Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Ashram is not an association or a religious body or a monastery

from PP Raghavachary raag62@gmail.com date 24 Apr 2009 06:45 subject
Fwd: article from outlookindia.com
magazine
Mar 15, 1999 Editing Aurobindo The trustees of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram are accused of tampering with his original works A.S. Panneerselvan

RATHER than meditate on the meaning of life, the inmates of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry are now involved in a semantic debate. The ashram has been witness to many legal battles since the death of Mother, the spiritual successor of Sri Aurobindo, on November 17, 1973. But while most of the cases pertained to the formation and functioning of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust (SAAT), the new spat has a literary dimension.

In a recent writ petition filed in the Calcutta High Court, some of Aurobindo's devotees have raised questions about the legality of the SAAT trustees "making corrections to the writings of Sri Aurobindo in a manner that undermines the worth of the masterpieces created by the great guru". The opponents to the changes contend that "SAAT was formed in 1956, six years after Aurobindo's death and that the copyright was obtained much after the death of the author, and hence SAAT has no authority to tamper with the original versions".

The main grouse, though, is in the deletion of a sentence that actually calls for the ashram's winding up. Pranab Bhattacharya-the ashram's physical education director-points out in his book I Remember: "The editor must have thought himself to be very clever in avoiding one line and bringing in the changes, perhaps thinking that it could change the Ashram's fate."

The line in question is in The Teachings of Sri Aurobindo and Sri Aurobindo Ashram, first published in 1934. In that, Aurobindo explains his concept of an ashram:

"An Ashram means the house or houses of a Teacher or Master of spiritual philosophy in which he receives and lodges those who come to him for the teaching and practice. An Ashram is not an association or a religious body or a monastery-it is only what has been indicated above and nothing more. Everything in the Ashram belongs to the Teacher. The sadhaks (disciples) have no claim, right or voice in any matter. They remain and go according to his Will. Whatever money he receives is his property and not that of a public body. It is not a trust or fund, for there is no public institution. Such Ashrams have existed in India for centuries before Christ and still exist in large numbers. It all depends on the Teacher and ends with his lifetime, unless there is another Teacher who can take his place."

By deleting the last line-which actually means the ashram's rationale for existence ended with the passing of the Mother-the trustees, say the opponents, "are sustaining an institution against the teachings of Sri Aurobindo". They point out that till the 1972 birth centenary editions, there had been no tampering with Aurobindo's works. [...] Link to this story as it appears on the site :- Editing Aurobindo outlookindia.com Subscribe Online: Outlook Magazine

Swami Vivekananda was the first to bring the Dharma of India to the West.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Gautier is right when he says Sri Aurobindo’s lega...":

And what about the legacy of Swami Vivekananda too? After all the Swami was the first to bring the Dharma of India to the West. He also was responsible for planting a seed which flowered in the Vedanta Temple in Hollywood on Sept 10th 1970. Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era Open Forum at 10:05 AM, April 29, 2009

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Revolutionary, emanicipatory ethical vision based ...":

Yes "Paul" seems to very big these days. Never mind that in 2009 "Paul" is an entirely fictional character. I would say that one of the most urgent tasks is throw ALL of this "Paul" nonsense away with both hands. Then the possibility of some clear insight might begin to emerge. Posted by Anonymous to Feel Philosophy at 8:41 AM, April 29, 2009

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Philosophers must be wary of becoming 'men (and wo...":

Which is quite ironic really---even tragically so. Because ALL of Smiths admirers, including Gavin Kennedy and the various Adam Smith inspired think-tanks, and blogs etc, are very much "men of the system", although they like to pretend otherwise Posted by Anonymous to Marketime at 9:45 AM, April 29, 2009

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "There is nothing in discourse that is not to be fo...":

Unless it is spoken by, and thus empowered by a Realizer, all language and discourses are mere double-minded propaganda with the "I" as its center pole. And which always act as a protective hedge around the person who writes or utter the language. Posted by Anonymous to Musepaper at 10:00 AM, April 29, 2009

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "What is lucid and light needs the obscure and the ...":

Lucidity means just that: Conscious Light.

There IS only Conscious Light which is also the Happiness of the World.
Posted by Anonymous to Feel Philosophy at 9:09 AM, April 29, 2009

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Why are the most unlikely people, including myself...":

This referenc, plus the book it is taken from (the full text of which is now available on a pdf format) addresses all of the issues that Terry Eagleton talks about. www.beezone.com/AdiDa/reality-humanity.html

www.da-peace.org The origins of where we are at. A description of where we are at. And what to do about it. Posted by Anonymous to Evergreen Essays at 9:21 AM, April 29, 2009

Gandhiji had a secret meeting with Charles Tegart to plead the heroic case of the Bengali patriots

from Prithwin Mukherjee prithwin.mukherjee@gmail.com to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 29 Apr 2009 13:09 subject Bagha Jatin and Gandhi. Bhâi Tusâr,

Yesterday the Kolkata issue of The Statesman has revealed a fundamentally significant information. One year after the death of Chittaranjan Dâs ("Deshabandhu"), on 25 June 1925, Gandhiji had a secret meeting with Charles Tegart, the notorious Police Commissioner, to plead the heroic case of the Bengali patriots. Before coming to Gandhiji's tribute to Bâghaâ Jatîn, let me remind you a few steps supplied by history.

Professor Amales Tripathi mentions having learnt from Bhupendra Kumar Datta that Jatindra Nath Mukherjee was ideologically influenced by the Upanishads, the Gita, Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo : by fight for independence, Jatindra meant the spiritual endeavour (sadhana) to promote human society from the status of animal to that of divinity; this was corroborated by his disciple Naren Bhattacharya alias M.N. Roy, in his New Orientations.[1]

More explicit in his assessment, Bhupendra Kumar Datta wrote indeed that the spiritual endeavour to raise humanity to a divinised society lies on an utter surrender to the Divine’s Will, on the capacity of transcending those “miserable aims that end with self.” On discussing with Gandhiji the issues of violence, Datta came to discover that – ideologically speaking - Gandhi’s dream of a non-violent society was similar to Sri Aurobindo’s vision of the divinised society, in spite of a difference in their two methods. Datta realised that only a personality of Jatindra Mukherjee’s stature could reconcile the cult of strength (shakti) with that self-surrender.[2] Elsewhere Datta claimed that Jatindra was probably a herald of that transformed man.

It has been revealed that in a secret meeting on 25 June 1925, Gandhiji told Tegart (the notorious Commissioner of Police) that Jatin Mukherjee, generally referred to as “Bagha Jatin”, was “a divine personality”. The writer comments : “Little did he know that Tegart had once told his colleagues that if Jatin were an Englishman, then the English people would have built his statue next to Nelson’s at Trafalgar Square. In his note to JE Francis of the India Office in 1926, he described Bengali terrorists as “the most selfless political workers in India”.[3]

M.N. Roy claimed to have admired his Jatinda [“Jatin, the Elder Brother”] “because he personified (…) the best of mankind. The corollary to that realisation was that Jatinda’s death would be avenged if I worked for the ideal of establishing a social order in which the best in man could be manifest.”[4]

Can you let me know what you think of this wonderful turn our history is taking ?
Warm regards.
Prithwindra Mukherjee

[1]
Loc. cit.
[2] Datta, op. cit., pp221-222
[3]Gandhi, Tegart and the Bengali Terrorist” by Sobhanlal Mukherjee, in The Statesman, Calcutta, 28 April, 2009
[4] M.N. Roy’s Memoirs, Allied Publishers, 1964, p36

Tampering with Sri Aurobindo’s Poem “One Day: The Little More”

from Jitendra Sharma aurofrance@gmail.com to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 29 Apr 2009 11:16 subject
Tampering with Sri Aurobindo's Poem
Dear Tusar-bhai,

Sub : Tampering with Sri Aurobindo’s Poem “One Day: The Little More”

Here is a new video “When things are difficult”:
http://www.sriaurobindoyoga.com/films/en/the_mother/ things_difficult .html
In this video, the Mother clearly reads the first two lines of the poem
“One Day: The Little More” as :

"One day, and all the half-deed is done,
One day, and all the unborn begun;"

But in the present edited version, we find:

"One day, and all the half-dead is done,
One day, and all the unborn begun;"

How has ‘half-deed’ been edited as ‘half-dead’ ?
Is it not tampering with Sri Aurobindo’s poetry ?

