Savitri Era Open Forum

Personal political and religious ambitions of the editor cast a shadow

2012-01-21T08:06:00.001+05:30

The “Savitri Era” group of blogs and the so-called“honeycomb” of websites (listed below) are created and administered by Tusar N.Mohapatra, President of the Savitri Era Party.

The only position that is maintained consistently inall these websites is that the future of Sri Aurobindo’s and The Mother’steachings and vision is best left in the hands of the Savitri Era Party.

However, there’s a small detail that the founder ofthe Savitri Era Party seems to be ignoring. Both Sri Aurobindo and The Mothercreated certain institutions such as the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Aurovillewhich were designed to carry out Their work. Moreover, They also spelled outrather clearly how these institutions had to be administered.

That the Savitri Era Party does not figure in any ofthese schemes is understandably an irritant to someone who has appointedhimself as the flag-bearer of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.

It is therefore of no surprise that the Savitri Eraparty is always happy to present, carry and propagate any information thatmight show that the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Aurovilleare riddled with problems. As a result of that any information whichgives a hint of a controversy immediately appears on the Savitri Era Party’swebsites.

As a result of that, even some of his sympathizershave not resisted to lable these blogs and websites as “bazaar blogs namedafter Savitri”. Links to Tusar N. Mohapatra’s websites: […]

Qualityof information

This is best illustrated when some of those peoplelike Raman Reddy and RY Deshpande who never complain when Tusar Mohapatatraspreads misleading and wrongful information about and against the Ashram on hisvarious blogs, also suddenly find themselves at the receiving end.

But to their credit, in spite of their doublestandards, they have aptly called the “Savitri Era” blogs “bazaar blogs namedafter Savitri” which sums up the kind of information that is disseminated onthese blogs.

Our Critique

-While Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy and vision are vast, it is unclear how thedangerous cocktail of religion and politics advocated by the editor of thesewebsites fits in with Sri Aurobindo’s approach to spirituality.

-The personal political and religious ambitions of the editor cast a shadow onthe intentions of the editor.

-The editors persistent attack on the management of the Ashram and his repeatedcalls for the resignation of the Managing Trustee betray the editors personalambitions of seemingly wanting to determine the fate of Sri aurobindo’steachings as well as that of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram institution.

Concluding observations:

Thosewho are interested in the personal views and opinions of the editor of thesewebsites, especially to study the various nuances of the extent to which SriAurobindo’s philosophy can be interpreted, can visit these websites, if theyhave the time for such an excercise.

Apartfrom that these website have very little to do with the purity of the messageof Sri Aurobindo’s poem Savitri (in whose name some of these websites arecalled) or the clarity of Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy or the humility, dignityand soberness of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

Lastly, we do not claim to posses the Truth, but webelieve that we can help remove those obstacles that come in the way of orobfuscate Truth - especially those obstacles that are in the form ofdeliberate misrepresentation and distortion of facts or the creation of myths –by providing more reliable, accurate and complete information. Administrators.

Timeout telegraphindia.com

January21 at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan,8 Shakespeare Sarani; 6pm: A discussion on Barindra Kumar Ghosh's The Tale ofMy Exile, published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. Speaker: Dr SachidanandaMohanty. Co-ordinator: Anurag Banerjee.

Peter Heehs has appealed in High Court to withdraw the ban

2012-01-20T23:20:00.000+05:30

Controversy continues on Sri Aurobindo's biography The Sunday Indian

CHITTARANJAN CHIRANJIT | Bhubaneswar, January 20, 2012 17:51

A bench of Odisha High court asked the Chief Secretary, Odisha to reply on the issue regarding the ban on Sri Aurobindo's biography in the state. A petition was filed before the High Court challenging the ban imposed by the State Government. The notice has been served to Chief Secretary though a special messenger.

Earlier, the State government had issued a gazette notification for prohibition over publication of the controversial book. The prohibition is for alleged disrespect of the spiritual guru Sri Aurobindo. The bench comprising Chief Justice V.Gopal Gauda, Justice Madanmohan Das and Justice Indrajeet Mohanty heard the petition filed by author Peter Heehs.

It should be noted that the book titled 'The Lives of Sri Aurobindo' was penned by Peter Heehs, a former inmate of Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Origionally, the book was brought out by Penguine Publication outside India. After it heat the stands, admirers and followers of Sri Aurobindo complained of insulting words about Sri Aurobindo. The issue has shocked a large no of devotees and that is why High Court had put a ban over publication of the book in India. Now, Peter Heehs has appealed in High Court to withdraw the ban on the book.

Another section of his devotees led by Geetanjali Bhattacharya, a resident of Balasore in Orissa, had filed a petition in the Orissa High Court seeking a ban on the book and action against writer Peter Heehs for sensationalising the actual story of the spiritual leader. She had alleged that it contains 'obnoxious and ill-shaped facts about the late spiritual leader'. The court has stayed the release of the book in India. "Peter will lose the legal battle as he has tried to tarnish the image of Sri Aurobindo", said Bhattacharya's counsel Millan Kanoongo.

The Columbia University Press in USA first published 'The Lives of Sri Aurobindo' in April 2008 and in India in November 2009 by Penguin India.

Kepler attempts a nuanced reading

2012-01-18T17:36:00.000+05:30

Against the Grain and with the Grain: 'via Blog this' Page 1 of 4

While eschewing the colorful hyperboles of "Mahakali's wrath"–mongers, this review by J. Kepler attempts a nuanced reading sympathetic to the sentiments some of the aggrieved.

Article Index
Against the Grain and with the Grain
Comment by Debashish on 25 Feb 2009
Comment by Tony Clifton
Comment by Ulrich Mohrhoff
All Pages

The front cover gives the first impression of Peter Heeh's new biography, The Lives of Sri Aurobindo. It features a fine photograph of Sri Aurobindo, which makes the book a delight to keep physically near, whatever one's ultimate reaction to the text. The second impression, from the back cover, is of a different nature. A long quote is featured from Jeffrey Kripal (author of Kali's Child, a controversial Freudian analysis of Sri Ramakrishna), praising Heeh's book for, among other things, the way it “problematizes” Sri Aurobindo. [...]

At other times the author contributes a personal opinion that rings arrogant and unnecessary. He describes Sri Aurobindo's Isha Upanishad as the “pithiest” of his works. “Its carefully chiseled sentences leave much for the reader to reflect upon, unlike his ordinary expository prose, in which clause is added to clause and refinement to refinement until the sentences become almost unreadable.” Whatever the author's personal reactions may be, I suspect many others find Sri Aurobindo's “ordinary” prose quite readable and find much there to “reflect upon”. Occasional forays into a genre of pop psychology are also off-putting.

Petition to Trustees to initiate a dialogue

2012-01-11T09:19:00.000+05:30

TRANSCRIPT OF PROF KITTU REDDY'S TALK

AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE ON 5TH JANUARY, 2012.

1. We have always believed in freedom of speech and expression; at the same time we do not try to convince or convert anyone to become a follower of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Each one has to find out for himself and make his own assessment.

2. Regarding the book written by Peter Heehs, I have read it twice and consider it a bad book. It may also be noted that the Managing Trustee also told us that the book was unacceptable and had crossed all limits of decency.

3. While believing in freedom of speech and expression, it is not acceptable that an inmate of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram be permitted to write a book questioning and even denigrating Sri Aurobindo and the Mother; for the basis of being an inmate of the Ashram is acceptance of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother as your spiritual gurus; and here there arises no question whatsoever of questioning, doubting or discrediting them; for this goes totally against the very foundation of spiritual life and discipline. The book is therefore totally not acceptable to us and Peter has violated the basic discipline of the Ashram. One can justify and cover up all this nonsense in the name of objective history or hagiography, but that is not acceptable.

4. However it must be noted that this problem did not erupt suddenly in 2008-9. It surfaced as early as 1986 when Peter wrote articles in the journal of the Archives questioning and casting doubts on Sri Aurobindo. At that time two senior sadhaks of the Ashram, Jugal Kishore Mukherjee who was the head of the college section of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education and Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya who was the Director of Physical Education and a close confidant of the Mother, wrote letters to the Trustees requesting them to take immediate remedial steps to stop this kind of research in future. Unfortunately, the Trustees neither replied nor did they take any preventive action. Is it not therefore legitimate to believe that they too are responsible for the latest book of Peter? If this kind of research activity is accepted in the Ashram, it will change the very basis of the Ashram. The Ashram will then become not a spiritual centre but an intellectual club or a cultural centre. This goes totally against the wishes and directions of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

5. The question that arises is why did this problem take place and next how do we avoid this problem in the future. When the Sri Aurobindo Ashram was created in 1926, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother were the gurus; after 1950 when Sri Aurobindo left his body, the Mother continued to be the guru. In 1955, the Mother created the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust. But she continued to be the guru. Quite naturally the Trust Deed reflected this by giving absolute powers to the Mother. She was made President for life and she was given the authority to choose the other Trustees; all decisions were take by her and she was answerable to no one.

7. The remedy to this situation is to have a larger body for the decision making process in the field of administration, in other words a new system of governance. This does not involve a change in the goals and aims or the fundamentals of the Ashram. All that is demanded is a wider process of consultation with the inmates of the Ashram and transparency in the decision making process.

8. The question is how to bring about this change. This can be brought by altering some aspects of the Trust Deed. The only way seems to be to go to court with a scheme suit. This may mean inevitably governmental interference or court interference. The other and better method will be to solve the problem internally by discussion and dialogue. The Ashram should solve its own problems. But for that the Trustees must initiate a dialogue. They must also realise and accept that there are serious problems and a deep discontent within the Ashram and secondly that those who raise questions are not against the Mother or Sri Aurobindo. It is only on this basis that a dialogue can start and bear fruit. Let us hope that good sense prevails among the authorities. It is our most earnest belief that with good will, trust and faith in the Mother this problem can be resolved. Otherwise one has to be prepared for the worst.

Kittu Reddy and R.Y. Deshpande addressed the Press

2012-01-08T09:49:00.000+05:30

The Hindu : Today's Paper / NATIONAL : Ashram devotees seek ...

www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2779365.ece

A section of the inmates and devotees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram have demanded the immediate expulsion of Peter Heehs from the Ashram community membership.

Mr. Heehs, a U.S. national, has written a controversial book ‘Lives of Sri Aurobindo' which, the inmates said, hurt their sentiments and that of the devotees.

Addressing the Press here on Thursday, senior members of the Ashram, including Kittu Reddy and R.Y. Deshpande, said that they wanted the dismissal of the present group of trustees of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, “on account of criminal Breach of Trust.”

The devotees and inmates have been conducting a silent protest over the matter outside the Ashram every day since January 1. He had written a controversial book titled ‘Lives of Sri Aurobindo'

Dharna and Thane

2012-01-02T12:59:00.000+05:30

Inmates of Aurobindo Ashram observe dharna
Puducherry | Sunday, Jan 1 2012 IST

About 50 inmates of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram here today observed a dharna at the back gate of the Ashram. The agitation was to condemn the Ashram management for its alleged protection of an American national, an inmate even after the reported cancellation of his visa. According to a statement issued by the agitators, Peter Heehs, an American national, who is an inmate at the Ashram, had written a book on the Life of Aurobindo in which he allegedly defamed the philosopher. Following protests from the inmates, the release of the book was banned. Heehs s visa was cancelled and he was reportedly asked to leave the country. However, the Ashram trust and others allowed him to stay at the Ashram. Protesting against this action of the Ashram management, the inmates resorted to the agitation. UNI PAB AKM AE SB1534 -- (UNI) -- 01MS19.xml

Cyclone Thane hits Auroville causing total devastation
At the Auroville beach communities, the situation was judged worse than the 2004 tsunami, with high waves compounding the damage caused by falling trees. The Auroville farms suffered heavily, with one farmer complaining that 40 years of work has gone with uprooted fruit trees and crops being severely damaged. In the Auroville forests, more than 70% of the trees have fallen. The commercial units suffered as well. The office of Upasana suffered a direct hit from a falling tree, while the office of Auromodèle Atelier was narrowly saved with the tree falling in front of its entrance. In the villages around Auroville, the damage is no less. The landscape which Auroville has been at great pains to build over the last 40 years has been disfigured and mutilated...

Assessments of the damage start coming in. At a first rough estimate, the immediate emergency relief would need Rs 4-5 crores (approximately US $ 1 million). The estimates for long-term rehabilitation and restoration will run into a multitude of that. The detailed assessment will be undertaken after the emergency phase is over. The Auroville community asks its friends and well-wishers for financial help which is most urgent. Please make a donation for Auroville Cyclone Relief. For more information you can contact cyclonehelp@auroville.org.in.
Checks mentioning Auroville Cyclone Relief can be sent to Auroville Unity Fund, Town Hall, Auroville 605101, Tamil Nadu, India. Bank transfers from within India can be made to State Bank of India Auroville Township, IFS Code SBIN0003160, account name Auroville Unity Fund, account number 10237876031, reference Auroville Cyclone Relief. Bank transfer from abroad can be made to State Bank of India Auroville Township, Branch Code 03160, Swift Code SBININBB474, account Auroville Unity Fund, account number 10237876508 reference Auroville Cyclone Relief.

DU gelds political beliefs of Sri Aurobindo

2011-12-11T09:08:00.001+05:30

Paper on Aurobindo missing from DU syllabus - Hindustan Times

After much hue-and-cry about the removal of AK Ramanujan’s essay, 300 Ramayanas, from the concurrent course list last month, a course went missing from the approved syllabus for political science at Delhi University (DU). The paper on the political beliefs and workings of nationalist freedom fighter Aurobindo Ghosh, who later set up the Aurobindo Ashram, was approved by the Committee of Courses when it deliberated upon the semester course earlier in the year.
But when the final course came up for approval before the Academic Council — the highest decision-making body in the university — the course was found missing from the list.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Paper-on-Aurobindo-missing-from-DU-syllabus/Article1-780708.aspx

Heehs himself

2011-12-09T12:21:00.000+05:30

Peter Heehs reshared P. Black's post
7/11 · Desktop · Public
An important piece on censorship by litigation in India by publisher Rukun Advani.
A publishing perspective on the A K Ramanujan controversy
Narrow view at the top
Ramanujan: a publisher’s perspective
Peter Heehs
30/7 · Desktop · Public
Article by Ramachandra Guha (one of India's leading historians) about banning books in India. He discusses books by Lelyveld, Heehs et al.http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110730/jsp/opinion/story_14295812.jsp#
Ban the ban
The republic of India bans books with a depressing frequency

Madness is a troubling subject

2011-12-08T18:01:00.002+05:30

Patrizia Peretta patriziaauro04@gmail.com
To: tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com
Date: 3 December 2011, 10:44

Dear Mr. Tusar,
As you have published a few e-mails from Prof. Kamal Das on your websites, I was thinking that you might also be interested to publish this e-mail from Maggi regarding Prof. Kamal Das and his analyses.
Sincerely, Patrizia

An email from Maggi Lidchi-Grassi: Nov. 11, 2011:
The other day there came an e-mail from a friend and devotee in Italy. [...]

http://auroleaks.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/a-shocking-revelation/

Tusar should play a positive role

2011-12-08T11:02:00.000+05:30

Raman Reddy said...

"One cardinal axiom Raman Reddy would do well to remember always is that no “interpretation is faulty” and hence maintaining an attitude of democratic respect and tolerance towards contrasting and adverse viewpoints is essential for personal growth as well as community well being. By not arrogating to himself the burden of offering the official interpretation, he can save himself from much torment and spare his readers too."
[TNM] http://savitriera.blogspot.com/

I think I should reply to the high and mighty Tusar Mohapatra of the Savitri Era Forum, who keeps on making the most opposite comments on the same issue, once for and once against, without realising that one should be at least stable with one’s own opinion. Or does he think that even fluctuating in one’s opinion like the wind is being democratic with the multiple selves that one has in one’s own being? But democracy being the foundation of TNM, he would say, “It does not matter even if I contradict myself for I am giving respect to all my selves!”

When did I claim that my version is official, for that credit should go to the Ashram Trust which has been remarkably silent on the web? I find the interpretation faulty does not mean that I am claiming my version is official! Unless you mean that my version has become official because the others are silent or are unable to say something convincing in return. But then that is not our fault.

I think Tusar should play a positive role in this affair instead of constantly arraigning those who are earnestly fighting PH’s views on Sri Aurobindo.

August 13, 2010 6:31 PM

Raman Reddy said...

Raman Reddy is an ashramite working in the archives for the last many years. As a sadhak and a scholar, it is expected that his articles conform to the academic norms of politeness. The opening paragraph, conversely, appears to be combative in this instance. It is, in fact, a question of substituting a few phrases here and there. Let me attempt a cosmetic makeover so that the reader is not put off by the menacing horns. [TNM]

"On reading the booklet entitled Sri Aurobindo on Hinduism by Peter Heehs (published by the Sri Aurobindo Society, Hyderabad centre in 2007), I came across certain distortions. It seemed to me that the author has deliberately adopted a deceptive and confusing style such that even a well-informed reader of Sri Aurobindo will be easily taken in by the flow of arguments. Even the interpretation and conclusion appear to be so equivocal that the reader would sometimes not realise that he has actually skimmed over deep contradictions which bear the false impression of a balanced view. I have quoted the following paragraph in order to examine the discrepancies."

