Essays on the Gita, First Series (Arya Publishing House, 1922)
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The modem idea of a common obligation in all the main departments of human activity has its advantages ; it helps to greater solidarity, unity and fullness in the life of the community and a more all- Tound development of the complete human being as opposed to the endless divisions and over-specialisa- tion and the narrowing and artificial shackling of the life of the individual to which the Indian system eventually led. But it has also its disadvantages and in certain of its developments the too logical applica- tion of it has led to grotesque and disastrous absurdi- ties. This is evident enough in the character of modem _war. From the idea of a common military obligation binding on every individual to defend and fight for the community by which he lives and profits, has arisen the system by which the whole manhood of the nation is hurled into the bloody trench to slay and be slain, thinkers, artists, philosophers, priests, merchants, artisans all torn from their natural functions, the whole life of the com- munity disorganised, reason and conscience over- ridden, even the minister of religion who is salaried by the State or called by his function to preach the gospel of j>eace and love forced to deny his creed and become a butcher of his fellow-men I Not only are conscience and nature violated by the arbitrary fiat of the military State, but national defence carried to an insane extreme makes its best attempt to become a national suicide.
Indian civilisation on the contrary made it its chief aim to minimise the incidence and dis aster of war. For thirpurpose it limited the military obliga- tion m the small class who by their birth, nature and ti^itipns were marked out for this function and found in it their natural means of self-development through the flowering of the soul in the qualities of courage, disciplined force, strong helpfulness and chivalrous nobility for which the warrior’s life pur- sued under the stress of a high ideal gives a field and opportunities. The rest of the communityjs^s in every way guarded from slaughter and outrage ; their life and occupations were as little interfered with as possible and the combative and destructive tendencies of human nature were given a restricted field, confined in a sort of lists so as to do the mini- minn^amount of harm to ±e g eneral life of thejcace, while at the same tinie by being subjected to high ethical ideals and every possible rule of humanity and chivalry the function of war was obliged to help MAN AND THE BATTLE OF LIFE
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