{"id":1967,"date":"2013-07-13T01:38:35","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=1967"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:38:35","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:38:35","slug":"41-note-on-the-texts-vol-36-autobiographical-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/03-cwsa\/36-autobiographical-notes\/41-note-on-the-texts-vol-36-autobiographical-notes","title":{"rendered":"-41_Note on the Texts.html"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tNote on the Texts<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

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

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

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES AND OTHER WRITINGS OF
\nHISTORICAL INTEREST<\/b> consists of notes, letters, telegrams and public statements written by Sri Aurobindo at various times that are
\nof special interest to students of his life. The volume does not, as a rule, include letters written between 1927 and 1950. Most letters of
\nbiographical or historical interest from that period are included in Letters on Himself and the Ashram<\/i>, volume 35 of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font>
\nWORKS OF<\/font> SRI<\/font> AUROBINDO<\/font>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe contents of the present volume have been arranged by the
\neditors in four parts, each of which is divided into two or three sections. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

PART <\/font>ONE <\/p>\n

<\/font>AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL <\/font>N<\/b>OTES<\/b>
\n\t\t\t<\/font><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

<\/font>Sri Aurobindo never wrote, of his own volition, anything autobiographical in the ordinary sense of the word. He wrote most of the notes in this part to correct statements made by others. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

Section One <\/p>\n

Life Sketches and Other Autobiographical Notes <\/b><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo: A Life Sketch<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo wrote this piece in June 1930 for publication in
\nAmong the Great<\/i>, a book written by his disciple Dilip Kumar Roy. He used the third person because he wished the piece to appear as an impersonal statement from an anonymous
\n“authoritative source”. Among the Great <\/i>consists of accounts of Dilip’s meetings and excerpts from his correspondence with five eminent contemporaries \u2014 Romain Rolland, Mahatma Gandhi, Bertrand Russell, Rabindranath Tagore and Sri Aurobindo. Dilip began working on his
\nmanuscript sometime during the late 1920s. Around September 1928, he sent portions of it, including a life sketch written by him, to Sri
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>557<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo’s remarks on this life sketch are published as item [1]
\n of the Appendix (see page 11). In November 1928, Dilip
\nbecame a member of the Ashram. A year and a half later, in March 1930, he learned that a publisher in New York was interested in his
\nbook. On the fifteenth of that month, he wrote giving this information to Sri Aurobindo and submitting some material he wished to have
\nincluded in the book. Sri Aurobindo’s response is reproduced as item [2]
\n of the Appendix (page 11). Dilip was unwilling to accept Sri Aurobindo’s suggestion to “omit all account or narrative”. He sent another draft of a life sketch, which Sri Aurobindo commented on in a letter
\nof 25 March (pages 11 \u00ad 12). Finally Sri Aurobindo agreed to write a brief life sketch himself. On 1 June, in the course of a letter on another
\nsubject, he noted: “I shall see whether I can get the thing done (the facts of the life) in these ten days.” The work was completed before
\n27 June, the date of the letter published on pages 12 \u00ad 13. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tAmong the Great
\n<\/i>was not accepted by the New York publisher. It
\nwas first brought out in India in 1945 (Bombay: Nalanda Publications). The “Life Sketch” appeared as an appendix to this edition, below the
\nfollowing note by Dilip: “For the benefit of Western readers I append<\/i>
\nhere a brief statement of the principal facts of Sri Aurobindo’s public<\/i>
\nand merely outward life from an authoritative source<\/i>.” But the text of the “Life Sketch” had already been in print for several years. On 15
\nAugust 1934 the Calcutta fortnightly journal Onward <\/i>reproduced an abridged version. (Other newspapers subsequently printed the complete text.) In 1937 Radhakanta Nag of the Arya Publishing House proposed bringing it out as a pamphlet. This idea was put before Sri
\nAurobindo on 23 February 1937. He gave his consent with a lukewarm “Very well.” The booklet was published later the same year.
\nIn 1948 the text was reproduced, with a few editorial additions, in a booklet entitled “Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram” (Calcutta: Arya
\nPublishing House). In subsequent editions of this booklet, the text of the “Life Sketch” underwent further editorial modifications. In 1975
\na modified text appeared in Volume 30, Index and Glossary<\/i>, of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library. In April 1985 the original text
\nwas reproduced in Sri Aurobindo: Archives and Research<\/i>. This was the first time that the “Life Sketch” was published as a text written by Sri
\nAurobindo. The editors of Archives and Research <\/i>added two letters   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>558<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nfrom Sri Aurobindo’s correspondence with Dilip, which explain the circumstances of the text’s composition and make it clear why he did
\nnot want it to be published as his. The same letters, along with three others, are published in the Appendix that follows the “Life Sketch”
\nin the present volume. <\/p>\n

\n Appendix:
\n\t\t\tLetters on “Sri Aurobindo: A Life Sketch”.<\/b> [1]
\n Circa
\nSeptember \u00ad October 1928. Sri Aurobindo wrote these sentences in the margin of a letter written by Dilip Kumar Roy shortly before he joined
\nthe Ashram in November 1928.[2]
\n This paragraph is part of a letter from Sri Aurobindo to Dilip dated 16 March 1930. The balance of the
\nletter deals with various writings by Sri Aurobindo that Dilip wanted to include in
\nAmong the Great<\/i>. [3]
\n 25 March 1930. Sri Aurobindo wrote
\nthis letter after reading a “biography” (that is, a life sketch) written by Dilip for
\nAmong the Great<\/i>. [4]
\n The manuscript of this letter is not
\ndated, but it apparently was written in June 1930. [5]
\n 27 June 1930. This letter deals with the draft of a proposed note on Sri Aurobindo’s
\n“occidental education” (see the last sentence of letter [4]
\n), which Dilip intended to add to Sri Aurobindo’s “Life Sketch”. In the printed text
\nof the “Life Sketch” the paragraph that Sri Aurobindo placed here between inverted commas was printed as a footnote. The sentence
\nabout Sri Aurobindo’s prizes and examinations, which he wanted to have omitted, was tacked on rather awkwardly as a closing parenthesis.
\nIn a typescript of the text that was submitted to him, Sri Aurobindo emended “to study Goethe and Dante” to “to read Goethe and Dante”. <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

Incomplete Life Sketches<\/b>. These pieces are from Sri Aurobindo’s manuscripts of the 1920s. The circumstances of their writing are not
\nknown.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tIncomplete Life Sketch in Outline Form, c. 1922<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo
\nwrote this outline of his life up to 1914 sometime during the early 1920s. (The non-cooperation movement, mentioned in the text, began
\nin August 1920 and ended in February 1922.)<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tFragmentary Life Sketch, c. 1928<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo wrote this isolated passage in 1928 or 1929 in a notebook used otherwise for notes on philosophy and yoga. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

Autobiographical Notes<\/b>. Two of these unrelated pieces are from the year 1903. The third (a revision of the second) is from 1928.
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>559<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

\n\t\t\tA Day in Srinagar. 1903<\/b>, probably 30 May. Sri Aurobindo was in Kashmir from late May to mid September 1903. During this time he
\nserved as the private secretary to the Maharaja of Baroda. Letters that he wrote for the Maharaja while in Kashmir show that the royal party
\nwas in Srinagar at least three times: from 28 May (or slightly before) to 6 or 7 June, for a few days around 23 June, and again for ten days
\nor more after 5 September. References in these diary notations make it seem likely that they were written during the first of the visits to
\nthe Kashmiri capital, that is, between 28 May and 6 June. The only Saturday during this period (omitting 6 June itself, which must have
\nbeen spent making preparations to go to Icchabal, or “Archibal”, as Sri Aurobindo spelled it) was 30 May 1903. This then is the likely date of
\nthese notes. The longer and shorter pieces separated here by an asterisk were written by Sri Aurobindo on separate pages of his notebook. The
\nSardesai mentioned in the first piece is no doubt Govind Sakharam Sardesai, the Marathi historian, who was an officer in the Maharaja’s
\nservice. The Maharaja was often referred to as His Highness (H.H.). His chief Baroda residence was Lakshmi Vilas Palace, an imposing
\nbuilding that unsuccessfully tries to combine Italian, Indian and other architectural elements. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tInformation Supplied to the King’s College Register<\/i>.<\/b> [1]
\n 16 September 1903. While in Srinagar, Sri Aurobindo received a form from
\nthe editors of the Register of Admissions <\/i>of his Cambridge college, asking him for information about his university and subsequent career.
\nHe filled out the form on 16 September and returned it. The text is reproduced here from the original form, which is preserved in the King’s
\nCollege Library. [2]
\n 31 August 1928. A short biographical entry based on the information Sri Aurobindo submitted in 1903 was published in
\nA Register of Admissions to King’s College Cambridge 1850 \u00ad 1900<\/i>, compiled by John J. Withers (London, 1903). In 1928 the editors of
\nthe second edition of this work sent a copy of the 1903 entry to Sri Aurobindo, asking him to correct and update it in the spaces provided.
\nIn the present text, the old entry is printed as it was submitted to Sri Aurobindo. Passages cancelled by him are set in “strike-out” mode,
\nhis additions in regular type. The text is reproduced from the original form, which is preserved in the King’s College Library. The revised
\nentry was published in A Register of Admissions to King’s College<\/i>
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>
\n\t\t\t560<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

Cambridge 1797 \u00ad 1928<\/i>, compiled by John J. Withers (London, 1929). <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Section Two <\/b><\/p>\n

\n

Corrections of Statements Made in Biographies
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

and Other Publications <\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Sri Aurobindo wrote these notes between 1943 and 1947 to correct
\nerroneous or misleading statements about his life made in biographies, other books or newspaper articles that were submitted to him by the
\nauthors before publication or brought to his attention by others after publication. For the convenience of readers, the editors of the present
\nvolume have arranged the notes according to the dates of the events dealt with. In the paragraphs that follow, however, the editors discuss
\nthe notes in the approximate order in which Sri Aurobindo wrote them, treating notes occasioned by a given biography or article as a group. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t(1) Notes on Sri Aurobindo<\/i>, by K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar. In February 1943, Dr. Iyengar, then Professor of English at Basaveshvar College,
\nBagalkot, brought to the Ashram the 133-page manuscript of a biography of Sri Aurobindo that he had written, in the hope that Sri
\nAurobindo would read and comment on it. Sri Aurobindo agreed, and made numerous corrections directly on Iyengar’s manuscript. Around
\n35 of these corrections were typed, further corrected by Sri Aurobindo, retyped and corrected again. A copy of the final typed pages, consisting
\nnow of 39 notes, was given to Iyengar for incorporation in his book. Over the next ten months, Iyengar enlarged his manuscript to more
\nthan 300 pages. In November 1943 he brought it to the Ashram and left it with Sri Aurobindo for further correction. Sri Aurobindo did some
\nwork directly on the manuscript but wrote longer corrections on small note pads. Twenty-eight of these notes were typed and further revised.
\nHe finished this work before May 1944. A copy of his corrections was given to Iyengar, who incorporated them in the final manuscript of his
\nbook, which was published by the Arya Publishing House, Calcutta, in 1945. Most of the 67 notes that Sri Aurobindo wrote in 1943 and
\n1944 for Iyengar’s use were published in Sri Aurobindo on Himself and<\/i>
\non the Mother <\/i>in 1953. They were reprinted in On Himself: Compiled<\/i>
\nfrom Notes and Letters <\/i>in 1972. All the published notes, along with a few smaller ones, are included in the present volume.
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>561<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

\n\t\t\t(2) Notes on Yogi Arvind<\/i>, by V. D. Kulkarni. This book, written in Marathi, was published in 1935. Eight years later, in March 1943,
\na copy of it was shown to Sri Aurobindo, who wrote eight comments in the margins. These comments were first published in
\nSri Aurobindo<\/i>
\non Himself and on the Mother <\/i>in 1953.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t(3) Notes on material gathered by A. B. Purani, author of
\nThe Life<\/i>
\nof Sri Aurobindo<\/i>. A disciple of Sri Aurobindo from 1918 and a member of the Ashram from 1923, Purani collected biographical material about
\nSri Aurobindo for a number of years, and published a biography of him in 1957. Sometime around 1943 \u00ad 45, Purani obtained three typed
\naccounts of Sri Aurobindo’s service in Baroda State, which he presented to Sri Aurobindo for correction. Sri Aurobindo wrote nine notes in the
\nmargins or between the lines of two of the sheets. He corrected the other account, entitled “Sri Aurobindo
\n\u2014 An Officer in the Baroda
\nState”, by writing ten notes on separate sheets. All these notes were published for the first time in the journal
\nSri Aurobindo: Archives and<\/i>
\nResearch <\/i>in 1978.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t(4) Notes on Sri Aurobindo o Banglay Swadeshi Jug<\/i>, by Girijashankar Raychaudhuri. This work appeared serially in the Bengali monthly Udbodhan
\n<\/i>during the 1940s and was published as a book
\nby Navabharat Publishing, Calcutta, in 1956. Around 1943 \u00ad 45, A. B. Purani typed translations or paraphrases of passages from two
\nUdbodhan <\/i>instalments and gave them to Sri Aurobindo. In response, Sri Aurobindo wrote seven notes of various lengths. Around the
\nsame time he made the following comment about Girijashankar’s biographical work: <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Girija Sankar’s statements about Sri Aurobindo cannot be taken as they are; they are often based on false or twisted information, tend towards misrepresentation or are only inferences or guesses. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

In one of the chapters of Sri Aurobindo o Banglay Swadeshi Jug<\/i>, Girijashankar cited a letter written to him by Swami Sundarananda of
\nthe Udbodhan <\/i>office, in which Sundarananda claimed that Sri Aurobindo visited Saradamani Devi, the widow of Ramakrishna Paramahansa, on his way to Chandernagore in 1910. This and other parts of Girijashankar’s articles were shown to Sri Aurobindo, who on 15
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>562<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nDecember 1944 replied in the form of a letter to Charu Chandra Dutt, the substance of which was published in the
\nUdbodhan <\/i>(Phalgun<\/i>
\n1351). The story about Sri Aurobindo’s visit to Saradamani Devi was repeated by a certain K. Ghosh in a letter published in the
\nHindusthan<\/i>
\nStandard <\/i>of 6 June 1945. In response, Sri Aurobindo dictated another letter, which was published in the
\nSunday Times <\/i>of Madras on 24
\nJune. Around the same time, Sri Aurobindo’s disciple Sureshchandra Chakravarty, who was with him on his trip from Calcutta to Chandernagore, published an article dealing with that event in the Baishakh<\/i> 1352 issue of
\nPrabasi<\/i>. In reply to this, Ramchandra Majumdar, who
\nwas with Sri Aurobindo and Sureshchandra for part of that night, published an article (Prabasi, Sraban
\n<\/i>1352) questioning Sureshchandra’s account. When this was brought to Sri Aurobindo’s attention, he dictated a final statement in which he tried to set the record straight.
\nThis was not published during his lifetime, but it was used by his disciple Nolini Kanta Gupta in writing an article that was published
\nin Prabasi <\/i>in Phalgun <\/i>1352. The first two letters by Sri Aurobindo referred to above were published in
\nSri Aurobindo on Himself and on<\/i>
\nthe Mother <\/i>in 1953. The third was published in On Himself <\/i>in 1972. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t(5) Notes on
\nNivedita: <\/i>
\n\t\t\t<\/span>
\nFille de l’Inde<\/span><\/i>, by Lizelle
\n\t\t\tReymond. This biography of Sister Nivedita (Margaret Noble) was published by Editions
\n\t Victor Attinger, Paris and Neuchatel, in 1945. In 1946, passages of
\nReymond’s manuscript dealing with Sri Aurobindo were read out to him, and on 13 September of that year he dictated a reply in the form of
\na letter to his disciple Pavitra (P. B. Saint Hilaire). The letter to Pavitra was first published in
\nSri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother <\/i>in
\n1953.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t(6) Notes on Shri Aurobindo<\/i>, by Gabriel E. Monod-Herzen. A scientist and professor, Monod-Herzen lived in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram during the 1940s. In or around 1946, he submitted a manuscript
\nof a biography he had written to Sri Aurobindo, who dictated 38 corrections to his amanuensis. These were typed and given to
\n\t\t\tMonod-Herzen for use in his biography, written in French and published in 1954. Most of these notes were included in
\nSri Aurobindo on Himself<\/i>
\nand the Mother <\/i>in 1953.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tWhile correcting Monod-Herzen’s manuscript, Sri Aurobindo decided to write a separate note on his political life. This eventually   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>563<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

became the twenty-page “General Note on Sri Aurobindo’s Political Life” reproduced on pages 47 \u00ad 66. The typescript of this note is dated
\n“Nov 7 1946”. It was later revised and enlarged and in 1948 published anonymously in the booklet “Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram”
\n(Calcutta: Arya Publishing House). It has appeared in all subsequent editions of that work, and also was included in
\nOn Himself <\/i>(1972). <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t(7) The other notes in this section are corrections of statements made in various publications. The note dealing with Sri Aurobindo’s
\nlearning of English (p. 25) was written in reply to a review of Sri Aurobindo’s
\nCollected Poems and Plays <\/i>published in the Times Literary Supplement <\/i>(London) on 8 July 1944. The note was incorporated in a letter by R. Vaidyanathaswamy, editor of the
\nAdvent <\/i>(Madras),
\nthat was published in the TLS <\/i>on 6 January 1945. The note on Sri Aurobindo’s education and religious background in England (p. 26)
\nand on his “first turn towards spiritual seeking” (p. 106) are from his manuscripts. The circumstances of their writing are not known. The
\nfirst was written around 1940, the second around 1942. The notes referred to in this paragraph were first published in
\nSri Aurobindo:<\/i>
\nArchives and Research <\/i>in December 1977.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe origin of the notes in the Appendix is not known. Unlike the
\nother notes, which have been preserved in the form of handwritten or dictated manuscripts, these survive only in printed form. They may be
\ntranscriptions of oral remarks by Sri Aurobindo. Some of them were published in
\nSri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother <\/i>(1953), the
\nothers in On Himself <\/i>(1972). <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Table 1
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Emendations of Matters of Fact (Simple Cases)<\/b> <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

