A new commonality than commerce and a new logic than logistics

European Union's tardy march is the most profound evolutionary experiment that is taking place over the planet, although its future is fraught with serious hazards. The history of all wisdom as well as warfare, all noble longings as well as hatred, has gone into the idea of making this ambitious project a -- albeit faltering -- success. But, how long the pent up feelings of envy and enmity can be kept under wraps is the Million Euros question.

A new commonality than commerce and a new logic than logistics has to be sought after by the EU for an enduring existence. The Savitri Era approach is that of transformation and not suppression. It offers the most synthetic formula for a truly federal polity. EU may ignore this only at its own peril. [TNM]

The Mother’s method is to heal with wholeness

The Botany Professor used to advise to develop the power of observation. To look at the plants and their leaves and the flowers etc. even while roaming around. But when it comes to difficulties, The Mother’s counsel is not to concentrate on them. Not to discuss them or put too much of emphasis upon them. This way, we are able to enfeeble them.

The Mother’s method is to heal with wholeness. The particular or the transitory has an importance of its own; but when compared to the larger reality, it is inconsequential. Most of the sociological and psychological problems we grapple with today arise out of an inchoate metaphysics. The Life Divine is the omnibus answer. But nowadays there are more writers than readers. [TNM]

We continue to long for a transcendent purpose immanent in existence

[Dennett is not the only new atheist to employ religious language. In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins quotes with approval a new set of Ten Commandments for atheists, which he obtained from an atheist website, without considering odd the idea that atheists require commandments at all, let alone precisely ten of them; nor does their metaphysical status seem to worry him. -- What the New Atheists Don’t See -- Theodore Dalrymple -- To regret religion is to regret Western civilization.] [Dalrymple is himself an atheist -- Carl Olson]

"An epidemic rash of books...roundly condemning religion" are in effect perpetuating Jurassic religions in disguise. Savitri Erans beware! [TNM]

We really know nothing about The Mother

The greatest miracle that The Mother performed was divining the wealth of wisdom that Sri Aurobindo had, even before she met him. What she could perceive then and strove to tell all her life, even a fraction of that has not been comprehended by the world as of yet. It is so pertinent to be curious about The Mother, because we really know nothing about her. Why her parents migrated to France, why she went to Algeria, why did she visit Egypt on the way to India, Why she had to go to Japan and visited China while returning; these are all sheer mystery to us. Max Theon and Paul Richard, Hitler and the holocaust; they all add to the incredible storyline. Let's hope that all these jigsaw pieces will fall into place some day. In the meantime, we wait with certitude and gratitude; and ruminate, "To know how to wait is to have time on one's side." [TNM]

Unexplainable valorization of the weird and the absurd

One must have passed through hundreds of art shows while wandering around the Mandi House roundabout unendingly, and understandably, wondered at a few remarkable pieces once in a while, trying to memorize certain enticing curves and lines with the forlorn thought of never ever having another chance of admiring it again. While the mischievous feeling that others too don’t understand nor are able to possess, lingers, art remains for ever an enigma. More so, because of the unexplainable valorization of the weird and the absurd in the name of abstract at the cost of the narrative. Not surprisingly, The Economic Times does art promotion these days by carrying whatever parody of what used to be an art review. [TNM]

Devotion to The Mother is the precondition in the Savitri Era Religion

Let there be not even the minutest scope for harboring any illusion that the Integral Yoga can be practiced independently on the basis of some books or lectures. No system or method, nor any set of practice can entitle one for progress in this path without allegiance to The Mother, who is the sole dispenser of any awareness or reward.

Being proficient in some task or acquiring skill in a specific responsibility can give one the impression that it is equivalent to performing Yoga, but the same by itself, howsoever high may be its level of excellence, is not. It is only by consistently maintaining a spirit of dedication to the Mother year after year and undertaking the labor with a sense of collaboration that our work can qualify as Yoga.

