themes

THEMES

Sri Aurobindo's Birthday: August 15, 1872 is the birthday of that "colonist from Immortality", whom we know as Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo has said that his life has not been lived on the surface for men to see. It is only in the Master's and the Mother's own words that we catch glimpses of that deep inner life, too sublime for human appraisal. We carry a passage from Savitri descriptive of Ashwapathy, the avatar and divine protagonist, a passage from the Synthesis of Yoga where Sri Aurobindo describes the ideal Guru, the Divine Teacher of the Integral Yoga and some words by the Mother on Sri Aurobindo as glimpses of that vast invisible life.

The Birthday of Free India: August 15, 1947 is the birthday of modern independent India, a "birthday gift" for Sri Aurobindo, as he envisioned it, the seal and sanction of the Divine on the path which he started his life. Sri Aurobindo, who was one of the architects of the movement leading to this liberation from foreign rule, saw India not as a piece of dead earth but as the living body of the Mother and it is this vision that he helped to instill in the hearts of every Indian of his time, through the upholding of Bankimchandra Chatterjee's song Bande Mataram (Salutations to the Mother). We carry here Sri Aurobindo's translation of Bande Matatram. Arising from the heart of Bengal, this vision of the Mother coincided with that of the Goddess Durga, resplendent Victor over the forces of Darkness. Bengal continues the widespread collective invocation to Mother Durga every year around mid-October. Sri Aurobindo's own Hymn to Durga, composed at the height of his involvement in the political struggle, is also carried here. To Sri Aurobindo, independent India is destined to play the role of the spiritual guru of the world. We carry some excerpts from Sri Aurobindo on India.

The Mother on Birthdays: Apart from the above two exalted birthdays, this period witnesses the birthdays of a number of members of the Sri Aurobindo Center of Los Angeles. We carry here the transcript of the Mother's words on birthdays.
The Mother on Food: Food, a necessity of human physical existence, in our present constitution, is a much misunderstood area of spiritual life. Often a field for the exercise of vital passions or for self-denial, food in the Integral Yoga merits equal importance as all else. The collective life of the Center has taken on this area as one of its explorations in our first Saturday pot-lucks. Here we carry the Mother's words on food.
On Music: The hosting of music with a power for spiritual upliftment is another major area of the Center's life. As in the last issue, we carry in this section some quotes from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on the power and function of Music in a life aspiring towards the Divine.

Flowers and their Messages: The gardens at the Center continue to express the joy and beauty of the psychic life. We carry once more excerpts by the Mother on Flowers and their Messages.