The "Self" Sri Aurobindo talked about may be illusory

Recently I came across this wonderful site which can quench the thirst for knowledge by way of discussing five books like Joe Henricho of the ‘collective brain’ fame does here. 

https://fivebooks.com/best-books/joe-henrich-cultural-evolution/

Savitri Era Learning Forum has in its Archives thousands of hints and links to innumerable sources of knowledge and alternative viewpoints which can be of immense help to learners without any ideological inhibitions. Understanding Sri Aurobindo is crucial. https://t.co/jYEnLPU9Nw

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1054644787179995137?s=19

VIP VAK: Kumar Utsav celebration by Odia Mahamanch https://t.co/aTvhGnfZ8v https://t.co/qEy2upOJVu

Islam is hated so promptly in India today but its role in the history of philosophy and evolution of Modernity is an interesting story. https://t.co/Bice52cnzo
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1051444828272295936?s=19

Most are aware of Vidura but same can't be said about Vidula. Sri Aurobindo attempts [a free poetic paraphrase...translates freely in parts, in others makes some departures or adds, develops and amplifies to bring out fully the underlying spirit and idea.] https://t.co/Hc63QBSx3w
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1051377187327070208?s=19

The Life Divine by Sri Aurobindo is a modern day wonder which is unlikely to be surpassed in any foreseeable future. Both physics and biology are trying to come to terms with the prophecies made in it. But South Indians are forever fascinated by forts and temple architecture alas
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1052148384507813888?s=19

It may be true that as social animals everyone is in need of others' appreciation or a sense validation but practice of yoga trains to be udasina, i.e., indifference and detachment. Besides, a significant variation in seeking appreciation between men and women can't be ruled out.
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1052448458811035650?s=19

Expect a new version of Amar Akbar Anthony in a month or two showcasing #MeToo. Bollywood is always prompt in cashing in on such hot topics. However, no one should be held guilty before the courts say it in a majority verdict.
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1051470019127726080?s=19

Old Bollywood numbers are an indispensable part of Puja celebrations. Jumma chumma de de is being sung in our Colony now followed by Laila o laila.
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1052635362839867392?s=19

While rationale for individual fulfilment is presented elegantly, it's pertinent to consider and contextualise what Sri Aurobindo calls Collective Yoga that is no less relevant since "No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main" https://t.co/5aaDJUguXz
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1051715582062718977?s=19

Men and women are different in a hundred ways and recognising this reality by rejecting the hypocrisy of equality is the remedy. Reconstituting systems and situations by catering to psychological necessities should be the priority than facetious portrayals in fictions and movies.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1051685556890025985?s=19

When someone refers to America or China, it's invariably their Govt. There is a paucity of conversations about their people, general life, and matters of human interest. Even a powerful visual medium like TV has failed to do justice with spreading awareness about far off nations.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1052439977995440129?s=19

Popularity is often assumed as an index of utility and value but Ramdev's Swadeshi campaign and Ekta Kapoor's TV serials - to take two examples - can't be rated as particularly salutary. Modernity arrived after one lakh years of human society and nurturing it is the duty of all.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1052236462614347777?s=19

Many devotees are ecstatically posting Sri Aurobindo's pen portraits of Four Powers coinciding with Durga Puja/Navaratri. But the most appropriate picture of The Mother is expressed in Radha's Prayer. No wonder Sri Aurobindo saw her as embodiment of Surrender when they met first.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1052830001907818497?s=19

Secularism is bad, Liberalism is bad, Modernity is flawed, and Political correctness is wrong. It's difficult to swallow such warped logic from enlightened-seeming wise men and women defending nebulous advantages of esoteric practices belonging to arcane traditions in India today

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1053184925300547584?s=19

The teaching and Adventure of Consciousness of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo is becoming increasingly relevant in the face of irrationalities espoused by Hindutva adherents. It is also an antidote against Marxist antipathy towards religion and Western disregard for anything Indian.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1053114856172216321?s=19

Most people are grossly ignorant of even what they eat and won't be able to distinguish between Carbohydrates and Proteins but would stoutly defend the efficacy of religious traditions and rituals uncritically out of sheer habit and herd mentality. Defending own thing is flawed.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1053109730082611200?s=19

The question is whether one should perennially be under the tyranny of some irrational rituals and superstitions just because his or her accident of birth. The Mother & Sri Aurobindo emphatically say no and show the way how to think logically and freely on Judeo-Vedic substratum.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1053106835379507200?s=19

