January 2018 Newsletter

January 2018 SRI AUROBINDO SOCIETY VOL 32.01 Singapore Permit No. MCI (P) 071/01/2017 NEWSLETTER The Quest Journey on the path to destinyBotanical Name: CoffeaCommon Name: CoffeeSpiritual Significance: Perfect Path The bosom of our mother kept for us still Her austere regions and her musing depths, Her impersonal reaches lonely and inspired And the mightinesses of her rapture haunts. - Savitri, Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018. Guiding Light of the Month To Thee, supreme Dispenser of all boons, to Thee who givest life itsjustification, by making it pure, beautiful and good, to Thee, Master ofour destinies and goal of all our aspirations, was consecrated the first minute of this new year. The Mother, ‘Prayers and Meditations’ January 1, 1914 From the Editor’s DeskThis newsletter edition bids a grateful farewell to changes coming over Savitri, at the level of her Consciousness.2017 and welcomes the new birth of 2018 with the Lets meditate on these lines awhile:theme, The Quest. This is an important Canto inSavitri. Sri Aurobindo throws light on the reason But as she moved across the changing earthfor all the trials and tribulations that Savitri goes A deeper consciousness welled up in her:through hereafter, in the epic poetry. Outwardly, A citizen of many scenes and climes,Savitri is seen as one who leaves her palace in Each soil and country it had made its home;search of him who is meant for her. Though It took all clans and peoples for her own,romance there is in this, it is not to be merely taken Till the whole destiny of mankind was hers.at face value. Since Savitri, as Sri Aurobindodeclares, is a Legend and a Symbol, there is a need Savitri remembers her past selves upon earth as sheto look at this significant canto in its depth, from recognized each element set on this journey, withthat light. Savitri is the daughter of the Sun, Light gods in attendance, as she moved to fulfill her quest.Supreme. Aswapathy is the Lord of the Horse andSatyavan is the soul carrying the divine truth of Traveller to a prefigured high event,being but descended into death and ignorance. She seemed to her remembering witness soulDivine in his origin, bearer of divinity, there is in To trace again a journey often made.him a Divine seed waiting to manifest itself in allits splendour in this human body upon this Here are hints of Savitri’s high mission upon earth.material earth. Savitri is the Light who She is no ordinary child on earth to live as others do.subsequently confronts the darkness, shadow and A fiery spirit was hers out on a mission to conquer aignorance in the guise of Death. She stands Divine life for humanity.steadfast in saving the human soul from itsclutches so that God may reveal Himself. Let us From Savitri, the Legend and Symbol, let us now turnnow take a closer look at The Quest. towards our own selves – our lives within our own spheres, both inner and outer. What is that highIn the previous issue of the newsletter, we saw mission upon which we may be set upon? Is our life’show Savitri was shown an inkling of the quest at quest clear and open before us? Have we asked for it?hand. She hears the first call (or Adesh) to the As the bountiful year of 2017 ticks into a trickle toquest as Aswapathy sounds it, as received from the merge with the slowly emerging tide of 2018, let usstillness of heights above, to seek out her soul- sit together at the portal of a new birth, where themate so that a greater episode, of immense quest of our lives are known to us and wheresignificance to the whole of humanity, may everything in the being is in readiness to open to thatunfold. While giving a very vivid description of Light and Love and Life Divine that seek to manifest.Savitri on her quest, from terrain to terrain, across May we all call for these more and more and be inchanging climes, we also come to know of inner readiness and receptivity to receive the streaming forces of Grace coming our way always.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 2

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018. Savitri, a journey of Love and Light Ascending and descending twixt life’s poles The seried kingdoms of the graded law Plunged from the everlasting into time… Climbed back from time into undying self, Up a golden ladder carrying the soul, Tying with diamond threads the Spirit’s extremes. (Savitri)(Meditations on Savitri, by Huta, Havyavahana Trust, Puducherry)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 3

