Monday, August 24, 2009

Instead of Lord Desai we have our own overseas Lord Banerji

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Caustic history": Dear Mr Tusar,

Jaswant's shrewd play of uplifting Jinnah to downgrade Nehru, Patel and the Congres Party seems to have backfired. A cursory look at the situation does give the impression of a eerie parallel. Instead of Lord Desai, we have our own overseas Lord Banerji assailing the acoltyes of Aurobindo for their obstinacy. We must look deeper to see the differences.

There are signs of mischief in this book. The Mother had issued several statements cautioning people who wrote biographies. Heehs has always acted as an independent-minded man. He did not come to the Ashram to see the Mother. He came to see Jayantilal for a job in the Archives. He said this himself in his Lodi California talk. You should post Heeh's poem which was already posted on SAICE list "I come not for the Mother but for sex and sensation.. organs and glands...". That will provide another glimpse into this mans character. Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 7:12 PM, August 21, 2009

leo has left a new comment on your post "Third Unicorn": Mr. Mohapatra,

It seems an ignorant thing to say that something is "beyond my comprehension" and therefore, because you don't understand it, to dismiss it as "a piece of fiction". Posted by leo to Savitri Era at 8:27 PM, August 18, 2009

C. P. Deacon has left a new comment on your post "The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have already accomplish...": Tusar,

this is an absurd and almost atrocious idea, to suggest that the members of the Solar Line are "elected" by the opinions and whims of mortals or that the work of the Solar Line is to be done to the "satisfaction" of their limitations and ignorance. The Work of the Avatars proceeds in spite of all human ignorance; and it is in, fact, BECAUSE of human ignorance that they take birth, to lead and uplift the evolution. Human sentiment has no place in these affairs. Nothing your mind or vital, or the mind and vital of any other so-called devotee, can do can prevent the success of Their Work. [...]

Thus you are denying the truth of Sri Aurobindo's very own symbol, which the Mother herself prepared. What you called the "satisfaction of devotees" is an absurd notion has nothing to do with the truth of the supramental descent. You are denying the essence of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's missions in their own names, severing the Solar Line in half and consigning the supramental to death in Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's tomb, or else the shadow-temple in Auroville. Posted by C. P. Deacon to Savitri Era at 8:11 AM, August 25, 2009

Robert E. Wilkinson has left a new comment on your post "Sri Aurobindo has linked our individual psychology...":

Not only Sri Aurobindo but also the Mother has has linked our individual psychology with the workings of the universe. I discuss this linkage in my article: 'The Triune Formula of the Supermind' which may be read in its entirety at: http://rigvedacos.blogspot.com/ Posted by Robert E. Wilkinson to Savitri Era at 7:07 PM, August 21, 2009

Robert E. Wilkinson has left a new comment on your post "Divine determinism is rooted not in past time but ...":

Sri Aurobindo's work does indeed leave 'traces in the visible' an indisputable objective knowledge which reveals the descent of the Supermind and means of its deployment. http://rigvedacos.blogspot.com/ Posted by Robert E. Wilkinson to Savitri Era Learning Forum at 8:48 PM, August 22, 2009

Robert E. Wilkinson has left a new comment on your post "Disfiguring and dismissing the 24 meter Inner Cham...":

How very convenient for Paulette that she has been advised not to discuss these matters of knowledge. This of course excuses her from any kind of accountability and allows her and the Auroville Working Committee, and Auroville Outreach Media, to go on spinning their web of deception and fraud. Their behavior reminds me of officers the Enron Corporation who went on lying right up to the time when the whole edifice of falsehood they had created caved in on top of them. Let me simply remind Paulette of what may well have been the last recorded words of the Mother

‘AUROVILLE WILL BECOME WHAT IT MUST BE: ONLY IF AND WHEN THE PEOPLE LIVING THERE WILL STOP LYING.' The Mother, [Words of the Mother I, Collected Works of the Mother, Vol. 13, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, Pondicherry P. 220]

How do you answer the Mother, Paulette? Or have you been instructed to ignore Her comments as well? One thing is for certain, SOMEONE IN AUROVILLE IS LYING, and it is usually those who try to avoid accountability and hide from the facts. Posted by Robert E. Wilkinson to Savitri Era Open Forum at 10:57 PM, August 20, 2009

Lori Tompkins has left a new comment on your post "Lori deplored":

After writing 'Lori Deplored ... Hypocrisy Adored' I have still been ruminating as to why Tusar N. Mohapatra of Savitri Era Open Forum expressed such horror and repulsion that I would put Vishnu (and the fixed astrological signs he represents) in the Mother's Symbol.

Tusar and certain followers of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother clearly do not want to associate the 12 petals of the Mother's Symbol (and the 12-based structure of the Mother's Temple) with the Earth's Year (i.e. the Tropical Zodiac). To them the Mother's Symbol is not so 'mundane.' A valid question for a group of yogis who resonate with Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's teachings on the indwelling divinity of material creation is, 'Why not?' ... an excerpt from 'Considering the Dynamism of the Mother's Symbol' http://circumsolatious.blogspot.com/2009/08/considering-dynamism-of-mothers-symbol_20.html Posted by Lori Tompkins to Savitri Era at 10:24 PM, August 23, 2009

Harish Kumar has left a new comment on your post "The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have already accomplish...":

Thus Aurobindo admits a connection himself. Connection with the Hindu Line of Ten and therefore a connection with the Veda & Upanishads and Puranas & "Perennial Philosophy". Aurobindo is definitely a Sanatani and Hindu. And there IS "past mythological connection" and is a continuation of "earlier formulations".

Its interesting to note that those who deny the Third also deny the First and the Second. Which indirectly proves that all Three make an INTEGRAL WHOLE. If its not a crude and blatant denial as Peter Heehs has accomplished,its indirect denial by saying he is beyond past mythic formulations and "idle approximations of the Avatar". Just sunder his link with the perennial philosophy and its concepts of Avatars and well you have denied the fact that he was an Avatar.

