Recent Publications - Sabda - Sri Aurobindo Ashram

18 Recent Publicationsan excellent corroboration of this theory in the significantparables and other relevant texts of the Upanishadslike the Brihadaranyaka, Aitareya and Kena. It briefly discussesSri Aurobindo’s approach to the Vedas and the valueof his theory of adhyatmika interpretation. The survey isboth succinct and masterly. Through this the book successfullymakes out a case for a symbolical interpretationof the Rik Mantras.It is worthwhile to note how Professor Singh hasaccomplished his task, through a few instances culled fromhis book. First of all, there is a hymn called the Frog Hymn(7-103). It is a hymn seen by Vasistha. If we read it, we mayunderstand how the poet looks upon common creaturesand expresses his thoughtsthrough them. He uses themas symbols of things belongingto a completely differentorder of existence.Professor Singh has takenThe book successfullymakes out a case for asymbolical interpretationof the Rik Mantras.note of all important clues provided by the poet and unfoldsto us the underlying significance of the hymn. Onenotable insight he has given is this: “the ... frog after gettingitself bathed in and filled with the heavenly waterand producing the bellowing voice of cow stands for thefull-fledged seer having realised the thousand-syllabledVak and thus being in a position to make available thesame to other human beings also.” (p. 478) In this connectionhe refers to Max Müller’s comment on this hymn. Hiscomment is that the hymn is a satire on priests. Evidently,his conclusion is due to a comparison drawn between thecroaking of frogs and the recitation of the mantras bypriests. Professor Singh rejects this by saying that the comparisonis not intended to put the priests in a bad light. Hethinks that even Yaska’s interpretation of the hymn as amere prayer to frogs does not go deep and bring out itsadhyatmika aspect.To go to the second example from the book, let us referto the interpretation of another important concept, namely,the Horse Sacrifice. After a detailed study the author comesto the conclusion that the most appropriate and authenticexplanation of this sacrifice is to be found in theBrihadaranyaka Upanishad where the horse is shown“to symbolise Prajapati on the divine plane, the sun onthe physical and the Atman on the spiritual.” (p. 470)Given the relevant facts the author has collected and theorder in which he has arranged them we realise how hisconclusion is both natural and inevitable.Now we come to the third and last example. This isrelated to a mantra (1-164-20) seen by Dirghatamas. Itspeaks about two birds (dvasuparna) perched on a tree.They stand for the two realities of Brahman and Jivatman.This mantra appears in the Mundaka Upanishad (3-1-1) asa quotation. It has been elaborated by both the Veda andthe Upanishad. By studying the two elaborations, one inthe light of the other, Professor Singh rightly concludesthat the history of Indian philosophy would have followeda different course of development and produced a nonescapistview of the world, if the elaboration given by theVeda had not been neglected by the leaders of ancientIndia. There is a profound truth in this statement. Thereforeit deserves to be investigated by all scholars of Vedanta.Professor Singh’s book is both insightful and instructive.No serious student of Indian philosophy, particularly ofthe Veda, can afford to neglect this work. It will surelybe a source of unfailing help to all who are generallyinterested in the teachings of this scripture.— N. JayashanmugamProf. Jayashanmugam is a retired professor of Philosophy,Annamalai University.Remembering The Mother with GratitudeA Collection of Reminiscences; Published bySri Aurobindo Centre for Advanced Research,Pondicherry; Price Rs. 100.00, 120 pp.The book is about the Mother’sinteraction with the children anddisciples of the Ashram from the1940s to the 1970s. As the Ashramwent through different phases,the Mother’s physical proximity toher disciples either diminished orincreased. In the ’30s, she was notas much accessible to the first generationof sadhaks as she was to thechildren of the Playground in the ’40s and ’50s. ChitraSen, Aster Patel, Richard Pearson, Gauri Pinto, ShobhaMitra and Krishna Chakravarty were among those luckychildren, now grey-haired venerable disciples sharing withus their golden moments with the Mother. This period isparticularly interesting because we generally don’t associatethe Mother with athletic or gymnastic competitionsor dramatic programmes or guiding the children in theirday-to-day activities. She told them to dress up neatly, cuttheir nails short and recommended “Horlick’s malted milk”for the one-year-old Gauri Pinto. At the same time, sheinfused in them her consciousness almost without theirknowledge, so that she was a complete Mother to them. Awhole new generation grew up under the Mother’s care