The message of Bahagavan Das on the present significance of the Vedic Social Order

out in modern ways by Rudolf Steiner, as was explained by Dr. Twentyman in last year’s Foundation lecture.

Human Order, in the sense social order, does not exist. All our so-called social orders are purely empirical and essentially disorderly. Only Divine and Natural Order exists. Human Order cannot be brought about without the knowledge that Mankind is one, and without the freewill of Man himself. The Providential morphology is already given to us in the order of nature, culminating in the order of our own bodies. It is now for Man from his own freewill and by his own love and critical intelligence to apply it to the building of World Social Order. The key to this morphology has already been given to him in the ancient Revelation, and the philosophical expression of it is found in the Vedanta.

Dr. Bhagavan Das gives an interpretation of this in his Science of Peace. He gives it as being necessary both for the peace of mind of the individual person and as a foundation for the peace of social order. We will, in the very short exposition which must here be given, in part follow Bhagavan Das’ own approach, but first it is necessary for modern Man to achieve a most critical revolution in his thinking. He must know that Consciousness precedes Existence; that Awareness is the supreme reality, and not Matter. The word Spirit is here being intentionally avoided because it means very little to most people—especially since the Church confused the issue by identifying it with soul—and does not enter into their experience. Here is meant by consciousness that which is most immediate to everyone. Nevertheless the assertion that consciousness precedes and is more real than matter is to most ordinary people, however much they may pretend to the contrary, against common sense. My physical body preceded my self-consciousness and my corpse will be there after my selfconsciousness has been blotted out. And as for some sort of Cosmic consciousness, call it God or what you will, what evidence is there for it? To which it should be answered that the belief in ‘things’ as the ultimate reality, that is to say in the physically perceptible world, is as naive as the other may seem superstitious.

It is necessary to start our thinking somewhere and the critical soundness of our starting point is of paramount importance. That with which we must start, because we cannot go behind it, is

6