“Let noble thoughts come to me from all directions” says Rig Veda (1.89.1). India never shun or shy away to learn from everyone, even from the outsiders. Before claiming to be a ‘would be world guru’ [by Modi], we learn first to teach others, provided if there is something ‘noble’ for us to learn from that teaching. Of course what is ‘noble’ and ‘not’ is a relative question as one man’s fetish is another man’s God. At the same time, we also learnt about everyone under the Sun from others, both positively, or both ‘noble’ and ‘ignoble’ lessons. Particularly what we should not do to others as Mahabharata says, “This is the sum of duty. Do not unto others that which would cause you pain if done to you” (Mahabharata 5, 1517). Islam: “None of you will believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself” (Hadith 13, The Forty Hadith of Imam Nawawi – 7th century). ‘Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want them to do to you’ or Muktiveda, ‘In everything do to others what you would have them do to you’ (Matthew 7:12)
When Ramachandra Guha, one of my favorite Indian writers and scholars from whom I learnt so many things, after giving a long list of Leaders around the world, including Modi said that, ‘—all see themselves as uniquely blessed by history and by God. No foreigner, they believe, can teach them anything.’—Rebels Against the Raj, Haryana, Penguin Random House India Pvt. Let. 2022, Prologue, p. (p. xix).
Before one becomes a teacher, she should learn. Particularly any outsider, with a burden or mission to teach ‘Insiders’ should first learn from them even before thinking of teaching them. The seven1 foreigners about whom Guha has written this book, came first to learn not to teach. And those like C. F. Andrew and Samuel Stokes [who later become Satyanand marrying an Indian] came with the ‘White man’s’ burden to teach their religion and also to ‘civilize’ Indians, later become students to learn, finally ‘became former Christians’ (p. xix). And their other contemporary missionaries who managed to teach some Indians, finally ended up only creating hybrid Christians, if not all, but most of them are only waiting for an opportunity to go and settle in their Promised Land in the west to learn more from their Civilization. As they failed both in their mission and teaching, many Indians felt that there is nothing to learn from these ‘foreigners’ and also from their native ‘converts’.
Any outsider coming only with an aim and burden to teach the ‘Insider’ this they can do only by IDENTIFYING with the Natives [or insiders] as much as possible. But mere ‘Kabadik Kabadi’ teaching won’t help others to learn much.
Let me give an example. Muslims came to India, first as invaders and then to rule. But they finally settled here making India as their Home land. And India learned a lot from them and equally they also learnt from us. Their architecture, music, food, dress and so many things now become our common heritage. Ask Indian Muslims. How many of them would prefer to leave India and settle in the officially Islamic countries? Whereas the White people came as travellers, and then for commercial purposes and ended up as Colonizers but never became part of this civilization by making this as their Home. Even those few ‘White Mugals’ who tried to ape Indians never made much inroad except leaving an Anglo-Indian community. Even this attempt remained as mere ’romance and a certain kind of hedonistic voyeurism’ (P. xviii). The British came, literally looted us [and so many other countries] and went away leaving a bad legacy behind them. Now their counterpart and modern economic colonizers Americans, though claim as the WORLD LEADER and SUPER POWER taking the responsibility of policing the word, thankfully never claims as the WORLD GURU, following Swami Vivekananda Modi and we Indians would like to become world guru to teach others. So here also there are no ‘noble’ lessons to learn from them.
Of course, now imitating them, some Indians now do this. Going outside India only for Economic reasons and somehow achieve that. But unlike, not looting them we first contribute to the host country’s economic growth. And those few who choose to stay back and tried to become part of that country, still somehow prefer to keep their separate Indian identity, at least first one or two generations as Indian Americans [with lots of subdivisions based on regional, ethnic and even caste identities like South Indian, North Indian, then Tamil, Malayali, Bengali etc., Iyengar, Nadar etc. etc. creating their own associations to address their particular cultural, social and religious needs], Mexican Americans, African Americans etc. Even if they want to give up this and totally integrate with their host people, particularly in the West their hosts never accepted them as their own or equals but considered as Economic refugees. And the present trend is, if not large scale but moving in that direction is, go out, earn and come back to settle here learning from their past legacy. Here also there is not much ‘noble’ to learn.
