Lotus Flowers

(A painting by Sandhya)

The gentleness of blessing hands

Sanctity of Mother’s feet

Advent of the Dawn Goddess

Blossoming shape of Krishna’s eyes

Flowering of a smiling face

Hold within them a secret,

One that is at the heart of a Lotus flower.

Quivering at the touch of sunshine,

Silken petals unfurl one by one.

Seated serenely as in a deep meditation,

The flowers are living sages in trance.

Beautiful symbols are they, of heavenly beauty,

Secretly decorating the earth with sweet ecstasy.

- Sandhya

January - February Sunday Activities at the Centre - A glimpse

January 22^nd – Study of Secrets of Veda:

Rig Vedic verses 10 to 12 from Mandala 1, Sukta 3 dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, were covered in the light of Sri Aurobindo’s interpretations. We understood Saraswati as follows:

•      She is that power of Truth, which we call inspiration.

•      Inspiration from the Truth purifies by getting rid of falsehood.

•      As per Indian idea, all sin is merely falsehood, wrongly inspired motion and wrongly directed will and action.

•      The Idea of life and ourselves, we start with is a falsehood and all else is falsified by it.

•      Truth comes to us as a light, a voice, compelling a change of thought, imposing a  discernment of ourselves and all around us.

•      Truth of thought creates truth of vision.

•      Truth of vision forms in us truth of being.

•      Out of truth of being (satyam) flows naturally truth of emotion, will and action.

She is full of her luminous plenitudes and rich in substance of thought, upholds the sacrifice, the offering of the mortal being’s activities to the divine by awakening his consciousness so that it assumes right states of emotion and right movements of thought in accordance with the Truth.

She brings into active consciousness in the human being the great flood or great movement, the Truth-Consciousness itself and illumines with it all our thoughts.

According to Vedic Rishis, Saraswati liberates the life and being from falsehood, weakness and limitation and opens to it the doors of the supreme felicity.

January 29^th – Readings from AIM:

Tantra, the worship of Shakti

1. Hymn to the Goddess: This is a very beautiful hymn on adoration of the Goddess Mother from Tantric compilation. Mother Goddess as the very substance of the whole universe including Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva who creates, preserves and destroys.

She is the primordial cause of the worlds who is ever youthful with full of tenderness and beyond description even by the Vedas.

2. The Philosophy and the Principle behind Tantra: In Tantric philosophy Prakriti is the main principle and the Will-in-Power , executive in the universe. It was by learning and applying the intimate secrets of this will –in –Power , its method, its Tantra, the Tantric Yogin pursued the aims of his discipline.

Vedanta and Tantra: Two sides of the One Truth. While Vedanta deals with the principles and essentials of the divine Knowledge, Tantra deals with forms and processes and Organised  powers. It believes that only the “FORCE OF THE MOTHER” is keeping the whole universe, kicking and alive.

The two paths of Tantra: They are right-hand path and left hand path, Dakshina Marga and Vama Marga. It is way of knowledge and the way of Ananda. But these methods distorted over the time to the obscuration of principles, deformation of symbols and a fall.

The Central Tantric Conception: In the central Tantric conception, Shakti is considered the sole effective force of all attainment. In Vedantic concept, She is the power of Maya, and has to be liberated from Her clutches to attain the silent Purusha. In Integral conception Conscious-Soul is the Lord, the Nature-Soul is His executive energy. Purusha in action is creation and the Ananda of the becoming.

Worshipping the Woman as goddess: Feminine principle found in the living personality is the entire presence of the world supporting maternal soul of the Divinity. The Devi with all her aspects, ”kalas”, is there in the Woman. In Tantra it is said a Woman is equal to a Guru and should be worshipped.

I am reminded how a lot of Indian communities have a ceremony to worship and feed women and young girls before any major celebration like wedding or thread ceremony!

February 5^th – Readings from AIM:

Read first two paragraphs from Discovering the Vedas.

The Age of Mysteries

This passage talks about how men of this era of Mysteries, focused on the deeper knowledge and  self -knowledge, brought about the practices and rites of religion. They established symbols. It is interesting to know that the age of Mysteries brought about the quest to know about the one’s own deeper self and the profounder world knowledge.

To Know Thyself was the highest spiritual need. It took different forms in different countries like Orphic in Greece, Magi in Persia etc....In India to know the ever pervading Atman is the  purpose of human birth.

Another preoccupation for them was to systemise the occult knowledge to bring mastery over the physical world and physical things.

 Vedas are the creations of an intuitive Age of mankind.

Veda, then is the creation of an age anterior to our intellectual philosophies. The wisest then depended on inner experience; their aim was illumination, not logical conviction, their ideal the inspired seer not the accurate reason seeker. No Rishi composed or put rhythm to the hymns. The divine hymn came vibrating out of the infinite to the inner audience of the man who was fit for impersonal knowledge. It was Drsti and Sruti , (sight and hearing) which had the revelatory knowledge and contents of inspiration.

February 12^th – Readings from Questions and Answers, Book 8:

We read the following question and its answer from page 189 (20th June 1956)  of the book. 

Mother, if the heart can be the means of a more direct knowledge, what is the role of the intellect as an intermediary of knowledge?

Mother replied as follows:

As an intermediary, did you say?

For the true role of the mind is the formation and organization of action. The mind has a formative and organizing power, and it is that which puts the different elements of inspiration in order, for action, for organizing action. And if it would only confine itself to that role, receiving inspirations – whether from above or from the mystic centre of the soul – and simply formulating the plan of action – in broad outline or in minute detail, for the smallest things in life or the great terrestrial organizations – it would amply fulfil its function.  

It is not an instrument of knowledge.

But it can use knowledge for action, to organise action. It is an instrument of organization and formation, very powerful and very capable when it is well developed…………………..

These are the two uses of the mind; it is a controlling force, an instrument of control, and it is a power of organization. That is its true place.

- Compiled by Rama, Krishnamurthy, Jayalakshmi

Along the Way… February 2017 Walk Review

Ask anyone who has visited; he is sure to have a cherished memory of the lush green Singapore Botanic Gardens. Its expansive grounds are ideal for an invigorating jog or a lazy picnic while its dazzling array of thousands of plants makes it a nature lovers’ paradise. Not forgetting to mention that it is a leading centre for botanical and horticultural research!! We should salute the foresight and vision of our forefathers that this sort of nature could exist in the middle of a sprawling city!!! No wonder it is conferred as the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site - A testament to Singapore’s reputation as a City in a Garden.

Sharp at 8am our group assembled near the exquisite Tanglin Core entrance with its four trademark pillars and straight away proceeded with the walk on a cool day to enjoy fresh air, sounds of birds chirping, the sounds of waterfalls.

First, we came across a room called “Shaker Room” where countless bottles with some greenery inside each of them shaking vigorously. We learnt that shaking the tissue helps to confuse the tissue about sense of gravity – they do not differentiate into shoots or roots but grow into more tissues. This way a very large number of plantlets can be obtained from the cluster of tissue in the flasks. Could not help but compare with humans- we are also jumping vigorously from place to place, country to country in search of tissues (material wealth) in the process losing our roots.

While walking, we were awe struck to witness the imposing skyhigh trees, some more than two centuries old. Be it the

·         Palm Valley trees particularly the Tail Pot Palm which flowers only once in its lifetime

·         Monkey Pot Tree (it derives its name from its unique fruit which looks like a pot with a lid. Monkeys are known to put their hands into the pot to get to its rich seeds)

·         Ancient Jelawai tree - an uncommon species in the world more than 50 metres tall

·         Dangerous Keluak tree (It emits cyanide!) with its massive bomb like fruits

·         Penaga Laut (This tree plays host to several ferns, climbers and wildlife. Botany Centre was designed and built around it to accommodate growth of the tree- an excellent example of efforts made to conserve mature trees in Singapore)

·         Awesome Dead Rat Tree (its trunk is like an elephant's leg )

·         The Majestic heritage tree Tembusu (remember Singapore $5 note which features this)

On seeing these mammoth tress, one is reminded of Gita Verse 3 Chapter XV

 “Na roopamasyeha tathopalabhyate

Naanto na chaadirna cha sampratishthaa;

Ashwatthamenam suviroodhamoolam

Asangashastrena dridhena cchittwaa.”

