Hundreds and hundreds of people caught the lightning on these pages first

“Sri Aurobindo or The Adventure of Consciousness” by Satprem from Integral Library by Vladnesh Hi folks!

And here we are – the most prominent book through wich so many seekers of the Integral Truth came into contact with Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. We might argue about the character of the author, but it would never change the simple fact that, me, my friends and hundreds and hundreds of people caught the lightning of the Supreme Revelation on these pages first. Behold – “Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness” by Satprem. Epub and Mobi version as usual included. Triple cheers!

Sujata Nahar: Loving Homage—A Review by Surendra Singh Chouhan from Overman Foundation - Feb 24, 2012 2:29 PM

Satprem wrote ceaselessly as well and his writings are marked with the powerful Upanishadic seer-vision and prophetic touch. His celebrated book Sri Aurobindo or The Adventure of Consciousness has already become a classic.

Comment on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on Astrology by RJ from Comments for Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo & The Mother by RJ - Jan 26, 2012 2:15 AM

Yes, my journey to this path started when I “accidentally” found Satprem’s “Sri Aurobindo: the Adventure of Consciousness” in a library a few years ago. To be fair, I was looking for ‘spiritual’ books. But how did I ever pick that one, out of shelves and shelves of others? Sometimes I wonder. I probably read that book 4-5 times over the next few weeks, it was so mindblowing. It still took about a year before I was ready to start understanding SA’s work, though. It was interesting to later come across a few Agenda passages where the Mother talks about how special force was put behind that book to reach receptive elements in the West, and that the book’s impact would stretch out for a century. Indeed!

Comment on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on Astrology by Sandeep from Comments for Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo & The Mother by Sandeep - Jan 26, 2012 8:26 AM

Welcome, RJ ! The “Adventures of Consciousness” has abiding appeal. Satprem once said Sri Aurobindo dictated the book to him. See this interview with one of the early disciples Tehmi (“…Satprem once told me that Sri Aurobindo dictated every word of Adventure of Consciousness through him and that he “just held the pen.””) In case you didn’t know, many of the other works are available online. Follow the links under Books 

Sandeep says: January 26, 2012 at 9:48 am I haven’t read that one. Satprem’s other books have a lyrical style but they lack the revelatory quality present in the Adventures of Consciousness.

Comment on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on Astrology by mike from Comments for Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo & The Mother by mike - Jan 26, 2012 8:26 AM

Yes, the Adventure of Consciousness was the only book in my local library about SA and the The Mother, which l enjoyed. lt was there for years. Later Satprem’s book – Mother or The Divine Materialism found it’s way onto the shelves as well. l’ve never seen that anywhere else and eventually l bought it off them.
Really, though, it was the Letters on Yoga that made the biggest impression on me. “External motives are simply pretexts used by the psychic to realise itself.” l really like that.

Preface of TLOSA -- by Alok Pandey from A critique of the book "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo" by Peter Heehs by General Editor

In those days the quality of photographs was not good as nowadays and had to be touched up. Champaklal (the Mother’s assistant) says how the Mother herself sent Sri Aurobindo’s photograph for retouching because the plate was quite bad. 

Moreover, the two photographs which have been compared by PH have been taken at different times! The comparison could have been valid if the untouched photograph had been compared with the touched-up version of the same. But that is not the case, so how can the two photographs be compared at all? This is a typical case of how the author uses wrong data to come to wrong conclusions. The biography is full of such conclusions based on apparently correct data, which prove to be wrong or one-sided on closer examination.

Besides, there is a subtle dimension to these things that he completely ignores. The Mother has stated that She is (spiritually) present in Her photographs. We could hold the same for Sri Aurobindo. It requires some spiritual maturity to understand the purpose behind such photographs. The photograph was prepared by the Mother for the disciples and was intended to reflect the subtle or occult image of Sri Aurobindo. The same photograph was put on the cover of Satprem’s book “The Adventure of Consciousness” as part of her occult action, and one can judge by the effect it had in the 1970s. Moreover, the technique of using an image of the Master to concentrate the mind is there in all paths of Yoga. 

from: Sourav Mukherjee souravmoo@gmail.com date: 3 January 2012 12:56 subject: Re: curious about 'Savitri Era' Mohapatra Ji,

Thank you for your prompt response. What i was looking for is something like a small gathering where participants talk about what they have understood about Sri Aurobindo or Mother's 'philosophy' (for lack of a better word!) and how it has personally affected their lives. I have been reading Satprem's books like Sri Aurobindo or Adventure of Consciousness, Tragedy of Earth, Mind of Cells, Mother or Divine Materialism for the past 2 years. I am fascinated by the ideas found in those books. I am was thinking it would be nice to meet people who are equally interested in these works and listen to their views and possible experiences (with the "Force", that moves in the opposite direction to Kundalini according to Satprem).

I also tried to grapple with the poem 'Savitri' once but couldn't make any headway. I have read many things about it like seekers opening the book at a random page and the lines of the poem in that page 'suddenly' making sense and being found to be applicable to some problem they might be facing or question they might be having. Also, that reading Savitri itself can be considered a form of 'sadhana'. I am quite interested to see how people start understanding that poem and what experiences they have with it.

> but the challenge is how to begin from the present level (pertaining to each individual). 

