Sri Aurobindo for All Ages

XIII: The Growth of the Ashram (1939-1950)

SRI AUROBINDO made good progress in his recovery from the accident. Although strictly confined to his bed, he remained completely calm and unperturbed as if nothing had happened to him, and he submitted to the doctors' directions without question or complaint. Dr. Rao used to come almost every week from Cuddalore and he often remarked that Sri Aurobindo was an ideal patient. There must have been pain and discomfort because of the unaccustomed posture but Sri Aurobindo would scarcely disturb anybody and seldom call for any assistance. We had therefore to be all the more vigilant in anticipating his needs.

The specialist, Dr. Ayer, had advised, because of the seriousness of the case and the age of the patient, to keep the plaster on for ten weeks. Dr. Rao, on the other hand, wanted to cut short the period to six weeks and quoted his own hospital experiences in support. It pained him, he said, to see the Master being confined unnecessarily for a long wearisome period, but he also said that when he had raised the matter with the specialist, they had agreed to differ! However, none of us was willing to take any risk although Dr. Rao argued that no risk was involved and added, 'Besides, Sri Aurobindo is an extraordinary patient; we can expect him to take good care of himself.' As a result of his insistence, the Mother at last asked Sri Aurobindo to adjudicate. He replied, 'If I am an extraordinary patient I must take extraordinary precaution too. The forces are quite active. I can't trust myself not to make some awkward movement in sleep. Between ten weeks and six, let us come to a compromise and put it at eight weeks.'

Having delayed his departure as long as he could, Dr. Manilal had now left for his home town Baroda. I was reluctant to see him go as it increased my responsibilities but he gave his assurance that he would come again when the limb was released from the cast. Dr. Ayer came over from Madras at the time of removing the plaster. To our deep consternation, as soon as the limb was set free, it swelled up from the thigh downwards to almost double its size. The Mother kept an ominous silence, but Sri Aurobindo was as unconcerned as ever. However, the specialist assured us that the swelling would subside and he was satisfied that a firm union of the bone had taken place. With proper and careful treatment, massage, compress, gradual movement of the limb, the leg would return to its normal size. But the Mother was not so easily satisfied and questioned the doctor closely regarding possible complications and danger. All this time Sri Aurobindo remained unperturbed and left everything in the Mother's hands.

When Dr. Manilal returned, he helped us to tackle the problems in his usual efficient manner. As a result of gentle massage and hot and cold compress, the swelling gradually subsided, although it took some months to disappear completely. For bending the knee, the doctor prescribed an excercise called 'hanging the leg'. As soon as it was time for Dr. Manilal to come, Sri Aurobindo would say, 'Oh, Manilal is coming. I must hang my leg!' Or when he would enquire from Baroda about the progress, Sri Aurobindo would say with a smile, 'It is still hanging!' Learning to walk again proved a more difficult task. At first crutches were tried but they did not suit Sri Aurobindo. The Mother then proposed that he should walk leaning on two persons, one on either side. Purani and Satyendra were first chosen as the human supports but as their heights were different, Champaklal replaced Satyendra and this proved to be an ideal arrangement. Gradually, as Sri Aurobindo's steps gained in strength and firmness, he needed only a stick in the right hand, Champaklal continuing to support him on the left. Finally, just the stick was used. As soon as it came to be known that the Master was using a walking stick several were presented to him. Every day after the noon and night meals the Mother would come to his room and hand over a stick to him, and he would walk for half an hour in her presence.

By April, Sri Aurobindo's progress became widely known and requests poured in for another darshan. Two darshans had been missed, and the disciples felt August 15 to be too far away. The Mother's response was sympathetic and Sri Aurobindo gave his consent. April 24, the day of the Mother's final arrival in Pondicherry, was chosen and henceforth it became the fourth darshan day. But the darshan time was changed from the morning to the afternoon and the period shortened to avoid any strain on Sri Aurobindo. It was a simple darshan: one by one the sadhaks stood for a brief moment before Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, received their Blessings, and departed with feelings of supernal joy.

For the first few weeks after the accident Sri Aurobindo remained mostly silent. Gradually, however, he began to take cognizance of the new conditions around him and became more communicative. In the evenings, lying on his back, he would talk with the attendants who were assembled round the bed. He spoke in a low tone and we had to draw near to hear his finely cadenced voice. Later, when he could sit up on his bed, the team would all gather round him and the conversation begin. Sometimes, talks were also held when his body was being sponged. Almost everything under the sun was discussed — serious subjects as well as comments on day-to-day events and developments. The atmosphere was relaxed and informal with Sri Aurobindo often making humorous comments and always illuminating the subjects discussed with his vast knowledge and vision. It was an unforgettable reward he granted us for our humble service. I kept a record of these talks.

