Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 2. 1938

Letter ID: 2151

Sri Aurobindo — Nirodbaran Talukdar

July 20, 1938

[Sri Aurobindo and the Mother]

I am most disappointed with this poem¹, Sir! What do you think of it?

Doubly damned fine! Close all right. It is only the two “withs” that are objectionable, but that is soon mended.

By God, I am absolutely staggered by your dragon image! Such things have been done before?

Not before, but worse things than that are done nowadays.

If at any time I face public criticism, I will say that my Guru is to be blamed.

Certainly.

May I know why you object to dilatation by atropine drops in N’s case? Is it due to inconvenience to sight? If so it is only for a few days and that too can be shortened by dropping eserine which contracts the pupil. Otherwise I don’t know that there is any other risk.

[Mother:] I know of people who never recovered fully the sight they had before. But in his case there is nothing much to lose, I suppose.

About his deafness, the specialist finds nothing in the ear. But that there is some defect of hearing is certain. It may be either due to a bad throat – he has a bad pharyngitis and some sign of tonsillitis or otosclerosis.

[Sri Aurobindo:] Psychologically it is due to his extreme self-centredness. So shut up in himself that his ear is retiring from outward action. Of course that does not exclude the physical cause which is instrumental.

If it is due to the throat, a tonsil operation... If it is due to otosclerosis which can be a remote effect of rheumatism (he had it) then there is no specific cure for it, though Iodine in some form sometimes gives a good effect...

One can’t iodine him on the basis of an “if” for a problematically occasional good effect.

Blood can be tested for hereditary syphilis.

Can always see.

Adenoids and tonsils, you know, to a great extent dull the intellect.

Aided by self-imprisonment, I believe.

So whatever you sanction, please write against each one, otherwise he will bother me about your sanction and permission first.

What to sanction, when the doctors can’t say what’s what?

¹ “A Throb of the Vast”, Sun-Blossoms, p. 87.

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