Upcoming
Events
4
April 2009: Centenary Year of Sri Aurobindo's Arrival at Puducherry
Sri Aurobindo in Puducherry
Sri Aurobindo came to Puducherry on 4 April 1910 to pursue
a spiritual goal - the goal of supramental transformation -
never before successfully attempted by anyone. While engaged
in the freedom struggle in Bengal, Sri Aurobindo received an
adesh (a Divine Command) to go to Pondicherry. In one of his
letters to a disciple he wrote:
"Pondicherry
is my place of retreat, my cave of tapasya, not of the ascetic
kind,
but of a brand of my own invention."
This year marks the centenary of his arrival at Puducherry
- a most significant event which led to a revolution in the
destiny of Man, bringing in the possibility of a New World,
a New Humanity whose life will be based on a higher consciousness.
From the moment of his arrival at Puducherry, Sri Aurobindo
was constantly engaged in the tremendous work of laying the
foundations of this new world.
He said:
"We
do not want to exclude any of the world's activities. Politics,
trade, social organisation,
poetry, art, literature - all will remain. But all will be given
a new life, a new form..."
And then, his call for working collectively to achieve this
goal:
"If
we are spread out everywhere as individuals, something no doubt
will be done;
if we are spread out everywhere in the form of a Sangha*, a
hundred times more
will be accomplished."
[*Sangha:
a collective body, divine fellowship]
24
April 2009, Darshan Day: The Mother's Final Arrival at Puducherry
The Mother came to Puducherry for the first time in March 1914.
She returned to France in 1915 and then went to Japan in 1916.
She returned to Puducherry on 24 April 1920, never to leave
again. On this significant date, the Mother once wrote to a
disciple:
April
24:
The
anniversary of my return to Pondicherry, which was the tangible
sign of the sure
Victory over the adverse forces.
It was then that slowly the Ashram grew and took shape around
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The 24 April is also celebrated
in the Ashram as one of the four Darshan days. On that day,
Sri Aurobindo's room will be kept open for Darshan to the visitors.
Recent
Events
29 March 2009 - The Mother's First Arrival at Puducherry
The Mother met Sri Aurobindo for the first time on 29 March
1914, and later joined him as his collaborator in the great
work of ushering in a new world of higher harmony and joy. There
was a collective meditation at the Ashram playground in the
evening.
Dr.
Sampadananda Mishra's Visits in March 2009
Visit to Tiruvannamalai
Dr. Sampadananda Mishra of Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry,
visited Yogi Ramasuratkumar Ashram, Tiruvannamalai, from 12
to 14 March 2009 for attending a National Conference on the
Influence of Sanskrit on Contemporary Languages. There, Dr.
Mishra spoke about the relationship between Sanskrit and Oriya.
The Conference was jointly organised by the SCSVM Deemed University,
Kancheepuram, and Yogi Ramsuratkumar Ashram, Tiruvannamalai.
Visit to Kalady, Kerala
Dr. Mishra was in Kalady, the birth place of Adi Shankaracharya,
from 17 to 19 March 2009 for attending a National Conference
on Evolution of Panini's Grammar. Dr. Mishra spoke on the philosophy
of the concept of Apadaana in Panini's system. The Conference
was organised by the Shankaracharya University of Sanskrit,
Kalady, Kerala.
Visit to Auroville
On 20 March 2009, Dr. Mishra, gave a brief talk on Raavana-chaaya
or the Shadow Puppetry of Orissa, in the Adishakti Theatre,
Auroville, which had organised a fifteen day workshop on Ramayana
in Folk Tradition. He also actively participated in another
session on Ramayana and interacted with the scholars and critics
present there.
Some
Special Days in April 2009
3 April - Sri Rama Navami
Sri Rama
Eight days after Ugadi (which was on 27 March of this year),
is the birthday of Sri Rama, one of the two most popular and
highly revered incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Sri Rama is said
to have been born at noon on this day.
Many devotees of Sri Rama observe the Rama-navami vrata which
commences from the previous night with fasting. The occasion
is also celebrated with many religio-cultural programmes like
Paaraayana or ceremonial recitation of the epic Ramayana (usually
spread over the nine days from Ugadi), Hari-kathaa (discourse
on mythological stories on Hari, an epithet of Vishnu, accompanied
with music), classical music or devotional songs etc.
Here is Sri Aurobindo's revealing words on Sri Rama and his
role on earth:
Rama…
was the Avatar of the sattwic mind-mental, emotional, moral-and
he followed
the
Dharma of the age and race.
[Rama's]
business was to destroy Ravana and to establish the Rama-rajya-in
other words,
to
fix for the future the possibility of an order proper to the
sattwic civilised human being
who
governs his life by the reason, the finer emotions, morality,
or at least moral ideals,
such
as truth, obedience, co-operation and harmony, the sense of
domestic and public
order,-to
establish this in a world still occupied by anarchic forces,
the Animal mind and
the
powers of the vital Ego making its own satisfaction the rule
of life, in other words,
the
Vanara and Rakshasa. This is the meaning of Rama and his life-work…
…it
was Rama's business to make the world safe for the ideal of
the sattwic human
being by destroying the sovereignty of Ravana, the Rakshasa
menace. All this he did
with such a divine afflatus in his personality and action that
his figure has been stamped
for more than two millenniums on the mind of Indian culture,
and what he stood for has
dominated the reason and idealising mind of man in all countries,
and in spite of the
constant revolt of the human vital, is likely to continue to
do so until a greater ideal arises.
