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VALOR AGAINST TIME No doubt Napoleon's hint of the stars was only a metaphor suggesting Fatc-not referring, specifically, to the questionable matter of stellar influence; in which case the words of the great adventurer and man ol destiny would scem to be fairly consistent with the Hindu view of the tides and cycles that bear the strong to victory and then turn to disaster. One must remark, however, a certain important difference. The political genius or master gambler in the West feels himself to be an instrument of something higher, during those moments when he seems to be siguring as a fatal force in history. He is incarnate Fate, a carrier of the powers that govern the growth of civilization and effect its epochal changes. He is the protagonist of certain social forces, or the chief representative of the spirit and ideals of a new and better age, carrying into history high principles for which earlier martyrs have suffered, fought, and died: such principles, for example, as those of liberty, democracy, and the rationalization of human affairs, which inspired the seizure of power by the Third Estate in the French Revolution. Apparently the Western man of action has to regard himself as the noble instrument of a mysterious plan for the history of mankind, the arm of the universal spirit, working changes and driving forward evolution. In this respect, even such an unbeliever and atheist as Napoleon-who had no belief but in his own "star," his own genius-directly sides with those who remain embedded in some established faith and fight "God's War" in their revolutions,men such as Cromwell, who humbly regarded himself as God's chosen vessel and the instrument elect of Providence, upholding true Christianity against popery, the Inquisition, the Jesuits, and whatever else
Church and Revelation and were now being "modern" after the Roman fashion of the period of Horace and Tibcrius. Astrology was introduced into Rome at the time of the first emperors, as a fascinating fad of Sumero-Babylonian origin. It has never played any great role in shaping the Indian philosophy of fate-the fate of kings and despots-even though there is much horoscope-casting in India and a daily use of astrology.
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| SR No. | 007309 |
| Book Title | Philosophies of India |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Heinrich Zimmer, Joseph Campbell |
| Publisher | Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd |
| Publication Year | 1953 |
| Total Pages | 709 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 34 MB |