-06_The Iris, Aristocracy of Beauty (Part 1) - 8 Feb 2015.htm Blog #13 - February 8, 2015 The Iris, Aristocracy of Beauty (Part 1) Today is Mary Helen's birthday and each year I have the blessing to be able to go to Sri Aurobindo's room remembering her on her birthday. There is little one can say about the Grace that allows one to visit His room. The vast peace, vibrating with love and compassion, usually brings forth the psychic tears of a soul that aspires so fervently to unite with Him and Mother but recognizes the many failings, dark niches, and desires that still must be overcome. I go with gratitude and humility, remembering on

-37_Protection - The Brilliant Bougainvilleas (Part 8) - 13 Sep 2015.htm Protection: The Brilliant Bougainvilleas (Part 8) The following are from my photographic collection of bougainvilleas in India, Thailand, Mexico and the U.S. One of the most beautiful gardens I have seen in the tropics is Nong Nooch in Thailand, about three hours from Bangkok. The landscape design, the extraordinary collections of numerous genera, the cleanliness and more highlight this as my favorite tropical garden. Daniel Wilms, a very devoted and inexhaustible worker for the Matrimandir Gardens, shown in the bougainvillea area of N

-33_Protection - The Brilliant Bougainvilleas (Part 4) - 16 Aug 2015.htm Protection: The Brilliant Bougainvilleas (Part 4) There have been a few other books on bougainvilleas. One by Jan Iredell from Australia, 'Growing Bougainvilleas', is excellent for its detailed explanation of the history of the genus as well as its excellent colour plates. B.P. Pal's book, written with Vishnu Swarup, has complete descriptions of a number of Indian cultivars. Dr. S.C. Sharma, the Scientist-in-Charge of the Lucknow Botanic Garden whom I had the great honour to meet on the 15th of February 1977, presented me with an autographed copy of his boo

-03_Mother^s Garden - 18 Jan 2015.htm Blog #10 - January 18, 2015 Mother’s Garden One day a man came to me and said he was the son of the lady who founded the Plumeria Society of America and wanted to begin a large composting firm. He asked if I would accept to be in charge of marketing and product formulation and wanted to know if I would take the chance and leave my current position (with an excellent salary) for something unknown and previously untried on a large scale. Again, I was guided by the Supreme to take the leap and Mother opened another door, one that would test me in many challenging ways but ultima

-09_Lotuses (Part 1) - 01 Mar 2015.htm Lotuses (Part 1) The water lily is not the same genus as the lotus. Its genus is Nymphaea whereas the genus of the lotus is Nelumbo. In fact, they are not even in the same family! The easiest way to distinguish the water lily from the lotus is to splash some water on the leaves. The leaves of the water lily are quickly saturated with the water but water splashed on the leaves of the lotus forms into small balls and rolls off the leaf. We will take up the significance of the water lily in the next blog. The Lotuses The white lotus is well known to us and revered as Aditi,

-43_Hibiscus (Part 5) - 25 Oct 2015.htm Hibiscus (Part 5) Of the twelve Gardens of the Matrimandir, Mother has chosen the hibiscus to represent ten of them. The other two Gardens are the garden of Wealth, to be represented by Cactus and Water lilies and the garden of Perfection which is represented by the Plumeria, "Psychological Perfection". Power of Perseverance Mother's comment: "The perseverance that overcomes all obstacles." Mentalised Power Mother's comment: "Power rendered utilisable." As there are many forms of Power of Harmony so too are there many f

-20_The Regal Peony (Part 1) - 17 May 2015.htm The Regal Peony (Part 1) Beauty in Art One of my most beloved flowers, the regal Peony's significance describes it perfectly. The Mother writes, "On the physical plane it is in beauty that the Divine expresses Himself." Let beauty be your constant ideal The Beauty of soul The Beauty of sentiments The Beauty of thoughts The Beauty of action The Beauty in work

-08_Autumn in Mother^s Garden - 22 Feb 2015.htm Autumn in Mother's Garden Here is Autumn deepening into Winter in north India in these lines from Savitri. Book IV Canto 1: The Birth and Childhood of the Flame Three thoughtful seasons passed with shining tread And scanning one by one the pregnant hours Watched for a flame that lurked in luminous depths, The vigil of some mighty birth to come. ||93.21|| Autumn led in the glory of her moons And dreamed in the splendour of her lotus pools And Winter and Dew-time laid their calm cool hands On Nature’s bosom still in a half sleep And deepened with hues of lax and mellow ease

-13_Water Lilies - Living Symbols and Significances of Wealth (Part 1) - 29 Mar 2015.htm Water Lilies - Living Symbols and Significances of Wealth (Part 1) Integral Wealth of Mahalakshmi Mother'sComment: "Wealth of feeling and action in all fields of activity− intellectual, psychological and material. The closer one becomes to the flowers, learning their messages, learning from them their needs, the deeper one enters a world of beauty and fragrance that takes us one up into realms of wonder and delight. To live with flowers, to love them is, in itself, a path of yoga. Mot

-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