God Man - An Appraisal of Aurobindo

7/28/2019 God Man - An Appraisal of Aurobindo

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1ST

YEAR

NALSARUNIVERSITY OF LAW,JUSTICE CITY,HYDERABAD


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Aurobindo Ghose, (1872-1950), was born into a privileged family in Calcutta, India. His

father was determined that his son should have an English upbringing, away from Indian

influences. Aurobindo was sent abroad in order to study to become an officer of the Indian

Civil Service. By the end of his stint abroad, Aurobindo became convinced that he did not

want to serve the British who seemed to him to be cruel and oppressive. He shifted to Bengal

and jumped into active politics after lord Curzon passed the partition order. In Bengal he

established contacts with revolutionaries and became a leader of the hardliners. In 1908 he

was arrested in connection with the Alipore Bomb Case. He was released after a year of

isolated incarceration. After his release from prison he gave a famous speech, known as the

Uttarpara speech. This speech gave a clear indication of his shift in focus from political to

spiritual matters. He shifted to Pondicherry where completely dedicated himself to his

spiritual and philosophical pursuits. On August 15, 1947, on his 75th birthday, India finally

achieved political independence. Sri Aurobindo died on December 5, 1950, after a short

illness.

His contribution to the making of modern India cannot be underestimated. Every

aspect of his life has had ramifications for the basic nature of India as a country ranging from

the political to the spiritual. However there has been a curious neglect of this great character

of Indian history by historians and scholars. Many expositions and commentaries on Sri

Aurobindo's principal works have been written, especially on The Life Divine, but there has

been a lack of the same sort of activity around his life. Most books on Sri Aurobindo are

hagiographical, with little or no biographical information1.

A turning point in the critical history of Aurobindo's writings occurred with the 1970-72publication of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library .Brought out by the Sri Aurobindo

Ashram, this thirty-volume collected edition of Aurobindo's works made his writings much

more accessible to readers, particularly Westerners, which served to intensify the critical

attention prompted by the centenary of Aurobindo's birth in 1972. Most of the biographical

writings on Sri Aurobindo have been written by his devotees and understandably have a

devotional, laudatory slant about the facts of his life2. There are a number of books which

1Puligandla, Ramakrishna, Review of The Lives of Sri Aurobindo, Choice (USA), Nov 2008

2Ashcraft, W. Michael, Review of The Lives of Sri Aurobindo,Nova Religio, Nov 2010, Vol. 14, No. 2


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detail his later spiritual life, but these again are mostly written by disciples and serve not so

much as studies as uncritical expositions of his philosophy3. Although Aurobindo studies

continue to be dominated by the appreciative commentary of his followers, since the 1970s

he has received increasing attention from scholars in the field of Indian and comparative

religious thought4.

In fact real critical studies of Aurobindo are hard to come by. One of the most important

books in this regard, is Peter Heehs The Lives of Sri Aurobindo. This book is important,

not merely for the amount of back breaking, detailed research it provides, but also for the

critical analysis that is central to it. It is a cold, dispassionate and academic assessment of the

facts of Aurobindos life. However this book is banned in India. This is because of aninjunction on its sale asked for by devotees of Aurobindo which was granted by the High

Court in Orissa. According to Ramachandra Guha, in his article Ban the ban, published in

The Telegraph, India on July 30, 2011:

..Heehs is gently sceptical of the claim that Aurobindo possessed

supernatural powers. To accept Sri Aurobindo as an avatar is necessarily a

matter of faith, he writes, adding that matters of faith quickly become

matters of dogma. This understated, unexceptionable statement drove the

dogmatic followers of Aurobindo bananas. Some devotees filed a case in the

Orissa High Court, restraining the Indian publisher from circulating the book

in India. Other devotees filed a case in a Tamil Nadu court, seeking the

revocation of Peter Heehss visa and his extradition from this country.

