Birth of True Mental Sincerity

(With its birth the mind will understand that it is only an intermediary and not an end in itself)

Sincerity means more than mere honesty. It means that you mean what you say, feel what you profess, are earnest in your will. As the sadhak aspires to be an instrument of the Divine and one with the Divine, sincerity in him means that he is really in earnest in his aspiration and refuses all other will or impulse except the Divine's.

- Sri Aurobindo

True sincerity consists in following the way because you cannot do otherwise, in consecrating yourself to the divine life because you cannot do otherwise, in striving to transform your being and emerge into the Light because you cannot do otherwise, because it is the very reason for which you live.

-          The Mother

(Excerpt from ‘Flowers and Messages’, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry)

The blossoming flower

In ceaseless motion round the purple rim

Day by day sped by like coloured spokes,

And through a glamour of shifting hues of air

The symbol pageant of the changing year

-          Savitri

***

Presenting here a poem for the waning year. With this, we conclude the series of poems and articles on Seasons.

The year begun with our yearning hearts,

in it was planted a tiny little bud.

Aspirations and adventures a lot,

the bud unfurled with time, petal by petal,

Into a beautiful fragrant flower.

With the flaming heart-flower,

a celebration and a joy invites us

into the cool month of December.

An offering we do,

of the blossomed flower to its source.

When the year merges into the next,

the time becomes sacred,

like that of an early morning dawn.

It is also called as Margazhi,

a time of reverence and remembrance.

We remember in our ways,

a sweet little girl. Goda, she is revered as.

Her wonderful black tresses

remind us of a boy as black,

as black as the dense clouds.

She sews a flower garland

with herself entwined in her flowers.

Beckons the cuckoo and the cloud

with adoring songs to reach her beloved.

Kolams decorate house fronts,

very colored and intricate.

Carnatic music takes stage,

showering its pride of culture.

With the richness from the years’ experiences,

we welcome the touch of New Year’s rays,

our hearts opening for a newer bud.

Looking forward to inspiring adventures,

we journey with time and blossom.

-          Sandhya

October – November Sunday Activities at the Centre – A glimpse

October 18^th - Meditation on Savitri with Huta’s Visuals:

Book Eleven: Canto 1, The Eternal Day: The Soul’s Choice and the Supreme Consummation, Pictures 18 to 25.

God addresses Savitri as the living power of the manifest Word of the Spirit, which has no creative powers but has the knowledge of the slow pace of time. And asks Savitri “Ascend soul into thy timeless self; Choose destiny’s curve and stamp thy will on time”

Savitri becomes energy of Sat-Chit-Ananda;

Then a voice is heard by the Savitri’s soul. "O spirit, choose now; for this supreme choice is not offered again. The peace beyond name and form, the peace in which all things come to rest, now looks at thee from my highest being.

Savitri’s heart replies without words, "O Lord, give thy peace, a boon to keep within for the magnificent soul of man struggling amidst the fury and ruin of wild Time; thy calm, O Lord, bearing thy joy."

“Give to me, O Lord, thy embrace which cuts across the living knot of pain, thy joy in which all created beings breathe, thy enchanting streaming waters of deep love, give to me thy sweetness for earth and men, not the heart alone. Not the nature alone.

Then a blissful cry from the Infinite arose chanting the following words, "O beautiful body of the embodied Word creative, thy thoughts are my thoughts. I have spoken through thee. My will is thy will, I have chosen thy choice. I give to earth and men all that thou hast asked for them. All this shall be entered in the book of Destiny by eternal Time, which is the trustee of my thought, plan and act, the executor of my will.

Savitri succeeds in her mission finally when she hears the voice of the Eternal giving up its stance and happily blessing Savitri and Satyavan, "Descend thou to life with him whom thy heart desires. Far back in time, O Satyavan, O luminous Savitri, I sent you forth beneath the stars — both of you a dual power of God in an ignorant world, in a bounded creation shut off from the boundless self — bringing down God to the insentient globe, lifting earth-beings to the immortality of God.

(Source: From Collected Works of Sri Aurobindo)

October 25^th - Savitri Reading Circle:

Book Eleven: Canto 1: The Eternal Day: The Soul’s Choice and the Supreme Consummation, Page-683 to 685

Savitri’s soul hears the voice of the God’s soul coming from within her.” I am the Ecstasy that is unassailable. Those who have looked on me shall have no more grief. They who are not distracted by the pleasures and the little joys of life but live closed in their consciousness to the outside world shall see my forms”.

