Jugal Kishore Mukherjee (1925-2009)

                                             Jugal-da: In Memoriam 

                                                       By Anurag  Banerjee

                                                       (I)

With the passing of Jugal Kishore Mukherjee whom we lovingly and respectfully addressed as Jugal-da on Tuesday, 15 December 2009, the Aurobindonian community has lost one of its most learned scholars. An intellectual par excellence, he was one of those few who not only studied the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother but also lived in them. He had achieved a rare distinction among the Aurobindonian scholars of his generation so much so that the emptiness created by his demise can never be filled up. He was like a mobile encyclopaedia who could point out most effortlessly which sentence was taken from which volume of the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother including the page number and paragraph. I’ve experienced it myself and therefore I know.

      Jugal-da was one of those few sadhaks who never uttered a single word about his inner spiritual realizations and experiences. He was one of the most sincere practitioners of the Integral Yoga; he had the least interest to display the vast ocean knowledge he possessed but even a very brief interaction with him could prove what a brilliant brain he had. But what was even more interesting and impressive was his style of answering the queries of the seekers of the Path and explaining to them the concept of the Integral Yoga and its various features. I had the good fortune—rather a privilege—of interacting with him two and half years ago and till date I’ve not been able to come out of that mesmerizing spell. I will come to it a little later.

      About Jugal-da’s early life I knew nothing before I met him and that knowledge too was quite limited. All I knew that he, after completing his post-graduation studies in Science (his special paper was Nuclear Physics) from Calcutta University, joined the Ashram in August 1949 at the age of twenty-four (his year of birth being 1925) and that he was given the charge of organizing the Higher Course in the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education by the Mother herself. He was the head of the Higher Course section which is located at ‘Knowledge’, a beautiful sea-facing building situated next to the main office of Sri Aurobindo Society. My regular visits to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram enabled me to learn more about him. Recently I came across an article on Jugal-da’s life written by R. Ranganath and published in the journal Śraddhā. I am taking the liberty of quoting at length from this article.

      ‘Jugal Kishore Mukherjee… was born in a remote village in Bengal. His father passed away when he was only an infant in his mother’s arms. His mother, reduced to very difficult circumstances, somehow managed to raise Jugalda to boyhood with often one sparse meal a day. Jugalda’s brilliant intellect was noticed by the village school teacher and he was helped and referred to a better school some distance away from his own village. His mother, ever willing to sacrifice her all for the sake of her son, somehow managed to support him in order to enable him to pursue his studies. He landed in Calcutta for his college education and came in contact with the Sri Aurobindo Pathamandir in College Street, an important centre for the dissemination of Sri Aurobindo’s teachings. Studying often under street lights, he managed to complete college. He was lucky enough to have the great Meghnath Saha as his professor.

       ‘He never forgot his mother’s advice, dinned into his ears from infancy: “Remember, my son, for those who have no one in this harsh world, there is always God, the Universal ever-present Friend, who never fails.” Guided by his mother and beaten into tough mettle by the vicissitudes of a life of extreme poverty, he developed an irreversible inner life, and it was only natural that when only 24 years old, without pursuing further studies, Jugalda came and settled in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1949. Hence he was blessed with the Grace of having had Sri Aurobindo’s Darshan for two years.’ (Śraddhā, February 2010, pp. 182-183)

      Here I must pause and narrate an incident about Jugal-da’s mother which I had heard from Krishna-di (Krishna Chakravarty of the Central Office, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry). Bairam-da, who is associated with the cremation service, had once gone to Jugal-da’s house. Jugal-da’s aged mother was living at that time. Seeing Bairam-da and being aware of the nature of service he normally rendered, she said: “Ektu taratari ele!” (meaning, “you’ve come a bit early!” implying she is yet to die.)