At first Sri Aurobindo was served three meals daily but breakfast was soon stopped as it was too early for his appetite. However, even his first meal gradually came to be delayed till late in the afternoon. Sri Aurobindo reserved a big part of his day for what he called his personal work of concentration. After his morning ablutions, he would go through the newspapers and then the Mother would come for a while to discuss things of importance. After this, there would be a long period which he passed in complete silence. Nobody except the Mother had any idea what he was occupied with. This period was perhaps the most mysterious part of his life. Was he drawing down the Supramental Force or concentrating on a critical phase of the War or perhaps on some individual case needing some special attention? All we were told was that he had a special work to do and had to be left alone unless some very urgent business needed his attention. During this period we were strangers to him: we might have been in his room many times but we had no apparent existence. If he needed something, it was an impersonal voice calling somebody impersonal, as it were, for he would use no name, and the voice would come from afar, the tone was grave, the look elsewhere; the noise, our chatter, fell into a vacancy. Even the explosion of a bomb would have left him serene and silent. Perhaps the bomb would not have exploded in his presence! On this point I am reminded of an incident of earlier years which the Mother once recounted to the disciples. She said: 'You remember the night of the great cyclone, when there was a tremendous noise and splash of rain all about the place. I thought I would go to Sri Aurobindo's room and help him shut the windows. I just opened his door and found him sitting quietly at his desk, writing. There was such a solid peace in the room that nobody would have dreamed that a cyclone was raging outside. All the windows were wide open, not a drop of rain came in.'

It was often three or four o'clock in the afternoon by the time Sri Aurobindo was ready for his first meal. The Mother would then come, lay out the dishes on a wheeled table which had been made for him, and push it close to the bed. Sri Aurobindo relished good food and was partial to sweets, specially rasagolla, sandesh or pantua, but he had no attachment for any particular dish. The Mother used to serve the dishes to him in their proper order; otherwise, Sri Aurobindo would sometimes be so absorbed that he would lose all distinction between the different preparations. This was his principal meal of the day. At night he had a light supper, its timing being flexible, as it depended on the Mother's endless round of activities. After the meal, he practised walking and then the Mother and Sri Aurobindo would have once again their important discussions, when we were careful not to intrude in any way. Even after the Mother's departure Sri Aurobindo kept awake and only when he learnt that she had retired did our lights go out; that was at about 2 a.m.

Yet this sketch of Sri Aurobindo's daily routine cannot in the least convey an idea of the vast consciousness which was behind everything he did, and we are bound to fail if we try to read his inner consciousness from his outward activities. One day he said: 'All that I see in this room, these walls, these tables, the books, etc. and yourself, Dr. Manilal, I see as the Divine. No, it is not an imaginary vision, it is a concrete realisation.' All Sri Aurobindo's actions welled from the Divine Consciousness that he embodied: they were yukta karma — that is all one can say except to add that impersonality was the essence of his nature. In everything he kept his tranquil spirit, his impersonal way. He never raised his voice, did not insist on his point and when he criticised men or countries, there was no contempt in his expression. He saw the Forces of which men are unconscious instruments and the Impersonal in him looked at everything with an equal eye. All that he did, all that came from him, his ease, reserve, calm, unhurried action, even certain aspects of his humour, gave me that impression. Sri Aurobindo has said that the Supreme is both personal and impersonal at the same time. His own life is a luminous example of this truth and has given us a small insight into the working of the Divine in the world.

As soon as Sri Aurobindo had recovered sufficiently he gave his attention to a proposal which had come from the Arya Publishing House, Calcutta, to publish The Life Divine which had come out serially in the Arya long ago and had not yet appeared in book form. The Mother too was very keen on its publication but Sri Aurobindo would not consent to it without revising the text. He also wanted to write some additional chapters. This involved a good deal of work, for he made extensive revisions and wrote new chapters. It was a wonderful experience to see how he wrote. No sooner had he begun than there followed line after line as if everything was there chalked out before him. He needed no books and had no need to think. We could see what is meant by writing from a silent mind. Absorbed, perfectly poised, gazing up now and then, wiping the perspiration from his hands — for he perspired profusely as there was no fan in the room — he would go on for about two hours. The Mother would drop in with a glass of coconut water. Sometimes she had to wait for quite a while before he was aware of her presence. Then exclaiming 'Ah', he would take the glass from her hand, drink slowly, and then plunge back into his work!

The first volume of The Life Divine appeared in 1939 and the second volume, in two parts, in April 1940. You will remember that it was during the First World War that the Arya brought it out serially and it is no mere coincidence that in book form its appearance should have synchronised with the Second World War. The Life Divine was favourably reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement and Sir Francis Younghusband, an eminent Englishman with a deep interest in philosophy and mysticism, called it 'the greatest book' to come out in his time. He also wrote in a letter to Dilip Kumar Roy at the Ashram: 'This war has been a terrible catastrophe and we here in London suffered badly ... but bad as it is the calamity has had one good effect; it has turned men's minds to God.... And The Life Divine could not have appeared at a more opportune moment.'

When war broke out in September 1939, and during the months of the so-called 'phoney war' that followed, Sri Aurobindo did not 'actively concern himself' with it, to use his own words. He followed the newspapers and since we had then no radio at the Ashram, we would get short bulletins from the town giving the latest news. Of course the war figured prominently during our talks in the evening. Apart from his deep knowledge of history, Sri Aurobindo had a masterly grasp of military strategy, although he never made a special study of the subject, and we were repeatedly struck by the prescience of his observations. in these talks he imparted to us a clear vision of the issues at stake, but never imposed his views. When we dared to differ or failed to follow him, he patiently explained to show us where we were wrong. His physical nearness made us realise, with an extraordinary lucidity, what terrible inhuman forces were trying to overcast the world. We faced an abysmal darkness from which a supreme Divine Power alone could save us.

