I believe we the INDIANS, like all other peoples of the world, are naturally susceptible to flattery. But unfortunately they have been deprived of their share of it, even in wholesome measure, both by the Fates presiding at the making of their history as well as by the guests partaking of their salt. We have been declared inefficient in practical matters by our governors, foreign missionaries have created a vast literature proclaiming our moral obliquity, while casual visitors have expressed their opinion that we are particularly uninteresting to the intellectual mind of the West. Other peoples' estimate of our work is a great part of our world, and the most important other peoples in the present age being the Europeans, it has become tragic in its effect for us to be unable to evoke their appreciation. There was a time when India could touch the most sensitive part of Europe's mind by storming her imagination with a gorgeous vision of wealth. But cruel time has done its work and the golden illusion has vanished, leaving the ragged poverty of India open to public inspection, charitable or otherwise. Therefore epithets of a disparaging nature from the West find an easy target in India, bespattering her skin and piercing her vital parts. Epithets once given circulation die hard, for they have their breeding-places in our mental laziness and in our natural readiness to believe that whatever is different from ourselves must be offensive. Men can live through and die happy in spite of disparagement, if it comes from critics with whom they have no dealings. But unfortunately our critics not only have the power to give us a bad name, but also to hang us. They play the part of Providence over three hundred millions of aliens whose language they hardly know, and with whom their acquaintance is of the surface. Therefore the vast accumulation of calumny against India, continually growing and spreading over the earth, secretly and surely obstructs the element of heart from finding an entrance into our government. One can never do justice from a mere sense of duty to those for whom one lacks respect. And human beings, as we are, justice is not the chief thing that we claim from our rulers. We need sympathy as well, in order to feel that we have human relationship with them and thus retain as much of our self-respect as may be possible.
About the Author: Avinash Patra, Sr. is an Indian-born British Writer and illustrator who have created both enduring miracle books such as the My Dear Sweet Heart and The Separation of Godhead volume series. Over three years ago he published his third Book "The Separation of Godhead" under Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, about the pangs of separation felt by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna and Radharani. This Book has been inspired him much for knowing' what is the real definition of Divine Love, though he composed that one. He has been fortunate enough to pass his life watching his own research interests, with widely spread Divine Love messages, 'what Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna did for His Consort Srimati Radharani. And delight in being able to share the results with a wider public. As proficient as an 'OBE' for the services to 21st Century Religious writing in the United Kingdom. Avinash Patra. Sr. is the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees, including the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Cultural Humanism (Harvard University), and he has been a Commencement Speaker at Oxford University, United Kingdom. Visit his official web page: www.avinashpatra.com