Sri Aurobindo
Letters of Sri Aurobindo
Volume 3
Letter ID: 748
Sri Aurobindo — Roy, Dilip Kumar
May 26, 1936
Very glad to learn that the Force has now to do something concretish – to oust this Asura, as you say, out of Suradham. But then this whole world is full of it – why pick out one unfortunate? Commence by turning out my brother-in-law Shankar first out of his corporeal tabernacle – that would be a better thing to start with, what? For do you know my sister writes he has become “a devotee”, thanks to this Bharati Maharaja Saint! It looks very much like an Asura in the saintly guise though if he has really had any success with Shankar, qu’en dites-vous?(Gods are so easily defeated, don’t you see?)
Well, from the accounts he seems to have made Shankar 
sweet as sugar and soft as butter and mild as Moses. How far Shankar’s mighty bulk will stand that sort of thing, I don’t know – it might begin to feel uncomfortable carrying about a little lamb that did not seem meant to be there. Let us hope however that it is his psychic being which has suddenly come to the (once very warlike) front. If so, it is all right.
However I send you most gladly the cheque to be laid at Mother’s feet. I will be truly glad when the sale-proceeds will be safely laid at her feet. Espérons toujours [let’s hope anyway].
Yes but your signature on the cheque indispensable. Mother has put a cross for the place and indications as to what to write. Please be accurate, for these Banks are damnably fussy about jots and tittles.
I enclose a letter. A French fellow wanting to do yoga!
His “French” ness can’t stand in the way – for there are many others in that quarter. It depends on the “fellow”.
I will advise him your Bases of Yoga. By the way, why not give me one. Or do you expect me to buy it? I am rather amused to have to buy your books with your money – is this supramental humour? So.
Copies for presentation not yet present. Only those for sale.
I am very glad to learn about Jyoti’s poem being so fine. I too had thought it fine – but you see I have no grasp of things mystic so I could not opine. By the way one question. She uses ushasa for evening a la dictionary, but in Bengali ushasa is used since Tagore’s famous Urvasi – swarger udayachale murtimati tumi hey ushasi [“O Urvasi! You are the dawn incarnate on the eastern horizon of heaven”] as meaning Usha, dawn. I feel that current usage and not 
dictionary obsolete acceptation of terms is preferable particularly for beginners. One who has already achieved a poetic eminence may use words as he will (often that is, as Tagore has used pradosh, evening twilight to mean morning twilight). What do you think? In this poem all will regard ushasi as meaning dawn as our newest authoritative dictionary Chalantika1 too supports its dawn meaning. It is because I feel this rather important that I ask you this. What?
On that kind of question I can’t pronounce. Jyotirmayi, it appears, wanted to speak of the evening and used the word in that sense, she does not want to change.
I will sing a little to Professor Sarcar this even with only half-a-dozen or so of our intimates. So send me force. You didn’t tell me how you liked the songs yesterday. Did you catch the words at all? Can you hear in your too sup distance?
Sometimes I do – sometimes I am too far away or the walls are too thick between the worlds.
1 Chalantikā: a Bengali dictionary compiled in 1936 by Rajsekhar Bose; aka Parasuram (16.3.1880-27.4.1950).