Down Memory Lane

Amrita

Amrita was the name given by Sri Aurobindo to Arvamadu Ayengar, a South Indian youth who was introduced to Sri Aurobindo on August 15, 1913 and who then started frequenting Sri Aurobindo's house more and more. He joined Sri Aurobindo's household permanently in 1919 when he was only 24. He had started with the work of posting letters and later he became the Manager of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and was also appointed its Trustee. These posts were just his outer garment, so to say. The man, the sadhak, the Mother's child that he was, that is what stays in my memory of Amrita.

I liked him, I respected him, though the occasions for our meeting were few. Quite often we saw each other at the Ashram and just exchanged smiles. They were happy moments. Humour and cheer seemed to flow out of him.

When my article on Sri Aurobindo's journal "Arya" appeared in "Mother India", he told me that it was interesting and added, "There are things in it I did not know!". I answered that whatever I had written there was gathered from printed material. Then he said, "But I was associated with it from the beginning and did not know," and smiled. I am not sure whether he was referring to something incorrect in the article.

Once I fell short of cash during one of my visits to the Ashram and asked Amrita for cash in exchange for my cheque on a Bank in Calcutta. "I will have to ask Mother," he said. Next morning he said that Mother had said Yes and gave me the cash pleasantly.

Once my request to see Mother, sent through Navajata, was not accepted. I was told that Mother had remarked, "But when he comes to me, he just stands still and does not do pranam and goes away." Navajata asked me whether I did not do pranam to Mother, and I replied that I always did. He said that he was going out next day and had spoken to Amrita about it and advised me to see Amrita. I felt sad and some churning took

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place inside. When I went to Amrita, he said that when my request was placed before Mother he was there and had the impression that there was some confusion or mixing up on Nava's part and that he was willing to take my request to Mother if I wrote it out. I wrote some lines there itself in the background of the previous day. He wanted only one line letter, "Mother, I wish to come to you for Pranam", so I canceled what I had written, rewrote accordingly, and he brought me Mother's appointment. He knew its value for me and shared my happiness with just a smile and got busy with other papers. That was in 1966.

One day he called me from behind mistaking me for Madanlal Himatsingka and asked me something, without looking at my face, calling me Madanlal. I answered as if there was no mistake of identity. And he reported the answer to Mother! All went well.

After we settled down at the Ashram, I was offering a fixed amount every month on account of the Dining Room food for the family. After some time, one day, Amrita told me that it was not necessary any more.

When the house we had rented came for sale I was interested in it. I was told that Mother was interested in that house for the Ashram itself and that I should not butt in. Mother was asked by Counouma on my request and she happily approved of it for me and then it was Counouma's job to make the deal. The deal was being done for a higher amount than what was first expected. Amrita, as a well-wisher, cautioned me that as the house-owner was Counouma's old friend, Counouma would agree at a higher price. At that stage I chose to let things take their course, and Amrita also did not speak again. We all were happy to have the house. It got its name Shyam House from Mother. It should be interesting to note here that the price of the house was paid by borrowing the amount which was repaid in time out of the sale-proceeds of our ancestral house at Bhagalpur. The Bhagalpur house fetched us exactly the same amount that was paid for Shyam House.

At one point of time, the Government of India had come out with a scheme under which remittances to India in foreign

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currency earned some extra amount. As usual there were some conditions to be fulfilled and there were differences of interpretation. Madanlal took the initiative in channelling the remittances for the benefit of the Ashram. There were some others also, trying similarly, but several remittances claimed by them were held to be ineligible for the incentive amount, whereas in Madanlal's cases, all of which were processed through me as we were working together, the incentive was always received. In fact, Amrita was told by Mother to route these things through Madanlal, and Amrita was in touch with us in this matter full-heartedly. I remember how anxiously Amrita came with a remittance which faced some technical infirmities under the terms of the scheme. He reported to Mother the hour when our explanation would be put before the Bank and the thing went through. Amrita must have noticed that in Madanlal's handling, the full amounts were going to Mother in full, as a rule, but in the hands of some others, there was a diminution at times.

On 28th February 1968 Amrita was there at the Auroville Foundation Ceremony to read Mother's Charter of Auroville in Tamil. The Tamil translation was done by him. Mother liked his Tamil intonation.

On getting report of some rebuff or mistreatment at the Ashram, sometimes with his usual humour he would say in respect of the aggrieved person, "So his sadhana begins."

In her class Mother once asked Amrita, "What is the relation between Overmind and Supermind?" Waving .his hands, he replied at once, "Very good relations, Mother, very good relations."

On another occasion when Amrita was late in coming to the class, Mother told him that he won't be allowed to enter unless he answered the question, "How far is the Divine from you?". But he went straight to Mother counting his steps and said, "Three steps, Mother."

Amrita passed away on 31.1.1969 at the age of 73 after months of ill-health. When the news of his end was given to Mother, she already knew of it. She said that in the night the window of her room had suddenly opened when Amrita came to tell her of his departure.

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So that was Amrita.

He had the rare privilege of getting a slap from Mother.

His office still continues to be called Amrita's office. A bust statue of his with his Grecian features and ever welcoming smile stands on the cupboard behind his chair in the office.

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