March 2016 Newsletter - Web

March 2016 SRI AUROBINDO SOCIETY VOL 30.03 Singapore Permit No. MCI (P) 069/01/2016 NEWSLETTER Generosity Gives for the joy of giving.Botanical Name: Impatiens balsaminaCommon Name: Garden balsam, Rose balsamSpiritual Significance: Psychic GenerosityBe like a flower. One must try to become like a flower: open, frank, equal,generous and kind... A flower is open to all that surrounds it: Nature,light, the rays of the sun, the wind, etc. It exerts a spontaneous influenceon all that is around it. It radiates a joy and beauty.....how it gives the mysterious beauty and the very own perfume ofNature. It sacrifices itself entirely for our pleasure, even its life itsacrifices to express this beauty and the secret of the things gatheredwithin itself. - The Mother

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. March 2016. Guiding Light of the Month“All Nature hails Thee, O Lord, and with arms lifted and hands outstretchedshe implores Thee. Not that she doubts Thy infinite generosity and thinks shemust ask in order to have; but that is her way of bowing to Thee and givingherself to Thee, for is this giving anything else than being ready to receive?” The Mother, ‘Prayers and Meditations’ June 28 1914This March edition of the Newsletter mulls over From the Editor’s Deskthe virtue of “Generosity” which appears as deep generosity by The Mother. The one quality thatpurple on The Mother’s symbol. Generosity refers uplifts them to that high status where giving isto the quality of being generous or kind. concerned is that they give without expecting“Generous is a late 16th century derivation from anything in return. The Mother says, “It is he whothe Latin, “generosus” meaning noble or wants to take who is unhappy; he who gives himselfmagnanimous, which is a derivation of “genus” is never so. Upon an inevitable self-search thatwhich means stock or race. “Generous” is then ensues following this suggestion, one is faced withassociated with noble birth, courageous and these self-directed questions: Whenever I give, do Imagnanimous. The opposite of generous is give without any expectation of a return? When I do“meanness” which further clarifies the position of not expect anything at all, what is the state of mygenerosity. In his ‘Thoughts and Aphorisms’, Sri consciousness? When I expect something in return,Aurobindo presents this thought provoking what is it I expect? What is the state of myiteration, “Nobleness and generosity are the soul’s consciousness at these times? Do I regret such aethereal firmament; without them, one looks at an state? Why? Am I at all aware all the time?insect in a dungeon.” The “insect in a dungeon” isa powerful imagery that at once brings an As in all cases, a self-observation stands pre-experience of a vulnerable, ephemeral creature eminent in understanding one’s own nature and theliving in a small, closed-up dark, cloistered and place of a quality, such as generosity, manifestingnarrow space. This is quite enough to illustrate a and expressing itself through it.state lacking generosity. Though generosity is usually associated withOther synonyms associated with generosity are material kind, in the eyes of Mahalakshmi, the“liberal”, “unselfish”, “benevolent”, “bountiful” materially, monetarily rich may be poor whereas, aand “munific”. In generosity, there is a giving poor man with a generous heart is rich. Poor, ininvolved from one entity unto the being or space Mahalakshmi’s eyes is all that is, “…dry, cold,of another which receives for whatever end. What coiled …..” The Mother also speaks about anotherdoes this giving involve? It may be in terms of kind of generosity that she calls, “moralkinds or tangibles and in terms of intangibles such generosity”. This is what She has to say:as time, effort and intentions of goodwill and thelike, such as love and joy. Generosity could be “To feel happy, for example, when a comrade isafforded to people, to animals, to plants, to successful. An act of courage, of unselfishness, aanything and everything one can relate with and fine sacrifice have a beauty in them which givesfeel inspired to give or offer to. you joy. It may be said that moral generosity consists in being able to recognize the true worthIn this edition, we see flowers being elevated to and superiority of others.”the position of exemplars in the art of giving, in Let us invoke generosity within us.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 2

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. March 2016. Savitri The first fair life that breaks from Nature's swoon, Mounts in a line of rapture to the skies; Absorbed in its own happy urge it lives, Sufficient in itself, yet turned to all. In her luxurious ecstasy of joy She squandered the love-music of her notes, Wasting the passionate pattern of her blooms And festival riot of her scents and hues. (Book Five, Canto One) Immortal fragrance packed the quivering breeze, In groves that seemed moved bosoms and trembling depths The million children of the undying spring Bloomed, pure, unnumbered stars of hued delight Nestling for shelter in their emerald sky (Book Eleven, Canto Five) Flowers are Mediums of Transmission Gives for the joy of giving.When I give flowers, it is as an answer to the aspiration coming from the very depths of yourbeing. It is a need or an aspiration, it depends upon the person. It may fill a void or else give youthe impetus to progress, or it may help you find the inner harmony in order to establish peace. Doyou understand?Be like a flower. One must try to become like a flower: open, frank, equal, generous and kind.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 3

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. March 2016.A flower is open to all that surrounds it: Nature, light, the rays of the sun, the wind, etc. It exertsa spontaneous influence on all that is around it. It radiates a joy and a beauty.It is frank: it hides nothing of its beauty, and lets it flow frankly out of itself. What is within,what is in its depths, it lets it come out so that everyone can see it.It is equal: it has no preference. Everyone can enjoy its beauty and its perfume, without rivalry. Itis equal and the same for everybody. There is no difference, or anything whatsoever.Then generous: without reserve or restriction, how it gives the mysterious beauty and the veryown perfume of Nature. It sacrifices itself entirely for our pleasure, even its life it sacrifices toexpress this beauty and the secret of the things gathered within itself.And then, kind: it has such a tenderness, it is so sweet, so close to us, so loving. Its presence fillsus with joy. It is always cheerful and happy.Happy is he who can exchange his qualities with the real qualities of the flowers. Try to cultivatein yourself their refined qualities.I give you flowers so that you may develop the Divine qualities they symbolise. And they candirectly transmit into the psychic all that they contain, pure, unalloyed. They possess a verysubtle and very deep power and influence. Do you understand? Now, it seems to me that youwish to become like a flower or cultivate these qualities. And, you know, each flower symbolisesan aspect, an emanation, an aspiration and a progress in the evolution of the earth.(Excerpts from ‘Flowers and their Messages’, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Pondicherry) What a Child Should Always RememberMother comments upon some of the qualities enumerated in her article “What a Child ShouldAlways Remember” (On Education)“To be modest”This is to take oneself at one’s true worth.Generally people pass from an excessive appreciation of their personal value to an equallyexcessive discouragement. One day they say, “I am wonderful”, and the next day, “Oh! I amgood for nothing, I can do nothing.” That is like a pendulum, isn’t it?There is nothing more difficult than knowing exactly what one is; one must neither overrateoneself nor depreciate oneself, but understand one’s limits and know how to advance towards theideal set before oneself. There are people who see in a big way and immediately imagine theycan do everything. There are petty officers, for example, who imagine themselves capable ofwinning all the battles of the world, and small people who think they surpass everybody in theworld. On the other hand, I have known some people who had abilities but who spent their timethinking, “I am good for nothing.” Generally the two extremes are found in the same person. Butwww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 4

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. March 2016.to find someone who knows exactly where he stands and exactly where he can go, is very rare.We have avoided speaking of vanity because we expect that you won’t be filled with vanity assoon as you score a success.Just imagine, there are plants which are vain! I am speaking of plants one grows for oneself. Ifone pays them compliments, by words or by feelings, if one admires them, well, they hold uptheir head—with vanity! It is the same with animals.I am going to tell you a short amusing story. In Paris there is a garden called “The Garden ofPlants”: there are animals there also, as well as plants. They had just received a magnificent lion.It was of course in a cage. And it was furious. There was a door in the cage behind which itcould hide. And it would hide itself just when the visitors came to see it! I saw that and one day Iwent up to the cage and began speaking to it (animals are very sensitive to spoken language, theyreally listen). I began speaking softly to my lion, I said to it, “Oh! How handsome you are, whata pity that you are hiding yourself like this, how much we would like to see you….” Well, itlistened. Then, little by little, it looked at me askance, slowly stretched its neck to see me better;later it brought out its paw and, finally, put the tip of its nose against the bars as if saying, “Atlast, here’s someone who understands me!”“To be generous”I shall not speak here of material generosity which naturally consists in giving others what onehas. But even this virtue is not very widespread, for as soon as one becomes rich one thinks moreoften of keeping one’s wealth than of giving it away. The more men possess, the less are theygenerous.I want to speak of moral generosity. To feel happy, for example, when a comrade is successful.An act of courage, of unselfishness, a fine sacrifice have a beauty in them which gives you joy. Itmay be said that moral generosity consists in being able to recognize the true worth andsuperiority of others.(CWM, Volume 4, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry)(Image sourced from cover page of the book “How to bring up a child”, Sri Aurobindo Society,Puducherry)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 5

