Overman Foundation

Dear Friends,

Sadguru Omkar (1889—1978)—formerly known as Nilkantha Brahmnachari—was involved in national revolutionary activities from his school days. The group of which he was a part was closely connected with the Jugantar group of Bengal. Because of his revolutionary activities he had to take refuge in the French territory of Pondicherry. When Sri Aurobindo arrived at Pondicherry on 4 April 1910 Sadguru Omkar was among those who went to receive him. He was connected with the Mopla agrarian revolution in Kerala and imprisoned for more than eleven years for his involvement in the Ash murder case. In prison the transformation from a revolutionary to a spiritual Sadhaka took place as vividly described in his notes which he later collected as ‘Confessions on the way towards Peace’. After his release from prison he took the ‘Confessions’ to Sri Aurobindo who wrote a small foreword the next day. He settled down at the lower Nandi Hills in 1930 and built a small Ashram near a Shiva Temple.

A brief biography of this revolutionary-turned-saint written by Shri Gautam Dharmapal has been published in the online forum of Overman Foundation .

Readers who are interested to know more about Sadguru Omkar are requested to refer to his book “Confessions, Upadesh and Talks” (which contains a brief foreword by Sri Aurobindo as well as the text of his conversation with Mahatma Gandhi) distributed by Overman Foundation.

With warm regards,
Anurag Banerjee
Founder,
Overman Foundation.

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A Revolutionary Becomes a Saint: The Story of Sadguru Omkar

Gautam Dharmapal

Nilkantha Brahmachari (Sadguru Omkar’s family name) was born on the 4th December 1889 in Tanjore, South India, in an orthodox Brahmin family. From a very young age, during his high school period, he was involved in the revolutionary activities and could not continue his studies after Matriculation. He came in personal contact with the editor of a revolutionary journal, left his home and mostly stayed at the journal’s office or at the editor’s house. He was deeply involved in the terrorist revolutionary activities, then going on in South India. Once he told me, “we were the first Communists long before the Communist revolution took place in Russia to publish the Communist Manifesto of 1848 in India in English and Tamil. They were the first people to organise the Agrarian Revolution in Kerala amongst the Mopla Muslim farmers—which was immediately turned into Hindu-Muslim riots—the infamous Mopla Riots by the wily British.”

Their revolutionary group had contacts with the Yugantar group of Sri Aurobindo in Calcutta. In fact he (Nilkantha Brahmachari) was arrested from Calcutta in 1911 by the notorious Police Chief Charles Teggart himself—he being the first accused in the famous Ash Murder Case (1912)… He was sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment. He broke the jail and escaped on the 17th September 1914—but was rearrested only after a few days and was sentenced for extra six months. He was released from jail in August 1919. He was again arrested in August 1922 and sentenced for ten years of rigorous imprisonment again for his revolutionary activities.

During his jail life he was so much depressed and frustrated sometimes that once he decided to commit suicide. One night most probably during Deepawali festivals—he had made all preparations for the suicide, when suddenly uncalled for came the kind jailor with sweets in his hand, which changed his mood!

During his revolutionary period Nilkantha Brahmachari took shelter in Pondicherry with other revolutionary leaders. He… was present at the dock when Sri Aurobindo landed at Pondicherry on the 4th April 1910, along with Subrahmanya Bharati—the noted revolutionary poet of South India, Shankar Chetty and others. He was also present when Sri Aurobindo uttered the famous lines, “We belong not to the past dawns but to the future noons.”

During his jail life Nilkantha had written his diary—which he later called “Confessions”. When he was released from jail, he took the manuscript to Sri Aurobindo who came down to meet him, kept the manuscript for a couple of days, and even wrote a few lines as foreword. But later after his transformation Swamiji decided not to publish it, it being full of negative and pessimistic ideas. But even in the confessions there were the intimations of the future flowering of the spiritual life. Sri Aurobindo had noticed it and said so in his short foreword…

Swamiji humorously described how he was portrayed in the Government notice for the fugitives!

“Nilkantha Brahmachari, the First Accused in the Ash Murder Case is a most dangerous person, strongly built, short statured, with dark complexion, wearing black goggles, a chain smoker keeping a cigar all the time in his mouth.”

