By Justice Katju
The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844– 1890 , has been just one of the most misconstrued theorists worldwide, though in my viewpoint, likewise among the best. His viewpoint is of particular importance to India today.
Nietzsche created several books to clarify his philosophy, e.g. Therefore Spake Zarathustra , The Birth of Misfortune , Beyond Great and Wickedness , Human, All Too Human being , On the Family tree of Morals , and so on.
His best publication, in my point of view, is Therefore Spake Zarathustra , which I have read several times– the very first time about 60 years back in Allahabad, and the last time extremely just recently. Each time I review it I admire Nietzsche’s ideas.
Nietzsche stands for very excellent worths, which I might point out below:
1 The Worth of Toughness vs. Slave Principles
Nietzsche emphasizes the worth of stamina , and strongly slams the Christian approach of applauding meekness and weak point, ‘transforming the various other cheek’, entry, pity, asceticism, and other-worldliness– what he calls “servant principles” or the “principles of the herd.”
Jesus Christ claimed: “Honored are the meek, for they will certainly inherit the earth” (Holy Bible, New Testament, Matthew 5:5 This symbolizes that God will certainly honor and favour those that are modest and gentle, instead of those that are assertive or strong.
As a matter of fact, this viewpoint was commonly circulated by oppressive leaders, who taught to their bad and weak subjects that they ought to approve their fate, rather than battling versus it. This resembles the approach taught in the Ramcharitmanas :
“Hoyhi soi jo Ram rach rakha” (i.e., just that will occur which God has actually ordained).
Nietzsche states that meekness and non-resistance to fascism, as Christ teaches, is not a merit but a vice It is abandonment of one’s task to put up a macho fight versus fascism.
He highly condemns this, and appropriately so, for it would certainly indicate that bad and weak individuals ought to accept their abject problem, and not resist against injustice and atrocities by the abundant and powerful.
Nietzsche urges that individuals must be solid if they want to live a full life , and not submit before others.
So too, fairly in reverse and underdeveloped nations like India need to end up being solid, if they want respect in the comity of countries, and wish to give their people a high standard of living and respectable lives. They can come to be solid just if they become very industrialized and improved
2 Life Affirmation vs. Pessimism
Nietzsche means life affirmation , as opposed to the cynical theorist Schopenhauer, who stands for the “will to nothingness.” Nietzsche’s viewpoint approves the truth of the globe we stay in, over the concept of a globe after death (Christianity’s Kingdom of God in which alone individuals can be delighted.
3 The Importance of Private Imagination
He gives excellent value to specific creative thinking , and is against consistency and mass culture (see The Method of the Maker in Therefore Spake Zarathustra
The Maker’s life is lonesome, and he usually needs to face wonderful hostility by common individuals that are conventional naturally (e.g. the majority of people in India who are casteist, public, and superstitious). Yet he does not flinch or surrender, but carries on a lonesome battle
In the Indian context, the Developer is the selfless patriotic, modern-minded leader whose vision is to create a powerful, extremely industrialized India in which all people delight in a high standard of life and decent lives.
4 The Übermensch (Overman/ Superman)
Nietzsche envisage the Übermensch (Overman or Superman), who is a creator of brand-new values
The Overman does not follow the principles of the common individuals, because that principles favours mediocrity, and is the morality of the herd (e.g. favouring casteism and communalism in India).
The Overman increases over the herd, overcomes great obstacles, engages in epic struggles (not always efficiently), goes after brand-new objectives unfamiliar to the commoner, and transcends and transforms existing structures and contexts.
Nietzsche’s track record later suffered because his viewpoint was pirated by Hitler and the Nazis for their publicity, using his principle of Übermensch as implying the racially superior Aryan race, and treating Jews etc as Untermensch (racially substandard people).
Nonetheless, Nietzsche’s meaning of the concept was absolutely different from what the Nazis credited to it. This distortion was helped by his sibling, Elizabeth Förster , that was wed to the rabid anti-Semite Bernard Förster and later sustained Hitler.
In fact, Nietzsche despised anti-Semitism , and his principle of the Overman was entirely various from the Nazis’ racist misuse. The first President of Israel, Chaim Weizmann , was a great admirer of Nietzsche.
5 The Apollo– Dionysius Dichotomy
Nietzsche had actually made a deep research of Greek drama and philosophy. In The Birth of Tragedy , he speaks of the Beauty– Dionysius dichotomy
- Beauty (Greek god of reason) represents reason, quality, harmony, and progression.
- Dionysus (Greek god of a glass of wine) represents passion, feeling, and euphoria.
Nietzsche believed that both these pressures are required , and it is by the interplay of these two different pressures that human progress happens in history.
Therefore, the two wonderful makers of contemporary Europe, Voltaire and Rousseau , represented these 2 forces– Voltaire emphasizing reason, and Rousseau feeling.
India, also, needs both:
- Rationalism , to clinically comprehend the scenario and create our path and approach for the coming mighty historical people’s struggle, which will transform India right into a modern-day commercial titan.
- Interest , to inspire our revolutionary patriots to wage this battle, despite personal threats and risks.