Showing posts with label Shivaji. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shivaji. Show all posts

February 24, 2013

History, mythology, and the woman Y

Prayers to Divine Mother: Sri Aurobindo Devotees Trust, Sasibalika Vidya Mandir, R.S. Puram, 9.30 a.m. and Sri Annai Meditation Centre, W7C, Kovaipudur, 4 p.m.

Aurobindo admirer The Shillong Times - Rajib Roy met American historian Peter Heehs during his visit to Shillong WHILE GRADUATING in a college in ...

Comment on Sri Aurobindo on synchronicity by mwb6119Mark from Comments for IYSATM Sandeep said: As you too may have noticed, once you have a spiritual opening, all kinds of experiences tend to occur and it is not easy to distinguish whether one is interpreting them correctly or just projecting one’s desires.

There was a time when history was an engagement involving the dead, the living and the unborn. Today, thanks to the multiplication of isms and the epidemic of prefixes (post-modernism, post-colonial , neo-liberal , et al), the story of the human experience has been reduced to conversations involving tiny groups of ‘professional’ historians. The wider citizenry that should, ideally, have informed perceptions of their heritage and inheritance have been disdainfully left out of the process.
The results have been horrible. An India that was in any case relatively unconcerned with history has become even less so. An enlightened yet critical view of how our ancestors coped with challenges and uncertainties have been replaced by either idyllic or prejudicial fantasies. By far the most damaging contribution has been that of ‘scientific’ history which, thanks to its impersonal nature and inherent dryness, has virtually killed popular interest in the past. For the aam aadmi, history has become a Bollywood hand-me-down.
This perversion has had two consequences. For some, not least the political class, the rendering of the past has become an aspect of contemporary politics — tales to be moulded and presented as facets of a contested nationhood. To the completely uninitiated, history has become an extension of mythology — a process that conveniently bypasses chronology and empirical rigour. By definition, any appreciation of the past involves a great deal of tentativeness. Yet, if mass reaction is any guide, everything from Shivaji to Gandhiji has become bound in unflinching certitudes… Viewing history as a series of certitudes forecloses awkward conclusions. Like the present, there is no single reality that defines the past, a point to consider the next time we make it a contemporary battlefield. 

Vivekananda’s doctrine of Maya is not like that of Sankara Pertinence of Vivekananda’s Apotheosis in Indian Social Diaspora - Dr. Ravindra Kumar – Aug. 29, 2007 - The intuitive mind of Vivekananda has been inspired by the juxtapose thought and theism of various pantheists and epistemologists.
Remembering Vivekananda - Frontline AMIYA P. SEN Feb 8, 2013 – Unlike Sri Ramakrishna, Vivekananda was not a sadhaka, nor did he possess the philosophical depth or originality of Sri Aurobindo. His most ... 3:23 pm
Vivekananda's doctored picture of Ramakrishna 13 Jan 2013 - Jyotirmaya Sharma busts many myths around Swami Vivekananda From: Outlook Magazine, 21 January 2013 Interview ‘His Inclusiveness Is A Powerful Myth’ Vivekananda comes across as a Hindu supremacist, and not so much a social reformist - Satish Padmanabhan Interviews Jyotirmaya Sharma

There is darkness below darkness, as if worse is awaiting the worse, evil for a greater evil. Not a drop of joy, not a ray of light, not a bit of truth, not a trace of hope is present there. Eye cannot see anything, but it is only by the perception of the soul one knows the things that go in that calamitous world, in that city with grimed sooty filthy walls, in those savage slums of the Night. If there are proud perverted palaces, there also crowd grey and squalid huts, places full of inhuman and demoniac inhabitants. Life has achieved in the shadow depths a strange miracle. She is here a strong and fallen goddess, a drunken empress, a terrible horrendous dreadful Gorgon in all her monstrous ugliness, with living snakes as her hair, a look at her turning one into a dead stone. A Medusa may be killed by Perseus but here she is an immortal, once a royal woman, attired in gold and purple robes, a queen leaving her palace and now living in a shanty, in a crudely built hut, in a squalid bouge, bearing her fatal breasts in shameless and uncouth exultation.
She has become a dissolute woman, a harlot, promiscuous, a vagabond, an adventurous tramp. There on the dark background she scripts her dramas and her long epics of horror and grimness, of agonies and hideous deeds. She runs booths of sin and makes good business in night-repairs beautifying skin and flesh with creams and serums, and stylises body’s lustful moods and desires. To the goat-like satyr she gives the honey-dripping thyrsus of a god. Such are her ingenious crafts of monstrosity. Everything that Nature made is given repulsive twists and unnatural poses. To the dead is expressed anguish but it is no more than a ritual, a custom, without an element of genuineness. In the secret Night is abroad only the bestial joy, a monstrous ecstasy. Anything done only exposes the mystery of Hell.