Nilkantha Brahmachari was released from the jail last time in June 1930, after which he totally left politics and wandered here and there for sometime. During this wandering period for a short time he officiated as personal priest and purohita of the queen of a small state—called Narasinhapuram—near Hoshangabad. But he was tired of the easy life of a priest and one night left the state without informing anybody. At last he established his small ashram at the Nandi Hills…

When Swamiji first came to Nandi Hills, he used to perform yagnas twice a year—once on Shiva Ratri day and the other on Durga Ashtami day. He used to distribute Vibhuti after Shiva Ratri yagna and Kumkum after Durga Ashtami Yagna. This Vibhuti and Kumkum did wonders—healing the sick etc., and slowly people used to throng at the ashram during these days. They came on foot and in carts from distant villages with their sick and disabled patients. Swamiji was embarrassed by the crowd and thought, “is this the work for which I have come here, or for Sadhana of Atmavidya and Brahmavidya?” So he went up in the dense forest where people would not come and harass him. He stayed in the jungle for a couple of years and then came down to the present place of the ashram.

The ashram is situated at a height of about 3000 ft at the lower Nandi Hills called Enannagurator Channa Raya Betta. There was a small dilapidated Shiva Temple, which he got repaired and called it Omkareswar… He kept no furniture in the ashram. He himself slept on the Verandah of the Temple… he took no electric connection in the Ashram. He kept a few hurricane lanterns and a big torch for the night watchman. There were no permanent disciples staying at the ashram. A few used to come to stay for a day or two. They too were accommodated in the same circular verandah of the Temple. For many years Swamiji himself cooked and served the guests but in his old age women from near-by village used to come to cook, whenever there were guests. Swamiji himself took only bananas and papad both the time and coffee three-four times in a day. Once in a week he used to have Khichdi with vegetables boiled together. So simple was his life…

His personal needs were very few. But from where he stayed, he tried to help the surrounding poor villagers with whatever little he can do. He used to distribute especially books, slates, pencils etc., to the young boys and girls and also distributed ready made clothes to children, saris to women and dhoties to men during Shivaratri and Durga Puja days…

Once he said, “the Vedic Age is gone. It won’t come back again. Don’t long for it and don’t work for it. It came, grew great and nourished, weakened and disappeared from the scene of life leaving as heir and substitute the post-Vedic age. The Brahmana Age, The Upanishadic Age, the Age of the Darshanas and Buddhism and the Age of the Puranas, all have come and gone. They won’t come back again. No past age will come again. But every past age left its fragrance behind, though it took its form away. A New Age is coming with the combined fragrance of the past evolving into a New Fragrance for it. If you are not going to work for it, be ready for it. The dead load of the past is always thrown away. But the living fragrance of the past can never be got rid of. Why worry?”

…[In 1977] Swamiji was then getting ready for the coming Shiva Ratri Yajna. Because of the exertion at this old age of 89 he had a mild heart attack, his left side was paralysed and he did not live till the next Shivaratri.

This Saint Extraordinary passed away on the 4th March 1978 in his ashram at Nandi at the ripe old age of 89.

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Dear Friends and Well-wishers of Overman Foundation,

Sri Aurobindo Sakti Centre Trust and Overman Foundation had organized an interactive session with Mr. Prabir Nahar titled “Sri Aurobindo As I Saw Him” on Thursday, 23rd May 2013 at 6.30 p.m. in the premises of Sri Aurobindo Sakti Centre located at P—532, BLOCK “M”, New Alipore, Kolkata 700053.

Born on 12 January 1937 to Dhir Singh and Rajsena Nahar, Shri Prabir Nahar was an inmate of Sri Aurobindo Ashram from 1941 to 1961. After completing his education from Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education he joined the Centre as a teacher of Mathematics and Chemistry. After returning to Kolkata in 1961, he joined Ruby General Insurance Company Limited and subsequently National Insurance Company Limited and retired as an Assistant Manager. He was a nominated member of Hull Tariff Advisory Committee from 1993 to 1997 and took classes in Indian Institute of Post Management (Kolkata) and National Centre of Hearing (Narendrapur).

