Being Two, and in Other News

Baisakhi, April 14, 2013 was when it started.  On this day that marks the beginning of the New Year in the traditional Hindu Solar Calendar, celebrated under different names in different parts of India, this blog took its form with a simple beginning.

Two years, 240 posts later, I am still figuring out, sometimes struggling with, how to express the ideal which led me to start this blog. In this process I have realised that instead of figuring out what the blog really wants to be, if I can be more certain of what this blog does not want to be (as mentioned here, here, and here) I will be perhaps able to draw closer to the true form that this blog is meant to express. Of course this will happen slowly, over time.

But as I said in my first anniversary post on this blog, there is always more to come still....

Since the truer reality is always the inner one, I can say with certainty that the last two years of blogging have given me plenty of opportunities to work on my inner attitude. There have been many moments of recognition, acceptance, denial, frustration, letting go, surrender, struggle and many other things that help us see our shortcomings, inadequacies, imperfections, all of which help us grow in humility and encourage us to strive for further progress and greater perfection.

To reiterate, I am speaking not only of the outer work but more importantly of the inner work that we must do via the outer work. And in that sense the outer work on this blog has been extremely helpful in providing ample opportunities for the inner work.

The second anniversary of the blog also gives me an opportunity to once again express my sincere gratitude. To That which is the source of everything, the beginning, the middle and the end; the Source from where everything emerges and to whom everything eventually reaches; the Force which makes everything possible; the Infinite that is behind and beyond everything that manifests and expresses.

I am deeply thankful for all the support and encouragement I have found through my readers -- those who share their thoughts about my posts either in the form of comments or private messages, and also those who engage with the content in silence. Thank you!

Since we are two, this is also an opportunity to share two other items of news that are closely connected with this work of writing and blogging.

NEWS I: A new blog

Yes. You read it right. I have started a new blog. With my husband. Yes, you read that right too.

But it is not really a blog in the conventional sense of the blog. There you will not find too many 300- or 500-word posts. Matriwords is more of a place for us to compile and share some of our longer writings, essays, research commentaries that are inspired by the social-cultural-political thought of Sri Aurobindo.

In addition to our own writings, we'll also be featuring there writings by some of the other thinkers and scholars whose works have inspired us and who continue to guide us in our ongoing study of Sri Aurobindo.

Because of its more academic nature, the content on matriwords will be updated at a bit slower pace than is typical with most blogs. In addition to an introductory post, already there are three essays and papers shared there: one written by yours truly; other that I had co-authored with my husband, and yet another written by a well-known scholar and practitioner of Integral Yoga.

I hope some readers will be interested to explore some of the content on matriwords.

NEWS II: A new review

I am happy to share another wonderful review of my book, ABC's of Indian National Education. It is a very special review because it is written by someone who is not only a dedicated intellectual and spiritual aspirant in his own right, but is also completely in sync with the deeper purpose and intention which guided my book in the first place.

Anurag Banerjee has several degrees in Commerce and Business Administration and has taught at a few insitutions. But his real work revolves around researching, writing, archiving and publishing important works in the field of Sri Aurobindo Studies. As the founder-chairman of Overman Foundation, a non-profit organization which he started in 2010 and which runs India’s only online research centre focusing on the vision, mission, thought and works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Anurag has been working tirelessly to bring to the readers several hitherto unknown or lesser-known works comprising of intellectual, biographical, anecdotal nature as well as several interview-based and photographic works that shine new light on the life and work of the Masters.

Anurag is also a poet, translator, and a well-published author in Bengali and English. At the age of twenty, he penned a biography of Dilip Kumar Roy titled Achinpather Dibyapathik, and at the age of twenty-one he translated one hundred poems of Sri Aurobindo into Bengali titled Debotar Shrom. Both these books were published in 2008. His first book in English, Nirodbaran: The Surrealist’s Journey, was published in December 2006 when he was twenty-two years old.

So it was a matter of great honour and happiness for me when Anurag agreed to write a review for my book. In his review, he writes:

Though the author has referred to the works of Rabindranath Tagore, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Shashi Tharoor, Pavan K. Varma, Makarand Paranjpe and others, the inspiration behind ABC’s of Indian National Education is certainly the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The author has delved into the ocean of their writings and presented before the reader a number of invaluable pearls of wisdom related to the theme of education.

The academic scenario of the country would have been quite different had Sri Aurobindo’s concept of education was put to practice. The path to progress has been showed by Sri Aurobindo and his spiritual collaborator, the Mother, but the author has shown—in ABC’s of Indian National Education—how to tread on it successfully. It would be an error to assume that this book is only for the members of the academic world. Nay, on the contrary, it is for the general reader as well. One cannot help but appreciate the author’s lucid style of writing and her thought-provoking insights and observations on how the academic model should be. She has hinted how we can have a modern outlook on education as well as a modern method of educating without ignoring the rich cultural heritage of the land. The author has also successfully explained how the system of education in India could be appropriately Indianized.

To read his full review, click here.

I am very grateful to Anurag for taking the time to review the book.


NEWS III:  More to come still....

While there is always more news to share, but I stop now for the time being.

And as I begin the third year of this blog, all I can say is that my sincere aspiration and hope is that my work on this blog becomes a means for truer inspiration and a deeper engagement with ideas and thoughts in the years to come.

Like with everything else in life, there may be some new changes on this blog too in the coming year. Stay tuned!

Thank you, everyone. Happy reading. Happy writing. Happy thinking.

Photo credit: Suhas Mehra

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Linking this with ABC Wednesday, N: N is for News, New