Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Hyderabad

Name of the Faculty Dr. Nidhi Bandaru

Course Business Communication

Semester – I Batch of 2020-22

Assignment Date 20/11/2020

Submission Date 27/11/2020

Topic: - Essay Writing

Sl. No. PRN Name Remarks

1. 20021141134 Pratik Mukherjee

East is East and West is West

 “East is East and West is West
And Never the Twain shall Meet.”
- Rudyard Kipling

“The East bowed low before the blast

And smiled in deep disdain
And let the legions thunder past
And raised her head again.”
- Mark Twain

“Inspite of the apparent conflict, spirit of man is the common denominator between the East
and the West. Modern thinkers should rise above the conflict and work as a bridge not only between
East and West but also between the partial and the complementary truths buried under the warring
philosophies and ideologies.”
- Dr. S. Radhakrishnan

The facile western assumption that every person in the east is either a maharaja or a fakir with
supernatural powers, a beggar or a mystic, is a foolish as the eastern belief that any Englishman
or American is born with the manners of a ruler, the health of a tiger or the wealth of
Rockfeller. There are, on the other hand, some very definite distinctions between the two
peoples living in different lands, under different climates, following different religions and
expressing themselves in different cultures. This fundamental difference between the value and
philosophy of the East and West has been stressed by Rudyard Kipling in his famous couplet.

The philosophy of the east or the Orient since the prime days gives importance to the spiritual
and other worldly side of life. The philosophers of the East were religious-minded people who
never attached much significance to the materialistic possessions of the world. In the ‘Bhagwad
Gita’, Lord Krishna exhorted Arjun to look upon the world as illusion, ‘Maya’. The Hindu seers
preached the theory of the minimization of wants and ordained a moralistic and spiritualistic
life for the attainment of salvation and realization of self. They preached the path of meditation
for purifying the soul and the mind of man. The people of the East have been striving for the
development of the spiritual and moral values, which they have held dearer than the biggest
treasures of the world. They have tried to learn the mysteries of the soul, God and the universe.
Hence, the magnificent culture and civilization of the East were founded on noble values and
principles of love, truth, non-violence, service, sacrifice, toleration and self abnegation. Besifdes
this, the East has been very tolerant in the preaching of its religion and culture. The religious
movement has always taken a very positive and constructive path; it has made use of the
weapons of peace, love and persuasion and propagated the ideals of ‘Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam’. The East never believed in military conquests and imperialism. They believe in
the policy of peaceful co-existence and non-interference.

The philosophy of the West or Occident, on the other hand, has been nurtured on the basis of
the materialistic conception of life. The Western philosophers have propounded the philosophy
of worldly excellence and success on earth. The Western civilization aims at the building of a
society based upon worldly success and achievements. Its philosophy did not make much
speculation into the realm of the other world. It has dethroned God. Karl Marx even denied the
very existence of God and called God a myth and religion opium to beguile people. After the
industrial Revolution, the West has come under the close impact of the machine culture and
forgotten the existence and the claims of the soul. It has made tremendous progress in science
and technology and enormous increase in political and military power and economic affluence
and possession of scientific and technological knowledge. In the field of religion, the Western
nations have spread their religion through crusades, one sword in one hand and the Bible in the
other for establishing empires and colonies in far off lands. The Western people believe in
divide and rule, in fermenting troubles abroad and the maintenance of balance of power in
different parts of the world. Instead of pursuing the path of peace and love, they have become
the biggest sellers in deadliest weapons of war, a sort of merchants of death and destruction.

The people of the West are materially very rich and advanced. So they regard the people of the
East as uncivilized, for the East is not so advanced scientifically and technologically. They forget
that thousands of years ago when the people of the West were still in the age of darkness as
nomads and primitive men with no civilization to boast of, the East was at the pinnacle of the
world because of her pristine civilization of the West. The people of the West call themselves
most civilized and they pride themselves on their military process and bloody victories in the
name of their religion and civilization. On the other side the people of the East consider
themselves superior to the Western votaries of Mammon because of their emphasis on the
ultimate realities of life. Quite naturally, the East and the West do not see eye to eye with each
other.

Thus Rudyard Kipling was justified in his pronouncement that there is, and shall be, a great
cleavage between the Eastern and the Western ways of living, thinking and culture. They are
diametrically opposed to each other. Considered from the poit of view of religious philosophy
cultural values, human values and social norms, it is true to say that there can never be any
meeting point between the East and the West.

But it is dangerous to cling to such a conservative outlook in this modern age of co-operation,
co-existence, international understanding and world brotherhood. Attempts are being earnestly
made to find ways and means for the establishment of a lasting World order based on peace,
love, co-operation, co-existence and non-interference. It is hoped that the East shall learn
lessons of economic advancement from the West attain self-sufficiency. The West should, in
turn, learn lessons of spiritualism and moral values. A harmonious synthesis of both the Eastern
and the Western ways of living and thinking will open up a new chapter in the history of
mankind. It will be one strong and positive step forward in the direction of World-Order.