Sri Aurobindo's Vision of Indian Nationalism and Culture: A Postcolonial Perspective.

Sri Aurobindo has been a pivotal figure in the Indian Renaissance of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His multifaceted personality holistically contributed to the revival of India's glorious cultural legacy. His writings invigorated the cadaverous psyche of colonized Indians and instilled courage in their hearts to shatter the shackles of slavery and bondage. His active life of a radical freedom fighter shook the foundations of the British Empire in India. This paper attempts to trace Aurobindo's evolution from a revolutionary youth to a spiritual leader, who touched the souls of millions of his followers and brought about an instrumental change in society both in pre- and post-independent India. The present paper adopts a postcolonial perspective to analyze the complex process of Aurobindo's transformation into a quintessential cultural hybrid, who clearly understood through his English upbringing and education that to be "English is not to be anglicized". Aurobindo's elite family background and his anglicized upbringing could have made him a pro-empire mimic man, but his enlightened soul guided him to take pride in his own race and culture and inspire others to do the same. His contribution to India's freedom struggle movement in different capacities, i.e., as a political activist, as a firebrand revolutionary, and as a Sant, has been systematically analyzed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]