Amrita

"All on a sudden the door opened and was left ajar. Sri Aurobindo had come quietly and turned back immediately as the door opened—it looked as if he did not want us to let us have a glimpse of his face. In that fading twilight only his long hair hanging gracefully upon his back and his indescribably beautiful small feet caught my eye sight."

That was the first glimpse of Sri Aurobindo that Amrita had—those feet, like two red lotuses captured his heart strings as if in a net and never could he shatter that tie. He was barely in his teens then, later in 1919 he joined Sri Aurobindo’s house hold and served at those feet for fifty years before leaving his body.

Amrita was born on 19th September 1895 at Kazhipervembakkam, a village near Pondicherry and was named Aravumuda Iyenger. Amrita was the name given by Sri Aurobindo. Born in an orthodox Brahmin family, performing all the rituals, keeping a shikha covering nearly three fourths of his head, he was a village boy pampered by his mother. In that village the cry of independence had also reached and Lal-Bal-Pal and Arabindo were familiar names and respected. Of the four names the name Sri Aurobindo caught his heart and soul. In 1905 he came to Pondicherry to study. Sri Aurobindo landed in Pondicherry on 4th April 1910. Very few were aware of his arrival, among them was Amrita’s uncle who was in politics. Within three days Amrita knew about the arrival and his joy had no bound and a desire to see Sri Aurobindo grew in him. He became friendly with those who frequented Sri Aurobindo’s house and would take long walk after school, on beach with them and would learn from them what they discussed. Thus two years passed and there was no glimpse of Sri Aurobindo. One day in 1912 while proceeding towards beach with Krishnaswami Chettiar, who wanted to keep his cycle in Sri Aurobindo’s house which was on Mission street, that he had the glimpse of those two delicate soft red lotus like feet and was caught.

By his association with Bharathi, Srinivaschari, Krishnaswami Chettiar and others who frequented Sri Aurobindo’s house and had discussions, his mind too was shaping in the light of Sri Aurobindo’s view. ‘There was hardly any subject which they did not talk about in their meetings at night. They discussed literature, society, politics, the various arts; they exchanged stories,even cracked jokes, and had a lot of fun.’ Amrita’s teenage mind tried to grasp everything, the narrowness of orthodox mind started widening. Though he performed all the rituals and rites at home, but slowly the realization dawned that a pariah or a shudra was as much of a man as his neighbours, and started treating them as such, which in that era was blasphemous. The untouchability has almost disappeared at present, but in that era what havoc it created can make one shiver. He ‘realised that the disappearance of the sense of division from within me had been the effect of a continuous shedding of light upon my heart imperceptibly by Sri Aurobindo.’

Though he became familiar with other inmates of Sri Aurobindo’s household, he still had no darshan of him face to face. Three years have passed and his eagerness to get introduced to Sri Aurobindo fell as if in deaf ears. Sri Aurobindo’s Birthday was approaching, his appeal to Iyenger for the Darshan was granted. He felt an immense joy.

On 15th August some twenty people gathered in Sri Aurobindo’s house in the evening. Sri Aurobindo came someone garlanded him with a rose garland, then he spoke something in English. Thereafter they sat down in front of banana leaves. Sri Aurobindo stood in front of each banana leaf and looked at the person and one person then served the sweets. Later at night, he approached Sri Aurobindo’s table with folded hands and did pradikshina. ‘Sri Aurobindo’s eyes, it seemed, burnt brighter than the lamp light for me, as he looked at me, in a trice all gloom vanished from within me, and his image was as it were installed in the sanctum sanctorum of my being… I felt within that he had accepted me though I did not quite know it.’

At the first sight of Sri Aurobindo, his beautiful feet ensnared him, then the face to face meeting, his eyes brighter than light captured him. After this meeting he became a familiar face in Sri Aurobindo’s house hold, and became friendly with the other members of the house. Thus Bejoy Kumar gave him the work of posting letters. That was his first work and in 1969 when he left his body, he was the Trustee and Manager of the Ashram.

Amrita was a witness to the launching of Arya, a monthly review both in English and French, by Sri Aurobindo, Paul Richard and the Mother on 15th August 1914. One day Amrita started reading the first issue of Arya sitting in the verandah upstairs of Sri Aurobindo’s house, loud enough for himself to hear. He did not understand anything but found it sweet to read and re-read. Unknown to him, Sri Aurobindo stood in front of his table listening. When Amrita looked up and saw him, he told that he did not grasp anything but the reading was delightful. Sri Aurobindo replied, “It is not necessary to understand it all at once. Go on reading. If you find joy in reading you need not stop it.” When Amrita saw Sri Aurobindo every day in the afternoons, he wanted to know about Yoga. Sri Aurobindo would explain and he would write them down later. Much later Sri Aurobindo asked for that notebook, and it was never returned. Perhaps that was his wish. He studied the book Yogic Sadhan with the Mother, sitting on chairs facing each other, almost as equals. That’s how the Mother was looked upon as one of them.

In 1920 on 24th April the Mother came to Pondicherry and settled permanently and Amrita was fortunate to be with her all along—a submissive energetic helper in her work.