I have ventured into this small volume to take a systematic survey of the Hindu ideas on morality. The wealth of ethical reflections scattered all over the ancient sacred writings of the Hindus always proved a tempting field to my humble ambitions, and I have here endeavored to present them in a connected form. So far as I know very few writers have cultivated this field. Scholars are generally attracted by high metaphysical ideas on the one hand and political thought on the other hand, but the unpretentious and yet all too precious work of the Hindu Rishis on subjects of morality remained largely unexplored. I have tied to trace out the ethical thought of the ancient Hindus from the early Rig-Vedic period down to the age of the Mahabharata and the Dharma-shastras. The period covered here witness indeed the rise and fall of Hindu culture, its very interesting evolution in successive periods under diverse historical conditions. Yet while there is a rich diversity of moral ideals, presented to us during these periods of Hindu history, a clear thread of unity runs through all these. At no period can we say that there is a sudden break or charm in the continuity of our civilization, and an unmistakable attempt was made at every new turn to trace the changes of thought or practice to some old authority. The Hindu ethical theory has therefore an organic coherence to it; its childhood, its period of adolescence, and its old age were all definitely connected. The Hindu sages always tried to unite reason with experience; and while they continuously introduced new modifications necessitated by changes in the environment, they never thought were departing from the ancient Vedic practice. Thus the unchanging East went on perpetually changing, and yet at every step forward, it cast a constant glance at the past and thus preserved ht e unity of the Hindu social organism. The Hindu of today, though differing widely from the Vedic Aryan in almost every incident or accident of his position, still claims to be and not quite unjustly, -the heir of all the ages,-the child of that great race which was the pioneer of a mighty civilization in the world.
This long evolution has a manifold interest for us. To a Hindu, it is almost a necessity of his position to understand the precise significance of his culture. The greatest task of the present age in the East is the discovery of the soul of Asia. The whole of Asia is struggling to discover the fundamentals of its position-the bed-rock of its culture,- the unity of thought and experience behind all accidents or Upanishad. India is similarly challenged by the outside work to give expression to its soul. The world is waiting to listen to the right work from the people who say they represent what was once a unique civilization. Has Indi any message for the world? It is the earnest attempt of the greatest geniuses of our age to help India to utter the right words. Dr. Tagore ht a great Asiatic poet laureate.- Shrijuta Arabinda Ghose, the great Asiatic scholar, and philosopher, Mahatma Gandhi, the Karma-yogin, the arch exponent of the creed of the East-the perfect non–violence in thought, word, and deed; all are engaged in this supreme work of the interpretation of the East. It is for the humbler workers to do their little bit in this task of tasks.
I also hope that a systematic study of Hindu ethical thought will have an interest of its own for foreign scholars. It will help them to formulate a precise ethical theory comprehensive enough to meet all possible facts. Every people has ethics of their own; its precise presentation is necessary in a vast, inductive study of ethical ideas of all times and all ages. Ethics may be either idealistic, presenting the standards of action, the various ideals dominating various people; or empirical, presenting ethical facts,-virtues and vices. A systematic study of Hindu ethics in the way done here is above all a contribution to sociological literature. Morality has an important bearing on the relations of man and man in society, and a study of ancient Hindu society from this standpoint is not without its value in the science of society.
No one can be more conscious of the limitations of the work than the author himself. Hindu ethics is a vast subject: its satisfactory, all-around treatment will be the work of many minds. The present volume is merely a beginning in this hitherto, not much-explored field. Persons of greater equipment may take up the work and attack it from various points of view. There are a dozen books on Christian Ethics; why should we not have a dozen books on Hindu ethics? I intend here to make a descriptive survey and avoid the work of interpretation as far as possible. I have therefore tried to avoid my comments. An accurate rendering of the ancient Rishis's ideas requires that they be presented in their own words. I have to explain the ethics of the ancient thinkers; and in the interests of impartial exposition, the author’s personality should be in the background. The precise force of the sentiments cannot be brought out except by a reproduction of the passages. The exposition becomes more concrete, more vigorous, more picturesque, more accurate, and faithful if the original texts are allowed to point their morals in their way.
Colligation, interpretation, systematization: such is the work of the application of the scientific method to the data presented before us in the ancient scriptures. Passages recur continuously emphasizing the importance of truthfulness; passages also recur where exceptions to it are pointed. It is in such cases that the work of systematization is so interesting and fruitful. The doctrine of Ahimsa emphasizes the morality of love and forbearance; but what are the limitations to this fundamental principle? In this way, it becomes more easy to find out the ultimate principles of the science of morality. If ever a subject gained by systematic co-ordination it was the subject of ethical thought of the Hindus. A variety of reflections is the characteristic of every Hindu moral position: conflicting ethical judgments are delivered on every occasion. However, it is quite clear that there is perfect order, harmony, and system in all these. A little reflection serves to bring out this.