Yes. Right. Do you have any insights on this? I cannot claim to have any tangible proof of either spiritual or psychic progress although i have been interested in 'spirituality' and 'supernatural and psychic phenomena' since teenage years. (Satprem claims that the "Force" opens up many latent psychic abilities like clairvoyance). Regards, Sourav

Round One of the Culture War: Is vs. Isn't from One Cʘsmos - Jun 21, 2011 7:17 PM ...in the Adventure of Consciousness. In other words, our ontology automatically confers a meaning, and therefore purpose, both to history and to the individual life situated therein. 

Sri Aurobindo talks about divinizing matter

“What happened on the 24th November prepared the possibility of this descent and on that day he retired into seclusion and entered into deep and powerful meditation.”

This correction was made on the 20th Nov. 1950 and it was the last one that Sri Aurobindo made on any article. He passed away on the 5th December, 1950. - Anilbaran 4:16 PM 

I am not attempting to "Aurobindo-ize" Christianity." Why Darwinists Reject Evolution from One Cosmosby Gagdad Bob Sep 17, 2008. I think he was influenced by both Christianity and western science -- including the theory of evolution -- and applied them to Indian metaphysics. So when Aurobindo talks about "divinizing matter" or reconciling all the levels of creation, he is really talking like an Orthodox Christian. It's all very Jewish as well. God is a Joke and Bill Maher is a Barbaric Idiot from One Cosmos by Gagdad Bob Sep 22, 2008 6:12 AM 

Continuing to operate with all the trappings of traditional religious practices while claiming not to be a religion is a Huge contradiction and IMO has produced a myriad of unresolvable problems in the Integral Yoga community after Sri Aurobinodo's and Mother's passing. -- by Rich on Tue 05 Aug 2008 Permanent Link 

there is not a shred of evidence you can offer to support your arguments that they were Gods. The best you can do is to supply texts which can only refer to themselves in endless tautology. by Rich on Sun 24 Aug 2008 Permanent Link 

And of course there is Integral Yoga fundamentalism with its claims that its founders are gods or avatars and that similar to the Christian myth make the case for them descending to Earth to take up the suffering and redemption of humanity. True to all fundamentalist assumptions in this one the founders are seen to be infallible, beyond the scope of any critical inquiry. by Rich on Tue 23 Sep 2008 Permanent Link 11:39 AM

Personally, I'm a Westernized Pakistani, who more or less gave up on all religions and religious practices many years ago. I thought it was all superstitious nonsense. However, I have recently been coming around and learning to respect and see the value of traditional ritualism... And sometimes, when I've had experiences of darker dimensions of Reality, I tell you, spontaneously prostrating to photographs of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother has gotten me out of an awful lot of trouble. -- by ned on Tue 05 Aug 2008 Permanent Link

"Sri Aurobindo on Hinduism" by Peter Heehs -- reviewed by Raman Reddy 12 Aug 2010 – The following paragraph is from a booklet by Peter Heehs entitled Sri Aurobindo on Hinduism and published by the Sri Aurobindo Society, ... 7:57 AM

The Dvaita diaries The Hindu March 8, 2012 M. NARASIMHACHARY

Sri Madhva anticipated some modern trends in the study of the texts. He demonstrated that the Vedas can be interpreted from the mythological, psychological and spiritual viewpoints. He thus became the forerunner of Swami Dayananda Saraswati and Sri Aurobindo too.

Sri Jayatirtha: A Monograph on the Dvaita Epistemology; English translation by Shrinivasa Varakhedi. (Dvaita Philosophy Resource Centre, Manipal University Press, Manipal, Karnataka; Price: Rs. 295 in India & 12 Euros Outside India.)

Non-marriage based communities

Oedipus complex may not apply to other cultures

Social currency and insecurity

Understanding women on spiritual basis

Sri Aurobindo’s theory of a spiritualised Ethics

India was once colonised and is, therefore, suspic...

Integrating Wisdom, Strength, Harmony, & Service

Music and dance and protest

Dr. Ambedkar's idea of positive discrimination

Non-political dimensions of society

Political corruption and the misuse of language

Spiritual activist has a double task

Corporations, cities, crime and war

True leader must be able to put aside what he want...

Rank religious practices lower than polity

Rupturing self-referential circles

Stumbling and bumbling

Sri Aurobindo revolutionizes the Vedic tradition w...

To speak about knowing Reality in our Consciousnes...

M.P. Pandit is a wonderful thinker and bright mind...

We are planned not to be sure that Nature has a pl...

Human societies are built on analogue processes

Congress + BJP = SEP

SP to SEP

Hazare mirage

Collaboration with evolution

Unlearning is a prime requisite

Sri Aurobindo never wrote a book

Demanding the best

Evolving common meeting grounds

Open your eyes for the Third Dream

Savitri Era Learning Forum SELF 3:23 PM

Savitri (book) - thefullwiki

Savitri Era - Savitri Era is our religion

I said Tora Man Darpan, I consider to be one of the three best bhajans in Hindi films. Ravi: The Master of Situational Songs from Nothing to Declare by shyamanuja

If nothing visible is seen, do we scrap the The Life Divine?

from:  Narayan T Rao narayan.t.rao@gmail.com date: 6 March 2012 22:16 subject: reply to Shri Ranganath's response to the Declaration 12:33 PM 6:37 PM 7:45 PM 

10. If we were to believe in what the writer believes, 

but the present management is composed of ordinary human beings, whose sole responsibility is the external management of the organization and its smooth functioning. To equate the present set of five mortal transient, imperfect human beings with the true and deeper reality of the institution is a devious trick intended to mislead those of mediocre intelligence, who are more than willing to transfer their allegiance from Mother to the trustees. This is a truth that will stand against all false attempts to insist on the contrary which is that the trustees represent the Ashram spiritually. Nothing could be farther from the truth. 

