The Sri Aurobindo Ashram and its Internal Management ─ by Ranganath Raghavan

Our world is the sphere of imperfection and limitation, but it is moving towards perfection, though through a long, laborious aeonic process of evolution. But the affairs of men cannot wait for that far-off ideal to be materialised. Therefore the search for improvement in every field is constantly present and operative—again through stumblings, errors and blunders.

There is absolutely no doubt that, after the Mother  left her body, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram has been beset with problems — externally, due to the pressure, impact and invasion of world forces and negative influences; internally, due to our own errors (inevitable, be it noted) of judgment, mismanagement and partisan attitude.  How then do we solve this fundamental problem not peculiar to our own institution?

When a spiritual institution is led by spiritual, highly enlightened beings, capable of right action and control of the forces referred to above, they have access to superior powers beyond the mental plane from where solutions are initiated and worked out. The higher the consciousness of the leader, the more the control and better the management of day to day events.

Let us note clearly that the problems spoken of earlier were not absent in the early stages of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. But Mother and Sri Aurobindo had recourse to a higher vision and a higher corrective action. They had the keys to the Master Control Room as it were, where the switches that determine and govern the lower levels are located.

But when ordinary human beings, with all their limitations, misjudgments, misunderstandings and incapacities come into the arena, problems are inevitable. This is what we are witnessing today.

All men of goodwill must think out ways and means to attenuate these problems, if not solve them. It is not enough to think or say that “the Mother will take care of everything” and remain indolently inactive. This is a tamasic attitude that is ignorant and useless. The reliance on the Mother is always valid, nay indispensable, but our responsibilities cannot be shrugged off by that easy, shallow excuse. Heaven helps only those who help themselves—even when the action is ignorant, limited, but done with goodwill and sincerity. What then is to be done?

We must focus on the core problems of the institution itself and not on individual problems, which can multiply themselves without end. Are there any glaring defects in our organisation which we can try to solve?  

It is a well recognized truth that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And this need not be grossly apparent but can happen in a very subtle manner. That is why everywhere in the world, dictatorships are frowned upon and in democracies no one is allowed to be in power for more than five years, with a possible extension only in the case of a really good performance. And we know that, in the spiritual field, this is even more true—that the ego and the vital are full of impurities, pretence, posturing and self-deceit (remember Vivekananda’s simile of the dog’s tail which reverts to its natural crookedness, however much you try to straighten it). And this truth is very conspicuous when the leaders feel secure in a situation where their position is unassailable, permanent, unquestionable and cannot be dislodged from their seats. This is a dangerous arrangement that cannot be allowed to continue. 

Therefore the present arrangement by which trustees are appointed for life and their successors are chosen by themselves must be put an end to.

But this involves a legal arrangement and the best brains in the country must be tapped for this most important work. The exact details can be worked out in many combinations, depending on the advice given by the legal luminaries and their advice should be taken in our best interests.

Basically, every five years, change must be made and the choice of the trustees must be left to the beneficiaries of the Trust. It is important to remember that the Trustees are servants and not masters. At present the practical arrangement is almost the opposite. It is possible that a large, representative body is empowered to make the appointments. This body may consist of  senior sadhaks above 70 years of age or of sadhaks having a residential record of more than 50 years in the Ashram.

But these are ideas thrown off the cuff for general consideration by all well wishers: the final arrangement must be made after legal consultations.

It must be recognised and realised that these suggestions are being made in the best interests of our institution and are absolutely bonafide. They are impersonal suggestions not aimed at any particular individual and are free of any malicious content.  Of course, the sitting trustees will not accept the arrangement easily and will put up a stiff resistance. It is to be hoped that a smooth change-over can be executed with harmony and restricted to a completely internal process. But if external pressure becomes inevitable and necessary, we must not shirk from that possibility either.

All suggestions are most welcome. The necessity of these changes must be realized by the beneficiaries of the trust and must be made known to all.

