Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol. 7

(I)

WE have been through two great World Wars in the course of our life in Pondicherry. This was quite an experience.

The two Wars were identical in their inner nature and import. From our point of view, they were both of them a battle of the gods and titans. On one side were the instruments of the gods, on the other of the titans. It is a curious thing, if not altogether strange, that Germany and, to some extent, Russia should have sided with the titans and England and France and America fought on the side of the gods.

This is something that happens always in the history of man, this battle of the gods and titans. Whenever there is a New Creation in the offing, and man is to be carried a step forward in his evolution, there comes up ranged against him the forces of Evil who do not want him to rise to a higher level of consciousness, towards the godhead. They want to hold man bound down in their grip.

Such a moment of crisis came to man in the time of Sri Krishna. The Kurukshetra War is known as a war of righteousness, dharma-yuddha; it was a war of the gods and titans. On the battlefield of Kurukshetra Sri Krishna gave his message that was to initiate the New Age that was coming. In exactly the same way, Sri Aurobindo began to proclaim his message with the opening of the guns in the first World War. The War began in August 1914; on the 15th August of the same year came out the first number of his Review, the Arya. Another point of note: the Arya continued

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almost as long as the War lasted. The "official end" of the War came towards the close of May, 1921; the Arya ceased in January of the same year. The Mother had arrived in the meantime to make Pondicherry her home.

The War left India practically untouched and without any major upheaval. It came and blew over like a stray wind, even as the raids of the Emden did on the Indian seas. Our memories of the War are still associated with that strange episode. The German cruiser passed by the shores of Pondicherry without doing any damage here, though Madras city received a few shell-shots. But I distinctly remember how many of the local residents, that is, those who lived on the Pondicherry sea-face, fled pen-mell towards the west, in the direction of the present Lake Estate. They packed themselves into rows of "push-push" carts – we had no rickshaws in those days – and looked for safety among the ravines of the Red Hills, or perhaps was it to hide themselves in the waters of the Lake, like Mainaka of the Indian legend?

India had been under the protection of England, so it was Europe that had to bear the brunt of the attack. We escaped with just a mild touch, though it did produce a few ripples here and there. First and foremost of these was the birth of the Bengali army - not a professional army of paid soldiers serving under the Government, but a corps of national volunteers. With the sole exception of the Punjabis and the Gurkhas, Indian troops were not in those days considered as on a par with European soldiers in the matter of fighting capacity. And Bengalis of course were treated with special contempt. They had of late shown some courage or skill in the art of secret assassination, but in the opinion of many that was a "dastardly crime". But a trained and disciplined army was quite another matter. Now, a band of young men from Chandernagor taking the opportunity provided by the War formed themselves into a corps of Volunteers, some fifteen of them. They were French citizens

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and were therefore to join the War on the side of the French and the British. They arrived in Pondicherry on their way to France, a band of young men beaming with courage and intelligence. Our Haradhan was among their number. The picture of young Haradhan, a tall erect figure of a man, calm and audacious, still lingers in my mind. He used to narrate to us on his return from the War many stories of his experiences. Once he had even been shipwrecked by torpedo and had to swim for his life to a life-boat off the coast of Tunisia. Haradhan has recorded his experience of the War in a booklet entitled "The New Ways of Warfare", modelled on Barin's "Principles of Modern Warfare" that we used to read in our early days.

Some of the War scenes of Pondicherry come to mind. Here there was no question of Volunteers. France has compulsory military training and Frenchmen on attaining the age of eighteen have to join the armed forces and undergo military training for a full period of one or two years. The Renonçants of Pondicherry, that is, those Indians who had secured their full citizenship rights by renouncing their persona! status under the Indian law, were also subject to this obligation of compulsory military service. There was in consequence a great agitation among our local friends and associates. They had to leave in large numbers to join the French forces. Among them was our most intimate friend, David, the noted goalie of our celebrated football team. He had only just been married. I remember how regularly his wife used to offer worship to Mariamma (Virgin Mary) praying for his safety and well-being, during the period of nearly three years that he had to be away: they were of course Christians. The plaintive tones of her hymns still ring in my ears. David returned after the War was over, perhaps with the rank of Brigadier. I still remember the welcome he was accorded on his return. He later became the Mayor of Pondicherry. I also recall the story of our Benjamin. His mother burst into sobs as she learnt he was

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to leave our shores. There were so many mothers and sisters who had to shed bitter tears as they saw off at the pier the boatloads of men. Benjamin- however did not have to go. He became a "reformé", that is, disqualified in the medical test.

