History of Auroville Mother s known words in their context

Transcription

1 History of Auroville Mother s known words in their context Book 1 Background of Mother s projects of an International University and ideal society/town Period ending on 13 th Aug February 2016 version Edited by Gilles Guigan Auroville Archives gillou@auroville.org.in Corrections and additional information are always welcome History of Auroville Book 1 Page 1

2 History of Auroville Book 1 Page 2

3 Foreword to this History of Auroville On 14 th August 2014, it has been 50 years that the Sri Aurobindo Society (SAS), whose President was Mother, took the decision to build a new town, which She later named Auroville. Mother s known words on Auroville date from mid-1965 to mid-1973 an 8-year period. Though 43 years have passed since Mother left Her body, it is still very difficult for interested people to read about Her intentions with Auroville and how they evolved along these 8 years. During Mother s lifetime, Auroville s history was written in three different places: 1) In Mother s room at the Ashram where She spoke of Auroville, answered verbally loads of letters, wrote hundreds of messages & answers to letters and signed many notices written by others. 2) In the offices of the SAS in Pondicherry, in Roger Anger s office (which was at first in Paris, then in Pondicherry and then in Auroville) and wherever Navajata, Roger and others went to speak of Auroville and/or raise support and funds for it. 3) On the Auroville plateau as soon as land was purchased and adventurous pioneers started to settle there. The three most accessible compilations of Mother s words on Auroville are found in: Mother s Agenda, in The Mother on Auroville and in Volume XIII of the Collected Words of the Mother (CWM). Mother s most interesting conversations on Auroville are definitely in Her Agenda, but they are drowned among many other topics and many of Her other interesting words are missing. The problems with The Mother on Auroville and the CWM are that many of Her words are also missing and that, as these compilations are thematic instead of chronological, it is very difficult to understand how the project evolved along the years which it did. Savitra s 1974 out-of-print Auroville, the first 6 years is the only two records of what was happening on the Auroville plateau during these 6 years. 1 It is definitely very interesting but mentions very few of Mother s words and of what was happening in the offices of the SAS and of Roger. There isn t any publication reporting on what was taking place in these offices. This compilation can only be limited to Mother s known words because many interesting words of Hers were not recorded. There is no record of Her conversations with Navajata, with Her son André, with Her granddaughter Françoise (Pournapréma) 2 and with many other disciples with whom She spoke of Auroville. The notes Roger kept were very succinct and pertained only to a short period of time. This is unfortunate because we are missing very interesting conversations. Our aim with this document is primarily to present all Her known words on Auroville in their context in order to enable readers to better understand Her intentions with this Auroville venture and how She went about launching it. It includes also many general and other messages (such as Darshan messages) which were destined to all disciples. The first of the 11 books of this compilation pertains to the period prior to mid August 1964 when the SAS resolved to develop a township ( Auroville ). This first book aims at helping readers understand better what She was attempting in various ways and Auroville s role in Their Action on earth. It is also very interesting to read about Mother s various attempts along the years and to witness Her amazing flexibility as She kept adapting Her projects according to changing opportunities, needs and constraints. As pointed out by Sri Aurobindo, the success of Her endeavours was due to the fact that there never was any mental plan. Are also included in this first Book some historical references (i.e.: two World War took place during this period) as they created new needs, constraints and opportunities. We also took the opportunity to mention in this first 1 W.M. Sullivan s The Dawning of Auroville has also many very interesting entries and covers a longer period. 2 Mother s other granddaughter, Janine Panier, doesn t seem to have been involved in the Auroville project. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 3

4 Book some little known facts and interesting messages which were not necessarily connected to Auroville. This compilation proves that, from 1912 onwards (that it two years prior their first meeting), Sri Aurobindo and Mother spoke of the need to give birth to an ideal/perfect society at a certain stage of humanity s evolution. Mother described it in A Dream which She published in 1954 but wrote: The earth is certainly not ready to realise such an ideal, for mankind does not yet possess sufficient knowledge to understand and adopt it nor the conscious force that is indispensable in order to execute it; that is why I call it a dream. Hence, the question were always: When? Where? On which basis to launch it? How to secure enough land for it? How to attract the required human and material resources?... Mother was waiting for inner and outer signs telling Her that time had come to launch this endeavour. Because of its comprehensiveness, this compilation is not easily readable; it is a research document to be used by people seriously interested in learning about Auroville s background and early years and maybe in writing about it. The editor welcomes any addition as well as corrections of mistakes or simple inaccuracies. This has been a collective work from the start and has to remain such. This work is dedicated to Sri Aurobindo, the Mother and their dream of an ideal/perfect society developing an ideal place/town/city for itself as an example that should spread and be reproduced elsewhere. Auroville, 13 th February 2016 Gilles Guigan Auroville Archives History of Auroville Book 1 Page 4

5 Editorial Note Type/font Mother s words and the few of Sri Aurobindo appear in this font. Sri Aurobindo s words are always followed by this mention: (Sri Aurobindo). Words from the editor are in italics of the same font. Italics of the same font are also used for the words of Mother s interlocutors in a conversation, in a written question or in introducing an entry. This different font is used in case of a report or a longer text written by others than Mother, Sri Aurobindo. and the editor. Introduction notes They are meant either to state what the entry is or to give its context. These introductions have either been written by the editor or by the person who had the conversation with Mother, or to whom a letter was addressed. Sources The primary sources of information are: Information Letter of the SAS (SAS info) published from January 1963 to August 1971 contained some recent quotes and informed about the project. (After August 1971 it became the All India Magazine (AIM.) Mother India (MI) which published from the start recent quotes of Mother on Auroville. L Agenda de Mère (AM) is the most interesting source of information on Auroville, but it was published years after the conversations took place: , , , , , , , , By then the most important conversations had been published elsewhere. Its English version Mother s Agenda (MA) was published even later: , , , , , , , , Some non-authorised translations circulated earlier. Huta s Matrimandir, Mother s Truth and Love (MMTL), published in 1974, and The Spirit of Auroville (Spirit), published in 2002, provide some interesting information mainly before A Glimpse of the Mother s Love and Action (GMLA), published by the SAS in 1997, provides some interesting information on the birth of the project. Shyam Sunder s Down Memory Lane (DML), published in 1996, provides day-to-day information from February 1971 onwards when Mother appointed him her Secretary for Auroville s affairs. Kailas Javeri s I am with you (Imwu), published in 2007, provides information on Auroville s relation with UNESCO with which she was liaising. Auroville s Archives (AVA) Other sources Main comprehensive compilations: Barbara unpublished compilation (Barb.) compiled in the mid seventies. Shyam Sunder s The Mother on Auroville (MoA) and its French version Mère parle d Auroville (d AV), both first published in Volume XIII of the Collected Works of the Mother first published by the Ashram in W. M. Sullivan s unpublished Auroville in Mother s Words (AVMW) compiled in History of Auroville Book 1 Page 5

6 Texts and translations The texts are quoted as far as possible from what could be established as the best source, previously published translations from French into English have been used where available, but in a few places these have been corrected against the originals by the editors. Quotations from Mother s Agenda are usually mentioned as Excerpt from a conversation with Satprem. The text may not always been that published in Mother s Agenda, either to correct some mistake, or to have a more literal transcription (whenever recording is available). Unfortunately, it could also be because the editor had included an unauthorised translation when a particular volume had not yet been published and it escaped him when he intended to replace it with the official one. (Apologies are offered. Kindly inform him when such is the case, he will correct it.) [passage omitted] means that a portion of a conversation or text has been omitted. (...) indicates a pause not an omission. Names of people In its present form, this document is for internal use only (Aurovilians and friends), whenever known, the names of the persons have been included in the text or its introduction. Whoever would want to share some of these documents with a broader public would have to decide what to do with the names of people. Spelling The intention is to stick to British spelling (as Sri Aurobindo and Mother used it) but some American spelling may also be there from the official translations of Mother s Agenda. Acknowledgements This compilation is entirely based on the work of other people. We are very grateful to all of them. Copyrights The history of Auroville during Mother s lifetime needs to be told. In this place where Mother did not want any personal property, copyrights should not prevent this history from being told. The editor has spent years of his life doing this work and won t make any profit from it for he doesn t claim any kind of editor s right. Everybody is free to use his work without even mentioning his name. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 6

7 I On Sanghas Prior to the Ashram s existence Up to History of Auroville Book 1 Page 7

8 : Excerpt from a conversation between Mother and Satprem on 23 rd June 1965: Mother s Agenda, French For a long time, I had had a plan of the ideal city, And [Huta] wrote to me all her dreams; one or two sentences suddenly awakened an old, old memory of something [an ideal town] that had tried to manifest a creation when I was very small (I don t remember what age), and that had again tried to manifest at the very beginning of the century when I was with Théon [in ]. Then I had forgotten all about it. 1905, August: Sri Aurobindo, then a nationalist leader in Calcutta, writes in Bhawani Mandir : A temple is to be erected and constructed to Bhawani, the Mother. 3 To all the children of the Mother the call is sent forth to help in the sacred work... We need a nucleus of men... (who) having the fire of Bhawani in their hearts and brains, will go forth and carry the flame to every nook and corner of our land : After being informed that He was about to be again arrested and having received an adesh to leave immediately to Chandernagore (then a French territory), Sri Aurobindo is sheltered there by Motilal Roy whom He will later help, from Pondicherry, to start the Prabartak Sangh. 1910, April 4 th : Having boarded a French steamer in Chandernagore, Sri Aurobindo lands at Pondicherry incognito as a political refugee. He will remain there till the end of His life in , April 11 th : Mother s husband, Paul, lands at Pondicherry for a short visit to do some political work. Having asked to meet a Yogi, he spends two afternoons talking with Sri Aurobindo. 1912, May 7 th : While living rue du Val de Grâce in Paris with her husband, Paul, Mother leads a group of spiritual seekers The Idea. She writes this text for them: CWM, II, Gazette 2, 6 (first part only) French An Ideal Society The general aim to be attained is the advent of a progressing universal harmony. The means for attaining this aim, in regard to the earth, is the realisation of human unity through the awakening in all and the manifestation by all of the inner Divinity which is One. In other words to create unity by founding the Kingdom of God which is within us. This, therefore, is the most useful work to be done. 1. For each individually, to be conscious in himself of the Divine Presence and to identify with it. 2. To individualise the states of being that were never till now conscious in man and, by that, to put the earth in connection with one or more of the fountains of universal force that are still sealed to it. 3. To speak again to the world the eternal word under a new form adapted to its present mentality. It will be a synthesis of all human knowledge. 4. Collectively, to establish an ideal society in a propitious spot for the flowering of the new race, the race of the Sons of God. * 3 This was said to be an idea of Barin (Sri Aurobindo s younger brother). 4 Interestingly, Mother will decide to build at the centre of Auroville a Shrine dedicated to the Universal Mother. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 8

9 The terrestrial transformation and harmonisation can be brought about by two processes which, though opposite in appearance, must combine must act upon each other and complete each other. 1. Individual transformation, an inner development leading to the union with the Divine Presence. 2. Social transformation, the establishment of an environment favourable to the flowering and growth of the individual. Since the environment reacts upon the individual and, on the other hand, the value of the environment depends upon the value of the individual, the two works should proceed side by side. But this can be done only through division of labour, and that necessitates the formation of a group, hierarchised, if possible. The action of the members of the group should be threefold: 1. To realise in oneself the ideal to be attained: to become a perfect earthly representative of the first manifestation of the Unthinkable in all its modes, attributes and qualities. 2. To preach this ideal by word, but, also above all, by example, so as to find out all those who are ready to realise it in their turn and to become also announcers of liberation. 3. To found a typic society or reorganise those that already exist. * For each individual also there is a twofold labour to be done, simultaneously, each side of it helping and completing the other: 1. An inner development, a progressive union with the Divine Light, sole condition in which man can be always in harmony with the great stream of universal life. 2. An external action which everyone has to choose according to his capacities and personal preferences. He must find his own place, the place which he alone can occupy in the general concert, and he must give himself entirely to it, not forgetting that he is playing only one note in the terrestrial harmony of the whole, and its value depends upon its justness s: The Prabartak Sangh Sri Aurobindo s first attempt to create a spiritual commune: Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo, p.2l-22 English Text written by A.B. Purani The Prabartak Sangh was started at Chandernagore by Motilal Roy [who had sheltered Sri Aurobindo there] and others under the inspiration of Sri Aurobindo. In the Yoga of Sri Aurobindo life is accepted as the field for the manifestation of the Divine. Its main aim is not liberation merely but the manifestation of divine perfection. In his vision not only the individual but the collectivity also is a term of the Divine. Acceptance of life includes the collective life. There is a deeper reason for accepting life. In his vision of the Reality Sri Aurobindo shows the rationality and the inevitability of an ascent by man to a higher consciousness than Mind. This ascent to the Higher Consciousness must lead to its descent in man. If the new element, the Supermind, is to become a permanent part of the earth-consciousness then not only should it descend into the lowest plane of physical consciousness the subconscient but it must become a part of the collective consciousness on earth. * 1912 August 15 th, Sri Aurobindo s 40 th birthday: Excerpts from a letter Sri Aurobindo writes to Motilal Roy (and signs Kali ), in which He explains His future program of work: Sri Aurobindo, Autobiographical notes and other writings of interest, p English 1. To re-explain the Sanatana Dharma [eternal law of being] to the human intellect in all its parts, from a new standpoint. This work is already beginning, and three parts of it are being clearly worked out. Sri Krishna has shown me the true meaning of the Vedas, not only so, but he has shown me a new Science of Philology showing the process and origins of human speech so that History of Auroville Book 1 Page 9

10 a new Nirukta [Vedic etymology] can be formed and the new interpretation of the Veda based upon it. He has also shown me the meaning of all in the Upanishads that is not understood either by Indians or Europeans. I have therefore to re-explain the whole Vedanta and Veda in such a way that it will be seen how all religion arises out of it and is one everywhere. In this way it will be proved that India is the centre of the religious life of the world and its destined saviour through the Sanatana Dharma. 2. On the basis of Vedic knowledge, to establish a Yogic Sadhana which will not only liberate the soul, but prepare a perfect humanity and help in the restoration of the Satya Yuga [Age of Truth]. That work has to begin now but it will not be complete till the end of the Kali [Iron Age]. 3. India being the centre, to work for her restoration to her proper place in the world; but this restoration must be effected as a part of the above work and by means of Yoga applied to human means and instruments, not otherwise. 4. A perfect humanity being intended, society will have to be remodelled so as to be fit to contain that perfection. [...] I have also begun, but on a very small scale the second part of my work which will consist in making men for the new age by imparting whatever siddhi I get to those who are chosen. From this point of view our little colony here is a sort of seed plot & a laboratory. The things I work out in it are then extended outside. Here the work is progressing at last on definite lines and with a certain steadiness, not very rapid; but still definite results are forming. I should be glad to have from you clearer knowledge of the results you speak of over there; for my drishti is not yet sufficiently free from obstruction for me to know all that I need to know at this stage. What you say about the Ramakrishna Mission is, I dare say, true to a certain extent. Do not oppose that movement or enter into any conflict with it; whatever has to be done, I shall do spiritually, for God in these matters especially uses the spiritual means & the material are only very subordinate. Of course, you can get into that stream, as you suggest, and deflect as much as you can into a more powerful channel, but not so as to seem to be conflicting with it. Use spiritual means chiefly, will & vyapti. They are more powerful than speech & discussion. Remember also that we derive from Ramakrishna. For myself it was Ramakrishna who personally came & first turned me to this Yoga. Vivekananda in the Alipore jail gave me the foundations of that knowledge which is the basis of our sadhana. The error of the [Ramakrishna] Mission is to keep too much to the forms of Ramakrishna & Vivekananda & not keep themselves open for new outpourings of their spirit, the error of all Churches and organised religious bodies , March 29 th : Mother and Paul Richard land at Pondicherry and meet Sri Aurobindo. This first meeting opens a new phase in their lives. Excerpt from Her diary dated of the next day: Mother, Prayers and Meditation, p. 124 French It matters little that there are thousands of beings plunged in the densest ignorance, He whom we saw yesterday is on earth; his presence is enough to prove that a day will come when darkness shall be transformed into light, and Thy reign shall be indeed established upon earth. * Source: Mother, Her Miraculous Touch, Vol. 1, p. 40 Decades later, Mother will write: As soon as I saw Sri Aurobindo I recognised in him the well-known being whom I used to call Krishna... And this is enough to explain why I am fully convinced that my place and my work are near him in India. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 10

11 1914, June: Excerpts from another letter from Sri Aurobindo to Motilal Roy: Sri Aurobindo, Autobiographical notes and other writings of interest, p English The second part of my work is the practical, consisting in the practice of Yoga by an ever increasing number of young men all over the country. We have started here a society called the New Idea [L Idée Nouvelle] with that object, & a good many young men are taking up Vedantic Yoga & some progressing much. 1914, June: Sri Aurobindo and the Richards decide to publish the Arya and its French version. 1914, June 28 th : Assassination in Sarajevo of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. It will trigger the First World War. 1914, August first week: Germany declares war on Russia on the 1 st and on France on the 3 rd. Britain declares war on Germany on the 4 th. The First World War starts. 1914, August 15 th : Sri Aurobindo s 42 nd Birthday Publication of the 1 st issue of the Arya and of the Revue de la Grande Synthèse. Its editors are: Sri Aurobindo Ghose Paul & Mirra Richard. The first issue includes the first instalments of: The Life Divine 5 The Secret of the Veda, Isha Upanishad (translation with commentaries) The Synthesis of Yoga 5 Interestingly, the First World War started when Sri Aurobindo started publishing the Arya and The Life Divine and that WW II will start when He will start revising The Life Divine. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 11

12 Its French Edition, the Revue de la Grande Synthèse will be discontinued after its February 1915 issue when the Richards will have to leave because of the war. This first issue of the Arya includes this announcement: L IDÉE NOUVELLE In close connection with the intellectual work of synthesis undertaken by this Review a Society has been founded in French India under the name of the New Idea, (L Idée Nouvelle). Its object is to group in a common intellectual life and fraternity of sentiment those who accept the spiritual tendency and idea it represents and who aspire to realise it in their own individual and social action. The Society has already made a beginning by grouping together young men of different castes and religions in a common ideal. All sectarian and political questions are necessarily foreign to its idea and its activities. It is on a higher plane of thought superior to external differences of race, caste, creed and opinion and in the solidarity of the spirit that unity can be realised. The Idée Nouvelle has two rules only for its members, first, to devote some time every day to meditation and self-culture, the second, to use or create daily at least one opportunity of being helpful to others. This is, naturally, only the minimum of initial self-training necessary for those who have yet to cast the whole trend of their thought and feeling into the mould of a higher life and to enlarge the egoistic into a collective consciousness. The Society has its headquarters at Pondicherry with a reading room and library. A section has been founded at Karikal and others are likely to be opened at Yanaon and Mahé. * 1914, August 15 th : Inauguration of the Panama Canal without any big ceremony because a major war had been declared. On that day a pilot boat sails for the first time between the two oceans , September: Instead of marching straight to Paris, von Klück, commander of the west wing of German s army, turns east, thus allowing Joffre to launch a counter-offensive on the 5 th and to win the Bataille de la Marne on 9 th. Germany s offensive is stopped; Paris is saved and the monstrously bloody trench war is about to start. 1915, February 22 nd : Mother and Paul Richard leave Pondicherry after Paul received an order to return to France to serve in the War. They will return five years later, on 24 th April , June & July: Excerpt from a series of articles published by Sri Aurobindo at first in the Arya under the title The Psychology of Social Development and later in The Human Cycle : Arya, February 1917 issue, The Psychology of Social Development Chapter VII p. 425 The Human Cycle, Chapter VII, The Ideal Law of Social Development, (ed. 1997, p. 71) English As the free development of individuals from within is the best condition for the growth and perfection of the community, so the free development of the community or nation from within is the best condition for the growth and perfection of mankind. Thus the law for the individual is to perfect his individuality by free development from within, but to respect and to aid and be aided by the same free development in others. His law is to harmonise 6 On 15 th August 1869, excavators removed enough earth to allow water from the Red Sea and Mediterranean to mix and a boat to sail for the first time through the Suez Canal. This date was chosen by the French builders of the Canal to celebrate the centenary of Napoleon Bonaparte s birth. In 1798, while in Egypt leading a French army, General Bonaparte (who will later become First Consul and then Emperor Napoleon ) had had the intention of digging such a canal (which had existed at the time of the Pharaohs on a much smaller scale than that de Lesseps s men dug). After being widened and deepened, the Suez Canal was formally inaugurated on 17 th November History of Auroville Book 1 Page 12

13 his life with the life of the social aggregate and to pour himself out as a force for growth and perfection on humanity. The law for the community or nation is equally to perfect its corporate existence by a free development from within, aiding and taking full advantage of that of the individual, but to respect and to aid and be aided by the same free development of other communities and nations. Its law is to harmonise its life with that of the human aggregate and to pour itself out as a force for growth and perfection on humanity. The law for humanity is to pursue its upward evolution towards the finding and expression of the Divine in the type of mankind, taking full advantage of the free development and gains of all individuals and nations and groupings of men, to work towards the day when mankind may be really and not only ideally one divine family, but even then, when it has succeeded in unifying itself, to respect, aid and be aided by the free growth and activity of its individuals and constituent aggregates. Arya, June 1918 issue, The Psychology of Social Development Chapter XXIII p. 676 The Human Cycle, Chapter XXIII, Conditions for the Coming of a Spiritual Age, ed. 1997, p. 247 Therefore if the spiritual change of which we have been speaking is to be effected, it must unite two conditions which have to be simultaneously satisfied but are most difficult to bring together. There must be the individual and the individuals who are able to see, to develop, to re-create themselves in the image of the Spirit and to communicate both their idea and its power to the mass. And there must be at the same time a mass, a society, a communal mind or at the least the constituents of a group-body, the possibility of a group-soul which is capable of receiving and effectively assimilating, ready to follow and effectively arrive, not compelled by its own inherent deficiencies, its defect of preparation to stop on the way or fall back before the decisive change is made. Such a simultaneity has never yet happened, although the appearance of it has sometimes been created by the ardour of a moment. That the combination must happen some day is a certainty, but none can tell how many attempts will have to be made and how many sediments of spiritual experience will have to be accumulated in the subconscient mentality of the communal human being before the soil is ready... 7 Arya, June 1918 issue, The Psychology of Social Development Chapter XXIII p. 685 The Human Cycle, Chapter XXIII, Conditions for the Coming of a Spiritual Age, p. 257 [A spiritualised society] would treat in its sociology the individual, from the saint to the criminal, not as units of a social problem to be passed through some skilfully devised machinery and either flattened into the social mould or crushed out of it, but as souls suffering and entangled in a net and to be rescued, souls growing and to be encouraged to grow, souls grown and from whom help and power can be drawn by the lesser spirits who are not yet adult. The aim of its economics would be not to create a huge engine of production, whether of the competitive or the cooperative kind, but to give to men not only to some but to all men each in his highest possible measure the joy of work according to their own nature and free leisure to grow inwardly, as well as a simply rich and beautiful life for all. Arya, July 1918 issue, The Psychology of Social Development Chapter XXIV p. 737 The Human Cycle, Chapter XXIV, The Advent and Progress of a Spiritual Age, p. 263, Gazette 2, 1 The coming of a spiritual age must be preceded by the appearance of an increasing number of individuals who are no longer satisfied with the normal intellectual, vital and physical existence of man, but perceive that a greater evolution is the real goal of humanity and attempt to effect it in themselves, to lead others to it and to make it the recognised goal of the race. In proportion as they 7 On , Udar read this paragraph to Mother and asked Her if the time has come and if the conditions of which Sri Aurobindo writes, and of which a simultaneity has never happened, will now happen. The first condition has been fulfilled regarding the individual and the individuals in the case of Sri Aurobindo and Mother. But what about the second condition, that of a mass, society, communal mind or group-body, group-soul capable of receiving and assimilating? Mother replied: This is exactly what Auroville is for; but Auroville is still far from fulfilling the necessary conditions. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 13

14 succeed and to the degree to which they carry this evolution, the yet unrealised potentiality which they represent will become an actual possibility of the future. Arya, July 1918 issue, The Psychology of Social Development Chapter XXIV p. 739 The Human Cycle, Chapter XXIV, The Advent and Progress of a Spiritual Age, p Therefore the individuals who will most help the future of humanity in the new age will be those who will recognise a spiritual evolution as the destiny and therefore the great need of the human being. Even as the animal man has been largely converted into a mentalised and at the top a highly mentalised humanity, so too now or in the future an evolution or conversion it does not greatly matter which figure we use or what theory we adopt to support it of the present type of humanity into a spiritualised humanity is the need of the race and surely the intention of Nature; that evolution or conversion will be their ideal and endeavour. They will be comparatively indifferent to particular belief and form and leave men to resort to the beliefs and forms to which they are naturally drawn. They will only hold as essential the faith in this spiritual conversion, the attempt to live it out and whatever knowledge the form of opinion into which it is thrown does not so much matter can be converted into this living. They will especially not make the mistake of thinking that this change can be effected by machinery and outward institutions; they will know and never forget that it has to be lived out by each man inwardly or it can never be made a reality for the kind. They will adopt in its heart of meaning the inward view of the East which bids man seek the secret of his destiny and salvation within; but also they will accept, though with a different turn given to it, the importance which the West rightly attaches to life and to the making the best we know and can attain the general rule of all life... [...] Failures must be originally numerous in everything great and difficult, but the time comes when the experience of past failures can be profitably used and the gate that so long resisted opens. In this as in all great human aspirations and endeavours, an a priori declaration of impossibility is a sign of ignorance and weakness, and the motto of the aspirant s endeavour must be the solvitur ambulando of the discoverer. For by the doing the difficulty will be solved. A true beginning has to be made; the rest is a work for Time in its sudden achievements or its long patient labour. The thing to be done is as large as human life, and therefore the individuals who lead the way will take all human life for their province. These pioneers will consider nothing as alien to them, nothing as outside their scope. For every part of human life has to be taken up by the spiritual, not only the intellectual, the aesthetic, the ethical, but the dynamic, the vital, the physical; therefore for none of these things or the activities that spring from them will they have contempt or aversion, however they may insist on a change of the spirit and a transmutation of the form. In each power of our nature they will seek for its own proper means of conversion; knowing that the Divine is concealed in all, they will hold that all can be made the spirit s means of self-finding and all can be converted into its instruments of divine living , August: Excerpt from Sri Aurobindo s The Renaissance of India : Arya, August 1918 issue, p Later, published separately under the title The Renaissance of India, p English The national mind turned a new eye on its past culture, reawaken to its sense and import, but also, at the same time, saw it in relation to modern knowledge and ideas. Out of this awakening vision and impulse the Indian renaissance is arising, and that must determine its future tendency. The recovery of the old spiritual knowledge and experience in all its splendour, depth and fullness is its first, most essential work; the flowing of this spirituality into new forms of philosophy, literature, art, science and critical knowledge is the second; an original dealing with modern problems in the light of Indian spirit and the endeavour to formulate a greater synthesis of a spiritualised society is the third and most difficult. Its success on these three lines will be the measure of its help to the future of humanity. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 14

15 1918: Essay written by Sri Aurobindo: First published under the title Samaj-Katha (On Society) in Prabartak in Booklet & article published under the title The Chariot of Jagannatha by Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Bengali, translated by Arabinda Basu On Society An ideal Society is a vehicle of the Divine, the Divine as the inner Soul of collective humanity. It is the Chariot of Jagannatha, the Lord of the World, and its four wheels are unity, freedom, knowledge and power. A society constructed by the mind or created by the impure vital agitations of Prakriti belongs to another order. It is not the chariot of God, the leader of the community but the vehicle of that other many-faced god, the collective ego, which by concealing the free inner Guide distorts the divine inspiration. Pulled by the imperfect and immature intelligence and the old or new uncontrolled impulses of the lower Prakriti, it moves along the path of varied small satisfactions and activities devoid of any aim. As long as the ego is the agent it is not possible to know the true goal, even when it is known, it is beyond one s capacity to drive the chariot straight towards it. It is this ego which is the main barrier against divine perfection; this is as true of the collectivity as of the individual. We may observe three principal kinds of human society. The first is the creation of expert craftsmen, beautiful, bright, clean and comfortable. Strong and well-trained horses pull it carefully, not too slowly but without any haste on a well-laid track. The owner and passenger is the sattvic ego. The chariot goes round and round the elevated plateau on which God s temple stands but it keeps itself at a distance and cannot reach that high ground. To ascend there one has to get off the chariot and go up alone and on foot. The society of the ancient Aryans after the Vedic age may be described as such a chariot. The second type of society is an automobile of the indulgent and efficient individual. It tears along at great speed in a cloud of dust, damaging the royal road, making a great noise and in uncontrolled haste. The sound of its horn is deafening and it runs over anyone who happens to be in its way. The passenger s life is in danger, accidents are not rare, the car breaks down and after painful tinkerings, it resumes the same arrogant journey. There is no fixed goal. Its owner, the rajasic ego, drives in the direction of whatever new scene comes within sight, shouting This is the goal, that is the destination. To ride in this vehicle brings its own pleasure and also inevitable danger. But to reach by this means been anywhere near God is impossible. Modern Western society is such an automobile. The third kind of society is a dirty, old half-broken cart, its speed that of a tortoise. Drawn by skinny bulls starved and half-dead, it drags along on the narrow village path. Seated inside is a dirtily dressed inert, blind old man with a big paunch as his only asset. Listening to the harsh, monotonous screeching of the cart, he puffs happily at his mud-stained hubble-bubble, lost in broken and distorted memories of the past. The name of this owner is the tamasic ego. The driver is Book-learning who consults the almanac to decide upon the time and direction of the journey and keeps on saying, What is or was is good, whatever tries to be is bad. Travelling by this cart one may well reach the void Brahman without delay but not the Divine. The bullock-cart of the tamasic ego is safe as long as it is on the muddy village-road. But the heart trembles to think of its fate when it comes out on the main thoroughfares of the world where hundreds of speed-mad motor cars are rushing along. The difficulty is that it is not within the knowledge and power of the tamasic ego to acknowledge or recognise the time when it should change its vehicle. Nor has it any inclination to do so, for if it does that, its business ownership would come to an end. When the problem does arise, some among the passengers say, No, let it be, this is indeed good, for it is our own. These are the conservative and sentimentalists patriots. Other say, Just make a few repairs here and there" as if by this simple device the bullock-cart could easily be transformed into a perfect and priceless motor car. These go by the name of reformers. Still others pine and say, Let the beautiful ancient chariot come back. They even try History of Auroville Book 1 Page 15

