Doctor! Please heal thyself and spare us who are “plunged in tamasic surrender”!
Last month, Dr. Gayatri Satapathy, who in recent times has become the poster-girl representing the pathos and misery of the anti-Ashram movement, had made ‘An Appeal to all the Children of Mother and Sri Aurobindo‘ in which she stated that “all the senior sadhaks and sadhikas of the Ashram remain plunged in their ‘sadhana’ of tamasic surrender.”
But our egregious Doctor and self-proclaimed standard bearer of faith, devotion and righteousness was completely wrong!
Anup, has sent us a scanned copy of a fitting response to Dr. Gayatri Satapathy’s deranged outburst, that has been sent to her by several of the most senior and respected members of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. We are pleased to share a copy of this letter that is reproduced here below. The letter in its integral form can be viewed here.
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Signed by:
Chitra Sen, Vishweshwar, Nandita Chaterjee, Jharna Ghosh, Namita Sarkar, Gauri Pinto, Tosy Bose, Anjusri, Veena G, Anjana Sarkar, Usha Patel, Urmila R. Patel, Sumantra Kothari, Ramakant Navelkar, Kusum Nagda, Kusum Desai, Parikshit, Manoj Das, Shobha Mitra.
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– The Well-wishers of Sri Aurobindo Ashram –
Well-wishers of Sri Aurobindo Ashram 
Excellent answer and hope the devil is annulled or expelled….
It’s time for Dr. Gayatri to pack up and go back where she came from. Or why doesn’t she join Jayant Bhattacharya’s AUM Hospitals where her unique devotion and faith will get full recognition… although she might not be sure if she will get full remuneration!
Jayant Bhattacharya’s AUM Hospitals? Please explain to the uninitiated.
It is very rightly observed by all esteemed sadhaks of ashram that this poor doctor needs a psychiatric treatment very badly. Even I can offer the best possible ayurvedic treatment.
Very rightly said sir. This mad group and their spokesperson- all need a best treatment. Ayurvedic idea is excellent. After all it is our most ancient way of treatment !
I pity this fool and self proclaimed wise group. They really need a best treatment.
The psychological cancer is not only with this unfortunate doctor. A mass treatment is necessary for all the members of her diseased army.
Vijay Poddar is always conspicuously absent from all actions that support the SA Ashram and its Trust. Has he forgotten that without the Ashram he would have been nothing, no one? Even the “mighty” SA Society, with all its centers and members is NOTHING without the Ashram… or does Vijay Poddar think otherwise?
From http://aumhospitals.com/aboutus.php
“In September 2012, Auromed Holdings Private Limited (AHPL) led by Ms Gitanjali JB and colleagues, acquired a 51% stake in AUM Hospitals, in order to develop it into a leading multi-specialty hospital in Pondicherry.”
From http://aumhospitals.com/findus.php
Where is AUM Hospitals ?
AUM Hospitals, Pondicherry Medical Mission Hospital is located in No 1, Sabthagiri Gardens, Solai Nagar Main Road, Muthialpet, Pondicherry – 605008.
India
AUM = PMM
will the readers and supporters of this site and crusade and anti jayant group and signatories of the above letter refuse treatment at aum hospitals. should someone ask dr. oza not to go to aum. he also treats people at saa medical facilities. things become complicated here.
daksha
the below given passage is from anti heehs and saat site. they do have a point, if one sees it objectively.
does one write to heehs, “sir, who are you to make such a comment.”
though most readers of this site will pick a quarrel with me and disagree. maybe this will be removed from this site.
fact is things in reality are not as black and white as one wishes them to be.
daksha
On page 373, he defames the members of the Ashram where he has lived for the past 40 years.
‘Such experiences were comparatively infrequent even for those who were advanced enough to have them. As a rule, people spent most of their time in what Sri Aurobindo called the lower consciousness, caught up in the play of ordinary thought and emotion. They did their work, but sometimes argued with their colleagues. They met their neighbors, and sometimes slandered them behind their backs. At home they read Sri Aurobindo’s works, or indulged in sexual daydreams. They attended pranam, and sometimes were consumed by jealousy because the Mother smiled more warmly at another. Then, while walking on the pier or sitting at home or dusting books in the library, they might again be lifted above the mind and perceive the one soul in all, or plunge into their heart and feel the fire of the psychic being.