This table lists editorial emendations of matters of fact in pieces reproduced in Part One.
\n(Similar emendations in pieces in other Parts are dealt with in the note to the piece in question.) Emendations of matters of fact have been made only in cases of slips involving
\n(1) dates, (2) place names, (3) names of events and offices, and (4) bibliographical details. In every case these slips could be rectified by reference to contemporary documents and
\nreliable secondary sources that are clear and unambiguous. The documents and publications consulted are listed in column four. (Full bibliographical details on printed and
\ninternet sources are given on page 569.) More complex problems are listed in Table 2.  
\n\t\t\t<\/font> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>564<\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPg.<\/b><\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMS or first <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\ted. reading<\/b><\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tEmended reading
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/b><\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tObservations (with documents
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconsulted)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t5<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t1885<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t1884<\/td>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n Sri Aurobindo entered St. Paul’s School in September 1884 (Gardiner, ed., Admissions Registers<\/i>, p. 121;
\npersonal communication from the Librarian, St. Paul’s School, London). \n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t5<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFebruary<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJanuary<\/td>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n The steamship Carthage<\/i>, by which Aurobindo travelled to India, left London on 12 January 1893 and arrived in
\nBombay on 6 February (Board of Trade Passenger Lists<\/i> [BT 27\/135], Public Records Office, London; personal
\ncommunications from National Maritime Museum, London, Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
\nCompany, London, and Lloyds, London). <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t20<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t1903<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t1893<\/td>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n Sri Aurobindo began his service in Baroda on 8 February 1893 (Baroda Service
\n\tList, and other documents, Baroda Record Office, Vadodara; Sri Aurobindo
\ncorrected this slip himself in item [2] on p. 21 of the present volume). <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t20<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJune<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tApril<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t Sri Aurobindo’s marriage took place
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tin April 1901, probably on the 29th of the month
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t(handwritten statement by Bhupal Chandra Bose; printed poem written for the occasion dated 16 Baishakh 1308 [29
\nApril 1901]; Baroda State Huzur Order dated 17 April 1901 mentioning a gift of money from the Maharaja
\nto Sri Aurobindo “on the occasion of his marriage” [Baroda Record Office, Vadodara]).\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t51<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tseven<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tnine<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t Nine instalments of New Lamps for Old <\/i>were published in the Indu Prakash
\n<\/i>between 7 August 1893 and 6
\nMarch 1894 (Sri Aurobindo, Bande Mataram: Political Writings and Speeches 1890 \u00ad 1908<\/i>, pp. 11 \u00ad 62).\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t56<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tKarachi<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLahore<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t A resolution affirming complete
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tindependence as the goal of the Indian National Congress
\n\t\t\t\t\t\twas first passed at the Lahore session in December 1929.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA resolution passed at the Karachi session in March 1931
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tnoted in passing that complete independence was still
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tthe goal of the Congress (Zaidi, et al., eds., vol. 9, pp. 670 \u00ad 71,
\nvol. 10, p. 145).\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t59<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBengal Provincial<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdistrict<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t The conference held in Midnapore in
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDecember 1907, Provincial which Sri Aurobindo attended,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\twas a district conference. In contemporary newspaper
\n\t\t\t\t\t\taccounts it is referred to as the "Midnapore District
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tConference" or simply the "Midnapore Conference" (Sri
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAurobindo, Bande Mataram<\/i>, pp. 788 \u00ad 89, 790 \u00ad 94;
\nBande<\/i>
\nMataram <\/i>weekly edition, 15 December 1907, pp. 7 \u00ad 10). The 1907 Bengal Provincial Conference was held in
\nBerhampur at the end of March (Sri Aurobindo, Bande<\/i> Mataram<\/i>, pp. 224 \u00ad 27).
\n  \n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>565<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t61<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBarisal<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHooghly<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFor the Hooghly Conference, see Sri Aurobindo: Karmayogin: Political Writings and Speeches 1909 \u00ad 1910<\/i>, pp. 209 \u00ad 35. See also p. 59 of the present volume, where the
\nevents of the Hooghly Conference (September 1909) are discussed between events of late 1907 \u00ad early 1908 and
\nevents of May 1908). The Bengal Provincial Conference was held in Barisal in April 1906. Note that Sri Aurobindo spoke at the Bakarganj District Conference on 19 June 1909 (Sri Aurobindo,
\nKarmayogin<\/i>, pp. 33 \u00ad 42).
\nBakarganj District was sometimes referred to as Barisal District.
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t61<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHooghly<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPabna<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFor the compromise at the Hooghly Conference of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSeptember 1909, see p. 59 of the present volume. An
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tearlier compromise had been reached at the provincial
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconference held in Pabna, East Bengal, in February 1908
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t(Sri Aurobindo, Bande Mataram<\/i>, pp. 871 \u00ad 76, 902,
\n918 [where Sri Aurobindo specifically mentions “the compromise arrived at at Pabna”], 919, etc.;
\nBande<\/i>
\nMataram<\/i>, weekly edition, 16 February 1908, pp. 12 \u00ad 17; 25 February 1908, pp. 8 \u00ad 9).
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t62<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBenares<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLahore<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe negotiations for a united Congress in Bengal were
\n\t\t\t\t\t\theld in December 1909 (Sri Aurobindo, Karmayogin<\/i>, pp. 340 \u00ad 42, 363 \u00ad 71). This was before the third Lahore
\nsession of the Indian National Congress (December 1909). The Benares session of Congress was held
\nin December 1905, two years before Sri Aurobindo emerged as a political leader.
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t76<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBengal Provincial<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdistrict<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSee above, emendation to statement on p. 59. Provincial
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t79<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSerpentine<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMott’s<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\nThe illness to which Sri Aurobindo refers in this note tine
\noccurred in November \u00ad December 1906. At that time he stayed in the house of his father-in-law Bhupal Chandra
\nBose, in Mott’s Lane, Calcutta (Sri Aurobindo’s statement in the Bande Mataram
\n<\/i>Case [September 1907];
\ntestimony of Subodh Chandra Mullick in the same case; deposition of Sukumar Sen in the Alipore Bomb Case;
\na signed document put in as evidence in the same case [Exhibit 77\/2] giving Sri Aurobindo’s address on 17 October 1906 as 25\/5\/1 Mott’s Lane). Several other sources mention that Bhupal Chandra Bose lived in Serpentine
\nLane after 1906.  
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>566<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n Table 2 <\/b><\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n Other Questions regarding Matters of Fact (Complex Cases) <\/b><\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n \tThis table lists statements of matters of fact that are not in accord with contemporary documents and reliable secondary sources, but which cannot be set right by means of
\nsimple verbal emendation. Relevant observations are provided in column three along with the documents and publications consulted. (Full bibliographical details on printed
\nand internet sources are given on page 569.) <\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPg.  <\/span><\/b><\/td>\n

\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tText reading <\/b>
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n

\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tObservations (with documents consulted) <\/b>
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

26<\/td>\n

\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\ta Senior Classic<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tat Oxford
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n

\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWilliam H. Drewett (1842\/3 \u00ad 1909) is not listed in Alumni Oxonienses 1715 \u00ad 1886<\/i>, the authoritative
\nregister of members of the University of Oxford. He attended Didsbury College, Manchester, in 1860 and
\n1861, and began work as a probationary minister in 1861 (personal communications from Wesley College,
\nBristol, and Wesley Historical Society, London). In 1859 and 1860 he was a schoolmaster at Burton on
\nTrent Grammar School, Staffordshire (Lichfield Record Office BD110\/114; personal communication from Ferguson Memorial Library, Sydney). Presumably (non-preservation of records makes it impossible to confirm this) he studied Latin at the same school, which in the nineteenth century had a “strong emphasis on
\nclassics”, that is, Latin and Greek (“Burton-on-Trent Grammar School”). As the son of a Methodist minister
\nwho was planning to become a Methodist minister, Drewett would not have attended Oxford, which did
\nnot grant degrees to non-Anglicans before 1866.
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

28<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLieutenant Governor
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tof Bengal
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSir Henry Cotton never served as Lieutenant-Governor of
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBengal. He held various posts in the Bengal
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tadministrative and judicial services, including Chief
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSecretary in the Bengal secretariat, and in 1896 became
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tChief Commissioner of Assam, a position he held till his
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tresignation in 1902 (Moulton; Ghosh, p. 321; Buckland,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tp. 96; "Provinces of British India").
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

29<\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAusten Leigh was
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tnot the name
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tof the Provost;
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAusten Leigh was Provost of King’s College during the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tyears Sri Aurobindo attended (1890 \u00ad 92). During the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsame period G. W. Prothero held the post of Praelector (Cambridge University Calendar<\/i>, 1890, 1891,
\n1892 \u00ad 93; personal communications from the Provost and the Librarian, King’s College, Cambridge, 1975 \u00ad
\n77). Prothero took some interest in Sri Aurobindo, writing at least one letter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\ton his behalf (Purani, pp. 327 \u00ad 28).<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>567<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t40<\/td>\n

\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tI went on in it <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tuninterruptedly . . . until,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tin fact, I left Baroda<\/span><\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNumerous documents in the Baroda State and Baroda
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCollege archives make it clear that Sri Aurobindo .
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tceased to teach at Baroda College in April 1901, and
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tresumed teaching in September 1904 (see for example
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tletter of 28 September 1904 reproduced on p. 163 of the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpresent volume).<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t40-41<\/td>\n

\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIf I was in the
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRevenue Department . . .
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\twhat was I doing there?
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNumerous documents from various Baroda State departments,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tincluding the Baroda Service List, show that Sri
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAurobindo drew his salary from the Revenue Department
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom May 1901 to September 1904. During most of this
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tperiod he worked directly under the Maharaja, in the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tbeginning without an official appointment. Between May
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tand September 1903, he had the title Acting Secretary.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBetween the end of 1903 and September 1904, he had the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\ttitle assistant Huzur Kamdar. In September 1904 he
\n\t\t\t\t\t\trejoined Baroda College as Vice-Principal and Professor
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tof English (Baroda State Records, multiple items; Baroda
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCollege Records, multiple items).<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t59<\/td>\n

\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHe led the party
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tagain . . . at Hooghly.
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe first four sentences in this paragraph refer to
\nevents that took place late in 1907 and early in 1908.
\nThe rest of the paragraph refers to occurrences at the Hooghly session of the Bengal Provincial Conference, which took place in September 1909 (see Sri Aurobindo, Karmayogin<\/i>,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpp. 209 \u00ad 35). Sri Aurobindo discusses events at the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHooghly Conference again on pp. 61 \u00ad 62 of the present
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tvolume. He places this second discussion in its proper
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tplace in the chronological sequence, but calls the
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconference the "Provincial Conference at Barisal" (see
\n\t\t\t\t\t\talso Table 1 above, emendations to statements on p. 61).<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t76<\/td>\n

\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tin the first row
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n

\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tContemporary newspaper accounts agree that the first row of delegates at the Barisal Conference consisted of Surendranath Banerjea, Bhupendranath Bose and Motilal Ghose. These accounts, as well as official reports,
\nnote that the police allowed many delegates to pass, not just the first three, before attacking the younger
\nmen (Bengalee<\/i>, April 17 \u00ad 18; Amrita Bazar Patrika<\/i>, April 16, 19; Government of India, HPA
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJune 1906, 152 \u00ad 68). Sri Aurobindo, then new to
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpolitics, is not mentioned in any of these accounts.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t84<\/td>\n

\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNo. Tied with a rope;
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n

\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIn Karakahini <\/i>(Sri Aurobindo, Bangla Rachana<\/i>, p. 8), Sri Aurobindo writes of his arrest: “I was handcuffed
\n\u00af  \u00af  \u00af<\/i> and a rope was tied around my waist” (amar hate<\/i>
\n\u00af<\/i> hatkadi, komare dadi deoa hoilo<\/i>). This agrees with
\n.<\/i> .<\/i>
\ncontemporary reports in Calcutta newspapers.  
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

\n

    <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>568<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n Printed and Internet Sources for Data in Tables <\/b><\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n [Archival sources are listed in full in the last column of the Tables.<\/i>]<\/p>\n

\n  Buckland, C. E., ed., Dictionary of Indian Biography<\/i>. Reprint edition. Delhi: Indological Book House, 1971. <\/p>\n

\n “Burton on Trent Grammar School”, http:\/\/www.burton-on-trent.org\/1-History\/ School%20History\/History.htm<\/p>\n

\nGardiner, Robert Barlow, ed., Admissions Registers of St. Paul’s School from 1876 \u00ad<\/i>
\n1905<\/i>. London: George Bell and Sons, 1906. <\/p>\n

\n Ghosh, Pansy Chhaya, “Cotton, Henry (Sir)”. In Dictionary of National Biography<\/i>, vol. 1. Calcutta: Institute of Historical Studies, 1972. <\/p>\n

\n Moulton, Edward C., “Cotton, Sir Henry John Stedman (1845 \u00ad 1915)”. In Oxford<\/i>
\nDictionary of National Biography<\/i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004,
\nhttp:\/\/www.oxforddnb.com\/view\/article\/47183. <\/p>\n

\n “Provinces of British India”, http:\/\/www.worldstatesmen.org\/India BrProvinces.htm. <\/p>\n

\n Purani, A. B., The Life of Sri Aurobindo<\/i>. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1978. <\/p>\n

\n Sri Aurobindo,
\nBande Mataram: Political Writings and Speeches 1890 \u00ad 1908<\/i>. Volumes
\n6 \u00ad 7 of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font> WORKS OF<\/font> SRI<\/font> AUROBINDO<\/font>. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 2002.<\/p>\n

\n Sri Aurobindo, Bangla Rachana<\/i>. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1999. <\/p>\n

\n Sri Aurobindo,
\nKarmayogin: Political Writings and Speeches 1909 \u00ad 1910<\/i>. Volume 8 of
\nTHE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1997. <\/p>\n

\n Zaidi, A. M., et al., eds., Encyclopedia of the Indian National Congress<\/i>, volumes 9 and 10. New Delhi: S. Chand & Co., 1980 \u00ad 81. <\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n PART<\/font> TWO<\/font> <\/b><\/p>\n

\n LETTERS
\nOF<\/font> HISTORICAL<\/font> INTEREST<\/font> <\/b><\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n Most of Sri Aurobindo’s published letters were written to members
\nof his Ashram and outside disciples between 1927 and 1950. Such letters are published in the following works:
\nLetters on Yoga<\/i>, Letters<\/i>
\non Himself and the Ashram<\/i>, The Mother with Letters on the Mother<\/i>, and
\nLetters on Poetry and Art<\/i>. Most of the letters included in Part
\nTwo of the present volume were written before 1927. Those that were written after that date are parts of sequences that began earlier, or deal
\nwith special subjects, such as Indian politics.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe material in this part has been arranged by the editors in three
\nsections: (1) Letters on Personal, Practical and Political Matters, 1890 \u00ad 1926; (2) Early Letters on Yoga and the Spiritual Life, 1911 \u00ad 1928;
\nand (3) Other Letters of Historical Interest on Yoga and Practical Life, 1921 \u00ad 1938.
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>569<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