This Ashram should exist only in form of books and preserved only for records. What has happened with the Presence of our Masters could be classified as a thing of our ancient civilizations like our Mohenjadaro and Harappa. The writer here challenges the formation of the Trust Board of Ashram formed by The Mother? I am still waiting for an immortal person in the board of Trustees…

11. Certainly it is clear that all internal problems should be resolved by the members themselves within the organization itself. No one would like an outside intervention, except when there is no other choice left. 

Absolutely correct. For whom is the writer speaking of, himself or a group which has gathered around him and he is the chosen speaker for all of them? There are still more choices and one of them could  surely be  a holistic one…. intended to mislead those of mediocre intelligence, who are more than willing to transfer their allegiance from Mother to the trustees… is this the gathering  the writer is referring to and who is their piece of mouth? In the kingdom of blind, one eyed  man is the king?

12. There is always a limit to it. That is the reason why nowhere in the world is an individual elected to a position of power for more than a fixed period of time. It is a well known truism that all power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That is why these questions have arisen now in the context of the book maligning Sri Aurobindo. 

If freedom was not allowed, how do you think a dharna of this peaceful nature could have taken place for one whole week, leaving ones usual work?

….. Several members of the Ashram have been removed from their usual work, thus interfering with their normal functions……….. She is not guiding the others? And guidance is one thing and understanding the guidance and acting according to it is another matter altogether. 

I wonder how many responsible people would have joined a dharna in the outside world, for one whole week (actually the duration asked was for one whole month) without pay or family duties? I think we must allow at least us, the Ashramites, this unique freedom!

13. The trust deed was made purely for legal reasons. It was drafted in a hurry and the result was not really satisfactory. There is no spiritual sanctity to it and we know that legal matters did not interest the Mother…….. So to claim that it is a sacred document and fully approved by the Mother is not the fact at all. Besides, nothing in this transient world is a rigid truth for ever. Changing times and circumstances always necessitate adjustments and alterations to suit the new conditions that crop up. 

If what you say is according to your wise judgment a solution, then please tell me of some person, any where you know of has actually lived and practiced to live a life Divine, and transformed his physical being, having followed our Masters teachings. This is the yoga of Sri Aurobindo, and after so much time, if nothing visible is seen by humanity, and of course sadhaks like you and me, do we scrap the The Life Divine along with the other volumes, or at least add or rewrite these volumes of Sri Aurobindo because, changing times and circumstances always necessitate adjustments and alterations to suit the new conditions that crop up…? The Mother Herself has signed on the trust deed, it ought to be sacred to Her followers at least. I see no other option but to accept it as it is, unless you do not accept The Mother as your Guru.

14. The responsibility to avoid this is squarely on the shoulders of the management.

Good conclusion, let them do it and leave them alone, please. This was the idea of the declaration. […] Manas

Ranganath Raghavan's Response to "A Declaration of Solidarity" from A critique of the book "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo" by Peter Heehs To Jay Raichuria and Meera Gupta (Sabda)

10.  This entire passage may well apply to all human beings and both parties in this unfortunate confrontation, although clearly you mean by it only those who are protesting against the protection of Peter Heehs by the trustees.

At this point, let it be clearly and loudly stated that the SRI AUROBINDO ASHRAM is built by the Mother and Sri Aurobindo and its truth is eternal and deeply planted. But the present management is composed of ordinary human beings, whose sole responsibility is the external management of the organization and its smooth functioning. To equate the present set of five mortal transient, imperfect human beings with the true and deeper reality of the institution is a devious trick intended to mislead those of mediocre intelligence, who are more than willing to transfer their allegiance from Mother to the trustees. This is a truth that will stand against all false attempts to insist on the contrary ─ which is that the trustees represent the Ashram spiritually! Nothing could be farther from the truth. This is a simple fact that was so well understood even by Monsieur André Morisset, the Mother’s son. He kept insisting on this truth. To call those who stand by this truth “deluded” is itself an act of supreme delusion.

11.  Certainly it is clear that all internal problems should be resolved by the members themselves within the organization itself. No one would like an outside intervention, except when there is no other choice left. The question is who is responsible for this unfortunate pass. When arrogance, inflexibility are the norm and not sympathetic dialogue and a spirit of accommodation, then there is no option left except unusual methods.

12.   Up to what degree is this freedom to be allowed? Taking a hypothetical case, where a serious illegal action has occurred, is the freedom still to be allowed? Should not the laws of the land take over? Now, who is to judge regarding the degree of illegality? Can anyone explain the innumerable court cases instituted against the ashram management? Why was even an arrest warrant issued against some of them? Freedom can never be infinite. There is always a limit to it. That is the reason why nowhere in the world is an individual elected to a position of power for more than a fixed period of time. It is a well known truism that all power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That is why these questions have arisen now in the context of the book maligning Sri Aurobindo. To maintain that the book is only “foolish” but harmless and the storm will blow over in time is to completely misunderstand the situation.  The book is a direct attack on the Divine by a hostile force and if we give it protection in the Ashram, nothing could be more dangerous for the institution, which will render it open to constant problems of a more serious nature.   There are those who think that the objectionable  passages in the book by Peter Heehs are not at all bad, that they are merely harmless objective remarks, or at worst they are foolish and immature and need not be taken seriously at all. And that those who are raising a hue and cry about the book are completely mistaken or at best are exaggerating  and are making a mountain out of a molehill. Those who hold that view may please explain how at first more than ninety passages were found to be “obnoxious” and the decision to expel Peter Heehs  from the Ashram was taken, and how at the insistence of one individual,  that decision was reversed  within minutes. And all the others meekly agreed to tow the line laid down by one person!!! It appears that the real significance and danger of sheltering Peter Heehs within the Ashram has not been grasped by the trustees and their entourage.  

