Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Journal of the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother Vol. 26, no. 3

An interview with Udar Pinto • Travels with Swami Ananta: Greece • The triple time vision Sunlit crystal, sunlit path • Eye contact with God • Supermarket yoga best sellers

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 1 About the artists and TTTababable of contents photographers in this issue Preeti Bhatt ([email protected]) Collaboration, vol. 26, no. 3: Fall/Winter 2000–2001 works in a technical marketing firm in Silicon Val- Beginning ley. She has loved art since her childhood and does sketches and oil painting in her spare time. Her Cells of a feather hobbies include reading, watching movies and Mother on how to have better meetings ...... the Mother 4 cartoons, and volunteering her time to help others. Catherine Blackburn (c.blackburn@ sympatico.ca.) is an artist, teacher, and member of New letters on yoga the Sri Aurobindo Spiritual Centre of Toronto. She is also a board member of AVI Canada. Welcome to our new subscribers ...... Marta Belén 4 Wayne Bloomquist (calcutta98@hotmail. From our readers ...... Joseph Kent, Margaret Phanes, com) has visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram many ...... Alice Webb, Bob Zwicker, B.Y. 5 times and was organizer of the 1995 conference on Questions ...... Bruce Forsythe 5 cellular transformation in Berkeley, California. Jim Foreman ([email protected]) is an artist in Lafayette, Colorado who believes hu- Current affairs manity is facing a future of unprecedented change, challenge, and opportunity. His work is based on AUM 2001 to be held near San Francisco ...... 6 themes from the spiritual teaching “Steps to CIF schedules 50th anniversary talks ...... 7 Knowledge” (http://www.greatercommunity.org/ AVI meets in Lebensgarten, Germany ...... 7 Steps.htm). Ginger Hein is a photographer, race car New AVI Canada board formed ...... 7 driver, and health and safety technician in Arvada, First All India Meet held in Nainital ...... 7 Colorado. Selected works of Sri Aurobindo available on CD ...... 8 Alan Herbert ([email protected]) is an MyIntegralYoga.URL ...... 8 editor of Auroville Today. He visited the U.S. in summer 2000 and was a featured speaker at AUM. Farewell to Trudy King ...... Julian Lines 9 David Hutchinson (dbhutchinson@ucdavis. edu) is president of the Sri Aurobindo Association, AV almanac co-editor of Collaboration, and a moderator of the Integral Yoga mailing list. He lives in Sacramento, Platforming in SAWCHU California, where he is a registered nurse. Auroville tries a new type of meeting ...... Jill Navarre 9 Lynda Lester ([email protected]) is a member of the Sri Aurobindo Association, co- editor of Collaboration, and a moderator of the In- Chronicles tegral Yoga mailling list. She lives in Boulder, Col- orado, where she is a technical writer/editor. The view from nine decades, part 2 Michael Miovic ([email protected]) lives An interview with Udar Pinto ...... Anie Nunnally 10 in New York. He is a physician and writer, and has been active in an Integral Yoga group that discuss- Travels with Swami Ananta, part 1 es psychology. The author is sent to Greece on a strange mission ..... Michael Miovic 15 Bhuvana Nandakumar (msbhuvana@ hotmail.com) is a member of the Sri Aurobindo As- sociation and is earning a master’s degree in non- profit management. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Anie Nunnally ([email protected]) is a mu- sic teacher in Los Angeles. She worked for many years with the Foundation for World Education or the inner flame to burn, one must feed it; one must watch over the fire, and is an active member of the East-West Cultural throw into it the fuel of all the errors one wants to get rid of, all that delays Center. Fthe progress, all that darkens the parth. If one doesn’t feed the fire, it smoul- Lisa Rachlin ([email protected]) is an ders under the ashes of one’s unconsciousness and intertia, and then, not years but lives, artist and sadhak in Broomfield, Colorado. She centuries will pass before one reaches the goal. One must watch over one’s faith as one lived in India for six years and is very good with watches over the birth of something infinitely precious, and protect it very carefully cats. from everything that can impair it.—The Mother, Questions and Answers 1957–58, Guy Piacentino ([email protected]) is a Collected Works of the Mother, vol. 9, p. 352 photographer who works in multimedia using nu- meric photography. He lives in Geneva, Switzer- land and is involved with an artistic association.

2 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 The yoga today Sunlit crystal, sunlit path Matrimandir is a center of peace, light, and dynamic force ...... August Timmermans 19 Eye contact with God In which the universe is seen to live happily ever after ... Lynda Lester 20

Essay The triple time vision Last chapter of Synthesis describes ‘trikaladrishti’ ...... David Hutchinson 22 On the cover: Sunlight on snow. (Photo by Ginger Hein) Media A plethora of periodicals Collaboration (ISSN 0164-1522) is pub- 44 journals in the Integral Yoga...... Sri Aurobindo Association 26 lished by the Sri Aurobindo Association (SAA), a California nonprofit religious corporation, P.O. Millennial reading list Box 163237, Sacramento, CA 95816 USA; email: [email protected]; phone: 209-339- 48 books to expand your consciousness ...... LL 28 3710, ext. 6; fax: 916-451-9039. All photos of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, passages from the Reviews works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, and ex- Book: Growing up with the Mother, by Tara Jauhar ...... DH 29 cerpts from the books published by the Sri Auro- Book: The Radiance of Being, by Allan Combs ...... DH 29 bindo Ashram are © Sri Aurobindo Ashram unless Book: The Best Spiritual Writing 2000, ed. Philip Zaleski ...... DH 30 otherwise noted, and are used here with the kind permission of the Ashram. The opinions expressed in Collaboration are not necessarily those of the The poetry room editors or the SAA. Staff for this issue: David Hutchinson, edi- Gleam ...... Joseph Kent 30 tor; Lynda Lester, associate editor, layout, and pro- Mother’s darshan ...... Cassia Berman 31 duction; Marta Belén, Tom Parker, and Sue Shep- pard Ford, proofreaders; Vishnu Eschner, sub- Listening ...... Sharon Winnett 32 scription database; Kalpana Patel and Chandresh Full moon ...... Bernard Sage 32 Patel, mailing. Meeting with divine truth...... Vanessa Henshall 32 Subscriptions: A one-year subscription (three issues) to Collaboration is $20 ($32 for air- mail outside the USA). A patron subscription is Gnostic knots $40 or more for three issues. Send subscription money to SAA at the above address. Proof of artificial intelligence ...... LL 33 Submissions: Collaboration welcomes Yogic competency quiz ...... DH 33 writing, photos, and artwork relevant to the Inte- Supermarket yoga best sellers...... Sri Aurobindo Association 33 gral Yoga and spirituality. Submit material by e- mail to [email protected]; by fax at 916- Shakti packets ...... DH 34 451-9039; or by post to Collaboration, P.O. Box Question for God ...... from the Internet 34 163237, Sacramento, CA 95816 USA. Collabora- City Soul Siddhi ...... Marta Belén 34 tion cannot be held responsible for loss or damage of unsolicited material. Letters to the editor may be published unless you indicate otherwise. Let- Source material ters and articles may be edited for style and space considerations. The road ahead About SAA: The primary purpose of the Sri Sri Aurobindo on gnostic collectivity ...... Sri Aurobindo 35 Aurobindo Association is to distribute informa- tion about Sri Aurobindo, the Mother, and Au- roville and to support various projects related to Apropos ...... 36 the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville, and Integral Yoga activities in America.

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 3 meetings according to a preconceived BegBegBeginningsinningsinnings plan or to conform to the ideal of one in- New letterslettersNew dividual or another or even of all of us. Cells of a feather We would then be entering on the way of artificial formations shaped by theory and on yogyogon aaa destined to perish even more rapidly than Mother on how to have better those institutions which develop accord- Welcome to our new meetings ing to their own spontaneity, which is the subscribers sum total of the varied tendencies of their This selection is from Words of Long members. he new millennium was fast Ago, Collected Works of the Mother, vol. Certainly, our meetings should approaching, so the Sri Au- 2, pp. 59–60, 4 June 1912. T progress, since that is the condition of robindo Association (SAA), their continuation. But this can only hap- which publishes Collaboration, decided What improvements can we bring to pen if they become an opportunity for to send out a solicitation flyer. Some peo- our meetings? each one of us to progress. ple had not read Collaboration in a long e said one day with regard For if we want their progress to be time; others had perhaps never seen it. As to the numerous groups sincere and in depth, it must depend on a result of this solicitation, our subscrip- W our own. If we could all bring with us tions increased by twenty-three percent! that form and disappear almost immediately, that this phenome- here an ardent aspiration for greater We want to welcome our new sub- non of rapid decay is a result of the con- knowledge and wisdom, we would create scribers to the journalistic adventure of ventional and arbitrary factors which en- a contemplative atmosphere, which I Collaboration. All the members of SAA ter into the organisation of these groups. would like to be able to call religious, and look forward to your participation in this In fact, they are founded upon an ide- this atmosphere would be most favour- exploration of consciousness. Thanks to al prototype originating from one or sev- able to our self-perfection. you (and to all our regular readers!) for eral minds—a formula which is some- An atmosphere of spirituality is your support. times very beautiful in theory, but which sometimes a far greater help than an ex- takes no account of the individuals who change of words; the most beautiful About the Collaboration process with their difficulties and weaknesses thoughts cannot make us progress unless People within the Integral Yoga must form the living cells of the group. we have a persistent will to translate community submit articles, poems, art- In my opinion, it is impossible to them within ourselves into higher feel- work, letters, essays, photography, and give an arbitrary form to any being, indi- ings, more exact sensations and nobler even music (and we encourage newcom- vidual or collective; its form can only be actions. ers to jump in with your own expres- the outer expression, which perfectly re- Thus, to improve our meetings, the sions). flects the quality of its constituent ele- essential condition is our own self-im- Each issue is put together by the edi- ments. provement. tor and the associate editor (Dave Hutch- Because this vital law of formation is If we unify ourselves and identify inson and Lynda Lester alternate roles) not observed, these groups follow one our consciousness with the consciousness and begins with a review of recent sub- upon another and multiply endlessly; all of our Divine Self, our group will become missions. The editors work for several are fated to the same swift destruction. unified. If we enlighten and illumine our months to produce an issue of Collabora- For instead of being living organisms ca- intellectual faculties, our group will man- tion; it is a way of concentrating spiritual pable of normal growth, development ifest the light. If we allow impersonal practice in a special way. In the effort to and expansion, they are nothing but inert love to permeate our whole being, our bring quality to these pages, many emails conglomerations without any possibility group will radiate love. And finally, if we go back and forth over small details. of progress. bring order into ourselves, our group will Others closely involved with the We had decided to heed this law and become organised of itself, without our journal include Vishnu Eschner, who carefully refrain from prematurely decid- needing to intervene arbitrarily in its for- keeps the subscriber list current; Kalpana ing upon the conditions of life of our little mation. Patel and Chandresh Patel, who stuff the group. It is not yet born, it has hardly be- In short, let us become the living envelopes and do the mailings; and Marta gun its period of gestation. Let us allow it cells of the organism we want to bring Belén (myself), who endlessly tries to to form and blossom very slowly before forth, and let us not forget that on the val- find ways to reduce production expenses. making any rules for its existence. ue of its cells will depend the value of the Again, we welcome you as a new Consequently, it would seem disas- collective being and its action, its useful- Collaboration subscriber, look forward trous to me to attempt to organise our ness in the work of universal harmony. to your contributions, and thank you for

4 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 your support. We hope to hear from you nitude I cannot explain came upon me. It soon!—Marta Belén, treasurer, Sri Au- was golden white, vibrating, and so pow- robindo Association erful that my eyes rolled back in my head. It captured me, if you will—my closed- eye vision saw what can only be de- From our readers scribed as a brief moment of, “Ah, I see, I understand, I understand.” Now of course very much like the current issue I have no idea of what I “understood.” of Collaboration. And I’ve As this precious moment faded Iheard many compliments on the away, I found myself shaking uncontrol- last two issues from subscribers at the lably. My dog was standing in my room Cultural Integration Fellowship [in San barking and running back and forth, and Francisco]. Great issue.—Joseph Kent, my cat was meowing in a strange way. I [email protected]. was left, of course, confused. I began cry- ing and shaking, saying “thank you” over It is so wonderful to have a place to and over. It was the first of many experi- share the underlying vision. I am grate- ences. ful Collaboration has been that for I live in the midst of Los Angeles; I me.—Margaret Phanes, phanes@ drive 100 miles a day. Here are my ques- cats.ucsc.edu. tions. How many are out there who fight Thank you very much for the com- every day? Do some pound their steering plimentary copy of Collaboration. It is a wheels in frustration at being buried in great magazine—BRAVO! I like best this chaos? Do people cry with the pain your quotations from the Mother and Sri when the aridity leaves them lifeless? For Aurobindo (and their photos are so nice- others, is it difficult to simply pray at ly reprinted). times? Do people see around themselves The quotes are often those I have not the ignorance of humanity in this massive read and are from books I am not likely to cement jungle—not passing judgment at have . . . I am interested in Sri Aurobin- The tranquil beauty of the waning year . . . the ignorance, but feeling pain in the con- do’s poetry and also quotes showing his (Savitri, p. 351, “The Growth and Childhood dition of humanity? Do others find it dif- sense of humor.—Alice Webb, Brun- of the Flame”). (Photo by Dave Hutchinson) ficult to communicate with family mem- swick, Maryland bers? Who fights everyday to attempt to I appreciate the life and energy and Here now, for what I hope is not too keep some flow of this light with them? joy of exploration that radiates from the personal an overview, are things I would Are there those who are scared of their pages of Collaboration.—Bob Zwicker, generally not expose—but I will now seeming slow progress? Where are they? [email protected] push aside ego and vanity and ask that the Are there those who cry out in despair at proper words might come forward for recognizing their smallness and insignifi- I have a file with .sri extension and this message. I relay the following as a cance compared to this light? wanted to know how to open it. Can you starting point for personal reference: And more—does it seem insignifi- help?—B.Y. Several years ago in a moment (I sus- cant and not nearly enough to simply sur- pect) of innocence, while rocking back vive, to do what one can, to say a mantra and forth sitting on my bed one afternoon while driving? To stop by the side of the Questions when my wife and the children were road and pray? To get up early though gone, I was asking in low whispers to one is dead tired just so one can stop in a wonder about so many things in know, to know that there is God, to know dark parking lot in the morning and read a a given day or week or month. there is more. Over and over in what now bit of Savitri and seek a bit of silence? To I seems a mantra of sorts, I cried and hurt because when one doesn’t do those When younger I would often ask myself, “Why are you wondering about asked. things, one judges oneself? why you are wondering?” A rather com- In what now I understand may have Oh there are joys on this path, a feel- pelling question to attempt to ask one’s been the opening of the mind’s eye (or ing that comes that says, “I am near . . .” self, I might add. third eye) and the heart, a light of a mag- Yes I know, we are all trying to do this

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 5 while living in chaos. Yet it never seems enough. It seems so small an effort—living the yoga in this vibrational nightmare called humanity seems never enough. I know all of you, God bless you, will say, “Yes, yes, Bruce, I do those things, you are not alone.” I know you are out there, but still I ask the questions. Once one is exposed to this light, it seems, the end of life as one knew it is inevitable, to go down into the “muck and mire” a necessity. I apologize; as I look back on the words I see I wrote a rather long note. Thank you all for listening.—Bruce Forsythe, [email protected]

Current afafCurrent fffairsairsairs AUM 2001 to be held near San Francisco Mount Alverno, AUM 2001 conference site. (Photo from brochure) he next All USA Meeting (AUM) will be held July T20–24, 2001, at Mount Alverno Retreat Center in limited number of scholarships will be available. Redwood City, California, near San Francisco. The Group exploration at AUM 2001 will take place through the theme of the conference will be “Realizing the new creation: presentations, activities, and structure of the conference. The Revolution, evolution, manifestation.” AUM working group is meeting regularly to assure that in every Anticipated presenters include: way possible, AUM 2001 will bring people together in higher consciousness. This will be a participatory, interactive, dynamic • Kirit Joshi (New Delhi) meeting where people can deepen connections with others in this • Lynda Lester (Boulder, Colorado) yoga. • Devan Nair (Hamilton, Canada) Mother says: “What is indispensable in every case is the ar- • Prema Nandakumar (Tiruchirapalli, India) dent will for progress, the willing and joyful renunciation of all • Alok Pandey (Bangalore) that hampers the advance: to throw far away from oneself all that • Guy Ryckaert (Auroville) prevents one from going forward, and to set out into the un- known with the ardent faith that this is the truth of tomorrow, in- Mount Alverno Retreat Center, nestled within San Francisco evitable, which must necessarily come, which nothing, nobody, Bay Area’s emerald hills, is centrally located, about twenty min- no bad will, even that of Nature, can prevent from becoming re- utes from both the San Francisco and San Jose airports. The re- ality—perhaps of a not too distant future—a reality which is be- treat center has twenty-six acres of wooded surroundings, where ing worked out now and which those who know how to change, the climate will be moderate and inviting in July. how not to be weighed down by old habits, will surely have the Mount Alverno offers modest yet hospitable accommoda- good fortune not only to see but to realize.” (from The Mother’s tions including an Olympic-size swimming pool, a tennis and Talks on The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth, Mother’s volleyball court, and walking and hiking paths. AUM will have Collected Works, vol. 9, p. 158. exclusive use of the center during the four-day meeting. Just one sentence by the Mother, so characteristic of the Children will be welcome at AUM 2001. There will be spe- message expressed by herself and Sri Aurobindo, is filled with cial activities for children as well as accommodations designed complex, magnetic proposals that invite us to undertake a jour- for families. Professional child care will be available during the ney into the future. keynote presentations each day (total of three hours a day). AUM 2001 will be an opportunity to explore together how The registration cost per person for the meeting will be $100 the present journey and future promise of Integral Yoga confront per night for a private room, $85 per night for a shared room, and and hearten us at the same moment. $25 per night for children twelve or younger. These rates include Upcoming issues of Collaboration will contain further pro- meals, afternoon tea, sleeping accommodations, linens and tow- gram information and details. els, attendance at meetings and activities, and meeting materials. For more information, to register, or if you wish to partici- Daytime attendance is $65 per day. pate in the AUM, see http://aum.collaboration.org, or contact the Local transportation costs may be additional, depending upon Sri Aurobindo Association, Dept. R, P.O. Box 163237, Sacra- arrangements. Thanks to the Foundation for World Education, a mento CA, 95816; email: [email protected].

