29th February 2008 marked the 13th commemoration of the Spiritual event termed by The Mother as “The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth”. On this Golden day, the Savitri Circle was inaugurated in our tiny island of Singapore, with these prophetic lines
I saw the Omnipotent’s flaming pioneers
Over the heavenly verge which turns towards life
Come crowding down the amber stairs of birth,
Forerunners of a divine multitude,
Out of the paths of the morning star they came
Into the little room of mortal life.
I saw them cross the twilight of an age,
The sun-eyed children of a marvellous dawn,
The great creators with wide brows of calm,
The massive barrier-breakers of the world
And wrestlers with destiny in her lists of will,
The labourers in the quarries of the gods,
The messengers of the Incommunicable,
The architects of immortality.
A small beginning has been made here, in Singapore, inspired by Sonia Dyne in one of her Sunday evening address to members. There has been a quiet and fervent support for this proposal. The Mother said that the greatest victories are the least noisy; similarly may we silently and humbly strive to meditate on Savitri and be illumined by Her light and power.
The Mother, in a message to an Ashram artist for “Meditations on Savitri” said “The importance of Savitri is immense. Its subject is universal. Its revelation is prophetic. The time spent in its atmosphere is not wasted. Take all the time necessary to see this exhibition. It will be a happy compensation for the feverish haste men put now in all they do.” ( 10.2.67 )
May more and more souls enter into the Light of Savitri and its divine sound be heard by all. The time spent in its atmosphere will be celestial. Savitri Circle will meet every 3rd Sunday of the month, followed by Mr. Rajah’s talk on Savitri the following week.
A divine force shall flow through tissue and cell
And take charge of breath and speech and act
And all the thoughts shall be a glow of suns
And every feeling a celestial thrill.
Often a lustrous inner dawn shall come
Lighting the chambers of the slumbering mind;
A sudden bliss shall run through every limb
And Nature with a mightier Presence fill.
Thus shall the earth open to divinity
And common natures feel the wide uplift,
Illumine common acts with the Spirit’s ray
And meet the deity in common things.
Nature shall live to manifest secret God,
The spirit shall take up the human play,
This earthly life become the life divine. (Book Eleven Canto One)
- Sudha
Matrimandir: An universal temple of unity
Mother has foreseen global structure
And given the details of its architecture
To an architect about three decades ago
For transformation of humanity to divinity
A marvelous monument of divine force
Look like God’s gift for human race
To transform and translate the divinity
And a centre for concentration and meditation
Mother has viewed its final formation
With a perfect vision of its dimensions
It is a tool of Mother for acceleration,
For an accurate human transformation
It is an advent of new consciousness,
And it has fascinated many many people,
Which is a symbol of universal Mother,
Something higher to be the divine answer.
As we enter into Matrimandir,
A feeling of silent force engulfing the inner,
And never felt any difficulty in climbing the stairs,
Reaching the meditation chamber in calm mental plain,
As I enter the milky white meditation chamber
With an aura of ultra terrestrial atmosphere
I felt serene with weightless body and soul;
And sat for meditation in front of crystal globe.
The crystal globe sparkling with sun rays,
Falling from the top of the chamber,
Reflecting strange light to every corner,
For a perfect medication atmosphere.
It is a place for the advent of new consciousness,
A symbol of the Mother’s evolutionary wish,
Contact with something higher in one self,
A divine answer to man’s spiritual perfection.
(Dr Babu Rao, a retired doctor who visited the Ashram and Matrimandir for the first time)
“Will the Force more specially be concentrated in Matrimandir?” the Chief Architect asked, and the Mother answered; “The new Force works everywhere, especially in this room. You feel it, don't you?... There is here a density capable of performing miracles, but few are able to feel it, to perceive it. Sri Aurobindo and I have concentrated this Force on the whole town; it is palpable, perceptible as a very concrete perfume which penetrates but one must be able to feel it, to receive it.”
Human unity and Multifarious activities
Human Unity
"With the present morality of the human race a sound and durable human unity is not yet possible; but there is no reason why a temporary approximation to it should not be the reward of strenuous aspiration and untiring effort. By constant approximations and by partial realisations and temporary successes Nature advances", writes Sri Aurobindo, and this reality stands central in Auroville and acts as perpetual encouragement for the residents to persevere. During all our meetings, deliberations and plannings, we are acutely aware of how vast and how high our aim is, for "--- in it must be found the means of a fundamental, an inner, a complete, a real human unity which would be the one secure base of a unification of human life. A spiritual oneness which would create a psychological oneness not dependent upon any intellectual or outward uniformity."
