New Correspondences with The Mother (Vol 2)

Publisher’s Note

This book contains the Mother’s correspondence with nine disciples, all of them members of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Each correspondence is presented in chronological order, with the question or comment of the disciple provided whenever possible. The names of the disciples have been given since they have all passed away. A brief life sketch of each disciple appears at the beginning of his or her correspondence.

The reader should note that the word “new” does not mean “published here for the first time”, but rather “not published in the Collected Works of the Mother and therefore new to most of its readers”. The Collected Works was organised and published around 1978, at the time of the Mother’s centenary. More than forty years have passed since then and a number of new correspondences have come to light, including those in this book. Five are being published here for the first time. The remaining four have been published in books or in the Ashram’s quarterly journal Bulletin of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education or in both. Further details are provided in the Note on the Texts at the end of the book.

The nine correspondences in this book supplement those published in Collected Works Volumes 16 and 17.

(Correspondence with Amrita)

Originally named Aravamudachari Ayengar, Amrita was born on 19 September 1895 in the village of Kazhiperampakkam, Tamil Nadu, fifteen kilometers from Pondicherry. When he was ten, he moved to Pondicherry for his education. Three years later, he saw Sri Aurobindo for the first time. From then on, he became a regular visitor at Sri Aurobindo’s house until 1915, when he left for Madras to complete his higher studies.

Amrita returned to Pondicherry in April 1919 to live permanently with Sri Aurobindo. Soon after the Ashram was formed in November 1926, Amrita became its general manager. In 1954, he was appointed a member of the first Ashram Trust board. For fifty years, from 1919 until his passing on 31 January 1969, he gave himself in service to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

Amrita’s correspondence with the Mother revolves around his work. As the Ashram manager, he discharged a remarkable range of duties. Every day he sent reports to the Mother, describing his activities and pointing out any problems. Through her replies she guided Amrita with clarity and firmness. On his part he served her faithfully to the best of his ability. The correspondence reveals his dedication to the Mother and her role as an administrator skilled in dealing with practical affairs.

This correspondence covers the period from 1919 to 1955, but most of the exchanges took place between 1928 and 1936. The correspondence is largely in English, but a considerable number of entries are in French and appear here in translation.

Amrita's Correspondence >>

(Correspondence with Amal Kiran)

Amal Kiran was born Kekoo Dhunibhoy Sethna in Bombay on 25 November 1904. He joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in February 1927 at the age of twenty-two. After eleven years in the Ashram, he went back to Bombay where he lived for the next sixteen years. There in 1949 he started a journal, Mother India, which was largely devoted to the spiritual teaching and practice of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

Amal returned to Pondicherry in February 1954 and remained for the rest of his life. His principal work was editing the monthly Mother India. Artist, poet, literary critic and all-round intellectual, he was a prolific writer and the author of more than a dozen books. On 29 June 2011 he passed away at the age of one hundred and six.

Amal’s correspondence with Sri Aurobindo was extensive. His interest in poetry elicited hundreds of comments by Sri Aurobindo on poetic creation and the composition of his epic Savitri. Amal’s correspondence with the Mother was also substantial. More down to earth, it dealt largely with personal problems, family affairs and the editing of Mother India. Many of these exchanges are included here to show how the Mother handled this brilliant and spirited disciple; they also reveal her deep concern for him.

The correspondence covers the period from 1930 to 1970. Most of the entries are in English; those in French appear here in translation.

Amal Kiran's Correspondence >>

(Correspondence with Sanjiban)

Sanjiban Biswas was born on 30 January 1913 and joined the Ashram on 15 February 1933 at the age of twenty. Two months after his arrival, the Mother began training him as an artist. For many years, he taught students in the Ashram school to draw and paint. He lived in the Ashram for fifty-eight years, passing away on 18 October 1991 at the age of seventy-eight.

