The Quest Newsletter

Sri Aurobindo Center

of Los Angeles

The Quest
March 2022

Theme - Humility

The enthusiastic fervor from Mother’s Birthday flowed undiminished in its intensity throughout the month of March. The significant activities included long work offerings, annual trimming of the large trees, demolition of the driveway and all walkways for installation of pavers, and receiving members for overnight stays to be in the atmosphere of the relics. Notable among the visitors was one from London, Sushma Shethna, whose intense devotion for the dual Avatars adorned her smiling face and shone brightly in her love-lit eyes. She poured over Jyoti’s (our founder) correspondence with Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, took pictures and shared with us her soul’s journey. One was immediately reminded of the Mother’s words: “I may be there or not, but these children of mine will be there to carry out my work.”

The renovation of the Center deserves a special mention. A large undertaking in its scope of work and a significant financial commitment, it had seen many delays over the years. On the inspiration of one of our members, a courageous and decisive step to initiate the project was taken. All that was needed — the contractor, the crew, the materials, etc. — came together spontaneously and harmoniously, and the project is proceeding swiftly, nearing completion at a very competitive cost. Perhaps even more rewarding and enriching was the overwhelming experience of a Hand at work taking up the task in its entirety. It was revealing to see that work initiated as an offering to the Divine, can be powerful, effective, and tremendous in its output. We bow in gratitude.

Our weekly meetings drawing inspiration from audio and readings of Their works foster the flame of aspiration. It was particularly illuminating to view the current war in the light of Sri Aurobindo’s writings; the versatile breadth of knowledge of history of some members greatly enriched our understanding. The meetings have one singular focus, the one sole theme always holding emphasis, the Master’s maxim: “The one thing necessary is to be turned to the Mother and that is all that is needed.”. In essence these are not meetings but — to use the inspired words of a member — a collective sadhana.

Dear Fellow seekers,

This month’s offering is on Humility. If sincerity is the foundation of the spiritual path, then Humility is the protection that shelters us from all adverse influences. But what is humility and to whom should be we be humble? Humility should not be equated with timidity or mildness. Sri Aurobindo has provided examples of two spiritual personalities, one of whom grew humbler whereas the other one stronger and spiritually tall, because that was the Divine demand from him. One does not need to force to appear humble towards others. True Humility is a state of consciousness that dawns with inner progress, that one is nothing, one can do nothing, one cannot exist even for a moment without the support of the Divine. When a fraction of this knowledge awakens, one realizes the helplessness of human lives - then one stops identifying with the ignorance, and starts to be humble to oneself, before the Divine and towards others if there is a need. If we observe carefully the greatest humans have been the humblest ones. Humility is a state of authenticity.

The Quest team has scanned through the works of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo, searched art works, quotations, and photos to present the current issue.

We tried to present something relevant and meaningful for your path.

Wish you all a very happy reading,
From The Quest Team.

All are invited to join us for the following virtual events taking place via Zoom video and teleconferencing calls.

Aspiration for the Divine – Tuesdays, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Pacific Time

Savitri Reading - Thursdays, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Pacific Time

Readings from The Mother by Sri Aurobindo - Saturdays,
4:30 pm- 6:00 pm Pacific Time

Introducing the Podcast

What is Humility?
Home

True humility consists in knowing that the Supreme Consciousness, the Supreme Will alone exists and that the I is not.

The Mother, CWM Volume 14, Page 152

Humility is the recognition that one does not know, that one knows nothing, and that there may something beyond what presently appears to us as being truest, noblest, most disinterested.
True humility consists in referring oneself constantly to the Lord, in placing everything before Him.

The Mother, The Spiritual Significance of Flowers - Part 1, Page 119

As I have often been questioned about it, I shall touch briefly on the meaning of true humility, ... Humility is that state of consciousness in which, whatever the realisation, you know the infinite is still in front of you. The rare quality of selfless admiration about which I have spoken to you is but another aspect of true humility; for it is sheer arrogance that refuses to admire and is complacent about its own petty achievements, forgetting the infinite which is always ahead of it. However, you need to be humble not only when you have nothing substantial or divine in you but even when you are on the path of transformation.

The Mother, CWM Volume 3, Page 175

Humility on the Path
Home

The first step towards progress is a sincere humility.

The Mother, CWM Volume 17, Page 160

The first indispensable condition to prepare ourselves to receive the new consciousness is a true and spontaneous humility which makes us feel deeply that we know nothing and are nothing in the face of the marvellous things we have to acquire.

