Sri Aurbindo Ghosh

Indian Political Thought Paper V, CA-II Assignment

Sonia Verma (83)

19BA102
verma.sonia.19ba102@gmail.com
An Introduction :

“If India is to survive, she must be made young again. Rushing and billowing
streams of energy must be poured into her; her soul must become, as it was in the
old times, like the surges, vast, puissant, calm or turbulent at will, an ocean of
action or of force.” - Sri Aurobindo Ghosh.

Sri Aurobindo Ghosh stands out as one of the most profoundly relevant and
profoundly deep modern Asian spiritual gurus preaching to the West. His vision
transcends India's and the West's distinct strengths and shortcomings, and his
discipline applies the yogas of the Gita to the goal of world development. Born in
Calcutt on 15th August 1872, he came to be known as “The Bengali Mazinni’. He
was largely influenced by the west throught his lifetime, From 1879 until 1893, he
studied in England for fourteen years. During this time, he had exceptional
academic ability. He studied a variety of classical and current European languages.
During his early years, he was highly affected by the great European theorists like
Homer until Goethe, and his study of Geeta, Upanishads, and Vedanta had a major
impact on his political thought. According to Romain Rolland, Sri Aurobindo was
"the ultimate synthesis of Asian creativity." He brought together the materialist
approach in Western philosophy and the idealist school in Indian philosophy.
Ramakrishna and Vivekanand's Vedantic philosophy also affected Aurobindo's
thinking. During his time at Cambridge University, he became interested in Indian
politics and met some young Indian revolutionaries.
Sri Aurobindo is an exceptional example of a multifaceted genius. He was a poet, a
deep thinker, a prominent metaphysician, and an impassioned nationalist all rolled
into one. His passionate patriotism is what made him a great nationalist. In this
dissertation, I will be critically evaluating the works of one of the most influential
patriots maha yogi, and ultimately an Avatar, Sri Aurobindo Ghosh.

Political Ideas of Sri Aurbindo Ghosh :

Sri Aurbindo Political venture in India began in the 1890s especially as he started to
disapprove of Congress's moderate approach towards the country’s political
situation. Labeled as a matrist, Ghosh prioritized the struggle to liberate Mother
India. His philosophy originated during the Swadeshi movement in the early 1900s
when he encouraged people to use passive resistance towards the oppressors.

Sri Aurobindo's contribution to modern Indian political thinking can be succinctly

described under four headings: His concept of spiritual nationalism and homeland
divinity; his elaboration of the objective of complete freedom from foreign control;
his contribution to the notion of boycott and passive resistance; and, lastly, his
vision of India's prominent place in world events and his ideal of human
unification. Aurobindo Ghosh popularised the notion of boycott and resistance. He
promoted opposition with the goal of making the British administration difficult
through an organized refusal to do anything that would aid in the growth of British
trade and commerce, leading to the exploitation of the country.

With the split of congress in the Surat session of 1907, There was a remarkable shit
of inclination of interests of Aurobindo’s towards the extremists' sect, in
opposition to that of the moderates, which is also how he came in contact with Bal
Gangadhar Tilak, a radical revolutionist.
Together with Tilak, Bankimchandra, and Dayanand, he developed The Theory of
Nationalism.

Sri Aurobindo's social-political theory is primarily built on the concept of national

unity and political freedom, which was rejected by poststructuralist doctrine.
According to post-structuralism, there is a certain structure of the nation-building
process that focuses on the national authority's desire for power. Individual and
community freedoms are stolen away by the government in order to fulfill its
craving for power. However, Aurobindian nationalism theory never approved of
post-structuralism since if we embrace it, there will be no possibility of individual
revolt. Sri Aurobindo's contribution to modern Indian political theory has a wide
range of consequences. He advocated for spiritual nationalism and the sacredness
of the country. He advocated for complete liberty. Political freedom, according to
Aurobindo, must come before socioeconomic and administrative reforms.
Men must live like slaves to authority, and there is no opportunity for spiritual
progress for humans. In Bande Mataram, He wrote about Swaraj (April 1907) "We
of the new school would not pitch our objective anything lower than absolute
Swaraj, self-government as in the United Kingdom," Sri Aurobindo stated.
Striving for anything less than Swaraj, he contended, would "insult the greatness
of our past and the glorious possibilities of our future.", it is however also believed
that he preferred to say 'Independence' rather than 'Swaraj.' He was a firm believer
that without political freedom, India would be unable to achieve complete
development. In 1908, he and a few other Anushilan Samiti members were arrested
in the Alipore bomb case. During his time in prison, he practiced yoga to gain
spiritual strength. During this time, he experienced an awakening and chose to
devote his life to spirituality.

The principle of 'National Education' was central to Sri Aurobindo's concept of

Swaraj. National Education, according to him, was the country's most pressing
necessity. He recommended eliminating the current educational system. Swaraj's
full potential cannot be realized. He saw Swaraj and National Education as
intrinsically intertwined concepts. His concept of National Education includes the
"inheritance of the past, the expanding gains of the present, and the vast potential
of the future."

Another fascinating aspect of Aurobindian nationalism was the concept of

spirituality and divinity of the motherland. He considered India as the living
embodiment of the finest spiritual wisdom and the storehouse of the human race's
sublimest spiritual achievements. According to Sri Aurobindo, India would be the
world's spiritual battlefield, where the final triumph over the forces of Ignorance
and Darkness will be attained. In the context of human growth and its ultimate
objective of human unification and spiritual progress, He was arrested for the
Alipore bombing, many revolutionaries were arrested and tried as a result of this.
During this time, he wrote key works such as The Life Divine, Essays on Geeta, The
Synthesis of Yoga, and the epic poem 'Savitri.' Aurobindo Ghosh was subsequently
freed of the accusations, thanks to the large part to the legal skill of a young
barrister named Chittaranjan Das, who would later be known as 'Deshbandhu.' It
did, however, signify the emergence of a new Aurobindo, a man with a spiritual
mission, a type of symbol of Indian culture and civilization. Aurobindo has always
believed that India has a spiritual message to share with the rest of the world. He
saw India as destined to play an integral role in world politics in the concept of
human oneness. His vision of India's independence included the ultimate oneness
of humanity.