It is believed that some of the earlier editions of Sri Aurobindo’s “Collected Poems” had it as ‘half-deed’.
Regards.
Prof. Jitendra Sharma
Head, Dept. of French
St. Joseph’s College, Devagiri
Calicut – 673008 (Kerala)

***

Monday, April 27, 2009

If scholars wish to point out its shortcomings (in any) they need to do it in a scholarly way

Introduction Further Documents Dhir Sarangi to the Managing Trustee
Letter to the Managing Trustee, from Dhir Sarangi
24 September 2008

Dear Manoj-da,
For the past one week or so I have been following the discussions and debates over the new biography of Sri Aurobindo by Peter Heehs. Initially, I thought I would not voice my opinion on the SAICE [Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education] yahoo group, but I finally did so judging by some of the reactions that were posted on the group. Frankly, I cannot understand how this group of 'ex-students' could claim to be custodians of Sri Aurobindo's philosophy or for that matter, his Ashram....

More importantly, there are talks of forming a pressure group (with the help of some inmates of the Ashram) and 'force the Trustees' to evict Peter Heehs for his 'asuric' act. Peter's book (I am in the process of reading it) is an academic work of merit and has received wonderful reviews in academic circles. If scholars wish to point out its shortcomings (in any) they need to do it in a scholarly way. And even though it presents the 'human' side of Sri Aurobindo it certainly does not show any disrespect for Him nor does it take away his divinity. I thought an 'avatar' was precisely the divine who came down and took a 'human' body (capable of feeling the pangs and sorrows of the human being), thereby showing us the path of transformation.

Well, my objective for writing this letter to you is to present the dangers of such web groups like the SAICE [Yahoo group] and the free circulation of opinions over the web that are 'communal' in nature. These opinions appear to gather some sort of 'sanction' of the Ashram community. Words like 'fatwa', 'am willing to kill him', 'asura' and the like are potentially dangerous for the Ashram in the eyes of the outside world....

Therefore, in my opinion, it is best for the Ashram to 'disown' these views and perhaps advise the inmates not to help in their instigation or circulation. I say this, because there are some Ashramites (I don't want to name them) who seem to be adding fuel to the fire: their opinions are posted on the SAICE group. Just one reading of some of the views (whether it be those of ex-students or of the inmates) is enough to reveal the dangers they pose for the Ashram.

With genuine concern for Sri Aurobindo, the Mother and the Ashram, Warm regards, Dhir Sarangi Sarangi, Dhir Dr. Dhir Sarangi is Associate Professor at the Centre for French and Francophone Studies of the School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Search Sarangi at this website.

***

Picking up the Pieces: Objective Research or Research with an ... It is the fact that Peter Heehs has voluntarily been an inmate of the Sri ... Saurabh Somani: Pondicherry, India; September 2008

Aurora Mirabilis: If one Peter Heehs is pardoned today, a thousand ... Anurag Banerjee ... However, Peter Heehs in his new book on Sri Aurobindo titled The Lives of Sri Aurobindo has dared ... For the Prosecution of Peter If one Peter Heehs is pardoned today, a thousand would rise in future; he should not be pardoned.

Savitri Era Religious Fraternity: Peter Heehs ridicules Indian ... But the hatred of Peter Heehs for The Mother and Sri Aurobindo, Aurobindo in his .... Anand Kumar MD, All India Institute of Medical Sciences 11:59 AM ... 2008_09_01 Savitri Era Open Forum: Peter Heehs seems to be a split ... An event rewritten by Peter Heehs out of the book of AB Purani, illustrates this difference. ... Anand Kumar MD, All India Institute of Medical Sciences ...

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Just ordered "The Life Divine" printed in India at the Aurobindo Ashram

Re: Evolutionary Enlightenment takes another Postmodern Drubbing Lisaji said Today, 9:52 AM:

Andrew Cohen is a fine example of a living teacher who is easy to ridicule... I've found his commentary and teachings especially interesting, along with Ken Wilbers, - aside from the breadth Ken gives to theory, mainly because of how they utilize some of the most profound insights of Sri Aurobindo (among many other things) who continues to be a fundamental catalyst and inspirational in my own personal development.

I don't understand how people can allow themselves to get so comfortable with slating something that they have no first hand experience of. It seems incredibly immature to me to mock current 'enlightenment' teachings, which are designed to be ultimately, a collaborative ongoing process, using insights of some of the most committed capable people alive. Lisa

Gaia: Connect. Grow. Inspire. Empower. Re: Poetry Chaikhana Poem of the Day Posted on Apr 13th, 2009 by Lisaji in Integral Archipelago
I love the words on that video you posted, David. Several lines really leap out there. Here's some from our friend Sri Aurobindo: The Guest I have discovered my deep deathless being: Masked by my... More »

Re: Evolution and Enlightenment Posted on Feb 21st, 2009 by David in Integral Archipelago
Tom: Structures need to be in place before a certain level of experience or awareness appears, and those structures need to be built. Organismic “building” is not a process that excludes that thing we... More »

Re: Original Repression (Ego and the Dynamic Ground) Posted on Jan 24th, 2009 by Lisaji in Integral Archipelago
Hi Tom - Tom: Bring in here the notion that the collective exists only as between individuals in and as their relations—is the measure of their relations—and as such therefore exists as a dimension of... More »

Re: The Lives of Sri Aurobindo Posted on Dec 31st, 2008 by Lisaji in Integral Archipelago
Hi Daniel, Thanks for posting those criticising reviews! :) It's got me more interested. You will not be disappointed with the Life Divine. That book shop in the Ashram is rocking. A loosely related topic.... More »

Re: The Lives of Sri Aurobindo Posted on Dec 31st, 2008 by Hawkeye in Integral Archipelago
Just ordered "The Life Divine" printed in India at the Aurobindo ashram. 1000+ pages. I hear it's a challenging read. Thanks for the interview link David, "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo" however has not faired well... More »

Re: Life in the Slammer Posted on Dec 27th, 2008 by Lisaji in Integral Archipelago
Nope, I am right here - but thanks for your concern, David. :) ! :) Yes, what a AQAlicious challenge, (and range of opportunities for some!!) life behind bars offers. Interesting what you say on... More »

Re: The Lives of Sri Aurobindo Posted on Dec 13th, 2008 by Nicole in Integral Archipelago
They sure know how to tempt us, David... I'm on the email list and when I received that poem you quote, I was simply entranced. Light and peace, Nicole

Re: The Lives of Sri Aurobindo Posted on Dec 13th, 2008 by Lisaji in Integral Archipelago
Thank you for posting that David. I may even treat myself to a subscription. :) Here's where our good buddy rests. It's a lovely Ashram, and it was a nice place to sit for a... More »

The Lives of Sri Aurobindo Posted on Dec 10th, 2008 by David in Integral Archipelago
There's an interview with Peter Heehs, who wrote a book about Sri Aurobindo called The Lives of Sri Aurobindo, on WIE Unbound . Even if you don't subscribe you could still get 15 days for... More »

