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

 

October 5, 1914

 

IN the calm silence of Thy contemplation, O Divine Master, Nature is fortified and tempered anew. All principle of individuality is overpassed, she is plunged in Thy infinity that allows oneness to be realised in all domains without confusion, without disorder. The combined harmony of that which persists, that which progresses and that which eternally is, is little by little accomplished in an always more complex, more extended and more lofty equilibrium. And this interchange of the three modes of life allows the plenitude of the manifestation.

Many seek Thee at this hour in anguish and incertitude. May I be their mediator with Thee that Thy Light may illumine them, that Thy Peace may appease.

My being is now only a point of support for Thy action and a centre for Thy consciousness. Where

Page - 197


now are the limits, whither have fled the obstacles? Thou art the sovereign Lord of Thy kingdom,

 

October 6, 1914

 

O SWEET Mother, Thou must teach me to be Thyself integrally and constantly, entirely consecrated to giving a more and more perfect means of expression to That which wills to manifest itself.

All is calm and serene, no longer any struggle, any anguish, the aspiration itself becomes sovereignly peaceful in its immensity, but without losing anything of its intensity, and by a curious opposition in the consciousness like the obverse and reverse of a medal, my being perceives at once the immutable serenity of the infinite Reality in which all eternally is without any possible change, and the ardent and rapid advance of all that unceasingly becomes in an uninterrupted progression...And both are equally true for Thee, O Lord.

 

October 7, 1914

 

OH, let Light be poured on all the earth and Peace inhabit every heart .'...Almost all know only the material life, heavy, inert, conservative,

Page - 198


obscure; their vital forces are so tied to this physical form of existence that even when left to themselves and outside the body, they are still solely occupied with these material contingencies that are yet so harassing and painful... Those in whom the mental life is awakened are restless, tormented, agitated, arbitrary, despotic. Caught altogether in the whirl of the renewals and transformations of which they dream, they are ready to destroy everything without knowledge of any foundation on which to construct, and so with their light made only of blinding flashes they increase yet more the confusion rather than help it to cease.

In all there lacks the unchanging peace of Thy sovereign contemplation and the calm vision of Thy" immutable eternity.

And with the infinite gratitude of the individual being to whom Thou hast accorded this surpassing grace, I implore Thee, O Lord, that under cover of the present turmoil, in the very heart of this extreme confusion, the miracle may be accomplished and that Thy law of supreme serenity and pure unchanging Light become visible to the perception of all and govern the earth in a humanity at last awakened to Thy consciousness.

O sweet Master, Thou hast heard my prayer, Thou wilt reply to my call.

Page - 199


October 8, 1914

 

THE joy present to us in activity is compensated and counterpoised by the perhaps still greater joy that we feel in withdrawal from all activity, when the two states alternate in the being or even when they are simultaneously conscious, the bliss becomes complete, for Thy plenitude, O Lord, is realised.

O divine Master, Thou hast given me the infinitude of divine contemplation and the perfect serenity of Thy Eternity, and by an identification with our divine Mother, the All-Fulfiller, Thou hast granted that I may participate in Her sovereign power of being at once conscious and active. .,

In the all-powerful bliss of Thy infinitude, I salute Thee!

 

October 10, 1914

 

MAY the offering of my being be constantly renewed and become more and more integral —the offering to the Supreme Reality which is Unthinkable and impossible to formulate, but which, in time, expresses itself eternally in a more and more complete and perfect manifestation. O Thou, whom I cannot name but whose will I perceive in the supreme silence and in a total surrender, let me be the representative of the whole earth, so that

Page - 200


united with my consciousness, she may give herself to Thee without reserve.

Thou art the perfect peace, the marvellous accomplishment; Thou art all that the universe is, immutably, beyond time, and wills to be more and more in the consciousness of time and space. Thou art all that is in the infinite immobility and the divine hope of all that wills to be...O Lord, dispense to the world Thy unbelievable boons.

