Members of Parliament Seek Clarifications from Ashram Trustees

The mismanagement of the Heehs affair by the Ashram Trustees has become a national issue ever since Heehs’ deportation order was discussed in the national media.

Sixty-eight sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) have signed a letter seeking clarifications from the Ashram Trustees. The list of signatories includes sitting Cabinet Minister Shri Srikant Kumar Jena, Ex Chief Minister of Bihar Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav, Ex President National Commission for Women Dr Girija Vyas, etc. The letter was mailed to the Ashram Trust Board by Ex-MP Dr Kartikeswar Patra who then sought a meeting with the Board to discuss the issues raised by the Hon’ble MPs.

Unfortunately, as is the habit of our present Trustees they played a dirty game of deception and outright lies. First, they tried to prevent him from meeting the Board. When he insisted on the meeting, they refused to permit his colleagues to attend the meeting, although they had their assistants present throughout. In the meeting they asked for another two months to reply to simple questions that everyone has been asking for the last several years. When Dr Patra insisted on an immediate reply, they promised to give a written reply the same evening, and then late at night sent an unsigned note saying they will take several months to reply as suggested by him! This is not only an insult to the signatory MPs but also an insult to the Indian State and the People of India whom the MPs represent.

Inebriated with their extreme arrogance, the present Trustees have lost all sense of propriety and basic values. They are trying to deal with Members of Parliament with the same high-handedness with which they deal with Inmates of the Ashram. Perhaps the years of exercising absolute power on utterly dependent and meek Ashramites has caused these Trustees to lose touch with reality. Having entrenched their autocratic rule in the Ashram, they want that the whole of India also must bow down to their whims and fancies in the same manner as Ashramites are being forced to do every day for the last 20 years!

Below are the two relevant letters.

1.       Letter of 68 Members of Parliament with signatures. (Signatures are partially covered to protect from misuse.)

2.       Letter of Dr Kartikeswar Patra after he was snubbed and deceived by the Trust Board.

1. Letter from 68 Members of Parliament (MPs)

To
The Board of Trustees
represented by Manoj Das Gupta, Managing Trustee
Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry 605002

15^th May 2012

Sub: Request for Clarifications from Trustees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram

Dear Shri Manoj Das Gupta,

Sri Aurobindo is a national and international figure widely recognised as a freedom fighter, national leader, yogi, philosopher and poet. Over the last hundred years his writings have increasingly inspired people all over the world by their depth and insight and their inspirational and practical content. He is revered and worshipped by millions of people in India and abroad.

The controversy surrounding the book The Lives of Sri Aurobindo by Peter Heehs, an inmate of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, has raised questions and issues which require immediate clarification and resolution.

As you will agree, while the Ashram community in Pondicherry is representative of the worldwide followers of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, the Beneficiaries of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust (a public charitable Trust) number in millions and are spread all over. As Trustees of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust you remain answerable not only to the immediate community in Pondicherry but to all Beneficiaries wherever they be, in India and the world. As Members of Parliament from various States, we the undersigned deem it our duty to speak on behalf of the people we represent and raise the issues that concern them. Besides there are matters of national interest and security and these need to be considered in all their details. We would be obliged if the following questions are answered by you at the earliest.

1.       The ambiguity of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust with regard to the book by Peter Heehs is intriguing and disturbing. You are on record as having stated that the book has “crossed all limits of simple decency!”, that the book does in fact “denigrate Sri Aurobindo”, you have warned of its “potential danger”, the need to ensure that it “should reach as few readers as possible”, and you also claimed that he had “initiated” “a few corrective measures” with “more on the anvil”. You have confirmed that Peter Heehs has impersonated himself as the “Founder” of the Ashram Archives to give his book credibility, and you claimed to have initiated “disciplinary action” against him. Manoj Das, scholar of Sri Aurobindo’s life and multiple National Awards winner and a former Trustee of the Ashram, identified ninety passages in the book that he found damaging to Sri Aurobindo and his Ashram, and read out each one of them to you explaining why and in what manner they were harmful. He asked for and received your promise to stop the book and remove Peter Heehs from the Ashram.

