... Sudhir Sudhir went to see the Mother on his eightieth birthday with his son Mona. Here is a portion of the talk held with the Mother on that day, reproduced from memory. The Mother: It is your father’s birthday today, isn’t it? Mona: Yes, Mother. The Mother: Bonne Fête (Happy birthday)! How old is he today? Mona: He is eighty, Mother. The Mother: Eighty! Oh, quite a respectable age! But... little tired. When did he come here? Mona: Before ten, Mother…. The Mother: There! ( The Mother gives a bouquet of flowers to my father and blesses him .) He is still quite strong. Mona: Yes, Mother. He does the marching every evening, he does his daily chores, he even washes his clothes himself. He doesn’t want any help. The Mother: It’s good. Mona: He says: “As long as I live, I’ll do my... he want? He wants to tell me something? ( My father shakes his head and brings it closer to the Mother’s face. I ask him what he wants. He tells me .) Mona: Mother, he wants to touch your forehead with his forehead. The Mother: Oh, oh! Mona: That’s his way, Mother, to touch foreheads. He says “Let my fate merge with Thine”. The Mother: All right, all right, it is good. I understand. Let it ...
... there absolutely still. Mona picked it up tenderly. Now she was holding a fairy in her hand. She was a glowing, slender bundle. Careful not to crush or even press her tiny body, Mona held her most tenderly. “Is she dead?” Bharat asked gently. “No, she is so perfectly lovely she cannot be dead. Besides, I don’t feel sad. So she must be alive though she is hurt,” Mona explained. She bent on... leaves. And as if from nowhere rain drops were felt. Everyone had to hurry back to their rooms at last. Mona and Bharat went straight to their windows to look for the glow-worms. “They must have taken shelter just as we have,” Bharat said. “Yet the outside looks so fine at night” Mona said, as she gazed at the trees swaying in the wind that was gaining force slowly. “I think we will have... form and blew a whiff of light air on her. There was a faint little thrill in the tiny form in her hand. An answering thrill of joy ran through Mona and Bharat. More softly, tenderly they both sent warm breaths to the hurt fairy. In a few more moments, Mona began to feel the smallest fluttering pulse of life throbbing faintly. In a few more minutes the fairy stirred more visibly and stretched her wings ...
... picture [of Mona Lisa] and said: “Mother, it seems this is yours?” Mother: “Yes.”’ 34 In his Reminiscences, Udar narrates that he wanted a Sanskrit name for his wife Mona and that the Mother said she would ask Sri Aurobindo. ‘The next day the Mother told me that Sri Aurobindo wanted Mona to keep her name as it reminded him of Mona Lisa. Then the Mother added: “You know, Udar, I was Mona Lisa, and... Leonardo’s painting of Mona Lisa is ‘perhaps the most famous image of a human face in the history of Western Art.’ 38 At the time when her famous portrait was painted she seems to have been a young woman of twenty, whose name was Lisa di Anton Maria di Noldo Gherardini, and she was the third wife of Francesco di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo. ‘It is often said the Mona Lisa is mysterious,’ writes... It is also said that Leonardo kept it always with him wherever he went, till he died. When one knows about the Mother and Sri Aurobindo’s eternal relationship, their meeting during the Renaissance as Mona Lisa and Leonardo da Vinci would be an explanation for the time and artistry Leonardo lavished on the portrait, for the personal value he attached to it, and for the smile which keeps so many people ...
... received the Sportstar . This is still the practice. Our boys kept hurting themselves while playing football and the Mother was concerned. Mona was then a captain. Before one such football match Mona went to the Mother to ask for Her blessing. This is how Mona has recorded that conversation in his book, Sweet Mother—Harmonies of Light , Part Two, pp. 88- 91: Can’t you play football without... Now all the groups were organised. In 1948 all the groups were given their uniform, each a different colour. The Mother appointed five boys as captains: Mona, Narendra (Promesse’s brother), Harit (Pranab’s youngest brother), Sumantra and Manoj. Mona was the head-captain. These boys were then merely 12 or 13. The establishment of our school—the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education—occurred... Beginning of the Playground Physical education started with a group of small boys. During the first years of the Ashram there was no organisation for any sports or games here. The younger boys, Mona, Manoj, Harit, Kittu, Gama, Sumantra and several others would wander around and play anywhere. Nirmal-da and Shanti-bhai had made a group of these boys and they used to make some arrangements for them ...
... the Revolutionaries A portion of the Mother’s talk with Mona Sarkar on the revolutionaries of the Indian National Movement, especially those who were with Sri Aurobindo. The talk was noted down from memory by Mona. The Mother: Did you bring the photos of the revolutionaries as I asked you to, last time? Mona: Yes, Mother. ( Mona hands Her the book “The Roll of Honour”, containing photographs... The Mother turns the pages of the book .) And who is this one at the bottom? Mona: It is Indu Bhushan Roy. The Mother: He seems to belong to Sri Aurobindo’s group. Mona: Yes, Mother, he was a daring boy. The Mother: And was he also killed? Mona: He hanged himself in jail, Mother. The Mother: But why? Mona: Mother, they tortured him so much that he could no longer use his hands. They were... treated! Mona: Yes, Mother…. ( The Mother turns the pages and looks at other photos .) The Mother: Oh, this one belongs to His group? Mona: Yes, Mother. He is Sushil Sen, the brother of Biren Sen who is here in the Ashram. The Mother: Biren Sen? Mona: Yes, Mother, he is here, he came a few years back. The Mother: I don’t know, I don’t remember. If I see him now I will recognise. Mona: Nolini-da ...
... (Windows). This is home to Udar Pinto, his English wife Mona, manager extraordinaire of Golconde, and their daughter Gauri, a teacher at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education. Sri Aurobindo gave Udar (Generous) and Gauri (another name for Durga meaning the Fair One) their names but asked that Mona keep her own name as it reminded him of the Mona Lisa. At “Fenêtres” one enters into a glorious courtyard... she did,” Udar said. Udar had met his beloved Mona while attending school in England and she waited three years for him while he got settled in Pondicherry. Finally, in 1937, he sent for her and they were married. Their daughter, Gauri, was born at the end of that year in November. First Darshan of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother After Mona and Udar were married somebody suggested that they... architect, George Nakashima and another Czechoslovakian architect by the name of Francicheck Sammer. The building work had already begun by 1937 when Mona and Udar joined the Ashram but they were both associated with it from that time. The Mother put Mona in charge of Golconde before it was finished and gave her a room in which to work to prepare the linen and train the young Ashram ladies who were to ...
