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FRAGMENTS OF A PRISONER'S DIARY
from such a great distance, so easily become the masters of such a vast country, and subject its teeming millions to ruinous economic exploitation? The familiar Indian answer to this question is utterly unconvincing. Only a critical appreciation of the "spiritualist" view of life, together with its social background and national consequences, enables one to find the correct answer to this baffling question. And the ability to answer the question boldly-the courage to face the facts of history squarely-is the condition for the removal of this shameful blot in the annals of the Indian people.
The weakness of the nationalist movement is to be traced to the prejudice of the "spiritualist" philosophy. Wedded to this philosophy, the leaders of the nationalist movement are engaged in the impossible feat of reining in the horse on which they ride to reach their goal. As long as they remain true to their blessed philosophy, they cannot ask the masses to revolt against the miseries of life. On the other hand, the masses themselves still largely languish in the passivity and demoralisation bred of the "spiritualist" culture. Fatalism paralyses all initiative in them. Prejudice does not permit them to tamper with Paramatma's leela". The superstition about karma makes them reconciled to their lot, however intolerable it may be. Respect for authority renders them proof against the spirit of revolt. They
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