JUNE - JULY 2020
MOTHER INDIA
MONTHLY REVIEW OF CULTURE
JUNE – JULY 2020
PRICE: Rs. 30.00
SUBSCRIPTIONS
INLAND
Annual: Rs. 200.00 (or 2 years – Rs. 400/-, 3 years Rs. 600/- etc.)
For 10 years: Rs. 1,800.00
Price per Single Copy: Rs. 30.00
OVERSEAS
Sea Mail: (valid for USA and Canada only)
Annual: $35
For 10 years: $350
Air Mail:
Annual: $70
For 10 years: $700
All payments to be made in favour of Mother India. Cheque should be sent by speed post only. For
NEFT/bank transfers (from within India only) kindly inform us by email with full name and address. Our
bank details are:
Beneficiary Name: SAAT A/C Mother India
Account Number: 0927101035721
Beneficiary Bank Name: Canara Bank
Beneficiary Branch Name: Pondicherry Muthialpet
IFSC code: CNRB0000927
For Money Orders please send to:
Mother India, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry 605002
All cheques and correspondence to be addressed to:
MOTHER INDIA, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry - 605002, India
Phone: (0413) 2233642
E-mail: motherindia@sriaurobindoashram.org.in
For all subscriptions correspondents should give their full address in BLOCK letters, with the correct
PIN code along with their email id or telephone number. Current or past subscribers are requested to mention
their subscription number in case of any inquiry.
Lord, Thou hast willed, and I execute,
A new light breaks upon the earth,
A new world is born.
The things that were promised are fulfilled.
All Rights Reserved. No matter appearing in this journal or part thereof may be reproduced or translated
without written permission from the publishers except for short extracts as quotations.
The views expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the journal.
All correspondence to be addressed to:
MOTHER INDIA, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry - 605002, India
Phone: (0413) 2233642
e-mail: motherindia@sriaurobindoashram.org.in
Publishers: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust
Founding Editor: K. D. SETHNA (AMAL KIRAN)
Associate Editors: HEMANT KAPOOR & RANGANATH RAGHAVAN
MOTHER INDIA
MONTHLY REVIEW OF CULTURE
Vol. LXXIII
No. 6-7
“Great is Truth and it shall prevail”
CONTENTS
Sri Aurobindo
Outspread a Wave Burst (Poem)
Kena upanishad — an incOmplete cOmmentary
...
...
7
8
The Mother
‘immensity, infinitude, WOnder. . . .’
letters tO a child
...
...
18
19
Amal Kiran (K. D. Sethna)
“inWard”, “dislOyalty” —
cOrrespOndence With sri aurOBindO
...
29
Chitra Sen
‘their earthly fOOd’ — the mOther’s Kitchen
...
32
Raman Reddy
On the manifestO Of the french india sOcialist party
...
44
...
56
The Mother
impressiOns Of Japan
On the 1919 epidemic
...
...
75
77
V. K. Gokak
intervieWs in Japan
three prOse pOems
...
...
82
94
Gautam Malaker
sri aurOBindO, the perfect Gentleman —
“life Of preparatiOn at BarOda”
1. Kindness and Compassion (Part 9)
Supplement:
The Mother in Japan: Recollections and Research
Chhalamayi Reddy
the mOther’s stay in Japan: further findinGs
...
98
Helena a ko
BefOre GOlcOnde — Japan,
the mOther and antOnín and nOémi raymOnd
...
108
Tishio Akai
the mOther’s fOur-year stay in Japan — a research nOte
...
112
Kurita Hidehiko
KOBayashi nOBuKO and the still sittinG meditatiOn
...
118
7
OUTSPREAD A WAVE BURST
Outspread a Wave burst, a Force leaped from the unseen,
Vague, wide, some veiled Maker, masked Lighter of the Fire:
With dire blows the Smith of the World
Forged strength from hearts of the weak;
Earth’s hate the edge of the axe,
Smitten by the gods,
Hewn, felled, the Form crashed that touched heaven and its stars.
SRI AUROBINDO
(Collected Poems, CWSA, Vol. 2, p. 652)
7
MOTHER INDIA, JUNE
- JULY 2020
112
THE MOTHER’S FOUR-YEAR STAY IN JAPAN
A RESEARCH NOTE1
Nama e, g d e ening, b he and i e
f A bind A h am and he f iend
of mine in India.
