PATRIOTISM ... 1

Patriotism is a daily duty, an hourly act, every moment’s commitment to the nation. But nationalism in its ugly form is not the substance of patriotism. True nationalism builds one’s own nation while living in harmony with the people of other nations for a peaceful and prosperous world order. While the territorial boundaries of one’s own nation must be protected and preserved, the boundaries of other nations must not be infringed as is the wont of many a modern nation-state. Nationalism sprang from the need to integrate people sharing a common culture at a time when absolute monarchy was in its decadent state. Feudalism had to be done away with to destroy its stranglehold on the common man whose earthly yoke was one of eternal sufferance at the scaffold of the privileged classes. The Industrial Revolution lent a sledgehammer blow to the superstructure of feudalism and released man after ages of terrible bondage into the sunshine of freedom and life.

But human nature does not easily change. The age-old tyranny continues, camouflaging itself under new names and systems, but the ruler of it still is personality with all its diabolical designs and a crushing carnage of the human spirit. Capitalism with all its cunning is exploiting the masses to the marrow as the morrow of their resurgence ever recedes. Systems change but the exploitative character of man does not change so easily. The human nervous system, while being potentially capable of comprehending the deepest mysteries of the universe and even the transcendental truth beyond, is strangely lethargic to learning virtue and continues to harbour high hopes of exclusive survival in an integrated world. Systemic changes, however, have surely increased human liberty, at least in democratic countries, although, the same cannot be said of theocratic countries where archaic scriptural injunctions continue to hold absolute sway over the masses who remain by holy decree subservient to historical personal authority that neither evolves nor lets men evolve beyond the bounds set up by faith and unreason. But the masses often gleefully gobble up the pills fed them by these absolute interpreters of truth out of sheer ignorance of their true divine status and human civilization retreats to the dark ages whence it has sprung off the womb of Eastern and Western enlightenment.

This then is the state of the world where patriotism must be practised without parochial bias or nationalistic exclusiveness. The practice of an idea must never be at the expense of the broader ideal that encompasses it but must ever be the fulfilment of the ideal, never localized in geographical terrain or a specific point in time but universal in its scope and transcending the phenomenal limits that the senses are heir to. Nationalism then will have nothing to fear from fanatical outfits when the vast majority of the human population will have been educated in the efficacy of international cooperation and goodwill. Nationalism will then be the kindergarten for the training of future citizens of the world. It will also serve to preserve the identity of the diverse cultures of the world seeking fulfilment in a universal unity.

The human race is varied in its cultural affiliations that are themselves the offspring of differences of habitat, climate and genetic orientation. Thus have groups emerged in the march of human evolution whose progressive adhesion has been the nation state. Cultural affinities, linguistic alignments and geo-political situations have coalesced diverse peoples of the world into integrated units called nations which are the nurseries of evolution of their citizens. But cultures conflict, faiths fragment society, ideologies so often throttle the soul of man. Thus, nations war with each other to settle their differences, obscuring thereby the very definition of nationalism. And this is the aberration of modern-day nationalism which the enlightened citizenry of the world must struggle to set right.

Nationalism in its liberal intent and patriotism are glorious ideals worthy of being attained to by selfless men and women. These are not dastardly concepts of the corrupt or the playthings of perverted politicians but are the noblest aspirations of man as he struggles to come of age in a universe of human synthesis and solidarity. Sanctity is its basis, sacrifice its mode. Defence is its virtue and offence vice. Preservation is its culture and destruction its curse. Mutual help is its method and global harmony its goal. Thus, nationalism must exist within the ambit of internationalism, its object being to promote the evolution of a people as a component of the broader promotion of evolution of the whole human race. Like every individual is endowed with a separate nervous system and yet communications are possible with other people on a free and democratic basis, biologically speaking, where the mind of man is like a sovereign state and the collective mind the pool where all minds merge at a focus to keep up communication, so also nation-states have their own socio-cultural evolutionary mechanisms and best develop along their peculiar individual lines even as they draw from the experiences of other nations. But conversion of another’s culture through enforcement leads to subversion of such culture and does no good to it. Therefore, all attempts to forcibly overcome, overhaul and transform indigenous cultures by so-called superior cultures is heinous and hence, reprehensible. Such ‘inspired’ legislation by the mighty on defenceless subject peoples, whether sanctioned by scripture or constitution, is culturally retrogressive and takes away the flavour of diversity of development in the world that would otherwise have made human civilization richer and less violent for sure. Tolerance, universal acceptance and the agreement to differ are civic virtues founded on the necessity of harmonious co-existence as also the understanding that there are as many perspectives as people, as many notions of Truth as there are individuals inhabiting this planet. The wider considerations or the deeper philosophical implications in such acceptance of diverse opinion on Truth are worthy of perusal. The Vedanta has long maintained its position that Absolute Truth is one but relative truths are many and that sages have interpreted Truth in relative terms in diverse ways (Ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti). This being the case, it stands to reason to say that one may practise enlightened nationalism out of sincere patriotic feelings for one’s homeland without infringing upon the rights of those belonging to other nationalities. Such patriotism is entirely welcome and, if understood and practised the right way, is a valid path for spiritual development.

The problem arises when patriotism is exclusive in its considerations and attempts to realize the interests of one nation to the detriment of others. It then degenerates into narrow nationalism, so very virulent for a peaceful world order. This is often the scenario in real life for the systems of thought prevailing in different cultures are not all liberal or universally inclusive. The result is the frequent surfacing of fanaticism, be it nationalistic or religious for each is essentially emotional in its appeal and in the absence of an upholding scientific philosophy that can stand the test of scrutiny and reason, each flounders into crude errors which undermine its very basis. The history of the world is replete with such instances, so much so that the very names ‘nationalism’ and ‘religion’ have been tainted somewhat as indicative of that which is intolerant, exclusive and insubordinate to reason, a divisive force that splits society along arbitrary lines of superimposed faith or doctrinaire cult. Time it is to overcome such cultural hangovers of the past and take a fresh look at the possibilities of the human race. Nation-wise development is still an imperative, given the world situation. Dualistic religions with their dubious unscientific claims and their concomitant consequences will also continue to play significant roles in the near future for truly rational men and women are few and far between in the world. But through it all the rational mind of man must progress towards higher understanding of truth in all its apparent diversity and its ultimate underlying unity. And patriotism also will have to play its part in the right way and in a righteous spirit for evolution of humanity within the bounds of nations to then spill over and deluge the world with the concord of enlightened humanity.