themes

THEMES

The Mother's Final Arrival at Pondicherry: On 24^th April, 1920, the Mother came to Pondicherry, to stay for good and work beside Sri Aurobindo for the Supramental Manifestation on earth. Her final arrival, celebrated at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram as one of the four annual Darshan Days of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, represents the manifest union of the Ishwara and the Shakti, a necessary precondition for the integrality of the Supramental Manifestation. In this section, we carry the text of three prayers from the Mother's Prayers and Meditations and a mantric passage from Savitri descriptive of the her first meeting with Satyavan and reminiscent of the Mother's arrival at Pondicherry.
Birthday of the Sri Aurobindo Center of Los Angeles: On May 1, 1953, the East-West Cultural Center was given birth by Jyotipriya in a single rented room in Hollywood, Ca. In this section, we carry the text of a message sent to Jyotipriya by the Mother, which stands as a cornerstone of its existence and progress.
Birthday of Judith M. Tyberg (Jyotipriya): Judith M. Tyberg was born on May 16, 1902, in a Theosophical ashram in Point Loma, Ca. In 1947, she went to study Philosophy at the Benares Hindu University in India, and learnt of Sri Aurobindo and became his disciple, gaining from him the spiritual name "Jyotipriya, the Lover of Light". In 1950, she returned to the U.S., starting the East-West Cultural Center in 1953. Here, we carry some excerpts from her diary entries at the Sri Aurobindo ashram, when she visited for Sri Aurobindo's Birth Centenary in 1972.

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 poem by Sri Aurobindo, written as a metrical experiment but descriptive of his own divine advent, and excerpts from his letters and from the Mother's talks describing the ideal Guru, the Divine Teacher of the Integral Yoga.

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. We carry here an excerpt from Sri Aurobindo's Uttarpara Speech, delivered after his release from the Alipur jail and containing his vision for a future 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 some excerpts from the Mother's words on birthdays.
The Mother on Fragrances: We know the important part flowers played in the occult work of the Mother. Here, we carry some passages where she explains the power of fragrance in the ability of flowers to communicate their deeper messages. These passages are included in continuation of our focus on aromatherapy.
On Music: The hosting of music with a power for spiritual upliftment is another major area of the Center's life. The Center witnessed some very spiritually elevating music during this period. We carry in this section some quotes from the Mother on the power and function of Music in a life aspiring towards the Divine.

On Death: The Center recently lost Mary Dane, one of its faithful and devoted members and the wife of one of its directors, Robert, after a brief and valiant battle with cancer. Here, we carry some passages from the Mother on the attitude of the living towards those that have passed on.