This being the historic and contemporary reality, several heads of other countries never felt that there is much to learn from the foreigners, now specifically, as every country keeps only their National Interest. At least India remains honest in this as our Foreign Minister [S. Jaishankar] often said, ‘when it comes to our foreign policy [or local one] we keep only our NATIONAL INTEREST’. Show me one country now which keeps ‘Universal Interest’ transcending all the borders treating all under the Sun as ‘Vasudeva Kutumbakam’ = Entire humanity is one family of God. That’s why Indians refused to sponsor their quarrel in their backyard joining with West, in economic sanction against Russia. Now Americans again proved this by SPONSORING the genocide in Palastine keeping only in its political interest back at home [election year added fuel to the fire], economic interest in West Asia [because of oil] They can easily stop Hutis but keeping their regional and economic interest they don’t want to do it, even at the cost of the world economy forcing several shipping corporations to change their route around South Africa. Now tell me, what is there to learn from such foreign policy?
At least we Indians never went and occupied other countries in the past and always welcomed anyone seeking asylum here allowing them to live and let live. Even in a few incidents in South Asia where Tamilians went, never looted and came back with their wealth but settled there becoming part of that country and culture. Like Xi, we never believe in expansion and occupation of other’s territory. So there is also nothing ‘noble’ for us to learn from foreigners.
Finally, in my personal life I also BENEFITED a lot from a few Non-Indians but I never felt that I learnt much from them, because they never taught from their life. Most of them remained a CLOSED BOOK to me. In India learning is always considered by observing others’ life and not listening to their talk or reading their writings. Though now the old system of staying with a guru at his home and learning from his life (GuruKula Vasam) is almost gone, still this alone is considered as proper learning. And the rest became mere ‘education’ as teaching being commercialized, is now becoming another PROFESSION.
When I read any book written by an Indian scholar, like P. V. Kane [Maha Maha Upadyaya Pandurangan Vaman Kane], Prof. Radhakrishnan, Surendernath Dasgupta, even RAMACHANDRA GUHA, for some strange reason, I feel that I am sitting at their feet to learn from their life and experience, as there is a PERSONAL TOUCH in their writings. Whereas when I read any book written by non-Indian scholars, though I thank them for their thankless job by choosing an Indian subject to learn and write, still I feel that I am sitting in a workshop or conference listening to their talk on a particular subject.
So if any OUTSIDER comes first to learn and then to teach from their life, we are ready to learn from them. But all other kinds of ‘Kabadik Kabadi’ teachings will help us only to gather some more information from them but never to learn much.
Before closing I would like to end with a lighter note. If Modi deserves a place in this list, then unless Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is included Modi will miss his comrade and Xi Jinping will miss his kin the King of hermit Kingdom, Kim Jong Un. Apart from Putin and Kim, there are few more eligible candidates like Justin Trudeau, Mohamed Muzzu [of Maldives], Pakistan Army (they alone are the legitimate rulers of that country, not politicians. So, no need to mention even one among them in the list). And I hope Guha in the next edition will include them to adore this famous list of UNTEACHABLE persons. So not only Modi, be it Mamta, Stalin Malikarjun Kharge, even Shashi Tharoor, with some concession including Rahul [but never Pinarayi Vijayan as every Communist only learn from China and not from anyone else] at present no Indian is ready to learn from any outsider as they are not qualified themselves to teach others.
…This is a world governed by paranoia and nationalist xenophobia, with the rise of jingoism in country after country, and a corresponding contempt for ideas and individuals that emanate from outside the borders of one’s nation Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in India, Donald Trump and the white supremacists in America, Boris Johnson and the Brexiteers in England, Xi Jinping and his Confucian Communist Party in China – all see themselves as uniquely blessed by history and by God. No foreigner, they believe, can teach them anything.
This book tells us that they can—Prologue, xix.
Gurukulam, 10-5-2024.
I cannot find out who are the seven foreigners about whom Guha writes in this book. I cannot get this information from Contents. As so many other names are coming, I can give the correct list only after reading the entire book. But as I quickly browsed the pages I think these are those seven: Anni Besant, B. G. Horniman, Madeleine Slade; Philip Spratt; Ralph Richard Keithan, Philip Sprattt and Samuel Stokes. .
