Sri Aurobindo

Letters on Himself and the Ashram

The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo. Volume 35

Remarks on Public Figures in India

Mahatma Gandhi [7]

It seems some people from the town went to see Gandhi and asked him why he had cancelled his visit to the Asram. Gandhi is supposed to have said that it was because Sri Aurobindo was not willing to see him, after which he showed a copy of the notice which was put on our notice board — the one prohibiting members of the Asram from attending Gandhi’s arrival procession, {{0}}etc.[[See Notice of 3 February 1934, in Autobiographical Notes and Other Writings of Historical Interest, p. 536. — Ed.]] I don’t believe Gandhi actually had a copy of the notice but some people in town must have known of it.

That is all nonsense. Gandhi’s decision not to come here was made before the notice was put on the board. My decision to issue the notice and his decision not to come may have coincided — but how could he know it except by telepathy?

In one of his letters to Govindbhai, Gandhi said that he would be much disappointed if he did not see Sri Aurobindo. If that was the case, I wonder why he couldn’t wait till the 21st to have Darshan.

I suppose the disappointment was nothing more than a phrase — meaning, I would so much have liked to see what kind of a person you are. If I have read his last letter to Govindbhai aright, his request was dictated by curiosity rather than anything else. If anybody expected him to come here seeking for Truth, it was absurd — he has his own fixed way of seeing things and is not likely to change it.

9 February 1934