2023-02-19 11:52:53 by ambuda-bot
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FOREWORD
V
the betrayal of ideals and the pursuit of
shams, faith and purpose had not wholly
gone out of life.
Whether we
ourselves
are
Apart from the consuming interest of
the story for the Indian mind, the
imperishable truths contained in it make it
valuable for us to-day. Without some
knowledge of the old, our knowledge of the
new would remain imperfect.
realise it or not, We
inescapably part of tradition. If we do not
know what our tradition is, how can We
know what our part in it is? A renaissance
is possible only if it means a looking back at
and renewal of the ancient spirit and not
turning backwards and restoring an epoch
already lived and over. We must recapture
the creative principles of past epochs and
apply them in new and complex surroundings.
Their results to-day would be wholly strange
to any forms they might have taken in
ancient times.
One or two illustrations of the valuable
lessons which the Mahabharata has burnt
into the Indian soul may here be given.
Through the characters of Draupadi and
Yudhisthira, Nala and Damayanti, Savitri and
Satyavan, it emphasises the ancient tradition
that the goal of perfection is through
the discipline of suffering. The human
instinct for justice naturally associates the
thought of pain like the inevitability of death
with the fact of injustice and wickedness.
V
the betrayal of ideals and the pursuit of
shams, faith and purpose had not wholly
gone out of life.
Whether we
ourselves
are
Apart from the consuming interest of
the story for the Indian mind, the
imperishable truths contained in it make it
valuable for us to-day. Without some
knowledge of the old, our knowledge of the
new would remain imperfect.
realise it or not, We
inescapably part of tradition. If we do not
know what our tradition is, how can We
know what our part in it is? A renaissance
is possible only if it means a looking back at
and renewal of the ancient spirit and not
turning backwards and restoring an epoch
already lived and over. We must recapture
the creative principles of past epochs and
apply them in new and complex surroundings.
Their results to-day would be wholly strange
to any forms they might have taken in
ancient times.
One or two illustrations of the valuable
lessons which the Mahabharata has burnt
into the Indian soul may here be given.
Through the characters of Draupadi and
Yudhisthira, Nala and Damayanti, Savitri and
Satyavan, it emphasises the ancient tradition
that the goal of perfection is through
the discipline of suffering. The human
instinct for justice naturally associates the
thought of pain like the inevitability of death
with the fact of injustice and wickedness.