Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 2. 1937

Letter ID: 1944

Sri Aurobindo — Nirodbaran Talukdar

May 19, 1937

“Tapering fingers of an infinite Force

Mould life’s grey mire to a bright rhythm of sun:

Through a gold network of vessels lustre-spun

Its luminous blood into earth’s darkness pours.”

Sir, what the hell is the meaning of lines 5,6? What are these clumsy vessels doing there, either? Into whose kitchen have you trespassed? Cooking blood? But why not then “earth’s cauldron”?

Anyhow kick the vessels out. A gold (something) network lustre-spun would sound fine, but I don’t know what something to put as I have not the least idea what you are after. Cryptic, by God!

I am greatly surprised to hear that you have to train your ear to judge the source of Bengali poetry. Is it a question of the ear?

Great Scott, man! Poetry and no question of the ear?

Just the other day you wrote that by the inner vision, inner feeling, etc. one must understand and judge the source of poetry. How does the ear come in now?

Have you read only that sentence and not other things I have written about Overmind rhythm etc.? Only the other day I said, I think, that Amal’s line changed (Flickering no longer) would lose the overtone (rhythmic) and with it the Overmind touch.

If you put the stress on the ear, O.P. would only be a question of rhythm, or at least principally, no?

Very largely. The same words, thought, substance with a different rhythm would cease to be overhead at all. I said that clearly and gave the instance “No longer flickering” instead of “Flickering no longer”. How is it you miss these things?

... Right word in the right place, apart from the substance, of course, is the first criterion.

Why apart from the substance?

All this you can see at a shot, ear or no ear, as if a line is rocketing down from the O.P. just before your eyes –

And ears.

And you say “Ah, it is illumined, that’s Intuition!” That you have to train your ear is a surprise inattendu!

Strange point! Who does not know that without rhythm poetry is nothing? If poetic rhythm is unessential, pray why not write in prose?

Nishikanta’s translation of Amal’s poem¹ is really splendid, but is it also from the same plane as the original? Perhaps not, for Nishikanta’s plane appears to be rather subtle vital.

Maybe. I don’t remember what plane Amal’s poem came from.

Is the spiritual value of a poem lost in translation by the difference of the planes, though it may be poetically excellent?

If you mean the spiritual substance, I suppose it would be lost. I was looking at the poetic beauty of Nishikanta’s rendering which is on a par with the original. As for the subtle vital, the vital sublimated enters largely into Amal’s poem, even if it is a sort of super-vital.

[D.R. cart man’s case.] By “accident”, I meant sudden heart failure. But Rajangam says there’s hardly any danger of the sort. I saw the man in the smithy – his condition has now become chronic. This D.R. fellow’s condition it seems, diminishes as soon as he takes rest, and comes back with work.

Mother is under the impression he was relieved from cart work. But if it is like that he must take rest.

A “cheer brother” again! [28, 29.4.37] N.P. has hydrocele on the left side, Sir. Dr. R is a specialist in that. Shall we pass him on?

No.

But I hear that R himself is unwell. What’s the matter? Ear trouble? Self-drugging?

(Vital up, perhaps.)

Given A more M.T.

A finds your M.T. – which he says is reduced in dose – ineffective. He says he was as well with Sudarshan or with Triphala.

(I see he says that he is worse than eight days ago – says that Sudarshan and the pills were stopped to try the mixture, but the mixture is not helping perhaps because it is reduced in dose without any compensation such as S or T. He asks also whether it is worth while being treated if the cause of his illness is not known or if it cannot be cured. In fact you have not said for what you are treating him or on what base, so I could not answer. I said I would ask you.)

¹ Agni Jatavedas

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