-06_Notes on the Texts

The Synthesis of Yoga. A typed copy of this incomplete chapter, with handwritten corrections, was found recently among Sri Aurobindo's papers. It is headed: THE SYNTHESIS OF YOGA/The Yoga of Self-Perfection/ Chapter LXXIV". The last chapter of the Synthesis published in the Arya was numbered "Chapter LXXIII"; this was later changed to Chapter XXV of Part IV. Accordingly the present chapter, which was unquestionably meant to follow that chapter, but which was not completed when the Arya abruptly ceased publication, has been numbered Chapter XXVI of Part IV. Two obvious verbal omissions have been supplied within square brackets. Italicisation has been made to accord with the system followed in the book-edition of the Synthesis.

A Hymn to Indra. LSVA1c. Written around 1916. Possibly intended for publication in Arya, but never completed. The punctuation was left very defective by the author; several points have been supplied by the editors within square brackets.

The Gods of the Veda [Second Version]. NBV4, 83, 127-36, 151-74. As explained in the last issue, these five chapters (numbered editorially A-E) were written after a previous version entitled The Gods of the Veda. The first chapter of the present version was given the same title, but the second chapter (Chapter B2) was headed "The Secret of the Veda". Since this title was later used for the series in the Arya, of which these two earlier versions may in some sense be considered drafts, the present chapters are here published under the title The Gods of the Veda [Second Version]. What we publish as Chapter A2 was cancelled by Sri Aurobindo and the end of Chapter Al substituted for it. Since A2 contains interesting material not used elsewhere, we have reproduced it here. What we publish as Chapter Bl was meant to replace the beginning of the second chapter (our Chapter B2). Since Bl was not worked into the chapter, and both openings are of interest, both have been preserved.

The Religion of Vedanta. NBG24, 1B-2. Written 1906-1908. Another, apparently later, draft of this fragment was published in the April 1977 issue of this journal. After work on the present draft was abruptly broken off, Sri Aurobindo wrote the following, apparently a chapter-outline of an intended work of which the draft was to serve as preface:

The numbers on the right, separated by points, seem to be chapters of the Gita that would have been dealt with in the various chapters.

The Philosophy of the Upanishads: Prefatory. NBG20, 3-8 ( + typed transcript of missing pp. 1-2). The bulk of this chapter was published in the December 1978 issue of Archives and Research under the title "The East and the West and the Upanishads". The Note on that text explained that the first folio (first two pages) of the manuscript of the chapter had been lost, and so was not published. The folio has not yet been found, but a typed transcript of the whole chapter, made apparently during the early 1950s, has recently come to light. This appears to be accurate; however, many blanks have been left in the transcript of the missing pages, indicating that the manuscript folio was mutilated along one edge. The editors of Archives and Research have supplied within square brackets most of the missing words (or parts of words), since with two exceptions these seemed evident from the context. The two words which were not supplied are indicated thus: [. . .]. Words that the original transcriber was doubtful about are indicated thus: [?polity]. The text from the word "applications" in the second paragraph has been taken directly from Sri Aurobindo's handwritten manuscript. Note that "[dis]embarks" is an emendation made by the present editors; the manuscript has "embarks". The other seven chapters of the work of which this prefatory chapter forms a part have been published in SABCL vol. 12, pp. 1-50, under the title (apparently supplied by the original editors) Philosophy of the Upanishads.

God and Immortality. NBGA4, 14-16. Written circa 1916. This incomplete chapter is all that was written of a proposed book.

Three Fragments of Commentary. LSV3-1, 4-5. These three fragments were jotted down around 1912 on a sheet used otherwise for linguistic research.

A Letter of Sri Aurobindo. The Hindu Marriages (Validity) Bill was introduced by Vithalbhai Patel in the Imperial Council on 5 September 1918. The purpose of this bill was to provide legal sanction to marriages between Hindus of different castes. (At that time Hindu Law, as interpreted in the courts, considered inter-caste marriages invalid unless sanctioned by custom.) Vithalbhai Patel's bill was condemned by the orthodox and considered inadequate by reformers. However, certain eminent Indians, among them Rabindranath Tagore and Lala Lajpat Rai, when solicited for their opinions, stated that the bill was a step in the right direction. Sri Aurobindo was asked his opinion by Lotewalla, Managing Director of Hindustan. His reply, undated, but apparently written during the year 1918, is reproduced here from Govardhanbhai I. Patel's Vithalbhai Patel: Life and Times, Book I., p. 305. The above information has been drawn from the same book, pp. 285, 302-05. Two words in the printed text appear to be mistranscriptions of the words in Sri Aurobindo's letter, which no doubt was handwritten. The editors have provided emended readings within brackets.

