Thursday, August 01, 2024

Sri Aurobindo is not an exclusivist advocate of Hindu chauvinism

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

AuroPublications, the publications division of the Sri Aurobindo Society, publishes spiritually themed books and creates multimedia and audio-visual ...
17 minutes ago — This is the website of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, a community in Pondicherry, South India.
23 hours ago — Sri Aurobindo was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. His thoughts and ideas on education were quite reformative, the quote ...
21 hours ago — India is celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the greatest Avatar of the 20th century, Sri Aurobindo. All kinds of articles, essays and books have come out, ...
It is said, 'One cannot make a heap without making a hole', one cannot enrich oneself without impoverishing someone else. Is this true? If someone has acquired ...
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6 hours ago — Page 1.
Poems of Narad - Poems To Mary Helen - She Has Travelled long Towards the Light. 1 view · 46 minutes ago ...more. The Mother & Sri Aurobindo : E-library.
Celebrating the Centenary of Sri Aurobindo's arrival in Pondicherry. April 4, 1910. "A Centenary's Salutations to Sri Aurobindo" is a musical ...
10 hours ago — M. Heidegger and Sri Aurobindo Ghosh in order to understand to what extent the language of the ancient sages and rishis is still accessible to our understanding ...
18 hours ago — The Sri Aurobindo Association of America (SAA) is a California nonprofit organization whose mission is to be of service to groups and individuals devoted to ...
14 hours ago — 'Sri Aurobindo' by Roshen Dalal and 'Bondhu' by Kunal Sen are two unputdownable biographies among the Valley of Words' shortlist for best non-fiction...
Savitri Satsang with Narad - 21 March 2024. 4 views · 45 minutes ago ...more. The Mother & Sri Aurobindo : E-library. 10.5K.
... Chattopadhyay - Poems and Plays - Forgiveness (Read by Narad). 3 views · 27 minutes ago ...more. The Mother & Sri Aurobindo : E-library. 10.5K. Subscribe.
18 hours ago — Sushma Shethna is a truly blessed pilgrim on the path of Integral Yoga, inspired by the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. With a Bachelor's degree ...
4 hours ago — Sri Aurobindo gives a 3 level process to this: L1 - Decoupling action from outcomes L2 - Abandoning the sense of 'doership' L3 - Stilling to let divine will ...

Kindly indicate exactly where the Raja has "promoted Christian ideals as being superior to Hindu traditions". If anything, my examination of the Raja's work plus the reception of that work by some of the best minds of Modern India (Vivekananda, Rabindranath, Aurobindo) made me conclude that the Raja has always everywhere tried to uphold the Hindu religious and intellectual traditions, even when it concerns universal themes -- such as a 'universal religion'. More in my upcoming book.

https://x.com/sreejit_d/status/1818189124928684445?t=iGD_qRP4300TuRpPj7UuUA&s=19

CIC’s 2nd show cause notice to Secretariat, AV Foundation: 

“two years had elapsed” after an RTI application for a copy of an audit report on a housing project; “was not able to submit a proper reply” at the hearing of the Commission #SriAurobindo #TheMother #Auroville

https://x.com/trueseek/status/1818486437773558207?t=et8Gw1UEpUcyEGFwgaj3zQ&s=19

In this video snippet, Mohit Bansal explains Sri Aurobindo's stages for national unity: build a common social order, establish political organization, and promote internal development. India's vastness and diversity tolerance delayed unity but avoided class conflicts. Watch the full talk here: youtu.be/pCDMzSCgPIU #SangamTalks

https://x.com/sangamtalks/status/1818609835685904396?t=VVQurXtmA68xc7HHXMdYTA&s=19

The problem with science as a stand-in for religion was articulated clearly by Aurobindo. Science is a system of verification and archival of facts (as in contingent [mis]steps on the way towards truth) but there is nothing in science to necessitate the transformation of the knowledge worker. In that sense it is counter to the will to power inherent to human being which is at root aspirational. We seek power not merely knowledge. Yoga, as Aurobindo relates, is exactly the working out of man's aspirational nature through very practical psychology. Yet it is not limited to a flatland plane of mental discursion (as in Western psychology) but assimilative of metaphysics.