Section One <\/b><\/p>\n

\n

Letters on Personal, Practical and Political Matters, 1890 \u00ad 1926 <\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The letters in this part have been arranged by the editors in five subsections: (1) Family Letters, 1890 \u00ad 1919; (2) Letters Written as a
\nProbationer in the Indian Civil Service, 1892; (3) Letters Written While Employed in the Princely State of Baroda, 1895 \u00ad 1906; (4) Letters and
\nTelegrams to Political and Professional Associates, 1906 \u00ad 1926; (5) Open Letters and Messages Published in Newspapers, 1909 \u00ad 1925. <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Family Letters, 1890 \u00ad 1919<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo passed most of his youth, from 1877 to 1893, in England. Only part of one letter survives from
\nthis period. He wrote the next five letters in this subsection while living in Baroda between 1893 and 1906. The two letters to his father-in-law
\nwere written from Calcutta in 1906 and Pondicherry in 1919.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tExtract from a Letter to His Father. 1890<\/b>. This passage is from a
\nletter that Sri Aurobindo wrote to his father Dr. K. D. Ghose (1844 \u00ad 1892) shortly after his arrival in Cambridge in October 1890. His
\nfather copied out the passage in a letter written to his brother-in-law Jogindranath Bose in December 1890. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo His Grandfather. 11 January 1894<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo wrote this letter to his grandfather Raj Narain Bose (1826 \u00ad 1899), a well-known
\nwriter and leader of the Adi Brahmo Samaj, while posted in Gujaria, a town in northern Gujarat, which then was part of the princely state
\nof Baroda.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo His Sister. 25 August 1894<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo wrote this letter
\nto his younger sister Sarojini (1877 \u00ad 1956) shortly after his first visit to his home province after his return from England. Sarojini had been
\nan infant when he went to England. The letter was published by their brother Barindra Kumar in
\nJugantar <\/i>(Puja number 1364 B.S.). <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tExtract from a Letter to His Brother. 1899 \u00ad 1900<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo made a typed copy of these pages from a letter written to his second
\nbrother Manmohan (1869 \u00ad 1924). His intention was to use them as an introduction to his poem
\nLove and Death<\/i>, written in 1899. At
\nthe top of the transcript he typed “To my Brother”. This apparently was meant to be the dedication of the poem and not the salutation
\nof the letter. When he was preparing Love and Death <\/i>for publication<\/p>\n

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

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>570<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

\n

in 1920, he dropped both the dedication and the introduction. The
\nfirst of the two Latin quotations, from Virgil’s Georgics <\/i>(3.8 \u00ad 9), may be translated: “A path . . . by which I too may lift me from the dust,
\nand float triumphant through the mouths of men”. The second, from Horace’s Satires
\n<\/i>(2.7.21, with a change in the mood of the verb), means
\n“whither does such wretched stuff tend”.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo His Uncle. 15 August 1902<\/b>. Jogindranath Bose, the recipient
\n\u00af  \u00af<\/i> of this letter, was Sri Aurobindo’s eldest maternal uncle (bada mama<\/i>).
\n.<\/i><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo His Wife. 20 August 1902<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo was married to Mrinalini Bose (1887 \u00ad 1918) in 1901. He generally corresponded with her in Bengali. Several letters from him to her in that language are
\nreproduced in Writings in Bengali and Sanskrit<\/i>, volume 9 of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO. The present item is the only
\nsurviving letter from him to her that was written in English.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo His Father-in-Law<\/b>. [1]
\n 8 June 1906. Sri Aurobindo wrote this
\nletter to his father-in-law Bhupal Chandra Bose (1861 \u00ad 1937) towards the beginning of his active political career. [2]
\n 19 February 1919. Sri
\nAurobindo wrote this letter after Mrinalini’s death from influenza in December 1918. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

Letters Written as a Probationer in the Indian Civil Service, 1892<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo passed the open examination for the Indian Civil Service
\n(I.C.S.) in 1890. He completed his course work successfully, but was rejected in 1892 after failing to take advantage of the last chance
\noffered him to pass the mandatory test in horse-riding. According to his own retrospective account, he had developed a distaste for Civil
\nService work and was delighted to be rejected on these trivial grounds.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Lord Kimberley. [1]
\n 21 November 1892<\/b>. After he was rejected
\nfrom the I.C.S., Sri Aurobindo was advised that his only hope, if he wished to remain in the service, was to write directly to the Secretary of State for India. The holder of this cabinet-level post was John Wodehouse, the first Earl of Kimberley (1826 \u00ad 1902). It is probable
\nthat Sri Aurobindo wrote to Kimberley at the insistence of James S. Cotton, who at this time was trying to pull strings to get the rejection
\noverturned (see A. B. Purani, The Life of Sri Aurobindo <\/i>[1978], pp. 326 \u00ad 33). [2]
\n 12 December 1892. Sri Aurobindo wrote this letter after
\nLord Kimberley refused his request to grant him another chance to   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>571<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

take the riding test. As a candidate who had successfully completed all the requirements but riding, he was due the last instalment of the
\nallowance given to probationers. This and the previous letter are reproduced here from the originals preserved in the Oriental and India
\nOffice Collections, British Library, London. <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Letters Written While Employed in the Princely State of Baroda, 1895 \u00ad
\n1906<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo wrote the letters reproduced in this section while working as an administrative officer and professor in the erstwhile
\nprincely state of Baroda. Then known as Arvind or Aravind or Aurobindo Ghose, he began work in the state in February 1893, just after his
\nreturn from England, and continued until March 1906, when he joined the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal. During the first part of this period
\nhe worked in various administrative departments. From 1898 to 1901 he was a professor of English and of French in the Baroda College.
\nThere followed a stint of three years (1901 \u00ad 4) when he worked in a secretarial capacity under Sayajirao Gaekwar, the Maharaja of Baroda.
\n(In many of the documents the Maharaja is referred to as “the Gaekwar” or “H.H.” [His Highness].) Finally, in 1905, he returned to the
\nCollege as vice-principal and professor of English. These documents are a representative selection from the scores that have survived. They
\nare arranged in chronological order.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Sar Suba, Baroda State. 1 June 1895<\/b>. In May 1895 Sri
\nAurobindo was summoned by the Maharaja to Ootacamund, a hill
\nstation in South India, in order to prepare a pr\u00e9cis of a complex legal case. He wrote this letter to his superior shortly after his arrival in
\n“Ootie”.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Bhuban Babu. June 1901<\/b>. This letter (actually a postcard) is
\nthe only non-official item in this subsection. It was written by Sri Aurobindo to a friend or acquaintance about whom nothing is known. Sri
\nAurobindo went to Naini Tal, a resort in what is now Uttaranchal, after his marriage to Mrinalini Bose in April 1901. The Banerji mentioned in
\nthe last paragraph was probably Jatindranath Banerji (c. 1877 \u00ad 1930), a young Bengali who had come to Baroda to obtain military training.
\nIn 1902 Sri Aurobindo sent Banerji to Calcutta to begin revolutionary work in Bengal. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo an Officer of the Baroda State. 14 February 1903<\/b>. The “letter   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>572<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nto the Residency” mentioned in this note is the one published next in sequence. Sri Aurobindo was anxious to leave Baroda at this time
\nbecause he had to go to Bengal to settle a quarrel among members of the revolutionary society he and others had founded the year before. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tDraft of Reply to the Resident on the Curzon Circular. 1903<\/b>. In 1900 Lord Curzon, Viceroy and Governor-General of India, issued
\na circular letter requiring the rulers of princely states to obtain the permission of the government before leaving the country. Although
\nworded in general terms, the circular was directed specifically against the Maharaja of Baroda, who had refused to return from Europe to
\nmeet the Viceroy that year. Two years later the Maharaja informed Baroda’s Resident
\n\u2014 the name given to British political agents in the
\nlarger states \u2014 that he intended to revisit Europe. He was told that the Government of India would not grant him the necessary permission.
\nA protest was submitted to “the Residency” (that is, the office of the Resident). The Resident replied in February. The present document is
\na draft of a reply to the Resident’s letter. The final version would have been sent over the signature of the Naib Dewan or Dewan. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Dewan, on the Government’s Reply to the Letter on the Curzon Circular. 14 August 1903<\/b>. Unable to go to Europe, the Maharaja passed the summer of 1903 in Kashmir. Sri Aurobindo accompanied him there as his private secretary. The present document,
\naddressed to R. V. Dhamnaskar, the Dewan or prime minister of the state, contains the Maharaja’s first reactions to the Government’s reply
\nto the final version of the previous document.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Naib Dewan, on the Infant Marriage Bill. 8 July 1903.<\/b>
\nWritten by Sri Aurobindo during the Kashmir tour of 1903 to an officer working under the Dewan. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tA Letter of Condolence. 10 July 1903<\/b>. Another letter written by Sri Aurobindo as secretary to the Maharaja during the Kashmir tour. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo R. C. Dutt. 30 July 1904<\/b>. Romesh Chunder Dutt (1848 \u00ad 1909) was an officer in the Indian Civil Service from 1871 to 1897. He rose to
\nthe position of Divisional Commissioner of Orissa, the highest post in the British administration yet held by an Indian. A few years after Dutt
\nretired from the I.C.S., the Maharaja of Baroda offered him the position of Councillor (virtually the same as Dewan, a fact that would later
\ncause some difficulties). The correspondence between the Gaekwar and   <\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>573<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

Dutt was handled by Sri Aurobindo, who had met Dutt earlier.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Principal, Baroda College. 18 September 1904<\/b>. During
\npart of 1904 Sri Aurobindo held the post of assistant Huzur Kamdar (Crown Secretary). This is one of many letters he wrote on behalf of
\nthe Maharaja during this period.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Dewan, on Rejoining the College. 28 September 1904<\/b>.
\nIn September 1904 Sri Aurobindo was allowed to leave the state administration and to return to Baroda College, where he had served
\nas professor between 1898 and 1901. He was given the post of vice-principal. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Maharaja. 29 March 1905<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo wrote this letter to his employer, Sayajirao Gaekwar (1863 \u00ad 1939), Maharaja of Baroda from 1875 to 1939, on behalf of his younger brother, Barindra Kumar Ghose, who then was living with him in Baroda. Barin had
\njust returned from Bengal, where for two or three years he had been helping to organise the revolutionary secret society that Sri Aurobindo,
\nJatin Banerji and others had set up. The Maharaja agreed to give Barin a job, but Barin went back to Bengal before he could begin work. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tA Letter of Recommendation. 28 February 1906<\/b>. Written just before Sri Aurobindo left Baroda to take part in the Swadeshi Movement. The Vividh Kala Mandir was a photographic studio and metal engraving shop founded by former students of Baroda’s Kalabhavan,
\nan art school associated with Baroda College. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

Letters and Telegrams to Political and Professional Associates, 1906 \u00ad
\n1926<\/b>. In August 1906 Sri Aurobindo began work as principal of the Bengal National College and as an editorial writer for the daily
\nnewspaper Bande Mataram<\/i>. In May 1908 he was arrested in connection with the Alipore Bomb Case. A year later he was released.
\nIn 1910 he settled in Pondicherry and cut off all direct connection with the freedom movement, though he continued to be regarded by
\nthe British government as a dangerous revolutionary. For a while he remained in indirect contact with the movement through Motilal Roy
\nof Chandernagore.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Bipin Chandra Pal. 1906<\/b>. Bipin (also spelled “Bepin”) Chandra
\nPal (1858 \u00ad 1932) was a nationalist speaker and writer. Sri Aurobindo apparently wrote this note to him in September or October 1906. At
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>574<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthis time, Pal was editor-in-chief of the nationalist newspaper Bande<\/i>
\nMataram <\/i>and Sri Aurobindo was its chief writer. This note was put
\nin as evidence in the Alipore Bomb Trial (1908 \u00ad 9). The original has been lost. The text is reproduced here from a “paperbook” or printed
\ntranscript of the documentary evidence.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tA Letter of Acknowledgment. 9 March 1907<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo was
\nin Deoghar (a hill-resort in what is now Jharkhand) from mid January to early April 1907. He had gone to Deoghar for rest and recuperation
\nafter the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress (December 1906). While there he took care of some pending office work, such as
\nwriting this acknowledgement of a small donation to the National College Fund. Sri Aurobindo’s note was put in as evidence in the Alipore
\nBomb Trial (1908 \u00ad 9). The original has been lost. It was reproduced in a British government report on the trial, which was later reprinted in
\nthe collection Terrorism in Bengal<\/i>, volume 4 (Calcutta, 1995), p. 682. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Hemendra Prasad Ghose. 19 April 1907<\/b>. Hemendra Prasad
\nGhose (1876 \u00ad 1962) was one of the principal writers for the Bande<\/i> Mataram<\/i>. Sri Aurobindo wrote this note to him at a moment when
\nthere was much internal conflict in the office of the newspaper. Hemendra Prasad copied the note out in his diary, from which it is reproduced. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Aswinicoomar Banerji<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo wrote these letters to Aswinicoomar Banerji (1866 \u00ad 1945), a barrister, labour leader and
\nnationalist politician, shortly before Sri Aurobindo was arrested for sedition in August 1907. [1]
\n This letter is dated 26 June 1907. The
\nbiography of Garibaldi mentioned is J. Theodore Bent’s The Life of<\/i> Giuseppe Garibaldi
\n<\/i>(London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1882). [2] <\/p>\n

On 7 June 1907 the editors of the newspapers Jugantar<\/i>, Sandhya <\/i>and
\nBande Mataram <\/i>were warned by the Government of Bengal that they
\nwould be prosecuted if they continued to publish inflammatory articles. On 5 July police arrested Bhupendranath Bose, whom they believed
\nto be editor of Jugantar<\/i>. He was tried and sentenced on 24 July. Six days later, the police searched the office of the
\nBande Mataram<\/i>. It
\nwas evidently around this time that Sri Aurobindo wrote this note to Aswinicoomar. The originals of these two letters are in the Nehru
\nMemorial Museum and Library, Delhi (Banerji papers).<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Dr. S. K. Mullick. 8 February 1908<\/b>. Dr. Sharat Kumar Mullick
\n(1869\/70 \u00ad 1923\/4), a physician with an interest in nationalist politics   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>575<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

and national education, was a lecturer in the National Medical College in 1908. Sri Aurobindo was principal of the Bengal National College
\nin 1906 and 1907, and kept some connection with it until May 1908. From the end of 1906, however, his main occupation was the editing of
\nthe newspaper Bande Mataram<\/i>. He dated this letter Calcutta, 8 February 1907. The year is certainly wrong. He is known to have been in Deoghar without a break between January and April 1907, and is known to have been in Calcutta on 8 February 1908. On that day he attended a
\nmeeting of the Bande Mataram company in the office of the newspaper. It may be this meeting to which Sri Aurobindo alludes in his letter. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTelegrams about a Planned Political Reception. 6 March 1908<\/b>. In September 1907 Bipin Chandra Pal was sentenced to six months
\nimprisonment for refusing to testify in the Bande Mataram <\/i>Sedition Case. He was released in March 1908. On 6 March Sri Aurobindo and
\nsome of his colleagues sent telegrams to fifteen nationalist leaders in different parts of the country asking them to organise celebrations and
\nmake donations to a purse that would be offered to Pal. Sri Aurobindo varied the wording of his telegrams according to the recipient. A total
\nof seven different versions were sent, all of which are reproduced here. These telegrams were put in as evidence in the Alipore Bomb Trial. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tExtract of a Letter to Parthasarathi Aiyangar. 13 July 1911<\/b>. Parthasarathi (1880 \u00ad 1929) was a friend and associate of Sri Aurobindo’s from 1910, when the two met in Calcutta. He was the younger brother of Mandayam Srinivasachari, who was one of Sri Aurobindo’s
\nclosest friends in Pondicherry.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tNote on a Forged Document. April 1912<\/b>. Early in 1912 a
\nPondicherry resident named Mayuresan, who was acting as an informer to the British Government, planted some forged documents
\nin the well of the house of V. V. S. Aiyar, a Tamil revolutionary who was living in the French colony. Mayuresan intended the documents
\nto be discovered by the French police, providing support for his claims against Aiyar, Srinivasachari, Sri Aurobindo and others. Unluckily
\nfor him, the jar containing the forgeries was discovered by Aiyar’s maidservant. Some of the documents were shown to Sri Aurobindo,
\nwho wrote out this detailed refutation of one of them.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Anandrao<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo mentioned Anandrao Jadhav, the
\neldest son of his friend Khaserao Jadhav, in his letter to Jogindranath   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>576<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nBose of 15 August 1902 (see pp. 138 \u00ad 44). He presumably was the recipient of this letter. It is possible that the present letter, undated
\nbut apparently written in June 1912, is the “letter to our Marathi friend” mentioned in the second paragraph of the letter to Motilal
\nRoy of 3 July 1912 (but see the note to that letter). The “Baroda friend” mentioned in the first sentence of the letter to Anandrao is
\nprobably Keshavrao Ganesh Deshpande, who was a close friend of Sri Aurobindo’s in England and in Baroda. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Motilal Roy. In February 1910<\/b>, Sri Aurobindo left Calcutta and took temporary refuge in Chandernagore, a small French enclave
\non the river Hooghly about thirty kilometres north of Calcutta. There he was looked after by Motilal Roy (1882 \u00ad 1959), a young member of a revolutionary secret society. After leaving Chandernagore for Pondicherry in April, Sri Aurobindo kept in touch with Motilal by
\nletter. It was primarily to Motilal that he was referring when he wrote in the “General Note on Sri Aurobindo’s Political Life” (p. 64 of this
\nvolume): “For some years he kept up some private communication with the revolutionary forces he had led through one or two individuals.” In
\nthese letters, which were subject to interception by the police, he could not of course write openly about revolutionary matters. He developed
\na code in which “tantra” meant revolutionary activities, and things connected with tantra (yogini chakras<\/i>, tantric books, etc.) referred
\nto revolutionary implements like guns (see Arun Chandra Dutt, ed., Light to Superlight
\n<\/i>[Calcutta: Prabartak Publishers, 1972], pp. 27 \u00ad
\n30). The code sometimes got rather complicated (see the note to letter [3]
\n below). Sri Aurobindo did not use his normal signature or initials
\nin the first 22 letters. Instead he signed as Kali, K., A. K. or G. He often referred to other people by initials or pseudonyms. Parthasarathi
\nAiyangar, for example, became “P. S.” or “the Psalmodist”. [1]
\n 3 June 1912. The “letter to our Marathi friend” referred to in the
\nsecond paragraph may be the letter to Anandrao (see above). Note however that according to Arun Chandra Dutt (Light to Superlight<\/i>,
\npp. 4 \u00ad 5), the Marathi friend was a merchant named Madgodkar, apparently the same as the Madgaokar mentioned in letter [9]
\n below.
\nThe “case” mentioned in the penultimate paragraph is the one that Mayuresan tried to set up; see “Note on a Forged Document” above. [2]
\n August 1912 or after. (In April 1914, Sri Aurobindo wrote of “the   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>577<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