Letters on Yoga and Family Life. These letters were written to a sadhak and his daughter on the dates given. The second letter dated 16.4.32 is, as stated in the letter of 17.4.32, a copy of an original that has not survived. The copy is in the handwriting of the Mother, but is not signed. The language of the letter is more like Sri

Aurobindo's than the Mother's English, and it is quite possible that the original letter was written by him.

Draft of a Note. NBS "S72", pp. 81-84. The origin and date of this note are discussed in Archival Notes. The manuscript is rather difficult; the editors have not been able to read one word and another whole line, and are doubtful about one word. Sri Aurobindo never finalized this note for publication; instead he dictated another note containing roughly the same information. This is published as Document 9 in this issue, and on pages 60-61 of SABCL Volume 26.

For the editing of the first part of The Philosophy of the Upanishads: " Prefatory", see Notes on the Texts. In the balance of this piece, and in all other pieces, square brackets indicate some editorial operation. Conjectural readings are indicated thus: [?do]. An initial lowercase letter enclosed within brackets was written as an initial capital, and not changed by the author when he added a phrase to the beginning of the sentence. All other words, letters or marks of punctuation printed in Roman within parentheses that are not listed in this table are simple editorial interpolations: the text has nothing (sometimes having been left blank deliberately); the editors assume that what they supply was intended by the author. Words printed in italics within parentheses are editorial explanations. Other emendations, including all those involving alteration, are listed here. Explanations are provided, where convenient, in column 4: the following abbreviations are used:

Page	Line	Text reading	Manuscript reading

130	15	floods[.] All	floods, All
130	23	[does]	he with
131	note	[They are his]	CWOS
133	16	them still	them, still (E)
135	20	extravagant[,]	extravagant:
135	24	[Hindu]	Hinduism
138	17	possible[.]	possible;
138	24	sages[?]	sages.
139	7	which	to which (E)
139	13	begun	begun it indeed, (E)
140	16	in which	in which, (E)
140	23	world-stratum[?]	world-stratum.
143	19	[world]	worlds
145	23	the	the the (E)

146	9	[Sukta]	Sutra
146	36	[Brahma]	Vishnu
147	24	[Sukta]	Sutra
148	5	Epic	In Epic (E)
148	13	they sing	they be sing (E)
149	22	in English	in English in
149	fn	[*]	N
150	26	[Sukta]	Sutra
151	25	strength [?]	strength.
152	23	[it]	they
153	1	vajinivati[.]	vajinivati?
153	27	[have]	be
154	10	arnas will	arnas; will (E)
154	13	[Sukta]	Sutra
154	19	[Sukta]	Sutra
155	17	existence[,]	existence.
155	23	Atma[,]	Atma;
156	18	which agrees	which we agrees (E)
156	22	[Sukta]	Sutra
158	33	10[,]11	10.11
158	37	[avapsyatha]	avapsyathah
159	20	[Sukta]	Sutra
160	11	[second]	first
160	14	[Sukta]	Sutra
160	20	[nasatya]	nasyata
160	32	[Sukta]	Sutra
161	2-4	It is the nature ...	It is the nature . . .
		to suggest	is to suggest
162	20	[Sukta]	Sutra
164	25	[sukta]	sutra
166	19	concludes[:]	concludes.
166	29	[Sukta]	Sutra
166	34	sumat[i]	sumati
167	1	mixed[.]	mixed;
169	13	step[,]	step.
171	36	[Sukta]	Sutra
173	19	[we]	it
176	21-22	dh[a]rtara	dhartara
176	31	dh[a]rta	dharta
177	23	[sukta]	sutra
178	3	oma[s]as	omanas
180	1	[anyone]	an one
180	9	[our]	their

This glossary omits words that can be found in the Glossary to the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library or in a standard English dictionary, as well as those sufficiently explained in the texts where they occur. The definitions below are confined to the meanings relevant to these texts. They have been given in Sri Aurobindo's own words wherever possible.

