Ramanathan (Parananda) - The Spirit of The East Contrasted With The Spirit of The West (OCR) PDF

The spirit of the East contrasted with the spirit of the W est : being a
lecture delivered by P. Ram anathan before the Brooklyn Institute of

Arts and Sciences at its open m eeting of the season of 1905-6.
Iramanatan, P., 1851-1930.
New York : Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, c1906.
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THE S P IR IT OF THE EAST
C O N T R A S T E D W IT H
TH E S P IR IT OF THE W EST.
The Spirit o f the East as contrasted with the

Spirit o f the W est is the theme on which I have
been invited to speak this evening. I understand
the request to mean that I should speak not so
much o f the things o f the body as o f the m ind; not
so much o f superficial growths as o f fundamental
lin es; not so much o f the outer life as o f the inner
life, o f the East and W est. I understand the wish
o f the Brooklyn Institute o f A rts and Sciences to
be that I should abstract from the vast and com
plicated phenomena o f Eastern and W estern civil

izations some central, animating principle or prin
ciples—some main current or currents o f thought-
that characterize each o f these civilizations, and
show the basic difference between them. I shall
not therefore contrast the institutions common to
both East and AVest, such as Home, School and
Profession, M arried L ife and Society, Govern

ment and Politics, Industry and Amusement, but
shall consider only the special fundamental modes
o f thought which run through these institutions
and make them so different from each other in the
E ast and W est. The task imposed upon me is by
no means easy, fo r though sociologists are agreed
fchat, as regards the civilized countries o f the
world, the W est contains “ progressive” societies
D igitizatio n S u p p o rt by O riginal from

MICROSOFT YALE UNIVERSITY
2 The Spirit of the East and West.
and the East “ stationary” societies, no one has

attempted to explain the real stand-point o f view
o f the two classes o f societies, and Sir H enry
Maine, the famous historian of legal ideas and in
stitutions, frankly admits that “ the difference be
tween the stationary and progressive societies is
one of the. great secrets which enquiry has yet to
penetrate.” T o consider fully a subject so deep
as this, four lectures at least are necessary, but I
shall endeavor to outline the whole in one lecture.
The words o f Sir H enry Maine just quoted oc
cur in his work on Ancient Law which was pub
lished in 1861. A fte r that he had twenty-five
years more o f his favorite study o f social and p o
litical phenomena, while holding high offices o f
state under the British government. In 1886 the
results o f his further observation were given in a
book called Popular Government, but the mystery
o f the difference between the main modes o f
thought among Eastern and W estern nations re
mained uncovered. Indeed lie found a new d if
ficulty had arisen. He traced the idea o f P r o
gress in “ Progressive S ocieties” to the ancient
Greeks. From that source it passed to the an
cient Romans and thence, through the period of

Renaissance, the Lutheran Reform ation, and the
struggles fo r political freedom in Holland, E n g
land, France and America, to the present genera
tion. But what Progress, in the abstract, meant
he could not tell. “ P rog ress,” said he, “ is a
word o f which I have never seen any definition
and which seems to have all sorts o f meanings,

many o f them extraordinary; fo r some politicians
in our day appear to employ it fo r mere aimless
movement, while others actually use it fo r m ove
ment backwards towards a state of primitive na
ture.”
H ow strange that social scientists should speak
o f the W est as consisting o f Progressive Societies
without analyzing and determining the meaning
Di gkizati on Sup po Ft by Ori g i n a t f no m

The Spirit of the East and West. 3
o f P r o g re ss! I cannot lielp attempting the very

thing they have avoided, inasmuch as the solution
o f the question asked of me lies in the results of
such analysis. Unless we know what Progress
is in the truest sense of the term, we shall not be
able to say whether or not the movements observ
ed in Europe and America in the different spheres
o f life deserve the name of Progress. The simple
issue is, A re W estern nations really progressing,
and if so, whither are they going?
To progress is literally to go forward. I f p ro
gress were confined to movement in space, and there
were metes and bounds to it, the beginning o f pro
gress would be the point from which a person
started. I f he had a goal to reach, but moved out
o f the line o f that goal, he would be said to be wan
dering from it. There is no difficulty about es
timating progress in space, once we know where
we intend to go from the starting point; nor of
progress in physical growth as of an animal, plant
or other thing. These two kinds o f progress are
visible to the eye and measurable by tape. But
what is Industrial P rogress? It expresses a
mental attitude, as well as the outcome of it. In
dustry is diligence in any employment, is a fea
ture o f the mind, and when the mind eye and hand
work together on some raw material, wares of
different kinds are produced; and if such products
are useful or ornamental, they become articles of
merchandise.
The W est has great ideas o f Industrial Devel
opment in regard to its two phases, mental and
material. The W est believes it to be an end in it

self, and works unceasingly, multiplying objects
o f enjoyment. Each branch o f industry is sup
posed to have an unlimited line o f advance. A d
vance where? No one can tell. The possibilities
o f shoe-formation or house-formation or macliin-
erv-formation. or the formation o f any other com
modity of trade, are like the possibilities o f cloud
Di gfoizati on Sup po Ft by Ori g i n a t f no m

form ations in the sky, or waVe form ations in the

ocean. Even as the winds raise clouds fo r some
w orldly end, currents o f thought raise objects o f
industry fo r the gratification o f the senses.
Let us not misunderstand the meaning o f the
expression Industrial Progress, or the raison
d ’etre o f Industrial Progress.
Industrial Progress means nothing more than
the impulses o f the creative talent applied to the
production o f things fo r sensuous enjoyment, and
this work o f production is not an end in itself. It
is only a means to an end. To the producer his oc
cupation brings some m oney wherewith to supply
himself and those whom he loves with the needs
and com forts o f the body, but money is not an end
in itself. Many millions are made in Am erica by
industrial occupations, buEthcn comes the ques
tion o f the millionaire, lktr what uses are the
hoarded moneys to be put? Schools and asylums,
hospitals and soup kitchens, are organized. In
schools, eyes, hands and mincls are trained, and
the youth o f the country are made clever and dili
gent ; and in asylums, hospitals and soup-kitchens,
the bodies o f the diseased and needy are cared for.
But do bodily health and cleverness o f mind ne
cessarily im ply m oral character or spiritual ele

vation? A re not Righteousness and Love o f God
the noblest part o f human nature, the part or re
gion within the body which it is the duty o f every
one to attain by W ork ?
The W est has yet to learn the real raison d ’etre
o f W ork. In a house is sheltered the b ody; in the
body,the m ind; in the mind, the spirit. The mind is

the medium between the spirit and the outer
world. W hen the mind is set upon W ork, upon
Industrial W ork, it becomes sharp and discrimin
ate,— “ clever,” as they say,— able and willing to
know, and to persevere in the pursuit o f higher
knowledge. Then does it turn its attention from
without to within. It gets to be reflective. Dur-

m g this stage o f Introspection or Reflection, it dis

covers signs o f the spirit enshrined in it. It be
comes meditative, and its interest in matters con
cerning the Spirit waxes fast. Even as, in days
gone by, the mind stood united to things o f the
flesh, it now prefers union with the things of the
spirit. Once carnal-minded, and therefore dis
turbed easily, given to hate, wanting in restful
ness, and crass in understanding, it is now spirit
ual-minded, and therefore forgiving, charitable,
peaceful and enlightened. This is the history of
the mind set on industrial work. Industrial work,
done ably and with a law-abiding heart, is indeed a
means to the end called spiritual-mindedness,
which is Righteousness and Love o f G o d ; and the
greatness o f industrial work consists not so much
in the production of perishable goods and “ sky-
scraping ” cities, as in the cleansing and strength
ening of the mind, which then is prepared to see
the vain-glory o f such worldly treasures and to
labor fo r the attainment o f Spiritual blessings.
I mean to say that two classes o f benefits flow
from Industrial work, one external and the other
internal. The external benefits are the production
o f beautiful homes and cities, o f increased com
forts and conveniences of the body, all of which

