Indian System Of Governance

Disciple : It seems that our old Indian system was the best for us. How could it succeed so well?
Sri Aurobindo : The old Indian system grew out of life, it had room for everything and every interest. There were monarchy, aristocracy, democracy. Every interest was represented in the Government. While in Europe the Western System grew out of the mind. They are led by reason and want to make everything cut and dried without any chance of freedom or variation. If it is democracy, then democracy only. No room for anything else. They cannot be plastic.
India is now trying to imitate the West. Parliamentary Government is not suited to India. But we always take up what the west has thrown off. Sir Akabar wanted to try a new sort of Government with an impartial authority at the head. There, in Hyderabad, the Hindu majority complains that though Mohammedens are in minority they occupy most of the offices in the state. By Sir Akabar's method almost every interest would have been represented in the Government and automatically the Hindus would have come in, but because of their cry of responsible Government the scheme failed. They have a fixed idea in the mind and want to fit everything to it. They can't think for themselves and so take up what the others are throwing off.
Disciple : What is your idea of an ideal Government for India? It is possible in Hyderabad which has a Nizam.
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But how to do the same in an Indian Constitution?
Sri Aurobindo : Sir Akabar's is as good as any. My idea is like what Tagore once wrote. There may be one Rashtrapati at the top with considerable powers so as to secure a continuity of policy and an Assembly representative of the nation. The provinces will contribute to a Federation, united at the top, leaving ample scope to local bodies to make laws according to their local problems. Mussolini started with a fundamental of the Indian System but afterwards began bullying and bluffing other nations for the sake of imperialism. If he had persisted in his original idea, he would have been a great creator.
Disciple : Dr. Bhagwandas suggested that there should be legislators above the age of 40, completely disinterested like the Rishis.
Sri Aurobindo : A chamber of Rishis! That would not be very promising. They will at once begin to quarrel. As they say; Rishis in ancient times could guide kings because they were distributed over various places.
Disciple : His idea is of gathering all great men together.
Sri Aurobindo : And let them quarrel like Kilkeni cats. I suppose. (Said laughing.)
The Congress at the present stage–what is it but a Fascist organization? Gandhi is the dictator like Stalin, I won't say like Hitler. What Gandhi says they accept and even Working Committee follows him. Then it goes to A. I. C. C. which adopts it and then the Congress. There is no opportunity for any difference of opinion except for Socialists who are allowed to differ. Whatever resolutions they pass are obligatory on all the provinces
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whether the resolutions suit the provinces or not. There is no room for any other independent opinion. Every thing is fixed up before and the people are only allowed to talk over it like Stalin's Parliament. When we started the movement we began with the idea of throwing out the Congress oligarchy and open the whole organization to the general mass.
Disciple : Srinivas Ayyanger retired from Congress because of his difference with Gandhi. He objected to Gandhi's giving the movement a religious turn and bringing in religion in Politics.
Sri Aurobindo : He made Charka a religious article of faith and excluded all people from Congress Membership who could not spin. How many believe in his gospel of Charka? Such a tremendous waste of energy, just for the sake of a few annas is most unreasonable.
Disciple : He made that rule perhaps to enforce discipline?
Sri Aurobindo : Discipline is all right but once you centralize you go on centralizing.
Disciple : It failed in agricultural provinces and seems to have succeeded in other places especially where people had no occupation.
Disciple : In Bengal it did not succeed.
Sri Aurobindo : In Bengal it did not. It may be all right as a famine-relief measure. But when it takes the form of an All-India programme it looks absurd. If you form a programme that is suited to the condition of the agricultural people it sounds something reasonable. Give them education, technical training and give them (Fundamentals or Principles of) organization not on political but on business lines. But Gandhi does not want any
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such industrial organization and so comes in with his magical formula "spin, spin, spin." C. R. Das and others could act as a balance against him. It is all a fetish.
Denmark and Ireland organized in the same way. Only now they are going to suffer because other nations are trying to be self-sufficient. I don't believe in that sort of self-sufficiency. For that is against the principles of life. It is not possible for nations to be self-sufficient like that.

