Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 2. 1934 — 1935

Letter ID: 521

Sri Aurobindo — Roy, Dilip Kumar

1934 (?)

An admirer of yours has just sent me a poem which he requests me to sing to you without fail. But I wonder how you would take it if I really did, for he has in effect sounded the death-knell of Rishihood as exemplified in calling you, virtually, the last of the Romans. I will only quote two lines from his poem. Qu’en dites-vous?

Bhārater sesh rishi pushpānjali shrīcharane

Karma jnān bhakti yog nitya siddha bitarane

[O India’s last Rishi, I offer my tribute at your feet

Distribute karma, jnana, bhakti and Yoga, thou who art eternally perfect]

You don’t understand. It means that all my shishyagan [group of disciples] will become supermen, so there will be no chance of any such small thing as a Rishi appearing again: I am the last of that crowd. All the same you can send him my blessings – he deserves it for giving us such a gorgeous prospect.