Something more than even the spiritual

A comment has been posted in reference to an article titled: The Path by Sri Aurobindo
Comment posted by: Tusar N. Mohapatra
http://mirroroftomorrow.com/ [1:27 PM]

This cryptic "something more" begs elaboration. [TNM]

The way Sapta Chatushthaya is forced upon the readers of The Synthesis of Yoga is disconcerting

Re: An Entry from Record of Yoga by RY Deshpande
by Tusar N. Mohapatra on Sat 29 Nov 2008 01:18 PM IST Profile Permanent Link

Many thanks for the clarifications reiterating The Yoga and its Objects and Sapta Chatushthaya as belonging to an early stage. The way Sapta Chatushthaya is forced upon the readers of The Synthesis of Yoga (in its Note on the Text) is disconcerting. [TNM] Reply

Hubris and hegemony

[Thursday, September 07, 2006 Savitri Era is unputdownable
Sri Aurobindo, wrote Prof. Sisir Kumar Maitra in 1942, has accomplished the “transfer of the leadership in philosophy from the West to India.” But what we witness today in 2006 is something entirely different. Why? The whole scenario is not devoid of politics and what is at issue is not philosophy but hegemony... Sri Aurobindo gave the most full-proof philosophy in the entire human history, but the Westerners are unwilling to accept him at the top... Why? Because Sri Aurobindo is an Indian and American hubris can’t digest this... Why? For Sri Aurobindo, as Dr Maitra decreed, stands tall on merit. Every intellectual, every journal and every University will have to swallow this cruel pill. No amount of racial or colonial resistance can suppress the supremacy of Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy. The whole world, whether today or tomorrow, must turn to it where all the whys are answered. (TNM696MMYP) Posted by Tusar N Mohapatra at 11:21 AM]

All kinds of verbal terrorism are being unleashed in an vain attempt to appropriate the legacy of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo. American hubris is at its nefarious best right now and needs to be fought against. [TNM]

V. P. Singh, the visionary passes away

V. P. Singh, the visionary passes away. Savitri Era Party dips its banner in his honour. [TNM]

Us "religion"; they "political"

[ Re: Explanation of my Stand wrt The Lives of Sri Aurobindo
by David Hutchinson on Wed 26 Nov 2008 03:06 PM PST Profile Permanent Link Another aspect to freedom of expression and writing is that religion (which we seem to be involved with here)... But the problem in this situation is that, again, a small group has set themselves up as judges for what needs to be changed, and have engaged in essentially political activities (not spiritual ones). by David Hutchinson on Wed 26 Nov 2008 06:24 AM PST Permanent Link]

Us "religion"; they "political"! [TNM]

If our aim is to reach "countless people"

[Heehs's book is bringing new awareness of Sri Aurobindo to countless people worldwide. -- Setting the Record Straight: An Open Letter from Michael Murphy
26 Nov 2008 03:18 PM PST Science, Culture and Integral Yoga Permanent Link]

What are the sales figures? If our aim is to reach "countless people" then why not adopt more efficient methods of persuasion? [TNM]

Democracy, evolution, and progress

[the "democratic" fetish is merely the zealous servant of the banks. Its real name, its technical name, as I have argued for some time, is capitalist-parliamentarianism...But we will resuscitate communism, in its new-found clarity. Badiou on the financial crisis Le Monde. posted by it 3:50 PM]

[David Harvey (whose book on The History of Neoliberalism I actually liked in some ways) asks Naomi “Why aren’t people more angry?” Angry about the bailout, the cronyism, and all the rest?... But in traditional leftist economic thought it’s still really all about managing people from a top-down engineering model. I can’t help but feel the Harveys and Kleins of the world secretly (or maybe not so secretely) are in some perverse way really drawn to people like Greenspan because that is what they wish they could be doing–controlling the great events from the top-down. Bailout Meets Marx
from Indistinct Union by cjsmith]

[What is the American mind, anyway? Tocqueville described Americans as natural Cartesians, even though most have never read Descartes. To consider a contrast, French thought falls under two types — the Cartesian, and the Pascalian. One stands for reason, the other for revelation; one for science, the other for piety; one for clarity, the other for passion. While Europeans have sentiments informed by literary traditions, the American is a man of rational principles. As a result, anybody can be an American; in principle there are no natural outsiders. Our story has been one unbroken, ineluctable progress toward freedom and equality. The Closing of the American Mind
from Thoughts, Books, and Philosophy by jhbowden]

