Comrades .... Of late I have acquired a deep interest in the works of the Late Bengali Revolutionary Aurobindo Ghosh who was the leader of the Armed Movement in Bengal in the early part of the 20 the Century. It was not overnight, I have been reading some of his works sporadically during the last one year but it is only of late that I have started making a concentrated effort at trying to understand his works more comprehensively. I feel there is a need that some of his works and commentary needs to be discussed, I think I smell a new blog cooking....will keep you all updated....Below I present an extremely relevant quote that I came across recently. Aurobindo Ghosh on Violence
War and destruction are not only a universal principleof our life here in its purely material aspects, but alsoof our mental and moral existence. It is self evident that in the actual life of man intellectual, social, political, moral, we can make no real step forward without a struggle, a battle between what exists and lives and what seeks to exist and live and between all that stands behind either, It is impossible, at least as men and things are to, to advance, to grow, to fulfill and still to observe really and utterly that principle of harmlessness which is yet placed before us as the highest and best law of conduct. We will use only soul force and never destroy by war or any even defensive employment of physical violence? Good, though until soul force is effective, the Asuric force in men and nations tramples down, breaks, slaughters, burns, pollutes, as we see it doing today, but then at its ease and unhindered, and you have perhaps caused as much destruction of life by your abstinence as others by resort to violence...It is not enough that our hands should remain clean and our souls unstained for the law of strife and destruction to die out of the world. - Sri Aurobindo Ghosh (1872 - 1950)
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