Within the country itself, Indian patriots with terrorist leanings tried to use in their own way this opportunity to beat England down to her knees. One such group, "the Gadr party", as it tried to land arms and ammunition obtained by ship from America, was caught red-handed. Another was led by "Tiger" Jyotin, our Tejen's father as you all know, who waged open war with the police at Buribalain in Orissa and died fighting, with all his followers. A third consisting of our 'refugee' patriots assassinated the tyrannical Magistrate, Ashe, through a conspiracy hatched in Pondicherry itself.

Whether or not such sporadic acts and activities had any real utility may be open to question. But a great and noble movement does not keep within the bounds of "expediency"; it proceeds along the lines of its inner urge -and law. These patriots and revolutionaries had shown how much could be achieved by a nation of slaves, even in that epoch and under those circumstances, by a band of slaves and prisoners bound hand and foot by their chains; they had worked to the utmost of what was possible then and according to their capacity. The World War had brought them an opportunity; they thought they might be able to shake England off the seat of her power. They had taken it as self evident that England's difficulty was going to be our opportunity.

From a larger point of view, the first Great War can be taken as ushering a finale to the French Revolution. The Revolution had rolled to the dust the heads of a single monarch and his queen; But the end of this War saw the disappearance of practically all the crowned heads of Europe. Those that remained like the monarchy in England were left as puppets without power. This was an external

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symbol whose real significance lay in the awakening of the masses and their coming to power. This meant that not only wealth and affluence but also education and culture were no longer to be the privileges of the few; they must be made available to all. Money and position must be within everybody's reach, all must get a chance to show their merit. To use our own terminology, the higher Light and Consciousness that are descending on earth and helping man forward in his march to the heights were now to find their fulfilment: they would be firmly established and become a living force in the general level of mankind.

That is why in the second place the message brought by the War was that of freedom and autonomy for all, for the individual as well as for the collectivity or nation. Colonialism was to cease to exist; even the smallest nations were to win their freedom. This new era of progress was begun by the First World War.

A third boon was to lay the foundations of an International Society. This no doubt implied that the different countries and peoples of the world were to attain their freedom and autonomy. But in order that the smaller units might be left in security and there might be a check on unjust dealings among the nations, there had to come into being a Society of Nations where the representatives of all the nations could meet. This is what came to be known as the League of Nations. The unity of the human race was to be founded on a complex harmony of the diverse groups of men.

The ideal now was to create a race of men endowed with the highest gifts of education and training – what in the view of the sages and mystics would be a race of god – men the transformation of man from the animal-state to that of the gods. But that was precisely what stirred the opposing Forces to action. They were to keep man distracted, lure him from the good path into evil ways, change him, not into a god but into a demon, a titan, a ghoul. (Goethe once had presented this picture.) That is how man got his notion of

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the super-race, and the notion took concrete shape among a particular people and some particular individuals. That is what lay behind the rise of Hitler and his Nazis in Germany. Stalin and his Bolsheviks appeared as their counterparts in Russia. Mussolini was their henchman, a "satellite" in modern parlance; Our Puranic scriptures tell of the ancient Shumbha and Nishumbha, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, Shishupala and Raktadanta, dual power of Evil defying the Divine Power. Something similar seemed to be happening again.

Here was precisely what lay behind the origins of the second Great War: the descent of Evil incarnate to bar the descent of the Divine Power.