The session started with a welcome address by Mr. Partha Sarathi Bose, Managing Trustee of Sri Aurobindo Sakti Centre Trust. Mr. Anurag Banerjee, Founder and Chairman of Overman Foundation, felicitated Mr. Prabir Nahar with a flower bouquet and an angavashram and introduced him to the audience.

What follows is the text of Mr. Nahar’s reminiscences:

Prabir Nahar: My grandfather [Prithwi Singh Nahar] was the first to visit Pondicherry. Then my mother [Rajsena Nahar]—following the instruction of the Mother—went to stay at Pondicherry. At that time, my sister [Lucy] was two years of age, I was four and my elder brother [Pratip] was five years old. We stayed at Kolkata for a few months. Then we too were called to Pondicherry. In those days, children were not allowed to stay in the Ashram. My younger uncle, Bir Singh Nahar, had accompanied us along with my two aunts [Sumitra Cazade and Suprabha Nahar]. We reached Pondicherry on 30 September 1941. So you can guess that I was very young at that time. There was no school in those days. We were the first children to settle in the Ashram. Later Gauri [Pinto], Chum [Ganguly] and Jhumur [Bhattacharya] joined the Ashram. I had my first darshan of Sri Aurobindo during the November Darshan of 1941. But to be honest, I don’t recall the memories of my first darshan of Sri Aurobindo at all.

Anurag: Do you recall the memories of the darshans you had afterwards?

Prabir Nahar: Yes, I do remember the darshans I had later.

Anurag: How did you feel when you stood in front of Sri Aurobindo? Please share your experiences.

Prabir Nahar: Since I was just a child I didn’t remember which Darshan I had attended for the first time. The elders had told me that it was the November Darshan of 1941. My sister was so young that she could not go to the Darshan all by herself. Jiji [Kiran Kumari] had to take her for the Darshan in her lap. We used to call Kiran Kumari ‘Ma-Mashi’ for it was she who had brought us up since my mother’s health was never good.

You want to know how one felt when he stood in front of Sri Aurobindo. When we stood in front of Him—when He looked at us—it seemed as if we were made of glass and He could see everything within us. Most of the time He did not utter a word. In case He had to say anything, He conveyed it through the Mother. He knew everything that was going on within us irrespective of the fact whether one tried to conceal or not. Few days before the Darshan day, we felt that since the Darshan was approaching something good was going to happen. We would stand in front of Him for a few seconds and then disperse.

In those days there were only a few children in the Ashram. Despite being very young whenever we stepped inside the Ashram there was something in the atmosphere which instructed us not to make a commotion or play too much. We used to go to the Mother in a queue. We could see Sri Aurobindo only four times a year. The Mother used to call us on the 15th of every month. There were eight or ten children. Just in front of the Service Tree there is a staircase through which we would go up to the first floor where the Mother used to play with us. She used to play ringa-ringa-roses with us. Our mothers would accompany us. The Mother would give us a toffee or a flower and then we returned home. At night we were strictly prohibited to visit the Ashram. No child was allowed. However, during daytime we could visit the Ashram. The school started in 1943. Prior to that, Doraiswami taught English to my elder brother and Kuku [Mr. Vinay Verma, Dr. Indra Sen’s son]. They would go to him and I would follow them. I learnt by listening to the lessons taught to them. When the Mother started the school in 1943 I joined the lowest class. From there I studied up to the Higher Course. I was in the Ashram from 1943 to 1961. I was a student of science and studied mostly physics, chemistry and mathematics. Neither did I study philosophy nor do I understand it.

We stayed in a house called ‘Michel House’. It was situated in the road next to the Ashram. It was the house just beside ‘Harpagon’. The Mother started table tennis in this house. I was very young at that time probably a little taller than the table itself. I had played table tennis with the Mother and defeated Her in a game as well. One who did not know how to play could easily defeat the Mother or else nobody could beat Her. Those who played well would hit the ball so that the Mother could strike it whereas we hit the ball here and there and thus earned the points. There were five rounds in the game. After I won, the Mother remarked to me: “You will be a champion.” And to tell you the truth, for seven years I was the table tennis champion. The Mother kept a careful eye on everything we did be it sports, gymnastics or swimming. She used to take classes in the Playground in the evening. She used to speak on a given subject in French while we would listen and if we had any queries we asked Her accordingly.

