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Two Great Wars (I) WE have been through two
great World Wars in the course of our life in Pondicherry. This was quite an
experience. The
two Wars were identical in their inner nature and import. From our point of
view, they were both of them a battle of the gods and titans. On one side were
the instruments of the gods, on the other of the titans. It is a curious
thing, if not altogether strange, that Germany and, to some extent, Russia
should have sided with the titans and England and France and America fought on
the side of the gods. This
is something that happens always in the history of man, this battle of the gods
and titans. Whenever there is a New Creation in the offing, and man is to be
carried a step forward in his evolution, there comes up ranged against him the
forces of Evil who do not want him to rise to a higher level of consciousness, towards
the godhead. They want to hold man bound down in their grip. Such
a moment of crisis came to man in the time of Sri Krishna. The Kurukshetra War
is known as a war of righteousness, dharma-yuddha; it was a war of the
gods and titans. On the battlefield of Kurukshetra Sri Krishna gave his message
that was to initiate the New Age that was coming. In exactly the same way, Sri Aurobindo began to proclaim his message with the opening of the guns in the first World War. The War began in August 1914; on the 15th
August of the same year came out the first number of his Review, the Arya. Another
point of note: the Arya continued
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almost as long as the War lasted. The
"official end" of the War came towards the close of May, 1921; the
Arya ceased
in January of the same year. The Mother had arrived in the meantime to make
Pondicherry her home. The
War left India practically untouched and without any major upheaval. It came
and blew over like a stray wind, even as the raids of the Emden did on the
Indian seas. Our memories of the War are still associated with that strange
episode. The German cruiser passed by the shores of Pondicherry without doing
any damage here, though Madras city received a few shell-shots. But I
distinctly remember how many of the local residents, that is, those who lived
on the Pondicherry sea-face, fled pen-mell towards the west, in the direction
of the present Lake Estate. They packed themselves into rows of
"push-push" carts – we had no rickshaws in those days – and looked
for safety among the ravines of the Red Hills, or perhaps was
it to hide themselves in the waters of the Lake, like Mainaka of the Indian
legend? India had been under the protection of England, so it was Europe that had to bear the brunt of the attack. We escaped with just a mild touch, though it did produce a few ripples here and there. First and foremost of these was the birth of the Bengali army - not a professional army of paid soldiers serving under the Government, but a corps of national volunteers. With the sole exception of the Punjabis and the Gurkhas, Indian troops were not in those days considered as on a par with European soldiers in the matter of fighting capacity. And Bengalis of course were treated with special contempt. They had of late shown some courage or skill in the art of secret assassination, but in the opinion of many that was a "dastardly crime". But a trained and disciplined army was quite another matter. Now, a band of young men from Chandernagor taking the opportunity provided by the War formed themselves into a corps of Volunteers, some fifteen of them. They were French citizens
Page – 484 and
were therefore to join the War on the side of the French and the British. They
arrived in Pondicherry on their way to France, a band of young men beaming with
courage and intelligence. Our Haradhan was among their number. The picture of
young Haradhan, a tall erect figure of a man, calm and audacious, still lingers
in my mind. He used to narrate to us on his return from the War many stories of
his experiences. Once he had even been shipwrecked by torpedo and had to swim
for his life to a life-boat off the coast of Tunisia. Haradhan has recorded his
experience of the War in a booklet entitled "The New Ways of
Warfare", modelled on Barin's "Principles of Modern Warfare"
that we used to read in our early days. Some
of the War scenes of Pondicherry come to mind. Here there was no question of
Volunteers. France has compulsory military training and Frenchmen on attaining
the age of eighteen have to join the armed forces and undergo military
training for a full period of one or two years. The Renonçants of Pondicherry,
that is, those Indians who had secured their full citizenship rights by
renouncing their persona! status under the Indian law,
were also subject to this obligation of compulsory military service. There was
in consequence a great agitation among our local friends and associates. They
had to leave in large numbers to join the French forces. Among them was our
most intimate friend, David, the noted goalie of our celebrated football team.