https://x.com/jwayneascetus/status/1818673124210360804?t=Uct5p0wK_8jdpYuBq4b_YA&s=19

I think Sri Aurobindo saw the importance of the sacred geography of Punjab & Sindh (under present Pakistan) which is why he supported a unified India even with separate electorates. Ironically with the polarized voting of Muslims in India separate electorate has bcome a reality.

https://x.com/Subhajit_sen1/status/1818859536943337660?t=vltcc9TMP2EigIdaHzdycA&s=19

To really understand Sri Aurobindo's position one has to read his "5-dreams" AIR Tiruchirapally speech on 14/8/1947 carefully: "sriaurobindosaction.org/Dreams.htm".

https://x.com/Subhajit_sen1/status/1818978752480645324?t=B9aX_W080_IqB7FbNdQ84Q&s=19

This seems to be consequence of mother nature's plan for this age 

According to Sri Aurobindo, iirc, she wants  humanity to truly master the matter and materialistic aspect of universe  

That's why there is an unprecedented respect for logic based on sensory data in this age

https://x.com/ImperiumHindu/status/1818999391702712439?t=zRbQ9YsqCLwvIfuSf2rupw&s=19

In Puducherry today, delivered inaugural address at the National Workshop on Sri Aurobindo’s World View! Noteworthy was the work of host org, Sri Aurobindo Centre for Advanced Research (SACAR). Dr Ananda Reddy is the moving force behind. A good no of young students & teachers from many parts was also remarkable!

@narendramodi @AmitShah @JPNadda

https://x.com/Vinay1011/status/1819029656412275012?t=-yTkVnpsUqhxdx6XC2c_mg&s=19

Praise for Aurobindo: An Ideologue of New Nationalism

D Dalton
… Now comes a brilliant gem about the early philosophy of Sri Aurobindo, arguably the most underrated yet profound thinker of the nationalist period. An important analysis is Aurobindo’s vital argument for Hindu–Muslim unity, introduced in the rst …… is controverts any interpretation of Aurobindo as an exclusivist advocate of Hindu chauvinism. e nexus of ideas formulated by Aurobindo is … All of this demonstrates the systematic web of thought that Aurobindo ingeniously developed until 1910 …

[PDF] Transformation of Consciousness and Spiritual Power in Sri Aurobindo's Savitri

SN Patil
… In his epic Savitri, Sri Aurobindo provides a method to perceive an integral weltanschauung by practicing the integral Yoga. Though the Sadhana done by Ashwapathy and Savitri, Sri Aurobindo introduces his readers to the world of the …

[PDF] INDIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH (POETRY AND DRAMA)

I Block, II Block, D Block III, G Karnad-Hayavadan…
… This monumental work outlines Sri Aurobindo's philosophy of Integral Yoga and provides a comprehensive exploration of the nature of reality, consciousness, and evolution. It addresses fundamental questions about the purpose of existence and …

Morality, Rationality, and Spirituality

RC Pradhan - Ethics, Self and the World: Exploring Metaphysical …, 2024
… assume divine powers (Sri Aurobindo 1973) because of its place in the divine order of things. It can be called the supermind (Sri Aurobindo 1973) if … But this is not the case, because it is amply proved that enlightened reason is also practical (Sri …… But enlightened reason can be made free from these presuppositions, because it itself may assume divine powers (Sri Aurobindo 1973) because of its place in the divine order of things. It can be called the supermind (Sri Aurobindo 1973) if we …

Value Theory

RC Pradhan - Ethics, Self and the World: Exploring Metaphysical …, 2024
… This integral approach to values from the lower to the higher values is the hallmark of the theory of purusharthas (Sri Aurobindo 1985). … to exclude the lower values in the scheme of an integral life (Sri Aurobindo 2000). The lower and the …… from the lower to the higher values is the hallmark of the theory of purusharthas (Sri Aurobindo 1985). … lower values in the scheme of an integral life (Sri Aurobindo 2000). The lower and the higher values … Thus there is a meeting point where both …

