With my Sweet Mother

Introduction

At the age of 21, Lalita, née Daulat R. Mistry, a fair, dark-haired, doll-like figure, came to the Ashram on December 16, 1927 with her husband at the time, K.D. Sethna (afterwards named Amal Kiran by Sri Aurobindo). They were the first Parsis to enter the life of the Integral Yoga. From the beginning Sri Aurobindo and the Mother saw intense spiritual possibilities in young Daulat. A few days after her arrival she offered all her rich saris and every piece of her jewellery to the Mother.

Her self-dedication to the Divine was immediate and whole-hearted.

Very soon the Mother took her up for personal work and attendance. Sri Aurobindo gave her the name "Lalita", explaining: "Beauty of refinement and harmony - this is the idea underlying this word. It is a name also of one of the companions of Radha." Daulat became indeed a companion of the Mother whom all members of the Ashram took to be inwardly to Sri Aurobindo what Radha had been to Sri Krishna.

A pioneer sadhak, Amrita, in close contact with the Mother, once remarked to Amal Kiran: "Lalita is a part of the Mother." The Mother herself told Amal on one occasion: "Lalita has the nature of the saints." This, of course, does not certify an utter transcendence of the common human stuff-and Lalita repeatedly spoke to Amal of her own weaknesses and shortcomings and aspired for her Gurus' Grace to overcome them. What the Mother's comment assures is the never-obscured and ultimately triumphant "psychic being" in the midst of all defects, difficulties, setbacks. And that is what we saw in Lalita not only in her young days but also in her old age when, after a protracted absence, she returned to the Ashram on the death of her husband M.B. Panday. The Ashram gave her a warm welcome, knowing how generous she had been in her relation with it throughout the years. In her turn she never ceased to appreciate its generosity to her. However, her later period was no smooth run. Various infirmities were her lot and many a trying circumstance had to be met. But she passed through everything with quiet patience and never faltered in her faith in the Mother and in Sri Aurobindo whom she always called "my sweet Lord".

In her early days she was skilful at embroidery and at making artistic boxes for the Mother. Up to the last she remained a gifted musician and a keen admirer of painting and literature as well as an adroit story-writer and an eager pursuer of knowledge in several fields. A distinguishing trait in her nature was a deep love for animals. But, above all, she had the heart of a child of the Divine, with no pretensions, no personal ambitions, no rancours against anybody. What she prized most was the inner touch of the Supreme on her life and the vision she had time and again of spiritual and occult realities. A source of great satisfaction to her was the memory not only of the physical intimacy she had long enjoyed with the Mother in the past but also of the numerous occasions when, during her work in the Mother's apartment near Sri Aurobindo's room, Sri Aurobindo used to come out and talk with the Mother and often look intently at the young assistant who would stand in rapt amazement at the Master's majesty and compassion.

-Mother India 1985.