11. Heroic role in a great cosmic drama

At its most inflated, the rhetoric of being on God’s side reaches a point at which the writer imagines himself (none of the leaders are women) to be a protagonist in a great cosmic drama. This is a common symptom of the fundamentalist mind set. Ananda Reddy is Pondicherry’s great exemplar of the self-proclaimed cosmic hero: “Revolutions are fought to bring in new changes. One such in the sphere of Aurobindoneans is being fought at present: it is testing time for all of us and we have to ‘battle for the future’”; “that is why I have signed my name in the Army of Light of the Mother” (AR3).

In a less theatrical, but more sinister mode, Ranade brings the cosmic drama down to earth, setting himself up as Sri Aurobindo’s great defender and perhaps more: “I do not understand what games you are playing with the security of the Ashram and the reputation of Sri Aurobindo. That is your prerogative. All I can do is to request you not to ‘problematize’ the situation further, to stop harassing us and to let us do the little that we are capable of doing to protect Their reputation and the interests of the Ashram’s future. You obviously have plenty of time for petty politicking and enough energy to find creative ways to harass us. Please redirect that time and energy towards limiting damage from Peter’s book rather than causing more harm to the Ashram’s already delicate situation” (SR3).

Note how several of the fundamentalist characteristics come together. The “other” is demonized, and set apart from “us,” the trusted insider; access to information is restricted or censored; open discussion is refused; the fundamentalist uses abusive language to rouse the masses, and then characterizes himself as a great hero and crusader, calling on everyone to join him in fighting evil, asuras, and satan himself, all to censor a biography that has received critical acclaim by both long-term disciples and the public.