The Mother, CWM Volume 15, Page 108

A true and sincere humility is our safeguard―it is the surest way to the indispensable dissolution of the ego.

The Mother, CWM Volume 14, Page 153

It is very difficult for a virtuous man to enter the path of God; this has been said very often, but it is altogether true, for he is most self-satisfied, he thinks he has realised what he ought to have realised, he no longer has either the aspiration or even that elementary humility which makes one want to progress. You see, one who is known here as a sattwic man is usually very comfortably settled in his own virtue and never thinks of coming out of it. So, that puts you a million leagues away from the divine realisation.

The Mother, CWM Volume 8, Page 142

It is very unwise for anyone to claim prematurely to have possession of the supermind or even a taste of it. The claim is usually accompanied by an outburst of superegoism, some radical blunder of perception or a gross fall into wrong condition and wrong movement. A certain spiritual humility, a serious un-arrogant look at oneself and quiet perception of the imperfections of one’s present nature and, instead of self-esteem and self-assertion, a sense of the necessity of exceeding one’s present self, not from egoistic ambition, but from an urge towards the Divine would be, it seems to me, for this frail terrestrial and human composition far better conditions for proceeding towards its supramental change.

Sri Aurobindo, CWSA Volume 28, Page 303

Right and Wrong Way of Being Humble
Home

Of course you can (do Yoga without being great)—there is no need of being great. On the contrary humility is the first necessity, for one who has ego and pride cannot realise the Highest.

Sri Aurobindo, CWSA Volume 28, Page 505

An excessive depreciation is no better than an excessive praise. True humility lies in not judging oneself and in letting the Divine determine our real worth.

The Mother, CWM Volume 16, Page 176

Question: What is the right and the wrong way of being humble?
The Mother: It is very simple, when people are told ‘be humble’, they think immediately of ‘being humble before other men’ and that humility is wrong. True humility is humility before the Divine, that is, a precise, exact, living sense that one is nothing, one can do nothing, understand nothing without the Divine, that even if one is exceptionally intelligent and capable, this is nothing in comparison with the divine Consciousness, and this sense one must always keep, because then one always has the true attitude of receptivity—a humble receptivity that does not put personal pretensions in opposition to the Divine.

The Mother, CWM Volume 5, Page 45

The Grace is Always There
Home

My Lord, deliver me from all vanity; make me humble and sincere.

The Mother, CWM Volume 15, Page 211

Sadhak: Sweet Mother,
Sri Aurobindo tells us: ‘God’s grace is more difficult to have or to keep than the nectar of the Immortals.’ What does this mean? Doesn’t the Divine Grace always pour down on us, depending only on our receptivity?

The Mother: The Grace is always there, eternally present and active, but Sri Aurobindo says that it is extremely difficult for us to be in a condition to receive it, keep it and make use of what it gives us.

Sri Aurobindo even says that it is more difficult than to drink from the cup of the gods who are immortal.

To receive the divine grace, not only must one have a great aspiration, but also a sincere humility and an absolute trust.

17 October 1960
CWM Volume 16, Page 250

All can be done by the Divine, the heart and nature purified, the inner consciousness awakened, the veils removed, if one gives oneself to the Divine with trust and confidence—and even if one cannot do so fully at once, yet the more one does so, the more the inner help and guidance comes and the contact and the experience of the Divine grows within. If the questioning mind becomes less active and humility and the will to surrender grow in you, this ought to be perfectly possible. No other strength and tapasya are then needed, but this alone.

Sri Aurobindo, CWSA Volume 29, Page 69

Inspiring Pilgrims of the Divine
Home

Nishikanto Roy Choudhury
(24.03.1909 — 20.05.1973)

Born in 1909, he lost his parents early, and spent the formative years in Shantiniketan, Bengal under the guidance of Rabindranath Tagore, the poet and philosopher. Tagore had established a school and a university to implement a new form of education there. In the dim evening candlelight, when Nishikanto, a boy of seven, first met Tagore, an impressive personality with flowing beard and robe, the Poet appeared to him as Harun-Al-Rashid, the magician from Arabian Nights.

Nishikanto means the Moon, Tagore lovingly called him the Chand Kobi, or the Moon Poet. The significance was deeper as Chand Saudagar, or the Moon Merchant is a central figure in Bengali folklore. Later in Sri Aurobindo Ashram too he was known as Kobi Da, loosely translated as the Poet Brother.