Despite all our love and sense of gratitude towards a genius like Akshaya Mohanty, spreading awareness of the original composers or lyricists is necessary in the interest of truth and with a view to expressing respect to such creators in other languages whom an Odia may not know. https://t.co/RwOSsO3nMf

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1053086043103125504?s=19

Shipra Riviera Durga Puja bags the First Prize in the trans-Hindon, Ghaziabad sector. Show is on. https://t.co/hurvfpNIw2

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1053004907576475648?s=19

Just like advertising increasingly elbows out news in newspapers, religious activity is encroaching on real estate more are more. Almost all places of tourist interest and natural beauty are cruelly defaced by ugly structures or statues. Reliance on physical symbols should halt.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1053261673555877888?s=19

Western ethical tradition is distilled through four thousand years via the Arab route and Chinese tangent. Saussure's contribution to linguistics based on his study of Sanskrit however inaugurated postmodernist worldview leading to much nuance. Sri Aurobindo's lens is the safest. https://t.co/4o2iTLjcpw

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1053236644692852736?s=19

Who do you think is “best” equipped to understand or interpret a cultural text? asks @MakrandParanspe and adds his preference. But the answer is not simple since most texts have already been translated in different languages and interpreted in diverse ways https://t.co/7aNhj4Cfng

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1053241473527799809?s=19

Abnormal level of population and dual govt system is the bane of India. Languages form the basis of a nation as in the European countries but the States don't enjoy Sovereignty in India as a result people lack initiative & motivation to contribute their best. #Sabarimala is local https://t.co/0vbVTIDbQh

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1053666666331193350?s=19

No amount of moderation can be the pretext for overriding the primacy and superiority of Constitutional rule. Hinduism, or for that matter, any religion mustn't impose its priorities by pushing mob wisdom as more legitimate as is happening in the case of #Sabarimala imbroglio. https://t.co/r1bJtoUUpU

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1053648344013099008?s=19

That a temple is the home of the deity and therefore the rules and customs followed as per tradition should enjoy autonomy is a formidable and convincing-seeming argument. But the flaw is law is about human beings whose perceptions and interpretations alter with time. #Sabarimala

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1053656885864189954?s=19

"If our backgrounds, hopes, dreams, languages, expressions, bodies and preferences are all different..." @neha_aks asks invoking the plurality principle but stops short of saying that there should be different rules or options too. Tradition is not supreme https://t.co/YjV4BDAk3Z

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1053518975017971712?s=19

No I didn't watch it DDLJ then. But the film I remember with equal fondness is: 

[Woh Saat Din (Those Seven Days) is a 1983 Hindi film directed by Bapu. Produced by Surinder Kapoor and Boney Kapoor Starring: Anil Kapoor; Padmini Kolhapure; Naseeruddin Shah] #23YearsOfTimelessDDLJ

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1053713900720467968?s=19

Remembering the other K.K. Nair (Krishna Chaitanya) (1918–1994) of the five-volume Philosophy of Freedom fame is in order. Said [Sri Aurobindo's discussion of time and eternity is wholly derived from that of Boethius; Life Divine is watered down Plotinus.] https://t.co/icEdIZRe47

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1053641987335831552?s=19

India is a populous country and it's easy to gather a crowd. If the occasion is religious then large congregations are spontaneous with immense scope for commerce plus content for media. Apart from economics deriving political benefit has also become mainstream. RSS has monopoly.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1054960156075798529?s=19

Any political player is prone to seek advantage from all kinds of situations but keeping a watch on the health of Democracy is also an additional responsibility. Now that RSS is part of the ruling dispensation this particular function needs to be addressed by some astute persons.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1054965643366277120?s=19

Great! Just read another nice word "sociability"

[It seems that if humans do depend so much on sociability and interaction, I expect great things to happen from the internet — and the huge and constant interaction of people and information that it allows.] https://t.co/1oyyd1nNZt

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1054634738927919104?s=19

Fighting patriarchy and spreading awareness against misogyny is a modern day challenge but relying upon State apparatus for ensuring these or preferential treatment for women is another extreme. Organic and voluntary empowerment should be preferred to imposed impracticable goals.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1055864161828139008?s=19

Strangely, no one refers to Sri Aurobindo or his The Secret of the Veda. May be inconvenient truth!

