are essential.

The Answer Lies in Sama-Samája Tattva

Besides that, something more is necessary. A firm foundation will have to be created which will support humanity to face all these conflicts. What is that firm foundation? It is the realization that all the creatures which have come to live in this world, do not want to leave it – they all want to survive. Thus we must grant them their right to remain in this world, their right to survive. We must forever fulfil their needs so that they will not have to leave this world prematurely. We must make arrangements for the food, clothes, education, shelter and medical treatment of each and every individual, so that all can live in this world as long as possible and become assets to the earth. We must provide them with the inexhaustible resources for their forward movement towards their spiritual goal. This very mentality is known as sama-samája tattva. All the expressions of human life will have to be based on this sama-samája tattva.

Footnotes

(1) “Demi-social mentality” refers to a degree of social consciousness which is not strong enough to resist narrow-mindedness.