{"id":1676,"date":"2013-07-13T01:36:28","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=1676"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:36:28","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:36:28","slug":"65-note-on-the-texts-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\/65-note-on-the-texts-vol-35-letters-on-himself-and-the-ashram","title":{"rendered":"-65_Note on the Texts.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

Note on the Texts<\/font><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 
\n<\/font><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Note on the Texts<\/font><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 
\n <\/span> <\/p>\n

LETTERS ON HIMSELF AND THE ASHRAM<\/font> consists of letters
\nwritten by Sri Aurobindo between 1926 and 1950 in which he referred to his life and works, his sadhana or practice of yoga, and the sadhana
\nof members of his ashram. The letters have been selected and arranged by the editors in four parts dealing with four broad subject areas:
\n(1) Sri Aurobindo’s outer life, his writings, his contemporaries, and contemporary events; (2) his inner life before and after his arrival in Pondicherry; (3) his role as a spiritual leader and guide; and (4) his ashram and the sadhana practised there. A fifth part contains mantras
\nand messages that Sri Aurobindo wrote for the benefit of his disciples. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe title chosen for this volume might seem to suggest that Sri
\nAurobindo deliberately set out to write a large number of letters about his life. In fact, he rarely wrote about himself on his own initiative. He
\nwrote many of the letters in the present volume in answer to questions about himself. He also occasionally referred to himself in passing to
\nillustrate a point under discussion. He explained such references in a letter of 30 October 1935: “I can’t write such things by themselves as
\nan autobiographical essay \u2014  it is only if they turn up in the course of something that I can do so” (page 232).
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe letters included in this volume have been selected from the large body of letters that Sri Aurobindo wrote to his disciples and
\nothers between November 1926, when his ashram was founded, and November 1950, shortly before his passing. Letters from this corpus
\nappear in seven volumes of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font> WORKS OF<\/font> SRI<\/font> AUROBINDO<\/font>: Letters on Poetry and Art
\n<\/i>(Volume 27), Letters on Yoga <\/i>(Volumes 28 \u00ad
\n31), The Mother with Letters on the Mother <\/i>(Volume 32), and the present volume. The titles of these four works specify the nature of the
\nletters included in each, but there is some overlap. For example, Part Four of the present volume contains many letters on yoga. These differ
\nfrom those published in Letters on Yoga <\/i>in that the ones published here are framed historically by events and conditions in the Sri Aurobindo
\n   <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>849<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

Ashram between November 1926 and November 1950. The questions provided along with some of the letters in this volume refer to some of
\nthese events and conditions.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nMany of the letters in the present volume appeared earlier
\nin Sri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother <\/i>(1953) and On<\/i> Himself: Compiled from Notes and Letters
\n<\/i>(1972). Those books
\ncontained, along with letters from the 1926 \u00ad 1950 period, historical and biographical material such as Sri Aurobindo’s corrections of
\nstatements made by biographers, public messages, and letters from the years before 1927 to family members, colleagues, and others. These
\ndocuments and early letters are now published in Autobiographical<\/i> Notes and Other Writings of Historical Interest<\/i>, Volume 36 of THE<\/font>
\nCOMPLETE<\/font> WORKS<\/font>. <\/span> <\/p>\n

 
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

The Writing of the Letters
\n<\/b>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 
\n <\/span> <\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo wrote most of the letters included in this volume to members of his ashram, the rest to correspondents living outside. For
\nthe history, purpose and nature of the correspondence, see pages 450 to 478.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nAshram members wrote to Sri Aurobindo in notebooks or on loose sheets of paper that were sent to him via an internal “post” once or
\ntwice a day. Letters from outside that Sri Aurobindo’s secretary thought he might like to see were sent at the same time. Correspondents wrote
\nin English if they were able to. A good number, however, wrote in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, or French, all of which Sri Aurobindo read
\nfluently, or in other languages that were translated into English for him. Most letters were addressed to the Mother, even though most
\ncorrespondents assumed that Sri Aurobindo would reply to them.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nSri Aurobindo generally replied on the sheets of paper (bound or
\nloose) on which the correspondents wrote their comments or questions, writing below them or in the margin or between the lines. Sometimes,
\nhowever, he wrote his answer on a separate, small sheet of “bloc-note” paper. In some cases he had his secretary prepare a typed copy of his
\nletter, which he revised before it was sent. In other cases, particularly when the correspondent was living outside the Ashram, he addressed
\nhis reply not to the correspondent but to his secretary, who quoted,  
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>850<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