      In the initial days of his arrival, Jugal-da was assigned work in the Publication Department of the Ashram which was then headed by Prithwi Singh Nahar. The nature of work assigned to him had no relation with the academic education he had received. This was, in fact, the Mother’s way of making her children learn how to work without developing ego. Sisir Kumar Mitra, who was a professor at Santiniketan and later became the Headmaster of the Ashram School, was given the work of washing plates in the Dining Room when he joined the Ashram. Jugal-da was later shifted to the Ashram School where he taught Physics to his students. When the Ashram Laboratory was inaugurated by the Mother in 1956, he became, along with Pavitra, Mrityunjoy Mukherjee, Sunil Bhattacharya and Joshi-bhai, a teacher of science. ‘But on any given day, rather than teaching Physics he would be more inclined to be discussing Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy or Yoga. Such was his love for Mother and Sri Aurobindo around whom his life was centred!’ (Śraddhā, February 2010, p. 183)

        But little does anyone know that Jugal-da had also acted in Sri Aurobindo’s drama Perseus the Deliverer where he had played the hero. I’ve heard an anecdote about this drama from Richard-da (Pearson). Though Jugal-da was selected to play the role of Perseus, the other actors were not too impressed with his dialogue-delivery in Bengali accent. On the day the Dress Rehearsal was held before the Mother, there was rainfall which made the dialogues uttered by the actors less audible. After the play ended, the Mother remarked to Jugal-da: “I could hear every single word.”

      Not only was Jugal-da a remarkable scholar but he was an author whose books compelled the reader to ponder on the subject on which he dealt. His books—though based mainly on the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother—were unique in nature and in a way they made the theory of Integral Yoga and its various aspects understandable to even the non-intellectuals. We could find in his books the answers to several queries which were capable of changing one’s outlook towards life. His first book The Destiny of the body was published after twenty-five years of his study of the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. From the scientific point of view he has discussed about the possibility of transforming a human body into a supramentalized one. His scholarly analysis and interpretation was praised by K.D. Sethna who contributed a Foreword to this book in which he remarked: ‘Reading the series of studies contributed by Jugal Kishore Mukherjee I could not help being exhilarated not only by the scholarly thoroughness of its knowledge but also by the wide-ranging vitality of its insight… His exposition is a reminder to the champions of the spiritual life that the inner divinity is meant not to tear away from the outer form but to awaken that form to a natural kinship with it. It is also a reminder to the champions of the physical life that the ultimate source of this life’s full flowering lies in that inner divinity and its awakening touch on matter.’[1] His next book—Sri Aurobindo’s Poetry and Sanskrit Rhetoric—illustrated Sri Aurobindo’s poetic compositions from the angle of Sanskrit Alankara-Shastra. It was a delight and matter of immense astonishment to observe how he had traced and identified the ‘rhetorical embellishments’ of the Alankara-Shastra in Sri Aurobindo’s poems including Savitri. His From Man Human to Man Divine which was the sequel to The Destiny of the Body threw light on the concept of physical transformation and the evolutionary destiny of mankind.  His The Wonder that is K.D. Sethna alias Amal Kiran published on the occasion of the 90^th birth anniversary of the great poet and scholar in 1994 was a ‘peep’ into the various literary aspects of Amal Kiran as a poet, critic, prose-writer, correspondent, journalist, teacher, humorist etc. Amal Kiran congratulated him in the following words:

       ‘It is a splendid piece of work—wide-sweeping yet minutely attentive and penned with vividness and verve. I marvel at the range of your references and the apt way you have chosen your quotations. I could not help reading the whole thing at one stretch. You made that familiar old fellow KDS stunningly new even to himself!’[2]

      In 2003, in his 78^th year, The Practice of Integral Yoga—a comprehensive exposition of the practice of the yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother—took birth from Jugal-da’s pen. A year before his 80^th birthday his book Mysteries of Death, Fate, Karma and Rebirth was published in which he delved into the aforesaid mysteries and brought out the answers—the treasures of Wisdom—from the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. I have not read his other books like Sri Aurobindo: The Smiling Master, Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Its Role, Responsibility and Future Destiny, The Ascent of Sight in Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri etc., but it can be claimed without the slightest doubt that his was the voice which echoed the true message of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Their works have been read by many but understood by only a handful but even that understanding is limited. And at times the acclaimed scholars tend to misinterpret their teachings and cause irreparable damage innocently. But Jugal-da was not one of those pseudo-intellectuals. Instead of mere understanding, he realized the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and implemented their advice in his day-to-day life. It won’t be an exaggeration if it is claimed that he was the ideal example of ‘plain living and high thinking.’

Battle between the illumined future and the obstructive past

from Sandeep Joshi to tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 25 August 2010 19:21  subject A case where the Mother engaged in censorship

Dear Tusar-ji,

Please remove my email address from this post for your Open Forum.

As I said before, it is possible to pick a quote to justify any kind of action.
What action must be undertaken depends on the soul in question.
FWIW, I have enclosed a situation where the Mother engaged in censorship.

