DOCSLIB.ORG

Talks with Sri Aurobindo

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Talks with Sri Aurobindo Talks with Sri Aurobindo Volume 2 by Nirodbaran Sri Aurobindo Ashram Pondicherry Pre Note Talks with Sri Aurobindo is a thousand-page record of Sri Aurobindo's con- versations with the disciples who attended him during the last twelve years of his life. The talks are informal and open-ended, for the attendants were free to ask whatever questions came to mind. Sri Aurobindo speaks of his own life and work, of the Mother and the Ashram, of his path of Yoga and other paths, of India's social, cultural and spiritual life, of the country's struggle for political independence, of Hitler and the Second World War, of modern science, art and poetry, and of many other things that arose in the course of conversation. Serious discussion is balanced with light-hearted banter and humour. By recording these human touches, Nirodbaran has brought out the warm and intimate atmosphere of the talks. NOTE These talks are from my notebooks. For several years I used to record most of the conversations which Sri Aurobindo had with us, his attendants, and a few others after the accident to his right leg in November 1938.Besides my- self, the regular participants were Purani, Champaklal, Satyendra, Mul- shankar and Dr. Becharlal. Occasional visitors were Dr. Manilal, Dr. Rao and Dr. Savoor. As these notes were not seen by Sri Aurobindo himself, the responsibility for the Master's words rests entirely with me. I do not vouch for absolute ac- curacy, but I have tried my best to reproduce them. faithfully. I have made the same attempt for the remarks of the others. NIRODBARAN i Table of Contents Pre Note...........................................................................................................i NOTE...............................................................................................................i 1940.................................................................................................................1 1 March 1940.............................................................................................1 2 MARCH 1940.........................................................................................6 3 MARCH 1940.........................................................................................8 4 MARCH 1940.......................................................................................12 5 MARCH 1940.......................................................................................16 6 MARCH 1940 ......................................................................................18 7 MARCH 1940.......................................................................................24 8 MARCH 1940.......................................................................................25 9 MARCH 1940.......................................................................................27 10 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................30 11 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................35 12 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................36 13 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................39 14 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................43 15 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................46 16 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................47 17 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................50 18 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................53 19 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................55 20 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................57 21 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................59 22 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................61 23 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................64 24 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................66 25 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................67 26 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................68 27 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................69 29 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................69 31 MARCH 1940.....................................................................................70 1 APRIL 1940...........................................................................................73 2 APRIL 1940...........................................................................................76 ii 3 APRIL 1940...........................................................................................78 4 APRIL 1940...........................................................................................79 5 APRIL 1940...........................................................................................81 6 APRIL 1940...........................................................................................83 7 APRIL 1940...........................................................................................85 8 APRIL 1940...........................................................................................85 9 APRIL 1940...........................................................................................88 10 APRIL 1940.........................................................................................90 11 APRIL 1940.........................................................................................91 12 APRIL 1940.........................................................................................94 14 APRIL 1940.........................................................................................96 15 APRIL 1940.........................................................................................99 16 APRIL 1940.......................................................................................101 17 APRIL 1940.......................................................................................102 18 APRIL 1940.......................................................................................104 5 MAY 1940...........................................................................................106 6 MAY 1940...........................................................................................112 7 MAY 1940...........................................................................................115 8 MAY 1940...........................................................................................117 9 MAY 1940...........................................................................................118 10 MAY 1940.........................................................................................120 11 MAY 1940.........................................................................................123 12 MAY 1940.........................................................................................125 13 MAY 1940.........................................................................................127 14 MAY 1940.........................................................................................128 15 MAY 1940.........................................................................................129 16 MAY 1940.........................................................................................131 17 MAY 1940.........................................................................................135 18 MAY 1940.........................................................................................137 19 MAY 1940.........................................................................................140 20 MAY 1940.........................................................................................143 21 MAY 1940.........................................................................................145 22 MAY 1940........................................................................................148 23 MAY 1940.........................................................................................150 24 MAY 1940.........................................................................................154 25 MAY 1940.........................................................................................158 26 MAY 1940.........................................................................................161 27 MAY 1940.........................................................................................164 iii 28 MAY 1940.........................................................................................166 29 MAY 1940.........................................................................................169 30 MAY 1940.........................................................................................175 31 MAY 1940.........................................................................................176 1 JUNE 1940..........................................................................................179
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Talks by Nirodbaran December 1969
    TALKS BY NIRODBARAN December 1969 – July 1970 TALKS by NIRODBARAN December 1969 – July 1970 Edited by Sunayana and Maurice Sri Aurobindo Ashram Pondicherry First Edition: 2018 Rs 210 ISBN 978-93-5210-152-8 © Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust 2018 Published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department Pondicherry 605 002 Web http://www.sabda.in Printed at Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, Pondicherry PRINTED IN INDIA Foreword Four years before Sri Aurobindo’s birth centenary, at a teacher’s request, Nirod-da agreed to speak to the students of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education about Sri Aurobindo. It was thought that this would help to prepare them for the occasion. Having had a privileged contact with the Master for twelve years as well as a voluminous correspondence with him, Nirod-da soon became a big draw with the students. As the audience kept increasing for his talks, the venue was shifted to the larger Hall of Harmony. Each week Nirod-da’s talk to the students was tape-recorded on a cassette; then it was immediately transcribed and made available for the following session. In this way, a hundred and fifty talks were recorded and meticulously transcribed by Sudha and Kokila. It is interesting to note that Nirod-da’s Twelve Years with Sri Aurobindo was born of notes taken for these talks; before the book was published, it was read out to the Mother in instalments by the author himself. “Thanks toN irod,” the Mother wrote, “we have a revelation of an altogether unknown side of what Sri Aurobindo was.
    [Show full text]
  • Nirodbaran Talks with Sri Aurobindo 01
    Talks with Sri Aurobindo Volume 1 by Nirodbaran Sri Aurobindo Ashram Pondicherry NOTE These talks are from my notebooks. For several years I used to record most of the conversations which Sri Aurobindo had with us, his attendants, and a few others, after the accident to his right leg in November 1938. Besides myself, the regular participants were: Purani, Champaklal, Satyendra, Mulshankar and Dr. Becharlal. Occasional visitors were Dr. Manilal, Dr. Rao and Dr. Savoor. As these notes were not seen by Sri Aurobindo himself, the responsibil- ity for the Master's words rests entirely with me. I do not vouch for absolute accuracy, but I have tried my best to reproduce them faithfully. I have made the same attempt for the remarks of the others. NIRODBARAN i PREFACE The eve of the November Darshan, 1938. The Ashram humming with the ar- rival of visitors. On every face signs of joy, in every look calm expectation and happiness. Everybody has retired early, lights have gone out: great occa- sion demands greater silent preparation. The Ashram is bathed in an atmos- phere of serene repose. Only one light keeps on burning in the corner room like a midnight vigil. Sri Aurobindo at work as usual. A sudden noise! A rush and hurry of feet breaking the calm sleep. 2:00 a.m. Then an urgent call to Sri Aurobindo's room. There, lying on the floor with his right knee flexed, is he, clad in white dhoti, upper body bare, the Golden Purusha. The Mother, dressed in a sari, is sitting beside him.
    [Show full text]
  • Champaklal's Treasures Edited by M
    Champaklal's Treasures Edited by M. P. Pandit Revised and Enlarged by Roshan First edition1976 (Edited by M. P. Pandit) Second edition 2008 (Revised and enlarged by Roshan) AUROBINDA GHOSE - 1909 Specially photographed for the prabasi and the Modern Review The Mother with Champaklal 2-2-1959 My dear child This year, the Grace has arranged circumstances in such a way that you are closer to me than you have ever been - and all through you have proved most reliable and effective, always ready, always there when you are needed, always doing what needs to be done. I am happy to tell you that on your birthday. With my love and blessings. The Mother PREFACE It is a delight to present this revised and enlarged edition of Champaklal's Treasures, which contains new material recently found among Champaklal's papers. This book comprises writings and talks of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother that were collected and preserved by Champaklal. These letters notes, messages and conversations delve deep into the values of a life based on truth, light, love, beauty, harmony and the divine consciousness. They are full of insights into the problems of transforming one's nature and offer ways to overcome them. Champaklal was interested in reading, writing, painting and music, but always his central aspiration was to serve the Divine. Sincere aspiration, even when not expressed in words, evokes a response from the Divine Grace. Champaklal's life is a standing example of this truth. His aspiration was fulfilled in a number of ways, often to his utter surprise.
