20th century philosophy has enlarged our understanding of power, money, and sex

Alvares’ “supertalk” and Carlson’s “gossip” share selfsame wavelength reflecting the phenomenon of a bad workman quarreling with his tools. Instead of profiting by quarrying as much as one can from a mine of inexhaustible wisdom, if one stays away signaling sundry pretexts, then it is clearly a case of committing harakiri.

That power, wealth, and sex exert considerable hold upon us is too well-known. 20th century philosophy has been greatly instrumental in enlarging our scope of understanding the intricacies of power, money, and sex. If yoga aims at demolishing their fortresses then this large body of insights can’t be just overlooked.

But an extended engagement with them may delude one of intellectual autonomy and secular aloofness. Here, yoga comes to the rescue by linking to a sense of higher purpose. Yoga is a human pursuit as politics, commerce, and religion are human affairs; and hence should not be seen in isolation or abstraction. Seeking an easy demarcation, therefore, is nothing but chasing a chimera.

Sri Aurobindo’s writings responded to the thought currents of his time and obviously, the same trend must flow forward. An intimate interrogation of politics, economics, and other domains of human desire need to be undertaken both at the theoretical and the practical level, with yoga as the anchor. But all this can see success, only if the Divine supervision of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo is admitted unreservedly. If not, its zilch. [TNM]