{"id":4334,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:16","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4334"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:16","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:16","slug":"02-a-leader-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02\/02-a-leader-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","title":{"rendered":"-02_A Leader.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\nA Leader<\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

                <\/span>
\nI<\/font><\/b><\/span>t was in January 1907, shortly after the
\nsanguinary crushing of the revolutionary movement in <\/span>Russia<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

A few friends and I had assembled in a
\nsmall group for philosophical studies, when we were informed of the presence of
\na mysterious visitor asking to be admitted. <\/span><\/p>\n

We went out to meet him, and in the
\nanteroom we saw a man whose clean but very worn clothes, arms held close to his
\nsides, pale face steadfastly turned towards the ground and half-concealed by a
\nblack felt hat, made him look like a hunted animal. <\/span><\/p>\n

At our approach he removed his hat and
\nlooked up to cast us a brief, frank glance. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the half-light of the hall one could
\nscarcely distinguish the features of his waxen face; only its sorrowful
\nexpression was clearly visible. <\/span><\/p>\n

The silence had become embarrassing, and
\nto break it, I asked, \u201cCan I help you, Sir?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have just come from <\/span>Kiev<\/span> to see you.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

His voice was tired, deep, a little
\nhollow, with a slight Slavonic accent. <\/span><\/p>\n

From Kiev to see us! This was something
\nindeed. We were surprised. He thought our silence indicated doubt, and after
\nsome hesitation he added in a lower tone, \u201cYes, in <\/span>Kiev<\/span> there is a group of students who are
\ndeeply interested in great philosophical ideas. Your books have fallen into our
\nhands, and we were happy to find at last a synthetical teaching which does not
\nlimit itself to theory, but encourages action. So my comrades, my friends, told
\nme, `Go and seek their advice on what is preoccupying us.’ And I have come.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

It was clearly expressed, in correct if
\nnot elegant language, and we immediately knew that if, perhaps out of caution,
\nhe was withholding something from us, what he was telling us at least was the
\ntruth. <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-12<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

Once we had brought him in and made him
\nsit down in the drawing-room, we saw him in full light. Oh, the poor face
\npallid with long vigil or seclusion far from air and sun, ravaged by suffering,
\nlined by anxiety, and yet all shining with a fine intellectual light which
\nhaloed his brow and lit his eyes, sad, wan eyes reddened by overwork or perhaps
\nby tears…<\/span><\/p>\n

Perturbed, we remained silent. But after a
\nwhile, to find out what he expected of us, we asked him what his occupations
\nwere in his own country. He seemed to concentrate, to take some resolve, then
\nslowly said: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI work for the revolution.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The reply sounded like a knell amid the
\nluxury of this bourgeois apartment. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, without betraying our emotion,
\nwith great admiration for the courage of his sincerity, we replied: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWould you tell us how we could be of
\nservice to you?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The fact that our attitude towards him had
\nnot changed gave him confidence and he began his story: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have heard about recent events in
\nRussia, so I will not say anything about that. But perhaps you do not know that
\nat the centre of the revolutionary activity there is a small group of men who
\ncall themselves students, to which I belong. Occasionally we meet to take
\ndecisions together, but more often we are scattered, firstly so as not to
\nattract attention to ourselves, and secondly to be able to direct the action
\npersonally at close quarters. I am their connecting link; when they want to
\nconsult together, they meet at my home. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor a long time we fought openly,
\nviolently, hoping to conquer by terror. All means seemed justified to us in our
\nintense and ardent desire to see the cause of Justice, Liberty and Love
\ntriumph. You might have seen me, I who feel in my soul a wealth of tenderness
\nand pity that seeks to relieve the miseries of mankind, I who became a doctor
\nwith the sole aim of fighting its ills and alleviating its sufferings, being
\nforced by painful circumstances to take the bloodiest decisions. It’s
\nsurprising,<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-13<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>isn’t it? Nobody could have
\nbelieved that I was suffering because of that; nevertheless, it is a fact. But
\nthe others pushed me, overwhelmed me with good reasons and sometimes succeeded
\nin convincing me. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cHowever, even in the heat of action, I was
\naware that there was something better to do, that our methods were not the best
\nones, that we were wasting our finest energies in vain, and that in spite of
\nthe almost fanatical enthusiasm which urged us on, we might well be defeated. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe collapse came, mowing us down like corn
\nin a field; and misfortune compelled us to regain possession of ourselves, to
\nthink carefully. The best of us are lost. The most intelligent, those who were
\nmost able to guide and direct us paid for their courageous self-sacrifice with
\nexile or death. Consternation reigned in our ranks; at last I was able to make
\nthe others listen to what I thought, to what I felt. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWe
\nare not strong enough to fight by force, for we are not united enough, not
\norganised enough. We must develop our intelligence to understand better the
\ndeeper laws of Nature, and to learn better how to act in an orderly way, to
\nco-ordinate our efforts. We must teach the people around us, we must train them
\nto think for themselves and to reflect so that they can become aware of the
\nprecise aim we want to attain and thus become an effective help to us, instead
\nof being the hindrance they most often are at the moment. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\nhave told them that for a nation to win its freedom, it must first of all
\ndeserve it, make itself worthy of it, prepare itself to be able to enjoy it.
\nThis is not the case in Russia, and we shall have much to do to educate the
\nmasses and pull them out of their torpor; but the sooner we set to the task,
\nthe sooner we shall be ready for renewed action. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\nhave been able to make my friends understand these things; they trusted me and
\nwe began to study. That is how we came to read your books. And now I have come
\nto ask your help in adapting your ideas to our present situation and with<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-14<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

