Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo

AUGUST 1943

7th August, 1943

Letter from Siddhartha (Nolini Sen's son).

1. Faith-Blind in Guru's words.

2. Religion is superfluous and injurious to India.

3. What is Sri Aurobindo doing? What has he done or is doing for India?

Sri Aurobindo : Why does Siddhartha want to argue about his faith? How can he prove his faith by arguments? He must know that it can't be done.

And now-a-days it is well-known that one argues in favour of what one likes. It is not for arriving at the Truth. One can't arrive at the Truth by arguing.

He can find plenty of proof of people whose faith has succeeded where all outer reason was against them. There are many such things in history.

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If England had only thought and depended on reason then she should have made peace with Hitler. She had no chance against Germany. But in spite of that she had faith that she could win and she is beginning to win.

It was after the Dunkirk that I openly came out with my declaration and gave the contribution openly. If I had believed in appearances I should not have. It is in spite of opposite appearances that you have to act on faith. I had fixed the 15th August and 15th September as the dates on which Germany would have defeat and both the days they go the defeat (August I believe over London and September – the 'invasion idea' and 'preparation')

2. I wanted De Gaulle to become the chief of the Free French armies in North Africa. There were many obstacles and the Americans came in with their pro-Vichy attitude. But I went on pressing and ultimately it has succeeded.

3. Also about the Tunisian campaign. There was lot of swaying to and fro. But I persisted –  First time when the Allies attached they were only 30 thousand against 3 lakhs Italians. If Wavell had gone to Tripoli at that time he would have succeeded. But they went to help Greece and naturally they had to retreat. But I went on and at last they took Tunisia.

If you depend upon reason then you can't know what is Truth. Germany fought Russia on her reason and won and now Russia is fighting Germany on her reasoning and is winning. It is apparent it is not reason which is giving anyone the success. There is, or must be, something behind that decides these things.

Our people cannot understand why one who has the Divine consciousness or Brahmic consciousness should take

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up sides in a fight. That is alright if you want to remain in theStatic Brahman. Then you can look upon the whole thing as Maya and it may not exist for you.

But I believe in Brahman siding against Brahman – that the Brahman, I think, has been always doing.

The distinction between the Ishwar consciousness and Brahmic consciousness is not clear to many people, and also some of the Monists consider Ishwar to be a lower status than Brahman because it is dissolved in the Pralaya.

But Krishna took side openly in Maha Bharata and Rama also. Rama they do not consider an Avatar – He was weeping because he was not self-conscious – why! An Avatar cannot weep!!

Sri Aurobindo had sent the message to the Congress knowingly.

Disciple : There are some people who even try to maintain that you knew fully that your message to the Congress would fail and yet you sent it.

Sri Aurobindo : Yes, I knew that there was very little chance of its success.

Disciple : But suppose you have known that it would certainly fail – then in that case you might have spared the trouble of going and coming to Duraiswamy.

Sri Aurobindo : No, even if I had known for a certainty that it would fail still it had to be done –  It is a question of play of forces and the important thing is that the other force should not be there.

We cannot explain these things to people – this play of forces – who ask for rational explanation because it is so irrational.              

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