    [Show full text]
  • Sri Aurobindo
    You asked about Sri Aurobindo 25 ANSWERS! ARUN AMIN PAVITRA AMIN You Asked About Sri Aurobindo – 25 Answers! Fourth Edition Third Printing 980815 ISBN 1-891253-00-X Other titles by Arun Amin Facing Life Dynamic Meditation* OM – The Magical Mystical Sound* PEACE – The Womb of Power Black Eyed Peas or Brahman the Absolute – Conversations with the Supreme Mantras Eternal The Cosmic Beauty of Mental Silence *co-authored with Pavitra Amin d Cover photo and quotations of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo are copyright of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust. Copyright © Arun Amin 1994, in association with Aurovision E-11 Malabar Apts. Napean sea Road, Mumbai (Bombay) 400 036. PRINTED IN INDIA You asked about Sri Aurobindo 25 Answers! Who was Sri Aurobindo? Sri Aurobindo was a poet, a writer, a scholar, a revolutionary thinker, a seer, a philosopher, a nationalist, a creator of an age, a rishi and a yogi. He carried the world in his heart. The more you try to understand him the more you realize that it is a difficult task to describe him in words. He was born in Calcutta, India on August 15, 1872, at 4:52 a.m. in the Brahmamuhurta—the hour of God. He was the third son of Dr. Krishna Dhan Ghose and Swarnalata. He left his body at 1:26 a.m. on December 5, 1950 in Pondicherry. The body remained charged with Supramental Light for 111 hours without showing any signs of decomposition. Aravind means Lotus (pronounced Aurobindo in Bengali). Sri means "Glory of the Divine" in the tradition of India.
    [Show full text]
  • News and Notes
    News and Notes #862 A weekly bulletin for residents of Auroville 20th March 2021 Anusuya Forest photo: Piero Cefaloni HOUSE OF MOTHER’S AGENDA (continued from last week) 18 April 1970 The Mother: In last night’s experience, it was everything at the same time: the body felt, acted, it was conscious, it observed, decided – everything, just everything at the same time. There even was... I don't know, I didn't have a vision of Sri Aurobindo, but I had the sensation of his presence (that often happens: at times I'll see him and he won't speak; at other times I won't see him but I'll hear him, he'll speak to me – the laws are no longer the same), and he made me notice, or rather I noted that although the body was suffering a lot (the situation was critical, you know), there wasn't the shadow of a fear in the body. Then he told me, “Yes, it's because it is able not to be afraid that you can do the work.” The absence of fear is really the result of the yoga for so many years – for half a century. It was like this (gesture, hands open), offering its suffering, all the time like this. (silence) After last night, I have every reason to think that the work is very, very active – very active. Satprem: But on the level of the earth, how do things take place? For instance, you say that Sri Aurobindo, yourself and a number of us are working in this subtle physical to prepare the new world: how is the permeation of this subtle physical made? The Mother: But in that way.
    [Show full text]
  • Nov-Dec Text 2011
    MOTHER INDIA MONTHLY REVIEW OF CULTURE Vol. LXIV Nos. 11-12 “Great is Truth and it shall prevail” CONTENTS Sri Aurobindo ‘A FIRE SHALL COME OUT OF THE INFINITUDES . .’ (Poem) ... 897 PART OF THE WORK ... 899 The Mother ‘THOU ART EVERYWHERE . .’ ... 900 A VISION (7) ... 901 Amal Kiran (K. D. Sethna) A VISION AND A CERTITUDE ... 903 Manoj Das SRI AUROBINDO: LIFE AND TIMES OF THE MAHAYOGI CHAPTER VIII: A STEP TOWARDS LIBERATION ... 904 “A ray returning to its parent sun” Remembering Amal A RECIPIENT OF THEIR GRACE ... 915 Selection from Amal’s correspondence with Sri Aurobindo and the Mother Aster Patel FOR AMAL . GRATEFULLY . ... 934 P. Raja TO K. D. SETHNA WITH LOVE ... 935 R. Y. Deshpande MY FIRST CONTACT WITH AMAL ... 939 Anie Nunnally AN I NTERVIEW WITH AMAL KIRAN ... 941 Georges Van Vrekhem AMAL KIRAN: PSYCHIC GREATNESS, MENTAL VERSATILITY ... 946 Satadal UPON AMAL’S PASSING (Poem) ... 951 Sachidananda Mohanty AMAL KIRAN: SWEETNESS AND LIGHT ... 952 Maggi A DEEP SILENCE OF HEART-FELT GRATITUDE ... 954 Shraddhavan A TRUE FRIEND ... 957 Narad AMAL KIRAN — A TRIBUTE ... 961 Kireet Joshi MY SALUTATIONS TO AMAL ... 967 Shyam Kumari HOW I MET AMAL: A HOMAGE OF GRATITUDE ... 969 Suresh Dey “FACE TO FACE” (Poem) ... 973 V. Ananda Reddy CLEAR MEMORIES ... 974 Sunjoy WHO WROTE THAT APPRECIATION — AMAL OR I? ... 979 Alok Pandey THE GREATNESS OF THE GREAT ... 981 — DOCUMENT OF TIMELESS THINKING ... 984 Aditi Vasishtha REMEMBERING AMAL WITH JOY ... 985 Chandrakant Parmar WITH AMAL KIRAN WHILE RECORDING THE SAVITRI RECITATION ... 990 Arun Vaidya AMAL KIRAN: A POET-PILGRIM OF INTEGRAL TRUTH ... 992 Manoj Das MY EDITOR — MY TEACHER ..