Is this some kind of advertisement that you are giving free lessons on "writing with courtesy" on the Savitri Era forum?

August 14, 2010 4:05 PM

RYD said...

Yes, now and then I've been seeing those bazaar blogs named after Savitri always playing a dubious role, acting like paid agents yet keeping a facade of journalistic fairness. The best is to dismiss what they say. Take an example. At
http://savitriera.blogspot.com/2010/07/does-anyone-stand-by-pranabs-proposal.html
there is a poser: "Does anyone stand by the Pranab’s proposal?" The right question to ask would be: What are we doing with Pranab's Proposals? and so on.

RYD

August 14, 2010 4:43 PM

Copernicus said...

Peter Heehs has attempted for a very long time to erase any linkages Sri Aurobindo and his Yoga may have to Hinduism. Inspired by him, Rich Carlson has tried to do the same and Ulrich Mohrhoff has written to Outlook magazine online and every blog he could find just to register the exact same objections of Heehs and propagate the same message. They do this to justify whatever little attraction they have for Sri Aurobindo to the political milieu they cling to.

The question is: Did Sri Aurobindo and Mother disallow people who wanted to do pranam to them the muslim way? Or by kneeling as some Christians do? If someone wanted to lift and touch their knees to their noses as a novel pranamic technique, would they have objected?? It’s very doubtful. So, what is Heehs really objecting to? Only that Sri Aurobindo allowed the Hindus to worship him in their way!

Do these people expect that Sri Aurobindo should have created a whole new lexicon for his yoga completely outside of Indian religion and given brand new names to various powers or maybe even renamed Krishna as Jehovah or something else just to please them? Maybe they will next insist that Sri Aurobindo should have changed his own name so that it would not sound even remotely Hindu? It’s not possible to convince such small-minded, unreasonable, people if these are the levels they stoop to.

Coming to his commentary about the externals aspects of a devotee’s worship: how can Heehs claim to know anything about the devotee’s attitude and/or consciousness while worshiping Sri Aurobindo that he can generalize and comment so glibly about it? If, as Sri Aurobindo says, the attitude and consciousness are more important than the externalities, Heehs oozes pure arrogance by assuming to know anything about the devotee’s attitude and/or consciousness.

August 24, 2010 11:13 PM

Satprem, like RYD had a few axes to grind and was trying to settlepersonal scores

2011-11-06T13:36:00.000+05:30

Firstly, the discussion between Satprem and The Mother does not concern at all the editing of Sri Aurobindo’s works, and it has nothing to do with the editing of Savitri. In fact, the central issue if not the ENTIRE discussion concerns the distribution of Sri Aurobindo’s and Satprem’s books (in fact it clearly emerges that Satprem is more preoccupied about the royalties from the sale of his books more than anything else!). Therefore when RYD picks out only a limited portion of this exchange which refers to some “corrections” being made to Sri Aurobindo’s books, it is evident that he deliberately wishes to create exaggerated, partial and therefore inaccurate and wrong impressions.

Secondly but equally importantly, it is not The Mother who is complaining or being critical about any wrong-doings with regards to Sri Aurobindo’s publications, but it is instead Satprem who is complaining and making allegations to The Mother and She is merely reacting and responding to his complaints. Therefore, how does RYD assume that what Satprem was reporting to The Mother was based on accurate information? RYD would like us to believe that all of Satprem’s observations were always accurate. However, what emerges rather clearly in this passage is that Satprem, like RYD had a few axes to grind and that he was more preoccupied with trying to settle a few personal scores with people he didn’t get along too well, especially when it concerned matters relating to his own publications.

Thirdly, Satprem’s grouse is only with two individuals – one from SABDA and the other from the All India Press – who were involved with the distribution and sale of Sri Aurobindo’s books and had nothing to do with the editing or correcting Sri Aurobindo’s works. How are therefore the doings of these people in anyway related to the editing of the 1954 or 1970-’72 editions of Savitri? There is in fact absolutely no connection whatsoever, except presumably in the perverted imagination of RYD. http://mirrorofdayaftertomorrow.wordpress.com/

Original edition of Savitri

2011-10-14T09:12:00.002+05:30

http://www.mirroroftomorrow.org/blog/_archives/2011/10/14/4890481.html
27: The Editing of Savitri—A few Samples from the Manuscripts

We present here a few examples of the manuscript of Savitri as the composition proceeded during the period 1942-50; these mostly pertain to Book Two Canto Four. As is clear from these available illustrations, the complexity of preparing the final text cannot be underestimated. But at times factors of judgement also enter into picture, and these can give rise to controversial or unacceptable readings. The best approach is to go by the original edition of Savitri that essentially came out during the lifetime of the author himself, and provide data as gathered from several drafts. ~ RYD

The follower and the academic

2011-10-11T21:34:00.001+05:30

In the case of "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo", I find parts of it superb, others good to fair, and parts I think are poor or even wrong. I have my list of suggested revisions, as others have theirs. What I think would be most helpful would be for people to submit their lists of suggested revisions to Mr. Heehs, and, in a collaborative manner, encourage him to improve the book. After he has done his revisions, then all those who are not satisfied with the final version can write their rebuttals. Or, write their own biographies of Sri Aurobindo.

I understand that critics of Mr. Heehs love Sri Aurobindo and are concerned his book will debase Sri Aurobindo's image and hinder the spread of His truth and teaching. I would like to reassure you that no such negative outcome will happen, for several reasons. First, this book is written for an academic (i.e. university professor) audience, but intellectuals are too focused on their careers and mental pursuits to be interested in Sri Aurobindo. Second, among the potentially large audience of lay people who are seeking a spiritual path, most end up in one of the major religions, or studying with a guru or teacher who has a physical body. Very few can relate to a spiritual Presence, such as of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, that is real but does not have a physical body in the conventional sense. And third, whether academic or lay, most readers read to re-inforce what they already believe, not to alter their core beliefs. Thus, this book will have very few readers, even if it is widely available, and it will not alter what those few already believe.

So you see, the only audience for Mr. Heehs's book is the Master and his existing devotees, whose views on the book are already set. This whole debate is therefore only an opportunity for us, individually and collectively, to grow in His consciousness. No one outside our community cares about this discussion, because the rest of the world is busy with its own sectarian conflicts! We should be more friendly with each other about this book, and focus on improving it rather than banning it. And we should not let our reaction to the book become more of a problem than the book itself.
Sincerely
Michael Miovic
Boston, USA
Tuesday, 20 September 2011 4:10 AM

But I am not writing to perpetuate the debate at its current level, and I am not choosing side A or B. I am trying to introduce a third option, which is working collaboratively to improve the book. I understand the likelihood of this coming to pass is small, but I feel the best way to honor Sri Aurobindo is to remain open to the possibility of working together to produce a better book about Him. I don't know that Peter will accept this proposition, nor that his opponents will, but I am extending a standing invitation to both sides to do so.

Let me briefly state the potential benefits of improving this book. First, as Larry noted, this book is extremely well researched and documented. It could use some editing, but setting aside those important details for now, I would ask people to stand back and look at the "big picture." No religious leader or major spiritual teacher in the history of the world has had a biography written of them with such academic depth and rigor as this one--I mean at the level of raw data and collateral information, not how the data is presented and interpreted at times. It is a credit to the synthetic nature of Sri Aurobindo's vision, and the culture that spawned within the Ashram and our community, that it produced such a bold attempt to bridge two worldviews (the "follower" and the academic). No other Ashram in India has produced a biography half as detailed and innovative as Peter's. If we can navigate through this conflict productively, and improve the book, we have the opportunity of presenting to Sri Aurobindo a first in the history of world literature. I think He deserves that.

Second, although the final choice to accept or reject suggested revisions is Peter's, and he is and will bear the inner karmic results of these choices, there is still a communal aspect to this that cannot be overlooked in our yoga. We are here to transform human nature and the ills of humanity. Religious schism and sectarian conflict is a major human problem, and has been throughout history. Our current communal split into For and Against is repeating this age old dynamic. So, if we can find some way to work through this problem, we can be of spiritual help to the world. If not, then we will simply repeat the world.

Third, from a purely practical perspective, I would urge Peter's critics to focus on improving the book because in today's world you cannot stop the spread of information--but you can still influence what is spread. Look at the case of Satprem, who clearly went against the Mother's word by publishing the Agenda so soon (She said wait 30-40 years). The Agenda is now available for free all over the Internet, including the original audio files, and no one has been able to contain this spread. Peter's book will have a smaller audience than the Agenda, but the same principles apply. People in India who want to read it will simply order it by Internet, or email a friend in the U.S. or Europe to obtain it, and there will be pirated PDFs on the web. In 10, 30, or 50 years the government of India will drop the ban, and there you have it.
So, the best thing you can do in the long run is to focus now on improving the book. Then everyone will benefit ultimately from a better product.

I could say much more about suggested revisions and ways to improve the book, but that is for another day.
Sincerely,
Michael
23 September 2011

While I would agree that there are a small number of ungracious remarks made in the book, overall it is highly laudatory of Sri Aurobindo, informative about his life and work, and well-researched and documented. The book is not an attack on Sri Aurobindo's life or work as a few have suggested, or if it is an attack, then it is a very lame attack indeed which many intelligent, devotee readers could not even detect.

On the other hand, there are certain norms of the Ashram that are very well known and some even embedded in its rules. These have been trampled with impunity by the perpetrators of this malicious attack upon the author and the book.
Larry Seidlitz
22 September 2011

Re: A Question of Hagiography and Biography by Kepler on Tue 17 Feb 2009 02:58 AM
Very interesting article. Good point about the inherent conflict in writing usefully about a saint in a non-hagiographic style, unless one is purposely trying to write about the saint completely outside the context of his or her sainthood, e.g. a book solely about Sri Aurobindo’s external political work. He was a historical figure and a historical biography could be written entirely from that perspective. As you indicate, in such a book it may be best to say nothing about the spirituality of the saint. Perhaps it’s the mélange of purposes attempted in this book that is causing the jarring clash.

Here’s a question: what if one did want to know, as objectively as possible, all that could be documented about Sri Aurobindo’s external life, not in order to critique, reduce, or explain his spiritual greatness by mundane details, but rather because one has a deep love for Sri Aurobindo, and finds everything one learns about the actual external life he led is filled with sweetness and brings an increasing sense of closeness. In terms of that purpose, would one prefer a biography of Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual life and experiences, based necessarily on his own and some of his disciple’s descriptions of them, or would a painstaking, historical, critical attempt to gather and present all the discoverable external details be more likely to deliver the desired result?

Perhaps it’s partly the “confusion of dharmas” (as someone phrased it on this site) in this single book that leads some to love it and many to despise it, based on the approach they desired and expected from it.

Kepler

Re: A Question of Hagiography and Biography by Kepler on Thu 19 Feb 2009 02:12 AM
Thanks for the recap of existing biographies. I’ve read some but not all, and none of them recently, so I can’t comment just now on their particular treatment of Sri Aurobindo’s “external life”.

What prompted my question (perhaps posed too confusingly), was your observation of the folly of an overly empirical, rationalistic approach to writing about a Yogin who by definition has been established in a consciousness that exceeds the rational thinking mind. This is very well taken.

But it then occurred to me that as a highly empirical, rationalistic approach works rather well when seeking knowledge about the external, physical world (even if at a loss when expounding upon spiritual experience), so perhaps a heavily rationalistic approach might bear fruit when fully documenting the purely external life of a saint. I think there are some who have read the Lives book and appreciated that aspect of it, even while being annoyed by the misapplication of that approach to Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual life and persona.

I realize some interpret the appreciation of any aspect of the Lives book to be an attempt to negate all criticism of it, but that was of course not my point. No need for anyone to remind me of all the objectionable quotes :-)

Regards,
Kepler

Re: A Question of Hagiography and Biography--Empirical Rationalism by Kepler on Thu 19 Feb 2009 09:51 PM
Thank you for your eloquent reply. I have also previously read with interest your articles on “Can there be an Indian science?” I fear that my point is perhaps so narrow and tangential that, like a small twig standing against a flooding wave, it is readily swept away unnoticed.

My question actually was not of a rationalistic approach “bearing fruit while expounding the spiritual experience”, but rather “might bear fruit when fully documenting the purely external life of a saint”, with emphasis on “the purely external life”.

I’m in full agreement regarding the pathetic limitations of such an approach in comprehending or evaluating the spiritual experience and consciousness of the saint, which is of course the overwhelmingly more important task.

But consider the much less important, but still interesting (to some of us), attempt to get at all the available external documentation of, for example, Sri Aurobindo’s outer life in Baroda, i.e. what he did, where he went and when, whom he associated with, what they recorded as their impressions of him, etc. Would the empirical, critical, “scientific” historian’s approach to this specific task produce more reliable results than a hagiographic one?

I personally do appreciate the results of the rationalistic approach to this “documentation of external facts” about the saint’s life, meaning just those facts that actually were “on the surface for others to see”. I think the raw tasks of collecting, evaluating and presenting the available physical data, do lend themselves to the empirical, rationalistic approach. My problem with the Lives book is that it also attempts to turn that approach on Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual life and persona, with obviously jarring and distorting consequences. I suppose the strength of that jarring effect makes it impossible for many to appreciate this other, smaller result, and I’m happy to drop the point.

Regards,
Kepler

Hartz bares his heart

2011-08-28T23:37:00.000+05:30

from Prof Kamal Das profkamaldas@gmail.com to bcc tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 28 August 2011 14:48 subject RICHARD HARTZ joins PETER HEEHS in blaming Ashram Trustees for TLOSA Disaster and Abuse of Archives Dept

Richard Hartz joins Peter Heehs in blaming Ashram Trustees for TLOSA Disaster and Abuse of Archives Dept

Justice is blind and cannot see body language. Thus, unlike the Trustees of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust who relied on this perceived blindness to escape the Law and were erroneously using sign language and were calling it “dignified silence”, Peter Heehs has been speaking up aggressively and cutting his losses. He has, as already known to all, filed memos in the Orissa Court holding the Trustees responsible for his perverse “research” and the debacle and fallout of his offensive and illegal book The Lives of Sri Aurobindo (TLOSA).

Now Richard Hartz, a long-time associate of Peter Heehs at the Archives of the Ashram, and the principal co-conspirator in the crime that is TLOSA, has jumped in and joined the chorus in blaming the Trustees.

In an open letter dated 25th August 2011 to his dwindling, shaky and jittery supporters who are increasingly questioning the wisdom of TLOSA and discussing its withdrawal, Hartz writes:

“I have been in Pondicherry the whole time and my perception is based on what I have experienced here, not on the discussion on internet forums where the situation has been different. In early October 2008 the Managing Trustee described the Ashram as a "seething cauldron." This was no exaggeration. At that point I was almost the only person in the Ashram who had tried to defend Peter, apart from Manoj Das Gupta himself who heroically stood his ground in refusing to expel him. (He did, however, ask him to withdraw from the Archives until things return to normal, which so far shows no sign of being likely to happen.) It is hard for me to relate my memory of this phenomenon to the "healthy doubt against an excessive intellectuality" you speak of. If there was a comparable outburst of collective hysteria in support of PH, I never heard about it. At least it didn't happen here.

… The basic question raised by the Lives controversy is whether a member of the Ashram can be allowed to write for an academic audience in terms acceptable to that audience. (As you suggest, I could have written a book that might have offended no one, but CUP would never have published it.)

… In agreement with Sri Aurobindo's own description of the Ashram as a laboratory, it is officially recognized by the Government of India as a research institute for purposes of tax exemptions on donations from devotees. This fact is important for understanding how the Lives came to be written in the way it was, because it is part of the reason why Peter Heehs was encouraged to write and publish academic articles which could be listed in the Ashram's reports on its research activities, submitted annually to the government. Despite his lack of formal credentials, he succeeded in getting these papers published in a wide range of academic journals. That meant, of course, adapting his style of writing to academic expectations … . Since his publications were being regularly cited in the Ashram's official reports, he was led to believe that this activity, even if it drew criticism from some quarters, was consistent with the aims of the Ashram. To a certain extent, his downfall resulted from his doing too well the work he had been assigned and encouraged to do.

I hope this will shed light on the question of whether or not it was appropriate or acceptable for a person in Peter's position to write the book he did.”

In other words Hartz is revealing that Columbia University Press (CUP) “would never have published” a book which “offended no one” given Heehs’ “lack of formal credentials” and the resulting limited saleability. Therefore Heehs had to write an “offensive book” in order to make it saleable to CUP and the public, and the Ashram Trustees “assigned” this work to him and “encouraged” him.

This stunning volte-face by Richard Hartz, the first public admission holding the Trustees of the Ashram responsible for encouraging and misguiding Heehs in the disaster that is TLOSA, is a watershed moment. The reference by Hartz to Heehs’ downfall is also telling.

