Nationalism

by Rabindranath Tagore

Man's history is being shaped according to the difficulties it encounters.

But fortunately for man the easiest path is not his truest path.

For what are obstacles to the lower creatures are opportunities to the higher life of man.

nation, in the sense of the political and economic union of a people, is that aspect which a whole population assumes when organized for a mechanical purpose. Society as such has no ulterior purpose. It is an end in itself. It is a spontaneous self-expression of man as a social being. It is a natural regulation of human relationships, so that men can develop ideals of life in co-operation with one another. It has also a political side, but this is only for a special purpose.

In the products of the hand-loom the magic of man's living fingers finds its expression, and its hum harmonizes with the music of life. But the power-loom is relentlessly lifeless and accurate and monotonous in its production.

The truth is that the spirit of conflict and conquest is at the origin and in the centre of Western nationalism; its basis is not social co-operation.

"peace is good, but not more so than life, which is God's own great boon."