Never let anyone to deface them

The Mother & Sri Aurobindo, themselves, are an epochal synthesis. The varied experiences they bring together is a rarity, especially the backdrop of the cultural and geographical mosaic. Moreover, their attempt to blend the mundane with the transcendental during the interwar period enhances manifold the mystery of their appearance as well as collaboration.

Why they chose India as the crucible of their work is difficult to speculate. But it in no way binds them to India alone. Nor the people of India have the sole proprietary rights over their legacy. The Mother & Sri Aurobindo belong to the humanity and everyone is free to understand, appreciate, and appropriate them in his own way and necessity.

There is, of course, no gainsaying that Sri Aurobindo’s prominence in the Pride of India pantheon is recent history. His “luminous and voluminous” body of work is a treasure trove constituting the national cultural capital. But to turn this a trigger for national hubris would be utterly anomalous and diminishing.

Lovers of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo, everywhere, beware! Never let the Indians to own them exclusively. And, at the same time, never let anyone to deface them. [TNM]