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    Religion and LifeAuthor(s): S. RadhakrishnanReviewed work(s):Source: International Journal of Ethics, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Oct., 1916), pp. 91-106Published by: The University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2376959 .

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    RELIGION AND LIFE. 91

    RELIGION AND LIFE.S. RADHAKRISHNAN.

    THE question which has come in for much discussionrecently s about the ideal man. Is he a man ofcharacteror a man of action? More accurately, s he aman of pietyor a man of the world? The two are con-sidered incompatible. The mystics,the saints and thesages of any countryhave no interest n the affairs f theworld. These religious ouls are engrossed n theircom-munion withthe eternaland let go the whole world, nthe impression all's rightwiththe world" for"God's inhis heaven." They develop a sortof mystic,contempla-tive attitude which is mainly passive. They drinkdeepof the cup of religionand that seems to atrophytheirpractical sense and paralyze theirmotor energies. Theyfeel suspicious of the strenuousactivity of very ardentsouls. Amongthe active workers fthe worldthere doesnot seemto be any strong eligiousbias. The veryname,man of theworld,has come to signify ne who s indisposedto religious entiment r enthusiasm. A religiousman ofthe worldis an exceptionand not the rule. The deeplyreligiousmindshave no interestn mundaneaffairs; ctivepublic spiritedcitizenshave no concernfor their souls.Is one to face the alternative, ither ifewithoutreligionor religionwithout ife? If there is no escape fromthisdilemma,religionwillfallon evil days. Let us then ascer-tain, ifthis generaltendencyof cleavage betweenreligionand life s an inevitableone. What is the significance freligion or ife?

    I.The inadequacy of our experienceboth fromthe in-tellectualand the moral standpointraises the problemofreligion. We wish to know if there is anythingelse tosupplementour empiricalworld. On the intellectual ide

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    92 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.we have forour ideal of truth, complete,harmonious ndall comprehensivewhole. The worldof isolated facts,wecome across, s,at best,finitend conditioned. It doesnotsatisfy our ideal. Logic becomes a problem. On themoral side-and it is here that the incompleteness f ourexperience s feltby all men-it appears as a contrastbe-tween our soul's ideal and our actual will. Our soulpresentsus with a moral imperativewhichis felt by theindividualas an imperiousobligationwhichwillbrooknorival. It is a categorical mperative. It unconditionallyasks us to do this,refrain rom hat. But our actual willcontests tshigher irth ndpayshomage othe temptationsof sense. Not that the individual in his sober momentsdoes not recognise he moral aw to be right. As Socratessays, man has onlyto see the good to become desirousofit. But the lowerselfof man fights gainst the assertionof the moral law. When Augustine prayed "Give mechastity,but not yet" his higherself distinctlywarnedhim to be pure but his lowerself mpelledhimto indulgea little longer. Every seeker afterrighteousnesswillen-dorseSt. Paul's words"The good which would I do not;buttheevilwhich wouldnot,thatI practise. I find henthe law that, to me, who would do good, evil is present.For I delight n the law of God after he inwardman; butI see a differentaw in my members,warring gainst thelaw of my mind and bringingme into captivity underthe law of sin which s in mymembers. 0 wretchedmanthat I am! who shall deliverme out of the body of thisdeath?" The Indian mystic oetTagore, nhis own nimi-table way describes the schism or anarchy within us:

    " Obstinate re thetrammels, ut myheart aches whentryto breakthem."Freedomis all I wantbut to hopefor t I feel shamed."I am certainthat pricelesswealth is in thee and thatthouartmybestfriend, ut I have notthe heartto sweepaway the tinselthatfillsmyroom."The shroud hatcoversmeisa shroud fdustand death.I hate it, yethug it in love.

