{"id":1641,"date":"2013-07-13T01:36:11","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T08:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=1641"},"modified":"2013-11-28T15:20:16","modified_gmt":"2013-11-28T23:20:16","slug":"06-outer-life-in-pondicherry-1910-1950-vol-35-letters-on-himself-and-the-ashram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/03-cwsa\/35-letters-on-himself-and-the-ashram\/06-outer-life-in-pondicherry-1910-1950-vol-35-letters-on-himself-and-the-ashram","title":{"rendered":"-06_Outer Life in Pondicherry 1910-1950.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\n

\nOuter Life in Pondicherry<\/font><\/b>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n1910 <\/b>– 1950<\/b><\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nMeeting Paul Richard<\/b>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nI would like to know the mystery behind M. Paul Richard’s
\nmeeting with Sri Aurobindo. I have heard that when he started
\nfor Pondicherry you [i.e. the Mother<\/i>] gave him some signs or
\nsome questions to be solved by an Indian Yogi. And they were
\nsolved by Sri Aurobindo.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nI don’t think there was any mystery. He came for political purposes and enquired of Naidu or perhaps from Shankar Chettiar
\nin whose house I was living whether there was any Indian Guru
\nhere and my name was mentioned and they brought him to see
\nme. He showed me some signs employed in Indian, Egyptian and
\nother occultisms, some of which I had seen they happened to
\nbe, he said, the Indian ones. That was all. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\n26 June 1936
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nFasting<\/b>
\n 
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nI have myself fasted first 10 days and then 23 days just to see
\nwhat it was like and how far one could live without food, and
\ncertain things like that. I found that it was no good. To take
\nwith equanimity whatever comes (or does not come) seemed to
\nme more the thing than any violent exercises like that.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\n4 May 1935
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nStart of the Arya<\/i><\/b>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nIt is said that the Arya <\/i>began on the day the world war broke
\nout or just before it. Has this not some significance? Was it
\nnot a kind of parallel movement?
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThe Arya <\/i>was decided on on the 1st June and it was agreed that
\nit would start on the 15th August. The war intervened on the
\n4th. “Parallelism” of dates if you like, but it was not very close
\n 
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>28<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

\nand certainly nothing came down at that time.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\n9 September 1935
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nWalking and Standing<\/b>
\n  <\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nX <\/span> <\/i>is experiencing pain in her heel. There is no bone or joint
\ntenderness, just tenderness in the pad of fat in the heel.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nIt may be “policeman’s disease” as the French call it, “<\/span>maladie
\nde sergent de ville<\/span>“; I have forgotten the technical name for it,
\nbut it is supposed to come from too much standing. I had it
\nmyself for something like a year because of walking or standing
\nall day that was when I used to meditate while walking. The
\nFr. medical dictionary says there is no remedy but rest. I myself
\ngot rid of it by application of force without any rest or any other
\nremedy. But X <\/i>is not a policeman and she does not walk while
\nshe meditates so how did she get it?
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\n29 May 1935
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThe Mother’s Taking Charge of the Ashram<\/b>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nOn what date in 1926 did Mother take up the work of the
\nsadhana?
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nMother does not at all remember the exact date. It may have been
\na few days after 15th August. She took up the work completely
\nwhen I retired.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\n17 May 1936
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nBushy and the Meditation House<\/b>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nToday I felt like writing a story. I cast it in the form of an
\nautobiography of Bushy the great cat. In the opening statement
\nshe claims to be one of the greatest personalities in the world.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nBushy was the cat who introduced us to this house (Meditation)
\nrunning before us and showing us all the rooms. That ought to
\nfind a place in her autobiography.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\n12 October 1934
\n 
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>29<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nRelations with the Government<\/b> <\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nof French India, 1934 \u00ad 1935<\/span><\/b>
\n 
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nBut how is it that people can have such an idea?1<\/font><\/sup> There is no
\nfund and there has never been a fund. All money has been given
\nto myself or to the Mother. If there were a fund I suppose there
\nwould be trustees and a secretary and a treasurer and all the rest
\nof it! The houses are ours, the money ours and it is to us in our
\nhouses that people come for learning the methods of Yoga. There
\nis no association or public institution and nothing belonging to
\nan association or institution.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\n16 February 1934
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*
\n 
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nI have not wantonly stopped the books or free letter-writing nor
\nhave I become impatient with you or anyone. I am faced with
\na wanton and brutal attack on my lifework from outside and I
\nneed all my time and energy to meet it and do what is necessary
\nto repel it during these days. I hope that I can count not only on
\nthe indulgence but on the support of those who have followed
\nme and loved me, while I am thus occupied, much against my
\nwill. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\nI do hope you will not misunderstand me. I have not altered
\nto you in the least and if I wrote laconically it was because I had
\nno time to do otherwise.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nMy prohibition of long letters was of a general character
\nand I had to issue it so that the stoppage of the books might not
\nresult in a flood of long letters which would leave me no time for
\nmaking the concentration and taking the steps I have to take.
\nI have said that you can send your poems and write too when
\nyou feel any urgent need I had no feeling to the contrary at
\nall.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\n17 February 1934
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*
\n 
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n1 Shortly before writing this letter, Sri Aurobindo learned that the Government of<\/i> <\/p>\n

