A has no classes. They have been stopped long ago.Sri Aurobindo
Letters of Sri Aurobindo
Volume 2. 1937
Letter ID: 1822
Sri Aurobindo — Nirodbaran Talukdar
January 10, 1937
A has no classes. They have been stopped long ago.
If he has nothing to do, it is natural he should be engrossed with his stomach.
Guru, what do you say to this poem of J’s? I am damned if I understand anything of it. Blakish, Mallarmic? Methinks it exceeds both.
There is no necessity of going beyond Blake and Mallarmé. Their things are often more difficult than this.
Have you any more of these mystic members to compare her with?
[Sri Aurobindo put a question mark above “members” which was not very clearly written. ]
What’s this mystic word?
At the rate she is going, I don’t know, Guru, where she will end. Do you see the end?
Why should there be an end?
I don’t know if anyone will make out anything of her poetry, except your Supramental Self. The explanations of the last two poems, by Jove, are explanations indeed!
You mean they are more unintelligible than the thing explained? That about Dawn and Evening was difficult to swallow, but the end of the 511 seems to me to offer no difficulty at all. It is a magnificent rendering of the large movement of the soul towards the Silence – but of course it may be meaningless to a posterity that will, we may assume, know nothing about either Soul or Silence.
I sometimes try to project my third eye into posterity and see the reactions in its mind regarding J’s poetry. I at once cover up the sight.
Is it your posterity that your third eye sees or posterity in general? Posterity has not had the reaction you speak of with B & M – their reputation grows with the lapse of time.
They will say – Sri Aurobindo gave expositions of this poetry – ha, ha! and he praised it and gave Force for it! The poetess was undoubtedly “queer”, but the Guru?
But do you then find that it is bad poetry? for at fine poetry posterity will not say ha! ha! but at most “Oof! how difficult!” It is only contemporary opinion that is foolishly contemptuous of grand poetry.
Now then, have you any time to help us?
I am afraid I have not sufficient time. Won’t you try again and wrestle with the গভীর2 instead of having visions of posterity?...
1 The poem’s number.
2 gabhīr: deep, profound.