[Sri Aurobindo's yoga is unique in that it integrates certain aspects of the phenomena of the Enlightenment, with its ideals of democracy, evolution, and progress that are Western in origin. Re: The Lives of Sri Aurobindo: the aggrieved victim Rich]

After a long time this rounded post by Richard Carlson, not uncontaminated though; but he is capable of producing far superior propositions, his skewed political stance notwithstanding. The genealogy he carelessly asserts here is factually inaccurate and Sri Aurobindo himself has dwelt upon at length on these specific points. [TNM]

The Mother and Sri Aurobindo have thought deeply about human life

The Mother and Sri Aurobindo have insisted on relying on an intuitive or spiritual solution to various problems besetting the human condition. But they were cautious not to advance the illusion that large masses of people are soon to be uplifted to spiritual heights. Nor they promised that by following their teaching for a few years, one can attain yogic powers and start dispensing spiritual solutions.

The Mother and Sri Aurobindo have thought deeply about human life and how to rescue it from the fetters of finitude and inanity. They were engaged in a life long endeavor to discover radical remedial measures despite full play of deficiencies in the disciples with whose collaboration they were exploring. The writings of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo, for most part, are concerned with practice of various disciplines for spiritual progress; but that, in no way, should create the impression that, they were not much bothered about common human life.

The breakthrough that they conjointly have been able to accomplish in the arcane realm of consciousness is not accessible to verification. Consequently, for this we have to believe, if at all one cares to, in their own words and advices. This is purely a belief system that has crystallized as a Religion over the years. There is, therefore, no reason why this lived-option be questioned, derided, or vilified. [TNM]

Savitri Era Religion has uncontested market space

[A Fractal-model for Change by Pravir Malik
Mirror of Tomorrow on Mon 24 Nov 2008 12:38 PM IST Permanent Link Cosmos
The power to change things lies within us. Presented here are parts of a theory on how shifts in oneself can have profound shifts in corporations, markets, systems, and the world. It has been said - "Become the change you wish to see in the World". But the elaboration of how this is true may remain a mystery.]

[Blue Ocean Strategy is a business strategy book that promotes a systematic approach "for making the competition irrelevant."[1] It contains retrospective case studies and suggests theoretical approaches to creating "blue oceans" of uncontested market space ripe for growth. The book has sold more than a million copies in its first year of publication and is being published in 39 languages.[2] - Blue Ocean Strategy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia # What is BOS? The three key conceptual building blocks of BOS are: value innovation, tipping point leadership, and fair process.]

Savitri Era Religion has "uncontested market space ripe for growth" for "making the competition irrelevant." Let's resolve to march forward and spread the word. Savitri Era of those who adore, Om Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. [TNM]

Savitri Era Party loves to believe in the power of now

[The joys of the order, the beauty of a certain transcendental discipline has to be experienced. It has to be felt and dissipated, not communicated. Leela Gandhi’s note on mongrelization of subjectivity and self-exile was amply present. Sadly, her utopian exhortation of fin-de-siecle divine friendship reflects little democratic give and take, not this day at least. Ecstatic Archaisms of Aurobindo Ghose - Prasanta Chakravarty The cultural-political trope of political vedantism must be recognized as a legitimate adversary for radical democratic politics in India.]

[It is in this sense that Sri Aurobindo and the Mother speak of India as "the guru of the world," not as the general people of India today represent it but as a potential which they should be under no illusion that they have reached.
by Debashish on Sat 22 Nov 2008 06:24 PM PST Profile Permanent Link Re: The Lives of Sri Aurobindo: the aggrieved victim]

[At a time of momentous global change and evolutionary crisis, the world needs Sri Aurobindo's insights as never before. It seems to me that neither the Ashram nor India have the right to keep Sri Aurobindo to themselves or to confine the discourse on him within a particular devotional framework decided, as in the religions of the past, by a group of self-proclaimed guardians of the Truth. by Angiras on Sat 22 Nov 2008 09:50 PM PST Profile Permanent Link Re: Explanation of my Stand wrt The Lives of Sri Aurobindo]

