[Many
senior sadhaks of the Ashram rang early warning bells and amply cautioned the
Trustees with regard to Peter Heehs and Richard Hartz, the two American editors
of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives. Jugal Kishore Mukherji’s [1]
two long letters (1 & 2) addressed to the Trustees in 1986-87 have already
been published on this site. We now publish a letter of Pranab Kumar
Bhattacharya [2]
dated July 1987, written in the same context and shortly after Jugal Kishore Mukherji’s
letter of June 1987. His letter raises doubts and suspicion regarding the
editing of the Archives
& Research journal and the revised
Edition of Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri.
What is most interesting is that PKB foresaw twenty-one years back the insidious attack of “The Enemy Within”.
He wrote the following:
“If
the [my] suspicions could be proved they would not remain suspicions, they
would become facts. But clever people know how to hide their true colour for a
long time. That is why time is
considered to be the best judge. So, until then, one should be on one’s
guard, watch the suspects, and wait for
the time when the truth reveals itself. If it is found that my suspicions
are baseless, I shall be, too, happy to correct myself. It gives a very
unpleasant feeling to be suspicious about people and things.” [emphasis added]
Well,
Time has indeed proved to be the best judge when Peter Heehs revealed his true
colours in 2008 with the publication of his derogatory book on Sri Aurobindo. If
only the Trustees had paid heed to PKB’s early warning, how much trouble and
controversy the Ashram Trustees could have averted, apart from nipping the
mischief in the very bud! – Bireshwar]
Pranab Kumar
Bhattacharya’s Letter of 7 July, 1987
I have read the statement of Shri
Jayantilal Parekh [3]
dated 4.6.87, and I write below my frank opinion regarding matters that come to
my mind. Shri Jugalkishore, in a separate paper, has given his answer to this
statement.
It gives me the impression that this
statement was not written by Shri Jayantilal alone. Several other brains must have
worked for it.
I know Shri Jayantilal for more than
forty years. He is a cultured man with a refined taste and he is a perfect
gentlemen. I have a great personal love and regard for him.
He has been seen always eager to
help, on many occasions, in the Mother’s work and wherever there was a true
cause. He got seriously involved in all types of Ashram work, and one of them
was the publication of Mother’s and Sri Aurobindo’s writings.
For many years, he was trying to do
microfilming of Mother’s and Sri Aurobindo’s manuscripts and thus preserve them
for posterity.
I have a strong feeling that some
interested people who wanted to take full advantage of this feeling of Shri
Jayantilal’s to further their own motives, helped him to open and organise what
is now known as Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives, charmed him completely with
their service, generosity and hard work, and keeping him in front, and under
his protective wings, are going on doing their own activities. As yet I do not
know about their nature. But one day the truth is sure to come out.
If this suspicion is true, then the
group seems to be very clever. For they have got in their hands all the
writings of Mother and Sri Aurobindo, our Shastras, the nerve centre of the Ashram,
and they can do anything they like with the whole organisation, having the
nerve centre under their full control.
During this period of national and
international intrigues, we must be extremely careful about people, especially
when we put them in responsible positions. For our organisation is an open one
and people with questionable motives can easily infiltrate in our organisation
and carry on their own activities by exploiting us under our protective cover.
The Archives seems to have become
mainly a strangers’ den. Some people of extreme goodwill with intelligence and
an enquiring mind have come and told me that they had gone there to work with
high hopes. But they were not allowed to work there.
In the last but one paragraph of his
statement, Shri Jayantilal questions the right to speak of the suspicion one
may have about members of the Ashram, Indian or foreign, and considers it
unjustified if one speaks about it day after day.
Well, past experience only has made
me suspicious about some strangers, Indian and foreign. We have had several of
them, who were found to be of questionable motives. To me, it has now become
something like an instinctive or intuitive action to be suspicious of things
where suspicion seems to lie. Every devotee of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother has
full right to speak if it is felt that certain things are going to harm the
Ashram and the work of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.
It is true that nothing can finally
spoil the work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and Their will is sure to be
done. But it is true also that certain forces are always active to destroy or
delay Their work. True devotees are always careful about it, try to foresee it,
and take every precaution to prevent it. This way we can save a lot of time,
trouble and resources.
Talking freely about one’s suspicion
has its advantages. If it is true, the speaking will make our people,
especially our decision-makers, cautious, and put them on their guard. It will
also give the suspects warnings, which may prevent them from doing mischief or
make them leave the place. If the suspicion is false, it will fall apart by
itself after a certain time, and the suspects can prove their innocence by
sincere deeds. Those who are true need not be unnecessarily concerned with what
people say about them.