He had only just been married. I remember how regularly his wife used to offer
worship to Mariamma (Virgin Mary) praying for his safety and well-being, during
the period of nearly three years that he had to be away: they were of course
Christians. The plaintive tones of her hymns still ring in my ears. David
returned after the War was over, perhaps with the rank of Brigadier. I still
remember the welcome he was accorded on his return. He later became the Mayor
of Pondicherry. I also recall the story of our Benjamin. His mother burst into
sobs as she learnt he was
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leave our shores. There were so many mothers and sisters who had to shed bitter
tears as they saw off at the pier the boatloads of men. Benjamin- however did
not have to go. He became a "reformé", that
is, disqualified in the medical test. Within
the country itself, Indian patriots with terrorist leanings tried to use in
their own way this opportunity to beat England down to her knees. One such
group, "the Gadr party", as it tried to land arms and ammunition obtained
by ship from America, was caught red-handed. Another was led by
"Tiger" Jyotin, our Tejen's father as you all know,
who waged open war with the police at Buribalain in Orissa and died fighting,
with all his followers. A third consisting of our 'refugee' patriots
assassinated the tyrannical Magistrate, Ashe, through a conspiracy hatched in
Pondicherry itself. Whether
or not such sporadic acts and activities had any real utility may be open to
question. But a great and noble movement does not keep within the bounds of
"expediency"; it proceeds along the lines of its inner urge -and law.
These patriots and revolutionaries had shown how much could be achieved by a
nation of slaves, even in that epoch and under those circumstances, by a band
of slaves and prisoners bound hand and foot by their chains; they had worked to
the utmost of what was possible then and according to their capacity. The World
War had brought them an opportunity; they thought they might be able to shake
England off the seat of her power. They had taken it as self evident that
England's difficulty was going to be our opportunity. From
a larger point of view, the first Great War can be taken as ushering a finale
to the French Revolution. The Revolution had rolled to the dust the heads
of a single monarch and his queen; But the end of this
War saw the disappearance of practically all the crowned heads of Europe. Those
that remained like the monarchy in England were left as puppets without power.
This was an external
Page – 486 symbol
whose real significance lay in the awakening of the masses and their coming to
power. This meant that not only wealth and affluence but also education and
culture were no longer to be the privileges of the few; they must be made
available to all. Money and position must be within everybody's reach, all must
get a chance to show their merit. To use our own terminology, the higher Light
and Consciousness that are descending on earth and helping man forward in his
march to the heights were now to find their fulfilment: they would be firmly
established and become a living force in the general level of mankind. That
is why in the second place the message brought by the War was that of freedom
and autonomy for all, for the individual as well as for the collectivity or
nation. Colonialism was to cease to exist; even the smallest nations were to
win their freedom. This new era of progress was begun by the First World War. A
third boon was to lay the foundations of an International Society. This no
doubt implied that the different countries and peoples of the world were to
attain their freedom and autonomy. But in order that the smaller units might be
left in security and there might be a check on unjust dealings among the
nations, there had to come into being a Society of Nations where the
representatives of all the nations could meet. This is what came to be known as
the League of Nations. The unity of the human race was to be founded on a
complex harmony of the diverse groups of men. The
ideal now was to create a race of men endowed with the highest gifts of
education and training – what in the view of the sages and mystics would be a
race of god – men the transformation of man from the animal-state to that of the
gods. But that was precisely what stirred the opposing Forces to action. They
were to keep man distracted, lure him from the good path into evil ways, change him, not into a god but into a demon, a titan, a
ghoul. (Goethe once had presented this picture.) That is how man got his notion
of
Page – 487 the super-race, and the notion took concrete shape among a
particular people and some particular individuals. That is what lay behind the
rise of Hitler and his Nazis in Germany. Stalin and his Bolsheviks appeared as
their counterparts in Russia. Mussolini was their henchman, a
"satellite" in modern parlance; Our Puranic scriptures tell of the
ancient Shumbha and Nishumbha, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, Shishupala and
Raktadanta, dual power of Evil defying the Divine Power. Something similar
seemed to be happening again. Here
was precisely what lay behind the origins of the second Great War: the descent
of Evil incarnate to bar the descent of the Divine Power. (2) The
Second World War broke out in 1939. Sri Aurobirido had at first remained
