-005_Readings in ^^Savitri^^.htm Readings in "Savitri" (1) A guardian of the unconsoled abyss Inheriting the long agony of the globe, A stone-still figure of high and godlike Pain Stared into space with fixed regardless eyes That saw grief's timeless depths but not life's goal. Afflicted by his harsh divinity, Bound to his throne, he waited unappeased The daily oblation of her unwept tears.1 The deepest and the most fundamental mystery of the human consciousness (and in fact of the earth consciousness) is not that there is an unregenerate aboriginal being there as its bed-rock, a being made of the very stuff of ignorance and incon

On "Savitri" Nolini Kanta Gupta Sri Aurobindo Ashram Pondicherry First Edition : 13 January, 2001 (Typeset in Times Roman 11/13) © Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust 2001 Published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department Printed at Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, Pondicherry - 605 002 PRINTED IN INDIA

-006_Notes on ^^Savitri^^.htm Notes on "Savitri" Narad's Visit to King Aswapathy1 Devarshi Narad, as usual, was sailing through the spaces, with his Vina, singing songs of innocence and joy. He was in the higher luminous heavens, the world of happiness, of light and delight, his heart full of divine felicity and his music echoing the music of his heart. Now he thought of coming down, into the lower spaces, regions nearer to the earth. And as he entered the earth atmosphere a change came over the tone and temper of his music. With the thickening of earthly shade, a darkness stole into the clear range of his music and consciousness. Instead of peace and love and joy his music turned to them

References of Articles 1.Savitri: Collected Works, Vol. 4; The Yoga of Sri Aurobindo, Part Ten. 2.God's Debt: Collected Works, Vol. 4; The Yoga of Sri Aurobindo, Part Ten. 3.Readings in "Savitri": Collected Works, Vol. 3; The Yoga of Sri Aurobindo, Part Four. 4.Notes on "Savitri": Collected Works, Vol. 6, p. 44. 5.The Opening Scene of "Savitri": Collected Works, Vol. 4; The Yoga of Sri Aurobindo. Part Eleven. 6.The Human Divine: Collected Works, Vol. 5; Light of Lights. Page-40 Dreamer and revolutionary, linguist, scholar, critic, poet, philosopher and man of deep spiritual realisation, Nolini Kanta Gupta st

-001_Compiler^s Note.htm Compiler's Note This volume was originally conceived to be a comprehensive volume including all the articles of Nolinikanta Gupta on "Savitri" in both English and Bengali. But Jayantilal Parekh wanted it to be a booklet in English only and containing the articles written by Nolinida exclusively on "Savitri". Hence it had to be reduced to only these six articles contained in this volume. I also told Jayantilalda that I am going to request Dr. M. V. Nadkarni to write a preface for this book. But inspite of Dr. Nadkarni's willingness and best of efforts the preface could not be completed and shown to Jayantilalda since he passed away. The blessings of the Avatar of

Savitri (1) "Savitri", the poem, the word of Sri Aurobindo is the cosmic Answer to the cosmic Question. And Savitri, the person, the Godhead, the Divine Woman is the Divine's response to the human aspiration. The world is a great question mark. It is a riddle, eternal and ever-recurring. Man has faced the riddle and sought to arrive at a solution since he has been given a mind to seek and interrogate. What is this universe? From where has it come? Whither is it going? What is the purpose of it all? Why is man here? What is the object of his existence? Such is the mode of human aspiration. And Ashwapati in his quest begins to explore the world and see wh

-004_God^s Debt.htm Here is a line from Savitri: And paying here God's debt to earth and man... What is this debt that God owes to earth and man? We understand the debt that man and earth owe to God, their creator. But how is God indebted to his creation? Besides we learn that God pays his debt through his representative, his protagonist upon earth, the aspiring human being. First let us understand the mystery of God's debt to man. We know, in ordinary life a subordinate has a duty towards his superior, the lesser owes a debt to the greater. That is easily understood. Likewise the superior also has a duty to his subordinate, the greater has his duty to the smaller. Th

-007_The Opening Scene of ^^Savitri^^.htm The Opening Scene of "Savitri" "It was the hour before the Gods awake". Only when the Gods awake, does the light begin to appear on earth. Otherwise it is all night here, black, impenetrable and unfathomable. Indeed the very creation begins with the awakening of the Gods. When the Gods are asleep, it is the non-existence - tama āsīt tamasā gūḍhamagre - 'in the beginning darkness was engulfed in darkness'. This is the asat, non-being, this is the acit, the inconscience, this is the blackest night. The Bible also speaks of a similar darkness - Job's terrible vision: "A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order an

Appendix The tale of Satyavan and Savitri is recited in the Mahabharata as a story of conjugal love conquering death. But this legend is, as shown by many features of the human tale, one of the many symbolic myths of the Vedic cycle. Satyavan is the soul carrying the divine truth of being within itself but descended into the grip of death and ignorance; Savitri is the Divine Word, daughter of the Sun, goddess of the supreme Truth who comes down and is born to save; Aswapati, the Lord of the Horse, her human father, is the Lord of Tapasya, the concentrated energy of spiritual endeavour that helps us to rise from the mortal to the immortal planes; Dyumatsena, Lord of the Shining

The Human Divine (l) The Passing of Satyavan This was the day when Satyavan must die. The day is come, the fateful day, the last day of the twelve happy months that they have passed together. She knew it, it was foretold, it was foreseen. And she was preparing herself for it all the while, harbouring a pain deep-seated within the heart, revealed to none, not even to her mother, not even to Satyavan. Satyavan was innocent like a child, oblivious of the fate that was coming upon him. The two went out of the hermitage into the forest; for she wished to move about in the company of Satyavan in the midst of the happy greeneries where Satyavan