(Lives, page 373)
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My comments are : NOW, the Wellwishers site mentions about Gayatri (on 4 page of letter, see attachment), it takes exception to sadhaks’ spiritual position. Has she stated anything worse than PH? See also reference to page 394 regarding plagarism. Where were the wellwishers when PH’s writing was and is being defended by the
Dear Daksha,
Thank you for your comment. But your comment appears to be incomplete. Could you please complete it so that any reader is in a better position to provide a correct, complete and meaningful answer to your question.
Thanking you!
Well-wishers…
P.S.:
FYI…Unlike the anti-Ashram website CHOLA-TLOSA run by Raman Reddy, Sraddhalu Ranade and R.Y. Deshpande & Co, we do not censure comments (Please read our policy on comments). This is because we are not afraid of presenting multiple views. Moreover, if it turns out that we are wrong, we have no difficulty in admitting our errors because we have nothing to loose. We are not interested in having any position of power in the Ashram, nor are we seeking a Pondicherry-wide, nation-wide or world-wide recognition of being the purest and most devoted Hero Warriors and Saviours of Sri Aurobindo, His Work or His Ashram. Right or wrong, Raman Reddy, Sraddhalu Ranade and R.Y. Deshpande & Co are creating trouble for the Ashram, deliberately. It is important for all people to know who the real trouble makers are and why they are doing so.
Daksha:
I am not a fan of Peter Heehs, but to be fair to him, in the passage that you have quoted he is not defaming members of the Ashram. Please take the trouble of reading the entire passage starting on page 372 where he says that …
“The mid 1930s were in fact a time of progress for many members of the ashram. For some this meant working for the good of the of the community or, in yogic terms, for the sake of the divine; others learned to control their desires and emotions; still others experienced some calm and devotion in meditation. And a few had one or more of the experiences that are the basis of Sri Aurobindo’s yoga….”
This is most certainly not defamation.
Even in the passage that you have quoted from the TLOSA website, extracted out of context from Peter’s book, the description is neither inaccurate nor disrespectful. He is plainly describing the way things were. He was not being judgmental. He does not comment on people’s devotion or their spiritual state. He reported what was documented and described what he observed first hand. Maybe the expression “indulged in sexual daydreams” may excite a few of his prude enemies. But since when have sexual daydreams become such a big deal? Numerous disciples of Sri Aurobindo have corresponded with Him about their sexual urges. Even the great intellectual like Jugal Kishore Mukherjee did not hesitate to indulge in sexual fantasies during his classes!
Your comparison of Dr. Gayatri’s description of members of the Ashram in her spiteful letter and Peter’s writings is also totally misplaced. Dr. Gayatri’s letter was expressly meant to publicly insult and malign members of the Ashram and attack the institution. Dr. Gayatri is not at all trying to provide a description of the members of the Ashram. Her objective is to attack, malign and publicly insult with the hope that her personal wishes of getting rid of the trustees may get fulfilled. On the other hand Peter’s description of members of the Ashram is part of a much larger academic and historical work in which his description of members of the Ashram is minor and insignificant. One may or may not like Peter’s work, but it is far-fetched and false to conclude that Peter’s book was meant to defame members of the Ashram. Peter’s critics will try to accuse him of wrong-doing, but the fact is that he has never attacked the Ashram, taken it or its members to court, conspired to overthrow the trustees, lobbied against the Trust, hired goons to create trouble, etc. Peter’s actions cannot be compared to Dr. Gayatri’s.
Objectively, the senior members of the Ashram are absolutely entitled to ask Dr. Gayatri “madam, who are you to make such a comment” when she has attacked and insulted them publicly.
There are no grey areas in this affair. It is BLACK and WHITE.
Dr. Gayatri is attacking the ashram and is publicly defaming its members to satisfy her personal wishes.
