Tolerance. E M Forster Essay.

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E.M.Forster was a celebrated British literary

figure who knew deep about the philosophy of
the East. He made three visits to India and
became familiar with the Hindu, Muslim and
Anglo-Indian visions in India. His famous novel
A Passage To India was made into a movie by
David Lean. In a radio broadcast, he argues in
favour of tolerance. His plea for tolerance is to
be heeded by all countries; especially since in
all continents have problems of cessation and
separatism.

A sound state of mind is the only sound

foundation to base a stable and lasting
civilization.
We say love is what is needed, and then
sit back, and the world goes on as before
without change.
Tolerance is to be practised in the queue,
in the street, in the railway, in the office,
at the factory, at the telephone.
All philosophers, prophets and saints
from the East have been preaching
tolerance through ages. Theirs is a long
line.

A sound state of mind is the only sound

foundation to base a stable and lasting
civilization.

Tolerance is a dull virtue. It just means, putting

up with people. Forster laments that no one
has ever written an Ode To Tolerance or raised
a statue to her. It is the quality which is most
needed in a world constantly threatened with
wars. It is the only force which enables
different classes and races of people to settle
down together as in India. Tolerance is the
sound state of mind to base a civilization
upon. A sound state of mind is the only sound
foundation to base a stable and lasting
civilization. In Forster's opinion, God alone has
a sound state of mind to base a lasting
civilization. ‘Except the Lord build the house,
they labour in vain that build it.'

We say love is what is needed, and then

sit back, and the world goes on as
before without change.

Tolerance is not just love. Spiritual qualities

like love fails when put into practical uses such
as solving the world's problems. Love is a
failure in public affairs. 'Love is what is needed'
we say, and then we sit back, and the world
goes on as before. We do nothing to change
either the world or our attitude towards the
world. When love fails, people will begin to
exterminate those whom they do not like, to
prevent the disaster from which tolerance
need be practised. We know, the Irish and the
Scots were not loved much by the Englanders
and the South Irish parted from United
Kingdom. The Scots in their referendum chose
to remain in that union, by a very narrow
margin and we do not know what they will
choose in future. We know Canada has
problems with Quebec, Spain with Catalonia,
Belgium with Flanders, and China with so
many conquered states like Tibet, Hong Kong
and Taiwan, and not-yet-conquered nations
like Japan and Philippines, with far-reaching-
plans with even the distant South Sudan in
Africa. Without love for the other peoples
contained in their hold and for ethnic
minorities living in their provinces, where will
these countries go in this world of instant
communications and online referendums?

Tolerance is to be practised in the

queue, in the street, in the railway, in
the office, at the factory, at the
telephone.

Tolerance has to be practised by peoples,

classes, communities and also nations. It has
to be practised in almost all spheres of human
activity- in the queue, in the street, in the
railway, in the office, at the factory, at the
telephone. Tolerance is not weakness or
surrender. It is the strong tolerating the weak.
It is a temporary arrangement till the world is
put in perfect order. According to Forster,
tolerance is just a makeshift, suitable for an
overcrowded and overheated planet. The
world is shockingly full of people who are
equally responsible for the colour questions
and racial prejudices still prevailing in our
globe, still prevailing in even advanced
countries such as England, E.M.Forster’s home
land. These inferior qualities cloud the future
of even the advanced civilizations. Rather than
finding fault with others, it is better we turn to
ourselves for betterment. It is very easy to find
fanaticism in others, but difficult to spot it in
our selves. Till The National Home is
completed and Love enters it, Tolerance need
be retained as a stop-gap arrangement.

All philosophers, prophets and saints

from the East have been preaching
tolerance through ages. Theirs is a long
line.

Forster is not alone in advocating for this

virtue of tolerance. All philosophers, prophets
and saints from the East have been preaching
tolerance through ages. From Gauthama
Buddha to Mahatma Gandhi- theirs is a long
line. In the West also, Saint Paul, the Apostle,
Dante, the Italian poet, Erasmus, the Dutch
scholar, Montaigne, the first French essayist,
were all preaching tolerance in Europe. In
England, there were John Locke, the
philosopher and Sydney Smith, the priest. And
there was also Forster's friend, the famous
Lowes Dickinson. In Germany it was Goethe.
We may sum up the names of these supreme
lovers of mankind in a small poetical refrain
which nobody wrote yet:

Buddhan, Gandhi, St.Paul, Dante,

Erasmus, Montaigne, John Locke,
Sydney Smith and Low`es Dickinson
And the poet Goethe.

(Prepared as a lecture delivered to literature

students in May 1992. Slight modifications
made since then)

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