Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra
In celebrating twenty years of The Marginalian — this ongoing record of learning how to live written in marginalia on the books I have read — I have attempted the impossible: to distill a lifetime of reading into the twenty books that have served as the most enduring signposts, apart from those I have written (which always both shape and are shaped by a writer’s life more profoundly than any books read). Here they are, in no particular order.
LEAVES OF GRASS (WALT WHITMAN)
A RESPONSIBILITY TO AWE (REBECCA ELSON)
EINSTEIN’S DREAMS (ALAN LIGHTMAN)
THE LOG FROM THE SEA OF CORTEZ (JOHN STEINBECK)
THE ABUNDANCE (ANNIE DILLARD)
THE RIVER OF CONSCIOUSNESS (OLIVER SACKS)
THE BOOK OF DELIGHTS (ROSS GAY)
WILLARD GIBBS (MURIEL RUKEYSER)
THE DICTIONARY OF OBSCURE SORROWS (JOHN KOENIG)
THE FRAGILE SPECIES (LEWIS THOMAS)
THE SOURCE OF SELF-REGARD (TONI MORRISON)
THE STAR THROWER (LOREN EISELEY)
EXISTENTIALISTS AND MYSTICS (IRIS MURDOCH)
UPSTREAM (MARY OLIVER)
CHAOS (JAMES GLEICK)
THE WAVE IN THE MIND (URSULA K. LE GUIN)
NOTHING PERSONAL (JAMES BALDWIN)
THANKS (RACHEL HÉBERT)
CONSOLATIONS (DAVID WHYTE)
A MADMAN DREAMS OF TURING MACHINES (JANNA LEVIN)
https://www.themarginalian.org/2026/10/24/20-books/
A quieter, more contemplative place, when the coastal town was known more as the spiritual abode of Sri Aurobindo, Aparna Nair writes. tinyurl.com/2s4cje9x @PrabhuChawla #SriAurobindo #Spirituality #Keralam
https://x.com/xpresskeralam/status/2115635985522258007?a=1-dIMT515XMGGPeCcq0&s=19
Rhyme and reason of a rebel
A conversation with Prof. Murali Sivaramakrishnan, who recently won the Sri Aurobindo Puraskar for his research and writings on the revolutionary guru
The echoes in Malayalam literature were less direct. Akkitham attempted to translate Savitri, while Aurobindo’s poetic imagery and universal vision found resonances in the works of Malayalam poetry’s romantic trio — Kumaran Asan, Vallathol Narayana Menon and Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer.
Vallathol drew inspiration from Aurobindo’s fierce nationalism, while Asan’s philosophical verse shared affinities with his cultural and spiritual vision. The influence extended beyond literature. Among the post-Independence Keralite intellectuals inspired by Aurobindo were P Parameswaran, S Guptan Nair and Velayudhan Nair. Poet and scholar Vishnu Narayanan Namboodiri, too, translated portions of ‘Savitri’ into Malayalam.
“My books on Aurobindo have been translated into Malayalam by R Jayaram, and the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry has asked for more copies. This suggests that his influence is growing even among Malayalis.”
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2026/Oct/28/rhyme-and-reason-of-a-rebel
Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’: Homer Through the Lens of Hollywood by Dr Murali Sivaramakrishnan
https://countercurrents.org/2026/08/nolans-the-odyssey-homer-through-the-lens-of-hollywood/
The Mother: A Life of Sri Aurobindo’s Spiritual Collaborator by Dr Murali Sivaramakrishnan
https://countercurrents.org/2025/03/the-mother-a-life-of-sri-aurobindos-spiritual-collaborator/
SELF - Plain & Simple: Sachidananda Mohanty passes away https://plasim.blogspot.com/2026/10/sachidananda-mohanty-passes-away.html
SELF - Rainbow & the Other: Sachidanand Mohanty wrote about women writers of Odisha https://rainbowther.blogspot.com/2026/10/sachidanand-mohanty-wrote-about-women.html
An 'Indo-Anglian' legacy - Sachidananda Mohanty https://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/an-indoanglian-legacy/article4927193.ece/amp/
Sri Aurobindo and the Modern Academic World - Sachidananda Mohanty https://overmanfoundation.org/sri-aurobindo-and-the-modern-academic-world-by-dr-sachidananda-mohanty/
SELF - Orchid and the rose: Virginia Woolf, Naomi Wolf, Mary Douglas, and Foucault https://orchidrose.blogspot.com/2026/10/virginia-woolf-naomi-wolf-mary-douglas.html
