{"id":2437,"date":"2013-07-13T01:41:37","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2437"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:41:37","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:41:37","slug":"54-the-chandranagar-manuscript-passing-thoughts-1-vol-01-early-cultural-writings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/03-cwsa\/01-early-cultural-writings\/54-the-chandranagar-manuscript-passing-thoughts-1-vol-01-early-cultural-writings","title":{"rendered":"-54_The Chandranagar Manuscript – Passing Thoughts (1).htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\nPart Six <\/font><\/b>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Chandernagore Manuscript
\n<\/font><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nSri Aurobindo wrote all the pieces in this part in 1910. He did not publish any of them himself, but many were \t\t\tpublished in 1920 \u00ad 22 without his editorial supervision.
\nThey are reproduced here from his manuscripts.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tPassing Thoughts [1] <\/font>
\n\t\t\t<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tReligion in Europe<\/b> <\/font>
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tThere is no word so
\n\t\t\tplastic and uncertain in its meaning as the word religion. The word
\n\t\t\tis European and, therefore, it is as well to know first what the
\n\t\t\tEuropeans mean by it. In this matter we find them, -when they can be
\n\t\t\tgot to think clearly on the matter at all, which is itself unusual,
\n\t\t\t-divided in opinion. Sometimes they use it as equivalent to a set of
\n\t\t\tbeliefs, sometimes as equivalent to morality, coupled with a belief
\n\t\t\tin God, sometimes as equivalent to a set of pietistic actions and
\n\t\t\temotions. Faith, works and pious observances, these are the three
\n\t\t\trecognized elements of European religion. From works, however, the
\n\t\t\tordinary work of the world is strictly excluded. Religion and daily
\n\t\t\tlife are, in the European opinion, two entirely different things
\n\t\t\twhich it is superstitious, barbarous, unenlightened and highly
\n\t\t\tinconvenient to mix up together. Altruistic works are sometimes
\n\t\t\tbrought under religion, sometimes excluded from it. The idea of
\n\t\t\tknowledge being part of religion is a conception which the European
\n\t\t\tcannot receive into his intellect; religion and knowledge are to him
\n\t\t\ttwo things absolutely and eternally unconnected, if not opposed and
\n\t\t\tmutually contradictory of each other. The place of knowledge is
\n\t\t\ttaken by faith or belief stripped of any reason for the belief. The
\n\t\t\taverage Christian believes that the Bible is God’s book, but
\n\t\t\tordinarily he does not consider anything in God’s book binding on
\n\t\t\thim in practice except to believe in God and go to Church once a
\n\t\t\tweek; the rest is only meant for the exceptionally pious. On the
\n\t\t\twhole, therefore, to believe in God, to believe that He wrote a
\n\t\t\tbook, -only one book in all these ages, -and to go to Church on
\n\t\t\tSunday is the minimum of religion in Europe; on these essentials
\n\t\t\tpiety and morality may supervene and deepen the meaning.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 491<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tReligion In India<\/b> <\/font>
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tReligion in India is a still more plastic term and may mean \t\t\tanything from the heights of Yoga to strangling your fellow man and relieving him of the worldly goods he may happen \t\t\tto be carrying with him. It would therefore take too long to
\nenumerate everything that can be included in Indian religion. \t\t\tBriefly, however, it is dharma or living religiously, the whole life
\nbeing governed by religion. But again what is living religiously? \t\t\tIt means, in ordinary practice, living according to authority.
\nThe authority generally accepted is the Shastra; but when one \t\t\tstudies the Shastra and Indian life side by side, one finds that the
\ntwo have very little to do with each other; the Indian governs \t\t\this life not by the Shastra but by custom and the opinion of
\nthe nearest Brahmin. In practice this resolves itself into certain \t\t\tobservances and social customs of which he understands neither
\nthe spiritual meaning nor the practical utility. To venerate the \t\t\tScriptures without knowing them and to obey custom in their
\nplace; to reverence all Brahmins whether they are venerable or \t\t\tdespicable; to eat nothing cooked by a social inferior; to marry
\none’s daughter before puberty and one’s son as soon as possible \t\t\tafter it; to keep women ignorant and domestically useful; to
\nbathe scrupulously and go through certain fixed ablutions; to eat \t\t\ton the floor and not at a table; to do one’s devotions twice a day
\nwithout understanding them; to observe a host of meaningless \t\t\tminutiae in one’s daily conduct; to keep the Hindu holidays,
\nwhen an image is set up, worshipped and thrown away, -this \t\t\tin India is the minimum of religion. This is glorified as Hinduism
\nand the Sanatana Dharma. If, in addition, a man has emotional \t\t\tor ecstatic piety, he is a Bhakta; if he can talk fluently about the
\nVeda, Upanishads, Darshanas & Puranas, he is a Jnani. If he puts \t\t\ton a yellow robe and does nothing, he is a tyagi or sannyasin. The
\nlatter is liberated from the ordinary dharma, but only if he does \t\t\tnothing but beg and vegetate. All work must be according to
\ncustom and the Brahmin. The one superiority of average Indian \t\t\treligion is that it does really reverence the genuine Bhakta or
\nSannyasin provided he does not come with too strange a garb<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 492<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tor too revolutionary an aspect. The European almost invariably sets him down as a charlatan, professional religionist, idle drone or religious maniac.
\n<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n \t\t\tThe Real Minimum<\/b> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tTurning away from this sorrowful debris of ancient religious forms in India and Europe, we may fix the genuine minimum of religion at this,
\n\t\t\t\u2014 to know God, to love and to serve him. The Europeans think that to fear God is a noble part of religion, forgetting the dictum of the Bible that perfect love casteth out fear and that the devils also believe and tremble. Perfect knowledge, perfect service also cast out fear. One may know, love and serve God as the Master, Lover, Friend, Mother; or as the Higher Self; or as Humanity; or as the Self in all creatures. If it be objected that this gives scope to Atheism, it must be remembered that Buddha also has been termed an Atheist. The average Hindu is right in his conception of religion as dharma, to live according to holy rule; but the holy rule is not a mass of fugitive and temporary customs, but this, to live for God in oneself and others and not for oneself only, to make the whole life a sadhana the object of which is to realise the Divine in the world by work, love and knowledge. <\/font>
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n \t\t\tThe Maximum<\/b> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tThere is a maximum as well as a minimum, and that is to rise beyond this life into a higher existence, not necessarily for oneself
\n\t\t\talone or in order to leave the world and vanish into the Universal,
\n\t\t\tbut as the highest have done, as God Himself habitually does, to bring down the bliss, illumination and greatness of that higher existence into the material world of creatures. All that rises beyond the minimum to the maximum, even though it may not attain it, is the Para Dharma; the minimum is the apara. To be a good, unselfish and religious man is the apara or lower dharma; to reach God revealed and bring Him down to earth where He hides Himself, is the higher. This is the Secret<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 493<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tWisdom, which defeats itself if it remains for ever secret. For this the great Avatars, Teachers and Lovers come, to reveal Him in divine knowledge, to reveal Him in mighty action, to reveal Him in utter delight and love.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 494<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part Six   The Chandernagore Manuscript   Sri Aurobindo wrote all the pieces in this part in 1910. He did not publish any of them…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-01-early-cultural-writings","wpcat-49-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437","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=2437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}