This
has reference to an interesting write-up titled The Bhishmacharya Complex
in Sri Aurobindo Ashram (posted on this site on 25 October, 2015). The write-up
has touched the crux of the matter; to me and a large number of followers of
the Mother, the legend of the Mahabharata looks as being re-enacted at the
Ashram, with variations in content and scope. While the ancient epic is largely
a legend and a symbol, when we ponder on the present state of affairs in the
Ashram, it looks that today’s Mahabharata is for real.
The epic portrays the fight in Kurukshetra
(a place in the northern part of India) between the warring clans of the
Pandavas and Kauravas, representing respectively the Right and the Unrighteous.
But today’s Mahabharata has for its location the Sri Aurobindo Ashram at
Pondicherry. The protagonists in the epic were cousins fighting for the rights
over a kingdom, but the one at the Ashram is between those who stand for
ensuring the primacy of Light and Truth as opposed to those who are on the side
of Darkness, Perfidy, and Division. It
is veritably a struggle between the sons of the Divine Mother and the sons of
Darkness and Falsehood.
Further, in today’s Mahabharata there are
characters that can be traced to the likes of those in the legend, though as
perverted specimens of the originals. The epic has one Bhishmacharya, but today
there are a number of similar elders in the Ashram marked by the Bhishmacharya
complex. Again there are many like Karna, who are on the side of Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana. The ruling
elite of the Ashram Trust could possibly qualify to be today’s Kauravas, who
are athirst for power, position and wealth. They seem to fit in aptly in the
following lines of Savitri:
There
each in his own darkness walked alone:
Only
they agreed to differ in Evil’s paths,
...
There
Ego was lord upon his peacock seat
And
Falsehood sat by him, his mate and queen:
...
Power
and utility were their Truth and Right
(Savitri,
Book II, Canto 7)
Herein the influentials in the Ashram
Trust seem a magnified version of the mythical characters. While the earlier
write-up has likened Manoj Das Gupta, the Managing Trustee, to Dhritharashtra,
with his foster son Peter Heehs as Duryodhana, and Devilprasad as Shakuni,
there are other characters as well.
Even the character of Vidura - a model of
virtue and righteousness in the original epic – is replicated here with the
difference that he has cast his lot with the negative forces, instead of
distancing himself from the king as he did in the Mahabharata. No doubt, the
erudite Sri Manoj Das was in the mould of Vidura when he first discovered a
hundred fallacies, lies and perversion in the Lives of Sri Aurobindo by
Peter Heehs. But then he suddenly went on reverse gear to sing paeans in praise
of PH’s defective and prejudiced work. Perhaps the convenience of free
travel for personal visits to different
parts of the country and hassle free costly medical treatment being met from
the Ashram Trust coffers, as well as the need to disentangle from the Seashore
Chit Fund scam enquiry by investigating agencies, brought
about this remarkable transformation in him. It looks as if the erstwhile
roaring lion has now become the well-domesticated, mewing cat. Surely this is
not the transformation that the Mother and Sri Aurobindo envisaged from senior
Ashramites professing to be their disciples.
The downslide in matters relating to the
Ashram Trust is palpably clear. The proverbial Gresham’s law known in economics
theory, whereby the bad coin drives out the good coin from circulation, seems
to hold true here. With the demise of stalwarts and enlightened yogis like
Nolini-da, Dyuman, and the walking out by the thoroughly disgusted Champaklalji
due to the goings on in the Ashram, the stage was left open for the mean and
lesser mortals to take over the Ashram. Within the Ashram, many sadhaks still
doubt as to whether some of the incumbent Trustees have not ascended to their
present positions through deceit and forgery. It is indeed the case that clearly
shows that there is no smoke without a fire. The Ashram Trust today is
suspected to have indulged in serious financial irregularities and has a track
record of denying food, shelter and medical facilities to inmates who have
dared to question them. To top it all, the Ashram Trust stands as one man in
defending PH, who continues to write derogatorily about Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother, the sadhaks of the Ashram, and even about the Trust members. Nothing
can be worse than when an inmate of the Ashram devalues Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother in public, and the Trustees come to defend him and not the Master, in
whose name the Ashram stands.
