October 2016 Newsletter

October 2016 SRI AUROBINDO SOCIETY VOL 30.10 Singapore Permit No. MCI (P) 069/01/2016 NEWSLETTER Vital well-being Nature of the vital realm An important stage on the way to transformation.Botanical Name: Alcea roseaCommon Name: HollyhockSpiritual Significance: Integral offering of the Vital The Vital being in us is the seat of impulses and desires, of enthusiasm andviolence, of dynamic energy and desperate depressions, of passions and revolts. It can set everything in motion, build and realise; but it can also destroy and mareverything. Thus it may be the most difficult part to discipline in the human being. - The Mother

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. October 2016. Guiding Light of the Month“Gradually the vital being grew accustomed to find harmony in the intensest actionas it had in passive surrender. And once this harmony was sufficiently established, there was light again in all the parts of the being, and the consciousness of what had happened became complete.” The Mother, ‘Prayers and Meditations’ June 7, 1916This October issue of our Newsletter takes a look From the Editor’s Deskat the Vital being. It is vital to establish at the own separate self–existence. What is our state ofbeginning, what is meant by the vital, in this being like? Can we relate to this and arrive at somecontext. The root word of vital is “vit” or “vita” understanding at the way in which we operate?meaning, in Latin, life or live On the opposite pole of Depression stands(https://www.google.co.in/webhp?sourceid=chrome- Enthusiasm as the vital’s driving force. When thereinstant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=meaning20of%20 is this enthusiasm, driven by whatever reason, one finds oneself full of power, of energy to get up andvital). In Sanskrit, it may be denoted as pursue the object of desire relentlessly. At such“PranaShakti”. The vital may entail “life-force”. In times, when one steps back to look within, one wouldthe parlance of Integral Psychology, it is a term recognize this force, this energy or power in us thatused to denote one of the 5 primary parts and drives us to carry out actions and actualize what wasplanes of the being, the others being the physical, desired.the mental, the psychic and the spiritual. SriAurobindo defines the vital as that in us “…which The Mother adds that the vital has three sources ofseeks after life and its movements for their own subsistence. Firstly, the subsistence comes “fromsake and it does not want to leave hold of them if below, from the physical energies through thethey bring suffering … or …. pleasure.” Desire is sensations”. This is probably best known to most ofthe vital’s principle support. All in us that is the us, in the way we experience sensations received firstsubstance of desire is, therefore, the vital. Further by the sense organs of the body, the physical entity,to this, Sri Aurobindo characterises the vital with and then translated into an enhanced experience, nothese phrases: impulses, force-pushes, emotions, matter of what level, by the brain. Secondly, thesensations, seeking after life-fulfillment, subsistence comes from the vital plane itself, frompossession and enjoyment. Being the seat of desire the universal vital forces. However, this is effectedand therefore passions, one can understand then the only when the vital is itself widened and vast enough,related tendencies of the vital towards open and receptive enough to receive the forces fromdisappointments and envisage violent impulses, the universe. Thirdly, the subsistence comes fromviolent reactions, revolt and depression as results above, from spiritual forces and inspiration. Toof these disappointments. receive these high forces is possible only to a vital that is in a deep state of aspiration for progress.According to Sri Aurobindo, many people live intheir desires. They are wrapped in their own What kind of vital does one wants to cultivate indesires, in the thoughts, feelings, sensations, and oneself? The vital is said to be a great store-house ofthe imaginations that these desires evoke and energy and of power when its instruments becomesupport. In The Synthesis of Yoga, he states that more cultivated, sensitive, subtle, refined andmost of our works of life are a result of this soul of illumined. This vital too can be “noble and heroic anddesire, including the ethical or religious and all disinterested” and ultimately turn exclusively to athose works that are garbed in altruism, high and elevated living, serving the Divine alonephilanthropy, self-sacrifice and self-denial. The and not the ego.desire soul is said to be a separative soul of the egoitself and therefore does everything for itswww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 2