... episodes in Sudhir’s adventurous life. Some were written by Sudhir himself; [6] others were narrated by him to his children and friends. Mona has recounted them from memory. The incidents written by Sudhir are indicated by an (S) at their end; those by Mona, by an (M). There are others based on reminiscences of persons who came in contact with Sudhir .) 1907 – Jamalpur, Bengal The Riots ... Sudhir Kumar Sarkar: A Spirit Indomitable A Life Sketch of Sudhir K. Sarkar & Incidents in His Life Part I A Life Sketch of Sudhir K. Sarkar Mona Sarkar Sri Sudhir Kumar Sarkar “one of the bravest and most fearless sons of the Motherland,” as Sri Nolini Kanta Gupta put it, was among the first batch of revolutionaries that, at the turn of this... brutally he and the others were tortured in the Andamans! It is beyond man’s imagination. What man has done unto man — and that too by supposedly civilised people. ( Recounted by Nolini Kanta Gupta to Mona ) 1908-1909 – Alipore Bomb Trial Sri Aurobindo’s sick attendant Arabindo was in the No. 1 ward of the hospital in the charge of the senior hospital assistant. Arabindo had a sick-attendant ...
... Motherland! He told Mona one day: “We did not completely accept Sri Aurobindo’s Mother India as a living Entity, a living God, so in order to establish the truth, He has brought down now the living Mother, the Divine Mother.” When Mona recounted this to the Mother, She just laughed. Sri Aurobindo had remarked about Mona’s father: “That fearless Sudhir.” The Mother told Mona: Your father is... a living embodiment of the determination contained in the matri-mantra Vande Mataram . The cry of Vande Mataram was on his lips. The Mother told Mona many things about the revolutionaries of Muraripukur. She held them in very high esteem. Mona showed the Mother every Muraripukur boy’s photo and she looked at them with great interest. About Khudiram, the Mother remarked: Look at his eyes i... Bose also sacrificed their lives on the gallows. They too went out with the matri-mantra Vande Mataram on their lips. On seeing Kanailal Dutt’s photograph, the Mother asked Mona: “Was he with Sri Aurobindo?” Hardly had Mona said ‘yes’ that the Mother added: It is clearly written on his face that he was with Sri Aurobindo — it is like an aura. His psychic being is burning intensely; it is quite ...
... very well. It is because she was very open to Me that she had these experiences. It is I who guided her. She was a very sweet woman. Mona: Yes, Mother, it is true. The Mother: Do you remember her? Mona: Very well, Mother. The Mother: But you were very young. Mona: Still, I remember her quite well. Once when she was ill, she called me to her side and talked to me asking me not to repeat it to... Suniti Devi – Sudhir’s Wife Part I The Mother said she was a being from another world. Here is a portion of the Mother’s talk on Suniti Devi with her son Mona. Mona: Mother, here is the photo of my mother that you wanted to see. The Mother: Ah! show it to me. She is your mother… ( The Mother concentrates on the photo ). She is very pretty and endowed with... Mother and have arranged everything for you. When I leave the body, you will go there; in fact, all of you will go.” The Mother: You see, she was right. It is true that you received much from her. Mona: And from my father? The Mother: You inherited some qualities from your father too: courage, frankness — and you are well-built…. ( Then the Mother went into trance for sometime; when She came out ...
... need? No? Mona: But Mother, didn’t you feel it? Didn’t you hear what I want? You cunning little one, there, take. Can’t you speak? What are you made of? Mona: Don’t know, but it is your fault. My fault, but why? Mona: Because you made me like this. You have made me, so you know. But I have not forbidden you to ask me anything. Mona: Yes, you did. When? Mona: You told me:... cannot find god. Isn’t the phrase the ‘devotee’s god’ most apt? That is why you start the puja with an offering of tulsi . In this context I am reminded of a strange aspect of the Mother as recounted by Mona: One day the Mother entered with a tray filled with Devotion leaves ( Ocimum sanctum or tulsi in India) crying out as if in an auction: “Who wants some devotion? Who wants some devotion? I ...
... added. The drink was introduced to me in 1968 by the Pinto family. It is a most refreshing, cooling drink in the tropics. Gauri told me that she was born Judy Ann Pinto on 16 th November 1937 to Mona and Laurence (Udar) Pinto. They had just had their first darshan of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo a few months earlier. The Mother had requested that the baby should be born in the hospital in Bangalore... was not taking her food properly and was way underweight for her age. She did not sleep well during the night and naturally kept her parents awake and concerned. Doctors were consulted and Udar and Mona entered into correspondence with the Mother regarding the matter. When the baby was about two months old Udar wrote asking if he could bring her to the Mother. The Mother replied,” I do not find it... the Ashram. In answer to one letter Sri Aurobindo replied, “Have you tried Horlicks Malted Milk Powder?”! (Horlicks is a British product, popular in India at that time and to date.) In another letter Mona states that the doctor advised that she starve-feed the baby. This meant withdrawing the feedings until she became really hungry and on a settled schedule. Sri Aurobindo responded, “The Mother does ...
... with him until their last breath. Sudhir-da – True Bhakta of the Mother NIRODBARAN ( Physician turned poet — privileged to attend upon Sri Aurobindo ) Father of our Athletic group-captain Mona, Sudhir-da, Pagla Sudhir , intense revolutionary of the Andamans fame, had a streak of sweet madness in him. He had a sturdy and rough exterior, but a heart throbbing with mellowed tenderness within... undying fire which was offered first at the altar of Mother India and finally at the altar of the Mother of the universe. Love for Motherland ( Recounted by PURNANANDA , an Inmate of the Ashram, to Mona ) Once Bhupen-da (Bhupendranath Dutt, the younger brother of Vivekananda) spoke to me about Sudhir-da. He told me: Oh, Sudhir! he is a realised soul. Could one recognise him by his outwardness? All... can still hear his lion-like voice roaring against all hostile forces. Magnetic Influence ( Recounted by BIKASH MUKHERJEE , former student of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, to Mona ) When I think of Sudhir-da, the first thought that comes to my mind is his simplicity. He was a very simple man, inwardly and outwardly. No showing off, no pretence, a transparent simplicity. He ...
... to get the link or sequence, but when the turn came of The Book of Yoga and The Book of Everlasting Day, line after line began to flow from his lips like a smooth and gentle stream …’ 34 To Mona Sarkar, a young sadhak at the time, the Mother gave a revealing inside view on Savitri. ‘All this is his own experience, and what is most surprising is that it is my own experience also. It is my... Beautiful Vignettes of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother , p. 170. × Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother I, p. 22. × Nirodbaran, Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo , p. 179. ... × Nirodbaran, op. cit., p. 185. × Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother I, pp. 26 ff. (originally spoken by the Mother in French and noted down from memory). × ...
... when he was doing the portrait of Mona Lisa whom we take to be an emanation of the Mother in that period. At least once I confronted the Mother with the question of Mona Lisa. Just as she had asked me to hold up my hand I held up her hand on one occasion after a private meditation with her, and said: "See! your fingers, when curved like this, look exactly like Mona Lisa's as Leonardo has painted them ...
