INDEX A Abdul Baha 2:l04-ll; 4:316-17 Abhimana 6:404-05 Absolute, the 11: 158 arriving at 16: 253 relative and 10:94 Abuse solution to 12:157 Accidents causes of and protection from 4 :63 ,121 ,268,272-76 ; 5: 119-20 ; 6 : l-3; 7:l47; 12:113; 16:323 chance and 4:148 in sports at Ashram 12:288-89; 16:413 to body 5:403-06 witnesses of 4:11 Achilles 10 : 278 Action(s) according to opinion 10;236-"38 according to Shastra 10;318 acting like others 9:43-4B against the Mother's will 1.7859,64

Chapter 8 Power Power means strength and force, Shakti, which enables one to face all that can happen and to stand and overcome, also to carry out what the Divine Will proposes. It can include many things, power over men, events, circumstances, means etc. But all this not of the mental or vital kind, but by an action through unity of consciousness with the Divine and with all things and all beings. It is not an individual-strength depending on certain personal capacities, but the Divine Power using the individual as an instrument. SRI AUROBINDO Force is the essential Shakti; Energy is the working drive of the Force, its active dynamism; Power is the capa

Chapter 11 Awakening in Matter A resplendent sun rises above the horizon. It is your Lord that comes to you. The whole world awakes and stretches in delight at the contact of His glory. As the earth that heaves and opens, as the tree that grows, as the flower that blossoms, as the bird that sings, as the man that loves, let His light permeate you and radiate in an ever-increasing and widening happiness, a happiness steadily moving onward as the stars move in heaven. THE MOTHER In Matter shall be lit the spirit's glow, In body and body kindled the sacred birth; Night shall awake to the anthem of the stars, The days become a happy pilgrim march.

Chapter 4 Living for the Divine We are united towards the same goal and for the same accomplishment - for a work, unique and new, that the Divine Grace has given us to accomplish. I hope that more and more you will understand the exceptional importance of this work and that you will feel in yourselves the sublime joy that the accomplishment will give you. The divine force is with you - feel its presence more and more and be careful never to betray it. Feel, wish, act, that you may be new beings for the realisation of a new world, and for this my blessings shall always be with you. THE MOTHER Some give their soul to the Divine, some their life, some

Chapter 10 Collaboration of Nature In her green wildernesses and lurking depths, In her thickets of joy where danger clasps delight, He glimpsed the hidden wings of her songster hopes, A glimmer of blue and gold and scarlet fire. In her covert lanes, bordering her chance field-paths And by her singing rivulets and calm lakes He found the glow of her golden fruits of bliss And the beauty other flowers of dream and muse. SRI AUROBINDO Nature proves her collaboration with a smile of flowers. THE MOTHER 0 Nature, Material Mother, thou hast said that thou wilt collaborate and there can be no limit to the splendou

Index of Common Names The numbers below refer to the numbers of the flowers as they are arranged in Part 1. A Acerola 536 Achiote 47 Achira 78-80 African daisy 423 African iris 514 African marigold 398-400, 402 African tulip tree 795 African violet 737-38 Air plant 861 Alexandrian laurel 805 Almond 521 Almond tree 521 Alpine violet 858 Althaea 595, 603 Amaryllis 483-91 Amazon lily 476 Angel's trumpet 195 Angel wings 821 Angled luffa 691 Anikab 633 Annatto 47 Annual phlox 254—63 Apple guava 211 Areca-nut palm 785 Arrowroot 78 - 80

Flowers and Their Significances Chapter 1 Aditi and Avatar The red lotus is the Avatar. The white lotus is the Divine Consciousness. THE MOTHER The red lotus represents Sri Aurobindo, the white one represents me. In a general way the lotus is the flower of the Divine Wisdom, whatever its colour. But red signifies the Avatar, the Divine incarnated in matter, and white signifies the Divine Consciousness manifested upon earth. THE MOTHER Page - 1 ADITI Aditi - The Mother. Aditi is the indivisible consciousness, force and Ananda of the Supreme; the Mother, its living dynamis, the supreme Love, Wisdom

Note on the Texts and Photographs Background information on the texts and photographs is given below, along with references to the texts of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Photographs of Flowers Most of the 630 flower-photographs in this book were taken in the gardens and courtyards of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry and in the nurseries, gardens, fields and forests of Auroville. Some photographs, especially those of flowers that grow well only in cooler climates, were photographed in Bangalore and Ootacamund, India, and in Germany. In some of the photographs, the colour of the flower differs in hue or intensity from the colour

Descriptions of the Flowers The numbers below are the numbers of the flowers as they are arranged in Part 1. Chapter 1 Aditi and Avatar 1 Aditi - the Divine Consciousness Pure, immaculate, gloriously powerful. Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. 'Alba' Nymphaeaceae Sacred lotus, East Indian lotus Very large fragrant chalice-shaped white flower with several rows of loosely arranged cupped translucent petals surrounding a unique centre of numerous golden stamens that encircle a raised yellow disc; borne singly on sturdy stems high above the water. A vigorous aquatic rhizomatous plant with large, concave orbicular leaves that repel water.

Chapter 12 Radha and Krishna Was it not he once in Brindavan? Woods divine to our yearning, Memorable always! 0 flowers, 0 delight on the tree-tops burning, Grasses his herds have grazed and crushed by his feet in the dancing, Yamuna flowing with song, through the greenness always advancing, Unforgotten remind; for his flute with its sweetness ensnaring Sounds in our ears in the night and our souls of their teguments baring Hales us out naked and absolute, out to his woodlands eternal, Out to his moonlit dances, his dalliance sweet and supernal. . . . Even an hour of the soul can unveil the Unborn, the Everlasting, Gaze on