[kaankshe said... I like the dialogue in the movie between Gurubhai and the minister about the petro industry .. listen carefully to the dialogue .. excerpts of the dialogue is given below ...
He says to the minister that I came here not to ask permission but for an opinion ... I have a load ( 500 Crore business ) and you tell me what to do with that .. its huge load that can kill or destroy anybody ..1:51 AM ... When the history of our recent times is written the inexorable rise of Dhirubhai Ambani will be one of its more memorable chapters... There is no other story in India comparable with Ambani's.
Home page > Articles > The Original Guru Mohan Guruswamy January 25, 2007 Centre for Policy Alternatives - Published in HardNews]

Beware of those who attempt to snatch away the present from our hands. Savitri Era Party loves to believe in the power of now. Savitri Era of those who adore, Om Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. [TNM]

Skepticism in Sri Aurobindo

[Moral reflections Chandigarh Tribune - Stephen Phillips’s Skepticism in Aurobindo brings the volume to the late 19th century interpretation of the Indian tradition. One associates ‘mysticism’ rather than ‘skepticism’ with Aurobindo. Phillips suggests that his mysticism is a skeptical one (I would have thought the idea of a supramental consciousness was embedded in dogmatic metaphysics rather than skepticism which in Aurobindo is no more than a mildly superficial suspicion of others as authoritative).
Vijay Tankha Sunday, November 23, 2008
Indian Ethics — Classical Traditions and Contemporary Challenges Eds Purushottama Bilimoria, Joseph Prabhu and Renuka Sharma. Oxford.Pages 431. Rs 795.]

[Ecstatic Archaisms of Aurobindo Ghose - Prasanta Chakravarty By Aditya Nigam “If hatred is demoralizing, it is also stimulating,” writes Aurobindo Ghose in one of his early essay titled On Nationalism after returning to India from England in 1893. This pithy, striking statement possibly sums up the moral basis of violence as a stimulus among the swadeshi revolutionaries. Kafila - http://kafila.org/ The cultural-political trope of political vedantism must be recognized as a legitimate adversary for radical democratic politics in India. So intense is the attraction of this serene, gory and messianic radicalism that you tend to equate all micro-adversarial particularities in terms of one single enemy: the pluralist, even the culturally rooted one. The turn that Ghose’s Bandemataram took in the early years of the twentieth century effortlessly merged at one level with the political position of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay’s Sandhya, that outspoken radical-conservative magazine of the time in Bengal. So, how does one recoup a radical enough middle ground? For starters, how about celebrating tamas?]

Seems to be a season of Skepticism. [TNM]

Blog and frog and elephant

[Matsuo Bashô: Frog Haiku
The original Japanese:
Furu ike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto
Old pond — frogs jumped in — sound of water.
Translated by Lafcadio Hearn
pond frog plop!
Translated by James Kirkup]

The beauty of a blog is in its brevity, or so we suppose who prefer to take cover under the Kautilyan dictum of keeping mum being the strength of the unwise and Chaucer's to make virtue of necessity as inspiration dries up after half a line invariably every fine morning.

On the other hand we have RY Deshpande who returns with his Mirror of Tomorrow and Savitri: the Light of the Supreme whose “endless” elephantine essays ever bewilder like the “topless” towers of Ilion. Welcome. [TNM]

