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PART ONE INTRODUCTION SRI Aurobindo Ashram is a living symbol of the Master's immortality and a sign of his work. In this world so full of darkness and disappointment, his Ashram is a beacon light and is dynamic in the hearts of its members. It is here in the Ashram that he laid the foundation of the lofty ideals of his life and initiated a new era by giving a large practical form to his vision. India is called the land of gods. She has never been devoid of spiritual heroes who have sacrificed their all for the sake of Truth. There has indeed been an unbroken chain of saints and sages; yet that luminous development of Indian spirituality which showed itself in the Vedic era and that flowering of power, knowledge and vitality which was then in evidence was never again seen. To-day the world's basic need is the emancipation of Man. But how can this be achieved without setting the consciousness free? In his enthusiasm for becoming civilized, Man has imprisoned the consciousness of his Self; and so long as the soul is imprisoned, what freedom can there be? Who can impart freedom to one whose consciousness remains in chains? But awakened India is being more and more attracted to the sadhana of Knowledge and Shakti, which is practised here in Sri Aurobindo Ashram. It was in compliance with a Divine Adesh (command) that Sri Aurobindo came to Pondicherry in 1910, and he never went out of the town even for a day during 40 years, despite all attempts to entice him to British India or to extradite him. The Ashram, although then no visible body, can be taken to have been set up, in its essence, with his arrival. Page-1 After some sixteen years of rigorous tapasya on the part of Sri Aurobindo, the Ashram was organised on a practical basis and since then for 40 years it has been steadily developing under the Mother's guidance towards the fulfilment of Sri Aurobindo's long-cherished dream. The Arya was first published in 1914 and the elaborate description of the Integral Yoga which we find therein indicates the extent to which he was envisaging his world-wide work even at that time. The Life Divine, hailed by Sir Francis Younghusband as "the greatest book of our time", was written in its first form before 1920. The Mother's final coming to Pondicherry in 1920, as a collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, was like a meeting of two vast oceans. If there was only one book of the Mother, her Prayers and Meditations, it would be enough to win for her a golden place in the ranks of world-teachers. But even with their extraordinary treasures of knowledge they showed no signs of founding an Ashram. In fact the growth in numbers of those who came to Sri Aurobindo for a higher life led to the foundation of "...Sri Aurobindo Ashram which has less been created than grown around him and the Mother as its centre."1 It was then that the work for which he had come to the earth took on a broad visible shape. Reaching the highest height Sri Aurobindo never discarded the sorrow-racked earth. One of his memorable statements is : "I am concerned with the earth, not with worlds beyond for their own sake; it is a terrestrial realisation that I seek and not a flight to distant summits."2 This we find further elaborated by the Mother: "An inner illumination that does not take any note of the body and the outer life is of no great use; for it leaves the 1.Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram, p.39. 2.Sri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother, p.193. Page-2 world as it is. This is what has continually happened till now. Even those who had a very great and powerful realisation withdrew from the world to live undisturbed in inner quiet and peace; the world was left to its ways, and misery and stupidity, Death and Ignorance continued, unaffected, their reign on this material plane of existence....An ideal of this kind may be good for those who want it, but it is not our Yoga. For we want the divine conquest of this world, the conquest of all its movements and the realisation of the Divine here."3 The unique contribution of Sri Aurobindo's yogic life is that he has given a philosophic form to the idea of Heaven on earth and by his own spiritual attainment made its realisation a certitude. The very message of The Life Divine is that human life can be turned into divine life. Sri Aurobindo Ashram is based on the Truth that the earth is a field of evolution on which, stage by stage, man has evolved. Now a higher principle is bound to evolve, giving birth to a higher order of beings. "Then will the involved Divinity in this release itself entirely and it will become possible for life to manifest perfection." We have not only to transcend the three gunas but to transform them. Man must learn to submit to the rule of para prakrti instead of aparā. No trace of the caterpillar should be discerned in the beauty of the butterfly. Turned into a butterfly, it must not fly to heaven for self-delight but remain in the world and add to its beauty. This is the work that has been going on in the Ashram since its birth. Naturally, "this is not an Ashram like others—the members are not Sannyasis; it is not moksha that is the sole aim of the Yoga here. What is being done here is a preparation for a work—a work which will be founded on Yogic consciousness and Yoga-Shakti, and can have no other foundation."4 3 .Words of the Mother, (1946), pp. 72-73. 