        Further you have claimed that “Legal aspects are being looked into as to whether the Indian publication may be at least modified if not stalled.” You have acknowledged that the book involved theft and misuse of “access to privileged material” and recognised the publisher’s malafide motives saying “the publisher would be only too eager to exploit the situation in order to promote its sales!” In response to pleas for legal action to stop the book you wrote “if you feel that some legal action is the need of the hour, I am game for it.”

However we find that your recent media releases and statements are the exact opposite of your earlier position. You seem now to support and promote Peter Heehs and his book. What is strange is that you profusely quote supporters of the book who are not scholars of Sri Aurobindo and whose first point of contact with Sri Aurobindo is through this controversial book, while you deliberately and entirely ignore the extensively documented criticisms of the numerous longstanding scholars of Sri Aurobindo’s life and teachings. It is to be noted here that these extensively documented scholarly objections against the book numbering in hundreds have not been responded or scholarly refuted to by Peter Heehs or for that matter by any other scholar during the past four years giving credence to the conclusion that the book is defamatory, denigrating and perverse.

Please explain the reasons behind your change of mind and your new public position as well as your obvious bias to praise the book. Are you under pressure from some external agencies?

2.       Peter Heehs by his letters dated 24.9.2008 and 13.10.2008 addressed to you has confirmed his a) violation of copyright, and his b) not being the Founder of the Archives. Additionally the erstwhile colleagues of Peter Heehs at the Ashram Archives by their letter dated 8.9.2008 had complained and brought to your notice the theft of the Ashram’s intellectual property. Late Shri Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya vide his letter dated 5.8.2009 had listed numerous and serious criminal lapses of Peter Heehs in the publication of this book.

                                In spite of the above, we find that you have initiated no legal or criminal actions against the author nor against the publisher Columbia University Press in order to safeguard the intellectual property assets of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

                Please explain this apparent dereliction of duty as the assets of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram belong to the Beneficiaries in particular and the public at large and one individual cannot be permitted to gain financially at the cost of the institution.

3.       The Government of Odisha vide its Extraordinary Gazette Notification dated 9.4.2009 has proscribed the offensive book and has stated unambiguously that the sole intention of the author Peter Heehs is to denigrate and defame Sri Aurobindo and to create communal strife and tension within the country. This is a very serious indictment and yet you have continued to harbour, shelter and promote Peter Heehs within the Ashram community and have issued letters to the Ministry of Home Affairs recommending extension of his visa!

                Please explain this very serious lapse and this anti-national stance given your position of responsibility in a public charitable institution.

4.       What is extremely disturbing and worrisome is that the nationwide public condemnation by devotees and disciples alike is falling on deaf ears. There appears to be no attempt from your side to explain, reconcile or resolve the problem. Things have gone from bad to worse in the last 4 years and the recent public protests and dharnas by devotees have brought public attention on your lapses. What is even more disturbing is that you have initiated legal action against very senior and responsible members of the Ashram, academics and professors for taking part in the public protests and for making statements to the Press.

                Please explain your attempts to gag the inmates and devotees, and your avoidance of any attempt at clarification and reconciliation.

5.       Over many years now there has been a growing concern and chorus regarding the manhandling, theft and abuse of the original manuscripts of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo stored at the Ashram Archives. It must be noted that these are priceless national treasures and of immeasurable spiritual and cultural value. These are not in safe hands as has been demonstrated by Peter Heehs’ violation of copyright and alleged abuse of intellectual property as well as the numerous accusations of his tampering with Sri Aurobindo’s writings. In view of the above, it is imperative that an independent and external audit is conducted in order to assess the damage as also to verify inventory.

                Please explain why no such action has been initiated by you so far.

6.       The recent public outrage over the misconduct and alleged racial abuse by Dilip Datta, one of the Trustees, and his daughter with regard to devotees of Odisha is a matter of serious concern.

                Please explain why no action has been forthcoming from the Trustees to address the issue by taking appropriate steps against Dilip Datta and tendering a suitable apology by the Trustees to the People of Odisha in spite of petitions with thousands of signatures which have been submitted to you.

7.       It is found that there are over 160 Court cases against you as Trustees of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust filed by the inmates of the Ashram and pending in various Courts all over the country. These cases involve serious violation of human rights, sexual abuse, financial impropriety, abetment of murder, etc. It is deplorable that a spiritual organisation should have so many cases filed against it by its own inmates within the short span of the last 15 years, and reflects a deep malaise and complete failure of administration.

