Kaikhosru Dhunjibhoy Sethna (26 November 1904 – 29 June 2011) was an Indian poet, scholar, writer, philosopher, and cultural critic. He published more than 50 books. He was known by the diminutive Kekoo, but wrote his poetry under nom de plume of Amal Kiran.
Childhood
Sethna was born as a
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
on 25 November 1904. His father was a physician and specialist eye surgeon. He was a voracious reader and also a bit of a writer, giving his son a lot of support in developing his talents.
At the age of two and a half, Sethna suffered a polio infection, crippling his left foot. He recalled having the temperament of
Reza Shah Pahlavi
,
, spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort)Turan AmirsoleimaniEsmat Dowlatshahi
, issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess ShamsMohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza Prin ...
, as an infant and would have been a soldier if not for his infection. Three years later, when several therapeutic efforts had failed, his father took him to London for a corrective operation after which Sethna was able to walk straight again, though with a slight limp.
Youth and education
Sethna received his early education at the reputed St. Xavier’s College, a Roman Catholic institution run by foreign Jesuit priests. He practically grew up with English as his mother tongue and was less fluent in Parsi Gujarati, also spoken at home.
He began his literary career very early, publishing book reviews in newspapers and magazines. His first book, titled ''Parnassians'', appeared in 1924. It was a collection of essays on the works of
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
, Gilbert Keith Chesterton and Thomas Hardy. When one of Sethna’s well-wishers sent a copy of the book to Wells, the latter is reported to have commented, “the young man will go far.”
His spiritual journey
As a College student, Sethna started reading books on Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga and especially the works of Swami Vivekananda. He also met a saint in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
and a yogi in Maharashtra and felt inspired through these meetings.
Some time later Sethna learned of Sri Aurobindo from a
Theosophist
Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...
and also discovered an article on the Sri Aurobindo Ashram which he read with great interest. After having married his long-term girlfriend Daulat, a fellow Parsi, they decided to go to
Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
for visiting Sri Aurobindo and the Mother (
Mirra Alfassa
Mirra Alfassa (21 February 1878 – 17 November 1973), known to her followers as The Mother, was a spiritual guru, occultist and yoga teacher, and a collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, who considered her to be of equal yogic stature to him and ...
).
Joining the Sri Aurobindo Ashram
Sethna and his wife arrived in the Ashram in December 1927. After having met the Mother and Sri Aurobindo, he decided to join the Ashram along with his wife, who was renamed "Lalita", which is a name of one of Radha’s companions. Sethna received from Sri Aurobindo the new name "Amal Kiran", meaning "Pure Ray".
As a first work, Sethna was given the task of managing the Ashram stores, looking after the various practical needs of the members. Much of his free time he dedicated to developing his poetry, regularly sending his numerous creations to Sri Aurobindo for getting his opinion and corrections. In 1936 Sri Aurobindo started sending him his handwritten texts of his literary main work '' Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol'' for typing. As a result, there also followed a correspondence on Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual poetry, discussing its peculiar characteristics, its style and planes of inspiration.
Some time in 1937, Sethna and his wife were divorced, and he married Sehra, a Parsi friend of his youth from Bombay. She remained his companion until her death in 1980. The death of Sehra and the death of his nephew the noted advocate Dhun Canteenwalla is said to have nearly caused him to lose his equipoise.
Mother India
In 1949, the journal ''Mother India'' was started by the Ashram. Its purpose was to discuss current topics, both National and International, from a viewpoint which was in line with Sri Aurobindo’s thought, although it was not directly meant to be his mouthpiece. Sethna was appointed its editor, and he sent all his political articles for approval to Sri Aurobindo. However, after Sri Aurobindo’s departure in 1950 the Mother advised Sethna not to touch directly on politics.
The articles were not only on Sri Aurobindo and his yoga, but also included many other topics in the field of literature, culture and art. The authors were, apart from the editor himself, other members of the Ashram or followers of Sri Aurobindo and sometimes also outsiders.
Literary works
Apart from his contributions in ''Mother India'', Sethna also occasionally published articles in other journals and wrote more than fifty books on Sri Aurobindo, the Mother, integral Yoga, poetry, science, philosophy, ancient Indian history and other subjects. His great sense of humour came out in his title ''Light and Laughter''.
Sethna was born a
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
-
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
, but discontinued its practice after becoming a disciple of Sri Aurobindo. He celebrated his 100th birthday in 2004. At the time of his death, at the age of 106 On June 29,2011., he was one of the world's oldest living authors. The last few years of his life he had stayed at the Ashram Nursing Home.
His sister Minnie Canteenwalla, was also a poet of some repute within the Aurobindo community. She was married to Nariman Canteenwalla (sometimes spelled Canteenwala).
Literature
* P. Raja (2018), ''K.D. Sethna''. New Delhi, Sahitya Akademi.
Partial bibliography
*Amal Kiran, ''Light and Laughter''
*---- ''Talks on Poetry''
*---- ''India and the World Scene'',
*---- ''The Indian Spirit and the World's Future'',
*Sethna, K.D., ''Altar and Flame''
*---- ''The Mother, Past-Present-Future'', 1977
*---- ''Obscure and the Mysterious''
*---- ''
The Problem of Aryan Origins
''The Problem of Aryan Origins'' is a book by K.D. Sethna. The first edition was published in 1980. A second enlarged version (with five supplements) was published in 1992. (Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 1992.)
The book questions the validity of the A ...
'', 1980, 1992;
*---- ''Overhead Poetry''
*---- ''The Passing of Sri Aurobindo'', 1951.
*---- ''Sri Aurobindo on
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
''
*---- ''Sri Aurobindo- The Poet''
*---- ''The Obscure and the Mysterious: A Research in Mallarmé's Symbolist Poetry''
*---- ''Teilhard de Chardin and Sri Aurobindo - a focus on fundamentals'', Bharatiya Vidya Prakasan, Varanasi (1973)
*---- ''The Spirituality of the Future. A search apropos of R. C. Zaehner's study in Sri Aurobindo and
Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ( (); 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher and teacher. He was Darwinian in outlook and the author of several influential theological and philo ...
'' (1981),
Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
Fairleigh Dickinson University Press (FDU Press) is a publishing house under the operation and oversight of Fairleigh Dickinson University, the largest private university in New Jersey, which has international campuses in Vancouver, British Colum ...
, Associated University Presses.
*---- ''The Vision and Work of Sri Aurobindo''
*---- ''Problems of Ancient India'', 2000, New Delhi:
Aditya Prakashan Biblia Impex India is a New Delhi-based book distribution company that specializes in books on Indology, Hinduism and Buddhism founded by the influential Indian historian Sita Ram Goel in 1963. It is currently managed by Goel's son Pradeep Kumar Go ...
Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...