BANDE MATARAM

 

SRI AUROBINDO

 

Contents

 


PRE CONTENT

 India Renascent

1890-92

New
Lamps For Old

1893-94



Unity-An Open Letter

 

Bhawani Mandir

 

An
Organisation

 

The
Proposed Reconstruction Of Bengal- Partition Or Annihilation?

 

Bandemataram

 A Note On 
"Bande Mataram"

 


The
Doctrine Of Passive Resistance

 

 I. Introduction

11-04-1907


 II.
Its Objects 

12-04-1907

III.Its Necessity

13-04-1907

IV.
Its Methods 

17-04-1907

V.
Its Obligations 

18/19-04-1907

VI. Its Limits

20-04-1907

VII.
 Conclusions

23-04-1907


The
Morality Of Boycott 

 

 

  

Bandemataram

Daily

Darkness In "Light"

20-08-1906

Our Rip Van Winkles

  20-08-1906

Indian Abroad

20-08-1906

Officials On The Fall Of  Fuller

20-08-1906

Cow - Killing

20-08-1906

National Education And The Congress

22-08-1906

A Pusillanimous Proposal

25-08-1906

By The Way

27-08-1906

The "Mirror" And Mr. Tilak

28-08-1906

Leaders In Council

28-08-1906

By The Way

30-08-1906

Lessons At  Jamalpur

1-9-1906

By The Way

1-9-1906

By The Way

3-9-1906

English Enterprise And  Swadeshi

4-9-1906

Jamalpur

4-9-1906

By The Way

4-9-1906

The Times On Congress Reforms

8-9-1906

By The Way

8-9-1906

The "Sanjibani" On Mr. Tilak

10-9-1906

Secret Tactics

10-9-1906

By The Way

10-9-1906

The Question Of  The Hour

11-9-1906

A Criticism

11-9-1906

The Old Policy And The New

12-9-1906

 

Is A Conflict Necessary?

12-9-1906

The Charge Of  Vilification

12-9-1906

Autocratic Trickery

12-9-1906

The Bhagalpur Meeting

12-9-1906

By The Way

12-9-1906

Strange Speculations

13-9-1906

The "Statesman" Under Inspiration

13-9-1906

A Disingenuous Defence

14-9-1906

The Friend Found Out

17-9-1906

Stopgap Won't Do

17-9-1906

By The Way

17-9-1906

Is Mendicancy Successful?

18-9-1906

By The Way

18-9-1906

Mischievous Writings

20-9-1906

A Luminous Line

20-9-1906

By The Way

20-9-1906

By The Way

1-10-1906

By The Way

10-10-1906

By The Way

11-10-1906

The Coming Congress

13-10-1906

Statesman's Sympathy Brand

29-10-1906

By The Way : News From Nowhere

29-10-1906

 

The Man Of The Past And The Man Of The  Future

26-12-1906

The Results Of  The Congress

31-12-1906

Yet There Is Method In It

25-2-1906

Mr  Gokhale's  Disloyalty

28-2-1906

The  Comilla Incident

15-3-1907

British Protection Or Self-Protection

18-3-1907

By The Way

21-3-1907

The Berhampur  Conference

29-3-1907

The President Of The Berhampur  Conference

2-4-1907

Peace And The Autocrats

3-4-1907

Many Delusions

5-4-1907

Omissions And Commissions At Berhampur

6-4-1907

The Writing On The Wall

8-4-1907

A Nil- Admirari  Admirer

9-4-1907

Pherozshahi  At  Surat

10-4-1907

The Situation In East Bengal

11-4-1907

The Proverbial
Offspring

12-4-1907

By The Way

12-4-1907

By The Way

13-4-1907

The Old Year

16-4-1907

A Vilifier On Vilification

17-4-1907

By The Way: A Mouse In A Flutter

17-4-1907

Simple, Not Rigorous

18-4-1907

British Interests And British Conscience

18-4-1907

A Recommendation

18-4-1907

An Ineffectual Sedition Clause

19-4-1907

The "Englishman" As A Statesman

19-4-1907

The Gospel According to Surendranath

22-4-1907

A Man Of  Second Sight

23-4-1907

Passive Resistance In The Punjab

23-4-1907

By The Way

24-4-1907

Bureaucracy At  Jamalpur

25-4-1907

Is This Your Lion Of  Bengal?