paraphrased or translated Sri Aurobindo’s reply and signed the letter himself. In such indirect replies, Sri Aurobindo often referred to himself
\nin the third person.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nWhile going through Sri Aurobindo’s replies, the reader should
\nkeep in mind that each one was written to a specific person at a specific time, in specific circumstances and for a specific purpose. Each subject
\ntaken up was one that arose in regard to a particular correspondent’s inner or outer needs, or in answer to a particular correspondent’s
\nquestions. Sri Aurobindo varied the style and tone of his replies in accordance with his own relationship (or, in the case of people writing
\nfrom outside, lack of relationship) with each correspondent. With those he was close to, he sometimes employed humour, irony or even
\nsarcasm. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\nAlthough the letters were written to specific recipients, they
\ncontain much of general interest. This justifies their inclusion in a volume destined for the general public. But it is important for the
\nreader to bear in mind some remarks that Sri Aurobindo made during the 1930s about the proper use of his letters:
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

I should like to say, in passing, that it is not always safe to apply practically to oneself what has been written for another.
\nEach sadhak is a case by himself and one cannot always or often take a mental rule and apply it rigidly to all who are
\npractising the Yoga. (Page 473) <\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is not a fact that all I write is meant equally for everybody.
\nThat assumes that everybody is alike and there is no difference between sadhak and sadhak. If it were so everybody would
\nadvance alike and have the same experiences and take the same time to progress by the same steps and stages. It is not
\nso at all. (Page 475) <\/span> <\/p>\n

 
\n <\/span> <\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo wrote all the letters included in this volume between
\nNovember 1926 and November 1950, the great majority between 1931 and 1937. He sometimes dated his answers, but most of the
\ndates given at the end of the letters in this volume are those of the letters or notebook entries to which he was replying.
\n   <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>851<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The Typing and Revision of the Letters <\/b> <\/span> <\/p>\n

 
\n <\/span> <\/p>\n

Most of the shorter items in this volume, and many of the longer
\nones, were not typed or revised during Sri Aurobindo’s lifetime, and are reproduced here directly from his handwritten manuscripts. But
\na good number of the letters were, as mentioned above, typed for Sri Aurobindo and revised by him before sending. Other letters were
\ntyped by the recipients for their own personal use or for circulation within the Ashram. Circulation was at first restricted to members of
\nthe Ashram and others whom Sri Aurobindo had accepted as disciples (see pages 476 \u00ad 78). When letters were circulated, personal references
\nwere removed. Persons referred to were indicated by initials, or the letters
\nX, Y<\/i>, etc.1<\/font><\/sup> Copies of these typed letters were kept by Sri Aurobindo’s secretaries and sometimes presented to him for revision.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe typed copies were sometimes filled with “gross errors” (page 476).
\nSri Aurobindo corrected many of these errors while revising. The typed copies sometimes also contained intentional textual
\nalterations. Recipients of letters sometimes omitted passages that seemed to them to be of no general interest. In a few cases, recipients
\nadded words or phrases that they believed made Sri Aurobindo’s intentions clearer. Some such alterations remained intact when the
\nletters were revised.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nSri Aurobindo’s revision amounted sometimes to a complete
\nrewriting of the letter, sometimes to making minor changes here and there. He generally removed personal references if this had not already
\nbeen done by the typist. He also, when necessary, rewrote the openings or other parts of the answers in order to free them from dependence on
\nthe correspondent’s question. As a result, some letters now read more like brief essays than personal communications.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

The Publication of the Letters <\/b> <\/span> <\/p>\n

 
\n <\/span> <\/p>\n

Around 1933, Sri Aurobindo’s secretary began to compile selections
\nof letters to be published in small books. A total of four such volumes came out during Sri Aurobindo’s lifetime:
\nThe Riddle of This World<\/i>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1 This practice continues in the present volume. See pages 857 \u00ad 58 for details.  
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>852<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

