Religion is of Deeper Importance than Politics

Q: Has any nation ever been great without being a great military power?

"Yes," said the Swami without a moment's hesitation, 

"China has. Amongst other countries, I have travelled in China and Japan. Today, China is like a disorganised mob; but in the heyday of her greatness she possessed the most admirable organisation any nation has yet known. Many of the devices and methods we term modern were practised by the Chinese for hundreds and even thousands of years. Take competitive examination as an illustration."

Q: Why did she become disorganised?

"Because she could not produce men equal to the system. You have the saying that men cannot be made virtuous by an Act of Parliament; the Chinese experienced it before you. And that is why religion is of deeper importance than politics, since it goes to the root, and deals with the essential of conduct."

- Swami Vivekananda, 

Interview in London (1896)