In May 1940 the war suddenly erupted into violent action when, in a surprise move, Hitler launched a massive attack on France through Holland and Belgium. I well remember the occasion. It was evening; Sri Aurobindo was alone in his room. As soon as I entered he looked at me and said, 'Hitler has invaded Holland. Well, we shall see.' This laconic comment, with its deep overtone, still rings in my ears. Events now moved swiftly and relentlessly. In England, Churchill replaced Chamberlain as Prime Minister, a move Sri Aurobindo approved. But France, it seemed, had lost her will to fight and offered little resistance to Hitler's Panzer Divisions. The British Expeditionary Force in France was cut off and pushed back to the shores of the English Channel. The German Army irresistibly advanced towards Paris and occupied this 'open city' on June 15. Churchill's bold and magnanimous offer of a union with France was rejected by the French Government. The Mother deeply deplored this rejection and said that the offer had come as an act of Grace and for her refusal to respond to it France would have to go through immense suffering. The aged Marshal Main now formed a new Government in France and on June 25 signed an armistice with Hitler, accepting his harsh terms.

Meanwhile the British army in France successfully organised a mass evacuation by sea from Dunkirk and more than 300,000 British and allied troops were safely landed in England. Vast quantities of war material had to be left behind but it was a miraculous deliverance for the men who were to form the hard core of the British armies later to fight Hitler with success. As the war took this critical turn, Sri Aurobindo followed the developments with close attention. A radio was installed in a sadhak's room and an extension speaker from it was later put up for Sri Aurobindo to listen to important messages, speeches, etc.

Having won the Battle of France decisively, Hitler now turned his attention to winning the Battle of Britain. He fixed August 15, 1940, as the day on which he would complete his conquest of Western Europe and broadcast from Buckingham Palace. When Sri Aurobindo heard of this he remarked, 'That is the sign that he is the enemy of our work.' He also indicated at this time that besides August 15, September 15 too would be a day of crucial importance for Hitler. As a prelude to invasion, Hitler ordered an aerial offensive on a scale never known before. Had he won this war in the air, the fate of England would have been sealed and perhaps that of the world. But August 15 turned out to be a turning point for Britain. On that day 180 German planes were shot down in British skies, the largest toll so far taken of the dreaded Luftwaffe. Churchill himself has written in his War Memoirs: The 15th August was for Britain the most crucial day when she was subjected to an attack from about a hundred bombers and eight hundred planes to pin her down in the South.' A month later, on the same date, September 15, 1940, Sri Aurobindo said smiling: 'England has destroyed 175 German planes, a very big number. Now invasion will be difficult. Hitler lost his chance after the fail of France. He has really missed the bus! If after the French collapse he had invaded England, by now he would have been in Asia. Now another force has been set up against him. Still the danger has not passed.' Hitler continued his desperate bid to achieve air-mastery over Britain but by the middle of October he realised that he had failed in his objective and he indefinitely postponed the invasion. The immediate danger was indeed over: Hitler had met with his first reversal; his all-conquering march had been halted.

The outward mind finds it difficult to perceive or accept that events in the physical world can be changed by spiritual forces. But this is a superficial way of looking at things, a partial and limited outlook. Sri Aurobindo writes of a deeper vision and action: '...it is part of the experience of those who have advanced far in Yoga that besides the ordinary forces and activities of the mind and life and body in Matter, there are other forces and powers that can act and do act from behind and from above; there is also a spiritual dynamic power which can be possessed by those who are advanced in the spiritual consciousness, though all do not care to possess or, possessing, to use it, and this power is greater than any other and more effective.' He further clarifies that 'it was this force that he used ... at first only in a limited field of personal work, but afterwards in a constant action upon the world forces.'

In Volume 26 of SABCL, entitled On Himself, there is a passage in which Sri Aurobindo has explicitly mentioned his role in the Second World War. He has referred to himself in the third person here because the passage is part of a biographical sketch submitted by a disciple but practically re-written by Sri Aurobindo himself. It reads: 'At the beginning [of the Second World War] he did not actively concern himself with it, but when it appeared as if Hitler would crush all the forces opposed to him and Nazism dominate the world, he began to intervene. He declared himself publicly on the side of the Allies, made some financial contributions in answer to the appeal for funds and encouraged those who sought his advice to enter the army or share in the war effort. Inwardly, he put his spiritual force behind the Allies from the moment of Dunkirk when everybody was expecting the immediate fall of England and the definite triumph of Hitler, and he had the satisfaction of seeing the rush of German victory almost immediately arrested and the tide of war begin to turn in the opposite direction. This he did, because he saw that behind Hitler and Nazism were dark Asuric forces and that their success would mean the enslavement of mankind to the tyranny of evil, and a set-back to the course of evolution and especially to the spiritual evolution of mankind: it would lead also to the enslavement not only of Europe but of Asia, and in it of India, an enslavement far more terrible than any this country had ever endured, and the undoing of all the work that had been done for her liberation.'