13.  The trust deed was made purely for legal reasons. It was drafted in a hurry and the result  was not really satisfactory. There is no spiritual sanctity to it and we know that legal matters did not interest the Mother. We have some statements from her clearly expressing this view. It is also known  that the Mother was not at all happy with the draft. This was known to several of the old sadhaks and specially Mr. Counouma, who had spoken about it to some people. So to claim that it is a sacred document and fully approved by the Mother is not the fact at all. Besides, nothing in this transient world is a rigid truth for ever. Changing times and circumstances always necessitate adjustments and alterations to suit the new conditions that crop up.                                                            

14.  I do not think that anyone really wants to do that. But rigidity and inflexibility automatically invite forces that dictate change. The responsibility to avoid this is squarely on the shoulders of the management. [...]

www.ashramite.com The point of this declaration is not to issue a personal endorsement of the trustees as individuals. It does not even matter who the five trustees happen to be. Rather this is an initiative that expresses faith in the constitutional structure and processes enshrined in the Trust Deed, the Mother's document. It is therefore an initiative in support of the high ideals, the very idea, the sheer reality, of Sri Aurobindo Ashram itself. We must not and will not see the fabric that holds our organization together ripped apart. And by the same token, those making the point that they are only attacking the trustees and not the Ashram itself and that their actions are for the good of the institution are deluding themselves and playing a dangerous game. There are vested interests attempting to create the impression that a majority of Ashramites are sympathetic to those filing lawsuits against the Trust, but nothing could be further from the truth. We will not allow this false and dangerous notion to gain further ground. This is the time to stand firm, stand together in the face of this assault on the core values of our Ashram, to lend our voices in support of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's institution and its appointed representatives against the forces that are out to destabilize our community.

Under these trying circumstances we extend our support to the board of trustees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram. We trust that the Mother will use them, despite any shortcomings, despite the possibility of errors of judgement, as Her instruments, and that She will ensure that the institution is administered effectively and in accordance with the principles laid down by Herself and Sri Aurobindo. May Her will prevail.

Our community is still divided

from:  Narayan T Rao narayan.t.rao@gmail.com date: 6 March 2012 22:16 subject: reply to Shri Ranganath's response to the Declaration 12:33 PM 6:37 PM

4. The largest threat before is the tolerance, nay the protection and support to those who find fault with the Guru, within the community. This is more than a threat—it has the potential to destroy the institution..

I have only one quote to show how threatened the writer of this statement is, Swa bhabha swa dhama:

“Being part of Sri Aurobindo's truth and manifested by me, there is no power on the earth or any where else in space or time that can destroy or dissolve the ashram of the Lord, Sri Aurobindo. Such vain posturings by small minds are merely amusing." The Mother 

5.      Is there is a good reason for not communicating with the rest of the members? 

The response to this is, of course. I get a feeling that the writer is implying that he should, at least, be consulted!

6. & 7.  That is why it has been suggested that openness and a larger body be involved in a consultative process.

The numbers of Trustees has been decided by the Mother. When it came to the P.E.D, it was a one-man show. Did it ever occur to anyone why, one did not react to this one-man format? Then, was one always agreeable with the decision taken by our dear, benevolent, dictator of P.E.D.? Today there are committees in place to help the Trust board in its administration long before, this suggestion was given, to induct more people in the to help the board: agriculture committee, construction committee, house maintenance committee, Sri Aurobindo Udyog Trust, a three man committee and many more… Thus, there are I believe, more than a few hundred people  already involved, in helping the Trust board by giving their feed-back and suggestions for better functionality of the Ashram.

8. Whether in writing or not, this statement is sure perfectly befitting human beings at least. This applies also to a person before being chosen as a Trustee because… “All humans are imperfect, and the trustees claim no exception” from the Declaration. This statement was meant as a general thought and easily digestible saying. Trustees are just administrators.

9. The guidance is received in proportion to the purity and receptivity of the individual. 

Anybody, following the words of our Gurus is doing Their work, be it a coolie in a railway station, or an inmate working in a department of Ashram or an individual trustee working for the Ashram Trust Board. The aim of the individual determines the direction one takes in life. “The Mother will guide them and lead them in the right direction” from the Declaration. If we look at the present situation honestly, when the signature drama took place a few years back, people reassured themselves that they were in the right path by signing a letter, seeing our respected  Pranab da's signature on it. This was the divide. I  do not know who guided whom and the beginning of confusions within oneself began.  Our community is still divided. I went to Pranab da with a letter, asking him his explanations. He gave me his personal  reasons, for doing, what he  did, justifying his action. […] Manas   

Ranganath Raghavan's Response to "A Declaration of Solidarity" from A critique of the book "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo" by Peter Heehs To Jay Raichuria and Meera Gupta (Sabda)

4.  The largest threat is the tolerance, nay the protection and support to those who find fault with the Guru, within the community. This is more than a threat—it has the potential to destroy the institution. This cannot be envisaged in the Ashram as tolerable.  There are any number of cases where both Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have acted against individuals who had these tendencies. There are even letters that testify to this fact, apart from information in many cases.

