-30_Protection - The Brilliant Bougainvilleas (Part 1) - 26 July 2015.htm Protection: The Brilliant Bougainvilleas (Part 1) Eighteen years ago I travelled the length of India from the deep south to the north photographing this most beautiful genus with its masses of blooms in a wide palette of colours. It was a fascinating journey for I met the great bougainvillea hybridizers, most notable among them, Dr. B.P. Pal who invited me to his home where he showed me many of his beautiful cultivars, Dr. S.C. Sharma of the Lucknow botanic Garden, who presented me with his book on bougainvilleas, Dr. M.S. Randhawa and many others. I also met scientists

-45_Shared Experiences (Part 1) - 15 Nov 2015.htm Shared Experiences (Part 1) Some years ago I was asked to be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Southern California Plumeria Society. I was met by a lovely and gracious couple who took me to dinner at an American Indian Casino. The buffet room presented a sight I had only seen a few times as a child in Pennsylvania. Tables and tables of delicious foods were on display. There were tables for cheeses, breads, soups, salads, meats, desserts and more desserts! We sat d

Remembrancer of Bliss from Savitri Narad (Richard Eggenberger) Remembrancer of Bliss As if inclined before some gracious god Who has out of his mist of greatness shone To fill with beauty his adorer’s hours, She bowed and touched his feet with worshipping hands; She made her life his world for him to tread And made her body the room of his delight, Her beating heart a remembrancer of bliss. Book V, Canto III How these magnificent lines from Savitri continue to reverberate in the mind and heart and soul I do not know. I know only this, that Savitri, as Mother has said, is "a mantra for the transformati

Inspiration from Savitri An Inspiration came to me more than a year ago, so powerfully that I capitalize the word, Inspiration. I was guided to write a series of books that would be compilations of various themes in Savitri. Beginning with a small volume, Colours and Gems, I researched and studied all the lines and passages that contained a colour or gem. It was a work of great joy for gradually numerous revelations burst forth from the pages of Savitri and an entire series began to unfold. Why was this path chosen? Let me go back many years, more than fifty, since I first held a copy of Savitri in my hands. I have written elsewh

Reacting to Adverse Attacks One day in Auroville I was confronted, attacked really, by a person who told me that I was doing everything wrong concerning the Choir. Though the words were very sharp, even more powerful was the vehemence behind them. My body was actually shaken by the incident. I returned home to the Ashram and concentrating quietly I heard Mother's voice. She said, "Oh, my protection was not with you?" Thus I had to learn again to always take Her nam

On Savitri An article writen for the journal, Sraddha February 2011 I have been asked to contribute an article on Savitri for the special issue, February 2011, of Sraddha, ­the quarterly publication of the Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, Kolkata, but I do not have the capacity of inner development in the Integral Yoga to attempt such a monumental task. Many others of great wisdom have written on Savitri or delivered brilliant and enthralling lectures on its many books and cantos. What then can I give, as one who has barely taken a step on the path Mother and Sri Aurobindo have blazed for us? I remember the great Kapali Shastri once

Six Lines from Savitri Behold, at noon leaving this house of clay I wandered in far-off eternities, Yet still, a captive in her golden hands, I tread your little hillock called green earth And in the moments of your transient sun Live glad among the busy works of men.” Contemplate, for a moment, this wondrous reply in six lines, of Satyavan to his father’s gentle scolding of Savitri.“at noon leaving this house of clay”, for in the epic his death in the forest takes place at noon, not a departure of an early morning soul or one who leaves enfolded in the dark rooms of night, but at a time when the sun is at its most brilliant,

Auroville mid 1970's.htm Auroville mid 1970's The other day a sister Aurovilian share with me this thought, "When we go out of Auroville we represent something of the Mother's consciousness, when we return we represent the ordinary consciousness with all that must be transformed". The experience of being in the "outside world" for a period of time as I presented programs on the work of the Matrimandir and its Gardens, with slides and quotations from the Mother, meeting people who were sincerely interested in the experiment of Auroville, people of various races, philosophies, etc., was not only encouraging but enlightening. An Ashramite who recently returned from Europe expressed her feelings to