6_Glorious_Epochs_of_Indian_History

CHAPTER VIII
PERVERTED CONCEPTION OF VIRTUES
421-422. Besides the silly superstitions of the Hindus
about the caste-system, the various bans on exchange of food
and drink, redemption of the outcastes and others, of which we
have already written fully, and which had done tremendously
more harm than the two-pronged religio-political Muslim
offensive had done, another suicidal morbidity had completely
possessed the Hindu mind for a long time. This morbidity
paralysed their own offensive and counter-offensive might.
Ear greater than the Muslims could ever attempt were the
defeats inflicted on themselves by these morbidly virtuous
Hindus ! If a comparatively mild term is to be used for this
infatuation—^^this mental imbalance of the Hindus, which
caused disastrous losses for themselves—we have to call it a
perverted sense of Hindu virtues.
423. In fact virtues or vices are only relative terms.
No virtue can be unqualified and absolute under every
circumstace or at every place. Be it said briefly that in
practice or in ethical code a virtue should be called a virtue
only to the extent to which it is useful to the best interests of
human society. And the moment it begins to cause harm to
mankind, it should be considered a vice and as such
discarded forthwith.
424. Some qualities at least are divided into three
parts : Satwik (mild, gentle). Rajas (Passionate) and Tamas
(irascible, irritable}; and even these should be viewed with
reference to the peculiar condition of time, place and person.
The Hindu civilization had the noblest ambition of raising
Man to the status of God and as such it went in for an all-
out attempt to inculcate and cultivate with assiduous care,
these gentle qualities in him. But this worldly existence is