5.  This is what many senior members like us are asking for, “all the data in any given case” Why is there no transparency, no openness? Is there a good reason for not communicating with the rest of the members?

6.  Best interests? How to know what that is? Can there be no difference of opinion in this matter? Is it in the best interests of the Ashram to act in such a manner that it attracts innumerable court cases? Is it in the BEST interest of the Ashram to keep the Police happy and supportive of the management in every case, whatever the merit of the case? Is it in the interest of the Ashram to get a member of the Ashram arrested by the police in a surreptitious manner? Can the management claim that their actions have been always in the best interest of the Ashram? One may argue that another management may also err and take decisions that may go against the Ashram. That is why it has been suggested that openness and a larger body be involved in a consultative process.

7. But this is precisely what the present management is doing by NOT discussing  issues with the others of the community, who may have better ideas and solutions to problems that have cropped up. The final decision can always be taken by the competent authority whoever that may be, but why not get the issues discussed in a larger forum? Why claim exclusive right over the final decisions without any wider consultations?

8.  When the trustees state in writing that they have been placed by Providence in their present position and they need not consult anybody, are they not claiming precisely that?

9.  The Mother is guiding only the trustees? She is not guiding the others? And guidance is one thing and understanding the guidance and acting according to it is another matter altogether. The guidance is received in proportion to the purity and receptivity of the individual. And when a trustee himself admits to being “confused”, can it be claimed that the guidance is received perfectly?

www.ashramite.com We are all aware that the twin objective of every Ashramite is to practise his or her individual sadhana, and to work in one of the departments as per the Mother's guidelines. The Ashram Trust has done nothing to deny or hamper either of these interconnected aims. None can say that the environment in the Ashram is not conducive to or does not facilitate the practice of their own sadhana. That should be our primary concern.

The need of the hour is calmness and a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect. This is not the time to bicker over the details of policy, or to let personal grudges and differences of opinion dictate our course of action. The larger threat looming before us must take precedence. We may or may not agree with every decision that the trustees take. Had we been in their position, we may well have done things differently. At the same time we recognize the complexity involved in any decision-making process, and that it is easy to sit in judgement on others. In every institution it is those who have all the pertinent facts readily at hand who are best positioned to determine the eventual course of action that could be followed. Without access to all the inputs that go into a decision, whatever be the issue at stake, one's view always risks being partial and one-sided. The Mother has structured Her institution in such a way that it is the trustees' job to take decisions, and we must allow them the freedom to do so with the best interests of the Ashram in mind. We have indeed the right to express our opinions, but no right to insist that only our views are correct and have to be implemented, else how are we any better than those we stridently criticize? All humans are imperfect, and the trustees claim no exception. But we must trust that they are working sincerely to the best of their abilities, and that through all the struggles and successes, stumblings and advances, the Mother will guide them and lead them in the right direction so that ultimately Her work is carried out and Her goals achieved.

Those who are currently opposing the Ashram consist of a range of figures. Some genuinely believe they are fighting for a cause. Others may have innocently got carried away by rhetoric or unwittingly allowed themselves to become pawns in a game they do not fully comprehend. There might even be a few elements with axes to grind or repressed personal ambitions. Some of us may see merit in some of the specific points these people raise. But all these distinctions and arguments are irrelevant here. What matters is that we place on record that we disagree with the legal challenges to the Ashram, with attempts at mass protests and dharnas, with threats and ultimatums and forced interventions. These were never the Mother's methods. In other words, whatever one's views on individual issues, litigation and seeking removal of the trustees is not the way to go. […]

from: Narayan T Rao narayan.t.rao@gmail.com date: 7 March 2012 19:34 Shri Tusar Babu,

thank you for posting my message, I got a few responses to the post saying that the full message isnt posted. I subsequently checked it myself.. Kindly create a link to the complete message or preferably include the complete message on this page itself.

thanks in advance and please continue this selfless work, which is highly appreciated in the Aurobindonian community. Kind regards Narayan T. Rao

Fundamental groups are plotting a planned and systematic attack

from:  Narayan T Rao narayan.t.rao@gmail.com date: 6 March 2012 22:16 subject: reply to Shri Ranganath's response to the Declaration 12:33 PM Dear Shri Tusar Babu,

I received the following text by email, I thought it might be relevant to include it as a comment to Shri Ranganth Raghavan's response to the Declaration. I understand that the Declaration got an overwhelming response from senior members of the Ashram, and that it has also been well received on the internet via the website www.ashramite.com. Kindly include this email as a post to your blog. Regards Narayan T. Rao

5^th February, 2012 Respected well wisher, You have caught the right thread of the declaration and here are the explanation given by a signatory. (the parts in italics are yours, having a closer look at the declaration in a  more deliberate  manner.)

1. In the Indian tradition…

How many Ashrams have we imagined where the inmates, some unmarried, especially women, expose their lower bottom on the body by wearing shorts and go out on the streets, even to the markets? How many traditional Indian ashrams serve non-vegetarian food to their inmates? This is a reality in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and a big attack by some fundamental groups who are plotting a planned and systematic attack to the very essence and existence of its survival. This is the nature of attack. 

