24 November 2015: Darshan day or Siddhi day
On 24th Nov 1926, a great descent took
place in the earth consciousness. The starting and ending meditation and
reading of selected prayers to create a meditative atmosphere were done. The
Darshan message is : "the word is a
sound expressive of the idea. In the supra-physical plane when an idea has to
be realized, one can by repeating the word-expression of it, produce vibrations
which prepare the mind for the realization of the idea. This is the principle
of the Mantra and of japa. One repeats the name of the Divine and the
vibrations created in the consciousness prepare the realization of the Divine."
A few extracts from the book ‘The
Life
of Sri Aurobindo' by AB Purani were read and contemplated upon. "It
[the 24th November 1926] was the descent of Krishna into the physical. Krishna
is not the supramental Light. The descent of Krishna would mean the descent of
the Overmind Godhead preparing, though not itself actually bringing, the
descent of Supermind and Ananda. Krishna is the Anandamaya; ˙He supports the
evolution through the Overmind leading it towards his Ananda." (in
"On Himself" ... "Silence absolute, living silence - not merely
living but overflowing with divinity. Then meditation lasted about forty-five
minutes. After that one by one the disciples bowed to The Mother. She and Sri
Aurobindo gave blessings to them. Whenever a disciple bowed to The Mother, Sri
Aurobindo's right hand came forward behind The Mother's as if blessing him
through The Mother. After the blessings, in the same silence there was a short
meditation." .. "By six o'clock most of the disciples had gathered.
It was becoming dark. In the verandah on the wall near Sri Aurobindo's door,
just behind his chair, a black silk curtain with gold lace work representing
three Chinese dragons was hung. The three dragons were so represented that the
tail of one reached up to the mouth of the other and the three of them covered
the curtain from end to end. We came to know afterwards that there is a
prophecy in China that the Truth will manifest itself on earth when the three
dragons (the dragons of the earth, of the mind region and of the sky) meet.
Today on 24 November the Truth was descending and the hanging of the curtain
was significant." We all made a conscious effort to transport our
consciousness in time and space to experience the atmosphere and the entire
environment .
30th November 2014: Readings from Savitri Book 8, Canto 3 'The
Death in the Forest'
This is central and eternal question of
man about birth and death of the body and the unknown factor called Fate
governed by the Divine Will. There were seven selected slides and only one canto in Book 8. The Divine Mother taking up
the human body of Savitri to experience the human pain of Love and Death and
giving her leading hands to uplift humanity towards the conquest of Death is
profoundly expressed in this canto and transport from this 'Earthly life
towards Life Divine'. After one year of Tapasya on the destined day of
Satyavan's death she follows him to the forest and remains continuously beside
him. They were happily together experiencing the 'Nature's mystic silence’ in
the 'Beauty and grandeur' of the woods. Then suddenly a shooting pain develops
in Satyavan's heart and he lays down on her lap while she hugs and kisses him -
the most realistic and ultimate expression of conjugal attachment by the divine
Prakriti and Purusha or Nature and Truth manifested in human forms to show the
path of immortality to the striving humanity.
All were attempting to understand the Sri
Aurobindo's mystic symbolism underlying the expressions. Even though we know
the etymological meaning of the English words and the expression from our
physical mental level, we will be carried to different worlds as we move on the
path of Sadhana and Intergral Yoga. It is like a core Truth that we are all
distantly encircling at different distances and the more we approach the inner
circle of Light we would experience the lines of Savitri. It has been said that
even those lines that we memorize and repeat daily would reveal differently as
we progress inwardly.
No conclusion on the meaning at mental
level is possible as contemplating on the Mantras from Savitri is an endless beginning
for an infinite immortality. All of us experience the parting of a loved one
and helplessly look at it. This helplessness is the burning question of
humanity… ,"She knew that visible
Death was standing there ... And Satyavan had passed from her embrace."
December 5th 2014: Mahasamadhi Day
The altar was decorated very beautifully
and being a working day people came to the Centre to do Pranam at different
times and there were some who came to the Centre, read the message and did a long
meditation "Supreme Lord, teach us to be silent, that in the silence we may receive your force and understand Your will". - The Mother
December 7th Sunday: Readings from Sri
Aurobindo's 'Bases of Yoga'
We read some passages from "Bases on
Yoga", pages 104-106 from the chapter "Physical Consciousness -
Subconscient - Sleep and Dream – Illness". The topic was about the layers
of sleep and dreams. Mother never encouraged sleeplessness or reduction in the
duration of sleep. The body's need should be fulfilled. It was about how to be
remain conscious in sleep that brings silence and real rest to all parts of the
body.
14th December 2014: Readings from Words of The
Mother and Om Choir
There were around 8 persons on this day
and none of them had attended the previous sessions of the “Words of The Mother”. We re-read the
same chapter from ‘Bases of Yoga’,
this time pages 105 to 107. We shared
our experiences about dreamless sleep and illness. One of the members shared an explanation from the Ashram teachers
reply to students questions about the medical facilities provided in the Ashram
and the need of medical aid until the body reaches a state of divine
receptivity wherein it can heal itself or prevent the entry of diseases. Then
Om Choir was conducted by one of the member to end the session.
21st December 2014: Readings from Sri Aurobindo's ‘Bases of Yoga’
We read from pages 107 to 109 on illness
of the body. Members shared their experiences and discussed about what Sri
Aurobindo has said about the various means of sadhana to overcome or prevent
the body's ailments and attack of diseases.
- Sundari
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