He could both write and paint. Tagore took a keen interest in his development and saw that he nurtured his original style. Similarly, Abanindranath Tagore, Rabindranath’s nephew and the famous painter of Bengal School instructed the Art College teachers, in Shantiniketan not to impose any rigid framework on his art and develop organically. The seniors had such high appreciation for Nishikanto’s works of art that even when he was a student, his works were exhibited separately.

Nishikanto’s experiments with Bengali form and metre interested Tagore so intensely that in turn he was inspired with new forms. Akin to the Mother’s ideal, art was an integral part of life in Shantiniketan, and Nishikanto’s songs, often spontaneously penned, were used while volleyball games, morning prayers and festivals. Apart from creativity, sharp wit and humor were other aspects of his personality. He was immensely popular at the Shantiniketan, and Tagore showered his personal affection upon him like a loving grandfather. Many of Nishikanto’s mischiefs, pranks and funny incidents have found their place in the lore of Shantiniketan. He was also marked by his huge appetite and greed for food. A trait that posed persistent difficulties in his life throughout. His amicable nature increased the problem because people would love to invite him over a meal.

He ran away from his home with just a blanket, determined to lead an ascetic life, when his grandmother planned his marriage. The journey began, but he received the assurance that the Divine takes care of the one who depends on Him. The journey led him to a Vaishnava Saint, in whose ashram Nishikanto found his shelter. He had the subtle darshan of Sri Chaitanya Dev and his close disciple and friend – Nityananda Mahaprabhu at the ashram. Mother had later confirmed that he had “Visionary eyes”. After some time when Nishikanto sought initiation from the saint, the latter denied that stating his Guru was someone else. He told Nishikanto that he could see three great figures behind him, one was Tagore, and other two were a Great Person and a Mighty Mother, they were his destination. Later the saint had confirmed that the Great person was Sri Aurobindo, and he also conveyed to Nishikanto that he will have to undergo severe physical suffering. Thereafter once the saint left for Himalayas for pilgrimage, Nishikanto found the ashram unbearable. He returned to Shantiniketan, and over the next five years he would complete his university education in the art school there.

His life in Shantiniketan was full of creativity and pleasant social life, yet the mystic yearning developed. He would go to the nearby jungles to meditate. He started reading the works of Sri Aurobindo, and other spiritual leaders. The goal crystallized in him that meeting the Divine is not only possible but a necessity of human life. Tagore realized that he would not be able to retain him longer.

After completing his university, he could have successfully pursued a career as a poet or an artist. But that did not attract him. The name Sri Aurobindo held a special mystical charm for the young man. In 1933 at the age of 24, he distributed his paintings amongst his friends, burned his poetry notebooks and left again. He first met his grandmother to pay his respects before the new life, then worked as art teacher in a school near Kolkata for a brief period and received a small sum from the sale of a few of his paintings from an exhibition hosted by his university. He stayed for few days at Bodh Gaya where he had the darshan of Lord Buddha during his mediation at the riverside. There he also met a distant relative of Nirodbaran, the doctor who was a fresh ashramite then, and yet to become Sri Aurobindo’s attendant. Nishikanto received his inner indication proceed to Sri Aurobindo Ashram. With that meagre sum he journeyed to Pondicherry without knowing any one there. He knew only two names from Ashram – Nirodbaran and Dilip Roy, the noted singer who was close to Tagore.

Nishikanto failed to cross the Ashram borders first, and unknown, unreferred by any one was not granted any place in the Guest houses, which were sparse at that time. He made arrangements with a cheap local hotel and approached Dilip Roy about his stay at the Ashram. Dilip Roy soon realised the poetic talents of Nishikanto. That was the beginning of a friendship that lasted forever, they would collaborate over the coming years, as Nishikanto would pen lyrics to many of Dilip’s popular songs. Sri Aurobindo initially rejected his request to join the Ashram, as he had seen that Nishikanto would be famous if he stays outside, and he would have tremendous physical suffering. But Nishikanto was persistent, he represented stating that Sri Aurobindo was the polestar of his life, and that he has left his home to be with Him. In the interim, one day Nishikanto saw the Mother walking at the terrace of the Ashram, and immediately recognized her as the Divinely Being in one of his visions. The Mother and Sri Aurobindo consented to his heart’s aspiration and agreed to give him a chance. So Nishikanto was accepted in the Ashram. Meanwhile, Dilip Roy had introduced Nishikanto to the Ashram Intelligentsia, who had fallen also in love with the with the “Simple Genius”, that was 1934.