4.Letters of Sri Aurobindo, Second Series, p. 470. Page-3 Dr.C.R.Reddy, while Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University, after seeing Sri Aurobindo and the Ashram, differentiates between Sannyasi and Rishi and gives a vivid account of the way of life followed here : "There is a confusion between Sannyasi and Rishi.... Sri Aurobindo is a Rishi. "Renunciation, final, absolute is not possible for the compassionate...they cannot give up the struggling, sorrow-ridden world without stretching a helping, healing hand. The tender-hearted with pity in their souls and power in their hands cannot be indifferent to the fate of the human beings. The Sannyasi may feel that, to be care-free, one has to give up all care for others. That is not the way of the Rishi; nor of the Bodhisatwa, nor of the Master and the Mother at the Pondicherry Ashram... "The Sannyasi that discards clothes and the world is foreign to the Vedic spirit. The Rishis were not Sannyasis. Anything but that. They were seers who saw, felt and transmitted the truths they came into contact with, truths eternal, ever- existent, neither made or unmade by gods. By their spiritual dicipline, a natural process and no magic, they sought for and acquired illumination and with it power; Knowledge is power; spiritual Knowledge no less than scientific. They lived in the world and for the world... "Though they retired to forests, they had colonies there, peopled not only with men but with women. They grew the most beautiful flowers and the most charming Shakuntalas. They took part in the politics of the day and not infrequently played leading roles. Vashista guided the solar dynasties...The ancient Ashrams of the Vashistas and Viswamitras, of the Bhrigus and Angirasas were brimful of a life of the world which, however, was not worldly; a life on earth that was not earthly, but directed to the good of humanity and its uplift to Page-4 the stature and status of the bright gods.... "It (Sri Aurobindo Ashram) is a world apart from the world but existing in it and for it like the Ashrams of our Vedic Rishis." When a noted industrialist of Africa heard the name of Sri Aurobindo he thought that the Master must be living in a cave or in his Ashram in a jungle, but a surprise awaited him when he came here and found it situated in the best part of the town. This surprise must have been accentuated by the sight of life pulsating vigorously in every limb of the Ashram requiring even knowledge of modern science and technology in sharp contrast with the traditional ideas and forms of Ashram life. The flower-like faces of the little children, the profundity of silence in the library, the cleanliness and orderliness in the dining room, the ineffable atmosphere of the main Ashram block, the smiles of greetings from flowering plants that meet a visitor to the residential quarters, keep a newcomer spellbound and pondering over what it is that lends such charm and beauty to the place. No child is made to practise yoga here, he imbibes it from the atmosphere. Children breathe the air in which they are nourished and that forms their nature. Even the uncultured soon acquire a sense of beauty by the touch of the Ashram atmosphere. How from a tiny home of sadhana for a few the Ashram has blossomed into a large and evergrowing centre of spiritual culture, a beehive of hundreds of disciples from various parts of India and abroad is a subject for later treatment. Now a peep into the history of Pondicherry and the spot Page-5 on which the Ashram stands. As the Ashram has grown by itself, so was its location too a predestined one ? Who knew that one day, from this very spot, would shine forth the light of a new system of Yoga which would add a new chapter to the findings of our great ancients ? According to the archaeologist, Prof. Dubreuil of Pondicherry, on this very site there stood thousands of years ago, a Vedic College, a centre of culture. The legendary Patron of the city was the great sage Agastya. Dubreuil further says that the town's real name was, Puducheri, which meant a new town. But it was quite ancient. It is not known exactly how old it is. From what is engraved on the stone wall of the temple of Vedapurishwara, we know Pondicherry was once called Vedapuri, that is, a city of Vedic culture. Sri Aurobindo Ashram is situated at the eastern end of Pondicherry, a furlong from the sea. Around it are grouped most of the Ashram buildings, the others are scattered about in the town and beyond. They can be readily recognised by their sky-blue colour and tidiness which serve to enhance the beauty of the town. The house facing the main gate and extending up to the garage in the north was called the Library House, because the beginning of our library was made here. The north-east section was known as the Secretariat-House. It is to the upper story of this house that the Master finally shifted shortly after November 1926. A new addition is the Mother's room on the top floor. The building on which a new room was recently built for a sadhak is known as the Rosary House. For this portion a high price had to be paid. With the purchase of this house the whole block came into the Ashram's possession. All these sections Page-6 comprise the main Ashram building. To the south the whole block which houses Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education belongs to the Ashram. So is the case with the block to the north of the