It’s a great honour for me to be given an opportunity to read a paper on the
mem able cca i n celeb a ing he M he Cen ena Yea f He e n P ndiche . D e ma e
i ae
e eal he e, i am n able
ha e h icall
hi n able m men i h
. Thi i e eg e able, b
e mi i n i gi en me
ha e m ec ded me age i h
, and he en e f h n
i m ha ing n
apparently surpasses my regret.
S , i be e f
begin i h a im le e i n: Wha a he M he
d ing in Ja an? The an e i al
im le: We d n kn . A a f m he lain
fac like he da e f he a i al (i a in Ma , 1916) and de a e (Feb a , 1920),
he lace he e he ed minan l li ed (in T k f m 1916 1917, in k
1919, and again in T k f he e f he da ), n m ch i kn n
. The
n mbe f he ma e ial eliable en gh f ll
he f
in i
mall, and
reproducing her life in Japan from those evidences is by no means easy.
one e am le i he eci e add e
he e he li ed in k
. The e i e i
c nf i n ab i . once i a belie ed ha he li ed i h he f iend N b k k baa hi in he h ge h e nea he im e ial Uni e i
fk
, b i i im
ible
[because] that house itself was built seven years after the Mother’s departure. My
f iend M . Chhlama i Redd a ked me and D . k i a
g e
he e ac lace.
All we were able to discover is that initially she stayed in the personal residence
f D . k ba a hi, N b k
h band, in he lace called Shichij , m e han f
kil me e
h f m he af e-men i ned add e . We a e n e en e if he li ed
he e e manen l . P e mabl he a a enan f a m de a a men D . k ba a hi
f nd f he , and he changed a
m n he ec nd
f he h e in a ea
m, in hich he ic e i ll h
la e a aken. The g nd f m
mi e
i he M he le e D . k i a f nd am ng he d c men Madame k ba a hi lef .
In the letter to Nobuko dated 13thN embe 1917, he a ked Madame k ba a hi
nd a h e li e f he f iend named D . Hi h, i h h m he migh ha e he
house later. But this is not a decisive evidence and nothing to assure my hypothesis
further has been found so far.
in Ja an, he M he eemed
end a lacid and h mble life, and i belie e ha
being n c n ic
a he i h. Bi g a hicall
eaking, i af e he ec nd
nf
1. A ligh l h ened e i n f he
na el , be e d ced.
iginal a e . The h
112
mother india, june
- july 2020
ga h
efe ed
in he e
c
ld n ,
the mother’s four-year stay in japan
— a researCh note
113
ii
india and he e a a i n f m Pa l Richa d ha he M he came
he f e,
kn n e en i el
he blic, i mean. Bef e ha , n
nl in Ja an b in he
life in F ance and in he c mm ni
f he C mic M emen in Alge ia, he name
a kn n nl
a limi ed e le, m l he membe f cc l ci cle . Se e al
acquaintances or friendships she established in those days were barely maintained
af e he e led e manen l in P ndiche , a b e ed in he ca e f i ma de
Man ia l , a F ench he
hi lad h a ked he M he
make a angemen
i i he S ill Si ing S cie
hen he
ed Ja an in 1923. Man ia l
ii
can be c n med b m l i le
ce incl ding he M he le e hich Madame
k ba a hi ke
e nall
he end f he life, and he e nal dia ec ded b
DT S ki, a fam
ch la f Zen B ddhi m and f iend f D . k ba a hi.
De i e he lack f c nc e e e idence, i
ngl
gge ha he M he , Mania l , and Ale and a Da id-N el, he e l e h en e ed Tibe in 1912 a he
E
ean man, kne each he hile li ing in Pa i , and meh Phili e
kn
ell,
Ba bie Sain -Hilai e a linked i h me f , all f hem.2 A
Sain -Hilai e i he eal name f Pa i a and hi de ee f S i A bind nce bel nged a mall The
hical L dge hile a ing in Ja an, and h e membe
e e cl el ela ed i h DT S ki and hi ife Bea ice Lane.
in he ea lie a f he life, he M he acc m anied a eci c men , and he
eff
a chie di ec ed he c mm nica i n i h a i i al en i , and
ec d
the interplay between her and the entity; to interpret the communication and make it
blic, a he
k f he men . Thi i a ic la l
e f he C mic M emen ea , hen he a a membe f a i i al c mm ni ga he ing a nd an
enigma ic man called Ma Th n, f hich i ha e n ime
eak in de ail. Th ,
he life in Ja an i a med ha e been en chie f c n em la i n and medi ai n, and li le ime a a ed f e e ing me hing
a dl .