Multifarious activities
Auroville is intended as a city for up to 50,000 inhabitants from around the world. Today its inhabitants number around 2000 people, drawn from some thirty countries. They live in 100 settlements of varying size, separated by village and temple lands and surrounded by Tamil villages with a total population of over 35,000 people. Their activities are multifarious, and include afforestation, organic agriculture, educational research, health care, village development, appropriate technology, and building construction, information technology, small and medium scale businesses, town planning, water table management, cultural activities and community services.
Courtesy: www.auroville.org
"With the present morality of the human race a sound and durable human unity is not yet possible; but there is no reason why a temporary approximation to it should not be the reward of strenuous aspiration and untiring effort. By constant approximations and by partial realisations and temporary successes Nature advances", writes Sri Aurobindo, and this reality stands central in Auroville and acts as perpetual encouragement for the residents to persevere. During all our meetings, deliberations and plannings, we are acutely aware of how vast and how high our aim is, for "--- in it must be found the means of a fundamental, an inner, a complete, a real human unity which would be the one secure base of a unification of human life. A spiritual oneness which would create a psychological oneness not dependent upon any intellectual or outward uniformity."
Multifarious activities
Auroville is intended as a city for up to 50,000 inhabitants from around the world. Today its inhabitants number around 2000 people, drawn from some thirty countries. They live in 100 settlements of varying size, separated by village and temple lands and surrounded by Tamil villages with a total population of over 35,000 people. Their activities are multifarious, and include afforestation, organic agriculture, educational research, health care, village development, appropriate technology, and building construction, information technology, small and medium scale businesses, town planning, water table management, cultural activities and community services.
Courtesy: www.auroville.org
To be a true Aurovillian
1. The first necessity is the inner discovery by which one learns who one really is behind the social, moral, cultural, racial and hereditary appearances. At our inmost centre there is a free being, wide and knowing, who awaits our discovery and who ought to become the acting centre of our being and our life in Auroville.
2. One lives in Auroville in order to be free of moral and social conventions; but this liberty must not be a new slavery to the ego, its desires and its ambitions. The fulfilment of desires bars the route to the inner discovery which can only be attained in peace and the transparency of a perfect disinterestedness.
3. The Aurovilian must lose the proprietary sense of possession. For our passage in the material world, that which is indispensable to our life and to our action is put at our disposal according to the place we should occupy there. The more conscious our contact is with our inner being, the more exact are the means given.
4. Work, even manual work, is an indispensable thing for the inner discovery. If one does not work, if one does not inject his consciousness into matter, the latter will never develop. To let one’s consciousness organise a bit of matter by way of one’s body is very good. To establish order around oneself, helps to bring order within oneself. One should organise life not according to outer, artificial rules, but according to an organised, inner consciousness, because if one allows life to drift without imposing the control of a higher consciousness, life becomes inexpressive and irresolute. It is to waste one’s time in the sense that matter persists without a conscious utilisation.
5. The whole earth must prepare itself for the advent of the new species, and Auroville wants to consciously work towards hastening that advent.
6. Little by little it will be revealed to us what this new species should be, and meanwhile the best measure to take is to consecrate oneself entirely to the Divine.
The only true liberty is that obtained by union with the Divine. One can unite with the Divine only when the ego is mastered.
2. One lives in Auroville in order to be free of moral and social conventions; but this liberty must not be a new slavery to the ego, its desires and its ambitions. The fulfilment of desires bars the route to the inner discovery which can only be attained in peace and the transparency of a perfect disinterestedness.
3. The Aurovilian must lose the proprietary sense of possession. For our passage in the material world, that which is indispensable to our life and to our action is put at our disposal according to the place we should occupy there. The more conscious our contact is with our inner being, the more exact are the means given.
4. Work, even manual work, is an indispensable thing for the inner discovery. If one does not work, if one does not inject his consciousness into matter, the latter will never develop. To let one’s consciousness organise a bit of matter by way of one’s body is very good. To establish order around oneself, helps to bring order within oneself. One should organise life not according to outer, artificial rules, but according to an organised, inner consciousness, because if one allows life to drift without imposing the control of a higher consciousness, life becomes inexpressive and irresolute. It is to waste one’s time in the sense that matter persists without a conscious utilisation.
5. The whole earth must prepare itself for the advent of the new species, and Auroville wants to consciously work towards hastening that advent.
6. Little by little it will be revealed to us what this new species should be, and meanwhile the best measure to take is to consecrate oneself entirely to the Divine.
The only true liberty is that obtained by union with the Divine. One can unite with the Divine only when the ego is mastered.
