REASON v. AUTHORITY

[Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav]

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Gandhian Scholar

Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No. – 09415777229, 094055338

E-mail- [e-mail];[e-mail]

 

 

 

REASON v. AUTHORITY

 

 

 It is wrong to quote a person against himself unless one is sure of what he has said and under what circumstances. All the statements the correspondent ascribes to me have undoubtedly been made by me at some time or other, but under totally different circumstances. Where it is perfectly possible to reason out a thing to the satisfaction even of children, there is no occasion for quoting authority and asking them to obey it. Very often it is a misleading process. Everyone has his likes and dislikes. And when a man has begun to believe in a hero, he gives his reason the go-by and makes of his hero a fetish. This, I consider, is blind hero-worship. Hero-worship is a fine quality. No nation or individual can make progress that has no hero for their model. The hero serves as an inspiration. He makes action possible which, in our weakness, is otherwise impossible. He helps us out of the Slough of Despond. The memory of his deeds enables us to go through endless sacrifice. But, he must not be allowed to warp our judgment and paralyze our reason. The sayings and actions of the tallest among us must bear a most searching scrutiny, for, heroes are mortals. They are as liable to mistakes as the weakest among us. Their strength lies in their decision and power for action.

They are therefore terrible when they make mistakes. They bring woe to the man or the nations that go in for blind hero-worship and slavishly accept all the acts and sayings of their heroes without question. Blind hero-worship is, therefore, worse than blind worship of reason. Indeed, blind worship of reason is a misnomer. But the correspondent’s warning about reason serves one useful purpose. Seeing that reason in the vast majority of cases is the only guide to conduct, we must have for her pure and obedient ministers. The senses must therefore be brought under control and subjected to the severest discipline so that they may be willing instruments in the hands of reason instead of reason being their helpless slave. The reason of little children is, no doubt, asleep, but, a vigilant teacher would gently coax it and, waking it, teach the children habits of discipline so that their reason, being freed from the control of their senses, would become from the very child hood their guide. It is no discipline to tell the children to follow a hero. No habit is cultivated thereby. The children who are taught to slavishly do things become sluggish. And if perchance another schoolmaster displaces from the throne of their hearts the hero, presented to them by his predecessor, they are likely to become unhinged and useless in after-life. Whereas, if from the very commencement whatever is placed before them is reasoned out for them, and then examples of great men having done noble deeds placed before them to strengthen their resolve or support their reason, they are likely to develop into strong hardy citizens who, under difficult circumstances, will be able to render a good amount of themselves.