The Meaning of India: A Review
The West
sees the world in black and white, whereas India has many colours and shades,
making it difficult for outsiders to truly ‘see’ India. Raja Rao’s collection
of essays, ‘The Meaning of India,’ explains and explores India beyond the ‘good
and evil’ concept of the West.
The
Introduction gives an unknown insight into the life and thoughts of Raja Rao,
but seems a bit lengthy wherein it fails to hold the reader’s interest till the
end.
Essays on
Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi give an interesting, parallel view of India’s history
under the British rule. Though sometimes the reader feels slightly disappointed
at the author’s climbing of the mountain of adulation, albeit hesitant, towards
Nehru and his ‘extraordinary’ qualities, in some places Raja Rao subtly
disagrees with Nehru’s worldly viewpoint that seems to reject the traditions
and history deeply entwined with Vedic and Buddhist philosophy. The author also
explains why Gandhi failed in becoming a proper guru to Nehru, in turn failing
to prevent partition, the ensuing massacre.
‘One walks
on the edge of history with care, lest a gesture, a word, indeed and uneven
breath may mean heresy of spirit. The compassion of India flowed into our
silence, and for a moment the earth seemed reassured of itself,’ he says. The
book is engaging to Indophiles not just because of introduction to unknown
facets of our history, but also because Raja Rao engages us in a
thought-provoking comparison between European and Indian philosophical
viewpoints. A lover of Buddhist philosophy, his essays advocate both Bodhisattva’s
and Hindu advocacy of silence and sacrifice as ultimate.
For a
reader who is totally unfamiliar with French philosophy, suddenly plunging into
the midst of their works is unsettling. Raja Rao’s book seems alluring yet
strange for today’s reader as we seek its relevance in today’s India which is
no longer metaphysical in its psyche. No matter how much pride we take in our
history, we are no longer the same – thoughtful and inquisitive as Krishna
wanted us to be, compassionate as Buddha wanted us to be. Knowledge or ‘Jnana’
may be the ‘I’ and that maybe the ‘meaning of India’ according to Raja Rao, but
in today’s India there do not seem to be many seekers of that knowledge. However,
as Raja Rao says, ultimately ‘everyone has his own India.’
Raja Rao’s
essays are to be read again and again as we Indians easily identify with his
philosophy because it’s a natural part of our life.
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