It is easy to talk to the Mother. Whatever one craved, the Mother could know of it even if that wish remained unuttered. I have witnessed it many times. I don’t recall what I had said but the Mother did understand what I wanted and had responded accordingly. She also would tell us what to do and what not to do. She gave us groundnuts daily in the Playground and sometimes She gave toffees.

Anurag: Do you recall any memorable incidents which had occurred during the Darshan days?

Prabir Nahar: Some days before the Darshan we felt that we would certainly get something during the Darshan of Sri Aurobindo. And indeed He did so! What He gave was not experienced physically but a force from Him would enter into us. Those who had the faculty of receiving such force understood it.

Anurag: Do you remember the 15th of August 1947 and the riots which took place in Pondicherry in which Mulshankar, Sri Aurobindo’s personal attendant, had lost his life?

Prabir Nahar: Yes, I remember it very well. At night we were not allowed to visit the Ashram. I was in our house with my brother and sister. Suddenly we heard some commotion and saw that some people were running on the street. The windows of our house were open so my elder brother asked me to shut them up. The moment he closed the last window a big brick came and hit it. The window was smashed but fortunately we were not hurt. We were alone in the house. Later at night we came to know that Mulshankar was murdered.

Partha Sarathi Bose: Do you recall the 5th of December 1950?

Prabir Nahar: We had gone for the Darshan on 24th November. We were told to move very swiftly because Sri Aurobindo’s health was not good. Previously we could stand for a few seconds in front of Him but on that day we stood only for a second. But we didn’t notice any signs of illness in Him. On 5 December, in the morning, I came to know that He had left His body. What happened was beyond my comprehension. I felt something very strange within me. Then I went for His Darshan. I could visit His room as many times I wanted from the 5th to the 9th of December. The Samadhi was being prepared and we participated in the digging work. Mona [Sarkar] and Manoj [Dasgupta] were also with us. Not many people know that at the place where now the Samadhi lies, there was a raised structure on which some pots containing ferns were kept. We used to play at that spot. These pots were removed when the Samadhi was being constructed.

Question from the audience: How was the Mother’s birthday celebrated in the Ashram?

Prabir Nahar: Nothing special happened on the Mother’s birthday. No special programme was arranged. The Mother’s birthday was just like any other Darshan day.

Question from the audience: We have heard that after Sri Aurobindo’s mahasamadhi His body was covered with a strange light. You must have seen that light. Please tell us how do you recall it.

Prabir Nahar: Sri Aurobindo had left His body on the 5th of December and He was buried on the 9th. For four days the Body was kept in state. As you are aware, Pondicherry is a very hot place. His body was kept in that hot climate yet nothing happened to His body. Nothing at all! There was no decomposition. Nowadays bodies are kept on blocks of ice to preserve them but nothing of that sort was required for Sri Aurobindo. It seemed to us that a light was coming out from His body.

Question from the audience: Did Sri Aurobindo’s body remain warm?

Prabir Nahar: This I can’t say because I did not touch Him. Those who had touched Him might say something. I am quoting four lines from a poem of Sri Aurobindo: “Even in rags I am a god;/ Fallen, I am divine; / High I triumph when down-trod,/Long I live when slain.” Can you guess on whom this poem was written? It was written on Jesus Christ. It is not that Sri Aurobindo is dead. He is still alive within us.

Anurag: Did you meet the Mother between 5th and 9th December?

Prabir Nahar: No, I didn’t. Some may have met Her but we didn’t. Everyone was very keen to work for the Samadhi. No one felt tired despite working for long hours.

Anurag: Do you recall Sri Aurobindo’s last journey from His room to the Samadhi vault?

Prabir Nahar: Not very clearly. His body was brought from the Meditation Hall and then lowered into the Samadhi. Then everyone put some soil on the slate of the vault. His body was kept in a coffin.

Anurag: People were under the impression that Sri Aurobindo would complete the yoga of physical transformation and eventually conquer death. Were the direct disciples of Sri Aurobindo not disappointed when Sri Aurobindo left His body?