On September 19, 1940, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother made a joint declaration in support of the Allies. It was in the form of a letter addressed to the Governor of Madras covering a token contribution to the War Fund and stated: 'We feel that not only is this a battle waged in just self-defence and in defence of the nations threatened with the world-domination of Germany and the Nazi system of life, but that it is a defence of civilization and its highest attained social, cultural and spiritual values and of the whole future of humanity. To this cause our support and sympathy will be unswerving whatever may happen; we look forward to the victory of Britain and, as the eventual result, an era of peace and union among the nations and a better and more secure world-order.' Since his arrival in Pondicherry, this was the first occasion on which Sri Aurobindo made a public pronouncement on a political issue. Moreover, the letter was placed at the disposal of the Governor for publicity in case of need.

At once there was a storm of protest in the country at the stand Sri Aurobindo had taken and some of the inmates of the Ashram, who had strong anti-British feelings and had fought for Indian freedom, were also nonplussed and greatly disturbed. How could Sri Aurobindo, who was once a mortal opponent of British rule in India, 'not merely a non-cooperator but an enemy of British Imperialism', support the cause of Britain? A disciple wrote to the Mother, 'The Congress is asking us not to contribute to the War Fund. What shall we do?' The answer given was: 'Sri Aurobindo has contributed for a Divine cause. If you help, you will help yourselves.' But the criticisms continued and some inmates, because of their hatred for the British, openly proclaimed their pro-Hitler feelings, thereby causing much embarrassment and harm to the Ashram. The Mother had to deal sternly with these disciples and Sri Aurobindo also had to write letters pointing out the grave error of the disciples and the danger of a Nazi victory. To one disciple he wrote: 'We made it plain in a letter which has been made public that we did not consider the war as a fight between nations and governments (still less between good people and bad people) but between two forces, the Divine and the Asuric. What we have to see is on which side men and nations put themselves; if they put themselves on the right side, they at once make themselves instruments of the Divine purpose in spite of all defects, errors, wrong movements and actions which are common to human nature and all human collectivities. The victory of one side (the Allies) would keep the path open for the evolutionary forces: the victory of the other side would drag back humanity, degrade it horribly and might lead even, at the worst, to its eventual failure as a race, as others in the past evolution failed and perished. That is the whole question and all other considerations are either irrelevant or of a minor importance. The Allies at least have stood for human values, though they may often act against their own best ideals (human beings always do that); Hitler stands for diabolical values or for human values exaggerated in the wrong way until they become diabolical (e.g. the virtues of the Herrenvolk, the master race). That does not make the English or Americans nations of spotless angels nor the Germans a wicked and sinful race, but as an indicator it has a primary importance.'

It is not difficult for us today to visualize the kind of world that would have emerged had Hitler won. The horrors he perpetrated all came out after the war — the concentration camps, the mass genocide, the slave labour and similar inhuman acts of barbarism are enough evidence to prove undoubtedly that another Dark Age would have descended on mankind, a darkness made worse by the alliance of science and technology with despotism. Yet men were so concerned then with the conflicting emotions and loyalties generated by the war and so preoccupied with surface details that few could see the real issues which were at stake.

There was a second occasion when Sri Aurobindo openly intervened in a political issue which vitally affected India's future. Japan had entered the War in December 1941 and within three months, sweeping everything before her, had reached the gates of India. Realising the extreme gravity of the situation Churchill announced in March 1942 that he would be sending Sir Stafford Cripps to India as his personal envoy to negotiate with the Congress and Muslim leaders so that a responsible Central Government could be formed to mobilise Indian resources for fighting the Japanese. He also offered to create a new Indian Union with Dominion Status and with a constitution to be framed by India's own representatives after the War. When Sir Stafford Cripps came to India to work out the details, Sri Aurobindo welcomed the mission and on March 31 sent a message to him in the following terms: have heard your broadcast. As one who has been a nationalist leader and worker for India's independence, though now my activity is no longer in the political but in the spiritual field, I wish to express my appreciation of all you have done to bring about this offer. I welcome it as an opportunity given to India to determine for herself, and organise in all liberty of choice, her freedom and unity, and take an effective place among the world's free nations. I hope that it will be accepted, and right use made of it, putting aside all discords and divisions. I hope too that friendly relations between Britain and India replacing the past struggles, will be a step towards a greater world union in which, as a free nation, her spiritual force will contribute to build for mankind a better and happier life. In this light, I offer my public adhesion, in case it can be of any help in your work.' Sir Stafford Cripps replied: 'I am most touched and gratified by your kind message allowing me to inform India that you who occupy a unique position in the imagination of Indian youth, are convinced that the declaration of His Majesty's Government substantially confers that freedom for which Indian Nationalism has so long struggled.'

