Nirodbaran

Talks with Sri Aurobindo

Volume 1

10 December 1938 – 14 January 1941

9 September 1940

Sri Aurobindo (to Purani): Any more news about French India joining De Gaulle?

Purani: It seems the Governor has sent the resolution to the Viceroy.

Sri Aurobindo: I understand that the French officials here have made one condition with the Indian Government that if war breaks out in Indo-China they may be allowed to send troops there, and the Indian Government has consented.

Purani: But how is it possible? Indo-China is under the Pétain Government.

Sri Aurobindo: Yes. So they may get shot by them. And it will be bad for us.

Purani: Scientists say that the light of a star passing close to the sun is deflected towards the sun; the light curves in this way because of the curvature of space.

Sri Aurobindo: How does space get a curvature and manage to do all these stunts?

Purani: Mathematically a curved space has been demonstrated.

Sri Aurobindo: Mathematics is like reason. As by reason you can logicise anything, so by mathematics you can prove anything.

Purani: But one has no means to verify these things. And the difficulty is that if anybody questions them, these scientists at once reply that you must first know mathematics. All these people get some idea first and then try to fit the idea into their work.

Sri Aurobindo: What Arjava said seems to be true, that according to the way you approach Nature, Nature will answer you.

Purani: And they say that mathematics is most impersonal.

Sri Aurobindo: Nonsense! They used to say the same thing about Science. Algebra and geometry are like designs. They offer no theory on the conception of the world, but only a structure.