If the suspicions could be proved
they would not remain suspicions, they would be facts. But clever people know
how to hide their true colour for a long time. That is why time is considered
to be the best judge. So, until then, one should be on one’s guard, watch the
suspects, and wait for the time when the truth reveals itself. If it is found
that my suspicions are baseless, I shall be too happy to correct myself. It
gives a very unpleasant feeling to be suspicious about people and things
Perhaps it will not be out of place
if I speak out my suspicions about two more of our thriving departments. They
are Auroshikha and Auroform. I hope they do not harm the Ashram in any way. I
shall be very happy if I am found wrong.
Of late, two things are making me
seriously concerned.
Firstly, in Sri Aurobindo Archives
and Research magazine, volume 10, December 1986, issue no.2, page 169, it has
been announced that a new edition of Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri, called the “critical edition”, with 1795 corrections on
the Centenary Edition was ready for publication. That is, the editors initialled
P.H. and R.H. are going to make 1795 changes on the Centenary Edition and
publish a new edition of Savitri
called the “critical edition’. While explaining the necessity of changes in the
part of the write-up called “The New Edition of Savitri”, the editors have
established their full right to make the corrections as they felt, basing upon
their “technical knowledge” and “enlightened common sense”, have given reasons
and technicalities of their work, which did not convince me at all.
I feel and I am sure that with me a
great number of devotees of Mother and Sri Aurobindo will feel that, right or
wrong, mistake or no mistake, the last edition of Savitri, i.e., the Centenary Edition, seen and touched by The
Mother, should be considered as the standard text for all time to come, and no
human hand should be allowed to pollute it in the name of corrections,
revisions, improvements, etc. It has got a special occult and spiritual value
that no human mind will ever understand, however intellectually and
scientifically great one may be. So, the “critical edition” of Savitri, with 1795 corrections must not
be allowed to be published.
The second thing is about Shri Peter
Heehs joining a competition and writing a book on The Freedom Struggle of
India.
Quite some time back, I saw an
advertisement in The Illustrated Weekly
of India asking for entries for a competition of writing a book on The
Freedom Struggle of India. There it was declared that three prizes would be
given to the best writers with handsome money awards. An outline was also given
there on which the history should be written.
Naturally, these types of histories
are written to suit the policies of certain groups or parties, and real truths
are often pushed into the background. Lovers of truth, especially true writers
of history, generally prefer not to associate with such projects. History
written on order is not a history at all.
But Shri Peter had joined the
competition and had won the third prize. I congratulate Shri Peter for the
success of his endeavour, but at the same time I feel that he has betrayed the
true cause.
Shri Debranjan had shown me a Xerox
copy of the manuscript of this book. I saw in it Sri Aurobindo’s name mentioned
twice only, leaving aside all that He had done for the freedom movement in
India: once Shri Peter wrote that Sri Aurobindo escaped to Chandernagore, and
the second time he had put His name among several other names of the Indian
leaders of those days – and nothings else.
This I consider a total betrayal.
True historians, and specially the
disciples of Sri Aurobindo, know very well about Sri Aurobindo’s invaluable
contribution to the freedom movement in India. He and His associates had
prepared the country and had built a solid base on which the next crop of
leaders could continue to work. Without this preparation the next generation of
leaders could do nothing.
It may be argued that Shri Peter had
his personal opinion and he had expressed the same in his book. But he is an Ashramite,
eating Ashram food, staying here on Ashram expenses and enjoying all its
facilities. He also poses to be a disciple of Sri Aurobindo and an authority on
Sri Aurobindo’s life and work. This thing was not expected from him at all.
When Shri Debaranjan asked him why
he did not write much about Sri Aurobindo, he replied that he did not write
about Tilak also. When he was asked again why he did not write about Tilak, he
replied that in that case he would not get the prize. We can very well then
conclude that he had joined the competition and had written the History of the
freedom struggle in India
for money, or position, or both. This can not be tolerated. Judas betrayed
Christ for thirty pieces of silver, and Shri Peter has betrayed Sri Aurobindo
for twenty thousand rupees.
Once Mother told me that whatever
she gave anything for printing, before giving it to the press, she was revising
it thoroughly and seeing that it was within the reach of the comprehension of
people, who would read with sincerity and aspiration. She was also be giving
with it Her force so that those who wanted to realise it could do so.
