Devotees of Sri Aurobindo await Divine Justice

Peter Heehs’ P.C. Sorcar acts amaze us

-Dr. Jitendra Sharma aurofrance@gmail.com

Like the magician P.C. Sorcar, Peter Heehs swishes his magic wand again and again to hypnotise masses the world over. The entire world seems to be under his magic spell. He seems to be the greatest scholar on Sri Aurobindo, alive and kicking on this planet earth. He has the magical power of making black appear as white. His sleights of tongue regale intellectuals and idiots alike. He has managed to win the favour of some eminent historians like Romila Thapar and Ramachandra Guha who shout from housetops that Peter Heehs, even without any academic qualification, is a historian. Despite his blasphemous book which is full of intentional historical distortions and venomous insinuations to discredit Sri Aurobindo, the Government of India has extended this Sorcar Junior’s visa by one more year. All devotees of Sri Aurobindo await the Divine Justice now. - Dr. Jitendra Sharma

Excerpts from the forthcoming book: The Mother of All Beings

-Aju Mukhopadhyay ajum24@yahoo.co.in

When she settled here in India she did everything for, spoke for and aspired for India. All her words though relate to many countries are specially meant for India and her people. She intensely loved India. Mother taught the children of all age groups. She discussed with the leaders, teachers and sadhaks, disciples and others. She gave talks on occasions, wrote innumerable letters and messages. Meeting the visitors and sending blessings to the people on various occasions comprised her routine work, besides her other duties. Sometimes such chores used to tax her health, particularly in the later years, when her body was failing. People not only prayed for but even demanded her presence. Sometimes under compelling circumstances she complied with their demands. She seldom refused. On most of the occasions she gladly met, blessed and gave them messages, when required. While many such letters, messages and talks were personal in nature and temporal in effect, many were universal in their appeal. They were national or international in their significance, as they came out of a divine consciousness. A few of her invaluable words are given below…

Mother had a great reverence for India; she had a great role to play in the future world-order, she believed. She greatly valued Sri Aurobindo’s ideas about India and allowed her thoughts to be shaped accordingly. Rather she worked to fulfil Sri Aurobindo’s vision about the future of India. Whenever the chance arose she sent her words to the Indian leaders to work for the unification of Mother India. The work could not be accomplished, in spite of the opportunities that had knocked at our door due to human weakness, she said later. A few of her messages and talks about India are given below…

This journey of finding what Mother said and what she meant is very lengthy and repetitious, labyrinthine. I have tried to bring home some common areas where “Mother Said” is quite popular. A nice example will make the point acute; “Do not trouble yourselves with what others do, I cannot repeat it to you too often. Do not judge, do not criticise, do not compare. That is not your lookout.” (1957) 21

If this were Mother’s dictum for all it would be a paradise for the looters and whimsical actors, a play ground for all wrong doers but fortunately the publisher of the volume 14, titled ‘Words of the Mother’(The Mother. Collected Works. Centenary Edition. 1978.) wrote in his Note, “The reader should note that most of these statements were written for individuals under particular circumstances and were not, at the time of writing, intended for general circulation.” Still this write up is often put up for general consumption.

After many years of her departure Mother has become a myth and superstition; Mother’s words, her smile, her Prasad are much in demand for multiple uses around her last abode and perhaps beyond. This is an effort to bring out what Mother actually said, what she intended her children to do, to become, to the extent possible, for deviations are part of life. She was Mother of love. She never refused anybody. She always smiled. Even when she was utterly busy, she received people, corresponded with a large number of them. Large number of people regularly met her in spite of her failing health, simply for the satisfaction of receiving her blessings, for a work or ritual, perhaps very personal and not so important generally. She could not refuse when people around her pushed them. Many received her Divine smile, flowers and other things during their sole visit to the Ashram. Many, who happened to be there, near her, received her smile, touch, blessings for days, months and years together, as the chance occurred during the days of her ministry.

Mother accommodated her children in many ways, giving relaxation to norms, showing special kindness to some out of benevolence. But perhaps she, only she, who knew the inner sides of everything and everyone, could do it. Let all those who received such bounty keep them as treasures in the special chambers of their hearts. But that might neither be due to any speciality of the recipients’ character nor their legitimate due but because they remained or occupied a physical nearness to her at that particular point of time. Wonderful was her world, from wonder she traveled to wonder. © Aju Mukhopadhyay, 2012

H Acharya 9:35 PM, May 04, 2012

Contrary to what you say, the real anti-ashram personalities now are Peter and trustees who choose to support that book, in complete dis-regard of the data-based resentment of thousands of devotees, disciples and ashramites. Are you not aware of the forceful suppression of individual opinion by the trustees in the recent history?

In that context, the belated stand taken by Sri Aurobindo Society as a respected body, is a sign of some sanity in the thinking of responsible people at Pondicherry, and this is widely acclaimed, in spite of your comments to the contrary. We request you to throw some light on the text of the letter by trustees on 14 April 2012 to secure an extension of Peter's visa.

3:33 PM, May 09, 2012 Like the SAS, H Acharya seems to believe that upholding the principles of bigotry, narrowness, censorship, etc., is being true to Sri Aurobindo. But it is not surprising if he chooses to dismiss the several (and increasing) positive reviews that Peter's book and work has been receiving both in India and the world.  Subrata

10:56 AM, May 19, 2012 Perhaps to be smarter enough PH not knowing his slavery to so-called mental objective analysis has only proved himself as a perfect prototype of ‘thinking animal’! He denying Sri Aurobindo who deals with evolution of consciousness proves his incapacity to fathom Sri Aurobindo the realised Master of supermind or gnosis as Upanishads depict? His shrewd plan to brainwash and blackmail readers must finally fail and the castle of cards he built with ‘Lives of Sri Aurobindo’ would collapse soon. --Someone