I have embarked upon translating a comprehensive biography of Sri Aurobindo, the Bengali book Sri Aurobindo: Jeebon O Jog authored by my father, (late) Promode Kumar Sen. The first edition came out in 1939, when writing anything about Sri Aurobindo would invite the ire of the British government. The author had, therefore, taken this as a cause célèbre. It is a well- researched biography, which was approved by Sri Aurobindo. The author, in his lifetime, made one revision in early ‘50s incorporating the spiritual significance of the independence of India.
The reader will find it interesting to note how the author has discussed with measured details a forgotten phase of our freedom movement. He has carried it forward to show the evolution of the Congress Party from a moderate party, dominated by bourgeoisie, to a national party. The turmoil and clash in the Surat Congress between the Moderates and the Nationalist Party, which had the leadership of Sri Aurobindo, Lokmanya Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai, was the turning point. Thereafter the spirit of Swadeshi and Swaraj—the mantra of the Nationalist Party—had spread among the masses. The readers will find in the book, that the subsequent movement led by Mahatma Gandhi was a continuation of the same spirit and that the Congress Party’s resolution for Purna Swaraj championed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is the manifestation of this evolution of nationalism.
The inspiration for undertaking this translation work came from Prof. Arabinda Basu (formerly Professor of Philosophy, Benares Hindu University and also University of Leeds, and a great exponent of Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy). The translator expresses profound gratitude for the affection this erudite philosopher showered on him. Unfortunately he is no more to give his blessings to this complete work.
The translation of such a book from Bengali to English, which has revealed Sri Aurobindo’s political life and yoga, was by no means simple or straightforward. The style of Bengali in this book is lyrical at places and elsewhere rich with words based on Sanskrit. I consider it is the Grace of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo that a graceful and erudite person, Ms. Sonavi Desai, has taken the responsibility of publishing this as a book. She had tirelessly gone through the manuscript, checked, rechecked and compared some typical sentences and improved the text taking the appropriate nuances of the language. It would be an unpardonable omission if sincere thanks are not expressed for the contribution of Shri Amarnath Dutta who had ventured into the translation of the initial chapters of the book. That had encouraged me to proceed further and complete the work. The encouragement received from Dr. Prithwindra Mukherjee is immense. He had inspired me all through, citing his affectionate relationship with the author. I would like to recall the kind help of my old friend Dr. Raghavendra Vasudevan in interpreting the Sanskrit expressions appearing in the book. I would also like to thank Dr. Prema Nandakumar for so readily, and in such a short time, giving her valuable suggestions on the manuscript. No simple word of thanks would be enough for this noble gesture. Support and suggestions from family members—my wife Nandini, son Anandarup and his wife Suneha—must also go on record.
It would be seen that the date of the second edition of the original Bengali version has been shown as 1949, whereas at many places the events referred to in the book (for example, the Epilogue) are after that year. The publisher has explained this in his note dated December 1952. He says there had been inordinate delay in the printing press, when the author incorporated some material to this edition. Unfortunately, the author passed away before this edition came out.
It is heartening to learn that a Marathi translation of the book from original Bengali is about to be completed. Dr. Vilas Gitay has enthusiastically undertaken this arduous work.
My sincere gratitude and Pranam to Sri Aurobindo and The Mother for showering their divine Grace towards completion of this work.
~ Prasenjit Sen
Mumbai, 30 July 2015