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018. The world-ways opened before SavitriFrom the shelter of her parents' home and city, Savitri loses herself in the wide world's uncharteredways, and feels dazzled by the unfolding panorama of \"new brilliant scenes\" and diverse soil andcountry, clans and peoples. She is a part of all she meets, the very stars and winds are her dearcomrades, and she feels sometimes as though she is but tracing \"again a journey often made\". Shesees and remembers, or she remembers and sees, and from her silent heights she can peer throughthe dim play of appearance. She sees multi-foliate Nature and million-hued humanity, and windsher way through the still untravelled world: Her carven chariot with its fretted wheels Threaded through clamorous marts and sentinel towers Past figured gates and high dream-sculptured fronts And gardens hung in the sapphire of the skies, Pillared assembly halls with armoured guards,Not populous far-famed cities only but the humbler haunts of common folk also draw Savitri'sattention and affectionate gaze. The virgin silences of unfrequented hills and valleys have a deeppurpose of their own for it is there the great Creatrix nurses \"her symbol mysteries\" and guards for\"her pure-eyed sacraments\": The valley clefts between her breasts of joy, Her mountain altars for the fires of dawn And nuptial beaches where the ocean couched And the huge chanting of her prophet woods. Deep in the woods' recesses are the hermitages of the wise, and Savitri visits them too and studiesthe lives of the \"strong king-sages\" and their \"young grave disciples\". They are not as other men,but live \"immaculate in tranquil heights of self\"; and their ministry makes their neophytes \"comradesof the cosmic urge/No longer chained to their small separate selves”. They are masters ofknowledge, and \"vessels of the cosmic Force\"; they are pacifiers and harmonisers, and they are thehealers of the \"hard and wounded world\". And when they lisp in numbers, they sing \"Infinity'snames and deathless powers/In metres that reflect the moving worlds”. Active or passive, in speechor in silence, in creation or in contemplation, these wise children of the forest help the world in itstoils and guard and extend the immaculate treasures of the spirit. As Savitri glides in and out of these hermitages and haunts of the wise, her sensibilities arequickened still further and she feels \"the kinship of eternal calm\". Yet her quest keeps her movingon and on, for she is yet to find what she has set out to seek. She calls the Powers to her help, andhopes that she may not be \"overwhelmed by the immensity\" of the world stretching before her. StillNature lures her on, still she wanders, gazes, communes; the crickets' cry rings in her ears, theserpentine road seems an endless coil; the desert sands are bleak, the jungle voices are eerie; yet shewill persevere in her quest, however hard the earth and torridly oppressive the sky: The months had fed the passion of the sun And now his burning breath assailed the soil. The tiger heats prowled through the fainting earth; All was licked up as by a lolling tongue. The spring winds failed; the sky was set like bronze.(“Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri – A study of the cosmic epic”, Dr. Premanandakumar, Sri AurobindoAshram Trust, Puducherry)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 4

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018. Flowers Speak…. Sweetness of Thought turned Exclusively towards the Divine Lovely, joyful, sweet, and calm, sheltered from all conflicts. August, exulting in her Maker’s eye, She felt her nearness to him in earth’s breast, Conversed still with a Light behind the veil, Still communed with Eternity beyond. (Savitri) Successful Future under the Supramental Influence Full of promise and joyful surprises. Upon her silent heights she was aware Of a calm Presence throned above her brows All was the working of an ancient plan, A way prepared by an unerring Guide. (Savitri) Road to Divine Always long, apparently dry at times, but always abundant in its results. The mountains in their anchorite solitude, The forests with their multitudinous chant Disclosed to her the masked divinity’s doors. (Savitri)(Flowers and messages, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 5

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018. Happy New Year, 2018 A glamour from the unreached transcendences Iridescent with the glory of the Unseen, A message from the unknown immortal Light Ablaze upon creation’s quivering edge, Dawn built her aura of magnificent hues And buried its seed of grandeur in the hours. (Savitri) *** Bonjour! My dear little child, I hope this day will be a good one for you with my love always near you. This is the picture of the soul coming out victoriously from all the ordeals. I want this realisation for you. My soul silently prayed to the Mother: “Let your will be done”. It was the last day of the year 1955. So much had happened – so much was still to happen. Let us see what 1956 unfolds.(An excerpt from Story of the soul, By Huta, Havyavahana Trust, Puducherry)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 6