But you do this in a very sophisticated way, by "crediting" him as someone radical and stating he was "beyond" and things like that , but the upshot of it all is he is no longer an Avatar ! And you take umbrage at Peter Heehs books ! [...] There is practically no difference between Saviri Erans and Peter Heehs admirers. Both are Avatar deniers. Posted by Harish Kumar to Savitri Era at 1:02 PM, August 23, 2009

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ghettoized Continental Philosophy syllabus": Where do you get the term ghettoize as you use it above?
Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 6:03 PM, August 23, 2009

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Jay Holmes Smith's enthusiasm for World Union

from Prithwin Mukherjee prithwin.mukherjee@gmail.com to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 19 Aug 2009 13:14 subject Re: [Savitri Era] Celebrate the World Union Day in a befitting manner on August 20
Bhâi Tusar,

Thanks for the timely reminder on World Union. I had known late A.B. Patel and received him when he came to Paris. You have omitted the enthusiasm of Jay Holmes Smith.
Regards. Prithwindra Mukherjee

from aju mukhopadhyay aju.mukhopadhyay@gmail.com to"Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com
date 20 August 2009 11:37 subject Re: [Savitri Era] Celebrate the World Union Day in a befitting manner on August 20
Dear Tushar M,

We shall celebrate it in our mind. The World Union as an organisation with its HQ at Pondicherry is existing in its name only, almost non-existant. Many things it could do if it really existed, in the context of the present world situation.

But that apart, I have an article, Of the Possibility of a World Government on Spiritual Foundation. If you wish I may contribute it for the Savitri Era. Best - Aju Mukhopadhyay

Savitri Era Political Action: The unity of the subcontinent was a ... Of the possibility of a World Government on Spiritual Foundation by Aju Mukhopadhyay. That mankind is proceeding toward some kind of unity is without any ...

Disfiguring and dismissing the 24 meter Inner Chamber that the Mother envisioned

from Paulette paulette@auroville.org.in to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 19 Aug 2009 06:55 subject PNB: no discusssion
Dear Tusar, Please post the following:

It has emerged that Robert Wilkinson is a close associate of ‘Thea’, Patrizia Norelli Bachelet. I have been recommended by members of the Auroville Working Committee, as well of the Auroville Outreach Media, not to entertain any discussion. Everybody should know that in no way Auroville is to be associated with any of the customary items with which Norelli & entourage have been bombarding Sri Aurobindo’s and the Mother’s followers for years. Paulette

Lori Tompkins has left a new comment on your post "Lori deplored": Tusar,

I am wondering if you have READ the entire ‘Waving the Flag of Cosmic Ignorance in the Face of Sri Aurobindo’ article? [...] I don’t know if your horror and dismay over seeing Vishnu and the signs of the zodiac in the Mother’s Symbol will be shared by Indians and others who have some degree of understanding and respect for both astrology and the Dasavataras of Vishnu. Are you seriously intent on divorcing the Mother from the Mother Earth and Her cycles in time, and from the Vedic tradition of Vishnu’s avatars!?!

That will truly be a difficult task and will win you little honor, except perhaps in the un-glorious circle of ‘We’ who join you in ‘Waving the Flag of Cosmic Ignorance …’. [...] I especially do not understand your accusing ME of mutilating and disfiguring the Mother’s Symbol in a 308 by 320 pixel diagram when you and those you represent have had no qualms about disfiguring and dismissing the 24 meter Inner Chamber that the Mother envisioned for HER Temple.

No one in your constituency of ‘We’ cared then or cares now [...] This comment which I have titled 'Lori Deplored ... Hypocrisy Adored in Matters of the Mother's Temple' ended up being too long for this forum, it is continued at http://circumsolatious.blogspot.com/2009/08/lori-deplored-hypocrisy-adored-in.html Posted by Lori Tompkins to Savitri Era at 11:17 PM, August 18, 2009

Robert E. Wilkinson has left a new comment on your post "Placing Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on incomparab...":

What I find so disturbing about Tusar Mohapatra’s comments is that he holds himself out to all as an authority on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and presumes, like his colleagues in Auroville, to lead devotees toward a greater understanding of their work. [...] for someone who has taken on the sacred responsibility of broadcasting Sri Aurobindo’s and the Mother’s message to the world, promoting this kind of dogmatic intransigence to others under the pretext of an Integral Knowledge is simply unacceptable.

Sri Aurobindo wrote that the first condition of the Supermind is exactness, clearness and order both in the total and the details and their relations. Those of us capable of honoring that condition have the absolute right and moreover the duty to demand that exactitude and clarity from others like Tusar and Paulette who hold themselves out as the highest authorities on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. [...]

Let us be clear, Tusar and Paulette consider themselves accomplished scholars but this epochal work is not about mere scholarship. It is about Yoga… Realization. [...] while Tusar and Paulette take great pride in flaunting their scholarship [...] Let Tusar, Paulette or R.Y. Deshpande answer if they can and if they cannot, let them step aside and acknowledge the people who can. Posted by Robert E. Wilkinson to Savitri Era Open Forum at 5:10 PM, August 17, 2009

Robert E. Wilkinson has left a new comment on your post "Third Unicorn":

Like his cronies in Auroville, Tusar arrogantly believes that he already knows the truth making continued growth and the comprehension of anything higher a virtual impossibility. He is in a state of Mental Inertia which is simply another word for dogmatic intransigence. There is no openness, no innocence of mind, no willingness to learn, just an arrogant belief in the certainty of his own arrested comprehension. This has been the status quo in Auroville for 36 years, complete Inertia and a pathological rejection of the light. To be challenged by those of us who possess some degree of realization evokes the most vitriolic response [...] Posted by Robert E. Wilkinson to Savitri Era at 6:39 PM, August 17, 2009

Tusar N Mohapatra has left a new comment on your post "Dialogue between the Father of the Nation and the ...": I specifically mentioned "inellectual legacy" pertaining to say, socio-political theory. [TNM] Posted by Tusar N Mohapatra to Savitri Era at 11:30 AM, August 17, 2009

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Savitri Erans should read Secrets of the Earth

Robert E. Wilkinson has left a new comment on your post "Placing Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on incomparab...":

Before you begin with the ad hominem attacks on my occupation and your defensive characterizations of my tone rather than the facts I presented, you might want to review what Sri Aurobindo said on the matter:

Sri Aurobindo Archives of April 1981, this from an unpublished letter of Sri Aurobindo to his wife, Mrinalini, 2 July 1902:

'...You said you have got a horoscope; send it to me. Jotin Bannerjee is here and I wish to show it to him. I have faith in astrology - ten years' experience confirmed. But also amongst a thousand, nine hundred know nothing about it. Few know but more make mistakes, e.g., non-performance of the coronation ceremony of the English King this year was declared several months ago - causes even. If there be evil consequences then there are means of knowing them beforehand - as they can be cured often. If horoscope cannot be found, exact time of birth will do, but even the very minute must be correct...'