Prabir Nahar: I can’t say for sure. We knew mostly that nothing would happen to Him. Since this was an unexpected event they must have been quite hurt. They didn’t imagine that such a catastrophe could take place.

Partha Sarathi Bose: What was Dilip Kumar Roy’s reaction?

Prabir Nahar: We knew Dilip-da very well. He had profound reverence for Sri Aurobindo. As far as I know he was terribly hurt. After Sri Aurobindo left, I think he did not stay in Pondicherry for long.

Question from the audience: Were you at Pondicherry when the Mother left Her body?

Prabir Nahar: No. I was in Kolkata. I left for Pondicherry after getting the news. I reached the Ashram a few minutes before the Mother was put inside the Samadhi. Thus I could have my last Darshan of the Mother.

Partha Sarathi Bose: The Ashram School started in 1943, that is, during the Second World War. There was a fear of Japanese aggression. Please tell us something about the Ashram life of that era.

Prabir Nahar: It was the time of war. We were asked to be careful for there was a possibility that the Japanese might bombard Pondicherry. There was also a possibility of an attack from the sea-side. We were taught how to safeguard ourselves. Since I was a child of 5 or 6 years I used to have fun. We did not understand the impact. A small child can never understand what the war meant.

Question from the audience: I want to ask a different question. We know Sri Aurobindo as a revolutionary from our childhood days. Since you were a student of science—what I want to know is—as you have said that the Mother could see what was going within you—was there any conflict between this emotion and the knowledge derived from science?

Prabir Nahar: No, never. I could understand it from a very early age. How I understood cannot be explained through physics or chemistry. Let me share an experience of mine with you. While driving my scooter I had a head-on collision with a taxi. My scooter was badly hit due to which I was flung away to a distance of at least 20 to 30 feet. I fell on the ground and I got up. I had broken four bones and there was only one drop of blood on my nose. I felt as if someone had lifted me up and carried me as if on a lap and placed me on the ground. Despite such a dangerous collision nothing serious happened.

Question from the audience: How did your early life in the Ashram influence your life in Kolkata?

Prabir Nahar: I am staying in Kolkata for the past so many years. Now I can stay in Kolkata. But when I shifted to Kolkata from Pondicherry it was quite painful. I had told my aunt that in order to stay at Kolkata one must have a skin similar to that of a rhinoceros. To be honest, I still find it hard.

Anurag: Do you meet Sri Aurobindo and the Mother in the subtle physical?

Prabir Nahar: In response to your question I would say, “Yes”. But I won’t say much about it because inner experiences should not be revealed but kept confined within. If I share it, its value would get reduced. I told you about the accident which made me feel that someone had taken me in his arms and placed me on the ground. There was only a drop of blood on my nose as I used to wear a pair of spectacles. But apart from it nothing happened. Such a thing has happened not once but many times with me. Accidents do take place.

Question from the audience: From 1961 to your present age, do you still feel the Mother’s protection around you?

Prabir Nahar: Yes. I am sure the Mother is watching me all the time. She won’t let me suffer any pain. She would do whatever is good for me. How She would do it that I don’t know. But She is there to help me. For instance, this year on 15th February I decided to visit Delhi with my wife and aunt. No tickets were available. I told myself that if the Mother wanted She would arrange for my trip. Believe me, I tried to get the tickets but in vain. Then suddenly, an agent said that he would get the tickets done for me and he gave me three confirmed tickets. How did he do it that I don’t know. I was not charged more and I got my tickets. As there was a strike on that day most of the train was empty and so our journey was most comfortable. So you can understand that if the Mother wants, She can get things done but only She knows how She would do it.

Partha Sarathi Bose: How do you recall 15 August in Pondicherry keeping in mind that Pondicherry was still a French territory and not yet attained its freedom though the rest of India had become free from British rule? That is why the Mother got the trust deed [of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust] prepared from the Madras Presidency. Tell us something about your experiences of that time.

Prabir Nahar: Pondicherry was indeed a French territory at that time. And the fact that India got her freedom on 15 August was Sri Aurobindo’s birthday gift. We were happy that India was free but we did not feel any change as such. The change took place when in 1954 Pondicherry ceased to become a French territory.

Partha Sarathi Bose: Tell us something about this change, that is, freedom from the French rule.