... Notes Champaklal Speaks Mona Lisa 1940-02-06 In order to save her time Mother allowed me to show her paintings etc. while she was arranging flowers. Today when she was arranging flowers I asked: “Can I show the plates now?” Mother smiled and said: “Yes, yes.” After seeing the painting of Mona Lisa Mother said: “That is the best.” C: “Is that so?” ... ” Mother smiled sweetly and said: “Yes.” I pointed to the picture and asked: “Mother, it seems this is you?” Mother: “Yes. Don't you see the resemblance?” She put her finger on the lips of Mona Lisa (in the plate); she also pointed to the lower portion of the face. ...
... Words of the Mother 13,77 × Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother II, 7 × Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother I, 17 × ... her Force, as she had learned from Madame Théon many years ago. And she said: ‘In truth, I hold myself responsible for everyone, even for those I have met only for one second in my life.’ 24 To Mona Sarkar she also said: ‘You will be surprised to see the work I have done for you all. For each one his own path, well shaped, well chiseled, with all the obstacles, all the impediments removed, all... × Words of the Mother 13, 74 × Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother II, 29 × L’Agenda de Mère IV, 431 ...
... is above man will be within its reach. It will be guided by the Truth alone and nothing less. That is what it is and more even than has ever been conceived.’ 20 This the Mother told in French to Mona Sarkar, who noted it down as faithfully as possible and read it out to her for verification. The supramental body will not only be omnipotent and omniscient, but also omnipresent. And immortal. Not... much more happened. ‘I am not limited by what people call time or space. You understand, I am doing many things at the same time without anybody seeing it or being aware of it. You see,’ she said to Mona Sarkar, ‘what is happening [while he was sitting in front of her], you are not conscious of it, not even of what happened within yourself.’ 70 She did narrate an experience of hers every now and... × The Life Divine 372 × Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother II, 18 ff. × L’Agenda de Mère XIII, 367 ...
... art, and in the process raised both fields to new heights. Page 187 Virgin of the Rocks, by Leonardo da Vinci Page 188 T he man who painted the world-famous Mona Lisa was born near the village of Vinci, in the countryside of Florence, on April 15, 1452. He was baptized Leonardo and was to become one of the most brilliant figures in a fascinating period... Giovani di Medici) commissioned great works from Raphael, Michaelangelo, Bramante and Peruzzi. 22 He was entertained at the Belvedere, a summer palace atop the Vatican Hill, but Mona Lisa Virgin, Child and St. Ann Page 197 could not find the place he deserved as a master artist and received no large commission from the Pope. In fact, Leo... of consciousness. His synthesis of science and art, of investigation and expression, was a major break- through on the way towards modern empirical and rational science. His paintings, above all Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, are such extraordinary renderings of physical and spiritual realities as to be considered immortal peaks of art. In sculpture he conceived the greatest projects of his ...
... during lunch. She got a glass of red grape-juice prepared. Then she took a sip from it and passed it on to Ravindra-ji, Mona, Gauri and Udar to do the same. Then she gave the glass to me. She wrote down something on a piece of paper and signed it and then she asked Ravindra-ji, Mona, Gauri and Udar to sign below her signature and gave it to me. Here is what she had written: Page 218 ... whenever I needed to. And from that time Udar and I started eating with her in the evenings. Later, Mother arranged for me to have lunch with her too. After some time, Udar asked Mother if his wife Mona and his daughter Gauri could also join us for lunch and she agreed. During this period Ali and Alice used to occasionally prepare some dishes for Mother and they would be present here during lunch... tomorrow. Be yourself and all will be well. Let this wine of immortality Be the wine of your complete victory. Mother Signed: Ravindra Mona Gauri Udar (31) Before 5th December 1950, the period before Sri Aurobindo's physical withdrawal, Mother used to return from the Playground at night and ...
... Sees Others’ Convenience Almost on every Christmas Mother used to call Mona 1 who is in charge of Golconde but at a time that was convenient to her. Mother adjusted her programme to suit Mona's convenience! And she would see each thing brought by Mona with keen interest and appreciation. It was such a delight for me to watch her showering her Grace. There... people and I am always grateful that she gave me the opportunity to be present on those occasions to share the joy. × Mona Pinto has been organising the Christmas celebrations in the Ashram from the beginning. ...
... and his wife Mona, an Englishwoman Page 278 whom he had married early that year, had their first darshan of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. "I have seen majesty at last!" was his allennobling feeling on seeing Sri Aurobindo, and presently he turned to the Mother: I saw there so much sweetness and love that I just ran up to Her and put my head into Her lap. Mona did the same... beside the name its meaning: "Noble, generous, upright and sincere." Soon Udar became a popular and dynamic figure in the Ashram, an engineer and organiser and actor and sadhak rolled into one, while Mona was specially chosen by the Mother to take charge of Golconde, a large modern dormitory for sadhaks built soon after their coming, a difficult task which she executes to this day with meticulous ...
... it extremely interesting. I won't repeat them because I don't remember with exactness, and these things have no value unless they are exact. And then, for the Italian Renaissance: Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa; and for the French Renaissance: François I, Marguerite de Valois, 2 and so forth. Twice I knew that it wasn't just images but something that had Page 230 happened to ME, but... entry into Murat's body and the whole battle scene—I lived through it all. And once the battle was over, it left him. It was very interesting. I wanted to clarify something.... I don't know if Mona Lisa and Marguerite de Valois were your incarnations, but weren't they contemporaries!?... Yes, but I told you—four at once! 7 Four at once. And, in general, they were the different states ...
... .. but in that form... it would have been a legend and not a symbol. I therefore started recasting the whole thing; only 2 Savitri, p. 728. 3 Sri Aurobindo Circle, XXXII, 1976. See Mona Sarkar's report of the Mother's talk to him; Perspectives of Savitri, pp. 43-44. Page 275 the best passages and lines of the old draft will remain, altered so as to fit into... suggested, all are invoked, all are shown in action in this unique and wonderful poem. -7- About the 'matter' of Savitri, and of its author's mantric mode of communication the Mother to Mona Sarkar: He has crammed the whole universe into a single book. It is a marvellous work, magnificent, and of an incomparable perfection... My child, yes, everything is there, mysticism ...
... had developed into the stupendous grandeur of the bases of Sri Aurobindo's Yoga*; the expounding of the new knowledge gained by him and which would support his work of bringing down the 16 Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother I, pp. 26 -27. See also Perspectives of Savitri, Vol, I pp. 46-47. 17 Savitri, p. 794. 18 Ibid 19 Ibid, p. 731. * The tide "The Yoga of the... everything that is necessary for doing the Yoga." 26 This is doing Yoga in the footsteps of Sri Aurobindo. 23 Ibid, p. 284. 24 Ibid, p. 297. 25 Ibid, pp. 300-02. 26 Mona Sarkar, op. cit., p. 22. * In the same conversation the Mother said: "It was his way of speaking, so full of divine humility and modesty. He never asserted himself." (p. 23) The Books here ...
