A Talk remembering Sri Aurobindo : 'Lustrously white..'

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"Lustrously White" : Remembering Sri Aurobindo

  Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

When Sri Aurobindo came to Pondicherry inl910 some of his companions from Calcutta days came to stay with him. They lived like friends, companions, a sort of bohemian life sharing the same facilities in common, even to the extent of using a common towel for the bath.

True, Sri Aurobindo was respected by them all; he had an aura of greatness, height and aloofness even at Calcutta, and he was respected the way a colossus would be, so to say. That respect did not manifest in the daily behavior, it was not a respect that a master of yoga gets from his disciples and followers, a respect given by man to a divinity.

It was left to the Mother to open the eyes of the inmates of Sri Aurobindo's household to see the divinity of Sri Aurobindo. This the Mother could do after her second arrival at Pondicherry in 1920.

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I went to Sri Aurobindo Ashram at Pondicherry for the first time in February, 1949. I had the first darshan then. On my return my father asked me about Sri Aurobindo's complexion. When I said "lustrously white", he remarked that during his Bengal days, it was a bit darkish, but the complexion of yogis has been known to change. An uncle of mine also spoke similarly about him.

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In 1960s Sri Aurobindo's devotees at Calcutta were anxious to acquire the house where Sri Aurobindo was born in 1872. There was a lot of controversy about the identification of the correct house as there had been a lot of changes in the house numbers, names of roads etc. by the Corporation since 1872, not to speak of varying legends about the birthplace itself. Ultimately the Mother approved of the acquisition of one of the buildings, which had been since named Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. A very significant remark of the Mother was narrated by Himanshuda, when the search was going on. She had said that if she went to Calcutta, she would recognize every inch of the ground where Sri Aurobindo had trod.

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THEY SAW HIM EVERYWHERE

Soon after his release from Alipore Jail, where he had spent a year as prisoner, Sri Aurobindo addressed a public gathering at Uttarpara. There he spoke of his spiritual experiences:

"... (In the court) I looked and it was not the Magistrate whom I saw, it was Vasudeva, it was Narayana who was sitting there on the Bench. I looked at the Prosecuting Counsel and it was not the Counsel for the Prosecution that I saw; it was Sri Krishna who sat there, it was my Lover and Friend who sat there and smiled."

That was on 30^th May 1909.

About five years later, the Mother's diary entry for 'Karikal, 13 April 1914, says:

"All is beautiful, harmonious and calm, all is full of Thee. Thou shinest in the dazzling sun, Thou makest Thyself felt in the sweet breeze that blows, Thou makest Thyself manifest in our hearts and livest in all beings. There is no animal, no plant that does not speak to me of Thee and Thy name is written on all I look at..."

The Two who are one are the might and right in things.

Book I, 4

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