25-4-1907

Anglo-Indian Blunderers

25-4-1907

The Leverage Of Faith

25-4-1907

Graduated Boycott

26-4-1907

Instinctive Loyalty

26-4-1907

Nationalism Not Extremism

26-4-1907

Shall
India Be Free?  The Loyalist Gospel

27-4-1907

The Mask  Is Off

27-4-1907

A Loyalist In A Panic

27-4-1907

Shall India Be Free? National Development And Foreign
Rule

29-4-1907

Shall India Be Free?

30-4-1907

Moonshine For Bombay Consumption

1-5-1907

The "Reformer" On Moderation

1-5-1907

Shall India Be Free?  Unity And British Rule

2-5-1907

Extremism In The "Bengalee"

2-5-1907

Hare Or Another

3-5-1907

Look On This Picture, Then On That

3-5-1907

Curzonism For The University

8-5-1907

 

By The Way

9-5-1907

The Crisis

11-5-1907

In Praise Of The Government

13-5-1907

How To Meet The Ordinance

15-5-1907

The Latest Phase Of  Morleyism

15-5-1907

An Old Parrot Cry Repeated

15-5-1907

Mr Morley's Pronouncement

16-5-1907

What Does Mr.  Hare Mean

16-5-1907

The "Statesman" Unmasks

17-5-1907

Sui  Generis

17-5-1907

The "Statesman" On Mr. Mudholkar

20-5-1907

Silent Leaders

20-5-1907

The Government Plan Of Campaign

22-5-1907

And Still It Moves

23-5-1907

An Irish Example

24-5-1907

The East Bengal Disturbances

25-5-1907

Newmania

25-5-1907

Mr. Gokhale On Deportation

25-5-1907

The Gilded Sham Again

27-5-1907

National Volunteers

27-5-1907

Bande Mataram

Daily

Weekly

The
True Meaning Of  The Risley Circular

28-5-1907

2-6-1097

The
Effect Of  Petitionary Politics

29-5-1907

 

The
Ordinance And After

30-5-1907

 

Common
Sense In An Unexpected Quarter

30-5-1907

 

Drifting
Away   

30-5-1907

 

The
Question Of  The Hour

1-6-1907

2-6-1907

Regulated
Independence

4-6-1907

9-6-1907

A
Consistent "Patriot"

4-6-1907

 

Wanted,
A Policy

5-6-1907

9-6-1907

Preparing
The Explosion

5-6-1907

 

A
Statement

6-6-1907

9-6-1907

Defying
The Circular

7-6-1907

9-6-1907

By
The Way:  When Shall We  Three Meet Again?

7-6-1907

9-6-1907

The
Strength Of The Idea

8-6-1907

9-6-1907

Comic
Opera Reforms

8-6-1907

9-6-1907

Paradoxical
Advice

8-6-1907

9-6-1907

An
Out Of Date Reformer

12-6-1907

16-6-1907

The
Sphinx

14-6-1907

 

Slow
But Sure

17-6-1907

 

The
Rawalpindi Sufferers

18-6-1907

 

The
Main Feeder Of  Patriotism

19-6-1907

23-6-1907

Concerted
Action

20-6-1907

 

The
Bengal Government's Letter

20-6-1907

23-6-1907

British
Justice

21-6-1907

23-6-1907

 

The
Moral  Of  The Coconada  Strike

21-6-1907

23-6-1907

The
"Statesman" On Shooting

21-6-1907

23-6-1907

Mr. A. Chowdhury's Policy-

22-6-1907

23-6-1907

A
Current Dodge

22-6-1907

 

