Mother's Chronicles - Book Five

23

K. M. Munshi

When Sri Aurobindo wholly gave up his job at Baroda, the College students were naturally sad at losing such a teacher, but their pride in him more than offset their sadness: 'their' Professor was now a political leader of all-India stature. We may note too that many of those who served the country under B. G. Tilak's leadership were Sri Aurobindo's students from Baroda College. Just as Auro-dada had tried to kindle the spirits of his brother and cousins at Deoghar with patriotic fire, so did Prof. A. Ghose with his students.

K. M. Munshi was one of them. Munshi was the founder of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, an organ to revitalize Indian culture. His own position in Gujarat's literary world was preeminent ; plays and novels (many of them written while in jail) flowed abundantly from his pen. His historical novels in particular gave life to the epic of the ancient Aryans, living on the banks of the Saraswati in Vedic times. Agastya and Lopamudra, Vasishtha and Arundati, Vishwamitra and kings and gods all became characters of flesh and blood. His novel in English, Krishnavatara, based on the life of Sri Krishna is

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fascinating —being a historian helped. By profession he was a lawyer, which did not prevent him from becoming a successful educationist and journalist; in each and every field he rose to prominence. After India's Independence Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (1887-1971) held charge of several ministries in the cabinet of Jawarharlal Nehru. As a member of the Constituent Assembly, his contribution to the drafting of Indian Constitution was considerable.

When I visited Ooty, in the Nilgiris of South India in the late '70s, I was disappointed to see most hillsides either barren or dotted with houses. But I noticed that on several hillsides there were stands of trees. An old local resident told me that those trees had been planted at the request of K. M. Munshi in the '50s when he had visited Ooty and seen the ongoing de-greening of the mountains. He was a nature lover. But both he and his wife Lilavati were botanists. I know because when they visited the Ashram they greatly rejoiced seeing all the flowering plants and came out with many botanical names. I told them the meanings given by Mother.

Writing in Bhavan's Journal in 1962, he readily admitted that Sri Aurobindo "whose contact goes back to my boyhood" influenced him profoundly.

"To the students of our College, Prof. Ghosh was a figure enveloped in mystery," ran his article, "He was reputed to be a poet, a master of many languages and in touch with Russian nihilists." Was he? "Many stories of his doings were whispered from mouth to mouth among the students almost with awe.

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"The Russo-Japanese War, declared in 1904, shook some of us in the College to our very depth. Port Arthur fell to the Japanese in January 1905. Admiral Togo destroyed the Russian Fleet in May. Asia had successfully challenged the mastery of Europe!

"Prof. Ghosh, as our acting Principal, declared a prize in an essay-cum-debate competition on 'Japan and the Japanese'........

"We became ardent revolutionaries. We talked of Garibaldi and the French Revolution, and hoped to win India's freedom by a few hundred drachms of picric acid.

"I remember only one occasion when I directly talked to Prof. Arvind Ghosh. 'How can nationalism be developed?' I asked. He pointed to a wall-map of India and said something to this effect:

"'Look at that map. Learn to find in it the portrait of Bharatmata. The cities, mountains, rivers and forests are the materials which go to make up Her body. The people inhabiting the country are the cells which go to make up Her living tissues. Our literature is Her memory and speech. The spirit of Her culture is Her soul. The happiness and freedom of Her children is Her salvation. Behold Bharat as a living Mother, meditate upon Her and worship Her in the nine-fold way of Bhakti----'

"During the Partition [of Bengal] movement, Prof. Arvind Ghosh resigned his post of professor in our College. While leaving Baroda, he gave us a stirring speech, the substance of which I noted down on the spot. The summary of that speech and his messianic utterance, the Uttarpara Speech,

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remained the source of inspiration for me for years."

Decades passed. Many changes had taken place in the schoolboy's life; the most important of which was his becoming a Gandhian. What, however, had remained unchanged was Munshi's profound concern for Indian culture. His thoughts were turning more and more towards Sri Aurobindo. On 2 July 1950 he met Sri Aurobindo. We came across two texts¹ by Munshi where he described what he saw.

"As you may know, Sri Aurobindo was my professor in the Baroda College, and his militant nationalism of 1904 moulded my early outlook. Later, I casually read some of his works. During the last few years, however, his influence has been coming over upon me intermittently, but, more and more perceptibly I have felt benefited by it. Often in the past I wanted to go to Pondicherry, but I did not wish to offer formal respects to a man whom I revered so deeply. In July 1950, however, I felt an urge to visit the Ashram. Normally, as you know, Sri Aurobindo would not see people, except on three days in the year. But in my case, he told the Secretary, he treated me as a disciple and would make an exception.

"When I visited him, after the lapse of more than forty years, I saw before me a being completely transformed, radiant, blissful, enveloped in an atmosphere of godlike calm."

It was indeed 'a rare privilege' that was granted to him, and he was the first to acknowledge it.

1. Our Greatest Need and Other Addresses (1953), Janu's Death and Other Kulapati's Letters (1954), published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

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"The other day I had the rare privilege of meeting Sri Aurobindo. I had seen him last in 1908 at Bombay. Now, however, I saw something different; the most beautiful old age imaginable in an atmosphere of inspiring serenity. He sat enthroned on an upholstered chair with a quiet, unaggressive dignity. His thin white beard and well-brushed, long hair framed a radiant face which bore me down with the unfamiliar weight of veneration. A deep light of knowledge and wisdom shone in his eyes. The wide calm of the Spirit appeared to have converted the whole personality into a radiant Presence, not that of a thunder-wielding Jove but of one who shone with the light of Consciousness.

"It was neither my old Professor whom I admired from a distance, nor the seer from whose teachings I had profited at several periods of my life. It was a being complete in himself. In my works, I have written about integrated personality. I have seen it in a vision. I have described it in fiction. I sensed it in the titanic efforts of Gandhiji to realise Truth and Nonviolence. But this was absolute integration of personality; attachment, wrath and fear had been transmuted into a power which was at the same time beautiful and calm; the Central Idea in Aryan culture materialised in human shape. When, in our objectives I mentioned Sri Aurobindo as one of the great architects of creative life, it was an estimate; at that moment in Pondicherry, I saw, I felt, he was." He is.

Munshi also has given a very brief account of the interview. "He spoke in a low, clear voice, which stirred the depths of my being.

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"I talked of my spiritual needs. I said: 'I am at a dead end. The world is too much with me.'

"The Sage replied: 'You need not give up the world in order to advance in self-realization. But you cannot advance by impatience. I wrote to you that I would help you, and in my own way I am helping you.... You have the urge and the light. Go your own way. Do not be deflected from the faith in your natural evolution. I will watch over your progress.'

"Then we discussed Indian culture, its present crisis, even the Hindu Code. When I said: 'The younger generation is being fed on theories and beliefs which are undermining the higher life of India,' Sri Aurobindo replied: 'You must overcome this lack of faith. Rest assured that our culture cannot be undermined. This is only a passing phase.'

"Then he sprang a surprise on me. 'When do you expect India to be united?' he asked.

"I was taken aback. I explained to him how our leaders had agreed to partition. 'So long as the present generation of politicians is concerned, I cannot think of any time when the two countries — India and Pakistan —can be united.'

"The Master smiled. 'India will be re-united. I see it clearly.' Was it an opinion? Was it a prophecy? Or was it clear perception ?

"I shook my head in doubt and asked how India could be re-united. In two short sentences he described what Pakistan stood for and indicated how the two countries could come together."

What does Pakistan stand for?

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