Ashram, which is largely occupied by the Harpagon workshop. The gate of the Ashram is covered with creepers and flanked by rockeries and flowers, the beauty of which is enchanting. However hot the sun may be in the street outside, the entrance to the Ashram is always cool and refreshing. To meet newcomers, one or two sadhaks are present at the gate from 5 a.m. to 11 pm. On the footpath outside the Ashram there are a few Ashoka (Polyalthia ) trees standing like sentinels. As soon as one enters the gate and crosses the verandah, one finds himself in front of the Reception Room where the Secretary and others meet visitors, when necessary. At the eastern end of this room there are three photographs of Sri Aurobindo where people go every morning to offer their homage. The walls of the room are lined with bookcases and paintings. In the west and the north are two rooms where the Ashram books are sold. Adjoining the Reception Room there is a smaller room which was formerly used as a library, but which is now utilised as a Reading Room. Next to this there is a small room where the post used to be distributed and a box was kept for outgoing letters. Since February 27, 1961 we have had Sri Aurobindo Ashram Post Office5 forming part of an Ashram building. The seals beaing this name have been in use since July 10, 1962. On August 15, 1964 the Government of India issued the Sri Aurobindo Commemoration Stamp in his honour. To the north-west of the Reception Room is another room where newspapers were read. It will be amusing to know that 5. To this was added the Telegraph Section on December 24, 1964. Page-7 the Mother once gave the name "Salle de Mensonge" (The Room of Falsehood) to this room. Other rooms were named by the Mother "Entire Self-Giving", "Realisation", "Energy", "Devotion", "Divine Grace", "Immortality", etc. All these names have a spiritual raison detre. Just above the Reception Room is an equally large hall where we had the first Darshan of Sri Aurobindo in 1926. Prior to this he used to live in an adjoining room which is now bureau of philately and the Mother was in a room where now Champaklal lives. The Ashram store named by the Mother "Prosperity" has two places for its use—one, above the Reception Room where the Mother used to come on the 1st of every month to give her Prosperity blessings, followed by the distribution of monthly requirements to the sadhaks; the other place is downstairs in the north-west corner of the block where the stores are kept. In front of it is a small garden with ferns and creepers and lily pools. On the west of the garden is a cold-storage for fruits. In the central block called the Meditation Hall the inmates used to assemble for collective meditation. Formerly in the inner verandah the Mother took her seat at the eastern end for meditation and blessings. Behind this, just below Sri Aurobindo's room, are the living rooms-cum-offices of the Manager and the Secretary. In front is a large L-shaped courtyard, of which the north-south wing serves as a passage and has rooms for certain sadhaks on either side. The longer east-west wing leads to the Samadhi and terminates at the Reading Room.The Samadhi is situated to the north of this east-west wing with plenty of open space where sadhaks can assemble and meditate. Close to the Samadhi there is a large tree with thick foliage 6 giving cool shade to the Samadhi and the sadhaks. The shade lends peace and ananda to all who visit 6. By cyclonic blasts on May 1, 1966 several of its branches were broken. Page-8 the place. The Mother calls it the "Service" tree,7 and indeed it never disappoints the visitor. The park of Pondicherry is full of trees of this kind, but none of them is as dense as the one at the Samadhi. Once a year this great tree is laden with yellow flowers. Screened through the interstices of its branches the rays of the sun give delight to the hearts of the sadhaks who sit around it, absorbed in meditation. In order to give support to the low-hanging branches ten 8 pillars were built—designed by a Czechoslovakian architect named Sammer. They remind us of the Sanchi Stupa gate. Near it is a small piece of open ground which serves as a garden. Great care is taken to maintain the beauty of this garden. Such cleanliness is observed around the Samadhi that you cannot find a single dry leaf there. There are two marble slabs with letters in red on the sides of the Samadhi, bearing the Mother's words in French and English. The English version runs : DECEMBER 9, 1950
The walls of the Samadhi were furnished with marble slabs on April 4, 1967. 7. Botanical name : Peltophorum Ferrugineum. 8. Two more are a new addition in April 1967 and at present it is nineteen. Page-9 Though the Master has physically left us yet the atmosphere of the Ashram is vibrant with his Presence. Everything is well organised in the Ashram. One of its salient features is the place assigned to beauty—whether it be in the construction of a building like Golconde or a Sports Ground or an engineering work-shop. The Muses themselves seem to reside in the yards, the trees, the flowers and the groves. The floral wealth of the Ashram needs special mention. But the basis of all is service to the Divine and a progressive growth in consciousness so that one may become fit to install the Divine in the temple of the body. That is why such great care is taken of the body and physical education is given such prominence here. The Mother is