An integral polity

Re: the argumentative indian and historical revisionism

Rich Sat 20 Jan 2007 09:43 PM PST A Fairly balanced review of Sen's new book. Multi-culturalism is not only a problem of Britain or India but rather, in a world which is increasingly homogenized through globalization yet simultaneously fragmented through the corresponding recoil into privileged orthodoxed communities, is of global concern.

Although one gathers from this review that Sen seems to prescribe secularism to curb the excesses of violence of religious extremism, and at some level this makes good sense, overall it seems odd. It is strange especially given the fact that the most devastating bloodletting of the past century were due to regimes characterized precisely by their extreme secularism, such as led by Stalin and Mao. (secularist can be fanatical too, see above review of Richard Darwkins book) The integration of the British or Hinduvta model would certainly benefit were they to become informed by the integral polity made explicit in the socio-political works of Sri Aurobindo.

RY Deshpande Sun 21 Jan 2007 01:38 AM PST What Rich is saying is very correct. The days of religion were over long ago. The days of unyielding rationalism are now on the verge of disappearance. Orthodoxy, be it of any kind, of religion or of science, always means clipping the wings of the free spirit. The conflicts we see between the moribund two are the sure signs of their loss of hold on life. Life is bound to throw them out. Which means, we need not regret if they vanish like the mammoth and the mastodon, having proved themselves incapable of making progress. But, in the meanwhile, there is a concern, the damage they can cause with the loss of their identities working in many dangerous negative ways. Terrorism and shooting down of one satellite by the other could be the ominous portends of such ways.

The Aurobindonian principle is based on the fundamental values of the spirit expressing themselves in the manifold of life. The values are of knowledge, strength, harmony, and perfection. A society or a system which is truthful to them will alone survive, prove fruitful, progressive. What is needed is, based on them, the formulation of an integral polity in the immediate contextual framework. Possibly this could be task of the sciy think-tank. RYD