Why build Matrimandir?
“In India”, the Mother said in June 1971, “the creation, that means basically the work of the Mother-Creator, has, for centuries, been considered as anti-divine. Sri Aurobindo has shown that it is in the Matter that the Divine must be manifested, he has insisted on the understanding of this concept of the Mother as Creator. Matrimandir is here to teach people that it is not by escaping from the world or ignoring it that they will realise the Divine in life. Matrimandir must be the symbol of this Truth. I don’t want it to be made into a religion; with all my force I refuse. We don’t want dogmas, principles, rituals, absolutely not, absolutely not.”
“Why, then, do we build Matrimandir?” Roger Anger asked that Mother.
“For a great majority of Indians there is no need for an explanation, they know from their background. It is for the Westerners and Americans of whom one in a million is able to feel that it is necessary.”
(Extract from 2004 calendar- Matrimandir)
The flower of Auroville
Hibiscus 'Hawaian'
Large single salmon-pink flower with pink center and pale pink aura,
or medium to large single flower,
each petal with subtle shades of yellow and apricot orange, light red center
BEAUTY OF SUPRAMENTAL LOVE
"It urges us to live at its height."
More on Auroville
Mother’s Message for the Inauguration of Auroville, 28th February 1968
Greetings from auroville to all men of good will.
Are invited to Auroville all those who thirst for progress and aspire to a higher and truer life.
Auroville
The task of giving a concrete form to Sri Aurobindo’s vision was entrusted to the Mother. The creation of a new world, a new humanity, a new society expressing and embodying the new consciousness is the work she has undertaken. By the very nature of things, it is a collective ideal that calls for a collective effort so that it may be realised in the terms of an integral human perfection. The Ashram founded and built by the Mother was the first step towards the accomplishment of this goal.
“The project of Auroville is the next step, more exterior, which seeks to widen the base of this attempt to establish harmony between soul and body, spirit and nature, heaven and earth, in the collective life of mankind.”
- The Mother (Written for a UNESCO committee in 1969)
Symbol of Auroville
The dot at the centre represents Unity, the Supreme;
the inner circle represents the creation, the conception of the City;
the petals represent the power of expression, realisation.
- The Mother (16 August 1971)
Greetings from auroville to all men of good will.
Are invited to Auroville all those who thirst for progress and aspire to a higher and truer life.
Auroville
The task of giving a concrete form to Sri Aurobindo’s vision was entrusted to the Mother. The creation of a new world, a new humanity, a new society expressing and embodying the new consciousness is the work she has undertaken. By the very nature of things, it is a collective ideal that calls for a collective effort so that it may be realised in the terms of an integral human perfection. The Ashram founded and built by the Mother was the first step towards the accomplishment of this goal.
“The project of Auroville is the next step, more exterior, which seeks to widen the base of this attempt to establish harmony between soul and body, spirit and nature, heaven and earth, in the collective life of mankind.”
- The Mother (Written for a UNESCO committee in 1969)
Symbol of Auroville
The dot at the centre represents Unity, the Supreme;
the inner circle represents the creation, the conception of the City;
the petals represent the power of expression, realisation.
- The Mother (16 August 1971)
The Living Question: Auroville
What is the fundamental difference between the ideal of the Ashram and the ideal of Auroville?
There is no fundamental difference in the attitude towards the future and the service of the Divine.
But the people in the Ashram are considered to have consecrated their lives to Yoga (except, of course, the students who are here only for their studies and who are not expected to have made their choice in life).
Whereas in Auroville simply the good will to make a collective experiment for the progress of humanity is sufficient to gain admittance.
I have always considered the Ashram and Auroville to be parts of an integral whole. I cannot see them as different entities. How then was a difference made by you, Mother? Or is that I am wrong somewhere? To me it seems that there is a great need to move towards the integration in our outlook.
The Ashram is the central consciousness. Auroville is one of the outward expressions. In both places equally the work is done for the Divine.
The people who live in the Ashram have their own work and most of them are too busy to give time to Auroville.
Each one must be busy with his own work; this is essential for a proper organisation.
What is the difference between the Ashram and Auroville?
The Ashram will retain its true role of pioneer, inspirer and guide.
Auroville is the attempt towards collective realisation.
(CWM – Volume 13, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 1980, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry)
The Mother answers some questions on Auroville
1. Who has taken the initiative for the construction of Auroville?
The Supreme Lord.
2. Who participates in the financing of Auroville?
The Supreme Lord.
3. If one wants to live in Auroville, what does it imply to oneself?
To try to attain the Supreme Perfection.