The Global Deep State -Sandeep Balakrishna https://www.dharmadispatch.in/the-global-deep-state-and-the-engineering-of-stupidity/
The Colonial Distortion of Bhartṛhari -Sandeep Balakrishna https://www.dharmadispatch.in/how-western-indology-misread-sanskrit-the-colonial-distortion-of-bhartrhari/
SELF - Marketime: Reality plays a cosmic game of hide-and-seek with itself https://marketime.blogspot.com/2026/10/reality-plays-cosmic-game-of-hide-and.html
Steve McIntosh' Evolution's Purpose (2012) - Frank Visser https://www.integralworld.net/visser51.html
Carter Phipps' Evolutionaries (2012) - Frank Visser https://www.integralworld.net/visser50.html
SELF - Feel Philosophy: Philosophy illuminates the mystery https://feelphilosophy.blogspot.com/2026/10/philosophy-illuminates-mystery.html
Why do imported reforms so often fail in the Third World? - Jayant Bhandari
https://counter-currents.com/2026/09/why-imported-reform-fails-in-the-third-world/
The tragedy of Johannes Kepler - Amod Lele
https://loveofallwisdom.com/blog/2026/10/the-tragedy-of-johannes-kepler/
SELF - Evergreen Essays: The urge to be at home everywhere https://evergreenessays.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-urge-to-be-at-home-everywhere.html
Manifesto: Mysticism and (R)evolution - Glen T. Martin
https://www.preprints.org/frontend/manuscript/46fa7169869bb84cfdf8fe7aa386ebeb/download_pub
The significance of General Tso’s chicken (and pizza) - Amod Lele
https://loveofallwisdom.com/blog/2026/10/the-significance-of-general-tsos-chicken-and-pizza/
SELF -Because Thou Art: KR Srinivasa Iyengar, P. Parameswaran, & Rakesh Kaul https://becausethouart.blogspot.com/2026/10/kr-srinivasa-iyengar-p-parameswaran-and.html
Sri Aurobindo—The Philosopher of the Future by P. Parameswaran
From Shiva to Schrödinger by Dr Mrittunjoy Guha Majumdar
SELF - Aurora Mirabilis: A society devoid of friction becomes petrified https://auroramirabilis.blogspot.com/2026/10/a-society-devoid-of-friction-becomes.html
Mirra Alfassa Completing Sri Aurobindo’s Vision - Patrick Beldio https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/8/955
The life incarnate and the life divine - Nika Kuchuk https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00084298221096327
SELF - VIP VAK: Recent Likes at X and SELF Radar https://vipvak.blogspot.com/2026/10/recent-likes-at-x-and-self-radar.html
The Life Divine Reconsidered: A Skeptical Review -Frank Visser
https://www.integralworld.net/visser1351.html
Sri Aurobindo and Problem of Rebirth: A skeptical examination -Frank Visser https://www.integralworld.net/visser1495.html
SELF - Savitri Era Open Forum: Théon's insistence on transformation of physical matter https://seof.blogspot.com/2026/10/theons-insistence-on-transformation-of.html
The Cosmic Movement by Julie Chajes & Boaz Huss Review Samuel Thévoz
The Cultural Idea of Vishal Bharat - Muqeet Khan
https://www.loksambhashan.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/1.pdf
SELF - Savitri Era Religious Fraternity: Shrinking or recoil is a block https://serfrat.blogspot.com/2026/10/shrinking-or-recoil-is-block.html
SELF - Savitri Era Political Action: Atomisation, Alienation, Reification, and Disenchantment https://sepact.blogspot.com/2026/10/atomisation-alienation-reification-and.html
SELF - Savitri Era Party: Voltaire’s blueprint for a peaceful, tolerant, and rational society https://savitrieraparty.blogspot.com/2026/10/voltaires-blueprint-for-peaceful.html
Savitri Era: Guarding freedom is key https://savitriera.blogspot.com/2026/10/guarding-freedom-is-key.html
Collated X posts, in original, by Tusar Nath Mohapatra, President, Savitri Era Party (2007), Founder, Savitri Era Religion (2006), and Director, SELF (2005).
Savitri Era of those who adore,
Om Sri Aurobindo & The Mother.
https://x.com/SavitriEra/status/2113315203505131673?a=lSXjpAGIF6QRzaVuVJs&s=19
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