February 18, 2006

Sri Aurobindo synthesises East and West

A Fragrant Flower of Cambridge (Sri Aurobindo - His Contribution to Humanity) Lecture delivered on 27th April 1991 at Cambridge University by Gopal Bhattacharjee
It must be stressed however that Sri Aurobindo's evolution and Darwinism are not the same thing. Darwin's theory of Natural Selection is a biological process, whereas Sri Aurobindo's evolution relates to the growth of consciousness. Further, it has nothing to do with Hegel's metaphysical theory of evolution. An unwarranted comparison between Bergson and Sri Aurobindo is also often made. Again Sri Aurobindo's Superman, is often mistakenly identified with Nietzsche's Superman. These somewhat hasty misconceptions based on semantics need to be eschewed. It is the uniqueness of Sri Aurobindo that his theory of evolution not only synthesises the best in the Eastern and Western systems but also opens up new vistas and uncharted horizons.
The classless society prophesied by Marx and Engels cannot materialise because democracy, socialism and communism haven't been able in actual practice to end the human tendency to egoistic separativity, assertiveness and rivalry and their attendant evils of exploitation in economic life, corruption, violence and liquidation in political life. It is only when the spiritual revolution resulting in the cracking of the human ego comes about that the godheads of the soul - justice, liberty, equality, brotherhood — will be realised on a permanent basis in a "Kingdom of Heaven" as was dreamtof by Christianity and the Hinduism of old. That would be the Gnostic society of the future.

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