All manner of angry rhetoric has been spouted against this book. Critics claim that it is full of

errors, distortions and misrepresentations which can easily mislead readers not familiar with

the larger body of documentation of Sri Aurobindo's life and writings 5. But the book is

generally accepted as the authoritative version of the facts of Aurobindos life by scholars,

3Hartland-Swann, Review of Sri Aurobindo and the Soul Quest of Man , Philosophy, Vol. 28, No. 107 (Oct.,

1953), pp. 359-36

4Stephen H. Philips, Review of The Essential Writings of Sri Aurobindo, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol.

58, No. 2 (May, 1999), pp. 548-5495 A Critique of the book The Lives of Sri Aurobindo by Peter Heehs,

http://www.thelivesofsriaurobindo.com/2008/10/introduction.html


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Indian or otherwise. These include intellectual stalwarts like Ramachandra Guha and Amiya

P.Sen.

The large corpus of works Aurobindo left behind seems to dissuade historians rather than

attract them. There are various fragmentary articles about different aspects of his life and

philosophy. However, reviews of his life in its totality have not been forthcoming. There has

been no really comprehensive view of his life as a whole. But this does not really imply that

he is a forgotten footnote in Indian history. Collections of Aurobindos works are as popular

as ever, including his famous The Life Divine. The attendant literature, like introductions to

his works, is also going strong. But there is an apparent lack of serious scholarship about his

life, which, considering his wonderful life is a pity.


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Aurobindo was a leading proponent of anti-British nationalism in India6. He was the first

Indian leader to use the term Independence instead of Swaraj. He demanded absolute

freedom instead of mere self rule7

. He strongly believed that without political freedom, social

and economic freedom could not come about and in his words it would be the very height of

ignorance and futility to do so8.Aurobindo believed spiritual and moral development was the

true form of development9. He felt that India with its long history was ideally poised to lead

the way in the spiritual growth of the world10. For this to be achieved freedom was necessary.

Aurobindos conception of nation and nationalism was unique in the annals of India.

Aurobindo's conception of nation was deeply influenced by the novel Ananda Math by

Bankimchandra Chatterjee, in which a sanyasi revolts against the British11. The bedrock of

Aurobindos nationalism was his concept of spiritual nationalism and divinity of the

motherland12. Patriotism, to Aurobindo, thus, had a spiritual dimension.

He believed that the nation is not just a geographical unit or a mass of human beings. To him,

it was something more than a mere figment of peoples' imagination. According to Aurobindo,

the nation, conceptually, was a mighty shakti that was constituted on the basis of the

strength or shakti of the millions of units that constituted it 13.Nation, to him, was a living

entity which was essentially divine14.

Consequently, nationalism was treated as being akin to a religion 15. In a speech in Bombay,

delivered in 1908, Aurobindo said:

Nationalism is not a mere political programme; Nationalism is a religion that

has come from God; Nationalism is a creed which you shall have to

6Chandra, Prakash, History of The Indian National Movement, Vikas Publishers.

7Dash, Siddartha, Sri Aurobindo- The Prophet of Indian Nationalism and Renaissance, Orissa Review, Nov

2008 p.26.8Heehs, Peter, The Idea of India, Life Positive, April-June, 2004

9Ghose, Aurobindo, The Renaissance In India, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 1951

10Bali, Devraj, Modern Indian Thought, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, 1980 p.145

11Krishna, B., Indian Freedom Struggle: The Pathfinders from Surendranath Banerjea to Gandhi, Manohar,

New Delhi, 2002, pp 80-85.12

Dash 2613

Ghose, Aurobindo, Bhawani Mandir.14

Ibid15Johnson, David L., The Task of Relevance: Aurobindo's Synthesis of Religion and Politics, Philosophy East

and West, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Oct., 1973), pp. 509-510


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live. If you are going to be nationalist, if you are going to assent to this

religion of nationalism, you must do it in the religious spirit. You must

remember that you are the instrument of God.