                Please explain what has gone wrong with your administration in the last 15 years, and what steps you have taken to cultivate internal transparency, democracy and administrative reforms.

It is imperative for us to know how much money has been officially spent by the Trust on these legal matters, and whether inmates of the Ashram and Beneficiaries were taken into confidence.

The issues raised above deserve your urgent attention and a detailed response at the earliest as they are of concern to large numbers of Devotees of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother all over India. This is a matter of national interest.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Signed:

Signatures of 68 Members of Parliament

2. Letter of Dr Kartikeswar Patra

To
The Board of Trustees
represented by Manoj Das Gupta, Managing Trustee
Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust,

Sri Aurobindo Ashram,

Pondicherry 605002

3^rd June 2012

Dear Shri Manoj Das Gupta,

Sub: Clarifications sought from Ashram Trust by Members of Parliament

Ref: Our meeting this morning

1. With regard to the above and with reference to our meeting, I place on record my deep disappointment and regret at the deceitful behaviour unbecoming of Trustees of a spiritual institution and of a public charitable Trust that was displayed by you and your fellow Trustees.

2. While the letter requesting clarifications by the MPs had been sent to you by Registered Post earlier, and you had adequate time to prepare a reply to the clarifications sought, it was unfortunate that an attempt was made by Shri Matriprasad to prevent me from meeting the Trust Board members. It is only upon my insistence that today’s meeting was arranged.

3. I began the meeting this morning by reiterating that I have come here to meet you in a spirit of goodwill and not of confrontation in order to convey the concern of a large number of Members of Parliament at the state of affairs with regard to the administration of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust.

4. Upon being told that you would take two months or more to provide replies to the questions raised by the Hon’ble Parliamentarians, I expressed shock and disappointment at your frivolous approach to a serious and pressing matter. I was then assured by you personally that you would reconvene in the afternoon and provide me with a detailed written reply to the queries of the Hon’ble Members of Parliament as also a signed Minutes statement of the meeting by 5.30 pm today.

5. To my utter shock and dismay, this evening no written reply was provided, and I was handed over an unsigned statement of the Minutes of the meeting full of false statements. It is falsely stated inter alia in the unsigned Minutes that I have agreed that you could take as much time as you wish to reply to the queries of the Hon’ble Members of Parliament. I deny this emphatically and remind you that the matter is extremely serious and an urgent response is due from your end.

6. Your deceitful response and handling of the matter is disrespectful of the Members of Parliament who are elected representatives of the People of India, and your attitude deserves to be condemned.

7. It is more than evident that you do not wish to face the issues at hand and provide the necessary clarifications as requested by Hon’ble Members of Parliament. This is irresponsible and deplorable.

8. I shall convey the above to the Hon’ble Members of Parliament.

Sincerely,

Dr Kartikeshwar Patra (Ex MP)

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Second Letter from Bangalore Study Circle to the Ashram Trustees

Dear Sir,                                                         15th May, 2012

We, the devotees in Bengaluru, are greatly heartened to learn that the Trustees of the Ashram as well as Sri Aurobindo Society have openly dissociated themselves from the book in question declaring its contents unacceptable. In the wake of this development the continued stay of Peter Heehs in the Ashram becomes patentlv anomalous and untenable.

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An Appeal to the Supporters of a Gurudrohi − Hrushikesh Acharya

An Appeal:

Guru-Drohi is that person, who, directly or indirectly, does any activity which slanders the status and image of the widely-revered figure of the Guru. Over the ages, such activity has been regarded as an unpardonable, heinous and sinful act for any follower/devotee/Sadhak, in whatever state he may be. 

Unfortunately, there is another set of familiar people, who do not have a direct hand in any activity of Guru-Droha. But for various personal reasons of favour, power, patronage, allegiance or lack of sincere love and devotion for the Guru, they support the activity of a Guru-Drohi or the supporters of a Guru-Drohi. In addition, they use all their influence and pressure on other sincere Sadhaks to oppose their genuine personal expression of anguish and protest against a Guru-Drohi and his activity, as if they have no freedom in such expression. Are we not seeing some of our friendly & familiar Sadhaks in this act?