Cripps now entered into long discussions with the Indian political leaders but he failed to get the Congress to accept his proposals. Sri Aurobindo had seen clearly that the Cripps offer presented a great opportunity which, if taken, would lead India to both freedom and unity — mark that he uses both these words in his message to Cripps. He considered that a Central Government in which Hindus and Muslims worked together with a common objective, aligning India firmly against the anti-divine forces, would reduce the tension between the two communities and lead to cooperation instead of confrontation. Sri Aurobindo also saw the necessity of organising the collective strength of the country and repel the danger from Japan. He told us clearly: 'Japan's imperialism being young and based on industrial and military power and moving westward, was a greater menace to India than the British imperialism which was old, which the country had learned to deal with and which was on the way to elimination.' But the Congress leaders were impervious to these vital considerations and seemed more concerned with immediate political calculations, being probably influenced by Gandhiji's opinion that the proposals offered by the British were no more than 'post-dated cheque on a bank that was crashing'. Sri Aurobindo went to the extent of sending a personal emissary to Delhi to try and persuade the Congress leaders to accept the Cripps offer. S. Duraiswamy, a distinguished Madras lawyer and a disciple, was selected for this mission, perhaps because he was a friend of C. Rajagopalachari, one of the few senior leaders in the Congress who lent support to the Cripps proposals. However, it was all in vain: the offer was rejected by the Congress. When the rejection was announced, Sri Aurobindo said in a quiet tone, 'I knew it would fail.' We at once pounced on the words and asked him, 'Why did you then send Duraiswamy at all?' For a bit of niskama karma,' was his calm reply, without any bitterness and resentment.

Many discerning observers, looking back into the past with dispassionate eyes, now consider that had the Cripps offer been accepted, the whole course of recent Indian history could well have changed. A working association of the Hindus and Muslims in government could have belied the 'Two Nations' theory, preventing Partition with its aftermath of incalculable human suffering as well as its legacy of political problems which still bedevil us. Sri Aurobindo's vision went far beyond the immediate political issues and he saw that the Cripps offer had come on the wave of a divine inspiration. The political leaders of the day, more concerned with short-term considerations, could not share this vision and so a great opportunity was lost. I should mention here that the Mother had also strongly urged that the proposals should be accepted. She said: 'My ardent request to India is that she should not reject [the Cripps offer]. She must not make the same mistake that France has made recently and gone into the abyss.' When it was announced that the offer had been rejected, she only said, 'Now calamity will befall India.'

The War brought about many changes in India, as it did practically all over the world, and it affected our life in the Ashram also. Sri Aurobindo had declared that this was 'the Mother's War' and those disciples who lived outside were encouraged to share in the war effort and, where possible, to join the fighting forces or allow their sons to do so. Two disciples each lost a son, brilliant young men who joined the Air Force and were killed in action.

And there were many disciples who lived in danger zones which were vulnerable to air attacks. The Mother exhorted them to stay at their post but her loving heart went out to their families who had to face many difficulties and she opened the doors of the Ashram to give them shelter. This is how children first came to live in the Ashram, for previously the Ashram was meant only for sadhaks who surrendered all their worldly belongings to the Mother and in return were provided with the necessities of life they required to practise yoga. The Mother took the decision to accept children in spite of the fact that the Ashram was then facing many hardships —financial difficulties, food shortages and other problems created by the War. But in her characteristic way she did everything possible to look after the needs of the children, once they were here, and it was wonderful to see the simple and spontaneous manner in which they responded to her. She also permitted a relaxation of some of the austere rules in the Ashram, for the children had not come to practise yoga, as she said, and their needs were different. In course of time, the coming of children brought about many changes in the organisation of the Ashram and the atmosphere also changed with the laughter and gaiety of the young ones.

On December 2, 1943, the Mother formally opened a school for about twenty children. She herself was one of the teachers. From this small beginning has grown the International Centre of Education with its separate School and Higher Course classes and today it constitutes one of the most important and prominent features of the Ashram. Sri Aurobindo had a deep and abiding interest in education. As a teacher, he had seen the weaknesses of our system and the poverty of its ideals. In the Karmayogin and later in the Arya he wrote a series of articles giving his views on education which were altogether different from the conventional ideas on the subject. The Mother too had a new and innovative approach to education and all this has found expression in the Centre of Education which has evolved at the Ashram. The Mother took a day-to-day interest in the growth of the school. No detail was too small for her to look into and she personally guided the teachers, who were all members of the Ashram, in introducing the new methods of teaching she wanted, as well as in planning the courses of studies for the students. The system of education now followed at the Centre, the Free Progress System, is largely her own creation and it has evoked admiration from many eminent educationists who have come to the Ashram.

As the number of children increased, the Mother felt the necessity of providing them with a system of physical education to make their growing bodies supple and strong and to inculcate a sense of discipline in them. With the help of a young disciple, Pranab Bhattacharya, who had recently joined the Ashram and had specialised in this field, a Department of Physical Education was started in May 1944. A spacious playground was constructed and a programme of exercises and drills was drawn up at first for the students and teachers, and later extended to the members of the Ashram. Gradually, the facilities were expanded and came to include a sportsground, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, tennis courts, etc. From the beginning the Mother took an active interest in the development of the Physical Education Department and helped to shape its programme. For years she spent her late afternoon and evening hours with those who took part in the physical activities. She herself played tennis regularly and those of us who played with her could see that in her younger days she must have had the makings of a champion. The sadhaks and the sadhikas too were encouraged in every way to take part in these physical activities. At first there was some resistance but soon most of us were enthusiastic participants. Overall, the atmosphere in the Ashram underwent a sea-change and physically also it became a much larger institution. In 1942 the number of inmates was around 350; it was nearly double that number by the end of the decade and a good many of the newcomers were children.

