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Re: God is reading
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To: alt-hindu@uunet.uu.net
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Subject: Re: God is reading
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From: hal_computer@earthlink.net (Debashish Banerji)
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Date: 7 Jan 1995 09:26:03 GMT
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From news@earthlink.net Sat Jan 7 04: 19:35 1995
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Newsgroups: alt.hindu
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Organization: HAL Computer Systems
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References: <3eetup$nuq@ucunix.san.uc.edu>
In article <3eetup$nuq@ucunix.san.uc.edu>, Bon Giovanni <bongiovanni@delphi.com> says:
>
>
>Debaji is a sincere student, devotee and proponent of the teachings and
>persons of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, and is as well a gentleman from whom
>I continue to learn much. He is well-versed in Sanskrit and in Aurobindian
>doctrine, currently serving as host at the East West Cultural Center in Culver
>City, California. Aware of his background and scholarship, I therefore hearken
>with due diligence to whatever he chooses to say.
>
>With verve he offered his doubts about Sathya Sai Baba, criticized my writing
>style, questioned my integrity, and publicized his school. In doing so he
>belittled my statement,
>
>" The mystic scholar Sri Aurobindo some distance away and knowing nothing
>of the Raju family, noted in his journal on November 24, 1926 an inner
>awareness that Krishna had again taken form on earth. "
>
>He belittled that comment by replying it was misinformation since `Sri
>Aurobindo did not note anything of the sort in any journal.' Ah, since
>Debashish says so, perhaps indeed my memory has not served me well. I recall
>that what I said was indeed written by The Master in His own hand, in "Sri
>Aurobindo on Himself." I urge Debashish to kindly post the verbatim entry made
>by Sri Aurobindo on that date so all may see it for themselves.
>
>Until that quote comes, and with due respects to Debashish, I note he seems to
>have said at length exactly what I said in one sentence: Sri Aurobindo noted
>azn inner awareness that Krishna had again taken form on earth. Debashish
>appears to assume, at length, the Descent that day applies _only_ to Sri
>Aurobindo. To wit:
>
>>Krishna's "taking form on earth"... was the fixing of the Krishna
>>consciousness in Sri Aurobindo's body.
>
>Debashish goes on, at length, to show not only he says so, but so also says
>The Mother. He is correct: that is said. That monopoly of consciousness is I
>believe inappropriate. However my beliefs or Debashish's assertions pale when
>we look exactly at what Sri Aurobindo Himself actually said. I suggest the
>briefest way to show what's what is to quote the entry of Sri Aurobindo,
>verbatim, from November 24th, 1926. When that quote is posted, all may
>determine whose choice of words was apt or misinforming. It may also
>show whether hagiographic redaction has since read into Aurobindo's words what
>devotees wish to see there.
In Bon Giovanni's original posting under this title, the snippet quoted
above -viz
" The mystic scholar Sri Aurobindo some distance away and knowing nothing
of the Raju family, noted in his journal on November 24, 1926 an inner
awareness that Krishna had again taken form on earth. "
followed immediately the statement concerning the birth of Sathyanarayana
Raju on November 23, 1926. One was supposed to make the connection
therefore, between this birth and the "taking form again on earth" by
Krishna as evidenced by Sri Aurobindo's "inner awareness" which he
recorded the day after "in his journal". It is in this context that I
was propmted to clarify that Sri Aurobindo noted nothing of the sort in
any journal.
Bon now urges me to post the entry by Sri Aurobindo from Sri Aurobindo
On Himself, "verbatim, from November 24th, 1926" "so all may see it for
themselves." Sri Aurobindo made no journal entry on 24th November 1926,
pertaining to the "taking form" of Krishna, hence there is not and
cannot be any such entry in the book On Himself or in any other book.
Hence, this was a piece of misinformation, and my primary interest was
not in whether Sathyanarayan Raju was an avatar, but in correcting this
piece of misinformation.
I have already described at length the importance of the day November 24,
1926 or "Siddhi Day" in the life of Sri Aurobindo, the day when Sri
Krishna descended into his body, and thereby into the physical
consciousness. In 1938, replying specifically to a disciple's query as
to the significance of that day and that event in his spiritual experience,
Sri Aurobindo wrote, "24th was the descent of Krishna into the physical.
