Culture and exclusion

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

Publication of ‘Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram in Contemporary Newspapers’ in two volumes

Dear Friends and Well-wishers of Overman Foundation, We are happy to announce the publication of our new book entitled Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram in...

Suresh Chandra Banerji: The Doctor with a Golden Heart by Anurag Banerjee

On 5th August 1921, a doctor passed away at his hill-top residence named ‘Alma House’ in Nainital. At the time of his death, he was...

Sri Aurobindo and the Modern Academic World by Dr. Sachidananda Mohanty

The most direct path to catastrophe is to treat complex problems as if they are obvious to everyone. —Stephen Marche on the Artificial Intelligence (AI)...

Four Hundred and Fifty Photographs of the Mother with Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya

Dear Friends, Born in Berhampur, West Bengal, Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya (18 October 1923—8 January 2010) was the eldest son of Dakshinapada Bhattacharya and Prafullamoyee Devi....

A Tribute to Aurovillian Pashi alias Prakash Chandra Kapur by Paulette Hadnagy

Pashi Kapur, who marked Auroville in many ways, left us on Friday evening, October 20th, 2023. He was 91. From the Sri Aurobindo Ashram’s Nursing...

Abinash Chandra Banerji: The First Commentator in India on Specific Relief Act by Anurag Banerjee

‘He is not dead whose noble life Leads thine on high; To live in hearts we leave behind Is not to die.’ These were the...

24 January 2024: Centenary of Dilip Kumar Roy’s First Meeting with Sri Aurobindo

Dear Friends, Dilip Kumar Roy (22 January 1897—6 January 1980) had first heard of Sri Aurobindo as a great Yogi in 1923 from his friend...

Krishna Chakravarti: In Memoriam by Anurag Banerjee

Dear Friends, She was one of those rare souls who was feared and loved: feared for her courageous personality, straightforwardness and uncompromising attitude and loved...

Publication of Dr. Prema Nandakumar’s new book, “Sri Aurobindo’s Interpretation of Indian Culture”

Dear Friends and Well-wishers, Overman Foundation is happy to announce the publication of its new book “Sri Aurobindo’s Interpretation of Indian Culture” authored by Dr....

The Essence of Savitri by R.Y. Deshpande

What is Savitri? What is Savitri? There are two answers to this question. The first answer is, it is a story of conjugal love. In...

[HTML] Four ideological turns in the construction of the Indian nation: Historical evolution and contemporary implications

H He, S Zhou - International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology, 2026

… In order to alter its long-standing marginal status in the political arena, the BJP
promptly adjusted its guiding ideology, shifting from the earlier moderate line that
emphasized “Gandhian socialism” and “humanism” toward a more pronounced …

[PDF] The Politics of Reinterpretation: Constitutional Flexibility & Hindu Majoritarianism in India

B Mehrota - Confluence: The Undergraduate Journal of Discourse …, 2026

… A central mechanism through which the BJP advances its Hindutva project is the
categorical reframing of Hinduism as a culture rather than a … As Shani argues, the
BJP explicitly insists that “Hindutva as a ‘nationalist, and not a religious or theocratic …

[PDF] 'The Constitution is our only Weapon': Resisting and Countering the Assault on the Citizenship Rights of Muslim Women in India and Uttar Pradesh

S Chigateri - 2026

This research documents and analyses what assaults on the Muslim community in
India over the last several years mean for the citizenship rights of Muslim women.
Based on the findings of primary and secondary research carried out in …

[PDF] Modood, Tariq y Thomas Sealy. 2024. The new governance of religious diversity. Cambridge: Polity Press. 180 p.

C de la Cruz-Ayuso - Deusto Journal of Human Rights, 2026

… Fenómenos como la politización de la identidad evangélica en Estados Unidos,
el ascenso del Hindutva en la India y la compleja integración de las comunidades
musulmanas en Europa demuestran que la religión persiste como una dimensión …

[PDF] How TMC became the latest party to fall to BJP's 'divide, defect, dominate'playbook

P Sinharay - The Indian Express, 2026

… At the popular level, the BJP, being a regimented party, is likely to recreate the
party society model of yesteryears to penetrate every sphere of public life,
foregrounding the Hindutva ideology and the vision of neoliberal development. The …

[PDF] Faith on the Margins of the Schedule: Religious Identification, Tribal Identity Salience and the Delisting Debate among Scheduled Tribes of Ranchi District, Jharkhand