By 1945 it was clear that the Allies would emerge victorious in the War. On May 8, 1945, the war against Hitlerism came to an end and then, after the atomic explosions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945. The next day, August 15, Sri Aurobindo's seventy-third birthday, marked the first day of peace after the ravages of the Second World War. Another fortuitous coincidence? I leave you to answer.

The end of the War led to swift political developments in India. The Labour Party had come to power in Britain and they soon made it clear that they did not want to hold on to India at the cost of men and resources Britain could no longer afford. In March 1946, the British Government decided to send a Cabinet Mission to India to negotiate with Indian leaders for the eventual transfer of power to Indian hands. Sri Aurobindo was requested by the Amrita Bazar Patrika to give his views on this important development and on March 24, 1946, the following statement was issued by him: 'Sri Aurobindo thinks it unnecessary to volunteer a personal pronouncement, though he would give his views if officially approached for them. His position is known. He has always stood for India's complete independence which he was the first to advocate publicly and without compromise as the only ideal worthy of a self-respecting nation. In 1910 he authorised the publication of his prediction that after a long period of wars, world-wide upheavals and revolutions beginning after four years, India would achieve her freedom. Lately he has said that freedom was coming soon and nothing could prevent it. He has always foreseen that eventually Britain would approach India for an amicable agreement, conceding her freedom. What he had foreseen is now coming to pass and the British Cabinet Mission is the sign. It remains for the nation's leaders to make a right and full use of the opportunity. In any case, whatever the immediate outcome, the Power that has been working out this event will not be denied, the final result, India's liberation, is sure.' You will remember that his prediction about India's freedom was made in Calcutta when he was interviewed by the correspondent of the Tamil Nationalist Weekly. India, and it was then published in that journal.

The British Cabinet Mission included Sir Stafford Cripps, who came to India for the second time, but in the intervening years the Muslim League position had hardened considerably and they were now adamant in their demand for a separate Muslim state. After the departure of the Cabinet Mission the negotiations were carried on by Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy, and eventually resulted in the freedom of India from British rule on August 15, 1947. But a bitter price had to be paid by way of a partition of the country into India and Pakistan. The story might well have been different if the Cripps offer had been accepted in 1942.

On the auspicious occasion of Independence, at the request of the All India Radio, Sri Aurobindo sent a message which was broadcast on August 14, 1947. You will find a complete text of this message as an appendix, for I am convinced that every word in it is profoundly relevant to the future of India, indeed of all mankind, and it needs to be studied in its entirety. Here I shall dwell only on the main points and add a few comments.

Sri Aurobindo begins by stating that the 'coincidence' of the date of Independence with his own birthday is not just an accident but is a mark of 'the sanction and seal' of the Divine Power that guides his steps. He goes on to say that he had hoped to see five world-movements fulfilled in his lifetime, although they had looked at first like 'impracticable dreams', and now he could see that they were on their way to achievement.

The first of these dreams was a free and united India. Sri Aurobindo tells us that today 'India is free but she has not achieved unity' and avers that unity must and will be achieved. He hopes that it will come about 'naturally, by an increasing recognition not only of peace and concord but of common action', adds that the exact form of unity 'may have a pragmatic but not a fundamental importance', and asserts that, the division must and will go. Amidst the rush of day-to-day events and the clash of conflicting forces it may be difficult to visualise today how this unity will come about, but let us remember that Sri Aurobindo's vision extends far beyond the immediate and apparently intractable problems of the day and the future will surely unfold the fulfilment of his prophecy.

The second dream was the resurgence of Asia and India's growing role and place in the council of nations. We can see that the dream has been largely fulfilled and can foresee the increasing possibilities of the future.

The third dream was 'a world-union forming the outer basis of a fairer brighter nobler life for all mankind'. Sri Aurobindo admits that there are formidable difficulties standing in the way but declares that 'unification is a necessity of Nature, an inevitable movement' and that 'human imbecility and stupid selfishness' cannot stand forever against this necessity and the Divine Will. Indeed, despite national rivalries and the tussle between the power blocs, the concept of 'One World' has taken root in the human consciousness in a way which would have been unthinkable fifty years ago, and the trend towards it is unmistakable.

The fourth dream relates to the gift by India of her spiritual knowledge to the world and here also we can see evidence of the increasing interest in Indian spirituality and yoga and of a widespread movement in this direction.

Sri Aurobindo's final dream was 'a step in evolution which would raise man to a higher and larger consciousness and begin the solution of the problems which have perplexed and vexed him since he first began to think and to dream of individual perfection and a perfect society'. This was Sri Aurobindo's sadhana for the Supramental Descent and it was for the fulfilment of this dream that he came.

In his message Sri Aurobindo expresses the hope that India will have a leading role to play in these movements — the message is indeed his call to the 'new and free' India to be true to her spiritual destiny. To disregard and ignore this call would be a fatal tragedy.

