Re-thinking Sri Aurobindo: from Nationalism to Internationalism
Debasis Samaddar
PhD Research
Scholar
Department of
English
Seacom Skills
University
Bolpur, Birbhum,
W.B., India
&
Prof. Dr. Goutam
Ghosal
Department of
English
Seacom Skills
University
Bolpur, Birbhum,
W.B., India
Abstract:
Sri Aurobindo whom Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das
called the “the prophet of nationalism and the
lover of humanity” (Bose 140), opined that Nationalism is simply the
ardent desire to realise the Divine Unity in the nation, a unity in which
all the constituent persons, however diverse and seemingly unequal their roles
as political, social, or economic forces, are fundamentally one and equal. In
the ideal Nationalism that India will present to the world, there would be
an intrinsic equality between man and man, caste and caste, class and class.
(The Unhindu Spirit, Sri Aurobindo 228).Among the contemporary Indian leaders,
Sri Aurobindo, being inspired by the Irish patriots, was very much aware of the
fact that without the participation of the common people in the national
movement, irrespective of caste, class, language, culture and religion, India’s
freedom could never be achieved.
Spending
fourteen years in England, Sri Aurobindo returned to India in February 1893 and
joined the Baroda State Service. Coming back to India, Sri Aurobindo involved
himself in close study of ancient Indian language, literature and scriptures.
His proper understanding of the contemporary Indian political scenario and
great zeal for Nationalism led him to participate in the national liberation
movement though initially only through literary and political writings. When he
stepped into the Indian political arena, it was mostly dominated by the
moderate Congress leaders who hardly ever realized the importance of
mass-participation in the national movement. It therefore became incredibly
significant to make the politically marginalized classes conscious and at the
same time to bring them into the mainstream political periphery. Therefore, Sri
Aurobindo along with Bepin Chandra Pal and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, introduced New
Nationalism, which was the very first step towards achieving his goal. On the
other hand, his “The Doctrine of Passive Resistance” (1907), published serially
in Bande Mataram, was the first
attempt at organizing a mass-movement in India to oppose British rule. But in
connection with the “Alipur Bomb Case”, Sri Aurobindo was arrested in 1908 and
was kept in jail for a year. This was the turning point in the political career
of this lifelong active politician. His political as well as philosophical
views were expanded. He started a new voyage from microcosm to macrocosm, from
Nationalism toInternationalism. This paper, therefore, seeks to highlight this
voyage of Sri Aurobindo within the timeframe of 1893-1910.
Keywords: Sri Aurobindo, Nationalism, Internationalism,
Bhawani Mandir, Bande Mataram, Karmayogin
Sri Aurobindo
(1872-1950), referred to as “the prophet of nationalism and the lover of
humanity” by Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das (Bose 140), held the belief that:
Nationalism is simply the passionate
aspiration for the realisation of (the) Divine Unity in the nation, a unity in
which all the component individuals, however various and apparently unequal
their functions as political, social or economic factors, are yet really and
fundamentally one and equal. In the ideal of Nationalism which India will set
before the world, there will be an essential equality between man and man,
between caste and caste, between class and class.(The Unhindu Spirit, Sri
Aurobindo 228).
Sri Aurobindo was a lifelong active politician.
After residing in England for fourteen years (1879-1893), he returned to India
in February 1893 at the age of twenty-one and commenced his service in the
Baroda State. However, this prolonged residence in England and European
education did not alter his inner essence. During Sri Aurobindo's stay in
England with his brothers, their anglicised father, Dr. Krishnadhan Ghose,
gradually became a patriot. After 1885, Dr. Ghose consistently kept his
sons updated about the prevailing conditions in India under oppressive
British rule by sending them newspaper clippings. In the final two years
in England, Sri Aurobindo got involved with secret Indian associations.
Upon returning to India, Sri Aurobindo engaged in a close study of ancient
Indian languages, literature, and scriptures. His
deep understanding of the contemporary Indian political situation and
strong passion for nationalism motivated his involvement in the Indian national
movement, though initially only through literary and political writings.
