Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 1. 1934

Letter ID: 1232

Sri Aurobindo — Nirodbaran Talukdar

December 26, 1934

Today I lost my temper in my carpentry work over a workman’s disobedience and insolence. He refused to clean the place at the end of the work; I insisted and had it done. Perhaps I did wrong by losing my temper, but how can a worker be rude and insolent? Chandulal said the other day that in such cases he always calls you for aid, and is rescued.

Yes, that was the mistake. It was not a mistake to insist (quietly, but firmly, it should be) on his doing his duty – but by losing the temper you raise issues and make it a case of Greek meets Greek. Besides that, you must learn to use a silent inner force on the man or else call in the Mother’s force, as C suggested. It may not be successful at first through want of practice and skill in the handling, but when you become an expert in that Yogic way, you will be surprised at the additional power of effectuation it brings. In all action the Yogin uses this inner force to support the outer means – it is the difference between Yogic and ordinary action.

Just today I signed my bond of Karmayoga, and today comes the test in which I’ve failed! and I am almost tempted to say, By Jove, this is “Karmayoga”!

If this is Karmayoga, why not do it through literature where one doesn’t face such troubles? D and others will surely have transformation of nature without having to fight so many complicated factors?

They have plenty of complicated factors to fight and their confinement to literature does not make their fight any easier. Work like this gives much more opportunities of inner change – provided one is ready to take advantage. You are making good progress, and I think if you had remained only a literary gent or only a medical gent, it would have taken longer.

When I wrote about the absolute newness of your Yoga, you swore at me in German.

Not my Yoga – Karmayoga! The Karmayoga element in my Yoga is not new.

Yes, in the Gita it is there, to be sure, but has it been done through timber-cutting, bread-kneading, cooking, etc., etc.?

There is nothing new in that either. It has always been a rule of Karmayoga that one must be ready to do any work for the Divine or with the spiritual consciousness.

Janakas, Arjunas might, but not Nirods or Rama Shyama!¹

Why not Rama Shyama? Plenty of Ramas and Shyamas have done that kind of karmayoga and done it easily enough.

¹ Janaka, king of Mithila during the time of the Ramayana, was famous for combining the knowledge of the Brahman with doing works of the world Arjuna was the famous companion of Sri Krishna in the battle of Kurukshetra. Rama Shyama: Tom, Dick and Harry.

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