Intuition Posted on Nov 1st, 2008 by David in Integral Archipelago
I don't usually read integral-pod threads, but I happened to see one a couple of weeks ago and read a great post from Lauren that I didn't think received the proper recognition or reception there. I had... More »

Re: David and e's ongoing 2 year old discussion... Posted on Sep 21st, 2008 by Lisaji in Integral Archipelago
Could I just offer a quick cup of tea to you 2 year debaters and quote a little bit of Aurobindo before I jump out of here. It's pretty revelant to your discussion. It's lifted from... More »

Why Sri Aurobindo Is Cool Posted on Sep 21st, 2008 by Lisaji in Integral Archipelago
People cool enough to discover & discuss 'Why Sri Aurobindo is Cool' here. Fantastico Maximo! Lisa

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Applied Ethics in Management: Book Review by Ranjan Mitter, Journal of Human Values, Apr 2001

Science and Society
Kenneth Walker Health Education Journal, Jan 1963; vol. 21: pp. 211 - 217.
...order to answer the probable criticism that because Sri Aurobindo was a Hindu he was probably devoid of all scientific...Actually he was highly competent to do so. Nor is it only Sri Aurobindo who is of the opinion that we can no longer describe... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Literature
Expository Times, Jan 1961; vol. 72: pp. 169 - 176.
...this Commemorative Symposium-The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo (Allen and Unwin ; 42s. net)-the two editors-Dr. Haridas...has presented us with a basic study of the relation of Aurobindo to existentialism. Another contributor has given us a... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Spirituality in a Changing World: Issues for Education
David Kimber Journal of Human Values, Oct 2000; vol. 6: pp. 175 - 184.
...Aurobindo, Living Within (Pondicherry : Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, 1987 ); Swami Vivekananda...more familiar with these issues. Sri Aurobindo and Vivekananda drew from Vedantic...Aurobindo, Living Within (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, 1987); Swami Vivekananda... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

Book Reviews : M. Maharajan, Gandhian Thought: A Study of Tradition and Modernity. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1996, 164 pp. Rs 300
S.K. Chakraborty Journal of Human Values, Oct 2000; vol. 6: pp. 196 - 199.
...and a junior contemporary like Sri Aurobindo, had also been forcefully emphasizing...of this book is very appealing. Sri Aurobindo lived, worked and dreamt of the...culled together key references from Sri Aurobindo and provided his own insights... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

India
John Ferguson The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Jan 1967; vol. 2: pp. 59 - 66.
...Aesthetics', H.H. Sri J.C.W. Bahadur in...K. D. Sethna, Sri Aurobindo Asram, Pondicherry...ed. N. K. Gupta, Sri Aurobindo Asram, Pondicherry...Aesthetics', H. H. Sri J. C. W. Bahadur...K. D. Sethna, Sri Aurobindo Asram, Pondicherry... Check item Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

Shedding Light on the Underlying Forms of Transformative Learning Theory: Introducing Three Distinct Categories of Consciousness
Olen Gunnlaugson Journal of Transformative Education, Apr 2007; vol. 5: pp. 134 - 151.
...transformative learning Aurobindo, S. (2000). The integral yoga. Pondicherry, India: Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Beck, D., Cohen, C...integral yoga. Pondicherry, India: Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Beck, D., & Cohen, C... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

Religion in Politics
Gopal Krishna Indian Economic & Social History Review, Jan 1971; vol. 8: pp. 362 - 394.
...mdash;Writings and Speeches, I and II, Delhi, 1966. For Sri Aurobindo, see V. P. Varma, The Political Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo, 1960. For Tilak see Theodore L. Shay, The Legacy of... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Book Reviews : S.K. Chakraborty and S.R. Chatterjee, eds, Applied Ethics in Management: Towards a New Perspective. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1999
Ranjan Mitter Journal of Human Values, Apr 2001; vol. 7: pp. 92 - 98.
...prerequisite for long-term survival and excellence. RANJAN MITTER MCHV IIM Calcutta NOTE 1. Sri Aurobindo, The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram), Vol. 25, 217- 18. Arun Wakhlu, Managing from the Heart: Un- folding Spirit... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Book Reviews : Lt Col G.L. Bhattacharya, Krishna of the Git. Calcutta: Calcutta, Writers Work shop, 1993, 233 pp
Shekhar Sen Journal of Human Values, Oct 1996; vol. 2: pp. 191 - 194.
...he is not eminently success- ful in reasoning out why Sri Aurobindo called him yogisreshtha--(the best of the yogis). Generally...additional attraction has been the author's elaboration of Sri Aurobindo's and Vinobaji's thoughts on such matters in this section... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Book Reviews : R.P. Banerjee, Mother Leadership. New Delhi: Wheeler Publishing, 1998,231 pp. Price not mentioned
C. Panduranga Bhatta Journal of Human Values, Oct 1998; vol. 4: pp. 224 - 226.
...Panduranga Bhatta Management Centre for Human Values Indian Institute of Management Calcutta 224 NOTES AND REFERENCES 1. Sri Aurobindo, Collected Works, Vol. 23 (Pondicherry: SABDA), 877. 2. Danah Zohar, The Quantum Self (London: Flamingo, 1991), 202... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Quality of Worklife: A Human Values Approach
Tanmoy Datta Journal of Human Values, Oct 1999; vol. 5: pp. 135 - 145.
...a human being; in the sense of Sri Aurobindo or Swami Vivekananda.1 We are...Hill, 1987), 3. 3. For example, Sri Aurobindo says: There are people who are...mdash;Selectionsfrom the Works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother [Pondicherry: Sri... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

I Indian Poets and the Use of English
Ooi Boo Eng The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Jan 1974; vol. 9: pp. 10 - 20.
...considered to be 'the stilted, mystic-incense style of Sri Aurobindo, and the Romantic fire flies dancing through the neem...come to recognize that Toru Dutt, Sarojini Naidu and Sri Aurobindo 'have this great strength in common, though in varying... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

India
Shyamala A. Narayan The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Dec 2006; vol. 41: pp. 91 - 120.
...Repressive Regime A.S.Dasan Littcrit 60 pp 95-99 . Aurobindo, Sri Sri Aurobindos Savitri: Essays on Love, Life and...the Repressive Regime' A.S.Dasan Littcrit 60 pp959. Aurobindo, Sri Sri Aurobindo's `Savitri': Essays on Love, Life and Death R.K.Singh... Check item Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

Seasons of the Heart: A Journey with the Quality Mind Process
Piya Mukherjee Journal of Human Values, Oct 2002; vol. 8: pp. 85 - 96.
...window to the words and world of Sri Aurobindo.' He and the Mother work...brought home further titles of works of Sri Aurobindo and shared these with a few family...one of the steps of this path. 7. Sri Aurobindo, Living Within: The Yoga Approach... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

India
Shyamala A. Narayan The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Sep 2002; vol. 37: pp. 61 - 100.
...New Delhi) Rs395. A urobindo, Sri New Perspectives on Sri Aurobindo's Plays Saryug Yadav 190pp Creative Books (New Delhi) Rs400 [2000]. -- 'Sri Aurobindo's Yoga: The Philosophy of Conscious Self-Finding' R... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Book Reviews : A. Goswami and M. Goswami, Science and Spirituality: A Quantum Integration. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, A Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture, 1997, i-xiv +183 pp., Rs 290. Ananda, Myth, Symbol and Language. New Delhi: Aryan Books International, 1998, i-xi + 404 pp., Rs 800
S.K. Chakraborty Journal of Human Values, Oct 1998; vol. 4: pp. 221 - 224.
...of consciousness. This is what Sri Aurobindo said: 'It is spirituality when...ascent is attributedto Wilber, when Sri Aurobindo had already done the most thorough...Calcutta 224 NOTES AND REFERENCES 1. Sri Aurobindo, Collected Works, Vol. 23 (Pondicherry... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Back to the Future or the 'Bitter Tastelessness of Shadow Fruit'?
Pradip Bhattacharya Journal of Human Values, Oct 1996; vol. 2: pp. 97 - 113.
...Elaborating this, Sri Aurobindo wrote: 'The peoples of...we were designed for'. Sri Aurobindo goes on to...forward was formulated by Sri Aurobindo who represents perfectly...and the integral yoga of Sri Aurobindo, Chakraborty has focused... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