Just one book, The Life Divine

[Four Critiques of Badiou’s Ontology: Part 1
from Larval Subjects. I would argue that any and all materialist positions are committed to this thesis: Namely, to the thesis that it is the world, existence, that calls the shot, not thought... – and make no mistake, I believe he has made a profound contribution to ontology – ... Contrary to Badiou’s Platonist orientation of thought, I cannot help but adopt– at least at this point –an Aristotlean orientation of thought… That is, an orientation premised on things, objects, substances, rather than maths. larvalsubjects Says: November 22, 2008 at 12:35 am
One of Badiou’s central moves is to argue that ontology falls outside of philosophy and belongs to the domain of mathematics. larvalsubjects Says: November 22, 2008 at 12:59 am Badiou’s move is to shift away from questions of access altogether to decision and what follows through a series of entailments from that decision. An axiom is a decision, something performed, not a given that is received. With this he introduces something entirely new into the history of philosophy– at least, to my knowledge –that only Spencer-Brown approaches in his theory of distinctions (i.e., distinctions not as something that are already there in the world, but rather as something drawn thereby allowing a world to come into being)... larvalsubjects Says: November 22, 2008 at 2:56 am (Deleuze, it might be said, is attempting to form an ontology that would both be consistent with the thesis that being is and that avoids this trap) ... I have a difficult time answering your question about Spinoza because his ontology is so wild and wooly. He really doesn’t fit any category. Certainly his position is perfectly consistent with a materialist ontology such as we find in Lucretius.]

Despite all reverence to such an “educational culture,” one feels impelled to recommend just one book, The Life Divine. [TNM]

It is much more profitable to start with a Vedic Yes than a Buddhist No

"Heehs has done a masterful job of pulling aside the veils of myth," writes Ellen Daly in a flattering review (The Lives of Sri Aurobindo review EnlightenNext Magazine). The skeptic is firm in his "belief" that there are "veils of myth" that need to be pulled aside and that is his prime task. Conversely, Sri Aurobindo, in all his works, questions this subversive tendency of the human mind, and pleads for overturning such a perspective. Invoking Pascal, one can safely infer that it is much more profitable to start with a Vedic Yes than a Buddhist No. [TNM]

Melanin and The Mind of the Cells

[Friday, November 07, 2008 9:48 AM Is "Suntanned" an Ugly Word for Blacks? Keith Josef Adkins
Barack is not suntanned, he's a man of African descent... But is the term "suntanned" an overt dismissal of Obama's African-ness or his blackness? Or is this just a jovial slip from someone who isn't aware of the tough social and political terrain one must journey when the skin is chock-full of melanin as opposed to just being tanned?
Posted By: Hummingbird (November 9, 2008 at 2:58 AM)
Why is he even referring to his skin color anyway? I could think of tons of other adjectives to describe this awesome man having nothing to do with his skin color.]

Considering Obama's mixed-parentage, his victory would seem a semi-final (to borrow a pet notion of V.P. Singh). But the way this derivative has been leveraged in his brand-building is mind-boggling, for the corporal-actual has been privileged over the empathical with regard to cross-cultural sensitivity. [TNM]

Unbearable Lightness of Humility

[Home Contatti / Contact us Sezione Italiana Links Notes on Savitri (BLOG) Events Contacts Who we are / What we are not:
The Savitri Study Center (Centro Studi Savitri, CSS) is a very small groups of friends sharing a common love for Savitri, for Sri Aurobindo and for the Mother.
The CSS in no way claims to represent Sri Aurobindo's vision, or to have any correct or complete interpretation of it. In no way it claims to have anything to teach. In no way it should be considered as a guide or an authority.
The CSS also does not claim to represent in any way those who have an interest in Sri Aurobindo's vision. CSS's activities are only intended for those who feel some kind of affinity with them. The web site is managed by Carlo Chiopris and Monica Pirazzoli. English Section]

Humility is deservedly a coveted virtue but if it reaches this level of lightness, then it becomes unbearable. There is no reason why a Center can't "claim to have anything to teach." [TNM]

Rick Lipschutz and Rod Hemsel

[Saturday, May 26, 2007 Fighting fallacies
It is quite stimulating that Rod Hemsell has broached The problem of textual fallacies in Sri Aurobindo's world. His 2002 essay was instrumental in trouncing Ken Wilber and now he can take this problem head on in collaboration with other veterans. Obviously, spirited fights might ensue, but that will be all in the interest of the posterity and good academics. [TNM] 9:27 PM
Posted by Tusar N Mohapatra at 6:33 PM 0 comments Links
Thursday, November 09, 2006 Inevitability of Savitri Era religion
The July 27 proclamation of the Savitri Era religion is fermenting mixed feelings among the adherents and admirers. After the expected initial resistance more reasoned debate is sprouting. The dialogue between Rod Hemsell and Debashish Banerji is quite illuminating in this context. It seems that both are not averse to the idea of religion and see it an inevitability.
Posted by Tusar N Mohapatra at 10:24 AM 0 comments Links]