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    RELIGION AND LIFE. 93"My debts are large,my failuresgreat,my shame secretand heavy; yet when I come to ask formy good, I quake

    in fear lest my prayerbe granted." (Tagore: Gitanjali,Song 28.) The consciousnessof this struggle n the soulis the first tep in the great spiritualawakening.Again, there s always,on the part ofourwill,an effortto adjust itselfto the ideal. In this strugglefor adjust-ment,our effortswill lose all sense and significance, urlife, its vitalityand power, unless there is a higher ifewhich is real. Without faith in the realityof the moralideal life will be but a chapterof accidents. Like a shipwithoutsail or rudder, t goes hitherand thither. Manstrivestowards the ideal; wants to progress. He meetswithopposition;he has to fight orthe ideal. The condi-tions of the universeincludingthe animal nature of hisown organism,make it hard forhim to attain the ideal.Man has to maintain his aspirations against a hostileuniverse. Sometimes,whenhe sees evil triumphantn theworld, he loses all hope and despairs. The moral lawwhichtouches his heart breaks down. The galling njus-ticeof theworld trikeshimwithwonder nd awful maze-ment. His voice trembles, his soul shudders and hisheart breaks. Even the mostfortunate, e finds,do notrealize all they wish for. Finiteness, impotence, andfailureare writ large on the face of history. With hisheart tornby miseryand distractedby life's contradic-tions,fromout of the sphere of struggle,he looks up toheaven to catch glimpses hat may make himless forlorn.What must do to be saved? Who shall deliver me fromthis temptation? Is the moral ideal a dream and am Ifighting nly a sham fight gainst the tremendousforcesofevil and wickedness? Oris it a reality hat s ultimatelybound to succeed in spiteof all thisbig showofSatan andhis forces? Am I helped in thisfight nd struggleby thepowersof the universe r am I fighting nlya losingbattle?This is the problemof life with whichevery thinking oulis astir, t the start. For help in thepursuitof ourmoralideals,we requirea religionwhichshowsthat the demand

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    94 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.of the moral consciousness is a practicable one. Thisis whyVoltaire says, even ifthere s no God, we have toinvent one. Religionmust give us the warrant that themoral case will succeed. Life is a battle. It involves ariskand as sensiblemen we crave for working robabilitythat all shall be well in the end. We have to realise thatit is not a battle wherewe are foredoomed o defeat. It isone wherewe have a fairfightinghanceofvictory,wherethe forces for us are stronger han the forcesagainst us.It is then,when religiondawns upon us, that we find ifeto be worth iving nd we array ourselveson theside of thespirit n oppositionto the flesh.Thus it is the contradictions f life that drive men toreligion. Discontent with the actual gives rise to thereligiousproblem. As Auguste Sabatier says, religion isborn in tears." It is the feeling f the incompleteness fthe actual that is "the rent n the rockthroughwhichthelife-givingwaters flow." The problem of religion s anintenselypractical one. It attemptsto solve the enigmaof life.

    II.In the solution fthisproblem f ifewhich s theproblemofreligion, here s a transitiontagewhich ometimeseadsmen astray. Life is said to be a contradiction nd there-foreunreal. The part ofwisdomlies in forsakingt andseekingthe real and the permanentwithinthe subjectiveconsciousnesswhere we come into touch with a higherspiritual reality. The passive and humbled soul whichfinds ife o bepermeated hrough ndthroughwithparadoxand misery urns nwardand theretheDivine voice speaksto himin unmistakable erms. He getsassurance throughfeeling nd intuition hat there s a spiritual lementwhichis real and good. To catch thespiritofreligionwe have toturnaway from he busy world. Immediatelyby a falseturn n logic,the spiritualand the ideal is opposed to thehuman and thenatural. The seeming weetnessof natureis but a show and all thingsmundaneare unclean. " What

