The Mother Is Thirsty!
Offer sacrifice to me. Give for I am thirsty. Seeing me,
know and adore the original Power, ranging here as
Kàlí, who . . . hungers to enjoy the heads of bodies of
mighty rulers.
Sri Aurobindo, “Bhavani Bharati”]
Their Sanskrit oath, probably written by Aurobindo, took the form of a Vedic
sacrificial hymn. Invoking Varuna, Agni and other deities . . . bowing down
to the ideal heroes of India that sacrificed their lives to save the motherland
. . . the oath-takers poured their hatred and shame into the fire . . .
to save the country. Renouncing all life’s pleasures, they vowed to dedicate
themselves to the establishment of the Dharma Rajya [Righteous Kingdom].
. . . Then bowing to a sword, crown of all weapons, the symbol of
death, they lifted it up in the name of the Adya Shakti (original Energy,
conceived as the Goddess Kàlí.
The public voice of the movement was communicated through the Calcutta
newspapers Bandemataram, to which Aurobindo was a regular contributor,
and the more radical Jugantar, begun by Aurobindo’s brother,
Barin. The latter openly preached revolution and subversion of British
authority. Calling the Bengali youth to give themselves in “sacrificial
death” to the nationalist cause, the newspaper gave precise directions as
to how one should start a secret terrorist organization and carry out terrorist
activities.
Nationalism is not a mere political program; Nationalism is a religion
that has come from God. Nationalism is a creed which you shall have
to live. . . . If you are to be Nationalist . . . you must do it in the religious
spirit. . . . It is not by any mere political programme . . . that this country
can be saved. . . . What is the one thing needful? . . . the idea that there is
a Power at work to help India, that we are doing what God bids us.
Rise up, O sons of India, arm yourselves with bombs, dispatch
the white Asuras to Yama’s abode. Invoke the Mother
Kali. . . . The Mother asks for sacrificial offerings. What does
the Mother want? . . . A fowl or sheep or buffalo? No. She
wants many white Asuras. The Mother is thirsting after the
blood of the Feringhees. . . . [C]hant this verse while slaying
the Feringhee white goat: with the close of a long era, the
Feringhee Empire draws to an end, for behold! Kali rises in
the East.
Jugantar, Bengali newspaper (1905)
On the day on which the Mother is worshipped in every
village, on that day the people of India will be inspired
with a divine spirit and the crown of independence will
fall into their hands.
Jugantar (1905)
Nationalism is an avatàr that cannot be slain. Nationalism
is a divinely appointed shakti of the Eternal and
must do its God-given work before it returns to the
bosom of Universal Energy from which it came.
Sri Aurobindo, quoted in Iyengar, Sri Aurobindo (1950)
In the first era of the dissemination of English culture . . .
Bengal resounded with opprobrious criticisms of the
Tantras. No one among the educated in Bengal could
praise them. . . . The educated Bengali of the age was
bewitched by the Christian culture, and . . . any who
attempted to study the Tantras ran the risk of exposing
themselves to contumely from the educated community.
Panchkori Bandyopadhyay, Sàhitya (1913)
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