Manasi Pahwa's correspondence: Letter #3 from Manasi

[This is the third of three letters exchanged between Manasi Pahwa and Peter Heehs. The first is Manasi's letter to the Ashram Trustees here. The second is Peter's reply here. Please read them both in sequence before you read the following reply by Manasi.]

To The Trustees, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry.

Respected Manoj da and other trustees,

I received a mail from Peter as a reply to the 1^st letter I had written to the trustees and forwarded to him when Manoj da asked me to. I am sending a reply and rejoinder to his mail to you. The portions in italics and underlined are quoted from his letter and then is my reply statement by statement to him.

Statement 1

My presentation is neutral, though most readers will see that by presenting Sri Aurobindo's experiences uncritically and at length, I consider them valid and interesting…

Answer 1. My reply to this statement: The discussion is cunningly neutral. True, he doesn't take a personal stand, yet by presenting at length, the views that negate the validity and veracity of Sri Aurobindo's experience, he has very subtly and covertly taken a stand.

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Manasi Pahwa's correspondence: Letter #2 from Peter

[This is the second of three letters exchanged between Manasi Pahwa and Peter Heehs. The first is Manasi's letter to the Ashram Trustees here. Please read it before you read the following response from Peter.]

21 September 2008

Dear Manasi Pahwa

Thank you for forwarding a copy of your letter to the Trustees to me. Since you clearly are qualified to write about the subject, and since you, for the most part, keep to the tone of civil discourse expected of a scholar, I am happy to write a brief reply.

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Manasi Pahwa's correspondence: Letter #1 from Manasi

[This is the first of three letters exchanged between Manasi Pahwa and Peter Heehs. This letter was originally written to the Ashram Trustees and was passed on by them to Peter for his comments.]

Subject: Gross errors in Peter Heehs' book: 'The Lives of Sri Aurobindo' from the point of view of psychology, science and objectivity.

The book by Peter Heehs has made itself open to the possibility that

"… those familiar with the literature of psychiatry and clinical psychology may be struck by the similarity between Aurobindo's powers and experiences and the symptoms of schizophrenia…. When I speak of Aurobindo's experiences, my aim is not to argue for their veracity or for their delusiveness" [quoted from PH's book]

Since, Peter claims that he is a historian and yet prefers to use psychological terms and even quotes a psychologist or two, it became inevitable that I address him. As Peter 'claims' he is a historian, so can I 'claim' to be a psychologist, since I have been a student of psychology and a scientific researcher like him, for the past 8 years now.

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