More
About British Justice

24-6-1907

30-6-1907

Morleyism
Analysed

25-6-1907

30-6-1907

Political
Or Non-Political

25-6-1907

30-6-1907

The
"Statesman" On Mr. Chowdhuri

26-6-1907

 

"Legitimate
Patriotism"

27-6-1907

 

Personal
Rule And Freedom Of Speech And Writing

28-6-1907

30-6-1907

The
Acclamation Of The House

2-7-1907

 

Europe
And Asia

3-7-1907

7-7-1907

English
Obduracy And Its Reason

11-7-1907

14-7-1907

Work
And Speech

*12-7-1907

14-7-1907

From
Phantom To Reality

13-7-1907

14-7-1907

Swadeshi
In Education

13-7-1907

14-7-1907

Boycott
And After

15-7-1907

21-7-1907

The
Khulna Comedy

20-7-1907

21-7-1907

The
Korean Crisis

22-7-1907

22-7-1907

One
More For The Altar

25-7-1907

28-7-1907

The
Issue

29-7-1907

4-8-1907

The
7th Of August

6-8-1907

11-8-1907

The
"Indian Patriot" On Ourselves

6-8-1907

11-8-1907

To
Organise

6-8-1907

11-8-1907

A
Compliment And Some Misconceptions

12-8-1907

 

Pal
On The Brain

12-8-1907

 

To
Organise Boycott

14-8-1907

14-8-1907


The
Foundations Of Nationality

14-8-1907

18-8-1907


Barbarities
At Rawalpindi

*19-8-1907

25-8-1907

The
High Court Miracles

*19-8-1907

25-8-1907

Justice
Mitter And Swaraj

*19-8-1907

25-8-1907

Advice
To National College Students(Speech)

25-8-1907

 

Sankharitola's
Apologia

24-8-1907

25-8-1907

Our
False Friends

26-8-1907

 

Repression
And Unity

*27-8-1907

1-9-1907

The
Three Unities Of  Sankharitola

*11-8-1907

1-9-1907

Eastern
Renascence

3-9-1907

8-9-1907

The
Martyrdom Of Bepin Chandra

12-9-1907

15-9-1907

The
Unhindu Spirit Of Caste Rigidity

20-9-1907

22-9-1907

Caste
And Democracy

22-9-1907

22-9-1907

Impartial
Hospitality

23-9-1907

 

Free
Speech

24-9-1907

29-9-1907

"Bande
Mataram" Prosecution

25-9-1907

29-9-1907

The
Chowringhee Pecksniff And Ourselves

26-9-1907

29-9-1907

The
"Statesman" In Retreat

28-9-1907

6-10-1907

True
Swadeshi

4-10-1907

 

Novel
Ways To Peace

5-10-1907

6-10-1907

"Armenian
Horrors"

5-10-1907

6-109-1907

The
Vanity Of Reaction

7-10-1907

13-10-1907

The
Price Of A Friend

7-10-1907

13-10-1907

A
New Literary Departure

7-10-1907

13-10-1907

Mr.
Keir Hardie And India

8-10-1907

8-10-1907

The
Nagpur Affair And True Unity

23-10-1907

27-10-1907

The
Nagpur Imbroglio

29-10-1907

3-11-1907

English Democracy Shown Up

31-10-1907

3-11-1907

How
To Meet The Inevitable Repression

2-11-1907

 

Difficulties
At Nagpur

4-11-1907

10-11-1907

Mr. 
Tilak And The Presidentship

5-11-1907

10-11-1907

Nagpur And Loyalist
Methods

16-11-1907

17-11-1907

The
Life Of Nationalism

16-11-1907

17-11-1907

By
The Way: In Praise Of Honest John

18-11-1907

24-11-1907

Bureaucratic
Policy

19-11-1907

24-11-1907

The
New Faith

30-11-1907

1-12-1907

About
Unity

2-12-1907

8-12-1907

Personality
Or Principle

3-12-1907

8-12-1907

Persian
Democracy

3-12-1907

8-12-1907

More
About Unity

4-12-1907

8-12-1907

By
The Way

5-12-1907

8-12-1907

Caste
And Representation

6-12-1907

8-12-1907

About
Unmistakable Terms

12-12-1907

15-12-1907

The
Surat Congress

13-12-1907

15-12-1907

Reasons
Of  Secession

14-12-1907

15-12-1907

The
Awakening Of Gujerat

17-12-1907

22-12-1907

"Capturing
The Congress"