This turn of events is being brought about by the now-public information that CUP will shortly file papers in the Orissa court against orders detailing the role of the Ashram Trustees in supporting, aiding and endorsing all that is wrong with TLOSA. This much CUP will certainly do to absolve itself of the serious charges it is now faced with, not least among them, Heehs’ allegation that he was erroneously labelled “Founder” by CUP and is not personally liable for this serious legal, moral and criminal lapse.

Each failure raises the threshold of the next potential success and there comes an inflection-point where the pain of loss is too great to pursue any further potential gain. Does Manoj Das Gupta understand this? We do. Truly, Prof Kamal Das 28 August 2011

Campaign of malice and defamation against Sri Aurobindo

2011-08-20T16:40:00.001+05:30

From: caurant@msn.com
To: profkamaldas@gmail.com
Subject: RE: link please
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:34:39 -0400

Dear Prof Kamal Das,

I am not so sure that Peter Heehs actually refused to have this article downloaded. The statement was rather ambiguous and it was unclear whether it was the Psychohistory Review that gave the statement or the website (http://www.researchgate.net/publication/11731087_Genius_mysticism_and_madness) where I was looking for the article. Perhaps Peter Heehs was never asked for permission, I really don't know.

With best regards,
Jeanette Caurant

from Prof Kamal Das profkamaldas@gmail.com to bcc tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 20 August 2011 10:36 subject MDG & PETER HEEHS BAR ACCESS TO " GENIUS, MYSTICISM, AND MADNESS"

From: Prof Kamal Das profkamaldas@gmail.com Date: Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 2:53 PM Subject: Re: FW: link please To: Jeanette Caurant caurant@msn.com

Dear Ms Jeanette Caurant, Bonjour!

Your very reasonable request serves to further underline and lay emphasis on the campaign of malice and defamation being carried out against Sri Aurobindo by the Trustees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram in collaboration with Peter Heehs!

Why the need to bar access to the article in question? If there is nothing wrong, then Peter Heehs and the Trustees should print hundreds of copies of the article and distribute these freely to all concerned in order to dispel any misgivings or doubts!

I strongly recommend that you and your friends meet or write to Mr Manoj Das Gupta and demand that he make copies available to all concerned as access to this article is your fundamental legal right as a beneficiary of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, wherever you may be in the world!

It is advisable that you obtain a copy of the article from Peter Heehs, Manoj Das Gupta, the Archives Dept at Puducherry or even the Govt Of India in order to ensure authenticity of the document. With Best Wishes, Truly, Prof Kamal Das

On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 6:41 PM, Jeanette Caurant caurant@msn.com wrote: Dear Prof. Kamal Das,

I have been unsuccessful in obtaining a copy of the full article “Genius, Mysticism, and Madness”, written by Peer Heehs which was published in the Psychohistory Review in 1997. I tried to obtain it through Psychohistory however there is a note stating that Mr Heehs had not given permission for it to be downloaded. I would appreciate it if you would give me the link to the full article, or send a file to me. Thank you, Jeanette Caurant Kkk

Jeanette Caurant has left a new comment on your post "The shame of 1997": Posted by Jeanette Caurant to Savitri Era Open Forum at 7:52 PM, August 17, 2011 Dear Tusar Mohapatra,

Could you please provide a link to the full original Heehs' article. Psychohistory states that he has not given permission for it to be downloaded. Thank you. Jeanette [Highland, New York, United States]

Jeanette Caurant says: Mar 12, 2010 at 10:17 AM

It is mentioned that “In the center of the community, both geographically and physically, is a massive spherical gold-plated structure called the Matmandir, or Temple of the Mother.”

What is not widely known is that the Mother gave Her plan for the Matrimandir with exact measurements to those responsible to build according to that plan. The Matrimandir that stands in Auroville today was NOT build according to the Mother’s specifications and therefore is not the highest expression of Sacred Architecture we could have known. For more information on this you can go to http://www.matacom.com

Sunil has left a new comment on your post "Subjugating Jugal": Posted by Sunil to Savitri Era at 11:37 AM, August 20, 2011

Yes Subhas we see Heehs is your Guru. And it bothers you much when his damaging approach and lower vital twisted motives are questioned by people who are doing sadhana. But that is not your concern as we can see who your Guru is, and whose worship you are committed to. But this is Sri Aurobindo Ashram and it is not a name it is a living Power working on the whole earth and beyond, but what would you know about that when your Guru is we know who. Sunil

Heehs in the streets

2011-08-16T17:10:00.001+05:30

from Prof Kamal Das profkamaldas@gmail.com to bcc tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 16 August 2011 08:29 subject DEMAND FOR EXPULSION OF PETER HEEHS FROM INDIA: PUBLIC POSTERS IN PONDY ON 15th AUGUST, 2011. 5 attachments — Download all attachments View all images

More people should join to condemn this

2011-08-15T13:36:00.001+05:30

From Prof Kamal Das profkamaldas@gmail.com to ajum24@yahoo.co.in, prithwin.mukherjee@gmail.com, tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 15 August 2011 12:03 subject COLLECTIVE ANGUISH AND INDIGNATION

Dear Mr Aju Mukhopadhyay,

1. I thank you for your mails and assure that thousands of people across the world share your shock, anguish, indignation and frustration.

2. While Peter Heehs' criminal nexus with Manoj Das Gupta aimed at defaming and denigrating Sri Aurobindo can be traced back to the late 1980s in the immediate aftermath of Manoj Das Gupta's illegal and fraudulent elevation as a Trustee, things have come to a painful pass after the publication of TLOSA.

3. I attach herewith an Information Handbook which will serve as an initial primer for the whole controversy at hand. As you will see for yourself, all documents referred to and attached are genuine and mostly of origin from various Govt. Departments concerned and easily accessible in the public domain.

4. Kindly also visit www.TheLivesOfSriAurobindo.com for a detailed expose of factual distortions in the book compiled by senior scholars, historians and professors. I shall also forward to you right away additional relevant material for your perusal.

5. I would be delighted to provide further clarification/information should you deem it necessary.

Truly, Prof Kamal Das.

from aju mukhopadhyay ajum24@yahoo.co.in to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com cc "profkamaldas@gmail.com" profkamaldas@gmail.com date 14 August 2011 22:18 subject Re: Ashram Trustees to Govt of India: "Sri Aurobindo was Psychotic and Mentally Unstable"

Dear Tusar M,

Not just posting, I wanted to know from Prof Kamal Das as to why when it was known not taken up with all earnestness, why does he report so late to all for information, it is already very old. Does he have the document with him or can he refer to the site or mag or book where this piece has been recorded for references? I am sending him copy of this mail for his reply please. Certainly, if this is true, I can only add that it is beyond the writer's capacity or privilege to so charge a writer who is infinitely more powerful than him. Thanks

Aju Mukhopadhyay

from aju mukhopadhyay ajum24@yahoo.co.in to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 14 August 2011 22:29 subject Re: Ashram Trustees to Govt of India: "Sri Aurobindo was Psychotic and Mentally Unstable"

Oh so? How then someone addresses him and writes that he was in the board when all this happened? However, I feel that more people should join to condemn this and should take actions too. Best

Aju Mukhopadhyay

from aju mukhopadhyay ajum24@yahoo.co.in to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 15 August 2011 12:02 subject Re: Ashram Trustees to Govt of India: "Sri Aurobindo was Psychotic and Mentally Unstable"

Thank you- interesting but really these are very serious as there must be a motive as from an enemy- a dogged effort to prove that Sri Aurobindo's works and Integral Yoga were pseudo things- as they do not understand they feel others too are like them. And to patronize or support such efforts too spring from similar motives. Though the spread of the master's yogic progress cannot be gauged easily among those left, most of them gone and even among those remained, mostly new comers, holding the other things of the establishment; seems mostly lost in the barren field. But more and more it is proved that things and beings beyond matter peeps through the solid mass as the key to understand, penetrate them, the solid material world. Those who maintain themselves as materialists are proving themselves just children. But in the case cited it is surely not academic enquiry but motivated with some purpose. If you like you can add it in the blog.

Best, Aju Mukhopadhyay

from RENU MEHRA renuarya.mehra@gmail.com to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 15 August 2011 20:05 subject Fwd: Ashram Trustees to Govt of India: "Sri Aurobindo .....

Respected Tusar Mohapatra ji, Namaste !!!

Your 'detached' reviews of the latest Savitri Era: - blogspot 'news' seems ‘blasphemous’ and why publicise this news? This section of 'news seems like a case of 'sensationalism of Media ... . any strong reactions then i would like to quote from Maharshi Aurobindo's writings in Letters on Yoga' :--

"The Divinity acts according to another consciousness, the consciousness of the Truth above and the Lila below and Divinity acts according to the needs of the Lila , not according to men's ideas of what it should do or should not do. This is the first thing one must grasp , otherwise one can understand nothing about the manifestation of the Divine."

In either cases, The Faith in the workings of the Divine Mother's divine knowledge. light, and peace be with yourself ...?

with due regards, (from a devotee) Renu Mehra.

Why not a movement to throw the enemies of Sri Aurobindo out?

2011-08-13T22:34:00.002+05:30

From aju mukhopadhyay ajum24@yahoo.co.in to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com cc "profkamaldas@gmail.com" profkamaldas@gmail.com date 13 August 2011 22:17 subject Re: Ashram Trustees to Govt of India: "Sri Aurobindo was Psychotic and Mentally Unstable"

Dear Tusar Mohapatra,

I have not seen your blog in this respect but have just read this by Prof Kamal Das. May I know a little about Prof Das - are all documents on the basis of which this has been written in his possession? If this is fact, all the people in the institution named after Sri Aurobindo are fed and do whatever, prosper materially, live comfortably at the cost of Sri Aurobindo mainly for devotees pay on trust, in his name and for devotion to the Mother. If the main pillar of the Ashram was a lunatic why anything like ashram in his name with his ideals exist? When they believe him to be so why and on what right will they possess and spoil his life long works? Why not others possess them, why not the entire works be preserved as national property? Why a few who have usurped the institution on which they thrive will still have control over it? as it seems that they are the most harmful enemies to such properties?
These are questions which come to a sane man's mind who find Sri Aurobindo's works as sane, 100% rational, poetry and prose of super value without an iota of insanity or anything else. Will prof Das and you answer- if true really why not a movement would begin to throw the enemies of Sri Aurobindo out of an institution in his name, running for his works to spread and teach people? These are at this point questions put before you for you have brought this to our notice- written and posted by you.

Sincerely, Aju Mukhopadhyay

from Prithwindra Mukherjee prithwin.mukherjee@gmail.com to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 14 August 2011 12:01

subject RE: Ashram Trustees to Govt of India: "Sri Aurobindo was Psychotic and Mentally Unstable"

Bhâi Tusar, This bit of further news is sickening.

Is there no possibility of interning this perverted Don Quixote with his Sancho busy fighting dexterously with the shadows of their own detracted mind? Can nobody get hold of them, seat on a donkey and carry them to the coarsest of public pales?

Anxious to know the immediate steps taken by the inmates. Best wishes. Prithwindra Mukherjee

from Jitendra Sharma aurofrance@gmail.com to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 13 August 2011 23:00 subject Who is this Professor Kamal Das?

Who is this Professor Kamal Das? He should come out of the mysterious shadows and introduce himself properly with his real address and phone number, as I do. Until then, please ignore him and do not publish any posts from him. - Dr. Jitendra Sharma

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The shame of 1997":

Strange that this is appearing now, when for quite a few years the true Professor Kamal Das was himself part of the S.A.A.Research Board. And almost always got away with his hocus-pocus magic sessions. Why is he waking up now? Why did he not protest then? Would be interesting to know how far he has proceeded with his research on artificial intelligence? He was allowed, in good faith, to interact with every visiting dignitary and on every occasion he spoke about some weird and vague research into artificial intelligence. Strange why no one has ever thought of expelling him from the Ashram - esp after his BMW phase of existence and the media house fiasco! Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era Open Forum at 9:52 PM, August 13, 2011 [In view of the fact that multiple anonymous comments in a thread make confusing reading and it becomes difficult to track who is telling what and to whom, only comments bearing some name/pseudonym/identity will appear in future. TNM 011110 SEOF]

[The Psychohistory review: Volume 26 books.google.co.in1997 - A subeditor on the newspaper Aurobindo edited once noted in his diary: "Babu Aurobindo Ghose is an extremely strange man. And I suspect a tinge of lunacy is not absent from him. His mother is a lunatic. And it is not at all strange....]

The shame of 1997

2011-08-13T21:30:00.000+05:30

from Prof Kamal Das profkamaldas@gmail.com to bcc tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 12 August 2011 22:29 subject Ashram Trustees to Govt of India: "Sri Aurobindo was Psychotic and Mentally Unstable"

Ashram Trustees to Govt of

India

: “Sri Aurobindo was ‘Psychotic and Mentally Unstable’”

Shocking!

In a shocking revelation, it has now come to light that the Trustees of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram led by Manoj Das Gupta have submitted to the Government of India, that original research carried out at the Ashram’s Archives proves that Sri Aurobindo was “psychotic and mentally unstable with a pronounced affliction of lunacy”.

In the Ashram’s Annual Report of Research Activities submitted to the Government and dated 1997-1998, on p.26 the Trustees have cited as “original historical research” an article of some 30 pages by Peter Heehs titled “Genius, Mysticism, and Madness”. This article, written by Peer Heehs as part of his work at the Ashram Archives, was also published in the Psychohistory Review in 1997. Evidently, it matters little to the Trustees that the Ashram Archives was not created for the purpose of denigrating Sri Aurobindo but for preservation of his manuscripts. Nor does it matter to the Trustees that Peter Heehs, being a school dropout, has absolutely no formal training, degree or experience in any field whatsoever, leave alone complex subjects such as psychology and psychohistory.

In this article Heehs attempts to “prove beyond reasonable doubt” that Sri Aurobindo’s genius and spiritual achievements and realisations were the unreliable consequence of mental instability coupled with psychotic and lunatic affliction. Extracts and Excerpts from “Genius, Mysticism, and Madness” by Peter Heehs […]

Thus by deliberate decontextualisation and distortion, Sri Aurobindo’s sublime spiritual experiences have been equated to the ravings of a madman, and presented to the Government of India as original research of the Ashram!

The Canary Sings

The blame-game and the end-game always go hand in hand and play out in tandem. Peter Heehs, right from his early days of unemployment and taxi driving in New York up to his criminal collaboration and nexus with Manoj Das Gupta, has always been a survivor.

With the end-game very much underway and criminal charges and imprisonment and deportation staring him in the face, Peter Heehs has begun singing to the authorities in the hope of absolving himself by blaming his powerful benefactors.

On page 7 point 5 of his affidavit filed in self-defence in the Court of Orissa, Peter Heehs has clarified that he is not the Founder of the Ashram Archives, and has blamed the publisher of the book stating that the false claim was made by Columbia University Press“who made here an inaccurate statement”, and therefore it is they who must pay for the crime instead of him.

Continuing in the same vein, and in the same affidavit filed in Court, on page 67, he cites this very article titled “Genius, Mysticism, and Madness” as evidence that the Ashram Trustees have supported him, guided him and even endorsed his findings relating to Sri Aurobindo’s insanity by having this article submitted to the Government of India as original research carried out by him at the Ashram as part of his official work at the Archives. The idea is not to sink alone. The idea is to blame Manoj Das Gupta and Columbia University Press for all his crimes and try to get away in the process. However, that will not happen as neither MDG nor CUP will sacrifice themselves to save Heehs.

Questions to Manoj Das Gupta

· Do the donations to the Ashram made by thousands of sincere devotees have to be spent on this type of work aimed at defaming and maligning Sri Aurobindo?

· Why does the Ashram Archives have to constantly explore the subject of lunacy and mental instability with regard to Sri Aurobindo? Are there no other worthwhile subjects available for research? And why spend so much time and energy in perverse research when many of the major writings of Sri Aurobindo are still lying unpublished and the new Collected Works is a full twelve years behind its schedule of publication?

· How can tax concessions and benefits granted by the Government of India to an institution in Sri Aurobindo’s name be abused in this blatant and shameless manner to denigrate Sri Aurobindo and belittle the intellectual and spiritual achievements of the Mahayogi?

· How much longer will you continue to defy the inmates of the Ashram and continue to promote and support the insult and denigration of Sri Aurobindo in complete defiance of law and the minimum required loyalty to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother?

Truly, Prof Kamal Das

I have dearly paid as a victim of conflicts and clay-hurling

2011-08-11T16:49:00.000+05:30

From Prithwindra Mukherjee prithwin.mukherjee@gmail.com to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 11 August 2011 15:08 subject RE: Have Auroville's Failures made it a Danger to India and the World?

Bhâi Tusar,

Many thanks for Robert's article.

In the midst of sophisticated discussions that are cropping up, here is someone who is not afraid of thinking with his heart.

Having been intimately connected with the French team of Auroville promoters in the 60s and attentive to the frustration of volunteers from the "other" teams, I have dearly paid as a victim of intestine conflicts and clay-hurling, before stopping to consider myself as an indispensable missionary of the New Consciousness.

Maintaining my faith firm, I have a conviction that in spite of all his gentleman-like compassion, Sri Aurobindo is a personified vajra (thunderbolt) of the Spirit : knowingly or unknowingly whosoever chooses to rub up the wrong way is sure to learn the Natural Law of perishing thunder-struck. A consummate connoisseur of the Occult, the Mother was far from ignorant of the incompatible forces that she maintained in equilibrium; she has not lost control of them and will triumph over their momentarily centrifugal lust to rule.

Let go. Let God.

Prithwindra Mukherjee

from Robert E. Wilkinson robtw@sprynet.com to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 11 August 2011 01:51 subject Have Auroville's Failures made it a Danger to India and the World?

Namaste Tusar,

This essay is being sent out to past and present members of the Auroville Advisory Council as well as educators, writers, and students throughout the world who have distinguished themselves as supporters of the incomparable work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. For many of you this will be a painful confrontation and for others, a breath of fresh air. What will be made clear is that THE TIME HAS COME for an end to the stultifying dogma that has reduced the most important spiritual work of the age to an arrogant, fundamentalist, and elitist cult. Because of the dogged refusal of the Auroville elites to engage in sincere and honest discussion of issues essential to the revelation of Sri Aurobindo’s and the Mother’s knowledge and mission, the conversation is being widened to include members of the larger human community who have been harmed by their failures and who are within their rights, as we are, to demand an open and transparent accounting.

In the Service of Truth, Robert E. Wilkinson

http://circumsolatious.blogspot.com/2011/08/have-aurovilles-failures-made-it-danger.html

Lives war: 2007 - 2011

2011-08-06T20:34:00.002+05:30

Peter Heehs is writing a biography of Sri Aurobindo due to be published next year

A couple of weeks ago, our Savitri study group in Manhattan had the privilege of meeting Peter Heehs, a historian who is writing a biography of Sri Aurobindo due to be published next year. Peter Heehs is also the author of a paper entitled The uses of Sri Aurobindo: mascot, whipping boy, or what?, and a wonderful little book called Nationalism, Terrorism, Communalism.

In both the paper and the book, he thoroughly investigates all the allegations of Sri Aurobindo having been an “extremist” or a “Hindu supremacist” and shows that they simply do not hold water.

Peter was quiet and unassuming, and I really enjoyed meeting him... Meeting Peter Heehs fromThe Stumbling Mystic by ned Matagiri Thursday 13 December 2007 10:11 AM

Peter Heehs reading & booksigning for The Lives of Sri Aurobindo on June 19 at 7 pm... This special event will be introduced by Esalen co-founder Michael Murphy. One of the founders of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives, Heehs is currently a member of the editorial board of the Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo. [11:30 AM] Say what? Fiction, nonfiction, fantasy, biography, mystery ... San Francisco Chronicle, USA - SF Reads from "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo." 7 pm Thurs. The Booksmith, 1644 Haight St. (415) 863-8688. Thursday, June 19, 200812:12 AM

The Lives of Sri Aurobindo: Some devotees of Sri Aurobindo might be put off by Peter’s academic tone in this biography. After all, he never calls Sri Aurobindo an “avatar” or anything like that in it. Indeed, Peter paints Sri Aurobindo as humanly as he possibly can in this biography (which was partly because he wanted a university publisher in order to reach a wider audience, and partly because that’s his style — to be measured and detached)... Peter Heehs’ The Lives of Sri Aurobindo from The Stumbling Mystic by ned Monday, July 21, 2008 8:40 AM, 11:17 AM, 11:06 AM

Re: Rationalism and the yogic life by ned on Sun 28 Sep 2008 07:31 AM PDT Profile Permanent Link

Personally, I met Peter in New York and at Lodi and heard him speak about his book. He's a very nice person and clearly worked hard on this biography. He's also very knowledgeable. His approach is a little too rationalistic for me and I do think that there were portions of the book where I thought he "sold out" too much to a Western audience (e.g. at one point he says that maybe all these experiences are hallucinations or schizophrenic breakdowns).

But overall, I liked the biography because it describes the human personality of Sri Aurobindo and in an odd way that strengthened me in my sadhana. It made me think that if Sri Aurobindo could rise from his "human self" to the greatness that he eventually attained, there is great hope for all of us. Monday, September 29, 2008 7:51 AM

ned said... 7:51 PM, October 20, 2008

As for the Peter Heehs controversy I have no personal stake in it nor do I care much about the emotional reactions people are having to his biography. He has his opinions and my faith in Sri Aurobindo and the Mother is strong enough to not be affected by such trivial things. I do find it really sad that people who are *supposed* to be "spiritual" are resorting to such petty reactions and even to violence against Peter, if that's the case. It only shows the lack of actual spiritual experiences -- when you start having experiences you stop reacting like this. 12:00 PM

BAN THE BAN Calcutta Telegraph - Saturday, July 30 , 2011 Politics and play: Ramachandra Guha.

However, Heehs is gently sceptical of the claim that Aurobindo possessed supernatural powers. “To accept Sri Aurobindo as an avatar is necessarily a matter of faith,” he writes, adding that “matters of faith quickly become matters of dogma”. This understated, unexceptionable statement drove the dogmatic followers of Aurobindo bananas. 12:03 PM

Movement for the Restoration of Vedic Wisdom: Have Auroville's ... by Robert E. Wilkinson Circumsolatious: Have Auroville’s Failures made it a Danger to India and the World?

With only the blind to lead the blind the ignorance and toxicity of the community grew progressively worse. This fact was recently highlighted by the controversial book written in 2008 by Peter Heehs entitled The Lives of Sri Aurobindo. In the pages of this shameful text the author reduces his Guru to a ridiculous caricature and de-contextualizes his life and work in virtually the same manner that the Mother’s disciples systematically destroyed her temple.

Guha toes the Heehs' line - another book

2011-08-03T20:46:00.000+05:30

from Prof Kamal Das profkamaldas@gmail.com bcc tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 3 August 2011 20:29 subject Fwd: RAMACHANDRA GUHA: RIGHT SPIRIT - WRONG FACTS! Forwarded message

From: Prof Kamal Das profkamaldas@gmail.com Date: Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 3:30 PM Subject: Re: RAMACHANDRA GUHA: RIGHT SPIRIT - WRONG FACTS! To: Ramachandra Guha ramachandraguha@yahoo.in

Dear Mr Guha,

1. There is no anger and animosity, only a simple statement of facts, namely:

a. The Lives of Sri Aurobindo by Peter Heehs is not a book but a crime punishable under sections 295A and 153A of the IPC, 1860 (45 of 1860) as declared in the Govt. Notification No 1612/C Dated 09-04-2009.

b. Peter Heehs is an accessory to crime or a petty criminal if you will, under the very same sections.

2. Crimes and criminals are not dealt with by writing books but in accordance with the law of the land, which fortunately operates outside your universe of shallow moral grandstanding and statesmanship of convenience.

3. Arundhati Roy was right about you. We don't wish to embarrass you any further and rest our case.

Truly, Prof Kamal Das.

On Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 2:32 PM, Ramachandra Guha ramachandraguha@yahoo.in wrote:

Dear Mr Das,

The anger and animosity, the viciousness and the vituperation, in your mail is unbecoming of a man who carries the title 'professor' and who is an admirer of Aurobindo.

There is only answer to a book-- another book. If you and your colleagues have sufficient moral and intellectual courage, then have the case against Peter Heehs withdrawn, let his book be circulated, and publish and let your book be circulated too. Till such time as you do so, I can only conclude that you have no moral or intellectual case to stand on. with best wishes

R. Guha

Dharna in Puducherry against Ashram Trustees

2011-08-02T22:23:00.002+05:30

from Prof Kamal Das profkamaldas@gmail.com bcc tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date

2 August 2011 22:15 subject Fwd: Fw: PHOTOS 4 attachments 11:05 PM 2 comments

PHOTOS OF 2ND SUCCESSFUL DHARNA BY PONDICHERRY PUBLIC

AGAINST ASHRAM TRUSTEES

Peter Heehs has stolen the research of his colleagues

2011-08-01T15:47:00.000+05:30

From: Prof Kamal Das profkamaldas@gmail.com Date: Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 1:04 PM Subject: RAMACHANDRA GUHA: RIGHT SPIRIT - WRONG FACTS! To: ramachandraguha@yahoo.in

Dear Mr Ramachandra Guha,

1. This has reference to your piece 'Ban the Ban' in The Telegraph on the 30th of July, 2011 and specifically to your comments/ views on the proscription of the book, The Lives of Sri Aurobindo by Peter Heehs.

2. It is surprising and unfortunate that a person of your standing and repute has made such facile, irresponsible and flippant remarks about 'hyperactive courts' and 'dogmatic devotees' without proper research and understanding of the matter.

3. We would like to believe that you have been misinformed, and in a genuine attempt at setting this wrong right, submit the following facts:

The proscription of The Lives of Sri Aurobindo by Peter Heehs has little to do with freedom of expression and is all about academic fraudulence, intellectual property theft, copyright violation, impersonation and criminal factual distortion with malicious intent.

The scope of the fraudulence in the book involves, inter alia, factual distortion, entirely concocted quotations, out-of-context quotes, presentation of perverse speculation as actual facts, deliberate suppression of evidence contrary to the author's thesis, etc. all of which is structured to harm Sri Aurobindo's image. Kindly visit www.TheLivesOfSriAurobindo.com for a detailed expose of factual distortions in the book compiled by senior scholars, historians and professors.

Peter Heehs has never been in charge of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives as you wrongly claim, and has multiple cases pending against him in various courts for impersonating as the "founder of the Ashram Archives" when in fact he was only one of 40 proof-readers/ researchers there. Heehs has now conveniently accused Columbia University Press for wrongly having labelled him as the 'founder of the Archives' for the promotion of the book and the matter is sub-judice.

Peter Heehs has stolen the research of his colleagues at the Archives for the publication of this book and the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust has initiated disciplinary action against him in this regard. Additionally, Heehs has used substantial content in the book without proper permission in gross violation of the Ashram's copyright. Heehs has apologized in writing for this but the matter remains sub-judice.

With regard to the case filed in Chennai against extension of his visa, kindly be advised that the grounds for that case were the gross violation of the visa terms namely, non-reporting and non-payment of taxes due against income earned in India and gross mis-conduct as evidenced by criminal cases and arrest warrants pending against him. For the record, Mr. Peter Heehs is currently in India without appropriate legal permits.

While anybody is welcome to their definition and understanding of scholarship, the reality is that Peter Heehs is a school drop-out, with no formal training or qualification in any discipline whatsoever. While this should not disqualify or deter anyone from attempting to comment authoritatively on a spectrum of subjects ranging from literature to freudian analysis of the works and lives of extraordinary figures of our times, it is incumbent on the recipients of this unsolicited package of pseudo-history and speculation, to be circumspect and not fall prey to what is essentially a con-trick from a small-time crook.

Kindly note that in addition to the order of the Honourable High Court of Orissa, the Government of Orissa, acting on the request of the Home Ministry and in tandem with it, after due process of law, promulgated the Gazette Notification dated 09-04-2009, thereby making the proscription of the said book in the territory of India, de jure, effective from the date of notification. The gazette notification is attached herewith for your convenient perusal.

The Gazette notification states, inter alia that the said book:

§ “Promotes communal disaffection affecting public peace and tranquillity”

§ “The book depicts wrong and distorted facts on the life and character of Sri Aurobindo, which is clearly blasphemous”

§ “The book contains absurd, irrelevant and self-made stories, which do not have any scriptural support and has caused widespread indignation among the devotees”

§ “The writings portrayed in the book have seriously hurt the sentiments of the apostles of Sri Aurobindo and the said book, with deliberate and malicious intention has insulted the religious beliefs of millions”

4. The devotees of Sri Aurobindo have no objection to Peter Heehs and his ilk plying their trade in any part of the world including India as long as they do so without fraudulent credentials, misleading associations, malicious speculation and voyeurism and calling it research, history and authoritative biography.

5. While, no icon, least of all an intellectual and spiritual giant like Sri Aurobindo, is likely to be affected by the shenanigans of petty roadside criminals, it must be understood and appreciated that reputation is a construct of the human mind and is consequently vulnerable to deliberate and unchallenged misinformation. Therefore the need to stand up and fight.

6. In view of the above, it would not be unreasonable to expect that you will take action to set the record straight with The Telegraph, and failure to do so would constrain us to reluctantly agree with Arundhati Roy's assessment of you, as a 'cricket historian who has missed the boat.'

Truly, Prof Kamal Das

Gazette Notification from Govt of Orissa on 9.4.2009.pdf

If they have failed to rise to the occasion that Heehs presented to them

2011-07-30T17:38:00.000+05:30

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Subjugating Jugal": Dear Tusarji,
You evidently live in a world that is monochromatic and which appears to be dominated by a hue called "Heehs". If you think that you and your sympathizers are doing Heehs a disservice by giving him the importance that you are bestowing upon him, you are mistaken. Because it is people like yourself who have made Heehs larger than life. In fact, Heehs seems to occupy some of your lives more than Sri Aurobindo does.

It is therefore rather hilarious to see you attribute Jugal's or RYD's downfall to the rise of Heehs. For, if they have failed to rise to the occasion that Heehs presented to them and they have instead chosen to fall as a result of their personal attachment to their own limitations, Heehs should hardly be blamed for it. Sincerely, Subhas Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 4:29 PM, July 30, 2011

Re: Manoj Das Gupta demands ... Definition of Sadhana by Sandeep on Mon 08 Nov 2010 11:24 PM IST | Profile | Permanent Link

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother said all kinds of things to all kinds of people in different situations. What principle to apply in a given situation requires some contact with the plane of Intuition. People tend to choose the quote which suits their personality and matches their outlook in life. A Polish philosopher has coined something known as the law of the Infinite Cornucopia which says that for any given doctrine one wants to believe, there is never a shortage of arguments by which one can support it.

by Sandeep on Mon 08 Nov 2010 11:30 PM IST | Profile | Permanent Link

Before I get misinterpreted, let me add that I am not defending anyone here but merely pointing out the futility of applying any given quote to this complex situation.

Comment posted by Sandeep Re: An Open Letter...The Jhumur Episode and The Registrar’s Non-Performance, date 22 September 2010

Sadhaks living in an Ashram do not have academic freedom (neither Peter Heehs not RYD); they must seek a higher kind of freedom - a freedom out of their lower self.

Guha bats for Heehs

2011-07-30T12:03:00.000+05:30

BAN THE BAN Calcutta Telegraph - Saturday , July 30 , 2011 Politics and play: Ramachandra Guha. The republic of India bans books with a depressing frequency.

Gandhi scholars in particular, and Indians in general, owe Rajmohan and Gopalkrishna a debt of gratitude, for pressurizing the government to allow the free circulation of Joseph Lelyveld’s The Great Soul in 27 states of the country. It remains illegal to own or possess a copy of the book in the 28th state of the Union, which happens to be Gandhi’s own. […]

Sadly, the bravery (and decency) of Gandhi’s grandsons has not been emulated by defenders or descendants of some other great men of modern India. Consider the fate, within India, of a biography of Sri Aurobindo written by Peter Heehs. Heehs is a real scholar, the author of several substantial works of history (among them The Bomb in Bengal). What’s more, he was for many years in charge of the archives in the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry.

In 2008, Columbia University Press in New York published Peter Heehs’s The Lives of Sri Aurobindo. The product of a lifetime of scholarship, its empirical depth and analytical sharpness is unlikely to be surpassed. For Heehs knows the documentary evidence on and around Aurobindo’s life better than anyone else. He has a deep knowledge of the political and spiritual worlds in which his subject moved and by which he was shaped.

Alas, this remarkable life of a remarkable Indian cannot be read in India. This is because of an injunction on its sale asked for by self-professed devotees of Aurobindo, and granted by a hyper-active high court in Orissa. Heehs’s book is respectful but not reverential. He salutes Aurobindo for his contributions to the freedom struggle. Before Aurobindo, writes Heehs, “no one dared to speak openly of independence; twenty years later, it became the movement’s accepted goal”. He praises Aurobindo’s contributions to literature and philosophy. However, Heehs is gently sceptical of the claim that Aurobindo possessed supernatural powers. “To accept Sri Aurobindo as an avatar is necessarily a matter of faith,” he writes, adding that “matters of faith quickly become matters of dogma”.

This understated, unexceptionable statement drove the dogmatic followers of Aurobindo bananas. Some devotees filed a case in the Orissa High Court, restraining the Indian publisher from circulating the book in India. Other devotees filed a case in a Tamil Nadu court, seeking the revocation of Peter Heehs’s visa and his extradition from this country. By these (and other) acts, the contemporary keepers of Aurobindo’s flame showed themselves to be far less courageous than the grandsons of Gandhi. Is their icon so fragile that he can be destroyed or even damaged by a single, scholarly, book? […]

As these cases illustrate, the republic of India bans books with a depressing frequency. Three factors promote this culture of banning. First, the descendants or devotees of biographical subjects are often too nervous or insecure to have them discussed with objectivity and rigour. Second, these fanatical or insecure followers have found an ally in the courts. Although the Supreme Court has tended to act on the side of the freedom of expression, lower courts have been less wise. Judges who are malleable or publicity-hungry pass injunctions forbidding the free circulation of books and works of art. Few petitioners have the time, or money, or energy, to wait and fight till the case reaches the Supreme Court (a process that can take years). A ban once invoked is therefore rarely revoked. […]

Lower courts and even some high courts have been accomplices in this process of the stifling of free speech. So too have been politicians of all parties and governments. Indian democrats may take solace in the few exceptions: these being the institution of the Supreme Court, and those public-spirited public figures, Rajmohan and Gopalkrishna Gandhi. ramachandraguha@yahoo.in

We move on to Aurobindo, who, again, at times propagated ideas uncannily similar to Islam, as in the wish to return to a Golden Age where all was truth and righteousness. Then we come to Vivekananda, to this writer the most ambivalent, and hence most appealing, of the four. Ramachandra Guha The Telegraph Saturday, April 17, 2004 10:12 AM, 7:30 AM

Bowl for past, bat for change Calcutta Telegraph - Samhita Chakraborty Lahiri 16 Dec 2010

One thing you can't accuse Ramachandra Guha of is mincing his words. ... “I found the views of Vivekananda and Aurobindo archaic and stiff,” was the reply to a variation of the question that he is asked the most about his book. 9:40 AM, 6:18 PM, 7:30 AM

Sri Aurobindo’s Opposition Why the Indian establishment resisted him MANGESH V. NADKARNI Indian Express EDITORIALS & ANALYSIS Thursday, March 21, 2002

The Gandhian establishment was not entirely happy with Sri Aurobindo because of his insistence that India must cultivate the kshatriya spirit, not merely Bhakti and Jnana.

The reason why the academic establishment in India was opposed to Sri Aurobindo is that he rejected the colonial-missionary model of history, which regarded the Aryan invasion theory as its crown-jewel. Sri Aurobindo was probably the first to issue a warning against the invasion theory in his book On the Vedas, written nearly 80 years ago. Nor was Sri Aurobindo an uncritical admirer of the Western liberal-humanistic tradition.

Subhas' fine words

2011-07-26T14:46:00.001+05:30

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Mistrust permeates the Ashram fraternity": Dear Tusarji,

The myths created by people such as Anurag Banerjee and RY Deshpande, are quite clearly designed to breed mistrust among members of the SA Ashram fraternity.

The myth of the Hindi poem that Anurag Banerjee claimed was authored by Sri Aurobindo was removed from his Overman Foundation blog shortly after he found that he had no other way to wriggle out of his goof up. Instead of answering some of the pertinent questions that were being asked to him by people like myself, he chose the convenient way of trying to wipe out his goof-up from cyber space by elimiting his post, as if it never existed. Unfortunately for him, the damage was already done to his reputation as news has spread irreversably on the internet.

RY Deshpande also appears to be another creator of myths. His favorite myth appears to be that Sri Aurobindo's poem the Savitri is being tampered by the SA Ashram.

However, like Anurag Banerjee he makes the same fatal blunder of believing that the larger SA Ashram fraternity will value more the words of a few ambitious, self-promoting and disgruntled individuals rather than relying on a reputed institution such as the SA Ashram.

That you promote the view points of people like Anurag Banerjee and RY Deshpande says much about your intentions.

The only pity is that all of you find it convenient to soil the names such as that of Sri Aurobindo and the Savitri in your petty, ambitious endeavours of self-promotion. Sincerely, Subhas Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 1:21 PM, July 26, 2011

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Wrestling with a ghost is a bewildering propositio...": Dear Tusar-ji,

LOL!!! It's amusing to see how you see ghosts where there are none. Because my dialogues are REAL. My tortuous questions are equally REAL. The only thing that is left to your imagination is my identity.

But if all that you are capable of is to "multiply [y]our decibel level", with the hope of scaring the ghosts of your imagination away, you may want to consider the good ol' saying that "empty vessels make most noise." Subhas Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 1:26 PM, July 15, 2011

Re: Why is there pain and suffering? Ian Johnstone-Bryden

History is a mixture of perception and propaganda that confuses some of the fundamental elements of humanity. As a pack animal, the human needs to...

One measure of Empire is to compare the United States and Canada. The slave owners and tax evaders who broke away to form the United States produced some fine words in a written Constitution but were engaged on a ruthless program of genocide and racial discrimination that has continued into recent times and in some aspects continues to survive in what claims to be a free democracy. Those colonists who remained loyal to Empire produced a Canadian nation that avoided genocide and allowed aborigines, English and French to live together in dignity and general harmony.

How Do You Solve A Problem Like sonia? from ANTIDOTE by naturalorder@gmail.com (Sauvik) "Rome was not built in a day."

And do read the wonderful prose of Gibbon, whose Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire was published in the same year that Adam Smith's Inquiry Into The Nature And Causes Of The Wealth Of Nations was published, that year being the historic year 1776 - and both these bestsellers were published by the same London publisher. And Gibbon OUTSOLD Smith.

Undesirable and purposeless passages under the radar

2011-07-22T21:08:00.000+05:30

A letter from “Anonymous Devotee” « auroleaks 19 Jan 2011

Take Larry Seidlitz’s thorough examination of the accusations against Peter, a document that has unfortunately slipped under the radar. Has anyone on the Right actually tried to dissect it and show where Larry might have gone wrong? He takes a neutral, open stance, analyses the allegations against Peter in detail, concludes in some instances that this statement here, that assertion there, is perhaps unnecessary or misplaced, but there are no signs of hostility anywhere. Why has no one on the Right dared to challenge him head on? […]

I should mention in this context that Manoj Das Gupta’s 18-page Reflections is one of the most balanced analyses of the various sides of the issue that one will find. It is unfortunate that this too seems to have slipped under the radar, as it answers many of the questions and accusations still doing the rounds.

An examination of the criticism against The Lives of Sri Aurobindo

In this essay, Larry Seidlitz, a resident and scholar at Pondicherry ...

A critique of the book "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo" by Peter Heehs ...

An Examination of Larry Seidlitz's Defence of Heehs's Biography of Sri Aurobindo. Part 1.

Mirror of Tomorrow :: Response to the Managing Trustee's “Some Reflections on the Agonising Issue of a Book” by Raman Reddy on Sat 21 Aug 2010 03:30 AM IST | Permanent Link | Cosmos

Manoj Das Gupta’s Analysis

I need not justify myself to any one. My sole concern is to try to be as faithful as possible, in my present state of consciousness, to the Mother and to the Mother alone. Hasn’t the Mother said: “I need not appear to be good if my sincerity is perfect. It is better to be than to seem.” (CWM, Vol. 15, p. 203) (Manoj Das Gupta’s Analysis, p. 1)

The main accusations against PH may be summarized under the following headings:

1. PH has violated copyright rules.

2. He has deliberately tried to denigrate Sri Aurobindo and lower his image in the eyes of the public.

3. As a consequence, he should be expelled from the Ashram

(Manoj Das Gupta’s Analysis, p. 1)

It is on record that P.H. had taken written permission for quoting from the writings of Sri Aurobindo. As for the bogey of using materials from Puraniji’s notebook, it is more a question of ethical propriety than a violation of copyright. I may mention here in passing that Puraniji has never ceded, in writing, his copyright to the Ashram. However, I agree that the passages thus quoted were quite unnecessary for the purport of the general theme of the book. P.H. himself has realized this at a heavy cost. (Manoj Das Gupta’s Analysis, p. 2)

In my long uninterrupted stay (over 65 years) in the Ashram I do not recall ever witnessing such a virulent commotion as is prevalent today, gripping our community life.

In the context of the above controversy the Ashramites may be classified into three groups:

a) anti-PH Group—the most vociferous and militant of the three who would stop at nothing short of declaring a “Fatwa”;

b) pro-PH group—more defensive and non-promotional;

c) neutral group—this group, for various reasons, prefer to remain if not neutral at least silent….

Needless to say that according to the natural bent of my nature, my swadharma, my spontaneous sympathy is with the third group. But alas, am I permitted to enjoy the luxury of ‘neutrality’ while occupying an unenviable position in the Administration?

[The Managing Trustee quotes here Heehs’ letters regarding his intention to show how Sri Aurobindo transformed himself from the human to the divine]

From the above, my personal inclination is, if not to exonerate P.H. fully at least to give him, what in sporting parlance is known as ‘the benefit of the doubt’. (Manoj Das Gupta’s Analysis, pp. 3-5)

I’m sorry, I’m absolutely unable to agree with those who uphold the strong view that in order to vindicate the honour and prestige of the Ashram, P.H. should be expelled forthwith.

I strongly believe that before taking any hasty decision on the matter, we must be absolutely sure of the correctness of our judgment, weighing carefully, with an unprejudiced mind, all the pros and cons and especially examine the grave consequences that such a drastic action may entail on a spiritual community such as ours.

Another grave danger that we have to be cautious of is not to let our judgement be coloured in any way by our cultural background—what we loosely talk about as “lndian psyche”. Sri Aurobindo clearly states: “The Ashram has nothing to do with Hindu religion or culture or any religion or nationality. The Truth of the Divine which is the spiritual reality behind all religions and the descent of the supramental which is not known to any religion are the sole things which will be the foundation of the work of the future.” (Bulletin, April 1995, p.84) (Manoj Das Gupta’s Analysis, pp. 5-6)

It all began over an interview of Auroville Today with PH, in its August issue of 2008. Soon after, with the help of some friends R. began to circulate through the Internet and other means, a selection of extracts from PH’s book. This led to unprecedented furore and hue and cry among a section of devotees, culminating in a signature campaign—something that is never heard of in any Ashram—and goes obnoxiously against the exclusive character of our Ashram—for removing P.H. from the Archives. (I may say here in passing that I had already initiated a move asking PH to stay away from the Archives). The question that puzzles me, even to this day, is—Why did R of all persons, who by all accounts seemed to be a quiet and unobtrusive person, suddenly take up the cudgel to bash PH with? How does he justify such an action in the light of the Mother’s advice to the inmates of the Ashram put up on the Notice Board?

When you have nothing pleasant to say about something or somebody in the Ashram, keep silent.

You must know that this silence is faithfulness to the Divine’s work.

Whatever be the reason, R. has certainly achieved the dubious success of arousing the rabble like Antony in Julius Caesar:

…mischief, thou art afoot,

Take thou what course thou wilt!

(Manoj Das Gupta’s Analysis, p. 7)

Here is an interesting observation by a thoughtful Ashramite that should make us pause to think: “Peter Heehs, as we and several others who have read his book feel, was motivated by an ambition to pass off as an academic critic by Western standards and used certain materials irreverently and without creating the right context for them. When extracts from his book were circulated by his critics in thousands and through the internet, that was done even without that much context which Heehs had built up. The Press wrought further havoc by selectively quoting from the lawyer’s submissions in the court and from other circulated materials only such stuff that suited its present day competitive character. For any unbiased person these extracts read far more horrible than when read in the book Time will tell who is more responsible for the public furore: the author who lacked proper understanding of his sublime task or those who picked up and circulated the very lines and passages from his book which they would not like people to read and gave those words publicity reaching tens of thousands of people whereas the book itself might have been limited to a few hundred or just a thousand copies. How many of those who are agitated read the book or would have read the book? But everybody read the undesirable and purposeless passages so widely distributed.” (Manoj Das Gupta’s Analysis, p. 7)

My Stand

From day one till this date my stand has been one of prayer and patience and wait and see. I know that it is very disconcerting for the ‘man of action’ and I have been accused of ‘escapism’ and gross dereliction of my duty. To these critics I can only say: “Sorry, I have been prompted to this by what I consider to be my faithfulness to the Mother; and I can assert in all sincerity that not even for a second have I ever had any remorse of conscience, admitting that I have one!”

It is better to perish following one’s own dharma; disastrous it is to follow someone else’s dharma. (Bhagwad Gita, 3:35)

I especially took courage for my stand from the following advice of the Mother to me:

After all, it is always preferable not to make any decision for or against things, but to watch events as they develop, with the impartiality of a witness, relying on the divine Wisdom which will decide for the best and do what is needful. (CWM, Vol. 12, p. 323)

(Manoj Das Gupta’s Analysis, p. 8)

[1] Manoj Das Gupta’s Analysis (pp. 9-10)

A Few Comments

I shall now try to analyse what went wrong with PH.

i) The Intention: PH has clearly stated that in his recent biography he has ‘tried to bring out Sri Aurobindo’s effort to achieve the full supramental transformation’—to highlight what Sri Aurobindo said: “I transformed my nature from what it was to what it was not”.

One can find nothing wrong with the intention. On the contrary; it can be, even for the non-intellectual bhakta, a very interesting and soul-inspiring topic.

ii) The Methodology: In my humble opinion, it is here that P.H. went wrong, to have in mind only a particular readership. In his own words: “I chose to write my recent book mostly for an audience made up of Westerners or westernized Indians”. He therefore chose a style and language conducive to his goal and which would appeal to his limited audience; therefore he doggedly adopted an anti-hagiographic style.

His obsession of confining himself to the academic circle alone, has led him to try to analyze even some of Sri Aurobindo’s actions in the light of Western psychoanalysis! As an example, look at the stupid motive he tries to ascribe to Sri Aurobindo’s writing the beautiful play Vasavadatta!! It is this over-smartness of his which has proved to be a great irritant in his otherwise informative book. I am surprised that PH who is well-read in all the writings of Sri Aurobindo should have been so callous to Sri Aurobindo’s strong views on psycho-analysis prevalent in Europe.

“I find it difficult to take these psycho-analysts at all seriously when they try to scrutinise spiritual experience by the flicker of their torch-lights,—yet perhaps one ought to, for half-knowledge is a powerful thing and can be a great obstacle to the coming in front of the true Truth.” (SABCL, Vol. 24, p. 1608)

From all accounts so far received, his book has been widely acclaimed by this section of readership. But then it has also opened the Pandora’s Box.

Had he only kept in mind the following advice of the Mother he would have avoided the pitfall.

My point of view is this, that anything written by a sadhak about Sri Aurobindo which brings him down to an ordinary level and admits the reader to a sort of gossiping familiarity with him is an unfaithfulness o Him and His work. Good intentions are not sufficient, it is necessary that this should be understood by everybody. (CWM, Vol. 13, p. 27)

How l wish that PH would have written his book unmindful of any appreciative audience whatsoever—like the wandering minstrel of yore who sang just for the joy of singing!

To drive my point home I shall take recourse to an analogy (take it not with a pinch of salt but with a hand-full of salt!): A competent artist who is dexterous with his paint and brush decides to paint a portrait of Sri Aurobindo. This artist loves children. He therefore decides that his painting should be intended for children alone. Now, what do children like? Cartoons of course! Therefore our artist sets about to draw a cartoon of Sri Aurobindo instead!! (QED) (Manoj Das Gupta’s Analysis, pp. 9-10)

[2] 23 February 1932 (Bulletin, Feb 2000, p. 80)

[3] SABCL, Vol. 23, p. 556

I want people to refute her claims, based on evidence, intellectual criticisms, or even Yoga

2011-07-22T12:10:00.000+05:30

From Harish Kumar harishkumar09@yahoo.co.in date 21 July 2011 21:22

OPEN LETTER TO THE AUROBINDONIAN COMMUNITY

Sri Aurobindo dedicated his life to bringing about the manifestation of the truth-conscious Supermind on this planet, so that it would become the governing principle of life on Earth. His Integral Yoga was aimed at the establishment of a Divine Life and the divinisation of matter by dethroning Mind and making Supermind the primary instrument of the new creation.

Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet (known as Thea to her students) has in her works given a complete exposition of the descent and action of Supermind in this world. She has given the keys (by way of number-power, zodiacal tradition and the sacred sciences) to understand the action of Supermind and how one can consciously participate in the evolution (supramentalisation) of humankind and the establishment of a gnostic society. By unveiling the secrets of the ancient zodiac, she has objectively established the fact that India is the Guru amongst nations, whereas others make this claim merely out of nationalistic fervour and by way of repeating the old formulas.

Thea's cosmology has proven empirically that Sri Aurobindo is Vishnu's 9th Avatar according to rigorous Vedic prescriptions, she has proven that Sri Aurobindo's most conclusive victory was the process of his death and return, what exactly that means in the Supramental Manifestation, and why it was necessary. She has presented the Formula he cemented in his own symbol and shown how it has worked meticulously in India particularly through two Lines, Solar and Lunar, and how the entire development of the new independent India has taken place according to His Formula.

Yet, we neither see an enthusiastic acceptance nor an informed criticism of her works. Why exactly are her prescriptions wrong? What exactly is the mechanism of the operations of Supermind, if not the one explained by Thea? We do not hear anything on these lines. Instead all we hear is mindless accusations levelled against her, ad hominem attacks, false charges and accusations of self-glorification from self-styled spokespersons of the community.