Believe what you like Tusar but have the integrity to respond to the facts I have presented and not deviate the discussion to your unexamined beliefs about astrology or as Paulette has done, try to infer that I am in some way an initiator of a cruel and merciless religion. Dear god, what will you think of next to avoid dealing with the truth. The issues I have put forth in my paper are based on Knowledge - Veda. If you are unable to respond on the basis of that knowledge which Sri Aurobindo extolled as a practical necessity for the future of the human race, you should accept what you cannot understand in total humility and not argue about things of which you have no direct knowledge. Posted by Robert E. Wilkinson to Savitri Era Open Forum at 7:04 PM, August 14, 2009

Tusar N Mohapatra has left a new comment on your post "Placing Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on incomparab...":

Your sphere of work is somewhat separate from mine and I am not convinced about its value. Moreover, I find no motivation to enter an alien territory nor have the inclination to master all branches of knowledge. [TNM] Posted by Tusar N Mohapatra to Savitri Era Open Forum at 7:45 PM, August 14, 2009

Lori Tompkins has left a new comment on your post "The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have already accomplish...": Tusar

I have written the following response to your post above Waving the Flag of Cosmic Ignorance in the Face of Sri Aurobindo and the Vedic Tradition of Avatars. Here is an excerpt:

'If [Tusar] had not closed himself off to further victories of the ‘Supramental Descent’ beyond the life and passing of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, he may well have written, ‘Savitri Erans should read Secrets of the Earth and consider for themselves whether or not the divine manifestation of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother is in essence connected to an evolutionary arc stretching both far into the past as well as far into the future, – an arcing or cyclical progression that is embedded deep in the ancient texts and mythologies of the world.

But clearly Mr. Mohapatra, Peter Heehs and many others in the Integral Yoga community have not exhibited an interest in understanding such a grand evolutionary arc, progression or continuity as is recognized in the Vedic/Hindu tradition of the Dasavataras. Such an interest would change the landscape of everything in their world for the better. They would, for starters, achieve a more profound understanding of the word ‘Integral.’

But alas, certain mindsets refuse to believe that a divine-consciousness could be so pervasive as to be capable of coordinating evolution ‘like clockwork’ or would be so precise as to follow a real schedule of progressive stages or ages of growth.' Posted by Lori Tompkins to Savitri Era at 1:08 PM, August 15, 2009

Harish Kumar has left a new comment on your post "The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have already accomplish...":

Aurobindo has clearly said that "the Divine is not only Transcendent but also Cosmic and finally Individual". This clealy proves there * has to be * a Third in the line of Avatars. Its amazing Mr. Mohapatra thinks otherwise. Clearly things are incomplete with just Aurobindo and the Mother. Aurobindo also stated he would reincarnate in the first supramental body. What is Mohapatra's view on that ?

Also he has proved his own ignorance by launching ad hominem attacks on the previous poster. This clearly shows he has no answers to the questions being asked. The best way then is to attack and defame the questioner.

"Born in a free country....right to believe in my own beliefs....no one need be troubled for that"

While you have freedom to believe in what you want, its important you have right knowledge. One should not wallow in ignorance, taking advantage of the tolerance of hindus. And people who have correct knowledge are going to feel troubled when they see someone with wrong knowledge and would try to enlighten them. Thats an act of compassion and you would do well to recognise and feel grateful for it. Posted by Harish Kumar to Savitri Era at 11:13 PM, August 14, 2009

Tusar N Mohapatra has left a new comment on your post "The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have already accomplish...":

OK. If at all “there * has to be * a Third” let him be democratically elected to the satisfaction of all devotees. [TNM] Posted by Tusar N Mohapatra to Savitri Era at 10:38 AM, August 15, 2009

Friday, August 14, 2009

Placing Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on incomparable, unreachable Transcendent heights

from Paulette paulette@auroville.org.in to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com
date 14 August 2009 02:51 subject Re: Fwd: [Savitri Era] New comment on "The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have already accomplish...": Dear Mohapatra,

Thanks for sending me Wilkinson's comment, and please post my reply. Although I may agree to a certain extent with the content, what strikes in it is the complete absence of bhakti, of surrender, of any élan from the heart and soul, killing on the spot any feeling for the Guru. Cold mental arrogance and self-righteousness lead nowhere – in life, as in Yoga.

There is a terrible text in the Agenda about a fake Sri Aurobindo, initiator of a new religion, cruel and merciless. This being had attacked the Mother, even stopping her heart for a while. The Mother has warned us: this is the age of the Lord of the Nations, the Asura of Falsehood. Whenever the arrogant mind plays around, without the support of the psychic, the Asura lurks. We must be very careful. Similia similibus: the psychic being knows who is who. Then no one can intrude.

I don’t know Wilkinson, but this gentleman has certainly nothing to do with Auroville, which has not to be associated in any way to his mental ruminations. I have not read the rest of his article, “The Unraveling of the Auroville Cult”, but I will inform the Auroville Working Committee. Paulette

***

Robert E. Wilkinson has left a new comment on your post "The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have already accomplish...":
My response to Tusar Mohapatra’s comments is part of a more comprehensive analysis entitled ‘THE UNRAVELLING OF THE AUROVILLE CULT’ which may be read in its entirety at: http://rigvedacos.blogspot.com/

…Those remaining devotees who have also rejected the higher knowledge but who nevertheless revile Peter Heehs and consider his book a betrayal of Sri Aurobindo are left no choice but to embrace a greater religious fervor and a heightened idealization of the guru. When one is dealing with disillusionment in the absence of real knowledge how else can they continue that level of commitment. Their gurus are gone, their teachings are being plagiarized and distorted by outsiders. People they respected and looked to for guidance have betrayed and abandoned them. The only option is to deny the facts and idealize the beloved out of all proportion. Tusar Mohapatra has provided us with an unmistakable example of this view when he writes:

“ The divine manifestation of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo is an unprecedented phenomenon which can't be explained by past mythological instances or received metaphysical formulations. Parameters of perennial philosophy or speculative prophecies like eternal recurrence fall flat here. All talk of the Messiah, the Tirthankar or the Avatar is idle intellectual approximations.The mystery of their physical life, meeting, and work on earth is nothing in comparison to what is yet untold about them and their global action to unfold... Savitri Erans must lift their flags high enough for others to spot and be a sport.” TNM

This is a classic example of someone taking their own unfounded hagiographic inflation to extremes. What is most revealing is Tusar’s desire to get away from all formulation, mythic or otherwise which allows him to believe whatever fantasy he likes without the inconvenience of having to deal with proof of his claims and the facts that support them. He does so by putting them “up there” on the Transcendent heights beyond the reach and explanation of mortal man. This is a perfect example of how devotees with no yogic experience and realization attempt to turn this epochal spiritual work into a Religion. What remains are un-provable pronouncements about Sri Aurobindo and the Mother solely derived from Tusar’s subjective devotional fervor. His hopes are pinned on the ‘years to come’ and any fellow disillusioned Aurobindonians who might rally to his flag.

In a work characterized by objective knowledge and precision, this kind of unqualified ‘new age’ response is simply unacceptable. By placing Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on incomparable, unreachable Transcendent heights, Tusar believes that he is doing them a service but in fact, as we have discussed in this paper, he is contradicting the very purpose they came to achieve. If joining the top of the ladder to the bottom is the whole secret of realization and the work of the Avatar, Tusar has just yanked the ladder out from under them and made their stated evolutionary goal of the divinization of matter a virtual impossibility.

… When Carter Phipps writes, ‘…the offices of EnlightenNext believe that the reason Sri Aurobindo’s work is not more celebrated is because his followers ‘view his work in such mythic and messianic terms’ regarding him as a flawless saint or Avatar.’ According to Phipps, students of Aurobindo and the Mother have a tendency to take this kind of hagiographic inflation to extreme heights. Given his limited understanding of Sri Aurobindo’s work and unfounded devotional hyperbole, Tusar plays right into this characterization. Posted by Robert E. Wilkinson to Savitri Era at 7:01 PM, August 13, 2009

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Moksha & mazaa

Jeff Meyerhoff has left a new comment on the post "Zizek and Rorty on the Real": Tusar,

Yes, "Eastern practices" is undoubtedly too broad and you would know better than me whether it applied to Sri Aurobindo. But certainly in Buddhism and certain forms of Hinduism there is a Final Liberation. Thanks for the corrections. Posted by Jeff Meyerhoff to philosophy autobiography at August 12, 2009

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Savitri Erans are more existentially authentic as ...":

The posts are dry and intellectual over here!! Has he or she read the junk they write on SCIY? Out there, you read about Aporia, Reification and Doxa but it doesnt lead to any Moksha! Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 6:04 AM, August 13, 2009

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Heehs ko mazaa nahin aaya":

tushar ko to mazaa zaroor aaya yeh comment kar ke Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 10:02 PM, August 12, 2009

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

An enigmatic face – He was always alone

Prithwindra Mukherjee August 12, 2009 at 5:29 am M O N I

I was going to complete twelve when the Mother blessed me on my first birthday in October 1948. The Ashram was full of beaming faces, revolving around the Mother, as Nishikanta rightly described: “mâ’r mukh jhalamal chând’ér mato, târ pâshé târâdal shishurâ jato”.

An enigmatic face – though radiant like an ambulant flame, with a child’s eyes, wide open, full of wonder – remained aloof from that astral procession. He was always alone, except on occasions when he went to take tea with Râni Nâg, wife of his close friend Bijoy.

In those days there was a special cart that delivered “tiffin carriers” to inmates who did not have their meals at the Dining Room : Ravindra-ji (not Professor Ravindra Khanna), in charge of the Mother’s cold store – famous for his boisterous laughter – used to manage it. Every evening Moni was seen standing on the corner of the footpath of his house, perpendicular to the Bakery, apparently waiting for his supper brought by Ravindra-ji. But it seemed to be an obvious pretext for him to stop and stare at the sun setting : seen from the Ashram main gate, it was a glowing profile plunged in deep meditation.

Whereas I was ignorant about his loving attachment to the memory of my grandfather (who was intimately known to Moni’s father, as I will learn later from Nolini-dâ and other sources), knowing who I was, he had an affectionate expression of familiarity whenever we met… in silence.

In the Ashram people were told that his consciousness was constantly identified with Sri Aurobindo’s. Reply

Sri Aurobindo's Global Vision by Rick Lipschutz

About CIF Program Listing Special Events 58th Anniversary Giving to CIF Membership
Founded in 1951 by Dr. Haridas and Bina Chaudhuri, the Cultural Integration Fellowship is a non-profit, non-sectarian, religious, cultural, and educational organization devoted to the concepts of universal religion, cultural harmony, and creative self-unfoldment.Cultural Integration Fellowship

Integral Consciousness
Integral Consciousness reveals to humans the realm of boundless possibilities... -Dr. Haridas Chaudhuri, Founder, CIF

Sunday, August 16 11:00 am Sri Aurobindo Birthday Celebration - A Manifestation Sheathed in Light: Sri Aurobindo's Global Vision a presentation by Rick Lipschutz

Rick Lipschutz's interests in Judaism, The SF Lodge of the Theosophical Society, and mystic Christian semi-monastic practice, related inquiry and poetry inspired and guided him to the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and Mother, the focus of his practice for the past 12 years. He has been a member of CIF and attended retreats at Sri Aurobindo Sadhana Peetham in Lodi, presenting talks like this one on the fourth principal realization of Sri Aurobindo: the intimate relevance to every aspiration of our lives of that dense, warm radiant plenitude he called Supermind.

Cost: Free Will Offering. Your donation helps us continue these offerings. © copyright 2009 Cultural Integration Fellowship All Rights Reserved. 2650 Fulton Street @ 3rd Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118415-668-1559 Designed, constructed, and maintained by Three Worlds Communications.

Exploring 'cellular consciousness' approaches in meditation/hatha-yoga exercises

ASPIRATION Celebrating 137th Birth Anniversary of Sri Aurobindo
Comment by kalpana

''... trying to crystallize the action of Sri Aurobindo ...'' Yes, the challenge is avoid 'fossilizing'' embalming' approach which makes the Teachings a DEAD weight. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's works require careful reading, with heart/mind/spirit, like mining for precious gems/gold. Sri Aurobindo, in one of his letters said he refused his works to be condensed/paraphrased - he opposed the dumbing down 'yoga without tears' approach!

''..having faith in a future evolution...should not be taken like a religious movement...'' Otherwise I think we can fall into the danger of 'flabby thinking' and futuristic fanatsy! At present we humans have more than enough 'evolutionary work to do with 'monkey mind' and 'horsey body' and 'pigsy vital' [I draw these analogies from a hilarious Japanses children's TV series Monkey Magic, based on the travels of the Buddhist monk Tripitika'.]

15 August 2009 approaches... Posted by kalpana on August 12, 2009 at 12:27pm
Permalink Reply by kalpana

In the 3 days leading up to Sri Aurobindo's birthday,
- I am reading his translation and commentary of ISA Upanishad -this will also help to revise/refresh/improve my Sanskrit.
-Continue exploring 'cellular consciousness' approaches in meditation/hatha-yoga exercises.
- Thank you - ASPIRATION for thought-provoking posts by people who are also exploring the Path of Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo on Islam and other religions
Posted by Barindranath Chaki on August 12, 2009 at 10:11am

Comment by kalpana

Thank you. In its entirety, it gives an idea of the thoughtful, informed manner in which Sri Aurobindo considered the contributions of the major religions. We can all learn from His approach: thesis, anti-thesis, synthesis.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Sri Aurobindo's words can warm up every Indian’s heart and a new politics would arise

Thursday, July 26, 2007 This is the most propitious moment for the Savitri Era Party
[What is most depressing is that Sikhs are becoming caste-ridden
by
Dipankar Gupta HT July 26, 2007 Indian Christians press for Christian Dalit rights AsiaNews.it, Italy - Jul 24, 2007 BJP: back to being untouchable? Coomi Kapoor Indian Express: Thursday, July 26, 2007]

Sixty years of freedom has empowered the people to throw away the borrowed glasses, and therefore, Indian polity is undergoing a severe churning at multiple levels. Perhaps, this is the most propitious moment for the Savitri Era Party to unfurl its forward-looking agenda and fill the void. Although, "as a poet Sri Aurobindo is quite an unknown entity," his words can warm up every Indian’s heart and a new politics would arise. We must not let this moment pass! [TNM] Posted by Tusar N Mohapatra at 8:22 AM 1 comments:

Anirban said... Tusarji, rightly said, yes, the churning is indeed going on at all levels & fast. A rapid amount of restructuring & rejection is taking place & the political awareness of the masses is generally on the rise, it is to this awareness that a Savitri Era Party can offer a new culture of politics, Sri Aurobindo's call for unity & concerted action towards a new India is dynamically relevant at this moment of time.

We are hurtling towards the future & all that which cannot keep pace with that momentum is tending to becoming obsolete. A vision of unity, an unity of self, an unity among selves, an unity among castes, creeds, religions, beliefs, systems, views & regions, an unity in the country & an unity eventually among among countries is what a Savitri Era Party must strive to acheive. In an age were fragmentation seems to be the only mode of expansion a party that calls for unity first, overriding all attempts at splintering, can really strike a chord.

A Savitri Era Party which seeks to do this is thus the need of the hour - it may be named the Unity Party - & The Masters Words are there to light the agni of the new revolution & announce a new age of fire - agni-yuga - a fire of sacrifice where we decide to offer all pettiness, all parochialism, all divisions, all hatred, insincerity etc & build anew a nation in strength, harmony, unity & Truth. This may sound odd at this period of our national existence but it is the only way out. In Sri Aurobindo's words,

"low-pitched and narrow ideals, small hopes and aims, petty caution and cowardice as well as short-sighted, faint-hearted leadership - all these palrty things can never be the right materials for building the strength of a nation. No people has ever risen to the heights of greatness equipped with such poor materials. Our politicians should always should always keep in mind the saying from the Mahabharata: niriho nasnute mahat, "The unaspiring shall never enjoy greatness."

Let our politicians forget this today, the majority among them aspire only for self-greatness-aggrandisement, but it is the people who must rememeber this most, a Savitri Era Party must work towards first raising this aspiration for greatness in all & define 'a large & noble political ideal' for national resurgence only then will true greatness start dawning on this nation & a new dircetion be taken. 2:34 PM, July 26, 2007

Transparency is essential in our electronic age

Editing Aurobindo A Catch in the Code

I’d like to clarify a few things that appeared in Editing Aurobindo (March 15). As president of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Beneficiaries Association, I had been airing grievances in public for which the ashram trust formed an enquiry committee and issued a showcause notice wherein I was "charged for not abiding by a certain basic code of conduct evolved by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother". Among other things, that code enjoined that "nothing should be sent out for publication without having been first submitted to Sri Aurobindo for approval" and that "nothing should be spoken to outsiders about what passes in the Ashram without the special permission from the Mother".

The case is now sub judice in the IIIrd Additional District Munsif’s court which I’ve approached. However, I’d like to point out that by speaking to the press, trustee Dilip Dutta and the Americans in charge of the archives have violated this code of conduct. Transparency is essential in our electronic age, but trustees who try to quote a code of conduct next to impossible to apply in life must set an example by observing it themselves. Otherwise they can only be like Satan quoting the scriptures. D. Kamal Dora, Pondicherry www.outlookindia.com Published Mar 29, 1999

Stop using ASPIRATION for spreading the words of Jesus

ASPIRATION Comment by Barindranath Chaki This is the aim of ASPIRATION — to prepare for the advent of the Supramental Race. And to be sincere to The Mother and Sri Aurobindo, we must never forget that Their Teaching is NOT a religion — religions belong to the old humanity, full of divisions and strifes and groups and limitations. We, the Aspirants must be above all religions! Barin Chaki 09-08-09

Comment by Barindranath Chaki
It is a spiritual Truth, realised by many, including the Supramental pioneers that attempts of a contact with God through the Mind only do not go far. One has to pass beyond Mind. That is the Way.

Comment by Jordi Valero
With all due respect: I belong to a Christian tradition. My grandparents were Christians. My parents were Christians. And I myself was educated as a Christian. But I grew and matured, well...maybe just a little. But enough to realize that a tradition that excludes the other and says to herself "I am the Way and no one comes to the Father but it is not through me" can not be a way too high.