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. March 2016. Flowers – jewels of natureRight there, just around the corner,I found a little bush.A bush of smiling lovely flowers it wasRadiant with beautiful colours.I went ahead and stroked the flowers,a wave of happiness swept over me.Charming and shining they wereLike clusters of stars fallen on ground.Flowers are givers of joy and light.Hands of blessing shower them,Hands of love embrace them,And a graceful garland strings theminto a jewel of fragrant beads.Flowers are oceans of purityMelting all things in their sheer beauty. - Sandhyawww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 6

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. March 2016. Awakes the Dawn from Nature’s Bosom A rose of splendor on a tree of dreams, The face of Dawn out of mooned twilight grew.A message from the unknown immortal LightAblaze upon creation's quivering edge,Dawn built her aura of magnificent huesAnd buried its seed of grandeur in the hours. An infant glow of heavens near to morn, A fire intense conceived but never lit, Caressed the air with ardent hints of day.Day came, priest of a sacrifice of joyInto the worshipping silence of her world;He carried immortal lustre as his robe,Trailed heaven like a purple scarf and woreAs his vermilion caste-mark a red sun. - Poetic lines from Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri. - Photos of Dawn taken at Pondicherry sea-shorewww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 7

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. March 2016. January - February Sunday Activities at the Centre – A glimpseJanuary 10th – AGM and Readings from Question and Answers:Following our AGM, we read a few questions from sadhaks and Mother’s answers for them.January 17th - Readings from ‘Essays on Gita’ by Sri Aurobindo:Sri Aurobindo contributed these articles in Arya magazine from 1916 to 1920. In 1928, hebrought out an extensively revised edition in this book form. We read two passages from the firstarticle “Our Demand and Need from the Gita.” These passages talk about how the man kindattach themselves to certain scriptures and religious beliefs with full knowledge or halfknowledge and look down upon other religions and sacred books as impostures.In recent times mankind has become more tolerant and respectful of other religious truths andless inclined to fight on these grounds. Truth is one and eternal, and all the other truths get theirright place and knowledge in the light of the “ONE TRUTH”.It is essential for us to approach our spiritual or religious text namely Gita or Vedas for the valuethey are giving to humanity. Over time the statements made in the scriptures undergo variousmutations and divisions according to mankind’s mind set.January 24th - Savitri, An unending journey:Meditation on “Savitri” with Huta’s Visuals - Book One, The Book of Beginnings, Canto One,The Symbol DawnNo one can speak about Savitri with greater authority than The Mother. She has said: Savitri is arevelation. It is a meditation; it is a quest of the Infinite, the Eternal... Our divine association withSavitri continues...We meditated on the first 12 paintings.I felt writing the beautiful explanation from Collected Works of Sri Aurobindo gives us the joyof opening to a wider world and beyond!Before existence, non-existence; before being, non-being.Before this manifestation of names and forms came to be, it was all a state of indefiniteness, afeatureless Blank, as it were. There was simply the Unmanifest; it was an infinite Zero. But thiswas not an empty zero. It was contentful, holding in itself potentialities without end,immeasurable. And it was because this Nothing contained all in seed in its bosom that thingscould at all manifest from it.The Zero is not a negative Void. It exceeds the farthest conception of the mind and strikes it as ablank though it is full in a way that is beyond human comprehension. Out of this Zero issue theNumbers stretching into infinity. Appearance of dawn always carries with it an enchantingbeauty that is not of this world but of one beyond; it is bright with hues that bespeak a splendouron which mortal eyes have not rested; it brings the tidings of assurance from a Divinewww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 8

