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
... Mrinalini Devi A Talk on the Occasion of Her Birth Centenary The title of my talk today may have sprung upon you a pleasant surprise. You may have heard her name as if in a dream and forgotten it as something of no consequence. A few eminent people have even asked me, "Is there anything really to say about her?" It is always the man who counts with us... naturally made Mrinalini and all others extremely happy. "Now our father thought of taking my sister to Pondicherry. The Government gave permission. So they arrived in Calcutta via Ranchi. But Mrinalini Devi fell a victim to the 'scourge of influenza which was raging everywhere. After a week's illness she passed away on 17 December at the age of 32. The mental agony that she had kept suppressed for... knew it and wanted us to remind him about it when she would be 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 Devi 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!' My cousin who was ...
... Sri Aurobindo went to Bengal and married Srimati Mrinalini Bose, daughter of Bhupal Chandra Bose. Principal Girish Chandra Bose of the Bangabasi College, Calcutta, had acted as the go-between. Mrinalini Devi was fourteen years old at the time, and Sri Aurobindo twenty- nine. The marriage was celebrated according to Hindu rites, and the function was attended by the great scientist, Sir Jagadish Chandra... been rain at Baroda, but as he will stop at Agra, 30 30. A town in the United Provinces, famous for the Tajmahal. Page 34 Sri Aurobindo with his wife Mrinalini Devi at Nainital, 1901 Mathura 31 and Mhow, 32 he will not reach Baroda before the beginning of July. I shall probably be going separately and may also reach on the first of July.... this letter to anybody, because what I have communicated to you is extremely confidential. I haven't spoken about it to anybody else; it is forbidden. No more today. 45 Your husband Mrinalini Devi "lived always with the family of Girish Bose, Principal of Bangabasi College". Once, when Sri Aurobindo was at Pondicherry, his brother-in-law wrote to him, urging him to return to Bengal and ...
... the success of the Arya, Mrinalini Devi did not come to join Sri Aurobindo. In 1918, just at the end of the war, a Spectre swept over the Earth. It was the influenza which in less than two years took a toll of at least twenty-one million people. As it swept over the world, the Indian subcontinent paid a frightful price—at least ten million Indians died. Mrinalini Devi was one of its victims. ...
... Aurobindo A NOTE ON SRI AUROBINDO'S "SIDDHI" It is bound to be surprising to our ears that a little before December 17, 1918 when Mrinalini Devi died, Sri Aurobindo had written to her that he had attained his "Siddhi" ("Goal-Attainment") and that she should come over to Pondicherry and join him in his world-work. Surprising, for two... that year he had told the Mother in anticipation of his own departure: "You have to fulfil our Yoga of Supramental Descent and Transformation." How, then, shall we come to terms with the letter to Mrinalini Devi at the end of 1918? The mystery gets further deepened when we come across a letter Sri Aurobindo wrote in late August 1912 to Motilal Roy of Chandernagore: "My subjective sadhana may be said... knowledge and shakti established in the... physical self and Page 90 directed to my work in life..." And the crowning shade of the puzzling situation comes in a letter, again to Mrinalini Devi, not from Pondicherry but from Calcutta itself. The English translation reads: "I have not written to you for a long time. I feel that a great change will soon take place in our life. If it ...
... and retired from politics, he had one clue for identifying him as the "Yogi from the North" – Uttar Yogi – about whom Nagai Japata had spoken. Moreover, one of the letters of Sri Aurobindo to Mrinalini Devi that were produced in the Alipore court, contained a statement of "three madnesses" that were a part of Sri Aurobindo's personality. This was understood to be the declaration of the "three things"... Rue Suffren, in the southern part of the town. This house belonged to one Sunder Chetty. He remained here until April 1911. In late September, just before the removal, Saurin Bose, a cousin of Mrinalini Devi, came to Pondicherry. In November Nolini Kanta Gupta came. There were now four young men in all: Moni, Bijoy, Saurin and Nolini. On 7 November 1910 Sri Aurobindo wrote to The Hindu , a Madras... name to be published, the article was signed: "An Indian Nationalist". In the article he described the reforms as "a Chinese puzzle" and "a bulky and imposing shadow". ² On 17 December 1918 Mrinalini Devi died of influenza. The author met Sri Aurobindo at the end of December. He had been corresponding with Sri Aurobindo since 1914. Amrita and Moni – Suresh Chakravatry – were in the house during ...