Even you are very beautiful: Nikitha Suryadevara from Kafila Guest post by NIKITHA SURYADEVARA
In a professional setting like a press conference, definitely inappropriate. Yelling “you’re beautiful, you’re sexy!” at passing women on the street can never be construed as a compliment. My apologies to legions of what I’m sure are well meaning men with only pure good intentions… I want to be more than a piece of meat. I want to be more than something pretty to look at. I want to inspire respect not lust. And until the day it happens, I will continue to be over sensitive and I will continue to regard all such ‘compliments’ with the skepticism they deserve.

I also have come across some old pervert men in university and job alike, but i have also had the chance to meet certain men with lot of self control and integrity. Similarly for the women, i have known the devoted ones and also the not-so-controlled ones. (Maybe it is more difficult to find pervert women as their means of expressions are more restrained than men in Indian society. Also just think in a traditional society, if a man cheats on one woman X, it will surely involve another woman Y. Now what will you call Y here?).

Women themselves want to be seen as seductive and are totally focused on their physical appearance because that must attract attention. In Rajesh Khanna’s films women were objects of adoration. India may have become wealthier than before but crimes against women are in the headlines every other day. 

December 04, 2012

Sri Aurobindo wrote to bring together politics and religion

Sri Aurobindo, the perfect and the good - Page 78  - Robert Neil Minor - 1978 - 224 In an article describing the purpose of the magazine in its first issue, Aurobindo wrote that the Karmayogin would bring together two main streams of Indian thought which had been divided, politics and "religion," into "one mighty invincible ...
The Hindu personality in education: Tagore, Gandhi, Aurobindo - Page 134 William Cenkner - 1976 - Nationalists were vigorously advocating swadeshi, boycott and national education, issues Aurobindo had raised in previous years. Bande Mataram became the voice of the movement as Aurobindo discussed the doctrine of passive...
India's struggle for freedom: role of associated movements - Volume 1 - Page 125 - Pran Nath Chopra, Xavier Arakal, Indian National Congress (I). Centenary Celebrations Committee - 1985 - It was a sequel to a debate with Bipin Chandra Pal on this issue. Aurobindo opined that 'Passive Resistance' would progressively develop into 'Active Resistance' and, if circumstances demanded, would be aggressive and armed in turn.
The journal of Asian studies - Volume 37, Issues 3-4 - Page 580 - 1978 - O'Connor goes so far as to suggest that by disregarding socio-political issues, Aurobindo may have had an adverse effect on social progress in India. In discussing Aurobindo's political activity during the partition crisis, O'Connor could have ...
Indian thought between tradition and the culture of technology - Page 85 - David Lawrence Johnson - 1995 - "The step from man to superman is the next approaching achievement in the earth's evolution".i3 Mystical Conclusions and Cognitive Issues Aurobindo did not wish to have his views confused with ordinary philosophy. Any appeal for ...
Minds and sociocultures: an analysis of religious and dissenting ... - Page 508 - Kevin R. D. Shepherd - 1995 - ... infinite consciousness, but to overstate the symbolic nature of the Veda obscures the essential situation at issue. Aurobindo's symbolic interpretation of the Vedic hymns tends to place priestly distractions in a light of esoteric transcendence.
Sri Aurobindo - Page 17 - Madhav Pundalik Pandit - 1998 - In February 1915, however, the outbreak of the World War obliged the Richards to return to France and hence the French edition had to be discontinued after seven issues. Sri Aurobindo had to carry on alone, writing all the 64 pages each ...