6 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 CIF schedules 50th Anderschitz) and saw a beautiful slide Catherine Blackburn; secretary, Andrée anniversary talks show of Matrimandir presented by Paul; treasurer, Guy Perron; administra- Michael Bonke. They discussed new ap- tor, Devan Nair. The Cultural Integration Fellowship proaches towards a new economy with To contact the board, send email to (CIF) in San Francisco, California, was Margrid Kennedy and participated in an [email protected], or visit their website at founded in 1951 by Dr. Haridas intercultural workshop given by Benedik- http://www.cam.org/~avica. Chaudhuri, and has been directed by his ta Gräfin von Soden. wife, Bina Chaudhuri, since his death in Various groups explored the theme 1975. As part of its fiftieth anniversary of the meeting in depth, examining inter- First All India Meet held celebration, CIF will sponsor a series of national understanding in the light of the in Nainital presentations on the Integral Yoga. Be- India/Pakistan conflict and the role Au- low are the tentative presentations. roville could play to ease these tensions. he first All India Meet (AIM) April 29: “Overview of Integral Discussions and meetings often contin- took place 19–24 June 2000, Yoga,” Dave Hutchinson ued until late night in the community T in Nainital, Van Nivas, India. May 27: “Principles of the Yoga,” Kneipe (German word for bar or pub). The initial inspiration for AIM 2000 Wayne Bloomquist A few reports in brief: came from the All USA Meeting 1998, June 17: “Auroville,” Bill Leon and AVI Germany reported that they are where many groups came together in a Larry Tepper organizing tours to Auroville. general spirit of harmony. July 29: “History of the Yoga in AVI France reported on the working The organizers of AIM (Ananda America,” Julian Lines of its exhibition hall/office. Reddy, Tara Jauhar, Raj Vasishtha, Vijay August 19: “The Mother,” Lynda AV I U K , a formal NGO (nongovern- Poddar, Kosha Shah, and Ameeta Mehra) Lester mental organization), reported on several approached the meeting with practical September 16: “Practices in the In- projects, including fundraising, develop- goals by convening working groups on tegral Yoga,” Dave Hutchinson ment, and their work with the Gateway several subjects. For more information, send email Group in Auroville. (Gateway funds sup- AIM focused on three areas: youth, to [email protected], visit port a high school, a youth residence, a education, and social issues. Panels were the CIF website at http://www. burial ground, Internet facilities, and formed that initiated work in small culturalintegration.org, or call 415-386- some Auroville-run village schools.) groups on these areas, culminating in ac- 9590. CIF is located at 2650 Fulton Street AVI USA reported on the work done tion plans for the coming year. Presenta- in San Francisco. by Aurotaranti, Ed Giordano, Dian Kiser, tions on action taken will be made at AIM Peter Lapore, Bill Leon, June Maher, 2001, to be held next year in Bangalore. Nilauro Marcus, Anie Nunnally, Chan- The following excerpt is from an ac- AVI meets in Lebensgarten, dresh Patel, and Constance Walker. count in The Awakening Ray, vol. 4, issue Germany Suzanne Macdonald will join the AVI- 4. (See p. 26 in this issue for subscription USA board next year. information.) AVI Canada has created a new The fifteenth annual meeting of “The first session of AIM 2000 saw board and moved to Toronto. all of us sitting on the floor in the large Auroville International was held 28 Several centers reported on fundrais- June–2 July, 2000, in Lebensgarten, Ger- hall overlooking the cloud-filled valleys ing for the Auroville land. and mountain peaks that played hide and many. Lebensgarten is a community of The full account of this year’s meet- 120 people spread out in many houses seek every day . . . ing can be seen at: http://www.auroville- “The second day began with Dr. within the village of Steyerberg. Many of international.org. the buildings in Lebensgarten were once Ananda Reddy’s talk on the keynote Next year’s meeting will be in St. theme of the conference, followed by used as labor camps and prisons during Petersburg, Russia. World War II. Appropriately, the focus talks by Vladimir on Sanskrit and Mat- was on “international understanding.” thijs on psychology . . . The afternoon session was taken up by the youth panel Julian Lines and Chandresh Patel attend- New AVI Canada board ed from the U.S. presentations. The mood was introspec- Mornings were devoted to meeting formed tive, with questions that asked one to be- and evenings to music, dance, and several come aware of the attitudes of youth and videos related to Auroville. Attendees An entirely new board for AVI Cana- old age that one carries within oneself. heard presentations on the Land Use Plan da was formed on 13 August 2000. Presi- The discussion led to identifying what the (Cristo) and the International Zone (Peter dent is Claude Daviault; vice-president, youth are looking for today, what quali-

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 7 books; look for an exact, meeting include reports from Canada, partial, or sound-alike Germany, Spain, France, Netherlands, word; or look for words Sweden, UK, Australia, Brazil, and Isra- in various degrees of el, plus an extensive report on AVI USA’s proximity to each other. activities by Julian Lines. Bookmarks can be placed Auroville International was set up in in a text and grouped un- 1983 to support the international town- der categories for easy re- ship of Auroville. It is legally based in trieval. Selections can be the Netherlands and today has associa- copied to the computer tions and affiliated groups in nineteen clipboard, a file, or the countries. printer, and can include SABDA, the Sri Aurobindo Book various types of refer- Distribution Agency, is now online at ence to the volume and http://sabda.sriaurobindoashram.org. AIM 2000 group. (Photo by Bhuvana Nandakumar) page. References include The site offers a complete catalog, a list page numbers for both of new releases, a list of distributors (in- the Sri Aurobindo Birth ternational and Indian), and ordering in- ties one needs in oneself in order to work Centenary Library and the still-in-publi- formation. For more information, send with youth.” cation edition titled Collected Works of email to sabda@sriaurobindoashram. On the third day Ameeta Mehra led a Sri Aurobindo. org. nature meditation, Shraddhalu Ranade Titles include The Secret of the Veda, Sixty-four poems of Sri Aurobin- gave a presentation on “Prophesies of The Synthesis of Yoga, Letters on Yoga, do are available on Bernard Sage’s web- Destruction and the New Creation,” and Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol, The Life site at http://intyoga.freeservers.com/ panels discussed education. Divine, Essays on the Gita, The Human poems.htm. On the fourth day, Alok Pandey Cycle, Essays Divine and Human, Essays A new Integral Yoga email discus- spoke about integral psychology and in Philosophy and Yoga, The Upan- sion list and website started in Novem- Neeltje gave a talk on evaluation. Panels ishads, Sri Aurobindo: A Life Sketch, and ber 2000. The forum studies a variety of also addressed social issues. The Renaissance in India. texts in the yoga and uses the website for On the fifth day subgroups met and The Auroma CD is available from members to post source material, re- worked, and on the sixth day they gave Auromere ([email protected], 800-735- views, and links. For more information, reports on their various plans. 4691); Lotus Light (webmaster@ see http://iy.collaboration.org. Panel participants were: lotuspress.com, 800-824-6396); and Ma- Youth: Ameeta Mehra, Tara Jauhar, tagiri ([email protected], 800-815-1969). Sites for the Ashram, Auroville, Kaivalya Smart and Integral Yoga Education: Neeltje, Raj Vasishtha, • http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org Challamayi Reddy, Anuradha MyIntegralYoga.URL • http://www.auroville.org Social issues: Kosha Shah, B.B. • http://www.sriaurobindosociety. Dutta, Soumitra Basu, Falguni Jani, Sum- Auroville Plus (http://www. org.in ita Ghose, Chandresh Patel crosswinds.net/~aurovilleplus) is a new • http://www.miraura.org website that functions as an extension of Auroville’s main site. It features elec- Sites for U.S. centers and Selected works of Sri tronic archived issues of Auroville News, organizations Aurobindo available on CD Auroville Today, Invocation, Matri- • http://www.culturalintegration.org mandir Journal, and Transcript. • http://home.earthlink.net/~ewcc he Sri Aurobindo Ashram re- Auroville International has a web- • http://www.iksc.org leased a CD-ROM this fall site (http://www.auroville-international. • http://www.matagiri.org T • http://www.aviusa.org with the complete text of org) maintained in both English and twelve books by Sri Aurobindo. The CD, French. Eighteen different national cen- • http://www.collaboration.org titled Auroma, is compatible with both ters and liaisons have sections on the Windows and Macintosh computers. It website. The minutes of the AVI meeting Miscellaneous sites contains a sophisticated search program from 2000 are available, as are the min- • http://bur.oivta.ru/IntegralYoga/ developed by the Ashram with which one utes of each annual meeting from 1996 to Contents.html can search one book, several books, or all the present. The minutes from the 2000 • http://intyoga.freeservers.com

8 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 that consecration was part of her be- ing. of sufficient housing. We called a meet- Farewell to Trudy King After a year of treating a tumor ing to try to solve this crisis and agreed holistically and preparing for the pos- that it would take longer than two or three Trudy King, also known as Tatyana, left sibility of death, she consented to an hours—we might need two or three days. her body on 18 November 2000, at the age operation and was on the road to re- So we spent a weekend together, and of fifty-one, in Grant’s Pass, Oregon. She covery, wishing to serve again at one thanks to good planning, the experience was one of the purest expressions of devo- of the Sri Aurobindo centers. Just was positive. We ate lunch together, we tion I have had the honor of knowing. when she was gaining strength, an in- exercised, we laughed, we broke down Trudy lived for many years assisting Jy- operable brain tumor manifested. Her barriers. otipriya (Judith Tyberg) at the East-West devoted friend Mitra Varuna was with In spending a weekend together, we Cultural Center in Los Angeles. She also her at the end and described her as got past the usual predictability into an- spent about two years working with the dis- “looking like an angel.” other space, a space where ideas could tribution of books and Collaboration at the The day after her passing we re- emerge, float, sift, simmer. We met in a Matagiri/Sri Aurobindo Association office membered her with much appreciation brand-new space called the SAWCHU when it was in High Falls, New York. She during a meditation at Matagiri.— building (the Sri Aurobindo World Cen- lived for a short while in the Baca in Cre- Julian Lines stone, Colorado, and finally was assisting a ter for Human Unity), built by Anupama therapist, Greywolf, in a beautiful wooded Kundoo near the Bharat Nivas complex. setting in Oregon. It is round and open on all sides, and gave Tatyana faced difficulty with the physi- us the dimension of infinite space that we cal much of her life (she ate blended salads badly needed to breathe easily and see and a refined diet). Her constant effort to far. Add to this the consideration of limit- maintain her health took a great deal of time AV almanacalmanacAV less time and you have two ingredients and effort, but did not diminish a sweet radi- for radical change and endless possibility. ance that permeated her being. Platforming in Somehow, this nexus of infinite Sam Spanier, watching her eat a meal at SAWCHU space and limitless time created a point of Matagiri, noticed that she offered each bite, contact into another dimension. It was beautiful. Auroville tries a new type of At first, we didn’t really know how meeting we would meet. Should we have a chair- person? Should we be chairless? Where by Jill Navarre should we start? Perhaps by simply lis- tening to each other, without judgment. any experiments have That was the starting point. Let’s just lis- Mbeen tried in Auroville ten. Eventually, we came around to the is- to create an atmo- sues, but what was really important was sphere that supports a group energy, the way in which we were meeting. one that can be used to get things Then Ange (Sabina Peter) recog- done. Many experiments have oc- nized that the space was, in fact, a sacred curred, many roads taken, but recently, space—free of judgment, accessible to meetings had become monotonous, all, where we could explore issues by predictable, and mostly unattended. simply focusing on the space and the en- Also, the outcome of these meetings ergy of the place instead of the personali- was usually known in advance, which ties. kept a lot of people away from meet- So the space (the platform) would ings—if you knew the participants, hold the issue, and whoever showed up to you could figure out what was going to discuss an issue would be directly in- happen. We hit bottom, so to speak. volved for the time at that place on that And out of the bottom, something issue. We could hold a platform meeting emerged that eventually became on housing, and whoever was interested known as “the platform.” in this topic could come and be part of We were also at a moment of cri- “the platform on housing.” Make deci- sis in Auroville regarding the contin- sions? Maybe. How? And how to work ued closing of the Entry Group to new- with the already existing Housing Group, Trudy King in 1988. (Photo by Lynda Lester) comers, which is due in part to the lack for instance? These questions came up

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 9 and various solutions were expressed. now, not been sufficiently resolved: they umber 5 Rue Dumas is on Yet it was clear that people liked the idea represent the challenge of working the street in French Pon- of the space holding the energy for the through and understanding the deeper N dicherry directly behind the group, and not the individuals. process of decision making and how to main compound of the Sri Aurobindo Jossy (Josette Eblagon), a teacher translate those decisions into action—our Ashram; Golconde is just a block down from Transition School, added another next leap of intuition! the street from this large French colonial element by bringing a talking stick to one structure, which the Mother named Fen- of the meetings. The stick, wrapped with Jill Navarre ([email protected]) came to etres (windows). threads of four different colors, was Auroville for the first time in 1987, returned three This is home to Udar Pinto; his En- placed in the center of the circle. Whoev- years later with an entry visa, and has lived there glish wife Mona, manager extraordinaire ever since. She is the liaison for the American Pa- er wanted to speak had to get up, take the vilion project and director of the Auroville Theatre of Golconde; and their daughter Gauri, a stick, go back to his or her place, and Group. She visited the U.S. last summer doing re- teacher in the higher course at the Sri Au- while speaking, try to embody the quali- search for the American Pavilion. robindo International Center of Educa- ties the stick represented—harmony, spir- tion. Sri Aurobindo gave the names Udar it of service, foresight into the future, and (“generous”) and Gauri (“fair one” or equanimity. This procedure gave the “golden one,” another name for Durga) speaker a freedom from being interrupt- but asked Mona to keep her own name as ed. It eliminated back-and-forth argu- ChroniclesChroniclesChronicles it reminded him of the Mona Lisa. ments and imparted a certain rhythm to At Fenetres one enters into a glori- the process. The view from nine ous courtyard ablaze with vibrant colors The platform gave a breath of fresh decades, part 2 of bougainvillea, marigolds, roses, other air to our usually predictable meetings, types of flowering plants, graceful ar- and lots of people came who normally rangements of potted plants, and an up- An interview with Udar Pinto would never come. They felt protected stairs terrace filled with orchids. Gauri’s and believed they could, at last, be heard. animals (she rescues cats and dogs from But a proper mechanism was missing for by Anie Nunnally the streets of Pondicherry and nurses including the already existing working them back to health) playfully greet one groups in the process. How would we get This is the second of a two-part series. at the door or, in the case of some dogs, feedback to them? How would they inte- The previous installment, an interview stand back and snarl and growl suspi- grate the outcome of the platform—reso- with Amal Kiran (another esteemed ciously until one’s intent for visiting is lutions, suggestions—into their day-to- Ashram nonagenarian) appeared in the cleared to their canine satisfaction. day business? These questions have, until Summer 2000 issue of Collaboration. Upstairs, Udar has his quarters, a large vestibule where one can sit and wait for him. He greets guests in an ex- pansive sitting room with his faithful ser- vant nearby. His bedroom is off to the side. I shall always remember these rooms, as my first public darshan of the Mother was viewed from that very space where Udar’s quarters look out onto the balcony adjoining Mother’s rooms. That darshan was 21 February 1968, some thirty-two years ago! As I mentioned in the first part of this series, Udar had broken his hip in 1999 and was recuperating at home after being in an Ashram nursing facility for some time. When I entered the room, he was seated in a large high wheelchair, high above my own chair. He appeared so stately and in command that I had the impression of sitting before a ruling Striving for harmony in the platform group. (Photo by Alan Herbert) monarch of empyrean stature. In fact,

