Dharampal - Essential Writings of Dharampal

Dharampal, 1922-2006, author

Dharampal, Gita, editor

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Preface vii

A Tribute ix

Introduction 1

1. Some Aspects of Earlier Indian Society and Polity and

their Relevance to the Present (1986) 31

2. Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century (1971) 83

3. Civil Disobedience and Indian Tradition (1971) 119

4. The Madras Panchayat System, vol.II (1972) 165

5. The Beautiful Tree: Indigenous Indian Education

in the Eighteenth Century (1983) 191

6. Indias Polity, its Characteristics and Current Problems (1992) 271

7. Bharatiya Chitta, Manas and Kala (1991/1993) 307

8. Reconsidering Gandhiji, 1915-1948 (1984) 355

DharampaTs Life and Work: A Chronology 379

DharampaTs Bibliography

Preface

Humanity on this planet earth has witnessed a rapid change during the last two and a half centuries. This change is taking place in the form of modernization through science, technology and industrializationa transformation which has destroyed the basic quality of human experience and sensitivity. In the process of such change in the name of development, humanity has faced two world wars and many continued conflicts in the form of declared and undeclared wars or acts of terrorism. Millions of people have perished as a direct result of this violence. Today, direct, indirect and structural violence has reached an extreme. Economic disparity, environmental degradation, civilizational conflicts, etc. threaten the survival of humanity and the very existence of the planet earth. In such a Dark Age, a miracle happened. That was the appearance of a unique individual, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Despite having received, albeit partially, a modern western education, he was not deluded by western and modem civilization. Thanks to his unique wisdom and intellect, he was able to discriminate between truth and falsehood. Thus, he had the courage to renounce modem civilization in its totality, and he worked unceasingly to awaken the inner wisdom and restore the lost sensitivity integral to the human community. The concept of Swaraj, on the basis of tmth and non-violence, was established by means of Satyagraha, civil disobedience and non-cooperation movements. Gandhis teachings and practical experiments have created a completely new paradigm in human history. The non-violent revolution has enabled many people and nations to become free from external as well as inner domination. But unfortunately, many people could not understand Gandhis philosophy either due to the inadequacy of their spiritual strength or due to their self-centered motivation. After Gandhis martyrdom, the Indian leadership conveniently reduced the Mahatma to an object to be remembered occasionally by erecting his statues and garlanding them. Faced with this predicament, a great sage, Shri Dharampal, opened countless peoples eyes by giving them the most appropriate method and information to understand Gandhi. Dharampals tireless efforts in finding and documenting the irrefutable evidence for substantiating Gandhis statements and discourses are remarkable. Persons like me, without the help of Dharampals guidance, would not have been able to understand the deepest and subtlest philosophy of the Mahatma. Therefore,