A g abl , hi i he ea n h he d c men ec ding he life in Ja an a e
ha d
nd. P babl , me hing im
an i ill ke nn iced in he a chi e f he
Ashram. It’s quite likely but making an investigation of it is not my current business.
i h ld be
ne
e . Al h gh ab en he e, b h D . k i a and me a e e
eage
d
bef e l ng. T da , i hall e lain he na e f ma e ial e c en l
ha e, and an a
ach
ec n c he M he life in Ja an b
ing hem.
I should emphasise again that the primary sources enabling us to trace her aci n in Ja an a e e fe in n mbe . onl n a fe cca i n , did he make blic
he
n idea. one f he fe e ce i n i W man and he Wa , an a icle he
c n ib ed a ne
a e f Ja ane e ladie , in hich he
he ied he e ali
2. V ekhem ec d Da id-N el i i P ndiche in 1911, babl j bef e he en e ing Tibe . Ge ge
an V ekhem, Beyond the Human Species, the Life and Work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother (1998), 40.
mother india, june
- july 2020
114
the mother’s four-year stay in japan
— a researCh note
of two opposing genders of human beings.3 This was printed soon after her arrival in
Ja an, and hi
gge
ha me ne h had kn n he bef e media ed be een
her and the publisher. I haven’t yet examined the issue of the newspaper in which
he a icle a in ed, b a d e ended in hi di ec i n migh lead
a ne
di c e , and he
blem he he he
e m e f hi kind f e ie
ill be
revealed. Another case of her writing printed in Japanese media is entirely different
f m hi , hich i hall di c
la e .
The second type of the primary source is mention of the Mother’s as recorded in
he e n mem i , dia ie , le e , and m
f hem a e n bli hed. T
f he Ja ane e f iend , Sh mei ohka a and N b k k ba a hi, a e he a h
f
he e ec d . The ma e ial Madame k ba a hi lef af e he dea h, in a ic la ,
Mama’s Notes, a l el li le c llec i n f he mem ie , a e e ceedingl im
an
in terms of including her relationship with the Mother in Japan and her visit to her
ld f iend in P ndiche in 1960. i da e n g f he in hi eld, a i belie e hi
i he e D . k i a de el
hi di c i n.
in c n a
Madame k ba a hi h
a nl kn n a limi ed n mbe
f e le in e e ed in medi a i n ac ice like Zen B ddhi
f S ill Si ing,
A h mei ohka a, an he Ja ane e h emembe ed he ell, a an ic nic g e
in the interwar history of Japanese nationalistic ideology. He was one of the leading
ide l g e f Pan-A iani m, he li ical inci le end ing Ja an e i ial
e an i n, and b he e ea n he a
ec ed a a cla -A a c iminal in
T k Wa C ime T ib nal, held af e Ja an
ende
he Allie . Like Madame
k ba a hi, ohka a i i ed he M he in P ndiche la e .
ohka a f iend hi i h he M he i
h f n e in e m ha he em a h
for Indians who suffered immensely from British atrocity bound both of them. The
ni ca i n f A ian e le c m e e i h he d minan
e f We e n im eiali m a he idea he ha ed i h each he . i i n c incidence ha he
me a a lec e n Hind hil
h made in 1916 b an indian named Ha i P a ad
Sha i. ohka a a
e ha he a he M he he e f he
ime, hile he
e ence in he lec e i h he h band Pa l Richa d i c n med b he li f he
attendees.4
This is the story generally accepted but I’m rather suspicious about the reliabili
f i . Unf
na el , n en gh ime i gi en me di c
i in de ail, b
i hink ohka a had kn n f he M he a i al in Ja an bef e hi inciden , and
he lea n f i h gh a ce ain h man ne
k, eci c b n en i el e ealed
3. Ge ge an V ekhem, The Mother, the Story of her Life (2000), 176. Thi a icle i n
c n ained in
Works of Long Ago (CWM 2:143 ff.), b
iginall
in ed in Fujoshinbun in 1911.
