Summer 2008 Journal of the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother Vol. 33, No. 1 Sam Spanier 1925-2008 Summer 2008 Collaboration • 1 Table of contents Collaboration, vol. 33, no. 1, Summer 2008 From the office of Collaboration Notes on this issue .................................................................. Larry Seidlitz 3 Current affairs Sam Spanier: A divine calling .................................................Cassia Berman 4 Online resources on the Yoga ....................................................................... 5 AV almanac Growing with research in Auroville .................................... Chamanlal Gupta 6 About the cover Sam Spanier, founder of Matagiri Sri Auro- Sri Aurobindo statue at Savitri Bhavan....................... Mauna van der Vlugt 8 bindo Center in Mt. Tremper, NY, passed away on 30 January 2008. He was 82 years Chronicles old. A remembrance appears on p. 4 (Photo courtesy Matagiri Sri Aurobindo Center) End of illusions ............................................................................ Luc Venet 9 The authors Cassia Berman ([email protected]) Essays is a poet and writer who teaches T’ai Chi and Yoga, religion, and funamentalism in the Integral Yoga community .............. Qigong and does a form of energy healing in Woodstock, NY. .................................................................................... Lynda Lester 22 Chamanlal Gupta (Sri Aurobindo Ashram, A sketch of Satprem’s life and work ..................................... M. Alan Kazlev 24 Puducherry 605002, India), is a renewable energy The Mother’s parting gift......................................................... Larry Seidlitz 26 expert actively involved in research projects for both the Ashram and Auroville. M. Alan Kazlev ([email protected]) is Source material an esoteric philosopher, writer, amateur palaeon- tologist, and aspiring sadhak. He is the webmaster On finding the inner silence ....................................................... The Mother 29 and author of Kheper.net, and is working on a Silence: the first necessity ..................................................... Sri Aurobindo 31 book on Integral Metaphysics and Transformation. Lynda Lester ([email protected]), one of the coordinators for AUM 2008, was the previ- The poetry room ous editor for Collaboration and is a gifted speaker on the Integral Yoga. She lives in Sacramento, CA. Ascent ................................................................................... Sri Aurobindo 33 Larry Seidlitz ([email protected]) facili- Descent ................................................................................. Sri Aurobindo 33 tates online courses for Sri Aurobindo Darshan: The University of Tomorrow, in Pondicherry, and Fibers of Light ........................................................................... Anonymous 34 is editor of Collaboration. The living God ..........................................................................Vivekananda 34 Mauna van der Vlugt ([email protected]) is an Aurovilian since 1977; she is a qualified From Gitanjali .............................................................. Rabindranath Tagore 34 teacher with wide range of Auroville experience, From Passage to India ........................................................... Walt Whitman 34 including Auroville International coordination, Press Liaison, and Auroville Webmaster. Luc Venet worked with Satprem on the English Apropos ......................................................................... 36 translations of the latter’s works and their distribu- tion in America; he was coauthor with Satprem of Life without Death. He later became disillusioned with Satprem, and has expressed his reasons in the present article, reprinted with his permission. 2 • Collaboration Summer 2008 From the office of Collaboration The photographers Julian Lines ([email protected]) is a long-time associate and board member of Mata- giri and Auroville International. n this issue we feature a chronicle by Luc Venet, “End of illusions,” about his experi- Marianna Lines, an early resident of Find- ence in the inner circle of disciples working with Satprem on the publication of Mother’s horn, is an artist and expert on Celtic and Pictish megalithic sites. During visits with her cousin, IAgenda and other works. Recognizing this is a controversial subject, we decided that Julian, she developed a deep connection with the importance of the issues involved outweighed the negative feelings and reactions Sam. She lives outside of Edinburgh, Scotland. that it might stir. Although controversial, Satprem has certainly been an important Giorgio Molinari ([email protected]) spokesperson and actor in the Integral Yoga community, with many influential books to shot the photos of the statue of Sri Aurobindo. He his credit, and with his own following. Therefore, it seems useful for the community to worked as a professional photographer in Italy for 40 years; he now lives in Auroville. grapple with the difficult issues involved than to simply ignore them or sweep them un- der the rug. Perhaps by examining them dispassionately, we will find that things were not Publisher: Collaboration (ISSN 0164- as black and white as first imagined, but like with most endeavors of human beings, there 1522) is published by the Sri Aurobindo Associ- ation (SAA), a California nonprofit religious was a mixture of truth and error, knowledge and ignorance, selflessness and selfishness. corporation, P.O. Box 163237, Sacramento, Luc examines especially Satprem’s magnetic quality that drew people, including the CA 95816 USA; e-mail: [email protected]; author, so powerfully. For Luc, and apparently for others in his circle, this attraction was phone: 209-339-3710, ext. 6. so strong that they were induced to give up their own sense of individuality, their own Editor: Larry Seidlitz, 39 Vanniar Street, judgment, and became instead adjuncts of Satprem’s own personality. A major part of this Vaithikuppam, Puducherry, 605012, India; email: [email protected]. The opinions ex- attraction was the feeling of coming closer to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, and becom- pressed in Collaboration are not necessarily ing part of their divine work. Another part was the battle against the “enemy,” which was those of the editor or the SAA. elusive, but always ready to attack, and which bore such names as the “Ashram trust- Copyrights: Copyright © SAA, 2008. ees” and the “Asuras,” the latter who hoped to hold back the evolution. There was also Photos of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, pas- the important work of publishing the Agenda and other books, which focused everyone sages from their works, and excerpts from the books published by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram on an immense and inspiring mission. According to Luc, there was also a subtler element, Trust are © Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust unless an unspoken but implicit insistence on Satprem’s view of the situation, that one was ei- otherwise noted, and are used here with the kind ther in the inner circle of “Truth,” or outside, where all shades of grey were decidedly permission of the Ashram. outside. By laying out what he calls the “Satprem phenomenon” in historical context, Luc Subscriptions: A one-year subscription helps us to understand not only the subtleties of the web in which he felt caught, but also (three issues) to Collaboration is $20 ($32 for airmail outside the USA, except India; in India, its development over time, and its potential and real outcomes. send Rs. 150 to Larry Seidlitz, 39 Vanniar St., We accompany this feature with three shorter essays that provide some context and Vaithikuppam, Pondicherry 605012). A patron background in which to better understand it. The first of these by Lynda Lester focuses subscription is $40 or more. A subscription on the distinctions between yoga, religion, and fundamentalism. After briefly defining sponsoring an Indian resident is $4. these, she shows how all three have played roles in the Integral Yoga community, and Submissions: Collaboration welcomes writing, photos, and artwork relevant to the helps us to clarify and understand our own practice. The second article by M. Alan Kaz- Integral Yoga and spirituality. Submit material lev provides a biographical perspective of Satprem, shows us his achievements in terms by email to: [email protected]; by fax of his publications, and gives a wider perspective of his polarizing effect in the Integral at 209-339-3715; or by post to Collaboration, Yoga community. The third article by myself, Larry Seidlitz, discusses the value and con- P.O. Box 163237, Sacramento, CA 95816 tributions of Mother’s Agenda, the 13 volume set of conversations between Satprem and USA. Collaboration cannot be held responsible for loss or damage of unsolicited material. Let- the Mother together with some additional material. It is my feeling that Mother’s Agenda, ters to the editor may be published unless you though it may include some unfortunate material, is of immense importance to the Inte- indicate otherwise. Letters and articles may be gral Yoga community, and that the controversy surrounding Satprem and its publication edited for style and space considerations. should no longer stand in the way of reading, studying, and utilizing its rich contents. About SAA: The Sri Aurobindo Associa- We start off our issue with a remembrance of Sam Spanier, the founder of Matagiri, tion distributes information about Sri Auro- bindo, the Mother,