are perishable.. A boy was taught to make bubbles
out o f soap and water. He gave his mind to that
work, blew the bubbles through his tube and con
templated them as they floated gaily in the air. \
The hand that worked to produce the glittering
effect rested, as the mind and eye watched the
vainglorious thing fading in the distance. The

boy felt happy, but that happiness was as fleeting
as the bubble. In a similar way did Alexander
the Great and Napoleon project Empires, which
rose and burst even as they were looking on. The
external benefits o f work, political or industrial,
are o f little value to the worker himself. T o him,
to the individual, far more important is the inter.-
not benefit to tlie mind, fo i when the mind has been

cleansed and strengthened, it becomes qualified
fo r the higher work o f reflection and meditation,
by which alone the Spirit within us may be found.
I f a nation rests content with the external benefits
of Industrial work, without settling its refined
mind to the holier work o f attaining spirituality,
it must be held to have missed the true end o f life.
The W est again is proud o f its Scientific P r o
gress. This kind o f progress consists o f discov
eries and inventions which expand far and wide our
knowledge o f things perceivable by the senses,
with the aid o f such instruments as the m icroscope
and telescope. The brute-forces o f nature un
earthed by it have been used in quotas o f horse
power, to facilitate the operations o f agriculture
and manufacture, to transport men and goods, and
to destroy on e’s enemies. Ingenious implements
o f husbandry, trade and war conduce some to the
preservation, and some to the destruction o f the
body. They are signs of the carnal side o f civili
zation and intensify the belief o f man in sensuous
ness. The myriads who were proud o f life in B a
bylon, Sodom, Tyre, Carthage, Athens, Corinth,
Pom peii and imperial Rome, died no better than

dogs, ignorant o f the glory o f the spiritual side of
civilization. The chief value o f Scientific P ro
gress is not its discoveries in the w orldly plane,
not its advancement o f the pampering luxuries o f
the body, but the strengthening and broadening of
the mind, and so qualifying the mind fo r research
within us, within the Spiritual Kingdom . ^
Not more than 250 years ago, Thomas ITobbs

said in his famous work called The Leviathan
“ The register o f knowledge o f fact is called
H istory. W hereof there be two sorts, one called
Natural H istory, which is the history o f such facts
or effects of nature as have no dependence on
M an’s will, such as are the history o f metals,
plants, animals, regions and the like, the other

Civil History, which is an history o f the voluntary

actions of men in commonwealth. ’ ’
Facts or effects o f nature or Phenomena were
thus treated under the two heads o f Natural H is
tory and Civil History. In modern days, the sub
jects included in these terms have been classified,
with many other new subjects, on a different basis
as Sciences. The Sciences of Biology, Geology,
Physiology, Astronom y and the like have given
the death-blow to many a superstition and mis
take. They have scoured Nature, namely, the bo
dies o f man, beast, bird, reptile, insect, worm and
plants, as also the sky, air, fire, water and earth,
and find everywhere modifications o f one great
fundamental unity — uniformity o f structure
and function pervading the universe in its three
fold kingdoms o f mineral, vegetable and animal.
But the Sciences know nothing o f the Unity It
self. Psychology is the Science which in the W est
‘ ‘ professes to exhibit what is actually known or
may be learned concerning the Soul in the forms
o f science, namely, the forms of exact observation,
precise definition, fixed terminology, classified ar
rangement and rational explanation.” (Porter,
Human Intellect, 2, p .l.) F or want o f Spiritual
Discernment this science is in a hopeless muddle.

It is only those who have pure Spiritual Discern
ment that can see the mind and other parts of the
subtle body o f the Spirit or Soul as something dis
tinct from the Spirit itself, and Spiritual Discern
ment cannot be developed until one hears and un
derstands the Sound Doctrine, or the Doctrine of
Truth, called in the W est the W ord o f God, which

St. Paul observes is “ quick and powerful, sharper
than a two-edged sword, so sharp as to sunder the
Mind from the S p irit” (Heb. iv, 12). This separ
ation o f the Spirit from all that is flesh, from even
the Mind, is known to Indian Sages as Kaivalya
or Alone-becoming or Isolation, and to the Sages
o f Judaea as Monogeneia. It is assuredly a mis

take to render tlie world-renowned expression

monogenos huios as ” only-begotten son.” Its p ro
per translation is Alone-become Son. The Spirit
or the Son is the head or king, whom the Mind, the
Senses, and other instruments in the body should
serve. A s W estern Psychologists have not dis
covered as yet the Spirit within the tangible body,
as an entity separate from the Mind and the
other parts o f the Subtle B ody o f man, nor the
Boundless Being who is the Father and in whom
all Spirits live and move (A cts xvii, 28), the na
tions o f the W est make much o f Phenomena and of
the knowledge o f Phenomena. Until W estern
Scientists cert.if}Tthe reality o f the Noumenon and
have the light or knowledge o f the Noumenon in
actual experience, they will continue to be quoted
as supporters o f Infidelity and Agnosticism.
The true goal o f Science is God and not the world.
The world is only the stepping-stone to God. Sci
entific Progress misses its inheritance if it re
mains satisfied with its rambles in the world.
The W est speaks also o f Political Progress. A
long-suffering people, goaded beyond endurance
by misgovernment, rises!/ against their rulers,
overthrow# them and established another set of

rulers. This kind o f R e-form is Revolution.
When, in fear o f further misgovernment, the peo
ple agree that they shall be governed by their own
nominees, the peaceful reform o f abuses and other
social disorders is effected by Legislation. The
materials fo r it, having been developed by discus
sion in domestic and social circles, are taken in
hand by the politicians o f different parties. The

enthralling game o f Modern Politics then begins.
It is a never-ending pastime between Blue and
Y ellow in and out o f Parliament, Diet or Senate.
Public men, public discussion and public events
constitute the panorama o f Politics, the withdraw
al o f which from the gaze o f the people would
make life in the W est dreadfully dull. Laws are

made, but amendments quickly follow. It must

be admitted that the ceaseless meetings and talks
about social troubles, and the shifting quick-sands
o f w ordy legislation, together with the changes
that occur in the personnel o f the government, are
the phenomena represented by the term Political
Progress. How can the tinkering o f the govern
ment, ousting o f ministers, the making of enact
ments and the speeches of politicians develop
each citizen individually! How can the power
given to each citizen to nominate a member of the
governing body, or the measures of the govern
ing body fo r the promotion of sanitation in towns
and of security o f the persons and properties of
the inhabitants of the country, make them individ
ually better in regard to Righteousness and Love
o f G od ! Individual development in the plane of
spirituality is not the consequence but the cause,
o f social amelioration. The aggregate called
Society is made up o f units, and unless the units
are good, the aggregate cannot be good. I f Soci
ety is to be improved, each individual should be
im proved first.
Progress, as understood in the West, is mostly
the movement o f thought towards the comforts
and conveniences o f the body, not towards self

denial or God. Progress here is human activity
allowed to freely vent itself fo r and in the gratifi
cation o f the senses, or the pleasures o f thought.
It does not aim directly at the improvement
o f the Spirit. It does not know what the Spirit
is, or what relation the Spirit or Soul bears
to the Mind. It fancies on e’s thoughts to be one

self, and is therefore constantly making thought,
as if to be sure o f being alive and to look alive.
Progress in the W est is the making o f thought for
amusement and entertainment, so as to have some
sensuous or intellectual enjoyment, or the making
o f thought in the field of on e’s works so as to have
some money or other worldly end. The vast ma-
10 The Spirit of the East and W est.
jority o f tlie people here know nothing definite of