Nishikanto’s poetry deepened after the ashram phase, his creativity took a different turn. For a person who never wrote in English, poetry started flowing in that language. He used mystic symbols even in Shantiniketan days, but he used them more richly and abundantly now. His paintings too progressed. The Mother encouraged his painting and held an exhibition of his works along with other ashram artists Sanjiban, Anilkumar and Jayantilal Parekh in the Town Hall of Pondicherry in 1935. He had a unique style, painted with bold strokes, at times surrealistic and fused mystic symbols in his work. He had mastery over traditional style and had done paintings inspired by the nature. Regarding his painting Sri Aurobindo had remarked: “Nishikanta has already his own developed technique and a certain originality of vision—two things which must be there before a man can take risk as a painter”.

Like any other seeker, he was not above the currents of different conflicting forces. He once decided that he had enough of painting and poetry, they were imprisoning him, and he wanted to realise the pure Divine. He took up the work in the Ashram Dining room as the Chef; he thought that the strenuous dining room activity will help to calm down his vital restlessness. Everyone including Sri Aurobindo praised his cooking skills. Sri Aurobindo remarked, “His cooking is excellent.” Years later when Sri Aurobindo had stopped eating sweets, Nirod Da had taken to him two platefuls of rasogollas [a Bengali sweetmeat] prepared by Nishikanto. Sri Aurobindo took a bite and realized what a delightful preparation it was. He said: “Nishikanto has prepared it. I must take one more, there will be no harm.” As a chef, he was assisted by many sadhikas of the Ashram; sharing his gourmet with others, he called himself after the then British Viceroy of India, “Lord Kitchener, with many Lady Kitcheners”. But he overworked, mornings he devoted to dining room, afternoon for different preparations of cake, cheese, and biscuits and nights for creative pursuits. One day he thought of preparing some vinegar. He collected a lot of raw mangoes and prepared vinegar; he wanted to test its concentration; therefore, he drank two cups of the sharp liquid. As a result, he developed ulcers in his stomach, and then things went only downhill from there. Long ago Nirodbaran had warned him that the excessive strain he undertook for his artistic activities and irregularities in having his meals might lead him to diabetes, but the poet didn’t listen to the doctor. Sri Aurobindo, like Tagore, indulged in the occasional pranks and humours of Nishikanto. We can see him enquiring and discussing about Nishikanto’s health and his state of mind with Nirodbaran and other attendants in 1940.

The illnesses could not stifle his indomitable spirit, he continued with his creative work. His poems were regularly published not only in the Ashram circle but also in in mainstream Bengali media which was allergic to spiritualism. His work found place in the anthology of modern Bengali poems. 1947 was the 75th year of Sri Aurobindo’s life, a book was published with 75 sonnets of Nishikanto as an homage. His poetry was not products of imagination, but a transcription of his spiritual experiences. Not only mysticism but contemporary politics and state of the nation such as partition of India reflected in his poetry. Sri Aurobindo remarked about the power and beauty of Nishikanto’s poems. Probably the highest compliment - “A Brahmaputra of Inspiration”.

Then came the fateful year of 1950, when Sri Aurobindo left his physical body. On 9th December, when Sri Aurobindo was being lowered into the Samadhi, a spontaneous prayer rose from Nishikanto’s heart: “Now that you have left us physically, assure us that your work will be done.” “Something made him look up at the Service Tree and suddenly he saw Sri Aurobindo; his undraped upper body was of a golden colour. He said firmly with great energy and power in Bengali, ‘It will be done, it will be done, it will be done”.

Mother's Greetings to Nishikanto

Because of economy of space, we reproduce only two of his vision experiences to share with the readers.

Once in a vision Nishikanto saw a Total Void. Then he saw a star emerge in that Void and when it vanished, its place was taken by a beautiful green moon. Beneath it stood a magnificent verdant tree, innumerable birds flitted around it and the tree was bathed by the effulgence of the green moon. After some time the green moon vanished as well and a sapphire moon was seen in a blue sky with its rays falling on all creation. Eventually the green moon vanished too and a golden moon was seen with golden rays radiating from it. When Nishikanto wrote to Sri Aurobindo asking him the significance of the vision, he replied that the ‘star’ which emerged in the Void was the Creatrix—the Mother; the green moon was Rama, and his light was falling on the verdant tree symbolizing the creation; the blue moon was Krishna with his light permeating the creation and the golden moon symbolized the Future Avatar.