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018. Evenings…A few days ago, I had a glorious evening as I watched the children of Mother’s International schoolperform a play on Sri Aurobindo’s life. The play had the energy of passionate hearts, the spiritualityand humor of his beautiful life and the calm hands of The Mother moving from one scene to the next.A sweet flute music as of Krishna’s coming lifted the screens. On the stage was set a Bengalihousehold and was heard the cry of a little new babe. Sri Aurobindo was born. The spirit of Bengaliculture and religion was portrayed in the songs and dance that followed, it brought a joy ineveryone’s hearts. His adventurous and colorful life at England came next with the poems, the joyof three brothers, their life and their friendly discussions. The audacity in Sri Aurobindo’s decisionto get back to India, perhaps a passionate one, to serve the nation was shown with great vigor andfervor. A sweet smile played on our lips as we watched the scene where Sri Aurobindo interactedwith the Maharaja of Baroda and a secret tear, perhaps, rolled down our cheeks when we saw himarrested and taken to jail. To watch Sri Aurobindo sit in the little cell and write the poetry ‘Who’touched all hearts and his Uttarpara speech set everyone on an inner search.And then, he was right there where the waves of oceans wash the feet of God, at Pondicherry, andSweet Mother came in to hold his hands in his beautiful journey to his Divine destiny.The day next to the play dawned with the light of The Mother. It was the day when Sri Aurobindo’sMahasamdhi was remembered with gratitude. All day, the space was preparing for an evening thatwas glorious than the previous one. An evening of Savitri, meditative dance, golden lights andprayers.The winds were chill, night was a deep velvety blue and all gathered there in the lawn. A depth ofsilence occupied the space and lines from Savitri were read for a meditative dance movement.Everyone carried a little diya in their hands, close to their hearts and offered it at Mother’s feet.Music and meditation ended the day and everyone ate quite happily at the dining hall.After dinner, with just a shawl around me, the winter winds chilling my spine, I walked to the shrinelawns. It was just me and the space. The shrine was like Mother Saraswati clad in a white saree anddecorated with golden jewels. The diyas were placed all around and on the lawns. It was as thoughgolden stars had fallen from the sky on the ground and it spoke to me of something so magical,something so joyous and beautiful. It was like music. SandhyaNovember- December Sunday Activities at the Centre - A glimpseMonth of November – A self-dynamising meditationThrough the Savitri session on November 26th, we attempted to integrate most of the key events ofthe month. We fondly recalled the mantric recitation of the Symbol of Dawn canto by Mr. KiranSule while hosting us for brunch after our Nov 3rd first Sunday morning walk. We meditated on TheMother’s explanation for the Savitri’s opening line It was the hour before the Gods awake“There is an ancient tradition which describes the creation as done by some first emanations of theSupreme Mother, which were four emanations. In the sense and the feeling of their supreme Power,they cut connection with their Origin and became independent. And then, these emanations, beingseparated from their origin, entered into darkness.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 7

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018. The first was Consciousness, Consciousness in Light, and by cutting Himself from His Origin He went down and down towards Unconsciousness. The second was Bliss and turned into Suffering. The third was Truth and turned into Falsehood. The fourth one was Life and turned into Death.This happened after they came down into the vital level. When this was seen, it was decidedthat some second emanations would be made to repair the mistake of the first; and the secondemanations were the Gods. This first line refers to the condition of the world before the Gods wereborn. Sri Aurobindo says, “It was the hour before the Gods awake.” – Mother’s ExplanationThis formed the base for linking to our meditations of November 17th, Mother’s Mahasamadhi dayand November 24th, Siddhi day. As the second emanations progressed with their mission, matterbegan to slowly reveal its involved life and mind. Until the emergence of mental choice, our earthwas a paradise as fondly recalled by The Mother (this is with reference to our meditation on Mother’sanswer to the question ‘Is it true that there was an earthly paradise? Why was man driven outof it?’ on Nov 17th.“According to what I remember, there was certainly a moment in earth’s history when there existeda kind of earthly paradise, in the sense that it was a perfectly harmonious and natural life; that isto say, the manifestation of the mind was in accord, was still in complete accord with the ascendingmarch of Nature and totally harmonious, without perversion or distortion. This was the first stageof mind’s manifestation in material forms.How long did it last? It is difficult to say. But for man, it was a life that was like a kind of outfloweringof animal life. I have a memory of a life in which the body was perfectly adapted to its naturalenvironment and the climate adapted to the needs of the body, the body to the needs of the climate.Life was wholly spontaneous and natural, just as a more luminous and more conscious animal lifewould be; but there were none of the complications and distortions that the mind brought in later inthe course of its development. I have the memory of that life—I had it, I relived it when I becameconscious of the life of the earth as a whole.But I cannot say how long it lasted nor what area it covered. I do not know. I can only rememberthe condition, the state, what material Nature was like, what the human form and the humanconsciousness were like at that time and this kind of harmony with all the other elements on earth—harmony with animal life, and such a great harmony with plant life. There was a kind of spontaneousknowledge of how to use the things of Nature, of the properties of plants, of fruits and everythingvegetable Nature could provide. No aggressiveness, no fear, no contradictions nor frictions and noperversions at all — the mind was pure, simple, luminous, uncomplicated.It is only with the progress of evolution, the march of evolution, when the mind began to developin itself, for itself, that all the complications and distortions began. So that the story of Genesiswhich seems so childish contains some truth.And the symbol of the tree of knowledge represents the kind of knowledge which is no longer divine,the material knowledge that comes from the sense of division and which started spoiling everything.How long did this period last? Because in my memory too it was like an almost immortal life, andit seems that it was an accident of evolution that made it necessary for forms to disintegrate... forprogress. So, I cannot say how long it lasted.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 8

