Nirodbaran

Talks with Sri Aurobindo

Volume 1

10 December 1938 – 14 January 1941

4 August 1940

Sri Aurobindo (Addressing Purani): The death-sentence has been passed on De Gaulle.

Purani: Yes, and he has given a reply.

Sri Aurobindo: Has he? What does he say?

Purani: He says the Pétain Government is dictated to by Germany. At the end of the war he will appeal to the public to give their verdict.

Romania is now turning away from the Axis – perhaps it wants to go to Russia.

Nirodbaran: What is the use if Hitler divides and gives away Romania to other powers?

Sri Aurobindo: Romania’s claim on Transylvania is right because the majority of people there are Romanians and they don’t want to go to Hungary. Already their peasant leader is organising resistance against any such move.

Purani: This is all due to their separate policy. If they had made the entente together, these things wouldn’t have happened.

Sri Aurobindo: No, then their entente would have been formidable. Turkey tried her best for it. Turkey, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia are fighting races; Armenia and Greece are not.

Evening

Purani started a talk on art and on Coomaraswamy’s criticism on art, saying that he had written very well.

Purani: Coomaraswamy says the artist expresses his individuality in his art.

Sri Aurobindo: Individuality? Who has done that? Does he mention any name? Michelangelo?

Purani: No, he means the ego, perhaps.

Sri Aurobindo: The ego! That is different. But an artist doesn’t express his individuality. I don’t think Coomaraswamy is right there. A poet may do that. If you speak of individual tendencies it is different. An artist may have theories and ideas about art but he does not express his individuality. In modern art, the artist figures much, while in old Indian art he didn’t: he remained behind.