Two powers of the same bliss, Nature and Soul in us are divided, where Soul longs to reach the skies, but Nature leans down to earth. They are vainly divided by their empty conceits of independence. Nature and Soul are like bride and bridegroom inexplicably separated. But when the veil of Maya is lifted from the sense of time and space, the spirit shall vibrate with endless bliss.

(Source: From Collected works of Sri Aurobindo)

November 1^st - Readings from AIM Magazine:

Mantra (Rhythmic Word of the Infinite)

Since our group wanted to know more about Mantra, we read about what Mother and Sri Aurobindo’s directive on Mantra.

Mother says that repetition of Mantra brings about a change in our physical plane and a mantra should be not more than 3 words.

Her mantra “OM NAMO BHAGAVATEH” is like a phosphorescent radiation from a medium with a powerful action.

A Mantra has life when it springs up spontaneously from within. It has the most power. For people who have contact with their soul the mantra will well up from within.

Sri Aurobindo gives us the most important tips on the way to do Japa.

There is the mental way of doing Japa where you get absorbed in its significance and power. The object of concentration in the head is to rise to the divine consciousness and bring down the Light of the Mother or her Force or Ananda into all the centres.

There is a vital way when it comes from heart ringing it with a sense of Bhakhi. The object of the concentration in the heart is to open the centre there ( heart lotus)to feel the presence of Divine Mother in the heart and to become aware of one’s soul or psychic being which is a portion of the Divine.

He also understands the common man’s problem of the strain, long hours of japa brings, though accustomed to successful meditation!

November 8^th - Reading from the book “The Mother”:

Our group decided to read “Four great aspects of the Mother” like a prayer before Deepavali which was on 10^th November.

In the words of Sri Aurobindo, four great aspects of the Mother, four of her leading Powers and Personalities have stood in front in her guidance of this Universe and in her dealings with the terrestrial play. To the four we give the four great names Maheswari, Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, Mahasaraswati.

Imperial Maheswari is the one who opens us to the supramental infinities and the cosmic vastness, to the grandeur of the supreme Light, to a treasure house of the Mother’s eternal forces. Her compassion is endless and inexhaustible.

Mahakali embodies her power of splendid strength and irresistible passion, her warrior mood, her overwhelming will, her impetuous swiftness and world shaking force. All her divinity leaps out in splendour of tempestuous action; She is there for swiftness, for the immediately effective process.

Mahalakshmi resides where ever there is harmony and beauty of the mind and soul, harmony and

beauty of the thoughts and feelings, harmony in every outward act and movement, harmony and beauty of the life and surroundings. Her grace lifts our wisdom to pinnacles of wonder and reveals to it the mystic secrets of the ecstasy that surpasses all knowledge, meets devotion with passionate attraction of the Divine and keeps it endure forever.

“All the work of the other Powers leans on her for its completeness”

Mahasaraswati, the youngest of the Four, She is the most skilful in executive faculty and the nearest to physical Nature.

Her grace will give us the intimate and precise knowledge, the subtlety and patience, the accuracy of intuitive mind and conscious hand and discerning eye of the perfect worker.

Reading about the above powers of the Mother, our prayer gets concentrated and sincere to receive Her Grace. I wish one day we can programme and click in our physical, mental and emotional levels, all these “Shakhis” according to the needs of the moment and just be a computer (a tool) without our ego and ignorance coming in the way!

November 15th - Meditation on Savitri with Huta’s visuals

Book Eleven: Canto 1, The Eternal Day: The Soul’s Choice And the Supreme Consummation, Pictures 26 to 33

The pictures depict the soul of Savitri plunging down through unseen worlds amidst joyous voices and triumphant cries greeting her all the way down. She holds the soul of Satyavan within her enveloping soul. The great wings of the Superconscient close above her and she finds herself buried in the breast of the Earth Mother.

A Spirit gazes upon destiny; a glance of undying Love falls from that gaze. A wonderful face looks down with deathless eyes. Over the wide earth broods the infinite bliss. (Source: A Summary of Savitri by M.P.Pandit)

-          Jayalakshmi

Along the Way… November 2015 Morning Walk – A Review

The walk for the month of November was a beach walk and was located in one of the extreme ends of Singapore. We reached the Changi Beach where there was an excellent sunshine with a clear blue sky and a cool breeze to welcome us. We were a small group of seven for the walk.

We had a small warmup led by Saurab which was a good start for the day.

The traditional group photo before we start the walk along the beach  - 

We decided to walk towards the tip of the park which is opposite to the Changi Point Ferry Terminal (from where bumboats leave for Pulau Ubin).