India taught me, through the distance and when I was almost a child that there are countless ways to reach the summit of a mountain, taught me that God is infinite, that's to say, there are many ways of approaching the Lord...

But if India has taught me this, Sri Aurobindo and Mother taught me that heaven is not beyond this earth, in fact, they taught to me that is no good to scape from here to search Lord... because Lord is all. Yes, they showed to me that is no good looking for a heaven away from the material manifestation…They taught me that God is infinitely wise.

Comment by Gopal
i am not an expert in christian philosophy and i can not comment much on the main topic that has been posted here. but what i feel I HAVE to express here. i do not know whether this would create an unnecessary scene among us but it has to be said.

as aleady i can not comment much on th etopic mainly coined by Ingo here. but there have been some reactions to it. and it is good to see them. coming already. and amazingly Ingo is responding to them with equal ascertiveness. (whether it is ascertiveness or something else we need to see later).

what i persoanlly think is i must reply to ingo's replies to Jordi in particular...... God is inside yourself.....i certainly agree....and i know there is even more intact relation with Him/Her....and that is "tat-tvam-asi" - Though art That....His name is Jesus Christi donot agree....becuase why do we have to tie down The Supreme with just one name? why He/She has to be only Jesus? why not simply The Supreme, The Infinite, The Ineffable?.............are the only ones to reach the heaven of all heavens, which is beyond this heaven on earth.

whether it is Heaven, or Hell, all the possibilities are within us, as He Himself has manifested in the form of this human body - yathA brahmANdE, tathA piNDANDE....while there are Heavens beyond the reach of earth and humanity, they are bound to come down here...and that where we are all working.

we request you to stop using ASPIRATION for spreading the words of Jesus. we all do go to church, we all do salute stand in silence over there like you do. but the path is different. and ASPIRATION is the area where we discuss the path we have found for ourselves, the Path of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.

we are the people aspiring to reach the Beyond. when we say Beyond...He is Beyond everything. religion, name, thought, senses, experience, etc.please do not use this forum to discuss anything related to christianity, as we do not use it to spread any religion, whether hinduism or islam.

this is a huble request. P.S: HENCE FORTH LET US AVOID ALL THE DISCUSSIONS NOT RELATED TO THE MOTHER AND SRI AUROBINDO, THEIR PATH, PHILOSOPHY. WE CAN DISCUSS OUR OWN OPINIONS AND VIEWS ON THE SAME. BUT LET US BE CONSTURCTIVE. THIS IS A TOTALLY OFF THE TRACK CONVERSATION GOING ON AND MUST BE MODERATED WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT IF THIS CONTINUES.

WHILE I DO NOT HAVE ANY INTENTIONS TO CAUSE ANY DISHARMONY TO ANYONE IN THIS SITE OR ANYWHERE ELSE, ANY SLIGHT INITIATION TO DO THE SAME HERE OR ANYWHERE WILL BE DEALT WITH AND WILL BE DEALT WITH TILL IT IS SETTLED.

Comment by Jordi Valero
Anyone who claims that his path is the path and his truth is the truth is showing to everybody that do not know neither the truth nor the path. Because ... How can the infinity has a only path to arrives to Her?

You speak us of Jesus Christ...Certainly a great Being who brought humanity the teaching of Love. But say that he is the only gateway to the Divine is an assertion that violates the intelligence of the members of this forum.

Please opine on what you want. But do not use this space to evangelize anyone.

***

Mirror of Tomorrow by RY Deshpande on Fri 07 Aug 2009 08:12 PM IST Profile Permanent Link I completely agree with what Ned is saying. The Mirror cannot be a platform to project Party ideals of whatever kind these be. I’ll request commentators to desist from such a temptation.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Ideology is pretty much the farthest thing from Truth

Re: The Mother’s role in the 1971 War—by Kittu Reddy
by Tusar N. Mohapatra on Thu 06 Aug 2009 08:07 PM IST Profile Permanent Link
Savitri Era Party is committed to raise a band of young leaders and inculcate in them a brand of patriotism as envisioned by The Mother & Sri Aurobindo. [TNM] Reply

by Vikas on Thu 06 Aug 2009 10:25 PM IST Profile Permanent Link
"Patriotism as envisioned by The Mother & Sri Aurobindo" is good. Yoga and dedication to the Divine need not preclude Patriotism; it ought to intensify it. It would be well to remember Sri Aurobindo's message on 15th Aug 1947 Independance Day. India has a great role to play in the future of humanity. Reply

by Tusar N. Mohapatra on Thu 06 Aug 2009 11:04 PM IST Profile Permanent Link
Thanks for concurring. May August augment our areas of agreement. [TNM] Reply

by Tusar N. Mohapatra on Fri 07 Aug 2009 02:51 PM IST Profile Permanent Link
[Stark must he be and a kinsman to danger Who shares my kingdom and walks at my side. (Invitation)] Reply

by RY Deshpande on Fri 07 Aug 2009 08:22 PM IST Profile Permanent Link
But Vikas, we are simply harping on "India has a great role to play." What are we doing for it to happen? We have to have lines of action based on India's foundational principles. RYD Reply

by ned on Fri 07 Aug 2009 12:34 PM IST Profile Permanent Link
Tusar, do you really think it is wise to mix the integral yoga with politics, and that too, the kind of disgusting politics that we have in South Asia? The Mother forbade politics in the Ashram, as far as I know. It is one thing to go into politics

  • being personally inspired by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother,
  • setting up a secular party,
  • and keeping one's devotion to SA/M to oneself while expressing their vision in more secular terms [so as to not alienate atheists/agnostics/other religious groups] and
  • including people of all religious and non-religious communities in one's political party,

but entirely another to create a political party affiliated with SA/M or their yoga. You are treading on dangerous ground both with this Savitri Era Party and Savitri Era Religion stuff. I have always felt this way about these endeavours of yours and I am surprised that RYD and other scholars of SA/M have not criticized these things more forcefully on Mirror of Tomorrow.

Another pertinent point I remember is that the Mother actually said that of all human endeavours, science would be the first to bring itself in line with Truth, and that politics would actually be the last, corrupt and sick as it was!