10 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Udar told me that when the Ashram the Ashram, but at that time school staged Perseus the Deliverer, one he was not interested, nor did of Sri Aurobindo’s plays, Udar played the he ever visit the Ashram. He role of King Cepheus. One day he went to was a young man and a bon the Mother in his costume. When she saw vivant. His friends came to him she said, “Udar, I know where I have his home for sumptuous din- seen you before—you were at one time a ners and whisky and sodas Roman emperor!” and “all kinds of things,” he Udar told me he was born in Hubli, said. They would go back and in Karnataka (near Goa), in April 1907. tell the Mother stories of their His father was a businessman and did visits to Udar’s house. She many things for the town of Hubli. The would say “that Pinto fellow road they lived on was called Pinto Road. is spoiling my children and I His father had originally come from Goa, will catch him one day.” which had been colonized by the Portu- “Finally, she did,” Udar guese, and long ago Udar’s family had said. taken on the Portuguese name of “Pinto” Udar met his beloved and completely lost contact with their Mona while attending school Udar Pinto. (Photo by Anie Nunnally) original Indian name. in England; she waited three Udar studied at the Good School in years for him while he got settled in gun by the asura.” The Second World Goa and was brought up in the Catholic Pondicherry. Finally in 1937 he sent for War was an effort by the asura to destroy church. He said he was a good Catholic her and they were married. Their daugh- the work of Sri Aurobindo and the Moth- and took his religion seriously as a young ter Gauri was born at the end of that year er for the earth’s evolution toward the su- man, but later began to find some foolish in November. pramental light. Sri Aurobindo began to things in all religions, which is what ulti- work occultly behind the scenes for the mately led him to Sri Aurobindo. First darshan of Sri Aurobindo war effort, even finding an opening to his Udar passed his exams in Hubli and and the Mother force in Sir Winston Churchill. Udar said was sent to Mussoorie in the mountains fter Mona and Udar were there were few radio sets in Pondicherry of north India for further study. He want- Amarried, somebody suggest- at that time and no radio broadcasting. ed to take a degree in engineering and ed that they should have dar- Udar owned a radio set with sophisticated was being prepared for that goal, but by shan of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, so aerials and other equipment, so he was that time he had become rather unruly Udar arranged for this. “There were very able to tune into BBC in order to receive and was thrown out of school. This was to few people in the Ashram in those days so news of the war. be a turning point in his life. He said that there was no long queue,” Udar said. Pavitra (a Frenchman whose Euro- if he had remained there he would have In August 1937 they had their first pean name was P.B. Saint-Hilaire) and graduated, gotten a good job, and settled darshan. This is how Udar described that Pavita used to come to Udar’s house ev- down to a humdrum life. moment: ery night at 9:30 to take down the news in After he was thrown, out he attended “When I saw Sri Aurobindo for the shorthand, then type and prepare it to another school in Belgaum. From there first time I got a shock. I had seen kings send to Sri Aurobindo the same night. he went on to Bombay to the Royal Insti- and emperors in Europe, England, and Udar offered the radio set to the Mother, tute of Science for a degree in engineer- Asia whose clothes were majestic, but the but she refused it by saying she had ing. In 1929 he was sent to England, person inside was quite ordinary. Here “enough of ulcers”! Later when the war where he spent four years and earned a was a man wearing only a dhoti and chad- escalated, they installed a radio set in the degree in aeronautical engineering from dur [shawl] sitting bare-chested and look- Ashram. London University. However, there was ing like a king. I said to myself, ‘At last I Udar was more and more drawn to nothing for him to do—there were no air- have seen royalty and majesty.’ After that the Ashram. By then the government of planes in India at that time—so he had to darshan we were very much drawn to the India had started a civil aviation depart- go into business. He settled down in Ashram.” ment and they knew of his degree in aero- Pondicherry in 1935 because it had a rep- nautical engineering, so they asked him to utation for being a good place to do busi- The war come and work for them. He did not want ness. He tried it out for two years and it The war began, and Sri Aurobindo to go, as he and his family were quite hap- proved prosperous. and the Mother took a keen interest in it. py in the Ashram. Sri Aurobindo, howev- All his friends were connected with “All wars,” said Sri Aurobindo, “are be- er, told him that he must do it: Sri Auro-

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 11 bindo wanted his chil- first he thought she dren to work for the was making a joke, war effort. This was then realized that if not a war between the she had given him the nations and people, two lakhs it would be Sri Aurobindo said, the two lakhs that but a war between the would have actually divine forces and the done the work. He forces of the asura. said, “By giving only Udar took his one rupee, it was family out of Pon- therefore I who had to dicherry and worked do it.” for the government He took up the successfully for one challenge and worked year, and was happy in hard and happily and New Delhi, as was slowly until the job Mona. However, little was done. Of course Gauri at three years of today Golconde and age very much missed Harpagon are cher- the Mother. After one Golconde and grounds. (Photo by Wayne Bloomquist) ished units in the year, Udar took a brief Ashram. Golconde is leave and brought one of the most beau- them back to Pondicherry. Sri Aurobindo joined the Ashram, but they were both tiful and unique buildings in the world then told him he had done enough and associated with it from that time onward. with its teak furniture, Japanese-style could return to the Ashram to stay. He The Mother put Mona in charge of Gol- black stone floors, walls of crushed sea- went back to New Delhi, gave a month’s conde before it was finished and gave her shells, giant cement louvered shutters, notice, and returned to the Ashram, a room in which to work, to prepare the and its lovely monastic peacefulness. where he has lived ever since. linens, and to train the young Ashram la- Udar went on to develop Harpagon’s dies who were to work with her. Mona many industries including furniture mak- Golconde and Harpagon taught them to speak English as well. ing and stainless steel products. The nizam of Hyderabad through his The Mother gave Udar a small shed dewan [government official], Sir Akbar for his work, which she called Harpagon. Questions and answers Hydari, had given a sum of money to the Harpagon is the name of the miser in Anie: Can you describe Sri Auro- Mother because at one time she had spo- Moliere’s play L’Avare (the Miser). She bindo’s voice and any other impressions ken to him of wanting to build a residen- said that the land had belonged to a you remember of him? tial building on some property the wealthy man and that he could have given Udar: Sri Aurobindo’s voice was a Ashram owned. Since the money for the the land freely. Instead he doubled the beautiful, well modulated sound. If you building had come from Hyderabad, the price! At first the Mother said no, but did not see him, you would think you Mother decided to give it a name associ- then she decided to buy the land and were listening to a Cambridge-educated ated with that state. She named it Gol- name it for the miser. Ironically, Udar’s Englishman speaking. Sri Aurobindo just conde, the French form of Golconda, af- name means generosity. sat there looking as though he were gaz- ter the famous fort and diamond mines in Udar said there was much work to be ing out into eternity in his great lonely Hyderabad. done, and large amounts of money were days of descent into mortal life in order to Antonin Raymond, a well-known needed for the completion of Golconde. help humanity. Czechoslovakian architect and friend of There were items to be manufactured, (Udar chose not to personalize other Pavitra, came to the Ashram for a visit brass fittings were needed, and machines impressions of Sri Aurobindo, but instead and eventually took on the project. Work- were needed for manufacturing these quoted a passage from Savitri, book 3, ing with him on the Golconde project parts to precision. “The Book of the Divine Mother,” canto were the Japanese-American architect Udar had no money, as he had given 4, “The Vision and the Boon.” Udar said George Nakashima and the Czechoslova- all his money to the Mother. He needed at that Sri Aurobindo was writing about kian architect Francichech Sammer. least two lakhs (200,000 rupees), so he King Aswapathy in that passage and The building work had already be- asked the Mother for this amount. The speaks in the third person, but is actually gun by 1937, when Mona and Udar Mother gave him one rupee to start! At writing about himself).

12 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Anie: Can you describe what it was eight feet and built a four-foot room with to do what they think best and not always like when Sri Aurobindo left his body? cement slabs. Over that the Mother in- necessarily in keeping with what would Udar: I was in his room next to him structed me to build another room also have been the Mother’s way. I always when he died. I was handling the oxygen with walls, a floor, and a roof. She told speak about the Mother to everyone, but tank and then he went into a coma. I knew me to fill it with clean river sand and to many go on preferring their own way. all the medical aspects of what it was like put a large slab on the top. Thus was the Anie: What can you tell us of the to be in a coma. However, in the case of Samadhi built. Auroville project? Sri Aurobindo it was altogether a con- The Samadhi was built according to Udar: Auroville was built as a city scious coma. No ordinary person talks in the same outward pattern as the flower for the Divine to give a message to the a coma. bed that had existed there. The top con- world. The Mother told me to inaugurate At one point he asked in a firm and sisted of a long rectangular pattern going Auroville. The Mother called in repre- clear voice, “Nirod, what is the time?” from east to west; next to it was a square. sentatives from all the nations of the Nirodbaran looked shocked. “Sir, it’s one The Samadhi has kept that same pattern world and assigned to me the job of mas- o’clock,” he said. Sri Aurobindo said “I on top for flower decorations. Under- ter of ceremonies. The charter was read see” in a clear voice and then returned to neath, the longer rectangle houses the two out in English. I announced each nation, the coma. Champaklal was massaging his rooms where the bodies of Sri Aurobindo and while two young people from each feet. His breathing became slower and and the Mother are entombed. nation placed soil from their country into slower and then there was the last breath, The Mother gave me a quotation to the lotus urn, an interpreter read the char- which I recognized. be carved into the marble and pressed on ter in the language of that particular na- Dr. Sanyal asked me to turn off the either side. It reads: tion. It all went so beautifully and was oxygen tank and I went back and stood in “To Thee who hast been the Material never rehearsed. the back of the room. I was quite calm Envelope of our Master, to Thee our infi- The Mother said Auroville did not and interested to see all that was happen- nite gratitude. need to follow the divine life of the ing. The Mother had no look of sorrow on “Before Thee who hast done so Ashram. She said they were to concen- her face at all. Neither did I feel sorrow, much for us, who hast worked, strug- trate on building a new city for the Divine for I knew that Sri Aurobindo had left his gled, suffered, hoped, endured so much, in their own way. So the ways of Au- body consciously. “Before Thee who hast willed all, at- roville are different from those of the In Savitri, “The Book of Death” is tempted all, prepared, achieved all for us, Ashram, and Aurovilians are not expect- short. When Sri Aurobindo was asked “Before Thee we bow down and im- ed to follow the Ashram way of living. about this he said, “You cannot expect to plore that we may never forget, even for a Anie: What advice would you give write about something you have never moment, all we owe to Thee. to new spiritual aspirants that would help consciously experienced.” So he experi- “The Mother, 9 December 1950” them in their development and help them enced death consciously and will return After the Mother died, I opened up to integrate their lives in the world with to complete the Book of Death. the top room. I took the clean river sand its focus on materialism and the vital life? Dr. Sanyal said, “Mother, everyone that had been lying over Sri Aurobindo’s Udar: The word “spiritual” is often is in shock except for Udar.” The Mother tomb from 1950 to 1973 and put it into used in a loose manner. Generally people put me in charge of everything. She barrels. I made packets from the sand and take it to mean a higher mind and life in looked at me and said, “Udar take charge gave them out to many people and it an elementary way but not necessarily a of everything and come to me for instruc- helped them in sickness and pain and in spiritual way. Spiritual means the way of tions.” Then she left the room. times of trouble. the spirit and nothing else. Very few peo- Mother gave me instructions for the Anie: What changes do you see tak- ple know what their spirit is. They know coffin, which was made of solid wood ing place in the Ashram in the future? they have a soul, but how it operates they and lined with silk. Sri Aurobindo was Will it be different in any way from what do not know. It is only when one becomes still lying on his bed and there was the it is now? conscious of the soul through sincere yo- most marvelous golden light emanating Udar: There have to be changes. We gic discipline that one can become a true from his body, and a scent like a celestial live in a changing world. The changes in servant and instrument of the Divine. perfume. After that the Mother told me the Ashram since the Mother’s passing Anie: It seems that fewer young peo- how deep to go into the Samadhi and how have not always been as good as they ple are drawn to the yoga in America in to design it. could be. Many people have not worked these times. What more can we do to in- I built the Samadhi not as a hole in closely with the Mother or even seen her spire interest in Sri Aurobindo and the the ground but as a vault with thick con- physically. So in many cases there is little Mother in the youth of our culture? crete walls nine inches thick with cement knowledge of the Mother’s way. Many Udar: One must keep a door open floors and a cement roof. I went down people try to do things in their own way, for those who want to come, but we are

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 13 not here to proselytize and get disciples. rants; people helped us freely on the road have been doing the yoga for many years, If they come it is by their own choice and when our van broke down. In private but I am not absolutely certain how to do what they do with it is up to themselves. homes we were received with gracious the yoga of Sri Aurobindo. I read all the Anie: What do you see as the stron- hospitality. books and try to do the yoga, but I am not gest attributes of Americans and their While I was visiting America, there certain how far I have progressed.” I contributions to the yoga? was a three-day seminar at Cornell Uni- asked her to help me. Udar: The Americans who have versity—an inter-religious conference. “You are doing it all wrong,” she come to the Ashram are highly evolved Leaders of all the world religions were said. people and their presence is a gift to the invited. My hosts tried to get me on the “What shall I do?” Ashram. Many Americans in the archives program, but the offer was declined be- “I will do the yoga for you.” department are wonderful men and wom- cause the conference had been planned I was thrilled! en and have progressed very much in- two years prior. However, they said I “What do I have to do?” I asked. wardly and have contributed in many could come and participate in the discus- “Give yourself over to me and I will ways to the work and are of great value to sions so I agreed. do it for you.” the Ashram. I have a good feeling about Suddenly I received a call from them “How do I surrender?” the Americans in the Ashram. that the main speaker had fallen ill. Could “Do you sincerely want to?” Anie: What were some of your expe- I come and replace him? I said yes. They “Yes, certainly Mother.” riences and impressions of North Amer- asked me to send a speech, but I wrote “When you get up in the morning ica when you visited in 1972? that I only spoke extemporaneously. This what is the first thing you do?” Udar: In 1972 the government of In- was accepted, and all throughout I felt “I brush my teeth, and as a matter of dia asked the Mother to select two people Mother’s presence and help, even saw her course I am thinking of all kinds of things to give talks on Sri Aurobindo in connec- face before me. The Mother had told me and not at all consciously.” tion with his birth centenary year, one to before I left India, “You have only to call “Try and think of me while you are go to the East and one to the West. Sisir me and I will be with you at once, at every brushing your teeth,” Mother said. “Talk Kumar Ghosh was chosen to go to Japan moment I will be with you.” to me keeping fully conscious while you and other Eastern countries, and the Anie: Can you share some of the ad- wash your face and brush your teeth. Mother chose me to go to the West. I vice that the Mother gave to you for your When you eat, that is the time you must asked the Mother “Why me? I am not a own personal sadhana? be very conscious of me. Feel that I am speaker on philosophy.” Udar: One day I said to Mother, “I eating with you and talk to me and enjoy Then Mother said “I have chosen you, so you must go!” The Mother said she would speak through me and that I did not need to worry, that at all times she would remain close to me. This was so in every instance. When I reached America, they began to call me “swamiji.” I looked to see if there was anyone else around! I told them, “I am not a swami, I am just an or- dinary person whom Mother has sent to speak on Sri Aurobindo.” When I later returned to the Ashram the Mother said “They called you swam- iji there?” I replied, “Yes, Mother.” The Mother said, “I knew everything that hap- pened to you in America. I was with you all the time, and I am glad you did not ac- cept the title of swamiji. If for any reason you should ever fall into that trap, I will come and break your head!” I had a wonderful trip to America. I found the people generous and warm. We were often treated as guests at restau- Mona Pinto. (Photo by Anie Nunnally)

