SRI AUROBINDO ON SAVITRI APPENDIX I Relevant Quotations from letters throwing light on the history of Savitri and its quality. "Savitri was originally written many years ago before the Mother came, as a narrative poem in two parts. Part I Earth and Part II Beyond (these two parts are still extant in the scheme, each of four Books—or rather Part II consisted of three books and an epilogue). Twelve books to an epic is a classical superstition, but new Savitri may extend to ten Books—if much is added in the final revision it may be even twelve. The first Book has been lengthening and lengthening out....As for the second Part, I have not tou

SUMMARY OF BOOK SEVEN CANTO I THE JOY OF UNION, THE ORDEAL OF THE FORE-KNOWLEDGE OF DEATH AND THE HEART'S GRIEF Whatever happens to man it is Fate that leads "the blind will" "towards an unknown goal". The parentage of what happens to man is "in his secret soul". Even what is suffering to us,—"our ordeal,"—"is the hidden spirit's choice". What Savitri's heart had chosen was all being fulfilled. Once more she left her own country, Madra, and travelled to Shalwa hermitage. As she travelled not only the country but even "the past receded and the future neared". She left behind all familiar places, relations and friends. From populous city sh

-07_Savitri^s Modernism.htm V SAVITRI'S MODERNISM FROM what we have written about the relationship which —" Sāvitrī bears to Vedic and Upanishadic content and manner, one might perhaps be led to think that Sāvitrī is something very much of the past and may have no bearing to the present age. This will be a "grave mistake because to have similarity of content and manner with the Veda and the Upanisad is not at all to be antiquated or obsolete. These ancient writings deal with perennial problems of life and in that sense they are as modern as the most modernist expression. Besides, Sri Aurobindo in spite of his long retirement from the outside world has not ceased to be constantly in contac

SUMMARY OF BOOK FIVE CANTO I THE DESTINED MEETING PLACE "But now the destined spot and hour were dose." Unknowingly man's "acts interpret an omniscient Force"; and so, even when a man acts blindly something behind arranges the necessary circumstance The place and time for each event are thus pre-determined in knowledge, though they seem to be brought about by blind choice. The place had a "soft and delicate air", it was a "world of free and green delight". The time was when spring and summer seemed to be lying together "disputing with laughter who should rule". Savitri felt within her the "coming change". It was a place where in the land

SUMMARY OF BOOK TWO BOOK OF THE TRAVELLER OF THE WORLDS CANTO - I THE WORLD-STAIR ASWAPATHY'S vision was widened beyond the confines of human limits, he could see the whole cosmos as "A limitless movement" that "filled a limitless space". He saw it as a selfcreation of the Unknown without end or pause, revealing the grandeurs of the Infinite. He saw there "The world-shapes that are fancies of its Truth". The chequered fields of experience with their vast and multiple play of knowledge, ignorance, pleasure, pain, etc. he could see and feel that "Here all experience was a single plan, The thousandfold expression of the One." Th

'SAVITRI' VOL II - AN OUTLINE THE Second volume of' Savitri' is divided into two parts, the first consisting of Book IV to Book VIII, and the second consisting of Book IX to Book XII. The longest is Book VII, the Book of Yoga. These two parts take up the thread of the story where we have left it in the first book. It begins with the birth of Savitri, her growth, and her quest for eternal love. She goes out on her quest, and meets Satyavan and they fall in love. Book V ends here. When Savitri returns after her quest, she finds her father and mother in company of the great sage Narada who comes to knew about her choice of Satyavan and gives utterance to a warning—

II SAVITRI, AN EPIC ONCE speaking at the Lingaraj College, Belgaum, on Sri Aurobindo's personality I said that looking round for a personality of the past with whom Sri Aurobindo can be compared in the wideness and the versatility of his genius, in the grandeur of revelation, in a superhuman atmosphere of sympathy for humanity which pervades his temperament and works, in high poetic achievement, in complexity and subtlety of intellect, in a rare synthesising and integrating power, in a total view of human perfection individual and collective, I could not find anybody except perhaps Veda-Vyas, the great seer-poet of India. But, Veda-Vyas has been regarded as a m

JANUARY, 1940 4th January, 1940 Disciple : I had a talk with G about Rigveda and on the Aryan-Dravidian question. He gave me one or two arguments to support his contention. According to him the fact of different children in the same family having different colours is a positive argument that race of the parents is a mixed one. Secondly, in the Rigveda itself there is mention of dark-skinned people and "Anasa." I said "Anasa" figures only in one Rik out of more than ten thousand Riks and it may not mean "nose-less" or "flat-nosed." Sri Aurobindo : "Anasa" is not flat-nosed, it means nose-less. Disciple : I consulted the Rigveda and found that it ref

23rd January, 1939. Disciple : My friend X is hesitating to put you a question; but he is puzzled by what he thinks as the contradiction in what you said yesterday about Gunas. Disciple : You said that a man like Hitler does what he does because of the action of the Gunas, the modes of nature. In other-words he does what the Cosmic Spirit makes him do and yet he is individually responsible for his actions. It seems contradictory. Sri Aurobindo : That is generally the case when you state some Truth you have to express it in contradictory terms (laughter). Truth is not always consistent, but the contradiction you notice does not mean that there is no responsibility, or

28 December 1938. At about 5.30 P.M. "X" burst into a peal of laughter  to which Sri Aurobindo reacted by asking : "What is that dynamic explosion?" There was no reply, only a silence of suppression. But at 6.30 P.M. the laughter  was repeated and instead of Sri Aurobindo asking anything X himself complained to Sri Aurobindo that "Y" was making him laugh. The reply was : "Take care that he may not make you go off like a firework!" All assembled by the side of the cot and there was complete quiet. One member yawned and another yawned in response. The result was a subdued bubble of laughter. Sri Aurobindo could hardly fail to notice it. He asked : "What is