It is a pity that in the context of such
sordid events in the once hallowed Ashram, a large number of senior inmates are
caught by the Bhishmacharya complex, and they have neither the voice to protest
against the financial irregularities nor are courageous enough to come out
openly against the vilification of Sri Aurobindo. Even if it is a case of being
faithful to the Ashram as an institution established by the Mother herself, it
defies logic and reason as to why the elders do not raise their voices when the
very tenets of spiritual life, as envisaged by their Masters, are blatantly
flouted by the Trust. But if it is a
question of security and survival in a commune with strict surveillance against
dissension and the constant threat of denial of food, shelter and medical help
by the powers that be, it is a different matter. It is in this context that an
impartial enquiry into the murky affairs of the Ashram has to be done without any
interference from the Trustees and their henchmen. The senior and elder sadhaks
of the Ashram, who still swear by the Mother, need to come out openly on the
side of the Truth sooner than later. They cannot afford to be mute spectators
to the downslide in the conduct of the Trust, as did Bhishmacharya of
lore. It is time to remind them of the
words of the Master, “Nor let worldly prudence whisper too closely in thy ear,
for the hour is often terrible.” Let them also not forget the fate that befell
Bhishmacharya in the epic – how he was thoroughly disillusioned at the end and
fell by the wayside waiting for his exit.
Another protagonist on the side of
Dhritarashtra’s court was Karna, the warrior who cast his lot with the
unrighteous, since that side had given him honour and shelter, and assured him
the comforts of life. True to the enlarged version of the story as witnessed in
the Ashram, there is not one Karna but a number of Karnas. But there is a rider.
These Karnas are not givers of gifts, but adepts in receiving favours from the
offices of the unrighteous. The students from the International Centre of
Education, who are adjudged as automatically qualified to be admitted in the
Ashram, courtesy approval by the Trustees, are naturally beholden to their
benefactors. Being members of the Ashram – not necessarily being sadhaks -
assures them comfortable accommodation, food and other perquisites of an easy
life, with or without any spiritual requirements. It is no surprise that they
are staunch well wishers of the Ashram Trust rather than faithful followers of
Sri Aurobindo. I am not making a sweeping generalisation, since there are many
ex-students turned Ashramites who are indeed seriously pursuing the spiritual life,
but there are many more who have the least interest in spiritual matters, and
are like ordinary men of the world both in their inner and outer life. These
are the Karnas of today, more in the nature of mercenaries, with unswerving
loyalty to the Trust.
A question arises as to who are the
Pandavas? But in today’s Mahabharata there are no Pandavas, since there is no
kingdom to be captured from Dhritarashtra and his ilk. Of course, there are a
large number of devotees and disciples who are willing and prepared to take the
side of Truth and Light. For them the cause is simply the victory of the
Divine, and hastening the advent of the Truth is what matters most to them. Hence
they are the sons of the Divine Mother who are on the side of Sri Aurobindo –
the Krishna of today’s Mahabharata.
Just as Krishna emphasised on kartavyam karma, listening to
the inner call and the importance of surrender to the Lord in the Bhagawad
Gita, so has Sri Aurobindo described his Yoga in a symbolic way in Savitri,
the Veda of the New Age. Regarding the perennial war of the forces of Truth and
Light against the agents of Darkness and Untruth, Sri Aurobindo says the
following in Savitri:
Sri
Aurobindo Uvacha:
A
dark concealed hostility is lodged
In
the human depths, in the hidden heart of Time
That
claims the right to change and mar God’s work.
A
secret enmity ambushes the world’s march;
It
leaves a mark on thought and speech and act;
It
stamps stain and defect on all things done;
…
There
is no visible foe, but the unseen
Is
round us, forces intangible besiege,
Touches
from alien realms, thoughts not our own
Overtake
us and compel the erring heart;
…
A
power came in to veil the eternal Light,
A
power opposed to the eternal will
Diverts
the message of the infallible Word,
…
A
whisper lures to evil the human heart,
…
This
hidden foe lodged in the human breast
Man
must overcome or miss his high fate.
This
is the inner war without escape.
(Savitri,
Book VI, Canto Two)
Do we have the will to wage this inner war
without escape and overcome the hidden foe lodged in our breasts? Can we measure up to the challenge? Or do we
still need to side with the present day Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana, Shakuni, and
their cohorts? It is for each one of us
to ponder and stand on the side of Sri Aurobindo and not on the side of
antagonistic forces. As sincere aspirants and sons of the Divine Mother, we
should remind ourselves of her advice to Savitri:
....Remember
why thou cam’st:
Find
out thy soul, recover thy hid self,
In
silence seek God’s meaning in thy depths,
Then
mortal nature change to the divine.
Open
God’s door, enter into his trance.
….
Cast
from thee sense that veils thy spirit’s sight:
(Savitri, Book VII, Canto II)
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