Sri Aurobindo’s
political career in India can be delineated into two phases: the pre-prison
period from 1893 to 1908 and the post-prison period from 1909 to 1950. In the
initial phase, one of the tenets of his Nationalism was to stimulate the masses
towards the mainstream political sphere through diverse literary and political
endeavours. Conversely, in the subsequent phase, his Nationalism evolved into
Internationalism, Universal-Humanism, or Universal-Nationalism through Sanatana
Dharma. However, his nationalism was never devoid of Universal-Humanism.
Sri Aurobindo posited that Nationalism was the current necessity of the nation,
although its future was Internationalism.
Bankim Chandra
Chatterjee introduced the concept of modern Indian Nationalism in his
renowned Sanskrit poem, Bande Mataram, and the novel Anandamath,
wherein he venerated the motherland as a deity and assembled a cadre of
sannyasins prepared to sacrifice their lives for liberation of the motherland
ffrom foreign dominion. Sri Aurobindo was significantly affected by Bankim
Chandra's political writings upon entering the realm of Indian freedom
fighting. In Dharmatattva, Bankim Chandra characterised patriotism as an
absolute submission to God. On 19 January 1908 in Bombay, Sri Aurobindo
addressed the public and said that:
What is Nationalism? Nationalism is not a
mere political programme; Nationalism is a religion that has come from God;
Nationalism is a creed in which you shall have to live. Let no man dare to call
himself a Nationalist if he does so merely with a sort of intellectual pride,
thinking that he is more patriotic, thinking that he is something higher than
those who do not call themselves by that name. If you are going to be a
Nationalist, if you are going to assent to this religion of Nationalism, you
must do it in the religious spirit. You must remember that you are the
instrument of God for the salvation of your own country. You must live as the
instruments of God. (The Present Situation, Sri Aurobindo251-252).
However, some
critics condemn Sri
Aurobindo’s theory of Nationalism. Partha
Chatterjee and Sumit Sarkar are skeptical, particularly on the
role of religion in the Nationalist movement. Romila Thapar on the other
hand,asserts that, following Bankim Chandra, Sri Aurobindo intended to
regenerate India by revitalising the old splendour of Hinduism. Consequently,
she regards Sri Aurobindo's Nationalism as Religious Nationalism. However, an
in-depth analysis unequivocally demonstrates that Sri Aurobindo did not
advocate for Hinduism. Though there was a discernible spiritual dimension in
his conception of Nationalism, Sri Aurobindo did not conflate religion with
spirituality that Swami Vivekananda earlier found in the vein of the nation and
said, “Our life-blood is spirituality. If it flows clear, if it flows strong
and pure and vigorous, everything is right; political, social, any other
material defects, even the poverty of the land will all be cured if that blood
is pure” (Vivekananda).
Sri Aurobindo was
the first among modern Indian leaders to recognise the significance of public
engagement in the mainstream nationalist movement. Sri Aurobindo, inspired by
the Irish patriots, recognised that India's liberation could not be attained
without the involvement of the common people, regardless of caste, class,
language, culture, or religion. However, the contemporary moderate
Congress leaders profoundly disappointed him. Sri Aurobindo authored nine
impassioned political pieces published in Indu Prakash from August 7,
1893, to March 6, 1894, in Bombay. These essays collectively became known as New
Lamps for Old. Sri Aurobindo criticised the moderate Congress leaders for
their inability to recognise the significance of public engagement in the
national movement, and he also condemned their approach of 'prayer and
petition.' In the second essay in New Lamps for Old, Sri Aurobindo
articulated his dissatisfaction as follows:
I admit that the Congress has promoted a
certain modicum of concord among us; but I am not prepared to admit that on
this line of action its outcome has been at all complete and satisfying. Not
only has the concord it tends to create been very partial, but the sort of
people who have been included in its beneficent action, do not extend beyond
certain fixed and narrow limits. The great mass of the people have not been
appreciably touched by that healing principle, which to do the Congress
justice, has very widely permeated the middle class. (15)
In the third article of New Lamps for Old,
Sri Aurobindo vehemently criticised the National Congress's standing,
stating:
I say, of the Congress, then, this, - that
its aims are mistaken, that the spirit in which it proceeds towards their
accomplishment is not a spirit of sincerity and wholeheartedness, and that the
methods it has chosen are not the right methods, and the leaders in whom it
trusts, not the right sort of men to be leaders; - in brief, that we are at
present the blind led, if not by the blind, at any rate by the one-eyed. (19)
Sri
Aurobindo opined that “the National Congress was not really national and had
not in any way attempted to become national.”
