Sri Aurobindo Complex Trust: Talk on “The Hour of
God” by Alok Pandey, Sri Aurobindo Mark,
J.P. Nagar I Phase, 9.30 a.m.
Today we start our book even on Joshua Ramey’s recent The
Hermetic Deleuze: Philosophy and Spiritual Ordeal… A debate over the legacy
of Deleuze’s philosophy has raged ever since the publication of Badiou’s
polemic Deleuze: The Clamour of Being which aligned Deleuze’s
philosophy with a spiritualist philosophy of the One. This assault on Deleuze
for not being a sufficiently orthodox materialist continued with the
publication of Žižek’s Organs without Bodies: On Deleuze and Consequences,
which is pretty much a travesty of scholarship and misreading, and Peter
Hallward’s Out of this World: Deleuze and the Philosophy of Creation,
which was a more scholarly and considered extension of Badiou’s polemic. The
results of these texts were in some ways comical.
Clownish political posturing about who is more revolutionary and
ridiculous declarations about Deleuze’s complicity with neoliberalism based off
of who saw what kind of person reading his books on the subway (as Žižek claims
that businessmen love reading Deleuze). While some of this work is interesting
and the charges should be taken seriously — after all it is disturbing that
Israeli generals have used principles gleaned from A Thousand Pleateaus in
their control and murder of Palestinian bodies — they ignore the warnings that
Deleuze (with and without Guattari) made concerning the very possibility of
such ideas being turned to reactionary means. If Deleuze is correct, there is
no essence, no necessary tendency, of an idea that will allow us to know in
advance all the forms it can take.
This brocialist clowning has certainly dominated the discussion of
Deleuze in leftwing theory. But there has been another line of inquiry
developing partially in response to these polemics and partially as something
that came before them. That is, the so-called “spiritualist” elements (Ramey
prefers “hermetic” for important reasons) of Deleuze were evident long before
Badiou cast the term as a slur. Philip Goodchild’s early and unjustly neglected
work Gilles Deleuze and the Question of Philosophy made the
case for a philosophy more profoundly concerned with the transformation and
intensification of life than a simple description of the way things are…
Ramey’s summary of the hermetic tradition is incredible and means that
readers who only consider contemporary philosophy will be exposed to a
tradition often ignored today or unjustly appropriated by reactionary elements.
Alongside the discussions of art and subjectivity in Deleuze’s philosophy,
Ramey gives us a philosophy of transformation, a kind of naturalism beyond the
slavish and pious devotion to nature we find in contemporary naturalism, and a
kind of humanism beyond the idiocies of a humanism that confuses the particular
for the universal.
Centers for Spiritual Living minister Mark
Gilbert looks through 60 years of articles on the topic of evolution from the
pages of Science of Mind magazine. The quest--to see if they offer any trends
that may give us a clue as to where the evolution of our consciousness may be
headed. Ideas and concepts from Ernest Holmes, Ken Wilber, Sri Aurobindo,
Spiral Dynamics and more.
Our individual nature and action represents a certain “uniqueness”
within a larger framework of conformity to our “type” as a member of a species.
Every species has what we may call a “typal” nature that provides a framework
for the potentialities and development of each individual within that species.
Thus, an ant will be seen to act in a way characteristic to ants, and this will
be different than the way that a dog will act, although all dogs will act in a
manner consistent with “dog-nature”. Similarly all human beings share the basic
characteristics of “human-nature”.
Within this basic framework, however, individual human beings can
express variances that provide an individuality to their representation of the
human species. The individual human being also embodies a soul which partakes of
Divine Nature. It is therefore the interaction of these three elements, the typal,
the individual and the divine, that provides us the unique expression we
recognize as a unique human being. The concept of Swabhava expresses this idea that
there is a “way of being” that is characteristic of each species and for each
individual within the typal framework.