EVENING TALKS,27TH DECEMBER1938

The Little Girl..

12 JANUARY 1939

Nirodbaran narrated to Sri Aurobindo an incident that had taken place in Calcutta. The Mother was present during the narration. The incident concerned a girl of about ten or twelve. She belonged to a very well-known family and had visited the Ashram with her parents more than once. Now there was a tea-party in their sumptuous house. Many high-ranking people had been invited. The topic of the Ashram came up. Comments and criticisms started flying freely. Even the Mother and Sri Aurobindo were not spared. The child listened quietly. But when somebody seemed to overstep the limit of decency, she could stand it no longer. In a firm tone she said, "Look here, if you speak one more word about my Gurus, I'll give you such a slap that you'll tumble down." Everybody was stunned. The child's mamma left the room in shame and anger at the insult to her guests. Her uncle started looking at the ceiling in embarrassment, and to change the subject he started calling to the servants, "Hari, Ram, what a lot of dust is here!" Nirodbaran's story was enjoyed by all immensely. The Mother and Sri Aurobindo looked happy. Then the Mother left.

SRI AUROBINDO: What this girl does is remarkable for her age. Along with strength of character she has developed an extra ordinary intelligence. When she used to write to us, she would make reflections about people and the world in general, which were beyond even a woman of fifty.
NIRODBARAN: I'll tell you of some rare traits in her, her powers of judgment as well as of detachment. She had a dancing master. Her parents wanted to dismiss him because he was said to have a bad character. She wouldn't agree at all. Her argument was that character had nothing to do with teaching. But for all her position the parents did send the fellow away. And when he left she acted quite contrary to expectation. Although she had fought much for him, she seemed not the least put out by his dismissal. Then there is the incident of the death of her pet dog. When this animal, which she had loved intensely, died she remained perfectly calm. This set her mamma thinking that she didn't love the dog and also that she might not be loving her even and would one day leave her for the Ashram.
SRI AUROBINDO: Her parents have found out it would be difficult to bend her to their will. She on her side has found out they keep lying to her...source

