Nation-ego and Nation-soul

DR SHAKUNTALA A. SINGH PH.D.

A related concept for us in these times is that of Nation-ego and Nation-soul given by Sri Aurobindo. He considers Nation-ego an example of false subjectivism, in which national identity and pride are stressed upon to prove one’s superiority and suppress or exploit the rest. The example he quotes frequently is that of Nazism of Germany, obviously because he was living during that period:

She (Nazi Germany) had mistaken her vital ego for herself; she had sought for her soul and found only her force. For she had said, like the Asura, “I am my body, my life, my mind, my temperament,” and became attached with a Titanic force to these; especially she had said, “I am my life and body”, and that there can be no greater mistake for man and nation. The soul of a man or nation is something more and diviner than that; it is greater than its instruments and cannot be shut up in a physical, a vital, a mental or a temperamental formula….It is evident that there is a false as well as a true subjectivism and the errors to which the subjective trend may be liable are as great as its possibilities and may well lead to capital disasters. This distinction must be clearly grasped if the road of this stage of social evolution is to be made safe for the human race (18).

For us today, it is necessary to analyse and place in perspective such fascist and fundamentalist ideologies and forces which not only raise their ugly heads once in a while, but attempt to capture the social consciousness of communities. The implications of this statement for India should be obvious. But if some people feel like implicating the extreme Right here, let us not forget that the extreme Left can be equally so. For, dogmatism and fanaticism has the curious ability to cut across ideological boundaries.

As distinct from the Nation-ego is the concept of Nation-soul. The Nation-soul is an attempt to capture one’s traditional heritage and values in its pristine form, not as a reaction to hurts and angers, or due to real or imagined injuries or indignities of the past. For, an ideology or organization, or even a movement, which is based wholly or even mainly on anger or the desire for retribution, can only breed discord, further strife, clashes and enmity between groups and peoples. This is at the source of the various ethnic conflicts from time immemorial, and which continue to plague mankind even today.

More germane to the issue for us in India today is whether concepts like hindutva are manifestation of Nation-ego or Nation-soul. While the protagonists would immediately jump and exclaim that it is a manifestation of the Nation-soul, the opponents would be equally insistent it is a perfect manifestation of the Nation-ego. And a puerile manifestation, if ever there was one.

Now our purpose here is not to take sides, or even act the arbiters, or incite passions, which is easy even in gatherings like these. For the prana-purusa, whether we like it or not, continues to exercise a great hold even here. Be that as it may. If the votaries of hindutva propagate their ideal, not only as an affirmation of cultural and civilizational underpinnings of this nation’s great heritage, but utilize it as a convenient handle to intimidate and suppress minorities, then it would be akin to the Nazi’s attitude towards the Jews.