revolutionary in everything. She has revolutionised the whole system of yogic sadhana. The peak of her teaching is not samddhi but self-consecration, not salvation but transformation; the manifestation of not only the Truth and the Good () The aesthetic taste which is in evidence everywhere in the Ashram bears testimony to the Mother's artistic insight. It reminds one of the high place that art occupied in ancient India. The Mother is the very embodiment of art. Her every movement is a rhythm of it—and she has woven it into the very fabric of Ashram life. Every expression of hers is poetic and the same spirit inspires a few of those who live near her. Music and painting are the ears and eyes of the soul. Trying her hand at painting under the guidance of the Mother, Huta, a Gujarati girl, has blossomed into a painter of exquisite beauty and extraordinary imagination.9 9. An exhibition of her paintings on Savitri was held in February 1967. Page-10 Champaklal surprises us by the expression of his hidden genius in painting. Behind the beauty of his work lies spiritual significance of different kinds discerned and specified by the Mother in her own handwriting. Next to follow was Janina, a Polish sadhika, most of whose outturn are inspired expressions of Savitri and Prayers and Meditations. Thus in the course of one year (1962) there has been an outflowering of mystic paintings from three different hands. Among very young children of the Centre of Education there are budding painters of high promise. One of them, now eighteen, has received from the Mother the epithet "born artist". She is as adept in the appreciation of art as in encouraging promising artists. Two young aspirants who started photography in the Ashram have made their name in the international field of photography. When one of them inquired about the technique, the Mother said, "Oh, technique ! don't worry about it, it will automatically come from within. You must learn to see things from your depths." In its December 1954 issue, Amateur-Photography of London wrote about them, "There are two young photographers in Pondicherry whose pictures seem to possess a feeling of vitality not usually found in photography from that part of the world... Both have turned to the Yoga philosophy, from which they derive direction and a source of inspiration for their photography." The annual exhibition of International photography from all over the world has become a part of Sri Aurobindo's birthday celebration. Sri Aurobindo Ashram does not reject science. It has its own place in the Ashram life. The Ashram Centre of Education has two laboratories, one of Physics and Chemistry and the other of Science of Life. These laboratories are also provided with audio- Page-11 visual equipment. The problem facing man is not whether he should accept science or reject it but how science with its phenomenal advance can be harnessed to the service of the higher life, how its splendours can manifest a portion of the Divine glory. If a complete fusion of the two is achieved in one part of the world, a new horizon will open before man and that will be one of the greatest gifts of the Mother to humanity. There is a seeking all over the world for a light which could bring a total and radical change in the system of education. Time demands not only schemes of new education but a concrete example of setting life on a higher footing. The flowering of a nation depends upon the flowering of its youths. It is they who carry the burning torches of their nation's culture to other centres of the world. India does not claim their loyalty to herself alone. She demands that her youths be useful not only to herself but to the whole world. The Kindergarten system is now a world-wide affair. The need of the hour is not only to make education a source of joy but a gradual flowering of the Truth and inner personality of the pupil. Whatever we do must bear a touch of the Truth. The co-ordination of the objective with the subjective that is aimed at here—in working, reading, writing, singing— it is this that lends charm as well as mystery to our sadhana. One of the purposes of this book is to throw some light on the point. "By far the most significant work," says Anthony Elanjimittan, "that is today being done at the Ashram is education, creative education, man-making discipline, soul-finding sadhana and a realistic sense in solving basic economic, social and cultural problems of the country... "Sri Aurobindo and the Mother certainly represent a new, Page-12 creative and original type of educational activities. Armed with a world of experience, enriched with vast erudition, intensified introspective spiritual discipline, both Sri Aurobindo and the Mother could lay the foundation of a new type of education..." There is a provision in Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education for the prosecution of studies from the kinder-garten stage right up to the completion of the post-graduate without having to change residence. Its system of education is so designed and is being so developed as not only to sharpen the intellect of the youths and widen their outlook but help them think for themselves, change their consciousness, evolve their true personality in an integral way, and above all, live the truth which they discover. Some idea of the new changes introduced into the system of education in our Centre of Education in 1967-68 may be gathered from the lines laid