Twelve years with Sri Aurobindo - Page 132 - Nirodbaran - 1973 - Many other issues Sri Aurobindo discussed with us, as will be evident from the book Talks with Sri Aurobindo,1 as though we were all keen-sighted statesmen and generals, and the talks were usually enlivened by Sri Aurobindo's genial ...
Culture, Society And Leadership - Page 190 - Chakraborty S K, Debangshu Chakraborty - 2006 - Preview In response to these two issues Sri Aurobindo wrote: “Money is the visible sign of universal force, and this force in its manifestation on earth works on the vital and physical planes and is indispensable to the fullness of outer life. In its origin and ...
The life of Sri Aurobindo: a source book - Page 134 Ambalal Balkrishna Purani - 1964 - The negotiations broke down on these issues. Sri Aurobindo thought of continuing his own work independently. He saw that a movement like the one for Home Rule was a possibility. Mrs. Besant, in fact, later carried that into effect. But Sri ...
Sri Aurobindo and Bergson: a synthetic study - Page 230 Abhoy Chandra Bhattacharya - 1972 - In his earlier writings also, while dealing with social and political issues, Sri Aurobindo gives us sufficient evidence of his practical approach to problems. He never believed in airy talks. His suggestions on the renaissance of India are most practical. By renaissance he under...
The vision and work of Sri Aurobindo - Kaikhushru Dhunjibhoy Sethna - 1992 - I The "I" Who Wants to Do Yoga A Physical "Confrontation" and Some Spiritual Issues Sri Aurobindo from A to Z: A Book-Review The Goal and the Guide: A Book-Review To One on the Eve of a New-birth What is Essence? A Note on Two ...
Ramakrishna Mission. Institute of Culture - 2002 - ... philosophy of Sri Aurobindo constitutes a point of view which he considers to be original Vedanta but which stands in strong opposition to the Advaita Vedanta of Shankara on several basic issues. ... Sri Aurobindo rejected categorically what ...
Mother India: monthly review of culture - Volume 57 - Page 252 - Sri Aurobindo Ashram - 2004 - 2 Ilion touches many areas of art and life and gives an insight into technical problems and psychological-cultural issues. Sri Aurobindo's eminence in the field lies in his fusing a deep and plenary breath of inspiration with a wide-eyed artistry...
The Advent - Volume 53 - Page 98 - Sri Aurobindo Ashram - 1996 - In response to such issues Sri Aurobindo says, "Human beings have erected the rule of reward and punishment as a social necessity in order to restrain the doing of things harmful to the community and encourage what is helpful to it; but to ...
The Contemporary - Volume 12 - Page 19 - Society for Contemporary Studies - 1968 - Crystal-clear on political issues, Sri Aurobindo however could never be content with merely political patriotism. He addressed himself tirelessly to the soul of the Nation. No wonder Rabindranath Tagore had called him "The Voice of India's ...
Eternity in words: Sri Aurobindo's Savitri - Page 86 - Rameshwar Gupta - 1969 - ... of Hamlet's' to be or not to be' Shakespeare's Hamlet, so out of Savitri's 'to accept death or win immortality' issues Sri Aurobindo's Savitri. It is an answer to the pathetic cry of affrighted life. The word-intensity apart, the epic superstructure has ...
The Essential Aurobindo - Aurobindo GhoseRobert A. McDermott - 2001 - Preview - More editions Here is an invaluable resource for understanding the underlying connections and common ground between Eastern and Western teachings and traditions for modern thinkers and spiritual seekers.
The Lives of Sri Aurobindo - Page 287 - Peter Heehs - 2008 - Preview - 76 This chapter was published in the January 1921 issue of the Arya, which turned out to be the last issue. Aurobindo never wrote in detail on the final element of the third chatusthaya, samadhi or yogic trance. He also left untreated all of the ...
Readings in Sri Aurobindo's The Life Divine Volume 3 - Page 39 - Santosh Krinsky - Preview ... an explanation of things that deprives cosmic and individual existence of all significance cannot be the whole explanation or the solution it proposes the sole true issue.” Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, Book 2, Part 2, Chapter 16, The Integral ...
