Why Is This Book Being Written?

Why is this book being written? There are several reasons for that. The very first reason is that it is by now well recognised that Sri Aurobindo and the Mother were not only Mahayogis, masters of spirituality, they were at the same time great educationists as well. Both of them, in their diverse writings, formulated fundamental principles of education with an altogether new non-conventional goal in view. The Mother established a school in Pondicherry in 1943 in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram to put into practice these principles of education. She gave this school a wider and higher scope with far-reaching consequences for the future of humanity, by progressively transforming it into a University Centre in 1953. This University Centre is currently known as "Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education" more familiarly known as "SAICE", its acronym. Many a novel and original experiment in education has been conducted in this "Centre" under the Mother's direct guidance and is still being conducted under the able supervision of her loving children drawn from the international community. These experiments have broken a new pathway in the field of education, for the building up of a new type of a nobler humanity destined to arise in the not so distant future. Now, many people in the outside world, keenly interested in the future welfare of the human race, are evincing a healthy curiosity about what exactly is going on in SAICE. This book will go a long way to meet their need.

The second reason behind the writing of this book comes from the fact that educationists, college and school teachers, University Vice-chancellors, and interested intellectuals have been coming in a regular stream to visit Sri Aurobindo Ashram to know first-hand the basic guiding principles and the actual working of SAICE, with a sincere desire of incorporating, as

much as possible and as far as practicable, its organic principles and practices in other centres of learning elsewhere. After visiting SAICE, they almost invariably ask for some literature which will pinpoint in their mind the fundamental features of our "Centre of Education". The present book will, we hope, act as a helpful handbook to these friends in a manageably brief compass.

Now comes a third but no less important reason. During the long period when the Mother herself held the reins of "Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education", she trained under her own direct guidance many of her children into capable teachers who would properly understand her principles of education, be clear about the true nature of the goal she set before SAICE, and honestly and whole-heartedly try to bring that into fulfilment.

So far so good. But the fact cannot be denied that with the inexorable passage of time many of these Mother-trained early teachers have either retired from active service in the "Centre" or quit their bodies altogether. There is a big void created as a result. And this almost irreparable void is in the very nature of things going to increase with the passage of time. What to do about this matter?

Not only that. Over the years many new teachers, both Indian and foreign, have joined the "Centre of Education" without any previous training under the Mother. They may be quite competent in teaching their academic subjects, but does that suffice to become genuine teachers of SAICE, capable of fulfilling the Mother's expectation?

There is another factor to complicate the matter. This comes from our own students. After completing their studies in SAICE, some of these young people, barely having crossed their teens, express an aspiration to the Ashram authorities that

they would like to join the Sri Aurobindo Ashram as permanent sadhakas and sadhikas and serve the Mother. Now, the Ashram Trustees select a few of them to be enrolled as teachers in SAICE in different subjects of their academic competence. And they start teaching young children of our "Centre" without being fully aware of what the Mother actually wanted to achieve in her "Centre of Education" and what she expected from the teachers and students here in the task of fulfilling her goal, or even the principles of education, and the proper method of teaching she advocated. Many among these novice teachers may not have studied with meditative attention the numerous writings of the Mother on every necessary aspect of education. Each one tries to follow his own ad hoc method. The result cannot but be confusion leading us slowly but surely away from all that the Mother and Sri Aurobindo wanted to be done through their International University Centre. These words are unpalatable but better to accept them if true, and take remedial measures in time. The present book is being humbly written and offered to these young novice teachers to partially fill the lacuna in their psychological training as teachers of SAICE.

In fact, quite a few of my former students, turned teachers, made a request to me to compose a book like this for their personal benefit. So it can be said that this book of mine too, as so many of its predecessors, owes its origin to the request of my dear students.

Now a last question: What credentials have I for writing a book of such importance? The answer is: Absolutely none, except, perhaps, the fact that I have been a teacher of this great Centre of Education for more than fifty-five years, since 1949 till this day (2005), first helping the students in Physics and Mathematics and subsequently in the study of the Works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

My introduction and explanation end here. With a sense of trepidation and humility may I now venture to bring this book to the notice of the reading public for whatever little benefit it may carry to them. All gratitude to the Mother.

J. K. M.

Sri Aurobindo Ashram

Pondicherry

April 24, 2005