Sri Aurobindo’s epic Savitri was written in
three parts containing twelve Books. Part One was first published in September
1950, before his withdrawal in December that year; Part Two and Part Three came
out as a single volume a few months later, in 1951. We are now publishing this
1950-1951 Edition of Savitri in a suitable format with section and sentence
indexing. It is felt that this Savitri Digital-friendly Edition will prove much
useful for various types of mobile or other new digital devices as it will
enable referencing and navigation in a quick and convenient way.
You must know the works of Sri Aurobindo and Mother is huge and voluminous
and you cant expect readers to always quote when they want to engage in a
dialectic.
Why was Subhas Chandra Bose struggling among the also-rans in the
Bengal Republic Day tableau? Swami Vivekananda, understandably, had pride
of place. But it might have been better to keep Bose out of the jumble
rather than literally reduce his stature… Subhas Bose's contribution to
the formation of a Republic
of India India can
survive without Bose. But such amnesia will only diminish India .
Gandhi was discredited by his non-resistance against the Partition and
its attendant calamities. The Hindu movement had been proven right and had
the wind in the sails. The assassination changed all that completely: the grip
on society by Jawaharlal Nehru and his secularism was enormously strengthened
while the Hindu movement was marginalized and thrown back for decades…
I have already remarked that many Hindu initiatives are seeing the
light of day without any RSS affiliation. That counts for those disappointed
with the weak-kneed policies of the RSS, or with its anti-intellectual
inclination, or with its appeasement of the non-Hindus; but it may also take
the form of nuclei of militants who want “direct action”.
What is Hindutva’s connection with Vivekananda? K.B. Hedgewar, the
founder of the RSS, constructed the ideology of the Hindu Rashtra on V.D.
Savarkar’s concept of Hindutva and was under the direct influence of other
Maharashtrian Hindu leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and B.S. Moonje. At the
same time, he was also inspired by the political Hinduism of Bankim Chandra
Chattopadhyay and Aurobindo Ghosh during his student days in Calcutta (now
Kolkata). However, as an avowed political activist, he preferred not to dabble
much in the domain of religion; thus, Vivekananda’s Hinduism was peripheral to
his politics. On the contrary, his successor, M.S. Golwalkar, who was more
inward-looking and inclined to spiritualism, showed more interest in the goal
of personal salvation ( moksha) prior to his joining the RSS. This
urge persisted; in 1936 he abandoned his RSS work in Nagpur and left for Bengal
to join the Ramkrishna Ashram at Sargachhi. Here he was initiated by Swami
Akhandananda, one of the direct disciples of Ramakrishna, who had been the most
active supporter of Vivekananda’s ideal of service. Swami Akhandananda died
within a short period after Golwalkar’s arrival; before his death, he
reportedly advised Golwalkar to go back to the RSS.
Though Golwalkar’s stay at Sargachhi was short, his personality and
ideology were deeply influenced by this experience. Here he recognised how
Vivekananda had brought a paradigm shift in the quietistic Bhakti tradition of
Ramakrishna towards the making of a public Hinduism focussed on identity
construction and organised philanthropy. Golwalkar, following the new paradigm,
abandoned his quest for moksha and returned to Nagpur to work
on Hindu identity and service. Golwalkar translated Vivekananda’s Chicago
speeches into Marathi and wrote his famous text We or Our Nationhood
Defined, which became the “Bible” of the RSS. After being anointed as the
chief of the RSS, he infused some of the ideals of the Ramakrishna Math into
the RSS system. Hedgewar’s “man-making” mission got a facelift with the
institutionalisation of the pracharak system, which relied on
renunciation and sacrifice. The RSS also adopted service as one of its key
objectives and came forward to help victims during the crises of Partition,
floods, cyclones and earthquakes.