4. Thi lec e a held b Wa eda Uni e i
ind l g S cie
c mmem a e he cie
decennial.
The Waseda Bulletin e
ha he i le f Sha i
eech a on A ma , and he name f Mi a Richa d
a egi e ed in he a ici an li
ge he i h Sh mei ohka a. Waseda Gakuho [The Waseda Bulletin],
Dec., 1916.
mother india, june
- july 2020
the mother’s four-year stay in japan
115
— a researCh note
he dina
e le e e . Thi ne
k al a ac ed i a l
f indian , h e
li ing ei he in india
ide, and in Ja an he e e m a hi e f he inde enden M emen , and he maj c m nen f hem e e indian den
d ing in
Ja ane e c llege , and ef gee like Ra h Beha i B e.
We ha e
emind
el e ha hi
f mine efe
he ea
hen he
li ical en i n be een Ja an and B i ain a i ing. The Angl -Ja ane e Alliance,
a ea c ncl ded in 1902, a
iginall a i ed
e ain R ia
h ad
e an i n, and he eb Ja an anne a i n f k ea a le a ed in e change f
Ja an ec n ma i n f B i i h d minance e he indian bc n inen , b i a
entering its terminal stage. Although the Japanese Government was still bound legally
by the treaty and therefore obliged to deport Indian Freedom Fighters who sought
li ical a l m in Ja an, a l f Ja ane e e le, incl ding Pan-A iani in ellec al ,
f ndl
m a hi ed i h indian ef gee and ha b ed hem. ohka a a
prominent among them.
The ac ain ance i h ohka a
n in l ed Pa l Richa d in he li ical
ci cle called Black D ag n S cie . T ge he i h ohka a, he edi ed he cie
Engli h j nal, The Asian Review, and bli hed e e al b k n li ical cience.
Hi
e a
anal e he c n em a
ld ge li icall , b i a hea il
c l ed b hi idea f nif ing he A ian e le , he n i n he de i ed f m hi
i i al mina i n . in e e ingl , To the Japanese Nation, he l me he bli hed
in 1917, c n ain e e al e i n in he lang age , am ng hich he Engli h ne
a an la ed b he M he . A a f m he femini e a i men i ned ea lie , hi
is the only publication to my knowledge she got printed during her stay in Japan.
H can hi be in e e ed? Did he nl
lemen
c ec he ling i ic
a ci
f he h band? o , a he bi g a he an V ekhem gge , did he g ide
her husband silently when he acted politically? Although no evidence is available to
an e di ec l hi
e i n, i i likel ha he eamed
e e hei i i n
f a ni ed A ia, j a he c
e a ed ge he hen bli hing he j nal Arya
f S i A bind in 1914 a P ndiche .5
Pa l Richa d m h in l emen in he li ical m emen in Ja an eem
be n
nl d e
ohka a eff
. i a me he had al ead been a a e f
he a i ance Richa d and he M he made S i A bind , ge he i h hei
de
a i n f m P ndiche , hen he a hem f he
ime a Ha i P a ad
Shastri’s lecture. This easily explains the rapid friendship he established with them.
Ac
le f m n h af e hei a i al, he came li e i h ohka a in hi h e
f k i hika a, T k . We a e al ge he n
ng a me he e i ence f a
ce ain ne
k hich made ohka a a a e f he c ming f Richa d and hi ife,
and i a n hing b he ne
k f The
hi , and hi
m
e e
an
Irishman called James Cousins and a small cell of the Theosophical Society he began
5. Sachidananda M han , Cosmopolitan Modernity in Early 20th-Century, R
ledge (2015), 60.
mother india, june
- july 2020
116
the mother’s four-year stay in japan
— a researCh note
in Tokyo in 1919.