... Page 128 repeat them because now I don't remember accurately, and without accuracy they have no value." She had added, "For the Italian Renaissance as well: Leonardo da Vinci and Mona Lisa; and for the French Renaissance: François I and Marguerite.'' Significantly, Leonardo da Vinci had come to the Court of Frangois I as soon as the latter became King of France in 1515. This... fall into place. "At certain times there were four simultaneous emanations." She had specifically mentioned the time of the Italian and the French Renaissance, and she had named Marguerite de Navarre, Mona Lisa, Queen Elizabeth I of England. They were almost contemporaries. Between 1533 and 1549 three of them were alive; only Marguerite de Valois was born some three years after the death of her great-aunt ...
... and a helpful hand towards the worker. Some of us were privileged to witness and feel this other mood of his, when he would visit us (Mona, Kittu, Vishweshwar and some others), when and if we were working after 11 p.m. We were working at building Parikshit’s House. (Mona, Kittu and Vishweshwar were the appointed workers, and the “some others” were willing or shanghaied volunteers. This House has since ...
... harvest or any such time when extra personnel were required as night-watchmen or when we just chose not to waste a beautiful moonlit night at home in bed. He received us with a warm “Hello, Captain Mona”. (Mona used to be quite a night-watchman in his younger days and led us on these night forays.) We entered his hut and he would offer us everything: tea, some blankets (given to him by some kind-hearted ...
... Jyotindra. All of a sudden P got up and told Jyotindra: “You have done enough for the day. You may stop now!” Vishwabandhu continued and won the event. All present were aghast and angry with P Later when Mona, a group captain, asked the Mother, She explained: “There was dark cloud hovering over Jyotindra that bode him no good”. P was perceptive enough to see it and acted for Jyotindra’s good, while we were... to. Once a band player kept his bugle mouth down on the ground. P was sore with him, just asked him to pick it up (he got away very cheaply). P was the one who conducted the H group marching daily (Mona does so now). At times when in good mood, when the group was jogging its 12 laps, P would whistle into the mike some classical tune. It was quite pleasing. Days into months into years passed by. ...
... alone. Autobiographical It is well known that Savitri is the poetic record of spiritual experiences of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. In this connection we may recall what the Mother told Mona Sarkar: All this is his own experience, and what is most surprising is that it is my own experience also. It is my sadhana which he has worked out. Each object, each event, each realisation,... out to me in the morning were those I had the previous night, word by word... Yes, they were exactly my experiences of the previous night which he read out to me the following morning. 9 9 Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother—Harmony of Light, pp. 26-27. See also Perspectives of Savitri /, 46-47. We also have a few letters of Sri Aurobindo indicating the aspect of his yogic realisations ...
... × L’Agenda de Mère IV 86 × Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother, 26 × R.Y. Deshpande, The Ancient Tale of Savitri, 3 ... op. cit., 199. × Both the following quotations are extracts from a conversation the Mother had with Mona Sarkar, then a young sadhak. The Mother spoke in French and her words were afterwards translated into English. × ...
... never left even a minute of her life unused, in order to accomplish the Work she had accepted. ‘The true reason why I am still here is that my physical presence helps humanity to progress,’ she said to Mona Sarkar. ‘My presence hastens the terrestrial evolution … I made the descent of the Supramental possible. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. It is not worth spending my time uselessly upon earth if my presence... × Entretiens 57-58, 308 × Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother, 22 × Entretiens 57-58, 82 ...
... It will be supple, mobile, light at will – in contrast to the fixity of the gross material form.’ 23 Later, the Mother wanted to give an idea of the supramental body to a young Ashramite, Mona Sarkar. ‘You know, if there is something over there on the window sill and I want to take it, I stretch out my arm and it becomes so long, and I hold the thing in my hand without even having to get... × The Mother, Questions and Answers 1953, CWM 5 p. 60-61. × Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother II, p. 19. × The Mother, Notes on the Way, CWM 11 pp. 46-47. ...
... group of the sadhaks — Nolini, Amrita, Purani, Anilbaran, Champaklal, Dyuman, Rajangam, Pavitra — was that, when in a past life of theirs Sri Aurobindo had been Leonardo da Vinci and the Mother Mona Lisa, Doraiswamy had been Francis 1, King of France (1494-1547). Francis 1 was renowned for his love of art and chivalry, he was a patron of Renaissance learning and founded the Collège de... is said to have died. It was one of the impressions of Sri Aurobindo that in a past life I myself had been in Renaissance Italy. So perhaps I had some connection not only with Leonardo and Mona Lisa but also, through the former, with Francis 1. That may explain why I was very friendly with Doraiswamy. We were also psychologically similar in one respect. The Mother said that in the "Prosperity"— ...
... that unforgettable as well as that unfathomable beauty of a picture known as "Mona Lisa", the picture of a noble lady who is said to have been a past emanation of our Ashram's Divine Mother. Once, looking at the long finely moulded fingers of the Mother in a certain pose, I remarked to her: "How much your hand resembles Mona Lisa's as depicted in Leonardo's great painting!" She very quietly said: "Sometimes ...
... The Supreme does not boast, because He is All-Powerful and everything. Neel apprised the Mother about the two rooms in Golconde given by her. 8th. January 1968. Beloved Mother, Yesterday, Mona was asking me if it would be possible for me to allow her, during the coming February Darshan, to arrange to have some of her visitors staying in Golconde to sleep in the room where the "Savitri" Paintings... have anybody sleeping in a room which has such a beautiful atmosphere, I told her to ask the Mother. I even ventured to tell her I was sure that Mother too would not approve of the idea. But instead Mona has asked me to inform you of this, so I write. I have not uttered a word about this to Huta, because I know the very idea would completely upset her. And then??? Will Mother enlighten me, what ...
... after the Gymnastic Marching was over. She would again stand in front of the map of India as she took the salute. After December 1958 Mother stopped coming out and I had to remain with her. So Mona Sarkar took up the work of conducting the Gymnastic Marching and it has continued to this day. When did the Ashram Band come into existence? When we started route marching on the 13th... Nirod-da, Kumud and myself and arranged the place with the bed there as you saw. At about 2 o'clock we brought Mother's body down, placed her on the bed, arranged everything. Then I went out, called Mona, told him to come and see me with four other boys, five of my lieutenants, so to say. When they came I explained to them what to do: to call the photographers first, then to call the trustees, then ...
... battle, we are warriors commissioned by thee; Mother, give to our heart and mind, a titan’s strength, a titan’s energy, to our soul and intelligence a god’s character and knowledge. The Mother told Mona about an extraordinary incident: …It is something that happened here not long ago. There were a man, a lady and two children who had come to see me. It was a family and the woman was full of devotion... was moulded by the influence of Durga. “Today when she was there before You,” N said, “she saw Durga and it was Durga who was speaking with her, that’s what Mother felt.” Then the Mother turned to Mona and asked: And do you know who Durga is? The relation between us is that of the father and the child. Not quite, because between the father and the child, the relation is not so supple, so full of ...
