The Mother, an introduction (1878-1973)
Today, Sri Aurobindo Ashram is known as a great centre of spiritual endeavour. People from all over the world come to Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry), in South India, to bathe in an atmosphere full of peace, light and joy, to live a life of sadhana and yoga, to imbibe a new spiritual force that can embrace and perfect life.
And the word they hear the most in the Ashram is ‘Mother’. From the beginning, Sri Aurobindo entrusted the Mother with full material and spiritual charge of the Ashram. Everything in the Ashram is her creation; every initiative draws inspiration from her and moves towards her vision.
The Mother beautifully summarizes her mission thus: “…my only aim in life is to give a concrete form to Sri Aurobindo’s great teaching and in his teaching he reveals that all the nations are essentially one and meant to express the Divine Unity upon earth through an organised and harmonious diversity”. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother strove together to embody and manifest upon earth this Divine Consciousness, with the Ashram as the starting point.
It was the Mother who, along with Sri Aurobindo, planted the seeds of a new way of life founded on this higher consciousness. It was her drive, her force, her guidance that made things happen. From the smallest insignificant detail to the overseeing of every aspect of maintaining the Ashram, from interacting with the children of the Centre of Education to the supervising of the athletic competitions in the sports ground—she was there, fully present, to see that everything is raised to its utmost perfection.
Just as Sri Aurobindo once said that his life “has not been on the surface for man to see”, it is indeed equally difficult to describe the Mother’s life as well. And yet, we may mention a few significant dates and features of her extraordinary life.
1907 – 1914 Paris
When in 1907 Mirra returned to Paris, Théon accompanied her. While at sea they were assailed by a violent storm. The sea became very rough with high waves and the ship was tossed about so badly that the passengers got panicky. Théon looked at Mirra and asked her to stop it. The Mother described what happened:
“I went to my cabin, lay down on the bunk. Then, leaving my body there, I went up out of it and moved freely to the open sea. Then, leaving my body there, I went up out of it and moved freely to the open sea. There I found innumerable entities, but formless, madly jumping about. They were the ones that were creating all this havoc! I went near and, approaching them gently, said very sweetly, ‘What can you gain by torturing these poor people?’ I appealed to them, 'Please calm down and spare their lives.’ For half an hour I went on cajoling and remonstrating with them, until they gradually began to calm down. When they had completely ceased their activity, the troubled sea was calm once more. I returned to my body and went out of the cabin. Arriving on the saloon-deck I found everybody thoroughly enjoying themselves.”
The well-known Tibetologist Madame Alexandra David Neel was a member of the study group started by the Mother in Paris. She describes her impressions of the Mother:
“We spent marvellous evenings together with friends, believing in a great future. ... I remember her elegance, her accomplishments, her intellect endowed with mystical tendencies.”
In spite of her great love and sweetness, in spite even of her inherent ease of making herself forgotten after achieving some noble deed, she couldn't manage to hide very well the tremendous force she bore within herself.
After her return from Algeria, Mirra started another study group called ‘Cosmique' with twelve dedicated members. She gave a talk to this group on “What is the aim to be achieved, the work to be done, and the means of achievement.” She spoke of the New Consciousness, which has to be brought down and of founding collectively an ideal society, in a place suited to the flowering of the new race, that of the 'Sons of God'. Mirra was only thirty-four. It would be another two years before she would meet Sri Aurobindo and another fourteen years before the Ashram would come into being. But already she had chalked out clearly her future programme of collaboration with Sri Aurobindo.
1914 – 1915 Paris to Pondy
Sri Aurobindo had come to Pondicherry in 1910. The same year Mirra's husband, Paul Richard, also came to Pondicherry for some political work. He met Sri Aurobindo several times and on his return to France told Mirra about him. Mirra now felt irresistibly drawn towards India. At this time, she maintained a spiritual diary where she noted every day her aspirations and experiences. This was published later as the Prayers and Meditations. In the introduction the Mother wrote:
“Some give their soul to the Divine, some their life, some offer their work, some their money. A few consecrate all of themselves and all they have-soul, life, work, wealth; these are the true children of God. Others give nothing, these whatever their position, power and riches are for the Divine purpose valueless cyphers. This book is meant for those who aspire for an utter consecration to the Divine.”