them to draw up a plan of action, and also to write a small
\npamphlet which will become our new weapon and which we shall use to spread
\nthese beautiful thoughts of solidarity, harmony, freedom and justice among the
\npeople.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>He
\nremained thoughtful a moment, then continued in a lower tone: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAnd yet I sometimes wonder if my
\nphilosophical dream is only a utopia, whether I am wrong to lead my brothers
\nalong this path, whether it is only cowardice, in brief, if we would not do
\nbetter to oppose violence to violence, destruction to destruction, bloodshed to
\nbloodshed, to the very end.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cViolence is never a good way to bring victory
\nto a cause such as yours. How can you hope to win justice with injustice,
\nharmony with hatred?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\nknow. This opinion is shared by nearly all of us. As for me, I have a very
\nparticular aversion to bloody actions; they horrify me. Each time we immolated
\na new victim, I felt a pang of regret, as if by that very act we were moving
\naway from our goal. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cBut what are we to do when we are driven by
\nevents and when we are faced with adversaries who will not shrink even from
\nmass slaughter in the hope of overcoming us? But that they can never do. Though
\nwe may perish to the last man, we shall not falter in the sacred task that has
\nfallen to us, we shall not betray the holy cause which we have sworn in our
\nheart of hearts to serve to the last breath.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>These few words had been spoken with sombre<\/span> determination, while the face of this obscure hero
\nwas marked with such noble mysticism that I would not have been astonished to
\nsee the martyr’s crown of thorns encircling his brow. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cBut as you were telling us in the beginning,\u201d
\nI replied, \u201csince you have yourselves been forced to recognise that this open
\nstruggle, this struggle of desperate men, although certainly not without an
\nintrepid greatness, is at the same time vain and foolish in its recklessness,
\nyou should renounce it for a time, <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-15<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

fade into the shadows, prepare yourselves in silence, gather your strength,
\nform yourselves into groups, become more and more united, so as to conquer on
\nthe auspicious day, helped by the organising intelligence, the all-powerful
\nlever which, unlike violence, can never be defeated. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cPut no more weapons
\nin the hands of your adversaries, be irreproachable before them, set them an
\nexample of courageous patience, of uprightness and justice; then your triumph
\nwill be near at hand, for right will be on your side, integral right, in the
\nmeans as in the goal.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He had been listening to me carefully,
\noccasionally nodding in agreement. After a silence full of thoughts, in which
\nwe could feel brooding around him all the painful hopes, all the burning
\naspirations of his companions in strife: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\nam happy, Madame,\u201d he said, turning towards me, \u201cto see a woman concerned with
\nsuch matters. Women can do so much to hasten the coming of better days! There,
\nin Russia, their services have been invaluable to us. Without them we would
\nnever have had so much courage, energy and endurance. They move about among us,
\ngoing from town to town, from group to group, uniting us to one another,
\ncomforting the disheartened, cheering the downcast, nursing the sick and
\neverywhere bringing with them, in them, a hope, a confidence, an enthusiasm
\nthat never tire. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cSo
\nit was that a woman came to assist me in my work, when my eyes were
\noverstrained by my long vigils spent writing by candle-light. For during the
\nday I had to have some kind of occupation so as not to attract attention. It
\nwas only at night that I could prepare our plans, compose our propaganda
\nleaflets and make numerous copies of them, draw up lists and do other work of
\nthe same kind. Little by little my eyes were burnt up. Now I can hardly see. So
\na young woman, out of devotion for the cause, became my secretary and writes to
\nmy dictation, as long as I wish, without ever showing the slightest trace of
\nfatigue or boredom.\u201d And his expression softened and grew ten-<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-16 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

der<\/span><\/span> at the thought of this humble devotion, this proof of
\nself-abnegation. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cShe came with me to Paris and we work
\ntogether every evening. It is thanks to her that I shall be able to write the
\npamphlet we have spoken of. You know, it is courageous to link one’s destiny
\nwith a man whose life is as precarious as mine. To retain my freedom,
\neverywhere, I must hide as if I were an outlaw.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAt
\nleast you are safe in Paris?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cYes and no. They are scared of us, I don’t
\nknow why. They take us for dangerous anarchists, and we are watched, we are
\nspied on almost as much as in our own country. Yet how can anyone imagine that
\nmen whose aim is to make justice triumph, even at the cost of their own blood,
\ncould fail to be grateful towards a country such as France, which has always
\nprotected the weak and upheld equity? And why should they disturb the peace of
\na city which is their refuge in the darkest days?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cSo
\nyou intend to remain here for some time?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cYes, as long as I can, as long as I am not
\nuseful to my brothers there, and can be of service to them here by bringing
\ntogether all the elements we need to take up the struggle again; but this time
\nthe struggle will be as peaceful and intellectual as lies within our power.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cSo
\nyou will come and see us again, won’t you? Bring us your projects and the plans
\nfor your pamphlet. We shall talk about all that again in more detail.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cYes, I shall come back, as soon as I have
\nstarted my work, as soon as possible. I shall be so happy to see you again and
\nto continue our conversation.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>His
\nkind, sad eyes looked at us full of confidence and hope, while he clasped our
\nhands firmly in his. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nas we accompanied him to the door he turned and once more warmly shook our
\nhands, saying in his grave voice: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIt
\nis good to meet people one can trust, people who have the same ideal of justice
\nas we have and do not look upon <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-17<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

us as criminals or lunatics because we want to realise it….
\nGood-bye…<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>He
\nnever returned. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>He
\nexcused himself in a hastily written note. Too closely watched, under suspicion,
\ntracked down after he had changed his lodgings many times, this gentle, just
\nman had to return to his own country, a terrible country where perhaps a tragic
\nend awaited him…<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage-18<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Leader                   It was in January 1907, shortly after the sanguinary crushing of the revolutionary movement in Russia. A few friends and I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","wpcat-123-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4334","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=4334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4334\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}