Once Nishikanto saw in a vision a violet stream and a golden cup. In a letter to Nirodbaran, Sri Aurobindo explained the significance of the vision: “ ‘Violet’ is the colour of the benevolence or compassion, but also more vividly of the Divine Grace—represented in the vision as flowing from the heights of the spiritual consciousness down on this earth. The golden cup is I suppose the Truth-Consciousness.”

Nishikanto with the Mother

By 1955, Nishikanto was plagued by different illnesses - diabetes, high blood pressure and tuberculosis. His house in the Ashram was like a mobile hospital. He continued to visit the Mother for the Balcony darshans walking with his stick till one day he found that he cannot walk anymore. He had not much faith in medicines and wanted to be cured by the Mother’s force alone. Nirodbaran, his old-time friend was much concerned about his health and thought that his end was approaching soon, as Nishikanto was lapsing into coma. Nishikanto asked Nirodbaran to take him to the Ashram playground so that he could bow down to the Mother. When Nirod Da made the request to the Mother, she refused to meet him until 24th April and told him,” “Listen, one year ago he wrote to me a letter in which he prayed that I must keep him alive till April 24th, that is three days more from now. And I gave him my word. You know how the whole of last year has been for him a series of upheavals and storms. Like a sentinel star, I kept my watch over him and never relaxed a moment in my protecting power. The last attack was the abscess. That too was healing up; but when on his last birthday (which was 24th March) he came for my blessings, I saw that something had gone wrong, there was a fissure in his faith and this dangerous attack has come upon that psychological trouble. You will tell him I want to see him on the 24th. Gathering all his strength, he must come on that solemn occasion.” So Nishikanto held on. On 24 April 1956 in the morning, he was given a sponge-bath. Volunteers came with a stretcher to take him to the Meditation Hall for the Mother’s Darshan. At 10:30 in the morning Nishikanto was taken to the Meditation Hall by the volunteers. The Mother came downstairs. The stretcher was raised knee-high so that the Mother could bless him. He stretched out his feeble hands which the Mother “clutched and drew them into her own and silently smiled into his wide-open supplicating eyes”. Suddenly Nishikanto, pointing to his chest, said: “Mother, your foot here.” The stretcher was put down and the Mother placed her right foot over his heart and Nishikanto pressed it with his eager hands. In the evening when Nirodbaran went to see Nishikanto, he could notice that the feverish restlessness was no longer present in him; on being asked how he felt, Nishikanto replied: “The hell-fire within has subsided.” When asked how he felt when the Mother had placed her foot on his chest, he said: “Ah, the relief! the body seemed to have become ice-cold. Every cell was soothed with peace and peace.” From that day onward he recovered and continued to live until 1973, though with different illnesses.

He was never afraid of death, and the spirit of humor never left him. When someone asked him, “How do you feel with Death standing at your door-step?” pat came his reply: “Why don’t you ask Death how he feels standing in front of me!” When besieged by diseases the doctors imposed various restrictions, he would say,” “Mother, I came here to surrender to you, but it seems I would have to surrender to the doctors.”

In 1972 he had the vision of the Vasudeva, Lord Krishna and after a long hiatus he penned a thousand lined poem “Lilayan”, which was published posthumously. He knew his end was drawing near, he joked that he could witness Sri Aurobindo’s Centenary, but he would see the Mother’s centenary siting on the Service Tree.

On 20th May 1973, he was lying on his bed and looking at the sun setting in the west. When his sister asked him how he was feeling, he replied: “The exterior consciousness is becoming hazy, but the inner consciousness is fine.” As the night deepened, she saw Nishikanto looking for something; on her enquiry he asked whether the blessing-packet of the Mother was in his pocket. “Yes, it is,” and Aparna placed his hand on the pocket to indicate the location. A lovely smile appeared on his face, the smile of the final farewell. Then he began to have some breathing problem and the doctor and the others who were in his room tried to ease his suffering by giving him oxygen. Feeling better he told his attendant to go and have his dinner and then come back. To Nirodbaran, he said that his end was near so he can now write whatever he wanted on him. Precisely at 10 pm Nishikanto breathed his last. The Moon Poet, the dear Kobi da of the youngsters of the Ashram went away again to surrender himself completely at the feet of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo.

Reference:
Nishikanto: The Brahmaputra of Inspiration by Anurag Bannerjee

Sadhana of the Body
Home

It is a fact that the Godhead has always taken a physical body with the intention of transforming that body and making of it a fit instrument for His manifestation upon earth. But it is a fact also that, until now, He has failed to do so and for one reason or another He had always to leave that physical body with the work of transformation unfinished.

