Safety of Sri Aurobindian anchorage

[A Brief Map of Indic Thought: Knowing Tantra from Krishna and Vedanta and Beyond from Networkologies by chris

Europeans and Americans began to go to liberated South Asia in droves in the 1960′s to study these traditions firsthand. And in the process, many discovered the sheer variety of traditions, for none of those described above ever fully went away, there were always living fossils of previous forms. In a land of 800 languages, and over 800 million people, and a thriving oral tradition to this day which operates in tandem to written print culture, it is unlikely that it would be otherwise.

But it is only in the last forty years or so that the true diversity of Indic thought is being explored. And this is hardly surprising, since so much Euro-American scholarship is still influenced strongly by the legacies of colonialism, from the work of early “orientalist” scholars to the often radically oversimplifying romanticizing western acolytes of the 1960′s.]

No one can delve into this diverse narrative during his lifetime, and hence, the safe course is to specialize in its essence as distilled by The Mother & Sri Aurobindo. One may take up the intellectual route in the beginning, but if it is not transformed into the religious or the devotional over a period of time, then much of what they say or choose to convey concurrently will be missing. Besides, they have also stated that study of their works constitutes a living collaboration with the ongoing evolution of the earth. Thus, it’s a choice between going back to the old contradictions and participating in molding the future. [TNM55] 

Pratap Bhanu Mehta sells snake oil

[Tweets Pratap Bhanu Mehta ‏ @pbmehta Indian democracy has to be defendend book by book. On the "Lives of Aurobindo" http://is.gd/ko18kC 6:05 AM - 12 Apr 12 Gautam Chikermane ‏ @gchikermane Finest piece on Peter Heehs controversy by @pbmehta. Book clubbed: Indian democracy now has to be defended book by book 9:00 AM - 12 Apr 12 Chetan Aggarwal ‏ @ChetanAggarwal I have just ordered the Heehs book. All this controversy achieved was to spike the sales of the book. Congratulations to Heehs on royalties. 8:49 AM - 12 Apr 12 Zoom Indian Media ‏ @ZoomIndianMedia Center for Policy Research @pbmehta get heavily funded by xn west. See his defence of NY cabbie Heehs' ordinary work http://is.gd/ko18kC 7:31 AM - 12 Apr 12]

The book came out in 2008 and why Mehta is writing a review now is not a mystery. This is the kind of intellectual culture in our country.  It is ridiculous that rank outsiders are out to decide for us which book on The Mother & Sri Aurobindo should we read or not read. Great votaries of free speech, they are hardly bothered about the facts or the filth. [TNM55]   

Fake neutrality

[Tweets Gautam Chikermane ‏ @gchikermane Been getting huge hate-mail and hate-tweets on Peter Heehs. My suggestion to all of them: read The Lives of Sri Aurobindo. It is the finest biography of Sri Aurobindo. Don't be misled by selective, out of context excerpts. It is a hugely inspiring book. Read it! 1:09 PM - 9 Apr 12 Amit Bhargava ‏ @lightstalker_AB - @RupaSubramanya @gchikermane Why deport Peter Heehs, send him to Jail instead. On lighter note, send him to Alipore if the jails exists... 2:50 AM - 9 Apr 12 Sivaram Velaga ‏ @svelaga - @internet_hindus He dragged down Sri Aurobindo to the level of a charlatan by giving sexual context to his relation with Mirra Alfassa. 10:10 PM - 8 Apr 12]

[A recent statement by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust by auroleaks

The following statement was issued in February 2012. Emphases as in the original. — Ed.

The considered view of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust is that it does not project itself in the role of dictating to readers and followers of Sri Aurobindo, as to what they should read and what they should not read. Each person is at complete liberty to decide for himself whether he finds any book to be meaningful and useful, or whether he does not find it to be so, and Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust respects and has full faith in the intellectual and spiritual discernment of the readers. No one should or needs to force his personal opinions on any other reader in general, and more particularly on the followers of Sri Aurobindo.]