The hour of God: selections from his writings - Page viii - Aurobindo GhoseSri AurobindoManoj Das - 1995 - Preview While they were confidentially debating on the issue, Sri Aurobindo, obeying an inner inspiration, suddenly left Calcutta for the French pocket Chandernagore and later sailed for Pondicherry where he arrived in April 1910. Even then, in his ...
Sri Aurobindo: archives and research - Volumes 9-10 - Page 75 - Śri Aurobindo Ashram Trust - 1985 - In this piece, as in The Gods of the Veda, published in the last issue, Sri Aurobindo refers to Vedic "hymns" as "sutras". In the last issue this word was emended to the more usual "suktas"; in the present issue the manuscript-reading has been ...
Sri Aurobindo: archives and research - Volume 7 - Page 169 - Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust - 1983 - 103-104. This file, excluding the speech, is published as Document 2 in the present issue. Sri Aurobindo's speech was delivered on 6 September 1909, the second day of the Hooghly Conference, at Chinsurah, Hooghly District, West Bengal.
Talks with Sri Aurobindo - Volume 3 - Page 143 - Nirodbaran - 1973 - P: The corporation election seems to me more a personal issue. Sri Aurobindo: How personal ? When the Congress fought the election it was on a political issue, to capture the corporation for the Congress. There was no personal question ...
Sri Aurobindo, his life unique - Page 338 - Rishabhchand - 1981 - In the 19th February issue Sri Aurobindo started his poem, Baji Prabhou. It was prefaced by the following note: "This poem is founded on the historical incident of the heroic self-sacrifice of Baji Prabhou Deshpande who, to cover Shivaji's 338 ...
Mother India: monthly review of culture - Volume 59 - Page 457 - Sri Aurobindo Ashram - 2006 - ... prejudice the real issue, but these inconsequent streaks of fantasy give a false hue to the matter.2 The real issue, Sri Aurobindo asserted, is not a choice between modernism and antiquity, but between an imported civilisation and the greater ...
Ramakrishna Mission. Institute of Culture - 2004 - 37 In fact, during their initial meeting, there were no direct parleys between Sri Aurobindo and Sister Nivedita on spiritual subjects. On this issue Sri Aurobindo speaks as follows: Spirituality or spiritual matters did not enter into them and I do not ...
On the Mother: the chronicle of a manifestation and ministry - Page 401 - K. R. Srinivasa IyengarSri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (Pondicherry, India) - 1994 - It was as though the Evening Talks of the pre-Siddhi days were now resumed, though under altered conditions. Whatever the issue, Sri Aurobindo spoke gently, intimately, and in a "finely cadenced voice", talking as if to himself and not looking...
Equals one - Issues 31-34 - Page 1921 - Sri Aurobindo SocietyWorld UnionWorld Goodwill - 1972 - 1914 The 'Arya', a monthly review of pure philosophy was published for the first time from 7, rue Dupleix, Pondicherry, where the Mother was staying. ln this first issue, Sri Aurobindo started three of his major works simultaneously, 'The Life ...
Annual - Page 52 - Sri Aurobindo mandir, Calcutta - 1975 - Summing up the whole issue Sri Aurobindo concludes by saying: "If we take these three elements as making the whole Art, perfection of expressive form, discovery of beauty, revelation of the soul and essence of things and the powers of...
Haryana review - Volume 7 - Page 1 - Haryana (India). Public Relations Dept - 1973 - 8 In This Issue Sri Aurobindo — The greatest Patriot-savant of India Message Sri Aurobindo — A Tribute Sri Aurobindo — Upholder of World Peace and Humanism Sri Aurobindo — Prophet of Indian Nationalism Education and National ...
The Indian spirit and the world's future - Page 198 - Kaikhushru Dhunjibhoy Sethna - 1953 - ... dark basis of the submerged Divine from which evolution seems to issue. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, taking upon themselves as representative pioneers the agelong difficulties of all human nature, have been striking against this bed-rock ...