Sanjiban’s correspondence with the Mother, entirely in English, covers the period from 1933 to 1941. It deals mainly with art and shows how the Mother patiently guided this sensitive young man as he developed into an excellent artist.

Sanjiban's Correspondence >>

(Correspondence with Kirankumari)

Born in 1917, Kirankumari Kothari came to the Ashram on 21 November 1935 at the age of eighteen. She lived in the Ashram for seventy-five years, passing away on 24 December 2010.

The Mother put Kirankumari in charge of cleaning and repairing stoves and water-filters. Kirankumari regularly reported to the Mother about her work, mentioning any problems that arose; the Mother’s words of advice and solace form the basis of this correspondence. Kirankumari always ended her reports, “Your daughter, Kirankumari”, and the Mother always wrote, even when she made no comment on a report, “Love and blessings to my dear child”. Entirely in English, the correspondence covers the period from 1938 to 1942.

Kirankumari's Correspondence >>

(Correspondence with Jagannath)

Jagannath Vedalankar’s date of birth is not known. He joined the Ashram on 10 October 1945. At first the Mother sent him to work at the newly founded Ashram Press. Later, he taught Sanskrit in the Ashram school for many years. He lived in the Ashram for fifty-one years, passing away in January 1997.

Jagannath’s correspondence with the Mother, entirely in English, deals mainly with his work at the Ashram Press between 1946 and 1950. There are also several letters of 1947 regarding help to his brother at the time of the partition of India.

Jagannath Vedalankar's Correspondence >>

(Correspondence with Debou)

Born on 7 January 1930, Debkumar Bhattacharya joined the Ashram on 15 August 1943 at the age of thirteen. Debou, as he was called, was one of the first students in a small school started by the Mother in December of that year. In 1949 he became a teacher of French in the school. Later, he studied homeopathy and around 1967 became a practising homeopathic doctor. For decades he treated members of the Ashram in this capacity. Debou lived in the Ashram for sixty-nine years, passing away on 29 July 2013.

Debou’s correspondence with the Mother covers the period from 1948 to 1968. In the early years she wrote several prayers for him and later wrote letters to help him understand and overcome his problems. The correspondence is largely in French and appears here in translation.

Debou's Correspondence >>

(Correspondence with Madanlal)

Born on 16 July 1916, Madanlal Himatsingka grew up in Calcutta, married and became a businessman there. He visited the Ashram first in 1953 and then joined it in 1959 at the age of forty-three. From the beginning, Madanlal was involved in financial work for the Ashram. Dedicated to the publication and distribution of the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, he founded the All India Press in 1969 and the VAK Bookshop in 1980. For the last two-and-a-half decades of his life, he spent much of his time raising funds for the construction of the Matrimandir in Auroville. He passed away on 30 July 2004 at the age of eighty-eight.

Madanlal’s correspondence covers the period from 1954 to 1973. It is entirely in English. The main topics are his personal life, his work and his spiritual effort. One senses in the correspondence both his desire to serve the Mother and his thirst for spiritual progress.

Madanlal Himatsingka's Correspondence >>

(Correspondence with Gautam Chawalla)

Born on 13 December 1934, Gautam Chawalla joined the Ashram in May 1952 at the age of seventeen. At the beginning he worked on an Ashram farm growing coconuts and assisted the Mother doing various tasks in the Ashram main building. Later, he founded AuroTravels, a travel agency in Pondicherry. He lived in the Ashram for sixty-two years, passing away on 15 June 2014 at the age of seventy-nine.

Gautam’s correspondence with the Mother covers the period from 1953 to 1968. At first he asked questions about himself and his work, but then began asking general questions about sadhana and the future. The correspondence is in French, with a few exceptions, and appears here in translation.

Gautam Chawalla's Correspondence >>

(Correspondence with Shyam Sundar)

Born on 5 May 1927, Shyam Sundar Jhunjhunwalla was a lawyer and businessman living in Calcutta. From 1949 he began visiting the Ashram regularly and finally joined it on 1 January 1965 at the age of thirty-seven. In February 1971 the Mother appointed him as her secretary for Auroville affairs, a position he held for about a decade. In 1972 he became the editor of the monthly journal Sri Aurobindo’s Action and remained its editor for nearly forty years. He also wrote, compiled or translated a number of books. He lived in the Ashram (and sometimes in Auroville) for forty-six years, until his passing on 28 July 2011 at the age of eight-four.

In this correspondence, Shyam Sundar’s questions and comments elicit from the Mother many truths about spiritual life and its practice. The correspondence is in French and appears here in translation. It covers the period from 1966 to 1970.

Shyam Sundar's Correspondence (On the Path) >>

Notes on the Texts

This book consists of the Mother’s correspondence with nine disciples living in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. Seven of these correspondences are entirely or largely in English; two are entirely in French. The correspondences in French, and the French entries in the correspondences largely in English, appear here in English translation.

Series One —Amrita. Originally named Aravamudachari Ayengar, Amrita was one of the first Tamil disciples of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. His correspondence covers the period from 1919 to 1955. The basis of the correspondence are his reports to the Mother and her comments on them. Most of these reports and comments are in English, but a considerable number are in French and appear here in English translation. The correspondence is being published here for the first time.

What follows is background information about Amrita which should help the reader to understand and appreciate the correspondence.

Amrita began living in Sri Aurobindo’s small community of disciples after finishing his schooling in 1919. When the Sri Aurobindo Ashram was formed in November 1926, the Mother appointed him as its general manager, a position he held for the rest of his life. In his capacity as manager, Amrita met with the Mother daily, but he also sent her various notebooks in which he reported his daily activities and indicated any problems. The Mother read these notebooks and sometimes made written comments in their margins and empty spaces. Amrita’s reports and the Mother’s comments on them form the basis of his correspondence.

In every respect this is a “work” correspondence; there is very little spiritual instruction or guidance. Rather, the correspondence shows how the Mother guided an earnest young disciple in helping to run the Ashram.

As the Ashram manager, Amrita had a large range of responsibilities. Among them were: the maintenance of the Ashram dairy and the purchase of additional milk; the safekeeping of money for Ashram members and visitors; the accommodation of visitors; the rental and purchase of houses for the Ashram; arrangement for the repair of newly acquired properties; maintenance of the accounts of paid workers (wages, absences, leaves, bonuses, etc.); the settlement of disputes involving paid workers; the recruitment of new paid workers; the placement of orders with local merchants; the handling of parcels at the railway station; the purchase of stamps and the collection of letters and money orders at the town’s two post offices, French and British; and the payment of New Year tips to postal workers, railway clerks and others. In general Amrita was the Mother’s principal liaison in dealing with government officials, houseowners, landowners, lawyers and the town’s notary; he regularly represented her in negotiations with local officials and members of the town. In executing his myriad activities, Amrita routinely consulted the Mother and did her bidding.

Series Two—Amal Kiran. Originally named K. D. Sethna, Amal Kiran lived in the Ashram for two long periods: from 1927 to 1938 and from 1954 to 2011. His correspondence covers both periods (as well as the fifteen years in Mumbai between periods). During the first period, Amal was head of the Furniture Service and had a number of personal and family problems; his exchanges of this period reflect these concerns. During the second period, his primary work was editing the monthly review Mother India; much of his correspondence during this period is related to his work as editor.

Most of the Mother’s important replies to Amal have already been published, but they have always appeared here and there by subject, never together. A large number first appeared over the years in issues of Mother India. A smaller number first came out in 1980 in Amal’s book, Our Light and Delight. All these replies were then published in 1980, in Words of the Mother I–III, Volumes 13–15 of the Collected Works of the Mother, but in those volumes they were arranged by subject.

The present book comprises all the entries mentioned above and many more. Prepared from Amal’s manuscripts, it includes a number of personal letters about his family and friends never published before. It also includes the Mother India texts sent by Amal to the Mother for approval of publication. All these texts, presented in chronological order, chronicle Amal’s written exchanges with the Mother over several decades. What emerges is a sense of the relationship between the Mother and her bold, spirited, intelligent disciple. The correspondence is in English, with a very few exceptions. It is presented here for the first time in this form.

Series Three—Sanjiban. Sanjiban Biswas joined the Ashram in 1933 at the age of twenty. His correspondence with the Mother began in that year and continued for the next eight years. Many of their exchanges deal with the Mother’s guidance to Sanijban as an aspiring artist.

Most of the material presented here was first published in issues of the quarterly journal Bulletin of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education between August 1996 and February 1998. The present complete correspondence, which contains additional entries, has been prepared from Sanjiban’s manuscripts. The correspondence is in English.

Series Four—Kirankumari. Kirankumari Kothari joined the Ashram in 1935 at the age of eighteen. The Mother placed her in charge of the cleaning and repair of stoves and water-filters. She regularly informed the Mother of her work by writing reports in notebooks. These reports and the Mother’s comments on them form the basis of this correspondence. It covers the years between 1938 and 1942. The correspondence is in English and is being published here for the first time.

Series Five—Jagannath. Jagannath Vedalankar joined the Ashram in 1945. The Mother asked him to work in the newly founded Ashram Press. His correspondence with her deals mainly with his press work between 1946 and 1950, but also with his efforts to help his brother around 1947 at the time of the partition of India and Pakistan. Most of the Mother’s replies were first published in 1995 in the book Beautiful Vignettes of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, pp. 147–57. The present correspondence, prepared from Jagannath’s manuscripts, includes the entries in Vignettes along with some additional ones. The correspondence is in English.

Series Six—Debou. Debkumar Bhattacharya, known as Debou, joined the Ashram in 1943. After completing his studies in the Ashram school in 1951, he became a teacher there. Later, in the mid 1960s, he became a homeopath and practised for many years.

Debou’s correspondence has been prepared from his manuscripts. Almost all the entries are in French and appear here in translation. The correspondence is being published here for the first time.

Series Seven—Madanlal. Madanlal Himatsingka joined the Ashram in 1959. A successful businessman, he initially advised the Ashram in financial matters. Interested in the publication of the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, he founded the All India Press in 1969. His correspondence deals with his press work, his personal affairs and his sadhana.

A selection of letters from Madanlal’s correspondence was published in the April 2008 issue of the quarterly Bulletin of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education. Then in 2016, on the occasion of Madanlal’s centenary, a book on his life was published — The Joy of Offering. It contained extensive selections from his correspondence with the Mother as well as biographical information and tributes. The present correspondence contains most of the selections in that book. The correspondence is in English.

Series Eight—Gautam. Gautam Chawalla joined the Ashram in 1952. His correspondence covers the period from 1953 to 1967. Gautam worked at first on an Ashram farm, as well as in the Ashram main building, assisting the Mother in various tasks; these activities are reflected in his correspondence. All but a few of the entries are in French and appear here in translation. Prepared from Gautam’s manuscripts, the correspondence is being published here for the first time.

Series Nine—Shyam Sundar. Shyam Sundar Jhunjhunwalla joined the Ashram in 1965. In 1971 the Mother appointed him as her secretary for Auroville affairs, a position he held for about a decade. He also edited the monthly journal Sri Aurobindo’s Action and wrote or compiled a number of books. His correspondence deals mainly with his sadhana and the conditions of spiritual life.

Shyam Sundar corresponded with the Mother in French from 1967 to 1970. The original French was first published in 1986 in a book titled En route: Correspondance de la Mere avec Shyam Sundar. An English translation of it by Shyam Sundar came out in 1987, entitled En route: On the Path (The Mother’s Correspondence with Shyam Sundar). The text in the present book is a lightly revised translation of the text of On the Path.