(1933), Lights on Yoga <\/i>(1935), Bases of Yoga <\/i>(1936), and More Lights<\/i>
\non Yoga <\/i>(1948). Sri Aurobindo revised the typescripts and proofs
\nof most of these books before publication. During this revision, he continued the process of removing personal references. A letter he
\nwrote in August 1937 alludes to this approach to the revision: <\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I had no idea of the book being published as a collection
\nof personal letters \u2014  if that were done, they would have to be published whole as such without a word of alteration.
\nI understood the book was meant like the others [i.e.,<\/i> like <\/i>Bases of Yoga,
\netc.<\/i>] where only what was helpful for
\nan understanding of things Yogic was kept with necessary alterations and modifications. . . . With that idea I have been
\nnot only omitting but recasting and adding freely. Otherwise as a book it would be too scrappy and random for public
\ninterest. In the other books things too personal were omitted \u2014  it seems to me the same rule must hold here
\n\u2014  except very
\nsparingly where unavoidable. <\/span> <\/p>\n

 
\n <\/span> <\/p>\n

By the mid-1940s, a significant body of letters had been collected,
\ntyped and revised, and plans were made for the publication of a multivolume collection of Sri Aurobindo’s letters. At that time, typed or
\nprinted copies of letters, some revised, some not, were presented to Sri Aurobindo for approval or further revision. The resulting material
\nwas compiled by an editor in four volumes, which were published as Letters of Sri Aurobindo
\n<\/i>in 1947 (Series One), 1949 (Series Two and
\nThree) and 1951 (Series Four). Most of the letters in Series One, Two and Four were later included in
\nOn Yoga II <\/i>(1958) and Letters on<\/i>
\nYoga <\/i>(1970). Most of the letters in Series Three were later included in
\nLetters on Poetry, Literature and Art <\/i>(1972).
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nDuring the early 1950s, the principal editor of Sri Aurobindo’s letters conceived and organised two volumes containing Sri Aurobindo’s
\nletters on the Mother and on himself. The first of these, Letters of Sri<\/i>
\nAurobindo on the Mother<\/i>, was published in 1951. The second, Sri<\/i>
\nAurobindo on Himself and on the Mother<\/i>, was published two years later. The editor arranged the contents of
\nSri Aurobindo on Himself and<\/i>
\non the Mother <\/i>in three parts: (1) Sri Aurobindo on Himself: Notes and Letters on His Life; (2) Sri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother;
\n   <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>853<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

and (3) Sri Aurobindo on the Mother. The material comprising Parts Two and Three is published in volume 32 of THE COMPLETE WORKS,
\nThe Mother with Letters on the Mother<\/i>. This material is discussed in the Note on the Texts of that volume.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe editor of Sri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother<\/i> subdivided Part One into seven sections: (I) Life before Pondicherry;
\n(II) Beginnings of Yoga; (III) His Path and Other Paths; (IV) Sadhana for the Earth-Consciousness; (V) The Master and the Guide; (VI)
\nThe Poet and the Critic; (VII) Reminiscences and Observations. More than half of Section I consisted of corrections of statements made in
\nbiographies and in newspaper articles, the rest of letters in which Sri Aurobindo spoke of his early life in passing or in answer to questions.
\nSections II \u00ad V consisted of letters or extracts of letters in which Sri Aurobindo spoke of his own practice of yoga, the path of yoga that
\nhe developed for others, and his work as a spiritual guide. Section VI consisted of letters on poetry. (In THE COMPLETE WORKS these and
\nsimilar letters on poetry, literature and art are included in volume 27, Letters on Poetry and Art<\/i>, and are discussed in the Note on the Texts
\nof that volume.) Section VII consisted of miscellaneous letters in which Sri Aurobindo spoke of happenings in his past and made observations
\non various subjects.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe letters in Sri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother
\n<\/i>were
\npublished along with edited versions of the correspondents’ questions if these were available and the editor thought that they would help
\nreaders understand Sri Aurobindo’s replies. The letters were preceded by editorial headings and followed by their dates, if known. The editor
\nrestored some personal references that Sri Aurobindo had omitted from collections of letters published during his lifetime, because the very
\npurpose of the book was to present aspects of Sri Aurobindo’s life.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nIn 1972, Parts One and Two of
\nSri Aurobindo on Himself and<\/i>
\non the Mother<\/i>, both considerably enlarged, were published as On<\/i>
\nHimself<\/i>.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

The Scope and Contents of Letters on Himself and the Ashram<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 
\n <\/span> <\/p>\n

Between the publication of
\nOn Himself <\/i>in 1972 and the launch of
\nTHE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font> WORKS OF<\/font> SRI<\/font> AUROBINDO<\/font> in 1995, a good deal of  
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>854<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

material of a biographical and historical nature came to light. This necessitated the creation of two different volumes:
\nLetters on Himself<\/i>
\nand the Ashram <\/i>and Autobiographical Notes and Other Writings of<\/i>
\nHistorical Interest<\/i>.2<\/font><\/sup> The editors placed material in one or the other
\nvolume according to the following scheme: Letters on Himself and<\/i> the Ashram
\n<\/i>contains letters written between November 1926 and
\nNovember 1950 that deal with any of the four subject areas listed in the first paragraph of this Note.
\nAutobiographical Notes <\/i>consists
\nof various sorts of documentary material, including life sketches and corrections of statements made by biographers and others; letters
\nwritten by Sri Aurobindo to family members, professional and political associates, newspaper editors, early disciples, and others before the
\nfounding of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1926; some letters written after 1926 that form parts of series that began before 1926; letters
\nto or for the attention of public figures, regardless of date; late letters on political questions, most of which were released for publication
\nas messages; and public messages on current events or about Sri Aurobindo’s ashram and method of yoga.
\n<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\nLetters on Himself and the Ashram <\/span> <\/i>includes most of the contents of Sections II, III, IV, V and VII of Part One of
\nOn Himself<\/i>, as well
\nas items in Section I that originated as letters and not as corrections. It also contains a fairly large number of letters that had earlier been
\nincluded in Letters on Yoga<\/i>, a few letters that had earlier been included in
\nLetters on the Mother<\/i>, and many items newly selected by the editors
\nfrom the corpus of Sri Aurobindo’s 1926 \u00ad 1950 letters.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nIn deciding whether a given letter (whether previously published
\nor not) should go into Letters on Himself and the Ashram <\/i>rather than
\nLetters on Yoga<\/i>, the editors considered whether the letter ought to be
\nframed historically or not. They placed in Letters on Himself and the<\/i>
\nAshram <\/i>any letter the subject of which fell into one of the four subject
\nareas listed in the first paragraph of this Note. In addition, they placed in this volume some letters that could not properly be understood
\nwithout reference to the correspondents’ questions. Many letters that
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n2 Part One of
\nOn Himself <\/i>(1972) comprised 439 text pages. Autobiographical Notes<\/i>
\nand Letters on Himself and the Ashram <\/i>comprise together 1398 (553 + 845) text pages. The new volumes thus contain over three times as much material as the older one.
\n  
\n<\/font> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>855<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

appeared in the 1970 edition of Letters on Yoga <\/i>without questions, including almost all the letters making up Part Two, Section IX of that
\nbook (“Sadhana in the Ashram and Outside”), have been shifted to Part Four of
\nLetters on Himself and the Ashram<\/i>. The questions of the
\ncorrespondents have been provided for many such letters.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nWhen all the above is taken into consideration, it becomes clear
\nthat the present volume is a compilation and does not represent an organic division of Sri Aurobindo’s letters. It is however a lineal
\ndescendant of Sri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother<\/i>, first published more than fifty years ago. It brings together in a single
\nvolume letters from the 1926 \u00ad 1950 corpus in which Sri Aurobindo referred directly or indirectly to his inner and outer life, his works,
\nhis contemporaries, and his ashram. These letters, together with the documents published in
\nAutobiographical Notes<\/i>, constitute nearly
\nall the surviving biographical and historical source materials that Sri Aurobindo wrote.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

 
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

The Selection, Arrangement and Editing of the Letters <\/b> <\/span> <\/p>\n

 
\n <\/span> <\/p>\n

What has been called the 1926 \u00ad 1950 corpus of Sri Aurobindo’s
\ncorrespondence consists of tens of thousands of replies that he wrote to hundreds of correspondents. Most of the replies, however, went
\nto a few dozen disciples, almost all of them resident members of his ashram. A smaller number of disciples, no more than a dozen,
\nreceived more than half of the entire body of published letters. In compiling the volumes of Sri Aurobindo’s correspondence published
\nin THE COMPLETE WORKS, the editors have gone through all known manuscripts, typed or photographic copies of manuscripts, and printed
\ntexts. From these sources they have selected those letters that seemed suitable for publication. This selection includes most letters consisting
\nof more than a few words that deal with topics of general interest. The editorial staff produced electronic texts of all selected letters and
\nchecked them against all handwritten, typed and printed versions.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe selection and arrangement of the material in the book is the
\nwork of the editors. Whenever possible they retained the divisions and categories found in
\nOn Himself<\/i>; however, the great increase in the
\nnumber of items in the present volume obliged the editors to add new  
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>856<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

parts, sections, chapters and groups. In a note of February 1936, Sri Aurobindo wrote that the placing of letters in group categories was
\npossible in the case of “letters about sadhana”, which could “very easily fall under different heads”.
\n<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\nLetters on Himself and the Ashram <\/span> <\/i>consists of almost 1500 separate items, an “item” being defined as what is published between
\none heading or asterisk and another heading or asterisk. Many items correspond exactly to individual letters; a good number, however,
\nconsist of portions of single letters, or two or more letters or portions of letters that were joined together by earlier editors or typists and
\nrevised in this form by Sri Aurobindo. The editors of the present volume have sometimes reunited portions of letters that had been
\nseparated by previous editors. In some cases, however, they considered the separation justifiable and have retained it.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nWhenever possible, letters by Sri Aurobindo are reproduced to their full extent. In some cases, however, the editors, following a
\npattern set by the editors of previous books, omitted portions of Sri Aurobindo’s letters that are of no general interest. A number of Sri
\nAurobindo’s letters begin with personal comments unrelated to the more substantial remarks that follow. The editors have left out many
\nsuch personal openings. Sri Aurobindo often marked the transition from one part of a letter to another with a phrase such as “As to . . .”.
\nMany such phrases now stand at the beginning of abbreviated letters.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nIn some cases the editors have published texts of a given letter in
\nmore than one volume of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font> WORKS OF<\/font> SRI<\/font> AUROBINDO<\/font>. Much of this doubling of letters occurs between
\nLetters on Yoga <\/i>and
\nLetters on Himself and the Ashram<\/i>. In many cases, the editors have placed Sri Aurobindo’s revised version of a letter in
\nLetters on Yoga <\/i>and
\nretained the original handwritten version, along with the recipient’s question, in
\nLetters on Himself and the Ashram<\/i>.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nAs in previous collections of Sri Aurobindo’s letters, names of members of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and of disciples living outside
\nthe Ashram have been replaced by the letters X<\/i>, Y<\/i>, Z<\/i>, etc. In any given letter,
\nX <\/i>stands for the first name replaced, Y <\/i>for the second, Z <\/i>for
\nthe third, A <\/i>for the fourth, and so on. An X <\/i>in a given letter has no necessary relation to an
\nX <\/i>in another letter. Names of Ashram members
\nwho were referred to by Sri Aurobindo not as sadhaks but as holders   <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>857<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

of a certain position \u2014  notably Nolini Kanta Gupta in his position as Sri Aurobindo’s secretary
\n\u2014  are given in full, as are names of people
\nwho played a role in the history of the period.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe editors have included the questions to which Sri Aurobindo
\nreplied, or the portions of the correspondents’ letters on which he commented, whenever these are available and helpful for understanding his
\nreplies or comments. As a rule, only as much of a correspondent’s letter has been given as is needed in order to understand the
\nresponse. In some cases the questions have been lightly revised for the sake of clarity. Mistakes of grammar, spelling and punctuation
\ndue to some correspondents’ imperfect grasp of English have been corrected. Questions written in languages other than English have been
\ntranslated. When the question is not available, only Sri Aurobindo’s reply is printed.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nReaders should note that Sri Aurobindo almost always spelled the word “Asram” without an “h”, though some of his correspondents
\nwrote “Ashram”. Both spellings have been reproduced here following the manuscripts. By the late 1940s, when “Ashram” had become the
\nstandard spelling in the Ashram’s publications, Sri Aurobindo was no longer writing letters himself but dictating them to a disciple, who
\ntended to write “Ashram”. This spelling thus occurs in letters of the last period, as well as in headings and other editorial matter throughout
\nthe book. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 <\/font>858<\/font><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note on the Texts   Note on the Texts   LETTERS ON HIMSELF AND THE ASHRAM consists of letters written by Sri Aurobindo between 1926…<\/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-1676","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\/1676","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=1676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}