It is normal that many may perceive a tense feeling towards The Mother at the initial encounter due to various factors like doubt and envy. But a persistent engagement with her teachings can rid one of all suspicion and diffidence and permit germination of receptivity and dependence in its place. This overarching precondition for devotion to The Mother is religion. Each and every Savitri Eran needs to remember and remind himself continually of this central secret of our Religion. [TNM]

Religion and region

It is disconcerting that philosophy and religion are wedded to geography. Many a times a religion is construed even as a race. The turban that a Sikh sports doesn’t make him belonging to a separate race. Globalization has failed to build bridges between, say, German philosophy and Japanese thought. Education and critical reason should empower a person to choose and change religions. [TNM]

Another "final solution"

It is not only in India that the writing of history is manipulated. Yaakov Kirschen at the Dry Bones Blog observes,

"The Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain never, at least in my day, made it into the history books. There is, of course a heavy connection between Columbus and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain:- more." [10:32 AM] [TNM]

Blogger and glory

Dr. Manmohan Singh became Prime Minister by accident, but right from Dr. Radhakrishnan onwards many scholars, academicians, journalists, artistes, and sportspersons have straddled the political field with distinction.

If a person is an atheist, we must respect his views. But if, like Dawkins, he writes books to propagate his belief, then it becomes a political act. Same is the case with a blogger, but Fido the Yak seems to be unsure. [1:51 PM]

Even in the days of Sir Philip Sidney it was so.

“Every courtier was trained to the art of sprezzatura, of skill in seeming effortlessness in horsemanship, swordplay, singing, dancing, speaking, and writing, so as to catch the eye of those higher in the hierarchy, and especially that of the prince. Self-presentation has always been and remains the first move in the game of self-advancement." -- Risa Stephanie Bear [3:18 PM]

Sonia in Shanghai

[Don’t Blame Population: Blame Planning

Why should we go for family planning at all when China claims that it is short of human power even with its 800 million people? No hand is free in China, it has done much to utilise its huge human power and has brought a ‘great leap’ in its gross national production and no belly remains hungry now. But we face the population problem due to our faulty planning. We have not created employment potential for our masses and our GNP lags behind. To employ the masses India has no dearth of intellect and resources even if the population gets doubled.

Why should we give up our long tradition for Democratic approach? Having more than 3 children will not create pressure for well-to-do persons in society. Poorer people on the other hand welcome more children which means – more earning members in the family. Many parents also do not dare to go in for birth control because of the fear of child mortality. Also, sterilisation operations many times cause serious consequences to the men or women. There are many social and physical factors going against the idea of family planning.

Lastly, our Indian culture, all through, has maintained a regard for humanity, emotions, maternal love and family life. And let it not get deteriorated by all these pressures and compulsions. Mother Teresa said at Panaji, that she is against making birth control compulsory. But the Union heath Minister Dr. Karan Singh emphasised the need of some compulsory measures for birth control. Let the Government take note of our beloved PM’s comment that, “it will be too drastic a step.”

-- Tusar N. Mohapatra, Bhubaneswar, Yojana Students’ Forum 15th April, 1976] 11:06 AM

At the invitation of Hu Jintao, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are on a five-day visit to China. Dr. Karan Singh is also accompanying them. [TNM] 11:06 AM

India Today and tomorrow

Thomson Press and India Today can be said to have sown the seeds of the “India Shining.” Advertising opened a new vista in aesthetics and its occasional avant garde stance managed to topple the formulaic Bollywood stereotypes. Mainstream used to run tirades against the launch of colour TV telecast in the country, but ultimately, Vasant Sathe had his way. From print to TV, the “break” has steered the great Indian consumerist revolution by fuelling ambitions and fostering frustrations. MTV came later, and it was the end of all inhibitions and innocence. “Vibhatsa rasa” too received its due share in the comity of Nine.

“Imagine an entire society of Brittainys and Madonnas and their male equivalents,” Dr. Sanity cautions, but the show must go on. [TNM] [ 6:59 PM]

Savitri Era Religion is the ultimate hope of the Global civilisation

[Jürgen Habermas, considered by many as a most "methodical atheist" and an icon of postmodernism, wrote in a 2004 essay titled A time of transition that

"Christianity, and nothing else, is the ultimate foundation of liberty, conscience, human rights, and democracy, the benchmarks of Western civilisation. To this day, we have no other options [than Christianity]. We continue to nourish ourselves from this source. Everything else is postmodern chatter."

