January 23, 2013

Sri Aurobindo is treading the domain of the superhuman

For him a person, by performing labour on the things given to us in common by nature, made them his own. But, to sustain a claim on his property through time, that person has to remain the same; and personal identity depends on consciousness. Property must endure in order to be property and that depends on memory. Money thus expands the capacity of individuals to stabilize their own personal identity by holding something durable that embodies the desires and wealth of all the other members of society. Money is a ‘memory bank’, a store allowing individuals to keep track of those exchanges they wish to calculate and, beyond that, a source of economic memory for the community. One of money’s chief functions is remembering.

Coming back to Ashram life, this slow process of deterioration over the last three decades is essentially due to the physical withdrawal of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother along with the gradual disappearance of the first generation of disciples that came to the Ashram leaving everything behind – family, friends, property. The present inmates (especially the ex-students of the Ashram School) do the reverse – they gather family, friends and fortune, and establish themselves firmly as well-settled citizens of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Puducherry, with no intention whatsoever to consecrate themselves to Yoga. What can you expect therefore from the collective life of the Ashram? Only a good life of leisure, sports, art, drama, talks and other programmes reminding us of the great teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother without being able to do any justice to them… In the meanwhile, their long-standing policy of deliberate neglect of the problems of Ashram life has brought the community to the brink. 

We focus generally on the law of Karma in the light of our nature of desire. We seek pleasure and try to avoid pain. We want to be rewarded and we want to avoid punishment. This is the nature of the desire-soul in man that is based on the vital principles of attraction and repulsion, with an underlying principle of desire. We therefore tend to see the law of Karma as an external representation of this desire-soul’s focus, and thus, overlay our all-too-human tendencies on the universal Spirit.
While it may seem to operate this way for some time in our development, eventually we begin to recognize that the Spirit is beyond the limitations imposed by our vital seekings. The higher aspirations and deeper meaning of our lives can at that point no longer be held hostage to the desire-soul’s limited view.

Savitri and The Yoga of the Cells by Sri Aurobindo, The Mother and RY Deshpande (Jan 20, 2013) $0.99 Kindle Edition
The Mother’s Yoga of Cellular Transformation begins in it. In the present work we have excerpted broadly passages from the revelations made by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother about their attempts and realisations. These accounts roughly corresponds to the period 1940 to 1973 when the Mother withdrew from her physical body—the three decades in which intense yoga-tapasya was done in the physical for the Divine’s physical. We are extremely fortunate that Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have left some of these details as a part of their consciousness for us to enter in, grow in it, the new Consciousness the Mother spoke of on 1 January 1969.
Savitri Foundation is glad to bring out this work in two volumes. While Savitri and the Yoga of the Cells forms the first textual presentation, the second will deal with the Overman or Surhomme stage forming a precursor, a bridge between the sentient Man and the Supramental or Gnostic Being, Towards the Intermediate Race.

This play in 5 Acts is located in Syria of the playwright’s imagination. Rodogune, the Parthian Princess captured by Syria and made attendant of queen Cleopatra. Antiochus and Timocles, the sons of Cleopatra by her first husband, have been brought up in Egypt. At the death of Cleopatra’s second husband, they return to Syria. The selfish queen mistakes fulsome flattery for real love and rejects Antiochus. He revolts to claim the throne of Syria; and both Rodogune and Antiochus who are mutually attracted by love, join together in this venture. 

The tree is an 82-year-old Peltophorum pterocarpum that stands next to Sri Aurobindo's Samadi, which was named 'Service Tree' by the Mother. Through the ..

Swami Vivekananda: A Hindu Supremacist? from Centre Right India - Jan 22, 2013 by Aravindan Neelakandan - Outlook is at it again. It has unleashed a camapign of calumny against India’s most venerated spirtual icon…
David L Gosling, a Cambridge scholar and author of the seminal work ‘Religion and Ecology in South East Asia’ states that Vivekananda’s interpretation of karma-yoga as the basis for this-worldly action which was central to his teaching paved the way for Gandhian ethics.

