"The diversity which I find in the local cultures and various traditions of India fascinates me. Perhaps it is not the diversity alone which is fascinating but the unifying thread of certain basic concepts and beliefs which binds them all together."

(The following is the Convocation Address delivered on November 6, 1959 at Karnataka University, Dharwar)

India is a large country with a variety of languages and faiths adopted and accepted by the people. Each part has made an impressive contribution to the development of Indian culture, literature and art. Though I cannot claim to be deeply read in the history of Karnataka, I know of its great literary tradition and of its galaxy of great saints and philosophers. Your literature, both secular and religious, is saturated with lofty ideals and the noblest of sentiments. It has been, through the ages, one of the forces which sustained not only the people of Karnataka but also many others living in far-flung regions. It has enriched the life of the community, ennobled our traditions and created favourable conditions for the development of fine arts. Though all these developments took place in Karnataka, they had their impact on the whole community.  

The diversity which I find in the local cultures and various traditions of India fascinates me. Perhaps it is not the diversity alone which is fascinating but the unifying thread of certain basic concepts and beliefs which binds them all together.

I venture to think that the roots of this unity are deeper than many of us imagine and that in the ultimate analysis these roots draw sustenance from a common faith in certain ideas and ideals, a common belief in the why and whereto of human existence. In her long history, India has never known regimentation of thought. Even at the time when her thought touched Elysian heights and the various systems of Indian philosophy were in the making, the most interesting feature of Indian thought was its diverse pattern based on the fullest freedom of thinking and philosophising. What greater proof can there be of this freedom than that not fewer than half of the six schools of Indian philosophy may be said to be atheistic in nature and that, in each of the remaining three which believe in God, the underlying idea of the Supreme Being is quite different? Nevertheless, this amazing diversity characterising the intellectual and emotional levels of the people never seriously underminded their cultural unity and their beliefs in things and matters important in everyday life.

We can never be too grateful, therefore, to those who laid the foundations of our early beliefs and concepts with which the complicated pattern of our culture was woven in varying designs and different hues. The great flow of bhakti and devotional preaching which originated in Karnataka went a long way in sustaining that pattern.

I wonder if, with the achievement of political and constitutional freedom, it is too much to hope that the constructive genius of the Indian people, which in the past found such varied expression within the country and overseas, will not blossom forth once again to further our age-old ideals of forbearance, love and tolerance. Never before in human history have these ideals come so near tangible reality and practical commonsense as today. Never before in our own history have our cherished beliefs and ideals had to face a greater challenge than they are facing today. Now that the whole thinking world is gradually veering round to our ancient beliefs and faith, we cannot afford to turn our backs on them and discard that which has kept us alive.

There is a tendency in some quarters to relegate culture to a secondary place and to treat it casually as an idle pastime. And when we do think of pulling it out of the limbo of neglect, we tend to go to the other extreme and make light of culture by confusing it with bands and jazz music. I do not suggest that culture is so austere that it would not go well with things that please or entertain, but certainly it is wrong to equate it with all those for pantomime and stage shows.

Culture is essentially an expression of the inner urges and cumulative beliefs  of a community or nation gathered through centuries of experience. It is an aspect of the mode of living which links the living generation with the generations gone by. The warp and woof which go to make its texture are not always visible on the surface, but thinking men know the fingers that move the silken cords, the fingers which, transcending time, have ever been busy weaving that texture. In a limited sense it is true that things of the moment may sometimes claim precedence over cultural matters. That is not necessarily because cultural matters are of secondary consequence but because they are ingrained too deep in human nature to suffer any set-back from temporary lack of attention. On the other hand, things of the moment live mainly on the surface and would cease to exist if the focus of attention were turned away from them. This distinction between the two activities is to the advantage of human society because it rules out any conflict between things of the moment and things of cultural value.

It is the perennial flow of the cultural stream which determines a nation's strength, its character in the wider sense and its capacity to survive. But our claims to a rich culture go ill with the misery and poverty on the surface. If we want our view of our culture and its richness to be understood and appreciated by others, we must establish some kind of harmony between it and its outward expression in our actual living. A healthy cultural tradition and a maladjusted society cannot go together. Therefore, I have always felt that our collective efforts to reconstruct our society and bring about a new era of plenty and prosperity in India are well worth our while. They will bear fruit only if we draw inspiration from our cultural heritage and seek to mould our lives in keeping with its basic ideals and beliefs.

I consider universities to be the proper places from where these ideas should flow. It is the seats of learning which must see that the arteries of the nation are well supplied with cultural nourishment in an assimilable form. I believe even a rank materialist will not deny the force of ideas. Need I say that ideas have something of a hereditary quality, something which has its roots in the past? It is for the universities to present them in a form which the common man can understand.