... s in the distant theatres of the War. There were also chance spells of unexpected sunshine. On one occasion early in 1940, Champaklal came in and showed the Mother a print of the celebrated 'Mona Lisa', and the following brief conversation ensued: Mother: Sri Aurobindo was the artist. Champaklal: Leonardo da Vinci? Mother smiled sweetly and said: Yes. Champaklal: Mother... Mother had once said, as was mentioned in the first chapter, that she had been an Egyptian princess in one of her early births, and now the implication here is that she was also Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa'. 26 When somebody had asked Sri Aurobindo in 1935 to elaborate his statement that, since creation started, he and the Mother had been carrying on the evolution albeit in disguise, he answered: ...
... Manoj Das Gupta 677 Manubhai Patel 496 Mao Tse-tung 459, 463, 772 Marx, Karl 762 McPheeters see Shantimayi; Vaun McPheeters Milton, John 312 Misra, Justice S.C. 282 Modern Review 157, 159 Mona Pinto 278-9 Moni (Suresh Chakravarty) 91, 131, 201, 211, 217, 496 Monica Parish 738 Monod-Herzen, Dr G. 282 Moonje, Dr B.S. 200 Moreau, Gustav 473 Morretta, Angelo 762 Morisset, Andre see... spiritual intervention in the War 404ff to pro-Nazi sadhaks 414, 423 avowal of the Allied cause 415-7 wartime prayers arid messages 422-41 Page 906 vision of its extension 424 as Mona Lisa 420 supports Cripps' Mission 425-6, 571 calls on her time 460-1, 489 self-portrait and portrait of Sri Aurobindo 465, 700, 734 paints 'Emerging Godhead' or Golden Purusha 694 decline ...
... declared that a divine descent was attempted during the Renaissance, with Leonardo Page 56 da Vinci as its centre—a very credible report since we believe you were Leonardo and the Mother Mona Lisa. I shall be much interested to know something about the inner side of this phenomenon. Was Leonardo aware of a semi-avatarhood or a pressure of spiritual planes? Never heard before of my declaring ...
... —MM. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Collected Works of the Mother, Birth Centenary Edition, Vol. 3. The Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta, Vol. 3. Sweet Mother: Harmonies of Light: Mona Sarkar. ...
... France. Yes, he died in France. 3 It has been said that Sri Aurobindo was Leonardo da Vinci... but Sri Aurobindo never told me so. 4 I don't know. Just as it has been often said I was Mona Lisa, but I know nothing about it (!) ( Mother looks at the photo ) That's right. Which château is it? That of Amboise. That's it, yes. There's a plaque. I saw a plaque. But who sent it ...
... swarm to wherever a drop of his urine chanced to fall. His night-pot had to be islanded by a ring of DDT), TB, thrombosis (leg or somewhere else), ulcers, the usual cold. The doctor was completely lost. Mona (Captain) or someone stopped him before he ran out to consult his big books, reassured him: “It is OK to give a cursory check-up, for the rest is already taken care of.” Now, who took care of the rest ...
... house” I thought surely Mother would put me somewhere else and when I went to her for an interview I asked her, “Where shall I stay now?” Mother said, “Why, you will continue to stay here in Golconde, Mona likes you very much.” So, this has been my home for fifty-three years. What work did the Mother give you in the early days and throughout your years in the Ashram? I had grown very tired of my ...
... Nolinida, Tejenda, Anilda (Jhumur’s father), Udaisingh, Vishwanathda (Drawing Office), Kalyan-da, etc. were of the Veteran’s Team. On the JSASA (Ashram 1st Team) team were Sunilda, Kanakda, Ranjuda, Mona... and I too was there. It was great fun, but for an incident — Kalyan-da tripped or was charged and fell, broke an arm! So, sadly, this was the first and last time we saw Kalyan-da play football. ...
... the laughter a long way off, a furlong or more away! There was a period that produced great workers. Karmayoga was the In thing it seemed. To mention a few of its practitioners: Manoranjan, Udar, Mona Pinto, Narayanprasad,… and Ravindra-ji. The Mother must have seen in R a great worker, on whom she could lay quite a burden (a joyous one). She did so, starting with a light one, gradually increasing ...
... down the essence not only of his own knowledge and experience but also of the experience of the Mother, as she has said herself. We can find her supreme praise for Savitri in a conversation which Mona Sarkar, then a young sadhak , has published under the title Sweet Mother – Harmonies of Light . There is no doubt that Sri Aurobindo, who had written The Poetry of the Future , conceived Savitri ...
... × Words of the Mother 15, 37 × Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother 1,1 × L’Agenda de Mère IV, 136 ...
... The Mother: Questions and Answers 1957-58, pp. 150-51 (emphases in the text). × Mona Sarkar: Sweet Mother: Harmonies of Light II, pp. 18-19 (noted from memory). × Ibid., p. 20. ...
... striking significance if one recalls some of the characteristics of the supramental being as described by the Mother e.g. in her talks at the Playground and in a series of encounters with a young disciple, Mona Sarkar, as reported by him in two slim volumes which he has called Sweet Mother I and II. The gross physical body is heavy, extremely limited in its possibilities, vulnerable, deficient in its perceptions ...
... within brackets has been omitted from the published version of the letter. 31 . Raymond and Sammer were the two architects of Golconde, the oldest guest-house of the Ashram. 32 . Mona Pinto (1911-2004), a sadhaka and the caretaker of Golconde, she was the wife of Udar Pinto. 33 . Sir Chunilal Mehta: Dilipda and Indira Devi stayed in his house at Pune (Dunlavin Cottage) ...
... of Mirra Alfassa has two r’s according to the birth certificate. It should be noted, however, that the Mother herself sometimes spelled her first name with one r (e.g. in the facsimile reproduced in Mona Sarkar’s Douce Mère I , p. 6), and that Sri Aurobindo, certainly a stickler in matters of spelling, also wrote it with one r in a mantra containing his and her name (see the facsimile in On Himself ...
... Mother already recounted this experience in Agenda VII , November 3, 1966 . × Mona Lisa and Marguerite de Valois. See Agenda III of June 30, 1962 . × See also Agenda I , October ...
... Menelaus of Sparta from whom Trojan Paris seduced away Helen. On one occasion when I remarked to the Mother that the way she had poised her arm and hand a moment earlier reminded me of the depiction of Mona Lisa's in Leonardo's famous painting, she said that at times even physical characteristics were carried over from one life to another. I think Amrita told me that Doraiswamy, the well-known Madras advocate ...
... herself hinted to me at the possibility of some sort of "carry-over" of even very outward physical formations when I on one occasion remarked how in a certain position her hands looked exactly like Mona Lisa's in the painting by Leonardo. ; Of course, heredity too is responsible for some bodily traits and we do not know what she derived from parent- age when she took birth in 1878 in the ...
... that was Sri Aurobindo's Yoga. Communications went on, time after time, through me between the Mother and him. She evidently found in him a bold and large nature and, not long after he had married Mona who had sailed out from England to join her life with his, the Mother took both of them along with their baby-girl Judy Anne (later Gauri) under her wings. (d) The Mother's ...
