The Mother : Contact
THEME/S
Douce Mère, You have asked me to prepare a dance-drama. Can I do something on the seasons?
Do I have Your consent for doing a dance-drama on the seasons? The Mother's reply: Yes, that's fine. Take a few lines from Sri Aurobindo. So, the theme was chosen. I began work in full earnest. After the Mother's consent, lots of ideas started churning in my head. I started working wholeheartedly on the script which was very hard and demanded a lot of time. On the very first occasion of our meeting after this, the Mother gave me some
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The programme would begin with Sunil-da's music and this was followed by the Mother's recorded reading of these lines from Savitri:
It was the hour before the Gods awake. Across the path of the divine Event The huge foreboding mind of Night, alone In her unlit temple of eternity, Lay stretched immobile upon Silence' merge.
Almost one felt, opaque, impenetrable, In the sombre symbol of her eyeless muse The abysm of the unbodied Infinite; A fathomless zero occupied the world.
Sunil-da's music would play on. The Mother's voice once again:
Then something in the inscrutable darkness stirred.
Three thoughtful seasons passed with shining tread And scanning one by one the pregnant hours Watched for a flame that lurked in luminous depths, The vigil of some mighty birth to come.
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I remember the day of the programme. The curtains were drawn and the programme started. The extraordinary lines from Book One, Canto One were heard! Then the descent of Mother Earth accompanied to Tarit-da's singing:
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In the Ashram, an air of great expectation arose around this programme. We were all extremely busy with our respective responsibilities. One day, Nolini-da sent for me. He told me that the Mother had selected the date for the programme:
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The Mother crossed out The Eternal Rhythm and wrote in Her beautiful handwriting The Rhythm Eternal. And so this is how our dance-drama came to be called. Everyone in the Ashram waited eagerly for this programme organised on the occasion of the 4.5.67 special Darshan of the Mother. One day, at around 10 in the morning, I went to the Meditation hall to sit quietly for a while. I saw Udar-da coming down the staircase. He came to me and enquired, "Shobha, I hear you are doing a dance programme for the special Darshan of the Mother on 4.5.67?" I nodded. "You know," Udar-da continued, "that this is a programme on the occasion of a very special Darshan. A lot of people are coming. Will you be able to handle such a special programme?" "Well, it is the Mother who asked me to do it," I replied. "Ah, it is the Mother who asked you?" he asked. I did not respond to that and left for my work. A few days went by and I completely forgot about this meeting. Then one morning, a car began honking loudly outside Red House. There was no door-bell to our house in those days. I went out and saw Udar-da in his car. He stretched out his right hand from the window towards me. I did not quite understand why he wanted to shake hands with me. He said, "Dear Shobha, do you know what happened? I asked the Mother if She had asked you to do the special programme for 4.5.67. The Mother confirmed it, so I asked, 'Do you think Shobha will be able to do it?' To which once again the Mother replied, 'Yes.' I was overjoyed to hear this from Her. Truly overjoyed." I looked at Udar-da and said, "Thank you, Udar-da." The day of the programme was nearing. It was almost time for Sanjukta to arrive. I was more or less ready with my part
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The day of the programme arrived. The Ashram was chock-a-block with people who had come for the Darshan. On the morning of 3rd May, I sent a letter along with a bouquet of flowers to the Mother on behalf of all the participants and I prayed to Her for Her blessings so that I would come out successfully in this test. I have already mentioned earlier that the 1st December or any other programme was to us an offering to the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. This day also, my call to Them was as sincere and intense: I just kept calling Her all the time. The Theater started filling up. Everything was ready for the offering. The gong sounded at the appointed hour, 8 o'clock. Sunil-da's music filled the auditorium and the Mother's voice resounded:
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The curtains were now drawn and silence reigned for a while. Krishna who had played the role of Spring as well as all the others who had danced with me (whose names I do not recollect now) stood around me on the stage in silence. After these few seconds of silence, the auditorium burst into applause and it continued for quite some time. The stage was still dark. Everyone around me left the stage to go into the green-room. Some people came backstage to express their appreciation. Udar-da was the first among them. There were also Tej-da, Bhubaneswar-da, Raghunath, Vishwanath-da and many more. I remained absolutely tranquil as if a huge flood of peace had inundated my mind, heart and body. Some-where deep within me I had the conviction and faith that when the Mother had assured me that I would dance on the final day, She would also make it happen. And yet, a slight spot of doubt also lurked somewhere in the being: would I be capable of being a worthy instrument of Her grace? The Rhythm Eternal has left an indelible mark on my life, a deeply rooted experience. The atmosphere created by Sri Aurobindo's lines from Savitri, Sunil-da's music, Tej-da's lighting had transported me to some other world and this feeling remained with me for several days after the programme. I observed a great change within me. After the programme was over, my mind quite stilled and that deep experience I had gone through well-protected in my inner being, I returned home.
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That is why today as I remember that descent of the Mother's extraordinary divine force, my whole being sings aloud:
Victoire à la Douce Mère!
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