Practical Morality

RC Pradhan - Ethics, Self and the World: Exploring Metaphysical …, 2024
Though ethics is meant for the world World , it so happens that the actual world remains unaffected by the ethical ideals. The world does not appear to be the ideal home for the moral values, because there is always a mismatch between what we …… on the basis of their spiritual unity supported by their rational capacity (Sri Aurobindo 1962). If the human beings can rise above their group and … The narrow human mind has to be transformed by greater spiritual effort (Sri Aurobindo (1962) at …

Virtue Ethics

RC Pradhan - Ethics, Self and the World: Exploring Metaphysical …, 2024
… Human beings cannot be mere rational beings, because they have a higher self which is the spirit that goes beyond the reason itself (Sri Aurobindo 1962). From this perspective, it can be argued that the spiritual excellence or virtue is the highest …

[PDF] Gītā psychology: An understanding from philosophy to practice

LJ Mahanta - 2024
The Gītā or Bhagavad Gītā also known Gitopaniṣad is one of the oldest vedantic scripture of Indian philosophy. It is the essence of all the Upaniṣads written almost five thousands years ago by Vyāsa. The central theme of the Gītā is the exploration …

[PDF] Lokasamgraha: A Dynamic Ethical and Social Value In the Bhagavad Gita

F Minz, S Mishra
… like ‘Karma yoga’ (… -yoga, it necessitates that we offer sacrifices to many Gods for their benevolent works and thereby, sacrifice is considered as a work of humans towards the Gods. Such attributed works to God or dedicated action to God is …

[PDF] Human Behaviour in Relation to Happiness in Life Based on Panch Kosha Theory: Indian and Western View of Points

P Kumar - 2024
… The way to achieve the objective of inner peace and happiness are Astang Yoga of Patanjali, Buddhists Vipassana or Integral Yoga of Maharshi Aurobindo. It is the concept of the person concerned and how to adopt the way to the process of peace …

[PDF] Music and mental health

NR Koirala, A Paudel, S Upadhyay, A Koirala - Journal of Psychiatrists' Association of …, 2024
… Music therapy has a long history in Hinduism, based on the concept of Naad Yoga, the yoga of sound. Ancient scriptures mention music … Music has been an integral part of Islamic culture and tradition for centuries. In Islam, music therapy utilizes …

Decoding mindfulness for organisations by exploring the perceptions of mindfulness masters: an indigenous approach

D Saini - International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 2024
… controlled, regulated and restrained (Yoga Sutra 1.2). This state is considered the goal and essence of Yoga, representing a doorway to … representing the pinnacle of mental cultivation and attainment of Yoga Samadhi, the ultimate state of Yoga. In …

Indian Philosophy: A Summary: இந்தியத் தத்துவத்தில் ஆசீவகம்

S Sivakamasundari - Journal of Tamil Culture and Literature, 2024
… It is an integral part of Indian culture and has been shaped by a confluence of factors such as practical experiences, beliefs, customs, traditions, scientific … The influence of Ajivika, Jainism, and Buddhism can be traced in later Vedic …

Overcoming The Trap of Overthinking: Stop Overthinking

A Gupta - 2024
… Mindfulness meditation and yoga have also been shown to be effective in reducing stress hormone levels and promoting emotional well-… Both yoga and tai chi have been shown to reduce stress, improve flexibility and balance, and enhance …

[PDF] An Overview on Indian Knowledge System

S Khan, M Sharma - Integrated Journal for Research in Arts and Humanities, 2024
… Ayurveda, Yoga, Vedanta, and Vedic sciences, integral components of these systems, remain relevant in the contemporary world. … Incorporating practices like asanas (postures), pranayama (breath control), and meditation, Yoga has proven …