(New Lamps for Old – III, Sri Aurobindo 19). Simultaneously, he explained his concept by
stating “When therefore I said that the Congress was
not really national, I simply meant that it did not represent the mass of the
population.” (20), rather “the Congress represents the thinking portion of the
Indian people.” (22). Sri Aurobindo hinted at the rise of the new middle class
who were not only opportunist but also rigid. With this very rising new
middle-class spirit Sri Aurobindo evolved his idea of Nationalism and said:
And if I were asked to describe their class
by a single name, I should not hesitate to call it our new middle class. For
here too English goods have driven out native goods: our society has lost its
old landmarks and is being demarcated on the English model. But of all the
brand new articles we have imported, inconceivably the most important is that
large class of people – journalists, barristers, doctors, officials, graduates
and traders – who have grown up and are increasing with prurient rapidity under
the aegis of the British rule: and this class I call the middle class: for, when
we are so proud of our imported English goods, it would be absurd, when we want
labels for them, not to import their English names as well. Besides this name
which I have chosen is really a more accurate description than phrases like
“thinking men” or “the educated class” which are merely expressions of our own
boundless vanity and self-conceit.
(22-23)
This
also clearly indicates the emergence of swaraj and boycott, which
appeared a decade later in the journal, Bande Mataram.
In such a situation, it became exceedingly important for Sri Aurobindo
to raise awareness among the politically marginalised
classes and integrate them into the mainstream political movement.
Consequently, Sri Aurobindo, in conjunction with Bepin Chandra Pal and Bal Gangadhar
Tilak, introduced New Nationalism, a form of nationalism that synthesised
the concepts of Bankim Chandra and Sri Ramakrishna.At the time
of publishing of Bande Mataram (1907-1908), Sri Aurobindo described
the concept of his New Nationalism in the unpublished article, “The Bourgeois
and the Samurai”, distinguishing it from the traditional notion:
The new Nationalism is the very antithesis,
the complete and vehement negation of the old. The old movement sought to make
a wider circle of activity, freer living-room and a more comfortable and
eminent position for the bourgeois, to prolong the unnatural & evil
conditions of which the subject nations died under the civilizing rule of Rome
and which British rule has recreated for India; the new seeks to replace the
bourgeois by the Samurai and to shatter the prison house which the nineteenth
century made for our mother and build anew a palace for her glory, a garden for
her pleasure, a free domain for her freedom & her pride. The old looked
only to the power & interests of the educated, enlightened middle class,
and shrank from the ignorant, the uneducated, the livers in the past, the outer
unilluminated barbarian, drawing aside the hem of its robes lest it should
touch impurity. The new overleaps every barrier; it calls to the clerk at his
counter, the trader in his shop, the peasant at his plough; it summons the
Brahmin from his temple and takes the hand [of] the Chandala in his
degradation; it seeks out the student in his College, the schoolboy at his
books, it touches the very child in its mother’s arms & the secluded zenana
has thrilled to its voice; its eye searches the jungle for the Santal and
travels the hills for the wild tribes of the mountains. It cares nothing for
age or sex or caste or wealth or education or respectability; it mocks at the
talk of a stake in the country; it spurns aside the demand for a property
qualification or a certificate of literacy. It speaks to the illiterate or the
man in the street in such rude vigorous language as he best understands, to
youth & the enthusiast in accents of poetry, in language of fire, to the
thinker in the terms of philosophy and logic, to the Hindu it repeats the name
of Kali, to the Mahomedan it spurs to action for the glory of Islam. It cries
to all to come forth, to help in God’s work & remake a nation, each with
what his creed or his culture, his strength, his manhood or his genius can give
to the new nationality. The only qualification it asks for is a body made in
the womb of an Indian mother, a heart that can feel for India, a brain that can
think and plan for her greatness, a tongue that can adore her name or hands
that can fight in her quarrel. The old shunned sacrifice & suffering, the
new rushes to embrace it. The old gave a wide berth to the jail and the rods
& scourges of Power; the new walks straight to meet them. The old shuddered
at the idea of revolution; the new is ready to set the whole country in turmoil
for the sake of an idea. The old bent the knee to Caesar and presented him a
list of grievances; the new leaves his presence or dragged back to it, stands
