PART TWO

PRANAM

"No one should look upon the Pranam either as a formal routine or an obligatory ceremony or think himself under any compulsion to come there. The object of the Pranam is not that sadhaks should offer a formal or ritual daily homage to the Mother, but that the sadhaks may receive along with the Mother's blessings whatever spiritual help or influence they are in a condition to receive or assimilate. It is important to maintain a quiet and collected atmosphere for that purpose."

Sri Aurobindo

IN 1926 Pranam and meditation used to take place upstairs just in front of the room which afterwards the Mother utilised for Darshana. The Mother used to be on the seat which is still there and the sadhaks sat semi-circling her. From that time onward this hall has been known as the Meditation Hall. When the number increased, the Mother began to come downstairs. In the beginning the Pranam started in the small room which is now occupied by Bula; afterwards it was shifted to the verandah just below the hall on the ground floor. Now this came to be known as the Meditation Hall. Some call it the Pranam Hall. Each of us had an allotted place. New-comers sat in the open space. The Mother sat cross-legged on a low cushioned seat, her right foot partly left bare. We offered our pranams, one by one, placing our head on the bare part of her right foot and received blessings. To each of us she gave a look in the eyes before and after blessings. To some she gave blessings laying both her hands on their heads. A dish of flowers remained at her right side, artistically arranged. After blessings she gave a flower to each. It took an hour and a

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half. What we used to receive with our pranams in those days is still fresh in our minds.

To human beings beset with pain and sorrow flowers are the Creator's boon and blessing. It is by flowers that Heaven bestows its glory upon earth. They express the glory and greatness of the Divine with a million tongues. We may be sometimes unobservant of their beauty but the Creator never ceases to scatter His floral bounty in forests and gardens. The Divine showers his Grace uninterruptedly whether anyone avails himself of it or not. These words from the Mother's pen are significant:

"I can repose my consciousness more easily in a flower than in- a human being. Flowers have a wonderful capacity to assimilate...I transmit a part of my consciousness through flowers to everyone. It then depends upon the receptivity of the person concerned."

It is with flowers that the sadhaks make their offering at the Mother's feet and it is again through flowers that they receive her blessings. Thus a loving give-and-take goes on between the devotee and the Divine.

There was a time when some of us performed their sadhana through flowers. Some flowers were put in a special grade. The Mother termed one of them "Transformation". People used to count up and send these flowers to the Mother right up to 10 p.m. and she sent her prasad to one who completed one hundred thousand.

An owner of a big rose garden in Baidyanathdham proposed twelve years ago to name a rose after Sri Aurobindo. The Mother said that if the proposed type of rose could be of the colour of the "Divine Love" (pomegranate flower) then it could bear the name of Sri Aurobindo.

In November 1960, he succeeded in his efforts and it was named accordingly.

Regarding the significance of the Mother's giving flowers,

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when a question was put: "What is the significance of the Mother's giving us flowers at Pranam every day ?"— the answer came from Sri Aurobindo : "It is meant to help the realisation of the thing the flowers stand for."

To another question : "Are flowers mere symbols and nothing more? Can the flower symbolising silence, for example, help in the realisation of silence?" —the Master replied : "It is when the Mother puts her force into the flower that it becomes more than a symbol. It then can become very effective if there is receptivity in the one who receives."

It was a time when the sadhana of each of us was under the direct care of the Mother. The smallness of the number of the sadhaks enabled her to keep each one personally within her consciousness and attend to his individual needs in the most direct manner.

Before the Pranam the sadhaks would meditate with the Mother for only two or three minutes but one could feel some divine power entering the body, and its action would continue the whole day. Those who could not join in the meditation because of work would feel its influence from their working-places and know that the Mother had got down and the meditation had started. Their intuition was corroborated on several occasions through inquiry afterwards.

During the meditation,various experiences came to the sadhaks. After one occasion, a sadhak wrote: 'Today while meditating in the Pranam Hall I saw that from a sky filled with blue light a beautifully paved path was coming down to earth, and the Mother was slowly descending along this path. The Mother's entire body was of white and golden light which was spreading out on all sides. When the Mother reached the end of the path and came down on earth her body got mixed with the earth. Then I suddenly woke up from meditation. Was this a vision ? What does it signify ?"

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The Master sent the reply: "Yes, it is a vision from the plane of mind (not ordinary, but higher mind). It indicates the descent of the Mother with the light of purity and truth (white and golden) into Matter."

The Mother's Programme

In 1927 the Mother used to get up by 4 a.m. or earlier. By 6 a.m. she would be ready and go up to the terrace. Some of the inmates would accompany her. Anilbaran would blow a conch to announce the Mother's coming down to give her blessings. Then Pranam and Blessing would start upstairs in the Meditation Hall lasting an hour or two. This was followed by personal interviews till noon. Then she moved to the dining room and gave to each of us a dish of food, herself putting bananas in it. In the afternoon she visited sadhaks in their rooms by turns on fixed dates.