Frontline, Volume 30 - Issue 02 :: Jan. 26-Feb. 08, 2013 Attempts at appropriation PRALAY KANUNGO Swami Vivekananda never entertained violent identity politics. But his “missionary Hinduism” offered potential for the development of a militant Hindu nation, allowing Hindutva to make selective readings and interpretations of his texts and speeches…
Vivekananda’s engagement with Hindu identity has evoked contesting responses. While one view portrays him as a proponent of a strong and virile Hindu nation and interprets his ideas of tolerance and unity of all faiths as fragile, another view contests the “stereotyping” of Vivekananda as a militant Hindu, arguing that Vivekananda’s personal quest for ultimate realisation sets limits to identity politics, thereby making his agenda of national revival not particularly Hindu. Both the versions seem to be partly true. Vivekananda’s views were quite complex and frequently ambiguous. But he surely operated within the paradigm of religious enlightenment: though he stressed the self-assertion of Hindus, he never entertained violent identity politics. However, it is clear that his “missionary Hinduism” offered potential and possibilities for the development of a militant Hindu nation, allowing Hindutva to make selective readings and interpretations of his texts and speeches. Moreover, Vivekananda’s approach to philanthropy and accommodation of the marginalised has also been found handy for Hindutva leaders to construct an inclusive pan-Indian Hindu identity by expanding Hindu ecumeny. Hence, Hindutva’s claim on Vivekananda’s legacy may not be completely misplaced! Pralay Kanungo is Professor and Chairperson, Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Unlike Sri Ramakrishna, Vivekananda was not a sadhaka, nor did he possess the philosophical depth or originality of Sri Aurobindo. His most precious ...

The Influence Of Swami Vivekananda And Sri Aurobindo By Argha Banerjee. How shall I express in language my indebtedness to Sri Ramakrishna and Swami ...

