Chapter 10

Even if we perish while serving and nursing others, we should consider ourselves fortunate because they are the embodiments of God. He who thinks otherwise – out of vanity, superstition or ignorance, offends God and incurs great sin.

“Feel for the miserable and look up for help – it will come. I may perish of hunger and work, but I bequeth to you, young men, this sympathy, this struggle for the poor, the ignorant, the oppressed. Vow, then to devote your whole life for the cause of redemption of those – the poor, the lowly, the oppressed, for whom He comes from time to time, going down and down every day; their condition I leave to your imagination and conscience to feel and ameliorate.” Let us unite our wills in continued prayer for their good.

Ay fools! neglecting the living gods, His infinite reflections with which the world is full; you are running after imaginary shadows! Him worship, the only visible, and break all other idols.

If you do not commit any sin; if you do not tell lies, if you do not drink, gamble or steal, it is good. But that is only what is expected from you; you cannot be applauded for it. Some service to others is also to be done. As you do good to yourself, you must do good to others also. Goodness is not merely abstaining from evil deeds but persistent performance of good deeds.

You nourish your body by eating; what good is there in doing that if you do not hold it as a sacrifice for the well-being of others? You nourish your mind by reading books; there is no good in doing that unless you hold it also as a sacrifice for others. The whole world is one and therefore it is right for you that you should serve millions of your brothers than to aggrandize your little-self.

Even if a thousand births have to be taken in order to relieve the sorrows of the world, surely we will take them. If by our doing that, even a single soul may have a little bit of his grief relieved, we will do it. What avails it all to have only one’s own salvation? All men should be taken along with oneself on that way.

It should be our resolve that we may be born again and again, and suffer thousands of miseries so that we may worship the only God that exists, the only God that we believe in, the sum total of all souls and above all our gods, the wicked, the miserable, the poor, who are the special objects of our worship.

I would commit a crime and go to hell forever if by doing that I could really help a human being.

Let miseries of the world come to us; we shall endure them all, let others go free.

Let us go to hell with the sins of the whole world, but let the world be saved.

Again and again our motherland has risen from the ashes, smashed the stranglehold of the evil forces and established the reign of righteousness. That glorious tradition continues unbroken to this day and will continue in the future too, if we have faith in the words of the Lord (Krishna) proclaimed in the Gita: “Whenever virtue subsides and wickedness raises its head, I manifest myself to restore the glory of religion, for the protection of good, for the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of religion; I come into being in every age”. This is the miracle, the secret of our immortality, this deathless potency of our nationhood despite so many conquests by the foreign invaders. When you study the civilization of India, you find that it has declined and revived several times; this is its peculiarity. Most races rise once and then decline for ever.

Despite all upheavals this nation has to stay. The forces of the evil will, as always, meet their nemesis this time also; so don’t get disheartened as we will herald the beginning of a new era. Faith in the ultimate triumph of forces of good over the forces of evil is ingrained in our blood, that is why all we want is to unite the forces of good against the forces of evil.

All the forces of good against all the forces of evil – this is what we want, for if the forces of evil are not combated and defeated, they will triumph over the forces of good and thus a great calamity would befall on the nation. The government of the country will be usurped by a body of arrogant and unrighteous people to the great misfortune of the countrymen. It is good to kill or get killed if it is done for well-being of others (not for one’s own self-interest).

In bringing all the forces of good together, do not care for the banner and its colour under which you march. Yours is to work, the results will take care of themselves. If any social or political institution stands in your way it has to give way before the power of spirit.

Lo! slowly this infinite giant is waking up, becoming conscious of its powers and with this growing consciousness more and more of its bonds are breaking up, and the day is sure to come when with the full consciousness of its infinite powers and wisdom, the giant will rise again to its feet. Let us all help to hasten this glorious consummation.

The longest night seems to be passing away, the sorest trouble seems to be coming to an end at last, the seeming corpse appears to be awaking and a voice is coming to us – from away back where history and even tradition fails to peep into the gloom of the past, coming down from there, reflected as it were from peak to peak of the infinite Himalaya of knowledge, love and work, – a voice is coming unto us, gentle, firm and yet unmistakable in its utterance, and is gaining volume as days pass by, and behold, the sleeping India, our motherland, is awaking! Like a breeze from the Himalayas, it is bringing new life into the almost dead bones and muscles, the lethargy is passing away, and only the blind cannot see or the perverted will not see, that she is awaking, this motherland of ours, from her deep long slumber. None can resist her anymore; never is she going to sleep anymore, no outward powers can hold her back anymore; for the infinite giant is rising to her feet.

There come periods in the history of a nation when they find that all their plans are slipping between their fingers, that the old institution and systems are crumbling into dust, that their hopes are all blighted and everything seems to be out of joint; but I am glad, rather than not, that such falls come. Perhaps it is the cause of the next upheaval.

We are now passing through a period of decay and degradation in our national life and this is all the more necessary as out of this decay is coming the India of the future, greater than she was ever. As a mighty tree produces a beautiful ripe fruit, the fruit falls on the ground, it decays and rots, and out of that decay springs the future tree, perhaps, mightier than the first one. In the same way from the midst of present degradation lies the potentiality of our future greatness, perhaps, more mighty and glorious than ever before.

Though India is fallen today she will certainly rise again. It is not the first time in the history of this nation that we are so low. Periods of depression and degradation has occurred before this but India has always triumphed in the long run, and so would she once again in the future.

India is not old or effete but young, seething with potentiality and standing on the threshold of greater developments than she has ever seen or known in the past.

I see, in my mind’s eyes, the future perfect India rising out of this chaos and strife, glorious and invincible. I cannot help believing in the glorious renaissance of this nation when so many hands are spontaneously willing to rebuild it once again.

I can envisage that the ancient mother will awake once more and will sit on her throne rejuvenated, more glorious than ever and will proclaim her voice of peace and benediction.

“I must therefore conclude, reminding you of the fact that – this national ship, my countrymen! – this national ship has been usefully plying for ages, carrying civilization and enriching the whole world with its inestimable treasures. For scores of shinning centuries it has been ferrying across this ocean of life and has taken millions of souls to the other shore, beyond all miseries, to blessedness. But today, through your own fault or whatever cause it matters not, this boat has become a little damaged, has sprung a leak, has become little worn out. What would you, who have placed yourselves on it, do now? Would you go about cursing it and quarreling amongst yourselves? Is it fit that you stand up and pronounce malediction upon it, one that has done more work for you than any other thing in the world? If there are holes in this national ship, this society of ours, as we are its children, should we not unitedly go together and plug the holes? Let us gladly do it with our heart’s blood. Let us tell our countrymen of the danger, to awaken them of the situation and their duty. And if we fail in the attempt then let us sink and die together. We will make a plug of our bodies and brains and put them into the holes, with blessings and not curse on our lips”.

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