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2. Bhagavan Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo says that from 1857 a phase of Indian life began when its native aristocracy began to die and a new bourgeois class that was enamoured of English culture was born. It was a move of the nation to get Anglicised. As a part of it Sri Aurobindo, then a child of less than seven years, was sent to an English school at Darjeeling. On entering that school, Sri Aurobindo says, a cloud of darkness entered him that remained with him till he returned to India. Fourteen years later when he returned to India on ship and entered Apollo Bunder, the Indian soil, a mighty spiritual Peace entered Him and removed the earlier darkness. That Peace remained with Him to the end. India is a land of Rishis and her peace touches everyone who enters her soil. An American youth who was coming to the Ashram felt the invasion of Peace into his being while he heard the pilot announcing that they had entered Indian air space.

At that time yoga was not in the thoughts of Sri Aurobindo. He was a born poet. Patriotism was uppermost in His mind. Having disqualified himself for ICS intentionally, Sri Aurobindo entered Baroda Service. During the thirteen years He was there, His mind was on the freedom of India. An incident with a Naga Sannyasi made Him think of Yoga as an instrument for securing Freedom. He sought help. Vishnu Lele initiated Him into Silence in the hope faith or devotion would be born. In three days He attained Silence, which is said to be the boon of several births. The experience landed Him in Brahman. In six years Sri Aurobindo completed all the Indian yogas. There is a reference in his poem "Mahatmas" of doing Raja yoga in three days. In 1906 He entered politics and was there till 1908 in which year He was to spend one year in jail. It was there Swami Vivekananda appeared before Him and showed Him the Supermind. Initially His efforts gave Him the Supramental vision of everything and everyone as Narayana. Krishna's Viswarupa revealed both sides of Existence. Sri Aurobindo's vision did not have the negative side.

He was soon released from jail. On the guidance of His inner Voice He reached Pondicherry where He stayed till 1950 when he attained samadhi. It took ten years for Him to discover the spiritual route to Supermind, as He was the very first to explore it. Indian Spirituality was aiming at the other world. He was seeking to transform this world. He broke new ground in Spirituality. It dawned on him that the descending Supermind would transform human life on earth into Divine Life. He saw why God created the world and how. The process of Spiritual evolution revealed to Him the key to the redemption of the world. To reach Supermind, the surface mind we live in or the inner mind through which moksha is reached is insufficient. One needs to reach the subliminal below the inner mind. It is there the evolving soul, the Psychic Being resides. These were new revelations in the field of the Spirit. He could see moksha provided an escape and what was needed was transformation of the individual soul as a prelude to the transformation of the world. He discovered the path to Supermind was through the spiritual mind range - Higher Mind, Illumined Mind, Intuitive Mind, Overmind - and worked to create that new path.

It was during this period that Mother visited Him with Her husband. In Her He saw the practice of surrender had gone down to the physical. It was She who urged Him to write His ideas. The journal Arya was thus started. While in Paris, She used to see in Her meditations a dark Asiatic figure whom She then called Krishna. All Her life She had been looking for Her Krishna. At the first sight of Sri Aurobindo, She saw it was HE. Her decision to stay with Him for the rest of Her life was interrupted by the war which took Her to France and Japan. During this period She saw India was FREE in the subtle plane.

She was born in Paris. Her mother was a disciplinarian. She had a brother who later became the Governor of Madagascar. Until She was ten years old, She never went to school. She was a painter and She spent Her time with artists. Meeting an occult teacher named Theon, She learned occultism. She had a thought that Theon was the Krishna of Her meditations. In one of Her voyages in the occult world She saw the Mantra of Life written in Sanskrit. She never knew the language; still She could take it in and keep it. Theon had vast powers. He once deflected a bolt of lightning heading towards him. Later in Her life, She knew that Theon was really the Lord of Death, even as Her husband Richard was the Lord of Nations who created the world wars. Theon asked Her for the Mantra of life. She refused to give it. He snapped the occult chord that held Her subtle body in contact with the physical body. Still, She refused the Mantra. Theon restored the link and She came back. She gave that Mantra to Sri Aurobindo. By this time She had seen the Supramental Being without knowing what it was. She fully practised the yoga of the Gita which is ahead of Raja yoga. Sri Aurobindo says She entered the World of Supermind through the main door while He entered it by the postern.

Mother had inexhaustible energy. She did not sleep until She was 80. After that, She rested for less than two hours in Her chair. Surrender is the only method in this yoga. This has two parts, surrender of the soul and surrender of human nature. Surrender of the soul advocated by the Gita is for the mature individual soul. It can hasten moksha. Sri Aurobindo says in this modern world of ours, all ideals are for the collective. The Gita offers nothing for collective humanity. Evil is a reality in life. Sri Aurobindo points out to us that the solution lies in Transformation.

When The Mother returned to Pondicherry in 1920, HE and She were working in the Overmental Plane, a plane from which Krishnavatar originated. There were many miraculous events in the life of the Ashram. He insistently showed Her that the Power of Transformation lies in the Supermind and not in the Overmind. Then they moved their work. In 1926 the Overmental force descended into his body, when He retired leaving all the work in the hands of The Mother. It was not His intention to found an Ashram. She wanted it. He accepted Her idea and thus the Ashram was founded. The Mother said in the Ashram She gathered around Her all the souls that were with Her in the previous births. She was entirely in charge of the whole Ashram till 1973 when she attained samadhi. It was His idea that such an Ashram must be closed after their lives. In 1972 She declared that people coming to the Ashram would find their difficulties increasing. She advised such people to remain where they were. Mother answers the calls from wherever they come. The distant calls are more effective, unhindered by the compulsions of the organisation.

Sri Aurobindo called the World War ‘Mother's war'. The armaments caused Her great concern. Their very bulk, said She, created a compelling power to use them. She was actively present at all points of crisis such as Cuba, Israel, India's border with China. World Peace, She said, needed a physical material symbol. Therefore she founded Auroville. "As long as Auroville is there, a World War will be prevented, " said She. Auroville is an international city with Matrimandir as the centre. Matrimandir is a temple to Mother constructed as a globe with part of the building reaching below the ground level. Her Presence can be felt there with greater power than anywhere else.

Sri Aurobindo was an Avatar. She too was one. This is the first time two Avatars were born simultaneously. Avatars come to show Man the way. These two have come to do the yoga of earth in themselves. They did not stand like a coach outside and encourage the players. They were in the field playing the game along with the men they came to lead.



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