themes

THEMES

The Mother's Birthday: February 21, 1878 marks the birthday of the Mother, celebrated every year as one of the four annual Darshan Days at the ashram. It marks the advent of the possibility and promise of the supramental manifestation on earth. In this section, we carry a passage from Savitri, where Sri Aurobindo employs the mantric utterance of the Overmind Intuition to describe the Mother. We also carry a portion of a talk by the Mother telling us about herself and the Truth she brings. From Mona Sarkar's recent powerful book of reminiscences, we carry the Mother's words on the significance of Her Feet. Finally, there are Shri Kapali Sastry's words on the Mother's Presence.

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. For the sadhaka, it also carries the message of a vast surrender, offered integrally at the feet of the Supreme. Thus "surrender" is the theme of this section, exemplified by Radha's Prayer and the text of three prayers from the Mother's Prayers and Meditations written shortly after her first meeting with Sri Aurobindo. We also carry Shri Nolini Kanta Gupta's reminiscence of his own surrender at the feet of the Mother, in these early days of the ashram.
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 the text of a radio talk on "Birth and Death" delivered in 1969 on KPFK.

The Mother on Savitri: Savitri is the mantric word-body, vaanmaya deha of Sri Aurobindo, and his mantric legacy transmitting his experiences to the future. "All others, they are preparations; but Savitri, this is the message", the Mother has been quoted as saying. In this issue, we reproduce the text of Mother's conversation with Mona Sarkar, expressing the utility and importance of this super-epic.

The Mother on the Physical and its Culture: The physical body is not meant to be a refuse or discard of the spiritual life in Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's teaching. A living instrument and habitation of the Divine Consciousness, it's goal is a transformation of substance, allowing it to overcome the subjection to Disease and Death and become a perfect manifestation in Matter of the Beauty and Eternity of Spirit.

On Science and Technology: A few quotes from the Mother and Sri Aurobindo on Science and Technology to bring out the different dimensions of these forces which so powerfully control the world today and while holding the promise of a perfected and sorrowless world, at the same time, threaten to dwarf and stereotype the human spirit.

On Death: After Mary Dane, Trudy King "Tatyana", a faithful companion and helper of Jyotipriya passed away last year after a most courageous battle with cancer. In this section, we carry some quotes from the Mother on the subject of the continuity of the being after death.