“Let noble thoughts come to me from all directions” says Rig Veda (1.89.1). India never shun or shy away to learn from everyone, even from the outsiders. Before claiming to be a ‘would be world guru’ [by Modi], we learn first to teach others, provided if there is something ‘noble’ for us to learn from that teaching. Of course what is ‘noble’ and ‘not’ is a relative question as one man’s fetish is another man’s God. At the same time, we also learnt about everyone under the Sun from others, both positively, or both ‘noble’ and ‘ignoble’ lessons. Particularly what we should not do to others as Mahabharata says, “This is the sum of duty. Do not unto others that which would cause you pain if done to you” (Mahabharata 5, 1517). Islam: “None of you will believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself” (Hadith 13, The Forty Hadith of Imam Nawawi – 7th century). ‘Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want them to do to you’ or Muktiveda, ‘In everything do to others what you would have them do to you’ (Matthew 7:12)
When Ramachandra Guha, one of my favorite Indian writers and scholars from whom I learnt so many things, after giving a long list of Leaders around the world, including Modi said that, ‘—all see themselves as uniquely blessed by history and by God. No foreigner, they believe, can teach them anything.’—Rebels Against the Raj, Haryana, Penguin Random House India Pvt. Let. 2022, Prologue, p. (p. xix).
Before one becomes a teacher, she should learn. Particularly any outsider, with a burden or mission to teach ‘Insiders’ should first learn from them even before thinking of teaching them. The seven1 foreigners about whom Guha has written this book, came first to learn not to teach. And those like C. F. Andrew and Samuel Stokes [who later become Satyanand marrying an Indian] came with the ‘White man’s’ burden to teach their religion and also to ‘civilize’ Indians, later become students to learn, finally ‘became former Christians’ (p. xix). And their other contemporary missionaries who managed to teach some Indians, finally ended up only creating hybrid Christians, if not all, but most of them are only waiting for an opportunity to go and settle in their Promised Land in the west to learn more from their Civilization. As they failed both in their mission and teaching, many Indians felt that there is nothing to learn from these ‘foreigners’ and also from their native ‘converts’.
Any outsider coming only with an aim and burden to teach the ‘Insider’ this they can do only by IDENTIFYING with the Natives [or insiders] as much as possible. But mere ‘Kabadik Kabadi’ teaching won’t help others to learn much.
Let me give an example. Muslims came to India, first as invaders and then to rule. But they finally settled here making India as their Home land. And India learned a lot from them and equally they also learnt from us. Their architecture, music, food, dress and so many things now become our common heritage. Ask Indian Muslims. How many of them would prefer to leave India and settle in the officially Islamic countries? Whereas the White people came as travellers, and then for commercial purposes and ended up as Colonizers but never became part of this civilization by making this as their Home. Even those few ‘White Mugals’ who tried to ape Indians never made much inroad except leaving an Anglo-Indian community. Even this attempt remained as mere ’romance and a certain kind of hedonistic voyeurism’ (P. xviii). The British came, literally looted us [and so many other countries] and went away leaving a bad legacy behind them. Now their counterpart and modern economic colonizers Americans, though claim as the WORLD LEADER and SUPER POWER taking the responsibility of policing the word, thankfully never claims as the WORLD GURU, following Swami Vivekananda Modi and we Indians would like to become world guru to teach others. So here also there are no ‘noble’ lessons to learn from them.
Of course, now imitating them, some Indians now do this. Going outside India only for Economic reasons and somehow achieve that. But unlike, not looting them we first contribute to the host country’s economic growth. And those few who choose to stay back and tried to become part of that country, still somehow prefer to keep their separate Indian identity, at least first one or two generations as Indian Americans [with lots of subdivisions based on regional, ethnic and even caste identities like South Indian, North Indian, then Tamil, Malayali, Bengali etc., Iyengar, Nadar etc. etc. creating their own associations to address their particular cultural, social and religious needs], Mexican Americans, African Americans etc. Even if they want to give up this and totally integrate with their host people, particularly in the West their hosts never accepted them as their own or equals but considered as Economic refugees. And the present trend is, if not large scale but moving in that direction is, go out, earn and come back to settle here learning from their past legacy. Here also there is not much ‘noble’ to learn.