the spiritual side of human nature, or o f Spiritual
Discernment or Spiritual Enjoym ent. “ Quench
not the S p irit,” said St. Paul from tlie East
( 1 Thess. v, 19). His voice has been unheeded.
Blessedness, or Spiritual Happiness, or the un
changeable jo y that comes o f knowledge o f the
Spirit, should be the goal o f life, said another
voice from the East, Jesus Christ, but that too has
remained unheeded. Even Psychologists, as al
ready said, do not appear to understand what
Spirit, or Spiritual Discernment, or Spiritual En
joym ent means. It has thus come to pass that it
is considered right and proper fo r anyone to p ro
ject a new thought, and if it be skilfully and show
ily started, the unthinking world would merrily
stalk it. In the W est, the A ge o f Progress means
only an age in which novel ideas o f the machinery
o f business, amusement and entertainment are al
lowed to live and die in due course as a remedy fo r
the tedium o f work. There is no final end and aim
associated with this idea o f Progress. Hence, it
is supposed that the A ge o f P rogress is never end
ing. Its interest, no doubt, is in betterment, but
that betterment or improvement is o f everything

save the Spirit, which it has heard o f but not
found. So, all things that relate to the com fort
and adornment o f the body are bettered. W e
have novel pens, paper, eraser, k n ife ; novel tables,
table-linen, china, carpets and other articles o f
household furniture; novel drinks, cereals, and
other fo o d -stu ffs; novel dresses and je w e ls; novel
houses, carriages, and sh ip s; everything presented

in novel form s and colors, season after- season.
< N ovelty everywhere, even in information. “ W hat
is the news V 7is the anxious question on the lips o f
modern nations, even as it was on the lips o f their
ancient teachers of w orldly wisdom, the Atheni
ans, fo r it is recorded in A cts xvii, 21, that “ all
the Athenians and strangers which were there,

spent their time in nothing else but either to tell

or to hear some new tiling.” T o be better to-day
than we were yesterday, to be better to-morrow
than we are to -d a y : to be better in food, raiment,
wealth, household furniture, social position and
rank, is the sum and substance o f the belief of
what Sociologists complacently call Progressive
Societies. New ideas live and die like flies; and
sensible men and women look on, puzzled and be
wildered, at this ‘ ‘ up-to-date *’ craze, knowing not
what all this crop o f new thought and new prac
tice,—■new fads, fancies, and isms,— mean. They
are all Passing Fashions, cried St. Paul, but the$
the latest announcement o f the inventive milliner
and dressmaker at Newport is that Fashion has
now been ranked among the Fine Arts.
W estern Progress claims to be heaven-born, be
cause it is rooted in Freedom. But what is this
Freedom ? Matthew Arnold declares it to be the
ability to do as one likes, and explains that “ E v
ery man fo r him self” is its rule o f action, whether
at home or in society, business, politics or religion
( Anarchy and Culture). This is surely the free
dom o f the wild ass. “ Israel is gone to Assyria,
a wild ass alone by him self,” said Hosea (viii, 8 ),
another man o f the East, meaning that the Jews,

disregarding the teachings o f the Law and P ro
phets, and estranged from God, the Father o f all
spirits, were betaking themselves to sensuous me
thods o f life. Is it difficult to understand that
man always serves mammon or God, that he can
not be without service to either the one or the
other, that he is either Earth-bound or God-

bound? It is simple fact that he is always, in
every country, in bondage to either the world or
God, and that it is only when love o f the world
wanes that love o f God waxes. When Jesus, than
whom there has been no greater man from the
East, taught his disciples, “ W hosoever commit-
teth sin is the servant o f sin,” and “ Truth shall

12 The Spirit o f the East and West.
make you fr e e ” (Jolm viii, 32-34), lie meant the

Freedom o f the Spirit, that is, its liberation from
corruption or sinhood; and he taught that such
Spiritual Freedom was necessary fo r the purpose
o f entering into spiritual union with God. It is a
contradiction o f terms to suppose that a man may
be a slave to his desire— to his likes and dislikes—
and yet be free. “ I would like to hit him back,
but I ought not to do s o ” — “ I like mince pie, but I
must not eat it ,” — ‘ ‘ I dislike this man, but I must
give him his due,” — “ I dislike action in this mat
ter, but public duty necessitates it ,” — are expres
sions which denote that likes and dislikes, being
emotions of our lower nature, must be kept in sub
jection to the laws o f m orality and sanitation.
Therefore, the ability to do as one likes can never
be Freedom, in the proper sense o f the term. It
cannot lie Spiritual Freedom , fo r Spiritual Free
dom means liberation from corruption or sinhood.
It cannot be the freedom which the law grants to
each individual under the name o f ‘ ‘ personal lib
e rty ,” fo r the law provides that the liberty o f ac
tion o f each individual must be subservient to the
rights o f other individuals and to the rules of
m orality enforced in the Penal Code. A s to “ Politi

cal Freedom ,” that phrase denotes only the power
given by law to the inhabitants o f a country to take
part in its administration. A nd the “ Freedom of
the P re ss” is the pow er given to publishers and
editors to express their opinions subject to the
penalties provided fo r defamation.
A consideration o f the term Civilization, as un
derstood by W estern biations, will still further

illustrate their confusion o f thought in regard to
this “ mysterious p rog ress,” as Em erson calls it.
English writers are not agreed as to what Civil
ization means, or what elements that term repre
sents, or whether such factors as religion, liter
ature and government are its causes or effects.
A ccording to the American “ Universal Cyclope-
Di gkizati on Su p po rt by On gih aI fro m

d ia ,” published in New York, Civilization is a

highly and harmoniously developed condition of
the individual man, and o f a state o f society which
is conducive to the most favorable relations o f the
individual man with his fellow-man. I f that be
so, the conclusion arrived at by Buckle and Lecky,
in their well-known works entitled respectively the
History of Civilization and the History of Ration
alism in E u rope, reduces us to the necessity of
supposing that W estern nations are not fully civil
ized, since the joint testimony of these two philo
sophers is that all H istory proves that Western
Civilizations have progressed invariably with the
progress o f scepticism, and that the general tone
and habit of thought produced among the people
by such civilizations is irreligion, irreverence, love
o f ridicule, and an insatiable desire for new things.
The progressive and protestant wife o f Martin
Luther is the saddest example o f this decline in
Love of God, fo r she is said to have asked her hus
band, “ H ow is it that, whilst subject to Papacy,
we prayed so often and with such fervor, whilst
now we pray with the utmost coldness and very
seldom"?”
Not less significant is the idea that the more ad
vanced the civilization is, the less powerful be

comes the individual ( H elps’ Social Pressure,
p. 42;) and it is noteworthy that Guizot, who excit
ed the hope o f being heard on the social and indi
vidual aspects of civilization, wrote largely of the
development o f the social condition, but said no
thing o f the development o f the individual. There
is no doubt that in the W est the contemplation of
society and the fulfilment o f its demands leave lit

tle time fo r introspection and self-improvement.
Emerson has well said: “ In Greece and Rome,
every Stoic was a stoic, but in Christendom where
is the Christian? All men plume themselves on the
improvement of society, and no man improves.”
What confused notions prevail in Western

1-4 The Spirit of the East and West.
minds when they speak o f Progress, Freedom and