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018.And it was... it was something so simple, so luminous, so harmonious, beyond all ourpreoccupations— precisely beyond all these preoccupations with time and place. It was aspontaneous, extremely beautiful life, and so close to Nature, like a natural flowering of the animallife. And there were no oppositions, no contradictions, or anything like that — everything happenedin the best way possible. (Silence)Repeatedly, in different circumstances, several times, I have had the same memory. It was notexactly the same scene or the same images, because it was not something that I saw, it was a lifethat I was living. For some time, by night or by day, in a certain state of trance I went back to a lifethat I had lived and had the full consciousness that it was the outflowering of the human form onearth—the first human forms capable of embodying the divine Being. It was that.It was the first time I could manifest in an earthly form, in a particular form, in an individual form—not a “general” life but an individual form—that is to say, the first time that the Being above andthe being below were joined by the mentalisation of this material substance. I lived this severaltimes, but always in similar surroundings and with a very similar feeling of such joyful simplicity,without complexity, without problems, without all these questions; there was nothing, absolutelynothing of the kind! It was an outflowering of the joy of living, simply that, in universal love andharmony— flowers, minerals, animals: all were in harmony.The Mother, On thoughts and aphorisms, pp.88-94Our mental ego divides, limits and decides creating contradictions and conflicts. Evolution for SriAurobindo is the dissolution of the ego and the self-discovery followed by the growth of the innerpsychic flame. Competition represents ego and cooperation the psychic. Love, Beauty and Delightare so near and yet so far. Our Master pleads for • Reconciliation of every possible opposites or different aspects; at the peak of this journey is the reconciliation of Being and non-Being and this opens us to the very source of THE INFINITE – THE ABSOLUTE as well as to the • The integration of o Matter and Spirit o Universe and the Individual o Mind and Vital o One and the ManyWe explored the Savitri Book 3 (The Book of The Divine Mother) - Canto 3, “The House of theSpirit and The New Creation” using the Huta paintings and The Mother’s voice. We had a rareglimpse – just for a moment- of the reconciliation alluded to above – The New Creation experiencedby our Master and The Mother. The great world-rhythms were heart-beats of one Soul, To feel was a flame-discovery of God, All mind was a single harp of many strings, All life a song of many meeting lives; For worlds were many, but the Self was one. This knowledge now was made a cosmos’ seed: This seed was cased in the safety of the Light, It needed not a sheath of Ignorance. Then from the trance of that tremendous clasp And from the throbbings of that single Heart And from the naked Spirit’s victory A new and marvellous creation rose.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 9

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018.We also momentarily experienced again the Overmental ecstasy of the November 24th Siddhi daymeditation as we rejoiced further passages None was apart, none lived for himself alone, Each lived for God in him and God in all, Each soleness inexpressibly held the whole. In these new worlds projected he became A portion of the universal gaze, A station of the all-inhabiting light, A ripple on a single sea of peace. A mystery drama of divine delight, A living poem of world-ecstasy, A kakemono of significant forms, A coiled perspective of developing scenes, A brilliant chase of self-revealing shapes, An ardent hunt of soul looking for soul, A seeking and a finding as of gods.We also recalled the reading on the November 17th and 19th from ‘The Mother’ by Georges VanVrekhem, pp.357-359:“Then what happened on that fateful 17 November 1973? The best way to understand it may be asmile: the pupation of the caterpillar into a butterfly. When the time comes, the caterpillar spinsitself into a cocoon. In this cocoon the pupation takes place, a miraculous transformation into acompletely different being: a butterfly.Can one say that the caterpillar dies in the cocoon? Transformation is not death, it is a change intosomething else. The butterfly has originated in the caterpillar, from the caterpillar. In a way, thebutterfly contains the essence of the caterpillar within itself, and the dried up ‘residue’ in the cocoonis what has to be discarded.The human body of the Mother existed in the world of the humans. As her Yoga progressed, thatbody belonged less and less to this world — except for the residue in the cells. It was impossible forthis residue to transcend the world of the humans. In the meantime, the supramental transformation,the supramental pupation was taking place. The butterfly — the prototype of the supramental bodyin the Mother—came into existence. She signaled its presence several times in the course of the finalyears and eventually perceived and described it in 1972.On 17 November 1973, the Mother laid down her residual human body while she continued to existforever in a body consisting of a supramental substance. The supramental substance as worked outby the Mother is a material substance— otherwise the earthly evolution would then have nomeaning— though it is composed of a substance more refined than the Matter known to us.Generally speaking, the gross Matter of our Mother the Earth is still in the process oftransformation. This process is now in an advanced stage thanks to the avataric Yoga of SriAurobindo and the Mother. When gross Matter will have become sufficiently subtle and receptive,i.e. transformed, the mature souls, ready and waiting in their soul world, will descend and incarnatein it. The formation of their bodies will be moulded by the existence of the Mother’s supramentalbody, the prototype of the new species.”We rejoiced the link to the Savitri passage below: There Matter is the Spirit’s firm density, An artistry of glad outwardness of self,www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 10

