Quo Vadis? by Sampdas – Response to Ritwik Banerjee

Apropos “An Earnest Appeal” by Shri Ritwik Banerjee, let it be noted that there are disciples and devotees of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother – both within the Pondicherry outfit and outside – who are very much perturbed by the manner in which the Masters are denigrated by a handful of influential persons, possibly encouraged and egged on to such vicious efforts by those who are close to the Trustees of the Ashram. On the other hand, the silent majority are perhaps hapless witnesses to it – counting their day to day rations – since they have no other go if they are thrown out of the Ashram. The junta that rules now has the leverage to muzzle dissent into submission by denying food and medical facilities to those who owe allegiance to Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, and who dare to protest against atrocities not only against human beings but against the Divine as well. The protestors on the other hand appear to have been carrying on their crusade as a sacred duty to ensure that the Masters are not denigrated in the very Ashram which bears the name of the Pioneers of the New Age.

There are many like me who share the concern for the need to cure this festering wound in time so that it does not become a gangrene threatening the very fundamentals of the spiritual endeavour of sincere disciples and devotees.

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An Earnest Appeal – by Ritwik Banerjee

Dear Sir & Madam,

I don't know who or who has not has read the last mail/forwards on the subject. Even a single response on any point can ensure some peace of mind to its sender. Kindly let all Aurobindonians know your response thereby on the following counts:

1) Are The Golden Chain Fraternity & its work maintained by Ashram in any manner?

2) What are its goal & agenda?

3) Do you agree with a biography of the Master published in 2008 by the Columbia University Press? Was it warranted?

4) Don't you think its author has spent four decades in the Ashram with you in some way betraying the Ashram?

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Importance of being an Example ─ Ritwik Banerji

Mother wanted teachers to be living examples in their life. Where shall we find them now? True that one should set the example first before wanting it in others. But now our eyes are focussed on the Ashram and these eyes see Manoj Das Gupta as a liar, a hypocrite and a treacherous and shameless person. He gives protection and shelter to a criminal in the Ashram and is furious when someone raises a finger at him and, posing as a hard task-master, takes disciplinary/punitive action against him/her.

It is high time the world knows what he really means by saying that the book of Peter Heehs is neither "prescribed nor proscribed' and it is for each reader to judge it individually. What emerges from this is:

(1) First and foremost, the other trustees, under the spell and pressure of Manoj Das Gupta, are not at all sincere and open to the truth.

(2) Secondly, unwittingly, the statement is an admission on their part that the book is a betrayal of the Ideals of the Master which the Ashram stands for. Otherwise, why should they leave it to the reader to judge it for himself? The same statement should be equally valid for Sri Aurobindo’s own works such as The Life Divine, etc. which are sponsored by the Ashram. There are so many articles published in Ashram journals. Are they all left to the readers to judge for themselves? Is there no editorial discretion or control exercised over them?

(3) So far neither any reviews nor any extracts from the book The Lives of Sri Aurobindo have appeared in Ashram journals and newsletters even while reviews of other books feature regularly. Why? Obviously because the trustees have no guts or face to say that the book is a work of ignominy and villainy.

(4) A few disciples and devotees have courageously taken on their shoulders the task of exposing the nexus behind all this, and they are criticised and opposed like enemies of the Ashram and put to all sorts of inconveniences.

(5) Should one imagine now that Manoj Das Gupta is too great a sadhak of Integral Yoga to abdicate his power and position for anybody else to take over?

Ritwik  Banerjee  

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Letter to The Editors of Mother India

To

The Editors, Mother India

 Dear Sirs,

 I am an Aurobindonian knowing that “Great is Truth and it shall prevail” and the Mother’s command on us to “Cling to Truth”. You are in line with renowned Aurobindonian, K.D.Sethna, with whom I had the privilege of corresponding in moments of crises and who was prompt with an answer with clarity always. Please respond through the monthly you are editing or via an e-mail as you deem fit.

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