Morals or money?

[When time, money, personnel, resources, records and documents of the Ashram have been fully and exclusively utilized to prepare this book, it can no more be called his personal work. It is practically an Ashram product.
Royalties of all books of Peter come to the Ashram. The royalties from this book also will be given to the Ashram in due course (if not already) as part of the existing arrangement. This binds the Ashram financially, legally and karmically to the content of this book as well as to his other publications. Sraddhalu Ranade Subject: [SAICE] What is wrong with the PH book
Posted on SAICE Forum, Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2008 9:40 AM]

[The Genesis of a Controversy by Angiras on Thu 15 Jan 2009 05:29 AM PST Permanent Link
Upon inquiry, it is found that from the beginning of Heehs’s writing career – that is, for the past twenty years – he has voluntarily given all his earnings from books, magazine articles, speeches, etc. to the Ashram Trust, minus a small percentage to cover his expenses. In the case of books consisting primarily of extracts from Sri Aurobindo’s works, 100% of the royalties go directly to the Trust without passing through Heehs’s hands. He has always repaid the Archives for any xeroxes, printouts etc. that he has made using Archives equipment. He has sometimes asked his colleagues for help in the composition of books. The fees for this work went directly to the Ashram Trust without passing through Heehs’s hands. The persons concerned understood this very well. Science, Culture and Integral Yoga 9:33 AM ]

[Re: A Cultural Misunderstanding by Debashish on Sat 31 Jan 2009 03:40 PM PST Profile Permanent Link
Heehs has not been expelled from the ashram. He is still very much an ashramite due to the courageous stand taken by the Managing Trustee, Manoj Dasgupta. Nor was he expelled from the archives. He stepped down voluntrarily to take the pressure off the Managing Trustee at a time when all manner of coercive means were being used by our "friendly intellectuals" to twist the arm of the ashram Trust.]

[Re: Savitra speaks out on The Lives of Sri Aurobindo
by Angiras on Tue 16 Dec 2008 05:21 AM PST Profile Permanent Link
Excommunication is a religious concept and suggests that the community resorting to it is a religious one. Supposedly Sri Aurobindo and the Mother did not found a religion. However, the movement to expel Peter Heehs from the Ashram has displayed all the signs of religious behavior, with some mixture of politics but no apparent spiritual impulse. Due to the courageous stand taken by the Managing Trustee, the excommunication movement has not entirely succeeded. Otherwise one would have had to conclude that the conversion of the Ashram from a spiritual community into a religious institution, which has been in progress for years, is complete. As it is, the outcome still hangs in the balance.]

That Manoj could muster temerity to defy Pranab is now part of mythology. But whether the driving force was morals or money is not that clear as Banerji seems to imply. [TNM]