2.      Several members of the Ashram have been removed from their usual work, thus interfering with their normal functions.

Reallocating work in Ashram is nothing new. People were shifted to the Dining Room from agriculture and vice versa.  I remember one incident where an individual who managed a commercial department, running a business concern for years, was apparently removed from his usual work and was reallocated as a professor, in our Higher course, where he is teaching the works of our Gurus to the outgoing students of our Centre of Education. The list could be very big indeed. These types of work adjustments are common and I do not believe this has been done often for petty egoistic reasons by the trust board.

3.       I fully agree that respect seems to be demanded only as a one-way traffic towards the management. 

At this juncture it may not be premature to presume that not accepting someone’s views or ideas is not equal to respecting the individual. One can very well agree to disagree, without losing any respect for each other. We are living in a civilized, educated, and a spiritual environment of Ashram. […] 

Ranganath Raghavan's Response to "A Declaration of Solidarity" from A critique of the book "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo" by Peter Heehs To Jay Raichuria and Meera Gupta (Sabda)

To anyone reading your “Declaration” casually and superficially, it will appear to contain very sound reflections and plausible ideas. But a closer scrutiny will reveal  that the words are high sounding without  solid content. We are having a closer look at your declaration  in a more deliberate manner  and these are my reactions. 

 1.   It is NOT an attack against the Ashram, it is a peaceful protest by some of the Ashramites and devotees of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother against the non-action (or rather active support) of the management, against an offender who, even while being an Ashramite, thinks it is admissible, even justifiable to find fault with the Guru. This is absolutely inadmissible in any spiritual life, specially so in the Indian tradition.

2.  Not true. Several members of the Ashram have been removed from their usual work, thus interfering with their normal functions. This has been done often for petty egoistic reasons, allowing the members to draw the conclusion that to insult Sri Aurobindo is admissible but to criticize other Ashramites is punishable. What could be more foolish than this!! Besides, we may say that individual sadhana is not the only purpose in the Ashram. The collective sadhana is equally important and this imposes many responsibilities on the management which they have to discharge with great care and equity. Removing members from their work spots on relatively flimsy grounds does not seem to meet the requirements expected of the trustees.

3. Where is the MUTUAL respect? Respect seems to be demanded only as a one-way traffic towards the management. […]

www.ashramite.com In response to the recent dharnas, the ensuing press conference, newspaper reports, and general agitations against the trust board of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, some inmates of the Ashram approached senior members to get their feedback. The following Declaration of Solidarity was presented to them and signatures were collected. The response was overwhelmingly positive, refuting the claim that many, if not most, senior members are in favour of the agitations. Many of us who read the Declaration later, felt that it should be made available to a larger audience in a way that would make it possible for them to lend their support as well.

After all, are those involved in the court cases and agitations against the Trust representative of the wider community of followers of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother? We believe the answer is no. Now is a good time to raise our voices and state this clearly, lest our silence be misinterpreted. This site is a modest attempt to give a chance to followers all over the world to express this sentiment.

We have reproduced the Declaration here, as it was presented to the senior members. If any of you feel like extending your support to the Trust board, please check the box and fill the form at the end of this page.

A DECLARATION OF SOLIDARITY

The last few weeks have seen some disturbing events. These recent developments are unique in the history of Sri Aurobindo Ashram. The nature of the attack against the Ashram is unprecedented. For each and every one of us, a decision has now to be made. We may choose to turn a blind eye, or hold ourselves back in a concerned silence like so many of us have done for long. Or we may decide that now is the time to make our voices heard. [...] Mar 3, 2012 07:00 AM

Being indifferent to past religions

Civilizations of the Forest and Desert | Rajiv Malhotra patheos.com

Sri Aurobindo offers us a clue. In Dharmic traditions, unity is grounded in a sense of the Integral One, and there can be immense multiplicity without fear of “collapse into disintegration and chaos”. He suggests that the “forest” with the “richness and luxuriance of its vegetation” is both an inspiration and metaphor for India’s spiritual outlook…

Sri Aurobindo emphasizes this natural predisposition to pluralism in the Indian mind where “the Infinite must always present itself in an endless variety of aspects” and contrasts this to the religious mindset of the West which has privileged the “idea of a single religion for all mankind [...], one set of dogmas, one cult, one system of ceremonies, one array of prohibitions and injunctions, one ecclesiastical ordinance”.

My latest book, BEING DIFFERENT: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism (Harpercollins, 2011), examines how this worldview is different than mainstream Western thought, including the Judeo-Christian variety, the secular variety of the European Enlightenment, and the postmodernist thought. Please visit: www.BeingDifferentBook.com for details on this book and to place an order. To contact me, write: RajivMalhotra2007@gmail.com

Auroville Radio Auroville Radio Newsletter Editor's Notes Dear readers,

There is much hustle-bustle here in Auroville these days with new developments as well as the Bulgarian celebrations in the International zone. And with International Women’s Day just around the corner, you can imagine the excitement as women take the lead in History, Literature, Cinema, Dance and a lot more! 

from:  Narayan T Rao narayan.t.rao@gmail.com date: 6 March 2012 22:16 subject: reply to Shri Ranganath's response to the Declaration 1. In the Indian tradition…

How many Ashrams have we imagined where the inmates, some unmarried, especially women, expose their lower bottom on the body by wearing shorts and go out on the streets, even to the markets? How many traditional Indian ashrams serve non-vegetarian food to their inmates? This is a reality in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and a big attack by some fundamental groups who are plotting a planned and systematic attack to the very essence and existence of its survival. This is the nature of attack… Manas

There Was No Assault! from A critique of the book "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo" by Peter Heehs by General Editor

This shows that Ajit, Arindam, Bulu, Gautam and Filio, who have gone on overdrive to disseminate the wrong information, are simply too hot-headed to be reliable.

