At the Feet of the Master

Foreword to the 1969 Edition

The Aurobindo Society Centre at Anantapur is to be congratulated upon the choice of the subject of this small monograph. Many had the opportunity of studying the genius, the modes of thought and the intellectual outlook of Sri Aurobindo, the Mother and the Ashramites, but few could comprehend them fully and the task was not an easy one for Aurobindo was a poet and mystic and the experiences of a mystic are peculiarly his own and are almost incommunicable through the ordinary modes of speech to those who have not shared them.

The period that Sri Aurobindo, the mystic, spent in England was a period of orientation of outlook, and characteristics acquired in the course of his upbringing in England combined with inherited tendencies exercised a profound influence on him. One of his emotional sensitivities was deeply reflected by the rising tide of Nationalism which marked the dawn of the twentieth century. A high destiny was reserved for India, and it was she who must send forth from herself the future religion of the entire world, the eternal religion which is to harmonise all religion, science and philosophies and make mankind one soul.

This conviction was the mainspring of his activities and the core of his thought in retirement into the serenity of solitude to discover the mystery of his being, when he formulated the idea, “In the unending revolutions of the world, as the Eternal turns mightily in its courses, the infinite energy which streams forth from the Eternal and sets the wheels to work looms up in the vision of man in var- ious aspects and infinite forms. Each aspect creates and marks an age.” He thus stressed the need for a reorientation of spiritual experience to relate it to the changing conditions evolved in the onward progress of mankind. The most vital value of the age is whether future progress in humanity is to be governed by the modem economic and materialistic mind of the West or by a nobler pragmatism, guided, uplifted, and enlightened by spiritual culture and knowledge. Aurobindo’s basic conception and teaching of Vedanta is modified by his abiding sense of the value of the individual and union with the Divine and does not involve the obliteration of the individual.

The Master fascinated Sri Kodandarama Rao at an early age and being of a restless spiritual nature tempered by occasional touches of family solicitude, he groped for years in search of spiritual values and at last found solace for some years in the Ashram at Pondicherry. Aurobindo was his chosen Master, because he was a poet and speculative thinker and his writings are the outpourings of a deep and full spirit and more systematic and comprehensive than that of any other Indian thinker and he approaches speculative problems from the point of view of a poet. Kodandarama Rao whom I know for some years is a man who possesses spiritual discernment and intellectual power with a tendency to stimulate reflection on assumptions that may have been taken for granted. His interest throughout is practical and for him discernment of truth is inseparable from finding the way of life that contributes to spiritual growth and brings satisfaction. To Aurobindo as to his disciples the work of the Master is important as a synthesis between the implications of much of the deepest spiritual experience of the East and the rationalism and its consequent humanism that have characterised much of the vital and effective thought and action of the Western world.

Sri Kodandarama Rao has done a distinctive service to the devotees of the Ashram by presenting to the public an autobiography of his own rich experience, the troubles and tribulations of his spirit, the spiritual tensions and gains which have marked the passage of years. This little booklet is a useful addition to the libraries and the shelf of every home in our country.

Bangalore, 7-8-69

Dr. М. V. Krishna Rao, M.A; D. Litt., F.R.A.S. (Lond.)

Retired Professor and Editor “The Bramhavadin”