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    RELIGION AND LIFE. 95shadows we are and what shadows we pursue,'" if ourvision is focussed on the actual and the human. Themysticshakes off he dust which is fleshand enters ntothe inner anctuaryofthe soul and there ives a joyous lifeof light and gladness. Tearing himself away from lifeand work,he seeks pleasure in raptures and ecstasies ofthe subjective consciousness. Every great religionhaspassed throughthis stage. The Vedantic idealism, theBuddhist philosophyand the Christianthoughtall haveexperiencedthis spirit. I need not here dwell at lengthon the first wo since,even to-day,theyare considered obe pre-eminentlyther-worldlyn spirit. The religionofChristgenerally asses fora social and practicalcreedandwe will show here how it is not all that it claims to be.Christ said, "If any man comethunto me and hatethnothis own fatherand motherand wife and children andbrethrennd sisters,yea and hisownlife lso,he cannotbemy disciple." To obeythe maximsoftheNew Testamentwouldmean the collapse of civilization. The precepts,re-sist not evil, turnthe othercheek,represent n ideal im-possibleto humannatureand inconsistentwiththe condi-tions ofhumansociety. Luthardt,the Leipsic theologian,feeling his difficultyf practisingChristianvirtues con-sistentlywiththe dutiesof thisworld, s reported o havesaid that any attemptto maintaina social orderon earthaccordingto the doctrinesof Christ (strictly nterpreted)would be "the proclamationof anarchy." In the middleages, Christians hought hat thekingdomof God was notof this world. No transformationf existingconditionswould do. The prevailingorderofthingswas givenoverto satanic misrule nd all thoughtofrenovating he worldfromwithinwas givenup. They expecteda changebut itwas not a gradual historicaldevelopmentto be achievedby the effortsf menbut a sudden cataclysmicrevolutionto be achievedby a second supernatural oming fChrist.Christianethicswas then essentially schatological. TheChristian ttitudeto theworldwas one ofuncompromisinghostility. World's worknever coincided withtheserviceVol. XXVII.-No. 1. 7

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    RELIGION AND LIFE. 97has the trickofadapting tself o thepushofcircumstance,and practical beliefsdo not travel on logical credentialsalone. The greatBuddha, when he found out thebliss ofdeliverancedid not keep it to himselfbut communicatedit to the world. "I am the perfect ne, the Buddha. Ihave attained to peace. I have won Nirvana. I go nowto the townofBenares to foundthekingdom frighteous-ness. There will I beat life's drum n thisworldofdark-ness." Buddha's life shows, however deeply religiousasoul mightbe, its religionmustexpress tself n love. Noman has a right o attain solitary alvation at the expenseof his duties to others. The finestwordsever spokenonthis subject are thoseby Buddha. "Never will I seek orreceiveprivateindividualsalvation; never enter nto finalpeace alone; but forever and everywhere will I live andstrive for the universal redemptionof every creaturethroughout ll worlds. Until all are delivered,never willI leave thesphere f in, orrow ndstruggle." Sri Krishnahas so much the interestsof the world at heart that hesays "whenever there s a decay of religion, h Bharata,and an ascendencyof irreligion hen I manifestmyself.For the protection fthe good, forthe destruction f evildoers,for the firm stablishment freligion, am borninevery age." (The Bhagavadgita V, 7-8.) "The son ofman came eating and drinking." As a reaction againstthe externality f the Old Testament teaching, Christlaid stress n the inner oreofconductbutfrom his t doesnot follow hat the outer is to be destroyed r is contraryto the inner. 'The transcendental deas of moralityandreligion became dynamic in Christ's life and conduct.With the abiding consciousnessof the oneness in spiritand conduct,he livedintheworld, hough unspottedfromthe world.' Thus the abstractnatureofmysticism, ureand simple,made itselfmanifest n the lives of the greatreligious eaders whohave not beenobliviousoftheirdutiesto the world. GreatermysticsthanBuddha, Christ, ndKrishnawe cannotthinkof; but morepracticalmentherenever were. With them all the word did not remain