Sanskrit words are printed here in italics with diacritical marks according to the now standard system of transliteration. In the texts themselves, these words have been left as Sri Aurobindo wrote them, generally following a more Anglicised system and with considerable freedom in the use or omission of diacritics.

a barhisi sidata— sit on the barhis.	(Saraswati is) twofold, the embodied
acetana — unconscious.	goddess (of speech) and in the form of a
anala—fire.	river. [Sayana on Rig Veda 1.3.12]
anila—wind.	ganah, ganah — host(s), troop(s).
anima [Latin] —breath, life.	hrddese tisthati—(the Lord) is stationed in the
animus [Latin] — soul.	heart (of all existences). [Gita 18.61]
arnah — see arnas.	jivayaja — (our daily and continual) life-sacri-
arnah pracetayati—[according to Sayana]	fice. [Cf. Rig Veda 1.31.15]
makes known (much) water. [Rig Veda	kamayatu — let desire.
1.3.12]	kamayitva vahatu—let (Saraswati), desiring,
arnas — water (in a stream or expanse), river.	upbear (the sacrifice). [Sayana on Rig
sea; the image of the sea, flood or stream	Veda 1.3.10]
in which the Vedic seers saw the sub-	kastr— "the radiant", assumed Sanskrit cog-
stance of being and its different states.	nate of Greco-Roman "Castor".
Brihaspati —the founder of the Charvaka	kena patati—by whom (guided) falls (the
school of materialistic philosophy.	mind on its objects). [Kena Upanishad 1.1]
canasyatam — take your pleasure in (the forces	kena praiti yuktah — by whom yoked moves
of the sacrifice). [Rig Veda 1.3.1]	(the life force) forward. [Kena Upanishad
carsanidhrt, carsanidhrtah — upholder(s) of	1.1]
actions.	kena presitam — by whom sent forth. [Kena
citrasravastama— most rich in varied inspira-	Upanishad 1.1]
tion. [Cf. Rig Veda 1.1.5]	kusa — the sacred grass (Poa cynosuroides)
codayitri sunrtanam, cetanti sumatinam — im-	used in certain Hindu ceremonies.
peller of truths, awakening to good	mana —measurement, a standard of measure.
thoughts.	manibus lilia plenis [Latin] — lilies from full
dvividha . . . vigrahavaddevata nadirupa ca —	hands.

mata— mother.	rtaja — born from the Truth.
mayobhuvah — born of (or creators of) Bliss.	sadyo vrddho ajayathah — thou didst appear
medham jusanta vahnayah— (may the Visva-	immediately increased. [Rig Veda 1.5.6]
devas) cleave to the sacrifice as its up-	samudra— sea.
bearers. [Rig Veda 1.3.9]	sa no hiranyaratham damsanavan sa nah sanita
mens [Latin] — mind.	sanaye sa no 'dat — he has given us (or,
nah — our.	fashioned for us) a car of great brightness
phren [Greek] — mind.	and he preserves, 'tis for secure enjoyment
phronis [Greek] —wisdom.	that he gives. [Rig Veda 1.30.16]
piparat tamas tirah — carries us through be-	Sarasvati ketuna — Saraswati by the ketu (en-
yond the darkness. [Rig Veda 1.46.6]	lightening perception or the ray of intui-
prajah—creatures.	tion). [Rig Veda 1.3.12]
pranah prathamah — "the first or supreme	satpati—master of being.
Breath", the essential life force. [Kena	tanu — body, formal extension.
Upanishad 1.1]	tuvijatah — [interpreted here] born in Tapas.
purudamsa— hypothetical variant form of pu-	vahanti vahnayah — the bearers bear. [Rig
rudamsas (an epithet of the Aswins),	Veda 1.14.6]
assumed as cognate of Greek Poludeukes	vahatu—let upbear.
(Polydeuces, Latin "Pollux").	vaidika — a Brahmin well-versed in the Vedas.
purve nutana uta — old and new. [Cf. Rig	visvani cakri—the doer of all actions.
Veda 1.1.2]
rasatham— take delight in (or, give). [Rig
Veda 1.46.6]