Sri Aurobindo
Letters of Sri Aurobindo
Volume 2. 1934 — 1935
(A letter from Dr. S. Radhakrishnan of Andhra University, again asking Sri Aurobindo for a statement to be included in a volume on “Contemporary British Philosophy”. Sri Aurobindo’s annotations were written on the letter.)
My dear Mr. Dilip Kumar Roy,
Your letter of the 9th instant. I realise that Sri Aurobindo will be very much pre-occupied with other things. But, may I impose on you the real importance of a specific contribution from him for purposes of this volume. You are possibly aware that for the volume on Contemporary British Philosophy men like Bossanquet, Bertrand Russell, Haldane and McTaggart, among others, made their contributions. The volume on Contemporary Indian Philosophy will not be worth the name without a statement from Sri Aurobindo. I feel that he will realise the enormous importance of a special contribution for this volume, not for my sake or for his sake, but for the sake of our country. If you do not have a copy of the Contemporary British Philosophy there, on hearing from you, I will send you a volume from which you will get a general idea.
Let him send the volume – in God’s name – let us see face to face what kind of public enormity we are up against.
Interesting as this letter to Mr. Chadwick is, I am afraid it will not do as a statement of Sri Aurobindo’s convictions on the central problems of God, Man and his Destiny. If he sets down his thoughts on these problems, we will be able to put it in. You may put a series of questions asking him to state in a summary form his views on God, the nature of the Human Soul, its Destiny, and if you get rounded answers to them, we may possibly use that as his contribution.
O Lord, Lord, Lord! the very idea leaves me in a state of dull petrified horror! Rounded answers indeed! Pills for the public!
I hope you at least realise my anxiety in this whole matter.
I at least do. I wish to God he were less anxious. He is constantly after me and determined to have my scalp.
I am returning the paper and shall be delighted to see the other thing on the Avatarhood of Rama.
With kind regards,
Yours sincerely,
S. Radhakrishnan
This sort of thing makes me wish I had lived in the times of Krishna and not reproduced myself now. There were no beastly publications then.
(Dilip’s note:) I had sent him what you wrote on McTaggart1 etc. suggesting if that were suitable, well you might – qui sait [who knows] – permit. But now – qu’en dites-vous [what do you say]? An emphatic no – toujours [always]?
What on earth made you send McTaggart? He is after bigger fish than that.
(Dilip’s note:) If you want a volley of questions on God ou bien n’importe quoi, vous n’avez qu’à me le suggérer [or whatever else, you only have to suggest it to me]. You know in this province Dilip is entirely your man, if in nothing else through the silence of the Supramental.
An inspiration! Eureka. Why not predestination of my uncle brand? Or if that is tough – the Nirvana and Harmony? Please think. And apropos do send Nirvana anyhow.
Nirvana as I have written it is too personal and Harmony is only half written. Besides it is not a philosophic view.
I am iced up today under a huge glacier of correspondence! Nothing doing. So I reserve this [?] of the musician for more considered and considerate treatment.