18-12-1907

22-12-1907

Lala
Lajpat Rai's Refusal

18-12-1907

22-12-1907

The
Delegates' Fund

18-12-1907

22-12-1907

The
Present Situation (Speech)

19-1-1908

 

Bande
Mataram (Speech)

29-1-1908

 

Revolutions
And Leadership

6-2-1908

9-2-1908

 

The
Slaying Of Congress (A Tragedy In Three Acts)

*11-15-2-1908

16-23-2-1908

Swaraj

18-2-1908

23-2-1908

The
Future Of The Movement

19-2-1908

 

Work
And Ideal

20-2-1908

23-2-1908

By
The Way

20-2-1908

23-2-1908

The
Latest Sedition Trial

21-2-1908

23-2-1908

The
Soul And India's Mission

21-2-1908

1-3-1908


The
Glory Of God In Man

22-2-1908

1-3-1908

A
National University

24-2-1908

1-3-1908

A
Misconception

24-2-1908

1-3-1908

Mustafa
Kamil Pasha

3-3-1908

8-3-1908

A
Great Opportunity

4-3-1908

8-3-1908

The
Strike At Tuticorin

4-3-1908

8-3-1908

Swaraj
And The Coming Anarchy

5-3-1908

8-3-1908

Back
To The Land

6-3-1908

8-3-1908

The
Village And The Nation

*8-3-1908

 

Welcome
To The Prophet Of Nationalism

10-3-1908

 

The
Voice Of  The Martyrs

11-3-1908

 

Constitution-Making

11-3-1908

 

What
Committee?

11-3-1908

15-3-1908

A
Great Message

12-3-1908

15-3-1908

The
Tuticorin Victory

13-3-1908

15-3-1908

Perpetuate
The Split!

14-3-1908

15-3-1908

Loyalty
To Order

14-3-1908

15-3-1908

Asiatic
Democracy

16-3-1908

22-3-1908

Charter
Or No Charter

16-3-1908

 

The
Warning From Madras

17-3-1908

22-3-1908

The
Need Of The Moment

18-3-1908

22-3-1908

The
Early Indian Polity

20-3-1908

22-3-1908

The
Fund For  Sj. Pal

21-3-1908

22-3-1908

The
Weapon Of Secession

23-3-1908

29-3-1908

Sleeping 
Sirkar And Waking People

23-3-1908

29-3-1908

Anti-
Swadeshi In Madras

23-3-1908

29-3-1908

Exclusion
Or Unity?

24-3-1908

 

Biparita
Buddhi

24-3-1908

 

Oligarchy
Or Democracy?

25-3-1908

29-3-1908

Freedom
Of  Speech

26-3-1908

29-3-1908

The
Comedy Of Repression

26-3-1908

29-3-1908

Tomorrow's
Meeting

27-3-1908

29-3-1908

Well
Done, Chidambaram!

27-3-1908

29-3-1908

The
Anti-Swadeshi Campaign

27-3-1908

29-3-1908

Spirituality
And Nationalism

28-3-1908

29-3-1908

The
Struggle In Madras

30-3-1908

 

A
Misunderstanding

30-3-1908

 

The
Next Step

31-3-1908

5-4-1908

A
Strange Expectation

31-3-1908

5-4-1908

A
Prayer

31-3-1908

 

India
And The Mongolian

1-4-1908

 

Religion
And The Bureaucracy

1-4-1908

 

The
Milk Of  Putana

1-4-1908

 

Oligarchy
Rampant

2-4-1908

 

