Conclusion

IN bringing his account of the world tour to a close, Ramdas has to make a few remarks drawing together all the threads of his impressions and experiences and weaving out a succinct fabric setting out his conclusions, after a brief survey of the purpose and the consummation of the tour.

God, who truly inspired Ramdas with the idea of starting on the tour, is responsible for every act of Ramdas, small or big. From the start to the end of the travels, from Bombay to Tiruchi, Ramdas was afforded a kaleidoscopic view of numerous countries and places of the world. Throughout the entire tour, Ramdas felt at every step that his great Master, Ram, was guiding and determining all circumstances and events in his itinerary. Ram, who controls the destiny of all lives, was here mysteriously at work. In fact, He made all the plans looking to the minutest detail, and carried them out Himself with alertness, skill and care.

Ramdas played two parts in discharging the great mission with which God entrusted him; firstly as an eternal witness of the world drama, a witness who was dispassionate, unaffected, pure and blissful; secondly as an actor on the world stage, who performed his role in consonance with the divine initiative and will by spreading the unique message of universal love and service in the countries visited. In playing both these parts, as witness and as actor, Ramdas was under the dominating sway and protection of his Almighty Ram. Ramdas being one with Ram, knew he was everybody and everything, for Ram had granted him the realisation that He, Ramdas and the world are not different.

As Power, God prompts and propels all beings and creatures to action. As the static Spirit, He witnesses and sanctions all movements in nature, Himself remaining ever still, calm and radiant, the support and illuminator of the visible and manifest life.

The wheel of evolution is moving, producing cataclysmic changes, particularly in the affairs of men all over the world. Without such far-reaching changes, mankind cannot progress towards its destiny. Humanity has been groping in the dark to find the way out into the open light of freedom and peace from the congested, narrow and darkened prison-house of its own making.

The cosmos is like a sea agitated by storms and cyclones, causing huge waves to rise and fall, bringing about tremendous movements in the ascending and descending scale—one creative and another destructive. A short period of harmony, peace, balance and equipoise is succeeded by an equally short period of conflict and chaos. It is perfectly clear to a purified vision that all these gigantic changes in the course of evolution are going on so that mankind may, through these contrary processes, ultimately fulfil its highest spiritual destiny. For as in the case of individuals, the human race as a whole also must march to its goal only through the play-of opposite forces and attain inner peace and equilibrium.

Here and there, men illumined with universal vision, who have realised for themselves the beauty and glory of such a state of harmony, are appearing occasionally as brilliant meteors in the dark and clouded world-firmament. For a moment the gaze of humanity is turned towards these spiritual luminaries, who exercise an upward pull and leave an indelible impress on human hearts. Such were the Vedic Rishis who laid the foundations of religion at the dawn of an enlightened age, the Avatars like Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Mohammed and the unbroken line of sages and saints who held aloft the torch of spirituality in all climes and ages.

More than all the world’s military conquerors, monarchs, ministers of state, politicians and international statesmen, these spiritual teachers and prophets of mankind have been the real makers of history. They have often provided inspiration and energy from behind the scenes to the major actors on the world-stage who catch the limelight. Their influence no doubt wanes from time to time, owing to the downward pull of forces in the changing play of cosmic movements, and what is gained for a time seems to be lost in the next cycle. But the loss is only apparent. The rise and fall, the backward and forward movements, are all part of the spiral of progress which humanity makes in its onward march of self-fulfilment. The ultimate recovery and reassertion of the Spirit is certain. ‘Satyameva Jayate’, sings the Veda. Truth or God alone triumphs. In the Bhagavadgita the Lord has also given His promise, “Whenever unrighteousness or disharmony prevails, I come from age to age to replace them by righteousness and harmony.” Hence the suzerainty of the Spirit over matter, and the adjustment of all relationships into a state of harmony is inevitable. The establishment of universal peace and goodwill is bound to take place.

In the pages of this book, here and there, Ramdas has made some observations which may be construed as critical, if not condemnatory. Ramdas’ aim is to point out the many weaknesses and frailties to which human beings are subject to under the influence of ignorance, and which are at bottom responsible for the present disturbed and agitated state of the world. At the same time, he has prescribed certain remedies by the adoption of which we can do away with these evils and thereby produce an atmosphere of goodwill and peace in the world. We are the makers of our own destiny. We can create a harmonious world out of the present chaotic conditions.

