A Point of Honour IT IS a point of honour in more senses than one, to stoutly refuse to approach the Secretary of State with a fresh petition for the reopening of the Partition Question. Mr. Morley has publicly said his last word. He has repeatedly refused to listen to our prayers; and it cannot be consistent with our dignity as a civilised and ancient people to go a-begging to him once more on this very subject. But Mr. Morley, it is suggested, is himself willing to reopen the question. The confidential letter from London upon which this proposal for a fresh memorial is professedly based, bears internal evidence of this fact. "I am not at liberty," the writer says, "

Partition of Bengal IT SEEMS strange that few of our old leaders are able to realise the very simple fact that the bearings of this question have undergone a most radical change in the course of the last few months. We objected so strongly to this measure because it was calculated to strike a serious blow at the political power of the Bengalee-speaking race. Our second objection was that it was professedly wanted by the Government to create a Mahomedan province with Dacca as its capital, and the evident object of it was to sow discord between the Hindus and the Mahomedans in a Province that had never known it in the whole history of the present British connection. The f

No Common Ideal THE surcharged state of the political atmosphere is not favourable to the growth of Moderate politics; and the present policy of the Government has made many mild Moderates realise the utter impossibility of securing our political rights by following the old course of the so-called constitutional agitation. And we are glad to note that some of our Moderate contemporaries have begun to show a distinct liking for what they used to abhor as "Dangerous Extremist politics." The Indian Patriot of Madras, so well known for its opposition to the New Thought, has the following: - "The fight between Moderates and Extremists, which has been going on now for over

SUPPLEMENT TO VOLUMES 22-24 LETTERS ON YOGA LETTER ON YOGA was written to the Maharani of Baroda. Letter on Yoga TO THE MAHARANI OF BARODA IT IS true that I have by the practice of Yoga attained to the higher spiritual consciousness which comes by Yoga, and this carries with it a certain power. Especially there is the power to communicate to those who are ready or to help them towards that spiritual state which, in its perfection, is a condition of unalterable inner calm, strength and felicity. But this spiritual peace and joy is something quite different from mental peace and happiness. And it cannot be reached without a spiritual discipline. I do not

SUPPLEMENT TO VOLUMES 18-19 THE LIFE DIVINE ARGUMENTS TO "THE LIFE DIVINE" In response to the desire of some of our subscribers we shall prefix henceforth a brief summary or argument to each chapter of The Life Divine. Arya, February, 1916 These Arguments were written by Sri Aurobindo for Chapters XIX to XXXIII of The Life Divine as it appeared originally in tl1e Arya (1914-1919). The Life Divine was revised in 1939-40 and divided into two parts, the order of the chapters was rearranged in some places and several new chapters were written for it. The "Argument in Brief" and a "Synopsis" of the first chap

The Conspirators at Work THERE is a conspiracy to thwart the desire country to have Mr. Tilak as President of the coming Congress in Calcutta. This is due to the natural nervousness of the coterie that have been ruling the Congress all these years, that recognise in the sudden awakening of active interest in asses of the country in the work of the Congress a serious menace to their old and autocratic authority; and the object of conspiracy is not merely to keep Mr. Tilak out of the Congress Presidency, but also to kill at its very birth this new, and in view, dangerous democratic movement in the Congress. This is almost the first time that the message of the Co

A System of Vedic Psychology PREFATORY THE successes of European science have cast the shadow of their authority and prestige over the speculations of European scholarship; for European thought is, in appearance, a serried army marching to world-conquest and we who undergo the yoke of its tyranny, we, who paralysed by that fascination and overborne by that domination, have almost lost the faculty of thinking for ourselves, receive without distinction all its camp followers or irregular volunteers as authorities to whom we must needs submit. We reflect in our second hand opinions the weak parts of European thought equally with the strong

-26_Swadeshi in Calcutta (Speech).htm Swadeshi in Calcutta * A SWADESHI meeting was held on Wednesday evening at which Mr. Aurobindo Ghose delivered a lengthy speech, in the course of which he said:- The 16th of October has become the chief landmark of the year, not only the chief landmark of the year, but the landmark of the progress of our movement, the movement of Swadeshi and boycott, which we undertook in the year when the Partition was effected. We see on that day how far it has progressed; or if it has receded, how far it has receded. Every kind of obstruction is being thrown in our way. You know efforts have been made to mar the attendance at meetings. It is supposed that the meetings ar

Congress and Democracy THE principles of Democracy, so difficult to learn everywhere, are the most difficult to imbibe in a country has been, like ours, for so many centuries under foreign despotism. We are not, therefore, surprised at the autocratic ways of our own democratic leaders. Ever since the birth of the Congress, those who have been in the leadership of this great National movement have persistently denied the general public in the try the right of determining what shall and what shall not be or done on their behalf and in their name. The delegates been gathered from all parts of the country, not to deliberate , public matters, but simply to lend their s

The Constitution of the Congress CONSIDERABLE misconception seems still to exist in many quarters regarding the character of the constitution that is being demanded for the Congress by those who hold that a reform of the methods and ideals of that great national movement has become absolutely imperative owing to the altered conditions of public life in the country. A constitution for the Congress has been wanted for some time past; but the main idea of those who had hitherto been crying for it was clearly to secure a due recognition of the views and opinions of the general body of Congressmen in the country in the management of its affairs, and to ensure regula