... embraced him: "What! You have deceived us!" (by not going to jail). Sri Aurobindo replied in English: "Not for long will you have to wait," implying that he would not be out of prison much longer. Mrinalini Devi wrote a letter to Sri Aurobindo on 3 December in which she said, "Abinash will not work for you when he gets married." Abinash was the revolutionary worker who looked after Sri Aurobindo's household... Midnapur today. On my return I shall make the necessary arrangements here, and then proceed to Surat. That will probably be on the 15th or 16th. I shall be back on the 2nd of January. Yours Mrinalini Devi was staying at 29/3, Chhuku Khansama Lane, Calcutta. No definite arrangement was made for her expenses up to 20 December 1907. On 6 December, twelve miles from Kharagpur, near Narayangarh ...
... was always there to protect us. In the midst of endless abuses and suffering a heavenly cheerfulness wrapped us in its warm embrace, shielding us, comforting us. Mrinalini Devi In those memorable days of 1907, I have seen Mrinalini Devi take out suits used by Sri Aurobindo during his stay in England and put them on us with her own hands; in this way she would dress us up, when we had occasion to ...
... 62·63, 64 Mo slams , see under Muslims Mother , 113 , 187, 193 , 23 8,241 , 255 the (Great) Moth e r , 21 , 41 see al so India, as th e Mother motherland. see under India, as th e Mother Mrinalini Devi , 16 Muller , F. Ma x, 87 , 95, 96,97, 116 , 117(fn) Mullick, Subodh, 27 Munje, B. S ., 155 music, 65 , 66 Muslim, culture, 168 , 179 , 222 League, 31(fn), 195(fn), 224, 241(fn) religion ...
... Mrinalini Devi A Note on Sri Aurobindo’s “Siddhi” It is bound to be surprising to our ears that a little before December 17, 1918 when Mrinalini died Sri Aurobindo had written to her that he had attained his "Siddhi" ("Goal") and that she should come over to Pondicherry and join him in his world-work. Surprising, for two years later, On April 7,1920 ...
... step. Besides being a nationalist leader, I was obliged to be away so often touring the country that she must have got used to my being more of an absentee-husband than anything else!" "Did Mrinalini Devi know that you were a Yogi?" "I began my Yoga in 1904, three years after my marriage. In 1908 I received important help from Lele and discovered the foundations of my Sadhana. At the right time ...
... before starting, then the poetry would flow from his pen like a stream." From writing poetry, Sri Aurobindo would pass to his experimental sleep. In 1901, at the age of twenty-nine, he married Mrinalini Devi and tried to share his spiritual life with her. I am experiencing all the signs and symptoms , he wrote to her in a letter found in the archives of the British police. I should like to take you ...
... house for more than a year. The others worked at Manicktala Garden making bombs. And they came to meet Sri Aurobindo only occasionally. But my father stayed with Him. Barin-da, Sarojini Devi, and Mrinalini Devi were living there and the five of them shared the little that Sri Aurobindo earned. During this time Sri Aurobindo was translating the Mahabharata into English verse. While typing it out, he ...
... Pondicherry, but just when, after the war, she was preparing to make the journey to the South, she succumbed to a severe attack of influenza in December 1918. In the life-history of Sri Aurobindo, Mrinalini Devi seems but to play a minor role: but so does Urmila, Lakshmana's wife, in the Ramayana. They also serve who suffer in silence and with their silence contribute to the unfoldment of the Divine ...
... Amar, Sri Aurobindo's Diksha moulded his life. He was given the work of collecting money for the maintenance of the young men of the party. On 17th February 1908 Sri Aurobindo wrote a letter to Mrinalini Devi. 23 Scott's Lane, Calcutta. 17th Feb 1908 ² Dear Mrinalini, I have not written to you for a long time. This is my eternal failing; if you do not pardon me out of your own goodness ...
... Aurobindo was just then becoming eager to get married, so what's this about not enjoying much of worldly life ?" About one year after his marriage, Sri Aurobindo wrote (2 July 1902) to his wife Mrinalini Devi confirming his faith in 1. See this horoscope on the following page. Page 99 astrology. "Forgot to write one word in the letter. You said you have got a horoscope ...
