Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c4.7

c4.7

Indian Characteristics. Indian nature has always displayed an emotional flow and vibration which, on the whole, militates against rigidity of discipline and organisation. If in one or two spheres organisation was attempted on a scale unknown in the West, there were whole departments of life which were left unorganised. Here culture was embodied in institutions to a far lesser degree than in Europe. Social thought is more diffuse and less exact and systematic than in the West. The power of imagination which is another leading characteristic of the Indian psychology often promotes the same tendency. Add to it a metaphysical turn of mind and it is easy to understand why the Hindu writers thought of man in terms of the Universe, the present in terms of eternity. The philosophic Hindu intellect is always searching for unity and appears at its best in synthesis. It is seldom at home in analysis and induction. It achieves its triumphs in declaration rather than in ratiocination, in broad generalisation rather than in dissection. On the other hand, Indian thinking is remarkably clear and tends to run an idea to its extreme logical consequences. It gains in fulness but it underestimates the complexities of life. Such are the essential features of Indian psychology. It is not necessary here to inquire how far they are the result of innate racial characteristics or climatic influences and how far they have been determined by the exigencies of economic life and accidents of history. But it is important to bear them in mind in any investigation of Hindu thought. They explain why Indian political