... He will soon be all right." (20-4-1968) Spiritual action, with or without physical props, was always the Mother's advice in dealing with the ailments or defects of the body. Group captain Mona Sarkar had a small but long-standing and resistant handicap owing to an accident during a game. On the morning of 24 August 1960 the Mother gave him a little lecture in front of me as well as a few ...
... wonderful achievements, can count as Avatars. Much less, though still glorious, the births attributed to her as Hatshepsut of ancient Egypt, Cleopatra at a later date and Elizabeth of England. As Mona Lisa, she was a mysterious inspirer of the greatest art, but nothing more. Her present birth seems to be her first manifestation of Avatarhood. It could be that Avatarhood was not needed by her in ...
... Aurobindo: "Mother or you are said to have declared that a divine descent was attempted during the Renaissance with Leonardo da Vinci as its centre - a credible report since you were Leonardo and Mother Mona Lisa. But I shall be much interested to know something about the inner side of the phenomenon. Was there a secretly recognised mystic consciousness at work - that is, recognised by da Vinci? Was he ...
... clarifying his intention in writing the epic and explaining some of the technicalities of the mantric overhead aesthesis which runs through it. This is followed by the Mother's conversation with Mona Sarkar, where she spells out the inner magnificence, spiritual efficacy and uniqueness of Savitri from among Sri Aurobindo's entire corpus. These two articles compose the first section of the book ...
... brought out by the Institut de Recherches Evolutives Paris. On Savitri-A Talk to a Young Disciple (pages 44-49) has been taken from Sweet Mother-Harmony of Light ( 1978) as reported by Mona Sarkar. NOLLINI KANTA GUPTA: Collected Works in 8 volumes in English have been published by the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education Pondicherry. The two articles included ...
... close to Madras and he and his wife decided to visit the Ashram, Here, they were so taken up by what they saw and learned that they decided to stay on. So he and Lalita were caught even as, later, Mona, my newly wed wife and I were caught. This is why I call the story "The Danger of Buying Shoes", because it all started from that act. Amal is a poet and a very fine poet at that, and with ...
... according to the Mother's wish. Then, on the morning of Friday 8.1.99 I brought the Savitri paintings and two huge cupboards to my place, because I was asked Page 30 to do so by Mona L. Pinto. The paintings remained in Golconde for 31 years or so. In the near future these paintings will go to Savitri Bhavan at Auroville.* During that time too, the Mother's recitations ...
... “Ah yes, I had forgotten. But now that you say it, I remember. It did take place as you have described. I had been to the Theatre on Christmas day only once, I could not go there afterwards. However, Mona would send two bags to me—one for me and one for the child in me. Mother used to take special interest and have fun with the toys—to please her child.” ...
... Breath of Grace , p. 17ff. × Udar Pinto (Laurance Marshall Pinto) joined the Ashram with his wife Mona in 1935. An engineer, he started or developed several Ashram departments under the Mother's guidance. He was the first Trustee of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Harpagon Workshop Trust (now Sri Aurobindo ...
... the research findings of the Archival group. A separate volume entitled Letters on Savitri as edited by K D Sethna was issued in 2000.) A Talk on Savitri : The Mother (Reported by Mona Sarkar in his Sweet Mother—Harmonies of Light , 1978) Meditations on Savitri and About Savitri : Huta (Paintings based on Savitri under the guidance of the Mother) ...
... satisfaction of having an audience of intellectuals and then it will prove my contention that poetry has a limited appeal. Now about painting. I hear quite a number of people have lost their heads over Mona Lisa, even over a copy of it, but I have come away quite sound and strong without even being touched in the heart and I am sure many others have done so. This substantiates again my theory that painting ...
... The Mother found this report — 'Compte-rendu not é de m é moire' as She called it — 'very useful'. She once wrote to a disciple:".. .years ago I have spoken at length about it to Mona Sarkar and he has noted in French what I said. Some time back I have seen what he has written and found it correct on the whole." In the following pages, we give the English translation ...
... He said with conviction and a lot of affection and also with a deep respect, that he was very much touched when he heard me read this prayer and that tears began to roll down his cheeks. He told me: “Mona, I was so happy to be there. After the March Past, as we stood, Nolini and I, suddenly I heard through the loud-speakers, the Mother’s voice, clear and distinct, reading the prayer. I was stunned and ...
... Thou who hast done everything for us, Thou who art immutable, I give myself to Thee, imploring Thy Blessings. O Love, Supreme Lord, may I be blessed by Thy Supreme Splendour." Mona Page 177 ...
... and cover himself with sand. Nothing happened to him. People said he was jelly-fish proof. (43) I had just arrived in the Ashram. I used to stay in the house now occupied by Mona. In the verandah of that house I did my physical exercises in the afternoons along with a few youngsters. Page 49 I needed a heavy barbell for my exercises. How strange! Just ...
... Mother. It is very well. It falls on a good day. It is good. Then I shall see you on that day. Come to see me at three o'clock, do you understand? (Mother writes on a piece of paper: "Mona at three o'clock") I am keeping it here in my notebook for interviews. And next year it will be transferred to the new notebook, I shall write it down. It is quite in advance ... you will remember ...
... They are remarkable, these mental and vital suggestions which nudge you, nudge you gently to commit stupidities. And once one gives in to these peculiar suggestions which tempt you by saying: "What, Mona? Don't you have the courage, aren't you brave, don't you even want to try this? Look, you are not a baby anymore. What? Don't you want to prove to yourself a little of what you can do, of what you are ...
... at all earthly. I can't describe it. She was human, yet not human - She had a beauty which you don't find in this world of ours; it was not the dazzling beauty of a Helen or a passionately beautiful Mona Lisa. It was the calm, quiet beauty of a Goddess. And Her face was very young indeed. This is what I saw and it was for the first time. So the silent tears that I had shed were wiped away. I was happy ...
... dark Shakti now reigns over the world. If it is true that in India, in more gracious ages, woman was regarded as a living symbol of the Shakti (Rama and Sita, Shiva and Parvati, Leonardo da Vinci and Mona Lisa, Sri Aurobindo and Mother)—for in fact Woman is the Shakti, the creative Force, the foundation of life, and without her no real creation can ever be embodied; She is the one who brings Consciousness ...
... must be creating a lot of music there then! How strange!" And after he had made that remark he began recounting an incident. Several years before we came to live in the Red House Udar-da, Mona, his wife and his daughter Gauri who was very small then, used to live there. The first few Christmas celebrations in the Ashram had taken place in the Red House. Anyway, on one such occasion, the Mother ...
... taught by Sisir-da. I started with these subjects. Apart from Kireet-bhai, all my other teachers were old sadhaks who had lived in the Ashram for a long time. My classmates were Batti, Kittu, Manoj, Mona, Lilou, Bhavatarini, Dhanavanti, Ranjan and Sunanda. All of them had come to the Ashram much before me at a very young age. I had interrupted my Intermediate schooling in order to come here. The system ...