Parabrahma darshana”, apparently the experience mentioned in this letter, as happening “two years ago”; see
\nRecord of Yoga<\/i>, volume
\n10 of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font> WORKS OF<\/font> SRI<\/font> AUROBINDO<\/font>, p. 447.) [3]
\n Circa January 1913. According to Arun Chandra Dutt (Light to Superlight<\/i>,
\n\t pp. 50 \u00ad 51), the “experiment in the smashana” mentioned in this letter
\nwas the attempt to assassinate the Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, in Delhi on 23 December 1912.
\nŚ<\/font>maśā<\/font>na<\/i>s or graveyards are believed to be good places for tantric sadhana. The term applies also to Delhi, the
\ngraveyard of vanished empires. Other terms in the letter make use of the same “tantric” metaphor. [4]
\n February 1913. [5]
\n June \u00ad July
\n1913. The “tantric books” referred to are almost certainly revolvers sent from Pondicherry to Chandernagore (see
\nLight to Superlight<\/i>, pp.
\n27 \u00ad 28). The explanations in cypher concerning these “books” have not survived. [6]
\n June \u00ad July 1913. [7]
\n August 1913. The manuscripts
\n(“MSS”) referred to are Sri Aurobindo’s translation of Chittaranjan Das’s Bengali poem cycle
\nSagar Sangit<\/i>, for which Das agreed to pay
\nhim Rs. 1000. [8]
\n Circa 1913. [9]
\n 1913 (between April and October 1913, Sri Aurobindo lived in a house on Mission Street, Pondicherry,
\nfor which the rent was Rs. 15). [10]
\n March 1914. Rashbehari Bose was a revolutionary of Chandernagore who orchestrated the bomb-attack
\nagainst Lord Hardinge in Delhi in December 1912. On 8 March 1914, British police officers, armed with an extradition warrant of arrest,
\nraided Rashbehari’s house in Chandernagore. They were unable to arrest him, as he had slipped out some time before. News of the raid
\nappeared in the newspapers on 12 March or before. Sri Aurobindo wrote this letter to Motilal a short while after he read the news. He was
\ninterested not only in Rashbehari’s fate, but also in the legal precedent that might be set by the issuance of an extradition warrant against a
\nFrench subject for a crime committed in British India. [11]
\n April 1914. For Paul Richard, see the note to “Extracts from Letters to the Mother
\nand Paul Richard” in Section Two below. Every four years an election was held in Pondicherry to choose a Deputy to represent the colony
\nin the French Chamber. [12]
\n 17 April 1914. This letter was written shortly after the results of the election were announced. According to
\nthe <\/span> Journal Officiel<\/i><\/span>, Bluysen received 33,154 votes, Lemaire 5624, La Porte 368 and Richard 231. [13]
\n 5 May 1914. [14]
\n June 1914. The
\n“New Idea” was officially sanctioned by the government of French   <\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>578<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nIndia in June 1914. [15]
\n July 1914. [16]
\n July \u00ad August 1914. [17]
\n 29 August 1914. [18]
\n After October 1914. Bijoy Nag, a member of Sri
\nAurobindo’s household, was imprisoned in October 1914 under the Defence of India Act after he entered British India. He remained in jail
\nfor the duration of the war. V. V. S. Aiyar was a revolutionary from the Madras Presidency who had taken refuge in Pondicherry. (Despite
\nthe “a certain”, Sri Aurobindo knew Aiyar well.) [19]
\n Undated, but after the launch of the
\nArya <\/i>in August 1914. [20]
\n After September
\n1915, the month in which Motilal began to publish the Bengali journal Prabartak<\/i>. [21]
\n Undated, but apparently shortly after the armistice in
\nNovember 1918. Haradhan Bakshi (1897 \u00ad 1962), a young man of Chandernagore, served in Mesopotamia during the war. [22]
\n Apparently towards the end of 1919; certainly earlier than the next letter, which refers to the
\nStandard Bearer <\/i>by name. [23]
\n 2 January 1920.
\nA short time before this letter was written, M. K. Gandhi sent his son Devdas to speak to Sri Aurobindo on his behalf (see Gandhi’s letter to
\nSri Aurobindo on page 442). [24]
\n May 1920. Barindra Kumar Ghose (Sri Aurobindo’s younger brother, see Section Two below) was released from the penal colony of the Andaman Islands in January 1920. Paul and Mirra Richard returned to Pondicherry from Japan on 24
\nApril 1920. [25]
\n 2 September 1920. For information on the “marriage idea”, see
\nLight to Superlight<\/i>, pp. 93 \u00ad 96. [26]
\n 11 November 1920.
\nThe portion of this letter placed by Sri Aurobindo within inverted commas was reproduced in the
\nStandard Bearer <\/i>on 21 November
\n1920. See pages 278 \u00ad 79. [27]
\n In 1922, Motilal’s relationship with Sri Aurobindo soured. In May 1925 Motilal wrote asking for permission
\nto visit Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry. This telegram of 13 May was Sri Aurobindo’s reply. It is reproduced from a notebook in which A. B.
\nPurani wrote down Sri Aurobindo’s conversations and bits of household news. [28]
\n 8 May 1930. When Motilal wrote to Sri Aurobindo in
\nApril or May 1930, Sri Aurobindo wrote this draft and asked Nolini Kanta Gupta to reply in Bengali in his own name. This explains Sri
\nAurobindo’s use of the third person.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tDraft of Letter to Saurin Bose. June 1914<\/b>. Saurin Bose, brother
\nof Sri Aurobindo’s wife Mrinalini, was a member of Sri Aurobindo’s household in Pondicherry between 1911 and 1919. At the time this
\nletter was written, he was on a visit to Bengal. On 30 May 1914, Sri   <\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>579<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

Aurobindo noted in his diary (Record of Yoga<\/i>) that he had received a letter from Saurin that day. The present draft-letter was evidently
\nwritten in reply to Saurin’s letter. It may be dated, through references to known events, to 1 or 2 June 1914. (Paul and Mirra Richard were
\nplanning on 1 June to occupy the house mentioned in the letter “in one or two days”. The prospectus that is mentioned in the draft as being
\ndue out “later this month” was issued in mid June. Note also that the sum of Rs. 400, mentioned in this letter and in letter [14]
\n to Motilal
\nRoy, is also mentioned in the Record <\/i>of 29 May.) This draft was not sent to Saurin; presumably a fair copy was written and sent in its place. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo K. R. Appadurai. 13 April 1916<\/b>. Appadurai was the
\n\t\t\tbrother-in-law of the poet Subramania Bharati. Bharati was living as a refugee
\nin French Pondicherry at the time this letter was written. The “Mr. K. V. R” to whom Sri Aurobindo refers was K. V. Rangaswami Iyengar,
\nwho sometimes helped him out financially.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tFragmentary Draft Letter. 1916 \u00ad 1920<\/b>. The surviving portion of
\nthis draft (its beginning is not available) was written on one side of a sheet of paper that on the other side was used for part of a relatively
\nearly draft of the poem Savitri<\/i>. It is not possible to assign an exact date to the
\nSavitri <\/i>draft, but it must have been written between 1916,
\nwhen Sri Aurobindo began work on the poem, and 1921, when he temporarily stopped all forms of writing. The “volume of poems”
\nmentioned was probably Ahana and Other Poems <\/i>(1915). The intended recipient of the letter is not known for sure, but it is likely that
\nit was Chittaranjan Das (see below).<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo a Would-be Contributor to the Arya<\/i>. 3 September 1919<\/b>. A
\nletter to an unknown person who had sent a poetry manuscript to Sri Aurobindo for publication in the
\nArya<\/i>. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Joseph Baptista. 5 January 1920<\/b>. Joseph Baptista (1864 \u00ad 1930) was a barrister and nationalist politician who was associated
\nwith Bal Gangadhar Tilak. In 1919 a group of nationalists of Bombay who took their inspiration from Tilak decided to form a party and
\nto bring out an English daily newspaper. They deputed Baptista to write to Sri Aurobindo and offer him the editorship of the paper. Sri
\nAurobindo wrote this letter in reply.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Balkrishna Shivaram Moonje.<\/b> B. S. Moonje (1872 \u00ad 1948)
\nwas a medical practitioner and political activist of Nagpur. When Sri
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>580<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Aurobindo knew him in 1907 \u00ad 8, Moonje was one of the leaders of the
\nNationalist or Extremist Party. (Later he helped to found the Hindu Mahasabha; see Sri Aurobindo’s telegram to Moonje in Part Three,
\nunder “On the Cripps Proposal”.) Sri Aurobindo stayed with Moonje when he visited Nagpur in January 1908. Twelve years later, Moonje
\nand others invited Sri Aurobindo to preside over the forthcoming Nagpur session of the Indian National Congress. In letter [1]
\n, dated
\n30 August 1920, Sri Aurobindo set forth his reasons for declining this honour. [2]
\n In this telegram, date-stamped on arrival 19 September
\n1920, he reiterated his decision.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Chittaranjan Das. 18 November 1922<\/b>. A barrister of Calcutta
\nwho became famous for successfully defending Sri Aurobindo in the Alipore Bomb Case (1908 \u00ad 9), Chittaranjan Das (1870 \u00ad 1925) later
\nentered politics and became the leader of the Swarajya Party, which advocated entering the government’s legislative assemblies in order to
\n“wreck them from within”. Sri Aurobindo wrote this letter to Das on the same day that he wrote another to his brother Barin (see the first
\nletter under “To Barindra Kumar Ghose and Others” in Section Two below). <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Shyamsundar Chakravarty. 12 March 1926<\/b>. Shyamsundar Chakravarty (sometimes spelled Chakrabarti or Chakraborty) (1869 \u00ad
\n1932) was a nationalist writer and orator. When Sri Aurobindo was editor-in-chief of the nationalist newspaper
\nBande Mataram<\/i>, Chakravarty was one of its main writers. Eighteen years later he became editor of the
\nBengalee<\/i>, a moderate nationalist newspaper of Calcutta. At that
\ntime he wrote to Sri Aurobindo inviting him to send contributions. This letter is Sri Aurobindo’s reply. The original manuscript is not
\navailable. The text is reproduced from an old typed copy. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

Open Letters Published in Newspapers, 1909 \u00ad 1925<\/b>. In this subsection
\nare included all known letters written by Sri Aurobindo for publication in newspapers, with the exception of the two open letters he published
\nin his own journal Karmayogin <\/i>in 1909 and 1910, and his reply to the writer of a review of his
\nSecret of the Veda<\/i>. (These letters are
\nreproduced in Karmayogin: Political Writings and Speeches 1909 \u00ad<\/i> 1910
\n<\/i>and The Secret of the Veda<\/i>, volumes 8 and 15 of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font>
\nWORKS OF<\/font> SRI <\/font>AUROBINDO<\/font>.)   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>581<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Editor of the Bengalee<\/i>. 14 May 1909<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo wrote this letter eight days after his acquittal from the charges brought against
\nhim in the Alipore Bomb Case. It was published in the Bengalee <\/i>on 18 May 1909. The “defence fund” mentioned was set up by his uncle
\nKrishna Kumar Mitra in the name of Sri Aurobindo’s sister Sarojini.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Editor of the
\nHindu<\/i>. [1]
\n 7 November 1910.<\/b> Sri Aurobindo
\nleft Calcutta for Pondicherry on 1 April 1910. Shortly thereafter the Government of Bengal issued a warrant for his arrest on the charge of
\nsedition for an open letter that had been published in the weekly newspaper
\nKarmayogin <\/i>on 25 December 1909. Sri Aurobindo remained
\nincognito in Pondicherry until 7 November 1910, when he wrote this letter announcing his presence in the French enclave and his retirement
\nfrom politics. He deferred “all explanation or justification of [his] action” until the Calcutta High Court had ruled on the appeal of the
\nconviction of the printer in the Karmayogin <\/i>sedition case. Coincidentally, that same day the Calcutta High Court threw out the printer’s
\nconviction, thus nullifying the charges against Sri Aurobindo. His letter was published in the
\nHindu <\/i>on 8 November. [2]
\n 23 February 1911. This
\nletter was published in the Hindu <\/i>on 24 February 1911, the day after Sri Aurobindo wrote it. [3]
\n July 1911. On 10 July 1911, the
\nMadras<\/i>
\nTimes <\/i>published a short editorial (“leaderette”) entitled “Anarchism in the French Settlements”, which dealt with “political suspects” who had
\ntaken refuge in Pondicherry and were carrying out anti-British activities there. The writer cited a letter “from a correspondent in Pondicherry”
\nthat had been “published recently” in its columns, adding “if our correspondent is correctly informed, there is an organised Party in French
\nIndia which supports Mr. Arabindo Ghosh and his friends”. The next week the same newspaper published an article that spoke openly of
\nSri Aurobindo as “a criminal and an assassin”, thus connecting him with the assassination of the British Collector Robert Ashe, which had
\ntaken place on 17 June 1911. Sri Aurobindo wrote a letter to the editor of the
\nMadras Times <\/i>denying these charges, but was not given “the
\nopportunity of reply”. He therefore wrote this letter to the editor of the Hindu<\/i>. Published in that newspaper on 20 July 1911, it probably
\nwas written the previous day. [4]
\n July 1911. This letter, a continuation of the previous one, was published in the
\nHindu <\/i>on 21 July 1911.
\nIt probably was written the previous day. The “exposition” of the   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>582<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nauthor’s views promised in the last sentence has not been found. It does not appear to have been published in the
\nHindu<\/i>, and possibly
\nwas never written.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Editor of the New India<\/i>. [1]
\n April 1918. Sri Aurobindo
\nwrote this message on national education at the request of Annie Besant (1847 \u00ad 1933), president of the Theosophical Society, leader
\nof the Indian Home Rule League, and editor of New India<\/i>, a newspaper of Madras. She published it in
\nNew India <\/i>on 8 April 1918,
\nunder the heading: “MESSAGES FROM SONS OF THE MOTHERLAND TO THEIR BROTHERS<\/font>“. Sri Aurobindo’s was the longest of nine messages
\ncontributed by India’s “leading patriots”. This item is also published in Early Cultural Writings<\/i>, volume 1 of
\n\t\t\tTHE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font>
\nWORKS OF<\/font> SRI <\/font>AUROBINDO<\/font>. [2]
\n July 1918. Besant wrote to Sri Aurobindo again in July 1918, asking him for his opinion of the Montagu \u00ad Chelmsford
\nReforms, which had been announced earlier that month. Sri Aurobindo wrote this letter in reply. After receiving it, Besant wrote asking whether
\nshe could “use it (with or without your name) as a valuable opinion on the `Reforms’ “. Sri Aurobindo consented, and the letter was published
\nin New India <\/i>on 10 August 1918.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Editor of the Hindustan<\/i>. 1918.<\/b> The Hindu Marriages
\n(Validity) Bill was introduced by Vithalbhai Patel (1873 \u00ad 1933) in the Imperial Council on 5 September 1918. Its purpose was to provide
\nlegal sanction to marriages between Hindus of different castes. (At that time Hindu Law, as interpreted in the courts, considered inter-caste
\nmarriages to be invalid unless sanctioned by custom.) Patel’s bill was condemned by the orthodox and considered inadequate by reformers.
\nBut certain eminent Indians, among them Rabindranath Tagore and Lala Lajpat Rai, believed that it was a step in the right direction. Sri
\nAurobindo was asked his opinion of the bill by Lotewalla, Managing Director of
\nHindustan. <\/i>His reply, undated, but apparently written in
\nthe last quarter of 1918, is reproduced here from Gordhanbhai I. Patel’s Vithalbhai Patel: Life and Times<\/i>, Book One (Bombay: Shree
\nLaxmi Narayan Press, 1950), p. 305.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Editor of the Independent<\/i>. August 1920<\/b>. This obituary
\narticle was written at the request of Bipin Chandra Pal, editor of the Independent<\/i>, after the death of Bal Gangadhar Tilak on 1 August 1920.
\nThe piece was published in the Independent <\/i>on 5 August 1920. The   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>583<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

present text has been compared both against the version published in the newspaper and against a draft found among Sri Aurobindo’s
\nmanuscripts. The same piece is published under the title “A Great Mind, a Great Will” in
\nEarly Cultural Writings<\/i>, volume 1 of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font>
\nWORKS OF<\/font> SRI <\/font>AUROBINDO<\/font>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Editor of the Standard Bearer<\/i>. On 11 November 1920<\/b>,
\nSri Aurobindo wrote to Motilal Roy, editor of the Standard Bearer<\/i>, in regard to certain claims that had been made about his political
\nopinions in the Calcutta press. His letter is published on pages 248 \u00ad 49 of the present volume. In it he wrote, within inverted commas, a
\nstatement that he wanted Motilal to publish. Motilal did so on 21 November 1920. The text is reproduced here as it was printed in the
\nStandard Bearer<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Editor of the Bombay Chronicle<\/i>. June 1925<\/b>. This message
\nwas written at the request of the editor of the Bombay Chronicle <\/i>a day or two after the passing of Chittaranjan Das on 16 June 1925. The
\nmessage was published in the newspaper on 22 June 1925. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

