Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 4

Letter ID: 996

Sri Aurobindo — Roy, Dilip Kumar

April 11, 1944

As I found that I was slowly doing well in meditation in the evening I thought it would be unwise to go now even for a week. Besides I should try more for the inner surrender and any going out for private pleasure however innocent it was, I thought likely to increase my inner difficulty. Of late I find the inner resistance melting and feel I should work harder to serve you – for the present in writing. Here is my plan of work:

1) A publisher of Bengal wants to publish a book of my published articles at their own expense. I have begun to work on it, revising my articles selected. This will take a fortnight or so.

2) Gurudas has undertaken my novel on Hashi (a spiritual one, really) and I have to revise the second part; first part I revised working eight to nine hours a day after my return here this time.

3) Now Jayantilai¹ asks me about the English of Tirthankar which is ready but I have to revise. Please let me know what to do. In view of the income tax collection I suggest I ask this publisher to make over all the money to you – that is to Mother. I mean I simply give him the MS. and do the revising work but the work is yours – I have nothing to do with the money part. What do you think of it? I don’t like them to get twenty-seven per cent from the money I want to offer to you – that is why I suggest this. Please let me know. I think I will give Jayantilal’s friend the book and have Rs. 500 down. Hein?

That is all right. But the publisher should be careful to send the money as an offering, and not mention or hint of your royalty, otherwise the fat might get into the fire.

¹ Jayantilai Parekh was an artist of Santiniketan who studied under Nandanlal Bose, the famous artist and director of Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan. He was a sadhak of the Ashram associated with the publication of Sri Aurobindo Centenary Volumes and also the Founder-Director of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives.

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