I would also urge everyone to use common sense in interpreting the Agenda

Re: What is Hindutva? from the Mother/ and the Agenda and/or "Against Method"

by Rich on Sun 29 Jul 2007 11:10 AM PDT Profile Permanent Link

According to RYD the Mother said: Buddhism, Jainism, Illusionism were sufficient to sap all energy out of the country.

Well I would not exactly phrase the statement like that!!!

In fact, I find this particular statement rather odious just as I do the assertion Mother seems to make regarding the Chinese; specifically that they have no psychic beings. There are other questionable assertions and I assume like this one can be attributed to the Mother in the Agenda. Unfortunately this often ends up as statements quoted out of context, as this one seems to be. In this instance this is scapegoating - albeit metaphysical - scapegoating at its very worst!!!

In this instance sloughing off the blame on Buddhist and Jains thought seems a bit like blaming the Jews for the problems of Germany! Why not a bit of critical self-reflection on why there were so many converts to Buddhism which rejected the degenerate Hindu caste system! Other countries progressed perfectly fine following the Buddhist call, and some of the most wealthist folks I know are Jains, (not to mention some Jains such as historian Meenakshi Jain hold some of the most extreme Hindutva views)

But in short Buddhist and Jains have historically done just fine navigating the material world. Rather if one wants to explain the demise of ancient India it would be more appropriate to say that extreme interpretations of the subcontinent faiths including Hinduism itself and its degenerate caste system, facilitated the demise.

I would also urge everyone to use common sense in interpreting the Agenda. As a first source historical text, I believe it can be shown that its method of recording, editing, and contextualizing makes it often problematic. I also believe that it can be demonstrated that the editor and compiler of this document had no small "agenda" of his own. In fact I believe a whole hearted deconstruction of this series of books is badly needed! Or rather a critical inquiry, translation and reconstruction, of the problematic text. - or at the least some historical excavation much like being done in the archives with Sri Aurobindo's text. -

At any rate I think it appropriate to asterik citations from the Agenda to separate them out from the text she actually sat down to put her hand to writing. rc

by Rich on Sun 29 Jul 2007 07:44 PM PDT Profile Permanent Link I still would not claim spoken statements recorded by memory - even if supposedly approved- are a reliable first historical source and would include the evening conversations with Sri Aurobindo in this category. I would even say that memory of acolytes are worse sources for historical documentation on what Sri Aurobindo and Mother believed than Satprem's Agenda.

But regardless even if the statement denouncing Buddhist and Jains were written from the Mother's own hand herself, I would still declare it an ugly form of scapegoating, and historically inaccurate. rich