On her return she would enter Sri Aurobindo's room and after a time come through Pavitra's room to the Prosperity Hall. Here she sat in meditation with a few sadhaks, each of whom had been given a number and they would take their seats in a certain fixed order. On the publication of Conversations with the Mother from Madras in 1931 the Mother gave a copy to each with his number inscribed in it.

After meditation she would at times read some passages from the manuscript of Prayers and Meditations in French. This was followed by a "Flower Game" in which the sentences made by the combination of some flowers were to be intuited by the sadhaks exactly in the form which was in the Mother's mind.

There was no fixed programme. Various things were done according to the inspiration of the hour. At times there were questions and answers. The talks were recorded by one of the sadhaks. They make up the third series of Words of the Mother. There was a lot of merriment during these sessions.

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The distribution of soup was started from 1927 in an open space known as Champaklal's terrace. Later it was shifted to the verandah of Prosperity Hall. Afterwards it was shifted to the Divine Communion Room which is now used as Reception Room. The sadhaks gathered and sat in their fixed places long before the coming of the Mother. The light was dim.

When the Mother came down into the soup room a cauldron of hot soup would be put in front of her. She went into deep meditation and after a while, although her eyes were still shut, her hands stretched out, palms downwards over the pot as if blessing it or pouring spiritual power into it.

Then Champaklal removed the cover. The Mother stirred the soup. Sadhak after sadhak came up with his own cup and knelt down before her. She poured the soup into it, took it up to her lips, then gave it to the sadhaks. If anybody had anything to say to her, he would take this opportunity for it. At times she would be in half meditation or completely lost in the inner consciousness, holding the cup empty or full or half-filled. Of a sudden, she would emerge from the trance or inner vision and with a smile continue her work.

The introduction of the soup was quite a new thing in the long history of the spiritual sadhana of India. There is a deeper and inner meaning of its introduction just after the great siddhi of November 24, 1926 and it had its immediate effect upon those who could receive it but it is a pity that we could not assimilate the effect.

Its significance is thus described by the Master: "The soup was instituted in order to establish a means by which the sadhak might receive something from the Mother by an interchange in the material consciousness."

Between the end of 1926 and the end of 1927, the Mother was trying to bring down the Overmind gods into our beings. But the adhars were not ready to bear them; on the contrary,

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there were violent reactions though some had very good experiences. There was a sadhak whose consciousness was so open that he could know what the Mother and the Master were talking about. One sadhak would get up while meditating and touch the centre of obstruction in someone else's body. There were others who thought that the Supermind had descended into them. One or two got mentally unbalanced because of inability to stand the pressure. T left off taking food saying that he was having nectar and had no need of ordinary food but could not pull on for long. So the whole procedure of the sadhana had to be changed. The Mother stopped giving soup with her own hands and it lost its special and spiritual significance. But for the sake of health it is still given to those who need it. First it was given from the Ashram dispensary. Now it is distributed in the Dining Room. A Scotch sadhika serves it.

In 1930, five days in a week there was Pranam in the morning and soup at night. On two non-Pranam days, the Mother would give flowers at the soup-time. Here all would be present.

After distribution she went upstairs. Chinmayi (her former name was Medhi Begum) would follow with a tray containing various kinds of flowers.

At that time the Mother looked into every detail and took personal interest in every sadhak. If cabbage or any other vegetable was not available for the soup, the Mother would be consulted and then beans or dal put in.If anyone had any trouble, the Mother would at once inquire about it. Once Sailen had a cut on a finger. When he came to the Mother with a bandage on, she asked him about it. Even a torn shirt did not escape her notice; so everyone took care to be clean and tidy.

In 1930-32 sadhaks used to offer pranams to the Mother in the morning and she would come for a walk on the terrace in the evening. In the hope of seeing the Mother some sadhaks started

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standing on the road in front of the Balcony in the morning. There was a sadhika who would not take her food without seeing the Mother. Slowly the number began to increase. This was how the Balcony Darshan began. Since its beginning there have been many changes in its timings but not a stop ¹ except for special reasons. Due to the pressure of work or other engagements the Mother would sometimes come at 10 or 11 a.m. or even after 12 but some of us would remain waiting on the footpath. Her scheduled time of balcony was 6.15 a.m. After that started the daily routine of the Ashram.

Naresh Bahadur writes about the Balcony Darshan in his article in Pioneer of Supramental Age : "Every custom, even a ritual, grows stale by repetition. But the Balcony Darshan is an ever-new, ever-revealing phenomenon. For all is perennial freshness at Spirit level."

