Nirodbaran

Talks with Sri Aurobindo

Volume 1

10 December 1938 – 14 January 1941

23 August 1940

Evening

Sri Aurobindo: The Viceroy, it seems, has wired to Bonvain that the Governor of Bengal wants Baron back in Pondicherry. He won’t accept the man who is to replace him. When Schomberg was told this news, he broke down.

It came out that Schomberg was a staunch Catholic and had taken Holy Orders and so was as good as a priest. He was therefore working under the influence of the priests here. Baron being in connection with us, the priests had turned against him.

Sri Aurobindo: Schomberg is a Jesuit. There is a general opinion that a Jesuit can tell any lie if it serves the glory of God.

Today’s news announced Trotsky’s death at an assassin’s hand. Somebody said, “Stalin’s last enemy is gone!” He was in dread of Trotsky, it seems.

Nirodbaran: But how is it Trotsky was thrown out by Stalin?

Sri Aurobindo: He was a good organiser, but not a man to lead a revolution. He did not have sufficient vital force to support his action. That doesn’t mean he was not a man of action, but he acted with his brain rather than with the vital force. Stalin has more vital force. He has no intellect, but has a clever and cunning brain. Lenin combined both intellect and vital force. Trotsky’s actions were more of an intellectual nature. His very cut of face shows that he is more of an intellectual type. Such people work better under a leader, not by themselves. Like Subhas Bose, for instance. He did very good work under Das.

Here Purani mentioned some people in Gujarat who could work only under somebody’s guidance.

Sri Aurobindo: Charu Dutt’s summary of The Life Divine is not bad. But there are one or two mistakes. He says that I have derived my technique from Shankara. What does he mean by technique? I don’t know that I have got my technique from anybody. Again, he says that I have laid insistence on service to humanity.

Purani: That is perhaps the old idea people are repeating.