C ivilization! I do not blame the nations o f the
W est fo r the confusions o f the present age. No
man w ilfully entertains error. The spirit rejoic
es when it escapes from the captivity o f error, and
how glorious is the day when, in the words of the
Psalmist, “ Captivity has been led captive’ ’
(cxviii, 18), that is to say, the captivating er
rors o f the intellect or heart have been found out
and put under on e’s heel!
There is error and confusion in the W est be
cause the Teachers ordained fo r it have been ig
nored, and the world has run after other teachers
who have had only fragm entary views o f life and
who constantly shifted them about. “ I f the
trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall pre
pare himself fo r the b attle?” asked St. Paul, the
veteran, who warred triumphantly against E rror
and Illusion. Our safety lies in our choice of
Teachers. “ I f the blind lead the blind, both shall
fall into the ditch, ” said Jesus, (Matt, xv, 14). It
is conceded in the W est that ‘ ‘ the doctrinaire, with
his finalities and finished schemes, must be
avoided,” but, says Mr. B. P. Bowne,— “ the law
yer, the economist, the historian and the moralist

must work together.” So working together, he
thinks, “ final practical form u las” fo r the solution
o f the larger questions o f society can be found
{Principles ' of Ethics). The truth, however, is
that such form ulas can never be fully or satisfac
torily found until W orldly E xperience is corrected
and chastened by Spiritual Experience. The dis
cernment o f the w orldly mind is far inferior to

that o f the Godly mind, and both the smaller and
larger questions o f society will be better under
stood and more skillfully and effectively handled
in their entirety, not in a fragm entary or piece
meal way, by men who have both spiritual and
w orldly experience.
In the W est, Physical Science has led to skepti-
Digitization Support by i Original! from

cis m ; Mental Science lias nothing to say definitely

o f our spiritual nature; and intellectual culture is
found to be accompanied by a decline of Love of
God. Hence, Religion lias been relegated by most
people to the domain of Manners. It has become
a ritual o f society; a rendering o f account to man
in regard to Sunday duties. Of all idols w or
shipped in the West, Manners and Money are the
greatest. T o men clinging similarly to formalism,
devoted to self-aggrandizement, and vainglory,—
to the Pharisees and Scribes o f old — the great
Eastern Master cried nearly twenty centuries ago,
“ Ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed
appear beautiful out wards, but are within full of
dead m en’s bones” (Matt, xxiii, 27). Can dead
bones carry one to God? A re Manners and Money
useful at death-beds? Love o f empty shew and
craving fo r wealth fo r its own sake, or for the
sensuous pleasures it is able to buy, form the
leaven o f worldliness. “ A little leaven leavenetli
the whole lum p” (Gal. v. 9). So a little leaven
o f worldliness, in the shape of regard fo r show
instead o f substance — in the shape o f deference
to Manners instead o f loving kindness, and defer
ence to Money fo r worldly gains — is sufficient to
mar wholly the beauty o f human life. Referring

to this liability o f the mind to be ruined by love of
show and the praises of foolish men, Jesus said
“ Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees” (Matt,
xiii, 33 and xvi, 6 ). On the other hand, the
leaven o f Light or Spirituality, such as humility,
steadfastness,'fear o f wrong-doing or righteous
ness would prevent the Spirit from becoming a

“ smoking flax” (Isa. xlii, 3). The Godly
leaven would bring out o f it Discernment or Light
and Love. Want o f Spiritual Discernment and
want o f Loving Kindness to all are the surest indi
cations o f what is commonly called Foolishness,
or Ignorance or Barbarism.
In these circumstances, we must not be sur-

prised to find that Matthew A rn old has assigned

to the A ristocracy, the M iddle Class and the W ork
ing Class of the W est, the name o f Barbarians,
Phillistines and Populace, respectively. 4‘ A ll o f
us,” he says, “ so fa r as we are Barbarians, Phil
listines or Populace, imagine happiness to consist
in doing what o n e ’s ordinary self likes. W hat
on e’s ordinary self likes differs according to the
class to which one belongs, and has its severer and
its lighter s id e ; always, however, remaining
machinery (that is, mechanical agencies or form al
ities) and nothing more. The graver self of the
Barbarian likes honors and consideration; his
more relaxed self, field sports and pleasure. The
graver self of one kind o f Phillistine likes fanati
cism, business and m oney m aking; his more re
laxed self, com fort and tea-meeting. O f another
kind o f Phillistine, the graver self likes rattening;
the relaxed self, deputations, or hearing Mr.
Odger speak. The sterner self o f the Populace
like bawling, hustling, and smashing ; the lighter
self beer.” ( Culture and Anarchy, p. 98). He
vindicates his designations by explaining that the
culture o f E urope is m ostly exterior on ly: that
the Barbarians, who overthrew the Roman Empire

and re-invigorated and renewed Europe, accom
plished those feats by staunch individualism and
the passion fo r doing as one likes, and that these
qualities, together with their passion fo r field
sports, care fo r the body and cultivation o f good
looks, fine com plexion, distinguished bearing and
choice manners, have been perpetuated in the
families o f the A ristocratic C lass; that the Phil

listines were enemies o f the children o f light, and
that the preference on the part o f the Middle Class
o f commercial, professional and industrial busi
ness to culture has brought them to the level o f
Phillistines; and that the working classes are
very illiterate and unthinking, if not drunken and
venal. But in each o f these classes, he admits,

there are born a certain number of persons with a

curiosity about their best self, with a strong bent
fo r the pursuit o f individual perfection. By this
talented body, which is the flower or cream o f the
three sections o f Society in Europe, he says, class
life and worship of machinery have been checked
to some extent. A s regards the United States o f
America, he is o f the opinion that neither the
class corresponding to the English Aristocracy
nor that corresponding to the Populace exists.
The bulk o f the nation consists o f a class similar
to the Middle Class o f England, and the talented
class in America has been described as follows,—
“ In about every small town o f the northern,
middle and southwestern states of America, and
in each o f our great cities and their environs, there
will be found almost invariably a group o f people
o f good taste, good manners, good education and
o f self-respect, peers o f any people in the world.
Such people read the best books, they interpret the
best music, they are interested in themes world
wide, and they meet each other with that mutual
courtesy and that self-respect that belong to men
and women who are sure o f their footin g.”
H appy are A rn old ’s phrases,—-“ class life ” and
“ worship o f m achinery,” which the talented

class is endeavoring to minimize in the West. Let
us understand “ cl ass life ” to be the life that de
lights in differentiations of all kinds and believes
in their reality, having no eye to see the harmonies
o f the Spiritual Being which underlie all differen
tiations; and “ worship o f m achinery” to be blind
devotion to the institutions of social life— to the

wheels and body of the carriage called Civiliza
tion, — without attending to the famished and
fainting spirit fo r whose special benefit all the
Institutes o f Civilization were intended.
W ith class life and worship o f such “ machin
e r y ” as manners, money and physical pow er;
with activities all devoted to the production of

18 The Spirit o f the East and W est.
things new and astonishing; with mind bent on

im pressing others and gratifyin g the sen ses; with
wits sharpened fo r jest and fu n ; without the least
suspicion that the love o f the sensuous, the sensa
tional and the ridiculous quenches the sp irit;
without love o f God and reverence fo r the Spirit
and the things o f the S p irit; without any knowl
edge whatever o f Spiritual Happiness and the
methods o f attaining it; men and women in the
W est are passing through life gaily dressed, too
occupied with the things o f the w orld to consider
why fatigue is in their faces, unrest in their eyes
and sadness in tlieir hearts.
Sucli being the conditions in the W est, Matthew
Arnold, who well knew the countries on both sides
o f the Atlantic, deplored the confusions o f thought
and absurd practices that have led to a m iscar
riage o f life in the W est. He was o f the opinion
that, while the work o f bustling politicians had
created an anarchy o f ideas, the follow ers o f cul
ture should do their best to obtain some public
recognition o f “ the duty and possibility o f extri
cating and elevating our best self. *’ “ Everyone, ’ ’
said lie, “ is boasting o f what he has done to edu
cate m en ’s minds and to give things the course

they are taking, but we, the follow ers o f culture,
do not pretend to educate anyone, fo r we are still
trying to clear and educate o u r s e l v e s It is
only men imbued with high enthusiasm fo r trutli
and deep humility o f character that can make such
a confession as this in public. He raised his voice
once again and cried “ W e want a clue to some
sound order and authority. ”