In 1932-33 Pranam used to start at 6.30 in the morning. From 6 a.m. the sadhaks would pour into the Ashram. When the Meditation Hall got filled with the fumes of resin, incense and sandalwood powder, it would appear as if the concentrated aspiration of the sadhaks was rising high in order to bring about more and more the descent of peace charging the whole atmosphere of the place.

There are two ways of the Mother's giving : "Through the eyes it is to the psychic, through the hand to the material." So many of us used to see the Mother in different ways in visions, in dreams, etc. Once someone wrote : "Last night I saw in a dream that from the Mother's body light was coming into my body and transforming it. Both the bodies were longer than the physical bodies and were of a shadowy colour like that of stones. What does this signify?"

In reply the Master wrote : "Good, it is the opening of the physical consciousness to the Mother. It was probably the

1. Since 19th March, 1962, we have not had the delight of the Balcony Darshan.

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subconscient physical that you saw—that would explain the shadowy character—the stone indicates the material nature."

Another question was: "Why does the Mother appear different at different times—at Pranam or in the Prosperity Room or while giving the interview ? Sometimes even anatomical differences are visible. What is the reason of these differences in her appearance ? Does it depend on the extent to which she turns outwards ?"

The Master replied : "It is rather, I think, dependent on the personality that manifests in front—as she has many personalities and the body is plastic enough to express something of each when it comes forward."

Regarding the Mother's aura, the Master wrote in 1933: "What people see around the Mother is first her aura, as it is called nowadays and, secondly, the forces of Light that pour out from her when she concentrates, as she always does on the roof for instance. (Everybody has an aura—but in most it is weak and not very luminous; in the Mother's aura there is the full play of light and powers.) People do not see it usually because it is a subtle physical and not a gross material phenomenon. They can see only in two conditions, first if they develop sufficient subtle sight, secondly if the aura itself begins to become so strong that it affects the sheath of gross Matter which conceals it. The Mother has certainly no idea of making people see it—it is of themselves that one after another, some 20 or 30 in the Ashram, I believe, have come to see. It is certainly one of the signs that the Higher Force (call it Supramental or not) is beginning to influence Matter."

After 1938 there came a change in the Ashram Programme. We may say in a way that Pranam was stopped. The old method did not revive in the same form. The Mother would appear on the steps of the staircase and would meditate for a time along with us. After a time the morning meditation also stopped and the evening

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meditation started. The Mother would come out on a lower terrace, above what is now Dyuman's room. For lack of space many had to remain standing. For the convenience of the people, the rooms that were there between the courtyard under this terrace and that of the adjoining houses were demolished and sitting arrangement was made there. Now there was no need to allot a place to each. One would take a seat anywhere. Once a question was put to the Master: "Recently I notice that before the Mother comes down from the terrace in the evening she stands there for a long time. I feel that at that time she gives us something specially, so I concentrate to receive and feel what she gives. But this evening suddenly I saw (when I was concentrating by looking at her) that her physical body disappeared—there was no sign of her body, as if she were not there. Then after a few seconds her figure reappeared. I felt at that moment that she mixed with the ether and became one with all things. Why did I see like this?"

Sri Aurobindo answered: "The Mother makes an invocation or aspiration and stands till the movement is over. Yesterday she passed for some time beyond the sense of the body and it is perhaps this that made you see in that way."

At the top of the staircase leading to the previous Meditation Hall there is a small room where a few sadhaks would go to offer flowers to the Mother. The Mother began to come and accept their offerings there and bless them by putting her hand on their heads. Slowly the number began to increase tenfold. Thus the Pranam on the staircase started and lasted for a fairly long time. Sadhaks were greatly benefited by this system of Pranam. For now each had the opportunity to talk with the Mother and speak to her direct about his difficulties and receive an answer. For hours together the Mother would remain standing and hear all that we had to say. During the previous mode of Pranam which lasted till 1938 no one could talk. What one had to say one could write to

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the Mother or Sri Aurobindo and receive an answer in writing. Afterwards one could talk to the Mother but offering Pranam and touching her Feet as before became rare and practically disappeared. But the advantage of talking to her was no less a blessing.

By this time the number of sadhaks had increased so much that, though the Pranam on the staircase would last for hours still many were left out. For them the Mother would come on the terrace after the Pranam was over. Only one sadhika would accompany her. Time not permitting, this was stopped and the Pranam on the staircase too had to be discontinued. In the beginning this used to start by 8 a.m. and would continue till 11 a.m. After that the Mother would come on the terrace. For those who could not come for Pranam in the morning due to work, the Mother used to open the staircase door at 12. Thus from the morning till 1 p.m. she had to spend her time in giving blessings. How eager the sadhaks were for the blessings one can imagine from the fact that they would keep sitting on the steps of the staircase for hours together, awaiting their turn. The Mother's Blessings, her Touch, her Force, her Pleasure are the only treasures of the sadhaks. The significance of a flower given by the Mother is : "Seeking all support in the Divine alone", and this is what the sadhaks seemed to put into practice here.