14 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 your food. Let all the parts of your being Mother, delivering my numerous chits Foundation for World Education and is an active remain conscious of me. Eat every and letters to her during the three-and-a- member of the East-West Cultural Center in Los mouthful with me and you will find that half years I lived in the Ashram, and prior Angeles. Anie will be conducting more interviews things taste so much better when you en- to that time as well, when I was still in the with senior sadhaks in the Ashram this winter. joy the food with me. When you go to U.S. He had been privy to all my inner- sleep, that is the time when you should be most questions and concerns that were very conscious of me. Let me put you to put before the Mother. He advised and Travels with Swami sleep and then the whole night you will counseled and inspired me as well with have a conscious sleep. When you awak- his great strength, wisdom, and positive Ananta, part 1 en and begin your day, you will then be- outlook. gin it in a more conscious way.” What a fitting name—Udar—for he The author is sent to Greece on Since that conversation, I have sin- is truly generous with his time, help, a strange mission cerely tried to make this effort. It may not work, friendship, and most of all the lar- always be complete and whole, but I gesse of his inner being and spirit. He was by Michael Miovic make the effort to remain fully conscious always wearing an ever-present red rose of the Mother’s presence in all my actions given to him by the Mother, and for years his is the continuation of an and activities. after her passing he continued to wear a extensive travelog which, un- Anie: How is the sadhana different red rose. T fortunately, was lost in a great for you at this stage in your life? What Udar was ill with bronchitis for most conflagration. Either that or the rest of it new forms, if any, has it taken? of the remainder of my stay in Pondicher- is stored in Swami Ananta’s personal ar- Udar: At this stage of my life, I just ry. I saw him one last time before my de- chives, which would be a fate even more want to be always conscious of the Moth- parture with a group of French visitors final for that would mean a descent into er’s presence in me. I am always calling who had come to see him. He was in good utter chaos. In any case, in those prior cy- her and she never refuses to come. If I ask humor that day and had us laughing heart- cles of the saga, the legendary Pagla her for anything she gives it to me if it is ily. Sadhu of Pondicherry dragged me useful for my sadhana. If not, then I know About losing his voice to bronchitis, through the jungles of southern Mexico it is not and accept that. I have no regrets he said, “In my household it did not make to commune with the spirit of the great about anything at all. I am happy to have much difference, as the women do most Pakal, the mighty Mayan priest-king served the Mother consciously, and I of the talking anyway!” He added, “Did whose ancient sacred city of Palenque want to be like that up to the end—if there you know that generally speaking, wom- still stands hidden in the jungles of Chia- is an end! The Mother told me not to ac- en are generally speaking?” pas, a mystic testament to time’s travails cept death as inevitable. She said “Don’t and the will of the immortal gods. say you are not going to die, but don’t say fter all the time I spent with But let me back up a step. For those you have to die. When it comes face it in AAmal Kiran and Udar Pinto, I of you who may not know, Ananta is one full confidence of my support, but fight reflected on these two souls who, with of the Ashram’s last surviving legends. it! Do not accept death!” their divergent backgrounds (one a schol- Born Frederic Bushnell, he was raised Udar remained silent for a few mo- ar and writer and the other an engineer among the crème de la crème, the blue- ments and then began to chant Mother’s and businessman) had come to the Moth- blooded Brahmins of Boston. His father mantra, “Om Namo Bhagavate,” and then er and Sri Aurobindo as young men, and was the attorney general of Massachu- “Om Anandamayi.” I sat quietly with him in a common bond had devoted their lives setts, his mother descended straight from for some time and then left him in the at- to the service of the Divine and to the Priscilla Alden, Governor Bradford, and mosphere of that still, quiet space. yoga of the supramental. At this stage in their Mayflower stock. They lived on their lives both have focused their priori- Beacon Hill and dined with the Cabots Further observations ties on remaining open to the divine light and the Lodges; they hovered above the A few days later I returned to see of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo for as peak of American society. him. It was 17 December 1999, the day long as they are in their present bodies. I Yet young Frederic’s fate was other before my birthday, and Udar had devel- could not have been more deeply touched than to be a social luminary—as a teen he oped a bronchial condition. I felt he was or blessed than to have been in their in- developed a fascination with Rama- too weak for the interview and I did spiring presence. krishna Paramahamsa, and in his early not want to tire him. However, he called twenties set out on a spiritual quest that Anie Nunnally ([email protected]) is a music me in to present me with flowers and teacher who was accepted by the Mother to live in brought him to Panditji, the powerful beautifully wrapped birthday gifts. the Ashram (and part of the time in Auroville) from Tantrik guru of Rameshwaram, and from Udar had been my liaison to the 1969–1972. She worked for many years with the there ultimately to the feet of the Mother.

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 15 It was Panditji who gave him the name of out his yoga sadhana dedicated to the paramedics asked me if I were responsi- Ananta Chaitanya, after the serpent of in- Mother and her divine children, the gods. ble for this nearly moribund elderly gen- finite consciousness on whom Vishnu re- And the Mother was pleased: once a year tleman with striking, platinum-blonde clines, and the Mother approved. Indeed, she used to pay a visit to Ananta on his hair and cerulean eyes that rolled back- in her usual manner, she crystallized the beloved island, and she said in no uncer- ward in their sockets, I impulsively said, spiritual truth with a manifestation on the tain terms that the Greek gods had con- “No, I’ve never met the man in my life!” material plane: she gave him a lovely lit- sented to manifest there and would help What can I say? A lapse in yoga; a lamen- tle snake-infested island to live on in the him in Integral Yoga as far as they were table defect in character; a cowardly re- middle of the river near Cuddalore. able. treat from the clarion call . . . if that was With the help of his trusty servant Things proceeded quietly along in my first test, I failed. Shingeni, and an inner push from both this manner for nearly thirty-five years, But no use crying over spilled milk; Panditji and the Mother, Ananta fash- with scarcely a soul taking note of Anan- life moves on. So with that, I hastily left ioned this inhospitable exile into a verita- ta’s existence, for as we all know he is a him in their able hands and boarded the ble sanctuary. He built dikes to reclaim man of great sobriety and modesty who plane en route to Greece, ready for a good land from the river, sowed beautiful flow- abhors any sort of theatrical display or vacation. On the flight over, Homer’s er gardens cropped in neat rows, dug lo- social occasion. Indeed, I might never stock line from The Iliad kept revolving tus pools, raised a coconut grove to pro- have met this shy recluse, had it not been in my mind: “And he fell to the dust as his vide shade and income, and, most impor- for an unfortunate medical circumstance, armor clattered about him.” I wasn’t sure tantly, erected statues and grottos to hon- i.e., the onset of two different cancers si- who had fallen, though, he or I. or the Immortals—an arch for Poseidon, multaneously, which forced him to return Thus it was that I awoke in Athens, a statue of Pallas Athena, and a giant sev- to the Veterans Administration hospital in unexpectedly alone. At first I considered en-headed serpent rising over a gold- Los Angeles for treatment. beating a swift retreat to the U.S., but framed photo of Zeus the Father. He also It was there that I met him during my then I reasoned that whatever happened fashioned a small temple for puja, and, last year in medical school, right after his must have been the will of the gods. If like an ethereal echo from another world, penultimate nose job, and we struck up a you associate with Ananta long enough, a façade of the Parthenon slanting friendship that has turned out to be noth- you get used to these dire twists of fate. through the shade of the coconut grove as ing short of an adventure in conscious- So I took courage and resolved to imbibe if it were a ray of light. ness. We have been to Palenque and back whatever I could of the spirit of Greece, In this idyllic setting Ananta carried multiple times, to his island in Pondy, and at least to honor Ananta’s wishes for me. even down to Rameshwaram to Panditji’s My first stop, naturally, was the Par- widow, who is carrying on the Tantrik tra- thenon, which caps the ancient Acropolis. dition. Yet what had still eluded us was Commissioned by the great Pericles (an the golden prize: Greece. emanation of Sri Aurobindo in a prior So, in the autumn of ’98 we started life), the temple is dedicated to Athena, plotting a return to Greece, and by June the patron goddess of Athens. ’99 the plans were finalized and the tick- Parthenos actually means “virgin,” ets purchased. It seemed that at last, after thus the temple’s name refers to the virgin a lapse of some thirty years, Ananta was goddess, Athena. According to legend, poised again to set foot upon Grecian Athena sprang straight from the head of soil. Zeus. She is the goddess of wisdom and His last words to me before we left: reason, as well as of victory, and, along “Are you READY?! You will be Tested!” with Apollo, is one of the two “younger” generation of Olympian gods who sup- las, only one hour before de- port the progress and evolution of human Aparture, even as we were civilization. waiting at the boarding gate It was under the aegis of Athena that in the airport, my senior guide and be- classical Athens developed the tremen- loved companion was smitten down by a dously dynamic culture which laid the en- series of grand mal seizures the ferocity during foundations of Western civiliza- of which almost certainly would have fin- tion. Whether in science, art, philosophy, ished any lesser mortal. drama, politics, or law, there is no aspect Ananta at AUM 1997. (Photo by Lynda I was in such a state of shock myself of Western culture that has not been pro- Lester) from this untoward event, that when the foundly and irrevocably touched by the

16 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 ans—they are waiting for you THERE!” “No,” I said, “not yet. How are you? How’s your health?” “Horrible,” he replied, “absolutely miserable. I was in the hospital and now it feels like my back is broken and I can barely walk, and there’s no food in the fridge and I’m practically starving to death.” I breathed a sigh of relief; it was good to hear him back to normal. Before proceeding to Delphi, I de- cided to go worship Poseidon at his tem- ple on Cape Sounion, for Ananta had of- ten taught me that Poseidon helps purify the being in preparation for the offering to Apollo, the resplendent sun god. Poseidon’s temple, also commis- sioned by Pericles, stands about one and a half hours south of Athens by bus, on a The Parthenon: “Here one feels Athena not as a being, rather as an impersonal force—a stunning site atop a miniature archipelago manifesting power of order, harmony, beauty, and perfection.” (Photo by Michael Miovic) of barren earth, surrounded on three sides by ultramarine blue expanses of the Ae- cultural ferment born in Athens some be given the size of the Acropolis, so that gean Sea. One could not imagine a better twenty-four centuries ago. you at once feel the towering might and spot to honor mighty Poseidon, god of the The Parthenon itself was designed power of the Olympian goddess, and yet, depths and waters—Varuna in the ancient by the architect Iktinos, but much of its unlike the colossal temple to Zeus that Vedic system, and Chac to the Mayans. execution was carried out by the great stands in the plains below, the Parthenon As the tour guide talked about the sculptor Phidias, a close friend of Peri- is not so large as to lose its architectural politics and economy of classical Athens cles and creator of the many statues and relationship with the space of its site. And and recounted the story of Theseus, who friezes that adorned its walls. The Par- more than anything, the Parthenon radi- sailed by Sounion to go slay the Minotaur thenon apparently stood in fairly good ates harmony, glorious and imperial har- in the labyrinth of Crete, my conscious- condition for over a thousand years, and mony. It is an absolutely splendid and un- ness slipped into an entirely different di- as late as 1687 most of its outer structure earthly building. One has the impression mension. was still intact, until a Venetian military that it has been beamed down to earth Inwardly I opened into a vast ex- commander cannonaded it. Thus it was straight from the overmind, in toto; no panse of limpid blue purity. It was so that due to human stupidity, one of the diminution or dilution of the inspiration peaceful there, so clean, floating in the world’s most perfect buildings was re- in transit. breadths and depths of Poseidon, unfet- duced to shambles. As I sat below the temple gazing up tered, cut loose of all moorings and hu- Today, as you stand below the Par- at its radiating vibrations of ideal beauty, man littleness. Now there was no body, thenon and gaze up at its columns and I could only think of Sri Aurobindo’s just the oceanic stretch of an infinite re- capital, it still strikes you as perfect. Ev- classic phrase, “perfect perfection.” That lease reaching out in all directions, a sea erything about the temple is perfectly is the Parthenon—ideal, unalloyed, sub- of undulating freedom. In that great vast- conceived and executed—the angle at lime perfection. Here one feels Athena ness I could feel Ananta, too, drifting in which you approach it, the curvature of not as a being, rather as an impersonal the warp and weft of Chac-Varuna- the rise on which it stands, its propor- force—a manifesting power of order, har- Poseidon’s tides, and we were both being tions, the exact spacing of the columns mony, beauty, and perfection. offered up to something Above. and the way they bulge out slightly to When I eventually emerged from achieve maximum width about one third fter a couple of days in Ath- these imponderable profundities and of the way up. ens, I was finally able to bobbed back up to the surface reality, A back to this small shell of body, mind, and The more you look at the Parthenon, reach Ananta by phone. the more hungry the eyes grow to keep “Have you gone to Delphi?” he life in which we toil, I felt at ease. I knew looking. The temple is as large as it can asked urgently. “Michael, the Olympi- that whatever was to happen to me in

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 17 happy and balanced self-pos- sessed sunny expansiveness. What struck me immediately about this spot, apart from the idyllic setting, was the levity of the atmosphere. Ev- erything felt immaterial and insubstantial; physical reality seemed to have no weight; all was light, transparent, im- bued with a gossamer-thin quality of luminous bril- liance. The huge stones of the wall below Apollo’s temple seemed almost to levitate, and the few stout columns that remained of the ancient oracle felt as buoyant as a melody, as supple as sun- shine. Here in this sanctuary to Temple of Delphi: “A gossamer-thin quality of luminous brilliance.” (Photo by Michael Miovic) the God of knowledge, mu- sic, and spiritual vision, all was spontaneous and effort- Greece would be the will of the gods . . . prince was discovered and, in a fit of reli- less. The wide swaths of amber-gold and I knew that they would watch over gious delirium, his own mother and her grasses that played in the glades, the brisk Ananta, too. companions ripped him to shreds with upward reach of green pines aspiring to their bare hands. heaven, the high vault of cliffs that stood n the way to Delphi, the bus This myth is rich not only in psycho- behind the scene like a natural amphithe- Opassed through Thebes, the dynamic suggestions about the Freudian ater, the bright sky and broad valley rich ancient home of Oedipus. id, unconscious, and the mother-son rela- with immemorial olives, the sinuous curl Then, as we entered the valley that leads tionship, but it is spiritually interesting as of an ancient river bed far below opening up to the oracle, we passed the ancient well. From the point of view of mytholog- into deluvial plains and an offering of crossroad where Oedipus was said to ical symbolism, the cult of Dionysus blue sea—all was joined in one harmony, have killed his father. As a psychiatrist in bears many similarities both to that of the one eternal instant immortalized perpetu- training, I was naturally fascinated by this Vedic god Soma, and more completely to ally in radiating sunlight. And one could voyage back to the very birthplace of the the later figure of Krishna. become all this easily, instantly, without now infamous “Oedipus complex.” Both Krishna and Dionysus are pas- toil and travail, by divine birthright. Such Along the way I read another inter- toral figures who enchant their devotees was the perfection of radiant Apollo, esting myth from Thebes that forms a with flute music and are surrounded by a warm in his luminosity and so friendly in counterpoint to the Oedipus complex, but group of love-intoxicated female devo- his swift approach. has not been explored in modern psychol- tees. Clearly both figures are associated I spent hours exploring the grounds ogy. This concerns the story of the young with the principle of ananda, and at least in and around the sanctuary, and along the prince Pentheus, a somewhat prudish and in the ancient Greek myths of Dionysus, it way discovered occasional clusters of ex- moralistic young man who tried to stop is evident that if this divine ananda mani- traordinary hollyhock flowers, magenta- his mother Agave from joining in the ec- fests in the impure human vital, a great pink petals with a brilliant yellow core. I static rites of female Dionysus worship- and sometimes fatal destabilization can came to think of this flower as Apollo’s ers. occur, a fact well known in yoga. light manifesting in the psychic (Moth- To make a long story short, the god My experience at Delphi, on the oth- er’s message for hollyhock in general is Dionysus disguised himself as a mortal er hand, was quite the opposite. Nothing “offering”). and tricked the prince to dress up as a of ecstasy and spiritual intoxication. Later in the day, I culled one of these woman so he could spy on the women Everything was consummately Apollo- vibrant gems and took it to offer at the during their nocturnal revels. There the nian—joy, light, harmony, a perfectly great god’s oracle. No sooner had I done