DA Bara, PK Panda

… Politically, they read delisting as a Hindutva strategy of boundary-drawing: the
same organisations that would expel Christian converts from the Schedule
simultaneously claim Sarna and “Sanatan” as one cultural stream, so that, as critics …

Globalize the Intifada: Integrating Historical Materialism to Critically Examine Pro‐Palestine Solidarity Motivations in the 'I'm Not Palestinian but'Action

MD Pham, J Acevedo, A Sarmal - European Journal of Social Psychology, 2026

… For example, an Indian person recognized: ‘Sick Hindutva ideology destroyed my
country’s souls and [the] West kept acting blind.’ Specifically on the United Nations’
historical failure to hold Israel accountable for their war crimes (Middle East Eye …

[PDF] The Rise and Decline of Communist Left in India: A Marxian Analysis and Implications for South Korea

A Chakrabarti, S Jeong

… Even non-state right-wing offshoots tied to the Hindutva ideology, who are far
removed from parliamentary politics and electoral contents, are known to use
violence. Likewise, extraparliamentary caste senas in places like Bihar and …

[HTML] The search for a lost fragment of Netaji Bose's Singapore memorial

A Kamalakaran - 2026

For some Indian history buffs visiting Singapore, a pilgrimage to the Esplanade Park
is essential. It is the site of what is locally known as the Former Indian National Army
Monument. Here, in July 1945, Subhas Chandra Bose laid the foundation stone for a …

Neoliberal State Against the People

S Pal - Critical Media Perspectives on the 2024 Bangladesh …, 2026

Spiritual wisdom of Harsha

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

Maggi Lidchi-Grassi: The Mother’s ‘Little Fairy’ by Anurag Banerjee

“I know you already, I have known you before.”     These were the words which Maggi Lidchi-Grassi had said to the Mother soon after they met...

“Immortality Day” — Some Light on a Little-Known Event in the Ashram’s Spiritual History by Amal Kiran (K.D. Sethna)

I arrived in the Ashram on December 16, 1927. It was a little more than a year after November 24, 1926, the Siddhi Day, the...

Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram in Contemporary Newspapers: Volumes I and II: A Review by Dr. Madhumita Dutta

Title: Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram in Contemporary Newspapers: Volume I (ISBN: 978-81-957374-4-4) and Volume II ((ISBN: 978-81-957374-0-6) Compiler and Editor: Anurag Banerjee Number of...

Three Conversations with the Mother Recorded by Sehra

Dear Friends, Wish you a blessed Darshan! 21st February 2025 marks the 147th Birth Anniversary of the Mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. On this

On the Mother: Pages From a Sadhak’s Diary

In her childhood, said the Mother, she was afraid of fires. One day a lamp fell from her hand, on her bed, and the bed...

Prithwindra Mukherjee: In Memoriam by Anurag Banerjee

With the passing away of Prithwindra Mukherjee on 29 November 2024 in Paris, the world of intellectuals and creative geniuses has lost a living legend...

Nirata: The Embodiment of ‘Sincere Devotion’ by Anurag Banerjee

“Reassure yourself that I love you and all forever. My love is invariable and equal for all. But to each one I give according to...

Matrimandir: The Soul of Auroville by Paulette Hadnagy

PART ONE: MOTHER’S YEARS From the outset: “a separate island surrounded by a lake”  Heralding the new world and a society on the way to...

Sudha Sundaram: In Memoriam by Anurag Banerjee

Her name meant Nectar. And she indeed lived up to her name for whenever one was in her august presence, one could feel an atmosphere...

Sri Aurobindo’s Bengali Letters written to Nirmala, Swarna and Esha

Dear Friends, Wish you a blessed Darshan! On the occasion of the 105th anniversary of the Mother’s final arrival at Pondicherry, we have published the...

