Champaklal Speaks

“Mother’s Grace on Kamala”

The Mother has showered her grace on her children in such a way that every child can say, “This is a special grace of the Mother for me alone. For none else she has done this.” Kamala is indeed one of those children. Kamala does not write about herself, but I am interested in writing about her for two reasons. Firstly, it was the Mother who sustained my interest in Kamala, and secondly, recollecting incidents of Mother's grace to her is at the same rime a worship of the Mother.

In the beginning Kamala did not speak when she was in Mother's presence. Then when she asked Mother for some work she was given the work of sweeping my room. Thereafter Mother kept giving her one work after another.

Offering fruits. In those days, Kashibhai had asked his son Maheshbhai, who was living in Bombay, to send a basket of fruifs and nuts (oranges, chikoos, grapes, almonds, pistachios, etc.) every week from there for Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. After Maheshbhai left Bombay to live in Bharooch, Kashibhai arranged to get these fruits from Madras. You might ask what was done with these baskets coming so regularly. Kamala was entrusted the work of washing these fruits in water with potassium permanganate, wiping and arranging them in three big cupboards. Then she had to keep a daily check on their condition. With the grace of the Mother, Kamala's fingers became so sensitive that they would touch just that part which was getting spoiled and thus pick out and keep aside the rotting ones. Every day, I would extract three big jugs of orange juice. It took me about an hour to do this and a large basin was filled with orange peels. The Mother gave this juice to Sri Aurobindo and also to sadhaks. Kashibhai considered himself blessed for this rare opportunity given to him and his family to serve Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

Counting flowers: As you go upstairs to Sri Aurobindo's Room, you first step into a vestibule with doors on two sides and one in front which on Darshan days is covered by a life-size photo of Mother (this door leads to the old bathroom). The door to right opens into the “long passage” between Sri Aurobindo's Room and the Meditation hall. It was in that passage that Mother asked Kamala to sit to count Aspiration flowers. Interestingly, from childhood Kamala had a special attraction for these flowers; she loved to gather them daily from the school garden and put them on her teacher's table.

Tray of Tender love flowers: There was a glass kidney-tray in which Mother would arrange Tender love flowers and keep them on the dressing table in her dressing room. At first she insisted on doing it herself but afterwards she gave that work to Kamala.

Bowl of roses: The Mother used to arrange all the roses in a bowl, trimming the stems herself. This work too she gave to Kamala. A large basin of roses was kept in the Darshan Room at night. Mother wanted these roses early in the morning. For this Kamala needed to come to the Darshan Room at two o'clock at night. But how was she to come from her room in Bakery house (now part of School) every night at that time? So Mother permitted Kamala to sleep in my room in Library House since, after Sri Aurobindo's accident [in 1938], I slept in Sri Aurobindo's Room. Kamala worked from two to four in the morning cutting and arranging those roses. Thus every night while coming in and going out she could have Sri Aurobindo's darshan because she had to enter from the 'long passage'.

Accompanying Mother for Pranam: A unique opportunity Mother gave Kamala was to accompany her when she went downstairs for Pranam.

Separating grapes: Mother gave Kamala the work of separating good green grapes from bad ones. The very first day, she made Kamala sit in the upstairs Meditation hall. Kamala would enter through the main door opening into the vestibule and pass through the partition in the long passage and turn right to go to the Meditation hall. (The door at the top of the staircase, opening directly into the Meditation hall was always kept shut.) In the evening she was asked to work in Sri Aurobindo's bathroom (now my room). In those days there was no door between Sri Aurobindo's Room and his bathroom; the curtain was put there after Sri Aurobindo's Mahasamadhi. Thus every morning while coming inside and going back, Kamala was fortunate to have Sri Aurobindo's darshan.

Pranab s bowl of flowers: The Mother used to arrange a bowl of flowers for Pranab. Later she gave this work to Kamala. After the bowl was ready, Mother and Kamala would together place the bowl on a piece of cloth and tie it up into a bundle which was kept for giving to Pranab. Of course there were many changes in this work later.

Polishing furniture: After Sri Aurobindo's Mahasamadhi, for some time, Kamala was wiping the furniture in Sri Aurobindo's room. X, one of the sadhaks working upstairs, asked me what polish Kamala was using. I replied that she did not use any, she only wiped the wood. X did not believe it and said, “She must be using something, otherwise the furniture could not remain in a shiny condition.” X has a lot of experience in cleaning and polishing furniture and so when he did not believe it, I asked Kamala whether she was using polish.

K:”I don't use any polish at all.”

C: “I believe you but since X is sceptical, I want to know how you wipe so well.”

K: “For such furniture, one needs a very smooth cloth and while wiping it is very essential to give an even pressure. But one must have an instinct for it. If you give too much pressure the original shine will fade. Nor should it be done too lightly, for then it would not be properly wiped. I do this spontaneously, thanks to Mother's grace. I do not use anything else.”

But when I repeated this to X, he still did not believe it!

Later, while talking to someone about how most of us are bound by our beliefs and cannot appreciate anything else, I related the above incident. X, who was present, at once reacted with, “Yes, yes, I still do not believe it. Kamala is certainly using some kind of polish.” I said, “I remain present when she cleans the furniture, and I have seen with my own eyes.” Still X went on saying, “I do not believe it.”

Stitching Mother's cloth: This is the most memorable among the constant acts of Mother's grace to Kamala. Sometimes, after Mother would go into her bathroom and shut the door, she would suddenly come out with a small piece of cloth and tell Kamala: “Kamala, stitch this immediately; I need it just now.” I used to wonder: Mother has so many handkerchiefs and clothes, so what is the need for this one just now? (But even as I write this, the scene comes up before my eyes: Love is pouring out of Mother's eyes and her words are spoken with such a tender affection! But then things like this will interest only those with natures like mine.) After some time Mother would come out again and, giving her beautiful smile, take the cloth Kamala would have stitched by then. I did not then understand the reason behind Mother's behaviour, but now I do.

You may ask: “So tell us, what have you now understood?” What can I answer? All I can say is that Mother never explained such things to me in words. When the time arrived I understood deeper reasons for them. Others can also understand them in the same way. Or, I might say, those who really want to understand will be led to it by the Mother herself.

I was interested in observing all this on two counts: One was to see the Mother's ways of working; the other to see Mother showering her grace on Kamala.

You have asked why Kamala alone is all the time with Champaklal. I have written all the above at length to show that by showering her infinite grace Mother has given me to Kamala from her childhood and has still kept me with her.

Much more can be written about the Mother's relation with Kamala. But one can understand it better by reading the birthday messages of Mother and Sri Aurobindo to Kamala and their correspondence with her.¹ How fortunate she has been to have their grace which still continues to pour on her.

Kamala's room: When the Bakery house was to be vacated for the sake of the School, Kamala was among those living there who had to move out. Mother allotted her own storeroom (above Bula's room) to Kamala. And she asked Kamala to come to the Darshan Room at night for her work with roses, directly from the terrace between her new room and the Darshan Room. There was no need any more to use the staircase in the Meditation hall.

Later Mother wished to build a room on this terrace in which she wanted to preserve all her photo albums in special cupboards. She told me that once the terrace is covered with a roof, Kamala could come and go even on rainy days. But on the terrace there was already a wooden stairway going up to Mother's second-floor apartment, made specially for going up there for any repair work. (It was only later that it began to be used on Darshan days.) Since no final decision was taken, the room on the terrace was not built.