One may or may not agree with Peter, but he has neither attacked anyone or taken part in any hostile actions against Sri Aurobindo, his Ashram and its members. Why should senior members of the Ashram be bothered with him?
satyam
thanks for these two replies, esp. by shri satyam.
to well wishers and satyam, both are unknown personalities to me.
the comments i have put, there is nothing to add. i have just copied a portion what anti heehs site put. the full letter is too long. you put up whatever you want to make your point or clarify whatever you wish to.
now about jugal da having sexual fantasies during classes is news to me. great writing this and making a point and justifying what heehs writes, so it continues till date. (one side talks about sexual fantasies/daydreams another talks about sexual harrasment, it is like osho commune, sex is celebration)
how peter comments on somebody’s inner state ( even if he quote another sadhak, was that sadhak competent to peek into others souls) when maybe he was not born escapes me. he never saw it first hand. he came much later. ( this is where the similarity with gayatri’s few words starts and ends) the things he quotes/writes is not easy to find or read. lots of it is unpublished material. rather what one reads in saa publications, gc mag is an extension ( about jugal da & others) is just the opposite. nobody here did any wrong or wasted any time, except now solely by daksha chowkhani. all these unflattering facts and experiences have been censored from ages till date and everyone here is responsible for it, from top to bottom by both pro and anti saat people.
shri satyam, i have a personal copy of heehs book. i have read the page referred to. the later passage still does the damage.
that is all.
gayatri has all the facts a bit twisted and a bit too self righteous. she is creating more confusion than solving anything.
the reply to her, is bizarre too, with lines like saice has govt. board etc., does avl. schools have this, not so.
the fact about govt. takeover escapes most. kireet bhai is in care and quite free, he can clarify all points as he was there in avl. mess and case.
govt. takeover anywhere and in any field is a disaster.
like sureshbhai hindocha used to say, in govt. everything is a govt. undertaking, and you know who and what work undertakers do.
was involved for a few years in avl. mess. it is a repeat show, same: police, mlas, mps, money, lies, sex and videotape.
how anti saa types want govt. citing avl., is mind boggling.
avl. case was a tragedy, saa case is a farce. ( first as tragedy, then as farce, by zizek, is there in library)
daksha
would like to add some more.
at avl. financial misappropriation continues on and off. differentiated and unequal housing and facilities was and is there. being structured more loosely than saa, avl has still more problems than saa and govt. administrator is unable to solve anything, even with audits etc.
these facts are conveniently overlooked by govt. takeover group, why.
at avl. its internal information to a large extent more easily available than at saa. which has nothing to do with govt., but a character of its community. saa historically did not function similarly, which continues till date.
rather govt. administered organisations are not known for being open with information.
the govt. takeover group will be more miserable and have more grievances at avl. than they are and have at saa.
what govt. takeover will solve, is the biggest spiritual mystery and question.
daksha
This poor doctor alongwith her frustrated army have nothing left with them except defeat, defeat and defeat. The track lost ( from the aim of their joining of ashram) group will have to suffer from the hand of divine a lot far beyond than their imagination.
It is a common law of natute that one can not satisfy everybody. We all are imperfect on different different aspects. If the current trustees are weak on certain issues then the new will be weak on different issues.I wonder how this brilliant doctor has failed to understand this simple fact ? To fight with injustice, corruption, misdeeds in an outer plain, we have politics, social service, NGOs, media, police, court. etc.. Certainly ashram is not the place for that. Needless to say, if we don’t have any faith in the future of humanity and we only look and buzz on the present then certainly we are not doing the minimum right thing in this ashram. To prepare ourself for that glorious future what the best we can do in this ashram are not dharnas, posture and court wars or something similar to that. It must be a completely inward work. All the so called “bad” can be turned to “good” if we are sincerely committed to our soul. A sorrow can be a reminder not to be detached in anyway from the eternal happiness inside us. An anger can be a guide not to allow our peace to be disturbed. I’m sure it is not very difficult to understand for every Sri Aurobindians.