Section Two <\/p>\n

Early Letters on Yoga and the Spiritual Life, 1911 \u00ad 1928 <\/b><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

Sri Aurobindo began the practice of yoga in 1905. Between then and
\n1911 he made few references to yoga in his letters. The first people to whom he wrote about spiritual things were Motilal Roy (see Section
\nOne above) and Paul and Mirra Richard. Around 1920, he began to reply to letters written to him by people in India and abroad who
\nwere interested in practising his system of yoga. At the end of 1926, he stopped seeing even the members of his household (which soon
\nbecame known as an ashram), but he continued to answer some of the letters written to him by people living outside. Gradually, he began to
\nwrite to members of the ashram as well. His letters on yoga of 1927 \u00ad 1950 have a different character from those written between 1911 and
\n1926. All surviving letters on yoga from the early period, along with a few from the late period that are parts of series that began earlier, are
\nincluded in the present section. All significant letters from the 1927 \u00ad 1950 period are reproduced in
\nLetters on Yoga<\/i>, volumes 28 \u00ad 31 of
\n\t\t\tTHE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font>
\nWORKS OF<\/font> SRI <\/font>AUROBINDO<\/font>.   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>584<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n Extracts from Letters to the Mother and Paul Richard, 1911 \u00ad c. 1922<\/b>. Paul Richard (1874 \u00ad 1967) was a French lawyer and writer. He came
\nto Pondicherry in 1910 seeking election to the French Chamber of Deputies, but found that the ticket he had been promised had been
\ngiven to someone else. Before returning to France, he asked to be introduced to a yogi, and friends arranged a meeting between him and Sri
\nAurobindo. During the next four years, he and Sri Aurobindo remained in touch by letter. In 1914, Richard returned to Pondicherry to stand
\nfor election. This time he was accompanied by his wife Mirra (1878 \u00ad 1973), who later became known as the Mother. Richard was defeated,
\nbut he and Mirra remained in India until February 1915, when Paul was ordered to join his regiment. The Richards remained in France
\nuntil March 1916, when they departed for Japan. After a four-year stay in that country, they returned to Pondicherry in April 1920. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Paul Richard<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo wrote these letters to Richard after their meeting in 1910 and before Richard returned to India in 1914. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Mother and Paul Richard<\/b>. These letters presumably were addressed both to Mirra and Paul. The one dated 31 December 1915
\ndeals with an experience of the Mother’s which is recorded in her Prayers and Meditations
\n<\/i>under the date 26 November 1915. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tDraft of a Letter. 1920s<\/b>. The circumstances referred to in this letter suggest that it was written during the early 1920s, when Sri Aurobindo
\nwas partly retired. The reference to Le seigneur des nations<\/span> <\/i> (“The Lord of the Nations”), a book by Paul Richard, suggests that Richard was
\nthe intended recipient. Sri Aurobindo’s reply was meant to be sent over the signature of a secretary. This explains his use of the third person. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

To People in India, 1914 \u00ad 1926<\/b>. Only thirteen of the twenty-three items included in this subsection exist in the form of letters or drafts in
\nSri Aurobindo’s hand. Some of the others were dictated or (in one or two cases) written by someone else following Sri Aurobindo’s instructions. Such letters generally were revised by Sri Aurobindo, sometimes extensively, before they were sent. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo N. K. Gogte<\/b>. Nothing is known about the recipient of these letters, except that he wrote to Sri Aurobindo after the appearance
\nof the first issue of the Arya <\/i>asking some questions about meditation. Gogte was perhaps hoping that his question would be answered in
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\n

\n

\n

“The Question of the Month”, a feature in early issues of the journal. Sri Aurobindo in fact wrote an answer to the question “What exactly
\nis meant by meditation in Yoga? And what should be its objects?” in the October 1914 issue (published in
\nEssays in Philosophy and<\/i>
\nYoga<\/i>, volume 13 of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font>
\nWORKS OF<\/font> SRI <\/font>AUROBINDO<\/font>, pp. 445 \u00ad 47). This essay bears some resemblance to the answer he sent
\ndirectly to Gogte. [1]
\n 9 September 1914. This is a postcard sent by Sri Aurobindo to Gogte explaining that he was unable to answer his
\nletter immediately. [2]
\n 21 September 1914. This reply of Sri Aurobindo to Gogte was the first of thousands of “letters on yoga” he would
\neventually write. Towards the end of the letter, Sri Aurobindo referred to a section at the end of the third instalment of
\nIsha Upanishad<\/i>,
\nwhich was published in the Arya <\/i>in October 1914. He wrote that the heading of this section was “The Vision of the All”. In fact the section
\nis headed “The Vision of the Brahman” both in the Arya <\/i>and in the book edition of
\nIsha Upanishad <\/i>(see Isha Upanishad<\/i>, volume 17 of THE<\/font>
\nCOMPLETE<\/font> WORKS OF<\/font> SRI<\/font> AUROBINDO<\/font>, p. 30). A section that appeared in the November instalment of the
\nArya <\/i>is headed “The Vision of the
\nAll” (Isha Upanishad<\/i>, p. 35). A partial copy of Sri Aurobindo’s letter to Gogte was published in the
\nStandard Bearer <\/i>on 13 March 1921.
\nAnother partial text was included in Sri Aurobindo’s Letters on Yoga<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tDraft of a Letter to Nolini Kanta Gupta<\/b>. A young member of
\nBarindra Kumar Ghose’s revolutionary secret society, Nolini Kanta Gupta (1889 \u00ad 1984) was arrested and tried for conspiracy in the Alipore Bomb Case. Acquitted, he worked with Sri Aurobindo on the Bengali weekly
\nDharma <\/i>in 1909 and 1910. In October or November
\n1910, he joined Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry. After remaining there for most of the next nine years, he returned to Bengal, where he got
\nmarried in December 1919. Sri Aurobindo drafted this letter to him a little before that time. The Latin phrase seems to be a variant of the
\nquotation from Horace found on page 137. It would mean “whither does this uncertainty lead”. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo A. B. Purani. 21 February 1920<\/b>. Ambalal Balkrishna Purani (1894 \u00ad 1965) met Sri Aurobindo in 1918, when he came to
\nPondicherry to report on the progress of a revolutionary secret society that had been set up in Gujarat under Sri Aurobindo’s inspiration. Sri
\nAurobindo advised the young man to give his attention to sadhana.   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>586<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nPurani corresponded with members of Sri Aurobindo’s household, and with Sri Aurobindo himself, until 1923, when he settled in Pondicherry. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo V. Chandrasekharam<\/b>. Veluri Chandrasekharam (1896 \u00ad 1964) took his B.A. from Madras University, standing first in his class in
\nphilosophy. He often visited Pondicherry during the early 1920s, reading the Veda and practising yoga under Sri Aurobindo’s guidance. In
\n1928 he returned to his village in Andhra Pradesh, where he passed the remainder of his life. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo K. N. Dixit. 30 March 1924<\/b>. Kesarlal Nanalal Dixit or Dikshit (1891 \u00ad 1988) was from Baroda. He visited Pondicherry five times during the 1920s, and settled in the Ashram in 1929. Sri Aurobindo wrote this paragraph in his own hand at the end of a letter written on his
\ninstructions by A. B. Purani. This explains his use of the third person.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Ramchandran. 30 September 1925<\/b>. Nothing is known about
\nthe recipient of this letter.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo and about V. Tirupati<\/b>. An enthusiastic sadhak, Tirupati practised an extreme form of bhakti yoga, as a result of which he lost his mental balance. Sri Aurobindo advised him to go back to his
\nhome in Vizianagaram, coastal Andhra, to recuperate. From there Tirupati wrote a number of letters to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
\nSri Aurobindo wrote these twelve replies at this time. [1]
\n 21 February 1926. The manuscript of this letter was written by the Mother but
\nwas apparently a transcript of something written or dictated by Sri Aurobindo. [2]
\n 24 February 1926. This telegram was sent by Sri Aurobindo to S. Duraiswami, an advocate of Madras, to whom Tirupati had gone while on his way to Pondicherry. [3]
\n 26 February 1926.
\nWritten in reply to a letter from Dasari Narayana Swamy Chetty, Tirupati’s father-in-law, explaining Tirupati’s condition. [4]
\n February
\n1926. An incomplete draft of a letter. [5]
\n 4 March 1926. Manuscript in the Mother’s hand. [6]
\n 5 March 1926. Manuscript in the Mother’s
\nhand. [7]
\n 22 March 1926. [8]
\n 27 March 1926. Manuscript in the Mother’s hand. [9]
\n 30 March 1926. Manuscript partly in the Mother’s
\nand partly in Sri Aurobindo’s hand. [10]
\n Circa March \u00ad April 1926. This letter was written in reply to one written by Tirupati on “the
\n28th”, presumably 28 March 1926. [11]
\n Circa March \u00ad April 1926. ..
\nThis draft-letter was written in reply to a letter written by Tirupati on “the 29th”, presumably 29 March 1926. [12]
\n 6 May 1926. Tirupati
\n..   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>587<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

came to Pondicherry on 6 May 1926. Sri Aurobindo refused to see him. He gave him this letter instead. It is reproduced here from one of
\nthe notebooks of A. B. Purani.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Daulatram Sharma. 26 March 1926<\/b>. Little is known about the
\nrecipient of this letter. He entered into correspondence with Barindra Kumar Ghose in 1923. After a visit to Pondicherry early in 1926, he
\nwrote to Barin about his sadhana on 17 March. Barin drafted a reply following Sri Aurobindo’s instructions. This was so completely revised
\nby Sri Aurobindo that it may be considered his own letter. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

To Barindra Kumar Ghose and Others, 1922 \u00ad 1928<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo
\nwrote or dictated the letters in this section to his brother Barindra Kumar and to some others who were connected with a yoga centre
\nthat Barin had opened in Bhawanipore, Calcutta, in 1922. Several of the letters deal with prospective members of the centre, about whom
\nBarin had written. (Many such candidates were asked to submit a photograph for the Mother and Sri Aurobindo to evaluate.) Barin also
\nwrote about the progress and setbacks of those who were staying at the centre. Sri Aurobindo wrote at least two of his replies by hand,
\nbut appears to have dictated most of them. Multiple handwritten and typed copies of his replies were made after they were written. Sixteen
\nof the eighteen letters exist only in the form of these copies. The texts published here have been established by collating three or more copies
\nof each letter. The copies were widely circulated during the 1920s. Sri Aurobindo later remarked that he did not want this “out of date stuff”
\nto remain in circulation; but in another letter he stated that it was “not necessary to withdraw anything”, though the pre-1927 letters were
\nnot to be circulated as freely as later letters.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Barindra Kumar Ghose<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo’s youngest brother
\nBarindra Kumar Ghose (1880 \u00ad 1959) was born in England and raised in Bengal. He first got to know Sri Aurobindo after the latter’s return from England in 1893. Around 1902 Barin became involved in a nascent revolutionary society that Sri Aurobindo and others had set
\nup in Calcutta. In 1906 Barin and other members of this society began to plan to assassinate British officials. An unsuccessful attempt to kill a
\nBritish judge in May 1908 led to the arrest of Barin, Sri Aurobindo and two dozen others. The prisoners were tried for conspiring to wage war
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>588<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nagainst the king. Sri Aurobindo was acquitted, Barin and several others convicted. The death-sentence against Barin was later commuted to
\nlife imprisonment in the Andaman Islands penal colony. In 1920, as part of the amnesty declared at the end of the First World War, Barin
\nand the other prisoners were released. Barin visited Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry that year and again in 1921. In 1922 he set up a
\nyoga centre in Bhawanipore, Calcutta. [1]
\n 18 November 1922. This letter was written on the same day as the letter to Chittaranjan Das
\nreproduced on pages 260 \u00ad 62. Both letters were concerned with fundraising. [2]
\n 1 December 1922. When Das received Sri Aurobindo’s
\nletter of 18 November, he wrote for permission to quote certain passages from it. Sri Aurobindo gave his reactions to this proposal in the
\npresent letter. [3]
\n 9 December 1922. Written to Barin in response to a letter from Jyotish Ghose, a Bhawanipore sadhak. [4]
\n 30 December
\n1922. Krishnashashi, a young man from Chittagong, became a member of the Bhawanipore centre, but soon began to experience serious
\ndifficulties. This is the first of several letters written by Sri Aurobindo in connection with his case. (There is also a letter written directly to
\nKrishnashashi. See below.) In the present letter he also transmitted to Barin the evaluations of Mirra (the Mother) of three candidates
\nwhose photographs had been submitted. [5]
\n January 1923. Another letter about Krishnashashi. [6]
\n 23 January 1923. Another letter about
\nKrishnashashi. [7]
\n January 1923. Apparently written after the letter of the 23rd and before the letter of the 31st. [8]
\n 31 January 1923.
\nAbout Krishnashashi and other matters. [9]
\n 14 February 1923. About Krishnashashi and other matters. [10]
\n 2 April 1923. About various
\ncandidates and also about Rathin, a son of Rajani Palit. (See also the letter to Rajani Palit below.) [11]
\n 16 April 1923. About various
\ncandidates. [12]
\n 30 May 1923. [13]
\n 16 June 1923. About Jyotish Mukherjee, a Bhawanipore candidate. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tBarindra Kumar returned to Pondicherry from Calcutta in August 1923. The Bhawanipore centre went on for some time, but was closed
\nat Sri Aurobindo’s suggestion in September 1925. Barin remained in Pondicherry until December 1929, when he left the Ashram and
\nreturned to Bengal. Letter [14]
\n, dated 7 June 1928, was written to him a year and a half before his departure. Part of it was included in the
\ncollection Bases of Yoga <\/i>in 1936.   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>589<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

\n\t\t\tTo Hrishikesh Kanjilal. Circa 1922<\/b>. A member of Barin Ghose’s revolutionary group, Hrishikesh Kanjilal (born 1879) was one of
\nthe defendants in the Alipore Bomb Trial. Convicted, he spent ten years in the Andamans. After his release he visited Sri Aurobindo in
\nPondicherry. In Calcutta he was associated with Barin in his various enterprises, one of which was the Cherry Press. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Krishnashashi. January 1923<\/b>. A young sadhak from Chittagong, East Bengal, Krishnashashi went insane while practising yoga
\nat Barin’s centre in Bhawanipore. See also letters [4]
\n \u00ad [9]
\n to Barindrakumar Ghose above. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Rajani Palit. 6 April 1923<\/b>. A government servant, Rajani Palit (born 1891) lived in Calcutta and attended meetings at Barin’s Bhawanipore centre. Later he was a frequent visitor to the Ashram. This letter is about the occult illness of his son Rathin. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tDraft Letters to and about Kumud Bandhu Bagchi. Born in 1901<\/b>, Kumud Bandhu Bagchi was the head of the Bhawanipore centre from
\n1923, when Barin Ghose settled in Pondicherry, till it was closed in 1925. [1]
\n 6 February 1926. A letter on Kumud’s sadhana dictated
\nby Sri Aurobindo. [2]
\n 23 March 1926. A note on the psychic being, dictated by Sri Aurobindo and revised by him before being sent. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