Clarity at last. The Ashram has no misgivings regarding the book and gives it a clean chit. Fine, but I find it as an insult to my intelligence. [TNM55] 

Music, dance, and theatre

The difference - someone has put it pithily - between Western music and Indian classical music is that the former is played standing while the latter is performed by sitting. The ballet, similarly, involves a lot of stretching upwards whereas Indian classical dance recitals are ordinarily weighed down by gravity. Another divide on the same lines seems to have surfaced recently. One section is vociferous about what Sri Aurobindo “stands for,” and the rest are content with Sri Aurobindo “sitting” in a theatrical ceremony. Easy guess as regards who's on which side. [TNM55]

10 more Žižeks

[a sign of second-rate philosophy from Object-Oriented Philosophy by doctorzamalek (Graham Harman) - I’m just saying, it seems a bit absurd to use the question of someone’s belief or disbelief in God as one of the chef pillars of your judgment about that person’s intellectual caliber... If we had 10 more Žižeks it would be one of the most golden of golden ages. the revised details on Žižek’s Hegel book]

Calibration of caliber is unequivocally cumbersome and nothing definite can be said about that. But, since one’s ontological inclination drives the intellectual trajectory, more empirical reliance can be put on it. It’s surely not easy to abolish bias and so long as the basic armature – howsoever pliable – persists, accepting a fresh shape of things faces resistance. Moreover, when social or professional benefits accrue from such ideas picked up from religion and culture, more inducement ensue for sticking to them.  

If the West is still at the level of Žižek or Meillassoux, we in India must consider ourselves fortunate in having Sri Aurobindo. His firm intervention amidst the wasteland of intellectual structures and deconstructions saves one from many quixotic expeditions and sokalesque bravadoes. His sweeping canvas encompassing the individual, the universal, and the transcendent presents such an integral picture that most of the normal metaphysical contradictions melt before it. Further, the teleological scheme accords value to human life and endeavour, thus bridging the chasm between cosmology and politics. [TNM55]        

Intellectual culture facilitates East-West dialogue

Kepler apparently wins, but in order to corner his opponents he forges several propositions which appear to be too abstract. One is his conception of Yoga with the emphasis on inner life. The second is his deep reverence for past accounts of experience. Thirdly, he almost dismisses intellectual culture as having any role. And finally, the necessity of East-West dialogue is hardly stressed.

The postmodern discourse, on the other hand, ferments intellectual culture facilitating the East-West dialogue. Both these aspects are of immense significance as far as Integral Yoga is concerned. Deleuze, for instance, not only epitomizes the thought of the past 3000 years, but also conquers further territory and sharpens human perception of his environment. The sheer linguistic prowess entitles him to be seen as a seer, and the rest rests upon one's level of appreciation.

Talking about the Yoga principles is all right, but in the absence of any flesh and blood examples of practitioners, nothing seems credible. Text book accounts of Yoga are dished out everywhere, but no one discloses his own progress. In this context, believing the stories of the mystics of the yore becomes further difficult. The Five Dreams Manifesto (FDM) warrants multilateral engagement with the world in all its diversity. In this round, however, Kepler seemed to sound too reductive. [TNM55]

New Year’s Day for the Savitri Erans

[Savitri Era: March 29 as the Day of Joy and Hope 24 Dec 2007 by Tusar N Mohapatra

We too want a festival, not only for prayer and meditation but also for merrymaking. There is no better date than 29th March, the day when The Mother met Sri Aurobindo. 8:35 AM]

Today is like the New Year’s Day for the Savitri Erans. It is heartening to learn that Mirror of Tomorrow metamorphoses for “a broader scope with a larger coverage of topics and issues” from today. Our congratulations. Banerji clarifying that “my interest does not lie in fighting on one side or other of that debate” too brings relief.

The most important point which needs to be remembered regarding our path is that it is uncharted and privileges emergence. Old texts and past examples are of little help, and hence, “This is how it works” doesn’t apply. Besides, the collective aspect is much more crucial here than the personal progress. And just because The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have established an Ashram, all other Ashram-founders do not become their equivalents. It is essential, therefore, that such aggressive pollution is filtered out, and we expect course correction by those concerned.

  

The Cuttack Conference begins on April 4. All are requested to explore the possibility of visiting and savour the unique feel of immersing in The Mother’s Mahakumbh by merging among the thousands. [TNM55]   

Current lens is OOO

[Comment on Introduction to The Seven Quartets of Becoming by debbanerji from Comments for Posthuman Destinies by debbanerji

K: But I presume your talking about a conceptual similarity and not that you are claiming Deleuze was actually experiencing the Supermind or converting all his experience to Ananda.