18 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 so than I felt drowsy and had to lie down Pan, the god of the vital force in nature. on a stone slab in the shade. He was present but elusive, hesitant; he TTThe yogyoghe a todaytodaya I sank quickly into a deep inner re- was certainly not forthcoming like Apol- pose, an outer sleep but an inner awaken- lo. I went on trying to making contact Sunlit crystal, sunlit ing, and in that receptive state Apollo with him for some time, and then just as I stepped forth and infused my whole con- was about to give up and concede lack of path sciousness with his radiating sunlight. He receptivity on my part, I remembered to seemed extremely interested in the psy- invoke the Mother. Inwardly I asked Pan Matrimandir is a center of peace, chic being, and was ready to share him- whether he wanted to participate in the light, and dynamic force self abundantly with me. I am no expert in new creation, and that seemed to catch these matters, but I can only speculate his attention. He came forward some, but by August Timmermans that he must have joined Mother’s work again hesitated. long ago. It is also possible that as a sun Then a most curious and unexpected hen the Mother left her god, he is not purely an overmental being, event transpired: in inner reality, I sud- Wphysical body on 17 No- but may in fact be an aspect of the super- denly felt Sri Aurobindo’s presence de- vember 1973, it created a mind that came down into the overmind scend from above, and he pulled down a critical void for sadhaks of the Integral to support the evolution. thread of light from his supramental Yoga, and even for the world, as she men- Another thing I came across at Del- spheres and offered it to Pan. I had a dis- tioned once in the Agenda that humanity phi was a copy of the famous omphalos, tinct impression of Sri Aurobindo saying would go through a critical period if she the stone that was said to be the “navel of to Pan, “Here, if you consent to partici- were to leave her body. Auroville particu- the earth.” It’s in the museum and is fasci- pate in the new creation, I will let you larly, which was only in the beginning nating because it is shaped like a large wander in the supramental wilderness.” stage of construction, experienced seri- lingam. According to myth, Zeus re- Presently this trickle of golden- ous difficulties for decades to come. leased two eagles that flew across the orange light infused into and lifted up an It was on 22 August 1991 that the earth, and where they met he dropped this emerging emerald vision of pristine hills Matrimandir, still under construction, re- stone from the sky to mark the spiritual and forests from prehistoric times, a wild ceived its true center, the crystal globe, in center of the earth. That spot was Delphi. beauty unsoiled by the human presence. the inner chamber. For the first time there In prehistoric times, the Earth Mother Pan “tasted” this re-creation of virgin wil- was a physical and visible point of focus Goddess was worshipped here and priest- derness shot through with a new, supra- in the Matrimandir, where previously esses called pythia sat near the omphalos mental vibration, and he liked it im- people had only been able to sense a and gave prophecies. Later Apollo took a mensely. He assented joyfully, happy to force or a presence. liking to this spot and claimed it for his regain what humankind has taken away Looking at the significance of the own. from him, and presently I felt a tremen- Matrimandir in the context of the Moth- dous green force start to radiate through- er’s mahasamadhi and the Integral Yoga, spent the night in Delphi, and out the body of the earth. Verdant rays of we should maybe conclude that the phys- the next day set out to find Pan’s healing energy reached out into the dese- ical presence of Sri Aurobindo and the I Mother finds continuation in the Matri- cave, which lies in the foothills of crated and aching body of our belea- Mount Parnassus, on the backside of the guered planet which has been so dirtied mandir and its crystal, which the Mother high plateau that stretches inland from the by humanity in recent times. named the soul of Auroville. She also cliffs above Delphi. I caught a taxi to That was a humbling lesson for me, said that the sooner the Matrimandir is reach the plateau, and from there pro- both to see the magnanimity of Sri there, the better it will be for everybody, ceeded to hike for an hour or so along the Aurobindo’s action, and to realize vivid- and especially for the Aurovilians. indicated trail, until I finally reached the ly, concretely, how much we have lost in What can the soul of Auroville mean cave. forgetting the gods. Also, it had never oc- to sadhaks of the Integral Yoga not living When I stepped into the welcome curred to me that wilderness is an actual in Auroville? cool of the cave, my eyes took several spiritual truth that will have its place in What the Matrimandir gives is a minutes to adjust to the darkness. Slowly the new creation. [To be continued] point of focus: the sunlit crystal globe. I began to see an eerie landscape of sta- Meeting with the soul of Auroville is a lagmites and jade-green boulders. It was Michael Miovic ([email protected]) lives in situation where soul meets soul. The sun- uncanny to think that people have been Boston. He is a senior resident in psychiatry at the lit crystal globe gives a feeling of solidity, visiting this cave, at times to worship, at Harvard Longwood Program and an active mem- stability, warm light, and that palpable ber of the Sri Aurobindo Study Circle in Boston. times simply to escape the elements, peace so inherent to the Matrimandir: ex- His interests include the study of the ancient Greek since time immemorial. Eventually I set- and Mayan gods and having adventures with actly the characteristics of a true guru. In- tled down and offered a meditation to Ananta-Alexander-Pakal. dividuals find a haven of light and peace,

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 19 a permanent presence that invites communion with their own But the Matrimandir is much more: it is a complex being souls. where forces manifest. It is a center of light and peace, but it is In her Conversations from 1929, the Mother describes the also a center of dynamic forces. Once one has contacted the soul or psychic being as follows: crystal, the connection seems permanent. Because of its physical “To find the soul you must withdraw from the surface, with- and visible presence, it becomes easy to imagine the sunlit crys- draw deep inside, enter far within, go way down, down into a tal globe wherever one is, and the connection becomes direct. very deep hole, which is silent, still; and there you see something With this, a direct force of light and peace becomes part of the warm, quiet, of a rich substance, very still and very full, and ex- sadhak. This can give the physical assurance of a living support, ceedingly soft—that is the soul. And if you continue and are con- exactly as would the relation with a physical guru. The sadhak is scious yourself, there comes a feeling of plenitude, something on the receiving end of the Matrimandir, and the inner journey full, with unfathomable depths. You feel that if you entered can become a continuing experience. there, many secrets would be revealed; it’s like the reflection of Distance for the Matrimandir is irrelevant. The connection something eternal . . .” with the crystal becomes part of those who concentrate on it, and Entering the Matrimandir is like going through this deep eventually this can be an easy exercise to do. Practically this passage toward a deeper stillness, away from the surface. In the means that the connection with the Matrimandir can extend inner chamber we meet a material soul; it is almost as if our own worldwide. The Matrimandir becomes truly a world center of soul is invited to come forward—such is the force of the solid light and peace thanks to those who open themselves to it. A crystal. more direct relationship with forces of light and peace on the physical plane in this yoga is available to us. The sunlit crystal can lead us onto a sunlit path.

August Timmermans ([email protected]) left the Netherlands in 1977 and lived in India for eight years, primarily in Auroville, where he worked on the construction of the Matrimandir. In 1988 he settled in Thailand. He is current- ly a staff member in the International Affairs Office at Bangkok University and a moderator of the Integral Yoga mailing list.

Eye contact with God

In which the universe is seen to live happily ever after

by Lynda Lester

Last issue’s ”Napping with the Divine” was an account of a spiritual experience at Denver International Airport. The next day, my traveling companions and I were in San Francisco to hear our friend Scott Kirby, a well-known performer of ragtime piano music, play two concerts at a Victorian mansion. This selection is from a journal of experiences in consciousness.

8 November 1997 t 2 p.m. Scott sat down and started playing—Scott AJoplin’s “The Easy Winners.” As soon as he hit the keys, fireworks of light started coming out of the piano. Touched by light, I closed my eyes. What you must do to understand music, i.e., see to the heart of it, meld with its truth and the Truth, is: Look closely with deep attention. Very closely. Look to see what it is saying, both on the outside and on the inside. It’s vision, not hearing: an inner sight The Matrimandir crystal. (Photo by Guy Piacentino) opens.

20 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 And what I saw in the next two hours was something im- I looked deeper, deeper, deeper . . . I went deeper still. portant and beautiful, reminiscent of what composer D.T. Rob- And then, right before the end of the first set, I saw, looking erts called “the felt significance of all things”: right back at me: The existentialists were wrong—existence is not absurd. God. Existence is made out of love and beauty, existence is a The personal God. spell of enchantment. The conditioned, qualitied Ishwara—Lord, Lover, Master, When Scott played the last note of the last piece, the audi- Him. ence could hardly clap at all; we had been silenced. None of us I saw His face. could say a word, or even move. I’d never seen it before, like that. It was great concert: a moment when the doors of heaven What I’d seen were shock waves surrounding Him—the were open. edge of His aura, His traces, His footprints . . . I’d felt Him, I’d *** heard Him, I’d been ravished by Him—but I’d never seen His face. That night eighty more people arrived, and at 7:30 p.m., It was exactly like looking at someone, awareness meeting Scott began the second concert. He played the same program, awareness: eye contact. with two or three substitutions. I was interested in that because I I looked right into the eyes of God . . . and God, revealed, wanted to see if the same pieces would elicit the same percep- looked right back into me. tions. And in that instant when I looked into God’s face, I touched It wasn’t the same. The consciousness started where it had the Truth: the famous ineffable inexpressible Truth that cannot be left off, and continued its exponential curve. formed into words because it exceeds the dimensionality of lan- Question to self, fifteen minutes into the performance: guage: it moves ahead, it goes beyond; it is That which is name- “Why do you like this?” less. Answer: “Because your body becomes the universe”— But when I pulled tracers of light from it and they condensed code language for universal identification, innuendoes of cos- into codifiable understandings, here’s what I saw: mic consciousness, Atman/Self realization. I saw that everything will be OK. The experience grew more and more beautiful, more and I saw the end to which the universe is moving—an end that more intense; I opened my awareness and recognized it for what could translate as happily ever after. it was: pure, divine grace: a gift beyond measure, beyond des- *** sert: a lavish unconditional bestowal of treasure. During intermission I was thinking: Life is not coffee I began to see with global web vision: I could see the con- spoons. Perhaps it is, in our everyday workaday existence—but nectedness of all things. And I knew without doubt why I had not at the heart. We have the capacity for much, much more. come, why I was here: for this inner vision and insight, for this *** quality of spiritual realization. By the end of the concert, realities were impinging; human It was simply too beautiful to bear, too beautiful to survive: and divine worlds were superimposed. small ego died, I met my own extinction. And in one more mo- I realized the incredible: nothing was in the way, between the ment I reached: perfect understanding of the entire universe. Source and myself. It was the most impossibly wonderful gift I The enlightenment experience—That One. could imagine: direct access, no interference—all I had to do They always say, the revered ones, the holy ones, the saints was accept the luminous treasure. and yogis, the avatars: When you get there, you’ll get it. Thank you God, I said. I got it. Thank you God, I said, over and over again. I left temporality and entered the timeless eternal—but I An apprehending spiritual vision opened in me to the di- was taking notes, dropping small mental transcriptions like aspora of the galaxies, the diapason of the created universe: from breadcrumbs in the forest, so I would remember the trail once hell to heaven, all the worlds, all the spectrums: united, of a I’d reentered the land of flat reality. piece, one, and the meaning of it all: the Great Chain of Being. And these were the notes: During Scott’s last piece, ego fell off like a sewn robe. Moments like this change your life. The oneness was dense, the bond was strong. Every time you come here you see, you learn, you develop I saw the secret grotto at the heart of the universe, and it was capacities. pregnant with bliss. I was in a black hole interfaced directly to eternity, experi- Scott Kirby is a pianist/composer specializing in new world piano music, a encing all around me the divine realm: paradise found. genre influenced by ragtime, stride, blues, jazz, Latin/African rhythms, Europe- And as Scott played on, I thought, I am never happier than an romanticism, and terra verde. His CDs are available through I am when I’m here; this is the secret to life extension: infuse the www.veridiana.com. limbic system, the neural networks, the brain and blood cells Lynda Lester ([email protected], http://www.scd.ucar.edu/staff/lester) with this universal life force, all made of truth, and the body will is a member of the Sri Aurobindo Association, co-editor of Collaboration, and one day learn immortality. a moderator of the Integral Yoga mailing list. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 21 Also, this section of Synthesis was into something that was less than the true EssayEssayEssay written in 1920–1921 and never revised. Truth. But these latter chapters were not As Sri Aurobindo himself says in a letter written.”3 from 1932, “What is described in those The triple time vision chapters is the action of the Supermind The conditions of perfection when it descends into the Overmind plane Since we are talking about the Last chapter of Synthesis and takes up the Overmind workings and final chapter in Synthesis, perhaps a look describes ‘trikaladrishti’ transforms them. The highest Supermind at the entire last section of the book, or Divine gnosis existent in itself, is which includes chapters 11–25, is in or- by David Hutchinson something that lies beyond still and quite der. Part 4 is titled “The Yoga of Perfec- above. It was intended in latter chapters tion,” what is elsewhere called Purna owards the Supramental Time to show how difficult even this was and Yoga (the “complete yoga”) or Integral TVision” is the twenty-fifth how many levels there were between the Yoga. Yet in parts 1–3, Sri Aurobindo and final chapter in The Syn- human mind and Supermind and how wrote extensively of the yogas of will, thesis of Yoga. In this chapter Sri Auro- even Supermind descending could get knowledge, and love. How should we un- bindo describes the perception of time, mixed with the lower action and turned derstand a yoga of perfection? What kind starting from a normal human sensibility and progressing up to that of the super- mind. As in the six chapters before, which also deal with the ascent towards super- mind, Sri Aurobindo uses two invaluable methods when dealing with the subject. First, he relates these higher func- tions to our current mind, thereby giving us conceptual clues to understand them. Second, he describes their progressive emergence, showing us a path to follow, characteristics of consciousness to look for, qualities to foster and strengthen as they appear. These are practical matters, intended to serve as stepping stones to- wards a higher reality. A few cautions should be taken in reading this chapter. First, the terminolo- gy in this section of Synthesis cannot be taken as fixed, either in regard to planes of consciousness or in relation to later writings by Sri Aurobindo or the Mother, and so one should not state dogmatically that a specific characteristic applies to a specific plane of consciousness. As two essays in Sri Aurobindo Ar- chives and Research make clear, the ter- minology Sri Aurobindo used here was preliminary and progressively changing. (“Planes of Vijnana in the Record of Yoga, 1919–1920”1 and “Planes of Over- mind in the Record of 1927.”2 The Record was Sri Aurobindo’s journal dur- ing this period.) The first essay notes that “A month or so after [the descent of 24 November 1926] the Record resumes, but with a new set of terms referring to much Cosmos. (This image and the one on p. 25 are details from larger acrylic higher planes than in 1920.” paintings by Jim Foreman)

22 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 of perfection is he talking about? beings and a new earth-life must be envis- means the vision of the three times of In chapter 2 of part 4, he answers this aged in our idea of the total consumma- past, present, and future. Sri Aurobindo question. “To open oneself to the supra- tion, the divine issue.”6 ascribed the power of trikaladrishti to the cosmic Divine is an essential condition of supermind; it is one of the natural abili- this integral perfection; to unite oneself The sevenfold hierarchy ties native to it. with the universal Divine is another es- Lest we think that The Synthesis of In the history of yoga, and especially sential condition. Here the Yoga of self- Yoga is the last word, we should also real- in the raja yoga of Patanjali, there are sid- perfection coincides with the Yogas of ize that it was left unfinished even in his dhis or perfections that have been treated knowledge, works and devotion . . .”4 coverage of topics. What topics? Part 4, as goals, things that a yogin can strive for. This unity in consciousness with the Di- chapter 10 (“The Elements of Perfec- Sri Aurobindo speaks of them differently: vine is the goal of these preparatory yo- tion”) gives a brief outline of a sapta cha- they are flowerings of the supramental gas. tushtaya, or sevenfold hierarchy, each of consciousness. “These things become in For complete self-perfection, how- which has four elements. Sri Aurobindo the supramental nature not at all abnor- ever, “there must be an action of the en- used this framework at the time to orga- mal but perfectly natural and normal, not tire divine nature in our life; and this nize his yoga. An outline of the sapta separately psychic but spiritual, not oc- brings in the need of the supramental con- chatushtaya can be found in volume 27 of cult and strange, but a direct, simple, in- version which substitutes the native ac- the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Li- herent and spontaneous action.”8 tion of spiritual being for the imperfect brary. 7 The distinction is important, because action of the superficial nature and spiri- In brief, the seven are: as a siddhi that one practices and tualises and transfigures its mental, vital achieves through effort, the ability is nec- • Samata (equanimity) and physical parts by the spiritual ideali- essarily sporadic, dependent upon the • Shakti (power, force) ty.”5 strength or concentration of one’s con- • Vijnana (supermind) In other words, self-perfection is a sciousness; whereas when the supermind • Sharira (physical perfection) change of our nature, this lower nature manifests such an ability, it is in a natural • Karma (perfect action on the gnostic comprised of physical, vital, and mental way. basis) parts and subparts. In part 4 Sri Auro- This difference is also important in • Brahma (perfection of the universal bindo goes over the first few steps of that how the individual directs these powers. brahmic consciousness) conversion or transformation; to a great As powers that are developed by individ- • Siddhi (perfection of yoga) extent this part of Synthesis is a manual or ual effort, they are liable to misuse and textbook, showing the essential processes The first nine chapters of part 4 deal misdirection; but since the emergence of of this change. with various aspects of siddhi, perfection: the supermind requires certain conditions they cover the thing itself, the psychology of egolessness, purification of the vital, The need for transformation of perfection, and the necessary anteced- and opening of the inner being, when oc- The last chapter of The Life Divine ents (purification and liberation). Chap- curring spontaneously they do not pose emphasizes this need for transformation. ters 11–13 cover the practice and status the same dangers. “There can undoubtedly be a spiritual life of samata, equanimity, in its passive and within, a kingdom of heaven within us active aspects. Chapters 14–18 describe Going inward which is not dependent on any outer man- the gradations of shakti, how one can On hearing of greater powers, it is ifestation or instrumentation or formula convert the workings of prana and soul- natural to think that they are the goals of of external being . . . However the man of force active in the normal consciousness yoga, that developing them is essential to spiritual realization lives and acts and be- into that of the divine shakti. Finally, the path. But the real goal is the Divine, haves, in all ways of his being and acting, chapters 19–25 cover the ascent toward and breaking through the surface con- it is said in the Gita, ‘he lives and acts in and various qualities of the supermind sciousness is the essential first step. Me’; he dwells in the Divine, he has rea- (vijnana, divine gnosis). “The individual being has to find lised the spiritual existence . . . The last four topics of the sapta cha- himself, his true existence; he can only do “But from the point of view of a spir- tushtaya—sharira, karma, brahma, and this by going inward, by living within and itual evolution, this would be only an in- siddhi—are not addressed in detail in from within: for the external or outer con- dividual liberation and perfection in an Synthesis. sciousness or life separated from the in- unchanged environmental existence: for ner Spirit is the field of the Ignorance; it a greater dynamic change in the earth-na- Powers of the supermind can only exceed itself and exceed the Ig- ture itself, a spiritual change of the whole Trikaladrishti is a Sanskrit word norance by opening into the largeness of principle and instrumentation of life and comprised of three parts: tri (three); kala an inner self and life.”9 action, the appearance of a new order of (time); drishti (sight). In a simple sense it Passing beyond the surface, external,