Talks On Einstein,Relativity,Science,Atoms-Part2

26-12-1939
Disciple : N. was puzzled about time and space because it is not clear whether time and space are properties of matter.
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Sri Aurobindo : Time and space can't be properties of matter, at least time is not material. Space and time are the extensions of the Brahman. For instance, you feel when you go deep in meditation that there is an inner space, – cidākāśa, which extends to infinity, and our material space is only a result of it. So time also is extension of Brahman in movement.
You can see that time and space both are not the same for man every time. When your mind travels from Calcutta to London it is not in the material space and not in the time that you feel with the outer mind. It is in the mind itself that you move.
Space also is a movement of the Brahman inasmuch as it is an extension, but there is a difference as far as time is concerned.
Disciple : We are conscious of the movement of Brahman as time because we live from moment to moment and we can feel time only by events. So also the world is an extension.
Sri Aurobindo : In that way everything is an extension – expression, projection, manifestation, – of the Brahman. It is only a way of saying.
Disciple : Some say that time does not exist at all.
Sri Aurobindo : Who says it? It depends upon the point of view and state of consciousness from which you say it; i.e. whether one says it only intellectually, or from an experience,
Disciple : Time may not exist in a consciousness where the universe does not exist.
Sri Aurobindo : Quite so.
Disciple : The scientists define gravitation as only a curvature of space – and, as we know matter only by weight, matter is a curvature of space.
Sri Aurobindo : But what about matter being the same as energy ?
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Disciple : Einstein admits their identity and says that energy has weight.
Disciple : How can energy have weight ?
Disciple : If you wound your watch and unwound it – there would be a difference in the weight ? (Laughter)
Sri Aurobindo : But what you have to ask is : "what is Energy ?"
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17–9–1940
Disciple : According to science there is no empty space anywhere, that is to say, there is no emptiness in space. There are two schools of physicists: Some believe that there is what they call "cosmic dust” in all space. Others say that the ray of light being material can pass through nothing – there is no necessity to imagine anything between.
Sri Aurobindo : "Nothing" means what ? Does it mean non-existence, or nothing that we can, or do, sense ? If you say it is non-existence then nothing can pass through it, you empty a tube or a vessel of the air or gas it contains and say it is a vacuum. But how do you know there is nothing in it ?
Disciple : If there was anything in it, there would be resistance.
Sri Aurobindo : Why should you assume that everything must offer resistance ? If 'nothing' means non-existence then if anything enters non-existence it becomes non-existence. If you enter non-existence you cease to be. A ray can arrive only at nowhere through nothing.
Disciple : That may be occult knowledge.
Sri Aurobindo: It is not merely occult knowledge but occult knowledge and common sense.
Disciple : What is space ?
Sri Aurobindo : The question remains : either it is a conception
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or any entity. If it is a conception only, then your observations can also be only conceptions, that is to say, they happen in you only. Then you come to Mayavada : nothing but you exists.
Disciple : The latest idea is that space is curved.
Sri Aurobindo : What is the meaning of space being curved? Einstein speaks of curvature of space round the Sun and when a body gets near it, it goes down the curve. But the question is: what is that curve and in what does it exist?
For instance, some say the universe is expanding, in what? There must be something in which it is expanding. And why is a ray of light deflected in the sun's neighbourhood ? You say : because there is a curve. But why is there a curve ? And in what is that curve?
And then, what is expanding? Is it Matter ? You will say : No. Then Energy ? You say : yes. But the energy is expanding into what? You say space is bent: the question is : is matter bent or space ?
Disciple : The amount of Matter in the universe is limited – it is finite.
Matter has weight arid the weight of all matter is known.
Sri Aurobindo : But what is matter ? Is it a wave or a particle?
Disciple : According to the quantum theory it is a particle which is matter and energy at the same time.
Sri Aurobindo : If you say that matter is finite then there must be some medium which supports matter and which is infinite. You say matter has weight, – what is weight?
Disciple : Some of the scientists say that the sun is losing weight at a certain rate and the time when it will be exhausted is calculated !
Sri Aurobindo : How do you know that the sun is not renewing its weight ?
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Disciple : What else can science do ? It must take the data and make a hypothesis.
Sri Aurobindo : In the real science :
i. You must have the right data.
ii. Then you should draw the right inference. The difficulty is that you can never be sure of having all the data for any phenomenon.
Disciple : There are so many calculations : earth's age, the rate of the expanding universe, the sun's birth, the age of the sun etc.
Sri Aurobindo : I sympathise with Shaw who says: "they don't know what it really is." Something escapes from their calculations like the fish from the fisherman's net.