(2)

The Second World War broke out in 1939. Sri Aurobirido had at first remained undecided about taking sides. Perhaps the indemnities levied on Germany after the First War had been excessive and it was therefore natural that Germany should seek to avenge herself on her victors. The advantages and disadvantages had also to be considered from our point of view, the interests of India. But the bleak reality that lay hidden behind this mighty conflagration was soon revealed to his vision. The Evil Force that had all along been trailing behind like a dark shadow now appeared to be descending on earth in its final Form of destruction, the Undivine Force always casting its dark body "across the path of the Divine Event". So he declared in clear terms the side he was on; he stood for the Allies, entirely and without the shadow of a doubt. He lent even his physical support by a token gift of money to the War effort.

At this supreme moment of crisis in the destinies of man, when the whole future of the world depended on the outcome of the War, he received into his own body this stroke of thunder, this all-out invasion of the Evil Force upon

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earth, in order that the earth be saved. Otherwise it would have been beyond the capacity of any earthly power to hold at bay this invincible Force. Like Mahadeva of old, he swallowed up into himself this poison that was to engulf the world. It was like the gift by Dadhichi of the bones of his own body to fashion the thunder-bolt of Indra. This was the inner meaning of the attack that fell on Sri Aurobindo's body in 1938, a few months before the actual hostilities broke out on the material plane. Perhaps in these months the hostiles had been making their last preparations, taking their final bearings.

The Mother at once made it known that this War was her war, and those who would be joining this War on the side of the allies would be fighting for her cause. She expressed her desire that Indians should enlist freely and largely and help in the War effort to the best of their ability. Many of the French citizens in Pondicherry had to join the colours, this time in much larger numbers than on the previous occasion. We are all familiar with the monument that stands on the Pondicherry sea face to the citizens who have laid down their lives; there is a fitting ceremonial enacted there every year in memory of the dead. Some of the children of the Ashram too had joined the army and navy and air force; and some that were very near and dear to us have even given their lives, as you know. This reminds me of the stirring words used by Sri Aurobindo in the fiery days of Swadeshi: Our sacrifice at the altar of the Mother must be as relentless as that of the Carthaginian parents who pressed their children through fire to Moloch.

It was in the course of this War that we saw from the Ashram so many aeroplanes flying directly overhead, by day and by night, although the enemy's missiles did not quite reach us. Trainloads of troops passed through Pondicherry and soldiers came in their batches to obtain the Mother's darshan and blessings. The Mother kept open door for the soldiers; they could come and have darshan almost

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at any time. I remember one officer, a Rajput and very fine man; his name was Arjun Singh, I think. About himself and a friend of his, a senior officer, he said they had a particular love and enthusiasm for the practice of yoga in spite of their having taken up the profession of war. We lost touch with them later on.

India had to feel the impact of this War to a considerable extent, though it was mostly our own doing. Perhaps the patriots and lovers of Indian freedom had been losing their patience and they thought that the discomfiture of England was going to be their last and best opportunity; so they created a good deal of trouble. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother held a very different view. What they said in effect was this: "Help the British government to the best of your abilities. Enter every branch of their civil administration and their military organisation. Associate with them everywhere, on land, in the air and at sea; capture all positions of power, master the technical details. The position that you make for yourself in this manner, the position of competence and authority, will not slip away from you; it will be the unshakable foundation of freedom." Had the way shown by Sri Aurobindo been adopted, the winning of India's independence would have been an easier task and it would have been more complete; many have begun to admit this now. In the actual result what was achieved was a kind of compromise between the two points of view.

There had come a time however when the success of the enemy appeared as a living menace. We began to hear the warning siren of imminent peril, orders were issued for the black-out of street lighting on the sea-face of Pondicherry and many other similar preparations, though most of them did not go beyond the stage of practice drills. Trenches were dug within the precincts of the Ashram itself to provide a hide-out in case of an air-raid; buckets and sand were kept ready all over the place for extinguishing the fires. This was known as Air Raid Protection work and it was

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under the care of a local resident, the father of our Shanta and Babu (the Ashram. record-holder in long-jump). He has been dead a long time since, but his widow, the mother of Shanta and Babu, is. still known as Tara ARP to the Mother.

