National and International A LEADING Nationalist has opined that he does not understand the "slogan" of viewing the nation against a background of internationalism. We can only say that the patriot has learnt nothing and forgotten nothing always like the old guards attached to the old regime who do not see how much water has flown below their feet while they stood gazing at the sky or shut themselves up in their ivory tower. Well, a village headman could in the same way assert that he does not know and cares not to know how to look upon his village against the background of the whole nation: still the village exists only in and through the life of the nation. Even so, the nation whic

The Basic Unity THERE is one unity which cannot be denied to India, because Nature has given it and man cannot withdraw or annul it. It is the geographical, the physical unity. It is so clearly and indelibly marked that it has always been looked upon as a definite unit by all outside its boundaries; one may call in question the cultural unity, if one chooses, one may be sceptic about the spiritual unity, but the unity of the body leaps to the eyes, even as the clear contour of a living organism. As we know, however, an individual human frame may contain many personalities, many Jekylls and Hydes may lodge in the same physical tenement, even so, the physical unity that is India may har

Caesar versus the Divine "RENDER unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." We do not subscribe to the motto. We do not admit that the world and the spirit are irreconcilables and incommensurables. On the contrary we assert their essential unity and identity. The spiritual force is not and need not be impotent or out of place in Caesar's domain. Rather it is the spiritual man who alone can possess the secret of mastering the forces that work out mundane things, perfectly and faultlessly. But then, it may be asked, how is it that in the history of the world we find men of action, great dynamic personalities to be mostly not spiritual but rather mundane in their characte

Panacea of “Isms” COMMUNISM COMMUNISM cannot save humanity. For if it means the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, well, a healthy normal society will not bear or tolerate it long – no Dictatorship, whether of one or of many, is likely to endure or bring in the millennium. In that sense communism is only a fascismo of small people fighting against a fascismo of big people. A society is not normally made up of proletarians only: it does not consist merely of lotuseaters nor does it consist of hewers of wood and drawers of water (peasants and labourers) alone. Even a proletariate society will slowly and inevitably gravitate towards a stratification of its 'own. In its very bosom the bur

6 Rishabhchand Writes to Parichand (Rishabhchand was not only a close friend but also his spiritual mentor before Parichand joined the Ashram in 1934. All the following letters were written before that year. The first letter, which shows remarkable intellectual maturity, had a decisive influence on his life. Rishabhchand was just twenty-four when he wrote it.) "Uplands" Shillong (Assam) 25.1.24 Dear Parichand, I have received your letter. If I have to comply with your request fully, then I will have to write a Mahabharata; but neither have I the capacity for that nor have you the time to read it, therefore my ans

4 The Mother Writes to Parichand on Sadhana Sometimes the vegetables in the Dining Room have an unpleasant taste, but I am eating them in spite of it in order to break old formations and achieve an equality of taste. Is this what you wish me to do ? Certainly it is indispensable to break down the narrowness and limitations of taste — the vegetables that taste bad to you others find excellent. c. 1936 Mother, In your prayer of 7 December 1912, there is the following sentence: "Thy Peace is in me, and in that Peace I see Thee alone present in everything, with the calm of eternity." Does the phrase "the calm of et

3 Sri Aurobindo Writes to Parichand Guntdev, I bow at your feet, I am a fellow-traveller on your path of Yoga, pursuing this path with the help of your method. Seven years of sadhana have resulted in inducing all the parts of darkness in me to surrender. But in this darkness, my vital is still weak and full of impurities. It continues to resist and does not want to surrender; due to this lack of submission, my sadhana is not dynamic. Of late I have understood that Shakti is lacking in me and that for this reason the play of the Force has not yet started. Therefore I pray to God all the time to give me Power as well as Knowledge an

2 An Interview [The following is the complete text together with an abridged introductory note, of the interview Parichand gave to Raman Reddy for "Golden Chain", an Ashram journal. This interview was taken unfortunately after Parichand recovered from a cerebral stroke which impaired his speech. The fluency with which he formerly spoke was sadly absent. But perhaps it was because of that impaired condition that he finally agreed to be recorded and showed us his correspondence with Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Otherwise, he was hardly the type to speak about himself however discreetly. It was a discipline he followed strictly, because of which he had turned down

5 The Mother Writes to Parichand on Gardening Work In preparing the bed of the third plot, it may be found necessary to cut away some roots of the trees. This is not possible. No roots of trees must be cut. Apart from that — if the trees are respected, you can prepare these. Blessings. 1938 I explained the whole thing to Z today. Of course this poor Service tree has already suffered much by the last storm and I do not wish to inflict any more difficulty upon it — but in this case it is not the main point. The objection to putting the eucalyptus plant there is that as the Service tree has already grown

7 Parichand Writes to Spiritual Aspirants (Parichand, very fluent both in speech and writing, was extremely reticent when it concerned himself He hardly spoke about his rich inner life. Partly it was for him a matter of principle, since Sri Aurobindo has told him during the earliest years of his sadhana that such a movement causes Tapakshaya; partly it was because of his innate humility. Only after the passing away of the Mother he relaxed a little in his attitude. But both in his personal talks and letters, his only purpose was to direct the aspirant to the Mother: he always scrupulously kept himself in the background. He advised mor