(From K.D. Sethna. Our Light and Delight, pp 205-207, Chap 21 The Mother's Attitudes and Actions)

 A man in Bombay who had been once a devotee had become sceptical and sarcastic. He was contributing a series of commentaries on an Upanishad to Mother India. The articles were appreciated very much. I had kept the man's personal attitude apart from my judgment of his writing. As long as the writing bore no trace of the attitude, I could afford to be impersonal. The Mother came to be told of his attitude and the several unpleasant things he had said. She knew also that his series was appearing in Mother India.

She raised the topic with me one afternoon. I told her how much the articles had been admired and that they had no tinge of his critical approach to the Mother's workings. She very calmly heard me out. Then she expressed her wish that we should not seem to support the man by publishing his work. I inquired whether I could be allowed to run the series to its end and then forswear publishing anything else by the same hand. She paused for a minute and said:  "It is best if we stop just now."

I could see that there was no personal feelings involved on her part. Actually, I had noticed in the past that complaints had been made to her about somebody or other's hostile remarks against her and the proposal had been made that she should take steps against that person. She had said:

"As the remarks are about me, I can't take any stand. If they were about Sri Aurobindo, I would certainly act." On the present occasion her decision must have had behind it some insight into occult forces which might harm either me or the readers or else the Ashram's general work. Obviously, through my backing of the article the hostile elements were drawing sustenance. Purely literary principles have little validity where the battle between the illumined future and the obstructive past is concerned. I put aside the impersonal editor in me and acted as the obedient disciple. 

 It was a test for me over and above its being a lesson to the writer of the commentaries. There cannot be a compromise in such matters. But, of course, as the Mother's talk with me indicated, everything has to be done without personal animosity. A wide and wise serenity has to be at play in all decisive moves.

I dare say the Mother's move was even for the benefit of the writer himself — a quiet criticism which was an act of Grace to stir his soul to come forward again. And I am told that before his premature death he did turn to the Mother once more. 

 While I am about the subject of Mother India in relation to the Mother's wishes, I may touch upon the hints she gave me of what Mother India should never stoop to. Once a coworker offered the suggestion that we should ask our readers their reactions and their expectations, so that we might increase our periodical's popularity and be more successful. No doubt, the co-worker had no insistence in his suggestion and was as willing as myself to accept the Mother's ruling in every respect. But somehow the Mother came down with a pretty heavy hand. She must have intuited a non- Aurobindonian force putting out its tentacles from behind the coworker's innocent inquiry. She wrote to me: "Let us become as vulgar as we can and success is sure to come." (16-1-1965) 

We were a little taken aback and I pursued the topic by seeking her views on what changes the journal might undergo without falling below standard. She was again un- compromising: "No — I have no superficial views on the subject — and what I could say would not fit the 'new spirit' of the journal. Let me out of all this, it is better." (17-1-1965) One point, however, she clarified by adding the next day: "All that is done with the purpose of pleasing the public and obtaining success is vulgar and leads to falsehood. I enclose a deeper view of the subject. Blessings." The deeper view was expressed in a Message of hers that we should want to please neither ourselves nor others but only the Lord.

Division and disharmony lies within each one of us

from Auro Lumiere aurolumiere@yahoo.fr to tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 6 August 2010 21:03 subject The Book

Dear Mr. Tusar Mohapatra, Here's a little message for your readers:

All this fuss that is being made about a book – Mr. Peter Heehs’ book on the life or rather supposed lives of Aurobindo - is hilarious if not utterly ridiculous. An interesting remark about this book that was recently posted on your website is:

« This book is designed to give offense and create divisions and disharmony among Aurobindonians. »

If the author of this statement really believes that Harmony and Unity between people depended on a book, I seriously wonder what he has understood about the «Aurobindonian» philosophy, vision and objective.

Isn’t it a little too easy and convenient to project one’s weakness and faults onto something external and blame a book for the division and disharmony that lies within each one of us and the larger collectivity?

For even if the book was designed with such « evil » intentions, haven’t all of those persons who have vehemently, obsessively and even violently reacted or responded to such designs, fallen prey to the very objective of such a design? Who would be to blame in such an instance, the strength of the provoker or the weakness of the provoked?

It is surprising that some of these staunch «Aurobindonians» have chosen to ignore an obvious, simple and basic fact that good books get read, irrespective of the fact that some may like them or not, whereas bad books get forgotten on a bookshelf and are left to collect dust in the oblivion of the past. 

Always at the Service of Light and Truth, Françoise de Nielly

Adieu Auroman, the Hanuman

Donna Osborn says: Posted August 02, 2010

I am also Westerner, but I feel an underlying disrespect from the author, who, by the way, lived off the Ashram for almost 40 years. But the book is not the worst legacy of Peter Heehs, it's the wholesale editing of Sri Aurobindo's Work even making changes to the original documents. Heehs was embraced by some at the Ashram in the true Namaste spirit and this book of sublte innuendos is his thanks.

Deception by Peter Heehs (page 266) – by Sandeep Joshi from A critique of the book "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo" by Peter Heehs by Raman Reddy

I comment as Auroman on the Mirror of Tomorrow. I have an Integral Yoga website at http://auromere.wordpress.com.
Some of the errors I have found earlier in this biography have been noted at http://www.mirroroftomorrow.org/blog/_archives/2008/12/14/4019788.html http://www.mirroroftomorrow.org/blog/_archives/2009/1/9/4051044.html

Images in search of the real Sri Aurobindo

from drraghu@cs.com to tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 1 August 2010 10:36 subject Re: Pl. post

Pl. post and thanks again, Mr. Mohapatra, for maintaining an open forum. John Stuart Mill, for one, would be very pleased with it. Dr. Raghu

A Falsehood On Heehs?

Govind writes: "1. Whatever his idea of the central features, his (Heehs') opinion as to the falsehood of the self-revealed image is already stated in the preface. However much we keep hearing him that is the central fact is not going to change. 2. An image does not have to be complete to be distorted, and I have not claimed completeness or perfection." 

1. A course in reading comprehension appears to be necessary for those who think that in the preface to his TLOSA Heehs claims that Aurobindo was misrepresenting the facts concerning himself or that the image Aurobindo presented of himself is a "falsehood". I have been reading Heehs book again very carefully this weekend and noting statements which could possibly give "offense" to any deifying self-styled disciple of Aurobindo. I will share the results of my reading in due course on this forum, but for now I will point out that Govind may have in mind the following sentence in a paragraph toward the end of Heehs' preface:

"Biographers....have to examine all sorts of materials...not giving special treatment even to the subject's own version of events." (TLOSA, p. xiv).

It is hasty and illogical to draw from this the conclusion that Heehs thinks that subject's (viz., Aurobindo's) own version of events must be rejected or marginalized. It is the dharma of a biographer to consider accounts other than the subject's own account of events in his or her life.This does not mean that the subject's own account or "self-revealed image" must be rejected as false. It only means that this image must be considered and compared with other images. As Heehs puts it in the very next sentence:

"Accounts by the subject have exceptional value, but they need to be compared against other narrative accounts and, more important, against documents that do not reflect a particular point of view." (TLOSA, p.xiv)

I am sure that Aurobindo would heartily agree with this truism of biographical research! Govind's antipathy seems to spring from drawing hasty conclusions and conclusions at variance with Heehs' own claims IN THIS CONTEXT of the preface.

2. I agree with Govind that an image need not be perfect or complete in order for there to distortions of it. However, if he admits, as he does, that the image of Aurobindo received from Aurobindo himself and the Mother is not perfect or complete, then he must, by virtue of logic, accept that comparisons of this image with other images of Aurobindo is indispensable for a growth in our understanding, not only of the received image of Aurobindo, but of the real man Aurobindo behind these images. And this is exactly what Peter Heehs has set out to do. Whether or not he has been successful in accomplishing this goal and to what degree is a different issue. 

A de Nielly come to judgment

from Auro Lumiere aurolumiere@yahoo.fr to tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 31 July 2010 21:49 subject Do Not Project Intolerance, Pettiness, and Dogmatism on Sri Aurobindo!

Dear Mr. Tusar Mohapatra, Greetings once again!

In relation to the on-going discussion, your readers might be interested in reading the following.

Mr. Govind Rajesh with the assistance of Auroman de le Mirroir (I suppose to be read as Auroman du Miroir) challenges Dr. Raghu and says:

 “My challenge to you, however, still stands. Show me where a sadhak who has publicly cast doubts or critically judged, even disparaged, Sri Aurobindo's Life and Work was either admitted into or allowed to remain in the Ashram holding those views. You are sure to come up empty.”

After the treatment provided to him by Dr. Raghu, I hope that Mr. Govind Rajesh still frequents this website and if so, for his benefit also, I earnestly invite him to read this passage from Mother’s Agenda:

August 27, 1969

They’ve found a paper I wrote soon after Sri Aurobindo’s departure.

I already told you part of it, but this is the full paper. It’s dated …

(Mother hands the paper to Satprem)

January 26, 1951.

But it’s very private.

(Satprem reads out the text)

(This note is about a person physically close to Sri Aurobindo, who tried to destroy Mother and separate her from Sri Aurobindo. In fact, it is clear and understandable that the darkest shadow is right under the light, and that he or she who comes to do the divine work must take on himself or herself the whole burden of the Opposer. Thus is it near Sri Aurobindo and Mother that the greatest adversaries will be found. That also explains Mother’s departure and the ensuing murky situation in Auroville and in the Ashram. For obvious reasons we will not publish Mother’s note or the long conversation that followed in its integrality, but only a few brief extracts, insofar as they illustrate the problem,” or perhaps the mystery, of Sri Aurobindo’s and Mother’s departures, for they have one and the same reason.)

Naturally, this mustn’t be published, but it’s to be kept.

But what role did she play?

She went as far as to tell him that I was betraying his work – everything and anything conceivable.

But didn’t Sri Aurobindo try to intervene?

Never.

That’s surprising …. It’s surprising, this nonintervention of Sri Aurobindo’s.

Never – never.

He had this conviction so strongly, “It’s the Supreme Lord who does everything.” So … it must be like that.

But in my small consciousness, I find it astounding that such a ridiculous, insignificant being as this piddling woman could have had such power!

But there was a great Asura behind her![i] There were the adverse forces behind. The woman herself was nothing, but she was very receptive to those forces.

And he didn’t want to break her?

Oh, he didn’t want to. He was all compassion, goodness, patience ….

Twice I saw him get angry with her – twice. But he instantly got a grip on himself.

(silence)

A sad story, but anyway … Afterwards, I saw, I understood. Now I know. From the point of view of the work, it was … it was what had to happen.

I never said anything, Sri Aurobindo never said anything – all that I wrote is this (Mother points to her note), I never said anything.

(silence)

The small human individualities act as instruments, that’s nothing.

But by yielding (because in a way he yielded), did he win a greater victory over that Asura?

Oh, yes, infinitely greater.

That’s what eludes me.

Infinitely greater. And he didn’t leave the work, you understand; he has never left me, never left the work. The amount of supramental force he had accumulated in his body he passed on to me – and I received it. The rest went into the subtle physical, where he has done the whole work. And he said, I will take on a body again only when it is a supramental body.”

(silence)

It was … monstrous, you understand …. I didn’t say anything, I never said anything …. Yes, once, she was so awful that I made her leave Sri Aurobindo’s room, and she was so dreadful that I gave her a slap. And when I came back, Sri Aurobindo told me, “You ought not to have done it … …

It was … It is the highest, the most-the most sublime way, one might almost say, of exhausting the hostile force.

(long silence)

[i]See Agenda 1, 26 March 1959.

 

This passage must certainly educate and satisfy Mr. Govind Rajesh, and make him and others like him appreciate that humility is a virtue that may still be pursued. 

But the larger question that I might wish to raise is what’s wrong with the behaviour and attitude of some of Aurobindo’s “followers” such as the members of the Mirror of Tomorrow? Who are a handful of ignorant people to try to judge, determine, order and impose who is welcome, admitted to and allowed to remain in the Ashrame? And even more so who are they to determine how people in the Ashrame ought to behave or do? 

Or maybe, are we just expecting too much from the pale, dusty reflections of an antiquated and deformed mirror that at best reflects a distorted image of the past... 

At the Service of Light and truth! Françoise de Nielly

Rubicon moment for Manoj Das

 A comment has been posted in reference to an article titled: An Open Letter to Manoj-baboo from RY Deshpande Comment posted by: RY Deshpande Re: An Open Letter ...This gossipy-petty-ignorant product… Cling to Truth

We’ve in the Ashram an influential scholar who has listed at least ninety offensive entries in the book but he prefers to observe neutral silence over these “highly objectionable passages”, without realising that not to speak against known falsehood is itself falsehood, which is neutral or diplomatic or calculating silence to protect his personal interests, his position, his standing, his worldly prestige earned by story-telling. ~ RYD

What are the central features of the image of Sri Aurobindo

from drraghu@cs.com to tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 31 July 2010 07:39 subject re: Pl. post

Thank you!