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. March 2016.Effulgence, an eternal Light that is forever; though not in evidence today in this world ofobscurity and death, it looms above and sends intimations of its existence and advent through theflares of its glow on the horizons of its skies.The Goddess of Eternal Light forms the link between Timeless Existence and this creation inTime; she renders the truths of the former into terms proper to the latter. She is able to do it forshe holds the knowledge of what is to be worked out and in what precise manner. She knows thesteps, the course and the goal.Source: Collected Works of Sri Aurobindo.January 31st - Reading from the book ‘THE HOUR OF GOD’ by Sri Aurobindo:The first piece also titled “THE HOUR OF GOD” Sri Aurobindo guides us on how we mustmake use of the precious moments when God visits our outer being. When that happens anythingwe undertake will be a success with little effort. We are at terrible loss when we miss thesemoments indulged in our ego senses or sleeping in inertia. We should cleanse our being of self-deceit, hypocrisy and vain self-flattering and receive the Power of the Breath of the Lord withtrust and go forward.February 7th - Reading from AIM Magazine:We read the Awakening dated October 2014 during our weekly session on 7th Feb 2016. Thefollowing is a brief note on the reading. The subject was \"Fearlessness in Action - Manifold,unfettered and fearlessness.\" We read two stories - The first about the Mother when she wasabout fifteen or sixteen as recounted to Children by Poorna Prema. Mother had fearlesslyprevented the dismissal of an art instructor. The second story was about Lieutenant CommanderEdward Henry \"Butch\" O'Hare, an American fighter pilot who, single handed, destroyed fiveJapanese bombers on February 20, 1942, and saved the Aircraft Career Lexington from thepossible attack by the Japanese Bombers. Though he was killed a year later in an aerial combat,his hometown not wanting to forget the heroic action named the O'Hare airport in Chicago afterhim. We also read a small prayer from the Mother entitled \"Lead us to Victory.”February 14th - Readings from Question and Answers (2nd May 1956):Sri Aurobindo says the “UNION WITH THE DIVINE” is threefold. They are the yoga ofknowledge, the yoga of love and devotion and the yoga of works. For the Sadhak’s questionabout whether Supramental has descended upon Earth to bring about the new race, Motherreplies as follows:Like the millions of years passed for the present development of the mind of man, even nowsome time would pass before the new race would be visible. For people who are inwardly ready,who are open and in direct contact with higher forces, can feel the Supramental light in the earthatmosphere. For people centred in exclusively outer being, think of the sudden and unexpectedappearance as miraculous. - Jayalakshmiwww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 9

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. March 2016. PROGRAMME FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH 2016DATE TIME DETAILS6th March 2016 8:00 AM Monthly Morning Walk * Sunday Reading from AIM Magazine6th March 2016 6:00 PM Q&A from Mother Complete works Volume 8 Sunday 6:00 PM Followed by Om Choir13th March 2016 TBD Sunday Savitri – An unending journey20st March 2016 6:00 PM Sunday 6:00 PM27th March 2016 Sunday* Please see below for details. MARCH 2016 MORNING WALK – NO. 367Date: Sunday, 6th March 2016Time: 8:00 A.M. sharp for warm up exercise Please note that after warm up exercise we shall proceed with the walk by 8.20 AM.Meeting Point: Singapore Flyer (Behind Singapore Flyer Signboard)Direction to Driving:Meeting Point: Park at car park for flyer and take lift to floor R in the carpark. Then use the link bridge and walk across to the flyer. From there take lift down to Level 1 and walk out to meeting point. MRT: Take MRT to promenade and follow signs for Singapore Flyer. Find a rough map below of the walking route that we can take. We walk by the bay and turn around to walk back to the starting point.Contact No: S.Ramanathan (91385130)Hosts: Mr Anuvrat and Mrs Auropriya HP: 90306759 Email: [email protected] Meditation and the Brunch will be at Sri Aurobindo Society, SIFAS premises in Serangoon Road.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 10

