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AlOchanaamR^itaM
The Plasticity of Indian ShastraAs the Indian mind ... advances westward towards inevitable
conquest, it must inevitably carry with it Yoga and Vedanta for its
banners wherever it goes. But in order that the victory may
not be slow, it is necessary that whatever
India has to offer should be stated to the West in language that the
West can understand... Europe will
accept nothing which is not scientific... Undoubtedly, for
practical purposes the West is right....
Indian knowledge possesses such a
scientific basis, but ... expressed
only in broad principles, compact
aphorisms. The
aphoristic method has great advantages. It prevents the mind
from getting encrusted in details and fossilizing there It
allows a science to remain elastic and full of ever new
potentialitiesfor the discoverer. No
doubt, it has disadvantages. It leaves much room for inaccuracy ...
For this
[reason], among other more important reasons, the Indian mind has thought it wise to give
a firm and absolute authority to the guru... In
Europe, the manual replaces the guru; the mind of the learner is
rigidly bound by the written rule and
detail not by the more adaptable and flexible word of the guru.