27th October 2013 - “Meditations on Savitri” and ‘Savitri’ Reading Circle
There were 10 of us in the circle. We meditated on the lines of Book 5, Canto three, with The Mother's readings and Huta's paintings. We dwelt on the Canto titled, "Satyavan and Savitri". In this canto, Satyavan and Savitri utter their first words to each other. Both Savitri's and Satyavan's utterances are crystal clear and romantic while at the same time bearing very deep cryptic messages to each other and importantly, for us, listening to Mother's recitation. There is this subtle play with deeper levels of consciousness as one soul addresses the other, "across the golden spaces of my life", in Savitri's words. We read through the lines for Pictures 1 to 6 about three times and expressed our fascination with the lines during a short sharing session. Some of the lines that intrigued us were,
The winds have shown to me their trampling lords,
I have beheld the princes of the Sun
Burning in thousand-pillared homes of light.
and…
Heaven’s brilliant gods recalled their careless gifts,
Took from blank eyes their glad and helping ray
And led the uncertain goddess from his side.
Here are a few more lines from Savitri herself for us to savour, lines revealing something of the deep secret she nurses within her:
Speak more to me, speak more, O Satyavan,
Speak of thyself and all thou art within...
Speak till a light shall come into my heart
And my moved mortal mind shall understand
What all the deathless being in me feels.
It knows that thou art he my spirit has sought
Amidst earth’s thronging visages and forms
Across the golden spaces of my life.
What a beautiful way to start a week!
3rd Nov 2013 - Readings on writings of The Mother in "Steps to Freedom and Mastery" and OM Choir
There were five of us in the circle on this day. We read two passages, one entitled, "What in Us Becomes Conscious?" and the other, "Vigilance". We read that the fact that we aspired pointed to the presence of the Divine within us, aspiring.
Here is a question posed to The Mother with her answer :
Does the inconscient aspire to become conscious?
"No. It is the Divine in the inconscient who aspires for the Divine in the consciousness. That is to say, without the Divine there would be no aspiration; without the consciousness hidden in the inconscient, there would be no possibility of changing the inconscient to consciousness. But because at the very heart of the inconscient there is the divine Consciousness, you aspire..."
- The Mother
We went on to read the passages under "Vigilance".
OM choir followed with a small candle lit and placed in the middle of the circle in a darkened room. We enjoyed moments of deep calm and quiet within and left the Centre, recharged for the week to come.
10th November 2013 – ‘Bases of Yoga’ Reading Circle
20 people gathered for this reading circle yesterday. We read pages 18 to 21, completing Chapter 1 of this book. As usual, the real experiences we all went through in reading the passages cannot be stated in words that express accurately what each passage meant to us. It is a wonder that certain passages resonate more within then the others at a given time. It is another wonder how we gather together in such a circle, read the same passages and take away unique learning and experiences at the end of the day.
The Mother stresses on the need for a "strong mind and body and life-force" in this sadhana and that "wideness and calmness are the foundations of the Yogic consciousness and the best condition for inner growth and experience".
During our sharing session, a question was raised as to what "wideness" could mean. It was suggested, based on understandings of Sri Aurobindo's writings, to probably mean a characteristic of higher or purer states of consciousness which was vast, and all-encompassing, free (perhaps even all-embracing, all-accepting, impartial, equal) as opposed to the constricted narrowness of consciousness in a lower state. However, as always with this Yoga, nothing beats a living experience. So we aspire to know and live, and move on.
Here are two lines from The Mother to contemplate on for the week :
"The way of Yoga must be a living thing, not a mental principle or a set method to be stuck to against all necessary variations."
17th November 2013 – Special Observation – The Mother’s Mahasamadhi Day
This day was basically dedicated to silence at the Centre. We started with our usual meditation with Sunil-Da’s New Year music, which we played a while longer this time. Then a prayer was read from ‘Prayers and Meditations’ by Venkatesh Rao and the message from the Ashram was read out. Silent meditation followed for the next 35 minutes or so. We concluded the session with another reading of the message from the Ashram for the benefit of those who came in later and settled down for about five minutes of meditation with The Mother’s Organ music. The altar was decked with lovely flowers, quietly offering themselves. It was a wonderful feeling sitting quietly by the altar or on chairs facing the altar, as we attempted to silence our minds and reach out to The Mother in our own ways. The candles that glowed at the altar, in the dimmed room were calming and re-assuring.
- Jayanthy
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