Sri Aurobindo
August 15, 2021 marks the 149th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo was an Indian philosopher. He was also an Indian nationalist during British rule in India. Born in Calcutta, he did not remain in India for long. His father had sent him to England where he studied right from an early age. After education, he returned to India. He had several unique experiences setting foot into India which he had never experienced before. This motivated him to get to know more about India and its unique cultures and traditions. He was welcomed and given a post by the Raja of Baroda. At the Raja's palace, he has read all the books that he could find day and night. He was also a French teacher at Baroda College as well as the principal of the College for a year. He joined with Bal Gangadhar Tilak after the Surat Split between the Indian nationalists. He was kept in trial for sedition as well as for the Alipore Bomb case but was released from imprisonment due to lack of evidence. Later, he moved to Puducherry where he spent the rest of his life. He established the Sri Aurobindo Ashram there.
Early Life:
Sri Aurobindo was born on August 15, 1872 at Kolkata. His father Krishna Dhun Ghose despised Indian culture. He sent off his three sons to England for their education. He wanted them to pass the ICS (Indian Civil Service) Examination for their entry to high British offices in India. Sri Aurobindo was then at the age of 7. He has spent most of his childhood at England. He was well proficient in Latin and French. To become a member of the ICS, one has to pass the exam of horse riding. Sri Aurobindo was absent when the horse riding tests were conducted. He was not interested to become a member of the ICS.
Return to India:
Sri Aurobindo returned to India in 1893 after spending 14 years at England. When he set foot in India, he had spiritual experiences like never before. He quickly got to know about the importance of India. During a carriage accident involving him, he saw his soul emerging out of his body and save him. He saw sculptures of gods and goddesses in temples come to life. He was welcomed by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad of Baroda. Sri Aurobindo got a high post, the secretary to the Maharaja. He also became French teacher and headmaster of Baroda college. He read Indian philosophy books such as the Vedas, and Upanishads. He spent thirteen years at Baroda. He had contact with his family during his stay at Baroda. He also married Mrinalini Devi during this time. Sri Aurobindo left Baroda to Calcutta to preside over a national school which was established. Eventhough the amount of income he would get would be a lot less, he did not hesitate to do so for the sake of nationalism.
Interesting Stories:
There was a family servant at Sri Aurobindo's house. He was a young and mischievous man. Sri Aurobindo's sister said to him that she would complain about him to his brother. One day, Sri Aurobindo came home. He was awaited by everyone who thought that he is going to punish the servant a lot. Sri Aurobindo said to him calmly that he heard everyone say how mischievous he was and asked not make such mistakes again. This proves the kind and soft nature of Sri Aurobindo.
During his stay at Baroda, Sri Aurobindo attended a lot of petitions in and around the place. There would be many teams which would participate in this. Sri Aurobindo would take leadership of his team. All of the teams would fight to get their thoughts valued except his. The team members in his team would remain silent all through the petition. After the confession, Sri Aurobindo would start to speak and silence would prevail. At the end, it will be Sri Aurobindo's team who would get the victory.
Indian Nationalist:
Sri Aurobindo wanted to free India from British rule. He was an Indian Nationalist on Bal Gangadhar Tilak's side. He wrote Bande Mataram, a famous newspaper at that time. Bande Mataram was started by Bipin Chandra Pal and Sri Aurobindo. Through his newspaper, Sri Aurobindo preached to the people nationalism. He was supported by many leaders like Rabindranath Tagore, Bipin Chandra Pal, Chittaranjan Das, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
Trial of Sedition and Alipore Bomb Case:
Sri Aurobindo was arrested due to his seditious writings. The government gave an excuse that he was involved in Alipore Bomb case and arrested him. The Alipore Bomb incident took place on 30th April, 1908. This involved the famous revolutionaries Prafulla Chaki, and Khudiram Bose. This incident was a planned killing of Kingsford, a British judge and magistrate. Sri Aurobindo's younger brother, Barindra Kumar Ghose who edited Yugantar, a newspaper sent an Indian nationalist to Paris to learn the art of bomb making. The bombs were made ready and were thrown on the carriage that day. It was after this incident that the revolutionaries knew that the carriage did not carry Kingsford, but the wife and daughter of another British man.
Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose were the ones who threw the bomb. Prafulla fled to a nearby train station, got in the train, and performed suicide. Khudiram Bose, who also fled was caught. Among the ones who were arrested were Barindra Kumar Ghose who was involved and Sri Aurobindo who was not related to this case. The judge who managed this case was Charles Beachcroft, who happened to be Sri Aurobindo's classmate at Cambridge. Khudiram Bose was hanged. Bipin Chandra Pal was asked to give testimony to Sri Aurobindo's trial on sedition. Since he refused, he was imprisoned. Due to great efforts by Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, Barindra Kumar's sentence to death was reduced to life imprisonment. Sri Aurobindo was also imprisoned but was released on May, 1909 due to lack of evidence. Barindra Kumar Ghose was sent to the Andamans to be imprisoned and was released in 1920. Barindra Kumar published The Tale of my Exile. It was also during the trial session of Sri Aurobindo that Rabindranath Tagore wrote a poem in praise of Sri Aurobindo.