News
from Branches and Centres
News
from Abroad
Nairobi (Kenya)
On 18 January 2009, Nairobi Centre of Sri Aurobindo Society
held a Seminar on "Health Science and Spirituality --
contributing or contradicting in Present Times". The
speaker was Dr. Ajay Chhaniyara who is a Consulting General/Family
Physician in Nairobi. He has delivered talks on various medical
issues/topics in various forums all over Kenya. His primary
interest as a doctor is Prevention of Disease and Promotion
of Health. About fifty people attended the seminar.
Dr. Chhaniyara emphasized on a holistic approach towards
health. He also said that the next step for mankind to look
for prevention of diseases and health solutions is in combination
of 'Spirituality' and 'Science'. The secretary of the centre
rounded up the talk by giving relevant quotations from the
teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on Health and Healing.
This was followed a by brief meditation.
On 11 February 2009, members of the Nairobi Centre presented
three thousand six hundred booklets under twelve different
titles to the Nairobi Women's Hospital. The booklets were
received by the Patients Service Manager and another senior
member of the hospital.
The Secretary of Nairobi Centre addressed the participants
at a Seminar organised by the Institute of Certified Secretaries
of Kenya held on 19 February 2009, and spoke on the topic
"Role of the Company Secretary in running the affairs
of a Company". The Seminar was attended by about fifty
members from the company secretarial, accounting and legal
professions. During the course of the presentation, apart
from matters of legal compliance and governance issues, references
were made to the divine governance in work. The Mother's words
on 'Beauty', 'Listening to the Inner Law' and 'The Morning
Prayer' were distributed to all the participants.
News
from India
Porbandar (Gujarat)
Smt. Jyotiben, lighting the lamp
Jigneshbhai, Youth Coordinator, speaking
during the Seminar
The Porbandar Centre of Sri Aurobindo Society organised a
one-day Workshop on Integral Education at Dr. V.R. Godhaniya
B. Ed College, Porbandar. The main speakers were Smt. Jyotiben
Thanki and Jigneshbhai. Following the talk, there was a Group
Discussions on Real Education. The Workshop was attended by
about 150 B. Ed. and M. Ed. students and teachers.
Vadodara
(Gujarat)
The Women's Council of the Society's Vadodara branch organised
a Seminar at the Sri Aurobindo Nivas on 7 and 8 February 2009.
The subject of the Seminar was "Education in the Light
of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother". Smt. Mrunalinidevi
Puvar, Chancellor of the M.S. University, Vadodara, inaugurated
the Seminar. The Seminar started with the hoisting of the
Mother's flag, accompanied with the Mother's recorded music.
Noida
(U.P.) - March 2009 Programmes
Shri Shantanu Bhattacharyya leading the
Music Programme.
On Tabla, Sh. Malhar Mukherjee; on Tanpura, Ms. Sudipta Mandol
and Shri Iman Dass
A view of the audience
Special programmes:
14 March 2009: Second talk on "Atma Parichay - Atma Vikas
in the words of the Mother" by Shri Hans Dholakia was
organised at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan on 14 March 2009. About
50 devotees and their families participated in the programme.
26 March 2009: Noted Hindustani classical singer Shri Shantanu
Bhattacharyya from Kolkota and his team presented a musical
programme at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, Noida, on 26 March 2009.
About 120 devotees and their families attended the music programme.
Reading from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother:
(a) Second Thursday of every month from 4 pm to 5 pm has been
fixed for Reading from the book 'Mother' and singing 'Bhajans'.
On 12 March '09, seven devotees read the book 'Maata' and
sung Bhajans.
(b) On every Saturday from 11 am to 12 noon in the month of
March 2009, about twelve devotees came to Sri Aurobindo Bhavan
and took part in spiritual discussion & collective reading
from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
Education at Sri Aurobindo Shiksha Niketan:
7, 14 & 21 March 2009: On every Saturday in March Shri
Vishwa Mohan Tiwari, Air Vice Marshal (retd.) and Shri D.D.
Chopra Cdr.(Retd.) came to Sri Aurobindo Bhavan and interacted
for two hours with the children of Sri Aurobindo Shiksha Niketan.
Poems, stories, good manners and discipline are the subjects
they dealt with. The visiting dignitaries along with the children
visited the Holy Shrine and paid tributes to Sri Aurobindo
and the Mother.
Free Music Classes for Children: Free Music Classes twice
a week are conducted at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan by Smt. Anamika
Sengupta from 21st February 2009. About twenty students are
attending the music classes.
Health:
Treatment by Acupressure Therapy and Eye Check-up/Consultation
at the Sri Aurobindo Bhavan are going on well.
Development of Women:
Sewing & Tailoring Classes: Sewing & Tailoring Classes
are being conducted daily from Monday to Friday at Sri Aurobindo
Bhavan by Smt. Jaishree Nigam and about fifteen ladies are
learning the same.