4. Must one be a student of yoga in order to live in Auroville?
All life is Yoga. Therefore one cannot live without practising the supreme yoga.
5. What will be the Ashram’s role in Auroville?
Whatever the Supreme Lord wants it to be.
6. Will there be camping-grounds in Auroville?
All things are as they should be, when they should be.
7. Will family life continue in Auroville?
If one has not gone beyond that.
8. Can one retain one’s religion in Auroville?
If one has not gone beyond that.
9. Can one be an atheist in Auroville?
If one has not gone beyond that.
10. Will there be social life in Auroville?
If one has not gone beyond that.
11. Will there be compulsory community activities in Auroville?
Nothing is compulsory.
12. Will money be used in Auroville?
No, Auroville will have money relations only with the outside world.
13. How will work be organised and distributed in Auroville?
Money would no longer be the sovereign lord, individual worth would have a far greater importance than that of material wealth and social standing. There, work would not be a way to earn one’s living but a way to express oneself and to develop one’s capacities and possibilities while being of service to the community as a whole, which, for its own part, would provide for each individual’s subsistence and sphere of action.
14. What will be the relations between the inhabitants of Auroville and the outside world?
Each person is allowed full freedom. The external relations of residents in Auroville will be established for each one according to his personal aspiration and his activities within Auroville.
15. Who will own the land and buildings of Auroville?
The Supreme Lord.
16. What languages will be used for teaching?
All the spoken languages of the earth.
17. What will be the means of transport in Auroville?
We do not know.
(Mother answered these questions orally in 1965. When she read the notation on 8 October 1969, she changed answers 12 and 17, as printed here. )
(The above questions and answers are from CWM- Volume 13, under the section Auroville, published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram, at Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press.)
There is no fundamental difference in the attitude towards the future and the service of the Divine.
But the people in the Ashram are considered to have consecrated their lives to Yoga (except, of course, the students who are here only for their studies and who are not expected to have made their choice in life).
Whereas in Auroville simply the good will to make a collective experiment for the progress of humanity is sufficient to gain admittance.
I have always considered the Ashram and Auroville to be parts of an integral whole. I cannot see them as different entities. How then was a difference made by you, Mother? Or is that I am wrong somewhere? To me it seems that there is a great need to move towards the integration in our outlook.
The Ashram is the central consciousness. Auroville is one of the outward expressions. In both places equally the work is done for the Divine.
The people who live in the Ashram have their own work and most of them are too busy to give time to Auroville.
Each one must be busy with his own work; this is essential for a proper organisation.
What is the difference between the Ashram and Auroville?
The Ashram will retain its true role of pioneer, inspirer and guide.
Auroville is the attempt towards collective realisation.
(CWM – Volume 13, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 1980, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry)
The Mother answers some questions on Auroville
1. Who has taken the initiative for the construction of Auroville?
The Supreme Lord.
2. Who participates in the financing of Auroville?
The Supreme Lord.
3. If one wants to live in Auroville, what does it imply to oneself?
To try to attain the Supreme Perfection.
4. Must one be a student of yoga in order to live in Auroville?
All life is Yoga. Therefore one cannot live without practising the supreme yoga.
5. What will be the Ashram’s role in Auroville?
Whatever the Supreme Lord wants it to be.
6. Will there be camping-grounds in Auroville?
All things are as they should be, when they should be.
7. Will family life continue in Auroville?
If one has not gone beyond that.
8. Can one retain one’s religion in Auroville?
If one has not gone beyond that.
9. Can one be an atheist in Auroville?
If one has not gone beyond that.
10. Will there be social life in Auroville?
If one has not gone beyond that.
11. Will there be compulsory community activities in Auroville?
Nothing is compulsory.
12. Will money be used in Auroville?
No, Auroville will have money relations only with the outside world.
13. How will work be organised and distributed in Auroville?
Money would no longer be the sovereign lord, individual worth would have a far greater importance than that of material wealth and social standing. There, work would not be a way to earn one’s living but a way to express oneself and to develop one’s capacities and possibilities while being of service to the community as a whole, which, for its own part, would provide for each individual’s subsistence and sphere of action.
14. What will be the relations between the inhabitants of Auroville and the outside world?
Each person is allowed full freedom. The external relations of residents in Auroville will be established for each one according to his personal aspiration and his activities within Auroville.
15. Who will own the land and buildings of Auroville?
The Supreme Lord.
16. What languages will be used for teaching?
All the spoken languages of the earth.
17. What will be the means of transport in Auroville?
We do not know.