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. March 2016. Red marker is the meeting point. Point A is starting point and Point B is turning point to come backNote: All are encouraged to attend the Walk. Those, however, who are not able to join the Walk,the hosts would be very happy that they directly come to society premises and join in the brunchby 10:15 AM. Prayers and meditation will commence sharp at 10.30 A.M. All are requested to bepunctual. PREVIEW OF FORTHCOMING SUNDAY MORNING WALKSWALK DATE PLACE HOST NO 368 03/04/2016 TBA Mr C.Krishnamurthy & Family 369 01/05/2016 East Coast Park Mr. Ashok Patel & Family 370 05/06/2016 Mr. Anand Patel & Family 371 03/07/2016 TBA 372 07/08/2016 TBA Mr Sanjay Mehta & Mrs Ami Mehta Botanical Gardens Mr Venkatesh Rao & Mrs Shailaja Along the Way…The morning walk in February was at East Coast Park. This is the event of every month whichwe always look forward to. East Coast Park which has a total land size of 185 hectares andwhich is built entirely on reclaimed land, is one of Singapore's most treasured urban getaways.Its scenic coastline stretches over 15 km.It was raining in the morning and the sky was dark. It was quite evident that the rain would notstop soon. We were eager to meet our friends and join the walk and hoped that everything wouldbe alright and that we would win over the inclement weather when we reached the East CoastPark.It was a day of inspiration, determination and dedication.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 11

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. March 2016.There was no surprise at all when we met Kashyap uncle at the park who had come even in therainy weather to join all of us who had come for the walk. He is an inspiration to all of us.Whatever may be the circumstances, the message was quite clear—Move on. This inspirationthat we got boosted our zeal and determination to continue with the walk.Everybody was dot on time at 8 AM at the park. There we saw a few families who had beententing overnight in the park. It was just a start of the long holidays and families were enjoyingwith camping overnight. Our lovely photo was taken in the rain with everybody holding anumbrella. It was quite thrilling and there was a feeling of satisfaction. After waiting for abouthalf an hour, we started off for the pleasant walk under the swaying coconut palms andCasuarinas. A strong determination was there to keep going.Along the way, I had the pleasure of a discussion with Mr Ramanathan on topics related toShrimad Bhagavad-Gita. The atmosphere was just nice to discuss. It was a beautiful moment. Along seemingly unending stretch of road, the blue waters of the sea, with its end nowhere in sightand the droplets of rain falling from the dark skies, the sound of rain drops on the umbrellas thatwe were holding and a cool pleasant breeze whispering in our ears. These are the moments thatwe should enjoy and cherish. We all came back to the meeting point at 9.50am. We moved off toMrs Nisha’s place. After everybody gathered there, we started off with the Opening Meditation.After the Prayers were read we had a lovely brunch. The brunch was no less than a lunch with avariety of items. I should not forget to mention the presence of Ashish, who was there at theMeditation and as a host for the brunch. He had a flight in the afternoon to India. That wasdedication.We went back with the memory of the joyous and the precious moments spent with our dearones and look forward to the next month’s walk. - Kiran Sule ANNOUNCEMENTS Membership Renewal for 2016 & Subscription to AIMFor 2016, Annual Members need to pay SGD 60 as their membership subscription to the Society. Thosesubscribing to the All India Magazine will need to pay an additional SGD 30 for the magazine.Please send a cheque payable to \"Sri Aurobindo Society\" and post it to the Treasurer, Sanjay Mehta at thefollowing address: Blk 720 Tampines Street 72 #03-31 Singapore 520720.You may also physically pay it to him in cash or by passing a cheque to a committee member and letting Sanjayknow, during our activities. Printed and Published by The Sri Aurobindo Society of Singapore 2A Starlight Road 01-07, Singapore 217755.Saurab: 86559940 or [email protected]; Sanjay: 98750767 or [email protected]; Email: [email protected] Visit our website at: www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sgwww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 12