The Evening Meditation lasted for several years. Instead of standing on the terrace again the Mother began to come to the Pranam Hall. At times she would come at mid-night! Still people would remain sitting downstairs. After the meditation, flower-distribution would commence. Sometimes she used to be in Samadhi while giving flowers. In those days it was a sight to see the Mother in samadhi. Whenever she would fall into samadhi, putting her hand of blessing on the head of a sadhak, his joy would know no bounds. Not to speak of night, even in day-time, while talking she would go into samadhi in response to a call from somewhere. Of course, she could always remain in samadhi

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if she wanted : that condition is not something she had to labour to attain : she stays in the outer consciousness in order to come down to our level and to lift us up. Even in the outer consciousness she keeps the spiritual light and withdraws only for some special work.

Since 1951 a new order or chapter in the Ashram life has been in progress. The first phase of the Ashram life was from 1926 to 1938. The second closed in 1950. From 1950, the Mother stopped coming down daily but would come four days a week for an hour and a half. At that time some of us would talk with her for a minute or two. Offering of Pranams became a thing of the past, except for those who had their birthdays. Only for particular reasons she would bless a few, placing her palm on their heads. She would give a flower to each of us. To some she would give some special flowers or a red-rose over and above the usual ones. In the case of a few, she would fix the rose in their buttonholes, overwhelming them with a flood of her sweetness. The selection of flowers was not a formality. It had a symbolic meaning in it. In the twinkling of an eye the Mother would pass into our being and choose flowers according to our needs.

After 1950, Pranam at the staircase was stopped altogether but how long can one resist the urge of individually receiving the joy of her gracious touch and of confiding to her one's personal problems and having her solution on the spot ? Some began to go up the staircase to her and slowly their number began to swell. Thus again the Pranam at the staircase started and lasted till August 1954.

In 1954, the number of permanent sadhaks rose to 875. To all of us she would give on some days baked groundnuts, or on some days Ashram-made toffees. Besides carrying the burden of the whole Ashram, she continued for four years the giving of morning blessings in the Ashram and in the evening distributing Prasad in the playground. At last one of these had to be dropped.

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The distribution of Prasad in the playground never stopped even for a day till 1957. One difference in the process was that in the beginning we used to stand in line and the Mother herself passed from person to person distributing Prasad to each. Afterwards she was persuaded to take her seat in a chair against the southern wall of the Playground and all would pass by, one after another, taking from her Prasad put in a small cloth bag. Even after returning from the Playground, she would receive a number of sadhaks and sadhikas upstairs. It would last up to 1 or 2 a.m. Then she would retire and her attendants came down. Not unoften her day and night would become one. The night being over, the morning routine work would commence. But the wonder of it was that even her attendants did not feel affected by sleepless nights. Far from feeling fatigued they felt ever fresh.

Throwing one's mind back over the years, when one recalls these details of the Mother's working, one can easily envisage how intensely she has laboured for us sparing neither health nor comfort. Who can guess the value of her sacrifice for us ? It will remain with us an indelible memory.

In 1957 Prasad distribution was retained for only one day, the 15th of every month. On other days of the week there would be meditation or class in place of distribution. The peace and silence that prevailed throughout the meditation or distribution was marvellous. Besides this basic state, the more receptive among the sadhaks had various spiritual experiences. Here one is reminded of the story of a king in distress who wanted to meet the Buddha. Even when he reached the place where Buddha was seated he asked the guide how far still was the Lord. Obviously he had no previous experience of how a vast assemblage of people could remain without even the least whisper. To return to the point: it was a silence born of the pressure that the sadhaks would feel with the commencement of the meditation. Even the young boys of the school would sit like statues till the light was again switched

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on to indicate the end of the meditation.

In March 1964 Mr. Biakov, the Russian Consul-General, Madras, paid a brief visit to Pondicherry and to the Ashram. In the evening an educational film brought by him was shown² in our playground. Finding complete silence among the spectators he asked the Secretary of the Ashram sitting beside him if there were no children present. The Secretary said that there were 500 of them sitting in the front. The visitor heard this with a pleasant smile.

Silence and discipline are the natural traits of the Ashramites. Not to speak of meditation, such silence was maintained throughout, even when the Pranam or distribution would go on so that no one could imagine what was going on inside. Just on the Mother's taking the seat the atmosphere became so charged that even a new-comer could feel it and automatically react to it.

From December 7, 1958 the Mother did not appear in the playground exception Darshan days. A year or so after, that too stopped.

Since January 1960 there has been meditation two days a week, preceded by tape-record playing of Sanskrit invocations or the Mother's talks or Her organ music.

2. The Hindu, March 23, 1964.

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