(Mother answered these questions orally in 1965. When she read the notation on 8 October 1969, she changed answers 12 and 17, as printed here. )
(The above questions and answers are from CWM- Volume 13, under the section Auroville, published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram, at Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press.)
Integral Education: Physical Education
It may be said that from the very first days, even the first hours of his life, the child should undergo the first part of this programme as far as food, sleep, evacuation, etc. are concerned. If the child, from the very beginning of his existence, learns good habits, it will save him a good deal of trouble and inconvenience for the rest of the life; and besides, those who have the responsibility of caring for him during his first years will find their task very much easier.
Naturally, this education, if it is to be rational, enlightened and effective, must be based upon a minimum knowledge of the human body, of its structure and its functioning. As the child develops, he must gradually be taught to observe the functioning of his internal organs so that he may control them more and more, and see that this functioning remains normal and harmonious. As for positions, postures and movements, bad habits are formed very early and very rapidly, and these may have disastrous consequences for his whole life. Those who take the question of physical education seriously and wish to give their children the best conditions for normal development will easily find the necessary indications and instructions. The subject is being more and more thoroughly studied, and many books have appeared and are still appearing which give all the information and guidance needed.
It is not possible for me here to go into the details of the application, for each problem is different from every other and the solution should suit the individual case. The question of food has been studied at length and in detail; the diet that helps children in their growth is generally known and it may be very useful to follow it. But it is very important to remember that the instinct of the body, so long as it remains intact, is more reliable than any theory. Accordingly, those who want their child to develop normally should not force him to eat food which he finds distasteful, for most often the body possesses a sure instinct as to what is harmful to it, unless the child is particularly capricious.
The body in its normal state, that is to say, when there is no intervention of mental notions or vital impulses, also knows very well what is good and necessary for it; but for this to be effective in practice, one must educate the child with care and teach him to distinguish his desires from his needs. He should be helped to develop a taste for food that is simple and healthy, substantial and appetising, but free from any useless complications. In his daily food, all that merely stuffs and causes heaviness should be avoided; and above all, he must be taught to eat according to his hunger, neither more nor less, and not to make his meals an occasion to satisfy his greed or gluttony. From one’s very childhood, one should know that one eats in order to give strength and health to the body and not to enjoy the pleasures of the palate. Children should be given food that suits their temperament, prepared in a way that ensures hygiene and cleanliness, that is pleasant to the taste and yet very simple. This food should be chosen and apportioned according to the age of the child and his regular activities. It should contain all the chemical and dynamic elements that are necessary for his development and the balanced growth of every part of his body.
To be continued…
From: On Education, Collected Works of the Mother, Vol. 12.
Naturally, this education, if it is to be rational, enlightened and effective, must be based upon a minimum knowledge of the human body, of its structure and its functioning. As the child develops, he must gradually be taught to observe the functioning of his internal organs so that he may control them more and more, and see that this functioning remains normal and harmonious. As for positions, postures and movements, bad habits are formed very early and very rapidly, and these may have disastrous consequences for his whole life. Those who take the question of physical education seriously and wish to give their children the best conditions for normal development will easily find the necessary indications and instructions. The subject is being more and more thoroughly studied, and many books have appeared and are still appearing which give all the information and guidance needed.
It is not possible for me here to go into the details of the application, for each problem is different from every other and the solution should suit the individual case. The question of food has been studied at length and in detail; the diet that helps children in their growth is generally known and it may be very useful to follow it. But it is very important to remember that the instinct of the body, so long as it remains intact, is more reliable than any theory. Accordingly, those who want their child to develop normally should not force him to eat food which he finds distasteful, for most often the body possesses a sure instinct as to what is harmful to it, unless the child is particularly capricious.
The body in its normal state, that is to say, when there is no intervention of mental notions or vital impulses, also knows very well what is good and necessary for it; but for this to be effective in practice, one must educate the child with care and teach him to distinguish his desires from his needs. He should be helped to develop a taste for food that is simple and healthy, substantial and appetising, but free from any useless complications. In his daily food, all that merely stuffs and causes heaviness should be avoided; and above all, he must be taught to eat according to his hunger, neither more nor less, and not to make his meals an occasion to satisfy his greed or gluttony. From one’s very childhood, one should know that one eats in order to give strength and health to the body and not to enjoy the pleasures of the palate. Children should be given food that suits their temperament, prepared in a way that ensures hygiene and cleanliness, that is pleasant to the taste and yet very simple. This food should be chosen and apportioned according to the age of the child and his regular activities. It should contain all the chemical and dynamic elements that are necessary for his development and the balanced growth of every part of his body.
To be continued…
From: On Education, Collected Works of the Mother, Vol. 12.
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