Moreover, the RSS projected Vivekananda as a great icon of resurgent
Hindu nationalism, a champion of Hindu superiority and a great defender of
Hinduism vis-a-vis Islam and Christianity… The RSS has
authorised the Vivekananda Kendra to act as the nodal affiliate for the grand
celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Vivekananda from January 12,
2013, to January 12, 2014… Moreover, Vivekananda’s approach to philanthropy and
accommodation of the marginalised has also been found handy for Hindutva
leaders to construct an inclusive pan-Indian Hindu identity by expanding Hindu
ecumeny. Hence, Hindutva’s claim on Vivekananda’s legacy may not be completely
misplaced! Pralay Kanungo is Professor and Chairperson, Centre for Political
Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
The
Mahyavanshi: The Success Story of a Scheduled Caste - Page 83 - Y.
A. Parmar - 1987 - Preview - More
editions Narmadashankar Lalshankar
Dave was another great social reformist who actively supported widow-remarriage
and female education. To bring about social reform in society he published a
weekly known as 'Dandyo', on 1st September, 1864 ...
The
Rediscovery of India - Page 98 - Meghnad
Desai - 2009 - Preview - More
editions There was, however, a vigorous reform movement in which the
Gujarati essayist and poet, Narmadashankar Dave
took an active part. His newspaper, Dandio, published in Surat, was loudly
reformist. Along with Karsandas Mulji (his fellow ...
Colonialism,
Tradition, and Reform: An Analysis of Gandhi's ... - Page 57 - Bhikhu
C. Parekh - 1999 - Preview - More
editions Lala Lajpat Rai, Aurobindo, the later Narmada Shankar,
Tilak, Motilal Nehru and the early Gandhi, thought that British rule was
both a consequence of India's degenerate state and an opportunity to turn the
corner. Like their rulers, they too conceptualised the colonial
encounter in pedagogical terms… In his Anandamath, the sannyasis did not follow
up their successful rebellion under the divine advice that continued foreign
rule was necessary for India's 'growth'. The later Narmada Shankar asked India to 'rejoice' that it was
being prepared for political adulthood by Britain. Page
346 For example, Gujarati autobiographies by Narmada Shankar and Hemachandra. The former finds it
difficult to decide what to say about himself and ends up writing a series of
notes. Vishwanath Bhatt remarks that Narmada's autobiography ... 3:23 pm
History
of the sect of Maharajas, or Vallabhacharyas, in western India - Page 171 -
Mulji]
[Karsandas - 1865 - Full
view - More
editions A friend of the editor, named Narmada Shankar Lalshankar, a Nagar Brahman, and, who was
not a follower of the Maharajas, invited the Muharaj to hold a public
discussion upon the subject of the re-marriage of Hindu widows, to which
the ...
Women's
Higher Education in the 19th Century - Page 35 - Gouri
Srivastava - 2000 - Preview - More
editions The poet, Narmada
Shankar, a great champion of women's education regarded the first duty
of a woman as obedience to her husband. "A wife should act according to
the wishes of her husband. The parents should marry their daughters ...
Visibilising
Women: Facets of History Through a Gender Lens - Page 106 - Kirit
K. Shah, Radhika
Seshan - 2005 - Preview
Durgram Mehtaji, Dalpatram, Narmadashankar, Mahipatram Rupram, Bholanath
Sarabhai were some of the early reformers of Gujarat who were impressed by
western thought and combated evils that debased women. They focussed
on ...
Mahipatram
- Page 3 - R.
L. Raval - 2002 - Preview
At the English school, Nandashankar Tuljashankar (the first novelist of
Gujarat) along with Mahipatram and poet Narmad (Narmadashankar Lalshankar
Dave), a reformer of note, were his contemporaries. Life and activities :
Bombay and ... Page
59 He may be considered as the first modern poet of Gujarat though this
observation may be challenged by those who consider urbane Narmad, another
prominent literary figure of this period, as the first and the foremost modern
poet of Gujarat.
Literary
Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia - Page 599 - Sheldon
I. Pollock - 2003 - Preview - More
editions Narmad's larger moral philosophy was as different from
Nanda4añkar's— this is hinted at here and there in his ... In fact
the latter difference reveals the pathways that connect Narmad with
Dayaram, the last of the premodern Gujarati poets.
