I CONSUMMATION Immortal overhead the gold expanse— An ultimate crown of joy's infinity. But a king-power must grip all passion numb And a gigantic loneliness draw down The large gold throbbing on a silver hush. Nought save an ice-pure peak of trance can bear The benediction of that aureole. Sri Aurobindo's Comment "It is very fine—it is the Higher Mind vision and movement throughout, except that in the fifth line a flash of Illumination comes through. Intense light-play and colour in this kind of utterance is usually the Illumined Mind's intervention." In the first version submitted, the second line had

SRI AUROBINDO All heaven's secrecy lit to one face Crowning with calm the body's blinded cry— A soul of upright splendour like the noon. But only shadowless love can breathe this pure Sun-blossom fragrant with eternity— Eagles of rapture lifting flickerless A golden trance wide-winged on golden air. Sri Aurobindo's Comment "It comes from the higher mind except for the fourth and eighth lines which have illumination and are very fine." Page-23

THE DIVINE DENIER Wanderer of hell's chimerical abyss, Dreaming for ever of star-fragrance blown From the efflorescent heart of the Unknown! They knew thee not who scorned thy madnesses, Nor plumbed the beauty of that terrible mood Which hailed as a supreme apocalypse The all-desiring and all-quenching lips Of death's unfathomable solitude! Thou wert Heaven's most God-haunted enemy. The universe to thee was one vast tomb, But of so tense, ineffable a gloom That thou stoodst drunk with measureless mystery, Ecstatic in the very shadow of doom As though an infinite sun had blinded thee! Page-71

SPIRITUALITY IN ACTION A YOUNG man persuaded his father who had travelled all over the world to visit the Ashram if he wanted to see spirituality in action. Another person, an M.L.A., remarked : "I had been to Rameswaram. Having once visited the place, one hardly feels a call to revisit it. But here the experience is different. One likes coming here again and again. I am a busy man, always at work. But here, off my work, I do not feel bored. I feel, however, that a flying visit does not suffice. One must be a resident here to gain anything concrete." There is another side to the picture. A visitor who had just returned from England came to see his

GROWTH OF WORLD CULTURE ALL does not end with what we have said. Where is the - pen with vision, power and devotion enough to give even a faint idea of the whole significance of Sri Aurobindo's life, to portray the various aspects of the Mother's work that cover so many inner and higher planes ? For instance, we have not said anything at length about the place of women in the life of the Ashram, the freedom they enjoy under the Mother's care. In the Ashram a woman is looked upon not as wife, daughter or sister or any other relation of a sadhak but as a soul with an independent status and a direct approach to the Mother. Asked what role man

The integral approach characterises Narayan Prasad's presentation of the Ashram story. As one who has been asked all manner of questions about life in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, I welcome this treasure-house of information and inspiration. Narayan Prasad has done a thorough job, as befits a disciple of the Master and the Mother. No mere chronicler, he does an "inside job", in the better sense of the term. This authentic and fascinating account of a divine experiment, a most timely adventure in integration, will inspire a host of readers. Jay Holmes Smith LIFE IN SRI AUROBINDO ASHRAM NARA

-17_Sri Aurobindo^s Gifts To The World.htm SRI AUROBINDO'S GIFTS TO THE WORLD WHAT is it that redounds to the highest glory of ancient India ? The short answer is Brahma Vidya — the stream of Consciousness which flows from the experience of the Self. The life and light which it contains sustain our society even to-day. Ancient India's literature, based on the Supreme Truth, is her ambassador to the outside world. Sri Aurobindo's gifts of new spiritual Truths embodied in his peerless literature are a revelation of Divine Knowledge for the New Age. What Sri Aurobindo did to ward off the greatest world crisis of our generation we have seen. His concern was not so much with war as such, as

THE ASHRAM ATMOSPHERE AN inner revoluti on is not like an outer which comes like a " storm and passes off. It is much more subtle and far-reaching in its effect. There is no preaching here, the very atmosphere of the Ashram is charged with the Master's teaching. When one is accepted as a disciple he is not initiated into any mantra or asked to follow a set yogic discipline. The Ashram does not follow any religious creed, tradition or convention. It is from the atmosphere one has to choose and take the course of his sadhana. Further, it is the atmosphere of the Ashram that tells on a visitor's soul first of all. So, if possible, let us sense it through a f

-14_The Master^s Touch Through Letters.htm THE MASTER'S TOUCH THROUGH LETTERS THE period extending from 1930 to 1938 cannot be closed without reference to the sadhaks' correspondence with the Master and his luminous replies which are our richest treasures and an unfailing source of our inspiration. The replies received were looked upon as blessings and matters of high privilege. Sri Aurobindo's writings, his letters to his disciples have not a little to contribute to charging the air of the Ashram with the vibrations of Truth along with purity, serenity, clarity, discipline and orderliness. To be born in an age when the Divine himself blesses the earth in human form is in itself an unp

THE DARSHAN DAY THE auspicious days on which we have the Darshan of the Master and the Mother are known in the Ashram as the Darshan days. By celebrating the birthdays of Prophets and Avatars people imbibe at least something of their spirit or their influence. But there are other days too, in spiritual history, whose celebration can be a fountain of inner joy and light. One such is called in our Ashram the Day of Siddhi or Victory—November 24,1926. In fact, before this day on which Sri Aurobindo established what he himself considered a solid base for the truly Divine manifestation, there was according to him no question of Darshan. He would deal with all on the same level as