Prabir Nahar: I won’t be able to say much because I don’t recall it in detail.

Question from the audience: When your mother left for Pondicherry, did your father not oppose her decision?

Prabir Nahar: No, my father did not oppose her. He used to stay alone in Kolkata and would visit Pondicherry once a year. We did not have parents at Pondicherry. We were all children of the Mother. The Mother had told my mother to remain in Pondicherry for She had foreseen some serious accidents to her. After reaching the Ashram my mother said that she won’t be able to stay there if she did not have her children with her. That’s why we were taken there. My mother left everything after receiving the Mother’s call.

Question from the audience: When did Prithwi Singh Nahar die?

Anurag: In 1976.

Question from the audience: Did he stay in the Ashram?

Prabir Nahar: Yes, he stayed in the Ashram main building. My grandfather was the in-charge of the Library. His eyesight was so good (laughter) that he had to read books by keeping them at the tip of his nose. His eyesight was so bad! He could read Sri Aurobindo’s handwriting which no one could decipher. I have seen someone with good eyesight looking for a particular book in the Library but in vain. On being asked, my grandfather would just say that the book was in that almirah, in that shelf, etc. He had the memory of a computer but you had to tell him at the time of keeping the book where it was being kept. He could trace a book without even looking while we with good eyesight failed to do so.

The session ended with a vote of thanks by Mr. Partha Sarathi Bose.

With warm regards,
Anurag Banerjee
Founder,
Overman Foundation.

[From left to right: Mr. Anurag Banerjee, Mr. Prabir Nahar and Mr. Partha Sarathi Bose.]

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Dear Friends,

Nishikanto Roychowdhury (24.3.1909—20.5.1973) was the greatest Bengali poet of Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Having received his early education at Santiniketan where he enjoyed the love and affection of Rabindranath Tagore he arrived at Pondicherry in 1934. He befriended Dilip Kumar Roy and wrote lyrics for many of his memorable songs. Sri Aurobindo was quite fond of his poetry and had called him a “Brahmaputra of Inspiration”. His anthologies of poetry include titles like Diganta, Alakananda, Vaijayanti, Nabadipan, Pachish Pradip, Bhorer Pakhi, Bande Mataram, Shikha-satadal and Lilayan.

Not many people outside the Ashram community are aware of the fact that Nishikanto was a great painter as well. His gurubhai Nirodbaran has recalled: ‘Nishikanto would…sit in half padmasana with his Ganesh-like paunch darkly shinning, half discarding the artificial beauty of the worn dhoti and applying the brush with brooding eyes while the glossy jet-black curls were rhythmically swaying like tender infant snakes around his neck.’

Sri Aurobindo too had remarked about Nishikanto’s paintings: ‘Nishikanto has already his own developed technique and a certain originality of vision—two things which must be there before a man can take the risk as a painter.’

A portrait of Sri Aurobindo drawn by Nishikanto has been uploaded in the online forum of Overman Foundation. The theme of this portrait was inspired by Sri Aurobindo’s poem “The Bird of Fire”.

With warm regards,
Anurag Banerjee
Founder,
Overman Foundation.

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Dear Friends and Well-wishers of Overman Foundation,

We are happy to announce that Overman Foundation has taken up the distribution of Georges Van Vrekhem’s last book “The New Spirituality” published recently.

The late Georges Van Vrekhem (1935—2012), was a Flemish speaking Belgian journalist, poet and playwright who became acquainted with the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother in 1964. He joined Sri Aurobindo Ashram as an inmate in 1970 and shifted to Auroville in 1978. A recipient of the prestigious ‘Sri Aurobindo Puraskar’ he is best known for his books like Beyond Man, The Mother: The Story of Her Life, Overman—The Intermediary Being between the Human and the Supramental Being, Patterns of the Present and Hitler and His God. His books have been translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian.

“The New Spirituality” contains eleven unpublished essays on Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, two articles on how to write about Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, three on Auroville and two on World War II. It also has two In Memoriams (Satprem and Amal Kiran), and four autobiographical texts.

