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The Life of Sri Aurobindo
The Life of Sri Aurobindo from his family, childhood and education thruPondicherry 1910-1950, and his relevance to human endeavor and evolution. Andmuch more!
441 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 22, 2023
The Life of Sri Aurobindo is a biography of Aurobindo Ghosh, authored by one of his early disciples, A. B. Purani. Unlike many biographies, the author's narrative is minimal; instead, he primarily presents relevant first-hand materials, including quotes, excerpts, correspondence, speeches, etc., which do the talking when discussing various aspects of Aurobindo's life.
As the author was one of Aurobindo's disciples, this biography could be considered more authentic than many other books about him by writers who only knew him through secondary sources. The author mentions in the book that he showed various books written by different authors about Aurobindo to Aurobindo himself, who pointed out many discrepancies in them.
Aurobindo himself suggested that one could not write his biography or that of any similar individual whose life is predominantly internal, as only the individual themselves knew their true story. According to him, biographies should be written about individuals of action whose lives had a more external impact, like Napoleon or Julius Caesar. He believed it would be better if even such people wrote about their lives themselves.
The book covers details about Aurobindo's outward life as a revolutionary political activist who later transformed into one of the calmest spiritual yogis and gurus. It also delves into other facets of his life as a poet, scholar, writer, journalist, teacher, and government official.
Aurobindo Ghosh was born in Kolkata. His father embraced English ways and disdained the Indian lifestyle, going so far as to discourage his children from mingling with Indians. Consequently, Aurobindo and his brothers were sent to England for their education, where they lived with an English family while receiving financial support from their father. However, over time, the funds from his father dwindled and eventually ceased altogether, leaving the children struggling to survive. The book also mentions that Aurobindo's father was a benevolent man who altruistically distributed all his earnings to those in need. This may have posed a challenge in terms of sending adequate funds to England.
Aurobindo was proficient in English and Sanskrit. During his time in England, Aurobindo cultivated a profound passion for literature, poetry, and classics. He honed his skills in Western languages, mastering French, Latin, Greek, and German. Throughout his academic journey, he consistently demonstrated brilliance, earning accolades and recognition from his teachers.
Despite his father's preference for English ways, Aurobindo maintained political interests and joined a secret society advocating for India's independence while still in England. This mirrors the case of Nehru, whose father also disapproved of Indian culture and adopted the British lifestyle (though he later became a staunch activist for India's independence). Both Nehru and Aurobindo opposed the moderate stance of Congress towards the British during its early years.
Upon returning to India in his twenties, Aurobindo worked in the government service in Baroda under the Maharaja. He also taught English and French at the college. Aurobindo's political interests and desire for India's independence led him to join various secret societies in India.
As time went on, he became less active in his work in Baroda and more active in politics and the national movement. He maintained connections with secret revolutionary activities and even financially supported others in their efforts to travel to Europe for military training and to learn how to make bombs.
Aurobindo's name became linked to a bombing case, resulting in his imprisonment on charges of treason. He was eventually acquitted due to a lack of evidence. Later, while he was facing charges of sedition in another case, he left for Pondicherry, where he settled. This move, which proved to be the biggest turning point in his life, led to speculation about his motives, with some believing he did it out of fear of British legal action against him. In Pondicherry, he was safe under French jurisdiction, beyond the reach of the British. From then on, he lived a quiet and contemplative life as a spiritual guru and yogi, distancing himself from active participation in politics.
However, he remained informed about nationalistic movements and continued to look forward to India's independence. Before fully embracing his spiritual path, he was active in Congress and supported its quest for independence. When he withdrew from active politics, he stated that the work he initiated in that field would be carried forward by others.
In a famous speech at the time, he explained that he wasn't abandoning politics but rather that his shift towards spiritual life was itself a form of political action. He asserted that this spiritual stance was the right politics, and India would achieve real freedom only by absorbing this spiritual essence and acknowledging the divine in every human. He attributed his withdrawal from politics to a divine ordination (adesha) he had received. Thus, a life rooted in a philosophy of revolution through violence transformed into one of non-violent spiritual pursuits. However, the British government suspected that he was secretly working to continue his revolutionary activities from within the safety of French territory in Pondicherry.
It's possible that Aurobindo was inherently a non-violent individual, perhaps influenced by some revolutionary activists of his time and mistakenly believed he could develop an interest in revolutionary politics. In this biography, he confesses to feeling a strong aversion even towards causing harm to an ant unnecessarily. He clarifies that it's not because he considered it a virtue, but rather, it was a natural inclination, and he didn't derive any interest or pleasure from such acts. It's quite likely that he possessed an inherently non-violent disposition.
His involvement in revolutionary activism could be regarded as a transient phase in his life, akin to my cigarette smoking experience — I've only smoked four or five cigarettes in my entire life. I abandoned it because I couldn't derive any enjoyment from smoking. Similarly, my enthusiasm for cricket was short-lived. I'd rather not enumerate all the things I did during my cricket-loving phase, but my passion for the sport faded away soon. It became evident that I wasn't meant for sports, even though I used to believe otherwise. Coincidentally, Aurobindo also mentions that he had only a passing interest in cricket and wasn't particularly interested in sports in general.
While initially conducting spiritual sessions with people during his early years in Pondicherry, he later withdrew from such activities. From 1927 until the end of his life in 1950, he led a reclusive life, avoiding contact with people and never leaving his residence.
Only around half of the book is the biography by A. B. Purani and the remainder consists of various appendices from Sri Aurobindo Ashram, the book's publisher. They include content from interviews with Aurobindo, excerpts from his books, critical evaluations of other biographies on Aurobindo, correspondence, Aurobindo's complete bibliography with details, and more.