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    98 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.wordbut becameflesh. But ifthemystic,withoutcaringforthe worldwants to attain peace withinhimself,he isentirely elfseeking. Such a one represents,o use Mazzi-ni's graphicexpression, the selfishness f genius." Hissoul contractswithin tself, hrivels nd dies. In theinnerlight hemystic hould iveand notperish; nd life s actionand notthought rfeelingn and by itself.But it maybe asked, are not thesereligious eaderssup-portersof an ascetic code whichrequiresman to give uphis self? Yes; but they are not, so far as the presentwritercan follow them,supporters of quietism and in-activity. The asceticism which Buddha preaches de-mands the abolition of the evil tendenciesofman. Sayshe "I preachasceticism nasmuchas I preach the burningaway of all conditions fthe heartthat are evil. One whoso does is a true ascetic." In a conversationwithSadhuSimha,hesays"it is true,Simha,that denounce ctivities;but only the activitiesthat lead to the evil in thoughts,words nddeeds. It is true, imha,that preachextinction,but only the extinctionof pride, lust, evil thoughtandignorance, not that of forgiveness, ove, charity andtruth." Sri Krishna says: "He who withoutdependingon the fruits faction performs is boundenduty,he is aSanyasinand a Yogin; nothewhois withoutfire nd with-out action." (The BhagavadgitaVI. I.)'Thus the sheerstressof facts and logic has driventhemystic consciousnessto transcend itself. Mysticism ispositive and should findexpression n a world of beautyand love. Modern mystics and students of mysticismtestify o it. Tagore says "Deliverance is not forme inrenunciation." (Gitanjali,Song73); FlorenceNightingalebelieved "in the serviceofman beingthe serviceofGod.""I care verylittleto expressfaithanywherebut in life"said Octavia Hill. Again "God has been always pleasedto build His best bridgeswith human piers,not angels,not workingby miracles;but He has always let us help

    ' See the author's aperon the Ethicsof theVedanta. INTERNATIONALJOURNAL OF ETHIcs, January,914.

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    RELIGION AND LIFE. 99Him fwe will,never ettingurfaultsmpedeHis purposeswhenwe struggledhatthey houldnot." FatherTyrrellin hisposthumous ork n "The Church ndthe Future"said thatthe religion o whichhe looked forward ouldconsist f"mysticismnd charity,"notherwords,oveofGod and love ofman. Accordingo Inge,mysticism aybe defineds "the attempt o realise he presence f theLivingGod nthe ouland nnature,"Christian ysticism,page 5). Thus we see that thefunctionfreligions notmerelyo pacify he troubledoul but make t enterwithfaith nd hope ntothework fGodwhich s to maketheearth hevisible ymbol fGod's aw.

    III.Lifepresentedts contradictionsnd religion ecameaproblem. Realitywas sought n the purely ubjective.The preceding aragraphshave disclosedhow neitherthe purelysubjectivenor the purelytranscendentalsadequateto thesolution ftheproblem f ife. Here,aseverywhere lse,truth ies in a unionofopposites. Im-manent r objective dealism s thetrue solution ftheriddle f xistence.The ancient hilosophyf heVedanta,theidealistic ystems fGermanynd theconclusionsfmoderncience, ll point o objectivedealism s thetruesolution. God is the self of the universe. He is mydeeper elf ndyours. Thatfamous ext f heChandogyaUpanishad,which hevedantinsre never ired fquotingsumsup the chiefpointsofobjective dealism. "Etadat-myam dam sarvam,tat satyam,sa atma, tat twami si."(The whole universe s of the natureof That (Subtileessence). Thatis thetrue, hatisatma. Thatartthou.)The wholeuniverses a living rganism.There snothingdead in it. It is one all-palpitatingife. Doubt,sorrowand sinareallchallengedythisnew onceptionfreligion.It givesus theconviction hat evil, thoughnot illusory,is transitory.Even death becomes negligiblencidentin the everwidening rocess fthe evolutionfthe spirit."Naturered ntooth nd claw" doesnotstrike uratten-