This being the historic and contemporary reality, several heads of other countries never felt that there is much to learn from the foreigners, now specifically, as every country keeps only their National Interest. At least India remains honest in this as our Foreign Minister [S. Jaishankar] often said, ‘when it comes to our foreign policy [or local one] we keep only our NATIONAL INTEREST’. Show me one country now which keeps ‘Universal Interest’ transcending all the borders treating all under the Sun as ‘Vasudeva Kutumbakam’ = Entire humanity is one family of God. That’s why Indians refused to sponsor their quarrel in their backyard joining with West, in economic sanction against Russia. Now Americans again proved this by SPONSORING the genocide in Palastine keeping only in its political interest back at home [election year added fuel to the fire], economic interest in West Asia [because of oil] They can easily stop Hutis but keeping their regional and economic interest they don’t want to do it, even at the cost of the world economy forcing several shipping corporations to change their route around South Africa. Now tell me, what is there to learn from such foreign policy?
At least we Indians never went and occupied other countries in the past and always welcomed anyone seeking asylum here allowing them to live and let live. Even in a few incidents in South Asia where Tamilians went, never looted and came back with their wealth but settled there becoming part of that country and culture. Like Xi, we never believe in expansion and occupation of other’s territory. So there is also nothing ‘noble’ for us to learn from foreigners.
Finally, in my personal life I also BENEFITED a lot from a few Non-Indians but I never felt that I learnt much from them, because they never taught from their life. Most of them remained a CLOSED BOOK to me. In India learning is always considered by observing others’ life and not listening to their talk or reading their writings. Though now the old system of staying with a guru at his home and learning from his life (GuruKula Vasam) is almost gone, still this alone is considered as proper learning. And the rest became mere ‘education’ as teaching being commercialized, is now becoming another PROFESSION.
When I read any book written by an Indian scholar, like P. V. Kane [Maha Maha Upadyaya Pandurangan Vaman Kane], Prof. Radhakrishnan, Surendernath Dasgupta, even RAMACHANDRA GUHA, for some strange reason, I feel that I am sitting at their feet to learn from their life and experience, as there is a PERSONAL TOUCH in their writings. Whereas when I read any book written by non-Indian scholars, though I thank them for their thankless job by choosing an Indian subject to learn and write, still I feel that I am sitting in a workshop or conference listening to their talk on a particular subject.
So if any OUTSIDER comes first to learn and then to teach from their life, we are ready to learn from them. But all other kinds of ‘Kabadik Kabadi’ teachings will help us only to gather some more information from them but never to learn much.
Before closing I would like to end with a lighter note. If Modi deserves a place in this list, then unless Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is included Modi will miss his comrade and Xi Jinping will miss his kin the King of hermit Kingdom, Kim Jong Un. Apart from Putin and Kim, there are few more eligible candidates like Justin Trudeau, Mohamed Muzzu [of Maldives], Pakistan Army (they alone are the legitimate rulers of that country, not politicians. So, no need to mention even one among them in the list). And I hope Guha in the next edition will include them to adore this famous list of UNTEACHABLE persons. So not only Modi, be it Mamta, Stalin Malikarjun Kharge, even Shashi Tharoor, with some concession including Rahul [but never Pinarayi Vijayan as every Communist only learn from China and not from anyone else] at present no Indian is ready to learn from any outsider as they are not qualified themselves to teach others.
…This is a world governed by paranoia and nationalist xenophobia, with the rise of jingoism in country after country, and a corresponding contempt for ideas and individuals that emanate from outside the borders of one’s nation Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in India, Donald Trump and the white supremacists in America, Boris Johnson and the Brexiteers in England, Xi Jinping and his Confucian Communist Party in China – all see themselves as uniquely blessed by history and by God. No foreigner, they believe, can teach them anything.
This book tells us that they can—Prologue, xix.
Gurukulam, 10-5-2024.
I cannot find out who are the seven foreigners about whom Guha writes in this book. I cannot get this information from Contents. As so many other names are coming, I can give the correct list only after reading the entire book. But as I quickly browsed the pages I think these are those seven: Anni Besant, B. G. Horniman, Madeleine Slade; Philip Spratt; Ralph Richard Keithan, Philip Sprattt and Samuel Stokes. .
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