Sisir Kumar Maitra
Encyclopedia
Sisir Kumar Maitra was Head of the Department of Philosophy and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Banaras Hindu University
. His writings compared Eastern and Western philosophy, and the teachings of Sri Aurobindo in comparison with Western philosophers.
, and this was part of the intellectual atmosphere in which Sisir and his siblings lived.
In his college days he was for a short time a great admirer of Hegel. His faith in the supremacy of reason was shaken by the philosophy of Henri Bergson
, to which he devoted several years of study. Later he discovered Sri Aurobindo
, and in a number of books and essays helped popularise the vision of Sri Aurobindo among philosophical circles both in India and abroad, writing strictly from an academic philosophical point of view. The other philosopher who made a large influence on his mature thought was Nicolai Hartmann
.
is essential if one is to understand the voluminous writings of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...
. His writings compared Eastern and Western philosophy, and the teachings of Sri Aurobindo in comparison with Western philosophers.
Life
Maitra was born into a Brahmin family, and as his father - who served as a Professor of English literature at the Dacca, Presidency and Ravenshaw Colleges - was very liberal in his views on social and religious matters, young Sisir was brought up free from social and religious orthodoxy. Maitra snr was also a great admirer of Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, and this was part of the intellectual atmosphere in which Sisir and his siblings lived.
In his college days he was for a short time a great admirer of Hegel. His faith in the supremacy of reason was shaken by the philosophy of Henri Bergson
Henri Bergson
Henri-Louis Bergson was a major French philosopher, influential especially in the first half of the 20th century. Bergson convinced many thinkers that immediate experience and intuition are more significant than rationalism and science for understanding reality.He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize...
, to which he devoted several years of study. Later he discovered Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
, and in a number of books and essays helped popularise the vision of Sri Aurobindo among philosophical circles both in India and abroad, writing strictly from an academic philosophical point of view. The other philosopher who made a large influence on his mature thought was Nicolai Hartmann
Nicolai Hartmann
-Biography:Hartmann was born of German descent in Riga, which was then the capital of the Russian province of Livonia, and which is now in Latvia. He studied Medicine at the University of Tartu , then Philosophy in St. Petersburg and at the University of Marburg in Germany, where he took his Ph.D....
.
List of books and some articles
- The Neo-Romantic Movement in Contemporary Philosophy, Book Company, Ltd., Calcutta, 1922
- "Outlines of an Emergent Theory of Values" in Contemporary Indian Philosophy, Ed. By S. Radhakrishnan and J.H.Muirhead, GA&UL- 1936/1958
- "The spiritual life and its realization", Calcutta Review no. 62, 1937, 65-71
- "Philosophy and life", Prabuddha BharataPrabuddha BharataPrabuddha Bharata or Awakened India is an English-language monthly magazine of the Ramakrishna Order, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and writers on various religious and cultural themes...
(Calcutta), no. 43, 1938, 235-237 - "The philosophy of Sri Aurobindo", Prabuddha BharataPrabuddha BharataPrabuddha Bharata or Awakened India is an English-language monthly magazine of the Ramakrishna Order, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and writers on various religious and cultural themes...
(Calcutta), no. 46, 1941: 113, 210, 261 - The Cosmic Significance of Karma in the Bhagavadgita Prabuddha BharataPrabuddha BharataPrabuddha Bharata or Awakened India is an English-language monthly magazine of the Ramakrishna Order, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and writers on various religious and cultural themes...
, no. 44 Feb., 1939, 60-71 - An Introduction to the Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo, First edition 1941 (Prabuddha BharataPrabuddha BharataPrabuddha Bharata or Awakened India is an English-language monthly magazine of the Ramakrishna Order, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and writers on various religious and cultural themes...
, Mar.). Calcutta 1941 - "Sri Aurobindo's conception of intuition", Prabuddha BharataPrabuddha BharataPrabuddha Bharata or Awakened India is an English-language monthly magazine of the Ramakrishna Order, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and writers on various religious and cultural themes...
(Calcutta), no.47, 1942, 332 ff. - "Self-effort of grace", Vedanta KesariVedanta KesariVedanta Kesari is a spiritual and cultural monthly in English being published from Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, since 1895.-History:...
(Madras) no. 31, 1944–45, 8 ff. - Studies in Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy, Banaras Hindu UniversityBanaras Hindu UniversityBanaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...
, Banaras 1945 - The Nature and Function of Thought in Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy. The AdventThe Advent (journal)The Advent is a quarterly magazine produced by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and is "Dedicated to the Exposition of Sri Aurobindo's Vision of the Future". The first issue appeared on 21 February 1944. Early issues were printed in Madras, later on publication was relocated to the ashram at...
Nov 1945 (or, Mitra?) - The Spirit of Indian Philosophy. Prabuddha BharataPrabuddha BharataPrabuddha Bharata or Awakened India is an English-language monthly magazine of the Ramakrishna Order, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and writers on various religious and cultural themes...
(Calcutta), no. 51, 1946, 258-268; Banaras 1947 - Meeting of East and West in Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy, Sri Aurobindo AshramSri Aurobindo AshramThe Sri Aurobindo Ashram was founded by Sri Aurobindo on the 24 November 1926 . At the time there were no more than 24 disciples in the Ashram...
Pondicherry, 1956 - Sri Auroboindo and the New World. Pondicherry 1957
- "Sri Aurobindo and Spengler: comparison between the integral and the pluralistic philosophies of history", in H. ChaudhuriHaridas ChaudhuriHaridas Chaudhuri , Bengali integral philosopher, was a correspondent with Sri Aurobindo and the founder of the California Institute of Integral Studies . He was born in Kolkata. He studied at the Scottish Church College and later at the University of Calcutta from where he earned his doctorate in...
and F. SpiegelbergFrederic SpiegelbergFrederic Spiegelberg was a Stanford University professor of religion. A friend of Paul Tillich, Martin Heidegger, and Carl Jung, he participated in Jung's Eranos symposia and lectured in Jung's institute in Zurich. Paul Tillich helped Spiegelberg escape Germany in 1937 after Spiegelberg was fired...
(eds.), The Integral Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo. George Allen & Unwin, London 1960; pp. 192–204 - The Shape of Things to Come as Envisaged by Sri Aurobindo. Loving Homage Sri Aurobindo Pathamandir KolkataKolkataKolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
1958 - Grace and Self-effort in the Upanishads. Mother IndiaMother IndiaMother India is a 1957 Hindi film epic, written and directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. The film, a melodrama, is a remake of Mehboob Khan's earlier film, Aurat...
Apr-May 1962 - Sri Aurobindo and the Message of the Buddha. Sri Aurobindo MandirSri Aurobindo Mandir AnnualSri Aurobindo Mandir Annual was first published in Calcutta in 1942. It was the first publication in which Savitri appeared in installments, in 1946 and 1947....
1965
Meeting of East and West in Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy
This work is a comprehensive introduction to Sri Aurobindo's philosophy in the context of mainstream academia. In contrast to other students of Sri Aurobindo, Maitra argues that western philosophical thoughtPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
is essential if one is to understand the voluminous writings of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.
- Contents:
- 1. The Meeting of the East and the West in Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy (first appeared in The AdventThe Advent (journal)The Advent is a quarterly magazine produced by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and is "Dedicated to the Exposition of Sri Aurobindo's Vision of the Future". The first issue appeared on 21 February 1944. Early issues were printed in Madras, later on publication was relocated to the ashram at...
Nov 1951, Feb, Apr, and Aug 1952) - 2. Sri Aurobindo and Bergson ( first appeared in Sri Aurobindo MandirSri Aurobindo Mandir AnnualSri Aurobindo Mandir Annual was first published in Calcutta in 1942. It was the first publication in which Savitri appeared in installments, in 1946 and 1947....
1942 ) - 3. Sri Aurobindo and the Problem of Evil ( first appeared in Sri Aurobindo MandirSri Aurobindo Mandir AnnualSri Aurobindo Mandir Annual was first published in Calcutta in 1942. It was the first publication in which Savitri appeared in installments, in 1946 and 1947....
1944 ) - 4. Is Sri Aurobindo a Mystic? ( first appeared in The AdventThe Advent (journal)The Advent is a quarterly magazine produced by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and is "Dedicated to the Exposition of Sri Aurobindo's Vision of the Future". The first issue appeared on 21 February 1944. Early issues were printed in Madras, later on publication was relocated to the ashram at...
August 1946 ) - 5. Sri Aurobindo and Plotinus ( first appeared in Sri Aurobindo MandirSri Aurobindo Mandir AnnualSri Aurobindo Mandir Annual was first published in Calcutta in 1942. It was the first publication in which Savitri appeared in installments, in 1946 and 1947....
1947 ) - 6. Sri Aurobindo and Nicolai Hartmann ( first appeared in Sri Aurobindo MandirSri Aurobindo Mandir AnnualSri Aurobindo Mandir Annual was first published in Calcutta in 1942. It was the first publication in which Savitri appeared in installments, in 1946 and 1947....
1945 ) - 7. Sri Aurobindo and Hegel ( first appeared in Sri Aurobindo MandirSri Aurobindo Mandir AnnualSri Aurobindo Mandir Annual was first published in Calcutta in 1942. It was the first publication in which Savitri appeared in installments, in 1946 and 1947....
1946 ) - 8. Sri Aurobindo and Plato ( first appeared in Sri Aurobindo MandirSri Aurobindo Mandir AnnualSri Aurobindo Mandir Annual was first published in Calcutta in 1942. It was the first publication in which Savitri appeared in installments, in 1946 and 1947....
1950 ) - 9. Sri Aurobindo's Vision of the Future ( first appeared in Sri Aurobindo MandirSri Aurobindo Mandir AnnualSri Aurobindo Mandir Annual was first published in Calcutta in 1942. It was the first publication in which Savitri appeared in installments, in 1946 and 1947....
1951 ) - 10. Sri Aurobindo and Goethe ( first appeared in Sri Aurobindo MandirSri Aurobindo Mandir AnnualSri Aurobindo Mandir Annual was first published in Calcutta in 1942. It was the first publication in which Savitri appeared in installments, in 1946 and 1947....
1952 ) - 11. Sri Aurobindo and Whitehead ( first appeared in Sri Aurobindo MandirSri Aurobindo Mandir AnnualSri Aurobindo Mandir Annual was first published in Calcutta in 1942. It was the first publication in which Savitri appeared in installments, in 1946 and 1947....
1955 )
Links
- Extract of his intellectual autobiography contained in the article, "Emerging Theory of Values".
- Extract from Meeting of East and West in Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy at http://feelphilosophy.blogspot.com/2005/09/skmaitra.html and http://feelphilosophy.blogspot.com/2005/09/skmaitra_12.html