It is curious that we are yet to hear Rod Hemsel on the curent controversy over Heehs' book. Like Rick Lipschutz he should also offer his guidance on the overall situation. [TNM] 8:39 AM 5:50 AM

Three duties and eight ethical principles

[Adam Smith's quote is from The Wealth of Nations: “According to the system of natural liberty, the sovereign has only three duties to attend to; three duties of great importance, indeed, but plain and intelligible to common understandings: first, the duty of protecting the society from violence and invasion of other independent societies; secondly, the duty of protecting, as far as possible, every member of the society from the injustice or oppression of every other member of it, or the duty of establishing an exact administration of justice; and, thirdly, the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and certain public institutions which it can never be for the interest of any individual, or small number of individuals, to erect and maintain; because the profit could never repay the expense to any individual or small number of individuals, though it may frequently do much more than repay it to a great society.” Adam Smith... And Marathi Politics
from ANTIDOTE by Sauvik]

[Ethical Principles for the Intellectually Honest Critical Thinker
from Larval Subjects In the spirit of Martin Luther King, I have a dream! I have a dream that my philosophy students and myself might live passionately according to the following eight ethical principles:
Proposition 1: The intellectually honest critical thinker (IHCT) focuses not on the claim a person makes, but the argument by which the claim is supported...
Proposition 3: The IHCT never dismisses a claim as being an “opinion” or “subjective”, but politely asks for an argument in support of the claim...
Proposition 6: The IHCT strives for humility, modesty, and a lack of ego, struggling to separate one’s sense of self-worth from the need to always be right.
Proposition 7: The IHCT is charitable in her interpretation of the claims and arguments of others, striving to give them their most benign possible sense, avoiding the attribution of malicious motives, striving not to speculate about hidden motives, and providing missing premises where reasonable when they are not explicitly formulated...]

Smith's "three duties" and Sinthome's "eight ethical principles" are worth ruminating for the members of Savitri Era Fraternity when discourse in the time of conflict is being muddied with needless rancor. [TNM]

The phobia for religion and politics should melt

[What comes through more and more for me is the necessity for the recreation of civil society. More so than party building although that is a piece of the issue. Habermas and Taylor’s recent work on civic (and civil) reason I think is crucially important in this regard (I’m more Taylorian than Habermasian in some respects). Integral Politics Review from Last Night
from Indistinct Union by cjsmith]

[The key is to have an ontology of forces, one in which nonviolence is not a reflection of nature, but rather a construction of nature. If there’s anything intrinsically wrong with Obama’s citation of Niebuhr above, it’s that it claims to reflect nature — certain ideals are of value, but cannot be expected to be actualized (thus Niebuhr on Jesus’s nonviolence). Nonviolence, then, is ontological, but as construction rather than reflection of being. Importantly, the same holds for “rights”. Rights, like nonviolence, do not preexist, they are created. A state must be forced to enforced rights. And this force comes not from natural rights, but from a (cell) politics that makes this force felt by the state. Theological Middle Names: Barack Reinhold Obama
from An und für sich by danbarber]

[If non-violence is a guideline, then who decides when the exceptional case presents? Who decides when violence is necessary? If one argues that each individual has the power to decide, than each individual is sovereign. And we are right back to the individualist anarchism, and we have failed to think an ethical anarchism. The question of decisionism needs to be confronted directly. Some thoughts on Simon Critchley and non-violence
from Critical Animal by Scu]

[Re: Orissa court stays release of book on Sri Aurobindo (the next Satanic Verses -thaindian news) Debashish Sun 16 Nov 2008 Yes, there are two ways - the bewildered way and the enlightened way, but Krishna is at no place saying to Arjuna, wait till you become enlightened and then only enter the battle. He is saying make the battle an occasion for your enlightenment...
the evolution of the divine includes the evolution of Power and this achieves itself through its victory over the falsehood (so long as that exists). This does not mean that one needs to be on the lookout for "cosmic war," or jump to conclusions about truth which needs to be defended. But then Gandhi's logic in his interpretation of the Gita, that Krishna is necessarily speaking to Arjuna about an internal battle only because the divine could not support violence, should also be avoided. Re: Orissa court Debashish Tue 18 Nov 2008]

