Two Great Wars (I) WE have been through two great World Wars in the course of our life in Pondicherry. This was quite an experience. The two Wars were identical in their inner nature and import. From our point of view, they were both of them a battle of the gods and titans. On one side were the instruments of the gods, on the other of the titans. It is a curious thing, if not altogether strange, that Germany and, to some extent, Russia should have sided with the titans and England and France and America fought on the side of the gods. This is something that happens always in the history of man, this battle of the gods and titans. Whenever there is a New Creation in t

-33_The Cause of India^s Decline.htm The Cause of India's Decline WHAT is the cause – the fundamental cause – of India's decline? The mighty nation that was once the vanguard of the world in the field of learning and culture, whose all-round genius had almost no equal, is now ruthlessly stricken with poverty, incapacity, weakness and stands on the verge of destruction. Many are the factors that are said to have brought about such a downfall. But what is the main, the source cause? Loss of vitality, for that is the foremost feature. This statement applies equally to an individual as to a nation. When vitality runs short, the life-energy falls to a low ebb; weakness, disease and death gradually force

Shyamakanta I INTEND to write of another great Bengali who can be looked upon as a model of the Bengali race. He has shown the genius of the Bengalis in quite an unusual field. His name is Shyamakanta, later on known as So'ham Swami. I speak of the extraordinary capacity of Shyamakanta and not of So'ham Swami. In fact, for the achievement he attained in the domain of physical strength, he deserves nothing short of the term genius. In this field, too, a Bengali was able to show his unique superiority. His strength was not merely physical strength. It was not the result of any physical culture. For there was a peculiar magic, almost a mantric power in his physical strength and ca

Alipore Court "Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage; Minds innocent and quiet take That for an hermitage" –Lovelace IT was as it were a wheel within a wheel, a circle within a circle, a play within a play. The comedy of our trial was being staged within the world-play, and on the court-room stage itself we the undertrial prisoners had been doing our little private drama. The stage was set in the room of the Alipore Sessions Court. One corner of the room was fenced off so as to form a square enclosure but with wire netting that enabled us to see and breathe. They had also left a small passage through the netting for our entrance and exit,

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