Krishna is not the supramental Light. The descent of Krishna would mean
the descent of the Overmind Godhead preparing, though not itself actually,
the descent of the Supermind and Ananda..." Presumably, this is the
mysterious "journal entry" in On Himself that Bon wants me to quote.
It was not written in any journal; it was not written on the 24th of
November;it did not pertain to the 23rd of November; it says nothing
about Sri Krishna's taking form on earth; and it was specific to the
context of Sri Aurobindo's experience or "siddhi" of that day. Under
these circumstances, to see someone force a glib connection between
Sri Aurobindo's statement and Sathyanarayan Raju's birth and then go
on to speak of "hagiographic redaction" was amusing indeed.
Those familiar with Sri Aurobindo's writings or conversations know that
he referred to himself often in the third person. Writing to another
disciple in response to the same query concerning his own spiritual
realization of 24th November 1926, he phrases his answer: "24th November
1926 is the day when Sri Krishna descended into the body. His descent
means the descent of the Overmind God which will prepare the descent of
the Supermind." Bon seems to think that the particularization of the
Krishna consciousness to Sri Aurobindo's body, as suggested by my quote
from the Mother, is "inappropriate". Presumably, this is an instance of
"hagiographic redaction" by the Mother. Let me quote the rest of the
Mother's account of the event pertaining to 24th November, 1926, as
recorded by a disciple, Satprem, and published in "Mother's Agenda",
Volume 2, under the date 2 August 1961:
"In 1926, I had begun a sort of overmental creation, that is, I had
brought the Overmind down into matter, here on earth...I asked all the
gods to incarnate, to identify themselves with a body. Well, with my
very own eyes I saw Krishna, who had always been in rapport with Sri
Aurobindo, consent to come down into his body. It was on November 24th.."
"...I had begun a sort of 'overmental creation', to make each god descend
into a being - there was an extraordinary upward curve! Well, I was in
contact with these beings and I told Krishna (because I was always
seeing him around Sri Aurobindo), 'This is all very fine, but what I
want now is a creation on earth - you must incarnate.' He said 'Yes'.
Then I saw him - I saw him with my own eyes (inner eyes, of course), join
himself to Sri Aurobindo. Then I went into Sri Aurobindo's room and told
him, 'Here's what I have seen.' 'Yes, I know!' he replied.." and finally,
"It was this: Krishna consented to descend into Sri Aurobindo's body -
to be FIXED there; there is a great difference, you understand, between
incarnating, being fixed in a body, and simply acting as an influence that
comes and goes and moves about. The gods are always moving about and it's
plain that we ourselves, in our inner beings, come and go and act in a
hundred or a thousand places at once. There is a difference between just
coming occasionally and accepting to be permanently tied to a body -
between a permanent influence and a permanent presence. These things
have to be experienced."
>
>By the way, those unfamiliar with the words of the sage or His wife may well
>enjoy a small booklet by Sri Aurobindo called The Mother. It contains
I had half a mind to ignore this posting but Bon has baited me
successfully by peddling some preposterous misinformation again. I
presume when he talks of "the sage or His wife" he wishes us to relate
this phrase in our minds with the persons of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
Though such a connection strikes me dumb with disbelief, there seems no
one else in the picture to make the identification with, unless I am
seriously missing something. The Mother was not Sri Aurobindo's wife.
She was his spiritual collaborator, the inner and outer organizer of his
Realization, Creatrix who holds the Power of Sri Aurobindo's vision and
Consciousness within Her and brings it into manifestation, Incarnation of
the Adya Shakti, and hence known as the Mother.
>excellent insight into the nature of the apprentice and how Grace descends
>into abiding clarity. Sri Aurobindo was to discover through His Yoga that it
>was the Descent of the principle of Supermind into the Physical that quickened
>the action of the Knowledge-consciousness latent within Ignorance and leads to
>a transformation of our material existence into a Divine Life on earth. To
The last sentence should have been in quotes. It has been blithely
plagiarised from my reply to Bon's original posting, without so much as
a hint of acknowledgement.
>that end His devotees yet attend all that He and His wife wrote,
Again, whose wife?? Jeepers, Bon, if you don't know it, don't say it.
> and await
>that Descent in themselves. Would that all have it this day to such fullness
>that they see it even in others.
>
>
>*+*