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 23 physical consciousness is, in fact, a pre- moving it inward, to the soul, the psychic. Stages of ascent requisite for the development of many of “There must grow up within us or Sri Aurobindo doesn’t start with the powers of the higher consciousness. there must manifest a consciousness these further levels, however; he begins Sri Aurobindo mentions this in many more and more open to the deeper and from the state that we all find ourselves writings. higher being, more and more laid bare to in. There is a fundamental truth here. the cosmic Self and Power and to what “The supermind, the divine gnosis, is not Developing another comes down from the Transcendence, something entirely alien to our present consciousness turned to a higher Peace, permeable to a consciousness: it is a superior instrumen- In relation to the time sense, he says greater light, force and ecstasy, a con- tation of the spirit and all the operations “The possibility of another kind of time sciousness that exceeds the small person- of our normal consciousness are limited consciousness than we have at present ality and surpasses the limited light and and inferior derivations from the supra- and of a triple time knowledge rests upon experience of the surface mind, the limit- mental, because these are tentatives and the possibility of developing another con- ed force and aspiration of the normal life- constructions . . . Accordingly when we sciousness than that proper to the physi- consciousness, the obscure and limited rise from mind to supermind, the new cal mind and sense. . . ” 10 responsiveness of the body.”11 power of consciousness does not reject, There are two general ways that he but uplifts, enlarges and transfigures the and the Mother speak of doing this: operations of our soul and mind and moving the consciousness above the The subliminal consciousness life.”14 head, outside the physical body; and and the intuition In the first few pages of the chapter, “Towards the Supramental Time Vi- Sri Aurobindo outlines the general stages sion” describes two general instruments of the ascent of consciousness. As we are, of consciousness that lie beyond our sur- we “can neither live in the infinite time The beginning of time face awareness, and the qualities of time- consciousness nor command any direct CAMBRIDGE, MA—On what vision which pertain to each. and real power of the triple time knowl- is now known as “Monday,” a team The first is what Sri Aurobindo calls edge.”15 We live in each moment, with a of MIT scientists unveiled “time,” a the psychical or subliminal conscious- vague sense of our self as continuing revolutionary new event-sequencing ness. (Note that this is not the pure psy- through time, and a vague ability to pre- protocol which organizes phenome- chic consciousness; at this point in his dict the future using reason to trace out na along a four-dimensional axis, writing Sri Aurobindo used the term cause and effect. preventing everything from taking “psychical” to refer to the inner, sublimi- The second stage is that of yoga, place at once. nal being. The difference is important, when we look for knowledge within; here “No longer will the extinction because this subliminal “receives its time we get touches from the universal mind. of the dinosaurs, the assassination of perceptions, like the mind, only in part The third stage is that of the super- John F. Kennedy, and the Earth- and detail, is open to all kinds of sugges- mind acting through or in the mind, Xabraxiq Pod Wars all collapse into tions, and as its consequent range of truth when “all things and all truths are per- a single point,” theoretical physicist is wider, more manifold too are its sourc- ceived and experienced as already pres- Dr. Lawrence Chang said. “With es of error.”12) ent and known and immediately available time, we can now contextualize each The second instrument is the intu- by merely turning the inner light upon of the universe’s infinite number of ition; this is a power of the range of mind it . . .”16 occurrences in its own spatial-tem- intermediate between our waking con- poral plane, creating order where sciousness and the supermind. Actualities, possibles, there once was chaos.” The subliminal consciousness and imperatives Added Dr. Erno Toffel: “Using the intuition complement each other. The In fact, we can already know a great time, one event can be positioned subliminal gives indicators, symbols, vi- deal about the past and future by using chronologically so as to be the cause sions, transcriptions of things past, reason and science. Sri Aurobindo of another. For example, a man’s present, and future. The intuition, howev- doesn’t deny this; however, he places this death may result in a gun being fired er, “can bring with it the capacity of a knowledge in context by noting that when at him. Or the other way around. time knowledge that comes not from out- we move outside of the purely physical We’re still working out some of the side indices, but from within the universal and into the vital and mental realms, it kinks.”—From The Onion, a humor soul of things . . .”13 In other words, the “ceases to be practicable here for our lim- newspaper, http://www.theonion.com intuitive awareness is a reflection or less- ited intelligence to calculate accurately er power of knowledge by identity. and with certitude.”17 One important reason is that there

24 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 “reigns behind [life and mind] . . . the will tempts to interpret, the more error is in- Transcendence vs. mixture of the soul and secret spirit, the first in- troduced. At the end of the chapter Sri Auro- definitely variable, fluid and elusive, the “The accuracy of this kind of seeing bindo tells of two directions that are pos- second infinite and inscrutably impera- depends on its being confined to a state- sible when one has started the process of tive. . . ” 18 The word “imperative” has a ment of the thing seen and the attempt to opening to the higher intuitive knowl- strict, experiential meaning for Sri Auro- infer, interpret or otherwise go beyond edge. As always, he encapsulates the bindo. Later in the chapter he describes the visual knowledge may lead to much whole yoga while bringing forth a partic- the development of the intuitive sense of error unless there is at the same time a ular point. time as proceeding through three stages: strong psychical intuition fine, subtle and As long as we have vestiges of the actualities, possibles, and imperatives. pure or a high development of the lumi- current mentality, he says, it brings in er- Actualities are things that have al- nous intuitive intelligence.”20 ror. Because of this inevitable error, a ready manifested, forces that have been One fascinating part of the inner con- person can do one of two things. There realized in some sense. Possibles or po- sciousness is that it can “bring back or can either be “a refusal to attempt to tentialities are deeper, or if we look at project itself into past states of con- know,” which can impose a limitation, or them in a temporal sense, antecedent: sciousness and experience and anticipate, the normal mind “is allowed again to they come before a thing manifests. Im- or even, though this is less common, emerge,”23 bringing in a mixed action. peratives are forces that arise from the strongly project itself into future states of These two options correspond to all spirit; they will fulfill themselves no mat- consciousness and experience.”21 In other spiritual effort before Sri Aurobindo and ter what the mix of other forces. (Sri words, it is possible to know your future the Mother: either one takes the way of Aurobindo’s vision of India’s freedom (individual) self. negation and transcendence, of denying comes to mind.) All the knowledge that we receive, the current instruments of the spirit, or As we can see from the Record, one no matter how high, how powerful and one settles for some mixture of spiritual progresses from actualities to possibles to seemingly complete, has to be raised up opening and the present instruments of imperatives as one moves closer and into the supramental level. This is be- consciousness. Through the first, one can closer to the supermind. cause the supermind has the true knowl- move beyond present limitations, but at edge by identity. Being a direct power of the cost of the embodied life or its effec- Presentiments and intuitions the spirit, it includes the totality of things, tiveness; through the second, one can Even in the normal surface aware- sees the particular as part of the universal, have a fruitful inner spiritual life, but its ness we get glimmers of this expanded sees the universe of form from the stand- manifestation will always be flawed. time sense, through presentiments or in- point of the transcendent. The solution? To rise into the super- tuitions. These are usually “obscure intui- In relation to time vision, even the mind and allow it to descend, to trans- tions of the sense mind and the vital be- intuition is limited because it “will always form our very nature. ing.”19 lean chiefly on the succession of present “The evolution in the Knowledge Here one returns upon the wider moments as a foundation for its steps and would be a more beautiful and glorious understanding of an integral yoga and successions of knowledge, however far it manifestation with more vistas ever un- its conditions, for these intuitions are may range backward or forward,—it will folding themselves and more intensive in best received in a passive, quiet con- move in the stream of Time even in its all ways than any evolution could be in sciousness; the more that the mind at- higher revelatory action . . .”22 the Ignorance. The delight of the Spirit is

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 25 ever new, the forms of beauty it takes in- All India Magazine (monthly, En- numerable, its godhead ever young and MediaMediaMedia glish). Editor: K.C. Anand. Sri Aurobin- the taste of delight, rasa, of the Infinite do Society, Pondicherry 605 002, India. eternal and inexhaustible. The gnostic Single issue price: Rs.10; annual price: manifestation of life would be more full A plethora of Rs. 60, $10 (sea), $20 (air). and fruitful and its interest more vivid periodicals Arpan (monthly, Gujarati). Editor: than the creative interest of the Igno- Kirit Thakkar. Sri Aurobindo Society, rance; it would be a greater and happier Vadodara, Gujarat, India. Single issue 44 journals in the Integral Yoga constant miracle.”24 price Rs.7; annual price: Rs. 70, $20 (air), $10 (sea). Notes The following is a listing of forty- Attempt (monthly, English). Editor: 1. Sri Aurobindo Archives and Re- four journals that are related to the Inte- Fidélité Arindam. P.O. Box 8010, Victo- search, vol. 17, no. 2, December gral Yoga. Journals are listed in alphabet- ria, B.C., Canada V8W 3R7. admin@ 1993, pp.184–188. ical order. The format for the listing is: attempt.org. http://www.attempt.org/att- 2. Archives and Research, vol. 18, no. title, format (frequency, language), edi- publ/attnewsl/nwslinfo.htm. 2, December 1994, pp. 224–230. tor, address, and cost. Some journals Auroville News (weekly, online). 3. The Synthesis of Yoga, reduced fac- (Auroville Today, Collaboration, Auro- http://www.auroville.org/whatsnew/ simile edition 1986, 1970, p. 899. ville News, Attempt, Invocation, Jyoti, journals/avnews.html. Letter from 13 April 1932. Matrimandir Journal, Peacock Letter, Auroville Outreach (monthly, En- 4. Ibid., p. 596. and Transcript) have some or all articles glish). Editors: Auroville outreach team. 5. Ibid., p. 596. available online. Auroville Outreach, Bharat Niwas, Au- 6. The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo Birth Prices are listed in rupees (Rs.) or roville 605 101, India. outreach@ Centenary Library (SABCL), vol. dollars ($), when available. Dollars are auroville.org.in. 19, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press: U.S. currency unless otherwise indicated. Auroville Today (monthly, En- 1972, p. 1019 For the sake of clarity and brevity, num- glish). Editor: Alan Herbert. Auroville 7. Supplement, SABCL, vol. 27, pp. bers are written without decimal places Today Tower, Surrender, Auroville 605 356–375. unless required: Rs. 80 rather than Rs. 001, India. [email protected]. 8. The Synthesis of Yoga, Sri Auro- 80.00 Air means airmail; sea means sea- http://www.auroville.org/whatsnew/ bindo Ashram Press: 1973, p. 810. mail. For journals that do not have prices journals/avtoday.html. Annual price: Rs. 9. Life Divine, SABCL, vol. 19, p. listed, contact the editor. 250, $38. 1027 For a current version of this list, see Awakening (monthly, English). Edi- 10. Synthesis, p. 858. http://www.miraura.org/lit/desc.html. tor: Sushila Melvani. Sri Aurobindo So- 11. Life Divine, SABCL, vol. 19, pp. Please send corrections or updates to ciety, Pondicherry 605 002. Annual 904–905. [email protected]. price: Rs. 35, $7 (overseas); lifetime sub- 12. Synthesis, p. 864. Abhipsa (monthly, Marathi). Editor: scription (25 years): Rs. 800, $100 (air). 13. Ibid., p. 865. Balwant Khaparde. Sri Vasudev, Rajka- The Awakening Ray (monthly, En- 14. Ibid., p. 810. mal Chowk; Amrawati, Maharashtra, In- glish). Editor: Ameeta Mehra. The Gnos- 15. Ibid., p. 857. dia. Annual price: Rs. 80, $10 (sea), $20 tic Center, H-401, Som Vihar Apts., San- 16. Ibid., p. 856. (overseas air). gam Marg, New Delhi, India. ameeta@ 17. Ibid., p. 859. The Advent (quarterly, English). giasdl01.vsnl.net.in. Annual price: Rs. 18. Ibid., p. 859. Editor: Samir Kanta Gupta. Sri Aurobin- 250; lifetime subscription: Rs. 4500. 19. Ibid., p. 860. do Ashram, Pondicherry 605 002, India. Bulletin of Sri Aurobindo Interna- 20. Ibid., p. 862. Single issue price: Rs. 10; annual price: tional Centre of Education (quarterly, 21. Ibid., p. 862. Rs. 30, $25 (overseas). bilingual English/French). Sri Aurobindo 22. Ibid., p. 870. Agnishikha (monthly, Hindi). Edi- Ashram, Pondicherry 605 002, India. 23. Ibid., p. 871. tor: Ravindra Anuben. Sri Aurobindo So- Single issue price: $8 (air); annual 24. Life Divine, SABCL, vol. 19, p. 1069. ciety, Pondicherry 605 002, India. Annu- price: $18. al price: Rs. 40; lifetime subscription: The Call Beyond (quarterly, En- Dave Hutchinson ([email protected], Rs. 800. glish). Editor: Ravindra Joshi. Sri Aurob- http://www.webcom.com/dhutch) is president of Ahana (monthly, English). Editor: indo Ashram, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New the Sri Aurobindo Association, co-administrator of the “Aurobindo.org” Integral Yoga mailing S.C. De. Sri Aurobindo Centre, New Me- Delhi 110 016, India. Single issue price: lists, and co-editor of Collaboration. He lives in hrauli Road, New Delhi 110 016, India. Rs.7; annual price: Rs.25, $4 Pakistan/ Sacramento, California.