Imprisonment:
During his term of one year in prison, Sri Aurobindo had spiritual experiences there too. He saw Swami Vivekananda and Krishna during his stay at prison. Sri Aurobindo was especially sent to prison by God's power to have these spiritual experiences that guided him. Sri Aurobindo understood this and focused his goal to make India independent by liberating it from the British rule. After his release, Sri Aurobindo delivered his famous speech, the Uttarpara speech at Uttarpara. In his speech, he talked about his experiences in prison, and praised those who helped him in release.
Spiritual Experiences:
Sri Aurobindo got many spiritual experiences at a very young age. He has completely given up ego. Many of the experiences that Sri Aurobindo had takes years to achieve. Sri Aurobindo was a supermind and a supramental being. According to him, India was the birthplace of spirituality. India is the world's godhead. He thought that India must be liberated from British rule. He had realizations about India many did not.
His Inner Voice:
Sri Aurobindo got advise from his inner voice, which he waited for a long time. This inner voice advised him to go to Chandannagar. After that, he was again advised to go to Pondicherry and live there for the rest of his life. It was also during this time that his wife had died of influenza.
Life in Pondicherry:
Sri Aurobindo was greeted by a few people in Pondicherry. He arrived from Bengal to Pondicherry by ship. He stayed in a house in Pondicherry before establishing the famous Ashram. Sri Aurobindo had very few followers at that time. During his stay at Pondicherry, he started writing many of his famous books. Sri Aurobindo completely retired from politics at that time.
Meeting The Mother:
Sri Aurobindo met The Mother during his stay in Pondicherry. The Mother, Mirra Alfassa was a French lady born in Paris. At an early age, she had spiritual dreams of Sri Aurobindo. After meeting Sri Aurobindo at Pondicherry, she knew that he was the man who gave her spiritual knowledge. The Mother went back to France after her visit. Later, she went to Tokyo and returned back to Pondicherry. She stayed in Pondicherry with Sri Aurobindo for the rest of her life.
Establishing the Ashram:
After The Mother had left Pondicherry to France, Sri Aurobindo established the Ashram at Pondicherry in 1926 after a major spiritual realization. He was helped by his fellow disciples. After The Mother had come to Pondicherry again, she helped develop the Ashram a lot more to its full extent. Eventually, the number of followers of theirs and the Ashram grew. Sri Aurobindo's brother, who was released came to Pondicherry to meet Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. The Ashram has a lot of departments and people who seek spiritual knowledge. Many eminent followers from India as well as people from many countries including a daughter of one U.S. President across the world have chosen to stay in the Ashram. In the Ashram, Sri Aurobindo dedicated his whole life in meditation and writing books. The Mother developed and grew the Ashram from then on.
Sri Aurobindo's Life Works:
Sri Aurobindo wrote many books during his lifetime. The two most important works of his are The Life Divine and a poem Savitri. The Life Divine contains works of spirituality and philosophy. According to the Western scholars, Savitri was referred to as one of the greatest poems written in English language.
Independence of India:
India became independent on 15th August, 1947. Sri Aurobindo already knew that India would become independent, also on his birthday. Sri Aurobindo fought for independence by the power of internal yoga. Sri Aurobindo inspired many to fight for Indian Independence. One such person was Subash Chandra Bose, who formed the Indian National Army. He was one of the first persons in India to demand against the British Purna Swaraj. He was respected by Mr. Ramsay Macdonald, the Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1925-1935). He was supported by many other Englishmen who challenged the government by issuing a warrant against Sri Aurobindo's wisdom.
Mahasamadhi:
Sri Aurobindo died on December 5, 1950. A mass gathering consisting of 60,000 people came to the Ashram on his Mahasamadhi. Sri Aurobindo gave up his body in order for spirituality to spread in India. The then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru and the then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad paid great tributes to Sri Aurobindo. The Ashram was also visited by important people including Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi, and our current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Narendra Modi said "The more the youth learns about Sri Aurobindo, the greater they learn about themselves and enrich themselves".
Being a Yogi, a great Philosopher, a Spiritual Guru, and an Indian Nationalist, Sri Aurobindo lived a life of extreme discipline and meditation. In his room in the Ashram when it rained heavily outside, even if the windows were open, a single drop of rain would not enter inside. Sri Aurobindo had such power. According to The Mother, "What Sri Aurobindo represents in the world history is not a teaching, not even a revelation, it is a decisive action direct from the Supreme".
0 Comments