This clue happily exists in the East to guide us
safely through the mazes o f worldly existence.
The Sages o f India — Sanctified Spirits in actual
fellow ship with God — have taught from days o f
yore up to the present day, by word o f mouth and
in books, known as the Vedanta and Siddhdnta
Shastras, that life on earth is not a farce, com edy
Di gttizati on Su p po Ft by Ori g i n a I f ro m
MICROSOFT YALE UNI VERSIFY
or tragedy, but a great sphere o f education, in

which the Soul ( Jivdtma) is the learner(Sisya),
and God (Isvara) the teacher (Guru)', that the
lesson which the Soul has to learn is that it is in
bondage to Corruption or Evil or Darkness
( malam or avid yd) and should free itself from it;
that fo r the attainment o f freedom ( Moksha)
God has endowed the Soul with four sets o f appli
ances; that the first o f them is called its subtle
body (Sukshma Sarira) consisting of the invisible
instruments of nutrition, knowledge and action;
that the second is called its tangible bod}r (Sthula
Sarira), consisting of nerve matter and the chan
nels of the nervous and other inter-related systems
o f the visible body, in which the invisible instru
ments fun ction ; that the third is called the train
ing ground or sphere o f action ( bhuvana) o f the
Soul, consisting o f such institutions as home,
school and profession, married life and society,
industrial occupation and amusement, and gov
ernment and p olitics; that the fourth is called
Experiences ( bhoga) of pain and pleasure; that,
with the help o f these agencies, the Soul must
gradually forsake Corruption and attain the state
called Brahmi stliiti or Godliness, so as to be able
to enter into fellowship with God; that this pil

grimage from worldliness to godliness is called
Progress o f the Spirit or Spiritual Progress ; that
the goal o f all Progress should be God; and that
he who misuses any o f the appliances fo r spiritual
progress fo r base ends will have to render an
account when the day for it comes, for God exists
and is the rewarder and punisher of men accord

ing to their deeds on earth.
These teachings are not foreign to the West.
They are to be found in that best book of Christen
dom most appropriately called the Bible. When
properly understood, it will be found to be truly
the Book o f Life, capable o f solving not merely the
question what individual development is, but also

20 The Spirit o f the East and West.
what Civilization is, what the difference between

the so-called Progressive and Stationary societies
is, and in what way the East and the W est stand
in contrast.
The difficulty o f interpreting the Bible in terms
o f its intended meaning has discredited the book
and its unspiritual interpreters, but its true mean
ings are manifest to those who have Spiritual Dis
cernment; and Spiritual Discernment is the natu
ral inheritance o f those who have broad minds and
pure hearts. It is not to self-lovers, but to those
in whom neighborly love abounds. It is the com
mon experience o f humanity that philanthropic
men see better and further than selfish men. Love
is never blind in regard to the interests o f those
whom it loves. The wider is N eighborly Love, the
more all-round does it see, both without and
within. W ider than this love is what is called
Perfect Love or Christly Love, the Love that
knows no depth or height, length or breadth (Eph.
iii, 18). The true meaning o f the sayings o f
Jesus and the Apostles are easily understood by
those who have wide N eighborly Love in them,
and the surest Interpreters of the Bible are those
who have P erfect Love, and the great Spiritual

Experience called Knowledge o f God. F rom them
may be known the fact that “ the Gospel o f G o d ”
means the Teachings o f God, delivered through
the Sanctified in Spirit (like Jesus and other M as
ters), as to the way in which God carries on His
work o f illumination and emancipation, right in
the midst o f worldly life, unseen and unthanked by
most men, through agencies o f different sorts.

Addressing as I do a Christian audience, I venture
to think that it will be pleased to hear o f the clues
furnished by those great Eastern men who have
been ordained from days o f yore as the proper
Teachers o f the W est. W hen some o f the sayings
o f these H ebraic sages have been sufficiently inter
preted, you will see how their conclusions stand

corroborated by the teachings o f other Eastern

Masters whom India adores. Then shall we un
derstand not only the animating principles of
Eastern Civilization, but also the position which
the great and I10I57 Power called Civilization occu
pies in the Unfoldiuent of Nature called Creation.
The first clue to ‘ ‘ some sound order and author
it y ” which Matthew Arnold lamented the W est
had not yet found, is to be found in the parable of
the Prodigal Son. A parable is o f course a com
parison or contrast, and what was contrasted was
the son that was lost and found, with the
son that was never lost. Jesus meant by the
the son that was lost and found the spirit who had
strayed away into the mazes of worldliness, and-
returned to Godliness,— the spirit who, through
ignorance o f his great heritage o f Light and Love,
fell into the slums of sensuousness and material
ism and then, being tired o f them, became, by
reflection, alive unto God. This parable is worthy
o f all consideration. It depicts in a few words the
history of civilization. When man finds himself
in possession o f the good things of the world, he
fancies that they are intended for the gratification
o f the senses, and plunges headlong into sensuous
enjoyment. But as indulgence in it increases more

and more the craving for it, and brings with such
craving* the torments o f unrest, fatigue, disease,
nervous prostration and even insanity, man sees
the folly o f carnal-mindedness. Withdrawing his
thoughts from carnality, he endeavors to establish
them on spiritual it}7, and is at last rewarded with
eternal peace.
The course o f human progress from worldliness
to godliness — from carnality to spirituality — is
thus beautifully outlined in this little parable,
given in Luke xv, 11-32. “ I will arise and go
to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have
sinned against heaven and before thee” (ver. 18),
expresses the determination of the soul who has

seen the folly o f a sensuous life to seek the help o f a

spiritual guide and through him attain the Father
o f all spirits. “ Let us search and try our ways
and turn again to the L o r d ,” in Lamentations iii,
40, expresses the same truth.
Of Him, our Father, Eastern nations have no
doubt. He is the Boundless Being in whom we all
live and move (A cts, xvii, 28). H e is in and out
of us. He is the very basis o f all things, even o f
the space in which all orbs float. Space itself
floats in a corner o f Infinite Being, which is quick
with knowledge all through Itself. It is also able
to do all things, and every form of power, spirit
ual. mental and physical, proceeds from Him. He
is the Father o f ah nations, who are made o f one
blood (A cts xvii, 26), whatever the color o f the
skin or type o f the face may be, and is therefore
designated in every country as 1‘ Our Father. ’ ’
Since all Power belongeth to Him (Ps. Ixii,
1 1 ), it is He who has endowed each soul with a
mind and body and sphere o f action, and sense o f
pain and pleasure, so as to enable him to see
the real value o f life and escape from worldliness
to Godliness. The parable o f the talents (Matthew
xxv, 14-34) teaches the truth that our belongings

are G o d ’s. The talents are referred to by Jesus
as “ g o o d s” belonging to the Master, and souls as
‘ ‘ servants. ’ ’ They were given a choice o f occupa
tions, but the duty imposed on them was that they
should work on such work as would produce the
profitable fruits called intellectual and moral at
tainments. The soul that was given to sloth and
did not obey the command that it should work

profitably is called in verse 26 “ slothful and wicked
servant,” and in verse 30 “ unprofitable servant.”
But the soul who, with a fair share o f ability
which had been entrusted to him, made the best
use of his talents in the profession he follow ed and
multiplied his virtues, was allowed to enter into
“ the jo y o f the L o r d ,” and made “ ruler over

many things” (v. 23), by which is meant that he

was admitted to the blissfulness o f the spiritual
kingdom and given many a worldly blessing also.
“ Seek ye first the kingdom o f God, and all else will
be added unto y o u ” said Jesus in emphatic words
(Matt, vi, 33). In the parable before us, Jesus
declares that the Kingdom of God is the goal of
all endeavor fo r man, since, even before he was
created, it was the Divine will that industrial
work, effectively and righteously done, should in
due course bring the worker into fellowship with
God. The words o f v. 33 are that such souls shall
“ inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the
foundation of the world.”
The parable of the Unjust Steward, given in
Luke xvi, imparts the truth that man is a trustee
o f God as regards the resources lent to him for the
purpose o f emancipating himself from worldli
ness. A steward who had been entrusted with
large quantities o f oil and wheat by a rich man to
be laid out profitably was called to account. The
steward, being idle and vain, said to himself “ I
cannot dig,— to beg I am ashamed,” and took
measures to conceal his acts o f misappropriation
and to save his reputation with men (v. 4). He
cooked up vouchers in support of false entries.

