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HISTORY AND CULTURE

Bankim Chandra's reflections on history and culture are to be found mainly in his book, Miscellaneous Essays Part I and Part II (1886/7). Published towards the end of his life, they contain all his thoughts which, in his mature opinion, were worth preserving for posterity.

The first of the two collections contains his early literary criticism which inaugurates a new age of Bengali literary sensibility, obviously influenced by western modes of thinking. But it inevitably has roots in the sort of Bengal. Unfortunately Bankim Chandra's contribution to literature and its theory falls outside the purview of this essay.

The first collection also contains an extended discussion of Samkhya philosophy of ancient India. Bankim Chandra studied the Samkhya system from the point of view of a cultural historian as well as that of a philosopher. He recommends his readers to read this system if she wishes to understand the Indian mind. The other-worldliness which led ultimately to the decline of Hindu civilization is starkly visible in this system. In the opinion of Bankim, the Tantra philosophy which has profound influence on contemporary Bengali or Indian culture, is largely based on Samkhya metaphysics. Bankim Chandra is further of the view that the Buddhism has also its origin in the philosophical ideas of Samkhya. Bankim published an English article in Calcutta Review defending his theory on the Samkhya influence on Buddhism.

In this essay Bankim valiently attempts to explain and defend as far as practicable the philosophical insights of Samkhya which may appear strange to Indian ears trained in the teachings of modern science and also of philosophy based on that science.

Bankim concedes that the basic Samkhya doctrine that the individual self (purusa) is nothing but pure consciousness and is utterly different from matter (prakriti) may lack scientific proof, yet it merits our appreciation because of its plausibility and that it was propounded two thousand years ago evokes our wonder. Bankim notes that Samkhya opposed the Vedic doctrine of rituals and emphasized the role of knowledge as the source of liberation of the self from its illusory identification with the body.

Bankim incidentally compares the Indian doctrine that knowledge is liberation with the Western doctrine that knowledge is power and holds that the present Western political domination of the world is due to the success of that doctrine. But has India a role to play in the spiritual regeneration of the world? Have we conquered the spirit by losing out on the material plane?

Bankim next discusses the Samkhya cosmology. If you do not believe in God then you must admit an ultimate material cause and the Samkhya theory of Prakriti admirably fits the bill. However he finds the detailed steps in the Samkhya theory of evolution unacceptable in the light of the findings of modern science.

Bankim is firmly of the view that Samkhya accepts the authority of the Vedas merely as a matter of outword conformity to Hindu way of life and this acceptance is more ironical than real. When Samkhya says that the Vedas are neither eternal nor created by a person like God, it merely mocks the debaters on this issue. But Bankim frankly acknowledges that whether we should accept the authority of the Vedas or not is a question of vital importance for all the Hindus of the present day. Should we continue to adhere to our traditional religion or should we cut off our roots from it? Bankim himself offers no opinion as to whether we should accept the Vedas or not.

Several comments may be offered on Bankim Chandra's views on Samkhya. Bankim is perfectly right that for all the Western influence the mind of modern India cannot be understood if we ignore the ultimate categories or concepts in terms of which we typically think al out the world and these categories are to be found in philosophical ystems like Samkhya, These systems both fashion and express the Indian mind as represented in her culture. The second point is that the Indian philosophical tradition is vibrant enough to contain opposite viewpoints on fundamental matters like the authority of the Vedas. Bankim thinks that the Samkhya philosophers only mockingly accepted that authority! This is a refreshingly new interpretation and throws new light on that tradition. The third point is that Bankim nostalgically looks forward to India's' role in a spiritual regeneration of the world. He also shares the view of some modern Western scholars that the other-worldliness ingrained in the spiritual outlook of India is one of the basic causes of her defeat at the hands of the Muslims and the British. But are not even Islam and Christianity other-worldly? In medieval times Europe was quite other-worldly. The most that can be said is that interest in religious and spiritual matters was not deep enough in the Arabic and European worlds and the very profundity of India's spiritualism was a cause of her undoing. But is not making a new man a basic goal of the spiritual outlook, and why is it that these newly fashioned spiritual men could not hold India together against her enemies? It seems that it is not spiritualism but the failure to instil spiritualism had made India weak and vulnerable at that particular juncture of history.

What was Bankim Chandra's attitude to British rule? In his essay, 'India's Independence and Bondage', Bankim says that the British rule has deprived the upper classes in India of the opportunity to develop their administrative abilities and national spirit. But the conditions of the poor were as bad in ancient independent India as they are today. As a matter of fact the economic and social conditions have improved to some extent owing to the modernizing outlook of the British rulers. Comparing the disadvantage and benefits of the British rule Bankim Chandra concludes that though the indigenous culture and national spirit are disintegrating, there has been a wonderful resurgence in literature and science owing to the impact of Western administration. The fundamental disadvantage is that the supreme political authority being located in a distant land is doing harm to our political and local interests. However an indigenous ruler could have caused greater harm if he lacked character. Bankim is here drawing a distinction between class interests and national interests and contends strongly that a national government need not ensure the economic well-being of all classes of people.

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