[PDF] Hindutva, right-wing extremism, and genocide process

L Zaman - 2024
This thesis paper analyzes to what extent ideas of right-wing extremism, Hindutva, and genocide process evident in texts from important Hindutva actors as Narendra Modi, Yogi Adityanath and Laxmi Dubey and to what extent India can be classified …

[PDF] Is Indian History Being Falsified? Public Interest Trends of Historical Figures, 2004-2023

S Mukhopadhyay
… figures to reshape historical narrative sby promoting right-wing Hindutva ideology. The study investigates these claims by examining changes … There is no evidence to suggest that the legacies of these personalities are being suppressed or …

1 Performing the Constitution as an insurgent document

S Jestrovic, B Dutt - Theatre, activism, subjectivity: Searching for the Left in …, 2024
… By the end of the first term of the BJP, the Hindutva project of establishing Hindu rashtra (Hindu nation) was well in place. Minorities and Dalits, 1 as well as dissident voices even from within the Hindu community, were terrorised and often killed. 2 …

No country for sex workers, then or now: Srijit Mukherji's Begum Jaan (2017) and its many imagi-nations

S Paul - National Identities, 2024
This paper reads the period film Begum Jaan (Mukherji, 2017 ) for its portrayal of Partition of the Indian subcontinent as an event of gendered and sexual violence. In doing so, it explores the biopolitics of sex work at the historical juncture of 1947 and …

The changing dynamics of Indian nationalism in contemporary Hindi movies

R Bhattacharya - National Identities, 2024
… 32), ‘In recent times Hindi film historical(s) have used and manipulated histories in order to stoke communalist sentiments and construct a Muslimness convenient for the use of Hindutva ideology’. Therefore, in Raazi, Sehmat must act as a nationalist …

“Hang the Rapists Immediately”: Rape Vigilantism, State Violence, and Impunity in Contemporary India

C Lakkimsetti - Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 2024
This essay focuses on increasing public demands for instant justice in response to sexual violence in contemporary India. Through close analysis of a specific event—the brutal 2019 gang rape and murder of a female veterinarian in the southern Indian …

Monday, July 01, 2024

Ideal that merged statecraft into moral craft

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

One of questions on Yoga and Education discussed with the faculty of Auro University, Surat. A talk by Dr Alok Pandey.
13 hours ago — Manifestation and organisation of the whole life for the divine work – first, the sadhana personal and collective necessary for the realisation and a common ...
Chaitya Dhyana Sadhana | Psychic Meditation · Mediation series for Inner Peace and Integral Progress · एकाग्रता और ध्यान के पूर्व क्या करें ! · ॐ (Om)- ...
20 hours ago — Tel: (+1) 831 425 5620. Email: info@aviusa.org. Aurobindonian. Sri Aurobindo Ashram · Sri Aurobindo Society · Sri Aurobindo Ashram Delhi · Sri Aurobindo Bhavan ...
14 hours ago — Main aim of Integral Education is “holistic development of mind, body & soul”. He believes that, education should inculcate in a student moral values, humanity ...
The Entry into the Inner Countries, The Book of Yoga, Savitri, Sri Aurobindo - Page 500. 3 views · 16 minutes ago #themother #sriaurobindo #integralyoga ...more ...
सावित्री का स्वाध्याय योग अभ्यास के समान है ।sri aurobindo,sri aurobindo ashram,the mother. 1 view · 7 minutes ago #sri #the #Bhagavad ...more ...
21 hours ago — Sri Aurobindo's 5 Dreams. 'Invocation – The Gnostic Festival'. An Invocation to various aspects of Sri Aurobindo – the revolutionary, the poet, the seer, the ...
8 hours ago — The Veda - In the Light of Sri Aurobindo. Read the Veda online with profound and easy-to-understand Verses, Glossary and Meanings in Sanskrit and English.
17 hours ago — Sri Aurobindo in his The Synthesis of Yoga, has presented a brief but illuminating description of these higher levels of experience of equality. Appendix IX ...
Savitri by Sri Aurobindo Page 121. Savitri by Sri Aurobindo Page 121. No views · 6 minutes ago ...more. buzzutopia. 165. Subscribe.
Sri Aurobindo Annai Sharanam. ... Sri Aurobindo Annai Sharanam. No views · 4 minutes ago ...more. buzzutopia. 165.