“We Derive from Ramakrishna”: Sri Ramakrishna's Vijñāna and Its Influence on Sri Aurobindo's Vedāntic Thought: Swami Medhananda

S Medhananda - International Journal of Hindu Studies, 2026

… It offers a response to Peter Heehs’s critique of the claim that Sri Ramakrishna’s
teachings on vijñāna significantly influenced Sri Aurobindo’s Vedantic thought.
Against Heehs, the essay argues that Ramakrishna’s conception of vijñāna—as the …

This essay serves as the second installment of a four-part exchange titled “The Question of Ramakrishna’s Influence on Aurobindo: A Dialogue Between Peter Heehs and Swami Medhananda.” It offers a response to Peter Heehs’s critique of the claim that Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings on vijñāna significantly influenced Sri Aurobindo’s Vedāntic thought. Against Heehs, the essay argues that Ramakrishna’s conception of vijñāna—as the integral realization of the Divine as both personal and impersonal, the world as a real manifestation of the Divine, and the ability to move between līlā and nitya—provided a key hermeneutic framework for Aurobindo. Drawing on Aurobindo’s testimony, textual engagement with the Kathāmṛta, and doctrinal convergence, while employing Gary Browning’s criteria for influence, it defends the plausibility of Ramakrishna’s formative impact.

A Call for a Balanced Approach: Peter Heehs

P Heehs - International Journal of Hindu Studies, 2026

… While I am indeed a student of Sri Aurobindo’s thought who attempts to practice
his yoga, I nevertheless have a deep regard for Sri Ramakrishna and am happy to
acknowledge that Aurobindo was influenced by this great spiritual figure. However …

This essay represents the third installment of a four-part exchange titled “The Question of Ramakrishna’s Influence on Aurobindo: A Dialogue Between Peter Heehs and Swami Medhananda.” It critically evaluates Medhananda’s “maximalist” claims concerning the impact of Sri Ramakrishna’s thought on Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy, specifically in regard to the concept of vijñāna. Through a rigorous textual analysis of Aurobindo’s 1912 letter to Motilal Roy and subsequent autobiographical notes, the essay argues that while influence is undeniable during a certain period, Medhananda’s claim that Aurobindo’s Yoga as a whole “derives” from Ramakrishna lacks valid textual support. In support of this, it argues that the influence of embodied teachers and that of post-mortem voices must be distinguished. The essay concludes that mere conceptual similarity does not entail historical influence and advocates a balanced approach that respects historical data and avoids speculative “argument by accumulation.”

Indian Drama in English: Texts and Contexts

A Konar

… Thereafter the readers heard the footsteps of the Nobel laureate Rabindranath
Tagore and the sage Sri Aurobindo in this particular field.2 The inception of modern
Indian theatre happened to be occurred at the end of eighteenth century. As GP …

[PDF] The Politics of Reinterpretation: Constitutional Flexibility & Hindu Majoritarianism in India

B Mehrota - Confluence: The Undergraduate Journal of Discourse …, 2026

… A central mechanism through which the BJP advances its Hindutva project is the
categorical reframing of Hinduism as a culture rather than a … As Shani argues, the
BJP explicitly insists that “Hindutva as a ‘nationalist, and not a religious or theocratic …

[HTML] Four ideological turns in the construction of the Indian nation: Historical evolution and contemporary implications

H He, S Zhou - International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology, 2026

… In order to alter its long-standing marginal status in the political arena, the BJP
promptly adjusted its guiding ideology, shifting from the earlier moderate line that
emphasized “Gandhian socialism” and “humanism” toward a more pronounced …

[PDF] Yoga as a Holistic Approach to Health and Well-Being: Contemporary Perspectives and Implications for Sustainable Human Development

DOAW Vandita - … Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management …, 2026

… The study concludes that yoga should be promoted as an integral component of
public health … of Yoga by the United Nations in 2014 reflects the growing global
acceptance of yoga as a means of enhancing human well-being. This paper …

[PDF] Sociology of Leisure: Cultivating Health and Mindful Happiness through 'Shrimad Bhagavadgita'

RN Tripathi - Samsad Journal संसद जर्नल, 2026

… • Bhakti Yoga (The Yoga of Devotion): Bhakti Yoga emphasizes loving devotion
toward a personal deity as a path to spiritual enlightenment. … Activities such as
yoga, walking, and meditation were regarded as not only recreational but also as …

[PDF] Assessing Spiritual Ecology as a Path to Holistic Environmental Conservation in ISKCON Mayapur, India

M Das, S SOM, PB Roy - 2026

… not merely as a physical or scientific task, but as a sacred responsibility deeply
rooted in their Bhakti Yoga practices and Vedic teachings. … Indian ethical traditions
which are deep rooted in the everyday activities of ISKCON devotees’ …

[PDF] Moun Vrat: understanding the ancient Indian practice of conscious silence for mental discipline and inner awakening