The Master is the Lord, the Steward is the Soul.
The Lord smiled at the folly o f the Soul caring for
the praises o f men and not regarding the forgiv-
ness o f God. “ The children o f this w orld,” says
the Lord, “ fancy themselves wiser than the chil
dren o f light who prefer honor with God to good
repute among men. I f it cannot be faithful in the

matter o f perishable articles, like stores and
money, which are false riches, how can I trust it
with true riches, or the powers and glories o f the
spiritual kingdom? To make a friend o f the mam
mon o f unrighteousness is to qualify fo r much
sorrow ” (vs. 9-11); and Jesus said unto the
Pharisees, who were unrighteous at heart and
loved tlie praises o f w orldly men,— “ Ye are they

which ju stify yourselves before men, but God
knowetli your h earts: fo r that which is highly
esteemed among men is abomination in the sight
o f G o d ” (v. 15). Those who endeavor to make
money and reputation by unrighteous means have
missed the true goal o f life, which is spiritual
happiness or peace.
“ The law o f the L ord is p e rfe ct,” said the
Psalmist,— “ converting the sou l” (xix, 7), that
is to say, the will or design o f the Lord, in making
the world and placing the soul in it, is com pre
hensively benign, is the consummation o f all that
is good, namely, to make the soul pass from w orld
liness to godliness. This passage or pilgrim age
has to be made in Earthly life. Self-love has to
be converted into N eighborly Love, and Neigh
borly Love into P erfect Love. P erfect Love is
Love at its full maturity. “ Be ye perfect, even as
the Father in heaven is p e r fe c t” said Jesus;
and t ls possible for every spirit, said St. Paul,
“ to attain to the Maturity of the state called
Fullness of Christ. ” (Eph. iv, 13).
These words maturity and fulness, (in Greek
helikia and pleroma) occurring in Eph. iv, 13, are

o f prime importance to every one who is concerned
with “ the things o f the S p irit” (Pom . viii, 5),
fo r they call attention to the m ysterious fact that
there is a growth o f the Spirit, even as there is a
growth o f the Body. It is given to all, except the
blind of eye and palsied o f touch, to see the body
grow from the stage called infancy to youth, and

from youth to middle age and old age.” Each o f
these stages manifests its own phase, and the
phase o f “ old a g e ” or the ripening o f the body,
are the wrinkles o f the skin, the grey hairs of the
head and the stoop o f the shoulders. ’ But the fact
o f the Ripening of the Spirit is beyond the ken o f
most men. They have not even heard o f it.
Nevertheless, Jesus and Paul often spoke o f it;
Di gEtizati on Sup po rt by Ori gin a I fro m

MICROSOFT VALE UNIVERSITY
The Spirit of the East and W e s t . 25
and their teaching is identically the same as that

o f other Masters in India, namely, that the Soul or
Spirit in man is Love, and that its growth is de
noted by the words Self-Love, Neighborly Love
and Infinite Love.
Paul describes the characteristics o f the stage
called Self-Love in 2 Tim. iii, 2-7, which may be
rendered as follow s: ‘ ‘ In the domestic circle, it
pays no heed to the voice of its natural guardians,
is devoid o f affection fo r those whom it should
love, is unthankful, not willing to oblige, nor easily
pacified. Abroad, it puts on the appearance o f
goodness without believing in its virtue, is false in
friendship, given to belittling others, boastful of
its own deeds, unforgiving, scornful, much in
clined to the pleasures of the senses, easily urged
by external influences and led away by divers de
sires, owing to instability o f character. Such a
spirit may he ever learning, hut will never know
the T ru th / ’ which is God and Christ. (See my
Eastern Exposition of St. John, published by W .
Hutchinson & Co., London, 1902, Preface, vii, and
pp. 94, 106, 178. etc.). St. Paul explained further
in 1 Cor. ii, 14: “ The natural man (or the self
lover) receiveth not the things o f the Spirit of
God, fo r they are foolishness unto him. Neither

can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned.” And in Rom. viii, 5-7, he said,—
“ They that are after the flesh do mind the things
o f the flesh, but they that are after the spirit mind
the things o f the Spirit. The carnal mind (or
mind impregnated with self-love) is inimical to
G od .”
The S p irit’s next stage of growth is called
Neighborly Love, the distinguishing marks of
which are clearly set forth in the parable o f the
Samaritan and the Jew who had fallen among
thieves. It is commonly supposed in the W est
that the neighbor is the person who lives near
another person, and dictionarians give as the wid

est meaning o f that word, one entitled to the con

sideration doe to a neighbor. But J esu s’ meaning
is not corporeal. It does not refer to locality or
body. It refers to that condition o f the Spirit
which is helpful to others. A s explained in my
Eastern Exposition of St. John, the Spirit who,
“ putting aside his own business and all the preva
lent notions o f the Jew and Samaritan, went
straight to the fallen man, applied healing oint
ment to the wounds, refreshed the sufferer with
wine, set him on his own beast, brought him to an
inn, nursed him through the night, paid the inn
keeper the charges due, begged him to take care o f
the patient till he should return from his business,
and prom ised to make good all further charges
that might be incurred, is the Neighbor, or Neigh
borly L o v e .” Another name fo r it is the Merciful
Spirit, that is, the Spirit which melts at the dis
tress o f others and longs to help them. “ Blessed
are the m ercifu l,” said Jesus, “ fo r they shall
obtain m ercy” (Matt, v, 7). The m ercy shown
by God to Spirits who are m erciful is the gift of
the ability to understand the doctrine o f Grace and
Truth, fo r assuredly when Self-Love grows to be
N eighborly-Love,— when the Self-lover grows to be

the Neighbor,— there grows also in him a natural
liking fo r things spiritual, and a corresponding
dislike o f things corporeal.
The third and last stage o f spiritual growth is
known as P erfect Love (Matt, v, 48), or Christly
Love, the Love that knows no height, or depth,
length or breadth (Eph. iii, 18), the Love that
makes no difference between friends, neighbors and

enemies, but loves them all equally, doing good
to all, even to those who hate it and despitefully
use it (Matt, v, 35-44). This indeed is the F ul
ness o f Love, called by Hebrew Sages Pleroma
and by Indian Sages Atma-puranam, the Love
that sees all round everywhere, and takes a most
comprehensive, most loving and most practical

view o f the situations of life. It is not misled by

appearances, having the gift of seeing the core or
substance o f every question.
These great facts of the real existence o f the
Spirit in the B ody and the practicability of gradu
ally ripening the Soul from the stage o f Self-Love
to Neighborly Love, and from Neighborly Love to
P erfect Love, are fully recognized in India all
through the different gradations of society. The
Sages o f India and Judsea alike have proclaimed
the necessity o f rearing the Spirit with the utmost
care. It should he the greatest ivork o f life on
Earth. The Spirit is like a flame that should be
protected against wind-currents, and fed with oil
every day. Sensualism and emotionalism, irrev
erence and frivolity, are the breezes that quench
the Spirit (1 Thes. v, 19) and leave only a smok
ing flax (Isa. xlii, 3 ); and the work o f quenching
will be all the sooner effected by idleness and too
much sleep. The oil that keeps alive the Spirit is
sound doctrine and wakefulness against error and
sin. “ The cares o f this world and the deceitful
ness of riches, as also the lusts of other things,
choke the w ord ,” said Jesus (Mark iv, 19). Tlig
cares o f the world are the engagements o f world[y
life which must be attended to, but the W est does

not know how to fulfill these ivithout being en
tangled in them or drowned in the vortex of sor
row. To one who is devoted to the art of nursing
the spirit, by not allowing it to be quenched by the
breezes o f corruption, non-entanglement is easy.
“ No m an,” said St. Paul, “ that warreth against
corruption entangleth himself with the affairs of

this life ,” (Tim. ii, 4). The hearing and under
standing o f sound doctrine, or the doctrine that
heals the soul o f its worldliness, enables one to
perceive that all flesh is as grass, and all the cor
poreal glory o f man is as the flower of grass.
“ The grass withereth and the flower thereof
falleth aw ay” (1 Pet. i, 24).