Meaning: Its form is not perceived here as such, neither its end nor its origin, nor its foundation nor resting place; having cut asunder this firmly-rooted peepul tree with the strong axe of non-attachment…

We stepped up our speed and zoomed past

a)      Evolution Garden (journey through time, from the fiery beginnings of our planet to the first living organisms and gradually changing plant life on land)

b)      The Foliage Garden with an extensive collection of aquatic foliage and a board walk which offers a brilliant view of aquatic plants down under. This Garden showcases a wide array of ornamental plants with colourful foliage of varying shapes/textures and demonstrates that the beauty and diversity of plants do not lie in their flowers alone.

c)       Ginger Garden which displays several hundred species of ginger with surprisingly beautiful leaves and very attractive flowers. A walk behind the waterfall and a pool adorned with giant Amazon water lilies, I must admit, are a photographer’s paradise.

Within limited time constraints, we could not even explore 1/3rd of the Gardens. There were various attractions to explore, even little areas not highlighted on the map can be surprisingly stunning too.

After a wonderful morning walk taking our time to appreciate the beauty of the Gardens and be fascinated by the variety of the trees and flowers, we reached our Centre to be warmly welcomed by our gracious hosts Mrs Anju and Prof Aditya. Nearly 40 people turned up for the meditation and for the brunch thereafter. Our sincere thanks to the hosts for organizing such a sumptuous brunch despite arriving in Singapore just the prior day after a hectic overseas tour.

-       Ramanathan

Creatrix, the Eternal’s artist Bride

A friend and yet too great wholly to know,

She walked in their front towards a greater light,

Their leader and queen over their hearts and souls,

One close to their bosoms, yet divine and far.

-          Savitri, Sri Aurobindo

From the Editor’s Desk (Feb 2017)

This issue of our Newsletter focuses mainly on The Mother. The theme we have been exploring since June 2016, Integral Health, will be covered extensively in our next issue. In this issue we briefly introduce the next topic we are going to explore under the theme of Integral Health, ‘Mental well-being with an article by The Mother from CWM, Volume 9.we turn our focus now on mental well being.

We are fast approaching the first Darshan Day of 2017, The Mother’s 139th Birth Anniversary. Born on 21st February 1878, in Paris, to an Egyptian mother and a Turkish father, her advent was the sign and symbol of a changing era spanning the East and West. The Mother came to India to collaborate with a great Yogi, Sri Aurobindo and in its execution, lived to manifest Integral Yoga in this life upon earth. Her birth was a clarion call to the descent of a higher order on earth so that a life divine may be established. What better way to remember her and the life she lived in the midst of her human compatriots, then through the eyes of those who were blessed to live close to her and adored her as their Divine Mother on earth? This issue features reminiscences from Nirodbaran and Champaklal, two of Mother’s children who had the opportunity to be physically close to her. 

The attitude that one has to have towards the Mother is highlighted in the excerpt from Nirodbaran’s,  ‘Sri Aurobindo - A Dream Dialogue with Children’. When someone asks who the Divine Mother is, and what it means, Sri Aurobindo, succinctly proposes to everyone to simply love her sincerely, from the depth of   one’s heart and ask her to explain the mystery that she is. In turn, Sri Aurobindo assures, The Mother herself will do everything and “cut asunder….all the most secret knots in the mind” and clear “the deepest doubts and hesitations”.

Meditating on this utterance by Sri Aurobindo on the Mother, it appears that all we need to do is to establish a simple, natural relationship with her and continue communicating with Her. When we turn the searchlights onto and into ourselves, we realise all the obstructions we are faced with in realising this fully, completely. Importantly, this conditioned mind needs to surpass all human conditioning of the modern age and be ready to consider a relationship based on inner convictions and not external and physical contact. To reach this status, one can imagine what will be needed. Probably a good helping of contemplation and reflection based on an inner journey in an attempt to find out about that space within, will lay the foundation followed by a resolve to feel The Mother, hear her voice and feel her guiding touch and know what She is showing and pointing at.