P Sharma - 2026

In the present age, where a person is hardly ever away from sound, screen or
speech, the old Indian discipline of moun, that is, conscious silence, asks to be
looked at again. Moun vrat is generally taken to mean a vow of not speaking for …

[PDF] Ahimsa: Finding unity and nonviolence in instruction

D McGlothlin - 2026

… I will give a brief definition of yoga, the ya mas, and ahimsa; describe the
connections between ahimsa and the emergent strategy element of
interdependence and decentraliza tion; and show information literacy instruction …

[PDF] Spiritual Dimensions of Teacher Professional Development

SK Rathod

Teacher Professional Development (TPD) is generally associated with pedagogical
skills, instructional competence, and professional efficiency. However, contemporary
educational challenges demand a more holistic approach that includes ethical …

[HTML] Municipal Bond Yields and Political Risk: An International Perspective on the Impact of Politics on Municipal Bond Yields

RA Thakar - 2026

… Next, I would like to thank my late Aunty (Mom’s sister Harsha), who was also
instrumental in shaping my childhood and whose spiritual wisdom made me a better
person by exposing me to the metaphysics of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother at an …

When I approached the Mother, I felt purity

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

The Mother~Glimpses of Her Life | Sri Aurobindo Ashram | Pondicherry | The Mother

17:47

The Mother was born Mirra Alfassa in Paris on 21 February 1878. A pupil at the Academie Julian, she became an accomplished artist, ...

Sri Aurobindo ~ The Mother (The Seminal Text)

1:39:45

Sri Aurobindo's seminal text The Mother (1928) is a concise, foundational work in Integral Yoga, outlining the Divine Mother's crucial role, ...

The Mother

The Mother was born Mirra Alfassa in Paris on 21 February 1878. A pupil at the Academie Julian, she became an accomplished artist, and also excelled as a ...

Mirra Alfassa

Mirra Alfassa (21 February 1878 – 17 November 1973), known to her followers as The Mother or La Mère, was a French-Indian spiritual guru, occultist and yoga ...

The Mother & Sri Aurobindo : e-library of books, music, video

This website is a place of peace, harmony and love. It is a collective effort of many souls united in their aspiration and devotion to the Mother and Sri ...

Guidance from the words of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother

The Mother explains the process Everybody can do it. It is done in this way: you concentrate. Now, it depends on what you want.

Sri Aurobindo & The Mother

Sri Aurobindo's collaborator was the Mother. Born Mirra Alfassa on 21 February 1878 in Paris, she studied at the Academie Julian and became an accomplished ...

Mirra Alfassa, The Mother, was born in Paris, France, on 21 st February 1878

21 Feb 2026 — In 1914 the Mother voyaged to Pondicherry to meet Sri Aurobindo, whom she at once recognised as the one who for many years had inwardly guided ...

The Universal Mother and the Mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram

Mother Mirra, who is generally referred to as the Mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram. She too is a descent or an incarnation of the Supreme Mother.

Photographs of Sri Aurobindo & the Mother: Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Aravindaya

The Mother – Mirra Alfassa · The Mother was born Mirra Alfassa in Paris on 21 February 1878. · In 1914 the Mother voyaged to Pondicherry to meet Sri Aurobindo, ...

The Divine Mother "This Is She"

I may mention in passing that the Mother was not only vigilant regarding Sri Aurobindo against all possible outer attacks and accidents, she is also cognizant ...

'Sri Aurobindo and The Mother as I saw them fifty years back' by T. Kodandarama Rao

The Mother was and is a personification of "Grace". I felt and got force whenever I approached the Master. And when I approached the Mother, I felt purity, ...

The former Incarnations of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother—by Anurag Banerjee - Savitri

Both Sri Aurobindo and the Mother took birth to foster the progress of evolution of mankind and in each birth they played a very significant role.

Life Sketch of The Mother - Sri Aurobindo Kendra (Ashram) Purulia

The Mother (Madam Mirra Alfassa, 1878-1973) was born on 21st February, 1878 and educated in France. An accomplished painter and musician, she began to have ...

Matrimandir

The Mother. The Matrimandir wants to be the symbol of the Universal Mother according to Sri Aurobindo's teaching. The Mother. Let the Matrimandir be the ...

Review: The Mother by Peter Heehs

16 Jan 2026 — The transformative experiences that led them to be known as Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, though intertwined in real life, have been presented ...