DB: Yes. He arrived philosophically at “virtual” ontologies and empirical practices aimed at “actualizing” them. 11:53 AM  8:00 PM 12:45 PM]

[Reviews - yabaluri.org Sri Aurobindo Mandir Annual Published on the occasion of the 70th Birthday of Sri Aurobindo (15-8-1942), by Sri Aurobindo Patha Mandir, Calcutta. Price Rs. 3-8.

Sri Aurobindo’s teachings and message have profound significance as at once a masterly and magnificent presentation of ancient Indian wisdom and a challenging metaphysical contribution, both as speculation and as sadhana. It must be admitted, however, that the appeal of Sri Aurobindo’s writings has been limited to but a small number, the cultured and philosophical elite of India and abroad. Any work, like the one under review, which may make the thoughts of Sri Aurobindo better known to the world is therefore welcome… Dr. S. K. Maitra’s, "Sri Aurobindo and Bergson" shows how Sri Aurobindo is "a more uncompromising opponent of all respectability and convention and an even greater volcanic thinker" than Bergson himself. KASYAPA 4:19 AM]

What Maitra ventured in 1942, Banerji, quite enticingly, continues in 2012. Heehs imbroglio, however, has clouded his reputation, and hence, he will have to take extra pains to establish his commitment to ontology instead of ideology. Deleuze, by the way, is passé, and the current lens is OOO. Graham Harman is at the forefront in the web in overturning the previous readings of old schools. Fierce ontological battles are being fought in which qualified people should take part. At least, keeping abreast is a must in order to pass on the thought. [TNM55]

Sunlit Path for weeding out ignorance

[What Badiou Meant to Us Posted by larvalsubjects March 24, 2012 7 Comments 

Badiou’s theory of Truth was really a theory of commitment. A truth was, for him, not a representation or correspondence, but an activity that transforms the world. It is not so much the details of his thought that mattered. No, what mattered was the message. What Badiou was daring us to do was commit and commit passionately. Commit passionately to rapturous love even if it leads to your ruin. Commit passionately to scientific discovery, even if it departs from dominant paradigms. Commit passionately to artistic invention, even if it departs from tradition. Commit passionately to political transformation, even if that work seems unrealistic and to desire impossible outcomes. Badiou said commit, live passionately, and continue. Badiou said risk, risk everything for a Truth. Badiou said wager. What dominated Continental thought at the time was a series of meditations on why it is unreasonable to wager, risk, and commit. Badiou said commit and continue. Suddenly the air felt very different.]

[On Badiou: Truth, Revolution, Decision PUBLICADO POR DANIEL SACILOTTO EN 17:02 

Badiou did the most explicit work to reactivate truth by bluntly invoking the rights to philosophy. For even Deleuze had to frame his struggle in much the same way as the great phenomenologists and vitalists: a struggle against the horizon that philosophy had set for itself…

The sad consequence is that a lot of people have used Badiou as a platform for a very fashionable, inane pseudo-Marxism, which is often composed of the same people that enlisted in the ranks of deconstructive apathy. Being a 'leftist' has become a trendy moniker for hipsters and graduate students to play revolutionary under extremely elitist circumstances. You have these pseudo-leftists go brag about Marx and then hit the pubs for their weekly dose of booze and Deerhunter. This is not at all a new phenomenon: it is a variant of the 60's hippie, New age liberal motif. But in its current 'commie' version, I think it borrows more from what has been happening in South America for the past decade or so.]

[The Mother's Message to Matrupuri from MATRUPURI: RISIDA

Our worth lies only in the measure of our effort to exceed ourselves, and to exceed ourselves is to attain the Divine. -The Mother (1973)]

[Works of The Mother - Q&A Volume - 10 February 1954 

I say there that a great variety of subjects should be studied. I believe that is it. For instance, if you are at school, to study all the subjects possible. If you are reading at home, not to read just one kind of thing, read all sorts of different things… 

I believe there are general faculties and that it is much more important to acquire these than to specialise – unless, naturally, it be like M. and Mme. Curie who wanted to develop a certain science, find something new, then of course they were compelled to concentrate on that science. But still that was only till they had discovered it; once they had found it, nothing stopped them from widening their mind.]