3 October 1952
The Mother, CWM Volume 13, Page 54

The body repeats constantly and with a poignant sincerity: “What am I to demand anything whatsoever from anyone at all? Left to myself I am nothing, I know nothing, I can do nothing. Unless the truth penetrates into me and directs me, I am incapable of taking even the minutest decision and of knowing what is the best thing to do and to live even in the most insignificant circumstance. Shall I ever be capable of being transformed to the point of becoming What I ought to be and of manifesting What wants to manifest upon earth?” But why does this answer always come from the depths, from You, Lord, with an indisputable certitude: “If you cannot do it, no other body upon earth can do it.” There is but one conclusion: I shall persist in my effort, without giving in, I shall persist until death or until victory.

8 September 1954
The Mother, CWM Volume 13, Page 56

And your body, if you draw from it all the possibilities it holds, if you educate it … That is why Sri Aurobindo used to repeat and has always said: You must work from both ends, not let go of one for the other. And certainly, if you want to have a divine consciousness, you must not give up spiritual aspiration; but if you want to become an integral divine being on earth, take good care not to let go of the other end, and make your body the best possible instrument.”

24 April 1957
The Mother, CWM Volume 9, Page 94

Even what the mind and will can do with the body in the field proper to the body and its life, in the way of physical achievement, bodily endurance, feats of prowess of all kinds, a lasting activity refusing fatigue or collapse and continuing beyond what seems at first to be possible, courage and refusal to succumb under an endless and murderous physical suffering, these and other victories of many kinds sometimes approaching or reaching the miraculous are seen in the human field and must be reckoned as a part of our concept of a total perfection.

Sri Aurobindo, CWSA Volume 13, Page 526

***

The Ordinary Life and the True Soul

To conquer the greed for food an equanimity in the being must be developed such that you are perfectly indifferent towards food. If food is given you, you eat it; if not, it does not worry you in the least; above all, you do not keep thinking about food. And the thinking must not be negative, either. To be absorbed in devising methods and means of abstinence as the sannyasis do is to be almost as preoccupied with food as to be absorbed in dreaming of it greedily. Have an attitude of indifference towards it: that is the main thing. Get the idea of food out of your consciousness, do not attach the slightest importance to it.

The Mother, CWM Volume 3, Page 123

***

When you have a desire you are governed by the thing you desire, it takes possession of your mind and your life, and you become a slave. If you have greed for food you are no more the master of food, it is the food that masters you.
A sadhak must eat to satisfy the needs of his body and not to meet the demands of his greed.
4 April 1937

***
It is an inner attitude of freedom from attachment and from greed for food and desire of the palate that is needed, not undue diminution of the quantity taken or any self-starvation. One must take sufficient food for the maintenance of the body and its strength and health, but without attachment or desire.

27 April 1937
The Mother, CWM Volume 14, Page 270

***

Illness and Health

You ask me whether your illness comes from yoga. By no means − far from damaging health, yoga helps to build up a health that is robust and unfailing.
29 June 1942
***
Do not forget that to succeed in our yoga one must have a strong and healthy body.
For this, the body must do exercise, have an active and regular life, work physically, eat well, and sleep well.
It is in good health that the way towards transformation is found.
18 April 1971
***
It is good to do exercises and to lead a simple and hygienic life, but for the body to be truly perfect, it must open to the divine forces, it must be subject only to the divine influence, it must aspire constantly to realise the Divine.
***
Good health is the exterior expression of an inner harmony. We must be proud if we are in good health and not despise it.
***
As yet happiness and good health are not normal conditions in this world.
We must protect them carefully against the intrusion of their opposites.

The Mother, CWM Volume 15, Page 136

Sri Aurobindo’s Humor

Sadhak: It is said that woman is man’s guru and shakti. Sounds queer, doesn’t it?

Sri Aurobindo: No more queer than the husband being a god (husband-god, pati-devata). The husband is supposed to be the wife’s proper and only guru, so why should not the wife return that compliment and be the man’s guru? Tit for tat.

Correspondence with Sri Aurobindo, Page 118

All was abolished save her naked self
And the prostrate yearning of her surrendered heart:
There was no strength in her, no pride of force;
The lofty burning of desire had sunk
Ashamed, a vanity of separate self,
The hope of spiritual greatness fled,
Salvation she asked not nor a heavenly crown:
Humility seemed now too proud a state.

Savitri, Page 522,
Book 7: The Book of Yoga,
Canto 5: The Finding of the Soul

Altar at The Sri Aurobindo Center of Los Angeles

Events & Activities Home

Introduction Home