REFERENCES:   Unless otherwise stated, the references are taken from the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library (SABCL) and The Mother's Collected Works (MCW).References are not given for texts or sentences given specially for this book.   MCW, 1:362 (Frontispiece) 15 MCW, 1:354 (Renunciation of Vital Desires) I MCW, 3:72 16 SABCL, 24:1538 (Mastery of Sex) I MCW, 3:132 19 SABCL, 28:38 (Inspiration) I MCW, 9:210-11 21 MCW, 12:60 (Spiritual Speech) II The Mother, Talk of 18.1.56 22 MCW, 14:67 (Simple Sincerity) II

-003_The Mother^s Flower Significancescopy Abelmoschus esculentus Okra, Gumbo, Lady's-finger light yellow rotate flower with dark maroon centre; seasonal vegetable   Mentalised Power Power becomes utilisable.   Abutilon hybridum Chinese lantern, Flowering Maple several colours of pendulous bell-shaped flowers; shrub   Promise The future is full of promise.   Abutilon hybridum bright yellow flowers   Mental Promise The assurance that the Supramental goal will be realised. Abutilon hybridum deep red-purple flowers with darker veins   Vital Promise The vital is full of possibilities ready to develop.

Flower Language   You can easily make a speech using flowers and I have noticed that this can effectively replace the old Vedic images, for instance, which no longer hold meaning for us, or the ambiguous phraseology of the ancient initiations. Flower language is much better because it contains the Force and is extremely plastic—since it is not formulated in words, each one is free to arrange and receive it according to his own capacity. You can make long speeches using flowers.   *   From the end of 1929 to the middle of 1930 the Mother played a flower game with a small group of disciples. Arranging a few flowers in her hand, she made up a sentence in English based o

Glossary   Parts of a Flower     Bilabiate flower: Two-lipped flower   Bract (bracteate): Modified or coloured leaf associated with the flower     Catkin   Cladode: Flattened leaf-like stem Page-297       Campanulate flower       Compositae flower     Corolla     Corona     Corymb     Cyme Page-298       Funnelform flower       Head     O

Index of Common Names   Abyssinian sword lily 6 Blue-eyed African daisy 19 Chilly pepper 49 Acerola 157 Blue lace flower 239 China aster 41 African tulip tree 226 Blue sage 218 Chinaberry 161 African violet 217 Bluewings 239 China rose 211 Agati 221 Bottlebrush 40 Chinese bellflower 194 Air plant 148 Bottle gourd 150 Chinese forget-me-not 83 Alexandrian laurel 44 Bouncing Bet 219 Chinese-hat

The Hibiscus Group   Colour and Details of Petals Colour of Centre Size Single/ Double Variety Significance White, slender or rounded separated petals S-L S Light of the Purified Power White V.S S miniatus Eternal Smile White, slender or rounded separated petals, erect or pendulous bright red, vermilion or magenta S-L S Power of Integral Purity White S-M D syriacus Will One with the Divine Will White, gradually turning pink M-L D mutabilis

Note on the Texts and Photographs   Background information on the texts and photographs is given below, along with references to the texts of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.     Photographs of Flowers   Most of the 630 flower-photographs in this book were taken in the gardens and courtyards of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry and in the nurseries, gardens, fields and forests of Auroville. Some photographs, especially those of flowers that grow well only in cooler climates, were photographed in Bangalore and Ootacamund, India, and in Germany. In some of the photographs, the colour of the flower differs in hue or intensity from the

-001_Publisher^s Note     Publisher's Note     This reference volume contains indexes, glossaries, descriptions of the flowers and other information.   There are three indexes giving the location of the flowers in Part 1: an Index of the Mother's Significances, an Index of Botanical Names and an Index of Common Names. The user should note that in all these indexes the reference numbers are those of the flowers as they are arranged in Part 1, not the page numbers of the book.   Two glossaries explain technical terms used in the book. A Glossary of Botanical Terms defines words that occur in the Descriptions of the Flowers. A Glossary of Philosophical and Psychological Terms prov

Descriptions of the Flowers   The numbers below are the numbers of the flowers as they are arranged in Part 1.     Chapter 1 Aditi and Avatar   1 Aditi - the Divine Consciousness Pure, immaculate, gloriously powerful. Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. 'Alba' Nymphaeaceae Sacred lotus, East Indian lotus Very large fragrant chalice-shaped white flower with several rows of loosely arranged cupped translucent petals surrounding a unique centre of numerous golden stamens that encircle a raised yellow disc; borne singly on sturdy stems high above the water. A vigorous aquatic rhizomatous plant with large, concave orbicular leaves

D Dalai Lama 17:307 Dance as expression of inner 1ife 3:111-12 Russian 3:ll2 Danger a»uidin9 8:224,229-30 cry of material consciousness 17:199 feeling of 16:42-43 of abandoning reason 10:15 Jot rapturous 'state of' consciousness 10:175-76 of tapasya 4:72 of yoga 3:4-5 I progress and 12:l55; 16:335 protection against 3:101; 16:351 Dante 10:345-46 Darkness consciousness dispel 3:l01 falling into 16:l42 1 feeling lost in 17:59,131 light and 16:408 reign of 16:7 return of 17:99 rising in the consciousness 17:97-98,124,158 Darshan 11:102-05 ; 16 1335; 17:1l6,286 at the balcony 7:257; 16:230 Dates 17:371 Significance of 8:90-91,93