... early monsoon rains which poured down heavily and unexpectedly for several days before the 18th of October, soaking the Playground completely. On the morning of the 17th October, two of us captains, Mona and I, went to the Mother and informed Her that unless the sun came out on the 18th of October, the ground would be too wet to hold the demonstration. The Mother went into a trance for a while, then ...
... and rewarding. Before I end my chapter on Manoranjan there is one more revealing and endearing episode to recount. It was (I think) M’s last birthday before he passed away. He was unable to walk. Mona and I were called to carry him in a chair up to the Mother. She was in her room two floors up. The stairs were narrow, and Manoranjan retained much of his impressive size. It was tough going but the ...
... chronology. By the way, I may say that it is possible for the Mother to be two different women in the same age. She was both Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. In an earlier age she was at the same time Mona Lisa, Margaret de Valois and some other aristocratic lady whose name I forget for the moment. Of course we are here speaking of different partial emanations of the Mother, embodying one aspect or another ...
... means for disseminating the Christian euangelion . It is here that Sethna dispels a prevalent misconception that Sri Aurobindo had stated his having been Leonardo da Vinci and the Mother Mona Lisa in a previous birth. He quotes Sri Aurobindo's written reply: "Never heard before of my declaring or anybody declaring such a thing." Objections raised regarding the historicity of Christ ...
... helping Kailas with the books, but I was so shy. I was a different person before Kailas arrived. I was always resisting everything and reluctant to show my feelings. I would not even stop to take tea. Mona Pinto used to say about me, “This boy never had a mother!” Kailas would ask, “Is there anything you would like to discuss?” I wasn’t accustomed to that kind of interaction, but began to find the ...
... Scott, Sam Spanier, Dr. Karelitz-Karry, Mrs. Polly Holmes, Mrs. Eleanor Montgomery What did you do after you returned to Pondicherry? The Mother had asked me to join the embroidery group with Mona, Pushpa, Kusum and others. We embroidered bedspreads and other linen for Golconde Guest House. After six months there she asked me to iron some clothes in the school dormitory for twenty children who ...
... dimension of Savitri is of great importance in order to understand Savitri in its profound and magnificent significance. V. ANANDA REDDY 33 The Supreme, p. 68 (as reported by Mona Sarkar.) Page 152 ...
... leading writers were superb polemicists. 1) This life-sketch, and the reminiscences that follow it, are excerpted from Sri Aurobindo and the Freedom of India, compiled and edited by Chanda Poddar, Mona Sarkar and Bob Zwicker, 1995 ed., pp. 199-206. The fiery newspaper soon became immensely popular, with a readership at times in the tens of thousands. Aware of its influence, the Government prosecuted ...
... dream. I was escorting somebody to the Playground. The door was closed. I heard Sri Aurobindo giving the orders for Gymnastic Marching, conducting the Group. It was Sri Aurobindo, and not Mona who gives the orders for Marching. It was a very loud voice. We stood outside the door. When the door opened, I sent the visitors in and stood outside. I didn't want to disturb the Gymnastic ...
... suffering to transform it into the joy of union with the Supreme." 18 NlRODBARAN 18 Ibid, pp. 44-49. There are slight differences between the passages quoted here and as reported by Mona Sarkar. Page 86 ...
... prophetic message Sri Aurobindo reveals there for us. This the work before you, it is hard but it is worth the trouble. Blessings 5.11.1967 THE MOTHER (The talk was written down by Mona Sarkar from memory after several years. It was not seen by the Mother.) Page 49 ...
... choice could not be made. So, often there was damage and misuse and the Mother had to spend some time two or three hundred rupees after darshan to repair things and restore what had been realised. Mona 32 has taken the responsibility of the house and of keeping things right as much as possible. That was why she interfered in the handbag affair – it was as much a tragedy for the table as for ...
... × Flowers and Their Messages , p. XI. × Mona Sarkar, Sweet Mother II, pp. 16-17. × In Glimpses of the Mother’s Life II, p. 69. ...
... guiding and gracious hands. I may say not only "gracious" but also "graceful", for indeed they had an exquisiteness about them. I recollect once telling her: "Your hands in a certain posture remind me of Mona Lisa's as painted by Leonardo. I almost see those hands passing from that picture into yours." She replied: "It sometimes happens that certain bodily features of one's past birth are repeated in one's ...
... England. (Ancient Athens was, of course, a certainty for me.) You have recalled my saying that I may have been "a footling of a painter" tutored by the master mind and revelatory hand which gave us "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper". Handing paint-brushes to that past Page 287 maniiestation of Sri Aurobindo, during the Creadon of those great visions, was perhaps my happy job. At ...
... before she was the Avatar in his sadhana in which every moment was a kaleidoscope of experiences in space and time, and in many spaces and times, but particularly focused on the body of the Earth. To Mona Sarkar the Mother had told how she had prepared the lives of all her children, of all those who were tuned to her, for their whole future. In an identical way she has prepared the body of the Earth ...
... written on a Japanese card: To My dear little child Huta With all my love and sweetest compassion. Pour une bonne fête.* In the afternoon Nolini, Amrita, Champaklal, Dyuman, Udar and his wife Mona, Maniben, some others and myself were waiting for the Mother at the gate of Huta House. For at last the renovation of my apartment had been completed. Her car approached driven by Pavitra with Pranab ...
... risen in the minds of many. Guru Prasad To, Huta, K.D. Sethna, Satprem, Udar, Nata, Piero, Shyamsunder, Madanlal, Gloria, Toine, Ruud, Francois, Patrizia, Amita, Robi Gangulee, William Netter, Mona, Manoj Dasgupta, Peter Steiger, Barbara. ...
... some time we shall call people.' He agreed to our proposal.... At about 2 o'clock [in the morning] we brought the Mother's body down, placed Her on the bed, arranged everything. Then I went out, called Mona, told him to come and see me with four other boys, five of my lieutenants, so to say. When they came I explained to them what to do: to call the photographers first, then to call the [Ashram] trustees ...
... the Mother asked me to keep it as it was. When the Mother and I were doing the paintings of Book One, Canto 4, there were two or three paintings which looked like modern art. She said jokingly to Mona L. Pinto: You see, now Huta and I are doing modern painting! ...
... none other than Dyuman himself, whom I had known through correspondence. He took us to Golconde, a very striking structure made according to the Mother's own idea and plan. There we were received by Mona Pinto, an English lady who had been in charge of the building since its inception. Dyuman left us there, after instructing Maniben N. Patel, Mona's assistant, to take us to the main Ashram building ...
... The Ascent of Sight in Sri Aurobindo's Savitri Section II: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on Savitri (1) The Mother to Mona Sarkar: "All the secrets that man possessed, He [Sri Aurobindo] Page 6 has revealed, - as well as all that awaits him in the future; all this is found in the depth of Savitri. But one must ...