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018. A treasure-house of lasting images Where sense can build a world of pure delight: The home of a perpetual happiness, It lodged the hours as in a pleasant inn. The senses there were outlets of the soul; Even the youngest child-thought of the mind Incarnated some touch of highest things. There substance was a resonant harp of self, A net for the constant lightnings of the spirit, A magnet power of love’s intensity Whose yearning throb and adoration’s cry Drew God’s approaches close, sweet, wonderful.Sri Aurobindo, enlightened by the Divine voice and light of Vivekananda, conceptualized, perceivedand experienced through his senses the triple transformation; he has gifted them to the worldrespectively through ‘The Life Divine’, ‘Synthesis of Yoga’ and ‘Savitri’. Mother, joining ourMaster in this adventure, spearheaded the Yoga of Physical Transformation and continues to guideus through her Supramental Body – The Prototype of the new species. They have gone through thevery tough paths, in order to simplify the whole yoga for us. Receptivity, sincerity, opening andsurrender from our part can accelerate our progress on the path of the Life Divine.December 10th and 17th – The future poetryIt was a Divine Will for enhanced delight that must have prompted Jared to initiate our explorationof The Future Poetry work of our Master. We commenced meditating on Jared’s carefully chosensections in the Chapter II ‘The Essence of Poetry’ and Chapter III ‘Rhythm and Movement’.Sri Aurobindo explores the grand possibility of poetry - the discovery of a closer approximation towhat we might call the mantra in poetry, that rhythmic speech which, as the Veda puts it, rises atonce from the heart of the seer and from the distant home of the Truth, — the discovery of the Word,the Divine movement, the form of thought proper to the reality. It is accomplished through the stressof soul-vison (Soul-idea, soul of emotion for the delight of the soul and embodied Truth of life orTruth of Nature) behind the surface view of words; it is a spiritual excitement of rhythmic voyageof self-discovery among the magic islands of form and name in the inner and outer worlds. It is thegreater Truth and its delight and beauty it is seeking. It is true joy for ever with beauty which is truthand Truth-beauty supporting each other in ever increasing fashion.There is perhaps a truth in the Vedic idea that the Spirit of creation framed all the movements of theworld by chandas (The study of poetic metres and verse in Sanskrit), in certain fixed rhythms of theformative Word, and it is because they are faithful to the cosmic metres that the basic world-movements unchangingly endure. A balanced harmony maintained by a system of subtle recurrencesis the foundation of immortality in created things, and metrical movement is nothing else thancreative sound grown conscious of this secret of its own powers.We were delighted exploring the rhythm, the imagery, the ideas and the spiritual power packed insome of the sample passages of Savitri. It is still a long way for us to comprehend our Master’sSavitri Mantra – The poetic expression of the deepest spiritual reality through the unison of thehighest intensities of the Rhythm, the Style and the Soul’s vision of Truth; however, every step wetake is an infinite delight exposing every time some of the subtle and immaterial elements even tothe experienced devotee – truly packed with infinite possibilities in infinite dimensions as Brahmawho is Sarvam, Anantam, Gnanam and Anandam Ramadosswww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 11