Other Activities:
Besides the above, regular activities of reading of "Savitri",
meditation with the Mother's music daily in the morning and
evening, Library, playing of spiritual audio/video CDs etc.
are held.
Digboi
(Assam)
The Digboi Branch celebrated the Mother's birth anniversary
on 21 February 2009. The first session started with the hoisting
of the Mother's flag and meditation. In the second session
Shri T.L. Dutta Sarmah, Vice-Chairman of the branch, read
out a selected portion from the book 'The Mother', followed
by meditation with the Mother's music for half an hour. In
the third session in the evening there were flower offerings
and meditation with the Mother's music. Shri S. Aditya gave
a talk on the Mother, which was followed by a talk by Dr.
N.K. Bhattacharjee, Chairman of the branch, on the Mother's
vision. The programme ended with a cultural programme of devotional
songs on the Mother.
Chennai
(Tamil Nadu)
The Chennai branch organised the following talks during the
month of February 2009:
Date Topic
Speaker
01.02.2009 "Divine
Forces and its working" Smt.
Kanthalakshmi Chandramouli
"To
accomplish" Shri
M.K. Ramaswamy
08.02.2009 "The
Divine Umbrella" Shri
Kavimamani Elayavan
15.02.2009 "Experiences
of some people
who moved with the Mother" Shri
Janakan
22.02.2009 "Mantra
for Integral Yoga" Shri
M.K. Ramaswamy
Activities
in Uttar Pradesh
Allahabad
A Seminar on "Indian Culture and Science" was organised
by the Society's Allahabad Centre on 15 Feb. 2009. Dr. Vinod
Chandra Srivastava was the Chief Guest. The other speakers
were Prof. C.M. Bhandari and Dr. M.M. Varma.
Badlapur
A Seminar on "Sri Aurobindo On Culture" was organised
by the Society's Badlapur Centre in Badalapur, Jaunpur. Dr.
J. P. Singh and Dr. Brij Bala Singh spoke on the occasion.
Booklets printed by Sri Aurobindo Society were distributed
to the participants.
Kanpur
Dr. J.P. Singh spoke on the "Yoga of Sri Aurobindo"
in Unnao, near Kanpur, on 1 March 2009. About 80 persons attended
the function. Booklets printed by Sri Aurobindo Society were
distributed to the participants.
Varanasi
Varanasi Centre of Sri Aurobindo Society celebrated the Mother's
birthday on 21 February 2009 in Shree Purna Yoga Peeth, Saraigovardhan
Chetganj, Varanasi. The function started with the Mother's
Music, meditation & bhajans. Prof. Umesh Chandra Dubey
presided over the function. He spoke on "Sri Aurobindo's
Philosophy". The main speaker, Dr. Rama Ghosh, Ex-Chairman,
Philosophy Dept., Arya Mahila P.G. Gollege, Varanasi, spoke
on "The Mother's Life". After the function, the
booklet 'Mother -- Her Life and Mission' printed by Sri Aurobindo
Society was distributed.
On 4 March 2009, All India Radio, Varanasi, broadcasted a
programme on the topic "Sri Aurobindo's Social View and
Women" as part of its Grih Lakshmi Programme.
Activities
in Madhya Pradesh
The activities in Madhya Pradesh in Feb.-March included celebrations
of Mother's Birthday, Dr. R. B. Srivastava's visit to the
Schools in Dauria and Putarya village, and Dr. Suman Kochar's
visit to Amravati. The regional coordinators of MP have started
working in their respected Regions.
Guntur
(Andhra Pradesh)
A three-hour awareness programme of Sri Aurobindo's message
for the youth was conducted at the Guntur branch on 15 February
2009. Shri B. Venkatramaiah, Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh
State Committee, presided over the programme. Shri P.C. Swaroop
was the resource person. About 75 youths participated in the
programme.
Raipur
(Chhattisgarh)
Raipur Centre of the Society celebrated the Mother's birthday
on 21 February 2009, at the residence of Prof. K.P. Verma,
Agriculture University Campus, Raipur. Professors of the University
and 30 school children were present on the occasion. Ms. Anjali
Mukherjee rendered bhajans. Dr. Indira Mishra, Chairperson
of the Centre spoke on "Integral Education".
Dehri-On-Sone
(Bihar)
Dehri-On-Sone Branch celebrated the Mother's birthday on
21 February 2009, with meditation in the morning from 6 to
6:30. At 5 pm the Mother's flag was hoisted with the chanting
of Vande Mataram. Shri Vinod Marodia, Dr. S.N. Bajaj and Shri
A.K. Mishra spoke on "Mother's Life and Her Mission".
Dr. Dinesh Prasad conducted the programme. Dr. Uma Verma gave
a vote of thanks. About 275 young boys and girls attended
the function.
Dharampeth
(Maharashtra)
The Dharampeth Centre organised a study camp on "Consciousness"
from 10 to 15 December 2008. Shri Ashokdada Javadekar, a devotee,
conducted the sessions. Booklets on 'Love' were distributed
to all the participants.