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1055868666628071424?s=19

In the case of many recent #MeToo accused, their daughters have been referred to but not always the sons which seems to be a bit skewed. [Also, in this case, the minister is married and is a father of grown-up daughters, so it is definitely not okay.] https://t.co/wisRu36EUd

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1055681312777007104?s=19

A relevant thread by @vakibs of course without any influence by Sri Aurobindo's profound observations on the subject. https://t.co/fr6ZxKg7yY

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1055687544292163585?s=19

India comprises of multiple nations and myriad cultures. Most people are yet to be modern in their attitude and aspirations. Gender stereotypes are further strengthened through culture, religion, and tradition. Courts are doing a bit to dismantle their hold and must be supported.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1055507670986178561?s=19

India never saw Democracy during the last 7000 years and the British gifted it only 70 years back but is in its infancy. Political parties are doing their best to keep people bonded to myths, both ancient and modern. People exhibiting their freedom and autonomy can break all that.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1055673807506071552?s=19

Everything happens for the first time or nothing can be considered as a repetition. ("You cannot step into the same river twice" -Heraclitus). So, Democracy including the role of Judiciary is evolving by negotiating highly complex situations and navigating through wide diversity.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1055854595916713990?s=19

Books of Stephen Hawking, Fukuyama, and Huntington made huge impact before the arrival of Internet but no one can impress to such an extent any more. Old religions and scriptures seem to hold some appeal but only superficially. Hard-nosed seeking of material gains has taken over.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1056215250046017541?s=19

The promises of Science, Social Science, and New Age optimism have wilted. Euphoria generated due to Social Media facilitating networking has evaporated, significantly. No example of any progress of society or principles for betterment of community is in sight. Commerce goes on.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1056221490083880960?s=19

There are any number of intellectuals now steeped in religion and Indian philosophy. Power has enabled them to express enormous optimism about the future. Of course they curse most other countries than India. But they rely on tradition and that is no sure foundation for Evolution

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1056225643409563648?s=19

Restoring true Federal character of Indian subcontinent should be the priority so that languages get their due respect and local culture and knowledge systems are revivified. Central Govt is an anomaly and Democracy is dysfunctional; States must get Sovereignty and UN membership.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1057494365340348416?s=19

Rather, get Uttar Pradesh out of India as 22 crore people are capable of ruling themselves as a Sovereign country. India must turn into a Federation.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1057515092965814272?s=19

Scheduled castes leaders maintain that they suffer from social disparity despite economic progress. Hindutva adherents, similarly, can't get over the victimhood of hundreds of years of slavery. The solution, therefore, is to look ahead instead of listening to speeches on history.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1056473465664880642?s=19

Each person should be accepted as he is and not what he could or should have been. Sri Aurobindo is absolutely ahead of his times and it's necessary to imbibe his ideas, slowly, instead of remaining a prisoner of misleading impressions about him propagated by Marxist historians.

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1057323971128053761?s=19

The pragmatic views of Peter Heehs regarding Sri Aurobindo as writer of "a shelf full of books" should perhaps be taken more seriously after a decade. No wonder, the Ashram supported him to the hilt with the realisation that the "Self" Sri Aurobindo talked about may be illusory.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1057521656296546307?s=19

The author is dead but each text including temple sculpture remind of Freud. Sex is local and contextual and hence all generalised conceptions of occurrence or deterrence are merely suppositions or entertaining conjectures. Culture however is layers of falsehood over naked Nature

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1056254520039215105?s=19

A tweet is enough to express any truth but people seem to be slaves of the old habit of believing in long articles or books. There are umpteen exegesis on ethics but it's necessary to remember that only what is permissible or appropriate in public is discussed. Rest are private.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1057205553913454593?s=19

The gap between Art and Commercial films is no longer as wide as it used to be earlier, agreed the speakers.

https://t.co/YyPY1MpJVf

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1057332056386981888?s=19

End endorsing Mythology

Tweets by @SavitriEraParty

It's simply impossible to imagine that the sea was very much the same millions of years before the appearance of the humans. The march of time, however, is so slow and yet, so short for the myriad aspirations that people harbour or the countless deficiencies they seek to conquer. https://t.co/x708NFU7Qq

Science hasn't been able to say anything definite about the functioning of the world. All religions and their scriptures are suppositions. Those who take pride in the superiority of some text or philosophy should do introspection. Endorsing Mythology or speculation is no heroism.