erect and defies him in the midst of his legions.(348-349)
In 1905, Sri Aurobindo penned a political pamphlet
titled Bhawani Mandir, which significantly impacted the
contemporary revolutionary movement in India. Here he portrayed
the image of the deity Bhawani or Shakti as the mother figure of
the world and connected this concept to his idea of Nationalism,
which generated significant enthusiasm among people:
When, therefore, you ask who Bhawani the
mother is, She herself answers you, “I am the Infinite Energy which streams
forth from the Eternal in the world and the Eternal in yourselves. I am the
Mother of the Universe, the Mother of the Worlds, and for you who are children
of the Sacred Land, Aryabhumi, made of her clay and reared by her sun and
winds, I am Bhawani Bharati, Mother of India.” (Bhawani Mandir, Sri
Aurobindo74-75)
In Bhawani
Mandir, Sri Aurobindo formulated a novel concept of nation. He depicted the
nation as a "mighty Shakti" (69) and referred to India as
"Bhawani Bharati" (69) who was in prison and
"inactive" (69) due to the "ignorance of her sons." (69)
Consequently, he urged his countrymen to awaken the "Brahma"
(69) within themselves. This is a subtle sign of mass movement that was
subsequently expanded in the Bande Mataram.
In April 1906, Sri
Aurobindo arrived in Calcutta and took charge of the Bande Mataram
(1906-1908). Sri Aurobindo, as the first Indian political leader, advocated for
Swaraj, or total independence from British dominion, and generated
enormous enthusiasm among the people. In reaction to Lord Curzon's Bengal
Partition Policy, Sri Aurobindo initiated the Swadeshi-Boycott movement,
which rapidly gained significant support. Sri Aurobindo
intended mass involvement in the movement and
therefore, different activities such as public meetings, processions, and road
shows were undertaken. Consequently, several backward classes
like blacksmiths, potters, carpenters, barbers, washer men, sweepers, and
scavengers, voluntarily participated in the Swadeshi-Boycott
movement. His "The Doctrine of Passive Resistance" (1907),
published serially in the Bande Mataram, was the first attempt to
organise a mass movement in India against British rule. In the chapter titled
“The Awakening of Gujerat”, published in the Bande Mataram on December
17, 1907, Sri Aurobindo elucidated the significance of the subalterns in the
Indian national movement and simultaneously criticised the Congress for its
disconnection from the politically backward classes:
Nationalism depends for its success on the
awakening and organizing of the whole strength of the nation; it is therefore
vitally important for Nationalism that the politically backward classes should
be awakened and brought into the current of political life; the great mass of
orthodox Hinduism which was hardly even touched by the old Congress movement,
the great slumbering mass of Islam which has remained politically inert
throughout the last century, the shopkeepers, the artisan class, the immense body
of illiterate and ignorant peasantry, the submerged classes, even the wild
tribes and races still outside the pale of Hindu civilization, Nationalism can
afford to neglect and omit none. (247).
But in relation to
the "Alipur Bomb Case" - or the Manicktolla Bomb-Factory
Case - or the Muzzaferpore Bomb Outrage Case, Sri Aurobindo was arrested
on May 2, 1908, and was incarcerated for one year. This was the turning
point in the political career of this lifelong active politician. Immediately
upon his release from incarceration, Sri Aurobindo explained his concepts of
New Nationalism in his esteemed “Uttarpara Speech” delivered on 30th May 1909:
I say no longer that nationalism is a creed,
a religion, a faith; I say that it is the Sanatana Dharma which for us is
nationalism. This Hindu nation was born with the Sanatana Dharma, with it it
moves and with it it grows. When the Sanatana Dharma declines, then the nation
declines, and if the Sanatana Dharma were capable of perishing, with the
Sanatana Dharma it would perish. The Sanatana Dharma, that is nationalism. This
is the message that I have to speak to you. (376)
Sri Aurobindo's
New Nationalism was never confined to mere Hindu revivalism. For him,
"sanatana dharma is life itself" (Uttarpara Speech, Sri Aurobindo370),
and it encapsulates the eternal truths and principles of human
existence and the universe. Sri Aurobindo's conception of dharma encompassed
a broader scope rather than conventional religion. He regarded the Veda as
the foundation of Sanatana Dharma. In the “Essays Divine and Human”, he
articulated:
I believe that Veda to be the foundation of
the Sanatan Dharma; I believe it to be the concealed divinity within Hinduism,
- but a veil has to be drawn aside, a curtain has to be lifted. I believe it to
be knowable and discoverable. I believe the future of India and the world to
depend on its discovery and on its application, not to be the renunciation of
life, but to life in the world and among men. (Hinduism62).
