Sri Aurobindo
Letters of Sri Aurobindo
Volume II - Part 3
Fragment ID: 11843
See letter itself (letter ID: 950)
Sri Aurobindo — Roy, Dilip Kumar
February 26, 1943
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I quite acknowledge the utility of a temporary state of vairagya as an antidote to the too strong pull of the vital. But vairagya always tends to a turning away from life and a tamasic element in vairagya, despair, depression etc., often dilapidates the force of the being and may even lead in some cases to falling between two stools so that one loses earth and misses heaven. I therefore prefer to replace vairagya by a firm and quiet rejection of what has to be rejected, sex, vanity, ego-centrism, attachment, etc. etc.; but that does not include rejection of the activities and powers that can be made instruments of the sadhana and the divine work, such as art, music, poetry etc. – Yoga can be done without the rejection of life, without killing or impairing the life-joy and the vital force.
1 SABCL, volume 22: the
2 SABCL, volume 22: dilapidates
3 SABCL, volume 22; Sri Aurobindo to Dilip.- Vol. 4: fire
4 SABCL, volume 22: lead
5 SABCL, volume 22: etc.
6 Perhaps there is an artificial implantation in SABCL, volume 22: etc., though these have to find a new spiritual or psychic base, a deeper inspiration, a turn towards the Divine or things divine
7 SABCL, volume 22: or
Current publication:
Sri Aurobindo. Letters on Yoga. II // CWSA.- Volume 29. (≈ 22-24 vol. of SABCL).- Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 2013.- 522 p.
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