Es - Volumes 27-29 - Page 155 - Universidad de Valladolid. Departamento de Inglés - 2006 - What Sri Aurobindo did was to conceptualise and problematise certain issues with relation to the human being's changing encounters with consciousness and the world. He occurred at a crucial point in the formation of a nationalistic ...
Immortal Sarvoday - Page 30 - N. hazary - 2007 - Preview Gandhiji gave serious thought to the question of Swaraj in 1908 in his book Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule. But the Swaraj of his conception was different from the concept of Swaraj of Tilak and Aurobindo.
Gandhi: 'Hind Swaraj' and Other Writings - Page xxx - Mohandas Gandhi, Anthony J. Parel - 1997 - Preview - More editions In contrast to the Moderates, no Extremist is mentioned by name in Hind Swaraj - an indication of Gandhi's distance from them. In other words, Tilak and Aurobindo Ghose, their distinguished leaders, are passed over in silence. Gandhi was ... Page xxxi Neither would Aurobindo Ghose's appeal to shakti - power in its creative but violent forms, mythologised by Durga, Bhavani and Kali - have been more reassuring to the Mahatma. While no work by the Extremists is included in the Appendix, ...
Gandhi marg - Volume 21 - Page 314 - Gandhi Peace Foundation (New Delhi, India)Gandhi Smarak Nidhi - 1999 - It was conceptualised by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in his novel Ananda Math. Its practical applications could be found in several persons like Sri Aurobindo, Swami Shraddhananda, and even in Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Gandhi's ...
Social action - Volume 44 - Page 89 - Indian Social InstituteIndian Institute of Social Order - 1994 - Another thinker and a practising nationalist Sri Aurobindo conceptualised the politics, and political action in a similar vein. ... It is not surprising, therefore, that in Aurobindo's opinion, "Nationalism is not a mere political programme, nationalism ...
Secularism and liberation: perspectives and strategies for India today - Page 111 - Rudolf C. HerediaEdward MathiasIndian Social Institute - 1995 - Another thinker and a practising nationalist, Sri Aurobindo, conceptualized politics and political action similarly. He considered India as his motherland, which to him symbolised a spiritual as well as a geographical entity. During the British rule, ...
India's Freedom Movement: Legacy of Bipin Chandra Pal - Page 104 - Binay Bhattacharya - 2007 - Preview - More editions ... advocated by Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo Ghose and in the vision of Hindu rashtra viewed by M.S. Golwalker and his followers. Serving ... In post-colonial India it is difficult to conceptualise nation state in terms of religious particularism.
Colonialism, Tradition, and Reform: An Analysis of Gandhi's ... - Page 57 - Bhikhu C. Parekh - 1999 - Preview - More editions Lala Lajpat Rai, Aurobindo, the later Narmada Shankar, Tilak, Motilal Nehru and the early Gandhi, thought that British ... an opportunity to turn the corner. Like their rulers, they too conceptualised the colonial encounter in pedagogical terms.
World Government and Thakur Sen Negi - Page 201 - M. G. Chitkara - 1999 - Preview - More editions old escatology but grouped together under the name of "Integral Humanism" by Sri Aurobindo. ... Nation is conceptualised as having : (a) geographical territory and its inhabitants as its body, (b) the sense of belonging to the nation creates a ...
Evolutionary, Spiritual Conceptions of Life - Sri Aurobindo, ... - Page 36 - Michael Leicht - 2008 - Preview The idea of involution-evolution is something new for the Western setting of the debate. But we must ask, whether the spirit has really reached its zenith in Aurobindo in its process of increased self-awareness? - Aurobindo has conceptualised his ...
Transaction - Indian Institute of World Culture - Issue 97 - Page 17 - Indian Institute of World Culture - 1996 - Through their mystical and transcendental experience, Hindus conceptualized many subtle issues, such as: mind is ... as has been testified by many saints and sages throughout the ages and by Ramakrishna and Aurobindo in recent times.
Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research - Volume 16 - Page 105 - Indian Council of Philosophical Research - 1998 - Dharmakirti explains that person's success by saying that his/her conceptualized cognition of the jewel, although erroneous, ... V. Kapali Sastri, Dipti Publications, Sri Aurobindo Does Dharmakirti Embrace a Pragmatic Theory of Truth?
Sri Aurobindo and Karl Marx: Integral Sociology and Dialectical ... - Page 21 - Debi Prasad Chattopadhyaya - 1988 - Preview It is a materialistic way of putting what Sri Aurobindo means by saying that it is in the human mind that Nature ... To bring Nature into an organic unity with man it has first to be grasped, then controlled, and finally socialised and humanised.
Indian Wisdom and International Peace: From the Vedas & Lord ... - Page 35 - R N. VyasVyas R N - 1987 - Preview Aurobindo is full of praise for this religion of humanity. This religion has great utility. It has 'humanised society, humanised law and punishment, humanized the outlook of man on man, abolished legalised torture and the cruder forms of ...
Soul And Structure Of Governance In India - Page 307 - Jagmohan - 2005 - Preview - More editions What did Sri Aurobindo mean when he talked of India's destiny and India's religion?... had innate faith in the inherent strength of Indian culture, and interpreted Hinduism as a positive and elevating force for ennobling and humanising society.
Philosophy Of Education - Page 222 - S.S. ChandraS.S. Chandra & Rajendra Kumar Sharma - 2006 - Preview - More editions This perfectionism is the strength and this again is the weakness of Sri Aurobindo's philosophy of education. In tune with ... In other words this requires divine perfection. 
Sri Aurobindo's treatment of Hindu myth - Page 11 - Jan Feys - 1983 - Sri Aurobindo is conscious of the transposition the myth has thus been subjected to, whether by Kalidasa or by himself matters little, for Aurobindo in any case subscribes to the humanising interpretation. "It is therefore", he says, "one of the...
Contemporary Indian Writing in English: Critical Perceptions - Part 2 - Page 319 - N. D. R. Chandra - 2005 - Full view - More editions ... English and American poetry, and constantly exposing himself also to the humanising influence of Sanskrit classics. He is a ... However by 1961 Lal had tailored his position and stated "Sri Aurobindo happens to be our Milton, and Toru Dutt, ...
Towards eternity; Sri Aurobindo birth centenary volume, 15th ... - Page 73 - Aurobindo GhoseV. Madhusudan Reddy - 1973 - But to appreciate the revelation, one must keep in mind that Sri Aurobindo is treading the domain of the superhuman, the ultra-natural, and his aim is not to humanise and naturalise them altogether. Indeed poetry of a fine order is possible to a completely humanised and naturalised mysticism as in the lyrics of the ... Sri Aurobindo--the poet - Volume 2, Part 4 - Page 47 - Kaikhushru Dhunjibhoy Sethna – 1999 The poetry of Sri Aurobindo: a journey from ego to self - Page 130 - Kishor Gandhi - 2001
Sri Aurobindo: The foundations on Indian culture and the ... - Page 290 - Aurobindo Ghose - 1970 -  admitted as is sufficient to humanise the appeal and the significance. The poet makes us conscious of the immense forces that are behind our life and sets his action in a magnificent epic scenery, the great imperial city, the ...
Encyclopaedia Eminent Thinkers (vol. : 17 The Political Thought Of ... - Page 46 - Jai Narain Sharma - 2008 - Preview - More editions One speaks of Iqbal and Sri Aurobindo as cures for the contemporary dehumanisation caused by the scientific culture, ... of dehumanised culture might produce some sort of neo-primitivism. which instead of humanising our behaviour makes it ...
A century's salutation to Sri Aurobindo - Page 62 - Nolini Kanta Gupta - 1972 - Thus the Vedic Rishis sought not to humanise the Divine, their purpose was rather to divinise the human. And their allegorical language, although rich in terrestrial figures, does not carry the impress and atmosphere of mere humanity and ...
Dharma of the twenty-first century: theological-ethical paradigm shift - Page 118 - Somen Das - 1996 - Even, Malhotra had noted that Aurobindo denied reality to the world apart from Brahman But according to Malhotra, all the ... Reinterpretation of the Absolute It is significant to note that in modern time there is a concerted effort to humanise the...
Indian journal of social science - Volume 7 - Page 152 Indian Council of Social Science Research - 1994 - But from Sri Aurobindo we learn of the urgent need to spiritualise our humanity as we are beginning our work of humanising our modernity. Ananta Giri Ravi Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation Indian Institute of Management ...

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