Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 1. 1935

Letter ID: 1240

Sri Aurobindo — Nirodbaran Talukdar

January 15, 1935

Khirod says he wrote to you about my proposal of shouldering the entire responsibility of the timber godown. Somehow I felt pity for him – an overburdened, harmless gentleman.

Harmless only? He is one of the ablest and most quietly successful “men of work” I have come across.

Supposing I get the Force from above, how to apply it on the carpenters?

Direct it upon them in a steady stream. If Force can come into you, why can’t it go out from you too?

You laughed away my medical statement about ladies. Is it not true that women are more receptive and psychic than men? All outward signs would direct that way, at any rate.

Rubbish! Neither more receptive nor even more hysteric. Men, I find, can equal them even at that. It is true they declare hunger-strikes more easily, if you think with Gandhi that that is a sign of psychicness (soul force). But after all Non-cooperation has taken away even that inferiority from men.

You wrote [on the 5th] that you had lived dangerously. All that we know is that you did not have enough money in England,– also in Pondicherry in the beginning. In Baroda you had a handsome pay, and in Calcutta you were quite well off.

[Above “quite” Sri Aurobindo put!!!!].

I was so astonished by this succinct, complete and impeccably accurate biography of myself that I let myself go in answer! But I afterwards thought that it was no use living more dangerously than I am obliged to, so I rubbed all out. My only answer now is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thank you for the safe, rich, comfortable and unadventurous career you have given me. I note also that the only danger man can run in this world is that of the lack of money. Karl Marx himself could not have made a more economic world of it! But I wonder whether that was what Nietzsche meant by living dangerously?