The New Poetry
Adil Jussawalla The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Jan 1970; vol. 5: pp. 65 - 78.
...Sarojini Naidu (18 79- 1949), and Sri Aurobindo (1872-195?) were doubtless rather...Chunder Dutt (i 848-1 c)oc)) and Sri Aurobindo. To my mind, the latter's Saritii...writing in English, the works of Sri Aurobindo are considered the highwater mark... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

India
Shyamala A. Narayan The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Sep 2001; vol. 36: pp. 39 - 71.
...Literature pp149-57 [see Criticism: General above]. Aurobindo, Sri ' "Mantric" Potential in English Language: Sri Aurobindo's...University Press (New Delhi) Rs195. Non-fiction A urobindo, Sri Sri Aurobindo on Indian Art: Selections from His Writings ed Elizabeth... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Mirror, Mirror ....: A Brief Note on American Educational Research
Shib K. Mitra American Educational Research Journal, Jan 1974; vol. 11: pp. 41 - 49.
...National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 16, India. Title: Joint Director. Degrees...National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 16, India. Title: Joint Director. Degrees... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Appearing of a cult of bigger or lesser fanaticism is a totally natural mechanism

lucid skies (lucid_skies) wrote,@ 2009-04-22 18:06:00 Entry tags: india, photos
Auroville. The first citadel of New Age.

Also known as true Fairy Tale city, or Dream City. When you read the concept made up by the Mother, the main associate of Indian prilosopher Shri Aurobindo you immidiately want to get off and go there to build the Future. Of course, I'm not an expert in 60s, I can imagine the spirits of that time only approximately but according to what I can see coming to life of a city like Auroville suited the general spirit of that time perfectly.

Total unity, renunciation of the material for the sake of the spiritual, accent on creative expression. No religions or, to be more specitif, the unity of them all. The Divine which has neither name, nor form. In general, it's about all those kinds of things which seemed extremely new to the people who knew only the dogma of single religion before and then suddenly obtained admittance to all the possible philosophies of the humanity. Looking with a first superficial glance they've seen familiar words and came to conclusion that everything is the same.

In general, this was the beginning of what will later on grow into a separate phenomena named New Age.

Now this term can even sound a bit contemptuously referring to a special category of people who put themselver over all the phylosophical systems though they have not studied properly a single one of them. But at that time everything was very serious: New Time, New Age and the New Human was coming. Then these were new forms of art and self-expression and now it's only a usual interiour of a good tea-house somewhere in a big city.

"Please, don't make a religion out of it" - Mother stressed repeatedly. But it's like commanding a person "Please, don't breather, don't eat, drink and don't go to toilet". Appearing of a cult of bigger or lesser fanaticism is a totally natural mechanism how consciousness functions. It's useless to fight with it. It can be either used as an additional fuel on the way or refused to be used and then one is likely to spend all the energy on rejection. And then huge portraits of Mother with flower offerings throughout all Auroville will be named non-altar. Or not named in any way.

In the contemporary society religion has been replaced with the idea of Brand which is the object of worship for the person who does not believe in God. So Auroville sometimes reminds of a brand.

When a group of companies or projects is created often one word or word combination is used as a prefix. Here, as it's easy to imagine, this is "Auro". And so we get AuroMode, AuroMoon, AuroCafe... Or, in another way, Mother Something. The only thing lacking is one tracing and company style.

And the symbol which always accompanies the tracing is, of course, The Matrimandir, a huge golden ball. And I'd really like to know if the Aurovillians would be honest enough to themselves to make a real logotype and the company style when the Matrimandir is completed. They already have a slogan: а city with a soul. And there are plentiful designers and artists in the team, as this can be seen from well-done leaflets and posters.

So, Auroville. The geographical center of the city is Banyan tree, the only tree which was there when future Aurovillians had got this land. Matrimandir, city's soul is located a bit aside it. Gardens, artists' studios', sports ground, pavillions of different cultures, cafes and restaurants are all around. Altogether it must resemble a galaxy.

Matrimandir deserves a separate story. Aurovillians, of course, would never let you call their golden ball a Temple, but we, guests of the city have the luxury of calling the things by their names. How else then would you refer to a complicated esoterical construction in the middle of which in a totally white hall on the symbol of Universal Mother a crystal ball is rested reflecting one ray of light from the roof? The crystal ball is surrounded by 12 white columns and the golden ball is, in its turn, surrounded by 12 petal-halls each of them painted in particular color standing for one of the qualities of the Divine. All the colours gather in the spectrum which is very familiar to graphical software users. Very contemporary, isn't it?"

A place for trying to find one's consciousness. No insense, no flowers, no religion." But still, at the same time the whole process of getting into the Matrimandir is quite a complicated ritual. Frist you have to see a special movie, obtain the pass to the garden where, no step left, no step right from the special road you can reach a platform and look at the Ball from a definate perspective.

Then you have to come back. At a certain time call the special phone number and register for meditation. Everything folows the Mother's instructions. She said that in order to be let into the main Hall the person has to be sincere and ask to see Matrimandir by oneself. What a luck that they hasn't come up with a complicated ritual for checking one's sincerity, just like Holy Inquisition was checking in the Medieval Ages if a woman is a witch or not through trying to drown her. If she drowns then she is not a witch. Here sincerity stays the heart concern of the visitos themselves and only little bit is left. You have to come to the gates at a certain time, listen to hourly lecture about how it was built, put on white socks in order not to soil the floor with red indian dust and finally! You are sitting in a gloomy white hall before the crystal ball and trying to find one's consciousness. Frist time is no more than 15 minutes. Photos are not allowed.

Of course, every Aurovillian can tell you that this complicated process has a simple and clear sense, whites socks being especially meaningful. But all the other religious rituals also had a simple and clear sense at the moment of their creation.

It happened that my first day out in Auroville was exactly when the president of India honoured the city with a visit. In a some maraclous way I got off the restricted path and coming close to the fence could see the divine image of the symbol of the city of freedom, of the city which does not belong to any nation and obeys only the Higher Truth. And this must be the President. Probably, listening to the lecture.

I personally don't mind people trying to build the New, Better World. It's known that people think that the main problem is what surrounds them. And it's enough only for idealists to gather together to create the ideal society. It works to some extent and then it invariably proves that the idealists are same humans. Probably, possesing doubtless human merits but not deprived of common human demerits as well.

And I was told about it by every citizen of Auroville which I was talking with. According to the original concept there had to be no money in this city as the people had to have no other wishes than the creative self expression and search of the Higher Truth. In reality this, of course, did not work. Therefore there is a finansial system which reminds usual banking with pared-down functionality. Every citizen has account number where he gets his monthly maintenance from the community he works for. As it usually happens, the maintenance is enough for quite plain life only and those who want more try all their best to find additional sourses of income. And tourists, so called city guests, of course, make up one of main contributions to it.

