27 Sri Aurobindo and Indian Aesthetics

Dr. Mrinmoy Pramanick and Mr. Pratim Das

About the chapter 

In this module we discuss about Aurobindo’s brief life history and we briefly discuss about his ideas reflected in his works, especially in The Future Poetry. With the reference of different chapters found in his this seminal book on poetry are understood as principal ideas of his poetic thought. Through this study Aurobindo brought his readers from the reason of poetry to the result of poetry, from the birth of poetry to the goal of poetry.

Introduction

Sri Aurobindo was born in 1872 and died in 1950. He was a poet, essayist, literary critic, playright and most significantly a polyglot. But all these are partial introduction of Sri Aurobindo. He was a nationalist, a mystic, political activist and he was one of the greatest philosophers of modern India. He completed his primary education in England and then he came back to India when he was only 21. After returning to India he taught Bengali, his mother toungue. Beside English and Bengali, he knew Gujarati, Sanskrit, French and Italian.

In the theory of poetry and Indian poetic thought his Future Poetry, is a very significant text. Some parts of this book talks about the English poems and the later part is a manifesto of mystic poetry. He wrote several essays which put his clear vision and idea of portray on record.

His work, Future Poetry, is not only a modern poetics but a discursive language of literary criticism in 20th century Indian literature. His thought on poetry also shows his role as a receiver of World Literature. His mammoth knowledge on World and Indian Literature reflected in his discursive writing on literary criticism and idea of poetry. Indeed his essays are comparative by its very nature.

A Short Bio-Note of Sri Aurobindo

His father Krishna Dham Ghosh was an assistant surgeon. Krishna Dhan Ghose had a great love for British system of education and of Western culture. He was attracted by Western education and culture since his own college days in Britain. As Krishna Dham Ghosh believed that the British culture is superior, in order to educate them in western education system he sent them in English speaking boarding house.

He was first admitted to the Loreto Convent School in Darjeeling and two years later, he travelled to Manchester for the sake of higher education. In Manchester he stayed under the loving care of Mrs. Drutes , who taught him many things. Later, Sri Aurobindo attended St. Paul’s School, London and King’s College, Cambridge. He was a bright student and he was proficient in various European languages including Greek and Latin. His father wanted him to join the ICS, but Aurobindo did not have any intention in pursuing ICS and he avoided a test of his disqualification.

At the end of the day he took up employment under the king of Baroda. During his stay in England, he came in contact with the king of Baroda. After completing his education in England, he returned to India and took up job under Baroda king. He joined the Boroda State Service, which was then under the British India. In Baroda, he started learning Sanskrit and Bangla languages. At the same time he started reading Indian culture, religion and ancient scriptures. Soon he lost his interest in administrative jobs, and he joined Baroda College as a teacher and was promoted to the post of Vice-Principal.

But he could not settle for a long time in Baroda. After 12 years, he resigned from Baroda College and came to Kolkata. After the partition of 1905, there was political upheaval in Bengal. From this time onwards, Aurobindo’s interest in politics continued to grow. He wrote many articles in leading newspapers of his time to create political awareness among people. At that time, the National Congress was the only political party that presented the people’s opinion to the government.

When the leaders of the National Congress raised the demand for separate autonomy, but Aurobindo put emphasis on building effective revolutionary organization to liberate India from British rule. However, his secret activities and revolutionary writings created a reaction among Congress and the government. Even he founded some youth groups and gave them martial and spiritual training.

Aurobindo was famous among Congress for extremist attitudes. His aggressive nationalism distinguished him from the moderate leaders of Congress. In Calcutta, he served as head of the Bengal National College for some time. In 1908, he was imprisoned for his close contact with Alipore Bomb case. After one year of imprisonment, he proved innocent.

But he did not stop his political activities from being released from jail. He continued to write for the purpose of political awareness of the common people.

At the same time there was a change in him. His attitude towards life suddenly started to change. He moved away from the path of active politics and immersed himself in spiritual pursuit. Some critics believe that to avoid the second time arrest and imprisonment, he withdrew himself from this active politics and he decided to move Puducherry as it was a province of French Government. It is considered one of the most turning point of his as he remained apolitical for rest of his life after that.

Literary Works

Besides his political activity, he started writing in Indu Prakash in his Baroda days. He took the initiative to publish a magazine named “Arya”. Mr. Richard and Mrs. Richard helped him to publish this journal. Mrs. Richard known as Mirra later became Sri Aurobindo’s close spiritual collaborator. Aurobindo’s articles published in Arya magazine were later published in the volumes of the collected works of Sri Aurobindo. Essays on – The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, The Secret of the Veda, The Upanishads, Essays on the Gita, The Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity, The Foundations of Indian Culture and The Future Poetry all were published in this journal one after another. A dissertation on Aurobindo published on Shodhganga comments,

“They contain the spiritual experiences of Sri Aurobindo and his vision in various disciplines. The Life Divine is the document of the metaphysical experience whereas The Synthesis of Yoga is the exposition of the practical side and psychology of Integral yoga. The Human Cycle and The Ideal of Human Unity are the essays on social and political thought and vision of Sri Aurobindo”.

Similarly, The Future Poetry is a critical book, where Sri Aurvindo has tested the potentiality of English poetry and imagined its future possibilities. Each of these collections shows a parallel development between the different aspects of life and the life cycle of a possible development from the past to the present and the future, which Aurobindo said himself in Arya journal, “to feel out for the thought of the future, to help in shaping its foundations and to link it to the best and the most vital thought of the past”.