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. October 2016. Savitri Their anger rushed galloping in brute attack, A charge of trampling hooves on shaken soil; Hate gripped hate and love broke in on love, Will wrestled with will on mind's invisible ground; Other's sensations passing through like waves Left quivering the subtle body's frame. He tore desire up from its bleeding roots And offered to the gods the vacant place. (Book three, Canto three) An abyss yawned suddenly beneath her heart. A vast nameless fear dragged at her nerves As drags a wild beast its half-slaughtered prey. (Book seven, Canto six) Questions and AnswersQ: Sweet Mother, how can one draw on “the universal vital Force”?The Mother: One can do it in many ways.First of all, you must know that it exists and that one can enter into contact with it. Secondly, youmust try to make this contact, to feel it circulating everywhere, through everything, in all personsand all circumstances; to have this experience, for example, when you are in the countryside amongtrees, to see it circulating in the whole of Nature, in trees and things, and then commune with it,feel yourself close to it, and each time you want to deal with it, recall that impression you had andtry to enter into contact.Some people discover that with certain movements, certain gestures, certain activities, they enterinto contact more closely. I knew people who gesticulated while walking… this truly gave themthe impression that they were in contact—certain gestures they made while walking… But childrendo this spontaneously: when they give themselves completely in their games, running, playing,jumping, shouting; when they spend all their energies like that, they give themselves entirely, andin the joy of playing and moving and running they put themselves in contact with this universalvital force; they don’t know it, but they spend their vital force in a contact with the universal vitalforce and that is why they can run without really feeling very tired, except after a very long time.That is, they spend so much that if they were not in contact with the universal force, they wouldbe absolutely exhausted, immediately. And that is why, besides, they grow up; it is also becausethey receive more than they spend; they know how to receive more than they spend. And this doesnot correspond to any knowledge. It is a natural, spontaneous movement. It is the movement… amovement of joy in what they are doing—of joyful expenditure. One can do many things withthat.I knew young people who had always lived in cities—in a city and in those little rooms one has inthe big cities in which everyone is huddled. Now, they had come to spend their holidays in thecountryside, in the south of France, and there the sun is hot, naturally not as here but all the samewww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 3

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. October 2016.it is very hot (when we compare the sun of the Mediterranean coasts with that of Paris, for example,it truly makes a difference), and so, when they walked around the countryside the first few daysthey really began to get a terrible headache and to feel absolutely uneasy because of the sun; butthey suddenly thought: “Why, if we make friends with the sun it won’t harm us any more!” Andthey began to make a kind of inner effort of friendship and trust in the sun, and when they wereout in the sun, instead of trying to bend double and tell themselves, “Oh! How hot it is, how itburns!”, they said, “Oh, how full of force and joy and love the sun is!” etc., they opened themselveslike this (gesture), and not only did they not suffer any longer but they felt so strong afterwardsthat they went round telling everyone who said “It is hot”—telling them “Do as we do, you willsee how good it is.” And they could remain for hours in the full sun, bare-headed and withoutfeeling any discomfort. It is the same principle.It is the same principle. They linked themselves to the universal vital force which is in the sun andreceived this force which took away all that was unpleasant to them.When one is in the countryside, when one walks under the trees and feels so close to Nature, tothe trees, the sky, all the leaves, all the branches, all the herbs, when one feels a great friendshipwith these things and breathes that air which is so good, perfumed with all the plants, then oneopens oneself, and by opening oneself communes with the universal forces. And for all things it islike that.Can one do the same thing when it is cold?Yes, I think so. I think one can always do the same thing in all cases.The sun is a very powerful symbol in the organization of Nature. So it is not altogether the samething; it possesses in itself an extraordinary condensation of energy. Cold seems to me a morenegative thing: it is an absence of something. But in any case, if one knows how to enter the rhythmof the movements of Nature, one avoids many discomforts. What makes men suffer, what disturbsthe balance of the body is a narrowness, it is always a narrowness. It happens because one is shutup in limits, and so there is, as Sri Aurobindo writes here, a force which presses too strongly forthese limits—it upsets everything.Q: How can one conquer the obscure vital? Rather, how is it possible to change the obscurevital into a luminous vital?The Mother: By the surrender of the vital, its opening to the light, and by the growth ofconsciousness.Q: I have become very sensitive and get upset for the slightest reason.The Mother: These are vital perturbations which show themselves in the course of the Sadhanaand have to be eliminated. They must not be regarded as natural movements justified by the wrongactions of others and bound to continue so long as there is an external cause. The real cause isinternal and it can be got rid of by yogic discipline, vigilance, self-detachment and a quiet but strictrejection.(CWM, Volume 7&14, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 4