Eventually, the situation grew more and more serious. Pavitra too received a call to leave here and join the colours; he then held the rank of Captain. I believe he had to report to the local barracks for duty. The Mother went so far as to make the necessary arrangements for his work during the period he might be away, though he did Rot have to go after all. You remember how the Mother herself had to leave here soon after the outbreak of the First War and was not able to return till after the end, six years later.. The Japanese were now coming close upon us. The Andamans were already in their hands, and Madras was not so far away. They had overrun Burma and were at the gates of East Bengal on the north-eastern front, with the Indian National Army of Subhash Chandra Bose. Our Doctor Jyotish, who was then serving as a medical officer in the Indian Army, had been sending out frantic SOS calls from his station at Imphal city, then practically a besieged garrison. From French Indo-China the French were running away and were on their way back through Pondicherry in the hope of reaching their own country some day - but which country? They said the Japanese might be expected any time and that we should start learning their language. Some thought we had better concentrate on German instead, for the Germans were going to occupy India. Hitler was at the time pouncing on England and Churchill alone stood up fearless against that furious onslaught.

It was at this time that, as you have already heard from the Mother, there began a rush of young children, or rather of people with young children, seeking shelter in the safety of the Ashram. In fact, we who lived here under the direct protection of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother did not get into

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much of a panic. Nor was there noticeable any great austerity in our day-to-day life, and we did not have to undergo much privation either in the matter of food or clothing. Let me here tell you a rather amusing anecdote. One of the inmates of the Ashram who happened to be away on some business chanced to meet one of our prominent nationalist leaders. The conversation naturally turned on the question of India's future. The leader asked him what Sri Aurobindo thought of the impetuous march of Japan. To that our friend replied somewhat like this: "There is nothing to fear; for the Japanese will not be able to come in, they will have to retire. So we have been assured by our Master." The leader's reaction was a smile of incredulity. I do not know if our friend ever had a chance later to remind the leader of Sri Aurobindo's prophecy. Most of our political leaders had not realised at the time how chimerical it was to hope to free India with the help of Japan, Germany or even Russia, that is, by accepting their rule which would have been simply to exchange our masters. The new bondage would have been terrible, for the neo-imperialism of their ruling cliques was no more than a modern version of the old intoxication of power; to escape from them would have needed some more centuries of struggle.

I may in this connection tell you another story, a true story and a very pleasant and reassuring one. Some of you may have been actually eye-witnesses. Not so long ago, the air was thick with rumours of a possible danger of a crisis for India: this was a little before the Chinese attack. Was India going to be invaded and subjugated by a foreign Power once again? India was no doubt big and had ample .resources in manpower. But her manpower was little more than that of a rabble, it lacked the cohesion of organised military strength. The question was put to the Mother at the Playground. The Mother gave a smile and, pointing to the map of India on the wall, said, "Can't you see. who is guarding India? Isn't the north-eastern portion of Kashmir a

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lion's head with its jaws wide open?" The portion indicated does have the appearance of a lion's head as you can see if you look at it closely. Its nozzle projects with wide open mouth facing the front, as if ready to swallow up anyone who dares to come. It is the Lion of Mother Durga. Another little piece might be added to this story. Matching the lion on our northern frontier, there is an elephant dangling its trunk on the southern tip of India bordering the sea; that too is clearly visible on the map. It is as if giving the warning, "Here am I, the coast-guard ever on the watch. Beware!" It is the Elephant on which rides Lakshmi – gajalaksmi, the divine Mother of Plenty and Beauty. The elephant is the symbol of material power,

As Hitler was threatening to cover, as with an ominous comet's tail, the whole of earth and sky, one of our sadhaks here sent up to Sri Aurobindo his wail, "What, 0 Guru, is this happening to the comforting words you gave? Don't you see that the earth is getting on to the verge of ruin? Where, 0 Saviour, are you?" Sri Aurobindo's reply was a quiet admonition, "Where is the worry? Hitler is not immortal." After a short while the castle that Hitler had built was blown to the winds like a pack of cards. It was as if an all-englobing fog had been puffed away by a breath, a frightful nightmare had got dissolved in the light of the dawn.

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