The Hub of the Attack On Heehs' Book!

Govind: "the book presents Him in a way that goes against the way that the Mother and Sri Aurobindo have presented Him Themselves."

Two quick responses:

1. We need to first hear from this man what he thinks are the central features of the image of Aurobindo presented by the Mother and Aurobindo himself before we can decide whether any other account or image of Aurobindo is compatible or incompatible with it.

2. He begs the question of whether this image of Aurobindo presented by the Mother and Aurobindo himself was a complete and perfect one. Further, did they ever claim that this image was a complete and perfect one? Or is this claim of completeness and perfection something Govind foists on them?

I intend to address this issue after examining the letter and spirit of Aurobindo's own corrections of misconceptions or errors in accounts of his life provided by his contemporaries. I dare say that this will clear all the dust raised over Heehs' book!

You are simply projecting your own value systems on Sri Aurobindo

from Govind Rajesh to tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date, 29 July 2010 19:13

subject My response to Raghu

Following is my reply to Raghu. Please remove my e-mail address:

The mein kampf analogy is misleading. Hitler was not a sadhak of the Ashram. The right analogy should have been, "what if some Sadhak would have published a book praising Hitler and attacking Sri Aurobindo's stand?". Forget about expelling individual disciples, even when Sri Aurobindo was appraised of rumors that some Sadhaks were supporting Hitler He said that He was ready to close down the Ashram if the Sadhaks wanted. So what would His reaction have been in the case someone had "gone public" with their support? Banning the book, and/or throwing the hostile element out of the Ashram are both certainly within the realm of possibility and would have been consistent with His position.

About the Mother's tolerating such behaviour there is even less chance. Since you are quoting the Mother's description of Sri Aurobindo as a gentleman there is one more quote of Hers which you need to consider where she has said that although Sri Aurobindo was a gentleman She herself was not. Please remember that it was NOT the Mother's or Sri Aurobindo's primary objective to uphold YOUR liberal values and conform to YOUR system of political correctness, but to do a certain Work which They over and over stressed would not be helped by Sadhaks taking the liberty (yes, liberty) to doubt or, worse, to criticize and judge or, worst, give a distorted picture to the world at large. Once again, go back and try to see with an unbiased eye what was the expectation that Mother Sri Aurobindo had of the Sadhaks when it came to public pronouncements about Them and Their Work. If your liberal ideology is opposed to totalitarianism, fascism, communism and religious fanatcism that does not mean that Sri Aurobindo was oppposed to them unconditionally. In that you are simply projecting your own value systems on Him and getting the whole thing muddled up. Just to give you an example, Sri Aurobindo has supported even dictators and their dictatorship in certain conditions. If memory serves me right he has also had good things to say about communism relative to other ideologies. Yet here you are, bent upon making a liberal ideologue and fanatic out of him in your own mould.

The only scenario where one can be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that Sri Aurobindo would NOT have supported banning the book is if He were prepared to tolerate anything and everything from Sadhaks or, as I have put it, "anything goes". So if that is not your premise then you need to reject your premature conclusion and take your challenge back. My challenge to you, however, still stands. Show me where a sadhak who has publicly cast doubts or critically judged, even disparaged, Sri Aurobindo's Life and Work was either admitted into or allowed to remain in the Ashram holding those views. You are sure to come up empty. There are, on the contrary, several instances where people have had to leave. Hence, Auroman's statement that either the book should have been rejected by the Author or he should have been expelled from the Ashram. If you are as "familiar" with Ashram life as you say then this should be known to you. It is a basic expectation of any sadhak. Given this fundamental violation of Ashram norms and the obstruction put up by Asharm authorities, some Ashramites have chosen to take legal action, as a result of which the sale of the book has been prohibited by the government. In a civil society it is quite normal and commendable for citizens who have greivances to approach the law for redress. What is so disturbing or hard for you to understand here, particularly since you have established your domicile in what is arguably the most litigious society in the world? I really wonder why this should bother you so much and what for all this moral grandstanding and these baseless proclamations of intellectual self-superiority.

In fact, if you care to examine your own position critically you will see that it is you who are committing the fallacy of false choice. Even if, for argument's sake, we agreed with you that Sri Aurobindo espoused liberal values, still, HE WAS NOT BOUND BY THEM. So, at least in His case, there is nothing that necessitates any course of action or inaction. And that is precisely what Auroman has been trying to explain to you, but to no avail.

