Sri Aurobindo
Letters of Sri Aurobindo
Volume 2. 1934 — 1935
As regards Harin, I am concerned not with defending or condemning him, but only with ensuring so far as I can do it his spiritual welfare as with any other sadhak. To lay stress on the good side, on the hopeful things, to abstain from public condemnation, to stress with all my force the inner growth and development and to work silently and patiently and persistently for the elimination of all that stands on the way is a course I have followed not only with many of the sadhaks, but with most – though not with all. For a few made it impossible. I cannot act as a tribunal of justice in the quarrels and misunderstandings that rage in the Ashram; I can only try, when it is possible, to assuage or circumscribe as much as may be and, when it is possible, to reconcile. You cannot have forgotten that I have done that in your case when you were in trouble, so much so that I have always been accused of defending you, indulging you and protecting you under all circumstances with an invariable partiality! I have protected Harin for the most part only by silence; it is only to you and one or two others that I have written about him and in your case my only attempt was to assuage in each the feelings that were rising against the other.
I know nothing about Nalineswar’s retirement, he has not informed me. I know of Sahana’s, but I am not aware that there is anything sullen or sombre about it; what I understand about it is that she has got into a good and happy inner condition and she wants to confirm it before putting it to the test by mixing freely with others. There is nothing unnatural about that. I am not aware of any special treatment given to either Sahana or Nalineswar as a sign of approval of their retirement. Harin’s attempt at retirement was not of that kind, 
but an attempt to escape from serious difficulties and, in the form he announced it, was not found practicable. It limits itself to going more inside and seeing less people than before. The special [opportunity?] of pranam given to him was not a personal privilege or answer for retirement – for we have not a prejudice in favour of retirement, but rather in most cases we have a feeling against it. It is only where it proves a spiritual success that we approve and that is rare, or where the sadhak is unable to keep his deep consciousness while mixing with others. The special pranam is simply a device to meet a special difficulty, since it has been shown from the beginning that it is through the pranam that Harin receives and to stop it is to risk stopping the sadhana; at the same time owing to a certain play of forces to continue as before was becoming impossible. The Mother gave the pranam elsewhere as the one device that occurred to her and, as it succeeded, thought of continuing it. That is all.
I have felt bound to explain so much though I would have preferred not to write about these things. I do hope you will throw all that behind you. I feel a great longing that the sadhaks should be free of all that. For so long as the present state of things continues with fires of this kind raging all around and the atmosphere in a turmoil, the work I am trying to do, certainly not for my own sake or for any personal reason, will always remain under the stroke of jeopardy and I do not know how the descent I am labouring for is to fulfil itself. In fact, the Mother and I have to give nine-tenths of our energy to smoothing down things, to keeping the sadhaks tolerably contented, etc. etc. etc. One-tenth and in the Mother’s case not even that, can alone go to the real work; it is not enough. It is not surprising either that you should feel it difficult to get on in all this. But then why not push these things away from you and keep a clear field in you for the Divine? That, if everybody, or even a sufficient number could do it, would be the greatest help I could receive.