If a group become mad and vomit and still don’t know why they are vomiting, it can be dealt with either by medical treatment or by a whip or simply by prayers. What can be done for this mad group who are against ashram administration ? Suggestions are welcome.
A mass surgery with all prayers to the divine Mother.
Each and every person of the group who are against ashram establishment are going to face a very big blow in near future. Ashram has faced many problems before and came out safely with the Mother’s grace. This is nothing than the previous ones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3xrxws4PjA
in this you tube docu, seems doctor is there too.
great this news report.
must watch.
will create more problems.
daksha
Dear Chitra Sen, Vishweshwar, Nandita Chaterjee, Jharna Ghosh, Namita Sarkar, Gauri Pinto, Tosy Bose, Anjusri, Veena G, Anjana Sarkar, Usha Patel, Urmila R. Patel, Sumantra Kothari, Ramakant Navelkar, Kusum Nagda, Kusum Desai, Parikshit, Manoj Das, Shobha Mitra.
you have written an extremely lengthy reply to a letter of Dr. Gayatri. i do not know Gayatri personally but i found her letter and your reply thereto as very amusing.
you have in very strong words lambasted the Doctor for have petitioned the Court to declare the Mother’s will as not binding. Your argument is that an Ashram exists with a Guru or with the will of a Guru.
May i in reply to your argument remind you that during the proceedings before a Court in West Bengal, where the challenge was to the corrections of Savtri, the Lawyer for the Ashram stated before the Court, in the presence of revered Manoj Das, that even the Mother did not understand the Savitri. Now if you consider the Mother ignorant, then how do you subscribe to the plea that the Ashram exists as per the will of the Guru, since you accept that your Guru is ignorant.
the Mother had desired that not a single punctuation of SAVITRI should be altered, yet the Trustees have allowed passages after passages to be altered. Are you submitting yourself to the will of the Guru or to the will of the Trustees who have surrendered themselves before an ex-taxi driver.
You have very cynically asked Dr. Gayatri if she can measure the depth of sadhana through her stethoscope. May i remind you that very recently a Trustee filed an Affidavit in the Madras High Court claiming that she saw Krishna in Manoj Das-Gupta. May i ask what sort of lenses was she wearing to see Krishna exclusively in Manoj Das Gupta.
Dear Shrimati Seema,
you must be following the posts on this site regularly.
as per your above post and your point about savitri and lies in court of law.
what is your reply to this excerpt from letter to dr.alok by manoj das. :
group of writers of Indian origin from abroad, at Delhi and then at Nimrana, Rajasthan. Another
time they circulated a lie that the Ashram lawyer said in the Court at Krishnanagar that the
Mother did not understand Savitri and I did not object to the statement though I was present
there. The lawyer never said anything like that; there was absolutely no reason for him to utter
that sort of nonsense. He even made a categorical statement about it as an answer to the liars and
challenged them to prove it. But they went on repeating the lie. They would be guided by
someone from outside, but never ask a fellow inmate about it.
this goes on and on.
how can only one side and set of people be pure and other side only impure.
what sort of a integral yoga is it where class barriers cannot be broken and a profession is deemed demeaning. that is a taxi driver. this is typical indian caste, class and feudal mentality. at least in west there is dignity of labour and profession, this in india has never been overcome. then why not look down upon gate keepers and dish washers in ashram. does ashram have copyright over dignity of labour and learned people doing humble jobs. micky jagtiani, indian billionaire, who owns lifestyle, max etc. chain stores, where people denigrating heehs as taxi driver, must have shopped, started his life as a taxi driver. let us point this out in every forum and put him down as unworthy of being a billionaire.
daksha
just recently it was published , due to non issuance of new taxi licences in all major cities worldwide, the transfer price of a taxi permit in hong kong to new york runs into 1.5 to 4 crores or more. it is a lucrative profession, with assured business, economic downturn or not.
many westerners and indians in avl and saa have come here doing similar or even worse jobs. incl. those writing against taxi drivers.
let us expose all of them and see what happens.
daksha