The Story of the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother

11 Jan 2019 — A very special article on the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother authored by Shri Gangaram Malwade, a senior inmate of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry.

The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Co-Creator of the Integral Yoga

15 Dec 2024 — The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Co-Creator of the Integral Yoga analyzes the contributions of the Mother (née Mirra Alfassa, 1878-1973) to the Integral 

https://savitriera.blogspot.com/2026/06/grafting-umbilical-cord.html

Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Aurobindo, and the Question of Influence: Peter Heehs

P Heehs - International Journal of Hindu Studies, 2026

… It critiques Swami Medhananda’s recent arguments for a profound direct
influence of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda on Sri Aurobindo. While
acknowledging a significant spiritual influence, the essay uses philological and …

Beyond Pedantry: Reaffirming Sri Ramakrishna's Formative Influence on Sri Aurobindo: Swami Medhananda

S Medhananda - International Journal of Hindu Studies, 2026

… Scholars of Sri Aurobindo are indebted to Peter Heehs for his meticulous editorial
work on The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo, a monumental … : Sri Aurobindo’s
Integral Advaita and the Legacy of Sri Ramakrishna (hereafter AEO), under contract …

[HTML] Must We Be Idealists?

YG Bechhofer

… In this paper, key similarities and differences between Sri Aurobindo's and
Mahatma Gandhi's approaches to Education are theoretically … This essay is an
attempt to understand Gandhi's vision for education in the light of Sri Aurobindo's …

[PDF] The philosophy of Indian culture: An analysis

S Mandal, P Pal

… Sri Aurobindo wrote several books on his system of philosophy, the chief of which
are ‘The life Divine’ and the epic ‘Savitri’. Although Sri Aurobindo had denied that he
was a philosopher and the Mother said that his teaching is not philosophy but “a …

Contemplative Praxis and Politics

JK Rowe, SL Mariotti, F Godrej - 2026

… political implications of contemplative practices of all kinds–Buddhist meditation,
yoga, and Indigenous ritual to name a few–with an explicit … Integral refers to
effects that directly further social movement goals such as heightening experiences …

Introduction: Contemplative praxis and politics

JK Rowe, F Godrej, S Mariotti - Contemplative Praxis and Politics, 2027

… and Aiken, is between the instrumental and integral uses and effects of
contemplative … Integral refers to effects that directly further social movement goals
such as heightening … The distinction between instrumental and integral or …

The Approach and Influence of the Sanskrit Language among Global Languages

PP Chaulagain - Sahayaatra सहयात्रा, 2026

This article focuses on the relationship of the Sanskrit language with the languages
of the world, its influence on global language, literature, religion, philosophy, and
grammar, as well as its relevance in the present time. In the article prepared on the …

Religious communities as sites of resistance: Beyond identity

D Spini - Routledge International Handbook of Contemporary …

Religion has been used throughout the centuries to consolidate structures of power
and domination. Yet, religious belief has been a powerful motivation for a wide
range of individual and collective practices of resistance. This chapter begins by …

Speaking Otherwise: Power, Pathways, and Possibility in Language Education

U Bhattacharya - Beyond the Academic Pipeline for Asian Scholars

… , national identity had been equally present but differently expressed – through
morning assemblies where we sang the national anthem with practiced reverence,
through portraits of freedom fighters and spiritual leaders like Gandhi, Subhash …

[PDF] A STUDY OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA

N Sharma, ML Arya - 2026

The paper examines the role of graphic novels in fostering critical literacy,
underscoring libraries as a space to promote this skill. It highlights how the visual-verbal
medium of graphic novels inculcates critical and creative thinking and …

Beyond the Academic Pipeline for Asian Scholars: The Power of Care, Healing, and Alternative Pathways in Language Education

E Trinh, S Jang - 2026

This book showcases and disrupts the academic pipeline for Asian and Asian-descent
scholars who go through doctoral programs to their seniority in US academia in
Language Education. With a focus on care, mentorship, and collective healing for …

Framework for Assessing Coastal Tourism Carrying Capacity, a Case of Puducherry, India

S Bahadure, R Sarda, V Girhe - Climate Adaptation in Coastal Ecosystems

Tourism leads to economic activities, increasing the gross domestic product and
improving the community’s social conditions. However, unchecked and unplanned
tourism growth harms the environment, infrastructure, and local communities. This …