Sri Aurobindo in Calcutta : 1906 - 1910 - YouTube

This video relives Calcutta's association with Sri Aurobindo. It describes the fruition of Joya di's endeavour to put up marble plaques at all places in Calc...

Ideological differences shouldn’t be turned into enmity

A Message for Astrologers from PURANIC COSMOLOGY UPDATED by Thea

Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet, Director, Aeon Centre of Cosmology, Tamil Nadu, India. 3 March 2012

There is the basic division of 12 (equal to 30 degrees of the circle), of 9 (= 40 degrees), 144 (= 2.5 degrees); or else 27 (= 13+ degrees) as in the famed Nakshatras. These magical divisions of the one wheel display the brilliance of the Vedic methodology. They have nothing to do with the arbitrary ‘zodiac’ of astronomers projected into the Beyond. To seek to impose this fiction on astrologers in India is to move definitively away from the Vedic poise in favour of a relativism that was absent when the fundaments of astrology arose in the consciousness of the Rishi…

Therefore I say to Shri Darshaney, rethink this issue. Begin your calendar and the year on Mahavishuva – the March Equinox. That is the beginning of the zodiacal ‘journey’ as it figures in the initiation documented in the Rig Veda.

Namvar Singh releases Tarun Vijay’s book at International Book Fair Fratricidal Hindus and casteism reasons for their decline in South Asia-Tarun Vi from Tarun Vijay

Tarun Vijay said that he is grateful to Dr Namvar singh who has shown the Indian path of mutual respect for other view points as ideological differences shouldn’t be turned into enmity and this event has proved the quintessential pluralistic spirit that defines India…

Tarun Vijay has argued in the book that Inspite of modern Hindus rising phenomenally in education and social status, their political decline in the entire south Asia is mainly due to the caste based discriminations prevailing in society and Hindu double standards and hypocricy…

Tarun Vijay has argued in this book, titled Man Ka Tulsi Chaura (sacred sapling in the soul's courtyard) published by Vani Prakashan, that the failure of Hindus in accelerating socio-religious reforms through clean and orderly temples, rivers and pilgrim centres, reflecting the spirit of the new Hindu, encouraging Sanskrit, institutionalising studies of the assaults on their soul from various internal and external factors and most importantly ensuring decision making positions to young leaders from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, has resulted in widening Hindu divisions from within…

Hindus must look inward, introspect and make corrections, Tarun Vijay says in the book. The hope for Hindus lies in the success of movements like Swaminarayan, Gayatri Pariwar, RSS and Mata Amritanandmayee, the book argues.

SHADES OF ORIENTALISM: Paradoxes and Problems in Indian Historiography Peter Heehs [published in History and Theory 42 (May 2003), pp.169-195 © Wesleyan University 2003 ISSN: 0018-2656]

A serious investigation into the formation of cultural ideas in India would have to begin with the precolonial period, that is, the nearly three thousand years that precede the colonial era. Hundreds of traditions are preserved, to a greater or lesser degree, in texts written in a dozen or more languages.[90] Even a cursory study of the textual, historical and anthropological data makes it clear that religion [p.190>] played an important role in the lives of the people of the subcontinent as far back as we can go. It follows that an adequate theory of the construction of Indian cultural forms would have to include a critical reading of precolonial religious texts. At present, such theories are far more likely to be based on readings of eighteenth-century British scholarship – or nineteenth-century British fiction.

There are practical reasons for this. It is easier to get hold of and understand the novels of Jane Austen than the treatises of Abhinavagupta. Even scholars who read Sanskrit and other subcontinental languages tend to subject Indian discourse to European theory – just as their colonial predecessors did. This is due in part to the continuing fascination of Foucault, in part to the exigencies of contemporary politics. Liberals and leftists are so afraid ofHindutva and the culture of violence it has spawned that they brand any scholar who tries to examine Indian religion on its own terms as a fascist or fellow-traveler – a phenomenon Arvind Sharma calls “secular extremism” and Edwin Bryant “Indological McCarthyism.”[91]

HT HOME / BLOGS HOME > JUST FAITH / RELIGION / Sri Aurobindo, Heehs and the fragility of faith : Just Faith By Gautam Chikermane

Returning the issue that’s bigger and vaster and more precious than any single book or person, I find that as a society, India’s level of tolerance and toleration — something we push strongly for in other countries, the Bhagwad Gita being banned in Russia that I wrote about earlier, for instance — has fallen to depths unseen. We use whatever tools we can to curb free speech — threat, violence, politics, power, goons, police, state, non-state and this new development of abusing the due process of law that results in delaying books from being published.

Heartening News: Experimentation is Back in Odia Music from Nothing to Declare by shyamanuja

For at least three decades—60s to 80s—Akshaya Mohanty stood for all that was new in Odia music... His music combined the nativeness of Odissa in all its forms—folk, classical, or the newly emerging urban culture of Odisha—with inspiration from across the world—in form, style, and content. While Harry Belafonte’s There’s a hole in the bucket  became a highly odia-ized Mathiare gote kana, Bachchan’s poem Laao laao piya nadiya se son machhari became Dhibara re anide anide mote suna Ilishi. In some others, he used khanti (pure) Odia content to try new forms.