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    100 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.tion; on the other hand we feel the quiet "smile of theuniverse." The essenceof all religion ies in the consciousrealizationofthe presence f God, thetacitrecognition hatthe humanspirit s but a note n theeternalharmony f theworldspirit. So longas the ndividualthinkshimselfo bea separate tom nthis mmense niverse, o long as the feel-ing of solationhas himby the throat, o long as he has theidea that he is the chief ctor in the stage, he is in theworld of Maya, and he findsthat the whole universe isworking gainsthim nd his aspirations re dashedto piecesby the forces utside. From his separatiststandpointhelooks upon natureas something pposed to human inter-ests, as something o be overcome, omething o be caughtin the net ofintelligencewhich man spreads. He finds ohis cost that the externalnature s too much forhim. Ifhe thinkshe is swimming gainst it, he is worsted. Butthe fact is that the streamofthe universe s flowingwithhim,he is swimmingwiththe current s he is in it. Whenwe recognise he essenceofthe finite o be in the Infinite,whenwe realise that we are parts of a stupendouswhole,whenweknowthatwe are but the instrumentsfa noblerpurpose,we get out oftheworldofMaya. Whenthusweadjust our perspectiveand feel that we are indissolublya part of the grandscheme of things,our doubts are dis-solved,our contradictions isappearand we are reconciledto life. In the strugglewith the moral ideal, we knowthat victory s on our side; God dwells in us. His is apresencethat neverfails; His, an ideal that cannot be de-feated. The discouraging ask ofmoral effortnd struggleis transfused ntothepreciouspossession nd joyous privi-lege of maintaining piritualrelationshipwith God. Wehave the unalterable onviction hat we do our workunderthe ray of heaven. There is a supremepowerwatchingoverourbattlesand bound to lead therighteous o the ac-complishmentftheirgoal. What a solace inourfailures!Even if we don't succeed for a while,we need not loseheart. God will triumphn the end, our effortsmay fail;the waves on the shoremaybe broken,but theOcean con-

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    RELIGION AND LIFE. 101quersnevertheless. But ifwe lose thereligious ond whichbinds us to a higherworldour lifebecomespurposeless ndillogical; if it holds us and sustains us, we feel we areworking ora greatend,a purposenot our ownbut yet inthe highest and truest sense ours because it is God's.Such men to whomlife is a divine enterprise, missiondedicated to the service of the supreme spirit are the"soldiers of God on earth." Thus religionsolves life'sparadoxes.

    It is the duty of everyman to make the will of Godprevail herebelow as it is above. The heavenly visionofunity,fellowship,raternityrlokasamgraha n theexpres-sive words ofthe Bhagavadgita, whichwe acquire duringmomentsof reflection,hould instead of producing assi-tude and disgust,give strength o our moral sense andenable us to expressourselves n lifeso that our potentialenergiesmightbecome realised. This realization can beeffectednly by means of a life of ove and service. Whyshould we avoid lifewhen even the supreme spirit"hasjoyfully akenuponhimthe bonds ofcreation"? (Tagore:Gitanjali, ong11.) We have then a duty odischarge ereon earth. No man can live forhimself lone; forno manbelongsto himself. He belongsto God and to humanity.He is an irreligiousmanwhowrapshimself p inhisown elfand interests imself n his own needs. The religious oulbreaks the shell of egoism,finds tself n unisonwith theeternaland enlarges ts consciousness o that it penetratesall the surroundingobjects. This liberation from thetrammels fthepetty ego is the true iberation rmoksha.Unselfish onducts pietyand itsopposite in. " A religiouslife whichremainshidden in the individualconsciousness,whichdoes not create any spiritualsolidarity, ny frater-nity ofsoul is as if t werenot; it is a mere film f feeling,an ephemeralpoetic flowerwhichhas no moreeffect n theindividual himself han it has on the human race." InthesewordsSabatier lays his finger n thenecessity f lifefor self-realisation. Our Rabindranath Tagore declaresthat "true freedom s not the freedom romaction, but

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    102 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.freedom n it, whichcan only be attained in the workoflove." (Sadhana, page 78.) We can realise the divinitywithinus not by the contemplation f the 'starry heavensabove' or 'the moral aw within'but only by enteringntothe stream of things nd participatingn the grand evolu-tion of the spiritual ife to the best of our ability. Manis giftedwith the powers of life and activitynot to throwthemaway but to place them at the altar of humanity'ssalvation.

