My political awareness crystallised when Harekrushna Mahatab broke away from Congress and formed the Odisha Jana Congress in 1966 which merged into JP's Janata Party in 1977 along with Utkal Congress (BLD) of Biju Patnaik. Knew about Sri Aurobindo's opposition to Congress, later.
It's true that those opposed to Congress haven't been able to create a comparable paradigm of sophistication and cherished values. But to go with the reality and quality of people is more honest than aspiring for textbook models. Imported technology too has added to the tyranny.
Development of all places can't happen uniformly nor is it desirable. So respect for geography and diversity is important. But intellectual growth after the Internet could have been more vigorous and vibrant. Consensus over issues cutting across party line should have been common
While it's good that govt is trying to do something for Sri Aurobindo that is overdue. it's not difficult to gauge that I'm not happy about BJP, RSS, or Hindutva appropriating #SriAurobindo. Being born and brought up in a village, I'm well aware of their hollowness and hypocrisy.
Supporters of present govt take pride in keeping the Congress, Communists, and Muslims out of power and that's not a mean achievement. But how far the Modi charisma gels with the Hindutva agenda is a moot point. So the situation is like, as they say in Odia, Chake gale bara hata.
It's common on Twitter that once you follow a handle it becomes insipid soon. That may be the reason why the recruitment process in offices fails to deliver. US therefore has the system of two terms but in India dead persons remain in power till the hospital makes an announcement!
Marketime: Democracy is valuable for all of us and not only for the US
marketime.blogspot.com/2022/01/democr
By Tusar Mohapatra @ #SavitriEra Party, Savitri Era Religion, & Savitri Era Learning Forum
Savitri Era of those who adore,
Om Sri Aurobindo & The Mother.
Authpur, Bhatpara, West Bengal.
Tusar N. Mohapatra says: There might be "countless writers who have said much the same thing" but is there another person in the whole of human history, who has, written a monumental epic like Savitri created a synthetic metaphysics like The Life Divine...
savitriera.blogspot.com/2006/12/is-the
Many in India are perennial critics of the West but when it comes to standards, it can be judged very easily. Any one having a direct connection with Hitler can never be worthy of public adulation in the West. Heidegger and Paul de Man just had sympathies. In India Subhas is hero
Gurus and babas of all hues abound in India and Sri Aurobindo has been a victim of this syndrome. It's actually a difficulty for young people to weigh him against others to ascertain his real worth or relevance. Another narrative that goes against him is he's just an intellectual
As my area of awareness and competence shrink with time, the only asset to latch on to is length of experience which many others might be lacking. The definition of a specialist, ironically, is also knowing more about less. Sri Aurobindo, certainly, is my lifelong field of study.
The font size of edit page lead articles is too small which makes it almost impossible for me to read. Paradoxically, a huge gap right there stares at me and mocks!
How 1905 triggered countrywide agitation is well known but it's surprising that Bengal has not achieved its unity till date. The language and culture deserve to discover own integral whole and it's not known what magnitude of energy and innovation it may engender. Bande Mataram.
I have visited most of the States in India and the feeling of being a second class citizen owing to language is common. I'm residing in West Bengal for nearly a year now but I'm ignorant of its rich literature and folk culture. Bande Mataram was addressed to the undivided Bengal.
Sri Aurobindo's parental house is in Konnagar by the side of Hooghly but he was born in Kolkata on the other side of the river. William Carey establishing a press in Serampore in 1800 is considered as the onset of modernity in India. The Bandel Church had come up way back in 1599
As I watch the river Hooghly flowing, also called Bhagirathi and Ganga, it occurs that it was also there when nobody was here. That gives the sense of the length of time and how tiny our place is. Still Europeans came to its bank to set up colonies. Authpur, Bhatpara, West Bengal
The political side of Sri Aurobindo is going to be discussed more and more in connection with his 150th birth anniversary but our focus should be on the future instead of the past. His relevance against Hindutva can gain considerable traction and Auroville to spur religion debate
I'm just stating certain facts because people have been burying their heads in the sand like the proverbial Ostrich. So, you should be thankful that I'm forewarning about this prospect.