On March 3, 1914, two days before leaving Paris, the Mother wrote in her diary:
“As the day of departure draws near, I enter into a kind of self-communion; I turn with a fond solemnity towards all those thousand little nothings around us which have silently, for so many years, played their role of faithful friends; I thank them gratefully for all the charm they were able to give to the outer side of our life. I wish that if they are destined to pass into other hands than ours for any length of time, these hands may be gentle to them and know all the respect that is due to what Thy divine Love, O Lord, has brought out from the dark inconscience of chaos.
Then I turn towards the future and my gaze becomes more solemn still. What it holds in store for us I do not know nor care to know; outer circumstances have no importance at all; my only wish is that this may be for us the beginning of a new inner period, in which, more detached from material things, we could be more conscious of Thy law and more one-pointedly consecrated to its manifesting; that it may be a period of greater light, greater love, of a more perfect dedication to Thy cause. In a silent adoration I contemplate Thee...”
On March 6, 1914 Mirra and Paul Richard boarded the Japanese ship Kaga Maru and sailed for Colombo. The moment was approaching which was to bring about a momentous change in the Mother's life and the world's history. The Mother was then thirty-six.
After disembarking at Colombo, Mirra and Paul Richard reached Pondicherry in the early hours of March 29, 1914. While approaching, the Mother had a vision of a huge column of light in the centre of Pondicherry and there was such a change in the physical quality of the atmosphere that she knew they were entering the aura of Sri Aurobindo. They met Sri Aurobindo on the very same day in the afternoon, and everything changed. The Mother saw in front of her the Krishna of her vision, who had been guiding her all along. She knew immediately that her place and work were at his side, here in India.
The Mother also experienced immediately the great power of Sri Aurobindo's realizations:
“[W]hen I first met Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry, I was in deep concentration, seeing things in the Supermind, things that were to be but which were somehow not manifesting. I told Sri Aurobindo what I had seen and asked him if they would manifest. He simply said, ‘yes’. And immediately I saw that the Supramental had touched the earth and was beginning to be realised! This was the first time I had witnessed the power to make real what is true.”
The next day the Mother wrote in her diary:
“It matters little that there are thousands of beings plunged in the densest ignorance, He whom we saw yesterday is on earth; his presence is enough to prove that a day will come when darkness shall be transformed into light, and Thy reign shall be indeed established upon earth.”
This was the beginning of a great spiritual collaboration. Its immediate outer expression was the publication of two journals, one in English and the other in French called the Arya. The Mother was the chief executive of the publications and took care of the smallest details. She wrote in her artistic handwriting the list of subscribers and maintained all the accounts. It was in the Arya that Sri Aurobindo poured forth, month after month, all the spiritual knowledge he had gained in the pursuit of yoga, and in which all his major works were published serially for the first time.
Along with this a society was founded to unite all those who were open to these ideas and wanted to work for its realization. It was called ‘L’Idée Nouvelle’ or ‘The New Idea’.
1916 – 1920 Japan
But then the First World War intervened. In February 1915, Paul Richard had to go back to France to join the French Reserve Army and the Mother returned with him. Soon after, she fell seriously ill and the doctors gave up all hope. She recovered by the sheer force of her inner strength. In 1916, she sailed for Japan as part of her spiritual quest.
The Mother was greatly impressed by the beauty of Japan. She learned several typical Japanese customs–the tea ceremony, the flower arrangements and to dress in the Kimono. She said later:
“For four years from an artistic point of view, I lived from wonder to wonder.”
In Tokyo, the Mother stayed with Dr & Mme Okhawa. Dr Okhawa writes:
“Something in her drew me to her,–call it grace, call it the immutable light of the polar star that makes the magnet point to its own centre. A fragrance was wafted from her to me as from Paradise, sweet with the scent of immemorial days.
