Madhusudan_Das

150 Madhusudan Das:
pushes me upwards to my eternal abode. There are other nations
and societies all around us. It is our solemn duty to merge our
lives with these nations and societies and have intercourse with
them. National life alone can lead to international friendships.'
Elsewhere he said:
Every individual has two lives: one is particulars and the other
is national life. If any one abuses me, I will be annoyed and many
of you will also be annoyed. This will hurt my particular life. You
will thus realise that every one has two lives and he will progress
on the path of his own progress or the progress of the nation to
the extent he regulates these two aspects of his life. Egoism is the
lowest step of human life. Then comes welfare of associates, then
family life and then national life. If you try to promote national
well-being before the national conciousness is generated you
are not expected to succeed. 10
Further he said:
National life thrives on the graveyard of individual life. The
candle has to burn itself out to emit light. Numerous rivers drain
themselves into the sea. The waters of each one of the have their
own colour, taste and chemical properties but once the rivers fall
into the sea they submerge their individual property with the
volume of water of the sea. This is the law of nature. This is the
way of human progress."
Writing on National Consciousness in a journal called The Oriya
edited by him in 1915, Madhusudan said:
We speak of national consciousness. We should understand its
meaning. In ordinary language, this means a state of mind. Man
very often believes that he experiences something. He may deceive
himself; so one should test himself. The small T regulates our
consciousness every movement. I will improve 'my' condition
and enhance 'my' respect. I will develop in every respect. This is
self consciousness. This is just the opposite of national
consciousness. Absence of self-consciousness can alone bring in
national consciousness. In other words, self-sacrifice for the sake
of the nation is national consciousness.
The only test of national consciousness is readiness to
sacrifice one-self for the cause of the nation. This is the lesson we
have learnt from the last war. 12