A similar view is held by atheist Marcello Pera, professor of philosophy and President of the Italian Senate in a book published jointly with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI) and titled Without Roots. What can we learn from the "new atheists" from Insight Scoop The Ignatius Press Blog by Carl Olson]

Let all be corrected. Savitri Era Religion is the ultimate hope of the Global civilisation. [TNM]

How a Western mind falls for "methodology" and "empiricism"

[In many respects, Buddhism is very much like science. One starts with the hypothesis that using attention in the prescribed way (meditation), and engaging in or avoiding certain behaviors (ethics), will bear the promised result (wisdom and psychological well-being). This spirit of empiricism animates Buddhism to a unique degree. For this reason, the methodology of Buddhism, if shorn of its religious encumbrances, could be one of our greatest resources as we struggle to develop our scientific understanding of human subjectivity." Sam Harris on Buddhism from Zaadz: ~C4Chaos' Blog (Crossposted from www.c4chaos.com)]

An unabashed confession of how a Western mind falls for "methodology" and "empiricism" even in matters that demands abandonment and living within. [TNM]

Pre-existing synthesis

[What he [Hegel] said was this. Let us no longer think in terms of antithesis [truth and error; doctrine and heresy]. Let us think rather in terms of thesis - antithesis, with the answer always being synthesis. In so doing he changed the world. -- reading Francis Schaeffer Escape from Reason. reconnaissance of the western tradition Frederick P. Kaffenberger III ]

Hegel: thesis -> antithesis -> synthesis

Isha Upanishad: That (synthesis) -> moves (thesis) and (+) moves not (antithesis)

Sri Aurobindo was a master-dreamer

Why various sections and persons have exercised their liberty from time to time to misrepresent Sri Aurobindo and his say, is that he has never been presented appropriately. While media has been transformed through several technological upgradations thus unleashing a communications revolution, sales and soliciting, also, has seen some never before sophistication in its reach as well as approach. Narrowcasting and niche marketing are as efficiently harnessed as carpet bombing or enforced reinforcement through ceaseless repetitions.

Sri Aurobindo was a master-dreamer. Together with the Mother, he has dared to dream the loftiest of human aspirations. To implant the play of perpetual dance in the whirl of protoplasm of the human cell. Merchants of such celestial dreams, they certainly deserve much larger prosceniums, must vaster amphitheatres, and multiplied decibels. An audience saves a play. And, it is our turn – who are presently occupying the planet earth – to put up a Herculean enterprise to salvage the dream from drowning in the ocean of cacophony. [TNM] 10:43 AM 1:28 PM

No one in the whole of Western tradition epitomizes such a Global synthesis

Sri Aurobindo “is not in the habit of mentioning names,” but his “allusive style” leaves a trail from which a genealogy of his theory and poetry can be conveniently derived. Not only has he roamed with the likes of Heraclites and Horace, but also drank from the cups of Vamadeva and Bhartrihari et al. No one -- from Aristotle to Zizek -- in the whole of Western tradition epitomizes such a Global synthesis.

The entire corpus of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo’s works is now available online. A sustained reading of a few passages a day can open up a new world of imagination and enchantment. [TNM]

Sri Aurobindo not only made history but also created a new historiography

Sri Aurobindo not only made history but also created a new historiography in the Foucauldian manner. Instead of probing the past in a linear fashion, he spoke with ease on various themes from a holistic perspective that often seem to be speculative sans empirical evidence. His ability to link his future vision to the tendencies arising out of inconspicuous and trivial events of the past is phenomenal. And what he could not elaborate in his prose was bared in his poems.

To collate all these clues and hints scattered across his wide body of writings and conversations so that we are able to relate them to our present confusions, is a gigantic task. Savitri Erans would, certainly, be able to stand up to the challenge. [TNM]

Savitri Erans are the envoys of Unity, Mutuality, and Harmony.

Sri Aurobindo was a rebel. He stayed so till he breathed his last. From the initial involvement in political subversion he shifted to a larger project of subversion of thought in his essays and letters. He knew that was struggling against millions of layers of sediments accumulated over Millennia. In The Mother’s writings also we come across many similar unsettling pronouncements.