There was a light in her eyes as of the great morning of the world that was about to dawn. ... I was a friend, an intimate member of the family. I was her brother. You have known her as the Divine. And the Divine I have known as a friend and sister. She was beautiful in 'Western clothes’. And she looked surpassingly lovely when she wore a Kimono. If I could but see, I would surely have said that she looked equally lovely in an Indian saree.
To measure is to be apart and to assess is to be far away. Distance alone can ensure description. How could I, who lived in the very heart of Fujiyama, tell you about the volume of its fire and flame and the dimensions of its light?”
To measure is to be apart and to assess is to be far away. Distance alone can ensure description. How could I, who lived in the very heart of Fujiyama, tell you about the volume of its fire and flame and the dimensions of its light?”
And from the recollections of Mme Okhawa:
“I knew her very well. She was one of those blessed spirits that one learns to love heart and soul.
She came from the far-off land of France. But it was my feeling that she was all along, like me, a daughter of Japan. I could swear that she was my very sister whenever she wore a Kimono.
She came from the far-off land of France. But it was my feeling that she was all along, like me, a daughter of Japan. I could swear that she was my very sister whenever she wore a Kimono.
It was for a brief while that she sojourned here. But great was my happiness when I lived with her. And when she went away, there was a mist in my eyes like the autumnal mist that hangs over Tokyo and on the ocean around.
I do not know what it is to be a mother. But I probably know more than any other what it is to be a sister.”
I do not know what it is to be a mother. But I probably know more than any other what it is to be a sister.”
The Mother had many interesting spiritual experiences in Japan. Once she completely identified herself with the consciousness of a cherry-tree:
“A deep concentration seized on me, and I perceived that I was identifying myself with a single cherry-blossom, then through it with all cherry blossoms, and, as I descended deeper in the consciousness, following a stream of bluish force, I became suddenly the cherry-tree itself, stretching towards the sky like so many arms its innumerable branches laden with their sacrifice of flowers. Then I heard distinctly this sentence:
‘Thus hast thou made thyself one with the soul of the cherry-trees and so thou canst take note that it is the Divine who makes the offering of this flower-prayer to heaven.’ When I had written it, all was effaced; but now the blood of the cherry-tree flows in my veins and with it flows an incomparable peace and force. What difference is there between the human body and the body of a tree? In truth, there is none: the consciousness which animates them is identically the same.
Then the cherry-tree whispered in my ear:
‘It is in the cherry-blossom that lies the remedy for the disorders of the spring.’”
‘It is in the cherry-blossom that lies the remedy for the disorders of the spring.’”
1920 – 1973 Pondicherry
In 1920 the Mother sailed for Pondicherry. Now the most important chapter in her life was to begin. She had found her chosen and appointed place of spiritual fulfilment.
The Mother reached Pondicherry on April 24, 1920. She was forty-two. She was pursuing an intense Yoga and the sadhana was going on in the mental and vital planes. The result was even a physical change in her appearance.
“... after a month's yoga I looked exactly eighteen. And someone who had seen me before, who had lived with me in Japan and came here, found it difficult to recognise me. He asked me, 'But really, is it you?' I said, 'Obviously.'”
Until the Mother's final arrival, a few of Sri Aurobindo's followers had lived with him as members of the household. With the coming of the Mother, a collective life took shape. The things got better organized and regular collective meditations were started. Shri Nolini Kanta Gupta, one of the earliest disciples, said of the Mother:
“The Mother taught by her manner and speech, and showed us in actual practice, what was the meaning of disciple and master; ... It was the Mother who opened our eyes...”
The foundations of the Ashram were being laid. In 1920, a great event occurred which put the seal of certainty on the work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The aim of their Yoga is to bring down the highest Supramental Consciousness of the Divine and to establish it in the earth consciousness. But before this can take place, the Overmind Consciousness or the Krishna Consciousness, has to be firmly established. This descent took place on November 24, 1926.