Sri Aurobindo
initiated two weekly publications in 1909 - the Karmayogin in
English and the Dharma in Bengali, where he expressed the concepts of
New Nationalism in a moderate tone. Sri Aurobindo advocated for universal
spirituality as a component of his New Nationalism, for its unique ability to
transform human consciousness.
Sri Aurobindo
adopted the title Karmayogin from the Bhagavad Gita. The subject of
sacrifice, initially presented within the political framework of Nationalism in
the Bhawani Mandir and the Bande Mataram, was more powerfully
exemplified in the Karmayogin through the teachings of the Gita, which
instructs humanity on the path to divine unity. Here Sri Aurobindo
persistently encouraged countrymen to worship the nation as a mother
figure, though in a softer tone.In “The Ideal of the Karmayogin”, Sri Aurobindo
articulated the objective of Karmayogin as follows: "Our aim will
therefore be to help in building up India for the sake of humanity – this is
the spirit of the Nationalism which we profess and follow" (385). It is
also significant that the themes in the Karmayogin were more diverse
than those in the Bande Mataram, focussing on the nation's educational
and cultural reconstruction.
In the
contemporary national and international socio-political scenario, Sri Aurobindo
discerned the increasing urge for knowledge among the general populace of
India, besides patriotic sentiments. He also acutely noticed their
anxiety for identity as they had yet to acknowledge self-identity in
connection to their motherland's glorious history. Therefore, in
order to promote self-awareness among the general populace, Sri Aurobindo
started the Karmayogin. If the Bande Mataram focused on political
freedom through the concept of purna swaraj, the Karmayogin on the
freedom of the individual self. The Karmayogin functioned as a reminder
to the general populace of their inherent dharma. Sri Aurobindo regarded the Kshatrya
dharma as an imperative requirement of that time. It was an altruistic deed
in the service of the nation. In this context, he referenced the Samurai of
Japan, who equally made sacrifices for their country.
Sri Aurobindo used
Nationalism as a logical tool for human unification. During the Bande
Mataram phase, he associated it with the Swadeshi movement and effectively
progressed through the Sanatan Hindu Dharma of the Karmayogin phase
towards Internationalism. Until he died in 1950, Sri Aurobindo remained devoted
to his concepts of divine unity and universal humanity, which were integral
components of his New Nationalism. Consequently, it may be asserted that Sri
Aurobindo’s philosophy of New Nationalism represented a genuine transition from
microcosm to macrocosm, from Nationalism to Internationalism.
Works Cited
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Nationalism. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication, 1996.
---.“Hinduism and the Mission of India.” Essays Divine and Human,
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Accessed 15September 2024
---. “New Lamps for Old – II”. On
Nationalism. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication, 1996.
---. “New Lamps for Old – III”. On
Nationalism. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication, 1996.
---. “The Awakening Gujerat”. On
Nationalism. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication, 1996.
---. “The Bourgeois and the Samurai”. On
Nationalism. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication,1996.
---. “The Ideal of the Karmayogin”. On
Nationalism. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication,1996.
---. “The Present Situation”. On
Nationalism. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication, 1996.
---. “The Unhindu Spirit of Caste Rigidity”. On
Nationalism. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication,1996.
---. “Uttarpara Speech”. On Nationalism.
Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication, 1996.
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Almora: The Future of India”, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda,
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