{"id":3724,"date":"2013-07-13T01:50:44","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3724"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:50:44","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:50:44","slug":"23-great-men-and-avatars-vol-04-fourth-series-1951","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/02-other-editions\/letters-of-sri-aurobindo\/04-fourth-series-1951\/23-great-men-and-avatars-vol-04-fourth-series-1951","title":{"rendered":"-23_GREAT MEN AND AVATARS.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n

\nSECTION NINETEEN<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nGREAT MEN AND AVATARS<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nGreatness<\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBY greatness is meant an exceptional capacity
\nof one kind or another.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n24-4-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nMistake of Depreciating Great Men<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPEOPLE have begun to try to prove that great men
\nwere not great, which is a very big mistake. If
\ngreatness is not appreciated by men, the world will
\nbecome mean, small, dull, narrow and tamasic. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nGreatness in Yoga and in the
\nUniversal Order<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nOBVIOUSLY, outer greatness is not the aim of Yoga.
\nBut that is no reason why one should not recognise
\nthe part played by greatness in the order of the
\nuniverse or the place of great men of action, great
\npoets and artists, etc. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-633 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nGreat Men and Cosmic Purpose<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIT is the power in them (the great men) that is
\ngreat and that power comes from the Divine\u2014by
\ntheir actions and greatness they help the world
\nand aid the cosmic purpose. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt does not matter whether they have ego or not
\n\u2014they are not doing Yoga.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Divine and the Outer Greatness<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWHY should the Divine not care for the outer
\ngreatness? He cares for everything in the universe. All
\ngreatness is the Vibhuti of the Divine, says the
\nGita.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n15-4-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nImportance of Energy and Capacity to the Divine<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIT is not only the very very big people who are of
\nimportance to the Divine. All energy, strong
\ncapacity, power of effectuation are of importance. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-634 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nDefects of Great Men and their Help<\/a><\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

\nin God’s Work<\/font><\/i><\/font>
\n<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

\nARE you in a position to make a judgment as to what
\nwill or will not help God’s work? You seem to
\nhave very elementary ideas in this matter. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhat is your idea of divinisation\u2014to be a
\nvirtuous man, a good husband, son, father, a good
\ncitizen, etc. In that case, I myself am undivine, for
\nI have never been these things. Men like X or
\nY would then be the great Transformed Divine Men. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBut do you really believe that men like Napoleon,
\nCaesar, Shakespeare were not great men and did
\nnothing for the world or for the cosmic purpose?
\nthat God was deterred from using them for His
\npurpose because they had defects of character and
\nvices? What an absurd idea! <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nThe Divine and the Vices of Great Men<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWHY should the Divine care for the vices of great
\nmen? Is he a policeman? So long as one is in the ordinary nature, one has
\ncapacities and defects,
\nvirtues and vices. When one goes beyond, there are
\nno virtues and vices,\u2014for these things do not
\nbelong to the Divine Nature. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-635 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nVice and Virtue and Darkness and Light<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nVICE and virtue have nothing to do with darkness
\nor light, truth and falsehood. The spiritual man
\nrises above vice and virtue, he does not rise above
\ntruth and light, unless you mean by truth and
\nlight, human truth and mental light. They have to
\nbe transcended, just as virtue and vice have to be
\ntranscended.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n20-4-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nVices<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nVICES are simply an overflow of energy in irregulated channels.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe Vices of Great Men<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n(1)<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nGREAT men have more energy (mental, vital,
\nphysical, all kinds of energy) and the energy comes
\nout in what men call vices as well as in what men
\ncall virtues. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-636 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n(2)<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nMen with great capacities or a powerful mind or
\na powerful vital have very often more glaring
\ndefects of character than ordinary men or at least
\nthe defects of the latter do not show so much,
\nbeing like themselves, smaller in scale.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(3)<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nYes, certainly. Many great men even have often
\nvery great vices and many of them. Great men
\nare not usually model characters.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n17-4-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nVirtue and Greatness<\/a><\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(1)<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAs for Napoleon, Caesar and Shakespeare, not one
\nof them was a virtuous man, but they were great
\nmen, and that was your contention that only virtuous men are great men and those who have <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-637 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nvices are not great, which is an absurd contention.
\nAll of them went after women\u2014two were ambitious. Napoleon was most arrogant and
\nviolent.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(2)<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nHow do you say that? Shakespeare, Napoleon and
\nCaesar were full of the idea of their own greatness.
\nShakespeare stole. Napoleon lied freely, Caesar was without scruples.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(3)<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nMost great men know perfectly well that they are
\ngreat.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAmbition<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nGREAT or dazzling or small in their field, ambition
\nis ambition and it is necessary for most for an energetic action. What is the
\nuse of calling a thing a vice when it is small and glorifying it when it is big?<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n1-5-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-638 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nVanity<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWHEN vanity is there on a big scale, it usually
\nworks like that. The man feels the energy in all he does, and mistakes the
\nenergy for high accomplishment. It is a common error. The high accomplishment is
\nin only one or two fields.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nVanity and Humbug<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIT is a vanity, but it is not humbug, unless he
\ndoes not believe in it. If he does not believe in it, it is humbug, but it is
\nnot vanity.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