In the perform ance o f the duties o f life, whether

as husband, father, friend or citizen, it is wise to
be detached from things that are likely to perish,
and to work fo r the spiritual w elfare o f oneself
and of those around oneself. It is most necessary
to be watchful o f the seductions o f wealth. Num
berless are the men who have been beguiled and
ruined through the possession o f well furnished
houses, gaudy jewels and carriages, country seats
and other facilities fo r sensuous enjoyment,
which are barriers to quiet meditation, and which
are therefore said to “ choke the word o f G o d ”
relating to the things o f the Spirit. T o be in the
world, one need not be o f the world. I f the trans
actions o f life are carried on with loving spirit,
attentive mind and effective hand, but without
entanglement, there will be no fear o f the clear
flame o f the Spirit being converted into a smoking
flax (Isaiah, xlii, 3).
Space will not allow o f enlarging further
upon other main currents o f thought which work
silently in India under all the engagements of
worldly life. The Spirit o f the East is alive unto
God, and thinks not too highly o f the world that is
changing, decaying and perishing, even as we are

looking on. It does indeed adorn a home, engage
in industrial arts, and produce things beautiful
to behold, such as marble palaces and all other
luxuries which go to make up great cities, but
it never forgets that, like the birth and death of
each day, the things made o f earth and flesh will
also soon pass away. It is therefore a duty it
owes to itself, and the Living God whom it serves,

not to allow the treasures o f the world, which
moth and rust doth corrupt (Matt, vi, 19), to
multiply themselves beyond a certain limit and
deceive man unto perdition. It is deeply relig
ious. It recognizes as a fact clearer than the noon
day sun that the L ord reignetli throughout the
universe (Psalms xciii, 1 ) ; that he is above all,
D igitizatio n S u p p o rt by O rigin al from

The Spirit of the East and W es t. 29
through all and in all (Epli. iv, 6 ); that he made

the world as a training ground fo r the soul, is
Creator, and faints not in His work of mercy (Is.
xv, 88) ; that his work o f mercy is teaching the
soul how to be free from corruption; that He is
the one and only Teacher of all spirits and all
nations, the Teacher o f Truth and Illuminer of
every understanding; that He is Light (1 John, i,
5) and Love ( ib. iv, 8 ) ; that He teaches man by
the great Spiritual power known as Law, which is
unto man a real school-master, able to wring obedi
ence to it by its minister known as Government,
and to develop in him the love of Justice; that
God teaches also by other agencies imbued with
love, namely, by parents at home, by teachers at
school, by teachers of occupations, by teachers of
religion, known as pastors, by evangelists, who are
the disciples of the Apostles, and lastly and most
gloriously by Apostles of God, who quench not the
smoking flax, but bring out of it discernment unto
truth (Isa. xvii, 3), a veritable beacon of light
and love, a thing of beauty and jo}^ forever; that
God is the chastener of the soul (Heb. xii, 9), a
dispeller o f fears and sorrows, and the strengtli-
ener o f all who appeal to Him in abiding faith,
who ever in mercy says “ Fear thou not, fo r I am

with thee; be not dismayed, fo r I am thy G o d ; T
will strengthen tliee, Yea, I will help thee, yea, I
will uphold thee with the right hand o f my right
eousness’ ' (Is. xli, 10). The Spirit o f the East
also recognizes and feels most assuredly that the
Soul is the principal part o f man; that the help
mate of the Soul is the m in d; that the collectors of

worldly information fo r the Mind are the Senses;
that the Mind and the Senses are maintained
in strength fo r their respective work by other
subtle helpers, such as the Digester o f food, the
Distributor o f the food-essence to all the mem
bers o f the body, e tc .; that the mud-house o f the
Soul and its subtle helpmates is the body that

falls off at death and becomes food fo r F o rm s;

that therefore the affections should not be cen
tered on the body; that, the Mind should be with
drawn as much as possible from the things o f the
body and established on the things o f the Spirit,
the Son o f God, fo r whose benefit the body and
the world was m ade; and that it is worse than
madness, suicidal, to miss the opportunity o f a
life-time in gathering and polishing up worldly
treasures, like unto chaff. The Spirit o f the East is
further fully persuaded that the Soul has a growth
in light and love, and that it must be carefully
nursed in every possible way from day to day,
and with watchfulness all through the day; that
it is good fo r a man that he bears the yoke o f Sonl-
culture in his youth (Lamentations, iii, 27) ; that
this Culture o f the Soul begins by first sharpening
and refining the instruments o f culture, namely,
the Mind and Senses, under the instruction o f par
ents, teachers and pastors, serondh/ by abiding in
the law and gathering restful guidance and
strength fo r work, thirdly by active work in the
world in various ways, such as industrial occupa
tions, charitable work and work in and fo r the
Church, and lastly by imbibing sound doctrine

from the living lips o f evangelists and apostles o f
God.
Knowing as the East does these great truths, it
is able to say without hesitation that the high
ideals and ethical conduct needed fo r ripening the
Spirit from S elf Love to Neighborly Love and
Neighborly Love to P erfect Love constitute Soul-
culture or C ivilization; and that the Mind (reason

and w ill), if set to work on the things o f the world,
may produce articles o f trade, money, flourish
ing homes and lofty cities, but can never produce
righteousness, Love o f God or Peace, unless it be
united with the Spirit and made to mind the things
o f the Spirit. In these circumstances, no Civiliza
tion is complete without its material and spiritual
planes. It will lack symmetry if one outgrows the

other. A constant careering o f the Mind in the
path o f bodily necessities and luxuries renders it
unfit fo r the development o f spirituality. The
gracious Bhagavan said (in the Bhagavad Gita
vi, 5),—-
“ The work o f uplifting the Spirit (dtma uddha-
rana) from corruption and its entanglements has
to be done by the Mind.
“ Since Mind only is the ally of the Spirit, and
Mind only the enemy o f the Spirit, the Mind
should not be made impure by letting it run on
sensuous planes.”
A Mind that capers about in the broad ways
o f the senses and turns needlessly on its own
axis becomes quite unfit for the edification o f the
Spirit. It cannot build it up in love and light. It
cannot understand the W ord o f God, called the
Juana Shdstras in India, much less convey their
intended meaning to the Spirit, so that the Spirit
is obliged to continue in Darkness, that is, materi
alism or worldliness. A Civilization that is with
out its full complement of spiritual mindedness
may produce clever men and women, willing to do
what is proper and right, but they will be unable
to resist temptation when it comes associated with