Talks On Einstein,Relativity,Science,Atoms-Part1

Einstein's notes on relativity

25-12-1939 (Evening)
Disciple : According to Einstein there is no gravitation.
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That is to say, there is no force of attraction exerted between objects. He says that what we call gravitation is due to curvature of space.
Sri Aurobindo : What is all that ?
Disciple : He says that Euclidian geometry is not applicable to the material world. That is to say, space is not flat, a three-dimensional analogue of a two-dimensional flat surface. Euclidian figures like the square and solids and straight lines are abstract, not real or actual. He also says that material space is "boundless but not infinite".
Sri Aurobindo : How do you know ? Perhaps it is not space that is limited but our capacity to measure space that is limited. Besides, how can you say that space is limited to Matter ? There is a non-material space beyond this material universe. A being can leave behind our material space.
Disciple : Einstein began his contribution by proving that simultaneity of events, constancy of mass and length etc. are all relative and not absolute. If the same length is measured from a body moving with great velocity at a distance the length would change. Besides, he showed that in a system of reference if the whole frame of reference moves uniformly then no measurement within the system can give you the proof of the uniform motion.
He has also shown that time is an indispensable factor in the measurement of dimensions of an object.
Sri Aurobindo : Time is not an indispensable factor of dimension. Movement is absolutely necessary to feel time. When an object is stationary the consideration of time does not enter in measuring the dimensions unless you move it to some other point. Really speaking, one has to know space as the extension of being and time as an extension of energy.
Disciple : According to science everything is moving. Earth is going round the Sun and revolving on its axis.
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If we tap on the same place twice Einstein would say we have not tapped on the same place, for the earth has moved 18 miles per second in the meantime.
Sri Aurobindo : But the taps do not change the dimensions of the board ! only, you can say that a consideration of time is necessary to complete your measurements of space.
Disciple : Einstein has introduced a fourth dimension of time, in addition to length, breadth, and height; their combination he calls the time-space continuum. It can be conceived as a cylinder over which a spiral is wound.
Sri Aurobindo : It is only a phrase ! Time cannot be relegated to the position of a mere dimension of space, it is independent in its nature; Time and space may be called the fundamental dual dimensions of the Brahman.
Disciple : Ouspensky has an idea in his Tertium Organum that our three-dimensional world is a projection from a subtler fourth-dimension which is suprasensual but real. He means to say that to each solid form we see here there corresponds a subtler form of it which is in the fourth dimension.
Sri Aurobindo : That is perfectly true, the cube would not be held together and therefore would not be a solid if something in the subtle dimension did not maintain it. Only, it is not visible to the physical eye but can be seen with the subtle eye.
Disciple : Sir Arthur Eddington in his Gifford Lectures (1934) says that science began with the aim of reducing the complexity of the material world to a great simplicity. But now, it seems, science has not been able to keep its promise and no model of the material universe is possible. A good deal of mathematics and specialisation is necessary now to understand what science says about the material world. Eddington says that the table on which he is writing is not merely a piece of wood. Scientifically
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speaking, it is a conglomeration of electrical particles, called Electrons, moving at a very great velocity, and even though the particles are moving, his hands can rest on the surface and not go through.
He has also argued against the scientists who insist that the so-called objective view is the only view that is permissible or intended. The rainbow is not intended I .only to give man the knowledge, or experience, of the difference in the wave-lengths of light. The poet is equally entitled to his experience when he says, "My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky".
So also a 'ripple' in water is not meant only to give man the knowledge of the pressure of the air, and the force of surface-tension.
Sri Aurobindo : Validity of human knowledge is not dependent on physical science alone. Physical science is only one side of knowledge. The poet's and the mystic's and the artist's experience have equal validity.
Disciple : Eddington argues that even in so-called objective scientific knowledge it is mind that is asked to judge ultimately. 8x4 is 32 and not 23, why?
Sri Aurobindo : It is:, by an intuition and repetition of experience and not merely by reason that man finds that one is right and the other wrong
Now even the scientists have been forced to admit that their conclusions are not all based on reason. Their formulas have become like magic formulas.
Disciple : They say that they can demonstrate their conclusions.
Sri Aurobindo : Yes, demonstration to the mind again...