And tourists or guests of the city can enjoy it here quite a lot. There are dozens of sorts of yoga, aikido, tai chi, capoera, dances, even ballet, sports, riding, music and meditation in the list of actions they can take part in. Altogether it makes up a usual set which can be found in ordinary big cities as well due to its popularity among the contemporary highly spiritual yough. And central shops have range of goods usual for common esoteric shops in big cities or to an indian stall only much more expensive. This is due to European immigrants making all those things instead of Indians. And in contrast to citizens of the Auroville and ordinary Indian stalls the guests can pay with a real, fully-functional bank card. But this is only in the main shop, in the rest of the shops and cafes this bonus is lost, and unless you get your own guest card with the temporary number you cannot even have a cup of coffee.

Auroville can easily be included in the list of nice places for unobtrusive spiritual development and one can come here to learn yoga, ikebana, Tai Chi... A contemporary spiritual tourist can spend the warmer season somewhere in Kathmandu, Dharamsala or Rishikesh and when it gets too cold in the mountains go down here, to the sea. And be reading Sri Aurobindo's books instead of Dalai Lama's. And it will be not to hard to make it as while talking about the absense of private estate in Auroville and about everybody living where they get the place, the Mother did not say anything about absense of agents which would be distributing those places. And not about numerous guest houses.

The general environment in Auroville reminds a lot the British Art Colledge I once attended. Young, stylish and inspired people are everywhere. Everyone is full of ideas for future life and creativity. Everybody is inspired equally in Auroville, age does not matter. Everybody is busy with one's own creative search. With one's own serious task. Algotogether they are dreaming and making up plans what Auroville will be in the future. They are trying, putting these plans to reality.

They create, experiment with new froms. Or, to be more specific, with what was new forms some years ago and how is rather mainstream.I could have attended this kind of exhibition somewhere in London or Prague. And I would like to frankly thank Auroville for this. I personally would be coming here when I shall feel like immersing into creative European atmosphere but will not have a chance or intent to go too far.And so it's a nice compromise. Going through uneven Indian roads in between small oasises of cleaniness and style. Through miserable Indian villages to oasises of the familiar culture.

On the top of it Aurovillians are using ecologically pure, wasteless production, mainly solar energy and grow organic food which also suits the New Age spirit very well. They are making whole mandalas out of flowers. Religious fanatics, shut up! This is not an offering to any deity, it's only there for beauty, for joy. And the children here are wonderful.

To summarise in a way this amazing social phenomena named Auroville I would like to say that if during 60x all the politics, soldiers and millionaries became hippies then our contemporary world would most probably look like Auroville. If only all the remaining ordinary people who did not turn into hippies would not make it back to what it is now. And it's quite interesting what Sri Aurobindo and Mother would say about it all if they were still alive.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Consequences of attacking The Mother’s children

58.241.73.112 (Czpppoepool Car Co. Changzhou Jiangsu Province) Beijing, China, Anonymous has left a new comment on your post “No one has any right or authority to apply filter“:

The creators of the IYFundamentalism website have displayed a behavior smacking of Fundamentalism!! Difficult to see it in yourself. Mother said do not mind others’ stupidities but your own. It is a pity but the consequences of their actions of attacking Mother’s children whoever they are in such bad taste will be sad for them personally. Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 7:52 AM, April 21, 2009 [The propagandist spirit]

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Debashish Banerji always overgeneralizes

151.66.10.16 (Iunet-bnet) Lombardia, Brescia, Italy, Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "No one has any right or authority to apply filter": > Anyone who did not follow the dictates of the crowd in what they said and did risked general condemnation.

Debashish Banerji seems to have lost his mind. He always overgeneralizes and hallucinates about non-existent Fundamentalism. Our quarrel is solely with Peter Heehs and not the rest who have genuine aspiration. Peter has a history of well-documented misconduct since the 1980s. Peter enjoys cross-examining Sri Aurobindo's motives, disbelieving his statements, and has, on one occasion, even called him an ABSCONDER in the Archives and Research journal.

This is all written up in the letter by Jugal on the website http://www.sriaurobindooriginalworks.org Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 11:33 PM, April 17, 2009 Home Sri Aurobindo The Mother Savitri Copyright Ashram On the way Down memory lane Books by Others Banish Peter Works of Others Journal Section The Continuation Words of The Mother Works of Sri Aurobindo Research Excerpts from Agenda Open Letters Your Letters
Symbols and Defiling

SRI AUROBINDO’S TEACHING The teaching of Sri Aurobindo starts from that of the ancient sages of India that behind the appearances of the universe there is the Reality of a Being and Consciousness, a Self of all things one and eternal. All beings are united in that One Sell and Spirit but divided by a certain separativity of consciousness, an ignorance of their true Self and Reality in the mind, life and body. It is possible by a certain psychological discipline to remove this veil of separative consciousness and become aware of the true Self, the divinity within us and all. More...

SRI AUROBINDO’S ASRAM An Asram means the house or houses of a Teacher or Master of spiritual philosophy in which he receives and lodges to those who come to him for the teaching and practice. An Asram is not an association or a religious body or a monastery - it is only what has been indicated about and nothing more.

Everything in the Asram belongs to the Teacher: the sadhaks (those who practise under him) have no claim, right of voice in any matter. They remain or (pg- 3) go according to his will. Whatever money he receives is his property and not that of a public body. It is not a trust or a fund, for there is no public institution. Such Asrams have existed in India since many centuries before Christ and still exist in large numbers.

All depends on the Teacher and ends with his life-time, unless there is another Teacher who can take his place. More...

All the money spent belongs either to Sri Aurobindo or the Mother. Money is given by many to help in Sri Aurobindo’s work. Some who are here give their earnings, but it is given to Sri Aurobindo or the Mother and not to the Asram as a public body, for there is no such body.” More... info@sriaurobindooriginalworks.org sri.aurobindo.foundation@gmail.com © 2008 foundation for Sri Aurobindo Ashram and his original works. Website by - Wonder Guru Communications

Friday, April 17, 2009

I was, of course, boorishly admonished by Sujata

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Destroying obsession in which Satprem lived at the...": Hello Readers, instead of this computer translation full of mistakes, you can read the author's own excellent translation here: http://lesyeuxouverts.net/?page_id=70 Posted by Anonymous to Aurora Mirabilis at 10:45 AM, April 17, 2009 La Fin de l’Illusion Le danger des intermédiaires
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Violence

Then I had another strange dream, maybe as a continuation, or a further turn of the screw, of the dream of the red piece of meat mentioned earlier. I found myself in a huge underground cave, closed on all sides, whose walls were made of a strange, salt-like, translucent substance, soft to the touch. Satprem, alone in this cave, was sitting cross-legged on the bare ground, deep in concentration. Raising my head, I could see that the cave’s ceiling, though bereft of any opening to the open air, supported, as it were, the entire world above — our physical world. On closer examination, I noticed that bits of this translucent substance were being chipped away from the walls of the cave as Satprem continued his concentration. He was hollowing out the cave as the Indians of the Orinoco River hollow out a tree trunk to make their pirogue! For Heaven’s sake, I thought, if the ceiling wall that supports the world becomes too thin, everything will collapse inward! Just as I understood the enormity of what was in store — the collapse of the world — I found myself in the open air, face to face with Satprem. He had a little amused sparkle in the eye and, as he understood I had understood, he simply said: “This is the ONLY solution.”

I do not believe that a single man, be it Satprem, can destroy the world. But ten years before the New York Twin Towers and the way terrorists attacks have become a feature of everyday life in the present world, this dream at least points to the destructive obsession of Satprem’s consciousness at the time. Not only was I a prominent potential target in view of my alleged acts of treason, but after me (as I would later discover), everything was to follow: Michel and Nicole, who replaced me, were subjected to the worst accusations and expelled from the Nilgiris; Patrice was to follow suit one or two years later, returning home to France to commit suicide.

