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sankara_sharmah
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I am posting below excerpts from an article by Swami Bhajanananda titled "Values, Yoga and Reality", from the book "Values" Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras.
This article provides an answer to many question raised in this forum.
This article provides an answer to many question raised in this forum.
The Ethos of a People:
In this context certain pertinent questions arise. If India is so
culturally rich, how come she is materially so poor? If India has the
credit of developing the high philosophy of divinity of the soul and
oneness of life, how is it that some of the worst forms of social
injustice, exploitation and discrimination have persisted in Indian
society for centuries? How is it that a nation with the highfalutin
motto 'Truth alone triumphs' has now come to be rated as one of the
most corrupt and dishonest in the world? Even from ancient times in
India nonviolence and contemplation have coexisted with incessant wars
and thuggery and, now, terrorism and extremism. This paradox, and the
paradox of a nation which taught harmony of religions to the world
being perpetually rocked by religious unrest and communal riots,
need an explanation.
The explanation lies in the peculiar ethos of the Indian people, which
has not been studied properly. However, before proceeding further,
we have to understand what 'ethos of a people' really means. The
phrase was introduced perhaps by the German philosopher Hegel who
spoke of every child being 'suckled at the breast of the universal
Ethos.' According to Hegel, 'The wisest men of antiquity have given
judgment that wisdom and virtue consist in living agreeably to the
Ethos of one's people.'
The original German word used was sitten which means moral habitudes
of thought and action. There is no English word that fully expresses
this idea and, instead of having recourse to the German, it has become
customary to use a Greek term ethos.
The word 'ethos' has been defined in Webster's dictionary as, 'the
distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature or guiding beliefs
of a person or group or institution.' More simply stated, it means the
moral temper of a race, or nation, or community. It represents the sum
total of the moral attitudes of a group, the way they react to various
problems and situations in life. Mackenzie says that the ethos of a
people 'constitutes the atmosphere in which the best members of a race
habitually live... it constitutes the universe of their moral
activities.'
India has an ancient culture rich in spiritual wealth unmatched by any
other culture in the world. And its value system which is based on,
and aims at, direct realization of the ultimate Reality, holds great
promise for the future welfare of humanity. However, we can't talk in
the same vein about the ethos of the Indian people. For there are
grave defects and drawbacks in the Indian ethos.
The Indian ethos favours the cultivation of certain values such as
renunciation, charity, chastity, filial duties, and spiritual
disciplines. People in this country can be more easily prompted to
pursue these values. But the ethos has not been so favourable to the
pursuit of some other values such as justice, equality, scientific
objectivity, dignity of labour, and collective responsibility. The
inadequacy of the ethos of this land is the main cause of this
nation's loss of political power, loss of economic prosperity, loss of
intellectual vigour and moral stamina, and dismal performance in
international sports and games. Social tyranny, caste war,
exploitation of the poor, bride burning, and corruption at all levels
of administration still persist in modern India mainly because of the
supportive nature of the ethos of the people.
Several factors have contributed to the creation of the Indian ethos
the most significant of which are: the strange institution of caste
which prevented vertical social mobility, the evils of priestcraft,
the segregation of people caused by racial, linguistic and regional
differences, prolonged submission to alien rulers, and the
popularization of a philosophy of illusion among the masses. Whatever
be the contributory factors, it is necessary to know the limitations
of the ethos which have been the main cause of the nation's failures
in several fields.
If India is to attain economic prosperity, social well-being,
intellectual advancement, national integration, and the rejuvenation
of her ancient spiritual culture and values, drastic changes in the
ethos of the people must be brought about. This was one of the major
tasks Swami Vivekananda took upon himself. Swamiji himself pointed out
that the reformers who had preceded him had made 'the serious mistake
of holding religion accountable for all the horrors of priestcraft and
degeneration' and tried to pull down the indestructible edifice of
religion. The same mistake had been committed by the German
sociologist Max Weber a few years before Swamiji expressed his ideas.
In his book The Religion of India Weber raised the question why India,
in spite of having an advanced culture and wealth, failed to develop a
technological civilization, and he held the Hindu religion responsible
for the failure. Swami Vivekananda, however, showed that religion was
not at fault. The degradation of India took place not because of
religion but because the life-giving spiritual principles of religion
had not been properly applied in practical life. Swamiji saw that
India's spiritual culture was the repository of eternal values which
could help to rejuvenate not only India but the whole world. This does
not, however, mean Swamiji believed that everything was all right with
India. The word 'ethos' had not become popular during his time but he
never overlooked the fact that the individual temperament and social
attitudes of the people of India were defective in several respects,
and he never hesitated to apply the corrective wherever necessary.
Modern India is a bundle of contradictions. But if we keep in mind the
distinction between values and the ethos of the people, it becomes
possible for us to see the contradictions in the right perspective.