The Khaksar Movement

NIRODBARAN: I went to Dilip today. He asked me if it was true that you had said that the spirit of your Tapasya is behind the Hindu Sabha movement.
SRI AUROBINDO: What did you say?
NIRODBARAN: I said that I didn't know. It came out in the paper under the name of the secretary, so it may be true.
SRI AUROBINDO: Who said that?
NIRODBARAN: Since it was the secretary, it may be Nolini.
PURANI: No, Anilbaran, I think. Perhaps it was written privately to somebody and they have published it.
SRI AUROBINDO (after some time): Who knows, the spirit of my Tapasya may be behind the Khaksar movement also. The Divine Force is everywhere
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SRI AUROBINDO: The Sunday Express says that the Khaksar movement was being fed from Germany.
PURANI: It is quite true. That came out in the secret police investigation. That is why the Indian Government came down on them and Sikandar Hyat could not protect them any more.
NIRODBARAN: Hitler has duped them with Muslim Raj?
SRI AUROBINDO: No, maybe independence of India. This Mushriki has been to England?
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NIRODBARAN (addressing Purani): Jinnah has come out. So he is not ill.
SRI AUROBINDO: He practically says to the Government, "You side with us and we will see."
PURANI: What can the Congress do?
SRI AUROBINDO: Yes.
NIRODBARAN: If the Government concedes to the Congress, can the Muslim League do anything effective against it?
SATYENDRA: What can they do?
NIRODBARAN: Non-violent non-cooperation?
PURANI: Non-violent? By the Muslims?
SRI AUROBINDO: They can start some Khaksar agitation.
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PURANI : Have you read the report of the officers in the Khaksar shooting enquiry? They have made some amazing disclosures — that Allama Mushriqui intended to enlist twenty-five lakhs of volunteers and be a dictator.
SRI AUROBINDO: Twenty-five lakhs! That means all the Muslim adults.
PURANI: After this, Sikander will hesitate to lift the ban - especially after Sir Chimanlal's accusation that he was also a party to the Pakistan scheme.
SRI AUROBINDO: But, in the scheme, if the Sikhs and Hindus were separated, they would have poor success. They may try to bring in Afghanistan. But Afghanistan is not wealthy and its people have a certain contempt for Indian Muslims. And in Bengal the West Bengalis will want a separate province.
THE KHAKSAR MOVEMENT
The Khaksar Tehrik (Urdu: تحریکِ خاکسار ) was a social movement based in Lahore, British India, established by Allama Mashriqi in 1930 to free India from foreign rule, to uplift the masses, and to revive the Muslims, who had previously ruled parts of India at different times during a period spanning nearly a thousand years. Although Mashriqi firmly believed that the right to rule India belonged to the Muslims, at the same time, he wanted to create an environment of fairness, justice, and equal rights for non-Muslims as well. For this reason, non-Muslims were allowed to join the Tahrik keeping it free from prejudice against any person, regardless of his/her caste, color, creed. The word "Khaksar" is derived from the Persian language, Khak means dust, and Sar means life, roughly translated as "a humble person."
The Khaksar Tehrik worked under a charter that everyone was required to follow, with no exceptions. The charter was created to ensure all were treated fairly; even Allama Mashriqi, founder and leader of the Tehrik, was held accountable for his actions. The Tehrik was also kept free of any membership fee. All Khaksars were required to bear their own expenses and donate their time. The purpose was to develop the spirit of self-reliance and encourag the Khaksars to spend their own money and time for the national cause...READ+


ALLAMA MASHRIQI
Mashriqi was a noted intellectual who became a college Principal at the age of 25, and then became an Under Secretary, at the age of 29, in the Education Department of the Government of India. He wrote an exegesis of the Qur'an which was nominated for the 1925 Nobel Prize. He was offered an Ambassadorship to Afghanistan at age 32 and Knighthood at the age of 33 years, but he declined all honours.
He subsequently resigned government service and in 1930 founded the Khaksar Movement, aiming to advance the condition of the masses irrespective of any faith, sect, or religion.[1] As its leader, he was imprisoned several times. Through his philosophical writings, he asserted that the Science of Religions was essentially the science of collective evolution of mankind...Mashriqi had a passion for mathematics from his childhood.[1] He completed his Master's degree in Mathematics from the University of the Punjab at the age of 19 and broke all previous records. In October 1907 he went to Britain and matriculated at Christ's College, Cambridge, to read for the mathematics tripos. He was awarded a college foundation scholarship in May 1908.[4] In June 1909 he was awarded first class honours in Mathematics Part I, being placed joint 27th out of 31 on the list of wranglers.[5] For the next two years, he read for the oriental languages tripos in parallel to the natural sciences tripos, gaining first class honours in the former and third class in the latter.[6][7]
After three years' residence at Cambridge he had qualified for his Bachelor of Arts degree, which he took in 1910. In 1912 he completed a fourth tripos in mechanical sciences, and was placed in the second class.[8] He left Cambridge and returned to India in December 1912.[9]. During his stay in Cambridge his religious and scientific conviction was inspired by the works and concepts of the professor Sir James Jeans..READ MORE