The essays deal with topics such as The Aurobindonian Revolution; Sri Aurobindo and the Future of Humanity; True Philosophy; Matter; The Closing of the Western Mind; The Fall; The Integration of the Four Varnas and the New Dharma; Overman: the Transitional Being; The Metamorphosis of an Avatar; Aswapati and Sri Aurobindo and On Occultism. The two articles on World War II – Lest We Forget and Churchill’s Mission – reveal fairly unknown aspects of the work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Very touching are Georges’ texts about his own development, such as Moments that do not fade – Meeting The Mother.

Published by Stichting Aurofonds in a limited edition, “The New Spirituality” comprises 286 pages and is available at a price of Rs. 300 (Three Hundred) only. Please note that this book along with his  “Preparing for the Miraculous” is not available at SABDA.

To place an order, please write to the following email address:

overmanfoundation@gmail.com

With warm regards,
Anurag Banerjee
Founder,
Overman Foundation.

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Dear Friends and Well-wishers of Overman Foundation,

We are happy to announce that Overman Foundation has taken up the distribution of the book Sri Aurobindo’s Uttarpara Speech: A Centennial Commemorative Volume (1909-2009).

Sri Aurobindo’s Uttarpara Speech has been defined by his biographer A.B. Purani as “a public document of Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual life and contains in seed form some of the basic principles of the yoga he evolved. The human in him yet spoke of the Divine and then the human was completely transformed into the Divine. The Light that he shed was the Light Divine and it is for humanity to follow it and profit by it.” (The Life of Sri Aurobindo, p. 123)

This bilingual compilation comprises of twenty-three thought-provoking articles in English and Bengali penned by the renowned researchers and scholars like Dr. Ananda Reddy, Dr. Prema Nandakumar, Prof. Dilip Kumar Roy, Dr. Goutam Ghosal, Dr. Goutam Neogi, Prof. Radharaman Chakrabarti, Dr. Ratri Ray, Dr. Saurendranath Basu, Prof. Shyamalesh Das, Dr. Tarunkumar Mitra, Prof. Supriyo Bhattacharya, Dr. Usharanjan Chakraborty, Sri Jagmohan (Former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and Former Union Minister of Communication, Urban Development, Poverty Alleviation, Tourism and Culture), Aju Mukhopadhyay and the late Prof. Arabinda Basu to name a few.

The themes of the articles discussed in this anthology include Power of the Indian Mind and Sri Aurobindo’s Vision of India and the World, Towards a Morally Elevating State: The Ideas of Sri Aurobindo, The Concept of the Indwelling Self in the Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo, The Vedic Spirituality and Sri Aurobindo, Sri Aurobindo and Subramania Bharati: Patriotic Poets of the Indian Renaissance, The Unforgettable Nationalist Duo: Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal during the Swadeshi Movement, The Uttarpara Speech: A Unique Piece of Deliberative Oration, Sanatana Dharma to Life Divine, Nationalism Beyond Nationalism: A Perspective, Religion in the Post-Modern Condition: Some Lights from an Interesting Correspondence of Sri Aurobindo, Sri Aurobindo and Yoga for the Divine, Sri Aurobindo’s Uttarpara Speech: Beginning of a “Spiritual Odyssey” etc.

The book also has a message from the pen of Shri Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the former Governor of West Bengal, an excerpt of which is quoted beneath:

“The world is one now in a way which it was not some decades ago. But, for Sri Aurobindo, it always was one. There was a unity in everything that he saw… Every word of Sri Aurobindo’s August 14-15 speech reads like a script that is contemporary, written today and is also timeless. A script which can be said to be of tomorrow, of 10 years from now, 100 years from now. He has himself said it is no coincidence that the date of birth of our country and the day on which he arrived happen to share the date and month…Let us dedicate ourselves, remembering that every Indian of all denominations and creeds is the symbol of the unity which Sri Aurobindo said is yet to come to us. Let us in our lives become that unity.”

Published by Uttarpara Sri Aurobindo Parishad and comprising 320 pages, Sri Aurobindo’s Uttarpara Speech: A Centennial Commemorative Volume (1909-2009) is available at a price of Rs. 200 (Two Hundred only).

To place an order for the aforesaid book, please write to the following email address:

overmanfoundation@gmail.com

With warm regards,
Anurag Banerjee

Founder,
Overman Foundation.

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