INTRODUCTION The Purna Yoga of Transformation that has evolved from the guidance of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother at the Master's Ashram situated on the Coromandel Coast in South India has attracted thousands of aspirants from all over the world. This Spiritual Centre of the Maha yogi of Pondicherry was envisaged many thousands of years ago by the great Rishi Augusta when he foretold of the coming of the greatest yogi from the North who would establish his asana, seat, for an integral world-yoga where East and West would find their ultimate synthesis. This yogic prediction was also confirmed in the songs and poems of another great yogi, Swami Rama-lingum who predicted the same co

LOTUS PETALS   Au Revoir How long shall this au revoir last, Mother sweet! Thy Presence comes, but it goes too fast On lightning feet. It brings with it the blissful ray, Serenely pure, The golden dawn, the promised day, Dark sorrow's cure. Thy breath awakes me in an air With star-bloom scented; Where floats my dream-world fine and fair To which tormented Souls like mine would fain retire For rhythmed rest Engulfed in Love's entrancing fire, In Eternity's breast. Thy holy touch with magic power, (Too little enduring!) Brings t

    Mother Mahakali   A limpid lightning-flame in tempest-dance On the breast of Time prostrate and motionless, Star-sparks through space fly forth from Her fire intense And the stress of Her steps whose speed no light can trace.   She leaps to break the pride of Titan might And win for God His Kingdoms lost to Death; Her glowing glance drives through the core of Night; None can withstand Her crimson flash of wrath.   A moment of Her pressing white heat scores Achievements great where failed a sluggish age; For Fate in awe Her conquering flame adores That packs with glories

      The Moon   On silver skates the moon is gliding Over heavens of icy blue, And swimming clouds with their snow-dust are hiding Her lovely face of milk-foam hue.   How her rich gossamer hair is flowing And the ether-winds with joy are athrill; The stars are frozen light-drops glowing In her tresses like sparkling points in a rill.   Alluring the smile upon her face; Her heart is a fountain of delight, All gloom dissolves in her light's embrace, Love's eyes of dream grow awake and bright.   10-11-1930   Be Gone Be

-01_Author's Note AUTHOR'S NOTE I had never even dreamt of writing Poetry in English, although I was familiar with writing it in my mother-tongue, Gujarati, since my High School days. But it so happened that in the early years of our Ashram here a movement of writing poems in English started and a few enthusiasts launched upon that enterprise with Harin Chattopadhyay as a brilliant example before them. I too was one of such enthusiasts and although I was poorly equipped with the knowledge of English and English poetry I began to exercise my pen and with the Mother's and Sri Aurobindo's inner and outer encouragement and ever-ready help had not much difficulty in making a tolerably good beginning

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION Soon after the publication of the first edition of my biography of Sri Aurobindo in February 1945, friends began asking me: "Why don't you now give us a companion 'Life of the Mother'?" It was only a suggestion ­ a request and perhaps a challenge as well. But wouldn't it be, I thought, like attempting a history of Infinity or a biography of Eternity? A 'Life' of the Mother! What did one know about her except that she was the Mother? And yet why not? A child might very well stretch forth its delicate arms and declare: "Infinity is as big as this!" That would be part of the Truth. Divers roads lead to the mountain-peak of i

CHAPTER 15 DESCENT OF KRISHNA I Since her shifting on the night of the cyclone to Sri Aurobindo's residence, Mirra began gradually taking the reins of the management of the house­hold in her own hands, and with a mixture of gentleness and firmness, of patience and sweet reasonableness, of sustained hard work and infinite generosity of understanding, she brought order, tidiness and a measure of functional adequacy to the community life of the inmates. Still it was Sri Aurobindo who remained the Master of the Yoga; he presided over the collective meditation in the evenings; he received the important visitors, he conducted the essential correspondence, a

CHAPTER 34 MANIFOLD MINISTRY I When the Mother found that the Ashram School was growing sinews of strength and its Department of Physical Education was serving school-children and sadhaks alike, she blessed the formation of the Sports Association of Sri Aurobindo Ashram (Jeunesse Sportive de l'Ashram de Sri Aurobindo), and she launched on 21 February 1949 its organ, Bulletin of Physical Education, a bi-lingual (English-French) quarterly journal. It was to contain articles by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, reports of the Ashram and School activities during the quarter, and a wide range of photographs. In the Aurobindonian world-view, the physical was in intim

CHAPTER 52 READINESS IS ALL I To all outward appearances the Mother's health - judged by merely human standards, and also as compared with her remarkably active outer life before 9 December 1958 - was far from satisfactory. She was eighty-four on 21 February 1962, and the weight of her cumulative responsibilities for the Ashram was not a whit less onerous than ever before; if anything, it but grew heavier every day with the steady proliferation of the Ashram's activities. While her movements were confined to the first and second floors of the main Ashram building, the calls on her time and energies were still unconscionably heavy. On l8 March 1962, after B

EPILOGUE Page – 827 CHAPTER 61 THE SAGA OF TRANSFORMATION "Thy peace, O Lord, a boon within to keep Amid the roar and ruin of wild Time For the magnificent soul of man on earth. Thy calm, O Lord, that bears thy hands of joy." "Thy oneness. Lord, in many approaching hearts, My sweet infinity of thy numberless souls." "Thy energy. Lord, to seize on woman and man, To take all things and creatures in their grief And gather them into a mother's arms." "Thy embrace which rends the living knot of pain, Thy joy, O Lord, in which all creatures breathe, Thy magic flowing waters of deep love, T