To People in America, 1926 \u00ad 1927<\/b>. These letters were written to people in the United States of America who had read the
\nArya <\/i>and written
\nto Sri Aurobindo. Most of them are preserved only in the form of drafts found among his manuscripts. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Mr. and Mrs. Sharman. Early 1926<\/b>. Maude Ralston Sharman was an American woman of Detroit who was married to a Punjabi. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo the Advance Distributing Company<\/b>. [1]
\n 9 March 1926<\/b>. Draft of a letter written in reply to one dated 18 January 1926 from the Advance Distributing Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (a small firm about which nothing is known) to the Arya Publishing House (the
\nprincipal publisher of Sri Aurobindo’s books in India). The manager of the Advance Distributing Company wished to purchase some issues of
\nthe Arya <\/i>and also proposed bringing out a selection of Sri Aurobindo’s works in the United States. [2]
\n 2 July 1926. Reply to a letter from
\nthe same company dated 2 May 1926, in which the writer spoke of practical matters relating to the publication of Sri Aurobindo’s books <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>590<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

in the United States, and the nature of spiritual seeking in that country.
\nThe book Some I-L-O-F Letters <\/i>had been sent to Sri Aurobindo by Mr. C. E. Lefebvre of Glenfield, Pennsylvania, earlier in the year. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tDraft of a Letter to C. E. Lefebvre<\/b>. Undated draft, written in reply to a letter from C. E. Lefebvre dated 13 June 1926. In his letter
\nLefebvre identified himself as the “student” mentioned in the letter from the Advance Distributing Company dated 18 January 1926.
\nVarious internal and external references in the letters make it clear that Lefebvre also was the writer of both letters from the Advance
\nDistributing Company. In his letter of 13 June 1926, Lefebvre spoke about the nature of spiritual seeking in the United States, concluding:
\n“It would seem that America is only ready for elementary instruction.”<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo and about Anna Bogenholm Sloane<\/b>. According to a printed
\ncurriculum vitae enclosed in one of her letters to Sri Aurobindo, Anna Bogenholm Sloane, B.A., M.A., was a native of Sweden who settled
\nin the United States sometime before 1907. She was active in various educational institutions, and wrote pedagogical stories for children.
\nInterested in spirituality, she became a student of Ralph Moriarity deBit (an American guru later known as Vitvan, 1883 \u00ad 1964). DeBit, then
\nhead of the School of the Sacred Science in Los Angeles, introduced Sloane to Sri Aurobindo in a letter of 30 June 1926. Sloane arrived
\nin Pondicherry early in 1927, a few months after Sri Aurobindo had retired. [1]
\n 3 August 1926. Written in reply to a letter from Sloane
\ndated 5 June 1926, in which she enumerated certain inner experiences, which she called “initiations”. [2 \u00ad 4] August \u00ad September 1927. Undated drafts, written in reply to a letter from Sloane in which she asked Sri Aurobindo if he was “the Krishna, the Supreme God of the Planet
\nEarth”, and expressed doubts about the ability of the Mother to guide her. She asked to be guided by Sri Aurobindo instead. There is some
\nevidence that Sri Aurobindo never sent a fair copy of these drafts to Sloane. [5]
\n 13 October 1927. This is a report written by Sri Aurobindo
\nafter Sloane made certain allegations against him, the Mother and the Ashram to the British Consul in Pondicherry. The date appears on a
\ncopy of a French translation of the letter, which presumably was sent to the French authorities in Pondicherry. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

Draft Letters, 1926 \u00ad 1928<\/b>. These four draft letters were found in two   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>591<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

note pads used by Sri Aurobindo around 1926 \u00ad 28. Internal references make it clear that the last three were written to Marie Potel, who lived
\nin the Ashram during this period. The intended recipient of the first letter is not known. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo an Unknown Person. Circa 1927 \u00ad 28<\/b>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Marie Potel<\/b>. Marie L\u00e9<\/font>on Potel (1874 \u00ad c. 1962) met the Mother in France in 1911 or 1912. She was perhaps the first person to regard
\nthe Mother as her master and spiritual Mother. Potel came to the Ashram in March 1926 and remained until March 1928. [1]
\n Draft
\nof a letter found among Sri Aurobindo’s manuscripts of 1926 \u00ad 27. [2]
\n Probably April 1927. A reply to a letter written in French by Potel. The three paragraphs beginning “Again who is the Father here” and ending “supported by the Ishwara” were struck through in the
\nmanuscript. Sri Aurobindo took up these ideas in the sixth chapter of The Mother<\/i>, which he wrote towards the end of 1927. [3]
\n Circa 1928.
\nThe subject of this letter almost certainly was Marie Potel, who left the Ashram in March 1928. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Section Three <\/p>\n

Other Letters of Historical Interest on Yoga and Practical Life <\/p>\n

1921 \u00ad 1938 <\/b><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

The letters in this section are of two types. Those in the first group
\nare addressed to disciples who had undertaken to collect or provide funds for the Ashram. Those in the second are to public figures who
\nhad written to Sri Aurobindo for various reasons. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

On Yoga and Fund-raising in the Ashram, 1921 \u00ad 1938<\/b>. These letters
\nwere written to two people who helped raise funds for the Ashram in Bengal and Gujarat. Besides fund-raising, the letters deal with the
\nsadhana of the two individuals, and with other subjects as well.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo and about Durgadas Shett<\/b>. A member of a wealthy family of
\nindustrialists based in Chandernagore, Durgadas Shett (1895 \u00ad 1958) sent significant amounts of money to Sri Aurobindo through Motilal
\nRoy before 1922. In 1934 his family property was distributed, and he gave most of his share to Sri Aurobindo. Afterwards he lived an
\naustere life; at times he was dependent on Sri Aurobindo for cash for   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>592<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nordinary expenses. These twenty-three letters from Sri Aurobindo to Durgadas are interesting in showing Sri Aurobindo’s attitude towards
\nmoney and the interest he took in the spiritual and material welfare of his disciples. Letters [2]
\n, [4]
\n and [5]
\n were written by Sri Aurobindo to
\nhis secretary Nolini Kanta Gupta, whom he asked to reply to Durgadas on his behalf. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Punamchand M. Shah<\/b>. Punamchand Mohanlal Shah (born 1898), of Patan, Gujarat, met Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry in 1919.
\nFour years later he became a member of his household. Between 1927 and 1931, he spent much of his time in Gujarat trying to collect money
\nfor the newly founded Ashram. In August 1927 Sri Aurobindo wrote three letters to Punamchand on fearlessness, work and money, which
\nwere published in 1928 as chapters 3, 4 and 5 of The Mother<\/i>. Here thirteen other letters to Punamchand on fund-raising and other subjects
\nare reproduced. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

To and about Public Figures, 1930 \u00ad 1937<\/b>. These letters were written
\nto or about people who held positions of responsibility or were otherwise in the public eye. They have been grouped together here for the
\nconvenience of students of modern Indian history.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tDraft of a Letter to Maharani Chimnabai II. 1930<\/b>. Gajrabai
\nGhatge (1871 \u00ad 1958), later Maharani Chimnabai II, was married to Maharaja Sayajirao III of Baroda in 1885. Sri Aurobindo met her while
\nworking under the Gaekwar between 1893 and 1906. More than two decades later, she wrote to him about her personal life. In replying,
\nSri Aurobindo used, out of courtesy, the form of address required by official protocol in writing to Indian royalty. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn a Proposed Visit by Mahatma Gandhi. 1934<\/b>. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 \u00ad 1948) visited Pondicherry on 17 February 1934. At that time he was temporarily retired from politics. As he related in his letter to Sri Aurobindo (part of which is reproduced
\nabove Sri Aurobindo’s reply of 7 January 1934), he had been anxious to meet Sri Aurobindo since he returned to India from South Africa in
\n1915. In order to arrange a meeting, he wrote to Govindbhai Patel, a disciple of Sri Aurobindo’s who previously had been connected with
\nGandhi’s movement. (There is some evidence that Govindbhai had written earlier to Gandhi to suggest a meeting.) On 2 January 1934
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>593<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

Gandhi wrote directly to Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo’s replies to Govindbhai and to Gandhi are reproduced in chronological order. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. 2 October 1934<\/b>. At the time this letter was written, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888 \u00ad 1975), President of India between 1962 and 1967, was an academic in England. (In 1935 he was appointed Spaulding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics at
\nOxford.) In August 1934 he approached Sri Aurobindo through Dilip Kumar Roy, asking him to contribute an article for a proposed volume
\non contemporary Indian philosophy. In a letter of September 1934, published in
\nLetters on Himself and the Ashram<\/i>, volume 35 of THE
\nCOMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO, Sri Aurobindo asked Dilip to beg off for him. Radhakrishnan persisted, and Sri Aurobindo wrote this
\nnote to him directly. (Radhakrishnan’s book, Contemporary Indian<\/i> Philosophy<\/i>, was published, without a contribution by Sri Aurobindo,
\nby George Allen & Unwin in 1936.)<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo and about Morarji Desai<\/b>. Morarji Desai (1896 \u00ad 1995) was
\nPrime Minister of India between 1977 and 1979. [1]
\n 15 February 1935. In 1934, Desai proposed coming to the Ashram with his friend
\nChandulal Manibhai, who wrote to A. B. Purani asking for permission to attend darshan. Sri Aurobindo’s reply was addressed to Purani. [2] <\/p>\n

17 August 1935. Desai came to the Ashram in August 1935. During his stay he wrote a letter to Sri Aurobindo, asking him questions about
\nspiritual matters. Desai published Sri Aurobindo’s reply in The Story<\/i>
\nof My Life <\/i>(New Delhi: S. Chand and Co., 1978), vol. I, pp. 126 \u00ad 27. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn a Proposed Visit by Jawaharlal Nehru. 5 October 1936<\/b>. India’s first Prime Minister (1947 \u00ad 64), Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 \u00ad 1964) was
\na leader of the Congress Party during the freedom movement, serving as its President four times. In 1936 Dilip Kumar Roy, a member of the
\nAshram who was acquainted with Nehru, proposed inviting Nehru to stay with him if and when Nehru came to Pondicherry. Sri Aurobindo
\njotted down these remarks on Dilip’s letter.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tBirendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury. 21 February 1937<\/b>. A member
\nof the landed aristocracy of East Bengal, Birendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury was also an industrialist and a politician. He was elected to
\nthe Bengal Legislative Council in January 1937. Today, however, he is best remembered as a musician (he played the veena in the Hindustani
\nstyle) and as a musical scholar.   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>594<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n PART<\/font> THREE<\/font> <\/b><\/p>\n

\n PUBLIC<\/font> STATEMENTS AND<\/font> OTHER<\/font> COMMUNICATIONS
\n\t<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n ON<\/font> INDIAN AND<\/font> WORLD<\/font> EVENTS<\/font>, 1940 \u00ad 1950
\n\t<\/b><\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n Section One
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n Public Statements, Messages, Letters and Telegrams <\/b><\/p>\n

\n on Indian and World Events, 1940 \u00ad 1950 <\/b><\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n After his withdrawal from the national movement in 1910, Sri Aurobindo ceased to write on contemporary political issues. His letters to
\nthe editors of New India <\/i>and Hindustan <\/i>in 1918 (see Part Two, Section One) were his last public statements on political topics for more than
\ntwenty years. He first broke his silence in 1940 in connection with the Second World War. Later he spoke in support of the Cripps Proposal
\nand other British offers to the leaders of the Indian national movement. Still later he provided, on invitation, messages when India achieved
\nindependence and on other occasions. <\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n On the Second World War, 1940 \u00ad 1943<\/b>. After opposing European
\nimperialism for the better part of his life, Sri Aurobindo came out in support of the British and their allies after the fall of France. Whatever errors the Allies might have made in regard to their colonies, he thought, they still were open to the influence of the forces of higher
\nevolution, while Hitler’s Germany was possessed by forces that were positively anti-divine. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tContributions to Allied War Funds<\/b>. This letter, dated 19 September 1940, was signed jointly by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. It
\naccompanied a contribution of Rs. 500 to the Madras War Fund. The letter was published on the same date in the
\nHindu <\/i>(Madras). Later the
\nsecond paragraph was included in a leaflet entitled “Sri Aurobindo’s views on the War” and headed “For Sri Aurobindo’s Sadhaks only<\/i>“,
\nwhich was distributed in the Ashram and among friends of the Ashram. Still later it was included in the booklet
\nOn the War <\/i>(see below). <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tNotes on the War Fund Contribution. [1]<\/b>
\n This letter, undated but evidently written shortly after the above message, is reproduced from
\nSri Aurobindo’s handwritten manuscript. It was not published during his lifetime. [2]
\n Sri Aurobindo wrote this note on the back of a letter
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>595<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

written by Anilbaran Roy to one of his friends. Anilbaran’s letter is dated 22 October 1940. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the War: An Unreleased Statement<\/b>. On 23 September 1940, Anilbaran Roy wrote an article defending Sri Aurobindo’s position
\non the war as set forth in the letter of 19 September. He submitted his article to Sri Aurobindo, who thoroughly revised and enlarged it,
\nleaving almost nothing of Anilbaran’s original text. Sri Aurobindo had his secretary make a typed copy of the enlarged piece, which he further
\nrevised, but he does not seem to have shown the result to anyone, and it remained unpublished during his lifetime. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tIndia and the War. [1]
\n 6 April 1942<\/b>. The Japanese armed forces captured Singapore on 15 February and Rangoon on 7 March 1942.
\nQuickly moving north, they forced British and Indian forces to retreat into India. At this point many disciples of Sri Aurobindo living in Calcutta and elsewhere asked to be admitted to the Ashram for their own and their children’s safety. This text does not seem to have been printed
\nduring Sri Aurobindo’s lifetime, but it apparently was communicated privately to individuals. [2]
\n Sri Aurobindo wrote this text around the
\nsame time as the above piece. It was not published during his lifetime.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the War: Private Letters That Were Made Public. [1]
\n 29 July
\n1942<\/b>. This letter or extract from a letter was published in a leaflet and in two or more pamphlets that also contain the war fund letter
\nof 1940. The leaflet and pamphlets were headed “For Sri Aurobindo’s<\/i> Sadhakas Only<\/i>“. This piece, piece [2]
\n and the 19 September 1940
\nletter on the war fund contribution were subsequently brought out in a booklet entitled
\nOn the War: Letters of Sri Aurobindo and the<\/i>
\nMother <\/i>(Calcutta: Arya Publishing House, 1944). [2]
\n 3 September 1943. This item is an abridged version of Sri Aurobindo’s reply to a
\nletter from Dilip Kumar Roy, in the course of which Dilip said: “I have received of late from correspondents and friends objections to
\nour dubbing the allies as `modern Pandavas’. Those were protagonists of virtue (dharma) and unselfishness which can hardly be said
\nof the Allies and . . . are they not all exploiters of the weaker races and essentially imperialistic
\n\u2014 more or less?” Sri Aurobindo’s complete
\nreply is published in Letters on Himself and the Ashram<\/i>, volume 35 of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font>
\nWORKS OF<\/font> SRI <\/font>AUROBINDO<\/font>. The extracts making
\nup the present item were published in the first issue of the quarterly   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>596<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\njournal The Advent <\/i>(February 1944), under the following note: “Sri Aurobindo has made known to the public his standpoint with regard
\nto the present war. He is for unconditional and unreserved help \u2014 an all-out help to the Allies whose cause, according to him, is humanity’s
\nand also India’s cause. The present extracts from a private letter written some time ago in answer to certain doubts and misgivings will further
\nelucidate his position.” The extracts were also included in On the War:<\/i>
\nLetters of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother <\/i>(see above). <\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n On Indian Independence, 1942 \u00ad 1947.<\/b> After his retirement from active politics in 1910, Sri Aurobindo turned down all offers to rejoin the
\nnational movement or to play any other role in politics. The seriousness of the situation during World War II caused him to speak out in favour
\nof the Cripps Proposal of 1942. Later, on request, he issued messages on two other British initiatives: the Wavell Plan and the Cabinet Mission
\nProposals.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the Cripps Proposal. In March 1942<\/b>, Sir Stafford Cripps
\n(1889 \u00ad 1952), a Labour member of the War Cabinet, came to India with a proposal from the British government. Indian leaders were
\ninvited to take part in the councils of war, and were promised a constitution-making assembly after the cessation of hostilities. Cripps
\nannounced the details of the proposal in a radio talk of 30 March 1942. Sri Aurobindo responded in several ways. [1]
\n On 31 March, he sent
\na telegram to Cripps endorsing the proposal and offering his “public adhesion”. Cripps replied to Sri Aurobindo in a telegram of 1 April
\n1942. Sri Aurobindo’s telegram was published in many newspapers and reproduced in the pamphlet
\nMessages of Sri Aurobindo & the Mother<\/i>
\n(1949) and subsequently. [2]
\n On 1 April, Sri Aurobindo sent his disciple S. Duraiswami, a prominent advocate of Madras, to Delhi to speak
\nto members of the Congress Working Committee: Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Azad, C. Rajagopalachari and others. He gave Duraiswami
\nthis letter authorising him to speak on his behalf. [3 and 4] On 2 April, Sri Aurobindo telegraphed Dr. B. S. Moonje, a former nationalist colleague, now head of the Hindu Mahasabha, and C. Rajagopalachari, the Congress leader of Madras. [5 and 6] On 9 April and again on
\na later date, Sri Aurobindo telegraphed his old revolutionary associate Amarendra Chatterjee, now a member of the Bengal Legislative
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>597<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