Just a few minutes later the weather changed completely from sunny to cloudy which made everyone happy.

We split into two groups as some wanted to walk on the beach and the others wanted to try to make it as far as possible in the limited time of 1h30.

We then headed to Anand Venkat’s place for the meditation and brunch.

We had a lovely meditation in their flat with a lot more people who joined us.

After the regular readings and meditation we all moved to the function hall and had lovely spread of varied delicious food prepared by Sheetal & her friends.

When we were planning our trip to Singapore we realised that we could attend the walk so we changed our flight timing. We would like to add that we always enjoy the walk and find this unique experience much enriching for all. As it was very rightly mentioned that we are happy to see young friends joining the group.

-         Devdutt and Varsha

(Photos by Devdutt and Varsha)

Humility

Adorable in its simplicity

Botanical Name: Agrostis nebulosa

Common Name: Dropseed

Spiritual Significance: Humility 

Humility is the recognition that one does not know, that one knows nothing, and that there may be something beyond what presently appears to us as being truest, noblest, most disinterested. True humility consists in referring oneself constantly to the Lord, in placing everything before Him.

-          The Mother

From the Editor’s Desk

Humility is the theme that this month’s issue carries. This English word is derived from the Latin word humilitas. The Oxford Dictionary defines humility as being humble, and having a ‘low view of one’s importance.” The root of humilitas is humilis, which means ‘ground’. In Sanskrit, humility is, ‘Namrataa”.  The Mother tells a simple and beautiful story about the skilled flower-artist and his opinion of his work. The man with humility is one who sincerely knows that his work needs improvement or may have flaws unnoticed by him. This man is appearing open to criticism of his work and also improving it with the right suggestions. The Mother points this out as a desirable trait; his behaviour is “pleasing”. This is humility. Perhaps one can understand humility better when considering the opposite of humility, and that is ‘vanity’. Who may be a vain person? It is he who thinks highly of his work, or boasts about it. Accordingly, hearing boastful words or self-praise is not pleasing, one indeed, “smiles” at the person. In such a person, there is no opening for self-improvement as one already feels that he is good and need not look for further improvement. Such a person, who does not have humility, is one who is closed; his world is all done.

There is “…Greatness that is modest” as in the case of King Solomon. Contemplate on this phrase. What does this mean? It will be useful to register all the feelings and thoughts that this statement evokes within one. What does this mean? What is greatness? What are we when we think we have achieved something really great, meaningful? What is our state within? Is there vanity within or humility? When? 

And whichever our response, why is that the case? 

Now, back to humility, the common notion of being humble is generally assumed to be one being modest in the midst of other human beings, to be not vain in the eyes of other human beings and or to have a “low view of one’s importance”, as the definition goes. The Mother and Sri Aurobindo elevate the meaning of true humility by referring to it in terms of the Divine, thereby exceeding the common meaning wrought with and given to limited human tendencies and capabilities. Here’s what The Mother says:

“True humility is humility before the Divine - that is, the precise, exact, living sense that one is nothing, can do nothing, under¬stands nothing without the Divine, that even if one is an exceptionally intelligent and capable person, one is nothing in comparison with the Divine Consciousness. And one has to keep that always, because always one has the true attitude of receptivity, a humble receptivity which does not put personal pretension in the way of the Divine.”

Like the rest of the virtues represented in the Mother’s symbol, Humility is one aspect of the manifestation of the Divine Shakti. Its spontaneous expression in any individual must be a divine grace. Its absence then would only indicate that, though immanent, it is clouded by undesirable elements within the being, which is not part of what the being is in essence. The good news is that once we make an effort to see the cloud, realise the obscurity and ask sincerely for the clouds to be removed or dissipate in Light, then the true quality of Humility may come forward and express itself. But again, it requires a yogic attitude and effort. We still need to ask, simply, for it.

Savitri

The first fair life that breaks from Nature's swoon,

Mounts in a line of rapture to the skies;

Absorbed in its own happy urge it lives,

Sufficient to itself, yet turned to all.

It has no seen communion with its world,

No open converse with surrounding things.

There is a oneness native and occult

That needs no instruments and erects no form;

All contacts it assumes into its trance,

Laugh-tossed consents to the wind's kiss and takes

Transmutingly the shocks of sun and breeze:

A blissful yearning riots in its leaves,

A magic passion trembles in its blooms,

Its boughs aspire in hushed felicity.

(Book Four, Canto One)