21 Jun 2012

Court Grants Injunction On Not Disturbing Radhikaranjan’s Classes ─ Sridharan

The Puducherry Court granted an interim injunction on 20 June, 2012 restraining the Trustees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram from disturbing and stopping Dr Radhikaranjan’s Sanskrit and Biology classes in the Ashram School. The drama began a month ago on 18 May, 2012, when Dr. Radhikaranjan was summarily dismissed from the School for daring to write an article expressing his anguish with regard to Peter Heehs’s book “Lives of Sri Aurobindo”. He had also criticised the Trustees for their inaction against the author who, while being an inmate of Sri Aurobindo Ashram and insolently claiming to be a practitioner of the Integral Yoga, had denigrated both Sri Aurobindo and the Mother in the public domain. The incident has all the more exposed the double standards of the Trustees, who have been putting up a show of great forbearance with direct attacks on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s credibility while taking severe and vindictive action on those disciples who have dared to criticise them or Peter Heehs. Actions always speak louder than words and the message that is conveyed by the recent actions of the Trustees is: Criticise Sri Aurobindo and the Mother as much as you like, but don’t you dare criticise me! Or Peter Heehs! (The other day, someone whispered to me: "Who is this Peter Heehs?" I said, "Hush! He is verily God himself!)

This is the first time in the history of the Ashram School that a teacher had to go to the Court to seek justice. The Ashram School is run on the principle of free progress, that is, bringing out the best in each student according to his natural bent of mind. The teachers are disciples who practise the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo through their work of instructing the students in various disciplines. None of them are paid and all consider teaching as part of their sadhana. What an extraordinary, unheard of and too good to be true environment has been created by the Mother! To think that in this very School (where every action should have spiritual considerations), the present Registrar cum Managing Trustee, Manoj Das Gupta (himself one of those fortunate children to have grown under the Mother’s personal care) had to stoop so low that an aggrieved teacher had to approach the Court for redress. What a shame!

Even if it was the fault of Dr. Radhikaranjan, the Registrar should not have permitted the matter to go out of his hands. For in the final reckoning, the head of the institution and not the teacher is going to be held responsible for this sad impasse. But I suppose, good administration has long since taken a back seat in the Ashram. What seems to hold sway now is Ego, a huge Ego, drunk with power that inebriates the head and blinds the intelligence, an Ego that flaunts in public with a holier-than-thou spiritual pretence.

Sridharan


5 comments:

  1. "...the Registrar should not have permitted the matter to go out of his hands." That needs statesmanship and maturity.

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  2. The environment should be conducive to learning, allowing the pupils sufficient space and liberty to interact with a teacher. If the chemisty is not good between staff, administration and pupils, what kind of teaching will take place? In a tension-ridden atmosphere, only by Puducherry Court’s interim injunction and under police protection, how will a teacher impart knowledge?
    Have we forgotten Mother’s words?

    "Sri Aurobindo is present in our midst, and with all the power of his creative genius he presides over the formation of the University Centre which for years he considered as one of the best means of preparing the future humanity to receive the Supramental Light that will transform the elite of today into a new race manifesting upon earth the new light and force and life."

    - Inaugural Message of the Mother, 24th April, 1951

    - Dr. Jitendra Sharma

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  3. RY Deshpande should also come back. The commitment to the students, Ashram and the Divine should be protected. People are not in the Ashram for Manoj, they are there to do their sadhana. When Manoj states the beauty of our school is that the graduates may not know Sri Aurobindo and the Mother when the finish their education. Isn't this in total contrast to what the Ashram teaching and the work to be done. Let not falsehood reign over the Truth. When somebody is contrary to our Guru the divine Mother and Sri Aurobindo why should the other Trustees, workers, disciples, students, teachers dance under this evil tune.
    The Divine Mother wanted her children to be hero warriors, hero warriors for what? Isn't it to fight the falsehood under clever disguises that is thrusting itself upon us. They even give their evil plans the Mother's name to enforce it upon us.
    Sunil

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  4. Pass a resolution for removal of present Ashram Trustees and elect new trustees for Ashram. Why these Trustees running after Peter Heesh who does not any thing about india and indian spiritual practice. These Americans know only bark on others.

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  5. The other teachers as well as other resonsibility- holders who have been withdrawn from their respective responsibilities should also come back to bring back a healthy atmosphere for the sake of the Mother and the Master in their sacred institution.Why vindigtiveness? A little turning of the attitude.
    J N Samal.

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