भारतीय इतिहास के ६ स्वर्णिम पृष्ठ (वीर सावरकर - विदेशी आक्रान्ताओं पर विजय गाथा)

the fine distinction between man and man—of which the Hindus of those times seem to be divinely oblivious. 425. Of course, it must be remembered that all this argument applies generally and collectively to the Hindu polity made up of hundreds of millions of people, but it must also be remembered that there were to come to life, from time-to-time, thousands of exceptional groups of men and brave societies of dauntless people, who opposed this perversely virtuous Hindu society in order to bring about a social revolution. They will be referred to at their proper places. 426-427. To let go the vanquished and abjectly surrendering enemy, is said to be a virtue in some religious books; so enemies like the ungrateful Mohammed Ghori and the Rohila Najibkhan were set free. And what did they do in return for this noble act of the Hindus? The first brutally murdered his former benefactor, Prithviraj Chauhan, while the second conspired against the very Marathas, who let him go alive and brought about their unprecedented destruction at Panipat. Having only learnt by rote the maxim, to give food to the hungry and water to the thirsty is a virtue, the Hindus went on giving milk to the vile poisonous cobras and vipers! Even while the Muslim demons were demolishing Hindu temples and breaking to pieces their holiest of idols like Somnath, they never wrecked their vengeance upon those wicked Muslims, even when they had golden opportunities to do so, nor did they ever take out a single brick from the walls of masjids, because their religious teachers and priests preached the virtue of not inflicting pain on the offender: ‘Never pay the tormentor in his own coin but bear the torments meekly and be patient that God will punish him.’ दिघलें दुःख पराने उसने फेडू नयेचि सोसावें। शिक्षा देव तयाला करील म्हणुनि उगेच बैसावें॥ 428. The vilest of vices recorded in the catalogues of the religious texts could never have been more detrimental to the welfare of mankind, more harmful to the national interests and so, more detestable than such virtues as give rise to horrible atrocities and the greatest of sins. Naturally, whoever cultivates and lives upto such virtues thoughtlessly and foolishly and with slavish adherence to the religious texts, and also with fanatic obstinacy, is bound to perish individually and bring about disaster of the nation he lives. These qualities are not virtues; they are virtues distorted in the extreme.