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Prof R.Y. Deshpande's Expulsion from the School in October 2010

[Dr. Radhikararanjan Das is not the first case of expulsion connected with the issue of Peter Heehs. In October 2010 Prof R.Y. Deshpande was expelled from the Higher Course of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Centre of Education. Prof. Deshpande, who was teaching Physics from the last thirty years and Savitri from the last ten years, was summarily shown the door by Manoj Das Gupta for his “rash” and “thoughtless action” of having put on the Internet his correspondence with Jhumur Bhattacharya (Higher Course in charge), who had accused him of having discussed in his class Peter Heehs’s book Lives of Sri Aurobindo. What an accusation, as if discussing the book was a crime! And what a severe punishment for it, as if humanity was saved from imminent disaster by not letting Prof Deshpande discuss it in his class! In any case, the professor had spoken about the book when the students themselves raised the issue and not because he wanted to distract them from the subject he was supposed to teach. It is evident from the exchange of letters published below between Prof Deshpande and the authorities of the School that they were only waiting for an opportunity to throw him out of the School. According to Prof Deshpande, they even manipulated the event with the help of a student who used to come to his class "once in a blue moon". The reason for this revengeful action is obvious. Prof Deshpande was the first person to expose the distortions in Peter Heehs’s book, and his postings on the blog Mirror of Tomorrow (available now at http://archives.mirroroftomorrow.org/blog) had deeply embarrassed Manoj Das Gupta’s deceitful position with regard to the book.]

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Defamation Campaign by Former Students of the Ashram School – by Sridharan

A disinformation campaign by the Ashram Trust is generally followed by a defamation campaign by its henchmen. So it happened in Dr. Radhikaranjan’s case; the wrong information about him was followed by a character assassination executed by former students of the Ashram School in the SAICE forum. But first a word on this forum, which is supposed to form the opinion of the Ashram community.

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Disinformation Campaign on Dr. Radhikaranjan Das – by Sridharan

A subtle disinformation campaign has been launched against Dr. Radhikaranjan Das, and the Registrar himself, Shri Manoj Das Gupta, is allegedly responsible for it. The word that is now going around is that Dr Radhikaranjan has been told to stop teaching in the School not because he had written an article defaming the Trustees, but because he was polluting the minds of the children with the Peter Heehs issue; that he had already been pulled up once by the authorities, and that he had apologised to them, promising never to repeat his misdemeanour; that he had continued to pollute the young minds despite his promise and repeated warnings from the School Committee, and that he was finally told to discontinue his classes because there was no other option left for them. What a wonderful presentation of utter falsehood! One is reminded of a quotation from Savitri in the canto called Descent into Night:

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Manoj Das Gupta Won't Give a Written Notice -- Sridharan

As the situation unravels in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram School, it is clear that Manoj Das Gupta is reluctant to give a written notice to Dr Radhikaranjan Das. At the same time, he would certainly not like the latter to continue teaching in the School. So the tactics that is being adopted from the last few days is to tell the students not to attend Dr. Radhikaranjan’s class. Indirect pressure is also put through the section-in-charge, caretakers and co-teachers so that the doctor gets embarrassed and goes away by himself. The close friends and family members of Manoj Das Gupta have been given the onerous responsibility of somehow making Dr. Radhikaranjan feel that he is no longer needed in the School. This is executed in various ways: accosting him on the street and upbraiding him for his disobedience (as Swadesh Chatterjee has done), or tell the students not to attend his classes in front of Dr. Radhikaranjan (as Manjushri Chatterjee did). To think that such undignified tactics is resorted to in a School which is supposed to produce “living souls” or “sun-eyed children of a marvellous Dawn”! What a pity!

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Report of Dr. Radhikaranjan's Discussion with the School Committee

[Dr Radhikaranjan's report of his discussion with the School Committee is in the form of a letter addressed to Manoj Das Gupta, who happens to be both the Registrar of the Ashram School and the Managing Trustee of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. A shorter version of the same was sent to the Registrar.]

