• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

MOTHER INDIA MONTHLY REVIEW OF CULTURE JANUARY 2015 PRICE: Rs. 30.00 SUBSCRIPTIONS INLAND Annual: Rs. 200.00 For 10 years: Rs. 1,800.00 Price per Single Copy: Rs. 30.00 OVERSEAS Sea Mail: Annual: $35 or Rs. 1,400.00 For 10 years: $350 or Rs. 14,000.00 Air Mail: Annual: $70 or Rs. 2,800.00 For 10 years: $700 or Rs. 28,000.00 All payments to be made in favour of Mother India, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. For outstation cheques kindly add Rs. 15 for annual membership and Rs. 50 for 10-year subscription. Subscribers are requested to mention their subscription number in case of any enquiry. The correspondents should give their full address in BLOCK letters, with pin code. Lord, Thou hast willed, and I execute, A new light breaks upon the earth, A new world is born. The things that were promised are fulfilled. All Rights Reserved. No matter appearing in this journal or part thereof may be reproduced or translated without written permission from the publishers except for short extracts as quotations. The views expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the journal. All correspondence to be addressed to: MOTHER INDIA, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry - 605 002, India Phone: (0413) 2233642 e-mail: [email protected] Publishers: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust Founding Editor: K. D. SETHNA (AMAL KIRAN) Editors: RAVI, HEMANT KAPOOR, RANGANATH RAGHAVAN Published by: MANOJ DAS GUPTA SRI AUROBINDO ASHRAM TRUST PUBLICATION DEPARTMENT, PONDICHERRY 605 002 Printed by: SWADHIN CHATTERJEE at Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, Pondicherry 605 002 PRINTED IN INDIA Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers under No. R.N. 8667/63 MOTHER INDIA MONTHLY REVIEW OF CULTURE Vol. LXVIII No. 1 “Great is Truth and it shall prevail” CONTENTS Sri Aurobindo THE WAYS OF THE SPIRIT [1] (Poem) ... 1 SRI AUROBINDO’S LETTERS ON THE MOTHER ... 2 MENTION OF PAUL BRUNTON IN SRI AUROBINDO’S LETTERS AND CONVERSATIONS ... 26 The Mother ‘THOU SHINEST RESPLENDENT IN ALL THINGS!’ ... 42 Amal Kiran (K. D. Sethna) “MYSTIC MOTHER” — CORRESPONDENCE WITH SRI AUROBINDO ... 43 Manoj Das SRI AUROBINDO: LIFE AND TIMES OF THE MAHAYOGI CHAPTER XXXIX: TREKKERS OF A DIFFERENT PATH — DARK AND DANGEROUS (3) ... 46 Richard Hartz WHERE NONE HAVE GONE ... 57 Gautam Malaker ABRAHAM LINCOLN — NOBLE AND RESOLUTE ... 64 Sachidananda Mohanty TRANSFORMING THE ‘ANIMAL ASSOCIATION INTO A COMMUNITY OF THE GODS’: A MEMORABLE COLLECTION ... 80 Amita Sen ON SRI AUROBINDO’S POEM ‘A GOD’S LABOUR’ ... 83 Ratri Ray RHETORIC IN SRI AUROBINDO’S PROSE — XIII ... 97 Prema Nandakumar AMID THE LEAVES THE INMATE VOICES CALLED 13. THE POET’S POET ... 100 1 THE WAYS OF THE SPIRIT [1] What points ascending Nature to her goal? ’Tis not man’s lame transcribing intellect With its carved figures rigid and erect But the far subtle vision of his soul. His instruments have served his weakness well But they must change to tread the paths of Fire That lead through his calm self immeasurable To the last rapture’s incandescent spire. The spirit keeps for him its ample ways, A sense that takes the world into our being, A close illumined touch and intimate seeing, Wide Thought that is a god’s ensphering gaze, A tranquil heart in sympathy with all, A will wide-winging, armed, imperial. SRI AUROBINDO (Collected Poems, CWSA, Vol. 2, p. 597) 1 2 MOTHER INDIA, JANUARY 2015 SRI AUROBINDO’S LETTERS ON THE MOTHER (Continued from the issue of November 2014) ASPECTS OF THE MOTHER’S LIFE IN THE ASHRAM The Mother’s Music IT is not by knowledge of music that the understanding [of the Mother’s music] comes; nor is it by effort of the mind — it is by becoming inwardly silent, opening within and getting the spontaneous feeling of what is in the music. 1932 * I feel within me a tendency for music, but I understand nothing of harmony, tune and rhythm. Yet sometimes when I hear the Mother’s music, I am spell- bound and lose all sense of time. It is not necessary to have technical knowledge in order to feel what is behind the music. Mother of course does not play for the sake of a technical musical effect, but to bring down something from the higher planes and that anyone can receive who is open. 16 September 1933 * When I entered the Mother’s room, she had just finished playing for a long time — that is why I did not expect her to play for me. The Mother has played music from her childhood upwards — so it is no trouble to her to sing or play several times. 