The aftermath of independence was a period of grave crisis for India — I need not go into details for you all know of the horrors of the mass communal killings that followed Partition and of the tragic plight of the refugees. Truly, 'calamity' had befallen India, as the Mother had apprehended. The situation became even more critical as a result of the armed conflict with Pakistan over Kashmir. I do believe that it was Divine Grace that protected the country's newly-found freedom and gave it the strength to survive its terrible ordeals.

In December 1948, Sri Aurobindo was awarded the National Prize for Humanities at the annual convocation of the Andhra University. In his citation, Dr. C.R. Reddy, the Vice-Chancellor hailed Sri Aurobindo as 'the sole sufficing genius of the age' and said: 'He is more than a hero of a nation. He is amongst the Saviours of humanity, who belong to all ages and all nations, the Sanatanas, who leaven our existence with their eternal presence, whether we are aware of it or not.... He is a poet, dramatist, philosopher, critic, interpreter of and commentator on the Vedas, the Gita and all the transcendent lore and legend of India, and he is something higher than these, the Saint who has realised his oneness with the Universal Spirit, and fathomed the depths and brought up treasures of transcendent value and brilliance.' Dr. Reddy came to Pondicherry to offer the Prize to Sri Aurobindo in person and was granted an interview. Sri Aurobindo also sent a Message for the occasion in the course of which he expressed the view that India's national life should be founded on the principle of 'unity in diversity' which conforms to her swabhava and swadharma. Sri Aurobindo also said '... by following certain tempting directions she [India] may conceivably become a nation like many others evolving an opulent industry and commerce, a powerful organisation of social and political life, an immense military strength, practising power-politics with a high degree of success, guarding and extending zealously her gains and her interests, dominating even a large part of the world, but in this apparently magnificent progression forfeiting its Swadharma, losing its soul. Then ancient India and her spirit might disappear altogether and we would have only one more nation like the others and that would be a real gain neither to the world nor to us.... This must not and will surely not happen; but it cannot be said that the danger is not there. There are indeed other numerous and difficult problems that face this country or will very soon face it. No doubt we will win through, but we must not disguise from ourselves the fact that after these long years of subjection and its cramping and impairing effects a great inner as well as outer liberation and change, a vast inner and outer progress is needed if we are to fulfil India's true destiny.' These are words we shall do well to remember. Now that the country has achieved some outer progress, the need for a corresponding inner progress, moral and spiritual, is all the greater.

On February 21, 1949, the Mother's 71st birthday, two new journals were started. A cultural and semi-political fortnightly, Mother India, commenced publication from Bombay. It was edited by K.D. Sethna (Amal Kiran), a close disciple of Sri Aurobindo and a poet of distinction as well as a brilliant writer with wide intellectual interests. In writing the editorials Sethna was directly guided by Sri Aurobindo and through the columns of the journal he conveyed Sri Aurobindo's warnings regarding the expansionist designs of Stalinist Russia as well as Communist China's intentions of annexing Tibet and posing a direct threat to India, a threat which became a reality in 1962. But, as in the past, few paid heed to Sri Aurobindo's words.

The other important publication to come out on February 21, 1949 was the English-French-Hindi quarterly journal, Bulletin of Physical Education, brought out by the Department of Physical Education at the Ashram. The first issue contained a special message from Sri Aurobindo, written at the Mother's request, and for the subsequent issues he wrote a series of seven articles: 'The Perfection of the Body', 'The Divine Body', 'The Supermind and the Life Divine', 'Supermind and Humanity', 'Supermind in the Evolution', 'Mind of Light' and 'Supermind and Mind of Light', the last appearing in the issue of November 1950. These articles are reproduced in volume 16 of the SABCL, The Supramental Manifestation. They constitute the last of Sri Aurobindo's prose writings and, as you can see from the titles, they are concerned not only with the ideal of bodily perfection but move beyond to a consideration of the nature of Supermind and the consequences of its manifestation. Indeed in these later articles Sri Aurobindo has written about the Supermind in more specific terms than in his other writings. As regards bodily perfection Sri Aurobindo's views were also briefly expressed in a letter to a disciple in December 1949 when he wrote: put a value on the body first as an instrument, dharmasadhana, or more fully, as a centre of manifested personality in action, a basis of spiritual life and activity as of all life and activity upon the earth, but also because for me the body as well as the mind and life is a pail of the Divine Whole, a form of the Spirit and therefore not to be disregarded or despised as something incurably gross and incapable of spiritual realisation or of spiritual use. Matter itself is secretly a form of the Spirit and has to reveal itself as that, can be made to wake to consciousness and evolve and realise the Spirit, the Divine within it. In my view the body as well as the mind and life has to be spiritualised or, one may say, divinised so as to be a fit instrument and receptacle for the realisation of the Divine.... That does not mean that the body has to be valued for its own separate sake or that the creation of the divine body in a future evolution of the whole being has to be contemplated as an end and not a means — that would be a serious error which would not be admissible.'

