A group of people, perhaps 40 in number, were waiting in a large room,

to be called - singly, or perhaps as a family group - to enter that sacred

thrid-floor room in the heart of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, known as "Mother's

Room"...

At the door of that room, stood a lion - a human lion - named Champaklal,

who had come to the ashram as a youth who, unlike most of us, knew exactly

why he was there - to serve Mother and Sri Aurobindo - literally - to serve

Them as a faithful personal servant - and protector! (as the years passed,

you got to know him as a warm helpful friend.)

But now let's go back some years and briefly see what brought us to this

magic moment: There was a young man whose family had long been faithful

members of the Episcopal church in America, and at the height of that

religious activity, he suddenly realized that he didn't have a clue to the

fundamental questions of life: Who am I? What's the purpose of this life?

Why death? and so on...

Years passsed in fruitless search in familiar surroundings. When he began

to include unfamiliar approaches to these questions, new lights flickered;

finally, he met a remarkable, strong and gentle woman, Dr. Judith Tyberg,

the founder of Sri Aurobindo and Mother's Center in Los Angeles, the

East-West Cultural Center... the long-sought answers began to appear in

Sri Aurobindo and Mother's writings.

Learning that the Mother was French by birth, he was inspired to amplify his

High-School French, found a French-speaking family and lived with them

for a year. Soon, he was flying to Pondicherry. Dr. Tyberg ("Jyotipriya"

viz. "Lover of Light") had arranged with the ashram to have a wonderful

disciple, Prithvi Singh, to help inform and guide the neophyte. With

instruction and study, Ashram life and the Integral Yoga made their indelible

mark. Arrangements were made and the date was set - the most important day

of all - the day to meet Mother. The wonderful necessary personal preparation

was made - and this takes us back to that brighgt, warm morning at the start

of this article...

Champaklal briskly announced the name - at last - and opened the door, nodding

to direct you to the path you should take: straight ahead, then turn left.

There probably was a smile hidden somewhere in the lion's mane (a beautiful, long,

bushy beard).

As you turned left, your eyes caught the vision: toward the end of the beautiful

carpet, again just to your left, there was Mother. She was sitting in a delicately

carved, high-back chair.

I think she was clad in a beautiful sari, but my eyes were captured by the most

serene face they had ever seen. It was like a dream... Your body seemed to know

just what to do - before the Mother you slowly turn left and drop to your knees.

You look up. The Mother is in trance, her beautiful eyes open. It is "an eternal

moment".

Mother's attendant speaks to her. You can actually see her consciousness slowly descend...

Silence... Then the attendant tells Mother your name - and that you are working with

Jyotipriya at the Sri Aurobindo Center in Los Angeles. At the mention of Jyoti's name, a

warm, beautiful smile lights Mother's face.

You are startled, captured by those eyes - the deepest intense blue you have ever seen -

radiant - like jewels. Your whole being is suddenly filled. That look doesn't just see

you, it looks through you - the focus is far behind your eyes. You feel - you know -

that Mother is looking at and knowing, your innermost being. Your soul.

After a few infinite moments, Mother again smiles and asks you about Jyotipriya, about

the work at the Center, and how it is progressing. As you answer, you give her the roses

you had carefully selected and brought in Love and Offering. You speak in French, doing

your best... even telling her that you had prepared for a long time - for this sacred

moment.

Now, Mother gives you a flower from a flat basket close at hand... a single, glorious rose.

(This flower has Mother's power in it - and the force contains exactly what your soul

needs at this time.) You rise and again offer pranams.

What happened after that, you cannot recall. You don't remember going back out the door or

going down the carpeted steps... the next thing you know, you are on the street in

Pondicherry -in ecstacy.

These words of Sri Aurobindo capture the permanent impact of this brief eternal encounter:

"Let only your spiritual change and progress matter for you and for that trust wholly in

the Mother's force and her grace which is with you - do not let things or people disturb you, -

for compared with the truth within and the journey to the full light of the Mother's

Consciousness these things have no importance".