Good luck to you in your political efforts, but I hope you realize you are stepping into very, very deep waters if you mix this sort of stuff with yoga. Politics is the realm of ideology and ideology (right-wing or left-wing) is pretty much the farthest thing from Truth. Reply

by Tusar N. Mohapatra on Fri 07 Aug 2009 03:27 PM IST Profile Permanent Link
Thanks for the sermon. However, I don’t find any reason why our views should converge given our difference in age, experience, education, religion, gender, nationality, life goals, etc. [TNM] Reply

by RY Deshpande on Fri 07 Aug 2009 08:12 PM IST Profile Permanent Link
I completely agree with what Ned is saying. The Mirror cannot be a platform to project Party ideals of whatever kind these be. I’ll request commentators to desist from such a temptation. There is no question of sermon also of any variety. We are discussing issues of different kinds generally from academic points of view, with academic bearings, and that should as well be our preferred line of presentation.

Having said so, I’ll add that the question of age, gender, religion, experience, education, nationality just doesn’t arise here. What is expected is a certain depth of understanding, the sense of ennobling dignity, poise, these desirably coupled with insights and perceptions.

“... RYD and other scholars of SA/M have not criticized these things more forcefully on Mirror of Tomorrow.” Is it necessary? We have our own tasks cut out, and each to each one’s liking. I’m looking at the entire thing from the point of view of social organization that should be conducive to the emergence of spiritual society based on Integral Spirituality. This will be perhaps quite apparent to everyone after going through dozens and dozens of posts on the Mirror. And it is in that endeavour I appeal for participation from those who are concerned about these matters. For the collective growth of society some of these desiderata will have to be kept in mind.

In India itself, as an example, the problems of social engineering are of a serious nature, and there are degradations of a number of types, for instance, corruption, delay in the justice system. With different parameters this is true all over the world. Without these being corrected, it will be chimerical to talk of Integral Spirituality. It’s here I welcome constructive ideas to come into play. ~ RYD Reply

Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet (Thea) has been served notice to leave India

Chile president's aunt asked to leave India Times of India Chennai TNN 18 July 2009, 05:06pm IST There is another Bachelet, her aunt, who has lived in Tamil nadu for an uninterrupted 38 years. She is the director of Aeon Centre of Cosmology located in the Palani Hills.

Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet (Thea to her students) has remarkable achievements to her credit. Apart from founding and directing the Centre of Cosmology, she is the founding president of Aeon Trust (India) which came into existence in 1986 to support the work of the centre. The centre under her direction has organized several international conferences and Norelli-Bachelet has been invited to speak abroad and in India.

These would keep the ordinary person busy for the better part of the day; but not her. She also has a dairy of about 75 cows, each with a Hindu name chosen carefully by her. With the special milk she produces, in the opinion of connoisseurs, European-style cheeses that are better than the imported. She is the managing director of the Indian company. When asked how this came to pass, she answered, ‘I had cows, I had milk, I love cheese. In those days good cheese was not available in India, so why not?’ People come from all over to visit her model dairy and cheese factory.

She manages all this even as she does some of the most remarkable research in her field – cosmology. But she qualifies this label. She calls it applied cosmology. To date a dozen volumes of her original research have been published by her publishing group, Aeon Books. The latest just off the press is unique: it is the only cosmological documentation of the Vishnu Line of Ten Avatars.

But how is the government treating this person of exemplary qualifications? She says she has just been served notice to leave the country – and within four days. “With all my activities which have only brought good to India, is it reasonable to expect me to wind up my affairs and just leave? she asks.

***

Friday, August 7, 2009 Sri Aurobindo's 'Kin' Asked to Leave India
Surely some find it interesting that in the same month the government announced their plans to celebrate Sri Aurobindo’s arrival in the safe haven of Pondicherry, they sent police to the door of Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet, telling her she had four and a half days (two business days) to leave the country or she would be arrested. Ms. Norelli-Bachelet, a resident of India since 1971, is recognized by many in India and throughout the world as an essential continuation of Sri Aurobindo’s yoga, and especially as an extension of his will towards uplifting the Sanatana Dharma and the true Vedic idea that has been lost on Indians and the rest of the world alike for aeons....The full article is posted on Integral Yoga Studies. Posted by Lori Tompkins at 1:28 PM
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***

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 The Soul: Triply Seeded
Notes: All quotes of the Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, with two exceptions, are from The Psychic Being – Soul: Its Nature, Mission and Evolution. The Sri Aurobindo quotes marked by a single asterisk came from The Life Divine, and the double asterisk from Letters on Yoga, Volume: 22-23-24 [SABCL]. The Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet excerpts are from The New Way, A Study in the Rise and Establishment of a Gnostic Society, Volume 1.
Posted by Lori Tompkins at 12:24 PM
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Friday, August 7, 2009

A rich and readable introduction to the life of one of the most remarkable women of the 20th Century

The Mother and the biographer's dilemma
Biographers tend to idealise their subjects or portray them as all too human. Georges Van Vrekhem's biography of Mirra Alfassa, the Mother of Auroville, manages an ideal balance, says PETER HEEHS. The Hindu Sunday, March 04, 2001

HOW should a writer recount the life of an extraordinary person? By concentrating on what makes that person different? The result is likely to strain our credibility. Of course, this is what most readers want. For them, the more incredible the events in remarkable people's lives, the greater their appeal.

But some readers will be put off by this approach. For them, what is interesting about extraordinary people is the qualities they share with the rest of us. If they achieved great things, it was by making great efforts, often by overcoming great obstacles. But writers who stress the "humanity" of their subjects, often end up debunking them. How to avoid these two extremes is the biographer's dilemma: too much stress on what makes the subject extraordinary, and the work becomes hagiography; too much stress on what makes the subject human, and it moves towards iconoclasm. The problem is to find the right balance, and this is not an easy task. When the subject is a yogi or a saint, it is all but impossible.

Mirra Alfassa, the Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, was, by any measure, an extraordinary woman. An intelligent student, gifted painter and musician, remarkable writer and speaker, she was at home in the highest cultural circles of Paris when Paris was the cultural capital of the world. At the same time, she had a vibrant inner life which led her first to Algeria, where she studied with a Kabbalistic master, and then to India, where she met Sri Aurobindo. Eventually settling in Pondicherry, she was acknowledged by him as his spiritual equal and collaborator.

When he retired from public view, she became the active head of his ashram, showing a remarkable genius for organisation and administration. If the ashram, and Auroville, have become respected centres of spiritual and practical experimentation, it is due to the Mother's fostering touch.

