Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo

XII

Miscellaneous

The talk turned to the Andamans and the punishment of prisoners and jail-discipline.

6-10-1925

Sri Aurobindo : Was passive resistance by X effective in the Andamans ?

Disciple : We were the first to resort to it and it had some effect because, I think, it was new there. Then batch after batch tried it but without much result.

Sri Aurobindo : Were they organised ?

Disciple : Oh yes !

Sri Aurobindo : What were the demands ?

Disciple : The status of political prisoners, better food, ventilation, clothing.

Sri Aurobindo : That is the difficulty. This kind of passive resistance fails to bring pressure upon the other party after some time. At the most it may make your opponent morally uncomfortable, – that too if he has a certain kind of temperament.

Disciple : It was fun and a tragedy to see X flouting every item of jail discipline ! He went on hunger-strike first, then remained naked and refused to go to weighing balance. The Jail staff used to put him in a gunny bag and weigh – even then the bag used to jump ! (Laughter}

It. was with great difficulty he was persuaded to take food. His health is completely ruined !!

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7-10-1925

A telegram from Jagatsingh (about his health) "worse and spirits better".

10-10-1925

Sri Aurobindo referred to Sir Moropant Joshi of Nagpur. He asked a Disciple : "Do you remember him ?"

Disciple : I have forgotten him altogether.

Sri Aurobindo : I met him in Bombay when we took the vow with Dr. Deshmukh to secure the independence of India. He was also one of those who took the oath and soon afterwards turned round. When I was going to Surat to attend the Congress I got down at Nagpur and had to give a lecture in the theatre there and I saw Moropant sitting there on one of the front benches gaping at me !"

24-10-1925

There was talk about the Franco-Riff war, – about the retreat of the French and Spanish armies.

Disciple : Reuter's agency has given the message.

Sri Aurobindo : Do you believe Reuter's is an infallible agency ? Then Lenin must have died seven or eight times, and Anvar Pasha more than six times ! {Laughter}

Very often it serves the interests of one or the other of the big powers. Do you know how they supplied inforniation"during the war to the outer world ?

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There was a German air-raid – probably at Scar­borough. The news given out was that a few buildings were destroyed, some few men wounded. Whereas as a matter of fact, after the war the truth was found : 800 men were killed, many more wounded and three streets destroyed !

Disciple : In the army in France we used our wireless appa­ratus for getting news from all the fronts ; even there, it was lying pure and simple.

Disciple : The agency quotes official figures.

Sri Aurobindo : Do you think that official figures are all quite correct ? It is a huge machine for manufacturing lies !

Disciple : They must manipulate their information !

Disciple That is part of the game.

Sri Aurobindo : Yes, they must give out authentic lies ! All the news that was given out officially about Riga was, as everybody knows, a lie from top to bottom.

The talk turned to an organisation in Bengal in which the organiser made a declaration that it would use hand-made yarn for its looms without really intend­ing to do so, or with a view to set up one or two such looms and take monitary help from the Khadi-board, keeping the rest of the looms running with machine-made yarn.

Sri Aurobindo : We, in India, lack character ; it will take us long to have character.

Disciple : Then, where is the hope for India ? The other day you said that India was suffering from vital depres­sion and was afraid of new thought.

Sri Aurobindo : I did not say we have no minds or brains. I said we have no character ; character has nothing to do with- the intellect.

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Disciple : But then these nations that are free, have they all got the best virtues in them ?

Sri Aurobindo : I did not say that. But they work, they act, we can't; we begin one thing to-day and leave it tomorrow.

Disciple : Then where is any hope ?

Disciple : I think freedom will come when it can no longer be prevented. At present much of what we do is speech, Pramatha

Nath Chowdhury in an article says "Now-a-days it has become a fashion to say in speeches – ­These times are not for speech but for; action" and on that there is a speech ! (Laughter)

Sri Aurobindo : We also remember to have done something like that in the past.

Disciple . Why all the leaders to-day are only speaking ; and Devajāti

the divine race, was born after speaking and Satyajuga began by speech !

Sri Aurobindo : Sometimes people get freedom by bluffing and we know bluffing well by this time ; or maybe, God's grace can give freedom to India !

Disciple We know at least bluffing well.

Sri Aurobindo : That, too, the English taught us ! (Laughter).

5-11-1925

Sri Aurobindo was not disposed to talk this evening. A Disciple put a question about immunity from physi­cal diseases by Hatha yoga.

Sri Aurobindo : In Hatha yoga you are all right so long as you continue the practice. As soon as you leave it off you are liable to attacks.

In Raja yoga also you have to continue Pranayama

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once you begin it. My own experience is that when I was practising Pranayama at Baroda I had excellent health. But when I went to Bengal and left Pranayama, I was attacked by all sorts of illnesses which nearly carried me off.

8-8-1926

Disciple : Is there life on the Moon ? You said that the life-wave travels from planet to planet. Is this statement founded on experience ?

Sri Aurobindo : No. I have no experience of other planets. I did not say "the life-wave travels" – I only said it is mere reaction that may have travelled. You don't mean to say that the earth is the only planet with life and others are only lifeless ones.

Disciple : Conditions on the Moon and other planets for sustaining life are not propitious.

Sri Aurobindo : Why not ? The same conditions must not be there. There can be other conditions and other forms !

Disciple : Uranus-Sirus is a double planet. The matter of one has fifty thousand times the density of water. We cannot form an idea of such matter, but it exists there in that form !

Sri Aurobindo : It is one of the stupid limitations of the-human mind that nothing can exist which does not agree with its preconceived ideas of conditions. Fire-walking, it maintains, is impossible. Not only it is possible, it is done. It does not matter in what way.

Disciple : The question is whether time and space exist there also.

Sri Aurobindo : Whether they exist or not need not trouble you. I have written at enough length on it. Philosophy

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is the art of talking intelligently about things you know nothing about.

Disciple : Hegel says : "being" is nothing : "becoming" is everything.

Sri Aurobindo : How does he know ? All philosophy that is mental is of very little use.

Disciple : Anybody can prove anything.

Sri Aurobindo : That is why you have so many philosophies.

Disciple : Hegel says : Being is "mere" existence.

Sri Aurobindo : "Mere" existence ! What do you mean ? If you had, the experience of Being you would know it is not nothing. "Mere" etymologically means "pure" : Being is pure existence. Much of present day philo­sophy is only a play of words and ideas, it is mental gymnastics without any experience behind. In India there was always connection between philosophy and knowledge. True knowledge cannot do without expe­rience, as true science can't do without experiment. Indian philosophy is mental and intellectual but gene-. rally it takes its stand on some experience. For instance, die Upanishads.

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