The
Question Of  The President

3-4-1908

5-4-1908

Convention
And Conference

4-4-1908

5-4-1908

By
The Way

4-4-1908

5-4-1908

The
Constitution Of The Subjects Committee

6-4-1908

 

The
New Ideal

7-4-1908

12-4-1908

The
"Indu And The Dhulia Conference

8-4-1908

 

The
Asiatic Role

9-4-1908

12-4-1908

Love
Me Or Die

9-4-1908

 

The
Work Before Us

10-4-1908

12-4-1908

Campbell-Bannerman
Retires

10-4-1908

12-4-1908

United
Congress (Speech)

10-4-1908

 

The
Demand Of The Mother

11-4-1908

12-4-1908

Baruipur
Speech

12-4-1908

 

Peace
And Exclusion

13-4-1908

 

Indian
Resurgence And Europe

14-4-1908

19-4-1908

Om
Shantih

14-4-1908

19-4-1908

Conventionalist
And Nationalists

18-4-1908

19-4-1908

The
Future And The Nationalists

22-4-1908

26-4-1908

The
Wheat And The Chaff

23-4-1908

26-4-1908

Party
And The Country

24-4-1908

26-4-1908

The
"Bengalee" Facing-Both-Ways

24-4-1908

26-4-1908

Providence
And Perorations

24-4-1908

26-4-1908

The
One Thing Needful

25-4-1908

26-4-1908

Palli
Samiti (Speech)

26-4-1908

 

New
Conditions

29-4-1908

3-5-1908

Whom
To Believe?

29-4-1908

3-5-1908

By
The Way: The Parable Of Sati

29-4-1908

3-5-1908

Leaders
And A Conscience

30-4-1908

3-5-1908

An
Ostrich In Colootola

30-4-1908

3-5-1908

I
Cannot Join

30-4-1908

3-5-1908

By
The Way

30-4-1908

 


Ideals
Face To Face

*1-5-1908

3-5-1908


The
New Nationalism

 

 

 


Bibliographical
Note


Contents arranged
subjectwise

Many Delusions

 

                IN A country where subjection has long become a habit of the public mind, there will always be a tendency to shrink from the realities of the position and to hunt for roundabout, safe and peaceful paths to national regeneration. Servitude is painful and intolerable, servitude is killing the nation by inches, — servitude must be got rid of, true; but the pains and evils of servitude seem almost more tolerable to a good many people than the sharp, salutary pangs of a resolute struggle for liberty. Hence the not uncommon cry, — “The violent and frequently bloody methods followed by other nations are not suited to a gentle, spiritual and law-abiding people; we will vindicate our intellectual originality and spiritual superiority by inventing new methods of regeneration much more gentlemanly and civilised.” The result is a hydra-brood of delusions, — two springing up where one is killed. The old gospel of salvation by prayer was based on the belief in the spiritual superiority of the British people, — an illusion which future generations will look back upon with an amazed incredulity. God answers prayers and the British people are god-like in their nature; so why should we despair? Even now there are prominent politicians who say and perhaps believe that although there is no historical example of a nation liberated by petition and prayer, yet the book of history is not closed and there is no reason why so liberal and noble a nation as the British should not open a new and unprecedented chapter, -- a miracle which never happened before in the world's records may very well be worked for the sole and particular benefit of India! The petitionary delusion, however, though not yet killed, has been scotched; its lease of life is not for long.