Nothing and no one escaped his destructive compulsion, neither the people who had been close to him and had served his designs, nor the human race as a whole, with which he still had to share this earth. A few years ago, a visiting guest asked him somewhat rhetorically: “What would you do if you were Master of the world?” Satprem’s face suddenly grew tense and, making a fist, he replied instantly: “I would crush everything!”

Yet I want to believe that Sri Aurobindo and Mother did not make the effort and sacrifice of incarnating once again to spend painstaking years in trying, with a few human samples, to show the passage to another terrestrial consciousness, only for this earth to end up in Satprem’s closed fist. Otherwise, what is the sense of their efforts, the sense of the thousands of letters Sri Aurobindo wrote at night, since the days were no longer enough, to affirm that Something Else is possible, here and now? Just as he, day after day incarnated “love for all and faith for all”, so also Mother lavished the same care, the same concentration, the same challenge with her smile, with her thousands of daily footsteps, to tip ever so slightly the days’ tedium toward that Something Else. I want to believe that their efforts have flowered, at least in a few, and that the seed is planted in a few consciousnesses, beneath the hard crust of stereotypes, unbeknownst to dissenters and assenters alike.

And then how can one close his fist on anything or anyone when he has known That?
If it were needed, another “misunderstanding” with Satprem illustrates this incipient violence. This is the incident about “India’s Rebirth.” Michel had collected texts where Sri Aurobindo spoke of India and her destiny, principally excerpts of the “Bande Mataram,” the weekly journal Sri Aurobindo published in Calcutta during his revolutionary years, prior to the trial of the Alipore Bomb Case. This compilation had been printed in India in a book whose title, “India’s Rebirth,” was placed on the cover above the name of Sri Aurobindo and a map of India before the partition. Susie and I were surprised to receive a printed copy of this book, and even more surprised to discover that the name of the American Institute was printed inside as the official distributor of the book in the United States, for we had never been told about this new book project which had been entirely put together in the Nilgiris. But the greatest shocking surprise of all was to discover the header topping the front cover in black, bold print: “Out of the Ruins of the West…,” followed below by the actual title, “India’s Rebirth.” In other words, Sri Aurobindo, whose name appeared as the book’s sole author was supposed to endorse the central thesis, expressed on the cover, that India’s rebirth would be founded on the ruins of the West…

This, I felt, was to push Sri Aurobindo’s revolutionary thinking to the limit, and even beyond the limit. Sri Aurobindo and Ben-Laden as fellow-thinkers? I could not get used to the idea. Since I knew Sujata to be directly behind this publication, I took my pen, again, to draft a careful and respectful telegram, in which I argued that that unfortunate header conveyed a wrong idea about India and her aspiration, as well as about Sri Aurobindo, who had never displayed in his writing such a fervent inclination for the destruction of the West, etc. I did not even mention what headache it would be for us to present such a book cover for sale in American bookstores! The whole scheme was incredibly surreal, to be polite and stay outside any clinical diagnosis.
I was, of course, boorishly admonished by Sujata:

Don’t you see what stares you in the face? You seem to be living in a chest of drawers, Luc. Does living in a drawer qualify you to critisize [sic] the sightings of another who happens to live in open air? Nobody need ‘aspire’ for the ruin of the West. It is already in ruins… [What] with gun-toting children, with homosexuals and lesbians… Are petrodollars the final aim of Evolution? If you think that the summit of Evolution is where the Western civilisation has led mankind then I’ll ask you to think again… that is, if the grey cells have retained their original colour and have not turned black, losing their ability to reflect the light… For your information, the line ‘Out of the ruins of the West,’ to which you seem to object, is Satprem’s contribution to the book.

Words had completely lost their meaning. We were on two planets belonging to different constellations. When I spoke of the interpretation of words and the sometimes unfortunate association they triggered in a reader’s mind, I received hot-tempered, indiscriminate tirades deprived of any nuance. How could the refined elegance, the wonderful subtlety of Sri Aurobindo’s thoughts be mixed with this fundamentalist caricature? Was this the meaning of my dream with the blood-dripping meat? Were they trying to force Sri Aurobindo into a carnivorous skin?

The confusion worsened when the Ashram Trustees found out about the existence of the book, whose material was composed to a great extent of texts under the Ashram copyrights. Not only had Sujata not found it necessary to ask permission before using these texts, as it is customary and fitting to do, but she had even printed, in place of the usual notice acknowledging copyrights of the work’s owner, a note stating that these texts belonged “to all the lovers of India”, thereby opening the copyrights to the whole world…

The Ashram could not remain indifferent. They filed a court case for infringement of copyrights in the Madras High Court, requesting from the judge an immediate stay-order banning all sales of the book. As official distributors in the United States, we had become co-defendant in the case, because we were co-responsible for Sujata’s singular generosity. We were summoned to Madras to plead a case in which we felt absolutely foreign. To put an end to the legal tangle, I decided to legally disassociate the American Institute from this entire publication project, which Satprem did not fail, later, to stigmatize as another proof of my duplicity. next: The Last Straw Patrice The Cage The Agenda Satprem The Tragedy America The Sledge Hammer The Malaise First Turn of the Screw Caught Red-Handed Violence The Last Straw The Explosion Clearing up and Summing up Back to English

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Our framework of rational thinking

Re: The Core Problem Part II ned Mon 13 Apr 2009 09:09 PM PDT "a) The need to train the intellect. For too long the Ashram community has derided intellectual training. The present lack of intelligent dialogue in the alumni is shocking."

I had felt that if there had been more mental wideness among sadhaks, there would not have been such a reaction to the Heehs biography. But I am amazed that the followers of a guru who read so widely and who wrote poetry of the caliber of a Nobel Prize in Literature would deride the intellect rather than embracing it as one of the many tools in the armory of the God-lover!

Re: The Core Problem Part II Tony Clifton Mon 13 Apr 2009 09:55 PM PDT Ned You hit the nail on the head it is shocking that the intellect is so despised in the community of IY sadhaks. The standard put down is "mentalized". As if these people had themselves transcended the mind, something Sri Aurobindo never even claimed. There should probably be a sign posted when entering the Ashram "critical thinking now allowed" To dismiss critical thinking is also is a way to get people to tow the line, rather than think and reason and sought through complex problems for themselves those posing as authority figures in the community would be better suited if you would just accept their interpretation.

***

Re: Towards the Intermediate Race—Early Writings: Record of Yoga 1914 [4]
by Joan Price on Sat 11 Apr 2009 02:27 AM IST Profile Permanent Link
In his "Reports" Sri Aurobindo seems to agree almost entirely with the Theosophists. For a Westerner, there are many unfamiliar terms, but I'll look those up. I find this fascinating and informative. Thank you for sharing this aspect of his yoga. Reply

by auroman on Sat 11 Apr 2009 07:49 AM IST Profile Permanent Link
> In his "Reports" Sri Aurobindo seems to agree almost entirely with the Theosophists.

That may be because both Madame Blavatsky and Sri Aurobindo had read the Puranas. What is noteworthy here is that the Record of Yoga also describes some visions he had about previous Manvantaras. See the pages from 1326 onwards where he says, "A series of images and a number of intimations have been given yesterday in the chitra-drishti to illustrate the history of the first two Manwantaras & the vicissitudes through which the human idea has gone in the course of these unnumbered ages..." I am using the online version of the text: http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/writings.php Reply

by Tusar N. Mohapatra on Sat 11 Apr 2009 08:19 AM IST Profile Permanent Link
[In his "Reports" Sri Aurobindo seems to agree almost entirely with the Theosophists.]

This issue shouldn't be let off so lightly as no comprehensive genealogy has been attempted as yet. Pusillanimity in the matter doesn't endow us with any glory. [TNM] Reply

by auroman on Mon 13 Apr 2009 07:18 PM IST Profile Permanent Link
> Pusillanimity in the matter doesn't endow us with any glory.

