Friday, October 21, 2016

Sri Aurobindo's views permeate in almost all spheres of life

Though much diminished in terms of exercising power, the intellectual clout of the Left remains almost intact to this day. This is, primarily, because of the large number of institutions they dominate but not to recognise their ideological flexibility to stay relevant would be myopic. Their no-nonsense position with regard to religion and mysticism has been the mainstay of science and antidote to superstitions. They have been in the forefront in championing Human Rights and upholding modern liberal values. Standing for the poor and the marginalised is almost synonymous with the Left. Besides, by adopting Gandhi as a mascot, they have successfully domesticated and sanitised the Marxist ideology. So far so good; but their role in banishing Sri Aurobindo from curriculum is reprehensible.

Hindutva is wary of intellectuality and academic scrutiny and that is why it avoids thoroughgoing analyses of Sri Aurobindo. But instead of using Sri Aurobindo as a weapon against its continuing war against Hindutva, the Left ignores him altogether. But then, it has its own reasons otherwise the Marxist ontology will collapse like a house of cards by a mild stroke from Sri Aurobindo. Thus, it is clear that mobilisation of people through political power is how both the Left and Hindutva keep themselves afloat. Otherwise, from the intellectual sustenance point of view, they are dead stars. So, against this backdrop, the political dimension of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo's vision and action assumes supreme significance. 

There is a general impression that Sri Aurobindo's philosophy is verbose and repetitive and devoid of any concrete result. The same is also imputed to his system of Integral Yoga. But a deeper examination would reveal how Sri Aurobindo's ideas have travelled far and wide. Many religious, cultural, and educational institutions have borrowed his insights and methods without perhaps being explicitly aware of it. So, although, Sri Aurobindo doesn't get credit for it, his views have permeated in almost all spheres of life in India and abroad. In this context, it would be proper to remember the contributions of stalwarts like, D. S. Kothari (1906–1993), K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar (1908–1999), V. K. Gokak (1909–1992), C. D. Narasimhaiah (1921–2005), and Kireet Joshi (1931–2014). Similarly, the role of S.K. Chakraborty in providing Sri Aurobindo a firm foothold in Management is invaluable. That all these go to designing the future in a concrete manner can't be denied and the inevitability of World Union is sure to direct more limelight on Sri Aurobindo. [TNM55]

Misc. References:

The No-nonsense Guide to Class, Caste & Hierarchies

https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn...

With globalization, traditional societies are being replaced by an international working class and a small minority of the global rich. In such a situation, who is to guarantee social justice?

Swami Vivekananda : Leader of Sacred Nationhood:

https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn...

Critical Posthumanism and Planetary Futures - Page 1

https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn...
Debashish Banerji, ‎Makarand R. Paranjape - 2016 - ‎Preview
Debashish Banerji and Makarand R. Paranjape While the urge to transcend the self has periodically been affirmed in various cultures and philosophies as characteristic to the ontology of the human, it is only in recent times, as we enter the twenty-first century that we have been faced with a species-wise blurring of the human ...

Rabindranath Tagore in the 21st Century: Theoretical Renewals

https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn...
Debashish Banerji - 2014 - ‎Preview - ‎More editions
Theoretical Renewals Debashish Banerji. In 1907 ... (“World Literature”), a “celebrated” essay, which is the subject of this paper, observing that here Tagore “theorizes the imaginative creative bond that travels across national 1All quotations from this text refer to the new translation by Rijula Das and Makarand R. Paranjape.
Paranjape, Makarand R. “Tagore's Idea of 'World Literature.'” Journal of Contemporary Thought. Special Number. Punctuated Renewals: Rabindranath Tagore in the 21st Century. Ed. Debashish Banerji. 2011 ( Winter). 57–72. Paranjape, Makarand R. and Rijula Das. Visva-Sahitya by Rabindranath Tagore. English trans.
261 M.R. Paranjape, Making India: Colonialism, National Culture, and the Afterlife of Indian English Authority , Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of ... 171, 172, 187 Bande Mataram, 89, 90, 95 Bandyopadhyay, Chittaranjan, 86 Banerjee, Krishna Mohun, 4, 23, 65, 73 Banerjee, Milinda, 43 Banerji, Brajendra Nath, ...


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