Growing up with the Mother

A God’s Labour

Every year, on 15^th January, the anniversary of Dortoir, our boarding house, we would put up a programme and invite our friends to see it. Although in 1955, we, the older ones had been moved to the guest house which came to be known as Dortoir Annexe, we still continued to put up the programme together with the Dortoir children. In 1969, we decided to stage Sri Aurobindo’s poem “A God’s Labour” in mime, dance and recitation for the 15 January, 1970, our 25 anniversary. Naturally we needed to first understand the poem more deeply.

Since I was taking my notebook to the Mother, almost daily, I decided to request Her to explain the poem to us.

Sweet Mother, th

For the 25 anniversary of the boarding we propose “A God’s Labour” in mime and dance with the recitation. It is a difficult piece. Can I send you everyday one or two stanzas of the poem for your commentary and explanations? That will help us produce the thing better after having understood better.

Thy child, Tara

All right.

Blessings.

25 July 1969

26.7.69

I have gathered my dreams in a silver air

Between the gold and the blue

And wrapped them softly and left them there, My jewelled dreams of you.

The silver air is the spiritual realm. The gold is the supramental and the blue is the mind.

The “dreams” means all the unrealised expectations that have to be realised in future—these “dreams” are kept softly and lovingly protected for the possibility of their realisation.

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27 July 1969

Sweet Mother, It is said that “A God’s Labour” describes Sri Aurobindo’s own experiences on earth. Is that true?

You have explained that “the ‘dreams’ means all the unrealised expectations that have to be realised in future”. In the last line of the stanza Sri Aurobindo says “My jewelled dreams of you”. For whom does the “you” stand?

It is better to keep what Sri Aurobindo wanted us to understand: God speaking to his creation, the earth.

I had hoped to build a rainbow bridge

Marrying the soil to the sky

And sow in this dancing planet midge

The moods of infinity.

But too bright were our heavens, too far away, Too frail their ethereal stuff;

Too splendid and sudden our light could not stay;

The roots were not deep enough.

I might say something to you but it must be absolutely private and cannot go about to others — I realise that this is almost impossible. Would much prefer to write nothing about it.

The next time, when I went to see Her, She spent more than an hour explaining the entire poem which basically is Sri Aurobindo’s own yoga and sadhana written in poetic form.

Note: Finally the programme on 15^th January 1970 at Dortoir was not held and the dance drama never took shape.

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