Assembly, who had written, asking him to play a more active role.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the Wavell Plan<\/b>. On 14 June 1945, the Viceroy, Lord Wavell,
\noffered Indian leaders a new plan intended “to ease the present political situation and to advance India towards her goal of full
\n\t\t\tself-government”. Sri Aurobindo expressed his approval in two ways. [1]
\n On 15 June 1945, he dictated to his secretary a message that
\nwas subsequently released and printed in the Hindu <\/i>and other Indian newspapers under the date 19 June. [2]
\n Also on 15 June, he telegraphed
\nDr. Syed Mahmood, a member of the Congress Working Committee, who communicated Sri Aurobindo’s views to Gandhi and the rest of
\nthe committee.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the Cabinet Mission Proposals<\/b>. On 24 March 1946, three
\nmembers of the British Cabinet came to India in order to find a solution to the constitutional deadlock brought about by the unwillingness
\nof the Muslim League to work with the Congress and other Indian parties. After surveying the situation, the Cabinet Mission offered a
\nnew proposal on 16 May. Its most salient feature was the so-called group system, by which provinces in the Northwest, the Northeast, and
\nthe rest of the country would form semi-autonomous groups within the larger Indian union. (The idea was to grant the substance of the
\nLeague’s demand for Pakistan without partitioning the country.) [1]
\n In March 1946, before all the details of the proposal were known, Sri
\nAurobindo was asked his initial reaction by the Amrita Bazar Patrika<\/i>. He wrote this response on 24 March. Issued in the name of his secretary
\nNolini Kanta Gupta, it was published in the Patrika <\/i>on 26 March and later reprinted in other newspapers. [2]
\n Nine months later, after
\nthe details of the group system had come out, Sri Aurobindo was asked for his opinion by Surendra Mohan Ghosh, the President of the
\nBengal Pradesh Congress Committee, with whom he occasionally held talks about political developments. He dictated this reply to Surendra
\nMohan’s letter on 16 December 1946.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe Fifteenth of August 1947<\/b>. India became independent on 15
\nAugust 1947. This was Sri Aurobindo’s seventy-fifth birthday. Before the event he was asked by All India Radio, Tiruchirapalli, to give a
\nmessage for broadcast. Sri Aurobindo agreed and wrote two versions of a message, one of which was selected. On 9 August, AIR technicians made a recording of the Mother reading the message. This   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>598<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nwas broadcast on 14 August. (The recording, apparently made on a perishable wax medium, was not preserved.) Sri Aurobindo’s message
\nexists in two versions, one long and the other short. [1]
\n This version, which was found to be too long for broadcast in the allotted timeslot, was printed as a leaflet and reproduced in newspapers such as the Sunday Times
\n<\/i>of Madras. [2]
\n This short version was broadcast
\nby AIR and subsequently printed as a leaflet. Two years later it was reproduced in
\nMessages of Sri Aurobindo & the Mother <\/i>(1949). Since
\nthen it has been reprinted many times. <\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n On the Integration of the French Settlements in India, 1947 \u00ad 1950<\/b>.
\nPondicherry, where Sri Aurobindo lived between 1910 and 1950, was \u00b4<\/i>
\nat that time one of five French \u00e9tablissements<\/span> <\/i> or settlements in India. As one who was regarded by the British as a danger to the Empire, he
\nwas grateful for the hospitality that successive French administrations extended to him. When it became clear that British India would become
\nindependent, pro-and anti-French parties in Pondicherry engaged in political debate and violent clashes in order to decide the colony’s
\nfuture. Sri Aurobindo wished Pondicherry to become part of the Indian union, but to retain some measure of autonomy, which would permit
\nit to serve as a “window” between India and France. The situation remained unsettled until 1954, when all French possessions in India
\nbecame de facto <\/i>parts of the Indian Union. The
\n\tde jure<\/span> <\/i>
\n\ttransfer took place in 1962. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe Future Union<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo dictated this text in or before June 1947. It was published, anonymously, in a pamphlet marked
\n“Issued by the French India Socialist Party\/June 1947”. Sri Aurobindo supported this party’s stance on the issue of Pondicherry’s political
\nfuture, though not necessarily its position on other issues.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the Disturbances of 15 August 1947 in Pondicherry. 20 August
\n1947<\/b>. In the evening of 15 August 1947, the day of India’s independence, armed rioters attacked the Ashram, killing one member and
\ninjuring several others. Subsequently it was reported in the Statesman<\/i> of Calcutta that “Satyagraha” (non-violent passive resistance) was
\noffered by political workers in front of the Ashram. Sri Aurobindo dictated this reply to be sent to the editor of the
\nStatesman <\/i>on 20 August. It
\nwas issued over the signature of the Secretary, Sri Aurobindo Ashram.   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>599<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

\n\t\t\tLetters to Surendra Mohan Ghosh<\/b>. For details on the recipient of these letters, see below under Section Two. The letters in the present
\nsubsection were occasioned by a diplomatic conflict between the government of free India and the government of French India. [1]
\n In April
\n1949, the Government of India put a customs cordon around French Pondicherry. This made it difficult for the Ashram to obtain food and
\nother necessities. Sri Aurobindo dictated this letter to Surendra Mohan on 1 April 1949 when the crisis was beginning. [2]
\n Sri Aurobindo
\ndictated this letter on 6 May 1949, when the problems created by the customs cordon were at their worst. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tNote on a Projet de loi<\/i><\/span>. 12 February 1950<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo made these comments on a French
\n\t\t\tprojet de loi<\/span> <\/i>
\n\t\t\t(proposed article of legislation) that had been submitted to him for comment by Sanat Kumar Banerji, a disciple of his who was a member of the Indian Administrative Service and who had been named India’s consul general in Pondicherry. In the event the
\n\t\t\tprojet<\/span> <\/i>
\n\t\t\twas not discussed by the French
\nand Indian governments. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

Messages on Indian and World Events, 1948 \u00ad 1950<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo
\ndictated three of these messages on invitation. The other three were private letters (in one case, an extract from a private letter) that were
\nreleased for publication after being sent.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi<\/b>. Mahatma Gandhi was
\nmurdered on 30 January 1948. [1]
\n On 4 February a certain Mr. Kumbi of Gadag, Karnataka, telegraphed to Sri Aurobindo: “Darkness sorrow
\nspreads fast India Bapuji death children pray message.” Sri Aurobindo telegraphed this message in reply. It was published in the
\nHindu <\/i>on
\n7 February. [2]
\n Asked on 5 February for a message on the subject by All India Radio, Tiruchirapalli, Sri Aurobindo wrote this paragraph,
\nwhich presumably was broadcast by the station. On 8 February it was published in the
\nHindu<\/i>, and at the end of February was reproduced
\nin the Advent<\/i>, a quarterly journal of Madras, and also as a separate leaflet. Both messages were also reproduced in the pamphlet
\nMessages<\/i>
\nof Sri Aurobindo & the Mother <\/i>(1949).<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the World Situation (July 1948). 18 July 1948<\/b>. This letter from
\nSri Aurobindo to his disciple Dilip Kumar Roy was reproduced in the Sri Aurobindo Mandir Annual<\/i>, Calcutta, and also as a separate leaflet, <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>600<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

in August 1948. It was included in Messages of Sri Aurobindo & the<\/i>
\nMother <\/i>(1949).<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn Linguistic Provinces (Message to Andhra University). December 1948<\/b>. On 28 June 1948, Dr. C. R. Reddy, Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University, Waltair, wrote to Sri Aurobindo asking whether
\nhe would allow his name to be considered for the university’s National Prize for eminent merit in the humanities. On 15 July Sri Aurobindo
\nwrote to say that he would accept the prize if offered. On 30 October the Governor of Madras (who was ex-officio Chancellor of the university) wrote saying that the syndicate of the university had resolved to give the award to Sri Aurobindo. Subsequently Reddy wrote asking
\nSri Aurobindo for a message to be read out at the award ceremony. Sri Aurobindo replied by telegram that while he “usually does not
\ngive any message unless it comes by some inner inspiration”, he felt sure “in this case inspiration and message will not fail to come”. The
\nmessage \u2014 which dealt at some length with the question of linguistic provinces, then a charged political issue, particularly in the Andhra
\ncountry \u2014 was completed and sent on 5 December. On 11 December 1948 it was read out at a convocation at the university. The message
\nwas published in the Hindu <\/i>on 12 December 1948, and subsequently in other newspapers, such as in the
\nAmrita Bazar Patrika <\/i>(22 December
\n1948). In 1949 it was reproduced in the pamphlet Messages of Sri<\/i> Aurobindo & the Mother<\/i>. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tLetters Related to the Andhra University Award. [1]<\/b>
\n This letter, in which Sri Aurobindo authorised his name to be considered for the
\nC. R. Reddy National Prize, was written on 15 July 1948. [2]
\n This letter, addressed to the Governor of Madras, was sent on 6 November,
\na week after the university offered him the prize. [3]
\n This letter, sent to Dr. Reddy along with the message, is dated 5 December 1948. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe Present Darkness (April 1950). 4 April 1950<\/b>. This paragraph is an extract from a letter to Dilip Kumar Roy, which was
\nreleased for publication shortly after it was written. It was printed in the
\nHindusthan Standard <\/i>on 17 April 1950, and in other newspapers shortly thereafter. This paragraph also formed part of a larger extract from the letter that was published in the April 1950 issue of
\nthe Advent <\/i>of Madras. Whenever the text was printed, all or part of the sentence mentioning Prime Minister Nehru was omitted. The
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>601<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

“Pakistan imbroglio” Sri Aurobindo referred to was the crisis created by attacks on Hindus in East Pakistan, retaliatory attacks in India, and
\nthe consequent movement of populations in both directions. For more on this crisis see the note to “On the Nehru-Liaquat Pact and After”
\nin the next section.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the Korean Conflict. 28 June 1950. In 1949 and 1950<\/b>, Sri
\nAurobindo wrote a number of letters in answer to questions posed by his disciple K. D. Sethna, editor of
\nMother India<\/i>, a newspaper of
\nBombay, in regard to various national and international problems (see Section Two, subsection two below). Sri Aurobindo wrote the present
\nletter in reply to Sethna’s questions on the Korean Crisis. His letter subsequently was released to the Press Trust of India, and published in
\nthe Amrita Bazar Patrika <\/i>and other journals under the date 17 August. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Section Two <\/p>\n

Private Letters to Public Figures and to the Editor of Mother India<\/i> <\/p>\n

1948 \u00ad 1950
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

Private Letters to Public Figures, 1948 \u00ad 1950<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo dictated these four letters between 1948 and 1950 in reply to political leaders
\nwho approached him for guidance.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Surendra Mohan Ghosh. 12 June 1948<\/b>. As a youth, Surendra
\nMohan Ghosh (1893 \u00ad 1976) was a member of the Anushilan Samiti, a revolutionary organisation that had been founded by Sri Aurobindo
\nand others in 1902. Later he joined the Indian National Congress. From 1938, he was president of the Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee. During the 1940s, he had a series of private meetings with Sri Aurobindo, during which the two spoke of political and yogic matters.
\nIn 1946 he became a member of the Constituent Assembly, which was charged with drafting India’s constitution. In 1948 and 1949 Sri
\nAurobindo wrote several letters to him about political matters. Two are published in the subsection containing material dealing with the
\nintegration of the French Settlements; another, on the Cabinet Mission Proposals, appears in the subsection containing material dealing with
\nIndian independence. The letter in the present subsection was written on 6 June 1948, after Surendra Mohan informed Sri Aurobindo that he
\nwished to resign from the position of president of the Bengal Pradesh   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>602<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nCongress Committee (B.P.C.C.).<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo Kailas Nath Katju. 3 September 1949<\/b>. Dr. Kailas Nath Katju
\n(1887 \u00ad 1968) was a lawyer and, after 1937, a Congress leader. In 1948 he was appointed Governor of West Bengal. In this capacity he presided
\nover a public celebration of Sri Aurobindo’s seventy-seventh birthday in Calcutta in August 1949. On the twentieth of that month, he wrote
\nto Sri Aurobindo, telling him about his past and present activities, and his hopes and apprehensions in regard to the country. Sri Aurobindo
\ndictated this reply two weeks later.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tTo K. M. Munshi<\/b>. Educated at Baroda College while Sri Aurobindo was a professor there, Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (1887 \u00ad 1971) became a leading member of the Congress in Gujarat. In 1946
\nhe was elected to the Constituent Assembly and after independence joined the union cabinet as agriculture minister. In 1949 and 1950
\nhe asked Sri Aurobindo for advice on two occasions. [1]
\n 3 September 1949. While serving on the Constituent Assembly, Munshi telephoned
\nthe Ashram in Pondicherry, asking for Sri Aurobindo’s opinion on the question of the numerals to be used with Hindi, which was being
\npromoted as the national language. Sri Aurobindo dictated his reply to A. B. Purani. The substance of his remarks was published in at least
\ntwo newspapers on 15 September. [2]
\n 3 August 1950. On 30 July 1950, Munshi wrote to Sri Aurobindo asking him for guidance in regard to
\nhis personal sadhana and his plans to work for the sake of Indian culture. Sri Aurobindo dictated his reply to A. B. Purani. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n

Notes and Letters to the Editor of Mother India <\/i>on Indian and World Events, 1949 \u00ad 1950<\/b>. In February 1949 a new fortnightly newspaper,
\nMother India<\/i>, was launched in Bombay. Its editor was K. D. Sethna, who had been a resident member of the Ashram between 1928 and
\n1938, and remained in close contact with Sri Aurobindo. Along with articles on yoga, literary criticism, and poetry,
\nMother India <\/i>published
\ncommentary on political affairs. Sethna wrote to Sri Aurobindo for guidance when writing such articles, and Sri Aurobindo often replied.
\nEleven of his letters are reproduced in this section. (A twelfth, on the Korean Conflict, is published in the subsection containing messages on
\nIndian and world events [see above], since it was released as a message during Sri Aurobindo’s lifetime.)
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>603<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

\n\t\t\tOn Pakistan<\/b>. This comment was written in reply to a letter from Sethna dated 12 March 1949. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the Commonwealth and Secularism<\/b>. This note was written in reply to two remarks in a letter from Sethna dated 5 April 1949. Sethna’s first remark was: “Perhaps a concluding para should be added in which the suggestion could be made that the term `secular’ in our
\nconstitution should as soon as possible be qualified and the significance which does not contradict but rather confirms spirituality be openly
\nintroduced; or else the term `spiritual’ should be substituted, with an explanation that it goes nowise against but supports all the best that
\n`secularity’ might connote.” Sethna’s second remark was: “What is Sri Aurobindo and Mother’s view on the Commonwealth question?” <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the Unity Party. 25 April 1949<\/b>. Written in reply to a letter from Sethna dated 21 April 1949, in which he asked Sri Aurobindo whether
\npeople in agreement with Mother India<\/i>‘s position on the reunification of India ought to be referred to the Unity Party, a group then active
\nin Bengal, whose Secretary, S. P. Sen, was an occasional contributor to Mother India<\/i>. In a telegram written a few days after his letter, Sri
\nAurobindo wrote further: “Policy [of the Unity Party] not dictated by me \u2014 so how Aurobindonian? Policy guided mostly by A [Anilbaran].
\nNeither against nor for shall judge them by what they do.”<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn French India and on Pakistan. 27 June 1949<\/b>. On 25 June
\n1949, the following text was published in Mother India <\/i>under the title “Sri Aurobindo Supports Merger of French India”: <\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo in his own supreme spiritual way strives for India’s solidarity and greatness, Sjt. Nolini Kanta Gupta
\nthe Secretary of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram told the A.P.I. special representative on June 14. <\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo feels certain and has expressed it more than once, the Secretary said, that the different parts of India,
\nwhoever may be their present rulers, are bound to join the mother country and that India, free and united, will become
\na dynamic spiritual force bringing peace and harmony to the war-scarred world and suffering humanity in general. <\/p>\n

Asked whether this meant that Sri Aurobindo desired Chandernagore, Pondicherry and other French Settlements in
\nIndia to join India, the Secretary said: “Certainly so. He has   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>604<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

prophesied that these small foreign pockets in India would sooner or later become one with India and India would become the spiritual leader of the world. Sri Aurobindo’s great Yoga-Shakti is directed to that end.” . . . <\/p>\n