There are many different narratives hidden in the Mother's life, but the one that stands out is the transformation of a girl from a non-religious family in France into a woman worshipped by thousands in India as an incarnation of the Divine Shakti. The little girl seemed ordinary enough but, when she sat in her room, she had visions of a more perfect world. The young artist painted well enough but was developing her psychic abilities along with her drawing and brushwork. A few years later, when she went to meet the formidable occultist Max Theon, and he told her: "You are now at my mercy. Aren't you afraid?", she shot back: "I am never afraid: I have the Divine here, in my heart."

Back in Paris, she got to know Abdul Baha, Inayat Khan and other spiritual teachers, yet remained dissatisfied; but the moment she met Sri Aurobindo she knew that this was the one she had been seeking. He too seemed to have been waiting for someone. He said later that she was one of only two people who had been able to give him spiritual help. When the ashram was formed, he handed its spiritual as well as its material direction over to her.

The life of such a person is likely to defeat the best efforts of the biographer. Several attempts have been made to tell the Mother's life-story, but they give either too much or too little. Some writers tried to pack every available fact between two, or ten, bulging covers. Readers willing to plough through these tomes will find many things of interest but no coherent picture - or if they do find one, it is more a reflection of the author's bias than a reliable portrait. A second group of writers reduced the material to a bare minimum, leaving only an assemblage of familiar anecdotes and events. The need for a full but not fulsome biography remained. This need has been met by Georges Van Vrekhem's The Mother: The Story of Her Life.

A poet and playwright in his native Belgium before coming to India in 1970, Van Vrekhem joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and eight years later migrated to Auroville. He has translated several books on Indian spirituality into Dutch, and is the author of a well-received biography of Sri Aurobindo: Beyond Man. In writing about the life of Sri Aurobindo's collaborator, he enjoyed a number of advantages: an exhaustive knowledge of the Mother's works in French and English, an acquaintance with everything written about her in those and other European languages, and, above all, the privilege of having met her. He has made good use of his printed sources, doing an especially fine job of situating the Mother in the world of fin-de-siecle France, and, at the other end of her life, plumbing the mysteries of her attempt to divinise the body.

No academic historian, he sometimes accepts sources that would better be ignored, and fails to cross-question others that are generally reliable but incomplete. As a result, he sometimes commits minor errors of fact. But his intention was not to write a critic-proof monograph but rather an evocative narrative. In this he has succeeded admirably. If he lacks the academic's precision, he has the dramatist's flair for framing a scene, using his own wide knowledge, and a variety of historical works, to place the Mother on an authentically fashioned stage. And the drama he has her play in is the noblest one imaginable: the struggle of the divine in humanity to evolve its highest possibilities.

But how does Van Vrekhem deal with the biographer's dilemma? The Mother he gives us is human but not bound by her humanity, extraordinary without being a caricature of sainthood. Some may feel that he takes too much for granted, does not inquire into matters like "avatarhood" or "divine force" in a way that would satisfy the unconverted. But his book is both more complete and more balanced than any previous biography, a rich and readable introduction to the life of one of the most remarkable women of the 20th Century. The Mother: The Story of Her Life, Georges Van Vrekhem, HarperCollins, p.545, Rs. 495.

An extraordinarily complex individual
August 2008 ... Auroville Today: Why do we need yet another biography of Sri Aurobindo? Peter Heehs: What justifies a new biography is new material or a new interpretation. Most biographies of Sri Aurobindo ...

August 4th, 2008 at 10:43 am Posted by Columbia University Press in Asian Studies, Postings by Authors, Religion
Getting beyond the Conventions of Biography – and Hagiography Too: A Post by Peter Heehs
The following post is by Peter Heehs, author of The Lives of Sri Aurobindo
How do you write about a man who is known to some as a politician, to others as a poet and critic, to still others as a philosopher, and to a not inconsiderable number as an incarnation of God? This is one of the problems a biographer of Sri Aurobindo (Aurobindo Ghose, 1872-1950) has to face. Known in the West mostly to specialized audiences (people interested in South Asian history, literature, philosophy, and spirituality), Aurobindo is renowned in his native India as one of the most outstanding, and most many-sided men of the twentieth century. This has not prevented his legacy from being bitterly disputed... I tried to do justice to all sides of this versatile man, but to do so I had to be unconventional in more ways than one.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Pak is fracturing and what Mother said decades ago is indeed happening

Re: India’s Independence and the Spiritual Destiny: Part F
by
Srikanth on Thu 30 Jul 2009 06:23 AM IST Profile Permanent Link
It’s clear to anyone who looks without ideological bias that Pak is fracturing and what Mother said decades ago is indeed happening.
by Tusar N. Mohapatra on Fri 31 Jul 2009 10:20 AM IST Profile Permanent Link
Regardless of what The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have said from time to time during the last Century, can we agree on certain policies at present as regards Pakistan?
  • That it is a nation apart and we respect its sovereignty,
  • We should not be unduly interested in its internal affair; and
  • Bilateral trade and people-to-people contact should be our primary concern. [TNM] Reply
by RY Deshpande on Sat 01 Aug 2009 05:06 AM IST Profile Permanent Link
Strange! how can one say “regardless of…” when one also proclaims “Savitri Era of those who adore, Om Sri Aurobindo & The Mother”? ~RYD Reply
by Srikanth on Sat 01 Aug 2009 05:12 AM IST Profile Permanent Link
I agree with the third one. Mother and SA have said that Pakistan should never be accepted as a settled fact - acknowledging it as a nation and respecting its sovereignity would amount to doing that. As to being interested in its internal affairs there are two issues: If those "internal" affairs affect India we cannot but be interested and involved. Second, by its hostile actions in Kashmir and elsewhere and by openly expressing interest in destabilizing India, Pakistan has made its intentions clear. In such a situation, India cannot be expected to be purely defensive in its response. Reply
by auroman on Sat 01 Aug 2009 06:12 AM IST Profile Permanent Link
You seem to be suggesting that we eschew meta-narratives, inculcate a state of irreverence and strive to develop our dialogic self. That is great but shouldn't we also regard The Mother & Sri Aurobindo statements as a performative utterance? What would be the non-reductionistic perspective in this situation ? Reply