There were then twenty-four disciples. On that eventful day, they gathered in the verandah of Sri Aurobindo's room. On the wall behind Sri Aurobindo's chair was a black silk curtain showing three Chinese dragons. The tail of each dragon reached up to the mouth of the other. There was an old prophecy in China that Truth would manifest on earth when the three dragons would meet: They symbolize the regions of earth, mind and sky. After a short meditation, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, for the first time, together blessed all the disciples. From that day, Sri Aurobindo handed over the complete spiritual and material charge of all the disciples to the Mother and withdrew into seclusion to concentrate on his sadhana of the Supermind.
The next few years saw great changes. The number of disciples increased and many new activities were started. This is a sadhana which tries to bring down the spirit into matter. All fields of human activity are accepted and the Mother took care of the smallest details. From an unknown experiment in a corner of India, the Ashram now grew into a great centre of yoga, attracting devotees and disciples from all over the world.
In 1950, Sri Aurobindo left his body in a supreme sacrifice to hasten the descent of the Supramental upon earth. For some time Sri Aurobindo and the Mother had discussed this possibility and Sri Aurobindo had told the Mother:
In 1950, Sri Aurobindo left his body in a supreme sacrifice to hasten the descent of the Supramental upon earth. For some time Sri Aurobindo and the Mother had discussed this possibility and Sri Aurobindo had told the Mother:
“If necessary ... I might go. You will have to fulfil our Yoga of Supramental descent and transformation.”
The descent of the Supermind took place on February 29, 1956. The Mother has described how this came about:
“This evening the Divine Presence, concrete and material, was there present amongst you. I had a form of living gold, bigger than the universe, and I was facing a huge and massive golden door which separated the world from the Divine. As I looked at the door, I knew and willed, in a single movement of consciousness, that, ‘the time has come', and lifting with both hands a mighty golden hammer I struck one blow, one single blow on the door and the door was shattered to pieces. Then the supramental Light and Force and Consciousness rushed down upon earth in an uninterrupted flow.”
“This evening the Divine Presence, concrete and material, was there present amongst you. I had a form of living gold, bigger than the universe, and I was facing a huge and massive golden door which separated the world from the Divine. As I looked at the door, I knew and willed, in a single movement of consciousness, that, ‘the time has come', and lifting with both hands a mighty golden hammer I struck one blow, one single blow on the door and the door was shattered to pieces. Then the supramental Light and Force and Consciousness rushed down upon earth in an uninterrupted flow.”
A message was distributed, in which the Mother significantly modified one of her earlier prayers from the future to the present tense:
“Lord, Thou hast willed, and I execute:
A new light breaks upon the earth,
A new world is born.
The things that were promised are fulfilled.”
A most decisive step in the Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother had been taken. The goal was certain. Now it was a question of time and of preparing the earth for the full manifestation of the Supermind. There could be no more failure, no more falling back.
In the meantime, the Ashram continued to grow and expand under the Mother's guidance. In 1952, the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education was started. The Mother was busy from morning to night–meeting the disciples, listening to their problems and queries, looking after the large number of departments, taking classes for the children, encouraging them in their sports and cultural activities, leading and guiding them and showing the way in everything.
In 1954, Pondicherry merged politically with India. The Mother made an open declaration:
“I am French by birth and early education; I am Indian by choice and predilection. In my consciousness there is no antagonism between the two, on the contrary, they combine very well and complete one another. I know also that I can be of service to both equally, for my only aim in life is to give a concrete form to Sri Aurobindo's great teaching and in his teaching he reveals that all the nations are essentially one and meant to express the Divine Unity upon earth through an organised and harmonious diversity.”
The Ashram has now nearly 1200 members. With the number of devotees increasing all over the world, the Mother started the Sri Aurobindo Society in 1960. She was its Executive President. In 1964, the Mother launched the project of Auroville, the city of human unity, named after Sri Aurobindo. It is a city for 50,000 inhabitants, and is hailed by people from all over the world. In 1968, the foundation stone of Auroville was laid and the Mother read out the charter herself.
In 1972, the Birth Centenary of Sri Aurobindo was celebrated. The Mother took a personal interest in every part of the preparation and gave the following message:
“One more step towards Eternity.”