the chance o f not being found out by others. The
materialized mind, known of old as carnal-minded-
ness, however able to perform the ordinary duties
o f life before the gaze o f the public, will fre
quently go wrong and even persist in error, if it
be sure that its vagaries will remain undetected.
In its sight, crime or sin is neither wrong-doing

nor estrangement from God, but allowing oneself
to be detected in wickedness or impiety. The
inner purity o f the Individual is not so much the
concern o f the votaries o f material civilization as
that Society should not have to talk about the
latest scandal. Exposure is the one great offence
known to material civilization. To endeavor to

keep up the appearance o f being good and well o ff

is the end and aim o f deadly respectability, o f
“ whited sepulchres.” A n y civilization which does
not crave fo r the spiritual grow th o f the individ
ual, fo r the active developm ent in each person of
L oving Kindness and K now ledge o f God, is on the
high road o f Sensuousness, doom ed to become a
“ smoking flax,” a thing o f lurid vanity.
The Civilization o f India lias endured,— has
endured so long as to be styled “ stationary” —
because o f its equipoise between m ateriality and
spirituality. The authors o f that civilization
were great Jndnis, sanctified spirits, who knew
human nature in its entirety, and the w orldly and
spiritual needs o f men ushered into life on the
soil o f India. The industrial arts and popular
amusements o f the Hindus have not been allowed
to run riot, so as to quench the Spirit, but have
been developed sufficiently to answer the ends o f
beauty and com fort, and leave enough time to cul
tivate the fruits o f the S pirit and worship God in
peace, every day in all earnestness. Owing to this
equilibrium between the material and spiritual
sides o f civilization being carefully maintained up
to the present time by generations o f Sages, the

teeming millions of souls who inhabit the Land o f
Light ( Jnana bhumi), now known as India, has the
singular privilege o f surviving all other nations
o f the world and maintaining alm ost intact the
traditionary ideals and practices o f their pious
ancestors. I say “ almost in tact,” because the in
flux o f W estern modes o f thought, which cultured

men o f the W est condemn as Materialism and
Agnosticism , has, during the last two or three
decades, begun to lead astray the youth o f the
country who have flocked into English Colleges
and trade centres fo r learning the novel principles
o f money-making under com petition, even at the
hazard o f their Souls.

THE WORKS OF SAME A U TH O R
A L R E A D Y P U B L IS H E D .
1. A n Eastern Exposition of the Gospel of Jesus ac

cording' to St. John, being - an Interpretation
thereof by the light of Juana Yoga. $2.
2. A Commentary on St. Matthew in terms of Godly
Experience (or Jnana Y o g a ). ' $2.
IN P R E P A R A T IO N .
1. Soul Culture among Western Nations. Being the

substance of the lectures delivered before the
Monsalvat School for the/Study of(Comparative3
Religions, at Green Acre, Eliot, M e J U . S. AT,
in August, 1905.
2. A n Exposition of the Psalms of David ( i- x x x )
according to Jnana Yoga.
3. Lectures on the Sermon on the Mount.
4. Lectures on the Doctrine of the Resurrection of
the Dead, being a Commentary on the X V th
Chapter of the First Epistle of St. Paul to the
Corinthians.
5. A Translation and Commentary on the Bhagavad
Gita.
6. Phenomena in Spiritual B ein g: which is the A u
thor’s Commentary on his translation of the
famous Vedanta work in Tamil entitled, Nana
Jiva Vada Kattalai.
Apply to
T h e I n s t i t u t e of S o u l C u l t u r e ,
Bloomfield, Old Bridge, N. J,
T h e V e d a n t a U n iv e r sity,
2 1 1 5 , California Avenue, Washington, D. C.
T h e T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty,
244, Lenox Avenue, New Y o rk City,
T h e M e t a p h y sic a l C lu b ,
Huntingdon Chambers, Boston, Mass

Public Domain / http://www.hathitrust.Org/access_use#pd
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Ramanathan (Parananda) - The Spirit of The East Contrasted With The Spirit of The West (OCR) PDF

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The spirit of the East contrasted with the spirit of the W est : being a

lecture delivered by P. Ram anathan before the Brooklyn Institute of

h ttp ://h d l.h a n d le .n e t/2 0 2 7 /ya le .3 9 0 0 2 0 8 8 6 7 0 5 2 7

T h is w ork is in the Public Dom ain, m eaning that it is

these portions. Depending on the nature of subsequent

The Spirit o f the East as contrasted with the

plicated phenomena o f Eastern and W estern civil­

Profession, M arried L ife and Society, Govern­

D igitizatio n S u p p o rt by O riginal from

and the East “ stationary” societies, no one has

cient Romans and thence, through the period of

and which seems to have all sorts o f meanings,

Di gkizati on Sup po Ft by Ori g i n a t f no m

o f P r o g re ss! I cannot lielp attempting the very

material. The W est believes it to be an end in it­

Di gfoizati on Sup po Ft by Ori g i n a t f no m

form ations in the sky, or waVe form ations in the

cessarily im ply m oral character or spiritual ele­

body,the m ind; in the mind, the spirit. The mind is

Di gfoizati on Sup po Ft by Ori g i n a t f no m

m g this stage o f Introspection or Reflection, it dis­

forts and conveniences of the body, all of which

vainglorious thing fading in the distance. The

not benefit to tlie mind, fo i when the mind has been

Pom peii and imperial Rome, died no better than

Not more than 250 years ago, Thomas ITobbs

Di gkizati on Sup po Ft by Ori g i n a t f no m

Civil History, which is an history o f the voluntary

Discernment this science is in a hopeless muddle.

Truth, called in the W est the W ord o f God, which

Di gfoizati on Sup po Ft by Ori g i n a t f no m

take to render tlie world-renowned expression

overthrow# them and established another set of

hand by the politicians o f different parties. The

Di gkizati on Sup po Ft by Ori g i n a t f no m

made, but amendments quickly follow. It must

and conveniences o f the body, not towards self­

to the Mind. It fancies on e’s thoughts to be one­

jority o f tlie people here know nothing definite of

that betterment or improvement is o f everything

houses, carriages, and sh ip s; everything presented

Di gfoizati on Sup po Ft by Ori g i n a t f no m

spent their time in nothing else but either to tell

another man o f the East, meaning that the Jews,

other, that he is either Earth-bound or God-

Di gfoizati on Sup po Ft by Ori g i n a t f no m

make you fr e e ” (Jolm viii, 32-34), lie meant the

m orality enforced in the Penal Code. A s to “ Politi­

derstood by W estern biations, will still further

Di gkizati on Su p po rt by On gih aI fro m

d ia ,” published in New York, Civilization is a

vanced the civilization is, the less powerful be­

society and the fulfilment o f its demands leave lit­

Di gkizati on Sup po Ft by Ori g i n a t f no m

minds when they speak o f Progress, Freedom and

yer, the economist, the historian and the moralist

cernment o f the w orldly mind is far inferior to

Digitization Support by i Original! from

cis m ; Mental Science lias nothing to say definitely

mar wholly the beauty o f human life. Referring

ness would prevent the Spirit from becoming a

Di gkizati on Sup po Ft by Ori g i n a t f no m

prised to find that Matthew A rn old has assigned

plicated phenomena o f Eastern and W estern civil

Profession, M arried L ife and Society, Govern

material. The W est believes it to be an end in it

cessarily im ply m oral character or spiritual ele

m g this stage o f Introspection or Reflection, it dis

and conveniences o f the body, not towards self

to the Mind. It fancies on e’s thoughts to be one

m orality enforced in the Penal Code. A s to “ Politi

vanced the civilization is, the less powerful be

society and the fulfilment o f its demands leave lit

families o f the A ristocratic C lass; that the Phil

to enter into fellowship with God; that this pil

and is the rewarder and punisher of men accord

est meaning o f that word, one entitled to the con

1. A n Eastern Exposition of the Gospel of Jesus ac