[HTML] Final Unity

P Ahrweiler - Angels and Other Cows: A Celestial Adventure into AI …, 2024
… We own Sri Aurobindo, the sage of Pondicherry, the understanding of the complex symbolism of the Vedas. For many centuries, their deeper meanings had been lost, and they’d been interpreted with a crude literalism. But Sri Aurobindo was …

[HTML] Land's End

P Ahrweiler - Angels and Other Cows: A Celestial Adventure into AI …, 2024
… Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo are whispering to each other. … (Sri Aurobindo nodding) Somebody experienced should see to that. … He looks around sheepishly, everybody sleeps; even Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo are …

[HTML] India's Grand Strategy: A Framework for the Future that Builds on Bharat's Ancient Statecraft of Peace, Prosperity, and Planet

G Chikermane
… In a 15 August 1947 message, the day India attained independence, nationalist freedom fighter and philosopher-sage Sri Aurobindo put some of these ideas into an integral, cohesive, and choate ideal that merged statecraft into moral craft. To him …

Young people joining the workforce, here's one unsolicited advice from a 52 year old:

Do not develop a false sense of loyalty towards your employer/company. 

You will be discarded at a moment's notice when you cease to be useful to your employer. 

This isn't because employers are bad. It's just capitalism. Employers must maximise profits or perish in the market.

Maximising profits means you will be paid only till  you are useful. So-called human values have no role here.

So, you as a young employee must be equally unemotional and objective. Stay with a company as long as it suits you and builds your CV. 

If someone offers you more, weigh it against your long-term interests. Don't let any sense of loyalty to your present employer stop you.

https://x.com/Aunindyo2023/status/1807614947641156062?t=0is3ULY8ceaL2Wwa00nNAg&s=19

For all that spirituality and righteousness that you claim to strive for you seem to forsake all that when it comes to your agenda. The EC has invited people in the past to check the integrity of EVM. Even when you vote you can see the paper trail

No it does not. Not even  in the minds of opposition. They know tht they are peddling a narrative &so do u. The largest malcontents in this are the educated malafides like yourselves. For any doubt one should have a basis. Your basis is that BJP is in power hence EVMs not working

Again malafide behaviour. Elon musk was quoting in the context of US elections. He is also welcome to come & verify the integrity. Tomorrow morning f he says Modi is best for India will you agree? No u will have the choicest of cuss words for him. Stop insulting my intelligence

https://x.com/citizensrini/status/1807697759136547322?t=-ExLCwAAJypPzU0JeSPwJQ&s=19

[PDF] INDIA'S GRAND STRATEGY

G CHIKERMANE - 2024
… In a 15 August 1947 message, the day India attained independence, nationalist freedom fighter and philosopher-sage Sri Aurobindo put some of these ideas into an integral, cohesive, and choate ideal that merged statecraft into moral craft. To him, India’s …

In my new @orfonline monograph I offer a framework and argue that it’s time for @PMOIndia @narendramodi to articulate and execute India’s #GrandStrategy.

orfonline.org/research/india…

https://x.com/gchikermane/status/1805878272896483620?t=wHbbS0ztL-5hwGZMJoJygw&s=19

"In a 15 August 1947 message, the day India attained independence, nationalist freedom fighter and philosopher-sage Sri Aurobindo put some of these ideas into an integral, cohesive, and choate ideal that merged statecraft into moral craft." 16/24

"To him, India's freedom and rise were not to dominate the world. India was an instrument not merely for the “expansion, greatness, power & prosperity” of its people; the greatness of India was to “live also for God and the world as a helper and leader of the whole human race."

