THE WIND AND THE WHIRLWIND
J.C. Kumarappa
What is called progress and civilization today is a marathon race where the laurels are for the most devilish. When, in the opening years of this century, the Japanese defeated the Russians, the former was hailed as a World Power. When France could not outbid the violence of Germany she lost her status as a Power. The criterion is the achievement to perfection of savagery and barbarism. The latest distinction on this unenviable career has been attained by the users of the abomination of desolation—the Atomic Bomb. We do not grudge America or Great Britain their claim to such hellish greatness, for we know, as certainly as night follows day, these demons of today, will in their turn, perish by the sword. But this is not what needs detain us. These are only passing phases. The History of Great Britain is but as a grain of sand on the shores of time.
Why is it that all science runs a whoring after violence and destruction? Is humanity on a downward grade? Is violence becoming our purpose in life? What are the causes that make violence dominate the life of the world today? These are some of the questions that should rack our brains.
If we probe deep enough we shall find that the development of the higher nature of man—character and personality—is not keeping pace with the advance made by his mental faculty. A spirited horse has to be held in by bit and bridle. We cannot afford to give loose reins. Man’s self-control is being lost relative to the advancement made by science. Science, we need, but when it outstrips man’s character and upsets the poise, it makes a slave of man and generates violence. Then what is the remedy if we are not to sow the wind and reap the whirlwind?
There is a time lag between the development of human personality and the advancement of human faculties. The former is a slow process, as all things with a permanent value tend to be. ...When the situation points to a tragedy, it is time for us to call a halt. Science is good. But we seem to have reached a stage where we need bivouac awhile to take stock of the situation and pull ourselves together if we are determined not to let circumstances run away with our lives. Have we the strength to do it? Or will humanity roll headlong downhill, gathering irresistible momentum and dash itself to pieces against the rocks ahead?
This question is not an international one only. It arises in our everyday life in various forms. In the final analysis the question Machine vs Human Labour in our country, is of the same origin. As things are, mechanical advancement has gone so far ahead of the development of the human personality that man is becoming a greater and greater slave to the machine and he is in imminent danger of losing himself. When people say that we, of the non-violent school, are against machinery, they are uttering a truth in a relative setting. Machines are good, but if we have not developed sufficient control over ourselves, they will lead us into the paths of violence and destruction. All this feverish planning for rapid industrialisation as a post-war reconstruction, based on capital goods imported from abroad, is sure to lead us along the way all industrialised countries have gone—on the high road of violence, imperialism and destruction. Discretion dictates caution. Shall we heed it? Or shall we, in our pride of achievement, head for a fall?
(Gram Udyog Patrika, Sep. 1945)