30 Sept 2012 : Video: The One whom we adore as The Mother.
It was the fifth Sunday of the month, and hence a bonus Sunday. In order to make full use of it, we decided to watch a video on The Mother. It was called “The One whom we adore as The Mother”. The name itself seemed suggestive that it would divulge unseen and unheard of things about the Mother—and it was something we were all looking forward to. After the Opening Meditation, the lights were dimmed and we were all set to watch the video that was to be played for the next 60 minutes. The video was set in a narrative format, to give a feeling that the Mother was speaking about her own self. And this was interspersed with a voice used to depict Sri Aurobindo speaking about The Mother. It started off with The Mother’s early childhood days in Paris wherein The Mother speaks about her inner experiences as a child. This narration was accompanied by a good display of photographs ranging from quite well known ones to rather rare and uncommon ones. It was followed by the narration of The Mother’s days in Algeria, Japan and how she came to Pondicherry. The video offered us an insight into the initial days of the Ashram when it had just about a handful of Ashramites. It also had a few commentaries from the Ashramites themselves (Nirodbaran, Champaklal etc.) It was a very enriching experience to watch the video.
7 Oct 2012 : “Elements of Yoga” by Sri Aurobindo with The Mother’s Commenteries.
The chapter from “Elements of Yoga” (by Sri Aurobindo) that we read and discussed for the day was also the last in the series of readings on “Elements of Yoga”. After reading the chapter, we proceeded to read The Mother’s commentaries on “Elements of Yoga”. We discussed the question, “What happens if one eats meat?”
14 Oct 2012 : Talk on Vedic Yoga
The second Sunday of the month is when we have the Talk at the Centre. And this Sunday, Jared was to speak on the topic Vedic Yoga. After the Opening Meditation, we formed a nice big circle. The number of people participating was quite a big number. As always, we were given a handout which consisted of precious little nuggets from the book, picked out by Jared.
He started with a beautiful introduction about the Vedas and how the mantras in the Vedas, in actuality, have much deeper meanings and relevance than what they seem to appear on the surface. This was apparently done in order to prevent it from being misused. So, in order to reap the fullest benefit of the Vedas, one is supposed to read it with a higher level of Consciousness. Jared started off with the topic “Death and Immortality”. This sparked off an interesting discussion on the topic on what happens to the soul after Death and what is the importance of Immortality.
21 Oct 2012 : Talk on Vedic Yoga – Continuation with OM Choir
Jared summarised what was discussed in the previous week on Death and Immortality. The great sense that prevailed after reading the three quotes on The Divine was that the Divine was paradoxical, because all-pervading and immanent. How would one realise this Divine who was all of the Gods, all of Ideals, Liberator, the Knower, The Seer or “the White Steed in the front of our days who gallops towards the upper Ocean”? We then went on to read the quotes on The World Stair. We dwelt awhile on the quote, “As above, so below; as within, so without” and shared out thoughts on this. Consciousness is spread out in layers of different worlds – Sat-Chit-Ananda; Supermind; Pure Mind; Life-Force and Matter. The same layers are prevalent in man, we learnt, the same gradations existed, “from the mortal condition to the crowning immortality”. There is an invitation (because there is a possibility since the seed is inherent) for man to transcend the limited sphere of his mind and climb into “solar glories beyond mind”. Thus can man be “no longer this mental creature but a divine being.” With these uplifting words, we moved on to OM Choir. Everyone was ingathered, exploring vistas within quietly as the syllables were offered, one after the other, seeking after perfection. It was a most fulfilling day, as we concluded the session with Sunil-da’s music.
28 Oct 2012 : Meditation with ‘Savitri’ Video
The fourth Sunday of every month is when we have the ‘Savitri’ Reading Circle at the Centre. We were to read selected lines of Book 2 Canto 10—“The Kingdoms and Godheads of the Greater Mind”. Huta’s paintings act as a powerful visual aid and help us absorb bit by bit the gems of ‘Savitri’. After having watched the video, we formed a circle and read the selected lines a couple of times and shared our thoughts and ideas on the same.