The 20th century philosophy, too, has admirably pursued an analogical agenda, but its priests at the present are attempting to reinstate another version of stability i.e., diversity. Savitri Erans will have to fight against this fallacy as envoys of Unity, Mutuality, and Harmony. [TNM]

Anyone can join the Savitri Era Religion

Anyone can join the Savitri Era Religion. One must love The Mother and have faith, sincerity and surrender. There is no other precondition. There are no rules and rituals either, no fixed do’s and don’ts. One is free to navigate his or her way in any manner with a simple stipulation, of course, to remember and offer – who else? — The Mother. One may retain his ties with the old religion just as a legal requisite but will treat all legends as symbols. [TNM]

We will build democracies and common markets

[Benazir for common market from Kabul to Bay of Bengal
Shyam Bhatia Home > International > indianexpress.com: Monday, October 15, 2007

LONDON, OCTOBER 14: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who plans to return home on Thursday despite being asked by General Musharraf to delay it by a few days, says she envisages building “common markets” in South Asia from the “mountain peaks of Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal” as part of a strategy to push forward the peace process with India.]

Years ago, Vinoba Bhave spoke of the ABC Federation extending from Afghanistan to Burma (Myanmar), and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Now, it is nice to hear identical views from Ms. Bhutto, too. [TNM]

We, the adherents of Savitri Era Religion, are one

[In fact, the definition of religion adopted by the High Court of Australia in Church of the New Faith v. Commissioner for Pay-Roll Tax (1983) 154 CLR 120, could well have been written by a scholar of religion. In that opinion, the Court set forth a series of four indicia derived from an empirical analysis of accepted religions:

(1) a belief in something supernatural, some reality beyond that which can be conceived by the senses;

(2) that the belief in question relates to man’s nature and place in the universe and his relationship to things supernatural;

(3) as a result of this belief adherents are required or encouraged to observe particular codes of conduct or engage in particular practices that have supernatural significance; and

(4) the adherents comprise one or more identifiable groups... Posted by: websk8er 13th Oct, 2007 Categories: Defining Religion in a Pluralistic Society Tags: , Bible, Christ, Christianity, Church, Faith, God, Life, Religion, Religious Scholars, Scientology 7:58 AM]

Now we can safely say that we, the adherents of Savitri Era Religion, comprise one identifiable group. [TNM]

Lucretius, Virgil, Dante, Sri Aurobindo

[Sinthome’s continued fascination with Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura has led to another wonderful post on historical materialism, in which Sinthome quotes a passage that expresses one of the forms of perception and thought I’ve recently been suggesting Marx is trying to ground in Capital - the distinction between a timeless “material” reality, and contingent, arbitrary, “social” attributes projected onto this reality...What Presses Now from Roughtheory.org by N Pepperell]

[As many commentators of Dante’s Divine Comedy have noted, Dante’s choice of Virgil as his guide is as pregnant with meaning as it is perplexing.[1] In light of the fact that Dante is a Christian, the question immediately arises as to why he selects a pagan to lead him out of the “shadowy forest” in which he finds himself? Part I: The Perplexing Role of Virgil in Dante’s Divine Comedy from Per Caritatem by Cynthia R. Nielsen]

[I want to follow up on one of Nancy's ideas in a sober voice. He says that in the experience of freedom that is thinking as freedom, we know that in every thought there is an other thought, which is the burst of freedom (The Experience of Freedom, p. 59). This reminds me of Tengelyi's discussion of the wild sense, the spontaneously emerging shard of sense that appears as other than belonging to one's life history determined according to a retroactive fixation of sense. Dylan, who has begun reading Tengelyi's The Wild Sense, notes a difficulty in the distinction Tengelyi has drawn between singularity and self-identity. Nancy, of course, has had a few words to say about singularity, but so far his thinking is a little opaque to me. An Other Thought from Fido the Yak by Fido the Yak]

[There is, I think, a good deal to learn from the history of sciences since they abandoned common-sense foundations, always with some uneasiness about just what they were doing...Matter is no more "incompatible with sensation and thought" than with attraction and repulsion...More cautiously, we may say that in appropriate circumstances people think, not their brains, which do not, though their brains provide the mechanisms of thought. Page. 112-3, New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind by Noam Chomsky]

