Aurobindo
was born on August 15th, 1872, in Calcutta. His father,
a man of great ability and strong personality, had been
among the first to go to England for his education.
He returned entirely anglicized in habits, ideas and
ideals, - so strongly that his Aurobindo as a child
spoke English and Hindustani only and learned his mother
tongue only after his return from England. He was determined
that his children should receive an entirely European
upbringing. While in India they were sent for their
beginning of their education to an Irish nuns' school
in Darjeeling and in 1879 he took his three sons to
England and placed them with an English clergyman and
wife with strict instructions that they should not be
allowed to make the acquaintance of any Indian or undergo
any Indian influence. These instructions were carried
out to the letter and Aurobindo grew up in entire ignorance
of India, her people, her religion and her culture.
Aurobindo
gave his attention to the classics at Manchester and
at St. Paul's; but even at St. Paul's in the last three
years he simply went through his school course and spent
most of his spare time in general reading, especially
English poetry, literature and fiction, French literature
and the history of ancient, mediaeval and modern Europe.
He spent some time also over learning Italian, some
German and a little Spanish. He spent much time too
in writing poetry. The school studies during this period
engaged very little of his time; he was already at ease
in them and did not think it necessary to labour over
them any longer. All the same he was able to win all
the prizes in King's College in one year for Greek and
Latin verse, etc.
In
England at an early age Aurobindo began first to be
interested in Indian politics of which previously he
knew nothing. His father began sending the newspaper
The Bengalee with passages marked relating cases of
maltreatment of Indians by Englishmen and he wrote in
his letters denouncing the British Government in India
as heartless Government. At the age of eleven Aurobindo
had already received strongly the impression that a
period of general upheaval and great revolutionary changes
was coming in the world and he himself was destined
to play a part in it. His attention was now drawn to
India and this feeling was soon canalized into the idea
of the liberation of his own country. But the "firm
decision" took full shape only towards the end
of another four years. It had already been made when
he went to Cambridge and as a member and for some time
secretary of the Indian Majlis at Cambridge he delivered
many revolutionary speeches…
