Sri Aurobindo : conversations
Talks with Sri Aurobindo is a thousand-page record of Sri Aurobindo's conversations with the disciples who attended to him during the last twelve years of his life. The talks are informal and open-ended, for the attendants were free to ask whatever questions came to mind. Sri Aurobindo speaks of his own life and work, of the Mother and the Ashram, of his path of Yoga and other paths, of India's social, cultural and spiritual life, of the country's struggle for political independence, of Hitler and the Second World War, of modern science, art and poetry, and of many other things that arose in the course of conversation. Serious discussion is balanced with light-hearted banter and humour. By recording these human touches, Nirodbaran has brought out the warm and intimate atmosphere of the talks.
THEME/S
PURANI: The seizure of the American ship City of Flint may create some change in America.
SRI AUROBINDO: I don't think so, because it was carrying contraband. I am not quite sure, but I think that according to international law contraband goods are not allowed.
NIRODBARAN: Fazlul Huque has come out with some grievances now, one of them being the muffling of the press by Congress Ministers.
SRI AUROBINDO: That is to suppress communalism. What is he himself doing in Bengal?
NIRODBARAN: C.R.'s statement seems very fine. In a few words he has expressed the whole thing.
SRI AUROBINDO: Yes, but if he is going to call Jinnah into conference the unity he speaks of seems improbable. And I don't know what he means by a "gesture". If he wants Indian leaders to be included in the War Committee, it is most unlikely that the Government will consent, as they know nothing about warfare.
PURANI: They may be able to formulate a scheme for non-violent warfare!
SRI AUROBINDO: Yes, as in Poland. Gandhi calls the Polish resistance almost non-violent. By "non-violent" he means, I suppose, a heroic defensive resistance and a heroic martyrdom ending in surrender. But the Poles didn't wait till they were all shot, they rendered long before.
How does he take to the Congress shooting, putting people into prison etc.? They are not non-violent.
PURANI: No, once he publicly denounced these as violent means.
SRI AUROBINDO: But application of force in any form is violence. Prohibition by force is also violence. Has he ever thought how he will rule by non-violence?
PURANI: He will persuade and convince people by peaceful means, I believe.
SRI AUROBINDO: Will the Parsees come round by that? Human nature is non-violent till one gets power.
EVENING
PURANI: Sir Akbar asks if you could change "seven crores" into "thirty crores" in your translation of Bande Mataram."
SRI AUROBINDO: That has been done.
PURANI: And if "Durga" could also be changed?
SRI AUROBINDO: That I can't change.
NIRODBARAN: Muslims take "Durga" as a Hindu Goddess and say that in this poem there are plenty of Sanskrit words.
SRI AUROBINDO: But here the country is spoken of as "Durga", so a Hindu Goddess has nothing to do with it. The Christians may also object to Greek Gods and Goddesses being represented in literature. As for the other point, the Muslims have plenty of Persian words in their writings. Let these be removed also.
PURANI : Yes, they don't see that the country is being addressed as Durga.
SRI AUROBINDO: At last I have found some fine modern poets. This anthology Recent Poetry is more characteristic and this woman Alida Monroe has a finer poetic sensibility than Yeats. But Auden I can't make out. He speaks of "two black rocks, someone dying there", "we two", etc. Who are these "we"?
PURANI: Perhaps you will find some more good poets as you go on.
SRI AUROBINDO: I don't know, because these are the poets they speak of. (To Nirodbaran) Eliot is undoubtedly a poet. Why the devil does he go in for modernism, when he can write such fine stuff as "La Figlia che Piange"? When he plunges into irregularity he makes a mess by lack of rhythm.
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