Because of his extensive education and intensive experience, Sri Aurobindo was equally aware of the past. He always kept himself busy to witness the things written in the book and he would not accept anything blindly. Talking about his own life philosophy, he wrote, “I was never satisfied till experience came and it was on this experience that later on I founded my philosophy, not on ideas by themselves”.

His experience about life was full of different feelings. At different times of his life, he was involved in various activities. He had written all his life experiences, his successes and failures in his diary between 1909 to1927. First, the diary was not published due to personal reasons, but afterwards, Sri Aurobindo Ashram press took initiative to publish this diary. This diary was published later in the name “Record of Yoga” in two volumes. The vivid life experience of Sri Aurobindo opened to its readers a new door of cognition.

Aurobindo’s contribution to Indian literature or politics is immense. Shree Aurobindo Ghosh is one of the greatest personality in modern India. He is a man versatile genius – a political revolutionary, journalist, editor .social reformer, historian, philosopher, ascetic etc. Apart from this he is a poet and playwright. He has occupied a significant place in Indian literature for his literary achievement.

Poetic Thought of Aurobindo

The Poetic thought of Sri Aurobindo can be understood with the reference of his own work. He proposed gradually developed ideas about poetry. This journey of thought tries to reach somewhere what Aurobindo believes as the ultimate goal of poetry. His idea of poetry what reflected through different chapters of The Future Poetry, appeared as circle, we begin from somewhere and through a long journey we reach somewhere which is poetry’s goal.

Concept of Mantra

Mantra does not have English equivalence as such though ‘incantation’ or ‘magic’ may be come to very close to the meaning of mantra. When the magic power of words in poetry moves the mind of the reader, it can be mantra then. According to Aurobindo Western critics from very beginning perceived poetry as magic or mantra. Aurobindo in his work referred work New Ways in English Literature by Mr. James Cousins. He quoted Cousins’ comment in this context,

“lies in the apprehension of a something stable behind the instability of word and deed, something that is a reflection of the fundamental passion of humanity for something beyond itself, something that is a dim shadowing of the divine urge which is prompting all creation to unfold itself and to rise out of its limitations towards its Godlike possibilities.”

The mantra was conceived as ‘poetic expression of the deepest spiritual reality’ and that is possible “a highest intensity of rhythmic movement, a highest intensity of interwoven verbal form and thought-substance, of style, and a highest intensity of the soul’s vision of truth”. Music gives mantra audibility which is found in practice of Vedic mantras.

Rhythm and Movement

Rhythm is the most crucial to the poetic expression, Aurobindo believes. And it is a ‘sound movement’ which carries the ‘thought movement’ of the words. And it is as Aurobindo mentioned is also musical image movement. Therefore rhythm is important in poetry and it is the process of perception of poetry by the readers. Rhythm also gives poetry an afterlife, it makes poetry lives longer. Rhythm itself is an image what is not only being listened but visualised too.

Style and Substance

Style as a poetic element is always given importance by the Sanskrit literary theorist. Dandin, Bhamaha, Bamana, and other theorists also conceptualised different styles of poetry. Style and movement is perceived as important component for poetic creation by Sri Aurobindo.

The National Evolution of Poetry

Aurobindo did not perceive poetry as mere philosophical or aesthetic creation but he understood poetry as a reflection of national psyche as well as poet’s mind and her/his time. Besides this ‘the spiritual, intellectual, aesthetic tradition and environment’ within which the poet is born also acts in creation of poetry. Poetry is narrative of national mind to Aurobindo. He comments, “In nations which are returning under difficulties to a strong self-consciousness, like the Irish or the Indians at the present moment, this kind of conscious nationalism in literature may be for some time a living idea and a powerful motive”.

The Essence of Poetry

There are two elements of the speech of poetry one is instrumental or outward and the other is the real or spiritual. Along with this emotion is also important to characterise. In poetry what poet expresses is not only the emotion but the soul of emotion. Therefore the emotional experience is also accepted by the poets. Poets also attempt ‘to embody in his speech truth of life or truth of nature’. He also accepted the thought that truth is beauty and beauty is truth is joy forever as ‘it brings us the delight of the soul in the discovery of its own deeper realities’.

The Ideal Spirit of Poetry

Aurobindo, later talks about the ideal spirit of poetry. Poetry is not only for the individual or to satisfy or discover the individual soul but it is for the great countrymen of poet’s own country and the other what is not observed by the poet himself. To mention about the ideal spirit of poetry Sri Aurobindo mentioned,

“The beauty and delight of all physical things illumined by the wonder of the secret spiritual self that is the inhabitant and self-sculptor of form, the beauty and delight of the thousand-coloured, many-crested, million-waved miracle of life made a hundred times more profoundly meaningful by the greatness and the sweetness and attracting poignancy of the self-creating inmost soul which makes of life its epic and its drama and its lyric, the beauty and delight of the spirit in thought, the seer, the thinker, the interpreter of his own creation and being who broods over all he is and does in man and the world and constantly resees and shapes it new by the stress and power of his thinking, this will be the substance of the greater poetry that has yet to be written”.

Conclusion

Aurobindo has synthesised the ideas found in the poetic thoughts of the East and the West throughout the ages. We have briefly tried to discuss about central issues of Aurobindo’s poetic thought. A fine scholar, Aurobindo with his systematic study of poetry beautifully decorated his thoughts on poetry from reason to the result, from reality to the extreme spirituality, from the poetic beauty to the national cause. His thought on poetry is cross cultural, it holds the essence of east-west poetic thoughts and The Future Poetry is an epistemology of poetry. He adapted and synthesised the ideas found in religious texts, in spirituality, in literature, in philosophy, in aesthetics and with reference to these he tries to understand the poetry.