Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-12
WHITE PERIL
IN WAY OF WEST
BHARATI REVERSES ACCEPTED
THEORIES
Says the East Has Long Had a Civil
izatlon of Which the Occldent
Knows Nothing and it's Life
Is a Mystery

| VI u CHlIleSS OHlCldl some ll0le ago
people have begun to wonder whether
the view taken by the author might
| not have some real foundation. The
Replies" of Mr. Bryan served but lit
tie to enlighten the ever-growng ques-
tlon; and now comes Baba Bharati OF
| this city, who Is an article in the cur
rent issue of the Light of India" NOT
only corroborates the sentiments ex-
| pressed by the first writer, but adds
thereto. He holds that the reason the
| Occidental understands so little of his
Oriental brother is he has never tried
He says:
ITO the student from the east, life
in the west is an open book. To the
western student life in the east is
as yet a mystery. The reason is not
far to seek. Life is generally lived
here on the surface: while in the east
life is lived in it's depth. The super
fetal Is ever easily seen and under
stood. The average westerner is light
minded at best, too light minded to
grasp the serious east-the profound
mind of the real east, a shadowy re-
Election of which is it's external life.''
Says War Was Beneficial
Baba Bharati points to the recent
conflict of Oriental and Occidental, the
war between Japan and Russia, as an
example. The mystic, much as he de-
plores war in any form, believes that
on the whole the results of the great
conflict have been beneficial. OF ths
war itself he says:
THE Russo-Japanese war was but
the development of natural reaction,
the reaction of the extremely aggres-
sive action of the European races upon
the unaggressive Asians. The real
east his never aggressed upon the
west, nor has it ever envied it's neigh
bors. Put the western nations have
aggressed upon the easterners from
the time of Alexander on.
THE one aim and object of all sub
sequent white aggressions of Asia was
and is material greed. Their old pre-
texts for molesting the mild Asians
were trade and salvation of the
heathen souls'-the thin end of the
wedge of war and gun conquest. To
these new excuses have been added
from time to time. The newest is civil
lization'-to force the poison of raw
civilization down the throats of a peo-
pie enjoying an ideal civilization from
time immemorial."
His characterization of the struggle
Is that 1t was a war between the civ
ilization which aspires to a plain liv-
ing and high thinking, and that which
develops the taste for high living and
plain thinking.
And that desperate plunge of Japan
into war;" he says, was also
prompted by her fear of sharing some
day the fate Of China before the war,
and some other day, the present de-
moralized condition of India under
England's cannon ball supremacy. In
dia, the cradle of religion and refine
ment and learning, the never aggres-
sive land of kindness and piety; India
only the other day the peerless land
Of power, valor, wealth and prosperity,
now the poorest and the most miser-
able, all on account of the white peril.
Political death, industrial destruction,
commercial stagnation, social degra-
dation and spiritual Generalization
are the earmarks of British predomi-
nance in that unfortunate country"
For centuries, the Oriental declares,
the east has smiled indulgently while
her younger child found fault with the
parents ways; but at last, driven to
desperate measures by the foolish as
sumption of superiority, she has fin
ally replied in no unmistakable terms
with the sword.
For the much vaunted Occidental
civilization Bharati has only the deep
est disgust. With the philosophic in
stinct of the eastern sage he goes di-
rectly to the heart of the matter, and
while his Characterization of western
life is not pleasant reading, still the
fair minded must agree as to the JUS
tice of his declarations.
DepIores Civilization
OF the civilization of the west he
says: 1T has raised selfishness to a
religious creed, mammon to the throne
of God, adulteration to a science,
falsehood to a fine art. 1t has turned
holy matrimony into a farce, the mar
riage certificate into a waste paper,
connubial blessings into a chance lot
terry. 1t has made of man a bag of
live nerves, ever stretched to high ten
sion. He has learned to call license,
liberty; breach of social laws and
shirking of responsibilities, indepen-
dence slavery of his own wild will,
freedom. 1t has deified sensuality,
glorified materialism, beatified sin,
1t is limiting at love as a microbe, re-
CucinS romance to Illicit love. 1t is
openly proposing the killing of chronic
patients and all old people over 60.
Humility is hateful in it's estimation
conceit and brute force constitute its
superio" individuality. 1t has abol-
ished reverence, depth of character,
real genius, real poverty and real
philosophy. Flattery is its juice of
life, insincerity the substance of cour-
tesy. Morality is mere sentiment,
sentiment mere weakness, constancy
and chastity antiquated foolishness
That which affords instant pleasure if
of worth, that which involves waiting
to be enjoyed is deemed worthless.
Gross material enjoyment, in short is
its heaven of happiness, it's ideal sal
walton. In the language of the Vedas,
civilization is maya-the magic illu-
sion of woman and gold.'"
While the mystic's Characterization
seems at times to be a little too all
embracing, still his blows are deliv-
cred with force and certainty that
show him to be thoroughly conVersant
with the subject of which he is deal
ing; and although the article is far
from flattering to the westerners con-
ceit in his own worth, barring lit
tie shock to his hothouse-nursed pride,
IL VIII do him no harm to read the ar
ticle and by exposing his weak places.
may do him a great deal of good