16 September 1933 * Why does my mind become so full of joy listening to the Mother’s music? Today while listening to her play, my mind, my heart, my whole consciousness became full of peace and joy and then went high up somewhere. 2 SRI AUROBINDO’S LETTERS ON THE MOTHER 3 What else is the Mother’s music except the bringing down of these things? She does not play or sing merely for the music’s sake, but to call down the Divine Conscious- ness and its Powers. 16 September 1933 * Yesterday when the Mother was playing her music, I was much struck by the descent of forces in me. I clearly experienced these three elements: aspiration, surrender and the receiving of blessings. First, her soul as the immanent Divine aspired to the transcendent Divine; it was a call for her transcendent Self to come down and take possession of the downtrodden natures of her children. Then the surrender: in her zeal for union with her highest Divine Self, she almost loses herself. Then from the highest, her Voice comes down for the benefit of her children. She receives the blessings from above and showers them upon all her children. I do not know how far I am right. I think it is fairly correct. At any rate the first and second parts are quite correct. I do not remember the third in this form but it was a firm assurance of the realisation. 27 September 1933 * Is it true that when the Mother plays on the organ she calls down the Gods of the higher planes to help us? Not consciously. 9 February 1934 * You wrote in reply to my letter of yesterday: “Not consciously.” Does it mean that the Gods are attracted to the Mother’s music and so come down to hear it? They may be. 10 February 1934 * 4 MOTHER INDIA, JANUARY 2015 When the Mother plays the organ, something new enters into my consciousness. Does she really bring down something while playing? If she did not bring something, why should she play at all? 19 April 1934 * Yesterday I heard the Mother playing Indian music and a few days ago she was corresponding with X about Indian music. The Mother’s music has often been recognised by Y as Indian music of this or that raga. The Mother plays whatever comes through her — she does not usually play any previously composed music whether European or Indian — the latter in fact she has never learned. 11 September 1934 * Some people think that in the Overmind and Supermind there will be no need of prayer or aspiration. They must have forgotten that even our Mother has aspired constantly, day and night, or that when she plays her music we feel that she is praying. Yes. All that is very true. It is a prayer or an invocation that Mother makes in the music. 1 June 1935 The Mother’s Attitude towards Music and Other Arts Why should you think the Mother does not approve of expression, — provided it is the right expression of the right thing, — or suppose that silence and true expression are contradictory? The truest expression comes out of an absolute inner silence. The spiritual silence is not a mere emptiness; nor is it indispensable to abstain from all activity in order to find it. 26 April 1931 * SRI AUROBINDO’S LETTERS ON THE MOTHER 5 For the moment I am answering only to your question about the music. Let me say at once that all of you seem to have too great an aptitude for making drastic conclu- sions on the strength of very minor facts. It is always perilous to take two or three small facts, put them together and build upon them a big inference. It becomes still more dangerous when you emphasise minor facts and set aside or belittle the meaning of the main ones. In this case the main facts are (1) that the Mother has loved music all her life and found it a key to spiritual experience, (2) that she has given all encouragement to your music in special and to the music of others also. She has also made clear the relation of Art and Beauty with Yoga. It is therefore rather extraordinary that anyone should think she only tolerates music here and considers it inconsistent with Yoga. It is perfectly true that Music or Art are not either the first or the only thing in life for her, — any more than Poetry or Literature are with me, — the Divine, the divine consciousness, the discovery of the conditions for a divine life are and must be our one concern, with Art, Poetry or Music as parts or means only of the divine life or expression of the Divine Truth and the Divine Beauty. That does not mean that they are only “tolerated”, but that they are put in their right place. 29 October 1932 * At the music one or two words of X’s song practically made me weep with rapture, and some of Y’s soft and deep turns of phrase almost led to tears.

Load more

  112

Copy Link