Much of this knowledge about the Manvantaras, Prajapatis, etc comes direct from the ancient scriptures. Even wikipedia has it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manvantara Sri Aurobindo references the Puranas in various places so he had read it. Blavatsky also references the Vishnu Purana, Matsya Purana in the Secret Doctrine which is online, except for Vol 3. http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd/sd-hp.htm It may be worth checking how much of this is derived from their occult vision vs reading of scripture. Reply

by RY Deshpande on Tue 14 Apr 2009 09:16 PM IST Profile Permanent Link
Occult knowledge and occult writings have pertinence only when one has occult experiences, only when one is a practitioner of occultism. Until then “pusillanimity” need not figure in the picture. However, details available from the authority sources can possibly put our framework of rational thinking in the proper perspective, if it is going to be of any avail. There are lots of things in the world than our philosophies can dream of--and that is all we have to keep in mind. ~ RYD
Reply

by RY Deshpande on Tue 14 Apr 2009 08:57 PM IST Profile Permanent Link
To get into the spirit of Record of Yoga perhaps we have to have a fairly comprehensive background of the Purana writings of ancient India. Vishnu Purana, which is a gold mine according to Sri Aurobindo, and the Bhagavat Purana describe several of these features. But what Sri Aurobindo is recording are his own experiences and realisations. The opening of the trikaladrishti, the sight and knowledge of the three divisions of Time, is at the back of the Vision of the Past. Being a vision, there is no division in it. I don't know if we can really connect these writings of Sri Aurobindo with those of the theosophists. His occult basis is more of the Vedantist's than that of the Western Occultist's. But I can't say much about that. However, may I request you to put your inputs into the discussion. Thanks Reference may also be made to http://www.savitrithelightofthesupreme.org/blog/_archives/2009/4/12/4150693.html ~ RYD Reply

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Wrong conclusion drawn by sophisticated scholars

89.248.169.108 (As29073 Ecatel Ltd) Netherlands, Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Sri Aurobindo never spoke directly about his exper...": >> His later writings show that his knowledge of human sexuality was more than academic, but the act seems to have held few charms for him. (see full endnote below)(425) Endnote: For Sri Aurobindo’s general knowledge of human sexuality, see his letters to disciples on sex...#####

This is a wrong conclusion drawn by these sophisticated scholars you have named above - Debashish, Rich and Heehs. Great Masters like Aurobindo, Vivekananda, Sai Baba, Ramana Maharshi can gain knowledge of anything due to the Powers they gain after Self-Realization. They are able to assess the state of their disciples and find the problem. It is not needed to experience something to tell where the problem lies. That is how they are able to guide others. Apparently, your scholars named above do not know the action of a Master how it works. They should try to understand more before they talk or write books. Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 12:22 AM, April 14, 2009

Monday, April 13, 2009

The wonderful spiritual atmosphere of Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry

2. Posted by austere on April 12, 2009
Dear Shekhar, Thanks for replying to my post reg. Sri Aurobindo's books - SAVITRI and LIFE DIVINE. I am a devotee and I live here in the wonderful spiritual atmosphere of Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. I am pasting a write-up of THE MOTHER about the book SAVITRI (Sorry for the length, but I suggest you go through it):
The Mother, who was Sri Aurobindo's spiritual collaborator said this of Savitri: "... everything is there: mysticism, occultism, philosophy, the history of evolution, the history of man, of the gods, of creation, of Nature. How the universe was created, why, for what purpose, what destiny - all is there. You can find all the answers to all your questions there. Everything is explained, even the future of man and of the evolution, all that nobody yet knows. He has described it all in beautiful and clear words so that spiritual adventurers who wish to solve the mysteries of the world may understand it more easily."
A Talk By The Mother On Savitri (a report written from memory) by Mona Sarkar Do You read Savitri ? Yes Mother, yes.You have read the whole poem? Yes Mother, I have read it twice. Have you understood all that you have read? Not much, but I like poetry, that is why I read it.It does not matter if you do not understand it — Savitri, read it always. You will see that every time you read it, something new will be revealed to you. Each time you will get a new glimpse, each time a new experience; things which were not there, things you did not understand arise and suddenly become clear. Always an unexpected vision comes up through the words and lines. Every time you try to read and understand, you will see that something is added, something which was hidden behind is revealed clearly and vividly. I tell you the very verses you have read once before, will appear to you in a different light each time you re-read them. This is what of happens invariably. Always your experience is enriched, it is a revelation at each step. But you must not read it as you read other books or newspapers. You must read with an empty head, a blank and vacant mind, without there being any other thought; you must concentrate much, remain empty, calm and open; then the words, rhythms, vibrations will penetrate directly to this white page, will put their stamp upon the brain, will explain themselves without your making any effort. Savitri alone is sufficient to make you climb to the highest peaks. If truly one knows how to meditate on Savitri, one will receive all the help one needs. For him who wishes to follow this path, it is a concrete help as though the Lord himself were taking you by the hand and leading you to the destined goal. And then, every question, however personal it may be, has its answer here, every difficulty finds its solution herein; indeed there is everything that is necessary for doing the Yoga.*He has crammed the whole universe in a single book.* It is a marvellous work, magnificent and of an incomparable perfection. You know, before writing Savitri Sri Aurobindo said to me, *I am impelled to launch on a new adventure; I was hesitant in the beginning, but now I am decided. Still, I do not know how far I shall succeed. I pray for help.* And you know what it was? It was — before beginning, I warn you in advance — it was His way of speaking, so full of divine humility and modesty. He never. . . *asserted Himself.* And the day He actually began it, He told me: *I have launched myself in a rudderless boat upon the vastness of the Infinite.* And once having started, He wrote page after page without intermission, as though it were a thing already complete up there and He had only to transcribe it in ink down here on these pages. In truth, the entire form of Savitri has descended “en masse” from the highest region and Sri Aurobindo with His genius only arranged the lines — in a superb and magnificent style. Sometimes entire lines were revealed and He has left them intact; He worked hard, untiringly, so that the inspiration could come from the highest possible summit. And what a work He has created! Yes, it is a true creation in itself. It is an unequalled work. Everything is there, and it is put in such a simple, such a clear form; verses perfectly harmonious, limpid and eternally true. My child, I have read so many things, but I have never come across anything which could be compared with Savitri. I have studied the best works in Greek, Latin, English and of course French literature, also in German and all the great creations of the West and the East, including the great epics; but I repeat it, I have not found anywhere anything comparable with Savitri. All these literary works seems to me empty, flat, hollow, without any deep reality — apart from a few rare exceptions, and these too represent only a small fraction of what Savitri is. What grandeur, what amplitude, what reality: it is something immortal and eternal He has created. I tell you once again there is nothing like in it the whole world. Even if one puts aside the vision of the reality, that is, the essential substance which is the heart of the inspiration, and considers only the lines in themselves, one will find them unique, of the highest classical kind. What He has created is something man cannot imagine. For, everything is there, everything. It may then be said that Savitri is a revelation, it is a meditation, it is a quest of the Infinite, the Eternal. If it is read with this aspiration for Immortality, the reading itself will serve as a guide to Immortality. To read Savitri is indeed to practice Yoga, spiritual concentration; one can find there all that is needed to realise the Divine. Each step of Yoga is noted here, including the secret of all other Yogas. Surely, if one sincerely follows what is revealed here in each line one will reach finally the transformation of the Supramental Yoga. It is truly the infallible guide who never abandons you; its support is always there for him who wants to follow the path. Each verse of Savitri is like a revealed Mantra which surpasses all that man possessed by way of knowledge, and I repeat this, the words are expressed and arranged in such a way that the sonority of the rhythm leads you to the origin of sound, which is OM. My child, yes, everything is there: mysticism, occultism, philosophy, the history of evolution, the history of man, of the gods, of creation, of Nature. How the universe was created, why, for what purpose, what destiny — all is there. You can find all the answers to all your questions there. Everything is explained, even the future of man and of the evolution, all that nobody yet knows. He has described it all in beautiful and clear words so that spiritual adventurers who wish to solve the mysteries of the world may understand it more easily. But this mystery is well hidden behind the words and lines and one must rise to the required level of true consciousness to discover it. All prophesies, all that is going to come is presented with the precise and wonderful clarity. Sri Aurobindo gives you here the key to find the Truth, to discover the Consciousness, to solve the problem of what the universe is. He has also indicated how to open the door of the Inconscience so that the light may penetrate there and transform it. He has shown the path, the way to liberate oneself from the ignorance and climb up to the superconscience; each stage, each plane of consciousness, how they can be scaled, how one can cross even the barrier of death and attain immortality. You will find the whole journey in detail, and as you go forward you can discover things altogether unknown to man. That is Savitri and much more yet. It is a real experience — reading Savitri. All the secrets that man possessed, He has revealed, — as well as all that awaits him in the future; all this is found in the depth of Savitri. But one must have the knowledge to discover it all, the experience of the planes of consciousness, the experience of the Supermind, even the experience of the conquest of Death. He has noted all the stages, marked each step in order to advance integrally in the integral Yoga. All this is His own experience, and what is most surprising is that it is my own experience also. It is my sadhana which He has worked out. Each object, each event, each realisation, all the descriptions, even the colours are exactly what I saw and the words, phrases are also exactly what I heard. And all this before having read the book. I read Savitri many times afterwards, but earlier, when He was writing He used to read it to me. Every morning I used to hear Him read Savitri. During the night He would write and in the morning read it to me. And I observed something curious, that day after day the experiences He read out to me in the morning were those I had had the previous night, word by word. Yes, all the descriptions, the colours, the pictures I had seen, the words I had heard, all, all, I heard it all, put by Him into poetry, into miraculous poetry. Yes, they were exactly my experiences of the previous night which He read out to me the following morning. And it was not just one day by chance, but for days and days together. And every time I used to compare what He said with my previous experiences and they were always the same. I repeat, it was not that I had told Him my experiences and that He had noted them down afterwards, no, He knew already what I had seen. It is my experiences He has presented at length and they were His experiences also. It is, moreover, the picture of Our joint adventure into the unknown or rather into the Supermind.These are experiences lived by Him, realities, supracosmic truths. He experienced all these as one experiences joy or sorrow, physically. He walked in the darkness of inconscience, even in the neighborhood of death, endured the sufferings of perdition, and emerged from the mud, the world- misery to breathe the sovereign plenitude and enter the supreme Ananda. He crossed all these realms, went through the consequences, suffered and endured physically what one cannot imagine. Nobody till today has suffered like Him. He accepted suffering to transform suffering into the joy of union with the Supreme. It is something unique and incomparable in the history of the world. It is something that has never happened before, He is the first to have traced the path in the Unknown, so that we may be able to walk with certitude towards the Supermind. He has made the work easy for us. Savitri is His whole Yoga of transformation, and this Yoga appears now for the first time in the earth-consciousness. And I think that man is not yet ready to receive it. It is too high and too vast for him. He cannot understand it, grasp it, for it is not by the mind that one can understand Savitri. One needs spiritual experiences in order to understand and assimilate it. The farther one advances on the path of Yoga, the more does one assimilate and the better. No, it is something which will be appreciated only in the future, it is the poetry of tomorrow of which He has spoken in The Future Poetry. It is too subtle, too refined, — it is not in the mind or through the mind, it is in meditation that Savitri is revealed. And men have the audacity to compare it with the work of Virgil or Homer and to find it inferior. They do not understand, they cannot understand. What do they know? Nothing at all. And it is useless to try to make them understand. Men will know what it is, but in a distant future. It is only the new race with a new consciousness which will be able to understand. I assure you there is nothing under the blue sky to compare with Savitri. It is the mystery of mysteries. It is a *super-epic,* it is super- literature, super-poetry, super-vision, it is a super- work even if one considers the number of lines He has written. No, these human words are not adequate to describe Savitri. Yes, one needs superlatives, hyperboles to describe it. It is a hyper- epic. No, words express nothing of what Savitri is, at least I do not find them. It is of immense value — spiritual value and all other values; it is eternal in its subject, and infinite in its appeal, miraculous in its mode and power of execution; it is a unique thing, the more you come into contact with it, the higher will you be uplifted. Ah, truly it is something! It is the most beautiful thing He has left for man, the highest possible. What is it? When will man know it? When is he going to lead a life of truth? When is he going to accept this in his life? This yet remains to be seen.My child, every day you are going to read Savitri; read properly, with the right attitude, concentrating a little before opening the pages and trying to keep the mind as empty as possible, absolutely without a thought. The direct road is through the heart. I tell you, if you try to really concentrate with this aspiration you can light the flame, the psychic flame, the flame of purification in a very short time, perhaps in a few days. What you cannot do normally, you can do with the help of Savitri. Try and you will see how very different it is, how new, if you read with this attitude, with this something at the back of your consciousness; as though it were an offering to Sri Aurobindo. You know it is charged, fully charged with consciousness; as if Savitri were a being, a real guide. I tell you, whoever, wanting to practice Yoga, tries sincerely and feels the necessity for it, will be able to climb with the help of Savitri to the highest rung of the ladder of Yoga, will be able to find the secret that Savitri represents. And this without the help of a Guru. And he will be able to practice it anywhere. For him Savitri alone will be the guide, for all that he needs he will find Savitri. If he remains very quiet when before a difficulty, or when he does not know where to turn to go forward and how to overcome obstacles, for all these hesitations and incertitudes which overwhelm us at every moment, he will have the necessary indications, and the necessary concrete help. If he remains very calm, open, if he aspires sincerely, always he will be as if lead by the hand. If he has faith, the will to give himself and essential sincerity he will reach the final goal. Indeed, Savitri is something concrete, living, it is all replete, packed with consciousness, it is the supreme knowledge above all human philosophies and religions. It is the spiritual path, it is Yoga, Tapasya, Sadhana, in its single body. Savitri has an extraordinary power, it gives out vibrations for him who can receive them, the true vibrations of each stage of consciousness. It is incomparable, it is truth in its plenitude, the Truth Sri Aurobindo brought down on the earth. My child, one must try to find the secret that Savitri represents, the prophetic message Sri Aurobindo reveals there for us. This is the work before you, it is hard but it is worth the trouble.5-11-1967

3. Posted by ideaunique on April 12, 2009
Reg. my impression on the books:
SAVITRI: I assume that you have by now, already read that write-up on Savitri - Since last few years, everyday after bath in the morning - I read one page aloud from SAVITRI (without trying to understand it) and lie down for few minutes - and it has worked wonders for me on all the fronts! - materially, spiritually.....
LIFE DIVINE: I have just started reading it but I read one page in the afternoon every day - preferably at a regular time...
These are books written by a higher consciousness and I can concretely feel the effect....

4. Posted by ideaunique on April 12, 2009
btw, shekhar - ashram in pondy has an open-air theatre for the children of ashram-school and inmates where films from all over the world are shown on every saturday on a non-commercial basis.
i sometime offer movies (that is i bear the expenses of hiring film prints for a day and transport) - i recently offered your movie ELIZABETH - THE GOLDEN AGE - everyone loved it. Earlier, I had offered TAARE ZAMEEN PAR, DHARM, JODHAA AKBAR.....