    Thus religion s supremely ignificant or ife. It is theendeavour on the part of the individualto give practicalexpression o hisviewoftherelationofthefinite o the in-finite. A religious ife is one wherethe individual ap-propriates share of spiritual life. Religion tarts n theopposition whichexistsin human life, shows the way toovercome t and requiresman to overcome t. In contem-plation, we see the heavenly vision as 'through a glassdarkly' and in action, by obeying it we have to realiseit. In religion, o know is to do and to do is to know.Religion consists in the doing of God's will on earth asit is in heaven. Thus religionhas both a practical aimand a practicalfoundation.

    IV.This organic relationship between the religious spiritand active life hould, nno uncertainvoice,be announcedto the people of India who are labouringunder a falseimpression. The question was once asked by the townclerk of Ephesus "What man is there that knoweth nothow that the cityof the Ephesians is a worshipper f thegreat goddess Diana?" Similarly t may be asked "whatman is there that knowethnot how that India is a wor-shipper of the great goddess Spirituality?" The veryatmosphere in India is charged with spirituality. TheIndian people believe in a traditionthat religion nd lifeare incompatible. The blood of Janaka who exclaimedwhen his capital Mithila was destroyed by a conflagra-tion "while Mithila is burning,nothingthat is mine is

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    RELIGION AND LIFE. 103burnt" s runningn theirveins. How true s thepoetwhosang:

    TheEastbow'd owbeforeheblastIn patient,eepdisdain;She etthe egions hunder ast,Andplungednthoughtgain!The people of India are mostly ndifferento the vitalconcerns f theworld. They are proneto abstractmedita-tion,and surrenderhemselves o the eisures f the spirit.

    The traditionhas been carriedto such a heightthat ac-cordingto the census of 1901, out of a populationof 268millions-Hindus and Mussulmen-in India proper,nearlythreemillionswerenumbered s asceticsand friars. Theseascetics publiclyrenounceall ties of the world and retireinto forests nd caves to do penance and such other hings.Scriptural njunctions equireeveryBrahmin o retire romthe world when he feels old age creepingon him. Sad-huism seems to be quite germane to the soil of India.Centuries beforethe advent of Christ or even Buddha,Sadhus had been flourishingn the sacred soil of India.A beggingfriarhas come to be the ideal of India whileChristendom s representedby the Christian statesman;shallwe say shopkeeper?

    Let me at once confessthat India counted among itsSadhus some of the rarest and noblest souls of the world.Almostall hergreatreligious eformers ererecluses. Topronouncetheirnames is of the nature of an act of wor-ship; to read their ives is to be liftedup to the mountaintop wherewe breathefreely he pure and bracingatmos-phere; to have known them, what shall we say? It is"part of our life's unalterable good." They are the saltof the earth; they are the light and hope of the world.The heightsof ove, charity nd devotion of thesesages ofIndia, it is doubtful,fever they were scaled, underdiffer-ent suns or distant surroundings. The glory of theirasceticism transcends he majesty of world empires. Butit is presumption nd follyto expect that we could havethree millionsof such men, even in a country ike India.