History
of Indian Literature: 1911-1956, struggle for freedom : ... - Page 222 - Sisir
Kumar Das - 1995 - Preview - More
editions It began in the nineteenth century with Narmad and
Rangalal Bandyopadhyay, and almost at every phase of change poets themselves
had articulated their positions either in the prefaces to new works or in
critical essays defending the new ...
Modern
Indian Literature: An Anthology - Volume 3 - Page 127 - K.
M. George - 1992 - Preview - More
editions Narmad's autobiography was made available to the general public
for the first time only in 1933, at the time of his birth centenary. Another
less known but well written autobiography published during this period is
entitled Sirina Madams (1890) ...
Encyclopaedia
of the Hindu World - Volume 1 - Page 83 - Gaṅgā Rām Garg - 1992
- Preview - More
editions From 1818 to 1857 the roots of British power in India were
steadily getting deep and firm. Along with the British rule, came the powerful
current of Western Civilisation. Kavi Narmada Sankara
or Narmad (1833-86) as he is popularly called is ...
Indian
Literature - Page 307 - Nagendra - 1988 - Preview - More
editions Although Narmadashankar later
hailed it as a struggle for national independence, at the time, the people
wanted peace for their social and economic life, which the British authority
assured. In 1857 the University
Identity
and Religion: Foundations of Anti-Islamism in India - Page 72 - Amalendu
Misra - 2004 - Preview - More
editions Faced with this formidable obstacle and the contentious nature of
that particular 35 'The tendency to blame Muslim rule is evident in most Hindu
leaders, including Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Gupta, Narmada Shankar, Ishwar Chandra ...
Encyclopaedia
of Indian Literature: A-Devo - Page 527 - Amaresh
Datta - 1987 - Preview - More
editions Narmad was the first to attempt it in Kavicharitra (1865), a
series of biographical essays on the lives of medieval poets. In each case he
takes pains to collect authentic information about the poet's life and work and
tries to evaluate the same in ...
Perspectives
On Sri Aurobindos Poetry Plays & Crit. - Page 104 - Amrita
Paresh Patel, Jaydipsinh Dodiya - 2002 - Full
view - More
editions Sri Aurobindo too follows this wisdom behind the
doctrine of poetic diction because he knows very well that practical ... Mahasegn
refers to 'Oudh and Cowsambie, Ganges, Godavarie and Narmada', 'the
moon-lit jasmines and the great sunlit ...
Gandhi's
Pilgrimage Of Faith: From Darkness To Light - Page 24 - Uma
Majmudar - 2005 - Preview - More
editions Another radical reformer of Gujarat, Veer Narmad practiced
what he preached and married a widow himself. ... Naoroji, called the
"Grandshire of Indian Nationalism," Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Aurobindo Ghose,
and Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
Handbook
of Twentieth-Century Literatures of India - Page 103 - Nalini
Natarajan, Emmanuel
Sampath Nelson - 1996 - Preview - More
editions But Narmad, who had the advantage of English education, was
possessed with ideas of freedom. Both shared an awareness ... But
even in these matters, Dalpatram favored slow change,
while Narmad was more radical. Further, they were the ...
Gandhinagar:
Building National Identity in Postcolonial India - Page 22 - Ravi
Kalia - 2004 - Preview
But by the mid- 1860s, Narmad had become disenchanted with the West-
inspired reform movement and, as a result of his ... Reinventing himself, Narmad now
became a crusader for the revivalist movement started by Mansukram
Suryaram ...
Gujarat
State gazetteer - Volume 2 - Page 379 - U.
M. Chokshi, M.
R. Trivedi - 1991 - In prose also, Narmad was a pioneer in
many fields. Not that there was no Gujarati prose before Narmad. There was
much prose of good quality written in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Even
in. the 17th century and 18th century we do ...
The
influence of English on Gujarati poetry - Page 51 - Umedbhai M. Maniar -
1969 - Here, partly because of his inherent limitations and partly because of
his imperfect understanding of the concept of the poetry of imagination and
passion, Narmad emerges a rather poor practitioner of what he preached. It
has been suggested ...