... You send me a copy, or let me know from whom I can have it? Kishore The Mother's reply: I have written no letter on Savitri lately. But years ago I have spoken at length about it to Mona Sarkar and he has noted in French what I have said. Sometime back I have seen what he has written and found it correct on the whole. It may be that you heard of. Nolini may have a copy. ...
... Bonjour, Sweet Mother. Here, take this, I have kept something for you carefully; as soon as I received these flowers this morning, at once I thought of you: "It will be something for Mona when he comes to see me." I kept them separately. Do you know what they signify? Yes, Mother. This is 'Eternal Youth', 1 and this one is 'Eternal Smile'. 2 These are two flowers ...
... else you will have such consequences that you will be no more!… completely dissolved. But do you realise all that I can do with this vision? In the same way I have only to look at you and think: “Let Mona be transformed”, and immediately you will be transformed. Do you want that I should transform you? Mother, You are only saying that, but why don’t You do it. I am ready. Transform me. Oh! My child ...
... Lord Sinha once came and stayed here while on a visit to the Ashram. The Barons used to live in this house too. Later he became the governor of Pondicherry. We first stayed in the house where Mona stays today. At the time the landlord took back the house for his own use and so we had to find accommodation elsewhere. Before going to play tennis the Mother would go looking for a suitable ...
... Mother did not send him back to his home but asked him to join the Ashram. He was given work at the Ashram Press. He also joined the Group-activities. In the C group of those days he used to play with Mona, Manoj, Sumantra and others. He was a good sportsman and used to be in the first division in the competitions. Things were going on fine when suddenly he decided to go home for a visit. Mother ...
... you can't miss it. Disciple : I hear that the American lady B remained in Ramanashram about a week, in spite of all unclean surroundings. She spent about a hundred rupees a day on her food. Mona says that her husband's name does not indicate that he belongs to an old aristocratic family. He is a rubber magnate, he is a Lord, and is manufacturing rubber tyres. Sri Aurobindo : I don't ...
... many others. They also practised on the malkhamb and had become very skilful. Amita used to perform the Swiss drill marvellously. From among all the girls she would stand out. Among the men captains, Mona, Sumantra, Bacchu, Batti, Narendra, Manoj, Ranjan picked up everything beautifully with exemplary concentration. We had absolutely no difficulty in discovering or understanding this new life. The ...
... launch a new year on our birthday. Be it young or old, the Mother filled each one with Her inexhaustible Love. Why did the Mother give such importance and significance to the birthday? She told Mona many things about this: Yes, it is truly a special day in one’s life. It is one of those days in the year when the Supreme descends into us—or when we are face to face with the Eternal—one of those ...
... with a light heart, "I can twist their tails any time." Udar's is a colourful, multifaceted personality. He married a beautiful English woman after coming to the Ashram. Mother gave her the name Mona. She has been the Manager of Golconde from the beginning, appointed by Mother. She is known for her ability and detail management. Udar himself has been associated with a variety of works from time ...
... Maheshwari was Gauri Pinto, Mahalakshmi was Light Ganguly, Mahasaraswati was Jhumur and Mahakali was myself. In addition, there were three Asuras: Shumbha, Nishumbha and Raktabeej, played respectively by Mona, Vishweshwar and Niranjan, if I recall correctly. I don't quite recollect who had selected the actors for the Asuras, the Mother or Anu-ben. The story was the well-known traditional one. The dance ...
... Narayan Pujalal Purani, A.B. Reddy, Madhusudan Rishabhchand Rishabhchand and Shyam Sunder Romen Palit Roy, Dilip Kumar Roy, D.K. and Indira Devi Sahana Devi Sarkar, Mona Sastry, Kapali Satprem Sethna, K.D. (Amal Kiran) Sethna, K.D. and Nirodbaran 12 vols. (1977 to 1992) Breath of Grace (1973) Champaklal Speaks (2d imp. 1976) ...
... Page 15 last years, with a look in her eyes that seemed to carry the burden of the world and all the resistances of her earthly children. It reminds us of Walter Pater's moving study on Mona Lisa, with whom Mother had strange affinities and shared a certain smile: "She is older than the rocks among which she sits . . . she has been dead many times and learned the secret of the grave... ...
... chiseling and rechiseling his Porte de VEnfer, as if some new heaven might spring forth out of that chaos of the soul. And Mirra was there. She had her eyes wide open; She gazed at all this with her Mona Lisa smile or her laugh that delighted in everything, understood everything, played with everything— which understood so well what the others were seizing, clawing, kneading or tearing apart on their ...
... waiting, 4 She said during those last years with a gaze that seemed to carry the world and with it all the resistance of her terrestrial children. And we recall those moving words of Walter Pater on Mona Lisa, with whom Mother shared strange affinities and a certain smile: "She is older than the rocks among which she sits ... she has been dead many times and learned the secret of the grave" 100 . ...
... light, my primal fire, my great, white fire above the worlds, it is there that I am going! And then the blackness again. And then Batcha's little voice which returned to pull at me: An'mona! An' mona! Nothing-at-all, Mr. Nothing-at-all!... Rien-du-tout, Monsieur-rien-du-tout! And I was so small and so poignant in those great dunes, a mere nothing, so alone and so lost; no! it was not possible ...
... in such a way that he can meet me as soon as he comes from Madras without waiting. I do not know where to see him; there is no place where I could see him alone. Generally, I arrange these things in Mona's office at Golconde. I think I will see him there. It is many years since we last met. Perhaps if we met on the road without being introduced to each other I would not know him, and he too would not ...
... though destruction from bombing is going on in London, people are as firm as before and taking it all coolly. SRI AUROBINDO: It seems for the first few days they were very perturbed. That's what Mona's mother has written to her. Then they accustomed themselves to the bombing. SATYENDRA: In such circumstances, people become fatalists. SRI AUROBINDO: It is like the Japanese. In Japan there is ...
... that is now our House Maintenance Dept. on Aurobindo Street. That is where I saw it in 1945. Sailenda had left the job by then. He had gone on to become a teacher in our school. Sudhirda (Sirkar — Mona’s father) had stepped in. (Sudhirda cannot be dealt with so easily or offhand in this article. He is too great from all our points of view. Suffice it to say that he was a close collaborator of Sri Aurobindo ...
... it up afterwards. Instead one day let me go to your house in the evening and make you some hot cocoa. I could go and we could chat a little in the evening." We used to stay in the house where Mona's family stays today. "Mother, please don't do that," I answered. "If you go to my house in the evening, prepare cocoa for me, sit and chat, then people will get jealous. Please don't do that, I ...
... with Mother's blessing, I started my work for the physical education department. I used to stay with my mother and brothers at the Fanovard House that Mother had chosen for us. Now it is Captain Mona's family's house. Sudhir-da used to stay in the house on our right with his children. Right from the beginning, Sudhir-da always encouraged me in my work. He was helpful in my starting group-activities ...
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