16 from time to time ways of achieving this impossible feat. There is however no sign anywhere of these hopes being fulfilled. Foregoing all other endeavours, if a choice must be made only among these three, the reasonable course would be to make a chariot like that of the sattvic ego. But until Jaganattha's Chariot is built, the ideal community will not be created. That is the ideal, the best manifestation and image of the deepest and highest truth. Mankind tries to build it under the inspiration of the secret cosmic Person. But due to ignorance in its nature, it only succeeds in creating a different likeness either malformed, unfinished and ugly or passably half-beautiful or incomplete despite its beauty: a dwarf instead of Shiva, or a Rakshasa, else a half-deity of the intermediate regions. No one knows the true form or model of the Chariot of Jagannatha, no artist of life, jivan-silpi is able to paint it. That archetypal image resides in the heart of the cosmic Person but is concealed by many veils. To manifest it gradually through the efforts of many Vibhutis of God, seers and heroes of action, and to embody it in the physical world is the purpose of the indwelling Deity. The true name of this Chariot of Jagannatha is not society but commune. It is not a many-faced, loose-knit human collectivity or crowd but a free indestructible union, a divine commune evolved in joy by the power of the harmonising knowledge of self and God. The association which is the means of many people working together is known as society, samaja. This meaning is clear from the derivation of the word. The prefix sam denotes together, the root aj signifies going, moving, war. Thousands of people band together for the sake of work and fulfilment of desire, they work in the same field but reach out for different goals; there is struggle and competition among themselves as well as with other societies as to who should go first and achieve eminence; within this turmoil they establish various relationships, formulate many ideas for the sake of some discipline, mutual help and the satisfaction of varied ambitions. The result is something incomplete, impermanent and accomplished with great difficulty this is the picture of a society of the ordinary world, based upon the lower Nature. The natural society is based upon division. On that separative basis, a fragmented, temporary and incomplete unity is constructed. The form of the ideal society is exactly the opposite. Unity is its foundation; there is a play of diversity, not of separativeness, for the sake of the variety of Ananda. In society there is only a semblance of unity which is physical, mind-constructed and based on work; the unity inherent in the Soul is the very life of the commune. There have been many partial and unsuccessful attempts to found communes on narrow foundations, either under the inspiration of rational thoughts as in the West, or for the unhindered and free practising of cessation of work for the sake of Nirvana as that of the Buddhist, or under the impact of Godward emotion like the first Christian communes. But within a short time all the defects and deficiencies and impulses of a natural society enter the commune and reduce it to its own level. The ideas of restless reason do not endure but are carried off in the flood of new or old vital impulses. Success in such an endeavour under the stress of emotion is impossible; emotion exhausts itself by its own momentum. It is better to seek Nirvana, alone, for to create a commune out of love for Nirvana is a contradiction. A commune is in its very nature a field for the play of action, of relationships. A day will come, when inspired by the Will of the World-Spirit, soul-unity will be manifest as the result of the synthesis and unification of knowledge, emotion and work; then will the Chariot of Jagannatha come out on the thoroughfares of the world. Then shall its light spread in all directions. The age of Truth will descend on the earth, the world of mortal man become the playground of the Deity, the temple-city of God, the abode of spiritual delight. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 16

17 1918, November 11 th : The First World War ends with an armistice on that day and the defeat of the three central Empires (German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman). It will be followed by the dismembering of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires decided at the Treaty of Paris and other treaties. The American president, Woodrow Wilson 8, will launch the League of Nations 9 but falling soon very hill, he will be unable to convince his country to become one of its members. 1918, December 17 th : Mrinalini Devi, Sri Aurobindo s wife passes away at Calcutta, after a week s illness, victim of a scourge of influenza. She was 32 and they had been married for almost 18 years but had lived less than 8 years together. A few days earlier, she had received from Sri Aurobindo the following message: Mrinalini Devi by Nirodbaran, p. 20 My sadhana is over. I have achieved my objects, siddhi. I have a lot of work to do for the world. You can come now and be my companion in this work. This was not to be. Fate decided that His companion in this work would be Mother. 1920, April 7 th : Letter from Sri Aurobindo to His younger brother Barin: SBCL, IV p.327, Champaklal s Treasures, p , MA, III, p Bengali Dear Barin, I have your letter, but have not succeeded in writing an answer till now. That I have even sat down to write now is a miracle; for me to write a letter is an event that takes place once in a blue moon especially to write in Bengali, a thing I have not done for five or six years. If I can manage to finish this letter and put it in the post, the miracle will be complete! First, about your yoga. You wish to give me the charge of your yoga and I am willing to take it, but that means to give its charge to Him who is moving by His divine Shakti [Energy], whether secretly or openly, both you and me. But you must know that the necessary result of this will be that you will have to walk in the special path which He has given to me, the path which I call the path of the Integral Yoga. What I began with, what Lele 10 gave me, was a seeking for the path, a circling in many directions a first touch, a taking up, a handling and scrutiny of this or that in all the old partial yogas, some sort of complete experience of one and then the pursuit of another. Afterwards, when I came to Pondicherry, this unsteady condition came to an end. The Guru of the world who is within us then gave me complete directions for my path its complete theory, the ten limbs of the body of this Yoga. These past ten years He has been making me develop it in experience, and this is not yet finished. It may take another two years, and as long as it is not finished I doubt if I shall be able to return to Bengal. Pondicherry is the appointed place for my yoga siddhi [realisation], except indeed one part of it, and that is action. The centre of my work is Bengal, although I hope that its circumference will be all India and the whole earth. I shall write and tell you afterwards what this way of yoga is. Or if you come here I shall speak to you about it. In this matter the spoken word is better than the written. At present I can only say that its root-principle is to make a harmony and unity of complete knowledge, complete works and complete Bhakti [Devotion], to raise all this above the mind and give it its complete perfection on the supramental level of Vijnana [Gnosis]. This was the defect of the old yoga the mind and the Spirit it knew, and it was satisfied with the experience of the Spirit in the mind. But the mind can grasp only the divided and partial; it cannot wholly seize the infinite and indivisible. The mind's means to reach the infinite are Sannyasa [Renunciation], Moksha [Liberation] and Nirvana, and it has no others. One man or another may indeed attain this featureless Moksha, but what is the gain? 8 His daughter, Margaret, will later join the Ashram and will be given the name Nishta by Sri Aurobindo. 9 After WW II it will become the United Nations Organisation and will be given a different Charter and structure. 10 Lele, a tantric guru whom Sri Aurobindo met in 1908, who gave him the mental silence and nirvana. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 17

18 The Brahman, the Self, God are ever present. What God wants in man is to embody Himself here in the individual and in the community, to realise God in life. The old way of yoga failed to bring about the harmony or unity of Spirit and life: it instead dismissed the world as Maya [Illusion] or a transient Play. The result has been loss of life-power and the degeneration of India. As was said in the Gita, These peoples would perish if I did not do works these peoples of India have truly gone down to ruin. A few sannyasins and bairagis [renunciants] to be saintly and perfect and liberated, a few bhaktas [lovers of God] to dance in a mad ecstasy of love and sweet emotion and Ananda [Bliss], and a whole race to become lifeless, void of intelligence, sunk in deep tamas [inertia] is this the effect of true spirituality? No, we must first attain all the partial experiences possible on the mental level and flood the mind with spiritual delight and illumine it with spiritual light, but afterwards we must rise above. If we cannot rise above, to the supramental level, that is, it is hardly possible to know the world s final secret and the problem it raises remains unsolved. There, the ignorance which creates a duality of opposition between the Spirit and Matter, between truth of spirit and truth of life, disappears. There one need no longer call the world Maya. The world is the eternal Play of God, the eternal manifestation of the Self. Then it becomes possible to fully know and fully realise God to do what is said in the Gita, To know Me integrally. The physical body, the life, the mind and understanding, the supermind and the Ananda these are the spirit's five levels. The higher man rises on this ascent the nearer he comes to the state of that highest perfection open to his spiritual evolution. Rising to the Supermind, it becomes easy to rise to the Ananda. One attains a firm foundation in the condition of the indivisible and infinite Ananda, not only in the timeless Parabrahman [Absolute] but in the body, in life, in the world. The integral being, the integral consciousness, the integral Ananda blossoms out and takes form in life. This is the central clue of my yoga, its fundamental principle. This is no easy change to make. After these fifteen years I am only now rising into the lowest of the three levels of the Supermind and trying to draw up into it all the lower activities. But when this siddhi will be complete, then I am absolutely certain that through me God will give to others the siddhi of the Supermind with less effort. Then my real work will begin. I am not impatient for success in the work. What is to happen will happen in God s appointed time. I have no hasty or disorderly impulse to rush into the field of work in the strength of the little ego. Even if I did not succeed in my work I would not be shaken. This work is not mine but God s. I will listen to no other call; when God moves me then I will move. I know very well that Bengal is not really ready. The spiritual flood which has come is for the most part a new form of the old. It is not the real transformation. However this too was needed. Bengal has been awakening in itself the old yogas and exhausting their samskaras [old habitual tendencies], extracting their essence and with it fertilising the soil. At first it was the time of Vedanta Adwaita, Sannyasa, Shankara's Maya and the rest. It is now the turn of Vaishnava Dharma Lila, love, the intoxication of emotional experience. All this is very old, unfitted for the new age and will not endure for such excitement has no capacity to last. But the merit of the Vaishnava Bhava [emotional enthusiasm] is that it keeps a connection between God and the world and gives a meaning to life; but since it is a partial bhava the whole connexion, the full meaning is not there. The tendency to create sects which you have noticed was inevitable. The nature of the mind is to take a part and call it the whole and exclude all other parts. The Siddha [illuminated being] who brings the bhava, although he leans on its partial aspect, yet keeps some knowledge of the integral whole, even though he may not be able to give it form. But his disciples do not get that knowledge precisely because it is not in a form. They are tying up their little bundles, let them. The bundles will open of themselves when God manifests himself fully. These things are the signs of incompleteness and immaturity. I am not disturbed by them. Let the force of spirituality play in the country in whatever way and in as many sects as may be. Afterwards we shall see. This is the infancy or the embryonic condition of the new age. It is a first hint, not even the beginning. The peculiarity of this yoga is that until there is siddhi above the foundation does not become History of Auroville Book 1 Page 18

19 perfect. Those who have been following my course had kept many of the old samskaras; some of them have dropped away, but others still remain. There was the samskara of Sannyasa, even the wish to create an Aravinda Math [Sri Aurobindo monastery]. Now the intellect has recognised that Sannyasa is not what is wanted, but the stamp of the old idea has not yet been effaced from the prana [breath, life energy]. And so there was next this talk of remaining in the midst of the world, as a man of worldly activities and yet a man of renunciation. The necessity of renouncing desire has been understood, but the harmony of renunciation of desire with enjoyment of Ananda has not been rightly seized by the mind. And they took up my Yoga because it was very natural to the Bengali temperament, not so much from the side of Knowledge as from the side of Bhakti and Karma [Works]. A little knowledge has come in, but the greater part has escaped; the mist of sentimentalism has not been dissipated, the groove of the sattwic bhava [religious fervor] has not been broken. There is still the ego. I am not in haste, I allow each to develop according to his nature. I do not want to fashion all in the same mould. That which is fundamental will indeed be one in all, but it will express itself in many forms. Everybody grows, forms from within. I do not want to build from outside. The basis is there, the rest will come. What I am aiming at is not a society like the present rooted in division. What I have in view is a Sangha [community] founded in the spirit and in the image of its oneness. It is with this idea that the name Deva Sangha has been given the commune of those who want the divine life is the Deva Sangha. Such a Sangha will have to be established in one place at first and then spread all over the country. But if any shadow of egoism falls over this endeavour, then the Sangha will change into a sect. The idea may very naturally creep in that such and such a body is the one true Sangha of the future, the one and only centre, that all else must be its circumference, and that those outside its limits are not of the fold or even if they are, have gone astray, because they think differently. You may say, what need is there of a Sangha? Let me be free and live in every vessel; let all become one without form and let whatever must be happen in the midst of that vast formlessness. There is a truth there, but only one side of the truth. Our business is not with the formless Spirit alone; we have also to direct the movement of life. And there can be no effective movement of life without form. It is the Formless that has taken form and that assumption of name and form is not a caprice of Maya. Form is there because it is indispensable. We do not want to rule out any activity of the world as beyond our province. Politics, industry, society, poetry, literature, art will all remain, but we must give them a new soul and a new form. Why have I left politics? Because the politics of the country is not a genuine thing belonging to India. It is an importation from Europe and an imitation. At one time there was a need of it. We also have done politics of the European kind. If we had not done it, the country would not have risen and we too would not have gained experience and attained full development. There is still some need of it, not so much in Bengal as in the other provinces of India. But the time has come to stop the shadow from extending and to seize on the reality. We must get to the true soul of India and in its image fashion all works. People now talk of spiritualising politics. Its result will be, if there be any permanent result, some kind of Indianised Bolshevism. Even to that kind of work I have no objection. Let each man do according to his inspiration. But that is not the real thing. If one pours the spiritual power into all these impure forms the water of the Causal ocean into raw vessels either the raw vessels will break and the water will be spilt and lost or the spiritual power will evaporate and only the impure form remain. In all fields it is the same. I can give the spiritual power but that power will be expended in making the image of an ape and setting it up in the temple of Shiva. If the ape is endowed with life and made powerful, he may play the part of the devotee Hanuman and do much work for Rama, 11 so long as that life and that power remain. But what we want in the Temple of India is not Hanuman, but the god, the avatar, Rama himself. We can mix with all, but in order to draw all into the true path keeping intact the spirit and form of 11 Rama, the divine avatar who killed the demon Ravana with the help of Hanuman and the other monkeys. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 19

20 our ideal. If we do not do that we shall lose our direction and the real work will not be done. If we remain individually everywhere, something will be done indeed; but if we remain everywhere as parts of a Sangha, a hundred times more will be done. As yet that time has not come. If we try to give a form hastily, it may not be the exact thing we want. The Sangha will at first be in unconcentrated form. Those who have the ideal will be united but work in different places. Afterwards, they will form something like a spiritual commune and make a compact Sangha. They will then give all their work a shape according to the demand of the spirit and the need of the age not a bound and rigid form, not an achalayatana 12, but a free form which will spread out like the sea, mould itself into many waves and surround a thing here, overflood a thing there and finally take all into itself. As we go on doing this there will be established a spiritual community. This is my present idea. As yet it has not been fully developed. All is in God s hands; whatever He makes us do, that we shall do. Now let me discuss some particular points of your letter. I do not want to say much in this letter about what you have written as regards your yoga. We shall have better occasion when we meet. To look upon the body as a corpse is a sign of Sannyasa, of the path of Nirvana. You cannot be of the world with this idea. You must have delight in all things in the Spirit as well as in the body. The body has consciousness, it is God s form. When you see God in everything that is in the world, when you have this vision that all this is Brahman, Sarvamidam Brahma, that Vasudeva is all this Vasudevah sarvamiti then you have the universal delight. The flow of that delight precipitates and courses even through the body. When you are in such a state, full of the spiritual consciousness, you can lead a married life, a life in the world. In all your works you find the expression of God s delight. So far I have been transforming all the objects and perceptions of the mind and the senses into delight on the mental level. Now they are taking the form of the supramental delight. In this condition is the perfect vision and perception of Sachchidananda. You write about the Deva Sangha and say, I am not a god, I am only a piece of much hammered and tempered iron. No one is a God but in each man there is a God and to make Him manifest is the aim of divine life. That we can all do. I recognise that there are great and small adharas [vessels]. I do not accept, however, your description of yourself as accurate. Still whatever the nature of the vessel, once the touch of God is upon it, once the spirit is awake, great and small and all that does not make much difference. There may be more difficulties, more time may be taken, there may be a difference in the manifestation, but even about that there is no certainty. The God within takes no account of these hindrances and deficiencies. He breaks his way out. Was the amount of my failings a small one? Were there less obstacles in my mind and heart and vital being and body? Did it not take time? Has God hammered me less? Day after day, minute after minute, I have been fashioned into I know not whether a god or what. But I have become or am becoming something. That is sufficient, since God wanted to build it. It is the same as regards everyone. Not our strength but the Shakti of God is the sadhaka [worker] of this yoga. Let me tell you in brief one or two things about what I have long seen. My idea is that the chief cause of the weakness of India is not subjection nor poverty, nor the lack of spirituality or dharma [ethics] but the decline of thought-power, the growth of ignorance in Motherland of Knowledge. Everywhere I see inability or unwillingness to think thought-incapacity or thought-phobia. Whatever may have been in the middle ages, this state of things is now the sign of a terrible degeneration. The middle age was the night, the time of the victory of ignorance. The modern world is the age of the victory of Knowledge. Whoever thinks most, seeks most, labors most, can fathom and learn the truth of the world, and gets so much more Shakti. If you look at Europe, you will see two things: a vast sea of thought and the play of a huge and fast-moving and yet disciplined force. The whole Shakti of Europe is in that. And in the strength of that Shakti it has been swallowing up the world, like the tapaswins [ascetics] of our ancient times, by whose power even the gods of the world were terrified, held in suspense and subjection. People say Europe is running into the jaws of destruction. I do not think so. All these revolutions and upsettings are the 12 A prison; a place where everything is regimented down to the last detail. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 20

21 preconditions of a new creation. Then look at India. Except for some solitary giants, everywhere there is your simple man, that is, the average man who does not want to think and cannot think, who has not the least Shakti but only a temporary excitement. In India, you want the simple thought, the easy word. In Europe they want the deep thought, the deep word ; there even an ordinary laborer or artisan thinks, wants to know, is not satisfied with surface things but wants to go behind. But there is still this difference: there is a fatal limitation in the strength and thought of Europe. When it comes into the spiritual field, its thought-power can no longer move ahead. There Europe sees everything as riddle nebulous metaphysics, yogic hallucination. They rub their eyes as in smoke and can see nothing clear. Still, some effort is being made in Europe to surmount even this limitation. We already have the spiritual sense we owe it to our forefathers and whoever has that sense has at his disposal such Knowledge and Shakti as with one breath might blow away all the huge power of Europe like a blade of grass. But to get that Shakti one must be a worshiper of Shakti. We are not worshipers of Shakti. We are worshipers of the easy way. But Shakti is not to be had by the easy way. Our forefathers dived into a sea of vast thought and gained a vast Knowledge and established a mighty civilisation. As they went on in their way, fatigue and weariness came upon them. The force of thought diminished and with it also the strong current of Shakti. Our civilisation has become an achalayatana [prison], our religion a bigotry of externals, our spirituality a faint glimmer of light or a momentary wave of religious intoxication. And so long as this sort of thing continues, any permanent resurgence of India is improbable. In Bengal this weakness has gone to the extreme. The Bengali has a quick intelligence, emotional capacity and intuition. He is foremost in India in all these qualities. All of them are necessary but they do not suffice. If to these there were added depth of thought, calm strength, heroic courage and a capacity for and pleasure in prolonged labor, the Bengali might be a leader not only of India, but of mankind. But he does not want that, he wants to get things done easily, to get knowledge without thinking, the fruits without labor, siddhi by an easy sadhana [discipline]. His stock is the excitement of the emotional mind. But excess of emotion, empty of knowledge, is the very symptom of the malady. In the end it brings about fatigue and inertia. The country has been constantly and gradually going down. The life-power has ebbed away. What has the Bengali come to in his own country? He cannot get enough food to eat or clothes to wear, there is lamentation on all sides, his wealth, his trade and commerce, his lands, his very agriculture have begun to pass into the hands of others. We have abandoned the sadhana of Shakti and Shakti has abandoned us. We do the sadhana of Love, but where Knowledge and Shakti are not, there Love does not remain, there narrowness and littleness come, and in a little and narrow mind there is no place for Love. Where is Love in Bengal? There is more quarrelling, jealousy, mutual dislike, misunderstanding and faction there than anywhere else even in India which is so much afflicted by division. In the noble heroic age of the Aryan people 13 there was not so much shouting and gesticulating, but the endeavour they undertook remained steadfast through many centuries. The Bengali s endeavor lasts only for a day or two. You say that what is needed is maddening enthusiasm, to fill the country with emotional excitement. In the time of the Swadeshi [fight for independence, boycott of English goods] we did all that in the field of politics, but what we did is all now in the dust. Will there be a more favourable result in the spiritual field? I do not say there has been no result. There has been. Any movement will produce some result, but for the most part in terms of an increase of possibility. This is not the right method, however, to steadily actualise the thing. Therefore I no longer wish to make emotional excitement or any intoxication of the mind the base. I wish to make a large and strong equanimity the foundation of the yoga. I want established on that equality a full, firm and undisturbed Shakti in the system and in all its movements. I want the wide display of the light of Knowledge in the ocean of Shakti. And I want in that luminous vastness the tranquil ecstasy of 13 In Vedic times. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 21

22 infinite Love, Delight and Oneness. I do not want hundreds of thousands of disciples. It will be enough if I can get a hundred complete men, purified of petty egoism, who will be the instruments of God. I have no faith in the customary trade of the guru. I do not wish to be a guru. If anybody wakes and manifests from within his slumbering godhead and gets the divine life be it at my touch or at another s this is what I want. It is such men that will raise the country. You must not think from all this lecture that I despair of the future of Bengal. I too hope, as they say, that this time a great light will manifest itself in Bengal. Still I have tried to show the other side of the shield, where the fault is, the error, the deficiency. If these remain, the light will not be a great light and it will not be permanent. The meaning of this extraordinarily long talk is that I too am packing my bag. But I believe that this bundle is like the net of St. Peter, only crammed with the catch of the Infinite. I am not going to open the bag now. If I do that before its time, all would escape. Neither am I going back to Bengal now, not because Bengal is not ready, but because I am not ready. If the unripe goes amidst the unripe what work can he do? Your Sejda 14, Sri Aurobindo Less than 3 weeks after Sri Aurobindo had written these lines, Mother will come back for good, launching them both, their disciples and humanity in a completely new adventure. 1920, April 24 th : Mother s final return to Pondicherry. This event again marked the beginning of a new chapter in Their lives. Years later, She will say about this day: Felicity Eternal, p. 18 The anniversary of my return to Pondicherry, which was the tangible sign of the sure victory over the adverse forces. 1920, November or December: Excerpt from a conversation between Sri Aurobindo and A.B. Purani on the Sangha: Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo, p.23 English Purani: What would be the nature of the spiritual commune? It would be composed of those who intend to do sadhana. Purani: Would it be established on economics as the central basis? No, it would not be based merely on economics. Purani: Who would be admitted into the commune and what would be the method of selection? Those who have taken to sadhana; they are already united though unconsciously. Purani: Would it be necessary for members to have some intellectual work in the commune? There must be three or four hours intellectual work every day. The members must be able to follow what the Yoga is and its process. Purani: What would be the place of personal demand in such a commune? Personal demand must not remain; everything would be intended for all. But before one joins it one must make sure of his spiritual aspiration. Purani: Will the collective organisation be economically self-sufficient? NO. It will have to produce more things because all its needs cannot be supplied by itself. It will have, therefore, to keep connection with the capitalist world. Agriculture is the mainstay. The community must try to stand on its own feet with regard to food. 14 Sejda = elder brother History of Auroville Book 1 Page 22

23 1921, May 12 th : Excerpt from a letter from Sri Aurobindo to Durgadas Shett: Sri Aurobindo, Autobiographical Notes, p. 408 English The Sangha of our Yoga must be of men who give up the lower consciousness and the lower nature in order to assume the higher and divine. The formation of a commune for the sake of a particular work is not at all the true ideal. It is only as we all grow into the Divine that the true Sangha can be created. 1922, November 18 th : Excerpt from a letter from Sri Aurobindo to his brother Barin: Sri Aurobindo, Autobiographical Notes, p English It is a yoga in which vast untried tracts of inner experience and new paths of sadhana had to be opened up and which therefore needed retirement and long time for its completion. But the time is approaching, though it has not yet come, when I shall have to take up a large external work proceeding from the spiritual basis of this yoga. It is therefore necessary to establish a number of centres, small and few at first but enlarging and increasing in number as I go on, for training in this sadhana, one under my direct supervision, others in immediate connection with me. Those trained there will be hereafter my assistants in the work I shall have to do, but for the present these centres will be not for external work but for spiritual training and tapasya. The first, which will be transferred to British India when I go there, already exists at Pondicherry, but I need funds both to maintain and to enlarge it. The second I am founding through you in Bengal. I hope to establish another in Guzerat during the ensuing year. 1926, May 18 th : Excerpt from a conversation between Sri Aurobindo and a disciple: Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo, p English The one thing that Sadhana has done for me is that it has destroyed all isms from my mind. If you had asked this question a few years back I would have told you it is spiritual communism or, perhaps, commerce, culture and commune as the Chandernagore people say. At that time it was my mind that received the knowledge from Above and thought that the higher Truth would take a particular form the one that I suggested to Motilal Roy. Even at that time I was not quite sure that it was the form, only I thought it was the proper form and I took it up as an experiment. But now if you ask me I would say Wait and let us have the Truth down here. Then it will not be the mind that will give form, the Supermind itself will create its own forms. It may be fluid and plastic and can be infinitely complex in its working out. What we are doing at present is to make ourselves fit instruments for the higher Truth, so that when it comes down there will be the proper instrumentation for its working. We won t reject life; we have to bring a new consciousness into the external work. Supposing I am preparing fish for the cats. That is not my Supramental work. But as it happens to be there I do it, so as to be able to do anything that is needed in the proper way, without mistake. 1926, August 21 st : Excerpt from a conversation between Sri Aurobindo and a disciple: Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo, p English Purani: Is there any truth in the idea that every great Vibhuti who brings anything new into the manifestation builds, first of all, what is called a Yogapitha a seat for yoga? Each man who goes by his path reaches that yogapitha and each Sadhaka has its place there. When once such a Pitha pedestal is made then anyone who comes afterwards finds it very easy to reach it because there is a passage already made. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 23

24 I can tell you, I am building nothing over there. I do not know what is to come 15. If there is anything in the Supramental I don't know it. You are not always allowed to know it. It is a plane where you find what is there is no necessity to build or construct anything there. I know some people make such constructions as the Yogapitha and so on. One can always find these things, because many things from the mental plane are always trying to realise themselves here. These constructions are generally on the mental plane and they may even have some truth behind them not in the forms and constructions themselves. But even where there is some truth behind them it gets mixed up with many other things which sometimes falsifies the truth behind it. Purani: Perhaps all sorts of vital forces come and take advantage of it. Yes, it is for this reason that I am not for rushing to work at once. Such a thing would not be the expression of the Truth. We have to wait till the Truth through us finds its own expression. I myself got the idea of the Supramental after ten years of Sadhana. The Supramental does not come in the beginning but at the end. It is a progressive Truth. Purani: Do you remember a vision Vibhuti Babu once had? No. Purani: He saw a yogapuri a city of yoga in which there were different circles of Sadhaks round a Guru in the centre of each group. Vibhuti wanted to join the circle but he was not allowed because he had not the pass-word. There were watchmen also. It looks more of the vital plane than anything else. There are people who get symbolic vision and when they see the work not accomplished they generally see it as an unfinished building, or a building where workmen are still working. That is only a symbolic way of representing the yoga and its condition and even at that it is not exact but gives only a general idea. Do you refer to Chandernagore when you speak about the vital forces? Purani: Yes At the time I had some construction in my mind. Of course, there was something behind it which I knew to be true. Even then I was not sure that it would work out successfully. Anyway, I wanted to give it a trial and gave that idea to Motilal. Then he took up the idea and, as you know, he took it up with all his vital being and in an egoistic way. So the vital forces found their chance. They tried to take possession of the work and of the workers. It is after several such lessons that I had to give up of rushing into work. This yoga is not a cut-out system. It is a growth by experience. Purani: Did you ever put your power against it? No, I did nothing of the kind. The only thing I did was to put the force so that those who were worth anything should be drawn out of it. I have forgotten all about it. In fact, I have long ago put away Chandernagore from my atmosphere. There was nothing of the Supramental there. 1926, November 24 th : Sri Aurobindo s Siddhi Day The Day of Victory : Sri Aurobindo and Mother have the decisive realisation of the descent of a higher state of consciousness the delight consciousness of the Overmind into the physical. Sri Aurobindo retires in His apartment for good and hands the material and spiritual charge of His disciples to Mother. 15 Three months later, on November 24 th, a major spiritual event will change that. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 24

25 II Pioneering work at the Ashram History of Auroville Book 1 Page 25

26 1926, November 24 th : Sri Aurobindo s Siddhi Day The Day of Victory : Sri Aurobindo has the decisive realisation of what He termed: the descent of Krishna into the physical in his own body. * Foundation of the Ashram: From the outset, in November 1926, Sri Aurobindo entrusts the full material and spiritual charge of His Ashram to Mother. He will write: The Aims and Ideals of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, p.6 My aim is to create a centre of spiritual life which shall serve as the means of bringing down the higher consciousness and making it a power not merely for salvation but for a divine life upon earth. It is with this object that I have withdrawn from political life and founded this Ashram in Pondicherry (so called for lack of a better world, for it is not an Ashram for sanyasins, but of those who want to leave all else and prepare for this rule). (2.1930) CWM, XIII, p And excerpt from Sri Aurobindo and his Ashram, page 36. Mother, Her Miraculous Touch, Vol 1, p.91 This Ashram has been created with another object than the ordinarily common to such institutions, not for renunciation of the world but as a centre and a field of practice for the evolution of another kind and form of life which would in the final end be moved by a higher spiritual consciousness and embody a greater life of the spirit. Sri Aurobindo will write (at the third person): Sri Aurobindo, Autobiographical Notes, p There was no Ashram at first, only a few people came to live near and practice Yoga. It was only some time after Mother came from Japan that it took the form of the Ashram, more from the wish of the sadhaks who desired to entrust their whole inner and outer life to Mother than from any intention or plans of hers or of Sri Aurobindo. In 1967, Mother will write: CWM, Vol. XVI, p. 361 The Ashram was born a few years after my return from Japan, in : Publication of Sri Aurobindo s The Mother 1 st edition, Arya Publishing House. It has the Mother s symbol on its first page 16. One of the reasons why this book was published, was to help some disciples who had difficulty to see the Universal Mother in Mirra Alfassa. 1929, December 1 st : Notice written by Sri Aurobindo: Champaklal s Treasures, p English Rules and Regulations of the Ashram 1. Always behave as if Mother was looking at you; because she is indeed, always present. 2. All new-comers and persons connected with them are hereby informed that every new arrival to the Ashram is to be reported to Purani on the same day in order to furnish information for the police. 3. There have been several instances recently in which members of the Ashram have been rude and over-bearing in their behaviour to the French Police when they come to the Ashram in connection with the registration of new arrivals. There can be no possible excuse for this kind of conduct, especially as the police authorities have agreed to our own proposals in the matter and we have undertaken to help them with all necessary information. Sri Aurobindo has already given a warning against making trouble for the Ashram with the authorities; it ought not to be necessary to repeat it. 16 It is only from 1933 onwards that Sri Aurobindo s symbol will be used on his books. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 26

27 Especial care must be taken during these days when many are arriving from outside. If the police come for information, they must not be sent rudely away; they should be asked to wait and information be given to Purani who will deal with the matter. 4. Food and other requirements are given in the Ashram to those who have made a complete surrender of their means to Mother and receive only what she gives to them. If anyone receives money from outside and keeps it, it will be understood that he wishes to live on his own independent means and does not need anything from the Ashram and arrangements will be made accordingly. 5. Furniture purchased by a temporary inmate for personal use remains a property of the Ashram when he leaves the place. He cannot take it with him nor claim it back when he comes again. 6. Nothing should be sent out for publication (contributions to newspaper and magazines or books) without having been first submitted to Sri Aurobindo for approval. 7. Sri Aurobindo s work is purely spiritual. Anyone entering the Ashram as a member must abstain from political connections or activities. 8. The moment one enters the life of the Ashram and takes up the Yoga he ceases to belong to any creed or caste or race; he is one of Sri Aurobindo s disciples and nothing else. Race prejudices, caste feelings, pride of sect or contempt of other religions have no place here. Every sadhak should remember this in his thought and speech and dealings with others. 9. Visitors from outside should not be received in the Ashram by the sadhaks except under special circumstances and by permission. Infringement of this rule may have very inconvenient consequences for the work. 10. Nothing should be spoken to outsiders as to what passes in the Ashram without special permission from Mother. 11. Outsiders should not be allowed within the precincts of any houses of the Ashram. If anyone wishes to see the Ashram, it can be done only after special permission from Mother. 12. Rule No. 4 applies only to permanent members of the Ashram. Those who stay only for a time must contribute to the expenses a monthly sum to be fixed by Mother. 13. Permanent members of the Ashram are expected to undertake some part of the work necessary for its organisation and maintenance. The nature of the work to be given to them will be decided by Mother. Those who reside temporarily may also assist while they are here. 14. This Ashram, maintaining almost a hundred people, has to be run at a heavy expenses; it is therefore the understanding that while those who have nothing (the majority) are admitted free and nothing is asked from them, the few who have something are expected to give what they have. If they wish to have the charge of their whole spiritual and material future taken over by us, it is at least fair that they should make the offering of all their possessions : Essay written by Mother: CWM, Vol. III, Gazette 2, 6 (2 nd and 3 rd paras only) French The Supramental Realisation In order to know what the Supramental Realisation will be like, the first step, the first condition is to know what the supramental consciousness is. All those who have been, in one way or another, in contact with it have had some glimpse of the realisation to be. But those who have not, can yet aspire for that realisation, just as they can aspire to get the supramental knowledge. True knowledge means awareness by identity; once you get in touch with the supramental world, you can say something about its descent, but not before. What you can say before is that there will be a new creation upon earth; this you say through faith, since the exact character of it escapes to you. And if you are called upon to define realisation, you may declare that, individually speaking, it means the transformation of your ordinary human consciousness into the divine and supramental. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 27

28 The consciousness is like a ladder: at each great epoch there has been one great being capable of adding one more step to the ladder and reaching a place where the ordinary consciousness had never been. It is possible to attain a high level and get completely out of the material consciousness; but then one does not retain the ladder, whereas the great achievement of the great epochs of the universe has been the capacity to add one more step to the ladder without losing contact with the material, the capacity to reach the Highest and at the same time connect the top with the bottom instead of letting a kind of emptiness cut off all connection between the different planes. To go up and down and join the top to the bottom is the whole secret of realisation, and that is the work of the Avatar. Each time he adds one more step to the ladder there is a new creation upon earth... The step, which is being added now, Sri Aurobindo has called the Supramental; as a result of it, the consciousness will be able to enter the supramental world and yet retain its personal form, its individualisation and then come down to establish here a new creation. Certainly this is not the last, for there are farther ranges of being; but now we are at work to bring down the supramental, to effect a reorganisation of the world, to bring the world back to the true divine order. It is essentially a question of order, a putting of everything in its true place; and the chief spirit or force, the Shakti active at present is Mahasaraswati, the Goddess of perfect organisation. The work of achieving a continuity which permits one to go up and down and bring into the material what is above, is done inside the consciousness. He who is meant to do it is the Avatar, even if he were shut up in a prison and saw nobody and never moved out, still would he do the work, because it is a work in the consciousness, a work of connection between the Supermind and the material being. He does not need to be recognised, he need have no outward power in order to be able to establish this conscious connection. Once however, the connection is made, it must have its effect in the outward world in the form of a new creation, beginning with a model town and ending with a perfect world. 1933, January 30 th : Adolph Hitler is elected Germany s Chancellor. 1933, February 27 th : Nazi agents set fire to Germany s Parliament building: the Reichstag. Two weeks later, on March 15 th, the 3 rd German Reich will be proclaimed. 1933, October 22 nd : Sri Aurobindo answers a question regarding the need for Ashramites to restrict their contact with people: Letters on Himself and the Ashram, p Q.: In The Synthesis of Yoga you write of the love of the Divine in all beings and the constant perception and acceptance of its workings in all things. If this is one of the ways of realising the Divine, why do we have to restrict our contact with people? That is all right in the ordinary karmayoga which aims at union with the cosmic Spirit and stops short at the Overmind but here a special work has to be done and a new realisation achieved for the earth and not for ourselves alone. It is necessary to stand apart from the rest of the world so as to separate ourselves from the ordinary consciousness in order to bring down a new one. It is not that love for all is not part of the sadhana, but it has not to translate itself at once into a mixing with all it can only express itself in a general and when need be dynamic universal goodwill, but for the rest it must find vent in this labour of bringing down the higher consciousness with all its effect for the earth. As for accepting the working of the Divine in all things that is necessary here too in the sense of seeing it even behind our struggles and difficulties, but not accepting the nature of man and the world as it is our aim is to move towards a more divine working which will replace what now is by a greater and happier manifestation. That too is a labour of divine Love. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 28

29 1934, January 4 th : Sri Aurobindo answers the questions of a disciple: Letters on Himself and the Ashram by Sri Aurobindo, p English Q.: You once said that the ascension to the supermind and individual transformation must precede the manifestation of the Sangha. But why did you allow the Sangha to manifest before this condition was fulfilled? Which Sangha? I have never called this Asram the Sangha. 17 The Asram is a field of growth, not a manifestation of perfection. [ ] Q.: Since the Chandernagore [i.e. the Prabartak Sangha] experience, it has always seemed to me that the best way of sadhana would be to rise to the vijǹãna individually, to transform oneself personally, and then, when all was perfect to create or allow the Sangha to descend. I do not know what you mean by a Sangha descending it is the Supermind that has to descend. This transformation cannot be done individually in a solitary way only if it were possible we would not have undertaken the burden of maintaining this Asram. 1934, February 16 th : Notice written by Sri Aurobindo 18 at the third person: Mother s Agenda, 23 July 1969, I Remember by Pranab Kumar Battacharya, p.308 English In order to remove many misunderstandings which seem to have grown up about his Ashram in Pondicherry Sri Aurobindo considers it necessary to issue the following explicit statement: An Ashram means the house or houses of a Teacher or Master of spiritual philosophy in which he receives and lodges those who come to him for the teaching and practice. An Ashram is not an association or a religious body or a monastery it is only what has been indicated above and nothing more. Everything in the Ashram belongs to the Teacher; the sadhaks (those who practise under him) have no claim, right or voice in any matter. They remain or go according to his will. Whatever money he receives is his property and not that of a public body. It is not a trust or a fund, for there is no public institution. 19 Such Ashrams have existed in India since many centuries before Christ and still exist in large numbers. All depends on the Teacher and ends with his life time 20, unless there is another Teacher who can take his place. The Ashram in Pondicherry came into being in this way. Sri Aurobindo at first lived in Pondicherry with a few inmates in his house; afterwards a few more joined him. Later on after Mother joined him, in 1920 the numbers began so much to increase that it was thought necessary 17 In April 1920, Sri Aurobindo had written to his brother, Barin, that he intended to create a Deva Sangha, a commune of those who want the divine life. This would mean that the Ashram is not yet that. Note that, in May 1970, Mother wrote in Auroville and the Religions : Auroville is for those who want to live a life essentially divine... For the time being, it too is a field of growth, not a manifestation of perfection. 18 Satprem quoted this letter to show how the Ashram censored Sri Aurobindo. Pranab too quoted paragraphs 2 & 3 of this letter for the same reason: On 16 th February 1934 Sri Aurobindo issued a booklet called L Enseignement et l Ashram de Sri Aurobindo, in order to clear certain misunderstandings existing at that time among the public. It had its English translation also called The Teaching of Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram. Mother told me that though the author of this booklet was not mentioned, it was actually Sri Aurobindo s work. While describing an Ashram, Sri Aurobindo explained: Well, you can draw your own conclusion from the above statement. Later, this booklet was enlarged and published for the general public under the title Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram. In the last few editions the above mentioned passage [paragraphs 2 S.31have been carefully deleted. The learned editor must have thought himself to be very clever in avoiding this line and bringing in the changes, perhaps thinking that it could change the fate of the Ashram. But Truth remains true in all circumstances. 19 It is only in May 1955 that the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust will be created and the assets of the Ashram transferred to it. 20 Satprem highlights this sentence in particular saying that it was later omitted. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 29

30 to make an arrangement for lodging those who came and houses were bought and rented according to need for the purpose. Arrangements had also to be made for the maintenance, repair, rebuilding of houses, for the service of food and for decent living and hygiene. All these were private rules by Mother and entirely at her discretion to increase, modify or alter there is nothing in them of a public character. All houses of the Ashram are owned either by Sri Aurobindo or by Mother. All the money spent belongs either to Sri Aurobindo or Mother. Money is given by many to help in Sri Aurobindo s work. Some who are here give their earnings, but it is given to Sri Aurobindo or Mother and not to the Ashram as a public body, for there is no such body. The Ashram is not an association; there is no constituted body, no officials, no common property owned by an association, no governing council or committee, no activity undertaken of a public character. The Ashram is not a political institution; all association with political activities is renounced by those who live here. All propaganda religious, political or social has to be eschewed by the inmates. The Ashram is not a religious association. Those who are here come from all religions and some are of no religion. There is no creed or set of dogmas, no governing religious body; there are only the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and certain psychological practices of concentration and meditation, etc., for the enlarging of the consciousness, receptivity to the Truth, mastery over the desires, the discovery of the divine self and consciousness concealed within each human being, a higher evolution of the nature , October 2 nd : Sri Aurobindo writes to Dilip Kumar Roy: Sri Aurobindo On Himself, p. 375 English...I don t believe in advertisement except for books, etc., and in propaganda except for politics and patent medicines. But for serious work it is a poison. It means either a stunt or a boom and stunts and booms exhaust the thing they carry on their crest and leave it lifeless and broken high and dry on the shores of nowhere or it means a movement. A movement in the case of a work like mine means the founding of a school or a sect or some other dammed nonsense. It means that hundreds or thousands of useless people join in and corrupt the work or reduce it to a pompous farce from which the Truth that was coming down recedes into secrecy and silence. It is what has happened to the religions and it is the reason of their failure , August 3 rd : Sri Aurobindo s answer to a question: On Himself XXVI p.l78-179; Mother s Agenda, 28 th June 1972 English Q.: What disciples we are of what a Master! I wish you had chosen or called some better stuff. 21 On , Mother will send this excerpt of a letter to the Aurovilians saying: That passage should be typed and put up in Auroville. It is indispensable. They all have a false idea about propaganda and publicity. It should be typed in big letters; at the top, Sri Aurobindo said, then put the quotation and send it to Auroville. Say I am the one who s sending it. On , she will explain the difference she makes between information and publicity: It is a question of mental attitude rather than of physical action. Publicity does not discriminate between the persons to whom one speaks. Publicity means addressing a public which cannot understand. What we try to do is carry the Light where it can be understood and received. It is a question of choice. It is a question of selection: not to spread the thing without discernment. It is to choose which milieu, which people, which conditions can understand and to act there only. In publicity, to make the ideas comprehensible, one lowers them while we keep our teachings at the height where they are to be understood. We do not diminish the value of the thing so that it may be understood by all. We keep it at its height so that those who can understand may do so. The teaching should be kept at its maximum height. The selection then takes place of itself. It is the comprehension which makes the selection. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 30

31 As for the disciple I agree! Yes, but would the better stuff, supposed it to exist, be typical of humanity? To deal with a few exceptional types would hardly solve the problem. And would they consent to follow my path that is another question? And if they were put to the test, would not the common humanity suddenly reveal itself that is still another question. 1935: Antonin Raymond 22 agrees to Pavitra s suggestion of doing some work for Mother: Brochure on Golconde. It all started crystallising in 1935, when Antonin Raymond practising in Japan (who had come to Tokyo in 1923, after the great earthquake, to assist Frank Lloyd Wright in the design of many buildings for reconstruction of the city) replied to his friend Phillipe St. Hilaire (Pavitra) 23, an engineer disciple of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother that he would be happy to do some work for the Mother, as suggested by Pavitra. The Mother had got a piece of land (80 m x 30 m) and wanted to build a dormitory to house the disciples in a beautiful building. Rs were provided by Sir Akbar Hydari, the then Dewan [Prime Minister] of [the princely] State of Hyderabad. The building was christened Golconde after the famous Golconda Fort of Hyderabad and a mine of jewels. Construction started on and was almost complete in WW II was responsible for construction taking so long. 1938: Mother makes a first attempt to develop a new township for the Ashram: Excerpt from a conversation between Mother and Satprem on : Mother s Agenda, 11 June French [Antonin] Raymond is a great architect. When they [Raymond and his wife] came here and built Golconde, I asked Raymond to prepare the plan for the first Auroville I had conceived (that was when Sri Aurobindo was still alive), and it was magnificent! He didn t leave it here. But it was an Auroville with, at the centre, Sri Aurobindo s house [gesture on a hilltop]. Sri Aurobindo was alive, so we had put him at the centre. * Excerpt from a conversation between Mother and Satprem on : Mother s Agenda, 23 June 1965 French For a long time, I had had a plan of the ideal city, but that was during Sri Aurobindo s lifetime, with Sri Aurobindo living at its centre. Afterwards... I was no longer interested. In the old formation I had made, there had to be a hill and a river. A hill was necessary because Sri Aurobindo s house was on top of the hill. But Sri Aurobindo was there, in the centre. It was arranged according to the plan of my symbol, that is to say, a central point with Sri Aurobindo and all that concerns Sri Aurobindo s life, then four large petals (which weren t the same as in this drawing, they were something different), then twelve petals around (the city proper), then around that, there were the disciples residential quarters (you know my symbol: instead of [partition] lines, there are strips; well, the last circular strip formed the residential place of the disciples), and everyone had his house and his garden: a little house and a garden for everyone. And there were means of communication; I wasn t sure if it was individual transportation or collective transportation (like those small open trams in the mountains, you know) that crossed the city in all directions to bring the disciples back to the centre of the city. And around all that, there was a wall with entrance gates and guards at each gate, so people entered only with permission. And there was no money: within the walls, no money; at the various entrance gates, people found banks and counters where they deposited their money and received in exchange tickets with which they could 22 The Czech architect A. Raymond ( ) is considered as one of the fathers of modern architecture in Japan. 23 A. Raymond and Pavitra had become friends when they both lived in Japan in the early 1920 s. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 31

32 have lodging, food, this and that. But no money. And inside, absolutely nothing, no one had any money the tickets were only for visitors, who entered only with a permit. It was a fantastic organisation... No money, I didn t want money! [...] Outside the walls, in my first formation there was on one side the industrial estate, and on the other the fields, farms, etc., that were to supply the city. But that really meant a country not a large one, but a country. Now it s much more limited; it s not my symbol anymore, there are only four zones, and no walls. And there will be money. The other formation, you know, was really an ideal attempt... But I reckoned it would take many years before we began: at the time, I expected to begin only after twenty-four years. But now, it s much more modest, it s a transitional experiment, and it s much more realisable the other plan was... I nearly had the land: it was at the time of Sir Akbar (you remember?) of Hyderabad. They sent me photographs of Hyderabad State, and there, among those photos, I found my ideal place: an isolated hill (a rather large hill), below which a big river flowed. I told him, I would like to have this place, and he arranged the whole thing (it was all arranged, they had sent me the plans, and the papers and everything declaring it to be donated to the Ashram). But they set a condition (the area was a virgin forest and uncultivated lands): they would give the place on condition, naturally, that we would cultivate it, but the products had to be used on the spot; for instance the crops, the timber had to be used on the spot, not transported away, we weren t allowed to take anything out of Hyderabad State. There was even N. who was a sailor and who said he would obtain a sailing boat from England to sail up the river, collect all the products and bring them back to us here everything was very well seen to! Then they set that condition. I asked if it was possible to remove it, then Sir Akbar died 24 and it was over, the whole thing fell through. Afterwards I was glad it hadn t worked out because, with Sri Aurobindo gone, I could no longer leave Pondicherry I could leave Pondicherry only with him (provided he agreed to go and live in his ideal city). At the time I told Antonin Raymond, who built Golconde about the project, and he was enthusiastic, he told me, As soon as you start building, call me and I will come. I showed him my plan (it was on the model of my symbol, enlarged), and he was quite enthusiastic, he found it magnificent. 1938, March 11 th : Nazi Germany annexes Austria (this is remembered as the Anschluss ). 1938, September 29 th : The British and French premiers, Chamberlain and Daladier, meet Hitler and Mussolini at Munich and abandon the Sudetenland 25 to Germany despite having a defence treaty with Czechoslovakia. They return home claiming to have achieved peace in our time... They simply postponed war by one year and allowed Germany s army to become even stronger. 1938, October 1 st : Hitler s troops invade the Sudetenland and merge it with Germany. 1938, November night between th : Nazi-led mobs engage in the most widespread and concerted outbreak of violence in a night of terror against Germany s and Austria s Jewish population, destroying more than 1,000 shops and synagogues, arresting 30,000, and killing nearly 40. This action will be remembered as Kristallnacht and marks the launching of the Jewish holocaust by the Nazis Sir Akbar Hydari ( ). 25 Part of Czechoslovakia then inhabited by German and Czechs. 26 As Mother was fully Jewish, the genocide of the Jewish people by the Nazis may have played a role in Sri Aurobindo terming WW II: The Mother s War. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 32

33 1938, November 23 rd : On the eve of the November Darshan, Sri Aurobindo has a fall and fractures his right thigh. This event marks the beginning of a new phase in His and Mother s yoga as they are forced to give priority to confronting the Asura which is increasingly active and will soon provoke WW II. 19??: Excerpt from Sri Aurobindo s poem, Savitri in which He writes about a city of God : Savitri, Book 1, Canto 4, p English A sailor on the Inconscient s fathomless sea, He voyages through a starry world of thought On matter s deck to spiritual sun. Across the noise and multitudinous cry, Across the rapt unknowable silences, Through a strange mid-world under supernal skies, Beyond earth s longitudes and latitudes, His goal is fixed outside all present maps. But none learns whither through the unknown he sails Or what secret mission the great Mother gave. In the hidden strength of her omnipotent Will, Driven by her breath across life s tossing deep, Through the thunder s roar and through the windless hush, Through fog and mist where nothing more is seen, He carries her sealed orders in his breast. Late will he know, opening the mystic script, Whether to a blank port in the Unseen He goes or, armed with her fiat, to discover A new mind and body in the city of God And enshrine the Immortal in the glory s house And make the finite one with Infinity. Across the salt waste of the needless years He ocean winds and impels his errant boat, The cosmic waters plashing as he goes, A rumour around him and danger and a call. Always he follows in her force s wake. He sails through life and death and of the life, He travels on through waking and through sleep. A power is on him to his own creation s fate, And never can the mighty traveller rest And never can the mystic voyage cease, Till the nescient dusk is lifted from man s soul And the morns of God have overtaken his night. 1939, January 2 nd : Excerpt from a conversation with a few disciples as reported by A.B. Purani: Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo, p.580. English Disciple: How far is it desirable for the Ashram to be self-sufficient? Self-sufficient in what way? Disciple: In meeting the needs of the daily life, say, for instance, preparing our own cloth here; my friend, who has come from Bombay, wants that we should introduce spindles and looms to prepare our clothes. The question is whether and how for such self-sufficiency is desirable in an Ashram like ours. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 33

34 It is not a question of how far it is desirable, it is also a question of how far it is practicable. No objection to spinning or weaving. How would Nirod like to go on spinning? Nirod: I am already spinning away. There are all sorts of mental ideas, or rather mental formations which can be carried out and which are being carried out at the other places but this Ashram is not a fit place for carrying them out. Disciple: In what way is it not fit? There are many difficulties here. They all point out to institutions like Dayalbagh. In that case you have to direct your energies in that channel (leaving the Sadhana on one side). In other organisations they impose discipline and obedience from outside by rule or force. There people are obliged to take their orders from someone. But here we don t impose such discipline (from outside), and therefore you can hardly get people to work together. It is because of their ego and their idea of mental independence. Even if you want to do that kind of work, there are two things you must guard against: 1. The tendency to degenerate into mere mechanical and commercial activity. 2. You have to guard against ambition. There is a natural tendency to cut a figure before the world, to hold that the Ashram and the Ashramites are something great that must go. Lastly there is health unless the doctor promises to homeopathise them (Sadhaks) into health. Work as part of Sadhana is all right, but work as a part of spiritual creation we cannot take up unless the inner difficulties are overcome. It is not that we do not want to do it but here it is not mental-construction that we want but spiritual creation. It is here left to Mother's intuition. Even then there are difficulties. * Excerpt from the same conversation with a few disciples as reported by Nirodbaran: Talks with Sri Aurobindo, p.139. English Purani: How far is it desirable for the Ashram to be self-sufficient? Self-sufficient in what way? Purani: In meeting the needs of daily life: say the clothes here. [My friend] Virji, who has come from Bombay wants that we should introduce the spinning loom to make our own clothes. How far is such self-sufficiency desirable in an Ashram like ours? The question is not whether it is desirable, but whether it is practicable. No objection to spinning or weaving. (Suddenly looking at Nirod and smiling) Will you set Nirod spinning, to begin with? Nirod: I have been spinning all the time, Sir [Laughter]. There are all sorts of mental formations that can be carried out. But here it is by Mother's intuition that things are taken up and done. Purani: They have done many things for self-sufficiency successfully at Dayalbagh. [Smiling] First of all, the spinners and weavers will at once start quarrelling with one another, and that is one way in which the Ashram is not the fit place. In other organisations they impose a discipline and ensure obedience by force, and people are obliged to take their orders from one at the head. But here we don t impose such discipline from outside. People are left free. Even if you want to do that kind of work, there are difficulties on the way that have to be guarded against: First the tendency to degenerate into mere mechanical and commercial activity. Secondly, ambition: there is a great desire among sadhaks to make the Ashram figure before the world. That must go. And then the whole thing won t be possible unless Dr. Satyendra promises to homeopathise all into health. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 34

35 It is not that we don t want to do that sort of work; we have many ideas but we can't take them up unless the foundation is ready. Even now, in the gardens, the Building Service and the Dining Room, two or three people can't work together. Their egos come to the front and they want a mental independence. Work as part of Sadhana or work for the Divine is all right. But work must primarily be spiritual and not merely creative in a personal way. Work as part of spiritual creation is of course, right, but we can't take this up unless the inner difficulties are overcome. Neither can it be according to mental constructions: it must be only according to Mother s intuition. Even then there are so many difficulties. Not that we have no workers; there are people here with considerable capacity. 1939, January 8 th : Excerpt from a dialogue between Sri Aurobindo and a disciple. It shows Sri Aurobindo s clairvoyance of Hitler s nature: Q.: It seems Gandhian non-violence has also appealed to Hitler. He wants to become a village pastor and stop the flow of villagers to the cities. Gandhi has written about Hitler s regime that the sufferings of Bishop Niemöller are not in vain. He has covered himself with glory. Hitler s heart may be harder than stone, but non-violence has power to generate heat that can melt the stoniest heart. What do you think of that? I am afraid, it would require quite a furnace! (Laughter) Gandhi has mainly to deal with Englishmen and the English want to have their conscience at ease. Besides, the Englishman wants to satisfy his self-esteem and wants world-esteem. But if Gandhi had to deal with the Russian Nihilists not the Bolsheviks or the German Nazis then they would have long ago put him out of their way. Q.: Gandhi is hopeful about the conversion of Hitler s heart or about the German people throwing him over. Hitler would not have been where he is if he had a soft heart. It is curious how some of the most sentimental people are most cruel. Hitler, for instance, is quite sentimental. He weeps over his mother s tomb and paints sentimental pictures. Q.: It is the London cabman s psychic, as you said the other day. Yes. Men like Hitler can t change, they have to be bumped out of existence. There is no chance of their changing in this life. He can t get rid of his cruelty it is in his blood. Not that the British can t be brutal and sentimental too. But they can t persist as the Germans and Russians in their brutality. The Englishman may be sentimental, bur he likes to show off that he is practical, prosaic and brave. In the Russian, you find a mixture of cruelty and sentimentalism. He can break your neck and the next moment embrace you. The Englishman behaves quite well if you give him blows on his face when he treats you badly. 1939, January 19 th : Excerpt from a conversation on Aldous Huxley s book Ends and Means with a few disciples as reported by A.B. Purani: Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo, p English Purani: Huxley suggests two ways of solving the problems of man... One by changing existing institutions of education, industry, in fact by modifying social, political, economic and religious institutions. This would bring about a change in the individual. So for as industries are concerned, he suggests the creation of small units federated to a Central Organisation. Thus it would eliminate large units which are the root of all troubles. The second remedy he suggests is to change the individual and make him what he calls non-attached, who would practice virtue with disinterestedness. I believe there is a French author who also advocates such new type of industrial institutions. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 35

36 That was my idea when I proposed to Motilal Roy to have a spiritual commune. I don't call it a commune but a Sangha a community based on spirituality and living its own economic life; it would have its own agriculture, and a network of such communities spread all over the country would interchange its products among its own units. Disciple: You gave him the idea of the paper 27 also? I don t remember. But I asked him to start handlooms and weaving. Disciple: He has tried to take up the Gandhian plan after he separated from us; we used to insist on Swadeshi. Now they call it Khaddar. Disciple: The financial condition there does not seem as sound as it is made to appear. Possibly. I do not know what they are doing now. I heard that some plots were bought in the Sunderbans to start agriculture. But as people were getting malaria, it had to be given up. Disciple: Is it something like Dayalbagh 28? I don t know what spirituality they are having there. It seems as if all energies are directed to external works and industries. That may be due to their large-scale production. I heard that Anukul Thakur also has started work on the same idea. Disciple: Does he not belong to Dayalbagh? No, he may belong to what they call the Radhasoami School. But I don t think he belongs to Dayalbagh. Disciple: But to start such a Sangha one must have spiritual realisation and it may take a long time to start. Not necessarily. Ordinarily if one is to wait for spiritual realisation, it will take time. But all may not have the highest or supramental realisation. Spiritual experiences is enough for the people and that is not difficult to have. I told Motilal that spirituality must be the basis of the Sangha. Otherwise your success will be your failure. But he doesn t seem to have listened to it. [...] Disciple: All sorts of attempts at collective life seem to have been made and when one sees them all, one is driven to despair like the bald man who was trying all kinds of remedies to cure baldness who, on looking at King Edward VII s photo with his shining bald head said, I give it up! (Laughter) Have you any idea how the supermind will proceed? No idea. If you have an idea the result will be what has been in the past. We must leave the Supermind to work everything out. Disciple: But that sort of work has to be based on love. One must have love for everyone. Love is not enough. Something more than love is necessary. Unity of consciousness is more important than love. Disciple: The trouble is, as soon as one begins something one tends to become ego-centric, and quarrels start like the aggravation of a symptom in homeopathy. (Laughter) But love also leads to quarrels. Nobody quarrels more than the lovers do! (Laughter) (Looking at X) You know the Latin proverb that each quarrel is a renewal of love? Love is a fine flower, but unity of consciousness is the root. 27 The newspaper: Prabartak. 28 Paul Brunton in his A Search in Secret India (pp ) had written (in 1934) very positively about Dayalbagh ( Garden of the Merciful ) which is a suburb of Agra. It was founded in 1915 by Huzur Sahabji Maharaj, the fifth Revered Leader of Radhasoami Faith by planting a mulberry tree, as an Ashram or the spiritual home of the followers of the Faith. The headquarters of Radhasoami Satsang Sabha are located there. The project in which there is no private property was intended for 10 to 12,000 volunteers. It included all sorts of activities, including industrial, agricultural and educational. One hundred years later, this 1,200 acre (4.9 km 2 ) farm is home to 3,500 followers of this faith. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 36

37 The difficulty is that those who are here receive something of the higher power and they become ego-centric, then gather it in the vital and turn it to their lower nature. They think it is their own power. When A. came here from Chandernagore, he said, There at Chandernagore, everybody is a sheep following the shepherd but here everybody is a Royal Bengal Tiger. (Laughter) * Excerpt from the same conversation with a few disciples as reported by Nirodbaran: Talks with Sri Aurobindo, p.275. English Purani: Huxley suggests two ways of change. One is to change existing institutions of education, industry, etc. and thus bring about a change in the individual. For industries he suggests small industrial units federated in a central organisation so as to do away with large-scale productions which are the root of all trouble. The other way is to change the individual and make him as he puts it, a non-attached ideal man. [Purani also mentions a French author who advocated small industrial institutions.] That was my idea when I proposed to Motilal Roy; namely a spiritual commune. I did not call it a commune but a Sangha, based on spirituality and living its own economic life. It would develop its own small-scale industries, agriculture, etc. and have an interchange of products with other communes. [...] Disciple: But to start such a Sangha one must have spiritual realisation and it may take a long time to start. Not necessarily. Obviously if one has to wait for spiritual realisation, especially the highest or supramental realisation, it will take time. Spiritual experiences is enough for the purpose and that is not difficult to have. I told Motilal, Spirituality must be the basis; otherwise your success will be your failure. * Barin was asked [in 1920, after receiving his brother s letter] a number of questions about Motilal s group in Chandernagore. Was this what Sri Aurobindo was thinking about when he spoke of a spiritual commune? Sri Aurobindo s attitude towards Motilal was similar to his attitude towards Barin twelve years earlier when he wrote: The Lives of Sri Aurobindo by Peter Heehs, p. 322 I am letting him develop according to his own nature... I do not want to fashion everybody in the same mould... Everyone has to grow from within: I do not wish to model from outside. 1939, August 22 nd : Sri Aurobindo explains in a letter that his Ashram has developed organically: Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Himself and the Ashram, pp What seems to me of more importance is to try to explain how things are worked out here. Indeed very few are the people who understand it and still fewer those who realise it. There has never been, at any time, a mental plan, a fixed programme or an organisation decided beforehand. The whole thing has taken birth, grown and developed as a living being by a movement of consciousness (Chit-tapas) constantly maintained, increased and fortified. 29 As the Conscious Force descends in matter and radiates, it seeks for fit instruments to express and manifest it. It goes without saying that the more the instrument is open, receptive and plastic, the better are the results. The two obstacles that stand in the way of a smooth and harmonious working in and through the sadhaks are: 29 On , Mother explained to Satprem: Since 1926 when Sri Aurobindo retired and gave me full charge of [the Ashram] (at that time there were only two rented houses and a handful of disciples) all has grown up and developed like the growth of a forest, and each service was created not by any artificial planning but by a living and dynamic need. This is the secret of constant growth and endless progress. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 37

38 (1) the preconceived ideas and mental constructions which block the way to the influence and the working of the conscious force; (2) the preferences and impulses of the vital which distort and falsify the expression. Both these things are the natural output of the ego. Without the interference of these two elements my physical intervention would not be necessary. You are quite right when you do not believe in Mother likes, Mother dislikes : it is quite a childish interpretation. There is a clear precise perception of the Force and the Consciousness at work, and whenever this Force gets distorted or the Consciousness is obscured in its action, I have to interfere and rectify the movement. In most cases things are mixed up and there again I have to intervene to separate the distorted transcription from the pure one. Otherwise a great freedom of action is left to all, because the Conscious Force can express itself in innumerable ways and for the perfection and integrality of the manifestation no ways are to be a priori excluded; a trial is very often given before the selection is made. 1939, August 23 rd : In a surprise move, Germany and USSR sign a non-aggression treaty. In its secret parts this treaty divides Poland into two zones of influence and allocates some other countries or part of them to either of the two signatories. 1939, September 1 st : Hitler s troops invade Poland; two days later Britain and France declare war on Germany. The phoney war starts as hostilities on the front with Luxembourg, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Britain and Britain will erupt only 8 months later. As India is part of the British Empire, it is also de facto at war. 1939, October: Sri Aurobindo writes a poem The Dwarf Napoleon in which Hitler is a dwarf compared to Napoleon. Sri Aurobindo has already seen that Hitler is guided by a powerful Asura: A Titan Power supports this pigmy man, The crude dwarf instrument of a mighty force. In the last verse Sri Aurobindo foresees a possible end for Hitler which did take place: In his high villa 30 on the fatal hill Alone he listens to that sovereign Voice, Dictator of his action s sudden choice, The tiger leap of a demoniac skill. Too small and human for that dreadful Guest, An energy his body cannot invest, A tortured channel, not a happy vessel, Drives him to think and act and cry and wrestle. Thus driven he must stride on conquering all, Threatening and clamouring, brutal, invincible, Perhaps to meet a upon his storm-swept road A greater devil 31 or thunderstroke of God. 1940, May th : Germany s army starts invading Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Winston Churchill replaces Neville Chamberlain as Britain s Prime Minister. 30 Hitler s villa at Berchtesgaden in the Alps. 31 This greater devil will be Stalin whose forces will pay the blood-price which will make the annihilation of Hitler s forces possible. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 38

39 Germany s armies enter France through the Ardennes. Thanks to the Blitz Krieg (combination of attacks by air and tanks), they will soon encircle the bulk of the French and British troops in the area of the French harbour of Dunkirk but, between May 27 th and June 3 rd, 350,000 British and French troops will be ferried to safety across the channel. The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France are defeated and Britain remains the only power to face Germany s onslaught. In an article, Political Life, written at the third person, Sri Aurobindo will later write: Twice however he found it advisable to take in addition other action of a public kind. The first was in relation to the second World War. At the beginning he did not actively concern himself with it, but when it appeared as if Hitler would crush all the forces opposed to him and Nazism dominate the world, he began to intervene. He declared himself publicly on the side of the Allies, made some financial contributions in answer to the appeal tor funds and encouraged those who sought his advice to enter the army or share in the war effort. Inwardly, he put his spiritual force behind the Allies from the moment of Dunkirk when everybody was expecting the immediate fall of England and the definite triumph of Hitler, and he had the satisfaction of seeing the rush of German victory almost immediately arrested and the tide of war begin to turn in the opposite direction. This he did, because he saw that behind Hitler and Nazism were dark Asuric forces and that their success would mean the enslavement of mankind to the tyranny of evil, and a set-back lo the course of evolution and especially to the spiritual evolution of mankind: it would lead also to the enslavement not only of Europe but of Asia, and in it India, an enslavement far more terrible than any this country had ever endured, and the undoing of all the work that had been done for her liberation. 1940, June 17 th : France capitulates. The next day General de Gaulle will call all French people to join him and continue the war. During the next 12 months Britain and its colonial empire will be fighting alone against Germany until June 1941 when the latter attacked USSR by surprise. 1940, July, 4 th : Excerpt from a letter from M.K. Gandhi to Winston Churchill: I appeal for cessation of hostilities because war is bad in essence. You want to kill Nazism. Your soldiers are doing the same work of destruction as the Germans. The only difference is that perhaps you are not as thorough as the Germans. I venture to present you with a nobler and a braver way worthy of the bravest soldiers. I want you to fight Nazism without arms or with non-violent arms. I would like you to lay down the arms you have as being useless for saving you or humanity. Invite Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini to take what they want of the countries you call your possessions. Let them take possession of your beautiful island with your many beautiful buildings. You will give these but not your souls not your minds , July: Excerpt from Sri Aurobindo s The Life Divine : 33 The Life Divine, Chapter XXIII, Man and the Evolution (ed p. 846 and ed, 2005 p. 878) English Man s urge towards spirituality is the inner driving of the spirit within him towards emergence, the insistence of the Consciousness-Force of the being towards the next step of its manifestation. It is true that the spiritual urge has been largely otherworldly or turned at its extreme towards a spiritual negation and self-annihilation of the mental individual; but this is only one side of its tendency maintained and made dominant by the necessity of passing out of the kingdom of the fundamental Inconscience, overcoming the obstacle of the body, casting away the obscure vital, getting rid of the ignorant mentality, the necessity to attain first and foremost, by a rejection of all these impediments to spiritual being, to a spiritual status. The other, the dynamic side of the spiritual urge has not been absent, the aspiration to a spiritual mastery and mutation of Nature, to a 32 On , Sri Aurobindo had said: Men like Hitler can t change, they have to be bumped out of existence. 33 Note that its last chapters were not published in the Arya but at that time. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 39

40 spiritual perfection of the being, a divinisation of the mind, the heart and the very body: there has even been the dream or a psychic prevision of a fulfilment exceeding the individual transformation, a new earth and heaven, a city of God, a divine descent upon earth, a reign of the spiritually perfect, a kingdom of God not only within us but outside, in a collective human life. However obscure may have been some of the forms taken by this aspiration, the indication they contain of the urge of the occult spiritual being within to emergence in earth-nature is unmistakable. If a spiritual unfolding on earth is the hidden truth of our birth into Matter, if it is fundamentally an evolution of consciousness that has been taking place in Nature, then man as he is cannot be the last term of that evolution: he is too imperfect an expression of the Spirit, Mind itself a too limited form and instrumentation; Mind is only a middle term of consciousness, the mental being can only be a transitional being. If, then, man is incapable of exceeding mentality, he must be surpassed and supermind and superman must manifest and take the lead of the creation. But if his mind is capable of opening to what exceeds it, then there is no reason why man himself should not arrive at supermind and supermanhood or at least lend his mentality, life and body to an evolution of that greater term of the Spirit manifesting in Nature. The Life Divine, Chapter XXVIII, The Divine Life, (ed p. 1,053-1,062 and ed p. 1,090-1,099.) At present mankind is undergoing an evolutionary crisis in which is concealed a choice of its destiny; for a stage has been reached in which the human mind has achieved in certain directions an enormous development while in others it stands arrested and bewildered and can no longer find its way. [ ] Man has created a system of civilisation which has become too big for his limited mental capacity and understanding and his still more limited spiritual and moral capacity to utilise and manage, a too dangerous servant of his blundering ego and its appetites. For no greater seeing mind, no intuitive soul of knowledge has yet come to his surface of consciousness which could make this basic fullness of life a condition for the free growth of something that exceeded it. [ ] Science has put at his disposal many potencies of the universal Force and has made the life of humanity materially one; but what uses this universal Force is a little human individual or communal ego with nothing universal in its light of knowledge or its movements, no inner sense or power which would create in this physical drawing together of the human world a true life-unity, a mental unity or a spiritual oneness. All that is there is a chaos of clashing mental ideas, urges of individual and collective physical want and need, vital claims and desires, impulses of an ignorant life-push, hungers and calls for life satisfaction of individuals, classes, nations, a rich fungus of political and social and economic nostrums and notions, a hustling medley of slogans and panaceas for which men are ready to oppress and be oppressed, to kill and be killed, to impose them somehow or other by the immense and too formidable means placed at his disposal, in the belief that this is his way out to something ideal. [ ] A life of unity, mutuality and harmony born of a deeper and wider truth of our being is the only truth of life that can successfully replace the imperfect mental constructions of the past which were a combination of association and regulated conflict, an accommodation of egos and interests grouped or dovetailed into each other to form a society, a consolidation by common general lifemotives, a unification by need and the pressure of struggle with outside forces. It is such a change and such a reshaping of life for which humanity is blindly beginning to seek, now more and more with a sense that its very existence depends upon finding the way. The evolution of Mind working upon Life has developed an organisation of the activity of Mind and use of Matter which can no longer be supported by human capacity without an inner change. An accommodation of the egocentric human individuality, separative even in association, to a system of living which demands unity, perfect mutuality, harmony, is imperative. [ ] History of Auroville Book 1 Page 40

41 A total spiritual direction given to the whole life and the whole nature can alone lift humanity beyond itself. [ ] What is necessary is that there should be a turn in humanity felt by some or many towards the vision of this change, a feeling of its imperative need, the sense of its possibility, the will to make it possible in themselves and to find the way. That trend is not absent and it must increase with the tension of the crisis in human world-destiny; the need of an escape or a solution, the feeling that there is no other solution than the spiritual cannot but grow and become more imperative under the urgency of critical circumstance. To that call in the being there must always be some answer in the Divine Reality and in Nature. [ ] A common spiritual life meant to express the spiritual and not the mental, vital and physical being must found and maintain itself on greater values than the mental, vital, physical values of the ordinary human society; if it is not so founded, it will be merely the normal human society with a difference. An entirely new consciousness in many individuals transforming their whole being, transforming their mental, vital and physical nature-self, is needed for the new life to appear; only such a transformation of the general mind, life, body nature can bring into being a new worthwhile collective existence. [ ] At a certain stage it might be necessary to follow the age-long device of the separate community, but with a double purpose, first to provide a secure atmosphere, a place and life apart, in which the consciousness of the individual might concentrate on its evolution in surroundings where all was turned and centred towards the one endeavour and, next, when things were ready, to formulate and develop the new life in those surroundings and in this prepared spiritual atmosphere. 1940, August 15 th, Sri Aurobindo s 68 th birthday: The battle of Britain is raging in the air. Goering had decided to launch a massive attack on this day (1,786 sorties) to inflict major damages on Britain s defences BUT, on this day, the Luftwaffe suffers its worse losses so far with 75 planes down (the RAF lost only 34 planes). On May 20 th, Sri Aurobindo had commented on Hitler s prediction that on August 15 th he would complete the conquest of Western Europe and broadcast this news from Buckingham Palace: That is the sign that he is an enemy of our work. And from the values involved in the conflict, it should be quite clear that what is behind him is the Asuric, the Titanic power. 1940, September 19 th : Sri Aurobindo states publicly His support to the Allies: Sri Aurobindo, Autobiographical Notes, p English We are placing herewith at the disposal of H.E. the Governor of Madras a sum of Rs. 500 as our joint contribution to the Madras War Fund. This donation, which is in continuation of previous sums given by us for the cause of the Allies (10,000 francs to the French Caisse de Défense Nationale before the unhappy collapse of France and Rs. 1,000 to the Viceroy s War Fund immediately after the Armistice) is sent as an expression of our entire support for the British people and the Empire in their struggle against the aggressions of the Nazi Reich and our complete sympathy with the cause for which they are fighting. We feel that not only is this a battle waged in just self-defence and in defence of the nations threatened with the world-domination of Germany and the Nazi system of life, but that it is a defence of civilisation and its highest attained social, cultural and spiritual values and of the whole future of humanity. To this cause our support and sympathy will be unswerving whatever may happen; we look forward to the victory of Britain and, as the eventual result, an era of peace and union among the nations and a better and more secure world-order. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 41

42 1941, June 22 nd : Having renounced invading Britain for the time being, Hitler launches Operation Barbarossa, the surprise invasion of USSR though, in August 1939, Germany and USSR had signed a non-aggression pact. Germany s allies, Italy and Romania, too declare war on USSR. Britain isn t anymore the only major power at war with Germany. 1941, December 7 th : Japan s Navy attacks Pearl Harbour by surprise. The following day, the American Congress declares war on Japan and then Germany declares war on the U.S.A. This war is now a World War. 1942, March 29 th : World War II is raging; an extremely powerful Japanese naval force enters the Indian Ocean; it consists of 6 aircraft carriers, 4 battleships, 7 cruisers, 19 destroyers, 5 submarines, several tankers and 350 planes. The bulk of this fleet is heading towards Sri Lanka and is commanded by Admiral Nagumo who had successfully commanded Japan s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor three and half months earlier. In 1927, when asked when and how India would be free, Mother had prophesised: When a Japanese warship will come to the Indian Ocean. 34 Interestingly, five days earlier, on March 22 nd, Sir Stafford Cripps had reached New Delhi with an offer from the British Government to the Indian leaders: In return for India s help during the war, at the end of it, it would be given the status of Dominion (which was already that of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Union of South Africa). Sri Aurobindo sent Doraiswamy Ayer to Delhi with a letter to try and convince the Indian leaders to accept this offer but they refuse it. Sri Aurobindo will say that His effort in this respect was nishkama karma (desire-less action) for he expected them to refuse. Years later, Sri Aurobindo will write about himself (at the third person): He supported the Cripps offer because by its acceptance India and Britain could stand united against the Asuric forces and the solution of Cripps could be used as a step towards independence. When negotiations failed, Sri Aurobindo returned to his reliance on the use of spiritual force alone against the aggressor and had the satisfaction of seeing the tide of Japanese victory, which had till then swept everything before it, change immediately into a tide of rapid, crushing and finally immense and overwhelming defeat. And indeed, Winston Churchill entitled The Hinge of Fate the Volume IV of his Memoirs of WW II which pertains to this period. About the battle of Colombo, he later said: 35 The most dangerous moment of the War, and the one which caused me the greatest alarm, was when the Japanese Fleet was heading for Ceylon and the naval base there. The capture of Ceylon, the consequent control of the Indian Ocean, and the possibility at the same time of a German conquest of Egypt 36 would have closed the ring and the future would have been black. 1942, December 20 th & 24 th : Planes from a Japanese aircraft carrier bomb Calcutta and its vicinity hitting docks, shipping and airfields in the area. It leads to an exodus of residents. Some disciples decide to leave to Pondicherry in the hope of being safe next to Sri Aurobindo and Mother. They come with their children which Mother accepts. Before that children were not allowed at the Ashram. 34 Twelve years with Sri Aurobindo, by Nirodbaran, p Birchall, Leonard, RCAF, Battle for the Skies (2004), Michael Paterson, David & Charles, ISBN Rommel s Afrika Corps was still unbeaten in North Africa and trying to reach and control the Suez Canal; it is only in November 1942 that Rommel will realise that Montgomery had beaten him for good at El Alamein. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 42

43 1943, August 15 th : Sri Aurobindo s 71 th birthday: Churchill has crossed the Atlantic to meet President F. D. Roosevelt, and discuss how best to proceed with the War. They appoint Lord Louis Mountbatten as Supreme Allied Commander of the South East Asia Command (SAC-SEAC). Exactly two years later, on 15 th August 1945, Japan s Emperor will announce the capitulation of his country, and, with it, the victory of Mountbatten s troops which were still fighting. Three and half years later Lord Mountbatten will be appointed India s (last) Viceroy by the British Government. On 4 th June 1945, he will announce to the world that India will be free on 15 th of August 1947 probably because these two major events in his life had occurred on a 15 th of August (1943 and 1945). History of Auroville Book 1 Page 43

44 History of Auroville Book 1 Page 44

45 III Attempts to widen the base of the endeavour History of Auroville Book 1 Page 45

46 1943, December 2 nd : Feeling the need to educate the children who have come as a result of the Japanese bombing of Calcutta, Mother formally opens a school for about 20 children 37. She puts Pavitra and Sisir Kumar Mitra in charge of the pupils and is one of the teachers. The numbers will increase progressively along the years. The coming of the children marks the beginning of a new phase in Sri Aurobindo and Mother s Yoga. It coincides with the fact that though WW II is not over, its issue is now clear; which means that Sri Aurobindo and Mother can again fully concentrate on pulling the Supramental consciousness into the terrestrial atmosphere. Note that the creation of this School is the outcome of circumstances and not of a mental plan. 1945, May: Mother starts the Ashram s Physical Education Department (P.E.D.). Pranab wrote: 38 In the beginning children used to play on the road Mother offered the playground in the beginning of At that time it was just some play and fun. I came here in May At the end of the month, on my proposal, Mother put me in charge of Playground work. The rudiments of organisation started then and began to grow. The P.E.D. was thus created and developed as life unfolds and not as part of some mental plan. 37 Naturally, at the beginning there were no children here and children were not accepted, children were all refused. It was only after the war that children were taken. But I do not regret that they have been accepted. For I believe there is much more stuff for the future among children who know nothing than among those grown-ups who believe they know everything... Q,: Why were children not accepted before the war? Ah, my children, it is very simple. Because where there are children, you have to be busy most of the time with them only! Children are very absorbing creatures. Everything must be organized for them, everything must be arranged in view of their welfare, and the whole aspect of life changes. Children are most important personages. When they are there, everything turns around them. And the entire organisation of the Ashram has completely changed. Formerly, it was quite different. First of all there was a kind of austerity that cannot be imposed upon children. There are simplicities and austerities of life that can be imposed upon grown-up people, because they are told: Take it or leave it: if you cannot bear it, if you do not like it, well, you may go away. This is what it should be like; if you do not want it, you may leave the place, the door is always open. But with a child... What right have you to demand of a child things that have no normal relationship with its growth? Children must have reached a certain maturity before they are able to make a choice. You cannot compel them to do a thing before they have the capacity to choose. You have to give them quite naturally all that they need. And this changes life completely. And I knew that very well. I already had the experience of what the life of solitary people or a group of solitary people is like, and of a life in which children are admitted. It is absolutely, totally different. You have no right to demand of a person something when he has no free choice; and so long as a person is not formed, has not attained a certain maturity, you cannot make him choose. When one reaches this maturity, then one chooses. And the children here have not come of themselves. Most of you were not taller than a boot when you came here, how old were you?... One cannot tell them: You have chosen, therefore you have to take it or leave it, either you do this or you go away. They have been brought here, hence it is one s duty to give them what they need; and the needs of children are not at all the same as those of big people. It is much more complicated. Now things are different, because now people are not told: You are going to come here to do yoga ; they are told: You are going to try to learn about the conditions under which earthly life can be bettered. So people come and study. When one thinks he knows what he wants to learn, he goes away. It is not the same thing. And it is not the same conditions as when one comes with a definite and single aim like realising the Divine in his physical life and nothing else in the world counts for him but that. In order to choose you must at least know a little the elements to choose from. And for that you must have a certain inner formation, a certain culture. And you certainly do not have that when you are five years old exept some; some among you (more than one would believe) knew very well why they had come, although they could not formulate it in words. They felt it very intensely. And when their parents tried to take them away, they refused stubbornly, saying: No, no, I want to remain here. Even at the age of five, although they could not know in their head the reason why, because the brain was not formed. But the psychic consciousness was there, and they could feel. Well, these children are of an infinitely higher stuff than that of people who have already had three-fourths of their head blunted by the education they have been given in ordinary schools and who come here quite convinced that they know many things, that they are well acquainted with life. They have a formed character and have acquired many bad habits. There, then. (Q & A, ) When it was found that Pondicherry was the safest place on earth, naturally people came wheeling in here with all their baby carriages filled and asked us if we could shelter them, so we couldn t very well turn them away, could we? (Mother s Agenda, ) 38 I Remember by Pranab Kumar Battacharya page 278. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 46

47 1945, August 15 th, Sri Aurobindo s 73 th birthday: Following the explosion of two atomic bombs over two cities of his country, Japan s Emperor announces officially his country s capitulation on Japanese Radio. WW II is de facto over though Japan s formal capitulation will be signed on September 2 nd in the Bay of Tokyo on board of the battleship USS Missouri. The western powers which had lost their Asian colonies 39 to Japan will now try to take again control of them, but will succeed only briefly... Hence, Sri Aurobindo s second dream, The resurgence and liberation of the peoples of Asia will make a very substantial progress. Mother issues this message: The Victory has come, Thy Victory, O Lord, for which we render to Thee infinite thanksgiving. But now our ardent prayer rises towards Thee. It is with Thy force and by Thy force that the victors have conquered. Grant that they do not forget it in their success and that they keep the promises which they have made to Thee in the hours of danger and anguish. They have taken Thy name to make war, may they not forget Thy grace when they have to make the peace : Pranab later remembered: I Remember, Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya, p. 143 Bengali Auroville is being built according Mother s plan, we are told. But long before Auroville started way back in , Mother had told me that she wanted a beautiful place with the sea, hills and rivers. There, men would live without egoism, aspiring for the Divine in order to fulfil the dream of divine life. She had not yet called it Auroville. This was a dream of Mother s. There is also a writing of hers titled A Dream. Mother had many similar beautiful ideas. Mother would often speak of a huge ship of ours in which the entire Ashram could be accommodated. And we would sail all over the world on that ship and not be tied down to any one place nor even to any one country. The whole earth would be our country. Mother added something more. She would have a house built whose walls would be transparent. Different colours would shine out from different rooms and glow through the walls. Depending on their state of being people would choose the room with the appropriate colour to stay in , March 24 th : In a message written at the third person, Sri Aurobindo writes: Sri Aurobindo thinks it is necessary to volunteer a personal pronouncement... His position is known. He has always stood for India s complete independence, which he was the first to advocate publicly and without compromise as the only ideal worthy of a self-respecting nation. 39 Besides India, these colonies were as follow (using today s names): U.K.: (Sri Lanka, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei & Honk Kong), France (Viet Nam, Cambodia & Laos), the Netherlands (Indonesia) and U.S.A. (Philippines). 40 Interestingly there will be twelve rooms of different colours in Matrimandir s petals History of Auroville Book 1 Page 47

48 1947, June 3 rd : The previous day, in a press conference in Delhi, India s viceroy, Lord Mountbatten announced India s partition and that the final transfer of power will take place on 15 th August. Mother issues this statement: A proposal [of partition of Pakistan from India] has been made for the solution of our difficulties in organising Indian independence and it is being accepted with whatever bitterness of regret and searchings of the heart by Indian leaders. But do you know why this proposal has been made to us? It is to prove to us the absurdity of our quarrels. And do you know why we have to accept these proposals? It is to prove to ourselves the absurdity of our quarrels. Clearly, this is not a solution; it is a test, an ordeal which, if we live it out in all sincerity, will prove to us that it is not by cutting a country into small bits that we shall bring about its unity and its greatness; it is not by opposing interests against each other that we can win for it prosperity; it is not by setting one dogma against another that we can serve the spirit of Truth. In spite of all, India has a single soul and while we have to wait till we can speak of an India one and indivisible, our cry must be: Let the soul of India live forever! 1947, August 15 th, Sri Aurobindo s 75 th birthday: India is free from British rule 41 (but some territories remain French and others Portuguese). Another prediction made by Mother comes true: in 1920 She had told Sri Aurobindo India is free ; when asked How?, She had replied: Without any fight, without a battle, without a revolution. The English themselves will leave for the condition of the world will be such that they won t be able to do anything else except go away. * Excerpts from the message Sri Aurobindo writes on this occasion at the request of the All India Radio, Trichinopolly, which will broadcast it: To me personally it must naturally be gratifying that this date which was notable only for me because it was my own birthday celebrated annually by those who have accepted my gospel of life, should have acquired this vast significance. As a mystic, I take this identification, not as a coincidence or fortuitous accident, but as a sanction and seal of the Divine Power which guides my steps on the work with which I began life. Indeed almost all the world movements which I hoped to see fulfilled in my lifetime, though at that time they looked like impossible dreams, I can observe on this day either approaching fruition or initiated and on the way to their achievement. The five dreams which guided his life are: 1. A revolutionary movement which would create a free and united India The resurgence and liberation of the peoples of Asia and her return to her great role in the progress of human civilisation A world-union forming the outer basis of a fairer, brighter and nobler life for mankind The spiritual gift of India to the world A step in evolution which would raise man to a higher and larger consciousness and begin the solution of the problems which have perplexed and vexed him since he first began to think and to dream of individual perfection and a perfect society... The Sri Aurobindo International University Centre (which Mother launched in the early 1950 s) and Auroville will be launched by Mother to hasten the realisation of the third of these dreams. 41 As India doesn t have a constitution as yet, till 25 th January 1950, it will be a constitutional monarchy with George VI as head of state and Lord Mountbatten as Governor-general. Until 26 th January 1950, remembered as Republic Day, the country s laws will be based on the modified colonial Government of India Act History of Auroville Book 1 Page 48

49 1947, September 27 th : Maurice Schuman (envoy of the French Government) and François Baron (Governor of France s Territories in India) are granted an interview by Sri Aurobindo. Page 571 of his book, On Mother, K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar, will write that the aim of this interview was: to explore the possibility of opening an Institute at Pondicherry for the study of Indian and European culture. In the course of his talk, Sri Aurobindo told the French visitors that, next to India, he loved France most, and the proposed Institute might afford facilities to students from all over the world to study the Indian civilisation with its many elements in creative interactions. On the political front, it was Sri Aurobindo s suggestion to the French and Indian Government that, while Pondicherry and the other French areas should certainly merge with India immediately, they should also be conceded the right to retain their cultural (as distinct from political) contacts with France, for this would be in the wider interest of both India and France. While the French Government was sympathetic to the proposal, it didn t find favour at New Delhi and this resulted in a mild confrontation and an unsavoury stalemate. 1949: Excerpt from the Postscript Chapter of Sri Aurobindo s book: The Ideal of Human Unity : Postscript Chapter, p. 586, Auroville Brochure 1968 The indwelling deity who presides over the destiny of the race has raised in man s mind and heart the idea, the hope of a new order which will replace the old unsatisfactory order and substitute for it conditions of the world s life which will in the end have a reasonable chance of establishing permanent peace and well-being. This would for the first time turn into an assured fact the ideal of human unity which, cherished by a few, seemed for so long a noble chimera; then might be created a firm ground of peace and harmony and even a free room for the realisation of the highest human dreams, for the perfectibility of the race, a perfect society, a higher upward evolution of the human soul and human nature. It is for the men of our day and, at the most, of tomorrow to give the answer. 1949, February 21 st : First issue of the bilingual (French & English) Bulletin of Physical Education. From this first issue to that of November 1950, it will publish a series of eight articles written by Sri Aurobindo which are now compiled in The Supramental manifestation upon Earth : An Introduction (written in December 1948), The Perfection of the Body (March 1949), The Divine Body (August 1949), The Supramental and Divine Life (November 1949), The Supramental and Humanity (January 1950), The Supramental and evolution (April 1950), The Mind of Light (August 1950), The Supramental and the Mind of Light (November 1950). 1949, June 14 th : Nolinida tells a special representative of A.P.I. that in his highest vision Sri Aurobindo is fighting for India s greatness and integrity. On June 22 nd Mother India ( Sri Aurobindo s paper ) will write on the same line. 1949, August 1 st : The people of Chandernagore vote in a Referendum in favour of the merger of this particular French territory with the Indian Union. (It lies north of Calcutta, close to it.) : In order to pressurise the French Government to let go of its Indian Territories, India does an economic blockade of Pondicherry which had been a free-port until then. Naturally it is also harming the Ashram and the development of its activities. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 49

50 1950, January 26 th : A constitution having been adopted, India becomes a republic. On 28 th August 1947, the Drafting Committee had been appointed to draft a permanent constitution, with Dr. B. R. Ambedkar as chairman. While India s Independence Day celebrates its freedom from British Rule, the Republic Day celebrates its constitution coming into force , August 12 th : Pope Pius XII promulgates the papal encyclical Humani generis concerning some false opinions threatening to undermine the foundations of Catholic Doctrine. It deals with the aftermath of the publication of Darwin s Theory of Evolution and the ideas propagated by people such as the Vatican-censored French Jesuit-priest cum geologistpalaeontologist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ( ) whose views on evolution have a lot in common with Sri Aurobindo s. The encyclical takes up a nuanced position with regard to evolution as it distinguishes between the soul, held as created divinely, and the physical body, whose development may be subject to empirical and prudent study. 1950, August 15 th : Sri Aurobindo s 78 th birthday. It will be his last. 1950, October 18 th : Mother draws an outline of the spiritual map of India on a wall in the Playground, fro which is prepared a relief map in plaster. Thereafter She takes the salute standing in front of the map during march pasts by P.E.D. groups. On the Mother, by K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar, p.858. Years later, on , in answer to a question, Mother will write: This map was made after the partition. It is the map of the true India in spite of all passing appearances and this will always remain the map of the true India, no matter what people may think of it. 1950, November 1 st : Pope Pius XII uses his papal authority to make of Mary s Assumption a church dogma to be celebrated on August 15 th which happens to be Sri Aurobindo s birthday. p. 190 of her Beautiful Vignettes of Sri Aurobindo and Mother, Shyam Kumari will write: 42 A draft constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Assembly on 4 th November The Assembly met, in sessions open to public, for 166 days, spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution. After many deliberations and some modifications, the 308 members of the Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on 24 th January Two days later, it came into effect throughout the nation. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 50

51 Sri Aurobindo said, Pope Pius XII was perhaps the most liberal Pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Pius XII liberalised the approach to the Bible and opened the doors to Catholic scholars to make unbiased research and criticise freely. Due to his policy the Catholic mind has emerged into modern times. He was a worshipper of Shakti in the form of the Virgin Mary. He established as a dogma the Assumption of Mary which means that she went to heaven in her body. The Feast of the Assumption falls on August 15, Sri Aurobindo s birthday. Mother has said words to the effect: Sri Aurobindo was aware of the coincidence. The dogma of the Assumption symbolises Matter entering the Divine Consciousness... Sri Aurobindo s own work. Mary stands for the earth s being. To another person, Mother said: The Assumption of the Virgin Mary is the divinisation of matter. And this is the aim of the last Avatar. 1950, November: The Bulletin publishes a first article by Mother: The Science of Living December 5 th : Sri Aurobindo leaves His body. He will be buried on 9 th in the courtyard of the Ashram. This will mark the end of a phase in their Yoga and the beginning of a new phase for their work. Mother is now alone on this side of the veil of death while Sri Aurobindo is busy on the other side of this veil, helping Her. 1951, February 2 nd : Following a referendum organised in the then French territory of Chandernagore (where Sri Aurobindo had stayed shortly before sailing to Pondicherry) merges with (West Bengal and) India. 1951, February: The Bulletin publishes a second article by Mother: Education. 1951, April: The Bulletin publishes a third article by Mother: Physical Education. 1951, April th : A Sri Aurobindo Memorial Convention has been called by Mother on these two days thus celebrating also the 31 st Anniversary of Her return to Pondicherry. K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar will later write that it was a representative and distinguished gathering of intellectuals and educationists of India who felt concerned about the future. In Her inaugural message, Mother launches the Sri Aurobindo International University Centre: Sri Aurobindo is present in our midst, and with all the power of his creative genius he presides over the formation of the University Centre which for years he considered as one of the best means of preparing the future humanity to receive the supramental light that will transform the elite of today into a new race manifesting upon earth the new light and force and life. In his name I open today this convention meeting with the purpose of realising one of His most cherished ideals. K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar will later comment: The question had been posed earlier when the idea of the Convention was mooted whether, after all, a memorial to Sri Aurobindo should not take the form of a Yoga Institute carried on under the guidance of great Indian Yogis instead of a modern University. But clearly Sri Aurobindo himself had discussed the university idea with Mother, and History of Auroville Book 1 Page 51

52 had also once told Surendra Mohan Ghose 43 that it was intended to develop the school and the Ashram into a university that was as large as life, and comprehended the past present and future. One of the participants, Kalidas Nag tells the audience: Thus, Sri Aurobindo is the University pointing to a radically new conception of the term. It should not be a mere copy of the universities of India or abroad. Sri Aurobindo University should aspire to provide the training ground for youths who would build up a new personality in a new universe. Nolini Kanta Gupta says that the ideal before the sponsors of the University would be nothing less than the founding of a new mankind upon earth with a new life and a new consciousness. 1951, July 24 th : Excerpt from Mother s class: CWM, Vol. XII, p French Q: Why are we here in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram 44? There is an ascending evolution which goes from the stone to the plant, from the plant to the animal, from the animal to man. Because man is, for the moment, the last rung at the summit of this ascending evolution, he considers himself as the final stage in this ascension and believes there can be nothing on earth superior to him. In that he is mistaken. In his physical nature he is yet almost wholly animal, a thinking and speaking animal, bust still an animal in his material habits and instincts. Undoubtedly, nature cannot be satisfied with such an imperfect result; she endeavours to bring out a being who will be to man what man is to the animal, a being who will remain a man in its external form, and yet whose consciousness will rise far above the mental and its slavery to ignorance. Sri Aurobindo came upon earth to teach this truth to men. He told them that man is only a transitional being living in a mental consciousness, but with the possibility of acquiring a new consciousness, the Truth-consciousness, and capable of living a life perfectly harmonious, good and beautiful, happy and fully conscious. During the whole of his life upon earth, Sri Aurobindo gave all his time to establish in himself this consciousness he called supramental, and to help those gathered around him to realise it. You have the immense privilege of having come quite young to the Ashram, that is to say, still plastic and capable of being moulded according to this new ideal and thus become the representatives of the new race. Here, in the Ashram, you are in the most favourable conditions with regards to the environment, the influence, the teaching and the example, to awaken in you this supramental consciousness and to grow according to its law. Now, all depends on your will and your sincerity. If you have the will no more to belong to ordinary humanity, no more to be merely evolved animals; if your will is to become men of the new race realising Sri Aurobindo s supramental ideal, living a new and higher life upon a new earth, you will find here all the necessary help to achieve your purpose; you will profit fully by your stay in the Ashram and eventually become living examples for the world. 1951, August: The Bulletin publishes an article by Mother on Vital Education. 1951, November: The Bulletin publishes an article by Mother on Mental Education. 43 Surendra Mohan Ghose was a veteran Congress politician who was the only person not living in the Ashram whom Sri Aurobindo received regularly after his withdrawal in Mother s reply certainly equally applies to the question: Why are we in Auroville? History of Auroville Book 1 Page 52

53 1952, January 6 th : Mother inaugurates the Sri Aurobindo International University Centre. Book on Udar, p , February: The Bulletin publishes Mother s article on Psychic and Spiritual Education. 1952, April: The Bulletin publishes an article by Mother for the inauguration of the Sri Aurobindo International University Centre: Bull Vol. 4 No 2 April, and No3, August 1952 pp Partly reproduced in MoA, p.10; CWM, Vol. XII, p.39; AMW, p.14 French, but published also in English. An International University Centre The conditions in which men live on earth are the result of their state of consciousness. To seek to change these conditions without changing the consciousness is a vain chimera. Those who have been able to perceive what could and ought to be done to improve the situation in the various domains of human life economic, political, social, financial, educational and sanitary are individuals who have, to a greater or lesser extent, developed their consciousness in an exceptional way and put themselves in contact with higher planes of consciousness. But their ideas have remained more or less theoretical or, if an attempt has been made to realise them practically, it has always failed lamentably after a certain period of time; for no human organisation can change radically unless human consciousness itself changes. Prophets of a new humanity have followed one another; religions, spiritual or social, have been created; their beginnings have sometimes been promising, but as humanity has not been fundamentally transformed, the old errors arising from human nature itself have gradually reappeared and after some time we find ourselves almost back at the point we had started from with so much hope and enthusiasm. Also, in this effort to improve human conditions, there have always been two tendencies, which seem to be contrary but which ought to complement each other so that progress may be achieved. The first advocates a collective reorganisation, something which could lead to the effective unity of mankind. The other declares that all progress is made first by the individual and insists that the individual should be given the conditions in which he can progress freely. Both are equally true and necessary, and our effort should be directed along both these lines at once. For collective progress and individual progress are interdependent. Before the individual can take a leap forward, at least a little of the preceding progress must have been realised in the collectivity. A way must therefore be found so that these two types of progress may proceed side by side. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 53

54 It is in answer to this urgent need that Sri Aurobindo conceived the scheme of this international university, in order to prepare the human elite who will be able to work for the progressive unification of mankind and be ready at the same time to embody the new force which is descending to transform the earth. A few broad ideas will serve as a basis for the organisation of this university centre and will govern its programme of studies. Most of them have already been presented in the various writings of Sri Aurobindo and in the series of articles on education in this Bulletin 45. The most important idea is that the unity of the human race can be achieved neither by uniformity nor by domination and subjection. Only a synthetic organisation of all nations, each one occupying its true place according to its own genius and the part it has to play in the whole, can bring about a comprehensive and progressive unification which has any chance of enduring. And if this synthesis is to be a living one, the grouping should be effectuated around a central idea that is as wide and as high as possible, in which all tendencies, even the most contradictory, may find their respective places. This higher idea is to give men the conditions of life they need in order to be able to prepare themselves to manifest the new force that will create the race of tomorrow. All impulsions of rivalry, all struggle for precedence and domination must disappear and give way to a will for harmonious organisation, for clear-sighted and effective collaboration. To make this possible, the children should be accustomed from a very early age not merely to the idea itself, but to its practice. That is why the international university centre will be international; not because students from all countries will be admitted here, nor even because they will be taught in their own language, but above all because the cultures of the various parts of the world will be represented here so as to be accessible to all, not merely intellectually in ideas, theories, principles and language, but also vitally in habits and customs, and in all its forms painting, sculpture, music, architecture, decoration and physically through natural scenery, dress, games, sports, industries and food. A kind of permanent world-exhibition should be organised in which all countries will be represented in a concrete and living way. The ideal would be for every nation with a well-defined culture to have a pavilion representing that culture 46, built in a style that is most expressive of the customs of the country; it will exhibit the nation s most representative products, natural as well as manufactured, and also the best expressions of its intellectual and artistic genius and its spiritual tendencies. Each nation would thus have a very practical and concrete interest in this cultural synthesis and could collaborate in the work by taking responsibility for the pavilion that represents it. Living accommodation, large or small according to the need, could be attached, where students of the same nationality could stay and thus enjoy the true culture of their native country and at the same time receive at the university centre the education which will introduce them to all the other cultures that exist on earth. In this way, international education will not be merely theoretical, in the classroom, but practical in all the details of life. Only a general idea of the organisation is given here; its detailed application will be presented little by little in this Bulletin as it is carried out. The first aim will therefore be to help individuals to become aware of the fundamental genius of the nation to which they belong and at the same time to bring them into contact with the ways of life of other nations, so that they learn to know and respect equally the true spirit of all the countries of the world. For, in order to be real and workable, any world organisation must be based on this mutual respect and understanding between nation and nation as well as between individual and individual. Only in order and collective organisation, in collaboration based on mutual goodwill, is there any possibility of lifting man out of the painful chaos in which he finds himself now. It is with this aim and in this spirit that all human problems will be studied at the University centre; and the solution to them will be given in the light of the supramental knowledge which Sri Aurobindo has revealed in his writings. 45 These articles are mentioned in this compilation according to their respective date of publication. 46 On , when Mother will describe Auroville s International Zone to Satprem, she will say a pavilion for every country (that was my old idea). History of Auroville Book 1 Page 54

55 1952, August: Second part of Mother s article: Bulletin, August 1952, CWM, Vol. XII, pp French, but published also in English. An International University Centre Part II Concerning the principles which will govern the education given at the Sri Aurobindo International University Centre, it has been mentioned that each nation must occupy its own place and play its part in the world concert. This should not be taken to mean that each nation can choose its place arbitrarily, according to its own ambitions and cravings. A country s mission is not something which can be decided mentally with all the egoistic and ignorant preferences of the external consciousness, for in that case the field of conflict between nations might be shifted, but the conflict would continue, probably with even greater force. Just as each individual has a psychic being which is his true self and which governs his destiny more or less overtly, so too each nation has a psychic being which is its true being and moulds its destiny from behind the veil; it is the soul of the country, the national genius, the spirit of the people, the centre of national aspiration, the fountainhead of all that is beautiful, noble, great and generous in the life of the country. True patriots feel its presence as a tangible reality. In India it has been made into an almost divine entity, and all who truly love their country call it Mother India (Bharat Mata) and offer her a daily prayer for the welfare of their country. It is she who symbolises and embodies the true ideal of the country, its mission in the world. The thinking elite in India even identifies her with one of the aspects of the universal Mother, as the following extract from the Hymn to Durga illustrates: [Passage (Hymn to Durga) omitted] One would like to see in all countries the same veneration for the national soul, the same aspiration to become fit instruments for the manifestation of its highest ideal, the same ardour for progress, and self-perfection enabling each people to identify itself with its national soul and thus find its true nature and role, which makes each one a living and immortal entity regardless of all the accidents of history. * Regarding these Cultural Pavilions, years later M. P. Pandit will remember what he had understood from Mother 47 (most probably on some other occasion): She said in sum: students from different countries, with their different civilisations and traditions, should be given opportunities to stay in independent blocks; students from France, students from Japan, students from America each in a separate block not demarcated by walls but by the free development of their own pattern of life, so that if any student wanted to know of the Japanese way of life, he could straightaway walk into the Japanese sector, a distinct part of the hostel, mix with the students there, see what kind of food they ate, how they cooked, how they lived. And at that time she said also that each country must have its own pavilion a pavilion where its own culture at its highest point should be represented in its special characteristic way... She saw the whole area round the Ashram, with all buildings contained in it, split in twelve different segments together forming the Mother s symbol. 1952: C. Rajagopalachari becomes Chief Minister of the then Madras State (which will later become Tamil Nadu). K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar will later write: On Mother, by K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar, p. 571 He felt that a solution should be found (so that Pondicherry merges with India), and asks Surendra Mohan Ghose to request Mother to bring about the desired thaw and promote a final peaceful 47 M. P. Pandit The Mother and Her Mission, p. 15 ff. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 55

56 settlement... Mother concentrated for a while, and then told Surendra Mohan that she would do what was necessary. 1952, December 13 th : India s Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, writes a memorandum to the secretary general and the foreign secretary, M.E.A. (Ministry of External Affairs), On Exemptions to Aurobindo Ashram : Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru External Affairs, p Quoted in G. van Vrekhem s book On Mother. 1. I have considered this matter carefully and am of opinion that the concession asked for by the authorities of Sri Aurobindo s Ashram in Pondicherry should not be granted. We should advise accordingly the Ministries concerned here In view of our difficult relations with the French Establishments in India, any such concession is undesirable, more especially because this means Indian currency going into Pondicherry. [Pondicherry was still ruled by the French.] 3. The attitude of the Ashram has hardly ever been favourable to India and sometimes it has been definitely hostile 48. Sri Aurobindo was undoubtedly a great man and we should welcome any proper memorial to him, more especially a new educational centre. But Sri Aurobindo is no more and it is not quite clear how the Ashram is going to run in future. Such accounts as we had are not favourable and we have even heard that there are internal conflicts there. Most of the property stands personally in the name of Madame Alphonse 49, otherwise known as the 'Mother.' So does the jewellery. It would be extraordinary for us to give this concession to a private individual So far as the University Centre is concerned, a number of prominent men in India have commended it, but I have failed to find out under whose auspices it will run and who will be responsible for it. To take some steps to support a University of this type, about which we know nothing, except that it is a memorial to Sri Aurobindo, is obviously not desirable.' Etc. 1952, December 22 nd : Jawaharlal Nehru writes another memorandum, 'State of Affairs at the Aurobindo Ashram,' to the general secretary, M.E.A. Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru External Affairs, p Quoted in G. van Vrekhem s book On Mother. I had a visit from Shri Dilip Kumar Roy of Sri Aurobindo Ashram at Pondicherry. 1. He was much concerned at the state of the Ashram, which according to him consists of eight hundred persons now. He complained about the "Mother". He said that while the Ashramites were almost all in favour of merger of Pondicherry with India, Mother was very French in her outlook. 2. He also complained of the way Mother controlled everything autocratically and dealt with all the moneys of the Ashram as if they were her private property. She gave no account of these public funds. She takes nobody in her confidence. There is no trust or committee to deal with the moneys or other matters of the Ashram. 3. Then he referred to the University. He said there is no University, but it has been declared that this has been started and money is being collected. Why is this money collected? He expressed his gratification at the fact that we refused to allow a concession to Mother to sell her jewellery without payment of customs dues This was a grievous misconception by the Prime Minister. By now the reader has some idea not only of the love Sri Aurobindo and Mother had for India, but also of the feelings of love and even worship they fostered in their disciples and students. Moreover, it would be thanks to Mother s personal intervention that Pondicherry would merge with Motherland without difficulties, at a time when the respective positions of France and India had hardened to the breaking point. (See Mother India, January 1990, pp. 9, 10.) 49 He means Alfassa. 50 Mother wanted to sell her jewelry to disciples as the Ashram was in need of money. 51 Disciples wanting to bring these jewels from French Pondicherry to India would thus have to pay hefty import duty. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 56

57 4. Shri Dilip Kumar Roy wanted us to bring some pressure on Mother or on the French Government in regard to the Ashram and in regard to the so-called University.' Etc , May 28 th : Mother writes this most definite statement to Surendra Nath Jauhar 53. CWM, Vol. XII, p. 110 English I am perfectly sure, I am quite confident, there is not the slightest doubt in my mind, that this University, which is being established here, will be the greatest seat of knowledge upon earth. It may take fifty years, it may take a hundred years, and you may doubt about my being there; I may be there or not, but these children of mine will be there to carry out my work. And those who collaborate in this divine work today will have the joy and pride of having participated in such an exceptional achievement. 1953, September 24 th : Mother writes: CWM, Vol. XIII, p English The usual sadhanas have for aim the union with the Supreme Consciousness (Sat-Chit-Ananda). And those who reach there are satisfied with their own liberation and leave the world to its unhappy plight. On the contrary Sri Aurobindo s sadhana starts where the others end. Once the union with the Supreme is realised one must bring down that realisation to the exterior world and change the conditions of life upon earth until a total transformation is accomplished. In accordance with this aim, the sadhaks of the integral yoga do not retire from the world to lead a life of contemplation and meditation. Each one must devote at least one-third of his time to a useful work. All activities are represented in the Ashram and each one chooses the work most congenial to his nature, but must do it in a spirit of service and unselfishness, keeping always in view the aim of integral transformation. To make this purpose possible the Ashram is organised so that all its inmates find their reasonable needs satisfied and have not to worry about their subsistence. The rules are few so that each one can enjoy the freedom needed for his development but a few things are strictly forbidden; they are (1) politics, (2) smoking, (3) alcoholic drink and (4) sex enjoyment. Great care is taken for the maintenance of good health and the welfare and normal growth of the body of all, small and big, young and old. 1953, December 9 th : Mother starts sleeping in Her new room on the top floor of the Ashram. 1953, December 10 th : Opening of University level classes of the Sri Aurobindo International University Centre. (From onwards it will be known as Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education) Sri Aurobindo Centenary Chronology 52 These two memoranda throw a harsh light on the calumnies and the antagonism Mother, and with her the Ashram and the Work, were subjected to in this case by a disciple of twenty-four years standing to whom Sri Aurobindo had written: I have cherished you like a friend and a son. Dilip K. Roy left the Ashram, around the time of his meeting with Nehru, to found his own ashram in Pune together with Indira Devi, the woman who had become the centre of his life and whom Sri Aurobindo and Mother had saved from a certain death. Mother kept his apartment in the Ashram available for him till Founder, with Mother s full support, of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch. Father of Tara and many other children. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 57

58 1954, March 13 th : Beginning of the battle of Dien Bien Phû between the French army and the Viet Minh in what is still French Indochina. 1954, May 7 th : Fall of Dien Bien Phû. Already deeply embroiled in the Indochinese quagmire, France s cabinet, led by Prime Minister, Pierre Mendès-France, decides to make some concessions on the French territories in India. 1954, July 6 th : The French Government decides to hand over its remaining four Territories in the subcontinent (Pondicherry, Karikal, Yanaon and Mahé) to India without any referendum. 1954, July 10 th : Mother writes an article in which She declares Her intention to build a Labour Colony for Ashram employees: Mother India, July 1954, pp ; CWM, XIII, p French or English? To the Employees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram 54 What I wish to do for you. I shall tell you how I view the solution to your problems, both individual and collective, and what is the truth of the relation between us. But for the working out of the program I am going to place before you, two essential conditions are necessary. First, I must have the financial means to execute my plan; secondly, you must show a minimum of sincerity, honesty and goodwill in your attitude towards me and your work. You have most unfortunately the habit of trying to deceive me. Bad advisers have taught you that that is the best thing to do in your relation with your employer. It may be that when the employer himself seeks to deceive you and exploit you, this attitude on your part is legitimate. But in regard to me it is foolishness and a blunder; first of all, because you cannot deceive me and your deceit becomes immediately obvious and takes away from me all desire to come to your aid, and secondly because I am not a boss and I do not seek to exploit you. All my effort is towards realising in the world as much truth as actual circumstances allow; and with the increase of truth, the welfare and happiness of all will necessarily increase. Differences of caste and class have no truth for me; all that counts is individual value. My aim is to create a big family in which it will be possible for each one to fully develop his capacities and express them. Each one will have its place and occupation in accordance with his capacities and in relation of goodwill and brotherhood. As a consequence of such a family organisation there will be no need of remuneration or wages. Work should not be a means of earning one s livelihood; its purpose should be two-fold: first to develop one s nature and capacity for action, and, secondly, in proportion to one s physical means and moral and intellectual aptitude, to give service to the family to which one belongs and to whose welfare it is but proper to contribute, as it is proper for the family to provide for the real needs of each of its members. To give a concrete form to this ideal under the present conditions of life, my idea is to build a kind of city accommodating at the outset about two thousand persons. It will be built according to the most modern plans, meeting all the most up-to-date requirements of hygiene and public health. It will have not only residential houses, but also gardens and sports grounds for physical culture. Each family will be lodged in a separate house; bachelors will be grouped according to their occupations and affinities. 54 When Mother will describe Her plan of Auroville to Satprem, on , She will speak of a Labour Colony. It is therefore probably in Auroville that Mother eventually intended to implement this idea. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 58

59 Nothing necessary to life will be forgotten. Kitchens equipped in the most modern way will supply equally to all simple and healthy food, assuring the energy necessary for the proper maintenance of the body. They will function on a co-operative basis of work in common and collaboration. In the matter of education, what is necessary is to arrange for the moral and intellectual instruction and development of all, children and adults: various schools, technical institutions in different vocations, classes for music and dance, a cinema hall where educational films will be shown, a lecture hall, a library, a reading room, varied physical education, a sportsground and so on. Each one can choose the kind of activity that is the most suitable to his nature and will receive the required training. Even small gardens will be provided where those who like cultivation can grow flowers, fruits and vegetables. In the matter of health, there will be regular medical visits, a hospital, a dispensary, a nursing home for the segregation of contagious cases. A department of hygiene will have the exclusive function of inspecting all public and private buildings to see that the most rigorous rules of cleanliness are observed everywhere and by all. As natural adjuncts to this department public baths and common laundries will be put at the disposal of everyone. Finally, big stores will be set up where one can find all the small extras which give life variety and pleasantness and which one will get against coupons that will be given in recompense for especially notable achievement in work or conduct. I shall not give a long description of the organisation and the working of the institution, although everything in it to the smallest details has already been foreseen. It goes without saying that for admission to live in this ideal place the essential conditions that need to be fulfilled are good character, good conduct, honest, regular and efficient work and a general goodwill. 1954, August 9 th : A complete hartal is observed. Two days later, on 11 th, Mr. Ménard, is called back to France and leaves Pondicherry. He is the last Governor of France s territories in India. 1954, August: The Bulletin publishes an article in which Mother describes the ideal society She dreams of creating: Bulletin, p. ;MoA, p.46; CWM, XII, p.94; IoA, p.5; MA, V, p.30; AMW, p.17, Gazette 2, 6, p French, but published also in English. A Dream There should be somewhere on earth a place which no nation could claim as its own, where all human beings of goodwill who have a sincere aspiration could live freely as citizens of the world and obey one single authority, that of the supreme truth; a place of peace, concord and harmony where all the fighting instincts of man would be used exclusively to conquer the causes of his sufferings and miseries, to surmount his weaknesses and ignorance, to triumph over his limitations and incapacities; a place where the needs of the spirit and the concern for progress would take precedence over the satisfaction of desires and passions, the search for pleasure and material enjoyment. In this place, children would be able to grow and develop integrally without losing contact with their souls; education would be given not for passing examinations or obtaining certificates and posts but to enrich existing faculties and bring forth new ones. In this place, titles and positions would be replaced by opportunities to serve and organise; the bodily needs of each one would be equally provided for, and intellectual, moral and spiritual superiority would be expressed in the general organisation not by an increase in the pleasures and powers of life but by increased duties and responsibilities. Beauty in all its artistic forms, painting, sculpture, music, literature, would be equally accessible to all; the ability to share in the joy it brings would be limited only by the capacities of each one and not by social and financial position. For in this ideal place money would no longer be the sovereign lord; individual worth would have a far greater importance than that of material wealth and social standing. There, work would not be a way to History of Auroville Book 1 Page 59

60 earn one s living but a way to express oneself and to develop one s capacities and possibilities while being of service to the community as a whole, which, for its own part, would provide for each individual s subsistence 55 and sphere of action. In short, it would be a place where human relationships, which are normally based almost exclusively on competition and strife, would be replaced by relationships of emulation in doing well, of collaboration and real brotherhood. The earth is certainly not ready to realise such an ideal, for mankind does not yet possess sufficient knowledge to understand and adopt it nor the conscious force that is indispensable in order to execute it; that is why I call it a dream. And yet this dream is in the course of becoming a reality; that is what we are striving for in Sri Aurobindo s Ashram, on a very small scale, in proportion to our limited means. The realisation is certainly far from perfect, but it is progressive; little by little we are advancing towards our goal which we hope we may one day be able to present to the world as a practical and effective way to emerge from the present chaos, to be born into a new life that is more harmonious and true. 1954, August: Mother reads a declaration in which she asks for double nationality: A Declaration I want to mark this day by the expression of a long cherished wish; that of becoming an Indian citizen. From the first time I came to India in 1914 I felt that India is my true country, the country of my soul and spirit. I had decided to realise this wish as soon as India would be free. But I had to wait still longer because of my heavy responsibilities for the Ashram here in Pondicherry. Now the time has come when I can declare myself. But, in accordance with Sri Aurobindo s ideal, my purpose is to show that truth lies in union rather than in division. To reject one nationality in order to obtain another is not an ideal solution. So I hope I shall be allowed to adopt a double nationality, that is to say, to remain French while I become an Indian. 55 Subsistence means the very basic minimum needs such as just enough food to survive. In the original French version, Mother wrote: Pourvoirait aux besoins de l existence (would provide for the needs of its members to live). History of Auroville Book 1 Page 60

61 I am French by birth and early education, I am Indian by choice and predilection. In my consciousness there is no antagonism between the two, on the contrary, they combine very well and complete one another. I know also that I can be of service to both equally, for my only aim in life is to give a concrete form to Sri Aurobindo s great teaching and in his teaching he reveals that all the nations are essentially one and meant to express the Divine Unity upon earth through an organised and harmonious diversity. In the Report on the Quarter of its December issue, the Bulletin will write: An event of historical importance was the Mother s Declaration on August 15 th. In this, the Mother has opened the door and has taken the first steps on the road in this physical world, which will eventually lead to the unity of all its peoples. If the powers that be take up her call and follow her, this unity will be the more quickly and easily achieved-if not-the end can only be won along the usual tortuous and dark pathway, full of obstacles and blind alleys, full of errors and sufferings and disillusionments. 1954, August 15 th : Mother visits an exhibition on Indian Art in the School. 1954, August: Text written by Mother: Mother s Agenda French Whenever a god has donned a body, it was always with the intention of transforming the earth and creating a new world. Yet until now, he always had to give up his body without being able to complete his work; and it has always been said that the earth was not ready, that mankind did not fulfil the conditions necessary for the work to be accomplished. But it is the very imperfection of the incarnate god that makes the perfection of those about him indispensable. If the god incarnate realised the perfection needed for the progress to be made, this progress would not be conditioned by the state of the surrounding matter. However, interdependence is doubtlessly absolute in this world of utmost objectification, and a certain degree of perfection in the general manifestation is indispensable before a higher degree of perfection can be realised in the divine, incarnate being. It is the need for a certain perfection in the environment that drives human beings to progress; it is the insufficiency of this progress, whatever it may be, that impels the divine being to intensify his effort for progress in his own body. Thus both movements for progress are simultaneous and complementary. 1954, August 25 th : Excerpt from Mother s Wednesday Class: Q & A, p. ; Mother s Agenda, p. French Q.: Mother, you are wasting your time with all these Ashram people 56. Oh!... But you see, from an occult standpoint, it is a selection. From an external standpoint you could say that there are people in the world who are far superior to you (and I would not disagree!), but from an occult standpoint, it is a selection. There are... It can be said that without a doubt the majority of young people here have come because it was promised them that they would be present at the Hour of Realisation but they just don t remember it! [Mother laughs] I have already said several times that when you come down on earth, you fall on your head, which leaves you a little dazed! [laughter] It s a pity, but after all, you don t have to remain dazed all your lives, do you? You should go deep within yourselves and there find the immortal consciousness then you can see very well, you can very clearly remember the circumstances in which you... you aspired to be here for the Hour of the Work s realisation. 56 Question and reply certainly apply equally to the Auroville people. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 61

62 But actually, to tell you the truth, I think your lives are so easy that you don t exert yourselves very much! How many among you have truly an INTENSE need to find their psychic beings? To find out truly who they are? To find out what their roles are, why they are here?... You just let yourselves drift. You even complain when things aren t easy enough! You just take things as they come. And sometimes, should an aspiration arise in you and you encounter some difficulty in yourself, you say, Oh, Mother is there! She ll take care of it for me! And you think about something else. Q.: Mother, previously things were very strict in the Ashram, but not now. Why? Yes, I have always said that it changed when we had to take the very little children. How can you envision an ascetic life with little sprouts no bigger than that? It s impossible! But that s the little surprise package the war left on our doorstep. When it was found that Pondicherry was the safest place on earth, naturally people came wheeling in here with all their baby carriages filled and asked us if we could shelter them, so we couldn t very well turn them away, could we? That s how it happened, and in no other way... But, in the beginning, the first condition for coming here was that you would have nothing more to do with your family! If a man was married, then he had to completely overlook the fact that he had a wife and children completely sever all ties, have nothing further to do with them. And if ever a wife asked to come just because her husband happened to be here, we told her, You have no business coming here! In the beginning, it was very, very strict for a long time. The first condition was: Nothing more to do with your family... Well, we are a long way from that! But I repeat that it only happened because of the war and not because we stopped seeing the need to cut all family ties; on the contrary, this is an indispensable condition because as long as you hang on to all these cords which bind you to ordinary life, which make you a slave to the ordinary life, how can you possibly belong to the Divine alone? What childishness! It is simply not possible. If you have ever taken the trouble to read over the early ashram rules, you would find that even friendships were considered dangerous and undesirable... We made every effort to create an atmosphere in which only ONE thing counted: the Life Divine. But as I said, bit by bit... things changed. However, this had one advantage: we were too much outside of life. So there were a number of problems which had never arisen but which would have suddenly surged up the moment we wanted a complete manifestation. We took on all these problems a little prematurely, but it gave us the opportunity to solve them. In this way we learned many things and surmounted many difficulties, only it complicated things considerably. And in the present situation, given such a large number of elements who haven t even the slightest idea why they re here... well, it demands a far greater effort on the disciples part than before. Before, when there were... we started with 35 or 36 people but even when it got up to 150, even with 150 it was as if... they were all nestled in a cocoon in my consciousness: they were so near to me that I could constantly guide ALL their inner or outer movements. Day and night, at each moment, everything was totally under my control. And naturally, I think they made a great deal of progress at that time: it is a fact that I was CONSTANTLY doing the sadhana 57 for them. But then, with this baby boom... The sadhana can t be done for little sprouts who are 3 or 4 or 5 years old! It s out of the question. The only thing I can do is wrap them in the Consciousness and try to see that they grow up in the best of all possible conditions. However, the one advantage to all this is that instead of there being such a COMPLETE and PASSIVE dependence on the disciples part, each one has to make his own little effort. Truly, that s excellent. 1954, October 18 th : Pondicherry s Municipal Councillors and the Members of the Assembly of Representatives give their verdict in favour of a merger with the Indian Union. 57 Sadhana: yogic discipline or effort. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 62

63 1954, October 21 st : An agreement for the de facto merger with India of the French territories in India is signed in New Delhi between representatives of the Indian and French governments. 1954, November 1 st : De facto merger with India of Pondicherry and other French enclaves. While the spiritual flag of united India was being hoist, at 6.20 am, Mother declared: 58 For us the 1 st November has a deep significance. We have a flag which Sri Aurobindo called the Spiritual Flag of United India. Its square form, its colour and every detail of its design have a symbolic meaning. It was hoisted on the 15 th August 1947 when India became free. It will now be hoisted on the 1 st November 1954 when these settlements get united with India and it will be hoisted in the future whenever India recovers other parts of herself. United India has a special mission to fulfil in the world. Sri Aurobindo laid down his life for it and we are prepared to do the same. 58 The flag is silver-blue. The silver-blue colour of the central part of the card issued on that day has now faded. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 63

64 It is the flag of India s spiritual mission. And in the accomplishment of this mission will India s unity be accomplished. (Mother, ) The economic blockade imposed on these territories by India since 1949 is thus lifted and, as it is now far easier for Indians to move to Pondicherry, many more people will join the Ashram. 1955, January 16 th : First visit of India s Prime Minister, J. Nehru, to Pondicherry since its de facto merger with India. Nehru is received at the Ashram by Mother and is very positively impressed by what he sees; he immediately understands that he had been given a very wrong impression by Dilip Kumar Roy and others about Mother and her attitude towards India, about the Ashram and its University. During his visit of the Ashram, the Prime Minister is shown a plaster model of a chariot representing the new Indian State of Pondicherry for the Ceremonial Parade in New Delhi, on Republic Day of 26 th January. This model, executed by Ashram artists and craftsmen, was conceived by Mother to explain symbolically Pondicherry s future role which she explains as follows. 59 The new State of Pondicherry is here represented by a small country craft carrying a pavilion. The four principal pillars of this pavilion are the four Continents of Asia, Europe, Africa and America. Asia is represented by the Buddha, Europe by Pallas Athene, Africa by Isis and America by the Statue of Liberty. The spiritual supports upbear the globe of the world on which the Dove of Peace descends from on high. On either side of the globe stand an Indian lady with a welcoming leaf of palm and a French lady with an auspicious olive branch. This amity between the Orient and the Occident augurs well for an enduring peace and concord among nations. The open spaces between the four pillars of the pavilion are covered by entwining creepers with alternating red and white lotuses. The red and the white lotuses represent the twin spiritual Consciousness guiding the terrestrial evolution. At the four corners of the pavilion stand four guarding lions symbolising spiritual Powers. 59 Bulletin and CWM, Volume XIII (Words of Mother I), Page: (or 374?) The photo on the left is from the Bulletin; that on the right from the Golden Chain. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 64

65 It is hoped that the State of Pondicherry will materialise this spiritual vision and become a meeting place of all the cultures of the world with the full consciousness of the fundamental Unity that binds the peoples of the world together. 1955, February: A first plot of land is bought by Louis Allen for the Ashram in the then Madras State (which later became Tamil Nadu). It is now part of the Ashram farm Lake Estate. 1955, March 26 th : Mother visits an exhibition of Chinese Paintings above the Dining Room. 1955, April 4 th : Message for the Inauguration of the French Institute at Pondicherry: CWM, Vol. XII, p.387 French In any country the best education that can be given to children consists in teaching them what the true nature of their country is and its own qualities, the mission their nation has to fulfil in the world and its true place in the terrestrial concert. To that should be added a wide understanding of the role of other nations, but without the spirit of limitation and without ever losing sight of the genius of one s own country. France meant generosity of sentiment, newness and boldness of ideas and chivalry in action. It was that France which commanded the respect and admiration of all: it is by these virtues that she dominated the world. A utilitarian, calculating, mercantile France is France no longer. These things do not agree with her true nature and in practising them she loses the nobility of her world position 1955, May 1 st : Having been advised by K.M. Munshi that, when Pondicherry will become de jure Indian, the Ashram s assets should not remain in Mother s name, She registers the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust in front of the local Tehsildar in a small house located in the plot bought two months earlier in Madras State. Amiyo Ganguli and Vishwanath Lahiri are also present as witnesses. In this way Mother doesn t have to go to the government office in Vanur. 1955, June: Though no Pavilion has been built as yet, the idea of presenting the genius of various cultures of the world to the students of the International University Centre is very much alive. Several exhibitions presenting the particular genius of some countries are organised. In June it is Germany. Mother inaugurates an exhibition on Germany History of Auroville Book 1 Page 65

66 1955, August 15 th : Sri Aurobindo s 83 rd birthday: The quarterly exhibition this year on the 15 th August was held at Golconde instead of at the University Library. It was an exhibition on Japan and consisted almost wholly of articles from Japan which Mother had herself used there and brought with her in The arrangement of the exhibition was in four separate rooms. The first showing the country: the second Art and Culture, the third the comparison between the old (1915) and the new (1955), and the fourth Home Life. In setting the exhibition with recent Japanese members who were in attendance each day in their national costume. They had, in addition, prepared a Japanese garden in the Golconde grounds and a number of Bonzai or dwarf trees which is so typical of Japanese horticultural art, It was a very successful exhibition and attracted many visitors not only from the Ashram but from the town as well. (From the Bulletin.) 1955, September 29 th : India s Prime Minister, J. Nehru visits Pondicherry for the second time and impromptu goes and meet Mother at the playground. He is accompanied by his daughter Indira, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Kamraj Nadar. (Lal Bahadur will succeed him as Prime Minister and then Indira.) Life in Sri Aurobindo Ashram, p.205 History of Auroville Book 1 Page 66

67 1955, November: Indira Gandhi, daughter of India s Prime Minister visits again the Ashram. Book on Udar, p , February 29 th : A first descent of the Supramental consciousness takes place. The earth is starting to become ready for the realisation of Mother s A Dream to become possible February 29 March Lord, Thou hast willed, and I execute: A new light breaks upon the earth, A new world is born. The things that were promised are fulfilled. 1956, March 21 st : Note by Mother: MA, p. French The age of Capitalism and business is drawing to a close. But the age of Communism too will pass. For communism as it is preached is not constructive, it is a weapon to combat plutocracy. But when the battle is over and the armies are disbanded for want of employment, then communism, having no more utility, will be transformed into something else that will express a higher truth. We know this truth, and we are working for it so that it may reign upon earth. 1956, April 24 th : Darshan Message: The manifestation of the Supramental upon earth is no more a promise but a living fact, a reality. It is at work here, and one day will come when the most blind, the most unconscious, even the most unwilling shall be obliged to recognise it. Mid fifties: Mother makes a second attempt to develop a new township this time by the East side bank of Ossudu (Usteri) Lake. As was the case in Her first attempt (in the then Hyderabad State), She asks Antonin Raymond to be its architect. Excerpt of a conversation with Satprem on While filing various old papers, notes, etc., Mother happens upon the plan for a film studio at the lake some five miles from Pondicherry: MA, I, p.409 French, conversation, tape-recording available It s at the lake. The property belonged to the mission and at that time its manager was a very good friend of ours, even though he was a missionary. He said that that they wanted to sell and that he would arrange for us to have it. Everything was arranged, and I was to receive the money to buy it (they asked for more than fifty or sixty thousand [rupees]). But then the money didn t come and our missionary friend left. He s no longer there; he s been replaced by someone else. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 67

68 [Mother looks at a piece of paper] Calling Antonin Raymond, the architect for the construction. Then there was also making ready temporary quarters for [an American film maker] Dr. Alexander Markey 60. But then Markey left; he died [in 1958]. That s what happens things change. It s not that the project stops, but it s forced to take other paths. Satprem: But this film project has been completely abandoned now, hasn t it? No, no. You see, it wasn t a studio it was a school, a school of photography, television and film. It s not at all buried. But Louis 61 has enlarged the program. [Mother indicates the plan]. This is only a small part of his extensive total program. He is planning to have a school of agriculture, a modern dairy with grazing land there s a lot of agriculture, really a lot fruit orchards, large rice fields, many things. And then a ceramics factory. My ceramics factory will be at the far end of the lake, so as to utilise the clay the government has agreed; as they have to dig out the lake one day, we shall use the topsoil for the fields. First we ll remove all the pebbles (you know, there are hills over there), which can be used for construction it s a mine of pebbles. After removing the pebbles, there will be holes which then we ll fill with earth from the lake. And below this earth is a thick and compact layer of clay which is so hard it can t be used for farming it s impossible but it s wonderful for making ceramics. So right at the very end, in Indian territory, in Madras State 62, we ll have a large ceramics industry. On the other side, we ll have a little factory for firing clay. All this is huge. A tremendous program. We can file it with the other things. * On , while describing Her plan to develop Auroville, Mother will comment: in the Lake Estate project, there was already an airfield. Two documents describing part of this tremendous program have now re-surfaced: * An undated 16-page leaflet presenting Alexander Markey s project proposal is published by the Ashram and is entitled NEW HORIZON International motion pictures dedicated to a greater tomorrow. Among other things it says: The Executive Producer of the project is Dr. Alexander Markey. Chief architect of the New Horizon domain is Antonin Raymond of New York and Tokyo. 63 New Horizon International bas come into being for the specific purpose of meeting this challenge of our civilization. It is inspired by one of the most highly esteemed spiritual and cultural centres in the world and is designed on a scale commensurate with the need. Its goal is the production of a constant flow of the kind of motion pictures that will foster a nobler, truer life for humanity. New Horizon s entry into the field of motion picture production comprises a wide-scale program on a long-range basis. Its studios are designed to include facilities and equipment equal to the finest in the world in an atmosphere of inspiration and dedication. 60 P. 54 of the April 1955 issue of the Bulletin, the Report on the Quarter mentions an exhibition by Dr. Alexander Markey [ ] of stills from the picture he is producing Gandhipath in which Babu Ramanarayan, the Indian Parliamentarian, plays the principal role. 61 Louis Allen, an Ashramite from South Africa who was at that time in-charge of the Ashram s Lake Estate. 62 Pondicherry was still under French administration. (Its de jure merger with India will take place on , two years later.) The neighbouring territory was the Indian State of Madras, which later became Tamil Nadu. 63 This means that Mother asked Antonin Raymond to be the architect and that he agreed to it. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 68

69 Land has been acquired building has begun 64 and the cornerstone has been laid in the hearts and wills of those to whom this project has become an imperative. Educational Films. An important part of the New Horizon program is a special department for the production of educational and inspirational films under the auspices of the Sri Aurobindo International University Centre. 65 The material for these films will be chosen in consultation with the faculty of the International University Centre; their production will conform to the standards of technical and creative excellence of all New Horizon films. These educational series are so conceived that they will lend themselves readily to adaptation into any desired language. University Courses. It is the aim of the New Horizon management to provide every facility to talented youth from all parts of the world particularly from India, who aspire to film careers. As the most effective means of achieving this, our program includes a comprehensive series of courses in every phase of motion picture production and management, under the auspices of the Sri Aurobindo International University Centre. EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES To provide the material setting and the inspirational atmosphere for this great venture, the plan calls for a self-contained New Horizon world extensive enough to include all the multiple activities and requirements of large-scale film production; to house all of the permanent staff, cast and other employees; to accommodate guest personnel and visitors, and to supply the entire community with food, health, educational, recreational and other essentials. The central site selected for this purpose comprises 105 acres of undulating land with extensive adjoining acreage, on the shores of a large lake 66, seven miles from the town of Pondicherry and the Bay of Bengal. International Community. Within walking distance of the film centre the plan provides for an international community large enough to accommodate a minimum of 400 permanent residents, comprising the executive, creative, artistic, chief technical and other personnel of the film centre and their families, as well as choice, accommodations for 100 transients. Designed and landscaped with an eye to the aesthetic, this residential community will be modern in every respect, including among other amenities: a non-sectarian temple for worship; recreation areas for swimming and other sports; playgrounds for children; indoor recreation and dining halls; community administration offices; health facilities; schools and grounds; a cinema; a modem shopping centre; cold storage and food processing plants; bakery; community laundry; water works; electric power plant; maintenance buildings; sewage disposal plant; general air conditioning. Model Township. Also within easy access to the studio, the project includes a township composed of a cluster of villages for local semiskilled and unskilled employees and their families. Conceived as a unique little world, this community will preserve the commendable features of what is in the best Indian tradition, utilising at the same time modern conveniences, advantages and sanitary facilities, plus an element of beauty, that could easily be adopted by other Indian rural communities without financial strain. The township will have its own places of worship; municipal buildings; schools; recreational facilities, playground swimming pool; bazaar; community laundry; adult education and training centre; sewage disposal plant; electricity and uncontaminated drinking water for every home, and other conveniences and amenities. 64 As, on , Mother told Satprem that the land wasn t purchased, this leaflet would probably have been circulated only after the required land would have been secured. 65 As the Sri Aurobindo International University Centre is mentioned here, as well as in other instances, it will enable us to determine the period during which this leaflet was published. (See below.) 66 This is the Ossudu Lake (known earlier as Usteri Lake or Le Grand Etang ). History of Auroville Book 1 Page 69

70 Additional Features of New Horizon. A special large acreage is being set aside for outdoor sets and mass scene filming. The lake shore will be made part of the recreation grounds for New Horizon and related communities. The lake itself is to be deepened to ensure year-round navigability, making it a place of enjoyment as well as an ideal inland sea for the filming of water scenes and spectacles. Launches, motor boats and other types of water craft will be provided for these purposes. * There is a small island in the lake 67, close to the shore, which will be transformed into an Isle of Enchantment, with fairy-boat" service from the shore and a legendary children s paradise within its borders. * An integral pan of the scheme is the large-scale planting of trees throughout the whole domain, and a network of all-weather roads connecting all its centers and activities. The land is protected from undue encroachment on one side by the lake. On the rest of the periphery a wide buffer belt is planned to provide for the extensive gardens, fields and orchards, dairy and poultry farms, stables, kennels, etc., essential for the requirements of the film centre and the wellbeing of the combined communities. Undated message from Mother for this project: New Horizon will open the way for mankind to a new and truer life. * Note that, in the welcoming message She read for Auroville s Inauguration Ceremony, Mother proclaimed Are invited to Auroville all those who aspire for a truer and higher life. Note also that decades before the name of this project New Horizon re-surfaced, several Aurovilians had noted the similarities between Auroville and Akhetaton (literally Horizon of the Aton ), the city built 33 centuries earlier by the Egyptian Pharaoh, Akhenaton at a site presently known as Amarna. Akhenaton tried to revolutionise the religion of his country by making it monotheist. This is very interesting because Mother explained that, in an earlier incarnation, She was Queen Tiy that is Akhenaton s mother, who is said to have had a lot of influence on her son. Is this the reason why Mother named this attempt New Horizon? We are trying to find more information about this tremendous program and period (mid 1950 s). When was this undated New Horizon International leaflet published? * Sometime between and because it speaks of the Sri Aurobindo International University Centre which Mother launched on and, on , renamed Sri Aurobindo International Educational Centre. Latest in 1958 because Markey passed away that year. Could it be in November 1956 because, at the back of its cover, it says Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, Pondicherry, and then there is this reference number: 881/1156/1000? Alexander Markey was in the Ashram at least some time during the first quarter of 1955 because the Report on the Quarter of the April 1955 issue of the Bulletin, mentions: An exhibition by Dr. Alexander Markey [ ] of stills from the picture he is producing Gandhipath in which Babu Ramanarayan, the Indian Parliamentarian, plays the principal role. * 67 Mother is said to have liked very much this island, which the Ashram now owns. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 70

71 At least two Ashram connected businesses had New Horizon in their name. On , Mother laid the foundation stone of the New Horizon Sugar Mills set up by the Hindocha family. Kishorilal Dhandania started the New Horizon Stainless Steel with Udar s help. Could it be that, while She was hoping that Her New Horizon venture would take off, Mother included the words New Horizon in the names of some businesses which hopefully would contribute to it? 68 * * SAICE publishes an undated pages a leaflet which depicts Louis Allen s project of a School of Agriculture at the Lake Estates which, it says, comprises of the (250 acres) Main Lake Estate (located in Madras State) and the 100 acres Lake Estate Annexe (Gloria) located 3 miles north of the main Lake estate in the territory of Pondicherry. Among other things, it says: This may be considered under two distinct parts. The first part would consist of preliminary items like soil conservation, land reclamation, drainage, irrigation and provision of other facilities like roads and buildings, equipping laboratory and workshop, purchase of implements and machinery, etc., which are considered essential for the successful implementation of the developmental programmers envisaged under the present proposal. The second part would consist of the different developmental activities proposed to be undertaken on these estates. They would fall under the following main categories, namely (i) Cattle Breeding & Dairying including poultry rearing; (ii) Training in Animal Husbandry, Dairying, Agriculture and Horticulture; (iii) Research in different fields of agricultural science; (iv) Items of Agricultural Extension Work. 1956, May 28 th : The Indian and French Governments sign a treaty by which Pondicherry is handed over to India July 3 rd : Excerpt from Mother s Wednesday Classes: Q & A, p ; Bulletin, ;MA, p. French I have been asked if we are doing a collective yoga and what are the conditions of a collective yoga. First, I could tell you that to do a collective yoga, there has to be a collectivity!... And I could speak to you about the different conditions required to be a collectivity. But last night [smiling], I had a symbolic vision of our collectivity. This vision took place early in the night and woke me up with a rather unpleasant feeling. Then I fell back to sleep and forgot about it; but a little while ago, when I was thinking of the question put to me, it returned. It returned with a great intensity and so imperatively that now, just as I wanted 68 She did that later with Auroville : after its launching (in August 1964), Mother included Auro in the name of some of its units or units connected to it: Auro-Orchard, Aurogreen (?), Auroshikha, Auro Creations and She is likely to have given the name Aurofood to Manibhai Patel s company (at first a flour mill). 69 As it is published by SAICE, which came into being on , it is dated of 1959 at the earliest. As Mother spoke of Louis Allen s project to Satprem on , this booklet is likely to have been published before that date but it is also possible that this project had been launched in this or some other form some time earlier and that this leaflet is the updated version of an original project published some years earlier. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 71

72 to tell you what kind of collectivity we wish to realise according to the ideal described by Sri Aurobindo in the last chapter of The Life Divine a Gnostic, supramental collectivity, the only kind that can do Sri Aurobindo s integral yoga and be realised physically in a progressive collective body becoming more and more divine the recollection of this vision became so imperative that I couldn t speak. Its symbolism was very clear, though of quite a familiar nature, as it were, and because of its very familiarity, unmistakable in its realism... Were I to tell you all the details, you would probably not even be able to follow: it was rather intricate. It was a kind of (how can I express it?) an immense hotel where all the terrestrial possibilities were lodged in different apartments. And it was all in a constant state of transformation: parts or entire wings of the building were suddenly torn down and rebuilt while people were still living in them, such that if you went off somewhere within the immense hotel itself, you ran the risk of no longer finding your room when you wanted to return to it, for it might have been torn down and was being rebuilt according to another plan! It was orderly, it was organised... yet there was this fantastic chaos which I mentioned. And all this was a symbol a symbol that certainly applies to what Sri Aurobindo has written here 70 regarding the necessity for the transformation of the body, the type of transformation that has to take place for life to become a divine life. It went something like this: somewhere, in the centre of this enormous edifice, there was a room reserved as it seemed in the story for a mother and her daughter. Mother was a lady, an elderly lady, a very influential matron who had a great deal of authority and her own views concerning the entire organisation. Her daughter seemed to have a power of movement and activity enabling her to be everywhere at once while at the same time remaining in her room, which was... well, a bit more than a room it was a kind of apartment which, above all, had the characteristic of being very central. But she was constantly arguing with her mother. Mother wanted to keep things just as they were, with their usual rhythm, which precisely meant the habit of tearing down one thing to rebuild another, then again tearing down that to build still another, thus giving the building an appearance of frightful confusion. But the daughter did not like this, and she had another plan. Most of all, she wanted to bring something completely new into the organisation: a kind of superorganisation that would render all this confusion unnecessary. Finally, as it was impossible for them to reach an understanding, the daughter left the room to go on a kind of general inspection... She went out, looked everything over, and then wanted to return to her room to decide upon some final measures. But this is where something rather... peculiar began happening. She clearly remembered where her room was, but each time she set out to go there, either the staircase disappeared or things were so changed that she could no longer find her way! So she went here and there, up and down, searched, went in and out... but it was impossible to find the way to her room! Since all of this assumed a physical appearance as I said, a very familiar and very common appearance, as is always the case in these symbolic visions there was somewhere (how shall I put it?) the hotel s administrative office and a woman who seemed to be the manager, who had all the keys and who knew where everyone was staying. So the daughter went to this person and asked her, Could you show me the way to my room? But of course! Easily! Everyone around the manager looked at her as if to say, How can you say that? However, she got up, and with authority asked for a key the key to the daughter s room saying, I shall take you there. And off she went along all kinds of paths, but all so complicated, so bizarre! The daughter was following along behind her very attentively, you see, so as not to lose sight of her. But just as they should have come to the place where the daughter s room was supposed to be, suddenly the manageress (let us call her the manageress), both the manageress and her key... vanished! And the sense of this vanishing was so acute that... at the same time, everything vanished! So... to help you understand this enigma, let me tell you that Mother is physical Nature as she is, and the daughter is the new creation. The manageress is the world s organising mental 70 The Supramental Manifestation, (SBCL, XVI, pp ) History of Auroville Book 1 Page 72

73 consciousness as Nature has developed it thus far, that is, the most advanced organising sense to have manifested in the present state of material Nature. This is the key to the vision. Naturally, when I awoke, I immediately knew what could resolve this problem which appeared so absolutely insoluble. The vanishing of the manageress and her key was an obvious sign that she was altogether incapable of leading what could be called the creative consciousness of the new world to its true place. I knew this, but I did not have a vision of the solution, which means it has yet to manifest; this thing had not yet manifested in the building, this fantastic construction, although it is the very mode of consciousness which could transform this incoherent creation into something real, truly conceived, willed and materialised, with a centre in its proper place, a recognised place, and with a REAL effective power. [silence] The symbolism is quite clear in that all the possibilities are there, all the activities are there, but in disorder and confusion. They are neither coordinated nor centralised nor unified around the central and unique truth and consciousness and will. So this brings us back... precisely to this question of a collective yoga and of a collectivity capable of realising it. What should this collectivity be? It is certainly not an arbitrary construction of the type built by men, where everything is put pellmell, without any order, without reality, and which is held together by only illusory ties. Here, these ties were symbolised by the hotel s walls, while actually in ordinary human constructions (if we take a religious community, for example), they are symbolised by the building of a monastery, an identity of clothing, an identity of activities, an identity even of movement or to put it more precisely: everyone wears the same uniform, everyone gets up at the same time, everyone eats the same thing, everyone says his prayers together, etc.; there is an overall identity. But naturally, on the inside there remains the chaos of many disparate consciousnesses, each one following its own mode, for this kind of group identification, which extends right up to an identity of beliefs and dogma, is absolutely illusory. Yet it is one of the most common types of human collectivity to group together, band together, unite around a common ideal, a common action, a common realisation but in an absolutely artificial way. In contrast to this, Sri Aurobindo tells us that a true community what he terms a gnostic or supramental community can be based only upon the INNER REALISATION of each one of its members, each realising his real, concrete oneness and identity with all the other members of the community; that is, each one should not feel himself a member connected to all the others in an arbitrary way, but that all are one within himself. For each one, the others should be as much himself as his own body not in a mental and artificial way, but through a fact of consciousness, by an inner realisation. [Silence] This means that before hoping to realise such a gnostic collectivity, each one must first of all become (or at least start to become) a gnostic being. It is obvious that the individual work must take the lead and the collective work follow; but the fact remains that spontaneously, without any arbitrary intervention of will the individual progress IS restrained or CHECKED, as it were, by the collective state. Between the collectivity and the individual, there exists an interdependence from which one cannot be totally free, even if one tries. And even he who might try, in his yoga, to free himself totally from the human and terrestrial state of consciousness, would be at least subconsciously bound by the state of the whole, which impedes and PULLS BACKWARDS. One can attempt to go much faster, one can attempt to let all the weight of attachments and responsibilities fall off, but in spite of everything, the realisation of even the most advanced or the leader in the march of evolution is dependent upon the realisation of the whole, dependent upon the state in which the terrestrial collectivity happens to be. And this PULLS backwards to such an extent that sometimes one has to wait centuries for the earth to be ready before being able to realise what is to be realised. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 73

74 This is why Sri Aurobindo has also written somewhere else that a double movement is necessary: the effort for individual progress and realisation must be combined with the effort of trying to uplift the whole so as to enable it to make a progress indispensable for the greater progress of the individual: a mass progress, if you will, that allows the individual to take a further step forward. And now you understand why I had thought it would be useful to have a few meditations in common, to work at creating a common atmosphere a bit more organised than... my big hotel of last night! So, the best way to use these meditations (and they are going to increase, since we are now also going to replace the distributions with short meditations) is to go deep within yourselves, as far as you can, and find the place where you can feel, perceive and perhaps even create an atmosphere of oneness wherein a force of order and organisation can put each element in its true place, and out of the chaos existing at this hour, make a new, harmonious world surge forth. 1957, July 10 th : Excerpts from Mother s Wednesday Class: a commentary on pages of The Supramental Manifestation by Sri Aurobindo. Bulletin November 1957, Q&A, p ; CWM, Vol. IX, p ; MA, Gazette, Vol 1 No 5-6 French It is quite difficult to free oneself from old habits of being and to be able to freely conceive of a new life, a new world. And naturally, the liberation begins on the highest planes of consciousness: it is easier for the mind or the higher intelligence to conceive of new things than for the vital being, for instance, to feel things in a new way. And it is still more difficult for the body to have a purely material perception of what a new world will be. Yet this perception must precede the material transformation; first one must feel very concretely the strangeness of the old things, their lack of relevance, if I may say so. One must have the feeling, even a material impression, that they are outdated, that they belong to a past which no longer has any purpose. For the old impressions one had of past things which have become historic - which have their interest from that point of view and support the advance of the present and the future this is still a movement that belongs to the old world: it is the old world that is unfolding with a past, a present, a future. But for the creation of a new world, there is, so to speak, only a continuity of transition which gives an appearance - an impression rather - the impression of two things still intermingled but almost disconnected, and that the things of the past no longer have the power or the strength to endure, with whatever modifications, in the new things. That other world is necessarily an absolutely new experience. One would have to go back to the time when there was a transition from the animal to the human creation to find a similar period, and at that time the consciousness was not sufficiently mentalised to be able to observe, understand, feel intelligently the passage must have been made in a completely obscure way. So, what I am speaking about is absolutely new, unique in the terrestrial creation, it is something unprecedented, truly a perception or a sensation or an impression... that is quite strange and new. [ ] Well, [last year] I announced to you all that this new world was born. But it has been so engulfed, as it were, in the old world that so far the difference has not been very perceptible to many people. Still, the action of the new forces has continued very regularly, very persistently, very steadily, and to a certain extent, very effectively. And one of the manifestations of this action was my experience truly so very new of yesterday evening. And the result of all this I have noted step by step in almost daily experiences. It could be expressed succinctly, in a rather linear way: First, it is not only a new conception of spiritual life and the divine Reality. This conception was expressed by Sri Aurobindo, I have expressed it myself many a time, and it could be formulated somewhat like this: the old spirituality was an escape from life into the divine Reality, leaving the world just where it was, as it was; whereas our new vision, on the contrary, is a divinisation of life, a transformation of the material world into a divine world. This has been said, repeated, more or less understood, indeed it is the basic idea of what we want to do. But this could be a continuation History of Auroville Book 1 Page 74

75 with an improvement, a widening of the old world as it was - and so long as this is a conception up there in the field of thought, in fact it is hardly more than that but what has happened, the really new thing, is that a new world is born, born, born. It is not the old one transforming itself, it is a new world which is born. And we are right in the midst of this period of transition where the two are entangled where the other still persists all-powerful and entirely dominating the ordinary consciousness, but where the new one is quietly slipping in, still very modest, unnoticed unnoticed to the extent that outwardly it doesn t disturb anything very much, for the time being, and that in the consciousness of most people it is even altogether imperceptible. And yet it is working, growing until it is strong enough to assert itself visibly. In any case, to simplify things, it could be said that characteristically the old world, the creation of what Sri Aurobindo calls the Overmind, was an age of the gods, and consequently the age of religions. As I said, the flower of human effort towards what is above it gave rise to innumerable religious forms, to a religious relationship between the best souls and the invisible world. And at the very summit of all that, as an effort towards a higher realisation there has arisen the idea of the unity of religions, of this one single thing which is behind all these manifestations; and this idea has truly been, so to speak, the extreme limit of human aspiration. Well, that is at the frontier, it is something that still belongs completely to the Overmind world, the Overmind creation and which from there seems to be looking towards this other thing which is a new creation it cannot grasp - which it tries to reach, feels coming, but cannot grasp. To grasp it, a reversal is needed. It is necessary to leave the Overmind creation. It was necessary that the new creation, the supramental creation should take place. And now, all these old things seem so old, so out of date, so arbitrary such a travesty of the real truth. In the supramental creation there will no longer be any religions. The whole life will be the expression, the flowering into forms of the divine Unity manifesting in the world. And there will no longer be what men now call gods. These great divine beings themselves will be able to participate in the new creation; but to do so, they will have to put on what we could call the supramental substance on earth. And if some of them choose to remain in their world as they are, if they decide not to manifest physically, their relation with the beings of a supramental earth will be a relation of friends, collaborators, equals, for the highest divine essence will be manifested in the beings of the new supramental world on earth. When the physical substance is supramentalised, to incarnate on earth will no longer be a cause of inferiority, quite the contrary. It will give a plenitude which cannot be obtained otherwise. But all this is in the future; it is a future... which has begun, but which will take some time to be realised integrally. Meanwhile we are in a very special situation, extremely special, without precedent. We are now witnessing the birth of a new world; it is very young, very weak - not in its essence but in its outer manifestation not yet recognised, not even felt, denied by the majority. But it is here. It is here, making an effort to grow, absolutely sure of the result. But the road to it is a completely new road which has never before been traced out - nobody has gone there, nobody has done that. It is a beginning, a universal beginning. So, it is an absolutely unexpected and unpredictable adventure. There are people who love adventure. It is these I call, and I tell them this: I invite you to the great adventure. It is not a question of repeating spiritually what others have done before us, for our adventure begins beyond that. It is a question of a new creation, entirely new, with all the unforeseen events, the risks, the hazards it entails a real adventure, whose goal is certain victory, but the road to which is unknown and must be traced out step by step in the unexplored. Something that has never been in this present universe and that will never be again in the same way. If that interests you... well, let us embark. What will happen to you tomorrow I have no idea. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 75

76 One must put aside all that has been foreseen, all that has been devised, all that has been constructed, and then... set off walking into the unknown. And come what may! There. 1957, August 21 st : Excerpt from Mother s Wednesday class: Q&A, p. ; SAS Info letter (No 2 June 1963) French It is only quite recently that the need for a collective reality began to appear which is not necessarily limited to the Ashram but embraces all who have declared themselves I don t mean materially but in their consciousness to be disciples of Sri Aurobindo and have tried to live his teaching. Among all of them, and more strongly since the manifestation of the supramental Consciousness and Force, there has awakened the necessity for a true communal life, which would not be based only on purely material circumstances but would represent a deeper truth, and be the beginning of what Sri Aurobindo calls a supramental or gnostic community... He has said, of course, that, for this, the individuals constituting this collectivity should themselves have this supramental consciousness; but even without attaining an individual perfection even while very far from it there was at the same time an inner effort to create this collective individuality, so to speak. The need for a real union, a deeper bond has been felt and the effort has been directed towards that realisation February 19 th : Excerpt from Mother s Wednesday classes. She reads her comments upon an experience she had on February 3 rd : Q&A, p ; Bulletin, MA, p. French Between the beings of the supramental world and men, there exists approximately the same gap as between men and animals. Sometime ago, I had the experience of identification with animal life, and it is a fact that animals do not understand us; their consciousness is so constituted that we elude them almost entirely. And yet I have known domestic animals cats and dogs, but especially cats who made an almost yogic effort of consciousness to understand us. But generally, when they watch us living and acting, they don t understand, they don t SEE US as we are and they suffer because of us. We are a constant enigma to them Only a very tiny part of their consciousness is linked to us. And it is the same for us when we try to look at the supramental world. Only when the link of consciousness has been built shall we see it and even then, only that part of our being which has undergone the transformation will be capable of seeing it as it is otherwise the two worlds would remain as separate as the animal world and the human world. The experience I had on February 3 rd proves this. Before, I had had an individual, subjective contact with the supramental world, whereas on February 3 rd, I went strolling there in a concrete way as concretely as I used to go strolling in Paris in times past in a world that EXISTS IN ITSELF, beyond all subjectivity. It is like a bridge being built between the two worlds. This is the experience as I dictated it immediately thereafter: [silence] The supramental world exists in a permanent way, and I am there permanently in a supramental body. I had proof of this today when my earthly consciousness went there and consciously remained there between two and three o clock in the afternoon: I now know that for the two worlds to join in a constant and conscious relationship what is missing is an intermediate zone between the existing physical world and the supramental world as it exists. This zone has yet to be built, both in the individual consciousness and in the objective world, and it is being built. When formerly I used to speak of the new world that is being created, I was speaking of this intermediate zone. And similarly, when I am on this side that is, in the realm of the physical consciousness and I see History of Auroville Book 1 Page 76

77 the supramental power, the supramental light and substance constantly permeating matter, I am seeing and participating in the construction of this zone. I found myself upon an immense ship, which is the symbolic representation of the place where this work is being carried out. This ship, as big as a city, is thoroughly organised, and it had certainly already been functioning for quite some time, for its organisation was fully developed. It is the place where people destined for the supramental life are being trained. These people (or at least a part of their being) had already undergone a supramental transformation because the ship itself and all that was aboard was neither material nor subtle-physical, neither vital nor mental: it was a supramental substance. This substance itself was of the most material supramental, the supramental substance nearest the physical world, the first to manifest. The light was a blend of red and gold, forming a uniform substance of luminous orange. Everything was like that the light was like that, the people were like that everything had this colour, in varying shades, however, which enabled things to be distinguished from one another. The overall impression was of a shadowless world: there were shades, but no shadows. The atmosphere was full of joy, calm, order; everything worked smoothly and silently. At the same time, I could see all the details of the education, the training in all domains by which the people on board were being prepared. This immense ship had just arrived at the shore of the supramental world, and a first batch of people destined to become the future inhabitants of the supramental world were about to disembark. Everything was arranged for this first landing. A certain number of very tall beings were posted on the wharf. They were not human beings and never before had they been men. Nor were they permanent inhabitants of the supramental world. They had been delegated from above and posted there to control and supervise the landing. I was in charge of all this since the beginning and throughout. I myself had prepared all the groups. I was standing on the bridge of the ship, calling the groups forward one by one and having them disembark on the shore. The tall beings posted there seemed to be reviewing those who were disembarking, allowing those who were ready to go ashore and sending back those who were not and who had to continue their training aboard the ship. While standing there watching everyone, that part of my consciousness coming from here became extremely interested: it wanted to see, to identify all the people, to see how they had changed and to find out who had been taken immediately as well as those who had to remain and continue their training. After awhile, as I was observing, I began to feel pulled backwards and that my body was being awakened by a consciousness or a person from here 71 and in my consciousness, I protested: No, no, not yet! Not yet! I want to see who's there! I was watching all this and noting it with intense interest... It went on like that until, suddenly, the clock here began striking three, which violently jerked me back. There was the sensation of a sudden fall into my body. I came back with a shock, but since I had been called back very suddenly, all my memory was still intact. I remained quiet and still until I could bring back the whole experience and preserve it. The nature of objects on this ship was not that which we know upon earth; for example, the clothes were not made of cloth, and this thing that resembled cloth was not manufactured it was a part of the body, made of the same substance that took on different forms. It had a kind of plasticity. When a change had to be made, it was done not by artificial and outer means but by an inner working, by a working of the consciousness that gave the substance its form or appearance. Life created its own forms. There was ONE SINGLE substance in all things; it changed the nature of its vibration according to the needs or uses. Those who were sent back for more training were not of a uniform colour; their bodies seemed to have patches of a greyish opacity, a substance resembling the earth substance. They were dull, as though they had not been wholly permeated by the light or wholly transformed. They were not like this all over, but in places. The tall beings on the shore were not of the same colour, at least they did not have this orange tint; they were paler, more transparent. Except for a part of their bodies, only the outline of their forms 71 Indeed, one of the people near Mother had pulled her out of the experience. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 77

78 could be seen. They were very tall, they did not seem to have a skeletal structure, and they could take on any form according to their needs. Only from their waists to their feet did they have a permanent density, which was not felt in the rest of their body. Their colour was much more pallid and contained very little red, it verged rather on gold or even white. The parts of whitish light were translucid; they were not absolutely transparent, but less dense, more subtle than the orange substance. Just as I was called back, when I was saying, Not yet..., I had a quick glimpse of myself, of my form in the supramental world. I was a mixture of what these tall beings were and the beings aboard the ship. The top part of myself, especially my head, was a mere silhouette of a whitish colour with an orange fringe. The more it approached the feet, the more the colour resembled that of the people on the ship, or in other words, orange; the more it went up towards the top, the more translucid and white it was, and the red faded. The head was only a silhouette with a brilliant sun at its centre; from it issued rays of light which were the action of the will. As for the people I saw aboard ship, I recognised them all. Some were here in the Ashram, some came from elsewhere, but I knew them as well. I saw everyone, but as I realised that I would not remember everyone when I came back, I decided not to give any names. Besides, it is unnecessary. Three or four faces were very clearly visible, and when I saw them, I understood the feeling that I have had here, on earth, while looking into their eyes: there was such an extraordinary joy... On the whole, the people were young; there were very few children, and their ages were around fourteen or fifteen, but certainly not below ten or twelve (I did not stay long enough to see all the details). There were no very old people, with the exception of a few. Most of the people who had gone ashore were of a middle age again, except for a few. Several times before this experience, certain individual cases had already been examined at a place where people capable of being supramentalised are examined; I had then had a few surprises which I had noted I even told some people. But those whom I disembarked today I saw very distinctly. They were of a middle age, neither young children nor elderly people, with only a few rare exceptions, and this quite corresponded to what I expected. I decided not to say anything, not to give any names. As I did not stay until the end, it would be impossible for me to draw an exact picture, for it was neither absolutely clear nor complete. I do not want to say things to some and not say them to others. What I can say is that the criterion or the judgement was based EXCLUSIVELY on the substance constituting the people whether they belonged completely to the supramental world or not, whether they were made of this very special substance. The criterion adopted was neither moral nor psychological. It is likely that their bodily substance was the result of an inner law or an inner movement which, at that time, was not in question. At least it is quite clear that the values are different. When I came back, along with the memory of the experience, I knew that the supramental world was permanent, that my presence there is permanent, and that only a missing link is needed to allow the consciousness and the substance to connect and it is this link that is being built. At that time, my impression (an impression which remained rather long, almost the whole day) was of an extreme relativity no, not exactly that, but an impression that the relationship between this world and the other completely changes the criterion by which things are to be evaluated or judged. This criterion had nothing mental about it, and it gave the strange inner feeling that so many things we consider good or bad are not really so. It was very clear that everything depended upon the capacity of things and upon their ability to express the supramental world or be in relationship with it. It was so completely different, at times even so opposite to our ordinary way of looking at things! I recall one little thing that we usually consider bad... actually how funny it was to see that it is something excellent. And other things that we consider important were really quite unimportant there! Whether it was like this or like that made no difference. What is very obvious is that our appreciation of what is divine or not divine is incorrect. I even laughed at certain things... Our usual feeling about what is anti-divine seems artificial, based upon something untrue, unliving (besides, what we call life here appeared lifeless in comparison with that world); in any History of Auroville Book 1 Page 78

79 event, this feeling should be based upon our relationship between the two worlds and according to whether things make this relationship easier or more difficult. This would thus completely change our evaluation of what brings us nearer to the Divine or what takes us away from Him. With people, too, I saw that what helps them or prevents them from becoming supramental is very different from what our ordinary moral notions imagine. I felt just how... ridiculous we are. [Then Mother speaks to the children] There is a continuation to all this, which is like the result in my consciousness of the experience of February 3, but it seems premature to read it now. It will appear in the April issue [of the Bulletin], as a sequel to this. But one thing and I wish to stress this point to you which now seems to me to be the most essential difference between our world and the supramental world (and it is only after having gone there consciously, with the consciousness that ordinarily works here, that this difference appeared to me in what might be called its enormity): everything here, except for what happens within and at a very deep level, seemed absolutely artificial to me. Not one of the values of ordinary physical life is based upon truth. Just as we have to buy cloth, sew it together, then put it on our backs in order to dress ourselves, likewise we have to take things from outside and then put them inside our bodies in order to feed ourselves. For everything, our life is artificial. A true, sincere, spontaneous life, as in the supramental world, is a springing forth of things through the fact of conscious will, a power over substance that shapes this substance according to what we decide it should be. And he who has this power and this knowledge can obtain whatever he wants, whereas he who does not has no artificial means of getting what he desires. In ordinary life, EVERYTHING is artificial. Depending upon the chance of your birth or circumstances, you have a more or less high position or a more or less comfortable life, not because it is the spontaneous, natural and sincere expression of your way of being and of your inner need, but because the fortuity of life s circumstances has placed you in contact with these things. An absolutely worthless man may be in a very high position, and a man who might have marvellous capacities of creation and organisation may find himself toiling in a quite limited and inferior position, whereas he would be a wholly useful individual if the world were sincere. It is this artificiality, this insincerity, this complete lack of truth that appeared so shocking to me that... one wonders how, in a world as false as this one, we can arrive at any truthful evaluation of things. But instead of feeling grieved, morose, rebellious, discontent, I had rather the feeling of what I spoke of at the end: of such a ridiculous absurdity that for several days I was seized with an uncontrollable laughter whenever I saw things and people! Such a tremendous laughter, so absolutely inexplicable (except to me), because of the ridiculousness of these situations. When I invited you on a voyage into the unknown, a voyage of adventure, 72 I did not know just how true were my words! And I can promise those who are ready to embark upon this adventure that they will make some very astonishing discoveries. 1958, February: A few days after the experience of February 3 rd, Mother had other experiences that seemed a continuation of it: Q&A, pp French Everyone carries with him, in his atmosphere, what Sri Aurobindo calls the Censors ; in a way, they are the permanent delegates of the hostile forces. Their role is to criticise mercilessly each act, each thought, the least movement of the consciousness, and to place you before the most hidden motives of your behaviour, to expose the least lower vibration accompanying your apparently purest or highest thoughts or acts. 72 See Questions and Answers, July l0, History of Auroville Book 1 Page 79

80 It is not here a question of morality. These gentlemen are not moralising agents, although they know very well how to make use of morality! And when they are dealing with a scrupulous conscience, they can harass it pitilessly, whisper to it at every minute, You should not have done this, you should not have done that, you should have done such and such, said such and such; now you have ruined everything, you have made an irreparable mistake, just see how everything is irremediably lost now because of the mistake you made. They can even possess the consciousness of some people: you chase the thought away and vrrm! two minutes later, back it comes! You chase it away again, but there it is still hammering away at you. Each time I meet these gentlemen, I give them a hearty welcome, for they force you to be absolutely sincere, they unearth the subtlest hypocrisy and at each moment place you before your most secret vibrations. And they are intelligent, with an intelligence infinitely surpassing our own! They know everything, they know how to set your least thought against you, your least argument or action, with a really wonderful subtlety. Nothing escapes them. But what gives a hostile shading to these beings is that, first and foremost, they are defeatists. They always present you with the darkest side of the picture and if necessary distort your own intentions. They are truly instruments of sincerity. Yet they always overlook one thing, deliberately, something they reject and cast far behind, as if it didn't exist the divine Grace. They overlook prayer, this spontaneous prayer that suddenly surges up from the depths of your being like an intense call and makes the Grace descend and changes the course of things. And each time that you have made some progress or passed to a higher level, they put you back in the presence of all the actions of your past and in a few months, a few days or a few minutes make you pass all the tests again, at a higher level. And it does not help to brush aside the thought, saying, Oh, I know! and throw a little cloak over it so as not to see. You have to face and conquer, keep your consciousness filled with light, be unwavering, uncomplaining, without a single vibration in the cells of the body, and then the attack dissolves. Q.: The other day, too, in your supramental experience, you said that moral values had lost all their meaning. But our conceptions of Good and Evil are so ridiculous! Our ideas of what is near to the Divine or far from the Divine are so absurd! The experience of the other day [February 3] was quite a revelation to me, and I came out of it utterly changed. I suddenly understood a great many things from the past certain actions parts of my life that had remained inexplicable in truth, the shortest path from one point to another is not the straight line we imagine! And the whole time this experience lasted, one hour (an hour of THAT time is long!), I was in an extraordinarily mirthful, almost inebriated state... The difference between the two consciousnesses is such that when you are in one, the other seems unreal like a dream. When I came back, I was at first struck by the futility of life here; our petty conceptions seem so comical, so laughable... We say that certain people are mad, but their madness is perhaps a great wisdom from the supramental point of view, and their behaviour is perhaps very near the truth of things I am not speaking of the obscure insane who have had some brain disorder, but of many other incomprehensible mad people, the luminous mad: they have wanted to leap across the border too quickly, and the rest did not follow. When one looks at the world of men from the supramental consciousness, the dominant characteristic is a feeling of oddity, of artificiality a world that is absurd because it is artificial. This world is false because its material appearance does not at all express the profound truth of things. There is as if a discrepancy between the appearance and what lies within. Thus, a man with a divine power deep within him may, on the outer plane, find himself in the situation of a slave. It s preposterous! Whereas in the supramental world, the will acts directly upon the substance, and the substance is obedient to this will. When you want to clothe yourself, the substance you are living in immediately assumes the form of clothing to cover you. When you want to move from one place to another, your will is sufficient to carry you without your needing any kind of vehicle or artificial means. Thus, for example, the ship in my experience had no need of any mechanism History of Auroville Book 1 Page 80

81 whatsoever in order to move; it was the will that shaped the substance according to its needs. When it was necessary to disembark, the wharf formed by itself. When I wanted the groups to go ashore, those who had to do so automatically knew it, without my having to say a word, and they came in the right order. Everything took place in silence, there was no need to speak to be understood; but aboard the ship, the silence itself did not give this artificial impression it gives here. Here, when we want silence, we have to keep our mouths shut: silence is the opposite of noise. There, the silence was vibrant, living, active and comprehensive, comprehensible. The absurdity here consists of all the artificial means that have to be used. Any imbecile has more power if he has more means by which to acquire the necessary artifice. Whereas in the supramental world, the more one is conscious and in contact with the truth of things, the more authority has the will over the substance. The authority is a true authority. If you want clothes, you have to have the power to make them, a real power. If you do not have this power, well then, you remain naked. There are no artificial means to compensate for this lack of power. Here, not once in a million times is authority the expression of something true. Everything is colossally stupid. When I came back down ( came back down is a manner of speaking, for it is neither high nor low, nor within nor without, it is... somewhere), it took me a while to readjust. I even recall having said to someone, Now we are going to regress into our usual stupidity. But I understood a lot of things, and I came back from there with a decisive force. Now I know that our way of seeing things here, our petty moral values, have nothing to do with the values of the supramental world. 1958, June (?): Note from Mother: MA, p. We are preparing upon earth the connecting-point, that point of communication and junction between the mental and terrestrial human consciousness and the supramental and superhuman Consciousness. It is a whole intermediate world that is being worked out, a new creation manifesting and materialising. In order to be realised here upon earth, this creation must utilise the already existing material means and powers, but in a new way, adapted to the new needs. One of the most essential powers is the financial power. 1958, Undated: Notes from Mother: MA, p206 French Concerning finances Money is a force and should not be an individual possession, no more than air, water or fire. To begin with, the abolishment of inheritance. Financial power is the materialisation of a vital force turned into one of the greatest powers of action: the power to attract, acquire and utilise. Like all other powers, it must be put at the service of the Divine. * 1958, October 4 th : Excerpt from a conversation in which Mother speaks to Satprem of the proper use of money: Mother s Agenda French, conversation, no tape-recording available Money belongs to the one who spends it; that is an absolute law. You may pile up money, but it doesn t belong to you until you spend it. Then you have the merit, the glory, the joy, the pleasure of spending it! History of Auroville Book 1 Page 81

82 Money is meant to circulate. What should remain constant is the progressive movement of an increase in the earth s production an ever-expanding progressive movement to increase the earth's production and improve existence on earth. It is the material improvement of terrestrial life and the growth of the earth s production that must go on expanding, enlarging, and not this silly paper or this inert metal that is amassed and lifeless. Money is not meant to generate money; money should generate an increase in production, an improvement in the conditions of life and a progress in human consciousness. This is its true use. What I call an improvement in consciousness, a progress in consciousness, is everything that education in all its forms can provide not as it s generally understood, but as we understand it here: education in art, education in... from the education of the body, from the most material progress, to the spiritual education and progress through yoga; the whole spectrum, everything that leads humanity towards its future realisation. Money should serve to augment that and to augment the material base for the earth s progress, the best use of what the earth can give its intelligent utilisation, not the utilisation that wastes and loses energies. The use that allows energies to be replenished. In the universe there is an inexhaustible source of energy that asks only to be replenished; if you know how to go about it, it is replenished. Instead of draining life and the energies of our earth and making of it something parched and inert, we must know the practical exercise for replenishing the energy constantly. And these are not just words; I know how it s to be done, and science is in the process of thoroughly finding out it has found out most admirably. But instead of using it to satisfy human passions, instead of using what science has found so that men may destroy each other more effectively than they are presently doing, it must be used to enrich the earth: to enrich the earth, to make the earth richer and richer, more active, generous, productive and to make all life grow towards its maximum efficiency. This is the true use of money. And if it s not used like that, it s a vice a short circuit and a vice. But how many people know how to use it in this way? Very few, which is why they have to be taught. What I call teach is to show, to give the example. We want to be the example of true living in the world. It s a challenge I am placing before the whole financial world: I am telling them that they are in the process of withering and ruining the earth with their idiotic system; 73 and with even less than they are now spending for useless things merely for inflating something that has no inherent life, that should be only an instrument at the service of life, that has no reality in itself, that is only a means and not an end (they make an end of something that is only a means) well then, instead of making of it an end, they should make it the means. With what they have at their disposal they could... oh, transform the earth so quickly! Transform it, put it into contact, truly into contact, with the supramental forces that would make life bountiful and, indeed, constantly renewed instead of becoming withered, stagnant, shrivelled up: a future moon. A dead moon. We are told that in a few millions or billions of years, the earth will become some kind of moon. The movement should be the opposite: the earth should become more and more a resplendent sun, but a sun of life. Not a sun that burns, but a sun that illumines a radiant glory. 1958, November 24 th : Mother appoints Dr. Kireet Joshi as Registrar of the Centre of Education , November 26 th : Mother s last class. From then onwards, she will only come out on special occasions. 73 Note that the first book Silent Spring which succeeded in alarming the public on the major damages done to the environment by some human activities was written by Rachel Carlson in 1962 (4 years after Mother issued this warning). This book is credited with having led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 74 Kireet bhai had resigned the I.A.S. and joined the Ashram in He had met Mother for the first time in History of Auroville Book 1 Page 82

83 1959, January 1 st : The de jure Merger of Pondicherry is nearing 75. In order to conform to India s laws 76 Mother merges the Ashram School with the Sri Aurobindo International University Centre and renames this entity: Sri Aurobindo International Education Centre SAICE. She also renames the Bulletin of Physical Education, Bulletin of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education. We will see that, years later, she will nevertheless use the word University in the context of Auroville though She was well aware that another name may have to be adopted when time comes to establish it officially. 1959, February: The Bulletin publishes an article on the International Centre Education which its Registrar, Dr. Kireet Joshi, had written and submitted to Her on 16 th December. Mother is very pleased with it 77. It gives a good idea of the progress made in the past seven years. Excerpts from this article: Principles and Methods of Education The philosophy of education adopted by the Centre regards the child as a soul with a body, life-energy and mind to be harmoniously and integrally developed. Our education system is therefore so organised as to secure: (a) the fullest possible development of the physique; (b) a fruitful canalisation of the life-energy in pursuits that contribute to the growth of the personality; (c) a full training of the mental faculties in the field of the various Humanities and Sciences; and (d) the requisite help through a powerful spiritual atmosphere for the soul to come forward and gradually begin to govern the rest of the being. The following are the means adopted to ensure the above-mentioned ends: (1) There is a carefully planned programme of physical training, consisting of athletics, gymnastics, combatives, aquatics, field games and the Indian system of physical culture in which participation is obligatory. Contests and tournaments are spread all over the year, thus helping to keep up the interest. Individual attention is paid to each student and steps are taken to inculcate an aspiration in the youngsters to have not only a healthy body but also a form of grace, symmetry and beauty. They are encouraged to make the body increasingly supple and responsive. (2) The life-energy is canalised in disciplined and fruitful directions. The principle of assigning responsibility and leadership in various activities so as to develop courage and heroism among students is given its full value and practical application. Besides, students are encouraged to develop the qualities of straightforwardness, uprightness, frankness and honour. Those students who show interest and talent in art, photography, crafts etc. are given every facility to develop themselves in these directions. There is provision for learning music, vocal and instrumental (both Eastern and Western), and dancing (Indian and Ballet). Gifted artists are in charge of guiding the students in drawing and painting. Similarly, there are arrangements for students to participate in works of applied science carried out by the various departments of the Ashram, such as printing press, cottage industries, farms, building service, bricks and ceramics workshops, foundry and smithy, workshop for automobile and metal work, electrical and mechanical technology department, bakery, dairy, laundry, medical establishments etc. In addition, there is a technical course which students at the Centre take up along with their academic studies. Besides, the centre arranges every year several programmes of dramatics and dancing, and on every 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd December on which the School Anniversary is celebrated, there is a programme of physical display at the Sports Ground and another programme of dramatics at the Theatre both attended by a great number of distinguished guests from the city. 75 It will take place on 16 th August Mother had been told by Dr. C. D. Deshmukh (then India s finance minister) during his 1955 visit that, like in most other countries in the world, at that time, universities in India could only be owned and managed by the Government. He would later be chosen by Mother for the Enrichment of Sri Aurobindo s relics in the Ashram s Delhi Branch. 77 Personal communication from Dr. Kireet Joshi to the editor. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 83

84 (3) There is a graded instruction in languages, mathematics, history, geography and natural sciences including physics and chemistry, and other subjects which contribute to the development of the powers of the mind. Classical languages such as Sanskrit and Latin, European tongues such as English, French and German, and Indian languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada are taught. The Centre has a Library with about 40,000 volumes, educational films, collections of natural history and additional facilities for the extension of knowledge. The library receives nearly 300 magazines and periodicals related to a variety of subjects from all over the world. Young students are helped by competent hands to choose and read books. Special exhibitions of literary, artistic or historical interest are organised and children encouraged to participate. There are, besides, meetings for visual education in the open air, at frequent intervals, with the help of instructional films. (4) Finally, there is the spiritual atmosphere pervasively providing a new life-power. Whether it is in art, literature, music or sport that one is interested, the stress is laid on and attention repeatedly directed to the divine verities sustaining their value. The entire life-organisation of the student bears the mould stamped upon it by the soul directing its course. To achieve this end, the presence, example and teaching of Mother is a capital factor which creates a natural and spontaneous turn towards the cultivation and expression of the divine values of love, truth in speech and directness in action. The International Character of the Centre As the name of the Institution itself suggests, the centre is international in character; it is international not only because students from all countries are admitted here without any distinction of nationality or religion, but particularly because an attempt is made to represent here the culture of the different regions of the world in such a way as to be accessible to all, not merely intellectually, in ideas, theories, principles and languages, but also vitally in habits and customs, in art under all forms painting, sculpture, music, architecture, decoration and physically too through dress, games, sports, industries, food and even reconstruction of natural scenery. The ideal is that every nation with its distinctive culture should have a contribution of its own to make so that it would find a practical and concrete interest in cultural synthesis and collaborate in the work. Note that the word Pavilion is not used here. Are these buildings still necessary? 1960, September 19 th : Mother signs, together with Keshav Dev Poddar (Navajata) and Arunendra Nath Tagore (advocate and Notary Public at Calcutta) the Memorendum of Association of the Sri Aurobindo Society. Registering it in Pondicherry would mean registering it under French law (as the de-jure merger is yet to take place). It will be registered under Indian law in Calcutta. Mother is President, Navajata is General Secretary & Treasurer and Tagore is member. Mother has supervised the formulation of its Memorandum, which states that its main objective is: "To make known to the members and people in general the aims and ideals of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, their system of Integral Yoga and to work for its fulfilment in all possible ways and for the attainment of a spiritualised society as envisaged by Sri Aurobindo." As founder and Executive President, Mother directed that no final decision be taken without consulting her. Therefore Clause 7 of the Rules and Regulations state: "All decisions of the Executive Committee or any committee of the Society to be effective shall be submitted to the Mother for her approval and assent. No action in pursuance thereof shall be taken without the prior approval of the same by the Mother." Mother will give the SAS the following motto and this symbol: To know is good, to live is better, to be, that is perfect. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 84

85 1960 September 20 th : Excerpt from a conversation between Mother and Satprem: MA French, conversation, no tape-recording available. Panditji has spoken to me several times of his lack of esteem for most people in the Ashram: Why does Mother keep all these empty pots? he says. If he imagines for one moment that I believe all the people here are doing sadhana, he is grossly mistaken! The idea is that the earth as a whole must be prepared in all its forms, including even those least ready for the transformation. There must be a symbolic representation of all the elements on earth upon which we can work to establish the link. 78 The earth is a symbolic representation of the universe, and the group is a symbolic representation of the earth. Sri Aurobindo and I had discussed the matter in 1914 (quite a long time ago), for we had seen two possibilities: what we are now doing, or to withdraw into solitude and isolation until we had not only attained the Supermind, but begun the material transformation as well. And Sri Aurobindo rightfully said that we could not isolate ourselves, for as you progress, you become more and more universalised, and consequently... you take the burden upon yourself 79 in any case. And life itself has responded by bringing people forward to form a nucleus. Of course, we clearly saw that this would make the work a bit more complex and difficult (it gives me a heavy responsibility, an enormous material work), but from the overall point of view for the Work it s indispensable and even inevitable. And in any case, as we were later able to verify, each one represents simultaneously a possibility and a special difficulty to resolve. I have even said, I believe, that each one here is an impossibility , March 4 th : Excerpt from a conversation with Satprem on World Union and the S.A.S.: 81 AM, p ; MA French, conversation, tape-recording available. Satprem: It isn t a personal question, but something that has been troubling me a little. It s about World Union. Oh, World Union!... What troubles you? Listen, mon petit, you don t need to ask, I will tell you right away. Sri Aurobindo has written somewhere that the movement of world transformation is double: first, the individual who does sadhana 82 and establishes contact with higher things; but at the same time, the world is a base and it must rise up a little and prepare itself for the realisation to be achieved (this is putting it simply). Some people live merely on the surface they come alive only when they stir about restlessly. Whatever happens inside them (if anything does!) is immediately thrown out into movement. Such people always need an outer activity; take Jay for example: he fastened onto Sri Aurobindo s phrase, World Union, and came to tell me he wanted... He has been like that since the beginning (gesture expressing agitation), and he had a go at a considerable number of things but none ever succeeded! He has no method, no sense of order and he doesn t know how to organise work. So World Union is simply to let him have his way, like letting a horse gallop. I used to send him around to the various centres (because he had to do something!), and he would visit, speak to people... I don t know about what. And during one of his trips to Delhi he happened to meet Anil Mukherjee, who had been sent by the government of India to the Soviet 78 With the Supramental World. 79 Original English 80 Mother will say something very similar on Auroville on The S.A.S. (whose President was Mother), will launch Auroville as its project and, after Mother left her body, a bitter dispute will erupt between its office bearers and the bulk of Auroville s residents. 82 Satprem s note: Sadhana: spiritual quest and discipline. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 85

86 [Union], where it seems he delivered an extraordinary speech (it must have been extraordinary, because I have been receiving letters from everywhere, including America, asking for the text of this sensational speech in which he apparently spoke of human unity ). So Anil returned with the idea of forming a World Union, and these two met. Furthermore, they were encouraged by Surendra Mohan [Ghose] 83 I and even by the Prime Minister, 84 who probably had a special liking for Anil Mukherjee and had given him a lot of encouragement. That s how things began. I treated it as something altogether secondary and unimportant when people need to gallop, I let them gallop (but I hadn t met Anil Mukherjee). Then they left together on a speaking-tour of Africa and there things began to go sour, because Anil was working in one way and the other in another. Finally, they were at odds and came back here to tell me, World Union is off to a good start with a quarrel! (Mother laughs) Anil Mukherjee was saying, Nothing can be done unless we base ourselves EXCLUSIVELY on the teaching of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and they are behind us giving support. The other said, No, no! We are not sectarian! We accept all ideas, all theories, etc. They wrote to me. I replied, and as it happens, I said that Anil Mukherjee was right, though with one corrective: he had been saying that people had to recognise us as their guru. No, I said, it s absolutely useless not only useless, I refuse. I don t want to be anybody s guru. People should simply be told that things are to be done on the basis of Sri Aurobindo s thought. So they kept pulling in opposing directions. Eventually they tried to set something up (which still didn t hold together), and finally they wrote me a little more clearly. (There is one very nice man involved, A.B. Patel. He isn t particularly intellectual but has a lot of common sense and a very faithful heart a very good man.) he asked me some direct questions, without beating around the bush, and I replied directly: World Union is an entirely superficial thing, without any depth, based on the fact that Sri Aurobindo said the masses must be helped to follow the progress of the elite well, let them go ahead! If they enjoy it, let them go right ahead!... I didn t say it exactly like that (I was a bit more polite!), but that was the gist of it. Now it has all fallen flat. They are carrying on with their little activities, but it s absolutely unimportant. They publish a small journal, and V, who writes for them, is far from stupid. She is rather intelligent and I have some control over her, so I will try to stop her from writing nonsense. They also had a sudden brainstorm to affiliate with the Sri Aurobindo Society. But the Sri Aurobindo Society has absolutely nothing to do with their project: it s a strictly external thing, organised by businessmen to bring in money EXCLUSIVELY. That is, they want to put people in a position where they feel obliged to give (so far they have succeeded and I believe they will succeed). But this has nothing to do with working for an ideal, it is COMPLETELY practical. 85 And of course they, World Union, have nothing to offer the Sri Aurobindo Society: they would simply siphon off funds. So I told them, Nothing doing it s out of the question! But your name is there as President of the Sri Aurobindo Society, they said. My name is there to give an entirely material guarantee that the money donated will really and truly be used for the Work to be done and for nothing else; it s only a moral and purely practical guarantee. These people aren t even asked to understand what Sri Aurobindo has said but simply to participate. It s a different matter for those in World Union, who are working for an ideal: they want to prepare the world to receive (laughing) the Supermind! Let them prepare it! It doesn t matter, they will achieve nothing at all, or very little. It s unimportant. That s my point of view and I have told them so. In addition, I told them it was preferable not to hold any functions here they can be held at Tapogiri in the Himalayas, or elsewhere and this is understood. They did hold a seminar here (a perfect fiasco, besides), but it had been arranged a long time ago. They invited people who 83 Satprem s note: A politician, disciple of Sri Aurobindo and friend of Jawaharlal Nehru. 84 Satprem s note: J. Nehru. 85 In a footnote, Satprem wrote: Although it began as a fund-raising organisation for the needs of the Ashram and Auroville, this strictly external thing, which had nothing to do with working for an ideal, would, after Mother s departure, coolly declare itself the owner and guide of Auroville. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 86

87 promised to come (I think very few showed up in the end), and it was of very secondary importance. Nevertheless, I told them, This is the last time; don t do it here anymore. At Tapogiri, as often as you like: it s a beautiful spot in the mountains, a health resort, people go there in the summer for the fresh air and... to sit around and chat! 1961, April 25 th : Excerpt from a conversation between Mother, Pavitra and Satprem. Mother comes in with a book by Alice Bailey, Discipleship in the New Age, which had recently been sent to her. Pavitra is present and shows Mother a brochure he has received, World Goodwill Bulletin, and protests against this proliferation of movements all claiming to work towards world union and proselytes making so-called spiritual propaganda without having found, within and by themselves, the true spiritual foundation. She goes on: MA French, conversation, tape-recording available. But these people just can t get out of their education! Here is a lady [Alice Bailey], quite renowned, it seems (she s dead now), who became the disciple of a Tibetan lama... and she still speaks of Christ as the sole Avatar! She just can t get out of it! And each one has the absolute Truth! [Laughing] But it made me so angry (why, I don t know). Not anger, but a kind of... oh, it s exasperating! And I am surrounded by people who tell me, I m sending your message to so-and-so, they MUST come here, they HAVE to meet you. Oh!... I m going away! I said to myself, I m going to hide somewhere. I ve had enough. I don t want to be the leader of a group oh Lord, no! Not at any price! It s disgusting. It began with this famous World Union I and now the Sri Aurobindo Society is meddling in it! They have put together a brochure saying, We will facilitate your relations with Mother!! Luckily, the draft was sent to me. I said, I do not accept this responsibility. I agreed to be President because money is involved and I wanted to be a guarantee that all these people who make propaganda don t put the money into their own pockets for their personal use; so I agreed to be President to guarantee that the money would really go to work for Sri Aurobindo, that s all. But no spiritual responsibility; I have nothing to teach to anyone, thank God! Pavitra: But Mother, André 86 has also been bitten by the propaganda bug; in the by-laws he sent, he put: The goal of the Centre d Etudes de Sri Aurobindo [Sri Aurobindo Study Centre, in Paris] is to steer people towards Pondicherry and Mother... So we are going to have plenty of people Ooh!... OH!... How dreadful. How dreadful. He too! [silence] I m going to make a declaration: I am not the leader of a group, I am not at the head of an Ashram. Oh! It s disgusting. And that s not all. This J. Medlock, who thinks herself highly intelligent, has written a letter saying,... It is exactly the same teaching exactly. It s always exactly the same teaching! They are abysmally ignorant. Satprem: They jumble everything up. Yes. They have no discrimination. As long as the words are there, that s it it s enough! And what an atmosphere it all makes... phew! The first thing I did this morning was to open this book by Alice Bailey (I ve had it for several days, I had to have a look at it). So I looked... Ah, I said well, well! Here s a person who s dead now, but she was the disciple of a Tibetan Buddhist lama and considered a very great spiritual leader, and she writes, Christ is the incarnation of divine love on earth. And that s that. And the 86 André Morisset, Mother s son and only child. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 87

88 world will be transformed when Christ is reborn, when he comes back to earth. But why the devil does she put Christ? Because she was born Christian?... It s deplorable. And such a mixture of everything everything! Instead of making a synthesis, they make a potpourri. They scoop it all up, toss it together, whip it up a little, use a bunch of words that have nothing to do with one another, and then serve it to you! And they want to shove me in there, too! No thanks. After this, I received the draft of the Sri Aurobindo Society s brochure to be distributed among all disciples, all Society members, in order to encourage them. Well, that was the last straw! Oh, the most asinine propaganda! And plump in the middle of a bunch of other things (which had nothing to do with me), I come across this: We have the great fortune to have Mother among us, and we propose to be the intermediary for all who wish to come into direct contact with her! They wanted to print this and distribute it, just like that! So I took my brightest red ink and wrote: I do not accept this responsibility, you cannot make this promise. And that was that. I cut it. And now here s André, doing the same thing! [silence] I m wasting my time. Already, with all the people here... (But I never told them they were my disciples, I told them they were my children and with children, to begin with, there s no need to do everything they want!) I already waste all my time answering their letters, which are worse than stupid. What questions they ask questions already answered at least fifty times simply for the pleasure of writing! So now I ve stopped answering. I write one or two words, and that s it. No, it s disgusting! Satprem: There s this passage on propaganda by Sri Aurobindo I sent to Jay. It should really be published everywhere. Do you remember it? I don t believe in propaganda Look here, there s a muddle in all this. The Sri Aurobindo Society people had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the spiritual life when they began; they didn t at all present themselves as a spiritual group nothing of the kind; they were people of good will who volunteered to collect money to help the Ashram. So I said, Very well, excellent and as long as it s like that, I m behind it. Leaflets can be handed out whatever people like; it s enough if their interest is aroused, if they know there is an Ashram and that it needs some help to go on. But that s all. It has nothing to do with yoga or spiritual progress or anything of the kind it was a strictly practical organisation. It was not the same thing as World Union. World Union wanted to do a spiritual work on earth and to create human unity. I told them, You are taking something of an inward nature and you want to externalise it, so naturally it immediately goes rotten. (But it s almost over now, I ve pulled the rug out from under them.) Anyway... Pavitra: Yes, but now it s resurging in the form of the Sri Aurobindo Society. Ah, no! That s not the same thing at all, they have nothing to do with each other. Nothing. They wanted to merge: I refused. I told them, You have nothing to do with each other. You, World Union, are idealists (!) wanting to realise your ideal externally (without any foundation), while they are businessmen, practical people, wanting to bring money to the Ashram, and I fully agree with that, because I need it. It s another thing entirely. But then, they [the S.A.S. people] began posing as... almost as teachers! Luckily, the draft of their brochure was brought to me. I said, Nothing doing. If you want to talk to people, tell them what you like, it s all the same to me, but I am not publishing this. What you have written about me is not to be printed and you are not to distribute it. I m not in the picture. My name, the fact that I am president, is simply to give my guarantee that the money won t go into the pockets of those who 87 See entry dated 2 nd December History of Auroville Book 1 Page 88

89 collect it but will be used for the Ashram, the running of the Ashram, and that s all. And on this basis alone I give my guarantee. I am in no way going to help people imagine they are doing a yoga! It s absurd. The other day, I told Nava (and I told him loud enough for everyone to hear): We can dispense with a good half of the Ashramites straight-away and not lose a single sadhak. 88 Well, his jaw dropped!... People imagine that by the simple fact of being here they become disciples and apprentice yogis! But it s not true. So, now I m not angry any more! It s especially this mental paucity... everywhere they say, Oh, they have the same ideas as we do! Oh, they teach the same thing! Oh!... Deplorable. 1961, July 18 th : Excerpt of a conversation between Mother and Satprem: CWM, Vol. XV, p.404; MA, II, p.269 Partly reproduced in MoA p. 8,9; 1977, Gazette 2, 6 (starting 4 th para ending at such a thing ) French, conversation, tape-recording available.... This state of consciousness 89 probably has to become constant, but that would pose a problem: how could one then keep in contact with the world as it is in its deformation? Because I have noticed that when this state is very strong in me, very strong, so strong that it can withstand everything bombarding it from outside, people don t understand a thing I say, NOTHING! Therefore, it would seem to cut off a useful contact. What would it be like, for instance, to have a small supramental creation as a nucleus of action and influence radiating upon earth (to limit it to the earth)? Is it possible? It s easy to conceive of a superhuman nucleus a creation of supermen, that is, of men who by virtue of evolution and transformation (in the true sense of the word) have succeeded in manifesting the supramental forces; yet since their origin is human, there is inevitably a contact; even if everything is transformed, even if their organs are transformed into centres of force, a sort of human coloration still remains. These are the beings who, according to tradition, will discover the secret of direct, supramental creation, by-passing the process of ordinary Nature. Then through them the true supramental beings will be born, who will necessarily have to live in a supramental world. But how would contact be made between these beings and the ordinary world? How to conceive of a transformation of nature sufficient to enable this supramental creation to take place on earth? I don t know. Of course, we know that such a thing will require a considerable amount of time to be done, and it will probably go by stages, by degrees, with faculties appearing that at the moment we can t know or imagine, and which will change the conditions of the earth this is looking ahead a few thousand years. There is still this problem: is it possible to make use of the notion of space I mean on the planet earth? 90 Is it possible to find a place where the embryo or seed of the future supramental world might be created? What I myself have seen... was a plan that came complete in all details, but that doesn t at all conform in spirit and consciousness with what is possible on earth now (although, in its most material manifestation, the plan was based on existing terrestrial conditions). It was the idea of an ideal city, the nucleus of a small ideal country, having only superficial and extremely limited contacts with the old world. One would already have to conceive (it s possible) of a Power sufficient to be at once a protection against aggression or bad will (this would not be the most difficult protection to provide) and a protection (which can just barely be imagined) against infiltration and admixture... From the social or organisational standpoint, these problems are not 88 Sadhak: seeker of Truth. 89 Satprem s note: When the veil of falsehood has gone: the supramental consciousness. 90 Satprem s note: Questioned later about the meaning of this sentence, Mother laughed, I said that from the other side! It was spoken from a dimension where the notion of space is no longer so concrete. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 89

90 difficult, nor from the standpoint of inner life; the problem is the relationship with what is not supramentalised preventing infiltration or admixture, keeping the nucleus from falling back into an inferior creation during the transitional period. [silence] All who have considered the problem have always imagined some place like a Himalayan gorge, unknown to the rest of humanity, but this is no solution. No solution at all. No, the only solution is occult power. But that... Before anything at all can be done, it already demands a certain number of individuals who have reached a great perfection of realisation. Granting this, a place is conceivable (set apart from the outside world no actual contacts) where each thing is exactly in its place, setting an example. Each thing exactly in its place, each person exactly in his place, each movement in its place, and all in its place in an ascending, progressive movement without relapse (that is, the very opposite of what goes on in ordinary life). Naturally, this also means a sort of perfection, it means a sort of unity; it means that the different aspects of the Supreme can be manifested; and, necessarily, an exceptional beauty, a total harmony; and a power sufficient to keep the forces of Nature obedient even if this place were encircled by destructive forces, for example, these forces would be powerless to act the protection would be sufficient. It would all require the utmost perfection in the individuals organising such a thing. [long silence] It must be similar to what happened when the first men appeared. Have we ever really known how the first humans were formed, the first mental realisation? Were they isolated individuals, or were they in groups did the phenomenon take place in a collective milieu or in isolation? I don t know. It may be analogous to the case of the coming supramental creation. It isn t difficult to conceive of an individual in the solitude of the Himalayas or in a virgin forest beginning to create around himself his miniature supramental world this is easy to imagine. But the same thing would be necessary: he would need to have attained such perfection that his power would act automatically to prevent any outside intrusion. Satprem: Because such beings would automatically become the target of outside attacks? They would need to be automatically protected; that is, any foreign or opposing element should be kept from approaching. There are stories like this, you know, about people who lived in an ideal solitude, and it's not at all impossible to imagine. When one is in contact with this Power, when it is within you, you can see that such things are... child s play! It even reaches the point where there is the possibility of changing certain things, of influencing vibrations and forms in the surrounding environment by contagion, so that automatically they begin to be supramentalised. All that is possible but confined to the individual scale. While if we take the example of what is happening here, where the individual remains right in the midst of all this chaos... That s the difficulty! Doesn t this very fact make a certain perfection in realisation impossible to attain? But the other case, the individual isolated in the forest, is always the same thing an example giving no proof that the rest will be able to follow; while what s happening here should already have a much broader radiating influence. At some point this has to happen it MUST happen. But the problem still remains: can it happen simultaneously with or even before the supramentalisation of the single individual? [silence] The realisation under community or group conditions would clearly be far more complete, integral, total and probably more perfect than any individual realisation, which is always, necessarily necessarily extremely limited on the external material level, because it s only one way of being, one mode of manifestation, one microscopic set of vibrations that is touched. But for the facility of the work, I believe there s no comparison! [silence] History of Auroville Book 1 Page 90

91 But the problem remains: Buddha and all the rest have FIRST realised, then resumed contact with the world. That makes it very simple. But for the total realisation of what I envisage, isn t it indispensable to remain in the world?... [Mother is absorbed for a while, gazing into the distance] I am constantly seeing images! Not images, living things like answers to questions. A magnificent peacock was taking shape (it s the symbol of victory here in India) and its tail opened out, and on it a construction appeared, like this construction of an ideal place... It s a pity this subtle world can t be photographed! 1961, September 6 th : Message given to SAICE but obviously also valid for Auroville: CWM, Vol. XII, p.111 We are not here to do (only a little better) what the others do. We are here to do what the others cannot do because they do not have the idea that it can be done. We are here to open the way of the Future to children who belong to the Future. Anything else is not worth the trouble and not worthy of Sri Aurobindo s help. 1962, March 20 th : A new sickness of Mother marks a new turn in her Yoga. From today onwards she won t come down from Her room anymore. Mère, Carnet de Laboratoire, by Satprem p , July 12 th : France s Parliament passes a Bill allowing the transfer of the Territories to India. 1962, August 16 th : De jure merger of Pondicherry and other French enclaves with India. There is no more international border between Pondicherry and India. It is very unlikely that Auroville could have developed as long as Pondicherry remained under French rule. 1963, March 5 th : Excerpt from an interview Mother had with Chamanlal: Mother India & SAS Info Letter (2, June 1963) Q.: Mother, on 30 th August 1945, you had said; I cannot promise you that the Divine s will is to preserve the present human civilisation. Can you now say that the Divine has decided to preserve the present human civilisation? On hearing the question the Mother concentrated for a long time with closed eyes. Then opening her eyes she said in a distinct tone: It will be settled in She emphasised the word settled and once again said: Do not change my words: it will be settled in , June 13 th : India s Prime Minister, J. Nehru visits Pondicherry and meets Mother for the third time. Book on Udar p. 122, 43 SAS Info Letter (3,(Sept. 1960) Sri Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, accompanied by Sri K. Kamraj, Chief Minister of Madras, and Sri C. Subramaniam, Minister, Government of India, visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram at Pondicherry on They also went round the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education 91 Note that, on 21 st September 1966, Mother will say that Auroville is the last hope of preventing a new world conflict. History of Auroville Book 1 Page 91

92 and the Sports Ground. Sri Nehru and Sri S. M. Chosh, M.P., Chairman of the Society s Regional Committee in Delhi had an audience with the Mother. Nolinida and Nehru Sisir, Pavitra and Nehru 1963, August 16 th : SAS Info Letter (4, Jan. 1964). Q.: How can I do my best for humanity? Give all you have, Give all you do, Give all you are, Do the Divine Work of true salvation of the world. And then you will have done your best for the sake of humanity. 1964, January 18 th : Mother tells Satprem that Khrushchev has showed a real interest in her article, A Dream : Mother s Agenda French, conversation, no tape-recording available.... I saw Sudhir Ghosh 92 this morning, the person who went to America, who knew Kennedy 93 and even spoke to him about the possibility of openly joining with Russia so as to exert pressure on the world and prevent armed disputes (he said, to settle all border and territorial disputes in a peaceful way, beginning, of course, with China and India). Kennedy had been enthusiastic. The Russian ambassador had been summoned at once, and he had telephoned Khrushchev: enthusiastic over the idea (but this Khrushchev seems to be rather a good man). They were supposed to sort it out during a meeting at the U.N. At this point, Kennedy makes off But the idea has been taken up again through Khrushchev and he continues to be quite 92 Sudhir Ghosh played an important role in Indian politics as an emissary of Gandhi in pre and post-independence days. This dynamic man became later a disciple of Sri Aurobindo and met Kennedy on March 28 th On this occasion Sudhir Ghosh read him an article reflecting Sri Aurobindo s views and approved by him but actually written by Amal Kiran in Mother India on November 11 th 1950 about communist China s aggressive expansion plans. Kennedy found it hard to believe that such a clear-sighted article could have been written as early as (Ref.: Beautiful Vignettes by Shyam Kumari, p.46) 93 According to the June 1963 issue of the Information Letter of the SAS: Sri Sudhir Gosh, M.P., who was on a tour of U.S.A. in March, personally presented to the President Mr. Kennedy three books by Sri Aurobindo: The Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity and War and Self-Determination. He also acquainted the President with Sri Aurobindo s prevision of the attacks of China on Tibet and India. 94 J. F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22 nd History of Auroville Book 1 Page 92