Those familiar with the epic SAVITRI by Sri Aurobindo wouldn't be shocked by the God is dead hypothesis. #SriAurobindo takes the death itself by the horns and raises the discourse around it from dubious mire of various religious narratives and spurious philosophical formulations.
Elegant articulation is no assurance of a success formula because a step in the wrong direction can prove to be suicidal. Evolutionary intention can play games and entice with glittering toys but to be able to resist temptation and stand firm with a long term view is more prudent
Bengalis are always tormented as to who to remember and who to honour. Their love and respect is always torn between multiple personalities. Deep fissures also develop between friends and family members while negotiating this problem of plenty of great men savitriera.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-jo
Mythology around The Mother & Sri Aurobindo will grow. If we are aware of Max Théon and Paul Richard, the same yardsticks have to be applied to others like Dilip Kumar Roy and Subhas Chandra Bose. Clarity on matters esoteric is essential. TNM
[Nika Kuchuk tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/10]
Tea and the evening descends.
Twitter gives the chance of being engaged in The Mother's work and remember and offer. So far so good; but it also entails a lot of virtue signalling and blowing one's own trumpet. What's obnoxious is a few flaunting spiritual experience are examples of extreme hatred and bigotry
On Dilip Kumar Roy by Overman Foundation #SriAurobindo
I turn 66 today as per my official birthday (it's October 12 as per domestic records) . People of my generation have seen great changes and reaped sumptuous dividends during the current century but couldn't know The Mother & Sri Aurobindo.
Authpur, Bhatpara, West Bengal
Eminent historians adjudicated that Sri Aurobindo is nobody and banished him from the textbooks. Illustrious journalists thought that he wrote bundles of mumbo jumbo and ignored him. Now everyone is discovering that Sri Aurobindo has a mind of his own and has views on history too
Any contamination of extolling great men can spoil allegiance towards The Mother & Sri Aurobindo. One needs to be absolutely stubborn in this respect. The truth as unveiled by them is more important than our petty beliefs. Mother's Agenda can clarify many popular misconceptions.
There is a need to understand the Bengal Renaissance through the evolutionary lens. A simple historical narrative can lead one to make grave errors of judgement. I have been warning against admiring Vivekananda, Tagore, Subhas Bose, et al as the adverse indications are very clear
Coffee and gathering dusk
I deliberately used the word trinkets. One has to begin with false feelings with trivial pretexts which have the possibility of turning into true feelings. The Mother's Grace, - and nothing else, - is the deciding factor. No other gods and goddesses. So the choice should be clear
The body is our base and we are chained to some physical surrounding. There is some work and dealings with objects. Thus, the nature or purpose may not be so crucial. What matters is the feeling of being an instrument of the supramental. All life is yoga and it's quite practical.
Harmony or perfection are recurrent target in the teaching of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo. Though not apparent, they exist or are self-existent. So the task is to gather some trinkets to trigger aspiration and then the higher forces take over. This is collaboration with evolution.
Each one is unique with a distinct background and a definite future. How to keep seeking and aspiration for higher consciousness on is a personal choice. Popular habits or majority preferences shouldn't be the guide. The Mother & Sri Aurobindo are absolutely certain of a success.
Education and culture have traversed in a particular template since Independence. However stress on popular culture in the mass media hasn't acquired required eminence. Difficult to define culture and response to public demand but informed debate and periodical review is missing.
Democracy is about voice but the Ashram imposes silence. The world is running after visibility but The Mother's Devotees hide behind unassumingness. The slogan is spirituality but many institutions have become pockets of corruption and nepotism. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
Auroville is an anomaly from the legal angle and needs to be set right. Residents should be told to accept Indian citizenship or make alternative arrangements. Govt. should vacate the place and let The Mother's Devotees manage the temple of the new religion and its surroundings.