Knowledge is a commodity and has its own utility. Its validity unfortunately is often derived from dubious authority. Self-interest and uncritical respect help perpetuation of unsubstantiated propositions. Refusing to believe in them should be the duty of every vigilant individual.

Just because someone has been saying something or believing in something, it's not necessary that he or she will have to do it for ever. Each educated person must conduct a rigorous review of his or her intellectual framework periodically and purge impaired furnishings ruthlessly.

Human beings are certainly a special category upon this planet but religious groupings are groping in the dark as regards knowledge about the universe. Rituals and imagined manipulation of the unseen worlds are not only arbitrary but also subversive of one's dignity and autonomy.

Looking at Sri Aurobindo as merely a revolutionary is the primary level. Remaining mesmerised within his web words is the second stage and a long one. The third is when one gradually comes out of that spell and starts realising why he wrote so much and actually goes beyond them.

Each one is wired in a specific way and chained to a certain spatial limits. So universality is an incoherent and inchoate concept. Ideas like Infinite or Perfection nevertheless persist and propel a sense of adventure and discovery. But most are unwilling to undertake the burden.

Education relies upon the past and emphasises on great men. But the task for each individual is to move beyond what has been achieved so far. Here the role of freedom and creativity come into play. Syllabus binds, teachers repeat; the student must break free, hew his new avenue.

Being conversant with Western philosophy is a necessity for proficiency in any field. Such a large number of people grapple with issues relating to current affairs but they neglect philosophy proper. This is the prime reason for poor quality of debate dovetailing to name calling.

Management, media, or even social sciences can train one as a well aware person but philosophy imparts the true foundation. Many assume that study of some ancient Indian texts is sufficient so far as philosophical grounding is concerned but it is a mistake. Swadeshi doesn't help!

Reimagining and Refashioning Integral Management - Tusar Nath Mohapatra, Director, Savitri Era Learning Forum (SELF), Ghaziabad. Ghazi://t.co/YGoEhdLyp7

It's really odd if Sri Aurobindo Ashram - Delhi branch lets out its sacred Meditation Hall for sundry gatherings. Seems like a regime change is underway! https://t.co/zNJ16md7bc

Mohan Bhagwat giving recognition to worship of Sai Baba now forms the benchmark for addition to the list like Sri Aurobindo.
[एक भाषा किसी को समझ नहीं आती. हिंदी की ही कई अलग अलग बोली है - भाषाओं और देवी देवताओं की विविधता - नए नए देवी देवता आते रहते हैं. पहले साईं बाबा नहीं थे.]

Most concerns on Twitter are about two percent of the population. The rest take care of themselves but the disconnect is glaring. https://t.co/h7OqW13T7W

Was stranded in Digha last night as hotels there are not permitting stay of single persons. This is highly insulting and discriminatory of the autonomy and privacy of those who travel alone, especially the senior citizens. Incredible India campaign must root out such sore areas.

For those who may not be aware @viryavaan is one of our brilliant minds well-versed in Sri Aurobindo. He has his own reasons to express extreme views but shouldn't be dismissed lightly. One may not agree with him but his sentiments need to be respected after RSS turning inclusive.

A staunch advocate of Dharma had once expressed his sympathy which when reaches its logical conclusion of legalization is, perhaps, the right solution to this problem relating to incidents of non-consensual nature. https://t.co/QuqzqgFYNw

[The Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust has received many requests to set up a facility to receive donations online. Those wishing to make a donation to the Ashram may do so by visiting https://t.co/IHdxW6j0D8. The site and payment gateway are secure, and data privacy is respected.]

Update: October 14, 2018

Sidhu has said something serious perhaps for the first time! High time to turn India a Federation by awarding Sovereignty to the States so that local culture and language receive due recognition, respect, and care. Bengali being nurtured after creation of Bangladesh is an example.

From Ram Janmbhumi movement to Sabarimala protests, the farcical face of ritual-based religion in India has traversed full-circle. Savitri Erans devoted to The Mother & Sri Aurobindo watch in gratitude the Masters' prophecy of religions being pulverized coming true brick by brick.

Life is complex and talent is rare. Reality is unpredictable but people long to fit the future as per their pet paradigms. Politically correct propositions are treated as given and normal whereas they are mere normatives. Both, Hindutva and Modernity suffer from false narratives.