undecided about taking sides. Perhaps the indemnities levied on Germany after
the First War had been excessive and it was therefore natural that Germany
should seek to avenge herself on her victors. The advantages and disadvantages
had also to be considered from our point of view, the interests of India. But
the bleak reality that lay hidden behind this mighty conflagration was soon revealed
to his vision. The Evil Force that had all along been trailing behind like a
dark shadow now appeared to be descending on earth in its final Form of
destruction, the Undivine Force always casting its
dark body "across the path of the Divine Event". So he declared in
clear terms the side he was on; he stood for the Allies, entirely and without
the shadow of a doubt. He lent even his physical support by a token gift of
money to the War effort. At
this supreme moment of crisis in the destinies of man, when the whole future of
the world depended on the outcome of the War, he received into his own body
this stroke of thunder, this all-out invasion of the Evil Force upon
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in order that the earth be saved. Otherwise it would have been beyond the
capacity of any earthly power to hold at bay this invincible Force. Like
Mahadeva of old, he swallowed up into himself this poison that was to engulf
the world. It was like the gift by Dadhichi of the bones of his own body to
fashion the thunder-bolt of Indra. This was the inner meaning of the attack
that fell on Sri Aurobindo's body in 1938, a few months before the actual
hostilities broke out on the material plane. Perhaps in these months the
hostiles had been making their last preparations, taking their final bearings. The
Mother at once made it known that this War was her war, and those who would be
joining this War on the side of the allies would be fighting for her cause. She
expressed her desire that Indians should enlist freely and largely and help in
the War effort to the best of their ability. Many of the French citizens in
Pondicherry had to join the colours, this time in much larger numbers than on
the previous occasion. We are all familiar with the monument that stands on the
Pondicherry sea face to the citizens who have laid down their lives; there is a
fitting ceremonial enacted there every year in memory of the dead. Some of the
children of the Ashram too had joined the army and navy and air force; and some
that were very near and dear to us have even given their lives, as you know.
This reminds me of the stirring words used by Sri Aurobindo in the fiery days
of Swadeshi: Our sacrifice at the altar of the Mother must be as relentless as
that of the Carthaginian parents who pressed their children through fire to
Moloch. It
was in the course of this War that we saw from the Ashram so many aeroplanes
flying directly overhead, by day and by night, although the enemy's missiles
did not quite reach us. Trainloads of troops passed through Pondicherry and
soldiers came in their batches to obtain the Mother's darshan and blessings.
The Mother kept open door for the soldiers; they could come and have darshan
almost
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any time. I remember one officer, a Rajput and very fine man; his name was
Arjun Singh, I think. About himself and a friend of his, a senior officer, he
said they had a particular love and enthusiasm for the practice of yoga in
spite of their having taken up the profession of war. We lost touch with them
later on. India
had to feel the impact of this War to a considerable extent, though it was
mostly our own doing. Perhaps the patriots and lovers of Indian freedom had
been losing their patience and they thought that the discomfiture of England
was going to be their last and best opportunity; so they created a good deal of
trouble. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother held a very different view. What they
said in effect was this: "Help the British government to the best of your
abilities. Enter every branch of their civil administration and their military organisation. Associate with
them everywhere, on land, in the air and at sea; capture all positions of
power, master the technical details. The position that you make for yourself in
this manner, the position of competence and authority, will not slip away from
you; it will be the unshakable foundation of freedom." Had the way shown
by Sri Aurobindo been adopted, the winning of India's independence would have
been an easier task and it would have been more complete; many have begun to
admit this now. In the actual result what was achieved was a kind of compromise
between the two points of view. There
had come a time however when the success of the enemy appeared as a living
menace. We began to hear the warning siren of imminent peril,
orders were issued for the black-out of street lighting on the sea-face of
Pondicherry and many other similar preparations, though most of them did not go
beyond the stage of practice drills. Trenches were dug within the precincts of
the Ashram itself to provide a hide-out in case of an air-raid; buckets and
sand were kept ready all over the place for extinguishing the fires. This was
known as Air Raid Protection work and it was
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the care of a local resident, the father of our Shanta and Babu (the Ashram.
