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100th Anniversary of Mother’s Final Arrival in Pondicherry (24th April 1920 - 2020)
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About 24 April 1920
“The anniversary of my return to Pondicherry... was the tangible sign of the sure Victory over the adverse forces.”
24th April 1937
Words of the Mother, p. 62 (CWM Vol. 13)
The
Two who are one are the secret of all power,
The Two who are one are the might and right in things.
Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, Book One, Canto Four
24 April 2020
Collective Meditation
6 - 6.30 am IST
7.45 – 8.15 pm IST
(From your own space and at
the same time that
Mother organised the
meditations in the Ashram)
*Here below are The Mother’s
Reminiscences in Her handwriting, and an audio recording of the Mother reading
the same in English and French, accompanied by Sunil’s music.
Audio recording: Reminiscences
English text:
The reminiscences will be short. I came
to India to meet Sri Aurobindo, I remained in India to live with Sri Aurobindo,
when he left his body I continued to live here in order to do his work which is
by serving the Truth and enlightening humanity to hasten the rule of the
Divine’s Love upon earth.
French text:
Les réminiscences seront courtes. Je suis
venue dans l'Inde pour rencontrer Sri Aurobindo; je suis restée dans l'Inde
pour vivre avec Sri Aurobindo; quand il a quitté son corps, j'ai continué à
vivre ici pour faire son œuvre: servir la Vérité et éclairer l'humanité afin de
hâter le règne sur la terre de l'Amour divin.
Further Reading
Shortly before
Her final return to Pondicherry, Mother wrote the following message:
Written in Japan in February 1920
I belong to no
nation, no civilisation, no society, no race, but to the Divine.
I obey to no
master, no ruler, no law, no social convention, but to the Divine.
To Him I have
surrendered all, will, life and self; for Him I am ready to give all my blood,
drop by drop, if such is His Will, with complete joy; and nothing in His service
can be sacrifice, for all is perfect delight.
Words of Long Ago, P. 170 (CWM Vol. 02)
Exactly a hundred years ago, on 24th
April 1920, the Mother returned to Pondicherry to stay for good.
Many years later, she would recount to
the members of her French class her experience as her boat had approached
Pondicherry:
“…when
I came from Japan: I was on the boat, at sea, not expecting anything (I was of
course busy with the inner life, but I was living physically on the boat), when
all of a sudden, abruptly, about two nautical miles from Pondicherry, the
quality, I may even say the physical quality of the atmosphere, of the air,
changed so much that I knew we were entering the aura of Sri Aurobindo. It was
a physical experience and I guarantee that whoever has a sufficiently awakened
consciousness can feel the same thing…”
Questions and Answers 1950-1951, p. 223,
CWM Vol. 4
In response to questions asked of her soon after
her arrival:
“When and how did
I become conscious of a mission which I was to fulfil on earth? And when and how I met Sri
Aurobindo?
These two
questions you have asked me and I promised a short reply. For the knowledge of
the mission, it is difficult to say when it came to me. It is as though I were
born with it, and following the growth of the mind and brain, the precision and
completeness of this consciousness grew also.
Between 11 and 13 a series of psychic and
spiritual experiences revealed to me not only the existence of God but man’s
possibility of uniting with Him, of realising Him integrally in consciousness
and action, of manifesting Him upon earth in a life divine. This, along with a
practical discipline for its fulfilment, was given to me during my body’s sleep
by several teachers, some of whom I met afterwards on the physical plane.
Later on, as the interior and exterior
development proceeded, the spiritual and psychic relation with one of these
beings became more and more clear and frequent; and although I knew little of
the Indian philosophies and religions at that time I was led to call him
Krishna, and henceforth I was aware that it was with him (whom I knew I should
meet on earth one day) that the divine work was to be done…
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. "
Pondicherry, 1920
Words of the Mother 1, p. 39 (CWM Vol. 13)
Years later, Sri Aurobindo would explain to one
of his disciples:
"The
Mother's sadhana started when she was very young. When she was twelve or
thirteen, every evening many teachers came to her and taught her various
spiritual disciplines. Among them was a dark Asiatic figure. When we first met,
she immediately recognised me as the dark Asiatic figure whom she used to see a
long time ago. That she should come here and work with me for a common goal
was, as it were, a divine dispensation”.
Sri
Aurobindo (Letter of 17 August 1941 to Arabinda Basu)
In the beginning, questions
were raised among the disciples regarding the Mother, who they thought at first
to be a disciple of Sri Aurobindo like themselves.
"The Mother is not a disciple of Sri Aurobindo….” Sri Aurobindo would
eventually declare.
“She has had the same realisation and experience as myself. The Mother
was an adept in the Buddhist yoga and the yoga of the Gita even before she came
to India. Her yoga was moving towards a grand synthesis. After this, it was
natural that she should come here. She has helped and is helping to give a
concrete form to my yoga. This would not have been possible without her
co-operation. One of the two great steps in the yoga is to take refuge in the
Mother."
(When
Sri Aurobindo was asked, on a later occasion, what the second great step is, he
replied, “Aspiration of the sadhak for
the divine life.”)
Sri Aurobindo (Letter of 17 August 1941 to Arindam Basu)
“…Mother was doing Yoga before she knew or met Sri Aurobindo; but their
lines of sadhana independently followed the same course. When they met, they
helped each other in perfecting the sadhana. What is known as Sri Aurobindo's
Yoga is the joint creation of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother;
they are now completely identified... All who come here for practising Yoga
have to surrender themselves to the Mother who helps them always and builds up
their spiritual life.”
Sri Aurobindo (On Himself, p. 459)
He would further explain:
“The Mother and I are one and equal...”
(Letters on the Mother, June 1935)
“… The
Mother's consciousness and mine are the same, the one Divine Consciousness in
two, because that is necessary for the play. Nothing can be done without her
knowledge and force, without her consciousness – if anybody really feels her
consciousness, he should know that I am there behind it and if he feels me it
is the same with hers...”
“…There is no difference between the Mother's path and mine; we
have and have always had the same path, the path that leads to the supramental
change and the divine realisation; not only at the end, but from the beginning
they have been the same… Know that the Mother's light and force are the light
and force of the Truth; remain always in contact with the Mother's light and
force, then only can you grow into the divine Truth.”
Sri Aurobindo (On Himself, p. 455 - 456)
What I want to bring about in the material world, upon the earth.
1. Perfect Consciousness.
2. Integral Knowledge, omniscience.
3. Power invincible, irresistible, ineluctable; omnipotence.
4. Health, perfect, constant, unshakable; perpetually renewed energy.
5. Eternal youth, constant growth, uninterrupted progress.
6. Perfect beauty, complex and total harmony.
7. Inexhaustible unparalleled riches, control over all the wealth
of this world.
8. The gift of healing and giving happiness.
9. Immunity from all accidents, invulnerability against all
adverse attacks.
10. Perfect power of expression in all fields and all activities.
11. The gift of tongues, the power of making oneself understood
perfectly by all.
12. And all else necessary for the accomplishment of Thy work.
23 October 1937
I wish
1. personally to be eternally the perfect expression of the
Supreme Divine.
2. that the supramental victory, manifestation and transformation
should take place at once.
3. that all suffering should disappear for ever from the worlds
present and future.
Words of the Mother 1, p. 41-42 (CWM Vol. 13)
O
Wisdom-Splendour, Mother of the universe,
Creatrix,
the Eternal's artist Bride,
Linger
not long with thy transmuting hand
Pressed
vainly on one golden bar of Time,
As
if Time dare not open its heart to God.
O
radiant fountain of the world's delight
World-free
and unattainable above,
O
Bliss who ever dwellst deep-hid within
While
men seek thee outside and never find,
Mystery
and Muse with hieratic tongue,
Incarnate
the white passion of thy force,
Mission
to earth some living form of thee.
One moment fill with thy eternity,
Let thy infinity in one body live,
All-Knowledge wrap one mind in seas of light,
All-Love throb single in one human heart.
Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, Book Three, Canto
Four
Photo Gallery
Here are some photographs
from this time period, along with several self-portraits later drawn by Her.
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