French India planned to launch an inquiry into the status of the Ashram. It appears that<\/i> <\/p>\n

this move was provoked by reports that the Ashram was a formal “institution” that had<\/i> <\/p>\n

a “common fund”. Had this been the case, it ought to have been registered with the<\/i> <\/p>\n

government as a legal entity. Ed.<\/i>
\n 
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>30<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

\nI do not know that your going later to Bombay is at all necessary
\nsince it is decided, it may be better to get it over quickly. It is
\ntoo early to say whether the menace to the Asram is conquered
\nor still hangs over it.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\n19 February 1934
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*
\n 
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nOf course, one must use these external means and there one must
\nbe careful so as to have as many factors as possible on one’s side
\nand give as little handle as possible to adverse forces. But no
\noutward action can be for us sure of success unless behind it is the
\ngrowing Yogic vision and Yogic power. We have had ourselves
\nserious difficulties from the outside, petitions made against us to
\nthe Minister of Colonies in Paris and a report demanded from
\nthe Governor here which if acted on would have put the Asram
\nin serious jeopardy. We used outward means of a very slight and
\nsimple character, i.e. getting the Mother’s brother (Governor in
\nFrench Equatorial Africa) to intervene with the Ministry (and
\nalso an eminent writer in France, a disciple), but for the most
\npart I used a strong inner Force to determine the action of the
\nColonial Office, to get a favourable report from the Governor
\nhere, to turn the minds of some who were against us here and to
\nnullify the enmity of others. In all these respects I succeeded and
\nour position here is much stronger than before; especially a new
\nand favourable Governor has come. Nevertheless we have to
\nremain vigilant that the situation may not be again threatened.
\nAlso one disadvantage has resulted, that we have been asked
\nnot to buy or rent more houses, but to build instead. This is
\ndifficult without land near here and much money; so we are for
\nthe moment unable to expand. In certain respects however this
\nis not a disadvantage, as I have been long wishing to put off
\nfarther expansion and consolidate the inward life of the Asram
\nin a more completely spiritual sense. I give this as an example
\nof how things have to be dealt with from the Yogic point of
\nview.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\n20 March 1935
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>31<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

\nX <\/span> <\/i>has passed along these two pieces of news about the Asram:
\n(1) During his tour Mahatma Gandhi went to Pondicherry and
\nwith a view to meet Sri Aurobindo wrote a letter to him. In
\nreply Sri Aurobindo wrote a letter to the Mahatma, which the
\nlocal authorities withheld. It was after this that Sri Aurobindo
\npublished his statements about the Asram and his teaching.2<\/font><\/sup>
\n(2) The French authorities at Pondicherry have enacted a law,
\nthe effect of which was to prevent the Mother from purchasing
\nany more houses in the town for the purposes of the Asram.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nYou can write about the stories of the Asram that they are not
\ntrue. The publication had no connection with Gandhi’s visit to
\nPondicherry. No “law” has been passed by the French Government, nor could be. The relations of the Asram with the French
\nGovernment are very friendly. But there was a housing crisis in
\nPondicherry and some complaints from the officials that they
\ncould not get houses to live in because the Asram had occupied
\nso much of the better part of the town, so it was suggested to us
\nthat we might build houses in future rather than buy them. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\n1 July 1935
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n2 The “statements” referred to here were first published in a newspaper on 20 February<\/i> <\/p>\n

1934 and later brought out in pamphlets and as a booklet. See <\/i>Autobiographical Notes
\nand Other Writings of Historical Interest, volume 36 of
\n<\/i>THE COMPLETE WORKS OF
\nSRI AUROBINDO, pp. 530 \u00ad 31 and 547 \u00ad 50. For Gandhi’s visit to Pondicherry see pp.<\/i> <\/p>\n

442 \u00ad 44 of the same volume. Ed.<\/i> <\/p>\n

 
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>32<\/font>
\n<\/span>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Outer Life in Pondicherry 1910 – 1950   Meeting Paul Richard   I would like to know the mystery behind M. Paul Richard’s meeting with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-35-letters-on-himself-and-the-ashram","wpcat-37-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1641"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9622,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1641\/revisions\/9622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}