"India’s grand strategy, therefore, must begin from its cultural moorings, philosophical values, and spiritual depths. In a world dogged by me-first (the US) or me-only (China) paradigms, Indian interests must certainly remain the key focus of India’s statecraft.." 18/24

"India could have driven home the idea of global peace 75 years ago. Indeed, India attempted to engage in world peace on 14 August 1947—a day before independence—in the fifth session of the Constituent Assembly of India through a resolution." 20/24

"Fine words. Laudable ideas. Huge aspirations. However, the path to executing such aspirations needs a crucial tool of negotiation—hard power. A poor, emaciated, colonised nation, experiencing its first flush of freedom, does not have that luxury." 21/24

"Seventy-seven years after independence, India has to transform these foundations and this narrative into a clear and complete grand strategy that stands on four pillars—security, economy, technology, and resources." 22/24

"The defence staff colleges that house soldier-scholars could make a beginning and set the ball rolling. The all-encompassing approach of the State must trickle down to scholars, while scholars in turn must offer integral strategic design elements to the State." 23/24

"In a country as diverse as Bharat and as politically divided as India, this state-scholar nexus will become the final but essential component for building India’s grand strategy." 24/24

https://x.com/Gokul_Sahni/status/1807459079377600882?t=wdNtE6pt7zBbnDfODsHdfw&s=19

I would prefer that he clarify that the Brahmin Jati is not necessarily Brahmin by Varna (as defined in Gita 4.13). Such clarity remove many misconceptions and resentments. Having said that, all communities including the Brahmin community should be treated with respect

Strictly speaking there are no such things as "Brahmin Jati", "Kshatriya Jati". It is a corruption of the concept of Varna defined in Gita 4.13. But today, Varna has become defunct, and we carry on with the corruption.

https://x.com/BharatDharma7/status/1807439556582481927?t=l5dveVuZuwTldPsGdCQPFg&s=19

“Today, you’re willing to co-opt the jihadi but alienate the Brahmin. That is a conscious choice some people have made within the Hindutva fold.”
~ Brilliant, brilliant @jsaideepak. Every word.

https://x.com/abhijitmajumder/status/1807404720987963836?t=yqCQzZgsPcKCXmxZbXcHaQ&s=19

I agree with @jsaideepak and will add that part of the blame is to be shared with trad brahmin leaders and acharyas who enabled this anti brahmin propaganda to stick.

In TN, there was a golden initiative tor dharmic reforms ex: dalit temple entry and training of pujaris from all castes started by dharmic Hindus. This was opposed by the revered Kanchi Periyava, the religious head of TN smarthas and orthodox Hinduism agnostic of caste.

Though brahmins like Vaidyanada Iyer or Mahakavi Subramanya Bharati were leading reformers, the brahmin community as a whole was led the wrong path by the acharyas of those time (Kanchi, Sringeri, et al). The non brahmin aadheenams were no better barring some exceptions. 

Just imagine if these acharyas and adheenams had actively supported / drove those reforms: Not only the social fissures would have been eradicated but anti Hindu elements like DK and missionaries won't have a leg to stand on. 

The whole anti brahmin movement of TN and Andra could have been nipped in the bud if Brahmins as a community had spearheaded the reforms and were led by Sri Chandrasekara Saraswati (paramacharya / maha periyava) who commanded respect across the state on account of his tapas.

His successor Sri Jayendra Saraswati did try but his stature wasn't anywhere close to that of Paramacharya and his reputation was also marred by allegations. It eventually was a case of too little, too late and anti Brahmin propaganda had taken deep roots by then. 

What can Brahmins do now?

1. Stop hypocritical adhering to shastras as called out by @harshmadhusudan

2. Lead the change from caste to Varna based on swabhava & swadharma. Revive the Chaturvarna system in its essence, not cling to its obsolete stinking rotten crust.

3. Evolve a vaster understanding of Vedanta and Shastras from the modern day spiritual giants like Sri Ramakrishna / Sri Aurobindo. Their words are dharma  shastras.

4. Become more selfless and serve the poor. 

All d above applies to everyone, not just those of brahmin caste.

https://x.com/SpiritWithBody/status/1807665546990625151?t=a-1dXv9myDdBTwVrztVrsA&s=19