... political projects, and was one among four or five with whom "I was planning to work on more extremist lines than the Congress," recounted Sri Aurobindo in 1938. In one of his letters to his wife, Mrinalini Devi, Sri Aurobindo mentions that he needed money to send Madhavrao to Europe for arms training so he was unable to send her more. The Bengali novelist was to witness many other things during his ...
... as the mark by which this Yogi could be recognised and all these were found in the letters to my wife." The 'three utterances' were the 'three mad nesses' of which Sri Aurobindo had written to Mrinalini Devi in 1905, on 30 August. The new zamindar of Kodiyalam was but a babe of two or three when Nagai Swami attained samadhi. But he was brought up in that lore. Nor did he forget to pass on the ...
... There was a constant coming and going. His na-masi would often ask her favourite nephew Auro to accompany her to the Ganges for a bath. He went to his father-in-law's residence also to meet Mrinalini Devi. How did he manage ? Even for a normal person it is a tremendous task. But Sri Aurobindo in his condition? It simply takes my breath away. When things reached a crucial stage, God came ...
... y. The letter has been reproduced in Supplement III of The Problem . Amal's letter of 17.1.88 is extremely important because it contains a detailed comment on the only letter from Mrinalini Devi that Sri Aurobindo had preserved, which remains unpublished. I had sent Amal copies of all the letters my parents had painstakingly copied from the Alipore Bomb Case court archives. I had pointed ...
... strength without wisdom cannot build eternal things. It can only give momentary succour. Last to meet Savitri is the Mother of Joy and Peace. The description of the Madonna of Light reminds one of Mrinalini Devi: 50 Ibid., p. 508. 51 Translated by K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar. 52 Savitri, p. 509. Page 208 Here, living centre of that vision of peace, A Woman sat in ...
... See Georges Van Vrekhem, Beyond Man, chapter sixteen, ‘The Lord of the Nations.’ × Mrinalini Devi, Sri Aurobindo’s wife, was one of the victims. She died on 17 December 1918. ...
... writer on astrology. These notes did not form a book and no book of Sri Aurobindo's on this subject appeared from the A. P. [ Arya Publishing ] House. It is not a fact that Sri Aurobindo's wife Mrinalini Devi was residing at Sj. K. K. Mitra's house in College Square; Sri Aurobindo himself lived there constantly between the Alipore trial and his departure to French India. But she lived always with the ...
... * The population of India, which at the time included present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh. Page 15 (From a letter Sri Aurobindo wrote in Bengali to his wife, Mrinalini Devi, in which he tried to explain to her the call he felt to work for his country's freedom; this letter was seized by the police a few years later and produced as evidence in the Alipore Bomb Case ...
... who disregarding all logic of facts responded to her call and ran to her rescue taking, as we say, their life in their hands. The feeling has been vividly preserved in the now famous letter to Mrinalini Devi by Sri Aurobindo fortunately brought to light unintentionally by the Police in the Vande Mataram trial. He wrote : " whereas others regard the country as an inert object, and know it as consisting ...
... on as rapidly as possible or as the support and sympathy of the public allows. With the blessing of the Mother this will not fail us. ¹ On 30 August 1905 Sri Aurobindo wrote a letter to Mrinalini Devi. The letter is one of those which were found and taken away by the police during the search of the Grey Street house in connection with the Alipore bomb trial and afterwards produced in court ...
... do?” he replied, “Why? you should love! Have you not seen how They love?” A Century’s Salutation NIRMALYA ROY The heart of this revolutionary was soft as a flower. When he would refer to Mrinalini Devi, his eyes would be filled with tears. He would refer to her as Ma Mrinalini. She too looked upon him as her son. At his instance, Sri Sailendranath Bose, Mrinalini Devi’s younger brother, wrote ...
... Twelve Years with Sri Aurobindo (3d imp. 1988) Sri Aurobindo's Humour (1974) Sri Aurobindo for All Ages (1990) Memorable Moments with the Mother (2d ed. 1st imp. 1993) Mrinalini Devi (1988) Dream Cadences (1946) The Yoga of Works (1976) The Yoga of Self-Perfection (1983) Commentaries on the Mother's Ministry in 4 vols. (1983, 1983, 1985, 1988) ...