[The throat centre – visuddha – governs the expressive and externalising mind...Page – 365 Document: Home > E-Library > Works Of Sri Aurobindo > Letters On Yoga Volume-22-23-24 > Planes And Parts Of The Being-Xiii]

[It is true that we bring most of ourselves from past lives. Heredity only affects the external being and all the effects of heredity are not accepted, only those that are in consonance with what we are to be or not preventive of it at least. I may be the son of my father or mother in certain respects, but most of me is as foreign to them as if I had been born in New York or Paraguay. Page - 253 Document: Home > E-Library > Works Of Disciples > Nirodbaran > Correspondence With Sri Aurobindo > 1935 - June]

Heredity is a mechanism and not the cause, the brain doesn't think, rather the throat; insights of this nature are bound to solve the mind-body problem some day. [TNM]

Marketing Savitri Era Religion

[Principles of marketing religion – people, places, texts, temples, and rituals

Santosh Desai, CEO, Future Brands times of india September 24, 2007

In many ways, the central problem for all religions in the world is to make something rarefied and abstract something tangible and experienced. All religions offer us a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives and do so by prescribing a certain patented way. The trouble is that the central tenets of religions are reasonably similar; how does one burn a powerful sense of shared identity in large groups armed with an intangible and largely undifferentiated product? Most religions do so by creating a complex set of rituals, symbols and everyday practices that enable religion not only to become a part of us but make us a part of it. From being consumers of a religious school of thought, our primary identity becomes the religion. Many elements of religion as a system come together to give us this re-assurance that religion is something tangible and real.

• To begin with, religions tend to be identified with an individual who embodies the values its followers hold dear. His life becomes a text and all artifacts connected with the founder become sanctified.
• His beliefs get captured in a central text that becomes the timeless arbiter of all questions that humankind faces. The book contains the word and the utterance of the word is by itself holy.
• The word is also transmitted by intermediaries who represent the religion and interpret it for the common man. The priests are the middlemen who convert religious intent into cultural practice and preside over all important occasions of our lives, sprinkling them with divine beneficence.
• Most religions also tend to have a central place that is a magnet that exerts a powerful pull to its followers and holds the religion together geographically. Pilgrimage to these places is ritualized and is considered holy.
• In everyday life, we have daily praying rituals that remind us of our beliefs. We have periodic customs – like festivals and fasts – that pepper our existence with religious meaning.
• The religion is showcased in grand showrooms that give us a fleeting glimpse of the divine, through magnificent structures. Churches, mosques, temples, pagodas all reach for the sky in their yearning ways.
• To make identity more palpable, many religions prescribe an external appearance that signifies adherence to its belief system.]

So is the take on religion of an eminent advertising professional which applies almost word by word to Savitri Era Religion. It would be of interest to compare the same with what was posted here on July 27, 2006 and August 24, 2006. [TNM]

[Thursday, July 27, 2006 The integralism achieved by the yogic vision of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo cannot be bettered Alan has called for a fresh start for the integral movement with The Mother and Sri Aurobindo as the central focus. But the call of the day is perhaps to leap forth to the next level, call it orthodox or foundational. Many are under the illusion that they can dish out a new synthesis by integrating the different established systems like Sri Aurobindo’s. How easily it is forgotten that, the integralism achieved by the yogic vision of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo cannot be bettered. In fact, no egghead should venture to tinker with their teachings.

And, finally, let’s call a spade a spade. How long would we dither to call the grace of our beloved Masters and their teachings, a religion? It is a religion, make no mistake about it, and the adherents need to put their act together to help it take root. No myths or legends, ours is a stark 20th century faith based on the most comprehensive philosophy. This is a grand testament of universality, take it or leave it. And, this is the greatest ever manifesto for man; seekers of the world unite! The word, integral has already been besmirched. So, should we call our religion Savitri Era, instead? [SE-MMYP, TNM: July 27, 2006] Posted by Tusar N Mohapatra at 4:15 PM]