There are however many critics of Aurobindos spiritual nationalism. In their view, spiritual

nationalism is communalism in the garb of cultural revival. They point to the fact that India,

under Aurobindos influence, India not only became more militant in its opposition to British

rule, but that much of this militancy was derived from the growing sense of community and

belligerent defence of religious tenets16. It is contended that the association of religion and

nationalism in a multi-religious country like India was always a dangerous proposition. They

also point to Aurobindos apprehensions that Hindus some day may have to fight Muslims

and in that case they should be prepared for it17. They contend that Aurobindos ideas, in

some small part, eventually culminated in Partition.

Aurobindos defenders however contend that his conception of nationalism was derived from

the Hindu Sanatana Dharma which to him meant an open and universal approach to life18. His

philosophy of Integralism promoted tolerance for all religions and the idea of a united

humanity19. His spirituality conceived of a world beyond narrow human religions. It is,

perhaps, in this context that his true religious views must be understood.

Furthermore, there are practical objections in painting Aurobindo as a communal thinker.

Nationalism cannot afford to neglect anyone. Aurobindo wanted to bring all sections of life to

the political mainstream including the tribals and the underclasses. It is hard to conceive that

he would have marginalised any community at the cost of the national movement.

16Majumdar, R.C , History of the Freedom Movement in India, Calcutta, 1963, II

17Krishna 85

18

Ghose, Aurobindo, The Ideal of Human Unity, Shri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 197219Minor, Robert N., Sri Aurobindos Integral View of other religions, Religious Studies, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Sep.,

1979), pp. 365-377


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For several years Sri Aurobindo had always been spiritually inclined. He proclaimed the

message of a national religious renaissance. This spiritual inclination would remain a

constant throughout his life. This message was never worked out into a comprehensive

programme like Gandhi who developed it into the programme of Satyagraha20. He did not

have a political base and hence could not become a mass leader despite being one of the first

Indian nationalists to proclaim its importance21.

Starting from the year 1907, Aurobindo also became increasingly interested in

yoga and meditation. Sri Aurobindo came across a teacher of meditation, Vishnu Shankar

Lele or he as was known, Lele Maharaj. He taught Sri Aurobindo how to control thoughts

and not let them enter into his mind. Sri Aurobindo followed his instructions to the letter and

he succeeded in completely emptying the mind in three days and entered into a state

of nirvana22.

At this time, politics was still his main concern. However, his stint in jail in 1908, where he

studied the Gita and experimented with mysticism, completely changed the course of his

life23

. He retired to Pondicherry where he built an ashram. Here he built his own philosophy

of integral non-dualism and came to be known as a great mystic and saint24.

One of his major ideas was the concept of evolution of humanity into a state of supramental

existence25. In doing so he introduced the concept of evolution into Vedantic thought. He

divides the growth of humanity into three stages. The first stage was the period of

spontaneity, wherein the forms and activities of community formation, its institutions and its

growth are the outcomes of natural organic growth. The second was the stage of

consciousness where humans become conscious and start thinking about life and its problems

using intelligence and creativity. Finally we have the stage wherein humans live more deeply

20Owen, H.F, The National Movement, A Cultural History Of India, ed. A.L Bansham, Oxford University

Press.21

Ibid22

Ghose, Aurobindo, Autobiographical Notes and Other Writings of Historical Interest, Shri Aurobindo Ahram

Press, Pondicherry, 200623

http://www.writespirit.net/authors/sri_aurobindo/biography-sri-aurobindo24

Parrinder, E.G, Sri Aurobindo on Incarnation and The Love of God, Numen, Vol. 11, Fasc. 2 (Jun., 1964),pp. 147-16025

Ghose, Aurobindo, A Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 1970


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and purposively26. Parallels can be drawn between this philosophy and the thoughts of the

philosopher Teilhard de Chardin27.

During his later life we find some of his political ideas expanded into wider concepts that

encompass the very essence of humanity and its spiritual future. The newfound philosopher

develops his political idea of unity and he makes the prediction that the notion of nation will

lose its importance. He envisions a time when there would be no conflict on the basis of

nationality because of logical unifying reasons. In his writings The Human Cycle and The

Ideal Of Human Unity, Aurobindo foresaw the birth of the unifying forces which would lead

to the formation of a United States of Europe28. We know it as the European Union.