Even ordinary humans who define and bind themselves to liberal values draw the line somewhere. Even in your great "liberality" I doubt if you would give a free hand to someone who, posing as your good friend, comes in to your house and starts denigrating you and passing critical judgment on you in front of your own children. You would be within your rights to throw him out and, if he persists, then you would be well within your rights to take legal action against him to get him to stop. This is not a false choice. It is simply a rational choice.

Managing Trustee refused to do his job and expel the author from the Ashram

From auroman de le Miroir to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 29 July 2010 00:52 subject Reply to Dr Raghu

Dear Tusar,

This is my reply to Dr Raghu.  Please remove my email address. Best 

What Sri Aurobindo would have done in any given circumstance is anybody's guess. There is no canon or scripture which can tell you that.  It is like asking "What would Jesus do?".  Either side can pick some verse from scripture to justify its approach.  Sages typically arrive at their decisions by using their subtle vision to see the soul of  the person in order to understand why he behaves in a certain manner.   In the absence of such vision, either side could be right in a given argument.

Most people are getting sidetracked by the secondary issue, which is that the book is being banned.  There would be no need to ban this book if it hadn't been for the fact that the Managing Trustee refused to do his job and expel the author from the Ashram. We don't go around banning books in general.  People who live outside the Ashram are free to write critical books on Sri Aurobindo, the Mother and his disciples.

But when you voluntary join the Aurobindo Ashram, it presupposes that you have accepted Sri Aurobindo as your Guru and that must inform the judgements you make while writing a biography.  If you think Sri Aurobindo was a liar and you want to distort his version of the story, then please leave the Ashram and join a University where you can exercise your free speech rights.

Which principle to apply in a certain situation requires some wisdom. Rights comes with responsibilities. The rules of secular society cannot be directly applied to a person working in an institution. Doesn't a person working in the White House in USA have his free-speech rights constricted? He works no longer for himself but for the President. The same analogy can be applied to a disciple living in the Ashram.

I would encourage Dr Thill Raghu to get back to his teaching job and leave us to our woes.  His students return for classes in about six to eight weeks. 

Govind has left a new comment on your post "As a man imbued with liberal values, Sri Aurobindo...": 

You are confusing Sri Aurobindo's "liberalism" with an "anything goes" attitude. I think you need to brush up a bit on life in the Ashram. Certainly, there is much more freedom there than other institutes that go by that name. However, when it came to Sri Aurobindo and portraying Him in a "critical" manner to the rest of the world there was never a point in time where any Sadhak was given absolute license. In fact, I would like to challenge you to prove to me otherwise. Posted by Govind to Savitri Era Open Forum at 5:14 AM, July 29, 2010

As a man imbued with liberal values, Sri Aurobindo would not have censored or suppressed

From drraghu@cs.com to tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 28 July 2010 17:47 subject re: Pl. post ... Dear Mr. Mohapatra,

Although, I sent the following as a comment, I would like it to appear on your forum as a separate posting. If you concur, Pl. post it. Thanks! Dr. Raghu

A Challenge to Those Who Want to Ban Peter Heehs' Book in India!

If Aurobindo were alive today, would he offer support to those who want to ban Heehs' book?

I challenge all those who want to ban Heehs' book, and particularly any vociferous, "asuric", reactionary, quarter-baked "integral pontiff" among them, to offer a shred of evidence from Aurobindo's writings, and his documented avowed positions on issues, in support of the conclusion that he would have supported the campaign to ban Heehs' book.

Take a look at the published comments Aurobindo made of attempts to provide accounts of his life! While he offered corrections of misconceptions or errors and stated, in essence, that any standard biography typically focused on externalities would fail to capture the meaning of his life, he never even suggested that these attempts should be censored or suppressed. As a man imbued with liberal values, he would not have done so.