26 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Sri Lanka/Bangladesh (air); $12 other Editor: K.D. Sethna. Sri Aurobindo tor: Ananda Reddy. 1, Papannal Koil countries. Ashram, Pondicherry 605 002, India. Street, Kuruchi Kuppam, Pondicherry Collaboration (three issues per Single issue price: Rs.15; annual price: 605 012, India. [email protected]. year, English). Editors: David Hutchin- Rs.112, $18 (sea), $36 (air); lifetime sub- Annual price: Rs.35, $5 (air); lifetime son, Lynda Lester. P.O. Box 163237, scription: Rs.1400. subscription: Rs. 1000, $50. Sacramento, CA 95816 USA. editor@ NAMAH (New Approaches to Newsletter (monthly, English). Edi- collaboration.org. http://www.collaboration. Medicine and Health) (biannual, En- tor: S. Dhana. ZA Starlight Road # 01-07, org/archives.html. Sample issue: free; glish). Editor: Vijay Poddar. Sri Aurobin- Singapore 217755. annual price: $20, $32 (overseas, air). do Society, Pondicherry 605 002, India. The Oriya Aurovilian (quarterly, Domani (quarterly, Italian). Editor: Nava Prakash (monthly, Oriya). bilingual: English and Oriya). Editor: Maggi Lidchi Grassi. Sri Aurobindo Editor: Niranjan Nair. Sri Aurobindo Amar Singh. Kalyani Patnaik, Plot No. Ashram, Pondicherry 605 002, India. An- Ashram, Pondicherry 605 002, India. 184-B, Kharvelanagar, Unit-III, Bhu- nual price: L.10 (air), L.8 (mail). New Dimension (annual, English). baneswar 751 001, India. hacharya@ Gavesana. Editor: Arabinda Basu. Zonal Committee. Sri Aurobindo Centre, hotmail.com. Annual price: $12, $8 UK; Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Durgapur 713 204, West Bengal, India. lifetime subscription: $160, $110 UK. Education, Pondicherry 605 002, India. New Race (quarterly, English). Edi- Peacock Letter (quarterly, English). Annual price: $4 (air). The Golden Chain (quarterly, En- glish). Editorial team of Golden Chain. Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry 605 002, India. [email protected]. Groundwork, An Integrated Jour- nal of Development (English). Editors: Shraddhalu Ranade, Gitanjali Dash, Arunkanti Mohanty. New Age Research for Synthetic Studies, 461, Sahid Nagar, Bhubaneswar, Orissa 751 007, India. Rs. 50. Invocation (quarterly, English). Ed- itor: Shraddhavan. Savitri Bhavan, Au- roville 605 001, Tamil Nadu, India. [email protected]. http:// www.auroville.org. Jyoti (quarterly, English). Editor: Debashish Banerji. http://home.earthlink. net/~ewcc/newsltr/journal.htm. ewcc@ earthlink.net. Single issue price: $5. Lok Sanskritam (quarterly, San- skrit). Publication Department, Sri Au- robindo Ashram, Pondicherry 605 002, India. Annual price: Rs. 20; lifetime sub- scription: Rs. 300. Matagiri Newsletter (quarterly, En- glish). Editor: Julian Lines. 1218 Witten- berg Road, Mount Tremper NY 12457, USA. http://www.matagiri.org. Free on the web. Matrimandir Journal (quarterly, English). [email protected]. http://www.auroville.org/actvties/ mmandir/mmjournal.html. “Music too is an essentially spiritual art and has always been associated with Mother India (monthly, English). religious feeling and an inner life.”—The Mother (Felt-tip drawing by Preeti Bhatt)

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 27 Editor: Rand Hicks. Integral Knowledge baneswar, Orissa 751 007, India. Rs. 30. Dean I. Radin (1997) Study Center, 221 Clematis Street, Swarna Hansa (quarterly, Hindi). The Consciousness Revolution: A Pensacola, Florida 32503, USA. Editor: Vijay Poddar, Shyam Kumari. Sri Transatlantic Dialogue: Two Days with [email protected]. http://www.iksc.org. Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry 605 002, Stanislav Grof, Ervin Laszlo, and Peter Purodha (quarterly, English). Edi- India. Single issue price: Rs. 15; annual Russell, by Ervin Laszlo, Stanislav Grof, tor: Shatdal. Sri Auroville Society price: Rs. 50, $20 (overseas); lifetime Peter Russell (1999) P.O. Ranghat, Dist. Nadia West Bengal, subscription: Rs. 500, $200 (overseas). Cybergrace: The Search for God in India. Annual price: Rs. 40; three years: World Union (quarterly, English). Cyberspace, by Jennifer Cobb (1998) Rs.100. Editor: Samar Basu. 52, Rue Desbassyns Digital McLuhan: A Guide to the In- Purodha (monthly, Hindi). Editor: De Richmont, Pondicherry 605 002, In- formation Millennium, by Paul Levinson Ravindra, Vandana. Sri Aurobindo Soci- dia. Single issue price: Rs.15; annual (1999) ety; Pondicherry 605 001, India. Annual price: Rs. 50, $10 (sea); lifetime sub- Dogs That Know When Their Own- price: Rs.50; lifetime subscription: Rs. scription: Rs.1000, $110. ers Are Coming Home, and Other Unex- 1000. —Sri Aurobindo Association plained Powers of Animals: An Investi- Service Letter (monthly, English). gation, by Rupert Sheldrake (1999) Editor: Shraddhalu Ranade. All India Doubt and Certainty: The Celebrat- Press, Kennedy Nagar, Pondicherry ed Academy Debates on Science, Mysti- 605001, India. sraddhalu@auroville. Millennial reading list cism, Reality, in General on the Know- org.in. able and Unknowable, by Tony Rothman Sports Spirit (English). Editor: 48 books to expand your and George Sudarshan (1999) Bhadra Shah. Department of Physical consciousness Emergence: From Chaos to Order, Education, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pon- by John H. Holland (1999) dicherry 605 002, India. The last decade has seen an explosion of Evolving the Mind: On the Nature of Sri Arvind Karmadhara (quarter- thought on the nature of consciousness, Matter and the Origin of Consciousness, ly, Hindi). Editor: Devi Karunamayi. Sri the universe, evolution, and their various by A. G. Alexander Cairns-Smith (1996) Aurobindo Ashram, Sri Aurobindo Marg, relationships. Below is a selected read- Faster: The Acceleration of Just New Delhi 110 016, India. Annual price: ing list of forty-eight titles, in alphabeti- About Everything, by James Gleick Rs.15, $12. cal order by title, that illustrate this (1999) Sri Aurobindo’s Action (monthly, emergence. Generations: The History of Ameri- English). Editor: Shyam Sunder. Sri Au- ca’s Future, 1584–2069, by William robindo Ashram, Pondicherry 605 002, The Age of Spiritual Machines: Strauss, Neil Howe (1992) India. [email protected]. When Computers Exceed Human Intelli- Global Brain Awakens, by Peter Single issue price: Rs.3; annual price: gence, by Ray Kurzweil (1999) Russell, Marilyn Ferguson (2000) Rs.25, $5, $10 (air); lifetime subscrip- Artificial Worlds: Computers, Com- Global Trends 2005: An Owner’s tion: Rs. 500, $100, $200 (air). plexity, and the Riddle of Life, by Richard Manual for the Next Decade, by Michael Sri Aurobindo’s Circle (annual, Morris (1999) J. Mazarr (1999) English). Editor: Vijay Poddar. Sri Au- At Home in the Universe: The A Glorious Accident: Understand- robindo Society, Pondicherry 605 002, Search for Laws of Self-Organization ing Our Place in the Cosmic Puzzle, by India. and Complexity, by Stuart Kauffman Wim Kayzer (1997) Srinvantu (monthly, Bengali). Edi- (1996) The God Particle: If the Universe Is tor: Surya Bhattacharya. Sri Aurobindo The Book of Enlightened Masters: the Answer, What Is the Question? by Bhawan, Shakespeare Sarani, Calcutta, Western Teachers in Eastern Traditions, Leon Lederman, Dick Teresi (1994) India. Single issue price: Rs.4; annual by Andrew Rawlinson (1997) Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the price: Rs. 40. Challenging Reality: In Search of Net Generation, by Don Tapscott (1999) Srinvantu (quarterly, English). Edi- the Future Organization, by Christopher Hidden Order: How Adaptation tor: Manik Mitra. 8-Shakespeare Sarani, Barnatt (1997) Builds Complexity, by John H. Holland Calcutta 700 071, India. Single issue Coming of Age in the Milky Way, by (1996) price: Rs.5; annual price: Rs. 15. Timothy Ferris (1988) The Holographic Universe, by Supramental New Creation (En- Complexity: The Emerging Science Michael Talbot (1992) glish). Editors: Gitanjali Dash, Bhikari at the Edge of Order and Chaos, by M. How We Became Posthuman: Virtu- Charan Mohanty, Arunkanti Mohanty. Mitchell Waldrop (1992) al Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Published by New Age Research for Syn- The Conscious Universe: The Scien- Informatics, by N. Katherine Hayles thetic Studies, 461, Sahid Nagar, Bhu- tific Truth of Psychic Phenomena, by (1999)

28 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Integral Psychology: Conscious- close personal guidance the Mother gave. ness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy, by The many photographs, sketches, and Ken Wilber (2000) facsimiles of their original correspon- The Knowledge Web: From Elec- dence also add immeasurably to the tronic Agents to Stonehenge and Back book, giving it a sense of individuality and Other Journeys through Knowledge, often missing in the written word. by James Burke (1999) Prema Nandakumar says in the fore- The Marriage of Sense and Soul: In- word, “The Mother was a rare teacher; a tegrating Science and Religion, by Ken teacher who wanted questions to be Wilber (1998) asked! She would be upset if students re- Mysticism and the New Physics, by mained dumb as if the lesson had just Michael Talbot (1993) flown away with the wind. Tara asks a Nanotechnology: Molecular Specu- variety of questions: how to teach, how to lations on Global Abundance, B.C. Cran- manage exceptional children, the nagging dall, editor (1996) worries a woman has about her body, the New Rules for the New Economy: 10 strength needed to come to terms with the Radical Strategies for a Connected physical loss of a dear one. The answers World, by Kevin Kelly (1998) are dipped in the molten gold of Truth A New Science of Life, by Rupert and hence one finds a rapier-sharpness in Sheldrake (1981) Shakti. (Art by Catherine Blackburn) the replies conveying a message never to The Non-Local Universe: The New be forgotten.” Physics and Matters of the Mind, by Rob- Tara herself says of the book, “It ert Nadeau, Minas C. Kafatos, Menas Techgnosis: Myth, Magic, and Reli- shows the natural unfolding of the Moth- Kafatos (2000) gion in the Information Age, by Erik er’s relationship with a child of the Nonzero: The Logic of Human Des- Davis (1998) Ashram and Her persistent guidance to- tiny, by Robert Wright (1999) Visions: How Science Will Revolu- wards the flowering of a psychic being. Out of Control: The New Biology of tionize the 21st Century, by Michio Kaku Her encouragement, love and compas- Machines, Social Systems and the Eco- (1998) sion were boundless and infinite.”—DH nomic World, by Kevin Kelly (1995) Web without a Weaver: How the In- The Physics of Consciousness: ternet Is Shaping Our Future, by Victor Book: The Radiance of Being, by Quantum Minds and the Meaning of Life, Grey (1997) Allan Combs. Paragon House, 1995 by Evan Harris Walker (2000) The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the- The Radiance of Being is an engag- Predictions: Thirty Great Minds on Universe(s) Report, by Timothy Ferris ing book that analyzes many of the the Future, by Sian Griffiths, Editor (1997) threads of evolutionary, psychological, (2000) Wholeness and the Implicate Order, and yogic thought from the last two cen- Quintessence: The Mystery of the by David Bohm (1983) turies. Combs looks upon consciousness Missing Mass in the Universe, by —LL as simple awareness, as the pure witness, Lawrence M. Krauss (2000) and sees mind as the sum of all the pro- The Radiance of Being: Complexity, cesses that occur on the screen of that Chaos and the Evolution of Conscious- Reviews awareness. He then tries to see what has ness, by Allan Combs (1997) been made of those processes by modern Science without Laws (Science and Book: Growing up with the Mother, writers. its Conceptual Foundations), Ronald by Tara Jauhar. Sri Aurobindo Ash- In Combs and other thinkers—Wil- Giere, editor (1999) ram, Delhi Branch, 1999 ber, Gebser, Priyogine, Bohm, Chardin, Still Here: Embracing Aging, This unique memoir covers mainly Sheldrake, Tart—one finds a grappling Changing, and Dying, by Ram Dass the years 1959–1973. It is composed al- with the mechanisms of consciousness, (2000) most exclusively of the correspondence an attempt to plot, delineate, determine The Sun, the Genome, and the Inter- between Tara and the Mother, arranged their range. The best of these writers ac- net: Tools of Scientific Revolutions, by into topics such as “Sadhana and Life,” knowledge and integrate spiritual wis- Freeman Dyson (1999) “Education,” “Meditations,” “Flowers,” dom from India, and that integration is Supersymmetry: Unveiling the Ulti- “Sketches,” and “Personal.” showing in many fields of thought today. mate Laws of Nature, by Gordon Kane, Through the exchange of letters we (On the other hand, a few, like Wilber, Edward Witten (2000) see Tara and the Mother, and the kind of seem to be more interested in setting up

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 29 systems they can call their own than in These included Taoist meditative practic- describes his experience of inner sight finding true insight.) es, yogic disciplines, t’ai chi, and Jungian and sense, and “I Was a Teen-Age Athe- Unlike many writers, Combs recog- analysis. My intellectual search has ist,” by Anita Mathias, in which she re- nizes something of the Mother’s status, as moved between mysticism, esotericism, counts growing up in a Catholic school in where he introduces one of her quotes: the sciences of the mind and those of the Nainital, north India in the midst of “The Mother, a great yogi in her own brain.” Hindu-Muslim riots. right . . . ” A chapter is devoted to Sri The Radiance of Being shows that The latter essay reminds us that the Aurobindo, and although he makes a few the adventure of consciousness, at least in spiritual life is universal, that it doesn’t mistakes in trying to draw parallels be- the work being done to explore and study wait for a person to take up a religion or tween higher levels of consciousness as it, is active and diverse.—DH spiritual path—and that there are many explained by Sri Aurobindo and other ways to express it. We are not limited to systems, in general his observations Book: The Best Spiritual Writing the language of yoga or of Sanskrit; the about the similarity of outlook among dif- 2000, edited by Philip Zaleski. Harper- inner life can express itself in unexpected ferent thinkers on evolution are well tak- Collins, 2000 ways, such as Mary Gordon’s liturgical en. For example, “Gebser’s view of evo- This selection of forty pieces by au- “prayer” for “those whose work is invisi- lution, like Hegel’s, and also like that of thors such as Wendell Berry, Harvey Cox, ble,” which starts “For those who paint Sri Aurobindo, holds the ultimate poten- Jacques Lusseyran, and Pico Iyer shows a the undersides of boats, makers of orna- tials of human consciousness to be en- complex, literate, diverse grappling with mental drains on roofs too high to be folded in the origin . . . ” life’s issues. They fall into no single seen; for cobblers who labor over inner In the epilogue he writes, “My per- framework, except that of intelligent per- soles; for seamstresses who stitch the sonal search for an understanding of con- sons facing death, pain, suffering, reli- wrong sides of seams; for scholars whose sciousness led me, like many of my gen- gion, evil. work leads to no obvious discovery . . . eration, into a variety of philosophies, Two of the best are “What One Sees Protect them from downheartedness and spiritual practices, and even martial arts. without Eyes,” by Lusseyran, where he from diseases of the eye.”—DH

TTThe poetry room Gleam

“We do not belong to the past dawns, but to the noons of None of this lessens the mirth or glee, the future.”—Sri Aurobindo the perennial favor and smile of San Francisco’s cable car magic, The glorious climb of the cable car. Those views which has charmed riders since August 1873. the delight of tourists The entire system was rebuilt in 1982. and joy of San Francisco! As our car approached Leavenworth The bright January day had shifted to a cold, grey my gaze lighted on a child sightseer afternoon of variable winds. I got on seated among the passengers the cable car at Hyde on the California Line with her mother obliquely across the aisle. and our car ascended California toward Grace. Like a blonde angel, four years old, The antique cable cars climb these rolling hills she peered about the car with its brown leather in a magical but precarious lift with a sense handgrips, bare bulbs, cords and round bell. Poets and of hazardous uncertainty. They ascend mystics and descend asphalt and cobbled streets. are prone to heightened states, visitations, reveries, Often they run smoothly, but at times mysteries of trance. And as our eyes met in silent communion in stalls and starts, especially in adverse weather. the starry gaze and gleam in her blue eyes And noisy windows rattle on the way captured my interest. And somehow her divine expression to corner curves and turns or abrupt stops. launched my vision of a future super civilization on earth

30 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001

Meeting with divine truth Mother’s darshan

Because Your Lap is everywhere I sit I can be comfortable now in this world.

Because this body is the enchantment in which You’ve placed me I can be at peace now with all the strange turns in this story I’m living.

Because I am like a baby kitten whose eyes are not quite open to Your vast Consciousness I can surrender at last to the blows and blessings of this life as Your rough tongue that I can’t see licking me awake and clean of this world’s frenzy.

