Nirodbaran

Correspondence with Sri Aurobindo

Second Series

2. Art and Literature

Poetic Inspiration and Yoga

A.K.'s poetry has caused a flutter. Another miracle, they say. How has this feat been done? A  fellow who has never written any bit of poetry produces, just after one or two pieces, a remarkable poem and a long one at that, which will have an abiding place in Bengali literature! How could he have produced it?

What a “hower” you are! You are puzzled because you are always demanding a rational process familiar to the ordinary physical mind from a suprarational thing like Yoga. Yoga has its processes, but they can only be understood and detected by those who have Yogic experience. But you refuse to accept that experience as valid. You want everything to be explained according to your own field of reason which is-that of the ignorant physical mind. If you persist in that you will remain puzzled to the end of the chapter.

I have been labouring for years, yet produced nothing so big and, when I write a poem, I know by my own active experience the way it comes.

That is because you are a “hower” and an efforter – so the Divine or the Overself or whatever the people like to call it has to pretend with you that it is done in you by your stupendous effort and the how has to be shown – the how being that you work 40 hours and produce 4 lines.

03.03.1936