Hindu Ethics

When two nations, with different cultures and traditions, are brought together by Providence in the character of the rulers and the ruled, there is either a conflict of civilizations attended with bitter social and political results or an interpenetration of each culture with some vital features of the other and the consequent enrichment of both. If the politically subordinate nation is unable to contribute to the enrichment of the civilization of the dominant race, it fails to win esteem and must, needs, depend for the grant of free institutions and the rights of citizenship upon the philanthropic sinks further and further down in its own estimation, instead of becoming, day by day, fitter for self-government, and it becomes more and more devoid of national self-respect, less and less self-reliant. It is for this reason that the civilized nation of Europe, who have learnt their lessons from History, are determined to preserve their distinct cultural existence with a view to become equal partners in the comity of nation. This is why Poland resistes to its last drop of blood the Prussian and the Russian effort to sweep out of existence its language, history and traditions, why Alsace and Lorraine refuse to submit to Prussian Rule which is equivalent to the forcible Prussianisation of the French people and the brutal imposition upon nations of the world the Aryans of India hold a unique position. There is probably no nation of earth as this that was in the past, before the beneficent advent of the British, so frequently subjected to ruthless foreign conquest and exploitation and his yet completely preserved its distinct existence as a civilizing agency with a clearly-recognised and definitely formulated cultural mission. What is the secret of this wonderful phenomenon in the social and religious history of the human race? The problem is not difficult to solve. The Aryans of India always commenced an intellectual conquest of the ruling race soon after tendering their political submission. The Greeks swept over India. The result was that the Scythians were completely Indianised and many Greek kings formally adopted the religion and culture of the Aryans. Greek Philosophy, too, was profoundly influenced by Indian thought. We read in the "Foundation of the Nineteenth Century" by Chamberlain:-

"That Indian thought has exercised an influence of quite a determinative character upon Greek philosophy is now a settled fact; our Hellenists and Philosophers have, it is true, long combated this view with the violent obstinacy of prejudiced scholars; everything was supposed to have organized in Hellsa as autochthon-at most the Egyptians and the Semites were allowed to have exercised a moulding influence-where by philosophy would in truth have little to gain; the more modern Indologists. However, have confirmed the conjectures of the oldest (particularly of that genius Sir William Jones)."

Next came the Mohamedans. Says Chesney in his " Indian Polity".

"India presents a remarkable contrast to all other countries which have come under Mahomedan rule in that when as everywhere else the whole population was forcibly converted to the faith of the conquerors the conservative force of Hinduism exerted a passive resistance which was never overcome.

It maybe added that under the influence of Hinduism the Mahomedans of India have acquired many caste practices of a quasi-Hindu kind which are unknown to the votaries of Islam elsewhere."