Manoj-da,

I, Radhikaranjan Das, have been a Sanskrit teacher in this institution teaching at the Kindergarten, Primary, Secondary and Higher Course level from 1980 till date. I have been also teaching Biology at the Secondary level from 1999. My teaching record has been absolutely unblemished and I have never received any complaints from the School authorities regarding it. On Friday 18 May, 2012, I was in my class and was summoned to the School Committee meeting around 11.30 in the morning in your office. The persons present were yourself, Arati-di, Jhumur-di, Swadesh-da and Dilip-bhai. I will try to give you a report of the discussion that took place:

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Manoj Das Gupta Stops Dr. Radhikaranjan’s Classes — Sridharan

The latest victim of Manoj Das Gupta is Dr. Radhikaranjan Das, who teaches Sanskrit and Biology in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram School, Pondicherry. He is also a full-fledged Homeopathic doctor and has been successfully treating both Ashram and outside patients from the last twenty years. A very popular and creative teacher, who has written and staged plays in Sanskrit, had no problems with the authorities until the day he penned down his thoughts on the present situation in the Ashram. The article entitled “Om Namo Bhagavate”, which is the expression of that inspired moment, has been published on this site – readers can judge it for themselves. But the Registrar of the School and Managing Trustee of the Ashram, Manoj Das Gupta (who is so much in the news nowadays) was furious because the article mentioned that the Ashram Trust was pouring out money for protecting Peter Heehs. “Give me proof of it,” Manoj Das Gupta is reported to have challenged Dr. Radhikaranjan Das who kept silent, not because there was no proof but because there was more than ample proof. (What about the scheme suit that the Ashram is facing in the Puducherry Court? Is not that a direct consequence of the Trustees supporting Peter Heehs? Does not that cost money?)

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BJD MP for cancelling visa to US historian

BUSINESS STANDARD  Saturday, May 19, 2012

Press Trust of India / New Delhi May 18, 2012, 16:15

A strong plea was made by a BJD member in the Lok Sabha today for immediately cancelling the visa to controversial US historian Peter Heehs, accused by followers of Sri Aurobindo of depicting a distorted picture of the freedom fighter and spiritual leader. 

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Bhartruhari Mahtab said the "blasphemous" book written by Heehs has been part of a "malicious design to discredit and defame" thinkers of modern India. 

Mahtab, who was supported by some members including from Trinamool Congress and Congress, said there has been "widespread indignation" among devotees of Sri Aurobindo over his biography written by Heehs, which is "full of falsehoods". 

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An Excerpt from Swami Tyagananda’s Rebuttal of "Kali’s Child"

[Here is an excerpt from Swami Tyagananda’s brilliant rebuttal of Jeffrey Kripal’s Kali’s Child (1995) on Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa. The filth in Jeffrey Kripal’s book is perhaps more shocking to us than Peter Heehs’s Lives of Sri Aurobindo. But there is one interesting similarity between them – both cheat with their documentation. It is not only the distasteful topics they discuss (the alleged homosexual relationship of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa with Swami Vivekananda or Sri Aurobindo’s romantic relation with the Mother), but also the way they arrive at these preposterous conclusions on the basis of flimsy and wrong documentation. The first objection to their lack of taste and refinement can be dismissed as a cultural difference between the East and the West (though even here I would disagree), but how can you dismiss the second? Proper historical documentation and intellectual honesty go beyond cultural barriers and are indispensable for writing the history of any great men. There is no such thing as a Western and Eastern (or Indian) method of historical documentation. The fundamental rules of scientific documentation apply everywhere, whether in the East or the West. This is how Swami Tyagananda stumps Jeffrey Kripal in his rebuttal. Likewise, many of the articles on this site have exposed Peter Heehs’s wilful misrepresentations of Sri Aurobindo’s life.

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The Jinxed Book – Dr. Jitendra Sharma

Peter Heehs, without any academic qualification, 

has written the jinxed book

American writer Peter Heehs, without any academic qualification, has written the jinxed book “The Lives of Sri Aurobindo”. He dons the garb of a researcher, a devotee and an impartial biographer. He writes a few pages in the book insinuating that Sri Aurobindo and the Mother had a romantic relationship and Sri Aurobindo’s personality had some elements of ‘schizophrenia’, inherited from his mad mother, which were the root causes of his mystical yogic powers and supernatural experiences.

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