[Thursday, August 24, 2006 Savitri Era is our religion Faith in an unseen divinity and feeling loyal to it by a large number of people is religion. It grows by a gradual process, and over a period of time acquires one or more cultural distinctiveness. By offering an umbrella for identity, it also develops into a strong political conglomerate.
Apart from the teaching, the name, the picture, the life-story, and the place also evoke strong emotional feelings. And then, the words and their various interpretations hold no importance. People in general long for safety, security and unburdening. The aesthetic or intellectual satisfaction is aspired for by a select.
If one is possessed by a feeling that his path has great benefits and others should also follow it; and then he goes about to find various ways and means to propagate it, it is religion. Recommending a book or a blog is not all that harmlessly rational. Rather, a scheming mind operates at the behest of the faith, cult or religion.
And what’s wrong with it? A good Product or a great Brand needs to be endorsed. Of course, the conviction level of the person is important; there must be intellectual honesty, one would demand. But conviction, itself, is irrational, recall Barthes: The Pleasure of the Text.
One is largely driven by the past baggages and is tormented too. A theory of everything is absolutely useless for any particular individual, and hence, is useless for all. The individual needs a theory for oneself depending upon his age, stage, affection and affinity. That found, there is no dearth of pastimes and distractions.
Bertrand Russell in his History of Western Philosophy compares Marxism with Judaism/Christianity under 7 parameters to decree that the former is also a faith. And I think, Savitri Era more than fulfils all the seven.

+ + +

Web search engines are wholly dependent on correct spelling, and hence it is important to standardize certain expressions:

• Sri Aurobindo: to take care to always use Sri (as in his signature)
• The Mother: and not the Mother
• The Mother and Sri Aurobindo: in that order (as in the photograph) as far as possible, instead of Sri Aurobindo and the The Mother.
• Mira: as Sri Aurobindo has re-christened her in the mantra, Om Sri Aurobindo Mira , and nor Mirra.
• Aurobindian: Although Amal Kiran has much defended his introducing of the term, Aurobindonian, it does not cut ice. The last O in Sri Aurobindo is not necessary for pronunciation of the name, and hence a simple, Aurobindian is good for all seasons. Aurobindean, is also another dispensable expression. Posted by Tusar N Mohapatra at 11:13 AM]

A purna or integral state of brahmana

tusarnmohapatra Says: October 5, 2007 at 4:51 am

What the young students say is normal for their age and stage as different worlds can be seen through the lens of different colors. The ancient racial division on the basis of varna or color was basically such a system of aesthetics that crystallized into a rigid caste system based on preferred professions. It was linked to the four different stages as well as aims of human life. Role of vidya or education is to liberate and enable one to navigate from one end of the spectrum to the other. From grappling with the personal, the particular to embracing of the impersonal or the universal. That is, evolving from a puny being or kshudra/shudra to a purna or integral state of brahmana who encompasses the whole brahmanda or cosmos in his consciousness. 8:52 AM 3:30 PM

Sputnik and the supramental

[How Sputnik changed the world - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting ... Posted October 4, 2007 10:33:00. When Sputnik was lifted into space on October 4, 1957, it was humankind's first step into the final frontier.]

["The launch of Sputnik actually triggered heightened interest among the American people, not only in space, but in science, mathematics and education," said White House science adviser John Marburger. "It also opened up people's eyes to the possibility that space could actually be used for something."]

[On 29 February 1956, …the supramental descent and manifestation took place as firmly willed by her…“The greatest thing that can ever be,” she said on 20 October 1957, “the most marvellous thing since the beginning of creation, the miracle has happened…A new world, yes, a completely new world, is born and is here.” -- Page. 842, On the Mother by K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (Pondicherry)]

And we are still busy in nitpicking! [TNM]

Infraspiritual superman

[In the growth into a divine life the Spirit must be our first preoccupation; until we have revealed and evolved it in our self out of its mental, vital, physical wrappings and disguises, extracted it with patience from our own body, as the Upanishad puts it, until we have built up in ourselves an inner life of the Spirit, it is obvious that no outer divine living can become possible.

Unless, indeed, it is a mental or vital godhead that we perceive and would be,—but even then the individual mental being or the being of power and vital force and desire in us must grow into a form of that godhead before our life can be divine in that inferior sense, the life of the infraspiritual superman, mental demi-god or vital Titan, Deva or Asura.