Book info:
The Life of Sri Aurobindo by A B Purani
Publ: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 2006
ISBN: 978-81-7058-080-5
As the author was one of Aurobindo's disciples, this biography could be considered more authentic than many other books about him by writers who only knew him through secondary sources. The author mentions in the book that he showed various books written by different authors about Aurobindo to Aurobindo himself, who pointed out many discrepancies in them.
Aurobindo himself suggested that one could not write his biography or that of any similar individual whose life is predominantly internal, as only the individual themselves knew their true story. According to him, biographies should be written about individuals of action whose lives had a more external impact, like Napoleon or Julius Caesar. He believed it would be better if even such people wrote about their lives themselves.
The book covers details about Aurobindo's outward life as a revolutionary political activist who later transformed into one of the calmest spiritual yogis and gurus. It also delves into other facets of his life as a poet, scholar, writer, journalist, teacher, and government official.
Aurobindo Ghosh was born in Kolkata. His father embraced English ways and disdained the Indian lifestyle, going so far as to discourage his children from mingling with Indians. Consequently, Aurobindo and his brothers were sent to England for their education, where they lived with an English family while receiving financial support from their father. However, over time, the funds from his father dwindled and eventually ceased altogether, leaving the children struggling to survive. The book also mentions that Aurobindo's father was a benevolent man who altruistically distributed all his earnings to those in need. This may have posed a challenge in terms of sending adequate funds to England.
Aurobindo was proficient in English and Sanskrit. During his time in England, Aurobindo cultivated a profound passion for literature, poetry, and classics. He honed his skills in Western languages, mastering French, Latin, Greek, and German. Throughout his academic journey, he consistently demonstrated brilliance, earning accolades and recognition from his teachers.
Despite his father's preference for English ways, Aurobindo maintained political interests and joined a secret society advocating for India's independence while still in England. This mirrors the case of Nehru, whose father also disapproved of Indian culture and adopted the British lifestyle (though he later became a staunch activist for India's independence). Both Nehru and Aurobindo opposed the moderate stance of Congress towards the British during its early years.
Upon returning to India in his twenties, Aurobindo worked in the government service in Baroda under the Maharaja. He also taught English and French at the college. Aurobindo's political interests and desire for India's independence led him to join various secret societies in India.
As time went on, he became less active in his work in Baroda and more active in politics and the national movement. He maintained connections with secret revolutionary activities and even financially supported others in their efforts to travel to Europe for military training and to learn how to make bombs.
Aurobindo's name became linked to a bombing case, resulting in his imprisonment on charges of treason. He was eventually acquitted due to a lack of evidence. Later, while he was facing charges of sedition in another case, he left for Pondicherry, where he settled. This move, which proved to be the biggest turning point in his life, led to speculation about his motives, with some believing he did it out of fear of British legal action against him. In Pondicherry, he was safe under French jurisdiction, beyond the reach of the British. From then on, he lived a quiet and contemplative life as a spiritual guru and yogi, distancing himself from active participation in politics.
However, he remained informed about nationalistic movements and continued to look forward to India's independence. Before fully embracing his spiritual path, he was active in Congress and supported its quest for independence. When he withdrew from active politics, he stated that the work he initiated in that field would be carried forward by others.
In a famous speech at the time, he explained that he wasn't abandoning politics but rather that his shift towards spiritual life was itself a form of political action. He asserted that this spiritual stance was the right politics, and India would achieve real freedom only by absorbing this spiritual essence and acknowledging the divine in every human. He attributed his withdrawal from politics to a divine ordination (adesha) he had received. Thus, a life rooted in a philosophy of revolution through violence transformed into one of non-violent spiritual pursuits. However, the British government suspected that he was secretly working to continue his revolutionary activities from within the safety of French territory in Pondicherry.
It's possible that Aurobindo was inherently a non-violent individual, perhaps influenced by some revolutionary activists of his time and mistakenly believed he could develop an interest in revolutionary politics. In this biography, he confesses to feeling a strong aversion even towards causing harm to an ant unnecessarily. He clarifies that it's not because he considered it a virtue, but rather, it was a natural inclination, and he didn't derive any interest or pleasure from such acts. It's quite likely that he possessed an inherently non-violent disposition.
His involvement in revolutionary activism could be regarded as a transient phase in his life, akin to my cigarette smoking experience — I've only smoked four or five cigarettes in my entire life. I abandoned it because I couldn't derive any enjoyment from smoking. Similarly, my enthusiasm for cricket was short-lived. I'd rather not enumerate all the things I did during my cricket-loving phase, but my passion for the sport faded away soon. It became evident that I wasn't meant for sports, even though I used to believe otherwise. Coincidentally, Aurobindo also mentions that he had only a passing interest in cricket and wasn't particularly interested in sports in general.
While initially conducting spiritual sessions with people during his early years in Pondicherry, he later withdrew from such activities. From 1927 until the end of his life in 1950, he led a reclusive life, avoiding contact with people and never leaving his residence.
Only around half of the book is the biography by A. B. Purani and the remainder consists of various appendices from Sri Aurobindo Ashram, the book's publisher. They include content from interviews with Aurobindo, excerpts from his books, critical evaluations of other biographies on Aurobindo, correspondence, Aurobindo's complete bibliography with details, and more.
Book info:
The Life of Sri Aurobindo by A B Purani
Publ: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 2006
ISBN: 978-81-7058-080-5
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October 27, 2023"He attributed his withdrawal from politics to a divine ordination (adesha) he had received. Thus, a life rooted in a philosophy of revolution through violence transformed into one of non-violent spiritual pursuits..."
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August 28, 2018
Very nice book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews