Quotations: June 2006 Archives

"....God has bound himself to man, and in that consists the greatest glory of human existence. In the spell of the wonderful rhythm of the finite he fetters himself at every step, and thus gives his love out in music in his most perfect lyrics of beauty. Beauty is his wooing of our hearts; it can have no other purpose. It tells us everywhere that the display of power is not the ultimate meaning of creation; wherever there is a bit of colour, a note of song, a grace of form, there comes the call for our love.

Hunger compels us to obey its behests, but hunger is not the last word for a man. There have been men who have deliberately defied its commands to show that the human soul is not to be led by the pressure of wants and threat of pain. In fact, to live the life of man we have to resist its demands every day, the least of us as well as the greatest. But, on the other hand, there is a beauty in the world which never insults our freedom, never raises even its little finger to make us acknowledge its sovereignty. We can absolutely ignore it and suffer no penalty in consequence. It is a call to us, but not a command. It seeks for love in us, and love can never be had by compulsion. Compulsion is not indeed the final appeal to man, but joy is.

And joy is everywhere; it is in the earth's green covering of grass; in the blue serenity of the sky; in the reckless exuberance of spring; in the severe abstinence of gray winter; in the living flesh that animates our bodily frame; in the perfect poise of the human figure, noble and upright; in living; in the exercise of all our powers; in the acquisition of knowledge; in fighting evils; in dying for gains we never can share. Joy is there everywhere; it is superfluous, unnecessary; nay, it very often contradicts the most peremptory behests of necessity. It exists to show that the bonds of law can only be explained by love; they are like body and soul. Joy is the realization of the truth of oneness, the oneness of our soul with the world and of the world-soul with the supreme lover."

"If a flying bird is caged for long, it loses its ability to fly. If the door of its cage is unfastened accidentally, it thinks, 'What benefit will I derive from flying in the distant blue sky? Let me pick up seeds, sitting on the perch of my little cage.' Now, if people have been educated in a distorted manner and their minds crippled, they are unable to stand independently. If their minds have been molded by propaganda for a long period, they cannot utilize the opportunity [for freedom] even if it is presented to them. Common people have been taught for ages that they belong to a low caste or class. Even if you offer these downtrodden people a chair to sit by you, they would murmur, 'No sir, I am alright - let me sit on the ground.' That is to say, their minds cannot function properly, just as a bird's wings become totally inactive in a cage. People have been accustomed to such repressions for thousands of years - the exploiters have injected fear-complexes in their minds to control them."