This inner life once created, to convert our whole surface being, our thought, feeling, action in the world, into a perfect power of that inner life, must be our other preoccupation. Only if we live in that deeper and greater way in our dynamic parts, can there be a force for creating a greater life or the world be remade whether in some power or perfection of Mind and Life or the power and perfection of the Spirit. -- Page 1021 Document: Home > E-Library > Works Of Sri Aurobindo > The Life Divine Volume-19 > The Divine Life]

So kind of Sri Aurobindo to make room for even the inferior beings. [TNM]

Lead India lead

The Congress Party, on different occasions, had allowed other parties to form governments at the Centre without joining it. For the first time in its history, under Sonia Gandhi’s stewardship, it decided to form a coalition government which, after three years, seems to run out of steam. The reason for which the government might fall has nothing to do with the issues people vote for a particular party for. The Congress, however, is raring for a fresh bout at the hustings to test Rahul Gandhi’s charisma.

The Savitri Era Party will consolidate around the ideals of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo. We must believe in ourselves so as to leapfrog into public life assignments that dovetail into politics. All this calls for unity and solidarity; our various wings and operations joining as tenons and mortises. Should we call it yoga too!

Tusar N. Mohapatra,

President, Savitri Era Party.

Bring the books to the common man

[Founded in 1923, The Gita Press, which started with publishing in Hindi and Sanskrit, is now publishing books in English and various Indian regional languages.]

[Founded in 1932, at Hathras, India, Sangeet Karyalaya was to revive and breathe new life in Indian Classical Music and bring it to the common man.]

[Educate the masses: Swraj Paul --The Hindu - National]

On a day when mass action is valorized, we the Savitri Erans must rejig our strategies to make the books by The Mother and Sri Aurobindo available in reader-friendly formats. There is no other way than to fan out aggressively for wide distribution of the books and magazines. [TNM]

What is most deep is the skin

[So, whereas I think ‘in the end’ Hegel is closer to Aristotle than Kant on most issues, once we descend from the big picture to the details, we must keep Kant in mind at every step...That is, for want of a better term, we are and ought to be ‘common-sense realists’ in our everyday affairs, that the indeterminate thing-in-itself can find no entry into our affairs: it is a mere figment of thought that turns no wheels. Yet, this is so not because thought has a hand in determining everything insofar as it is ‘for us’. Rather, it is because, to quote McDowell: ‘When one thinks truly, what one thinks is what is the case.’ In short, this is the repudiation of transcendental idealism in favour of an idealistic transcendental empiricism. -- Hegel, Kant, Idealism from Grundlegung by Tom (Grundlegung)]

[Personally, I see no value in Theology, at this point in time. In its entire history, I don't know of any convincing proof that came of out that domain of study. Maybe because I don't have enough faith to see the proof. My personal bias is towards an experiential knowledge of God rather than a conceptual proof. -- Theology = Study of Leprechauns from Zaadz: ~C4Chaos' Blog (Crossposted from www.c4chaos.com)]

[Deleuze's rhapsody of the surface makes a strong impression in my mind, but it comes with a puzzle I can't quite piece together (The Logic of Sense, "Second Series of Paradoxes of Surface Effects"). I am impressed by the argument that depth has been illogically privileged over the superficial. Depth is not customarily viewed as a lack of breadth, as being of small surface, so either we should not think of the superficial as a lack of depth or we should rethink depth as lacking breadth. Deleuze calls profound Paul Valéry's idea that "what is most deep is the skin" (p. 10), however for Deleuze surfaces are incorporeal. -- Surface Effects from Fido the Yak by Fido the Yak]

Obviously, one finds these considered concerns merely skin deep, when compared with the galactic sweep of The Life Divine and the glacieral aesthesis of Savitri. [TNM]

Hamilton on parole in Paris

75 years before The Mother's birth, Paris in 1803 had turned a confluence of Indological and Sanskrit-Philological studies by attracting English and German scholars, informs a book by Swami Tathagatananda. [TNM] 10:54 AM 11:12 AM