600. The Power of an Idea

The Chairman of the International Commission on Peace and Food (ICPF) desired us to review the relevance of the recommendations since it is now ten years after the release of the Report. The review is to be done in a conference in Delhi in the last week of November sponsored by four or five world organisations. The Chairman of ICPD, the successor organisation to ICPF, is 85 years old. We hesitated to invite him to travel from Washington, but he was in earnest, indeed eager, in spite of his frail health. He was an Ambassador to NATO and presently is the contributing Editor of World Paper. He came to India twice to know of Sri Aurobindo's yogic philosophy. He said that the ICPF's Report was the best of the five International Commission Reports. Knowing that the original inspiration came form Sri Aurobindo, he was interested in Him.

For over ten years, we have closely worked with him, especially presenting him the Theory of Social Evolution based on Sri Aurobindo. This morning our Member was to speak to Harlan, the ICPD Chairman, on the phone. We know he would like to hear something new from us on the international situation from Sri Aurobindo's point of view. So we were discussing whether terrorism can be explained from the Master's point of view. It is one thing to know what the view of the Master would be and it is another thing to present it in a language acceptable to a Western thinker. But we also know the POWER of HIS THOUGHT. Classrooms that were noisy and inattentive became solemn, serious and silent when a quotation of Sri Aurobindo was read out. This was in an American university. Whatever the failing of the instruments, we know the FORCE will act through HIS words. Exactly at that moment, my son entered and disclosed the news of Veerappan's inglorious end.

I call such coincidences as Life Response. In this incident, I see the power of the Master's words expressing the Reality of the Force - the ending of ‘terrorism' in one remote corner of Tamilnadu. Devotees see the Force in action all the time in their work, serious or routine. But this one stands out by its striking significance. Once Sri Aurobindo said that a yogi can sit in his chair and his force can act anywhere in the world, and that Force will deliver man the goods God intends. He also said, once, that he could act in Ireland and Turkey and accomplish what he wanted. The passage does not explain what the accomplishment was. His Force will do any work anywhere at any time if the human instrument is pure. We mortals are proud of our Ignorance mistaking it for our knowledge. Wherever HE has done some work is a suitable place for its renewal by the devotees.