During the freedom struggle,Sri Aurobindo was jailed in 1908 in the Alipore bomb case. After his acquittal in 1909, he came out of prison a changed man
Absorbed in meditation
Aurobindo’s father didn’t think much of Indian spirituality and sent his son to England at a young age. Aurobindo returned to India and immersed himself in the freedom struggle. After his stint in prison, he became an exemplar of Indian spirituality
How did the transformation occur?
In the jail, he spent most of his time reading the Gita and the Upanishads and in intensive meditation and the practice of Yoga. In the court, the accused were confined in a large cage. Here, he remained absorbed in his meditation attending little to the trial, Aurobindo writes in third person in his book On Himself
Sanatana Dharma to the rescue
He had initially taken up Yoga with the idea of acquiring guidance for his work in life. But now the inner spiritual life took him up entirely. His work now exceeded the liberation of the country and was worldwide in its bearing
After his acquittal
in his famous speech at Uttarpara on May 30, 1909, he said, “We speak often of the Hindu religion, of the Sanatana Dharma, but few really know what it is. Other religions are preponderatingly religions of faith and profession, but the Sanatana Dharma is life itself”