Profiles

During a conversation with S R Ramaswamy, he mentioned to me that in the 1940s, K M Munshi had asked Sastri to write about the Aryans in the first volume of The History and Culture of the Indian People. Sastri asked, “I can definitely write it but do you have the courage to publish it?” It turns out that a great nationalist of the stature of Munshi too didn’t have the guts to publish the entire essay and printed a paltry two-page summary of Sastri’s writing in the first volume.

Here is an example of a critique written by Sastri and what is noteworthy is that instead of it becoming merely reactionary, it offers a wonderful commentary on Indian culture.

I will now outline the qualities of DVG’s personality and works that can guide us in the pursuit of knowledge.

DVG has analyzed the major characters of the Mahābhārata in a long essay. His sublime analysis includes discussions on kāla, ṛta and conflicts that arise in the transition from one age to another. This is an exposition that befits the epic dimension of the Mahābhārata.   

In the early 1940, when the Western world was at the acme of its materialistic success, Sastri wrote these visionary words – “In the history of the world, it is only Hinduism that gave not only to India but also to all her neighbours an organic conception of society based upon economic as well as spiritual needs. It is the very antithesis of ‘the principle of accumulation based on inequality’ which is a vital part of the Western order of society. It recognized frankly the hard fact that perfect equality in all spheres is impossible of attainment.