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. October 2016. Opening to the Universal Vital forcesWhen one is in the countryside, when one walks under the trees and feels so close to Nature, tothe trees, the sky, all the leaves, all the branches, all the herbs, when one feels a great friendshipwith these things and breathes that air which is so good, perfumed with all the plants, then oneopens oneself, and by opening oneself communes with the universal forces. And for all things it islike that. - The Mother(CWM, Volume 7, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry) The Mother says … on Vital well-being Cheerful Vital Enthusiasm - Very precious if it persists in spite of difficulties.It is the vital that gives enthusiasm, but the vital by nature is unsteady and always wants newthings. Unless it is converted and becomes a docile servant of the Divine, things are alwaysfluctuating. ***Right attitude in the vital:Self-confidence, mental and vital quiet faith in your own realisation and in the Divine’s help. ***To harmonize the vital is a psychological masterpiece.Happy is he who accomplishes it. ***www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 5

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. October 2016.The vital governed by the Presence: the vital force rendered peaceful and disciplined by the DivinePresence. ***Vital consecration: delightfully modest and fragrant, it smiles at life without wanting to drawattention to itself. ***Spiritual awakening of the vital: it soars towards the heights in the hope of reaching them.Trust in the Divine: very indispensable for the impulsive vital.Vital trust in the Divine: full of courage and energy, no longer fears anything.Vital joy in matter: the reward for abolishing selfishness.Peace in the vital: the result of abolishing desires.Silence in the vital: a powerful help for inner peace.Sincerity in the vital: the sure road to realisation.Light in the vital: one of the first steps on the long road. - The Mother(CWM, Volume 14, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 6

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. October 2016. Garden at Twilight Oil on Canvas, A painting by Sandhya August - September Sunday Activities at the Centre- A glimpseAugust 21st – Study of Secret of Veda:Sukta 2 of Mandala 1 of the Rig Veda was chanted, translated and discussed. For our interpretationof the Veda, we drew on the Secret of the Veda by Sri Aurobindo and the Siddanjana of Sri KapaliSastry. Translations and transliterations of the verses were made available.Sukta 2:1. Come, O Life beautiful, these soma-pressings are made ready. Drink of them. Hear the call.2. Life, thy lovers laud thee with words that express Thee. They have pressed the Soma, they have known the Day.3. Life, thy filling stream moves towards the giver, widening to drink the Soma.4. Indra and Vayu, here are the pressings of Soma: come with your satisfying things: for the gladdeners desire you.5. Vayu, O Indra, become conscious of the pressing of Soma, O rich in plenitude, hither running approach.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 7

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. October 2016.6. Vayu and Indra, come to the perfected gift of the presser of Soma, soon with thought inclined, O Leaders.7. Mitra of purified understanding I call, and Varuna who destroys our hurters, together effecting a clear luminous thought.8. By the Truth Mitra and Varuna whose touch is on the Truth, and who increase the Truth, enjoy a vast will-power.9. For us Mitra and Varuna, seers, multiply-born, wide-housed, uphold the strength that does the work.Translated by Sri Kapali Sastry, Sri M.P. Pandit and Sri Aurobindo (line 9).August 28th – Study of Savitri:Savitri Book 1, Canto 4: The Secret Knowledge, was further discussed and studied, using thequotations by the Mother found in Meditations on Savitri.September 4th – Study of Questions and Answers:We discussed the Mother’s Q&A, focusing on why true joy is so transient while depression can bemuch more prolonged. We also explored why there is the mixture of pure psychic emotion andvital feeling in the heart.September 11th - Study of Secret of Veda:The final 6 lines of Sukta 2 of Mandala 1 of the Rig Veda were chanted, translated and discussed,with many relevant quotations from Sri Aurobindo’s Secret of the Veda and some input from theSiddanjana. - Jayalakshmi PROGRAMME FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2016DATE TIME DETAILS2nd October 2016 8:00 AM Monthly Morning Walk * Sunday Study Circle – Part 3 “The Secret of the Veda”2nd October 2016 6:00 PM Mandala1 Sukta 3 Sunday Q&A from The Mother’s Complete works Volume 89th October 2016 6:00 PM Followed by Om Choir Sunday Reading from AIM Magazine16th October 2016 6:00 PM Savitri – An unending Journey Sunday TBD23rd October 2016 6:00 PM Sunday 6:00 PM30th October 2016 Sunday* Please see below for details.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 8

