Aurobindo Ghosh was one of the most remarkable men of modern India. Though a brilliant product of English education, he made love for the mother country his religion. His life may be taken as the symbol of that national resistance to Westernization which began at the end of the last century.

Aurobindo Ghose was born in Calcutta on August 15, 1872. There is a curious coincidence that India became independent on this day 75 years later. He was son of Dr. Krishnadhan Ghose, a distinguished member of the Indian Medical Service. He was bough up in the English ways of life.

In 1885, Aurobindo was admitted to St. Paul’s School, London and very soon his intellectual brilliance attracted the attention of his teachers. He had already taken to the classics, specially Greek when he proceeded to King’s College, Cambridge in 1890. He carried off all the prizes in Greek and Latin. Later, he passed the ICS examination, obtaining the highest marks in Greek and Latin. But he did not appear for the riding test. With first class classical Tripos at Cambridge, he rounded off his academic career. In 1891 he devoted himself to editing a magazine named “Lotus and Dagger”, for voicing demand for India’s freedom.

He left England early in 1893, and took up his duties at Baroda as Professor of English Literature at the Baroda College. Here he lived for thirteen years. It was here that he devoted himself to the study of Sanskrit and modern Indian Languages. He took lessons from Dinendra Kumar Roy in Bengali writing and soon turned a capable Bengali journalist.

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From the very beginning of his career in India, he was drawn to Indian politics. He contributed certain political and literary essays to a journal. He also wrote English poetry on Indian themes, and one cannot but wonder at the versatility of his poetic gift as evidenced in ‘Sabitri’ and ‘Future Poetry”.

Aurobindo’s active political career may be said to begin from 1902. It was based on the threefold policy of Swaraj, Swadeshi and Boycott. He began to attend the annual sessions of the All India Congress. But when the agitation against the partition of Bengal in 1905 was started, Aurobindo at once gained the ears of his coun­trymen. He threw himself heart and soul into the stirring politics of the day. He became Principal of the Bengal National College. To him love of the mother country was religion.

The political activities of Sri Aurobindo covered eight years from 1902 to 1910. During the first half of this period, he worked behind the scenes, training up a band of revolutionary workers and laying down the principles that ought to govern their life. He was the moving spirit behind the ‘Bande Mataram, the English daily that was the organ of the extremist party. Aurobindo was dead against prayers and petitions to British Govt. for independence. He favoured direct action.

In 1908, after Surat Congress, the Indian political scene was divided into two camps —the Moderates and the Extremists. Sri Aurobinda cast his lot with the latter i.e. the Extremists school. On his way from Surat, he received yogic initiation from Vishnubhaskar Lele. He returned to Calcutta and resumed his activities, but — from now on his speeches and writings took on a deeper note. Simulta­neously, a terrorist plot, working under the leadership of his brother Barindra, against the British Govt. was uncovered. In May, 1908. Aurobindo was implicated in what is known as Maniktola (Muraripukur) Bomb case and was arrested. In a protracted trial, he was defended by Deshbondhu Chittaranjan Das, who hailed him as “the poet of patriotism, the prophet of nationalism, and the lover of humanity”, In April, 1909. Aurobindo was finally acquitted and released from Alipore Jail.

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Now came the definite turning-point in his life. In the Alipore jail he had mystic experiences. He edited two periodicals, the ‘Karmayoga’ (in English) and the ‘Dharma’ (in Bengali) in which he expounded the role of Yoga in India’s struggle for freedom and fulfillment. In 1910, he finally went to the then French Colony of Pondicherry.

Thereafter, his life was inward. He spent four years in silent Yoga, and then started a philosophical monthly, the Arya. Most of his important works appeared serially in his Arya- He was acknowl­edged as the foremost thinker of the age. Disciples gathered rounded him from all parts of the country and outside. For forty years he remained in Yogic meditation, and gave the world the fruits of his meditation in his Essays on the Gita, Life Divine. He died on December 5, 1950.

Today the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo has a large and devoted band of followers in India and abroad. Aurobindo Ashram’, named after Sri Aurobindo, is now a pilgrimage for spiritual culture. It was developed largely due to the untiring efforts of Sri Ma (Mira Richord), the presiding spirit of Aurobindo Ashram.