Friday, December 16, 2011

Sri Aurobindo is no revivalist

[On the high-role of the epics in forming and sustaining the collective life, Sri Aurobindo too, in line with his above cited contemporaries, saw them as vehicles of popular culture and as instruments that made available to the masses in a simple language and colourful manner the deep and arcane knowledge contained in the Vedas, Upanishads and other such texts: ... The Epics and our National Life: ignored perspectives, six examples and some views - Anirban Ganguly, Research Associate, VIF]

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It is interesting to read this paper, especially against the backdrop of the Ramanujam controversy, but the author, though well versed in Sri Aurobindo's writings, fails to portray accurately the later's viewpoint with regard to the Indian epics. Classifying Sri Aurobindo as a revivalist or a perennialist is a mistake and his overall vision for the country and its place in the world needs to be taken into consideration whilst aligning him with other thinkers and ideological streams. [TNM55]

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