The Poet and The Seer PLATO has exiled the poet from his Republic – in his ideal society there is no place for the poet – this is a stern condemnation. It is a matter of surprise to us, even of disbelief. Especially when we notice that there is no dearth of poetry in Plato himself – he was no dry-as-dust reasoner like his disciple Aristotle. In genius and temperament he was a true poet. The literary grace that expresses itself in his style is still regarded as something of an ideal. But why is he then so averse to the poets? Plato's charge is that poets are no worshippers of truth. They are but servitors of imagination, of pseudo-truth or falsehood. Not only that. Thei

I Bow to the Mother THOSE of you who came to the Ashram as children recognised the Mother and called her by that name practically from your birth, that is, from the moment you began to recognise things. We the grown-ups did not have that privilege. It has taken us a long long time to open our eyes and know. We have lost valuable time, almost wasted it. But, as you know, it is never too late to mend and it is possible to recover and even to make amends for lost time; there lies an interesting secret. But as I was saying, you did not have to be told about the Mother, for you have almost been born and brought up in her lap. In our case somebody had to introduce us to the M

A Letter IN simple words, in a plain manner you want to know the meaning of Yoga. You have asked me not to use highly philosophical terms, but just to make you understand the real purport of Yoga in a few words. I shall try my best, but before that I would like to tell you something. Difficult matters cannot be explained as easily as easy ones. It is quite natural that a thing above the common cannot be brought down to the level of common understanding, nor is it advisable to do so. To do that is to help the common in their idleness. There is always some usefulness in acquiring a thing by the sweat of one's brow. One can derive much benefit from such labour. Instead of trying to brin

Rhythm in Poetry TODAY I wish to speak to you a few words about rhythm in poetry, or rather demonstrate to you what is this thing called the "swing" or movement of rhythmic utterance. Rhythm, in its essence, is the harmony or melody underlying poetic speech. All I shall do will be to quote you instances, to show in what different ways this music of the spoken word finds expression in poetic speech. At the very outset I shall speak of Sanskrit, the mother of languages which first gave voice to the Word, and here I shall take as its representative the great poet Kalidasa. You have no doubt heard about his Meghaduta. The whole of this Meghaduta is composed in a wonderful metr

The Human Body GOD dons a human form. But often it is not possible for the common run of men to recognise Him. In good many cases not only do we fail to know or recognise Him but we disbelieve and despise Him. Where has man the vision to see the inner truth? The human form is a unique thing. We have said that God makes it His own abode. But all kinds of non-divine existences too may appear in it. The Pishacha or Rakshasa or Asura can become manifest in the human form; so may the Gods. In man exist all the worlds and all the elements of these worlds. Therefore any being from any world may possess him and through him can establish and reveal itself. Why are beings of other pla

The Unity of India INDIA is one. But wherein lies that unity, what is its nature? Many are of the opinion that India has no 'unity'; the condition that prevails at present and the possible development may at the most be termed 'union'. Union is the agreement and harmony of many antagonistic entities, but unity is the organic oneness of the same entity. To-day we proclaim India an undivided nation, but as a matter of fact India is not exactly of that type. She is a collectivity of many diverse sub-nations, a continent. Bengal is a state or a sub-nation, the Punjab is a state or a sub-nation, the Tamil Nadu and the Andhra Pradesh are each a state or a sub-nation but the uni

Fit and Unfit (A Letter) You have written that you are only an ordinary man, not out of the ordinary like me. You do not dare to be above the average, for you believe that you are wanting in capacity and power that make a man extraordinary. And therefore you have to go through life as others. However, I ask you one thing, who has told you that you are a mere nobody? How are you so positive about the limits of your power without exercising it in the field of work? Have you understood yourself entirely? No, you will say, and you will add that your shortcomings and aberrations are the proof. How can one be great with such imperfections? In order to be great, one has to aspire

Soviet Gymnasts (I) As you know, sometime back – quite a few years now – we had a group of Soviet Gymnasts in our midst. And what a pleasant, perfect performance they gave! Their hammer-and-sickle floating against the wind, the first time they stepped in unison on our sports ground, marching to the tune of the Russian national anthem, surely you must be still remembering that beautiful spectacle. Some of their tricks and techniques we have bodily taken over. A good many of you received training at the hands of these experts. They have been heavily filmed and photographed in action and these pictures you must have seen more than once. I draw your attention to the date

ON NATIONAL HERITAGE The Heart of Bengal BENGAL is a land of many rivers. The land of Bengal has been formed by the alluvial soil of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and their branches. The poet Bankimchandra addressed the Mother Bengal thus: Mother, I bow to thee! Rich with thy hurrying streams, Bright with thy orchard gleams, Cool with thy winds of delight, Dark fields waving, Mother of might, Mother free. (translated by Sri Aurobindo) These words are not merely a hyperbole or an emotional outburst of blind faith. The truth embodied in these words will not only be felt in the core but will be felt at every step by all those who have

Intuition and Inspiration in Art As intuition plays the major role in one kind of art, even so inspiration in another. Two kinds of beauty have sprung into existence from these two faculties. Why speak of the artist alone – all powerful creators, in fact all human beings, differ in their individual nature, but they may be broadly classified under these two heads. Knowledge is quite evidently the principle in one, life-energy in the other. Steadiness is the mark of the one, speed of the other. One has wideness, the other depth. One is comprehensive, the other penetrative. One gives forth light, the other heat. One is illumined, the other dynamic. Intuitio