Peace, peace upon all the earth.

 

October 11, 1914

 

WHY this persistent impression with its tinge of uneasiness and expectancy? The being, wholly turned towards Thee, lives in the beatitude of the divine communion; all is calm, serene, strong, sovereignly peaceful; all is light in widened horizons, and, in a silent contemplation, devotion has become stilt more intense. What then is this sensation which is as if grafted on the being and looks like a warning to a consciousness insufficiently awakened in the material realm?

I ask, O Lord, and yet I know that if it is necessary for me to become aware of the reason of it, Thou hast already told it to me and it is only my incapacity that keeps from me the knowledge. Or else it is neither useful nor even helpful that I should

Page - 201


know it, and in that case there will be no reply to my question.

But the peace is becoming still more sovereign, and it is in an infinite harmony that the being takes. on its supreme amplitude.

O Lord, with what fervour I salute Thee!

 

October 12, 1914

 

IT was their pain and suffering that my physical being was feeling, O Lord. When will ignorance dissolve ? When will sorrow cease? O Lord, grant that each element of the universe may become conscious of its principle of being, and, instead of disappearing, transform itself, may the veils of egoistic blindness hiding Thee be removed, and mayst Thou appear resplendent in a total manifestation. All is there eternally in Thy absolute silence, but it is through an infinite progression that it is manifested in the whole consciousness.

 

October 14, 1914

 

MOTHER Divine, thou art with us; every day thou givest me the assurance and, closely united in an identity that grows more and more

Page - 202


total, more and more constant, "we" turn to the Lord of the universe and to That which is beyond in a great aspiration towards the new Light. All the Earth is in our arms like a sick child who must be cured and for whom one has a special affection because of his very weakness. Cradled on the immensity of the eternal becomings, ourselves those becomings, we contemplate, hushed and glad, the eternity of the immobile Silence where all is realised in the perfect Consciousness and immutable Existence, miraculous gate of all the unknown that is beyond.

Then is the veil torn, the inexpressible Glory uncovered, and, suffused with the ineffable Splendour, we turn back towards the world to bring it the glad tidings.

Lord, thou hast given me the happiness infinite... What being, what circumstances can have the power to take it away from me?

 

October 16, 1914

 

THY will is that I should be like a channel always open, always more wide, so that Thy forces may pour their abundance into the world... O Lord, may Thy will be done! Am I not Thy Will and Thy Consciousness in a supreme bliss ?

Page - 203


And the being enlarges itself immeasurably to 'become as vast as the universe.

 

October 17, 1914

 

O DIVINE Mother, the obstacles will be surmounted and the enemies appeased. Thou wilt reign over all the earth with Thy sovereign love, and the consciousness of men will be full of the light of Thy serenity.

This is the promise.

 

October 23, 1914

 

O LORD, the whole being is ready and calls Thee that Thou mayst take possession of Thy own; of what use is an instrument if the Master will not use it? And whatever the mode of manifestation, it will be well, from the most modest, the most obscure, the most material, outwardly the most limited, to the most vast, the most brilliant, the most powerful and the most intellectual.

The whole being is ready and waits, in a passive silence, till Thou wiliest to manifest Thyself.

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October 25, 1914

 

MY aspiration to Thee, O Lord, has taken the form of a beautiful rose, harmonious, full in bloom, rich in fragrance. I stretch it out to Thee with both arms in a gesture of offering and I ask of Thee: If my understanding is limited, widen it; if my knowledge is obscure, enlighten it; if my heart is empty of ardour, set it aflame; if my love is insignificant, make it intense; if my feelings are ignorant and egoistic, give them the full consciousness in the Truth. And the "I" which demands this of Thee, O Lord, is not a little personality lost amidst thousands of others, it is the whole earth that aspires to Thee in a movement full of fervour.

In the perfect silence of my contemplation all widens to infinity, and in the perfect peace of that silence Thou appearest in the resplendent glory of Thy Light.

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