Sri Aurobindo inspired generations, left his mark wherever he went: PM Modi

Source: The post is based on the article “Sri Aurobindo inspired generations, left his mark wherever he went: PM Modi” published in The Hindu on 14th December 2022

What is the News?

The Prime Minister has virtually released a commemorative coin and postage stamp to mark the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Sri Aurobindo.

Who was Sri Aurobindo? 

Sri Aurobindo was born on August 15, 1872. He was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist.

Aurobindo’s pragmatic strategies to get rid of British rule marked him as “the Prophet of Indian Nationalism”.

Education: His education began in a Christian convent school in Darjeeling.

He entered the University of Cambridge, where he became proficient in two classical and several modern European languages.

In 1892, he held various administrative posts in Baroda and Calcutta.

Freedom Movement: The partition of Bengal in 1905 provoked Aurobindo to leave his job in Baroda and plunge into the nationalist movement. 

He started the patriotic journal Bande Mataram to propagate radical methods and revolutionary tactics instead of supplication. 

He was arrested thrice by the British — twice for sedition and once for conspiring to “wage war”. 

In 1908, he was arrested on the charge of the Alipore bomb conspiracy case but was acquitted in 1909 after a long trial.

Integral Yoga: Though acquitted, Aurobindo faced a constant threat of jail or exile to the Andamans, forcing him to seek refuge in Pondicherry, a French enclave.

At Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo developed a spiritual practice called Integral Yoga. The central theme of his vision was the evolution of human life into a divine life in the divine body.

Aurobindo’s Ideas on Second World War: Several Indians saw the Second World War as an opportune moment to get rid of colonial occupation; Aurobindo asked his compatriots to support the Allies and ensure Hitler’s defeat.

– In 1943, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature and then again in 1950 for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Literary works: He was also a journalist and his first philosophical magazine called Arya was published in 1914. Among his many writings are The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga and Savitri.