The phobia for religion and politics should melt. [TNM]

Power-grabbing agenda are valid democratic activities

[this is only a means to their end of ousting the present ashram management and establishing themselves as the official clergy of Aurobindonianity. Re: Competing Visions of History koantum Mon 17 Nov 2008]

[Bijan, Srikant, Bailochan, and you (PPR) are known to be following your own personal power-grabbing agendas. So stop pretending to be saviours of the Ashram, and get down to your respective sadhanas. -- S has left a new comment on your post "They steal other people's ideas and thoughts and..." 8:14 AM 4:12 PM2:05 PM]

[Obama’s victory is not just another shift in the eternal parliamentary struggle for a majority, with all the pragmatic calculations and manipulations that involves. It is a sign of something more... Obama’s victory is a sign of history in the triple Kantian sense of signum rememorativum, demonstrativum, prognosticum. Use Your Illusions Slavoj Žižek LRB 14 November 2008 Slavoj Žižek]

Ousting present managements and power-grabbing agenda are valid democratic activities and there is no reason why one should shiver upon hearing any conversation on this. Investing one's trust in the virtue of status quoism is as much a symptom of inertia as an abiding faith in Perennial Philosophy. [TNM]

Taking up an achievable target initially is also important

from Tusar N. Mohapatra <tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com> to PP Raghavachary <raag62@gmail.com> date17 November 2008 16:59 subject Re: Debate

Dear Raghav,

As regards "change in the Management of the Ashram," I think the matter is embedded in legality. Hence, there is the need of preparing an approach paper first by locating the specific spots and examining their desirability as well as feasibility. Taking up of an achievable target initially is also important, and then it can easily be thrown for eliciting informed opinions. Thanks,

Yours fraternally, Tusar N. Mohapatra [4:12 PM]

Veracity of accuracy or sincerity

[Debashish Sun 16 Nov 2008 Re: Orissa court There is no preventing this struggle... Terms which have been misappropriated (and which will not go away however much one likes to close one's eyes to their existence) need to be reinterpreted. At least that's how I see it. -- Debashish Sat 15 Nov 2008 Re: Orissa court stays release of book on Sri Aurobindo (the next Satanic Verses -taindian news)]

[Without the benefit of advanced education, the writer accurately assessed the situation by virtue of simple sincerity -- Angiras Sun 16 Nov 2008 Re: Competing Visions of History in Internal Islamic Discourse and Islamic-Western Dialogue]

Now how to check the veracity of such magisterial pronouncements? Angiras being a pseudonym further complicates the matter. [TNM]

An enlightened democracy where the hierarchy of ideas prevails over hierarchy of men and women

[A: In the end it is always about ethics and all about personal values. That is why it is very important for every society to create checks and balances... A: Again I am a believer in the adage – performance leads to recognition, recognition leads to respect and respect leads to power... A: Infosys has brought pretty smart people together. Infosys has given opportunity for youngsters to come out with new ideas. Infosys has created a platform where meritocracy has prevailed... A: Infosys has brought pretty smart people together. Infosys has given opportunity for youngsters to come out with new ideas. Infosys has created a platform where meritocracy has prevailed. Infosys has put premium on innovation; we have created incentives for people who are innovative. Infosys has been an enlightened democracy where the hierarchy of ideas prevails over hierarchy of men and women... A: There is only one ingredient for innovation and that is the power of the human mind. As long as a company is able to attract, enable, empower and retain the best of the brightest, it will have a play. -- Narayana Murthy, Tue, Nov 11, 2008, CNBC-TV18 Moneycontrol » News » Murthy feels in the end it is always about ethics and personal values Speaking to Vallabh Bhanshali 5:30 PM]

Savitri Erans too should be "able to attract, enable, empower and retain the best of the brightest" in order to survive and show the way to the world. [TNM]

Panch-Pyare

Now that A-city has named the Panch-Pyare, one can be inquisitive about the disposition of the rest of the inhabitants of the B-city. Theory, if relates to flesh and blood men (and women, and children), then only can have any meaning; otherwise it’s mere highfalutin talk. [TNM]