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. October 2016. OCTOBER 2016 MORNING WALK – NO. 374Date: Sunday, 2nd October 2016Time: 8:00 A.M. sharp for warm up exerciseMeeting Bull Statue abetting the Information Counter near the Visitor Centre, Main Gate,Point: Gardens by the Bay (Bay South), 18 Marina Gardens Drive, Singapore 018953. (Map below)Contact No: Mr S.Ramanathan (9138 5130)Directions Driving:to From East Coast Parkway (ECP) and Kallang- Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE)the Meeting in the direction towards the city:- Continue onto Marina Coastal Expressway-> Take Exit 3 onto Central Boulevard -> Turn right into Marina Gardens DrivePoint: From Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) in the direction towards the city: - Continue onto Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE)->Take Exit 2 onto Central Boulevard->Turn right at Marina Gardens Drive From Ophir Road- Head towards Sheares Ave->Exit onto Marina Boulevard- >Turn left to Marina Gardens Drive. Parking: Visitor Centre Basement Car Park: Located via the Main GateHosts: MRT/Bus: Via the Circle Line or Downtown Line:- Alight at Bayfront MRT Station (CE1/DT16)->Take Exit B and follow the underground linkway->Exit and cross the Dragonfly Bridge or Meadow Bridge into Gardens by the Bay Via the North South / Circle Line:- Alight at Marina Bay MRT Station (NS27/CE2)->Take Exit B and head towards the bus stop 03531 located at Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3, Central Boulevard before Marina Way- >Hop onto bus service 400 and alight at the bus stop 03371 along Marina Gardens Drive Mr. & Mrs. Shashi Lal Kashyap, 19, Broadrick Road, Singapore 439488. Telephone: 6344 1876 (HP 9635 3766)RSVP [email protected] (HP 9635 3766):www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 9

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. October 2016.Directions Bus Services: 12, 14,196.to the hosts’ Nearest Bus Stop: Mount Batten Road Bus Stop Number: 91051 – Opp.Santaresidence: Fe Mans Or Bus Stop Number: 91059 - Katong Park TowersNote: 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 the residence and join in the brunch by10:15 AM. Prayers and meditation will commence sharp at 10.30 A.M. All are requested to bepunctual.Please note that this is a very special occasion for Mr. Shashi Lal Kashyap. He will be celebratinghis 80th Birthday. There will also be a music programme which will commence atapproximately 11.00 AM for about a half an hour duration. PREVIEW OF FORTHCOMING SUNDAY MORNING WALKSWALK DATE PLACE HOST NO 06/11/2016 TBA Mr Ritesh Thacker & Family 375 04/12/2016 TBA TBA 376Note: We invite volunteers to host the December walk. Please contact Mr. S.Ramanathan(91385130) if you are interested in hosting the December walk.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 10

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. October 2016. Along the Way…I had taken the responsibility to lead the September walk as Mr. Ramanathan was away. To me, itwas a challenge as usually I do not go for the walks. The walk was at the usual East Coast Park.The park is a beautiful place and is always enchanting. We were 10 of us, including UncleKashyap. It is always a sheer pleasure to see his zeal and enthusiasm even at his age to attend thewalks and take pictures of the participants. For this walk, we also had a very young participant,daughter of our young members, Anuvrat and Auropriya - probably one of the youngest participanttill now.I was walking with Uncle Krishnamurthy and Mr. Kiran. Uncle Krishnamurthy narrated his careerlife. It was yet another fine example of how life flourishes with sincerity, dedication and hardwork. As we finished the walk, we realised that we had walked for about 6.3 kms. It is truly saidthat the journey of life becomes easy and pleasant with the right travellers.We then proceeded to Arjun Madan's residence for prayers and brunch. He had created a veryserene atmosphere and arranged for a delicious brunch.The morning ended with watching Deepika, Ananya, Akash, Shiv and Priyanka rehearsing for anupcoming offering based on Gita for Krishna Manjari. Swati had taken up the challenge to prepareit with these 5 children.It was yet another lovely Sunday which left me feeling blessed.Om Namo Bhagvate Shri Aravindaya Sharnam Mama. - Anand Patel 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 11