12

It is the Faith in the Divine that Cures

Jitendra J. Shroff

In 1940, I was making hard preparation for matriculation examination. Whenever I felt strain, I naturally used to sit quietly before Sri Aurobindo's photo, which gave me peace and freshness. This photo signed by Sri Aurobindo,—brought earlier by my elder brother and kept in our drawing room,—always •attracted me. You know that when Sri Aurobindo signed He used to put His force into it. You may also be knowing that to have Sri Aurobindo's Darshan, a photo of the aspirant had to be sent through a sadhak and only on Sri Aurobindo's approval one could come for the Darshan. I had the privilege of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's Darshan for the first time in August 1945. I was twenty-one years then. One day, before the Darshan, there was pranams to The Mother, who was an embodiment of beauty par excellence. Next day, that is 15^th August, was the Darshan day. When I presented myself before Sri Aurobindo, the Mother was in trance, sitting by His side. When Sri Aurobindo smiled at me I was so nonplussed that the garland for offering fell down from my hand to the ground. From the young age I was reciting the Gita regularly. After having the Darshan of Sri Aurobindo with His majestic personality I deeply felt that He had gone far ahead of Lord Krishna's time by rigorous tapasya. Then onwards till 1950, I made regular visits to the Ashram for Darshan (in one of those years all the four Darshans were attended by me).

In 1945, when I came for my first Darshan, I had requested the Mother for an interview. I had consulted for my tooth problem a Bombay dentist highly qualified in U.S.A. and he advised removal of all the teeth. Then I was only 21 years of

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age. The Mother asked me about my problem and after listening, concentrated on my stomach and advised not to remove the teeth as there was nothing wrong with the teeth but with the digestive system which required improvement. As a result the teeth had a further life of thirty years.

On 5^th December 1950 morning, when I went as usual to see Puraniji,—who was responsible for bringing me close to Sri Aurobindo,—he directed me to Sri Aurobindo's room, where I saw Sri Aurobindo lying in Samadhi with a spiritual light enveloping His body. When news spread about Sri Aurobindo's passing away, devotees and local citizens started pouring into the Ashram to have His last Darshan. I was then instructed by the Mother to stand by the side of Sri Aurobindo's body on all the five days from 12 noon to 2 p.m., so that during that time, nobody touched the body. On the 9^th the Mother instructed the holy body of Sri Aurobindo to be "set at rest" in the Ashram courtyard below the 'service tree.'

On Sunday, 12^th December 1950, the Mother was gracious enough to call each sadhak and visitor present in Pondicherry to Her first floor room, and after a penetrating gaze into our eyes, She handed over Sri Aurobindo's Mahasamadhi photo and citation. When I looked at Her, She was not the same Mother whom we had seen on the 24^th November and thereafter.

Later on I came to know that Sri Aurobindo had passed on the 'Mind of Light' to the Mother's body. This 'Mind of Light,' Sri Aurobindo was successful in bringing down into His body on 5^th December. In 1952, under the Mother's direction, I joined Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press as a proof-reader. This gave me an opportunity to understand the deeper meaning of 'Essays on the Gita' and the 'Synthesis of Yoga' of Sri Aurobindo.

In 1953, Puraniji was invited to visit various towns of east and central Africa for giving talks on Sri Aurobindo's ideals. With the Mother's permission I joined as a personal secretary to Puraniji. The Mother's specific instruction to me was to give a report of the work done during the week. This went on for six months. Later on Amrita told me that whenever the letter containing my report reached the Mother, She would insist on him to read the contents and then She entered into trance. Perhaps as a result, a number of families rounded off their

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businesses and came to Pondicherry and settled here.

In 1969, I had gone to Bijapur with my elder brother to attend a marriage ceremony. Next day my brother started suffering from unbearable pain due to stones in the kidney. The doctor was consulted and with his approval, a detailed report by wire was sent by me to the Mother from the local post office. When I returned to my own residence—within twenty minutes—the doctor informed that the stone has come out through urine. There is no doubt that this was due to the Mother's grace.

In 1970, I requested the Mother to give me a mantra for japa (continuous recitation of a mantra). She was gracious enough to hand over a mantra on Sri Aurobindo with my name written on it and with Her blessings and signature. I repeated this japa for a period of one year.

Subsequendy, a friend of mine, who used to pass his night at my residence in Bombay, became seriously ill. In the early morning as per his request, he was taken to a doctor-friend of his, a devotee of Sri Aurobindo. On examining the patient he became furious at me stating that the case was of a very serious dehydration. I maintained my cool and requested him to give a tumbler of water and a spoon. I started feeding him slowly up to one litre of drinking water, simultaneously doing the japa. When the patient responded by opening his eyes, the doctor was very much surprised and advised me to take him to a general hospital where he was administered glucose drip. After this treatment he lived fifteen years more and worked in Archives and Research Department of Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

In 1975, on my birthday, I was taking lunch at an Ashram guesthouse with my friends. As I was about to start my lunch I noticed that my friend looking after the guesthouse got a paralytic stroke. Immediately I got up from my seat and caught hold of his head to prevent it from twisting simultaneously doing japa loudly and with the Mother's Grace the stroke stopped. After about six months of treatment he recovered and is still working in the Ashram. Somewhere the Mother has mentioned that, if the guru personally passed on the japa mantra to the disciple it was very effective and powerful.

In 1980, one Sunday afternoon, I suffered from acute diarrhoea and vomiting. I waited for about four hours hoping

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things would subside. But ultimately the family doctor had to be summoned through my younger brother. The doctor gave an injection and some medicine with advice for complete bed rest. As per his advice, I took three days' bed rest continuously reciting the japa mantra given to me by the Mother. The doctor had told my brother that the case was very serious and there was no hope for survival. On the third day, late afternoon, when I was alone in my room, someone patted on my back with force. When I looked about surprised, I saw the Mother disappearing into Her photo in the room. And, you see me here with you now. Is it not due to Her divine Grace, which is always with us!

Before concluding, I express my gratitude to Sri Aurobindo and The Mother for the transformation in my nature, outlook, and day-to-day dealings with sadhaks, friends and relatives. Thank you very much.

Her kindly care was a sweet temperate sun,

Her high passion a blue heaven's equipoise.

Book I, 2

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