What a contrast these self-styled followers of Aurobindo present with their crude, intolerant, and raucous calls for banning Heehs' book! drraghu has left a new comment on your post "Dozens of letters have been sent by the Ashram inm...": Posted by drraghu to Savitri Era Open Forum at 5:28 PM, July 28, 2010 from      drraghu@cs.com to            tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date           28 July 2010 18:51 subject              Re: Pl. post. Pl. add this to my previous posting on Aurobindo's liberalism. Thank you! Dr. Raghu

“The censor-moron does not really hate anything but the living and growing human consciousness . . . To arrest or circumscribe the vital consciousness is to produce morons, and nothing but a moron would do it.” (D. H. Lawrence in a 1928 letter to Morris Ernst)

As a further, conclusive, piece of evidence attesting to Aurobindo's liberal approach, which at least on certain issues was way ahead of his time, I point to his comments on D. H. Lawrence in letters dating back to 1936 and published in "Letters On Poetry, Literature, and Art". At a time when Lawrence's works faced suppression even in his native England, Aurobindo made complimentary and critical comments on the spirit and temper of Lawrence's creative work, but in those comments there is not even a whiff of any suggestion to the effect that Lawrence's works must be censored or banned! I find this truly remarkable and can only hope fervently that the enveloping vapors of the "asuric maya" of intolerance will be dispelled from the heads of those seeking to ban Heehs' book on grounds of fidelity to Aurobindo!!!!

It was a masterpiece of sacred architecture

from Robert E. Wilkinson robtw@sprynet.com reply-to "Robert E. Wilkinson" robtw@sprynet.com to "Tusar N. Mohapatra" tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 27 July 2010 18:01 subject In response to Unite or Perish

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 Unite or perish 

Both - Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville - have gone out of the hands of the devotees of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo. It is a long drawn out battle to reclaim them. Savitri Era Party calls upon everyone to unite under one banner. [TNM]  Posted by Tusar N Mohapatra at 11:54 AM

If anyone is seriously interested in the underlying cause of the disunity between Auroville and the Ashram, and not just paying lip service to the obvious, I would like to call your attention to the ancient Vedic Temple text, ‘the Mayamata’ which states, ‘if the measurement of the temple is in every way perfect, there will be perfection in the universe as well’.  As we all know, the Mother’s temple was designed along these lines. It was a masterpiece of sacred architecture, a mathematical perfection revealing an entire system of OBJECTIVE cosmological knowledge. It was constructed on the exact geographic point on India’s hieroglyphic body where its occult axial power could establish itself, linking the plane of Truth-consciousness and the world of man. While it is extremely simple in design, her temple was the highest order of sacred architecture that has ever been revealed. To alter one number, one dimension, would be equivalent to throwing the entire system into chaos, yet this is exactly what happened following the Mother's passing. One by one the elements of its design were fundamentally altered until not one was left intact. When this abomination began to take form in concrete and steel, its distorted dimensions began to produce calamitous effects in the field of its occult influence, Auroville and the Ashram.  Thea explains:

                ‘The effects of such a disintegrating occult force are subtle, impossible for the human being to perceive and understand. This power is a hundredfold intensified when given a material support such as Matrimandir. When this happens we find that suddenly, almost imperceptibly, the atmosphere begins to change, the area becomes pervaded by a fog that clouds the people’s consciousness. Friends turn to foes, falsehood is held up as truth, and worst of all – no one can perceive, no one can see the truth.  Each one believes himself to be its upholder, when in fact, each one is subjected to the same toxic force, living under the same cloud, being made use of for the one end: disintegration, disunity, division – in a word, the opposite of Truth’s goal…’  

‘In March of 1976 a decisive breakthrough was made and the question of India’s central role, even in the case of a destruction, came up. This time the breakthrough involved the Mother’s Chamber. An unparalleled yogic realisation disclosed the deepest meaning in the discrepancies between what was indicated in the measurements and design of the original plan the Mother gave of the Chamber, where the destiny of the Earth and India is written, and the revised plan of the builders of the temple in Auroville. Not only did these discrepancies indicate the destruction India might have to face, but they revealed to me the imminent and conclusive split between the Ashram and Auroville, a rift that soon after came about and remains total to this day. ‘Yet the most crucial aspect of this breakthrough revealed that there was every likelihood of a very great destruction on Earth. But whatever this would be, one thing was certain: India would somehow be central to the matter. It would be played out in or through India.’ Thea, October, 1987.

For those with the psychic realization, the only banner to unite behind is a banner of knowledge based upon the objective measurements given out in the Mother’s original plan for her temple. Not to do so is to choose to remain ignorant and thus complicit in the chaos and destruction now playing itself out on the earth.

drraghu has left a new comment on your post "We should be prudent not to make any pronouncement...": 

May those who seek to ban Heehs' book or any other book in India reflect on the following each morning as if it were a veritable Gayatri! It may well produce an illumination in mind exceeding the traditional Gayatri!
From John Stuart Mill's On Liberty: […]