\nAvatar and Vibhuti<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAN Avatar, roughly speaking, is one who is
\nconscious of the presence and power of the Divine born in him or descended into
\nhim and governing from within his will and life and action; he feels identified
\ninwardly with this divine power and presence. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nA Vibhuti is supposed to embody some power of the
\nDivine and is enabled by it to act with great <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-639 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nforce in the world, but that is all that is
\nnecessary to make him a Vibhuti: the power may be very great, but the
\nconsciousness is not that of an inborn or indwelling Divinity. This is the
\ndistinction we can gather from the Gita which is the main authority on this
\nsubject. If we follow this distinction, we can confidently say from what is
\nrelated of them that Rama and Krishna can be accepted as Avatars;  Buddha
\nfigures as such although with a more impersonal consciousness of the Power
\nwithin him. Ramakrishna voiced the same consciousness when he spoke of Him who
\nwas Rama and who was Krishna being within him. But Chaitanya’s case <\/i>is
\npeculiar; for according to the accounts he ordinarily felt and declared himself
\na bhakta of Krishna and nothing more, but in great moments he manifested
\nKrishna, grew luminous in mind and body and was Krishna himself and spoke and
\nacted as the Lord. His contemporaries saw in him an Avatar of Krishna, a
\nmanifestation of the Divine Love. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nShankara and Vivekananda were certainly Vibhutis;
\nthey cannot be reckoned as more, though as Vibhutis they were very great.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n24-1-1950 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-640<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nRamakrishna<\/a><\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

\nHE (Ramakrishna) never wrote an autobiography \u2014what
\nhe said was in conversation with his disciples and others. He was certainly
\nquite as much an Avatar as Christ or Chaitanya.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n13-11-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nHumanity of Avatar<\/a><\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n (1)<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nALL that is wrong. The Avatar takes upon himself
\nthe nature of humanity in his instrumental parts, though the consciousness
\nacting behind is divine.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n23-7-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(2)<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThat (the Divine Consciousness acting from behind)
\ndoes not prevent the Avatar from acting as men act and using the movements of
\nNature for his life and work. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-641 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nAvatar <\/b> and Saintliness<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWHAT do you mean by lust? Avatars can be married
\nand have children and that is not possible without sex; they can have
\nfriendships, enmities, family feelings, etc. etc.,\u2014these are vital things. I
\nthink you are under the impression that an Avatar must be a saint or a Yogi.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n24-7-1936 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Limited Human Reason and the Way of
\nthe Infinite<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIT is true that it is impossible for the limited
\nhuman reason to judge the way or purpose of the Divine, \u2014which is the way of the
\nInfinite dealing with  the finite.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n 15-12-1932 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-642 <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nThe Meaning of the Divine Manifestation<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\nSURELY for the earth consciousness the very fact
\nthat the Divine manifests himself is the greatest  of all splendours.
\nConsider the obscurity here and what it would be if the Divine did not directly
\nintervene and the Light of Lights did not break out of the obscurity\u2014for that is
\nthe meaning of the manifestation.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n11-3-1937 <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-643 <\/font>
\n<\/font><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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