C in came Ja an
each Engli h li e a e in kei Gij k Uni e i in
1919. The Uni e i i aid ha e in i ed him acc ding
he ec mmenda i n
made b Rabind ana h Tag e, h kne C in a he edi -in-chief f New India,
he ne
a e b hich Annie Be an he P e iden f he S cie made blic he
li ical agenda. C in ec ded hi mee ing i h Richa d and he M he in Ja an
in e e al lace in hi a el g e and a bi g a h , b hei ela i n hi a
sibly not as accidental as Cousins attempted to make us believe in his records. Cousins
and Richa d e e
ngl b nd ge he in hei c e a i e eff
a ad i e f
he Black D ag n S cie
j nal The Asian Review. They both sought to lessen
B i i h in e e in A ia, a ic la l n he indian bc n inen .
The Theosophical Society is the hub to which many characters of my story were
linked. The M he
ld f iend i ma de Man ia l i i ed Ja an h gh hi ne
k,
and D . k ba a hi ac ain ance DT S ki and hi ife Bea ice e e he membe f he L dge C in la nched in T k . The M he
ec e a Pa i a nce
bel nged an he L dge in T k , he cell igina ed f m he m he gani ai n, hen he a ill Sain -Hilai e. Pe ha Annie Be an had n iced Richa d and
he M he l ng bef e and ied d a hem he ide. We h ld n f ge ha
he a hen he P e iden f indian Na i nal C ng e . i i
ngl
gge ed ha
Cousins’ contact with them in Japan accorded with Besant’s agenda.
in m ch a Richa d ac i n a e c nce ned, e ine i abl
mi e ha hi
i i Ja an a highl
li icall m i a ed. Hi i i n f he ni ca i n f A ian
e le ha m ni ed ell i h he ide l g he Pan-A iani in Ja an
aga ed, and
their doctrine excused well Japan’s ambition of territorial expansion which collided
ihBii h
emac in man a
f he A ian c n inen . When Richa d came
Ja an, he Ja ane e G e nmen had en gh ea n ha b
indian F eed m
Figh e
h
gh
li ical a l m in Ja an, in i e f he
ng e a i n f
hei de
a i n ha he B i i h G e nmen made n he g nd f Angl -Ja ane e
Alliance.
Acc dingl , d ing he M he
a , Ja an a an a ena he e im e iali
f ce e cel f gh i h each he , al h gh he ba le i elf a hidden f m he
e e f dina
e le. Rela i el ell-kn n i he eff made b indian e iden
in Japan when they supported Subhas Chandra Bose in reorganising the Indian National
A m , and hi a n
ible i h
he a nage f he Ja ane e G e nmen .
But all were not equally patriotic as they seemed to be. The secret documents recently
di c e ed in he B i i h F eign of ce e eal ha e e al indian hen a ing in
Japan were British agents who reported each action of Indian refugees to the British
Emba . Ha i P a ad Sha i, in h e lec e he M he
me Sh mei ohka a,
was one such informer.
The degree to which the Mother was concerned with in this world of espionage
i n kn n
, b ne h
he i i ha he n eliabili and c nf i n e i en
mother india, june
- july 2020
the mother’s four-year stay in japan
117
— a researCh note
in the Indian community made her choose a life unnoticed among common Japanese
e le. H e e , e a e
e ha he life a n idle. The ma e ial n hand eeal ha he ha ed he
ni
f medi a i n i h ohka a, and i h Madame
k ba a hi. ohka a ecall ha he
a ge he in medi a i n e e nigh f an
h . i ac i ed Zen and he
ac i ed ga. 6 More important is that she was by
no means hesitant to learn another method and spiritual meaning of meditation she
didn’t know before. [. . .]
in c ncl i n, i m
a again ha m ch ab
he M he 4 ea
a in
Ja an i hidden f m . Ne e hele , hi e i d a n d b he e a a i n eriod for her spiritual development. How it bloomed widely after her second visit to
P ndiche i kn n all f
, and i ha e n hing add i . P e mabl , he
next step we have to take is to compare the materials we have with those contained
in he A h am a chi e . We ha e en gh ea n l k f
ad
he da hen
we can visit you next time.
Thank you so much for your kind attention.
TiSHio AkAi
6. V ekhem, 173.
Existence, not annihilation is the whole aim and pursuit of existence.
Sri Aurobindo
(Essays Divine and Human, CWSA, V l. 12,
. 144)
mother india, june
- july 2020