It is a truism to say that problems are best known to those who face them and not someone sitting far away and uninvolved in the day to day action. This is the reasoning behind the Panchayati Raj in the Villages. So, in the Sri Aurobindo Udyog Trust, who could be the best trustees except the departmental heads? There could be a system of rotation every two or three years and a new set of  departmental heads taking over in regular intervals. Of course, they will be assisted by legal and financial experts. 

Further thoughts on the question of the SAAT:

In the new arrangement, it may be asked how the future problems will be more easy to solve, given the fact that all human beings are plunged in ignorance.

The first point is that the institution has a greater chance for improvement, because fresh ideas, newer methods can be tried out, whereas the old group will not be easily willing to change their fixed habits. The second point is that if bad management continues, the responsibility is now not laid at the feet of the same old setup. The blame, as well as the credit is now shared by a greater representative group. The third point is that, in any case, the possibility of a change is always available to the community. The fourth point is even if the administration is no better than the previous one, we have lost nothing and the possibility of a change for the better is always open.

The main point is that the existing trust deed was drawn up in a hurry when conditions were completely different. The Mother was present then and no one visualised the problems that would arise half a century  later.

Besides, one knows that there is always a deep rooted resistance to change in human nature.  One may indeed ask on the contrary as to what are the valid objections to a new arrangement. Even if there are any, other suggestions are always welcome.

The most important thing, however, is whether the community is convinced of the necessity of a change in the administrative set-up.

Points to be kept in Mind:

These suggestions are being made in the best interests of the Institution, although they will be opposed by some who stand to lose their positions in the organisation. Their acceptance or rejection will be decided by the whole community, who are likely to be affected the most.

The proof of what has been said above is there for all to see in the recent events concerning Peter Heehs, who sitting in the centre of the department that possesses all of Sri Aurobindo’s and the Mother’s manuscripts, apart from so many other private documents, cold-bloodedly denounces, drags down the Gurus to the level of  ordinary mortals and our Trustees, far from taking punitive action, actually are trying their best to defend  this perfidious character, in spite of the mounting anger and just resentment of the entire Ashram community.

The changes suggested are only a rough framework. Many details have to be worked out and certainly lawyers and experienced administrators should be consulted, apart from the elders of the Ashram itself.

In fact all suggestions are welcome as they aid the finalisation of the proposed changes.  

September 14, 2008                     

Additional points written in June  2012

Points that we are quite certain about: 

1. The present system of life-long appointment of trustees is NOT satisfactory. This must change.

2.  An improvement of administrative procedures must necessarily include:

a)  Openness, transparency, willingness to answer all legitimate enquiries, written      documents for all  appointments, change of work, dismissals (if any, with written reasons after due legal enquiries conducted transparently).

b)   No ad hoc decisions should be made based on personal preferences, likes and dislikes.

3.  All outside interference, whether governmental or semi-official is to be avoided. But if there is stiff resistance from the powers that be, then outside help to initiate the internal modifications has necessarily to be considered.

4.  Some suggested changes to the Institution are:

a)  No trustee to be appointed for a life term, but only for a fixed period of time.

b)  Selection of trustees must be a prerogative of the beneficiaries

c) A larger body of elders, consisting perhaps of departmental heads and elders of the Ashram, perhaps with a minimum of 40 years of service should decide the appointment of the next set of trustees.

d) A system of checks and balances is essential and need of the hour.

e) All major decisions must be endorsed by a majority of the trustees and never by a single person forcibly thrusting his opinion on the others.

Let us not be afraid of change. Nothing is permanent in this world, and change for the better has always to be considered sympathetically and positively. If outside interference becomes inevitable because of resistance from the present management, which is afraid of losing power or is loathe to give up their well-entrenched  positions,  then efforts must be made to get governmental or judicial help to kick-start the internal changes with a temporary administrator until the new system is in place.   

Let us hope that the cooperation of all will be forthcoming willingly.