Right orientation in Sri Aurobindo's school of thought isn't easy as his books deal with different themes. Many scholars take the lazy route of focussing on a specific aspect and leave it at that. Unfortunately, those who are well-read, don't write much. YouTube speakers mushroom
The Mother & Sri Aurobindo gave a well-knit philosophy and a sunlit path for spiritual seeking "of happy reliance and glad submission to the Divine." Not only they rectified myriad errors of the past but also cut through the clutter of their contemporaries
sabda.in/m/catalog/book
In his The Genesis of a Philosophical Poem: Sri Aurobindo, World Literature and the Writing of Savitri, Richard Hartz recounts how George Santayana estimated Lucretius, Dante and Goethe. Ulrich Mohrhoff quotes Gilbert Ryle in his The small matter of matter
Three philosophers from varied fields with Indian sounding names are George Santayana (1863 – 1952), A. J. Ayer, (1910 – 1989), and Roy Bhaskar (1944–2014). I had the chance to listen to a lecture by Bhaskar in Delhi. Also a speech by Derrida a decade earlier, without following.
Political philosophy or theory in fact has nothing much to do with philosophy. Rather it distorts one's philosophical sense of wonder. Most professors in India are Marxists and their political ideology blunts the chance of philosophical output. English literature too is a victim.
Individuals matter but the universalist ideas for instance of Monnet (1888 – 1979) in political collaboration and consolidation, of Maslow (1908 – 1970) in psychology and human behaviour, and of McLuhan (1911 – 1980) in media and communication technology has been quite apodictic.
She came first in 1914 and then finally in 1920 to stay in India till her last in 1973. Spectacular achievements and those who are fortunate to know her can expect immense possibilities in their lives. She is the golden bridge, the wonderful fire, writes Sri Aurobindo in SAVITRI.
SAVITRI by Sri Aurobindo deals with the audacious theme of death of death. Immortality conceived in the Veda is foregrounded with evolutionary consequences. End of suffering and ignorance is Ananda or Ananta which means endlessness. Aspiring for such a Savitri era is our pursuit.
Emancipation was both a materialist as well as a religious goal. The Mother & Sri Aurobindo on the other hand thought of transformation of human nature leading to perfection. That it's an inevitable prospect by way of evolution isn't claimed by science. Hence, faith is essential.
All life is yoga but when The Mother & Sri Aurobindo talk about love, joy, or bliss, etc, it's not in the ordinary social or cultural sense. That's why they insist on the inner journey and self-discovery. But life in the world doesn't permit such a luxury and the hiatus persists.
Heartening to notice growing interest in Sri Aurobindo but the trick is to read him entirely in his territory by abjuring own beliefs and ideas. Any consternation lurking anywhere can mar the intimate grasp. Intellectual wrestling can wait but survey should be the first priority.
Forget about Auroville as a residential colony or a site for sustainable development. Think of millions of Devotees of The Mother & Sri Aurovindo visiting #Auroville every month in a few years hence. The whole place has to be redesigned and no master plan has any relevance today.
Auroville today is too distorted since Govt. takeover derailed its original growth trajectory. Matrimandir being the first and foremost temple of a new religion, #Auroville ownership should be returned to The Mother's Devotees. Its political and commercial exploitation must stop.
Media coverage of Auroville conflict so far has been erratic and partisan. The ownership issue has been totally eclipsed. Govt. must vacate #Auroville so that the real stake holders are able to take appropriate decisions keeping the demands and challenges of 22nd century in view.
New year gives the impression of cyclical nature of time but actually galaxies are expanding all the time. What that means to our own lives is not known but that there are certain consequences is not speculation. What was the Children's Park is now the tall building where I live.
Sri Aurobindo has written a lot on value of arts and culture that India had. He has also pointed out how dismal his contemporary scene was. Still, his faith on a spiritual resurgence in consonance with evolutionary necessity was unshakable. The Mother too had a similar certitude.
I was born and live in a free country but 1) continued colonial hegemony in intellectual matters & 2) loss of privacy and individual autonomy owing to the digital environment trouble me. It's not that I'm not reaping benefits but the feeling that there is no way out is agonising.
Arrival of The Mother spurred publication of ARYA in 1914 without which The Life Divine and other books would not have been written. So, Twitter matters even though only a handful read. The whole humanity is groping in the dark. The tale of Sri Aurobindo must travel far and wide.
Sanskrit shouldn't be taught in the school. Let students learn it like they learn about cricket or movies. All Indian languages have sufficient ingredients of Sanskrit and religion popularises many hymns. Thus informal way of learning instead of grammar method is a better option.
My food, water, and newspaper suppliers obviously are not acting out of benevolence but their own self-interest. It serves my self-interest too and can be classified as pure commerce. Yet time, place, and person makes each transaction not only unique but also knits social fabric.
I'm in the first year of my college fifty years ago; PU (Science) in BJB College, Bhubaneswar. Became a Science teacher in my own school in the village five years later before joining PNB after one year. Leaned toward philosophy thanks to Sri Aurobindo. Cricket never attracted me
Twitter is a fertile field for praise and recommendation but the point to examine is who is the person and his background. So, be on your guard and don't go by impressive designations or institutional façade. Most are peddling misleading ideologies whose credentials are suspect.
Tabula rasa theory is largely discarded now but with adulthood come crowding a large number of ideas and capabilities in waves as it were. Professional competence emerges and risk taking propensity brisks up. But sadly taking due advantage of this prime period is often squandered
Surrender is not merely devotional or religious; it has an Ontology of its own akin to Market. The empiricist view of human autonomy, or even serendipity, can very well be transferred to the ambit of a scenario where unseen forces are in charge and we have no control over events.
Each thing has its own merit, even Kathakali. But, considering demands of modern professions, Sanskrit retards intellect.
It's subjective; there can't be any fixed rule for human decisions.
Writing these tweets from the soil of West Bengal reminds of the Bengal Renaissance and how The Mother & Sri Aurobindo can aptly be considered as its culmination. Many are sold to Hindutva or multiple heroes. Others take pride in arts and culture but time has come for The Mother.
The history of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo is so complex that deriving a sound appreciation is a difficult task. Besides, their unusually large volume of writings adds to the problem. No one can claim therefore that his views are authentic. Allegiance and paying obeisance are best
Integral Yoga encapsulated Bankim's Anushilan objectives but The Mother's arrival transformed it more into a surrender-based proposition rather than tapasya. The grace aspect being the pivotal factor, it's a new religion but the word religion is anathema to most "practitioners."
Savitri Era: Spirituality is not verifiable and can't pass academic scrutiny
savitriera.blogspot.com/2022/01/spirit
Tweets in original by Tusar Nath Mohapatra @ Savitri Era Party, Savitri Era Religion, and Savitri Era Learning Forum
Savitri Era of those who adore,
Om Sri Aurobindo & The Mother.
Misc. References:
1. Writes Shikha Mukerjee
Common to every participant, cutting across the spectrum of ideological positions, was a simple promise to give people a life of dignity as part of a free and independent nation. That promise remains unfulfilled as hunger, poverty, discrimination, repression impact the lives of the overwhelming majority, even as the rich get richer.
https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/netaji-and-sri-aurobindo-claims-and-counterclaims-over-legacies-1074333.html
2. Harish Khare writes
Admittedly, a strong state is characterised not by the omnipotence of its ruler but by the efficiency and competence of its ruling elites to pursue national glory and prosperity, achieve progress, accomplish goals and generate a stable and just order. A state becomes strong only when its rulers are able to enlist the enthusiastic cooperation of its citizens.
https://thewire.in/politics/rights-duties-and-the-ramblings-of-a-nervous-monarch-who-is-weakening-india
3. Mrinal Pande @MrinalPande1 ·1h
We do not choose the times we live in. But we can choose the way we respond. And the response is what marks out the upright ones from the other kind.
4. Express Opinion @ieopinion ·1h
#ExpressOpinion | Freedom is the heart of a republic
@anniezaidi writes: https://bit.ly/3rKY4OO
5. [PDF] The many faces of JEDI: A developmental exploration
A Erfan - A Systematic Review of HeartMath© Interventions to …, 2021
Many organizations and communities have grown initiatives dedicated to advancing justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) at a time when global and local inequities are front and center in the societal discourse. The movement towards …
on the exhibition I designed. River. Giver. Thine 