- Preethi and Jayanthy
It was the fifth Sunday of the month, and hence a bonus Sunday. In order to make full use of it, we decided to watch a video on The Mother. It was called “The One whom we adore as The Mother”. The name itself seemed suggestive that it would divulge unseen and unheard of things about the Mother—and it was something we were all looking forward to. After the Opening Meditation, the lights were dimmed and we were all set to watch the video that was to be played for the next 60 minutes. The video was set in a narrative format, to give a feeling that the Mother was speaking about her own self. And this was interspersed with a voice used to depict Sri Aurobindo speaking about The Mother. It started off with The Mother’s early childhood days in Paris wherein The Mother speaks about her inner experiences as a child. This narration was accompanied by a good display of photographs ranging from quite well known ones to rather rare and uncommon ones. It was followed by the narration of The Mother’s days in Algeria, Japan and how she came to Pondicherry. The video offered us an insight into the initial days of the Ashram when it had just about a handful of Ashramites. It also had a few commentaries from the Ashramites themselves (Nirodbaran, Champaklal etc.) It was a very enriching experience to watch the video.
7 Oct 2012 : “Elements of Yoga” by Sri Aurobindo with The Mother’s Commenteries.
The chapter from “Elements of Yoga” (by Sri Aurobindo) that we read and discussed for the day was also the last in the series of readings on “Elements of Yoga”. After reading the chapter, we proceeded to read The Mother’s commentaries on “Elements of Yoga”. We discussed the question, “What happens if one eats meat?”
14 Oct 2012 : Talk on Vedic Yoga
The second Sunday of the month is when we have the Talk at the Centre. And this Sunday, Jared was to speak on the topic Vedic Yoga. After the Opening Meditation, we formed a nice big circle. The number of people participating was quite a big number. As always, we were given a handout which consisted of precious little nuggets from the book, picked out by Jared.
He started with a beautiful introduction about the Vedas and how the mantras in the Vedas, in actuality, have much deeper meanings and relevance than what they seem to appear on the surface. This was apparently done in order to prevent it from being misused. So, in order to reap the fullest benefit of the Vedas, one is supposed to read it with a higher level of Consciousness. Jared started off with the topic “Death and Immortality”. This sparked off an interesting discussion on the topic on what happens to the soul after Death and what is the importance of Immortality.
21 Oct 2012 : Talk on Vedic Yoga – Continuation with OM Choir
Jared summarised what was discussed in the previous week on Death and Immortality. The great sense that prevailed after reading the three quotes on The Divine was that the Divine was paradoxical, because all-pervading and immanent. How would one realise this Divine who was all of the Gods, all of Ideals, Liberator, the Knower, The Seer or “the White Steed in the front of our days who gallops towards the upper Ocean”? We then went on to read the quotes on The World Stair. We dwelt awhile on the quote, “As above, so below; as within, so without” and shared out thoughts on this. Consciousness is spread out in layers of different worlds – Sat-Chit-Ananda; Supermind; Pure Mind; Life-Force and Matter. The same layers are prevalent in man, we learnt, the same gradations existed, “from the mortal condition to the crowning immortality”. There is an invitation (because there is a possibility since the seed is inherent) for man to transcend the limited sphere of his mind and climb into “solar glories beyond mind”. Thus can man be “no longer this mental creature but a divine being.” With these uplifting words, we moved on to OM Choir. Everyone was ingathered, exploring vistas within quietly as the syllables were offered, one after the other, seeking after perfection. It was a most fulfilling day, as we concluded the session with Sunil-da’s music.
28 Oct 2012 : Meditation with ‘Savitri’ Video
The fourth Sunday of every month is when we have the ‘Savitri’ Reading Circle at the Centre. We were to read selected lines of Book 2 Canto 10—“The Kingdoms and Godheads of the Greater Mind”. Huta’s paintings act as a powerful visual aid and help us absorb bit by bit the gems of ‘Savitri’. After having watched the video, we formed a circle and read the selected lines a couple of times and shared our thoughts and ideas on the same.
- Preethi and Jayanthy
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