Tales from the Prison

Posted By Srinivasa Chakravarthy (srini@monod.neusc.bcm.tmc.edu)
Mon, 24 Feb 1997 09:38:06 -0600

A lot of people know about Sri Aurobindo in connection with the Alipore
bombingcase. Sri Aurobindo was falsely accused of plotting the
assasination of
a British officer and imprisoned for an year in the Alipore jail. The
one year term in the prison happened to be a turning point in his life.
It intensified his spiritual life and even granted him a darshan of
Lord Krishna. Of this period he remarks humorously:
"the only result of the British wrath was I found God."
He has written a brief account of his prison life in Bengali
(Karakahani) which
was translated into English under the title "Tales from the prison".
These
narratives include some illuminating observations about the horrors of
the
prison life, about Indian character,
contrasting Indian character with that of the British etc. Some of the
readers might find them interesting.

______________________________________________________________

"Let me speak of an innocent person at Alipore.
As an accused in a dacoity case he has been sentenced to
ten years' rigorous imprisonment. A cowherd by profession,
uneducated, without anything to do with
reading or writing, his only support was his faith in God
and patience worthy of an Aryan and other
noble qualities. Faced with this old man's attitude
towards life my pride of learning and forbearance was
completely shattered. There was a serene and
simple friendliness written in the old man's eyes, his talk was
always full of amiability and friendliness. At times he
would speak of his sufferings, even though he was
innocent of the charges, and speak of his wife and children,
he even wondered when God would bring
him release so that he could meet them, but never did
I find him depressed or restless. Waiting for God's
Grace, he spent his days quietly doing his duties
in the prison. His efforts and thoughts were not
concerned about himself, but about the well-being of
the others. His sense of kindness and sympathy for
the unfortunate frequently came out in his speech,
serving others was the law of his being. The noble
qualities were further set off by his humility.
Knowing that he had a heart thousand times nobler than
mine, I would feel ashamed at his humility; to have
to accept the old man's services embarrassed me,
but he would not be held back so easily.
He was all the time anxious about my comfort. As with me, so
with the others, his kindly attention and humble service
and respect seemed to be much greater
especially for the innocent and miserable ones.
Yet on his face and in his conduct there glowed
a natural serene gravity and majesty. He had a
great love for the country too. I shall always remember
the white - whiskered serene visage of this old convict
full of kindness and generosity. Even in these
days of decline among the Indian peasantry --- whom
we describe as uneducated, "small people",chhotolok- may
be found such representatives of Indian race.
India's future is hopeful only because of this. The educated youth
and the unlettered peasantry, the future of India lies
with these two classes. The future Aryan race will be a blend of the
two."
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