As a spiritual home, the Ashram as such adopts a neutral attitude towards the burning question of the day in
\nPondicherry, namely, the referendum to decide the future of the French settlements in India, the Secretary said. He,
\nhowever, strongly refuted the notion in certain quarters that the Ashram is pro-French, and referred to one of his public
\nstatements wherein he had stated: “Nobody here (Ashram) is for the continuation of French rule in India.” <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn 22 June, before publishing the statement, Sethna wrote to Nolini asking for Sri Aurobindo’s views on Franco-Indian culture and on
\n“the Contravention question”. He concluded: “The statement on behalf of the Ashram by your honourable spokesman self will be featured
\non top of page 12 in the next issue.” On receipt of this letter, Nolini drafted a letter to Sethna saying that the statement ought not to have
\nbeen published as it “does not adequately represent Sri Aurobindo’s views”. Sri Aurobindo corrected and considerably enlarged Nolini’s
\ndraft, making it his own letter. He also added a paragraph on the Pakistan problem. The revised text was typed and sent to Sethna in
\nBombay.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn Cardinal Wyszynski, Catholicism and Communism. 3 August 1949<\/b>. Stefan Wyszynski (1901 \u00ad 1981) was made archbishop of Gniezno and Warsaw and primate of Poland in 1949, and a cardinal
\nin 1953. He was an opponent of the Communist government’s efforts to limit the influence of the Catholic Church. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the Kashmir Problem<\/b>. Circa September 1949. This letter was written around the same time as the letter to Kailas Nath Katju
\n(see above, previous subsection). The article of Sethna’s to which Sri Aurobindo referred is no longer available. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn “New Year Thoughts”. 1 January 1950<\/b>. Sethna sent a copy of an editorial entitled “New Year Thoughts on Pacifism” to Sri Aurobindo at the end of December 1949. Sri Aurobindo wrote this reply on the first day of the new year.
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>605<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

\n\t\t\tRishis as Leaders. 3 January 1950<\/b>. This letter was written in reply to a letter from Sethna dated 31 December 1949. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn Military Action. Written on 6 March 1950<\/b>, in reply to a letter from Sethna that is not now available. For Indo-Pakistan relations in
\n1950, see the next note.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe Nehru \u00ad Liaquat Pact and After. 3 May 1950<\/b>. Early in 1950,
\ntension between India and Pakistan rose as a result of widespread communal rioting in East Pakistan, retaliatory attacks in India, and
\nthe consequent flight of Hindus from East Pakistan into West Bengal, Assam and Tripura, and Muslims from India into Pakistan. On 2
\nApril 1950, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan of Pakistan came to India to discuss these problems with Prime Minister Nehru. Six days
\nlater the two men signed a pact addressing the refugee problem and guaranteeing the rights of religious minorities in both countries. The
\n“letter to Dilip” that Sri Aurobindo referred to in the first sentence was the one written on 4 April 1950, a portion of which was published
\nin the newspapers later in April. (See “The Present Darkness (April 1950)” in the preceding subsection.) On the 21st Sethna asked Sri
\nAurobindo if his position had changed since the letter of the 4th was written. Sri Aurobindo replied by wire: “Letter to Dilip written before
\nPact. Nothing changed in my direction.” The letter of 3 May 1950 published here was written two weeks after the telegram. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the Communist Movement<\/b>. On 13 September 1950, Swatantra Party leader Minoo Masani sent Sethna a draft of an
\n\t\t\tanti-Communist tract entitled “Manifesto for the Defence of Democracy and Independence in Asia”. He asked Sethna: “Do you think Sri Aurobindo would consider signing the manifesto? Do try.” Later, at a private meeting, Masani told Sethna, “I would be very happy if Sri Aurobindo
\nsaw the manifesto and made his suggestions. They would indeed be valuable.” On 16 September, Sethna sent Masani’s letter and the draft
\nmanifesto to Sri Aurobindo, along with a letter of his own in which he noted: “The Manifesto is meant to rally the largest possible support
\nto the anti-Communist front and it studiously avoids open or direct siding with the Western powers.” He added that even socialist leader
\nJai Prakash Narayan was thinking of signing it. On the other hand, Morarji Desai, with whom Masani had spoken, was opposed to getting
\nthe signatures of men like Narayan, as they were, he said, “not really   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>606<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ndemocratic”. Desai “was strongly in favour of declaring our adherence to the western democracies”. In closing his letter, Sethna asked Sri
\nAurobindo for his views. Sri Aurobindo’s answer, reproduced here, was drafted on 19 September 1950. <\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n PART<\/font> FOUR<\/font> <\/b><\/p>\n

\n PUBLIC<\/font> STATEMENTS AND<\/font> NOTICES<\/font> CONCERNING<\/font>
\n\t<\/b><\/p>\n

\n SRI<\/font> AUROBINDO’S<\/font> ASHRAM AND<\/font> YOGA<\/font>
\n\t<\/b><\/p>\n

\n 1927 \u00ad 1949 <\/b><\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n Sri Aurobindo came to Pondicherry in 1910 and devoted himself to the practice of yoga. He lived at first with a few young men from
\nBengal. Afterwards they were joined by a handful of others from different parts of the country. By 1926 the household had some two
\ndozen members. After a major yogic experience in November 1926, Sri Aurobindo stopped seeing or speaking with visitors and most members
\nof the community that had grown around him. Around this time, this community became known as Sri Aurobindo’s Asram. Later the name
\nwas changed to Sri Aurobindo Ashram. <\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n Section One
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n Public Statements and Notices concerning the Ashram <\/b><\/p>\n

\n 1927 \u00ad 1938 <\/b><\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n The statements in the first subsection below were written for the general public. Those in the second subsection were written for members
\nof the Ashram. <\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n Public Statements about the Ashram, 1927 and 1934<\/b>. On two occasions after the founding of the Ashram in 1926, Sri Aurobindo wrote short statements about it for publication. These are published here
\nfor their historical interest. It should be noted that what he wrote in the contexts of 1927 and 1934 does not necessarily apply to the Sri
\nAurobindo Ashram of today, which is differently organised. It may be observed that Sri Aurobindo, while writing in English, spelled the Sanskrit word
\n\tāś<\/font>rama <\/i>as “Asrama” or “Asram”. Ashram became the
\nestablished spelling sometime during the late 1940s.  
\n608<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>607<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

\n\t\t\tOn the Ashram’s Finances (1927).<\/b> On 6 May 1927 an article by Jatindranath Sen Gupta entitled “Sri Aurobindo’s Ashram: Daily
\nLife of Inmates: A Visitor’s Account” was published in the Hindu <\/i>of Madras. Sen Gupta noted in his first paragraph: “Though everywhere
\nin India and even outside India there is a keen desire to know what is really going on inside this Ashram at Pondicherry, not only very few
\nget the opportunity of knowing what is going on here, but, on the other hand, all sorts of false and ugly rumours have been assiduously spread
\nby interested persons.” Sen Gupta’s piece was the first article about the Ashram to be published anywhere. It seems also to have been the first
\npublished writing in which the name “Sri Aurobindo’s Ashram” was used. Sri Aurobindo saw and approved of the article as a whole, and
\nwrote one paragraph for it himself. This paragraph, concerning the financial arrangements of the Ashram as of May 1927, is reproduced
\nhere. This was the only time Sri Aurobindo made a public appeal for funds. Later he specifically disallowed this approach. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tOn the Ashram (1934).<\/b> February 1934 (probably the 16th of the month). In February 1934, the Government of French India, apparently under pressure from the British Consul, began an inquiry into the functioning of the Ashram. At question was the legal status of the
\ncommunity. Press reports had spoken of it as an “institution” that had a “common fund”, but no attempt had been made to register it with the
\ngovernment as a legal or financial entity. In fact the Ashram was not, at that time, a public institution. All the houses that composed it were
\nregistered in the name of Sri Aurobindo or the Mother. Individuals who wished to practise yoga under their guidance were allowed to use
\nthe facilities only so long as Sri Aurobindo and the Mother allowed. Sri Aurobindo nevertheless was obliged to take the government’s inquiry seriously. To clarify the situation, he wrote this statement on the Ashram and the one known as “Sri Aurobindo’s Teaching” (see the
\nnext subsection), apparently on 16 February 1934 (see below). The two texts were published together in the
\nHindu <\/i>of Madras on 20 February
\n1934 under the title “Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Some Misconceptions Cleared”. A short while later, both texts were published in Pondicherry
\nand in Madras in brochures entitled “The Teaching and the Asram of Sri Aurobindo” (Pondicherry: Barathy Press; Madras: Kesari Printing Works). Also around this time a brochure containing a French   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>608<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ntranslation of both texts was printed in Pondicherry at the
\n\tImprimerie de Sandhanam<\/span>. (In this French brochure the first text, “L’enseignement
\net l’ashram de Sri Aurobindo<\/span>“, was dated 16 February 1934. This may be the date of writing of the original English text of one or both
\npieces.) Five months later, in August 1934, both texts were published in English, along with Bengali and Hindi translations, in a booklet
\nentitled “The Teaching and the Asram of Sri Aurobindo” (Chandernagore: Rameshwar & Co.). A second edition, with English texts only,
\nwas published in 1945 (Calcutta: Arya Publishing House). Both texts were included in the first and second editions of
\nSri Aurobindo and<\/i>
\nHis Ashram <\/i>(Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1948 and 1951). <\/p>\n

\n “Sri Aurobindo’s Teaching” has continued to appear, notably in
\nOn Himself <\/i>(1972), but “Sri Aurobindo’s Asram” has not been printed since 1951. A letter written by K. D. Sethna to the Mother in 1937
\nhelps explain why. Wondering whether he should send a copy of “The Teaching and the Asram of Sri Aurobindo” to someone, Sethna noted
\nthat the passage about there being “no public institution” etc. “was written in this downright way when that anti-Asram movement [of
\n1934] was in full career in Pondy”. The Mother agreed and said that Sethna need not send the pamphlet. What Sri Aurobindo said in “Sri
\nAurobindo’s Asram” does not necessarily apply to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram of today. The text is reproduced here for its historical interest. <\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n Notices for Members of the Ashram, 1928 \u00ad 1937<\/b>. This subsection consists of notices written by Sri Aurobindo himself (and not on his behalf
\nby a secretary) that were posted or circulated in the Ashram between 1928 and 1937. Most of them were written in response to temporary
\nsituations. A few were incorporated into lists of rules of the Ashram.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tNotices of May 1928<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo wrote these three notes after
\nthe Mother suffered a serious illness. He insisted at this time on introducing changes in the schedule of Ashram activities in order to lessen
\nthe pressure of work on her.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tNotices of 1929 \u00ad 1937<\/b>. These are notices that were posted on the
\nAshram notice board between 1929 and 1937. Many of them were attempts to regulate the correspondence between the members of the
\nAshram and Sri Aurobindo, which took him as much as ten hours a day during the middle 1930s.
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>609<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

Section Two <\/b><\/p>\n

\n

Public Statements about Sri Aurobindo’s Path of Yoga
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

1934 and 1949 <\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Sri Aurobindo wrote these essays in 1934 and 1949 to explain his
\nsystem of yoga to the general public.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Sri Aurobindo’s Teaching<\/b>. This essay was published in the
\nHindu <\/i>on
\n20 February 1934 immediately below the article entitled “Sri Aurobindo’s Asram”, which is described above in the note to “On the
\nAshram (1934)”. It was published along with that article in leaflets and pamphlets of 1934 and 1945. Subsequently it was included in
\nSri Aurobindo and His Ashram<\/i>, first published in 1948 and reprinted many times. It was also included in
\nSri Aurobindo on Himself and on<\/i>
\nthe Mother <\/i>(1953) and On Himself <\/i>(1972 and subsequently).<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

A Message to America. 11 August 1949<\/b>. This message was written
\nfor release at a public celebration of Sri Aurobindo’s seventy-seventh birthday in New York City. Leaflets containing the text and a message
\nby the Mother were printed in New York at that time. The message was reprinted in Indian newspapers, and has since appeared many times,
\nnotably in Sri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother <\/i>(1953) and On Himself
\n<\/i>(1972 and subsequently).<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

PUBLISHING<\/font> HISTORY <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Only a few of the items in this book appeared in print during Sri
\nAurobindo’s lifetime. Sri Aurobindo: A Life Sketch <\/i>was published anonymously as a booklet in 1937 and subsequently. The information
\nprovided to King’s College appeared, in edited form, in the Register<\/i>
\nof Admissions to King’s College, Cambridge <\/i>in 1903 and 1929. One
\nof the letters on the departure to Chandernagore was printed in 1945. “A General Note on Sri Aurobindo’s Political Life” was published
\nin “Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram” in 1948. All the “Open Letters and Messages Published in Newspapers” came out in the newspapers
\nin question immediately after they were written. Most of the letter to Gogte was published in the
\nStandard Bearer <\/i>in 1921. Three of
\nthe statements on the Second World War, four of the statements on<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 <\/font>610<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

Indian independence, one of the texts on French India, all the messages
\non India and world events and one of the messages to Munshi were published as leaflets and \/or in newspapers shortly after they were
\nwritten. In 1949, six of these messages \u2014 the telegram to Cripps, the message of 15 August 1947, the two messages on the death of Gandhi,
\n“On the World Situation (July 1948)” and “On Linguistic Provinces (Message to Andhra University)”
\n\u2014 were reproduced in
\nMessages of<\/i>
\nSri Aurobindo & the Mother <\/i>(Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram). The note of 1934 on the Ashram and the essays of 1934 and 1949 on
\nSri Aurobindo’s yoga were issued in leaflets and pamphlets and later reprinted. See the notes on specific pieces for details. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tIn 1953, many of the pieces making up this book, and others now appearing in
\nThe Mother with Letters on the Mother <\/i>and Letters<\/i>
\non Himself and the Ashram <\/i>(volumes 32 and 35 of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font>
\nWORKS OF<\/font> SRI <\/font>AUROBINDO<\/font>), were published in a collection entitled
\nSri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother<\/i>. Portions of the present book that appeared in that collection include most of the notes in Part
\nOne, Section Two, “Corrections of Statements Made in Biographies and Other Publications”, some of the letters to the Mother and Paul
\nRichard, and the message of 15 August 1947.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tIn 1972 Sri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother
\n<\/i>was divided
\ninto two volumes. Notes and letters dealing with Sri Aurobindo or with Sri Aurobindo and the Mother jointly were published, along with much
\nhitherto unpublished material, in volume 26 of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library,
\nOn Himself: Compiled from Notes and Letters<\/i>.
\nLetters dealing with the Mother, some of which had been brought out separately in 1951 in a volume entitled
\nLetters of Sri Aurobindo on<\/i>
\nthe Mother<\/i>, were included in volume 25, The Mother with Letters<\/i>
\non the Mother and Translations of Prayers and Meditations<\/i>. Both On<\/i>
\nHimself <\/i>and The Mother with Letters on the Mother <\/i>were reprinted several times after 1972. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMost of Sri Aurobindo’s letters to Motilal Roy, along with the letter to Anandrao, were first published in
\nLight to Superlight <\/i>by
\nPrabartak Publishers, Calcutta, in 1972. These letters were included in the Supplement
\n<\/i>(volume 27) to the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary
\nLibrary. The letters of Sri Aurobindo to his father, his sister and his brother, one of the letters to his father-in-law, the letter to the Maharani
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\n

\n

\n

of Baroda, one of the letters to the editor of the Hindu<\/i>, and one of the letters to the editor of
\nNew India <\/i>were included in the same volume.
\nSome of the “Early Letters on Yoga and the Spiritual Life” and “Letters and Telegrams to Political and Professional Associates” came out in
\nChampaklal’s Treasures <\/i>(Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 1976). The letters to Lord Kimberley were first printed in A. B. Purani’s
\nLife of Sri Aurobindo <\/i>(Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1957). The letter to Morarji Desai was published in Desai’s
\nThe Story of My Life<\/i>
\nin 1978. Most of the messages on the Second World War appeared in the Bulletin of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education<\/i>
\nin 1978. Many other items included in this book first appeared in the journal
\nSri Aurobindo: Archives and Research <\/i>between 1977 and 1994. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tIn THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font>
\nWORKS OF<\/font> SRI <\/font>AUROBINDO<\/font>, the material making up On Himself<\/i>, together with related material first published after
\n1972, has been placed in two volumes: the present one and Letters<\/i> on Himself and the Ashram<\/i>. The latter volume is made up of letters
\nwritten by Sri Aurobindo to his disciples between 1927 and 1950. Earlier letters, autobiographical writings and public messages appear
\nin the present volume. Several items are being published here for the first time: the information supplied to the
\nKing’s College Register<\/i>; a few
\nof the corrections of statements made in biographies and other publications; most of the letters written while Sri Aurobindo was employed
\nin Baroda; some of the letters to political and professional associates; some of the letters to Durgadas Shett and Punamchand Shah; most of
\nthe letters to public figures; many of the “Early Letters on Yoga and the Spiritual Life”; some of the messages on the integration of the French
\nsettlements in India; all the letters to the editor of Mother India<\/i>; and some of the statements and notices concerning the Ashram. <\/p>\n

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\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note on the Texts Note on the Texts   AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES AND OTHER WRITINGS OF HISTORICAL INTEREST consists of notes, letters, telegrams and public statements…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-36-autobiographical-notes","wpcat-42-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1967","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=1967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1967\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}