“You belong to me,” She says on darshan day Her ever-shining Presence making human wounds and problems fall away like shadows. —Cassia Berman

Cat darshan. (Computer art by Lisa Rachlin) evolving toward some golden infinity. An advanced world of And I smiled and glanced shyly away luminosity from the stare of this curious child. of the Spirit! A harmonious world of creative enterprise And as our car neared Mason for the descent flourishing in a play of delight. A transformed down California to the junction at Powell, I came back creation free of evil, disease, suffering, and ignorance, to the sullen fog and noisy Saturday hubbub of our city, its chaotic clamor and clangor. where the hidden Self had emerged long ago from its depths in the human I stepped off the car at Powell, listened to the wind and sorrow was not necessary. sweep over the city, and pondered the global evolutionary glimmerings of a gnostic race It was a progressive realm habitated in the new age. by gnostic beings with the integral vision of a Divine Mind, the poise and bliss of a supramental world The crowded cable car trundled down California of Divine Light. toward Chinatown, red taillights below, amber lights above, the track illumined All this transpired in my brief visionary glimpse. by one bright beam. —Joseph Kent

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 31 Listening Full moon hostile whispering signals one’s demise I go to the north window of my flat blowing like an angry wind There I can see the Great Bear over the city through an anxious mind High blinking over the sacred sanctuary needless worry drains the spirit narrows the experience Then I go out onto my balcony to the south wisdom grows in painful soil Where I can see a couple of bats but peace is its final goal, Flying around the street-lamp welcoming life’s vicissitude. In the silence of the blue night letting go the fears that dominate she grabs the will and offers it Directly in front of me to the highest force she knows. In the parfums of the pine-trees the mind limits all it sees Smiling from the depths of the cloudless sky making some personality she believes is real The full moon looks at me the nothing one is now is better than the something that was lost Then I look back at it, smile back at it liberation from the cross promises renewal, And I think of you all in the world energy to spare for living. Who can see also the same moon equality of mind and heart Who are seeking after the divine life dwells in trust and gratitude And I wish you to have the peace aids to life is cheerful giving I feel in my heart at that moment soothes what challenges the self. the man of sorrows deceives I’d like so much to hear too the flute of the Infinite! all the endless imperfection he sees —Bernard Sage his land is dark and narrow consuming a failing heart. work is done by the Will alone Meeting with divine truth with patience and the fortitude listening offers opportunity I have met the blackened doors of waste silence brings a secret key The brilliant suns of many gates opening an inner door A fistful of offerings, nothing to waste . . . where she may flee The path of human destiny I have met when escape is necessary. In a single cell of certainty, deep within some hidden place in universes of infinity. she must come to learn the way of grace The collective molten, breathing spark quieting the wrenched personality that yearns and achieves its altruistic mark. and open to the love for all. Freedom from the body made of dust, a heart learning how to play again free to trust, to know the obscure dances of the lesson and the gift Divinity, a living truth to free other beings, occurring simultaneously providing the keys, unlocking symmetries herein lies the peace she seeks to a world from within and without through self mastery. a place of no more suffering And the wonders, the powers of luminous ground facing the rabid world with calm That stand at the edges of eternity, with the sounds of as one faces up to life. Truth’s melody, as it plays multilevel melodies of diversity the self in One, the One in all It all resides in the deepest levels of me . . . where there is born the energy to conquer one’s own strife And in every other being I see. intermingling it dances to shed the past —Vanessa Henshall and born anew in greater plentitude she sees only the gifts in life. —Sharon Winnett

32 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Yogic competency quiz About the poets o qualify for Integral Yogi status, students must pass Joseph Kent ([email protected]) is a poet living in Berkeley, Califor- Tthe following quiz with 100% competency or better. nia. Those flunking the quiz are allowed an infinite number of tries Cassia Berman ([email protected]) writes poetry in Woodstock, as long as you transport yourself backward in time and take it New York. before the previous attempts, so you don’t remember the tasks. Sharon Winnett is a poet who lives in Billings, Montana. 1. Subliminal senses. Using your subtle senses, locate an- Bernard Sage ([email protected]) is a schoolteacher in Marseilles, other Integral Yogi in space. Extra point if you can describe the France. clothing the person is wearing. Vanessa Henshall says of her poem, “I wrote this poem about a year 2. Development of the will. Using only the power of your ago and have dedicated it to Auroville. I’ve written poetry and short will, induce a pet to follow you from one end of the house to the stories since the age of ten.” other. Extra point if the pet walks in front of you. 3. Absence of desire. Time yourself to see how long you can go without eating a piece of chocolate in front of you. Point deducted if you transcend your physical consciousness to achieve this. 4. Transmission of mental power. Using one word only, Gnostic knots communicate a chapter of Life Divine to another yogi. Extra Proof of artificial intelligence point if you translate into French at the same time. 5. Physical equanimity. Stand in a cold shower for one minute without blinking your eyes. Extra point if you have your The following excerpts are from an essay by Lynda Lester that clothes on. was translated (by humans) into Italian for Aditi, an Italian 6. Gnostic relationship. Eat dinner while looking out journal on Integral Yoga. The Italian version is on the web at through the consciousness of the person next to you. Extra point http://www.webcom.com/chiopris/darshan/dar0496/usa.html. if the other person eats something they don’t like. Computer translation software (available at http://world. 7. Collective unity. Start a discussion between two other altavista.com) was used to render it back into English. yogis and then resolve it by applying the consciousness of high- er unity. Extra point if it involves three yogis. lank spirits and kind sparkes of Italy . . . this is a 8. Physical transformation. Make a wart or skin tag fall off message from one small spark in America that au- B by conscious will. Extra point if you can make it reattach itself. gurs you a national encounter overflow of clarity 9. Cosmic consciousness. Invite one of the divine beings to and Divine Presence. dinner. Extra point if you can get Krishna and Shiva to sit next Like current publisher of Collaboration, I would want rin- to each other. graziarvi all for the encouragement and the interest for the re- 10. Time consciousness. Using your power of trikala- view. Fire ignites fire, and when we feel a word of encourage- drishti, project yourself forward and predict with certainty ment from Italy, the flame burns here more intense. where another yogi will be at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Extra point The yoga is still alive and in good health to the end of the if you can change that certainty to another.—DH millennium, after to be exited from the pages of the Divine Life . . . I invite to contribute to you to Collaboration with your Supermarket yoga best sellers storys, articles, backs. Even if it is printed publication in the USA, is a total vehicle, that varied community must more and • Mind of the Sells: Yoga for Business People more have the print of one, but without frontiers. • Road Rage: Cultivating Rudrananda The Mark, the Carl, the Veroniques, the Dieter or Dimitri • The One-Minute Yogi are moved in knowing and the Govind that speak to me through • Dressing for Samadhi cables, their voices capacities from the bit that transmit knowl- • Tatoos, Tantra, Tapas, and Titiksha edge: all we sparkes ignited, that they ignite fires, in the conta- • Own Your Impatience: The Jittery Person’s Guide to Yoga gious influence of the Spirit. • The All-Time Top 70 Ananda Desserts And I must say that Internet has canalized one enormous • Equanimity for Dummies: The Way of the Holstein amount of the Italian Agni in America! • Supermind: Imbibe the Vibes With love and the best auguries from this side of the • Instant Tumo: The Book of Electric Blankets ocean.—LL —Sri Aurobindo Association

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 33 Shakti packets

With apologies to Vernor Vinge.

Transmission_to: Neo Integral Yogis

From: YES/NO (Yogi Establishment of Sacramento, Northern Office)

Projection_date: 042820001921 Shopping for trunks on E-bay. (Image from http://webshots.com)

Language_path: Review: City Soul Siddhi High Ananda -) Middle Vijnana -) Outer Sacto -) Common English n a field dominated by flutes, harmoniums, sitars and tablas, Sister Sita’s new CD, City Soul Siddhi, is a Distribution: Irefreshing new voice. Produced by C’thee Yogee MC, Western Yogi Interest Group the album effortlessly combines traditional Indian modulation Singularity trackers and urban Western rap/hip-hop to create twelve of the most en- Vishnu Vision Development Group ergized songs you’ll hear this year. On the cover is a striking photograph of Sister Sita on top of Crypto: a Tata truck, barefoot and bangled, wearing a man’s lunghi, a black, sleeveless t-shirt, and a bright blue fez with a green tassle, basic inverse infinity algorithm hoisting an oversized cup of chai with members of her band. The CD begins with a soaring ballad, “In Situ,” with its un- Topic: Gnostic nonprofits adorned harmonies and crisp lyrics, followed by a down home, Collective melding upbeat little ditty, “Jumpin’ Jiva’s Java Joint,” which is guaran- teed to get you snapping your mala fingers in seconds. “Seated Text: Distributed chaotic complexities of fractal indi- Siddhi Rap” is sure to be an immediate favorite with its bouncy viduals may tend toward harmonic superposition of rhythms, inner rhymes, and transcendent wordplay. quantum consciousness strings. Can parashakti place- The seventh song, “Hanuman’s Lament,” carries us straight ment radically reinforce future esthetic configuration of to the heart of Sister Sita’s own traumatic experiences. This bal- geostable locations? Will a hexagonal humanity structure lad, accompanied only by windchimes, is a wrenching statement expand or contract in an evolutionary universe? of friendship, longing, and plantains. In the same humble tone, she sings “She Ain’t Heavy, She’s My Gopi,” her nasal voice im- End transmission parting exactly the right irony needed for this blues classic. —DH Then—oh, sister!—she lets loose with “I Am Yogi, Hear Me Chant” and shows once again why she is the vibhuti of power- house punk hip-hop shakti! No subtle modulations here, just en- ergy, energy, energy!—and supreme musical confidence born of Question for God her own yogic experiences. About the last two songs on this extraordinary CD, Sister A man walked to the top of a hill to talk to God. He asked, Sita writes: “The first is based on a friend’s ongoing battle, the “God, what’s a million years to you?” second is wryly humorous.” The titles say it all: “Warrior Yogini God said, “A minute.” Battles Black Tea Devil” and “I Am a Vibhuti from the Planet The man asked, “What’s a million dollars to you?” Shruti.” God said, “A penny.” City Soul Siddhi is distributed through an exclusive agree- The man asked, “God, can I have a penny?” ment with Yogis Everywhere, Ltd. Call 1-555-YOGI-R-ME God said, “Sure . . . In a minute.” today for this limited edition, autographed by Sister Sita’s self. —from the Internet —Marta Belén

34 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 souls of a single Reality; illumined and An entirely new consciousness in Source matermaterSource ialialial motived by a fundamental unity of many individuals transforming their knowledge, actuated by a fundamental whole being, transforming their mental, The road ahead unified will and feeling, a life expressing vital and physical nature-self, is needed the spiritual Truth would find through for the new life to appear; only such a them its own natural forms of becoming. transformation of the general mind, life, Sri Aurobindo on gnostic An order there would be, for truth of one- body nature can bring into being a new collectivity ness creates its own order: a law or laws worthwhile collective existence. The of living there might be, but these would evolutionary nisus must tend not merely These selections are from The Life Di- be self-determined; they would be an ex- to create a new type of mental beings but vine, chapter 28, “The Divine Life.” pression of the truth of a spiritually united another order of beings who have raised being and the truth of a spiritually united their whole existence from our present his then is the first necessity, life. (p. 1032) mentalised animality to a greater spiritual Tthat the individual, each indi- level of the earth-nature. (p. 1061) vidual, shall discover the This Reality is there within each Spirit, the divine reality within him and thing and gives to each of its formations Any such complete transformation express that in all his being and living. A its power of being and value of being. of the earth-life in a number of human divine life must be first and foremost an The universe is a manifestation of the Re- beings could not establish itself altogeth- inner life; for since the outward must be ality, and there is a truth of the universal er at once; even when the turning-point the expression of what is within, there can existence, a Power of cosmic being, an has been reached, the decisive line be no divinity in the outer existence if all-self or world-spirit. Humanity is a for- crossed, the new life in its beginnings there is not the divinisation of the inner mation or manifestation of the Reality in would have to pass through a period of being. (p. 1023) the universe, and there is a truth and self ordeal and arduous development. A gen- of humanity, a human spirit, a destiny of eral change from the old consciousness In fact, this inward turning and human life. The community is a forma- taking up the whole life into the spiritual movement is not an imprisonment in per- tion of the Reality, a manifestation of the principle would be the necessary first sonal self, it is the first step towards a true spirit of man, and there is a truth, a self, a step; the preparation for this might be universality; it brings to us the truth of power of the collective being. The indi- long and the transformation itself once our external as well as the truth of our in- vidual is a formation of the Reality, and begun proceed by stages. (p. 1061) ternal existence. For this inner living can there is a truth of the individual, an indi- extend itself and embrace the universal vidual self, soul or spirit that expresses it- life, it can contact, penetrate, englobe the self through the individual mind, life and But as this knowledge and the very life of all with a much greater reality and body and can express itself too in some- principle of the gnostic nature would en- dynamic force than is in our surface con- thing that goes beyond mind, life and sure a luminous unity in the common life sciousness at all possible. Our utmost body, something even that goes beyond of gnostic beings, so also it would be suf- universalisation on the surface is a poor humanity. (p. 1049) ficient to ensure a dominating harmony and limping endeavour,—it is a construc- and reconciliation between the two types tion, a make-believe and not the real of life. The influence of the supramental thing: for in our surface consciousness we For the awakened individual the re- principle on earth would fall upon the life are bound to separation of consciousness alisation of his truth of being and his in- of the Ignorance and impose harmony on from others and wear the fetters of the ner liberation and perfection must be his it within its limits. It is conceivable that ego. (p. 1029) primary seeking,—first, because that is the gnostic life would be separate, but it the call of the Spirit within him, but also would surely admit within its borders as The gnostic being finds himself not because it is only by liberation and per- much of human life as was turned to- only in his own fulfilment, which is the fection and realisation of the truth of be- wards spirituality and in progress towards fulfilment of the Divine Being and Will in ing that man can arrive at truth of living. the heights; the rest might organise itself him, but in the fulfilment of others; his A perfected community also can exist mainly on the mental principle and on the universal individuality effectuates itself only by the perfection of its individuals, old foundations, but, helped and influ- in the movement of the All in all beings and perfection can come only by the dis- enced by a recognisable greater knowl- towards its greater becoming. (p. 1030) covery and affirmation in life by each of edge, it would be likely to do so on lines his own spiritual being and the discovery of a completer harmonisation of which [A gnostic collective] will feel them- by all of their spiritual unity and a result- the human collectivity is not yet capable. selves to be embodiments of a single self, ant life-unity. (pp. 1050–1051) (p. 1064)

Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Collaboration • 35 A great many people think they are Without a guru in the body, we have, AproposAproposApropos thinking when they are merely rearrang- at least, ourselves in our bodies. AUM ing their prejudices.—William James provides us the opportunity to experience ou know, all is develop- a little of the inner guru that each of us ment—the principle is per- Be like a fox that makes more tracks brings to the meeting and to reflect to- Y than necessary, some in the wrong direc- gether on what this has meant in our petually going on. First, there was nothing; then there was some- tion.—Wendell Barry lives.—Gordon Korstange thing; then—I forget the next—I think there were shells; then fishes; then we In Integral Yoga, some just get older The supramental will not be tele- came—let me see—did we come next? quicker, others remain young forever- vised, the transformation will not be tele- Never mind, we came at last and the next more.—Chandresh Patel vised, the life divine will not be tele- change will be something very superior to vised.—Will Moss us, something with wings.—Lady Con- The difference between a gun and a stance in Disraeli’s Tancred tree is a difference of tempo. The tree ex- We need windtunnels for mindships plodes every spring.—Ezra Pound too.—Thomas K. Landauer, The Trouble When I told the people of Northern with Computers Ireland that I was an atheist, a woman in Generally speaking, the only way of the audience stood up and said, “Yes, but getting any feeling from a TV set is to Our life passes in transformation.— is it the God of the Catholics or the God touch it when you’re wet.—Larry Gelbart Rainer Maria Rilke of the Protestants in whom you don’t be- It is always sunrise somewhere; the lieve?”—Quentin Crisp Just before she died she asked, dew is never all dried at once; a shower is “What is the answer?” No answer came. forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eter- Picasso insisted everything was mi- She laughed and said, “In that case, what nal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn raculous. It was miraculous, he said, “that is the question?” Then she died.—D. and gloaming, on sea and continents and one did not melt in one’s bath.”—Jean Sutherland’s biography of Gertrude Stein Cocteau islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.—John Muir Right now it’s only a notion, but I A poem begins as a lump in the think I could get money to turn it into a Life is not coffee spoons.—Lynda throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, concept, and then later develop it into an Lester a lovesickness . . . It finds the thought, idea.—Woody Allen, Annie Hall and the thought finds the words.—Robert The Church says: The body is a sin. Frost Question: If you could live forever, Science says: The body is a machine. would you and why? Advertising says: The body is a busi- Good art is a form of prayer. It’s a Answer: I would not live forever, be- ness. way of saying what is not sayable.— cause we should not live forever, because The body says: I am a fiesta.— Frederich Busch if we were supposed to live forever, then Eduardo Galeano, Walking Words we would live forever, but we cannot live We don’t really go that far into other forever, which is why I would not live Coming to understand how to sift the people, even when we think we do. We forever.—Miss Alabama in the 1994 true from the false is exceedingly subtle hardly ever go in and bring them out. We Miss America contest. and important. But that doesn’t mean that just stand at the jaws of the cave, and all pretenders to truth should be accorded strike a match, and ask quickly if any- You get nervous with no one sup- respect.—Douglas Hofstadter, Metamag- body’s there.—Martin Amis porting you. People don’t always have ical Themas the vision, and the secret for the person In the beginner’s mind there are with the vision is to stand up. It takes a lot Let us not look back in anger or for- many possibilities, but in the expert’s of courage.—Natalie Cole ward in fear but around in awareness.— there are few.—Shunryu Suzuki James Thurber

The thing with high tech is that you What happened had to happen, but it always end up using scissors.—David could have been much better.—Sri Hockney Aurobindo

36 • Collaboration Fall/Winter 2000–2001 Illustration from Pedro J. Lemos’ Applied Art (Pacific Press: 1920).