On July 9, 1950, Sri Aurobindo gave an interview to K.M. Munshi, an eminent politician and interpreter of Indian culture, who had been his student at Baroda and was now a Minister in the Central Government. Recalling the meeting Munshi wrote: 'When I visited Sri Aurobindo in 1950, after a lapse of more than forty years, I saw before me a being completely transformed, blissful, enveloped in an atmosphere of godlike calm. He spoke in a low, clear voice, which stirred the depths of my being. I talked to him of my spiritual needs. The sage replied: "...I wrote to you that I would help you and in my own way I am helping you... I will watch over your progress." Then we discussed Indian culture. I said: "The younger generation is being fed on theories and beliefs which are undermining the higher life of India." The Master replied: "You must overcome this lack of faith. Rest assured that our culture cannot be undermined. This is only a passing phase."'

I shall now turn for a while to a subject which occupies a very special place in Sri Aurobindo's life and work: his epic Savitri. It is a subject as vast as the ocean, indeed inexhaustible. All I can do here is to introduce you briefly to it.

It was probably at Baroda that Sri Aurobindo first thought of writing a long poem based on the well-known story of Savitri and Satyavan from the Mahabharata, but the earliest draft that we have goes back to August 1916. It began as 'a Tale and a Vision'. Sri Aurobindo used to work on the poem whenever he could find some time for it from his other pressing preoccupations. In its early versions the entire work did not exceed fifty typed pages; in its final form the epic contains almost 24,000 lines. There were constant revisions and retouchings, excisions and additions, and sometimes entire passages would be recast again and again until Sri Aurobindo was fully satisfied. He aimed at 'a perfect perfection', as he himself said. Again and again I was struck with awe and wonder at Sri Aurobindo's unceasing patience and his godlike labour. And slowly the massive structure of the poem emerged like one of our ancient majestic temples or like a monumental Gothic cathedral.

You may now like to know what kind of an epic Savitri is. It consists in all of twelve Books each containing a varying number of cantos which again are of varying length. Sri Aurobindo describes the poem as 'A Legend and a Symbol' and explains: 'The tale of Satyavan and Savitri is recited in the Mahabharata as a story of conjugal love conquering death. But this legend is, as shown by many features of the human tale, one of the many symbolic myths of the Vedic cycle. Satyavan is the soul carrying the divine truth of being within itself but descended into the grip of death and ignorance; Savitri is the Divine Word, daughter of the Sun, goddess of the supreme Truth who comes down and is born to save; Aswapati, the Lord of the Horse, her human father, is the Lord of Tapasya, the concentrated energy of spiritual endeavour that helps us to rise from the mortal to the immortal planes; Dyumatsena, Lord of the Shining Hosts, father of Satyavan, is the Divine Mind here fallen blind, losing its celestial kingdom of vision, and through that loss its kingdom of glory. Still this is not a mere allegory, the characters are not personified qualities, but incarnations or emanations of living and conscious Forces with whom we can enter into concrete touch and they take human bodies in order to help man and show him the way from his mortal state to a divine consciousness and immortal life.' She brings back Satyavan from the Kingdom of Death, thus conquering Death and the Inconscience. The Kingdom of Truth, Light and Bliss is established upon the earth....

The sheer immensity of the poem, its grandeur and creative power surpass our highest imagination. Sri Aurobindo's own vast experience in the occult and mystic domains is transcribed here in authentic mantric language, which, according to him, will be the language of the future poetry as it was that of the Vedas and the Upanishads. I can do no better than to quote to you the Mother's words:

He has crammed the whole universe in a single book. It is a marvellous, magnificent work and of an incomparable perfection.... It is a revelation, a meditation and seeking of the Infinite and the Eternal. Each verse of Savitri is like a mantra which surpasses man's entire knowledge.... Everything is there: mysticism, occultism, philosophy, history of evolution, history of man, gods of the creation and of Nature.... Savitri is the spiritual path, the Tapasya, Sadhana.... It has an extraordinary power, it is the Truth in all its plenitude that he has brought down here on earth.'

Sri Aurobindo has encompassed all the three worlds, Heaven, Earth and the Underworlds in his wide penetrating vision. Dr. Piper of Syracuse University says about Savitri that it already has inaugurated the New Age of Illumination and is probably the greatest epic in the English language ... the most comprehensive, integrated, beautiful and perfect cosmic poem ever composed.... It ranges symbolically from primordial cosmic void, through earth's darkness and struggles, to the highest realms of supra-mental spiritual existence and illumines every important concern of man, through verse of unparalleled massiveness, magnificence and metaphorical brilliance. Savitri is perhaps the most powerful artistic work in the world for expanding man's mind towards the Absolute.

We can say that it is the prophetic message of the divinised earth and of man's God-like possibility:

For in the march of all-fulfilling Time
The hour must come of the Transcendent’s will.. ||155.51||

The frontiers of the Ignorance shall recede,
More and more souls shall enter into light,
Minds lit, inspired, the occult summoner hear
And lives blaze with a sudden inner flame
And hearts grow enamoured of divine delight
And human wills tune to the divine will.. ||155.67||

A divine force shall flow through tissue and cell
And take the charge of breath and speech and act
And all the thoughts shall be a glow of suns
And every feeling a celestial thrill. ||155.68||

Thus shall the earth open to divinity
And common natures feel the wide uplift,
Illumine common acts with the Spirit’s ray
And meet the deity in common things. ||155.70||

Nature shall live to manifest secret God,
The Spirit shall take up the human play,
This earthly life become the life divine.” ||155.71||