If we can understand deeply and fully Sri Aurobindo’s direction, then a whole gamut of mental searching and running in circles, hitting at unneeded objects, getting entangled awhile and then spending time disentangling the knot will come to an end. The need of the hour is an intimate relationship with The Mother. On this occasion of the 139th Birth Anniversary of The Mother, it would be worth taking stock of our relationship with Her, in ourselves, whether we are in solitude or in the midst of a thick crowd engaged in all the work we take upon ourselves. One simple question to ask every now and then would be perhaps, “Am I speaking with The Mother now?” Most likely, the busily buzzing mind and the anxious heart strings pulling each other in different directions will come to a standstill, return to base and allow Her to carry us up in consciousness. A relatively higher state of consciousness, we can hope, would then also suffuse the work we do. This effort will probably have to be repeated an infinite number of times, without any promise, only for the sake of establishing a living communicating with Her. 

Are we game?

Savitri

A music of griefless things shall weave her charm;
The harps of the Perfect shall attune her voice,
The streams of Heaven shall murmur in her laugh,
Her lips shall be the honeycombs of God,
Her limbs his golden jars of ecstasy,
Her breasts the rapture-flowers of Paradise.

She shall bear Wisdom in her voiceless bosom,
Strength shall be with her like a conqueror’s sword
And from her eyes the Eternal’s bliss shall gaze.

A seed shall be sown in Death’s tremendous hour,
A branch of heaven transplant to human soil;
Nature shall overleap her mortal step;
Fate shall be changed by an unchanging will.

(Book three, Canto four)

They felt a larger future meet their walk;
She held their hands, she chose for them their paths:
They were moved by her towards great unknown things,
Faith drew them and the joy to feel themselves hers;
They lived in her, they saw the world with her eyes.

(Book four, Canto two)

Who really is The Mother?

"Not today, another time. It's time for the Mother to come now...."

And there she was standing at the door. All the children stood up.

"What's going on? How did you all gather here?" she asked smiling. "Listening to stories, are you? But now it is getting late, you should all be going home.”

"Yes, Sweet Mother, but we would like to come again to hear about Sri Aurobindo's life in England."

So saying, they all turned towards Sri Aurobindo and slowly filed out of the room. Silently he watched them go, a blessing in his eyes.

I turned to look at the Mother. This was not the ten-armed goddess of Rishi Bankim nor the Mother of Sri Ramakrishna garlanded with human heads. No, she was our delightful Mother in flesh and blood.

She said, frowning at me - "Why not?" I understood. Yes, thou art indeed that Mother. The ten directions are thy arms, O many-weaponed destroyer of Evil who ridest on the mighty Lion. On thy right hast thou Lakshmi, the fair and fortunate, on thy left Saraswati, mother of Art and Science, the mighty victor Kartik is with thee and so is Ganesh, the master of all realisations. And now, wearing a mortal frame, thou hast descended upon earth, the "Mother" given us by Sri Aurobindo.

She entered Sri Aurobindo's room, smiling radiantly, holding a glass of ice-cold water on a plate. A pale pink sari was softly wrapped around her fair delicate frame and her hair was drawn back in a bun. Fresh from her bath, she wafted grace and beauty. Her red-tinted feet glistening with gold anklets wore a pair of white sandals with golden straps. She came into the room and instantly it was filled with light and sweetness and perfume.

Champaklal and I turned eagerly towards Sri Aurobindo. Leaning against the back-rest, he was watching the Mother.

***

Sri Aurobindo said, "First of all, you must become like the Mother."

"But, Sir, who really is the Mother? Though we call her the Divine Mother, I don't very well understand what that means.”

"You will, gradually. Love her with all your heart, and ask her to explain this mystery to you. She will make everything so luminously clear to you that, in the words of the Gita, it will be chhidyaté hridayagranthi, bhidyaté sarva- sangshaya, as if all the most secret knots in the mind were cut asunder and all the deepest doubts and hesitations dissolved. No other explanation can have a more profound effect on the being.”

(Excerpts from “Sri Aurobindo - A Dream Dialogue with Children” by Nirodbaran,

Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry)