A yogic search from France to Pondy
Swahilya Express Buzz. : 14 Nov 2008 CHENNAI:
Indian spirituality has forever attracted the people from all over the world in the form of disciples and Gurus too. Once such person who came to India in search of a special being she felt so connected with since the age of 12. She called it “Krishna,” and finally saw that person in Sri Aurobindo of Pondicherry, which eventually became home for Mirra Alfassa of Turkish-Egyptian descent, born in Paris in 1878.
Wilfried, a German author and Indologist who has written A short biography titled The Mother points out that out of the 15 volumes of the Collected Works of The Mother, most of it was transcribed from the recordings of her talks on tape.
She and her husband Paul Richard who came to Pondicherry were termed by Sri Aurobindo as rare examples of European Yogins who had not been misled by aberrations on the spiritual path. The Mother, who was irresistibly drawn towards India, the country that she exclusively felt was her motherland, finally came to Pondicherry in 1914. After her travels to Japan, she again came back to India and lived in Pondicherry since April 1920 till her Mahasamadhi in November 17.
Followers of the Integral Yoga path of Sri Aurobindo have a very close spiritual connection with The Mother even today.
They visit her samadhi in The Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry on all days of the year and on special days such as February 21, the birth anniversary of The Mother and on November 17, observed as the Mahasamadhi Day.
A tennis player, painter and musician who played on the piano, The Mother’s philosophy was to integrate spirituality into daily life – bring the supramental divinity into the day to day activities like even combing one’s hair or brushing the teeth..
A key person in the formation and of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry which attracts lakhs of visitors from all over the world the Mother described life in the Ashram as far from ascetic abstinence or an enervating comfort;
“Simplicity is the rule here, but a simplicity full of variety, a variety of occupations, of activities, tastes, tendencies, natures; each one is free to organise his life as he pleases, the discipline is reduced to a minimum that is indispensable to organise the existence of 110 to 120 people and to avoid the movements which would be detrimental to the achievement of our yogic aim."
Worship with floral decorations evolved from The Mother’s experience of different states of consciousness expressed through flowers. Each flower has a particular vibration and meditating in the ambience of flowers helps in connecting to different aspects of the divine consciousness. Even today at The Aurobindo Ashram and the many centres of the Sri Aurobindo Society in Chennai and other parts of India, the floral decorations play a major role in meditation. The Auroville township and Matri Mandir are her pet ideas too.
- Sri Aurobindo Society at 5, Smith Road near TVS was the Chennai branch that was set up by The Mother herself in the early 60s. A special group meditation will be conducted at 10 a.m. on that day in remembrance of The Mother. The Centre will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for visitors and Mahasamadhi day message cards will be distributed. N.V. Balu, chairman of the Anna Nagar Branch of Sri Aurobindo Society at AP 514, J-Block , 8th St., said that there will be a group meditation on that day at 6.30 a.m. and an audio show at 6 p.m. and Annai Bhajans on the previous day evening. swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com