    [Show full text]
  • The Psychic Being: Our Opening to the Divine By
    The Psychic Being: Our Opening to the Divine By Marshall Govindan Under what conditions will the fully opened Psychic Being bring about the supramental transformation by the practice of Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga? This paper will attempt to answer the question. A clear understanding of Sri Aurobindo’s use of the term psychic being is essential to the practitioner of Integral Yoga. It is found throughout his writings and is a distinguishing feature of his Yoga. As we shall see, it cannot be equated with the English words soul or Self or with the Indian terms Atman, Jivatman, or Purusha. Although the Psychic Being is present in everyone’s heart, it is almost always hidden, and its workings are mingled with the movements of the mind and the vital. Until it emerges in the foreground of the consciousness, individual efforts in Yogic sadhana (discipline) remain fitful and limited by these movements. The practice of Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga – summarized in the words aspiration, rejection, and surrender – progresses to the extent that the Psychic Being comes to the forefront of one’s consciousness. This occurs in four stages. What is the Psychic Being? Sri Aurobindo often refers to it metaphorically as a “spark which comes from the Divine.” The psychic is a spark come from the Divine which is there in all things and as the individual evolves it grows in him and manifests as the psychic being, the soul seeking always for the Divine and the Truth and answering to the Divine and the Truth whenever and wherever it meets it.
    [Show full text]
  • Summer 2006, Vol. 31, No. 2
    Summer 2006 Journal of the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother Vol. 31, No. 2 Shyam Kumari on “an extraordinary girl” • V. Madusudan Reddy on death and immortality • Larry Seidlitz on Savitri’s encounter with death • Review of Alok Pandey’s book, Death, dying and beyond • Current affairs • AV almanac • Source material • Poetry • Apropos Summer 2006 Collaboration • 1 Table of contents Collaboration, vol. 31, no. 2, Summer 2006 From the office of Collaboration Notes on this issue .................................................................. Larry Seidlitz 3 Current affairs The start of online courses on Sri Aurobindo’s teachings in Russian .......... ............................................................................. Emilya Dunayets 4 About the cover Savitri group in Grass Valley, CA ................................................ Gaia Lamb 5 Life’s end: From our failing plank, we must Briefs ........................................................................................................ 5 take the final plunge. (Photo courtesy bigfoto.com) AV almanac The authors and poets Towards the dream -- Auroville Vision 2012 ................. AV Vision 2012 Team 6 AV Vision 2012 Team may be contacted at: Reflections on AV Vision 2012 ...................................... AV Vision 2012 Team 6 aurovillevision2012@aurovllle.org.in. Second International AV Dialogue: Knowledge, Business Serge Brelin, in Auroville since 1981, is coor- dinator of the Auroville Vision 2012 initiative; He and Consciousness .....................
    [Show full text]
  • June 2003, and Remember Him in Fondness the Whole Material Side of the Ashram, the Ashram Would and Be Grateful for All That He Has Done for Them and for Us
    1 SABDA Newsletter Recent Publications he Mother used to have meetings with some of Tthe disciples in 1928 in the “Prosperity” Room in the Library House. Both Dyuman and I belonged to that group. Once the Mother raised the question: “Who among you has progressed the most during the past year?” The answer would not mean which sadhak or sadhika was the most advanced in general. It would declare which one had taken the most marked step forward during the preceding twelve months. While recollecting this question, I turned to Dyuman and asked whether it had struck in his memory too. He said “Yes”. Then I asked him whether he recalled the answer. He looked at me but kept quiet. I smiled and said: “We thought of Nolini, Amrita, Champaklal, Pavitra and Anilbaran, all old timers. But the Mother named you.” Dyuman’s face beamed and he exclaimed: “So you remember this?” I replied: “Who could forget so great a compliment?” Dyumanbhai in the 1940s — Amal Kiran CONTENTS Dyuman “The Luminous” — Karmayogi 2 The Renaissance: Notes and Papers 20 r Immortality 9 The Birth of Savit 21 Creation? Evolution? Or Both? 10 Brahman and Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Approach to the Upanishads 23 Recent Publications 11 Is Velikovsky’s Revised Chronology Tenable? 24 Ordering Information 16 An Interview with Nirodbaran/Selected Essays Reviews and Talks of Nirodbaran 25 Emergence of the Psychic 17 Amal Kiran on Nirodbaran 26 The Wonder that is Sanskrit 18 The Collected Works of the Mother 28 Bhavasumam 19 SABDA Newsletter 2 DYUMAN “THE LUMINOUS” — Karmayogi Krishna Chakravarti Dyuman-da or Dyumanbhai, as he was popularly known, was was reflected clearly in a letter written by Sri Aurobindo one of the sadhaks who moulded himself in the light of Sri in 1936 when replying to an inmate of the Ashram: “If Aurobindo and the Mother.
    [Show full text]
  • Spring 2011, Vol. 35, No. 3
    Spring 2011 Journal of the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother Vol. 35, No. 3 Michael Miovic on Cartier-Bresson’s photographs of Sri Aurobindo • M. Alan Kazlev on Sri Aurobindo, the Mother and the Integral Movement • Larry Seidlitz on spiritual activism, spiritual passivity and Integral Yoga • Current affairs • AV almanac • Source material • Poetry • Apropos Spring 2011 Collaboration • 1 About the cover This greyscale copy of a watercolor painting by the late Usha R. Patel, an Ashram painter, is from her book, Love Treasures, paintings based on Sri Aurobindo’s book The Mother. The passage inspiring it is: “In all that is done in the Table of contents universe, the Divine through his Shakti is be- Collaboration, vol. 35, no. 3, Spring 2011 hind all action but he is veiled by his Yoga Maya and works through the ego of the Jiva in the lower nature.” It was published in 1985 by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and is used with their From the office of Collaboration permission. Notes on this issue .................................................................. Larry Seidlitz 3 The authors and poets Current affairs Dhyaanavati Ananda (hridalaya@gmail.com) studied and worked in the field of psychology in Opening and mystery: Producing the documentary film Conscious both Croatia and California. She has also pub- lished two books of spiritual poetry. The poem se- .......................................................................................Alan Baiss 4 lected here is from an unpublished collection Briefs ........................................................................................................ 6 called “The fire fount.” Alan Baiss (alanbaiss@yahoo.ca) is the founder of Integral Inspirations (http:// AV almanac www.integralinspirations.com) and producer of the films “Integral Consciousness,” Conversa- What’s happening with the Matrimandir lake? .......................
    [Show full text]
  • Nolini Kanta Gupta
    The Mother Abides Final Reflections 1973-1983 Nolini Kanta Gupta Sri Aurobindo Ashram Pondicherry Contents Publisher's Note ............................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Part 1 Sweet Mother ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6 November 17, 1973 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 A Canadian Question .................................................................................................................................................................. 8 The Mother Abides ................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Twin Prayers ................................................................................................................................................................................ 12 The Soul's Freedom .................................................................................................................................................................. 14 One Day More ...........................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Education and the Aim of Human Life
    EDUCATION AND THE AIM OF HUMAN LIFE CONTENTS Education and the Aim of Human Life Introduction I. The Purpose of Education II. The Conception of Progress and the Present World Crisis III.. The Dawning of a New Age IV. Sri Aurobindo's Integral Education What is an Integral Education? The Physical Education The Vital Education The Mental Education The Psychic and the Spiritual Education Sri Aurobindo International Centre of education The Student's Prayer Our New System of Education (The Free Progress System) I. How the Child Educates Himself II. The Needs of the Child III. The Educational Environment IV.. The Class Work A. Collective Teaching B. Individual Work C. Team Work V. A Valuation of the New System VI. The Evolution of a Class VII.. The Task of the Educator VIII. Do We Need a New System of Education? Two Cardinal Points of Education Bibliography Notes and Sources Bibliographical Note by PAVITRA (P. B. Saint-Hilaire) Publisher's Note This book is a study of the educational ideal of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and of the educational method being developed at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education. Its author, Pavitra, was the first director of the Centre of Education. In the first section of the book he affirms the need of an "integral" education - one aimed at developing all the faculties of the human being, including the soul and spirit - and outlines the character of such an education. In the second section he explains the new system being attempted at the Centre of Education. In the third he summarises the educational theory and method of the Centre of Education.
    [Show full text]