down : "...it is designed pre-eminently for the encouragement of the free progress of each individual student. Instead of submitting the individual to the capacity and possibility of the group, teachers will constantly endeavour to help each student to awaken his inner principle of growth and to strive towards perfection. "The usual rigid syllabus and programme of studies will be replaced by a flexible, supple and evolutionary programme determined by the growing felt needs of each individual's curve of progress. "The classical method of teaching by lectures will be replaced by a.opportunities given to the students to do freely their indvidual or collective work; b.opportunities given to teachers to watch the students at their work with sympathy and understanding and to give them the necessary help as and when needed; and c.developing new ways of intimate dialogue between Page-13 teachers and students, such as those of consultations, interviews, occasional talks, discussions, interesting and short correspondence and conversation. "A central stress will be on a quiet but intensive cultivation of the sense of a new life and of the faculties of intuition and higher modes of knowledge and action. "A further point of special note is the introduction of Sanskrit for all students."10 The Mother was asked: "What is the real purpose, the aim of our Education Centre ? Is it to prepare students to read Sri Aurobindo's works and the Mother's ? Is it to prepare them for the Ashram life or also for other 'outside' occupations ? The Mother replied: "It is not a question of preparing to read these works or other works. It is a question of pulling all those who are capable...to cast off from them the slavery to the human way of thinking and doing; it is to teach all those who want to listen that there is another and truer way of living, that Sri Aurobindo has taught us how to live and become a true being—and that the aim of the education here is to prepare the children and make them fit for that life." "It is not a number that we want—it is a selection; it is not brilliant students that we want, it is living souls."11 Again she says : "We are not here to do (only a little better) what the others do. We are here to do what the others cannot do because they do not have even the idea that it can be done. We are here to open the way of the Future to children who belong to the Future."12 The way in which the problem of language is tackled here is worth emulating. An English boy who has been here since the age of five speaks fluently in Hindi and Bengali. He, now 26, has 10. Bulletin, February 1968 p. 116. 11.Mother India, July 1961, p. 1. 12. Bulletin, November 1961 p. 18. Page-14 been here since 1946. Such is the case with another English boy, now 33, who has been here since he was eleven; he is more at home in Bengali than in Hindi. Many hold that the three-language formula will be hard for young students, but in all western countries, no child is considered educated unless he knows, besides his mother tongue, any two of these languages : French, German, Italian, Spanish. In Sri Aurobindo's view, the future man will be a polyglot. In the Ashram it is remarkable how little children freely express themselves in class and in games with their teachers in French and English. It is a joy to hear the little ones speaking French within a year or two of their admission. Right from the Kindergarten stage they begin to speak among themselves and to their teachers in French and English. This helps them pick up languages much more easily than by reading and writing. There are teachers and students in our Centre of Education from several countries—England, France, Germany, Italy, U.S.A., Switzerland, Australia, Austria and Japan. There is provision for learning not only Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kanada, but also English, French, German, Spanish, Greek and Latin. A recent addition from April 4, 1967 is Japanese by a Japanese professor. The comprehensive international outlook that is a distinguishing characteristic of the Ashram as well as of its Centre of Education had its origin in Sri Aurobindo. It was he who taught Greek, Latin, French and Italian to the Secretary. There is, besides, a free interchange of thought among Indians speaking different tongues. The Manager, despite his mother tongue Tamil, is well at home in Bengali. And his writings in Tamil were put into English by one whose mother tongue is Hindi. R, head of the Hindi section, knows more than ten Indian Page-15 languages. He has written a primer in Tamil in Hindi script. It will be a mistake to conclude that the Master lived and worked only for those around him. The one great aim of the Ashram is to bring about the birth of a new consciousness, a new life, a new society which would usher in a new era, a new world. The demand of the time and spirit is world-integration. Sri Aurobindo was one of the first to visualise the birth of a world-state, a world-government. As the family and tribe have merged into a nation, so the coming together of nations, instead of stifling their individual characters, would enrich and enlighten their power and consciousness. It is a matter for deep study of how the forces of integration are at work here. In this context one can say that the real work of the Ashram has hardly begun. All is yet in a state of preparation for the great end. Page-16
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