Mrinalini Devi : (1887-1918) was born in Meherpore, a village near Jessore. She was married to Sri Aurobindo on 30 April 1901. According to her father, she “evinced no exceptional abilities or tendencies in her childhood, indeed at no stage of her life”. After Sri Aurobindo left Calcutta for Pondicherry in 1910, Mrinalini spent the rest her life with her parents at Shillong & Ranchi. Though educated at Brahmo School & surrounded by Brahmo friends, Mrinalini Devi took no special interest in the Brahmo movement. The whole religious bent of the later years of her life was towards Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa & Swami Vivekananda. Once, when she desired to receive Diksha from one of the Sannyasins of the Ramakrishna Mission, Bhupal babu wrote to Sri Aurobindo for the necessary permission but the latter in reply advised her not to receive initiation from anyone else & he assured him that he would send her all the spiritual help she needed. In February 1914, when Saurin was going to Bengal with Moni & Nolini, he asked Sri Aurobindo, “I shall meet Mrinalini. What shall I tell her?” Sri Aurobindo quietly replied, “I shall be glad if you can manage to bring her here.” Saurin was stunned & touched by this spontaneous request, made as it was during difficult economic conditions. At a time when rice was becoming too expensive, Sri Aurobindo had said, “Eat less food.” Once there was no money to buy provisions. There was only some rice, chillies, oil & salt. Sri Aurobindo said it was enough. The chillies were fried in oil & mixed with cooked rice & salt – & that was a full meal
The same day financial help came from a friend. Despite such hardships, Sri Aurobindo still wanted Mrinalini to come to Pondicherry. Unfortunately the three had to hasten back in September owing to the outbreak of the War & could not arrange to bring Mrinalini. ― In 1918, Bhupal babu, decided to take Mrinalini to Pondicherry. Since the Govt. finally granted permission he brought her to Girish babu’s residence in Calcutta. But she fell a victim to the scourge of influenza which was raging everywhere. The mental agony that she had kept suppressed for years exploded during the illness in her delirium, particularly the nightmarish scene of Sri Aurobindo’s arrest on 2 May 1908. After a week’s illness she passed away on 17 December. For some time before she passed away, she had been selling her ornaments & giving away the proceeds in charity & what remained unsold, she left with her friend Sudhira Bose, at the time Lady Superintendent of the Sister Nivedita School. Soon after Mrinālini’s death Sudhira sold off the ornaments & the whole of the proceeds, some two thousand rupees was, with Sri Aurobindo's permission, made over to the Ramakrishna Mission & constituted an endowment named after Mrinalini, out of the interest of which a girl student is maintained at the Sister Nivedita School. ─ During her illness, notes historian Prof Vishwanath, a rumour went round that Sri Aurobindo was coming to see her. CID agents watched the house round the clock so as to arrest him when he turned up. “There was a mention in her horoscope that her 32nd year would be critical”, writes her sister Shaibalini; “Sri Aurobindo knew it & wanted us to remind him about it when she turned 32. But all of us forgot except my mother. She was at that time in Ranchi. Hearing about the illness she hastened to Calcutta but Mrinalini passed away within half an hour of her arrival. When she learnt that we had not informed Sri Aurobindo, a telegram was sent to him. On reading it, Sri Aurobindo said, ‘Too late
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