Though I have not heard Sri
Aurobindo saying like this to me, I can deduce that this was Sri Aurobindo’s
working also. For Mother’s and Sri Aurobindo’s workings in the spiritual field
were the same. Each of Their word is a mantra, vibrating with life and power.
As far as our spiritual discipline
is concerned, we can safely say that Mother and Sri Aurobindo have given us
what we needed for our sadhana. They did not give us or publish what They
considered was not necessary. So I do not see any reason to fish out from the
old chest all the unpublished materials and publish them in the name of
research. Why publish them at all? As those writings have come out from the
hands of Mother and Sri Aurobindo and have fallen in our hands, we could preserve
them carefully as Their souvenir. Truly speaking, Research, as it is understood
and worked out today, has no scope in our way of life, especially research with
the written materials left behind by Mother and Sri Aurobindo. Research, as it
is known today, is only suitable for journalism or for getting doctorate
degrees. It has nothing to do with sadhana.
This is true also about the life
stories of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo. What They have told us about Their
life is quite sufficient. This is true from the point of view of sadhana or
spiritual discipline. We have no right to probe into Their private and personal
lives from every corner and publish them in the name of research. This action
satisfies our curiosity and suits modern journalism but is not at all necessary
for our spiritual discipline.
So the so-called research work of
Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives must be closed down, and the publication of the
Archival journal must be stopped. The department can continue with nos. 1, 2,
and the Bulletin work of point 5, mentioned in page 3 of Shri Jayantilal’s
statement dated 4.6.87. If authentic material on Mother’s and Sri Aurobindo’s
life and works come to our hands, those should be preserved carefully and not
published.
Though it has nothing to do with
Shri Jayanthilal’s statement or with Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives, I think it
will not be out of place to mention a few things here. Some so-called masters
of the French language have started talking about correcting Mother’s French,
saying that Her French was Anglicised. Their voice is still very weak, but it
is in the air. I have heard also that some people have corrected Sri Aurobindo’s
Sanskrit to give it better rhythm.
A long time back, on the 16th
of February, 1934, Sri Aurobindo issued a statement, which was published in a
small booklet called “L’enseignment et L’Ashram de Sri Aurobindo”. There was also an English translation of this
booklet called “The Teaching of Sri Aurobindo and Sri Aurobindo Ashram”. The
opening runs like this:
“In order to remove many
misunderstandings which seem to have grown up about his Asram in Pondicherry
Sri Aurobindo considers it necessary to issue the following explicit statement.
“An Asram means the house or houses
of a Teacher or Master of spiritual philosophy in which he receives and lodges
those who come to him for the teaching and practice. An Asram is not an
association or a religious body or a monastery – it is only what has been
indicated above and nothing more.
“Everything in the Asram belongs to
the Teacher; the sadhaks (those who practise under him) have no claim, right or
voice in any matter. They remain or go according to his will. Whatever money he
receives is his property and not that of a public body. It is not a trust or a
fund, for there is no public institution. Such Asrams have existed in India since
many centuries before Christ and still exist in large numbers. All depends on
the Teacher and ends with his life-time, unless there is another Teacher who
can take his place…” – It thus goes on for eleven pages.
This booklet then came out in many
editions, with many gradual changes and addition of several chapters, and it
now called “Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram”.
But changes or no changes the Truth
remains the same. Sri Aurobindo and Mother have left their bodies and that has
created a vacuum in our physical life which can never be filled. It is true
that they are directing us and supporting us from behind. But often their
physical absence is felt very strongly.
Sometimes we are worried thinking
about the future of the Ashram, especially when we see that all sorts of people
are largely infiltrating in the Ashram atmosphere. The only possibility of
continuing the Ashram with its full objective seems to be to live the Truth
given to us by Mother and Sri Aurobindo, individually and collectively. But are
we doing it to the best of our ability?
S/d.
Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya
Sri
Aurobindo Ashram
Pondicherry
7.7.87
[1] Jugal Kishore Mukherjee was the former head of the
Higher Course section of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education,
which is equivalent to B.A. of regular colleges. His two letters are a must
read for those who are interested in intellectually exposing the deliberate distortions
of Peter Heehs’s biography on Sri Aurobindo’s life.
[2] Late Pranab Kumar
Bhattacharya was the head of the Physical Education Dept of Sri Aurobindo
Ashram and a close attendant of the Mother.
[3]
Jayantilal Parekh was the director of the
Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives right from its inception. Readers might be
already aware that Peter Heehs falsely claimed to be the founder of the Ashram
Archives in his book Lives of Sri
Aurobindo, because of which a criminal case of impersonation was filed
against him in Odisha.
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