Medieval
Indian Literature: An Anthology - Volume 2 - Page 134 - Ayyappappanikkar - Preview - More
editions The emotions of the individual became the theme of art and
literature. New literary forms and concepts came into being. To Dalpatram
and Narmad goes the credit of being pioneers amongst the moderns.
Both were reformers as well as writers ...
Social
scientist - Volume 23 - Page 48 - Indian
School of Social Sciences (New Delhi, India), Indian
School of Social Sciences - 1995 - One of the changes made in the
edition of 1875 concerns Narmad's writing on Dayaram, the bhakti poet
who died in 1852. In a sense, it concerns Narmad's views on the past
culture of Gujarat, its cultural history. It also concerns his views on...
The
Written Languages of the World: A Survey of the Degree and ... - Page 123 -
Heinz
Kloss, Grant D. McConnell - 1978 - Preview - More
editions The most outstanding writer of the early new Gujarati period was,
however, Narmad Sankar (1833-1886), who was a pioneer in many activities
of Gujarati life and is considered to be the father of modern Gujarati
literature. In poetry as well as...
Explorations in Modern
Bengal, C. 1800-1900: Essays on Religion, ... - Page 2 - 2010 - Preview
- Amiya
P. Sen For the English-educated Bengali, Western thought or
values acted more as a heady intoxicant rather than life-giving
nourishment; it touched people's lives on the outside without also producing
concomitant internal social changes. Page
ix I remain convinced as ever that the scope for writing intellectual
history, even for academically so well-traversed a region as
modern Bengal, is far from exhausted. Preface 7:12 pm
Early
Women's Writings in Orissa, 1898-1950: A Lost Tradition - Sachidanandan
Mohanty - 2005 - Preview - More
editions Focusing on the early literary experiences of women in the east
Indian state of Orissa, this volume offers valuable insights into the
conditions for these women at a time when the region witnessed the advent of
Brahmo Samaj, the campaign ...
Making India: Colonialism, National Culture,
and the Afterlife of ... - Makarand
R. Paranjape - 2012 - Preview - More
editions Merging culture, politics, language, and literature, this is a
path breaking volume that adds much to our understanding of a nation that looks
set to achieve much in the coming century.
Democracy
and the state: welfare, secularism and development in ... - Niraja
Gopal Jayal - 1999 - This book examines the relationship between
state, society and democracy in India over the last decade by exploring how the
Indian state has fared vis-a-vis its three major goals in independent India:
welfare, secularism and development.
Habermas
and Pragmatism itchell Aboulafia, Myra Bookman, and Cathy Kemp - 2012 - Preview - More
editions his is the first collection dedicated to exploring the connections
between his body of work and America's most significant philosophical movement,
pragmatism.
The
Long Trajectory: The Metaphysics of Reincarnation and Life ... - Eric
M. Weiss - 2012 - Preview
Do we survive bodily death? Do we live again in a new body? Without answers to
these questions, we cannot know who and what we really are. In The Long
Trajectory, author and philosopher Eric Weiss explores these fundamental
questions.
Integral
Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo
- Aparna
Banerjee - 2012 - This collection of scholarly essays seeks to
interpret and elucidate several aspects of Sri Aurobindo’s socio-political
philosophy, particularly in regard to nationalism, the ideal of human
relations, the concept of a stateless society, and an achievable human unity.
Other subjects include the relationship between yoga and knowledge – scientific
knowledge versus the inner knowledge by identity of consciousness – and Sri
Aurobindo’s philosophy of education, specifically within the context of some
debates about the aim of education. The unifying thread in these studies is the
integral nature of Sri Aurobindo’s thought and his emphasis on the evolution of
consciousness as central to understanding man’s quest for freedom and unity. SABDA
- Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo by
Aparna Banerjee is Associate Professor in Philosophy, University of Calcutta.