Ramdas can also say that his observations are the outcome of the reactions produced on him by the people with whom he contacted and by the environments in which he moved, for ever so short a time, in the course of his tour. Strangely enough, his mind is like a clear mirror in which is reflected the greatness or weakness, as the case may be, of the people who associate with him. So the reader should bear with him in all that he has said with utter sincerity—free from any kind of bias or ill-will towards anybody or set of people, nation or country.

Ramdas may also assure the reader that he cannot, true to the highest spiritual experience that God has granted him, be anything but impartial in his assessment of the greatness or otherwise of the different nations of the world. The problem we are faced with is not merely an individual or national one. It is universal in character, as it affects the entire humanity.

It is at once painful and surprising that in many lands religion, which should unite man with man, has created acute differences between them, often leading to acts of mutual hate, violent conflicts and destruction. The messages which the spiritual masters delivered to the world have been either misunderstood or misapplied with the result the very purpose for which these Great Ones came is denied or frustrated.

Unity or harmony is the secret underlying the teachings of these great souls. They, with one voice, declare that the Universal Spirit dwells in the hearts of us all, that we are the very expression of that Spirit. Verily, the individual is the embodiment of the universal.

Religion is the way of approach to God. So all religions have the same common aim. To decry one religion in order to glorify another, or to hold up one religion as the only true one and denounce the others as false, to assert that one Teacher or Prophet alone has shown the way to salvation, while all others are either imposters or imperfect in their spiritual realisation, betray gross ignorance. Religious feuds and acts of hate causing bloodshed are the outcome of such ignorance and fanaticism.

During the world tour Ramdas met the protagonists of various faiths, talked and moved with them in a friendly spirit. They represented either the religion in which they were born, or the religion which they espoused. At heart they sought the same Truth or God. They honestly believed that, by realising God, all humanity would be free from the evils that are responsible for strife and discord. Under these circumstances, it is a matter for wonder why they should entrench themselves within the walls of dogmas and doctrines and cast a doubtful glance at the followers of other religions. The development of a catholic spirit, a wide and comprehensive scale of spiritual values, aims and attainments, is an urgent and essential need for the adherents of all religions.

A true Christian is he who has learnt to love all mankind as his brethren; a true Hindu is he who looks upon all beings as the manifestation of his own immortal Self; a true Buddhist is he who extends his love towards the entire humanity; a true Mussalman is he who treats all the members of the human race in a spirit of kinship and brotherhood. Hence it follows that the votaries of various religions, if they are true to their faith, should sink all differences and live in harmony and peace with all people in the world.

Thanks to the progress made by modern man along the path of rationalism, the wall that divides one religion from another today is a thin one. So, to break it down is easy, if only the will is found. The moment the soul of man is freed from the cramping and suffocating barriers which divide him from his brother on the score of religion, or any other consideration, he is sure to swim in the infinite ocean of love, a perfectly free, blissful and radiant being.

God in His infinite mercy has shown Ramdas that nothing short of a universal vision which enables one to hold out his hands to the entire humanity in an offer of pure love and service, feeling at heart his spiritual unity with all, is the one supreme glory, achievement and consummation of human life. On the basis of this exalted vision alone, a man can cultivate universal love and service and lead a life of perfect peace and harmony with all people on this earth. On this high plane, considerations relating to country, creed, caste and colour can have no significance for him. All differences are resolved, all boundaries transcended, all barriers broken which are the outcome of physical, mental and intellectual limitations. Even on the lesser planes, there is ample scope for adjustments in a spirit of harmony, unity and co-ordination.

Now, a word about the future of India and the world. India is a land of sages and saints. India is the home of all religions. India is the mother of all philosophies. In the realm of thought and spirit India stands at the apex of the highest knowledge and realisation. This is admitted by all who have really tried to understand her inherent greatness. But India today is a backward country in so far as her material and economic conditions are concerned.

A day will surely come when India will be blessed also with material prosperity. Then a prosperous India, founded upon a sublime spiritual realisation among its people, will serve as a beacon to the entire humanity. India shall be a great beneficent force in the world—a free giver, out of love, of her material and spiritual wealth to all parts of the world. India will teach mankind how and what it is to live in unity, peace and harmony, how and what it is to be free from the selfish aims of self-aggrandizement; how God is one, and all beings and creatures are His children and embodiments.

Lastly, Ramdas says on the authority of his spiritual experience that God is one, and God’s representatives everywhere on this earth are one. All forces working in nature are one, as they spring from the play of Prakriti. All creatures and objects upon the face of this fair earth have their source in the one. They are born from and live, move and act in the consciousness of the one Spirit that permeates all lives and all things. One is the eternal cosmic refrain, one is the never-ending song, the divine music of the spheres. One is the World, one is Truth and one is God!