This thought of human unity was central to his later thought 29. In his message on the day of

Indian Independence, Aurobindo referred to his dream of- a world union forming the basis

for a fairer, brighter and nobler human life for all mankind. At another place, Aurobindo

spoke of the concept of a world state30.

His concept of unity envisaged not only unity between nations as a group but also the

ultimate unity of mankind31

. His concept of unity was far reaching and nuanced. He did not

believe in the concept of a unity imposed by law or authority for it would negate the aspects

of diversity that were essential to his view of an ideally united world. He envisioned a future

society of complex oneness wherein individual nations would be cultural unit of the greater

whole without their physical boundaries having much significance at all32.

It is interesting to look at our world today and realize how close Aurobindo was in describing

it. Mans aspiration for peace and unity has been realized in some small way, first by the

establishment of the League of Nations and then by the formation of The United Nations. As

26Trivedi, Ramchandra, Sri Aurobindos Conception of Philosophy, East and West, Vol. 18, No. 1/2

(March-June 1968), pp. 178-18927

Korom, Frank J., The Evolutionary thought of Aurobindo Ghose & Teilhard de Chardin, Journal of South

Asian Literature, Vol. 24, No. 1, SRI AUROBINDO (Winter, Spring 1989), pp. 124-14028

Palkhivala, Nani A., We The Nation: The Lost Decades, UBSPD p 4129

Sen, Indra, Sri Aurobindo as World Philosopher, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7, No. 3/4 (Oct., 1957 -

Jan., 1958), pp. 131-14130

Palkhivala p 4231Ghose, Aurobindo, The Ideal of Human Unity, Shri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 1972

32Ibid.


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Palkhivala puts it, his prophecy of a World State will take a little longer. In todays

divisive, violent world, it cannot come soon enough.


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Aurobindos first nationalistic writings in the Indu-Prakash were direct attacks on British

rule and the methods of the Congress33. He felt that the Congress leadership had not

understood the British and therefore, instead of boldly declaring their goals, they relied on the

benevolence of the British rulers and resorted to futile petitions34. He therefore stressed the

need for a broad based organization that could channel the will of the country to free it from

foreign rule35. He was thus one of the first leaders to try and put the nationalist movement on

a mass footing. His style of expression caused such a furore that Justice Ranade had to ask

the magazine to modify its tone. Aurobindo reluctantly did so36. This strong and vitriolic

attack was a forerunner of things to come.

In 1906, Aurobindo plunged into active politics. His vision of the action to be taken was two-

fold- firstly to gain complete independence instead of mere swaraj or self rule37 and secondly

to attain this by creating a mass movement of millions of Indians38. According to Aurobindo,

there were a number of ways to channel the sentiments of the people, through secret

revolutionary propaganda to cause an insurrection39; through mass movements of non

cooperation and passive resistance40 or through continuous propaganda against foreign rule41.

He dabbled with all three forms of resistance but his biggest legacies remain his policies of

boycott and passive resistance.

Boycott, for Aurobindo, implied the shunning of British goods, services, education and

administration42. These methods were born at the time of the partition of Bengal. Aurobindo

33

Ghose, Aurobindo, Karmayogin: Political Writings and Speeches 1909 1910, volume 8 of The CompleteWorks Of Sri Aurobindo, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 199734

Southard, Barbara, The Political Strategy of Aurobindo Ghosh: The Utilization of Hindu Religious

Symbolism and the Problem of Political Mobilization in Bengal, Modern Asian Studies

Vol. 14, No. 3 (1980), pp. 359-36135

Ibid36

Ibid37

Dash p 2738

Johnson pp 509-51139

Prasad, Pradhan H., Mass Struggle: The Only Option,Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 30, No. 4 (Jan.

