Monthly Archives: August 2011

The message of the Gita

Posted on August 25, 2011 by

The Bhagavad Gita is an inspiring scripture which people rely on for guidance and cite in support of their arguments. Unfortunately, its aphoristic quality and the backdrop of the war through which its message has been expounded makes it amenable to divergent interpretations. Pacifists tend to be distressed by the justification of war while the hawkish delight in it. The Gita’s enunciation of multiple spiritual paths provides leeway for commentators to selectively highlight the sections they prefer and ignore the rest of the book. Ethicists, for instance, may assume that the Gita preaches the performance of duty above everything. In this article, we examine Sri Aurobindo’s perspective on the Gita. Continue reading →

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The Mother Mirra Alfassa as a Guru

Posted on August 18, 2011 by

One of my stumbling-blocks was that I reacted violently when people blamed me without proper grounds. At times I would even ask the Mother why she paid heed to such and such false rumours, why I should be the victim of such charges, even though I had done nothing of the kind! Her answer to me was that it did not matter whether I did or did not do some such things in that particular instance; what mattered was that previously I had proved myself capable of them, and there were reports about that…. It was not enough to have stopped indulging in some of the movements. So long as I had not raised myself to a higher level of consciousness, and lived there constantly, such occasions would continue to be there. Continue reading →

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Allusions in Savitri – part 2

Posted on August 11, 2011 by

This article continues a previous article “Allusions in Savitri” in which we discussed some allusions used by Sri Aurobindo in his epic poem Savitri. Sri Aurobindo had to evolve a new diction in English to describe his supernatural experiences and towards this end, he occasionally employed images, symbols and phrases from English Romantic poetry. Continue reading →

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How to bring up a child

Posted on August 5, 2011 by

With very few exceptions, parents are not aware of the disastrous influence that their own defects, impulses, weaknesses and lack of self-control have on their children. If you wish to be respected by a child, have respect for yourself and be worthy of respect at every moment. Never be authoritarian, despotic, impatient or ill-tempered. When your child asks you a question, do not give him a stupid or silly answer under the pretext that he cannot understand you. You can always make yourself understood if you take enough trouble; and in spite of the popular saying that it is always good to tell the truth, I affirm that it is always good to tell the truth, but that the art consists in telling it in such a way as to make it accessible to the mind of the hearer. Continue reading →

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