            Another delusion of which Babu Narendranath Sen of the Indian Mirror, and the cultured and eloquent lady whom the Mahatmas have placed at the head of the new Theosophist

 

Page-234


Church, are the principal exponents, asks us to seek our regeneration through religion, — only when we have become religiously and morally fit, can we hope to be politically free. In spite of the confusion of ideas which underlies this theory, it is one which has a natural charm for a religiously-minded people. Nevertheless it is as much a thing in the air as the petitionary delusion. If by religion is meant the nivrtti mārga it is an absurdity to talk of politics and religion in the same breath; for it is the path of the few, — the saints and the elect to whom there is no I nor thou, no mine or thine, and therefore no my country or thy country. But if we are asked to perfect our religious development in the pravrtti mārga, then it is obvious that politics is as much a part of pravrtti mārga as any other activity, and there is no rationality in asking us to practise religion and morality first and politics afterwards; for politics is itself a large part of religion and morality. We acknowledge that nothing is likely to become a universal and master impulse in India which is not identified with religion. The obvious course is to recognise that politics is religion and infuse it with the spirit of religion; for that is the true patriotism which sees God as the Mother in our country, God as sakti in the mass of our countrymen, and religiously devotes itself to their service and their liberation from present sufferings and servitude. We do not acknowledge that a nation of slaves who acquiesce in their subjection can become morally fit for freedom; one day of slavery robs a man of half his manhood, and while the yoke remains, he cannot compass a perfect and rounded moral development. Under a light and qualified subjection, he may indeed develop in certain directions; but in what direction are we asked to develop? In the morality of the slave, the Shudra, whose dharma is humility, contentment, service, obedience? In the morality of the merchant whose dharma is to amass riches by honesty and enterprise and spend them with liberal philanthropy? In the morality of the Brahmin whose dharma is to prepare himself for the nivrtti mārga by learning and holy exercises, to forgive injuries and accept honour or insult, wrong and injustice, with a calm and untroubled mind? It is obvious that we may develop far on these lines without coming at all nearer to moral fitness for freedom. Politics is the work

 

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of the Kshatriya and it is the virtues of the Kshatriya we must develop if we are to be morally fit for freedom. But the first virtue of the Kshatriya is not to bow his neck to an unjust yoke but to protect his weak and suffering countrymen against the oppressor and welcome death in a just and righteous battle.

            A third delusion to which the over-intellectualised are subject is the belief in salvation by industrialism. One great danger of the commercial aspect of the Swadeshi movement is that many of our young men may be misled into thinking that their true mission is to go abroad, study industries and return to enrich themselves and their country. We would warn them against this pernicious error. This work is an admirable work and a necessary part of the great national yajña which we have instituted; but it is only a part and not even the chief part. Those who have never studied Japanese history, are fond of telling our young men that Japan owes her greatness to her commercial and industrial expansion and call on them to go and do likewise. Commercial and industrial expansion are often accompaniments and results of political liberty and greatness, — never their cause. Yet the opposite belief is held by many who should have been capable of wiser discrimination. We find it in the truly marvellous address of Srinath Pal Rai Bahadur at Berhampur; — there is a wonderful contrast between the canine gospel of submissive loyalty preached in the first part of the address and the rampageously self-assertive gospel of economic independence preached in its tail-end. "Whatever the advantages of political advancement, they sink into insignificance when compared with the blessings which industrial prosperity brings in its train," — such is the gospel according to Srinath Pal Rai Bahadur. It is so far shared by many less loyal people that they consider industrial prosperity as prior to and the cause of political advancement. The idea is that we must be rich before we can struggle for freedom. History does not bear out this peculiar delusion. It is the poor peoples who have been most passionately attached to liberty, while there are many examples to show that nothing more easily leads to national death and decay than a prosperous servitude. We are particularly thankful that British rule has not, like the Roman, given us industrial prosperity in exchange for poli-

 

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tical independence; for in that case our fate would have been that of the ancient peoples of Gaul and Britain who, buying civilisation and prosperity with the loss of their freemanhood, fell a prey to the Goth and Saxon and entered into a long helotage from which it took them a thousand years to escape. We must strive indeed for economic independence, because the despotism that rules us is half-mercantile, half-military, and by mortally wounding the lower mercantile half we may considerably disable the upper; at least we shall remove half the inducement England now has for keeping us in absolute subjection. But we should never forget that politics is a work for the Kshatriya and it is not by the virtues and methods of the Vaishya that we shall finally win our independence.

Bande Mataram, April 5, 1907

 

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