28, 1995), pp. 208-21140

Dash 2741

Heehs, Peter, Foreign Influences on Bengali Revolutionary Terrorism 1902-1908,Modern Asian Studies

Vol. 28, No. 3 (Jul., 1994), pp. 533-55642Heehs, Peter, Bengali Religious Nationalism and Communalism,International Journal of Hindu Studies

Vol. 1, No. 1 (Apr., 1997), pp. 117-139


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had lost faith in the prayers and petitions of the Congress. He believed that more direct action

was needed. The method of boycott came to be used with phenomenal force by Gandhi 43.

However there is a key difference between Gandhis and Aurobindos interpretations of the

same concept. Violence was not a taboo for Aurobindo 44 whereas Gandhis considered it

unethical and morally void. Aurobindo considered it as an unfortunate part of a

comprehensive programme of national regeneration45.

Critics of Aurobindo take this tacit acceptance of violence to infer that Aurobindo was a mere

facilitator of anarchic violence. They also point to certain violent speeches and writings that

he made over the course of his political career46. They limit his political role to what would

be termed a terrorist in our time47. They point to his involvement in the Alipore Bomb Case,

1908 as clinching proof of his destructive political agendas. However, we must consider his

actions in the light of the circumstances facing him and those around him at that time.

Aurobindo however pointed out that moral standards are not absolute but are relative by their

very nature. To him, violence was undesirable but not prohibited48. However this is not the

same as saying that he actively advocated violent means of action. His advocacy of violence

was a response to the increasingly harsh British policies at the time, including the partition of

his homeland, Bengal. However when the limitations of these methods became clear,

Aurobindo was the first to point out its flaws and move to the path of passive resistance 49.

This is because he remained essentially, a realist who wanted to do the best for his country.

We also have to look at his actions in the context of his later life and the philosophy of

integralism and human unity that he espoused. To look at his aims for mankind as laid out in

The Life Divine orThe Human Cycle and attribute them to a mere violent anarchist would

require a great deal of imagination. Instead, a proper view of him would be to consider him a

realist who balanced his ideals of peace with the needs of the time.

43Stone II, J.H., M. K. Gandhi: Some Experiments with Truth,Journal of Southern African Studies

Vol. 16, No. 4 (Dec., 1990), pp. 721-74044

Heehs, Peter, The Lives of Sri Aurobindo, Columbia University Press, 200845

Ibid46

Ghose, Aurobindo, Bande Mataram: Early Political Writings 1890-1908, Shri Aurobindo Ashram,

Pondicherry, 197247

Sarkar, Sumit, Review of The Bomb in Bengal: The Rise of Revolutionary Terrorism in India, 1900- 1910,

The American Historical Review, Vol. 101, No. 3 (Jun., 1996), pp. 899-90048

Ghose, Aurobindo, Is Non-violence always the highest law?http://worldpeaceguide.tripod.com/Wisdom/Aurobindo/aurobindo.html49

Ghose, Aurobindo, The Doctrine of Passive Resistance, Bande Mataram, Apr 1907


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Ashcraft, W., Review of The Lives of Sri Aurobindo,Nova Religio, Nov 2010,

Vol. 14, No. 2.

Bali, D., Modern Indian Thought, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, 1980 p.145

Chandra, P., History of The Indian National Movement, Vikas Publishers.

Dash, S., Sri Aurobindo- The Prophet of Indian Nationalism and Renaissance,

Orissa Review, Nov 2008 p.26.

Ghose, A.Is Non-violence always the highest law?

http://worldpeaceguide.tripod.com/Wisdom/Aurobindo/aurobindo.html

Ghose, A., The Doctrine of Passive Resistance, Bande Mataram, Apr 1907

Ghose, A., A Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 1970

Ghose, A., Autobiographical Notes and Other Writings of Historical Interest, Shri

Aurobindo Ahram Press, Pondicherry, 2006

Ghose, A., Bande Mataram: Early Political Writings 1890-1908, Shri Aurobindo

Ashram, Pondicherry, 1972

Ghose, A., Bhawani Mandir.