Sri Aurobindo's final contribution was his vision of India's important place in
world events, as well as his dream of human unification. He had the foresight to see
India as a free nation and her contribution to the world community at a period
when British control in India was firmly and solidly established.
He believed that India has a spiritual message that the rest of the world desperately
needed. He was sure that a liberated India would fulfill her genuine worldwide
destiny.

His political activism and spiritual development were intertwined; his political
perspective was an extension of his yogic and spiritual vision.

Critical Analysis :

Aurobindo Ghosh shines as a beacon of hope in the midst of our current moral
anemia and intellectual struggle; in the middle of our brittle and frail
socio-political freedom. His sense of nationalism is remarkable, and his
spirituality advocates for a better civilization free of moral constraints. He had an
impact on major revolutionaries such as Subhash Chandra Bose, who saw him as a
formidable nationalistic figure. Aurobindo depended on free thinking in his
educational ideals.

He gives high importance to the unity of the Indian People and thus suggests Sri
Aurobindo believed that in order to effectively pursue the "strategy of passive
resistance," we needed to build a tight-knit political organization that linked
provinces and districts. This association would represent the people's national will.

Though today, we still need to search for our unique philosophy and culture to
match it with Aurobindo's belief that India must be free for the world’s
development and betterment, Sri Aurobindo’s belief that it is desired for India to
rediscover itself and associated nationalism with a renaissance for the world.

Aurnobindian idea of swaraj and his whole political thought has been considered
very religiously motivated however It is difficult to reconcile Sri Aurobindo's
political concept of swaraj with the Vedic spiritual connotation. It can be
interpreted in two ways: (a) spiritual swaraj is a means of obtaining the divine life,
and as such, we need the assistance of politics in this pure attempt; and (b)
political swaraj, as advocated by Sri Aurobindo, is simply a means of gaining
spiritual connection with the Divine.

When examining Aurobindo Ghosh's political ideology, his change from extreme
revolutionary to spiritual conformist produces a sense of intellectual uneasiness.
Thus it is important to note that Sri Aurobindo was not a political theorist as such
but a yogi who had conceptions and dreams of free India, His purpose was to rally
the people to fight the foreign ruler, and his ultimate goal was absolute freedom for
the country. Aurobindo's latter thoughts, i.e. from 1910 onwards, clearly
demonstrate the need for humanity to return to spiritual reasons.
He stated that the hamlet should keep its autonomy and self-government while
also "seeking to promote national togetherness." National Swaraj must be
modeled after the traditional village community, which was self-sufficient,
autonomous, and self-governing.

What is disappointing is how in the year 2022 we still haven’t realized the
importance of national education as advocated by Sri Aurobindo Ghosh. True, we
require political freedom as an essential component of human existence;
nevertheless, in order to comprehend the importance of political freedom in our
lives, we must be sufficiently educated. Education is the means through which an
individual's mind is made aware of the necessity of political freedom. Illiterate
people are unable to comprehend the importance of freedom in their lives. So it is
perfectly true that in order to prepare a man for political freedom, we must first
educate him. India still remains behind with a low literacy rate of 74.37% which
raises many questions, especially about how would India ever become the hope for
the world that Aurobindo visioned.

It is true that the Aurobindian idea of the human cycle may appear idealistic in
nature in the current era, but we must acknowledge that reality is dependent on
ideas. We might easily dismiss any concept as illusory, yet with practice, it can
become the best gift given to us by nature.

Conclusion :

“Nationalism is not a mere political program; Nationalism is a creed which you

shall have to live.”

The final decades of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth are
pivotal in the history of modern India By the early 1900s, the concept of 'Swaraj' as
the ultimate goal of India's battle against British dominion was gaining traction in
colonial India. The ancestor of the modern Indian National Congress, which has
suffered multiple splits and changes since independence in 1947, officially
accepted Swaraj as its goal in 1906. It met in Kolkata in December, with Dadabhai
Nauroji as president. During this time, religion-cultural nationalism evolved as a
potent counter-force to western-inspired liberalism and British control. The
movement resulted in a massive effort to reinterpret Indian tradition in order to
promote pride in Indian youth. Another feature of this movement was its strong
political opinion. These two elements complemented one another. In this tradition,
Sri Aurobindo is the best example of a leader who created a spiritual foundation for
Indian nationalism.
Sri Aurobindo has beautifully exemplified the ideal blending of spiritualism and
political activism, giving the purpose of nationalism a higher and deeper meaning.
Unlike the other Indian Nationalist leaders of India, Sri Aurobindo stands out as
the only spiritually motivated yogi who wanted to transform the world. He
emphasized that Indian National Movement demanded Spiritual Consciousness.

Even though Sri Aurobindo has been criticized as a day-dreamer and questions
have been raised about the practicality of his social-political thought with
spirituality hidden within helps us a lot to be spiritually elevated. The truth is Sri
Aurobindo invented spiritualism as a component of nationalism. Sri R. N. Tagore
rightfully referred to him as the "Messiah of Indian Culture and Civilization."

Many would say that Sri Aurobindo's dreams remain unfulfilled goals. Many of
modern society's prized structures are showing indications of strain.