History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.382

v7.c94.382

This shows that Vedānta in its highest form is the best support of pure morality for individuals. It is on account of this teaching that many sages cultivated these virtues in hermitages and were honoured by kings and common people in ancient times in India, but in medieval times the sages became²⁴²⁶ rare and as regards common people they were tied down by customs and caste and very few people made strenuous efforts for solidarity of all their countrymen, for meeting their common needs and safeguarding all peoples' interests, and by the side of sublime philosophical tenets our country witnessed abject poverty among large masses of people and political domination by alien or brutal invaders. The tendency to rely on the Vedas, to believe and to argue that what has been is the best, and to appeal to the past has been very strong throughtout our history for centuries. Our motto must not be 'back to the Vedas' but rather 'forward with the Vedas'. While giving due weight to the Veda and authority, we must not condemn all independence in thought.