Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 1. 1935

Letter ID: 1388

Sri Aurobindo — Nirodbaran Talukdar

July 30, 1935

About G’s aunt – to detect T.B. bacilli in the urine it has to be injected into a guinea-pig – the doctor says, for absolute certainty. The charge for it will be Rs.7. G is not very willing. I suppose it can be omitted though important for the patient.

Yes, you can insist on his forking out that, if he is unwilling. Luck for the guinea-pig!

If seeing the Divine depended on developed occult faculty, how do you explain people’s seeing Ram, Krishna, Shiva, etc., in you at Darshan? – I mean by people who have apparently no such faculty. We’ve read about Krishna presenting himself before small boys, taking them to school, etc. – fables?

With many people the faculty of this kind of occult vision is the first to develop when they begin sadhana. With others it is there naturally or comes on occasions without any practice of Yoga. But with people who live mainly in the intellect (a few excepted) this faculty is not usually there by nature and most have much difficulty in developing it. It was so even with me.

What I understand of the matter is that if you intend that somebody should see the Divine in you – be it a blind man – he is able to see. No faculty is required.

It would be something of a miracle to see things without the faculty of seeing. We don’t deal much in miracles of that kind.

Darshan is approaching. Would it be more profitable to concentrate and meditate then to try to write poems with much difficulty?

If one can concentrate, it is always good to concentrate – darshan or no darshan.

I started 2 sonnets, wrote 4 lines of each, but could complete neither. Should my project be adjourned sine die?

It can be adjourned if you like, but not sine die.

You have permitted S to have a stove, I hear. Have you also permitted him to cook and gobble rasogollas? I ask for information – because if he is supposed to digest, it is all right – otherwise!