Narad Remembers Kailasbhai My reminiscences are few as I only knew Kailasbhai in his later years when he was still active physically and would tell me stories in his deep, resonant, mellifluous voice, stories of his friend, Nagin, and of his own experiences. I would listen to his words and the sounds of his words and look upon the joy in his face and the light that was for ever in his eyes. We would sit together in his room and I would listen, rapt in the beauty of his experiences, a few of which I relate below. He loved the children and at 9:30 was there to give

January 30, 2003 I met an extraordinary soul outside the Ashram at the end of January 2003. He introduced himself to me as Vishwa. A tall, majestic figure with a white beard and pure white hair and brilliant blue eyes that seemed to encompass all the joy of life and smile on all with graciousness and humour. When he spoke his voice was strong and clear and filled with love. He said, “I am 90 years old and I have explored all this world. Now I will soon leave this body to continue to visit the higher worlds of beauty. My soul will go on without the body but I will never forget your soul!” Towards the end of my stay in the Ashram I met him again. I found him in a corner o

Remembering Daniel Wilms Disciple, Friend and Brother July 29, 2003 To All Disciples of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo: Today, on my birthday, I received a letter from Daniel Wilms' wife, Chika, informing me of his passing last night, the day on which I had sent him some poems, as he had been so strongly in my consciousness this past week. Daniel first came to the Matrimandir Gardens through my friend and elder brother, Louis Allen, with whom he had been working at the Lake Estate. When Daniel began work at the

This Is My Mother By Chali Grinnell The shock of hearing my father crying for the first time in my life, was nothing compared to the shock of the words that came over the phone line with numbing clarity: "There was nothing the surgeon could do. With the operation, she has three more months of life; without it she would have had just three weeks. What am I going to do, Chal?" I was stunned. As I tried to offer some feeble reassuranc

Remembering Arthur C. Clarke March 23, 2008 In the mid 1970’s when Mary Helen and I visited botanical gardens around the world to collect rare and unique plants for the Matrimandir, a close friend introduced us to Dorothy Fernando who lived in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Dorothy was an artist who specialized in painting plumerias whose spiritual significance given by the Mother is ‘Psychological Perfection’. In a garden in Colombo we first discovered and collected seeds of the lovely pink form of Caesalpinia pulcherrima and brought them back to India. They are now ubiquitous in Indian gardens. Mother had named the orange flowered form ‘Fire’ and the yellow, ‘Fire in the Mind’. The p

Rose of God The poem Rose of God by Sri Aurobindo, one of the most beautiful and powerful of his shorter poems, was set to music by Ida Patterson. Ida founded the Sri Aurobindo Center in Minneapolis under her careful and devoted care, many people learned of Mother and Sri Aurobindo. During my first stay in the Ashram I was asked to sing Rose of God as a private concert for Nolini. I practiced with Olga, a stalwart of the Ashram school as a teacher and pianist. Nolini sent a message that he would come on a certain day. Thi

Mona’s Kiss.htm Mona's Kiss I have told some friends about this extraordinary experience and thought I had written about it but now see that I had not. It was a day when I brought Dakshina to meet Mona upstairs at their home on Balcony Street. Mona was sitting at her small desk and greeted us both with a great smile of love. She then began by asking Dakshina to tell her (Mona) her Christian name. Dakshina replied, 'My name is Dakshina'.

Erythrina indica - A Humorous Remembrance Erythrina indica, commonly known as the Indian Coral Tree has dark red to bright orange-red flowers in one-side dense racemes. Mother has revealed its message to us and it is a most important one, Beginning of Realisation in Matter. Mother has commented, 'Matter responds to the Divine's influence'. In the early days of Auroville, around 1970-1972, we planted this tree in the Matrimandir Nursery and it bloomed profusely. It

The Passing of Alan Klass On Monday, Feb. 12, Alan Klass, a long-time Aurovilian who worked in the Matrimandir Gardens and was responsible for building the magnificent orchid collection, passed away at his home in Crestone, Colorado. Alan's love of orchids was unparalleled. He devoted many hours a day to their study and cultivation, learned the techniques of transplanting them from flasks, fertilization and cultivation and studied their ind

Arabinda Basu A Tribute to a Friend and Guide He has left and joined the great ones at Their Feet. Narad Many of you will have read the reverent homage of Shraddhavan which includes some historical facts about Arindam. This tribute, th