[Works of The Mother - Words of Long Ago_Volume - On Dreams 

Some people, by a special culture and training, are even able to become and remain conscious of the deeper activities of their inner being, independently of their own cerebral transcription, and thus to evoke them and know them in the waking state with the full range of their faculties… Uncultivated lands produce weeds. We do not want any weeds in ourselves, so let us cultivate the vast field of our nights… If our night has enabled us to gain some new knowledge – the solution of a problem, a contact of our inner being with some centre of life or light, or even the accomplishment of some useful task – we shall always wake up with a feeling of strength and well-being. The hours that are wasted in doing nothing good or useful are the most tiring. 25 March 1912]  

Much before any Deleuze, Bourdieu, or Badiou, the Sunlit Path laid out by The Mother guided our thought and action. The integrality of her ideas scattered over 30 volumes will continue to be a fount of inspiration for years to come. [TNM55]  

Barin’s many mothers

The gender duality is at the heart of umpteen socio-political problems faced by the humanity. Biologically wired for divergent evolutionary roles, their difference far supersedes the commonality or complementarity. City-based societies pretend to establish some kind of equality through role-reversal in relatively polite environments but such a scenario often hides gargantuan hypocrisy and double-speak. Academic scrutiny, unfortunately, follows an imagined status as the standard instead of the given. Consequently, warped inferences galore the otherwise vibrant feminist debate. Thus, if the present is not a safe guide, the past happens to be still more perilous. Mythological norms and superstitious pretexts rule the group-thinking and any deviation is looked upon as either subversive or adversarial. Be that as it may, an ontological certainty governing this fundamental divide is definitely not to be had.  

Barin’s semi-journalistic accounts transport us to a wealth of anthropological concerns including gender. Judged juxtaposed the integrality of Sri Aurobindo’s literature, they offer countless intersections for introspection which implicitly demand integrity. Heehs imbroglio, perhaps, has prepared us for bolder probes and honest assessments in the realm of the socio-political. [TNM]         

Sri Aurobindo's volcanic key to the Veda

Kala Tattva Kosha published by IGNCA lists nearly 500 Sanskrit texts in comparison to which The Seven Quartets is like a drop in the ocean. All its terms come from the tradition and there is nothing so spectacular about the formulations. Sri Aurobindo unraveling the secret of the Veda rather constitutes a volcanic event before which rest of his output pale. Those who are unable to accept the divine manifestation of Sri Aurobindo and are eager to present a rags-to-riches story may carry on their project. But since the divinity of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo is an unimpeachable fact for the devotees, this talk of their progressive sadhana etc. is nothing but amusing juvenile curiosity.

That said, it also seems riddle-some why the triple transformation only be accorded such primacy. There are various other formulae such as the five psychological perfections, twelve powers of The Mother, or even Nama-Japa. Considering their accessibility, they should receive more attention than high ontological taxonomy of consciousness. [TNM55]    

Divine right to rule till last breath

The euphoria of a new party being born is still fresh in my mind having attended the convention of the Bharatiya Lok Dal in Bhubaneswar in 1974. The chaotic political situation in the country today, however, is no better 38 years later. Not a single party has a dominant all India presence and most of the parties are devoid of any ideological anchorage. Furthermore, the most paradoxical aspect is that no party runs in a democratic manner. For this, we can easily blame the blemishes of human nature. But the systemic aspects are also equally to blame.  

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry, of course, has elevated itself from any kind of democratic functioning or questioning. Das Gupta, by his mysterious dignified silence, has surpassed all norms of civility and accountability. By claiming tacitly the divine right to rule till his last breath, he is now the monarch of all he surveys. None disputes that, but it’s difficult to rule out the questions of propriety. Hence, it devolves upon the aspirants of life divine to put in place appropriate modalities of good internal governance. [TNM55]  

Chronology and genealogy

After the passing away of the stalwarts from Nolini to Amal, it is extremely significant that the intellectual side of my work for the world of Sri Aurobindo is being re-examined by Banerji and Kepler and many strains of his my theory of the ideal life towards which humanity must move are likely to be articulated in a forthright manner. This is an admirable intellectual exercise and need not be hijacked by tangential controversies or frivolousness.

Scholarship was constrained by publishing earlier which the web has alleviated, thus facilitating exchange of ideas at a scale and speed seen never before. There is, no doubt, a sequence in what Sri Aurobindo wrote or revised. This chronology, in fact, forms the basis of his authorized oeuvre published so far. Hence, disregarding the author’s intention, in the long run, might prove as a minefield. The academic quest for genealogy, however, must never cease. [TNM55]      

Stoop to conquer

Why Ramdev and Hazare didn’t succeed? For the simple reason that their priorities were manipulated in an ad hoc fashion without any sense of a definite direction. On the other hand, Akhilesh snatched victory from the jaws of a chaotic electoral scene in UP. Management consultants are everywhere, behind every success story, these days.

We have pointed out from the very outset that the anti-Heehs team in Puducherry is following an evident defective strategy. Their warfare, so far, gives the impression of an amateur as assessing the efficacy of weapons employed has come a cropper. To be fair to them, they have just reacted to latest events within severe constraints, but some of their steps can surely be seen as jumping the gun.

For instance, the normal course should have followed civil discourse, then political action, and finally, the legal recourse. But, a bit of hubris took over a few, and after three long years they have achieved practically nothing. Rather, those who were drawn to the forefront of the campaign (or, brought from Odisha) are facing the music. The role of the leader in restricting casualties is most sacrosanct, and the team must ponder over the same. [TNM55]      

Glorifying Gandhi unfairly

[Why Tagore was right and Gandhi was not from churumuri Author, illustrator and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik in Star of Mysore:

The British were convinced that this was proof of ‘Hindoo’ decadence. Many of our nation’s founding fathers felt ashamed. A group of overzealous social reformers once planned to raze or deface or bury such temple carvings. It is said that Gandhiji supported such action. But then Rabindranath Tagore wrote an impassioned plea that, good or bad, moral or immoral, this was a national treasure that we could not wish away. We had to preserve it. And so it has survived, continuing to baffle us as they have baffled onlookers for hundreds of years.

[Gandhi: Quintessentially Different and Non-Digestible from Rajiv Malhotra by Rajiv Malhotra  March 13, 2012

Mahatma Gandhi, at the height of colonial rule in India, had the audacity to assert his dharmic differences firmly but without chauvinism.  He was steeped in Indian cultural habits and experimented with dharma all his life… As the leader of India’s freedom movement, Gandhi relied greatly on the use of Sanskrit words to give voice to India’s struggle and demands… Gandhi’s life illustrates many key points that I make in my book and in my own personal journey. I continue to draw great inspiration from him.]

Rajiv Malhotra, happily, has migrated from books to blogs, but in his enthusiasm in glorifying Gandhi he has unfairly devalued the contribution of his predecessors in the freedom struggle. [TNM55 Pre-Gandhian Indian revolutionary movement (1893-1918)]

Ultra-democratic anomalies in UP

With 30% vote share, a 38 year-old took over as the CM of UP's 20 crore people by winning 55% of the seats. Multiple anomalies show up in this ultra-democratic outcome, and hence, the role of various regulatory mechanisms encouraging rationality and maturity needs to be stressed. While conforming to the rules of the game is important, periodical review of the rules also is a priority. Sri Aurobindo’s Five Dreams Manifesto (FDM) is based on truth and knowledge and the choice is ours. [TNM55] 

FDM precedes TWD

[Regional bosses rising TOI SWAPAN DASGUPTA Mar 14, 2012 

Hindu solidarity has proved an ephemeral binding force for disparate castes and communities… However, with economic decision-making devolving increasingly to the states, the disjuncture in political choice between the national and the state level may not be so marked. The time may have indeed come for another Tirupati-style conclave of the regional bosses to prepare for a time they could decide India's next prime minister.]

[The real reason SP swept Uttar Pradesh DNA Francois Gautier Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The BJP is also in its own delusions. It keeps trying to reach out to the Muslim voters, and in the process loses its Hindu identity, which alone separates it from the Congress. But the truth is that Muslims will never vote for the BJP… This is a tragic mistake; for not only it is at the cost of the large silent majority of India, the Hindus, but this cynical calculation has never benefited the Muslim community economically… The truth is that the Muslim population keeps growing and thus its electoral clout keeps increasing.] 

Those who were quick to provide intellectual bulwark when NDA ruled have gradually turned disillusioned with BJP. The reason is not far to seek, but they still fear to spell it out clearly. The vision of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo, alone, has the power to lift this country from the present rot, and the Five Dreams Manifesto (FDM) of Sri Aurobindo, broadcast a few hours before Nehru delivered his Tryst With Destiny (TWD) speech on August 14, 1947, holds the key. [TNM55 2:31 PM]

Synthesis is ontology

Consternation as regards publication of Record of Yoga has been expressed from time to time and Kepler has put it quite succinctly. The way Agenda became mainstream, Record, too, is likely to follow the same route. Like Lives, it has already been published, and hence, instead of questioning it, better to accept it as a part of The Mother’s mythology.  

Sri Aurobindo’s extensive explications on Yoga (including Savitri) are, basically, ontological in nature. The merit of their study lies more in producing suppleness of intellect and expansion of consciousness. This outcome, verily, is Yoga and not the actual techniques or sequences that are elaborated in the text. No one’s personal growth proceeds exactly in the same lines as propounded in the successive chapters.

But the fact that a mosaic of meta-narratives inhabits the compass of Integral Yoga has a great utility in terms of offering multiple options at various stages of life. My Y2K tryst with post-modernism, for instance, has been a life-changing experience that helped me to see the writings of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo not as frozen in time. It is quite possible that after one amasses and archives all possible instructions on practice of yoga, one will return to the bare minimum: remember and offer. [TNM55]       

Savitri Era Party opposes the Secular and Socialist framework

BSP emerged from Kanshi Ram promoting the interests of Scheduled Caste Govt. employees, but has failed to establish a national presence. The present euphoria surrounding Akhilesh and the talk of a Third Front, too, will die before long. The Left has become inconsequential and the ideological thrust of all State level parties is dictated by the local rivals. Alliances are opportunistic strategy of enjoying power by leveraging limited support. Thus, the task of sewing a pan-Indian network on the basis of a credible ideal has been abdicated by all political parties.

Savitri Era Party opposes the Secular and Socialist framework by positing the Five Dreams Manifesto (FDM) of Sri Aurobindo broadcast on August 14, 1947. Those who feel strongly about India leading the world are invited to join and work for the party. [TNM55]    

Five Dreams Manifesto (FDM)

[Breaking India: Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines (by Rajiv Malhotra, Aravindan Neelakandan) boloji.com 7 Apr 2011 – Book Review by Dr. Prema Nandakumar

The Partition of 1947 was only the despicable act of a handful of political careerists.  Even as it was being implemented, the Tiruchirapalli Radio broadcast Sri Aurobindo’s message on 15th August, 1947. He did not find it to be a solution at all.  Rather, it was an opening for a dangerous future when civil strife would always remain possible…

Unfortunately for India, the Western style of democracy with its universal suffrage has proved a bane to its unity.  Where illiteracy is still widely prevalent and symbols are a must for electoral candidates, the ruthless politicians have divided the people in terms of vote banks.  Caste that seemed to be waning, has now become stronger than ever with hundreds of caste-based associations and political parties proliferating all over India as the Yadava vote, the Dalit vote or the Minority vote.  With a visionless Parliament still adhering to the Reservation Policy even after sixty years of overprotection, the self-serving politicians have tasted blood.] 

[Bigger battles ahead for Samajwadi Party Economic Times - 12 MAR, 2012 By Chandra Bhan Prasad 

Mulayam's socialist agitation anchored by Ram Manohar Lohia was a single-track narrow gauge line. While Ambedkar told Dalits that English was the milk of a lioness and encouraged them to go for it, Lohia told Yadavs that English was a linguistic evil and launched an agitation against it. As violence threatens to bring disgrace to the young Akhilesh who seems so promising, Mulayam needs to unlearn what he has learnt during his political life. He needs to reinvent himself and turn into a social reformer.]

More than social reform, a transformation of consciousness is what Sri Aurobindo underlines in his Five Dreams Manifesto (FDM). Savitri Era Party aims at this prophecy winning more and more attention space, so that an important but dormant piece of thought becomes dominant. [TNM55]

Yantra and wedge

A yantra depicts both macrocosmic and microcosmic forces acting together, and the photographs of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo kept together can be said to constitute one. It is difficult to understand the occult significance and efficacy, and so, tinkering with this arrangement is not at all advisable. But strangely, in this photograph relating to International Women’s Day Meeting, we find the photograph of Dalai Lama, a Buddhist, prominently occupying the middle space between the photographs of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo. Personally, one may experiment with any fantasy, but to resort to such liberty at the institutional level is a gross anomaly. [TNM55]

Hypocrisy of parodying The Mother

[HT HOME: Sri Aurobindo, Heehs and the fragility of faith: Just Faith By Gautam Chikermane

The Mother suggested: “When you have nothing pleasant to say about something or somebody in the Ashram, keep silent. You must know that this silence is faithfulness to the Divine’s work.”]

[The Anti-Hindi Riot of Pondicherry by Togo Mukherjee from Overman Foundation Anurag Banerjee said, February 11, 2012 at 6:13 am

On 16 February 1965 the Mother issued the following declaration on the occasion of the events of 11 February: “We do not fight against any creed, any religion. We do not fight against any form of government. We do not fight against any caste, any social class. We do not fight against any nation or civilisation. We are fighting division, unconsciousness, ignorance, inertia and falsehood. We are endeavouring to establish upon earth union, knowledge, consciousness, truth; and we fight whatever opposes the advent of this new creation of Light, Peace, Truth and Love.”]

Hypocrisy in quoting the words of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo is spreading like an epidemic. What The Mother said then, obviously, may not be applicable now. How she dealt with a particular individual then can’t be a rule for all time to come. Keeping the context in mind and her own unique way of resolving day to day problems, the present situation demands that we apply the current norms in a transparent manner. [TNM55]   

Religious façade is indispensable

Patrice was managing the Mira Aditi stall and came to visit us. Pointing towards a quote printed on a poster he remarked to Dr. Gyanchandra that as “The Mother” is not written, those words lack force, and we immediately realized the gravity of the omission. Similarly, a recent proposal to organize chanting sessions without The Mother’s picture in the room appeared odd to me. For, the secret of Integral Yoga is just the skill of invoking The Mother in all situations. There is no other means and this religious façade is indispensable. [TNM55]    

Savitri Era Religion offers a modern and liberal choice

[Who is a Hindu? The credal definitions – Koenraad Elst « Bharata ... bharatabharati Posted on March 10, 2012 by IS. Who is a Hindu scribd.com 18 Oct 2008 Sri Aurobindo on caste: The difficult relation between caste in Hindu history and modern anti-caste reform was perhaps best articulated by Sri Aurobindo. First of all, he emphasizes the confinement of caste to purely worldly affairs: 11:31 AM]

[Review of Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism by Rajiv Malhotra (Reviewed by Prof. Indra Nath Choudhuri, Former Director, Sahitya Academy) It has become all the more necessary to respond with renewed efforts to replace the clash of civilizations with a dialogue among civilizations.]

[Ever Irrational Indian National Congress – Folks Magazine By Team Folks Columns - N S Rajaram The Congress party that was founded by an Englishman may be ended by an Italian woman… ‘charisma’ is no longer working. Navaratna Rajaram.

As far back as 1926 Sri Aurobindo observed: “Gandhi is a European— truly, a Russian Christian in an Indian body.” … Almost ten years before Gandhi arrived on the Indian scene Sri Aurobindo had noted (1906): “…the Congress started from the beginning with a misconception of the most elementary facts of politics and with its eyes turned towards the British Government and away from the Indians.” Note: Some of this is discussed in more detail in the author’s book Gandhi, Khilafat and the National Movement]

[Adieu to fiats of high commands - The Times of India › Opinion Dileep Padgaonkar Mar 10, 2012. All the same, with the exception of the Left, no political party today clamours for a return to statist policies… There is no demand from any quarter to jettison them root and branch. Here then is the Indian way forward - one that seeks to avoid the debilitating pitfalls of unfettered capitalism and statist policies alike.

Some such movement forward is now needed in the political arena as well. The two national parties have been loath to acknowledge the writing on the wall. It says, in substance, that political choices are made on the basis of interests and concerns perceived and articulated at regional, sub-regional and, indeed, local levels. What matters more and more is performance, not rhetoric, substance, not charisma or hollow appeals for caste or religious solidarity… The leaders of all the three parties, rooted in the soil, shied away from caste or religious appeals and focussed instead on development, transparency and good governance.]

Padgaonkar is almost toeing the End of History line, but we disagree with his take on religion. Faith will continue to sway political affiliation, and therefore, Savitri Era Religion offers a modern and liberal choice to the new generation. [TNM55]