In 1973, on 17 November, after a brief illness, the Mother left her physical body. She was ninety-five. Nolini Kanta Gupta made the following declaration:
“Mother once told me—'If ever I leave my body, my consciousness will remain with you.'
Mother is present amongst us and Her work continues. Let us once more dedicate ourselves for work of transformation with utmost sincerity & faithfulness.”
Mother is present amongst us and Her work continues. Let us once more dedicate ourselves for work of transformation with utmost sincerity & faithfulness.”
Who is the Mother? Sri Aurobindo has declared in no uncertain terms:
“The One whom we adore as the Mother is the divine Conscious Force that dominates all existence, one and yet so many-sided that to follow her movement is impossible even for the quickest mind and for the freest and most vast intelligence.”
The Mother is One but manifests in the world through her many personalities. In the words of Sri Aurobindo:
“Four great Aspects of the Mother, four of her leading Powers and Personalities have stood in front in her guidance of this Universe and in her dealings with the terrestrial play. One is her personality of calm wideness and comprehending wisdom and tranquil benignity and inexhaustible compassion and sovereign and surpassing majesty and all-ruling greatness. Another embodies her power of splendid strength and irresistible passion, her warrior mood, her overwhelming will, her impetuous swiftness and world-shaking force. A third is vivid and sweet and wonderful with her deep secret of beauty and harmony and fine rhythm, her intricate and subtle opulence her compelling attraction and captivating Grace. The fourth is equipped with her close and profound capacity of intimate knowledge and careful flawless work and quiet and exact perfection in all things. Wisdom, Strength, Harmony, Perfection are their several attributes and it is these powers that they bring with them into the world, manifest in a human disguise in their Vibhutis and shall found in the divine degree of their ascension in those who can open their earthly nature to the direct and living influence of the Mother. To the four we give the four great names, Maheshwari, Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, Mahasaraswati...”
“Four great Aspects of the Mother, four of her leading Powers and Personalities have stood in front in her guidance of this Universe and in her dealings with the terrestrial play. One is her personality of calm wideness and comprehending wisdom and tranquil benignity and inexhaustible compassion and sovereign and surpassing majesty and all-ruling greatness. Another embodies her power of splendid strength and irresistible passion, her warrior mood, her overwhelming will, her impetuous swiftness and world-shaking force. A third is vivid and sweet and wonderful with her deep secret of beauty and harmony and fine rhythm, her intricate and subtle opulence her compelling attraction and captivating Grace. The fourth is equipped with her close and profound capacity of intimate knowledge and careful flawless work and quiet and exact perfection in all things. Wisdom, Strength, Harmony, Perfection are their several attributes and it is these powers that they bring with them into the world, manifest in a human disguise in their Vibhutis and shall found in the divine degree of their ascension in those who can open their earthly nature to the direct and living influence of the Mother. To the four we give the four great names, Maheshwari, Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, Mahasaraswati...”
To the disciples, Sri Aurobindo has said:
“The Mother herself is the destination, everything is in her. When you find her you find all.”
Sri Aurobindo has revealed that the Mother is also Savitri who has descended here “into the Darkness that she may lead it to the Light, into the Falsehood and Error that she may convert it to the Truth, into this Death that she may turn it to godlike Life, into this world-pain and its obstinate sorrow and suffering that she may end it in the transforming ecstasy of her sublime Ananda.”
We can end this narration of the Mother’s life with a few lines from Sri Aurobindo’s epic Savitri,
“At the head she stands of birth and toil and fate,
In their slow round the cycles turn to her call;
Alone her hands can change Time's dragon base.
Hers is the mystery the Night conceals;
The spirit's alchemist energy is hers;
She is the golden bridge, the wonderful fire.
The luminous heart of the Unknown is she,
A power of silence in the depths of God;She is the Force, the inevitable Word,
The magnet of our difficult ascent,
The Sun from which we kindle all our suns,
The Light that leans from the unrealised Vasts,
The joy that beckons from the impossible,
The Might of all that never yet came down.
All Nature dumbly calls to her alone
To heal with her feet the aching throb of life
And break the seals on the dim soul of man
And kindle her fire in the closed heart of things.”
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