Ghose, A., Karmayogin: Political Writings and Speeches 19091910, volume 8 of

The Complete Works Of Sri Aurobindo, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 1997

Ghose, A., The Ideal of Human Unity, Shri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 1972

Ghose, A., The Renaissance In India, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 1951

Hartland-Swann, J., Review of Sri Aurobindo and the Soul Quest of Man ,

Philosophy, Vol. 28, No. 107 (Oct., 1953), pp. 359-36

Heehs, P., Foreign Influences on Bengali Revolutionary Terrorism 1902-1908,

Modern Asian Studies

Vol. 28, No. 3 (Jul., 1994), pp. 533-556

Heehs, P., The Idea of India, Life Positive, April-June, 2004

Heehs, P., A Critique of the book The Lives of Sri Aurobindo,

http://www.thelivesofsriaurobindo.com/2008/10/introduction.html, last accessed on

27.09.2011

Heehs, P., The Lives of Sri Aurobindo, Columbia University Press, 2008


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Heehs, P.,Bengali Religious Nationalism and Communalism,International Journal

of Hindu Studies

Vol. 1, No. 1 (Apr., 1997), pp. 117-139

http://www.writespirit.net/authors/sri_aurobindo/biography-sri-aurobindo ; lastaccessed on 27.09.2011

Johnson, D., The Task of Relevance: Aurobindo's Synthesis of Religion and

Politics, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Oct., 1973), pp. 509-510

Korom, F., The Evolutionary thought of Aurobindo Ghose & Teilhard de Chardin,

Journal of South Asian Literature, Vol. 24, No. 1, SRI AUROBINDO (Winter, Spring

1989), pp. 124-140

Krishna, B., Indian Freedom Struggle: The Pathfinders from Surendranath Banerjea

to Gandhi, Manohar, New Delhi, 2002, pp 80-85.

Majumdar, R.C , History of the Freedom Movement in India, Calcutta, 1963, II

Minor, R., Sri Aurobindos Integral View of other religions, Religious Studies,

Vol. 15, No. 3 (Sep., 1979), pp. 365-377

Owen, H., The National Movement,A Cultural History Of India, ed. A.L Bansham,

Oxford University Press.

Palkhivala, N., We The Nation: The Lost Decades, UBSPD p 41

Parrinder, E., Sri Aurobindo on Incarnation and The Love of God,Numen, Vol.

11, Fasc. 2 (Jun., 1964), pp. 147-160

Philips, S., Review of The Essential Writings of Sri Aurobindo, The Journal of

Asian Studies, Vol. 58, No. 2 (May, 1999), pp. 548-549

Prasad, P., Mass Struggle: The Only Option,Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.

30, No. 4 (Jan. 28, 1995), pp. 208-211

Puligandla, R., Review of The Lives of Sri Aurobindo, Choice (USA), Nov 2008

Sarkar, S.,Review of The Bomb in Bengal: The Rise of Revolutionary Terrorism in

India, 1900- 1910, The American Historical Review, Vol. 101, No. 3 (Jun., 1996),

pp. 899-900

Sen, I., Sri Aurobindo as World Philosopher, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7,

No. 3/4 (Oct., 1957 - Jan., 1958), pp. 131-141


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Southard, B., The Political Strategy of Aurobindo Ghosh: The Utilization of Hindu

Religious Symbolism and the Problem of Political Mobilization in Bengal, Modern

Asian Studies Vol. 14, No. 3 (1980), pp. 359-361

Stone II, J., M. K. Gandhi: Some Experiments with Truth,Journal of Southern

African Studies

Vol. 16, No. 4 (Dec., 1990), pp. 721-740

Trivedi, R., Sri Aurobindos Conception of Philosophy, East and West, Vol. 18,

No. 1/2 (March-June 1968), pp. 178-189

Documents

God Man - An Appraisal of Aurobindo