Sri Aurobindo's Humour

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

1994

This book represents a new and, to the general public, quite an unfamiliar aspect of Sri Aurobindo — his humour.

It was first published to mark the Birth Centenary of Sri Aurobindo in 1972 by Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Pondicherry under the title Correspondence with Sri Aurobindo— Part II. It is now reprinted by Sri Mira Trust, Pondicherry under its new title.

Preface

There is a common belief that yogis and saints are grave and reserved by nature. They have no sense of humour. Sri Ramakrishna was probably the first among them who is known to have shattered this false notion. Sri Aurobindo was revered and accepted as a great yogi, philosopher and poet, but was considered to be dry and dreary. His sublime philosophical writings dating from the Arya-period were perhaps responsible for this popular misconception. During his political life too he was branded as 'the man who never smiles'. Even to us, his disciples who saw him only four times a year, he appeared grave and austere, yet with a quiet compassion which made him so lovable as a Guru. When I wrote to him complaining that his "Himalayan austerity and grandeur take my breath away, making my heart palpitate!" he replied: "0 rubbish! I am austere and grand, grim and stem! every blasted thing I never was! I groan in an un-Aurobindian despair when I hear such things. What has happened to the common sense of all of you people ? In order to reach the Overmind it is not at all necessary to take leave of this simple but useful quality. Common sense by the way is not logic (which is the least common sense-like thing in the world), it is simply looking at things as they are without inflation or deflation—not imagining wild imaginations—or for that matter, despairing 'I know not why' despairs."

This single letter will prove how deceptive appearance is and how baseless popular belief. Sri Aurobindo's letters to some of us made people rub their eyes and say, "Well, what a delightful surprise!" But unfortunately the letters have not gained a wide circulation and Sri Aurobindo as a Yogi, devoid of his glorious humour, still lingers in the mind of the intelligentsia.

The present bunch of letters, brimming with humour, culled from my correspondence, will, I hope, dispel the mist of ignorance and reveal Sri Aurobindo as a Yogi who found rasa in every circumstance of life, for he himself was raso vai sah, "Verily he is the Delight." His many-sided playfulness bursting out on any trivial or serious occasion will make a delectable feast for all lovers of laughter. And these letters are just a fraction of his divine levity.

NIRODBARAN