Scientific progress happens through a process of developing a hypothesis and testing it against observable phenomenon. If the observed phenomenon does not correspond to the hypothesis, it is discarded and a new one is propounded which explains the reality around us.

Occultism, as the Mother opined, is also a science since it is reproducible. Occult experiments have a universal validity and can be tested. Nobody accused Einstein of self-glorification when he proposed The Theory of Relativity to explain the orbital eccentricity of Mercury. Rather it was tested against observable data and on this strength it was accepted or rejected. Those who put their faith in Newtonian Mechanics and disagreed with Einstein gave valid reasons for doing so and did not spend their time making ad hominem attacks against Einstein.

If Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet is wrong, what exactly is the view and tested hypothesis of the Aurobindonian Community regarding the mechanism of the Supramental Descent and its establishment as the governing principle on this planet? What exactly is the mechanism and its time-frame, if any, for its descent and demonstrable action? What is their opinion on the Return of Sri Aurobindo and the role he would play in the creation of a gnostic society? If he would be the prototype of the Gnostic Being, would the descent of Supermind be initiated by his return and if so, how and when would this take place?

Sri Aurobindo stated that India is conscious of her mission in the world and is waiting for the exterior means of its manifestation. What is the Aurobindonian Community doing to facilitate those means? In what way has its failure to rise to this momentous occasion negatively affected conditions in India and delayed its promised renaissance?

Can I have the answers to these questions? [harishkumar09@yahoo.co.in I am 37 years old and I live in the city of Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka. I am self-employed.]

Misconceptions about the constitution and functioning of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram

2011-07-14T18:28:00.000+05:30

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Manoj Das Gupta must go": Dear Tusar-ji,

As you enjoy speculating about many things including my identity and intentions, why not continue in this line and suppose that I am an anonymous agent of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. But my question to you then would be, does that make my points any less valid? You made certain allegations and sweeping statements. I asked you to be specific. But instead, you have only returned with more sweeping statements and speculations. That certainly doesn't help strengthen your arguments and allegations.

And to dwell longer in the realm of speculation, what if I am indeed a spokesperson of the Ashram, why should you feel visibly uncomfortable to engage with me then? You keep complaining about the SA Ashram's lack of engagement with people like you. (And you of course make the most of it by going on flinging muck on the SA Ashram). And now that someone like me - who might very well be a spokesperson of the SA Ashram as far as you are concerned - reaches out to you, you complain about this too.

Is it therefore of any surprise that the Savitri Era Party appears to figure absolutely nowhere in the SA Ashram's scheme of things? Sincerely, Subhas. Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 7:40 PM, July 13, 2011

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Manoj Das Gupta must go":

Mr. TNM, you say that the Ashram belongs to The Mother & Sri Aurobindo is to say nothing. Don't you think that this is insulting to The Mother & Sri Aurobindo? If the Ashram doesn't belong to Them, to whom does it belong? The Ashram surely does not belong to the Trustees or Manoj Das Gupta or to Savitri Era Party. The trustees of any institution like the Sri Aurobindo Ashram or Sathya Sai Baba Ashram cannot be perfect souls, but they don't insult The Mother & Sri Aurobindo by saying that the Ashram doesn't belong to Them. You should be more sensitive to the feelings of thousand and millions of other devotees who regularly go for pilgrimage to the Ashram only because it belongs to Them. All these sincere devotees don't bother who is Manoj Das Gupta or Savitri Era Party. The only thing that matters to them is The Mother & Sri Aurobindo. Most sincerely. Subbu. Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 5:45 PM, July 13, 2011

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ashram's silence might lead to scams": Dear Tusar-ji, You state:

"...the same “spiritual institution” [Sri Aurobindo Ashram] files reams of refutations in various courts from time to time the contents of which never come to the notice of the inmates and devotees."

Can you please be a little more specific and give specific instances when such refutations if any were not brought to the notice of the concerned inmates or devotees? Or are you making sweeping statements without any basis, like so many do?

Secondly, you seem to carry some misconceptions about the constitution and functioning of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram when you invoke all the "Stakeholders." Because you ought to know that the only stakeholders in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram are The Mother, Sri Aurobindo and The Divine they represent. All the rest, inmates, devotees, and sundry who wish to associate with the Sri Aurobindo Ashram are merely there to serve a cause, ideal, philosophy or entity and they do so voluntarily and on their own free-will. If some are not happy with The Mother, Sri Aurobindo, The Divine or their Ashram, they can dissociate themselves at any point of time, unconditionally. But the universal laws of decent behaviour suggest, especially in a "spiritual institution" that all sense of dissatisfaction or displeasure be expressed in a respectful and dignified manner. Too much to ask from Humanity?

One would have hoped that this would have been the order of the day during the Era of Savitri, but alas all of the Savitri Era blogs have so far proved just the opposite... But to end on a positive note, let's all hope that Good Sense will someday prevail and that the Savitri Era will live to its expectations. Sincerely. Subhas.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Subhas’ Achilles’ heel": "Tusar's & Anurag's Achilles' heel":
Tusar has astutely confirmed that those with devious intentions, irrespective of their devotion and passion, are bound to goof up!

Anurag goofed up because his intentions to discredit the Sri Aurobindo Ashram got exposed. He tried to show off that he is more capable than the SA Ashram by trying to sensationalize not only the most trivial of so-called discoveries (which is most probably anything else but one) but by hastily jumping to conclusions without due consideration. It would quite clearly appear that he is very anxious to show that the research of his Overman Foundation is better than that of the SA Ashram. Long way to go for him... as he will need lots of patience to learn to be humble (even when the pill is hard to swallow) and be careful. Or he needs to learn a few lessons from his comrade Tusar; i.e. give up all hypocrisy and openly come out against the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

But, Tusar, even though, unlike your hypocritical comrade, you know how to distinguish a well argued and written comment, I am disappointed to find that just like your comrade you too like to jump to conclusions... and therefore goof up. Because how does my last or preceding comments allow you to erroneously conclude that I am one of Heehs' hounds? Would you have any evidence to substantiate your claims? Or do you, like your comrade Anurag also need to take a few lessons in humility and patience? Sincerely. Subhas.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Samalo Pagri Anurag": And now let us treat ourselves to some fine poetry that is fit for the occasion:

Buddhi Sambhalo Shyam

The night has come, the day is done,
Darkness is all around
A dunce is free, to act as a referee
On any material that’s found.

The tamasha is on, all sanity has gone,
This is called scholarship now
Excite the crowd, let your own praise be loud
Push to the forefront somehow.

Aise hi Shyam dhale
Aise hi Anurag chale.

Subhas
Posted by Anonymous to Savitri Era at 12:44 PM, July 11, 2011

India needs aggressive virtues

2011-07-11T11:24:00.000+05:30

Re: Four movements of consciousness Posted - Mon Jul 11, 2011 2:49 am

More than a poet, Aurobindo had ideas that attract a philosopical mind. All wars according to him are between the Divine and the Asuric. He speaks of the victory of the Allies.The Allies have stood for human values, he says.
He speaks of Vedic divisions of the Aryans and the Dravidians. We know the nomadic Aryans forcibly encroached another culture though in the long run it got mixed up. He says the Mantras of the Vedas illuminated our minds.
He says that no individual is indispensable. Our modern leaders think that each one of them is essential historically. India needs aggressive virtues. The spirit of soaring idealism is essential. That we lack in the modern era. So our leaders do not have any compunction in accepting bribes, in nepotism etc. Aurobindo had long back realised the follies of future politicians.
Hindu society has the customary habit of deifying something. When they do it, they forget the negative side of it. That is why we have innumerable saints and fake teachers in this century.
He wants religions not to fight because in doing so both the disputing 'pots' will break. He also says that there must be the remnants of past civilizations so that the process of continuity should not break. Thanks & Regards,

UnniKrishnan Atiyodi. PM
Kandangali (PO), Payyannur
Kannur (Dist.) Pin - 670307
Phone: 04985 – 206861

You definitely have no right to talk about Hinduism and its scriptures

2011-07-08T19:31:00.001+05:30

Jason Kay says: July 6, 2011 at 12:17 pm

Girdhar, Have noticed that Paulette Hindu hater Hadnagy who makes a point that Arovillians are told to keep away from politics seems to be very aware of politics especially the anti hindu side of it..

Jason Kay says: July 6, 2011 at 12:37 pm

“To Girdhar and Duart in particular, but also to those who cannot understand why in Auroville we don’t even debate on Muslims, politics etc.,”

nobody here is talking about the average muslim .You and your colleagues have been writing on mohammed in your books so on that basis you been asked on those quotes from the koran and hadiths which you are so scared to answer but then you think you have the right to attack hindus and then talk about the vedas..If you cant even talk about the koran but instead give excuses for the atrocities its inspired its followers to do on other human beings especially the hindus who you hate and attack then you definitely have no right to talk about Hinduism and its scriptures.

Jason Kay says: July 6, 2011 at 1:47 pm

Paulette Hindu hater Hadnagy, I dont care if Kireet Joshi is an Aurovilian or Reptilian because the article is about the Max muller syndrome where the norelli cult is just one example of that mentality but by reading all your replies proves you suffer from the syndrome the most more then even the norellis..Everything you been talking about on this thread is about yourself and your books .. now because you have been caught out again you are twisting things which proves you are a fraud .You are the one who was boasting about the greatness of mohammed and islam which i dont care about but then you should have some intellectual integrity and answer on the quotes from the koran ..So dont make pathetic excuses and start attacking people when everyone he can clearly see you are a Hindu hater

David says: July 6, 2011 at 2:04 pm Dear Jason

Now you are witnessing Paulette Hadnagys true behaviour. She’s part of the Auroville dictatorship that announces what books should be read or not and then burned if they dont fit into the criteria of their agenda. This is not Santhana Dharma but this behaviour is of Christian bigots who burned down the Ancient Library of Alexandria. She’s only interested in her own fame and recognition. Many good people have been run out of Auroville because of people like her. Auroville is doomed by the people who have abused their power and the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother for their own personal petty agendas..

Jason Kay says: July 6, 2011 at 10:03 pm

Paulette Hindu Hater Hadnagy, I personally dont care what Aurobindos instructions for the ashram were because every Hindu knows very well what he stood for and that was Hinduism and its civilisation.. And also Aurobindo or the mother are not higher than Hindu Dharma and its Vedas..You should be grateful that you are living on the hospitality of Hindus because sooner or later when they all find out you are a Hindu hater you will be packed off from India for good..As you dont really know who i am you so you dont have no idea what mess you have put Auroville and yourself into till everything is revealed..Just enjoy the show till the mystery unfolds as karma has a very strange way of catching up with people at perfect divine timing and then you will know the truth about everything…

Jason Kay says: July 7, 2011 at 12:24 pm

The Indians themselves in India who are brainwashed by the the Indian state with its version of secularism which really means anti Hinduism are the worst of the Hindu haters who are a product from the same British education system left over from the british and which was further manipulated by Indian Marxists who are in positions in government running educational and cultural institutions and who have been for the last 60 years distorting and manipulating india’s history and the Hindu scriptures to suit their own agenda.So its not surprising just like the church was paying Max Muller to distort the Vedas we also have the anti hindu government giving grants to fraudsters like Paullete Hadnagy..The Indian government has given many grants to many anti hindu scholars like Romilla Thaper and others with Marxist backgrounds and who have done immense damage to by distorting indian history and Hinduism by to white wash Muslim atrocities against Hindus by actually blaming Hindus themselves.

Anti Hindu Marxist historians whitewash Indian history of Islamic atrocities http://islamicterrorism.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/anti-hindu-marxist-historians-whitewash-indian-history-of-islamic-atrocities/

That’s why I purposely brought in islam because I knew very well the typical reaction of anti hindus where they go out of their way to justify islam and its atrocities on India.This is what Paullete Hadnagy is trying to do and that’s why she went into a frenzy when Aurobindos quotes scrutinising islam were brought out into the open because that’s exactly what he thought and its no distortion because at that time India was getting torn apart due to islamic separatism. Girdhar caught her out when he presented the rest of Aurobindos paragraph on the Moguls which Paullete made moronic excuses to get out of it..

Whenever anyone comes across the anti hindu Indians or westerners they should do the same experiment bring up the quotes from the koran and the hadiths. Then watch the the fireworks when they go on a defensive to the extremes of stupidity which Paullete Hadnagy has shown and done. She even brought in how she feels the pain of local muslim shopkeepers which has nothing to do with the thread.. And when these anti hindus cant prove anything in their defence then that’s why they start the well known false accusations ‘that you must be an extremist or an RSS person or the same as the ones who killed Mahatma Gandhi ‘blah blah blah crap’

And all this just to avoid the facts thrown at them. that’s why she’s desperately trying to make Aurobindo look ‘secular’ in the anti hindu template created by the Indian state by misquoting him or trying to deny he even said those things about Islam or Christianity by attacking the people he was with. This is all in attempt to de-Hinduize Aurobindo and to break him off from Hinduism so he can be recreated as some new prophet and Saviour of some new cult religion of a pseudo universal religion which has nothing to do with the Hindu religion which he loved so much and wanted to expand around the world to save it from self destruction .

Unfortunately for the anti hindu establishment and the AuroVillains from the neo colony Auroville many Hindus are not that naïve or can be manipulated any more because they have reawakened..

Let us not raise a finger

2011-06-10T23:33:00.000+05:30

From Jitendra Sharma aurofrance@gmail.com to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com

date 10 June 2011 19:45 subject Reply to Prof. Kamal Das

Dear Prof. Kamal Das,

Let us remember these words of the Mother:

“When you have nothing pleasant to say about something or somebody in the Ashram, keep silent. You must know that this silence is faithfulness to the Divine’s work.”

Of course, you have right to express your views and opinions. We all know that occult forces have always their role and play. The Ashram is and had always been a place for individuals representing different specimens of humanity. Let us not raise a finger on some person and accuse him of representing evil forces. Let Sri Aurobindo and the Mother deal in their own ways with people and circumstances. None of us is a permanent dweller on this earth. - Dr. Jitendra Sharma

25 years of Manoj Das Gupta’s tenure as Trustee

2011-06-08T15:04:00.000+05:30

From Prof Kamal Das profkamaldas@gmail.com to bcc tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 8 June 2011 14:18 subject Manoj Das Gupta: The Devil’s Deathwish

Manoj Das Gupta: The Devil’s Deathwish

The Devil’s Deathwish is his due from the Gods;
Ordained is a climax of fire and blood:
Dim netherworlds light up to welcome their own.
A strange disquiet precedes the moment of change.
None was safe that sought to flee and hide,
They bore Heaven’s Seal that chose to stand and fight.

The Devil’s Way

Any house of God is always an unfailing magnet for the Devil. God’s words, ways and workings are the Devil’s poison, and hence his knowledge of them is intimate and deep. It is in the nature of Evil to slink in quietly and undetected, mesh and merge with the Good, drink of its life-blood and eventually usurp its resources and subvert its initiative. And so it has been with Manoj Das Gupta!

The signs were always there for those that could read them. In the early years it was an unbridled and inexplicable hostility towards the Mother and any form of authority in the Ashram; his constant conflict with the seniors drew severe rebuke and reprimand from the Mother, and eventually She had to warn him of expulsion from the Ashram when he attempted to organise a strike by students against the rules and code of conduct of the newly created Department of Physical Education.

Manoj Das Gupta’s adolescence and early adulthood is a virtually uninterrupted narrative of excessive indulgence, repeated sexual transgressions and misdemeanour, the Mother’s repeated admonishments notwithstanding. His early life as an inmate was more of the same, but tempered and rendered more potent by a masquerade of goodwill and piety.

Sri Aurobindo’s Ashram of Manoj Das Gupta’s early years was a blissful melange of serious and self-effacing senior sadhaks on the one hand, and fresh faced and innocent youngsters on the other, – all primed to offer their lives in service of their Gurus. It is in this idyllic milieu that the Devil plied his trade. While the senior sadhaks kept a wary and instinctive distance from the aggressive and self-promoting young man, the youngsters, especially young women, fell prey to his charms and unwittingly permitted him to gorge on their stuff of being.

Over the years there were portents and omens galore of the sinister designs that the bright-faced young man harboured within. The late Shri Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya was particularly fond of recounting the following story:

In the early 1970s, in the immediate aftermath of the Mother having left her physical body, the late Madan Da was in charge of the Playground and the Store Room. Madan Da took his job very seriously and brooked no nonsense.

One day Madan Da came to Pranab Da, a troubled and worried man. He reported that a clutch of pigeons had been attempting to roost on the ledge over the Mother’s Map at the Playground and in the process were soiling the Map and the Mother’s Symbol with droppings. His efforts at driving the pigeons away were being obstructed by Manoj who insisted that the birds be allowed to stay and roost, and even fed them peanuts that were distributed on various occasions at the Playground. On being asked to explain his strange behaviour, Manoj told Madan Da that he was testing whether the Mother’s Force was capable of driving these birds away in spite of his opposition to it.

While narrating this story, Pranab da used to add that Manoj respected any creature, however small, that could take on and fight the Divine. Naturally Pranab Da intervened and the problem was resolved, but not without alarm bells being set off at all levels of his being. The Mother’s lion and indefatigable sentinel had sensed clear and present danger.

The Devil’s Own

By the end of the 1970s, Manoj Das Gupta was a well-fed, fattened and monstrous hydra-headed anaconda, impatient to strike. He was bored of the relentless womanising and easy pickings and the unending stream of Divine Milk at his disposal. Genetically hardwired to sense opportunities, he knew that a momentous turn of events would soon present itself, and he decided to bide his time and sharpen his fangs in anticipation.

How the Devil usurped the administration of the Ashram by fraudulence and manipulation of Anima Di along with his cabal of Matriprasad, Dilip Datta, Prabhakar Batti and Dilip Mehtani has already been documented in an earlier dispatch titled The Nolini Kanta Gupta Conspiracy. In this instance and context, it will suffice to focus a brief spotlight on one of the Devil’s closest associates, his very own – Dilip Datta.

Dr Datta, as he is known in the Ashram, made his way to Pondicherry from Digboi in Assam. He was the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the Assam Oil Division’s (AOD) hospital in Digboi prior to his joining the Ashram. It is pertinent to present here the fact that Dr Datta was popularly known as “Dr Death” or “Yamaraj” among his colleagues and paramedics at the hospital in Digboi, given his very strange and unusual record of 100% termination of all patients that approached him over two decades of active practice. Such was his dark reputation at Digboi, that expectant mothers refused to visit the hospital at a time of day when Dr Datta was on duty. Eventually the administration of AOD had to promote him as CMO in order to ensure that no patients came in contact with him and that he remained involved only with the management of the hospital.

Much to the joy of the residents of Digboi, “Dr Death” fled to Pondicherry in the wake of an FIR being lodged against him for wilful neglect resulting in the death of a teenage girl. After being inducted as a Trustee, Dr Datta used the Ashram’s funds and the dubious connections of Matriprasad to “deal” with the case. Documents relating to this case are in the possession of Matriprasad, and hence the tail wags the dog.

Interestingly, Dr Death has maintained his dark record of 100% termination during his tenure in the Ashram’s medical service.

Death Wish

After the passing of Shri Nolini Kanta Gupta in 1984, the Devil and his cohorts have systematically looted, pillaged and raped the Ashram at every level: individual, collective, departmental and institutional. A deliberate multi-pronged strategy of scorched-earth was followed: all independent thinking was stifled; all administrative functions were centralised; serious practice of yoga and sadhana was ridiculed; and sycophancy was recognised, rewarded and promoted. In about 25 years of Manoj Das Gupta’s tenure as Trustee, the Ashram as an institution was been weakened from within and without, to a point where its very existence has been brought into question. This is there for all to see.

What is not seen or known easily is that the Devil and his clique have all along been preparing to strike at the very root of the Ashram and its raison d’être: the Mother and Sri Aurobindo! Pranab Da narrated the following incident to the late Smt Sumita Kandpal when she met him in connection with the cursed book by Peter Heehs:

The late Shri Jugal Kishore Mukherjee, or Jugal Da as the respected head of Knowledge was known, was the type of person that liked to mind his own business by and large and preferred to remain at arm’s length from any controversy. However, he was amongst the first to take up in an uncharacteristically public manner, the matter of Peter Heehs’ deliberate and malevolent mutilation of Savitri in the guise of editing and proof-reading. He also questioned Peter Heehs’ writings and articles in the Ashram’s Archives journal aimed at maligning and defaming Sri Aurobindo. He did so, as was his training and nature, by writing detailed, well-researched and academic rebuttals of Peter Heehs’ lies, half-truths and innuendos. Being close to both, Manoj Das Gupta and Dr Datta, Jugal Da had hoped to receive their support in setting right a matter of fundamental importance to the Ashram.

After repeated stonewalling, a very disturbed Jugal Da arranged a final meeting between Manoj Das Gupta, Dilip Datta and himself at the Devil’s Lair at Nanteuil. Half-way into the meeting, with his pleas falling on deaf ears, Jugal Da appealed to Manoj’s conscience in Bengali and demanded action in the name of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. It was, as a tearful and broken Jugal Da recounted to Pranab Da later, at this point that all of a sudden, an ordinary meeting in the afternoon transformed without warning, into a theatre of red-hot and palpable evil. It was as if the scene was straight out of hell: Manoj Das Gupta stood up and in a very stead and low voice spat out at Jugal Da: “It is not Peter, it is me. Can you not see the courage and strength required to fight the Divine? Do you think Peter Heehs is capable of this on his own!”

After this incident, Jugal Da was never the same. To many around him, a remarkably healthy man began to withdraw, fall ill and meet with accidents repeatedly. He withdrew completely from the Savitri debate and refused to discuss the matter even when senior sadhaks and fellow-teachers approached him. To his students and other inmates of the Ashram, his sudden withdrawal was strange, almost unreal. Only Jugal Da, Pranab Da, and those closest to them knew of the Devil’s Deathwish and its potential to drag the Ashram to the brink.

Salvation

A dead conscience and petty self-interest are the Devil’s most potent tools, and without these he strives in vain. In the hour of the unexpected, Truth demands that It be chosen over allegiance to Manoj Das Gupta.

The choice is simple. Not easy.

Truly, Prof Kamal Das 7 June 2011

Sri Aurobindo has not been given the importance he deserves

2011-06-04T16:17:00.000+05:30

Other factors apart, the single biggest cause that made the shy Sri Aurobindo a legend is the fact that his was the first voice to demand unqualified freedom for the country, an idiom unheard till then – a fact that is often passed over if not deliberately ignored. He did so without the slightest inhibition at a time when many leading national figures of the day would have shuddered to proclaim anything resembling such an idea. […]

His political voice fell silent, but before long the ideal of freedom began echoing all over the country through a dozen other robust voices and that was what the pioneer himself must have desired. But it also accounts for the pioneer’s role being overlooked. […]

Indeed, great are those who demanded the freedom of the country and they deserve their place in history, but somehow the one who set the example has not been given the importance he deserves. It does not matter to Sri Aurobindo the Mahayogi, but it matters to the history of the subcontinent. --Manoj Das (Sri Aurobindo: Life and Times of the Mahayogi Chapter III, Mother India, LXIV:6, June 2011)

Marketime: Freedom was won and our nation built by towering ...

Sri Aurobindo was a freedom fighter, a revolutionary and a political activist jailed ... And by the way, that critique of the Congress was by Sri Aurobindo. ...

Sri Aurobindo's 1947 meeting with two French visitors | Integral ...

Towards the end of September 1947, leading Indian newspapers carried reports that Sri Aurobindo, in seclusion since 1926 had received two visitors, ...

Sri Aurobindo’s Opposition Why the Indian establishment resisted him MANGESH V. NADKARNI Indian Express EDITORIALS & ANALYSIS Thursday, March 21, 2002

Sri Aurobindo, the world-renowned yogi, poet, philosopher, patriot and lover of humanity, devoted most of his life to the quest of the Supermind, which, he thought, was the only power that could bring perfection to human life on earth.

The Indian intelligentsia of the last half a century had many problems with Sri Aurobindo because he often raised inconvenient questions and forced them to review the intellectual paradigms by which they lived and so they conspired to marginalise him.

Note the following words—“presumably”, “does not seem”, “seems to have”, “may have”, “would have”. Is this history or guesswork?
[Sri Aurobindo: A Brief Biography (Oxford Paperbacks), The Lives of Sri Aurobindo, Beyond the Human Species: The Life and Work of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother (Omega Books), Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness]

Heehs gives special attention to two important facets of terrorism

2011-05-29T23:35:00.000+05:30

Toward a Politics of the (Im)Possible: The Body in Third World ... - Page 196 - Anirban Das - 2010 - 232 pages - Preview

Heehs, Peter. 2004 (1993). The Bomb in Bengal: The Rise of Revolutionary Terrorism in India 1900–1910. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Heidegger, Martin. 1962 (1926). Being and Time, tr., John Macquarrie and Edward Robinson....

Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual ... - Page 242 - Andrew J. Nicholson - 2010 - 266 pages - Preview

Edited by Peter Heehs. Delhi: Permanent Black. Gode, PK (1944). “The Chronology of Vijñānabhiks ̇u and His Disciple Bhāvagan ̇eśa, the Leader of the Citpāvan Brahmins of Benares.” Adyar Library Bulletin 8(1): 20–28. ...

The great fear of 1857: rumours, conspiracies and the making of ... - Page 300 - Kim A. Wagner - 2010 - 312 pages - Preview

Heehs, Peter, 'Foreign Influences on Bengali Revolutionary Terrorism 1902-1908', MAS, 28, 3 (1994), 533-56. Heesterman, J. C, The Inner Conflict of Tradition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985). ...

The Goddess and the Nation: Mapping Mother India - Page 359 - Sumathi Ramaswamy - 2010 - 379 pages - Preview

1868. Geographical Fun: Humourous Outlines of Various Countries, with an Introduction and Descriptive Lines. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Heehs, Peter. 1993. The Bomb in Bengal: The Rise of Revolutionary Terrorism in India, 1900–1910. ...

Creativity, spirituality, and mental health: exploring connections - Page 38 - Kelley Raab Mayo, Kelley A. Raab - 2009 - 177 pages - Preview

Although creativity has captured much scholarly attention since the 1950s (Heehs, 1997), its experience has been of less interest to psychologists than its nature and ways to foster it. Definitions of creativity abound: one that seems ...

Terrorism: a history - Page 149 - Randall David Law - 2009 - 363 pages - Preview

One editorial preached, “Force must be opposed by force, deceit by deceit” (quoted in Heehs, The Bomb in Bengal, 84). Conspiratorial groups inspired by Jugantar made several assassination attempts in 1906 and 1907. ...

Science, Spirituality and the Modernization of India - Page 113 - Makarand Paranjape - 2009 - 296 pages - Preview

Peter Heehs, in his essay entitled, 'Shades of Orientalism: Paradoxes and Problems in Indian Historiography', 2003, brings out the stark contrast between nationalist Orientalism best exemplified by Sri Aurobindo and the European ...

Esalen: America and the religion of no religion - Page 477 - Jeffrey John Kripal - 2007 - 575 pages - Preview

In these documents, he uses Tantric expressions as a code language to refer, for example, to revolvers they were attempting to transport through the French postal system or to specific revolutionary actions (see Peter Heehs, The Lives ...

The indispensable vivekananda: anthology for our times - Page vii - Amiya P. Sen - 2006 - 242 pages - Preview

... (edited by Bruce Carlisle Robertson and Peter Heehs, respectively) somehow did not give a thought to Swami Vivekananda who, in terms of both his historical location and the manner in which he interpreted the Hindu tradition, ...

Guru English: South Asian religion in a cosmopolitan language - Page 287 - Srinivas Aravamudan - 2006 - 330 pages - Preview

I take this useful heuristic classification of orientalist styles from Peter Heehs, “Shades of Orientalism: Paradoxes and ... In addition to the three colonial styles already mentioned, Heehs identifies three postcolonial styles of ...

On the edge of the future: Esalen and the evolution of American ... - Page 79 - Jeffrey John Kripal, Glenn W. Shuck - 2005 - 323 pages - Preview

The most serviceable short biography of Aurobindo is Peter Heehs, Sri Aurobindo: A Brief Biography (1989; reprint, Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997). 68. Aurobindo, Life Divine, 8; Georges van Vrekhem, ...

Sublime desire: history and post-1960s fiction - Page 258 - Amy J. Elias - 2001 - 320 pages - Preview

Heehs argues that myth and history have traditionally been understood as "antithetical modes of explanation"; however, historians are becoming increasingly aware of the mythic nature of historical writing and are recognizing that the ...

Colonialism, modernity, and religious identities: religious reform ... - Gwilym Beckerlegge - 2008 - 274 pages - Snippet view

... Modernity' with an extended discussion of 'orientalism', the increasingly contested concept at the heart of the multi-disciplinary debate stimulated originally by Edward Said. Peter Heehs' contribution in Chapter 10 of this volume ...

Sri Aurobindo - A Contemporary Reader - Aurobindo Ghose, Sachidananda Mohanty - 2008 - 235 pages - Snippet view

While I have benefited from reading the standard texts, I have found the brief biography by Peter Heehs of particular appeal. Early Lire Sri Aurobindo once famously said that his life 'has not been on the surface for men to see'.5 ...

Salman Rushdie: fictions of postcolonial modernity - Stephen Morton - 2008 - 190 pages - Snippet view

... be seen to parallel the association of Indian nationalists such as Aurobindo Ghose and Bal Gangadhar Tilak with anarchists and revolutionary thinkers in Russia, Germany and Ireland during the early twentieth century (see Heehs 2004)....

Making waves: worldwide social movements, 1750-2005 - Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein, William G. Martin - 2008 - 217 pages - Snippet view

of "revolutionary terrorism" in Bengal, India, at the turn of the century, where militant nationalists had direct ties to European anarchists (Heehs 1994). Finally, Dirlik demonstrates the many ways in which "anarchism was to play a ...

Representing India: literatures, politics, and identities - Mukesh Williams, Rohit Wanchoo - 2008 - 343 pages - Snippet view

Heehs (1998:351). 44. Ghosh (1965). In 'The Life of Nationalism' (17 November 1907) Sri Aurobindo writes: ' Nationalism is an avatar and cannot be slain. Nationalism is a divinely appointed sakti of the Eternal and must do its God-given ...

Beyond Bhakti: steps ahead-- - G. Rajagopal - 2008 - 235 pages - Snippet view

... freedom to innovate" (Peter Heehs 2002: 416). By overall, the Bhakti Movements of ancient and modern periods have a Universal appeal. As such, the movements were open to all, irrespective of caste, creed, sex, language and religion, ...

Connecting Cultures - Emma Bainbridge - 2007 - 178 pages - Snippet view

Describing the tellingly-named Anushilan Samiti (the society of practice), a secret terrorist cell set up in Calcutta in 1902 by Aurobindo Ghose and his brother Barindrakumar, Peter Heehs points out that the brothers 'first tried. ...

Behind the mask: the cultural definition of the legal subject in ... - Anindita Mukhopadhyay - 2006 - 301 pages - Snippet view

Now I have to add the names of Peter Heehs, Raghuramaraju, Javeed Alam, Shasheej Hegde, Satish Saberwal, and Sanjay Palshikar; especially Sanjay, for I literally cornered him with my drafts, and he has always spared some time to comment ...

The bomb in Bengal: the rise of revolutionary terrorism in India, ... - Peter Heehs - 2004 - 324 pages - No preview

This Book Describes A Moment In History Which Became A Landmark On The Map Of The Anticolonial Struggle, But Which Nationalist Historiography Did Not Sufficiently Engage With-The Revolutionary Movement In Bengal.

Nationalism, religion, and beyond: writings on politics, society, ... - Aurobindo Ghose, Peter Heehs - 2005 - 364 pages - Snippet view

herd; a perpetual reiteration of some startling novelty can alone please the crowd. Each favourite is like an actor from whom the audience expect from day to day the usual passion or the usual farce. Paradox &c novelty therefore thrive; ...

Dwelling in the archive: women writing house, home, and history in ... - Antoinette M. Burton - 2003 - 202 pages - Snippet view

As Peter Heehs opined in his review of Wendy Singer's Creating Histories: Oral Narratives and the Politics of History-Making, narrative accounts are fine and good, but "when their basis of factuality departs, they transmigrate into ...

Hindu nationalism: origins, ideologies and modern myths - Chetan Bhatt - 2001 - 232 pages - Snippet view

Peter Heehs, for example, has argued that the similarities between the post- 1920s Hindutva and nineteenth-century 'Hindu revivalism' as represented by Vivekananda, Bipinchandra Pal or Aurobindo are basically superficial while the ...

Perspectives of Savitri: Volume 1 - R. Y. Deshpande - 2000 - Snippet view

Sri Aurobindo by now acquired the foundational basis to give expression to his own creative talents in the wide and luminous range of universality characteristic of an 12 Peter Heehs, Sri Aurobindo, p. ...

The Mother: the story of her life - George Van Vrekhem - 2000 - 545 pages - Snippet view

Today Barlet's name may not ring a bell, but, as Peter Heehs wrote, he should be regarded as the brain behind the French occult revival. 'He knew and was known to everyone that counted.' Not only was he a founder- member of the Paris ...

Party of firebrand revolutionaries: the Dacca Anushilan Samiti, ... - Asok Kumar Ray - 1999 - 200 pages - Snippet view

Peter Heehs justly concludes that the exclusion of the Muslims 'cut the revolutionaries off from a potential source of strength'.26 Professor Amalendu De truly assesses that Pulin Behari could not ...

Nationalism, terrorism, communalism: essays in modern Indian history - Peter Heehs - 1998 - 174 pages - Snippet view

house arrest, he escaped from India and went to Germany, Italy and Japan, meeting Axis leaders in all three countries. In 1943 he took up the leadership of the Indian National Army (INA), composed largely of Indian troops captured by ...

Beyond man: life and work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother - Georges van Vrekhem - 1997 - 544 pages - Snippet view

His revision was so thorough that many new pages and even several chapters were added — according to Peter Heehs the greatest volume of prose Sri Aurobindo had written after terminating the publication of ...

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland - Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland - 1996 - Snippet view

Where uncritical legend has taken the place of fact Heehs provides a probably more accurate account than any found in ... Heehs gives special attention to two important facets of terrorism that perhaps have some contemporary relevance. ...

The trial of Bhagat Singh: politics of justice - Abdul Gafoor Abdul Majeed Noorani - 1996 - 339 pages - Snippet view

As Peter Heehs points out: "During the first two decades of India's independent existence there was little organized terrorism in the country. But during the late sixties left- wing Bengali insurgents began resorting to terrorist ...

The Historian: a journal of history: Volume 58 - Phi Alpha Theta - 1995 - Snippet view

Although careful to avoid direct participation in overt acts of terrorism, he was considered the very soul of the revolutionary movement Peter Heehs' study considers Aurobindo Ghose and the origins of revolutionary terrorism at the turn ...

India's freedom struggle, 1857-1947: a short history - Peter Heehs - 1988 - 199 pages - Snippet view

The next year was notable not only for the revival of the strike movement, but also for the start of the Bardoli satyagraha, which compelled the Bombay government to reduce an unfair revenue increase. In the midst of all this activity ...

Sri Aurobindo, a brief biography - Peter Heehs - 1989 - 172 pages - Snippet view

subjectivity, but not the false subjectivity that equates the self with the individual ego. There must be an effort to find the universal self that is one in all. When a critical mass of self-realized individuals comes together, ...

The Indian police: a critical evaluation - Page 47 - Arvind Verma - 2005 - 287 pages - Preview

The slightest challenge to any official decree was taken seriously (Heehs 1993) since it was felt that control would be impossible unless the people were totally restrained. In this system, the people felt the power of the ...

Indian religions: a historical reader of spiritual expression and ... - Page 429 - Peter Heehs - 2002 - 620 pages - Preview

Other Sources T. Dayanandan Francis, The Mission and Message of Ramalinga Swamy. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1990. ML Thangappa, Songs of Grace. Pondicherry: All India Books, 1985. Vallalar's Home Page

Indian religions: the spiritual traditions of South Asia : an ... - Page 35 - Peter Heehs - 2002 - 620 pages - Preview

ON THE SELECTIONS, TRANSLATIONS AND EDITORIAL NOTES The texts and authors chosen for inclusion in this reader are generally those regarded by the traditions in question to be the most important and most representative. ...

Sri Aurobindo's Writings - The Mother's Collected Works

If rationality is removed too soon

2011-05-19T12:30:00.000+05:30

Back to philippe's Comment Comment on Issues of inclusion v exclusion in Auroville

by Rod in reply to philippe Last Updated: May 15, 2011

Phillipe - This is Rod responding on Robert's computer, for technical reasons.
I see what you are talking about, and am aware of the occult point of view or explanation of things. But I prefer the philosophical approach, for a couple of reasons.
If there are dogs at the gate, which I agree that there are, and asuras using people for their hostile purposes, which there are, we still have to deal with the humans. Even if we have realized, and not only noticed, both the darkness and the light, and are relatively liberated, the manifestations are still there. So what do we achieve with this kind of interpretation? The dogs have to be removed, the falsehoods exposed, and the social sphere engaged through educational, political, spiritual and other means.
The other reason is that it can happen that people begin to imagine that their role as representatives of the dark forces and the light forces are destined and they assume that this is hat they are supposed to be doing; they justify and intensify their behaviors instead of changing them. One of the results of this pattern, which can be seen in Auroville, is a kind of mass paranoid psychosis. Instead of addressing the behaviors of people in a direct and rational way, people are overcome by their fears and their righteous delusions, etc.
I prefer using Occam's razor, if possible. The law of parsimony was effectively used to combat religious obscurantism during his time as well.

Back to Rod's Comment by Vladimir in reply to Rod Last Updated: May 15, 2011

Good points, Rod.

Yes, it is important while ‘trying to be spiritual’ to remain also human and rational at the same time not changing too soon into ‘spiritual’. If rationality is removed too soon before it has completed its painful transformational work, the dogmatic approach may take over and spoil our attempt to become spiritual by dragging us back to a dogmatism and religious obscurantism. And we know very well by experience what it means. And since our aim is an integral realization, which includes matter and physical life, we must remain both spiritual and rational, allowing a new way of being to emerge.

This implies to be critical, but, again, not overcritical.

Re: Leaders of the Integral Yoga

I can spend a little time to help educate here on the true nature of yoga. Here is my definition (I am writing a book on it): "Yoga is a psycho-political ideology designed and perfected by the great Hindu sages of the past to rob you off of your intellect. Once you have been robbed off of your intellect, it has psychological, psychiatric, and political consequences potentially leading you to commit suicide."
I shall wait for your response. GB Singh

Posted - Thu May 19, 2011 2:17 am

Sri Aurobindo's Writings - The Mother's Collected Works

Who stays as permanent resident of Golconde

2011-05-15T20:46:00.001+05:30

From Sunil sunilauro@gmail.com to tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 6 January 2011 12:01 subject For posting

Give back the Ashram to whom it belongs.

People come and go, but what is permanent is the force and power that sustains them and is the source of all harmony and support behind the existence, for without it nothing can exist and all may perish given the capacity of any individual or power. So it is wiser to work for that which is permanent, which is all love, which is our true self hidden behind these cloaks of ignorance run by ambition and power and possession which lead to no lasting satisfaction. How are we to make this shift from personal greatness to the greatness of all, how we can serve the community instead of my personal preferences, how we can serve the Divine which is abiding in all that exists. One way is to see what divides and what unites. If it unites it has a greater use, if it divides it makes us what we already are the small ego. But are we going to remain the small ego or take part in the big movements that are flowering around us. Are we going to ride the waves of progress, beauty, harmony and strength or close ourselves in our dark little box and expect things to go our way. What is it going to be for the seekers of perfection, for the aspirants of a higher life, for well wishers of the Ashram, for the disciples of Sri Aurobindo. If we are to be a little of the worthy of the Mother’s love we need to give ourselves to Her, to see how She would do things, how She would tirelessly pour Her love on all of us. How She would patiently guide and protect us and carve the way of the future for the new world so that we may live, be and experience the wealth that is known only in the Heavens.

Are we going to say no to Her gifts just because we want power for ourselves, what use is such power if in spite of being a Trustee one is surrounded by conflict, is busy protecting its power in any which way possible, is busy feeling the pressure of misdeeds surmounting, is busy taking credit in oneself for the praise and respect that people give to a Trustee, is busy juggling between the position and self greatness to an opening of failure, is busy recruiting soldiers for personal protection and support, is smashing all that stands in one’s way of being in power and sole right. With all this how much room is left for simplicity, for a hearty laughter, for peace of mind which even a poor man with nothing can be seen enjoying. Given the fruits is it worth living for one’s petty arrogances, or is it better to live for others in which all that you have lost even returns.

If Ashram is one’s job, let us collaborate in whose Ashram it is and serve that. The Mother loves her children and She always wants the best for them, can’t we collaborate in that and open all the heavenly doors for us too in the process. What works for them is our agenda. No more what works for me for I am limitation and ignorance and have failed and will fail. What forwards the Divine movement is our only goal. It is not too difficult, is it?

Recommendations:

It works for people to come to Pondicherry for Darshan days and take part in the meditation and be around the magnificent that vibrates. For that the Mother had kept the timing for meditation from 10 am to 10.30 am. This gives people the necessary time if they are coming from a distance; it keeps the energy vibrant all day along as the peak time it is 10 am and not 6 am. And we won’t close doors as we do now just after the meditation in the school and declare it over and everybody has to be in the street even before breakfast. We give them the space for the divine Lila with the celebrity in the air as it has always been when the Mother was there.

We are not apart from the world, we are part of the world. If comfort and peace we seek we do it by embracing and not by closing doors. It is in the opening and sharing we manifest love, peace, harmony and express that reality. You are a trustee to serve the divine, and the divine is in the people, so you need to see what works for them, if you have personal likes and dislikes you have to consult it with the ever loving source, it is a collective working that has to be sought.

When I was in the school I remember how the Mother brought the best of talent from around the world to give us the best education. She constructed the state of the art guest house called Golconde for their temporary residence. In the evening I remember there was a choice which language class would you like to join, which drama or play would you like to participate in, which music instrument you would like to learn, with an ever spray of performers from all over India and around the world offering their show to the Ashram. There was life being lived, enchantment was a natural experience and wonder a constant play mate. Now this philosophy of closing doors what has it brought, even the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education has lost the International in it.

And who stays as permanent residence of Golconde the creators of new versions of the writings of Sri Aurobindo, the gang who wants to prove to the world Sri Aurobindo was not competent, his hand writing was bad, his eyesight was bad, his experiences were hallucinations and we will give you Sri Aurobindo as we want him to be and as we see him and we are the great ones, living greatly and who can question our position and power and anybody who raises an objection becomes dirt.

Where is our willingness for what is right, our commitment for the victory of the Divine, can we not serve the Divine and nothing else. Can we be strong enough to respect and live the life of Sri Aurobindo Ashram which the Mother has created and is creating for us? Sunil

I only go by as to what A.G. said and not by what others say

2011-05-10T22:56:00.000+05:30

Comment on Sri Aurobindo’s letter to Moraji Desai by nirmalya ...students of AG at the National Council of Education Bengal. As I understand he also did not like that he should have devotees and even went to the extent of prohibiting prostration in front of his picture inside the Ashram. But unfortunately things did change. Please appreciate that we are dealing with a person who was beyond us and of course be... from Comments for Overman Foundation - May 7, 2011 (3 days ago)

Comment on Sri Aurobindo’s letter to Moraji Desai by bijan ghosh ...AG” for Sri Aurobindo. one may refer as “He” – if he thinks that writting “Sri Aurobindo” is consuming more space. Gandhi and his followers or disciples – are not the same. As told by an ashramite of early days, He refused to meet Gandhi, since in one birth, Gandhi was an asura, named Mur – and Lord annihilated him for which he got the title ... from Comments for Overman Foundation - May 7, 2011 (3 days ago)

Comment on The Last Photographs of Sri Aurobindo by nirmalya ...But then again why do we need to decipher so much from his looks and postures? It is all his and will never be ours. Rather we should appreciate his comforts and discomforts. Surely A.G. wouldn’t have liked it given my understanding of his attitude that I had read of but would have only smiled it off through his eyes for one of his million devot... from Comments for Overman Foundation - May 4, 2011 (6 days ago)

Comment on The Last Darshan Photographs of Sri Aurobindo by nirmalya ...Pranams to AG and Mira Richard on this day. May their Light continue to guide us and the humanity for a better and evolved Earth that they sought for…The Earth Consciousness.. from Comments for Overman Foundation - Apr 25, 2011 12:57 AM

Comment on Sri Aurobindo’s letter to Moraji Desai by nirmalya ...age comes when it is required and when it finally comes it goes into another `Self’… and then it is no longer required. A.G was also a firm believer in the philosophy of the Greek mystic philosopher `Epictetus’. Epictetus believed that consummation with a minor was evil. AG was 29 and Mrinalini 14. You are of course free to draw your conclus... from Comments for Overman Foundation - Apr 21, 2011 3:22 PM

Comment on Sri Aurobindo’s letter to Moraji Desai by Sandeep ...s Agenda October 20 1971 (“They have found some letters — some old letters — from Sri Aurobindo to Barin and the lawyer…). Anyway, I think we will close the discussion, unless you want to talk offline from Comments for Overman Foundation - Apr 22, 2011 3:48 PM

Comment on Sri Aurobindo’s letter to Moraji Desai by nirmalya ...agination floating all over the world. Therefore, I only go by as to what A.G. said and not by what others say. Hence it is better not to come to conclusions. We should try to respect the privacy of a man who really did not want that his life should be known to all. He had his reasons. Then why do we gather evidence floating around him in bits a... from Comments for Overman Foundation - Apr 20, 2011 1:22 PM

Comment on Sri Aurobindo’s letter to Moraji Desai by Sandeep

...and then again call her after 8 years saying ‘ amar siddhi labh hoyeche, tumi ebar aste paro’ ( I have achieved Siddhi and now you may come to Pondicherry )….But then why did he leave her without a notice.” Nirmalya: Let us not wildly imagine that A.G. did not want to disturb the `supramental atmosphere’ by not wanting to meet Gandhi. This is i... from Comments for Overman Foundation - Apr 19, 2011 7:00 PM

Comment on Sri Aurobindo’s letter to Moraji Desai by nirmalya ...agnum opus Life Divine and Savitri. As per Ashram records A.G. use to get many letters, small and big, and he never stood away from answering them however puerile the thoughts might be. Let us not wildly imagine that A.G. did not want to disturb the `supramental atmosphere’ by not wanting to meet Gandhi. This is iconoclastic oversimplification, ... from Comments for Overman Foundation - Apr 19, 2011 1:04 PM

Comment on Sri Aurobindo’s letter to Moraji Desai by nirmalya But where is Morarji’s letter. That would be even more interesting as to what prompted A.G. to write a letter to an avowed Gandhian. A.G. had refused to meet Gandhi but could afford to reply to his disciple as he also did in the case of Gandhi. Interesting piece of information for the researcher. from Comments for Overman Foundation - Apr 19, 2011 4:14 AM

Comment on Sri Aurobindo’s letter to Moraji Desai by Sandeep ...agraph makes it amply clear that Sri Aurobindo was giving general advice to an individual who had come to visit the Ashram. (“difficult for me to say anything definite without more precise data than those contained in your letter.”). Way back in 1935, Morarji Desai was NOT the well-carved-out personality we know him today. He was only a buddin... from Comments for Overman Foundation - Apr 19, 2011 4:14 AM

Comment on Reminiscences of Bhupal Chandra Bose, Sri Aurobindo’s father-in-law by nirmalya ...and then again call her after 8 years saying ‘ amar siddhi labh hoyeche, tumi ebar aste paro’ (I have achieved Siddhi and now you may come to Pondicherry ). As far I am aware of A.G. himself took the initiative and got an advertisement published in the newspaper for marriage. After that he went on to see almost 50 bengalee ladies and then fina... from Comments for Overman Foundation - Apr 4, 2011 3:40 PM

The next step is Fascism

2011-05-09T19:26:00.000+05:30

Back to Discussion (Topic:Issues of inclusion v exclusion in Auroville)

Comment on Issues of inclusion v exclusion in Auroville

by Rod

Last Updated: May 5, 2011

One of the main problems, it seems to me, is many people's inability to think properly and to use language properly, and also a lack of training in subjects such as sociology and political science.

For example, if we look at the principles for decision making published by the AV Council (N&N 9 April), we read: "There is no exchange of money, or as little as possible. Work is not performed for earning one's living but to serve and to progress." When an ideal like this is made a rule against which people are judged it automaticaly sets up a principle of exclusion. It is well known that at least a third of Aurovilians work to support themselves and do not take "maintenance". That group would be automatically excluded and at any point could be judged negatively against the principle. In practice, the principle would probably be used selectively to discriminate against some person or group for their behavior.

Another example from the same source: "Aurovilians do not belong to any ideology, race, group, religion or nationality and therefore cannot represent any of those..." This of course directly contradicts the Mother's idea of the International Zone as well as the fundamental nature of everyone and every group of human beings. It is also a statement of ideology in itself. And it can easily (and falsely) be used to exclude Koreans, Tamils, French, or anyone else, for just about any reason.

It is exactly this kind of behavior that I have pointed out with the GB decision that our school isn't in conformity with the Charter. In this example, the Charter is held up as a principle for judging and excluding something about which it in fact says nothing. It is just someone's delusional state of mind that finds a talisman for conveniently excluding others.

The next step is Fascism.

Back to Vrinda Estela Pujals 's Comment
Comment on Issues of inclusion v exclusion in Auroville
by Rod in reply to Vrinda Estela Pujals
Last Updated: May 8, 2011
In response to one of your earlier questions, I think that Sanjukta Gupta is one of the best interpreters of Hinduism working in academia, and in the US today Robert Thurman in Buddhism. In India, academics are seriously lagging behind the West. I have given lectures in several universities recently and I have not found the general response to be very challenging. Auroville has practically no intellectual dimension, although that would change if it actually developed into an international city. But there aren't any signs of that happening at present. Many are actually against it.

As for your question of yoga on some collective level, it seems from a closer of reading of Sri Aurobindo that everything really depends on the individual effort, and divine grace. A collctivity of yogis can't be artificially created. I have commented on the paradox implied for Auroville in my presentation at the conference on Spirituality Beyond Religion held here last year. The integral yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother enters into the field of evolution. It aims for spirituality to become an evolutionary pathway. That means leaving behind all the religious trappings and making life a sacrifice, not just for a new consciousness, but for a new species. This is what it means, however little it is understood as yet. There is definitely scope for bringing this discussion into the academic arena through philosophy and religion as well as through psychology and the other human sciences. But to do this requires quite a lot more than academic credentials.