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    104 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.Many of these are poor beggarswho deceive the publicby puttingon the ascetic's garb. Grovelling n the dirt,wallowing n poverty, iving on mendicancythey get onand whentheydie, thevery raceoftheir xistence s wipedout. But a largeproportion f thesethreemillionswillbemen of a fairlyhighdegreeof intelligence, good deal ofselfcontrolnd a deeplyreligiousbent. They could be ofgreatserviceto India in herpresent ransition. But evena strayvisitorwillbe struckby theamazingand deplorablewaste ofenergywhichdaily takes place in thoseveritablecastles of indolence,otherwiseknown as monasteries ndmuttswhere heseascetics ead a lifeof torpor nd satisfiedand dreamful ase. But theyare notto blame. They areslaves to a superstition. They sincerely believe thatstrenuous ife s opposedto spiritualperfection. Recentlyeffortsweremade to touch and quicken theirslumberingconsciencebut not with much effect. The centralBelurMutt of Ramakrishna-VivekanandaMission has issued amanifestowhich says "spiritualityand not political ag-grandisement ad been the backbone of the Indian peoplein the past and on that inheritance,we shouldstand firm,withgoodwilland love and peace to all on earth, fwe areto become again a gloriousnation in the future." Howtrue and yet how false! It is this onesided spiritualitywhichholds political progress o be at the opposite poleto itself hathas worked o muchmischiefn India. Spir-itualityof the monastictypehas not been able to preventIndia's fall,has not been able to save herfrom he invaderand thespoiler. Lifeis no sin; it is no discord. Fromthereligious point of view, it is a harmony. Life looks aderangementnlywhencutoff rom hespiritualpurpose tserves,but when reattachedto it, it is sacred. Religionthen stirs and stingsthe spiritual ifeand puts power ntothe arm of the good. From this standpoint, piritual ifedoes notmean fellowship ith God exclusiveoffellowshipwithman. All life s spiritual, hrough nd through, romfirst o last. To prayfor one's country s not opposed toreligion;to bringabout a union of spiritto spiritwithin

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    RELIGION AND LIFE. 105'the containing piritof God' is not opposed to religion;to kindle spark ofdivine ove inthemillions fheartsthatlie so torpid and make them glow with the warmth ofreligion s not opposed to religion. The highestreligionis love, fellowship nd solidarity; it is to make all theLord's people prophets. The spiritualenergieswhicharepentup in the ascetics ofIndia shouldbe opened out intothe regeneration fmoralcharacter nd the bringing n ofthatsocial orderwhichmeansperfection or ll hisbrethrenand notmerely orhimself. Let thenthe leisureliness ndmysticismof the east give place to practical and socialidealism. Let menwhohave no thoughtof selfand whohave good gifts nd hightalentsplace theirpowers at thealtar of their country'sgood. Let them pour out theirenergies ntothe ideals and help the cause ofprogress.

    Gladnessewith hee,Helper f heworld!I thinkhis s theauthenticign nd sealOfGodship,hat t everwaxes ladAnd moreglad untilgladnessblossoms, urstsInto a rage osufferormankindAndrecommencet sorrow.

    Here we are, individualexpressions f the universal ife,invited to the great feast of the evolution of the spirit.Why shrinkfrom t? Let each man deliverhis messagefrom he infinitend realisehimself.It may be said that in our eagernessto emulate theactivityofthe west, we are exhorting he people of India,to cast to the winds her rich spiritualheritage. We donot hold up the ideal ofwork n any philistine piritor inblind mitation fthe west. We have alreadygivenreasonsforour view that public spirit s the fulfilment f divinelaw. We have our eyeswide open and see that the civili-sation ofthewest,which eems to consider heworldto benot a place wheresouls are builtbut a thingto be boughtand sold, is soulless. It is like a whited sepulchrewithdead bones in it. The west lacks the spiritto liftheroutof the sordid materialism n which she is sunk and whichis eatingout herveryvitals. It is thisspiritwhichought

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    106 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.to vivify nd interpretmatter. But India is at the oppo-site extreme. To herwe say let yourspirituality xpressitself n theworldof factsand action. The goal for bothis conscious purposive self expressionor self realization.India is nowstanding nthe vergeofa nationalrenaissance.In this strugglefor enlightenmentnd progress, t is theduty of her beautifulsouls to come down to earth withtheirvisions of heaven,participate n the struggle nd giveencouragement nd sympathyto those who are workingin the cause of the right. It is their share to shed sun-shine on the path, strengthenfailing courage, lightensorrows, nstil faith n hours of despair and lead India tohergoal by thepath ofrighteousnesswhichalone exaltetha nation. S. RADHAKRISHNAN.

    THE PRESIDENCY COLLEGE, MADRAS.