Imperfect Indocentrism

Peter Heehs - Shades of Orientalism: Paradoxes & Problems in Indian Historiography Peter Heehs  [published in History and Theory 42 (May 2003), pp.169-195 © Wesleyan University 2003 ISSN: 0018-2656] Such scholars stress Aurobindo’s nationalistic premises but miss the broader thrust of his arguments. The value of his work and the work of other scholars of the Orient depends more on the quality their scholarship than on their political or religious assumptions…

Struck by Aurobindo’s passage from Cambridge classicist to Sanskrit scholar to revolutionary publicist to philosophical yogin, many writers have sought clues [p.179>] in his early life, scripting selected biographical data into explanatory narratives. His disciples find evidences of the future yogi almost from his birth and the stamp of divine election on all his actions. The historian Leonard Gordon condemns this hagiographical approach, offering instead a jejune pop psychology (“Aurobindo’s lifelong obsession with mother figures dates from his childhood”, “It seems to have been the fear of failure rather than God’s call or nationalist speeches that kept him out of the ICS”).[41] More sophisticated and fruitful is political psychologist Ashis Nandy’s …

Nandy is weakest when dealing with Aurobindo’s spiritual life, falling back, like Gordon, on unsubstantiated guesswork... But his working assumption is both applicable to Aurobindo and germane to the Orientalism debate: “Colonized Indians did not always try to correct or extend the Orientalists; in their own diffused way, they tried to create an alternative language of discourse.”[42] […]

The same reactionary historians have tried to appropriate the work of nationalist writers like Aurobindo, Tilak and Gandhi,[107] and critical historians have let this go unchallenged or even helped it along by writing of the nationalists as proto-reactionaries in scholarship as well as in politics.[108] This is unfortunate both because it misrepresents the positions of the nationalists and because it fails to make use of those parts of their work that are of lasting scholarly value and that might be of help in establishing the dialogue that is needed to arrive at a viable reinterpretation of Indian history.

A return to nationalist orientalism is hardly the way to resolve the outstanding problems in Indian historiography. The approach of the nationalists was a product of their age, and much of it is obsolete. Their essentializing of the Indian soul, for instance, is unjustifiable on historical or anthropological grounds, and politically dangerous. On the other hand, the dissolution of all cultural distinctiveness in the name of political stability, which Said seems sometimes to propose,[109] would also be bad social science and would not provide a solution to our political problems. Writers like Chatterji, Tagore and Aurobindo laid stress on India’s distinctiveness because it seemed threatened by absorption into a universalized Europe. But they were also internationalists who knew and respected Europe and worked for intercultural understanding.[110] Their defenders and detractors lay stress on their essentialism, but they themselves went beyond it, contesting the validity of Eurocentrism without promoting an equally imperfect Indocentrism. Pondicherry, India

Articles Available Online

Yoga/Yogi (School of Oriental and African Studies)

Myth, History and Theory (from History and Theory)

The Kabbalah, the Philosophie Cosmique, and the Integral Yoga (from Aries)

Getting beyond the Conventions of Biography -- and Hagiography Too (posted on the CUP blog)

Religious Nationalism and Beyond (from Auroville Today)

Idea of India (from Life Positive)

In Naipaul's Wake (from Outlook)

To be a Mystic (from The Hindu)

Prophecies of Nostradamus (from The Hindu)

The Bomb that Shook an Empire (from The Pioneer)

Read the author's post about the writing of this book on the Columbia University Press blog.

Listen to an interview with the author on the EnlightenNext website. 

Read an article based on an interview with the author on the Auroville Today website.

All of Peter Heehs's books may be viewed and ordered at Books by Peter Heehs.

Atimanas Divas

Devotees throng Aurobindo Ashram on `supramental consciousness day` Deccan Herald Puducherry,Feb 29, 2012, (PTI)

Devotees today thronged the Aurobindo Ashram here and paid homage at the memorials of Sri Aurobindo and his spiritual collaborator, The Mother, on the occasion of the `Supramental Consciousness day`. It was on this day in 1956 that `the Mother` is believed to have realized the `supramental or divine consciousness` as a result of her spiritual experiments. The Ashram was established by Aurobindo on April 24, 1926. He passed away in 1950. The Mother (Mira Alfassa), who died in November 1973, founded Aurobindo International Centre of Education in 1952 and the international township of Auroville, 10 km from here, in 1968.

A critique of the book "The Lives of Sri Aurobindo" by Peter Heehs ... Posted by General Editor at 2/29/2012 09:33:00 AM The total number of Ashram inmates and devotees who protested silently from February 26th to 28th was around 270.

Govind Feb 17, 2012 06:06 AM "It is unfortunate that an inmate who has enjoyed the facilities and amenities provided by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust..."

At least this confirms from the proverbial horse’s mouth that this line that we have been hearing for more than a year from agents of the trust both on Savitri Era Open Forum and SAICE comes directly from "the very top"

They are speaking like owners or at least anna-daataa type father figures and openly patronizing Ashramites. Not only that they are laying claim to property and, much worse, loyalty that rightfully belongs exclusively to Mother Sri Aurobindo. 

Do they have no concern whatever that sadhaks will not tolerate this kind of a domineering attitude and this daylight robbery from Mother Sri Aurobindo?