record-holder in long-jump). He has been dead a long time since, but his widow,
the mother of Shanta and Babu, is. still known as Tara
ARP to the Mother. Eventually,
the situation grew more and more serious. Pavitra too received a call to leave
here and join the colours; he then held the rank of Captain. I believe he had
to report to the local barracks for duty. The Mother went so far as to make the
necessary arrangements for his work during the period he might be away, though
he did Rot have to go after all. You remember how the
Mother herself had to leave here soon after the outbreak of the First War and
was not able to return till after the end, six years later.. The Japanese were
now coming close upon us. The Andamans were already in their hands, and Madras
was not so far away. They had overrun Burma and were at the gates of East
Bengal on the north-eastern front, with the Indian National Army of Subhash
Chandra Bose. Our Doctor Jyotish, who was then serving as a medical officer in
the Indian Army, had been sending out frantic SOS calls from his station at Imphal
city, then practically a besieged garrison. From French Indo-China the French
were running away and were on their way back through Pondicherry in the hope of
reaching their own country some day - but which country? They said the
Japanese might be expected any time and that we should start learning their
language. Some thought we had better concentrate on German instead, for the
Germans were going to occupy India. Hitler was at the time pouncing on England
and Churchill alone stood up fearless against that furious onslaught. It
was at this time that, as you have already heard from the Mother, there began a
rush of young children, or rather of people with young children, seeking
shelter in the safety of the Ashram. In fact, we who lived here under the
direct protection of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother did not get into
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of a panic. Nor was there noticeable any great austerity in our day-to-day
life, and we did not have to undergo much privation either in the matter of
food or clothing. Let me here tell you a rather amusing anecdote. One of the inmates
of the Ashram who happened to be away on some business chanced to meet one of
our prominent nationalist leaders. The conversation naturally turned on the
question of India's future. The leader asked him what Sri Aurobindo thought of
the impetuous march of Japan. To that our friend replied somewhat like this:
"There is nothing to fear; for the Japanese will not be able to come in,
they will have to retire. So we have been assured by our Master." The
leader's reaction was a smile of incredulity. I do not know if our friend ever
had a chance later to remind the leader of Sri Aurobindo's prophecy. Most of
our political leaders had not realised
at the time how chimerical it was to hope to free India with the help of Japan,
Germany or even Russia, that is, by accepting their rule which would have been
simply to exchange our masters. The new bondage would have been terrible, for
the neo-imperialism of their ruling cliques was no more than a modern version
of the old intoxication of power; to escape from them would have needed some
more centuries of struggle. I
may in this connection tell you another story, a true story and a very pleasant
and reassuring one. Some of you may have been actually eye-witnesses. Not so
long ago, the air was thick with rumours of a possible danger of a crisis for India: this was a
little before the Chinese attack. Was India going to be invaded and subjugated
by a foreign Power once again? India was no doubt big and had ample .resources
in manpower. But her manpower was little more than that of a rabble, it lacked
the cohesion of organised military strength. The question was put to the Mother
at the Playground. The Mother gave a smile and, pointing to the map of India on
the wall, said, "Can't you see. who is guarding
India? Isn't the north-eastern portion of Kashmir a
Page – 492 lion's
head with its jaws wide open?" The portion indicated does have the
appearance of a lion's head as you can see if you look at it closely. Its
nozzle projects with wide open mouth facing the front, as if ready to swallow
up anyone who dares to come. It is the Lion of Mother Durga. Another little
piece might be added to this story. Matching the lion on our northern frontier,
there is an elephant dangling its trunk on the southern tip of India bordering
the sea; that too is clearly visible on the map. It is as if giving the warning,
"Here am I, the
coast-guard ever on the watch. Beware!" It is the Elephant on which rides
Lakshmi – gajalaksmi, the divine Mother of Plenty and Beauty. The
elephant is the symbol of material power, As
Hitler was threatening to cover, as with an ominous comet's tail, the whole of
earth and sky, one of our sadhaks here sent up to Sri Aurobindo his wail,
"What, 0 Guru, is this happening to the comforting words you gave? Don't
you see that the earth is getting on to the verge of ruin? Where, 0 Saviour, are you?" Sri
Aurobindo's reply was a quiet admonition, "Where is the worry? Hitler is
not immortal." After a short while the castle that Hitler had built was
blown to the winds like a pack of cards. It was as if an all-englobing fog had
been puffed away by a breath, a frightful nightmare had got dissolved in the
light of the dawn.
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