A talk titled ‘Bharatiyata – Rashtranirman ki Anivaryata’ (Indianness – requisite for nation-building) was delivered in the Meditation Hall by Dr. Aparna Roy of Sri Aurobindo Ashram-Delhi Branch. Starting with the personal experience of her recent visit to France, she said that what struck her most was the awe and respect accorded by the French upon someone from India. This places a great responsibility on Indians to make a firm commitment to true Indianness in their own lives. And, being truly Indian means bringing spirituality to the fore in all aspects of daily living since that is the defining feature of Indian culture. She thereafter delved into the superbly exemplary life of Sri Aurobindo especially in context of his signal contribution to the Freedom Movement through his own sacrifice for the cause and his brilliantly inspiring writings for the groundwork of national resurgence and a firm commitment to the total independence of the motherland, which did come on his 75th birth anniversary on 15th August 1947. India has a god-given task to lead the world in quest of a greater destiny based on further spiritual evolution of consciousness which alone can provide a lasting solution to the problems confronting humanity.

In the musical offering, which preceded and followed the lecture, Dr. Mithu Pal sang several songs of homage to Sri Aurobindo, and also a Hindi rendering of the celebrated poem by Rabindranath Tagore, “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high … Into that heaven of freedom, My Father, let my country awake…”

The talk was organised by Rishihood University, Sonipat, as part of a Lecture-Series on Sri Aurobindo’s thoughts on Nationalism and Swaraj. The series is sponsored by Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR) through a grant to Prof. Sampadananda Mishra, Director, Centre of Human Sciences, Rishihood University, as part of celebrations for the 150th Birth Anniversary of Sri Aurobindo and the 75th Anniversary of India’s independence.