... Sri Aurobindo, his "first positive spiritual experience and it made possible all the rest of the sadhana." That his sadhana was progressing at a pace can be deduced from his letters to his wife, Mrinalini Devi. - The experience of the Cosmic Consciousness, or the Vasudeva experience in the Alipore jail. Now, any one of these experiences would have been fulfilment enough for any individual. ...
... kept 'self-silent'...." In both speeches he explained the position of Nationalists. We rather doubt he had time to go to Deoghar before leaving for Surat on the 21 st . According to Purani, Mrinalini Devi was then living in N°29/3 Chhaku Khansama Lane, Calcutta. So in all likelihood Sri Aurobindo at least saw his wife and could bid her good-bye. Every day counted; there were pulls from every ...
... hadn't received 1. Debabrata Bose was committed for trial in the Alipore Bomb Case, but was acquitted. He later became Swami Prajnananda. His sister, Sudhira Bose, was a bosom friend of Mrinalini Devi, Sri Aurobindo's wife. Page 105 some benefit from him and none had returned from his door empty-handed. He was said to have been a great friend of the poor. Previous to Khulna ...
... pencil in hand and a paper in front of him. Sri Aurobindo was doing automatic 'speech.' It was Bejoy's room. Bejoy was there, as were Nolini, Saurin, Hem Sen, Biren and Moni. 2 Saurin Bose was Mrinalini Devi's cousin; Biren was related to Sri Aurobindo. The day had been quite normal for Sri Aurobindo. After his morning work he had taken as usual his midday meal, then worked on his articles for ...
... 28th. A letter of introduction addressed to Srinivasachari was given to him. He walked to the Howrah station and took his seat in the second class. He was dressed as an Anglo-Indian. Saurin Bose, Mrinalini Devi's cousin and Sukumar Mitra, Krishna Kumar's son, were on the platform to see him off. They gave him his second class ticket and Rs. 30 in cash. He reached Pondicherry on the 31st. Some people ...
... react if I put the force in a different way." Being scientific in his methods, he studied the laws that govern a force, under what conditions would it work and give tangible results. Saurin, Mrinalini Devi's cousin, shared a room with Moni in Sundar Chetty's house. Once he suffered from acute diarrhoea. Sri Aurobindo used both his mind and heart into his will for its 'lessening.' On 9 February he ...
... Whatever Mrinalini would have desired, should be done, and I have no doubt this is what she would have approved of. I consent to the chudis [bangles] being kept by her mother; but I should be glad if you would send me two or three of her books, especially if there are any in which her name is written. I have only of her her letters and a photograph. Aurobindo" Even after Mrinalini Devi's death... Of these she has left behind an almost complete collection. "Mrinalini often visited Sri Ma 1 (widow of Paramhansa Dev) at the Udbodhan Office in Bagbazar, who treated her with great affection, calling her Baup-Ma (the normal Bengali appellation for daughter-in-law) in consideration of the fact 1. Sri Saradamoni Devi, wife of Sri Ramakrishna. Page 125 that the Holy... endowment named Page 126 after Mrinalini, out of the interest of which a girl student is maintained at the Sister Nivedita School." Contrary to Bhupal C. Bose's statement Sri Aurobindo had quite another understanding on the matter of his wife's diksha or initiation. "I did not take my wife for initiation to Saradeshwari Devi," he stated. "I was given to understand that she ...
... of the smooth- faced Vaishnava who came. So that was the vision of a man I had never seen but as he was to be in future a prophetic vision." 10 Saurin, Sri Aurobindo's brother-in-law (Mrinalini Devi's cousin) came from Bengal by the end of September and stayed with Sri Aurobindo. In October - probably towards the end - Sri Aurobindo moved from Shankar Chetty's house to Rue Suffren in the... in the verandah of 41, Rue Francois Martin." Arunchandra Dutt, a disciple of Motilal Roy, came from Chandernagore and stayed at Sri Aurobindo's house for a few months. Mrinalini Chattopadhyaya and Kamala Devi Chattopadhyaya also came and met Sri Aurobindo in this year. In September, 1922, as already stated, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother moved with their disciples to No 9, Rue de la... the Mother. James H. Cousins came and met Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Dr. Munje came and stayed with Sri Aurobindo. He had long talks with the Master on political subjects. Sarala Devi Choudhurani came sometime in 1920 or later and had an interview with Sri Aurobindo. Colonel Joshua Wedgewood, an English M.P., visited Sri Aurobindo. X In 1919, after ...
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