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018. PROGRAMME FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2018 DATE TIME DETAILS1st Jan 2018 10:00 AM New Year Meditation 8:00 AM Sunday 6:00 PM Monthly morning walk *7th Jan 2018 6:00 PM Meditation and Concentration with Mother’s Organ Music Sunday 6:00 PM Thematic Study Circle Part I:7th Jan 2018 The Future Poetry 4:00 PM Sunday Thematic Study Circle Part II14th Jan 2018 6:00 PM The Future Poetry Sunday Youth Programme: Sri Aurobindo and Science Fiction21st Jan 2018 Sunday Savitri Circle28th Jan 2018 Sunday28th Jan 2018 Sunday* Please see below for details. January 2018 Morning Walk – No. 389Date: Sunday, 7th January 2018Time: 8:00 A.M. sharp for warm up exercise.Walk Venue: West Coast ParkMeeting Point: Behind McDonald’s in West Coast ParkContact No: Mr S.Ramanathan (9138 5130)Directions to A) Bus: Bus Stop no: 17291 & 16241. (Bus numbers 175 & 176)the walk B) Car: Via West Coast Highway opposite to “Sea Hill” Condo. Therevenue: are two car parks a) Mcdonald Car Park b) Car Park 3. Hosts: Mr. S.Ramanathan & Family, # 34-171, Trivelis, Block 311B, Clementi Avenue 4, Singapore 122311. Host’s Residence is approximately 500 metres from Clementi MRT Station. Feeder Bus 284 from Clementi Interchange (First Stop)RSVP Email: [email protected]. Mobile: 91385130(S.Ramanathan), 86706046 (Jayanthi)Note: 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 and join in the brunch by 10:15 AM. Prayersand meditation will commence sharp at 10.30 A.M. All are requested to be punctual.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 12

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018.PREVIEW OF FORTHCOMING SUNDAY MORNING WALKSWALK NO DATE PLACE HOST 390 04/02/18 East Coast Park Mrs. Nisha Maheswary and Family 391 04/03/18 Pasir Ris Park Mr Anand K Venkat and Family 392 01/04/18 TBA Mr C Krishnamurthy and Family Along the Way… December Walk Review (walk no 388)Several members of SAS, Singapore take pride in being fitness and nature enthusiasts. Many ofthem gathered for the monthly walk at 8 am on Sunday, 3rd December. This time it was held atConey Island Park situated within Coney Island, alternatively known as Pulau Serangoon, a 133-hectare island located off the northeastern coast of Singapore. The 50-hectare Coney Island NationalPark besides being rich in history, houses a wide variety of habitats, including coastal forests,grasslands, mangroves, and casuarina woodlands. It is home to a wide variety of fauna and flora,some of which are critically endangered. Some plants at the park are presumed nationally extinct inthe wild.It is worthy of mention that enthusiasm for participation in these walks, which had been dwindlingearlier, has now been steadily rising. Let us give a loud shout-out for the sizeable group that enjoyedthe walk at this park that has its rich bio-diversity in a rustic setting. The lush greenery offers muchto explore for bird and nature enthusiasts.This Sunday morning offered Singapore weather at its best. The morning rain shower havingsubsided, the sky was cloudy and the breeze was cool. After an exchange of cheerful greetings, weall set off at a brisk or comfortable pace that suited the individual walkers.Our group covered an age range from 8 years to 70 years. Sophia and Anjali, the youngest amongstus strode ahead of all into the park. Kiruthika soon came rushing to keep a close watch on herdaughters and ensure their safety.During this walk we had the opportunity to chat with Sophia about her adventures so far and the oneshe liked the most. Most willingly she shared her experiences during two family trips: one to MountOphir in Johor and the other to Endau Rompin, Malaysia. She narrated, “At Mount Ophir, we wenton a night walk where we saw spiders and then a whole lot of fireflies! And the next day we climbedover rocks. The height to which we climbed was around 50-60 feet. Our guide was surprised thatwww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 13

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. January 2018.we could do it!” We discussed the terms ‘abseil’ and ‘rappel’ which refer to a controlled descentoff a vertical drop, such as a rock face, using a rope.Of the trek at Endau Rompin, Sophia shared this story, “We we returned to our camp, my fatherdiscovered leeches under his trousers, sucking his blood.” Anjali piped in knowledgeably, “Weshould sprinkle salt to get rid of leeches.” It was amusing to see Sophia constantly checking detailswith her mom, whom we labelled as her ‘encyclopedia”.Conversation while walking is entertaining as well as informative, isn’t it? Candidly I shared withSophia, “You have had so many more adventures than I have! You are lucky indeed.”We had entered the park through the West gate and we walked on the footpaths that led to Beach A,Beach B; past Beach C and finally, towards the East Gate. Along the way, we saw the ocean waveslapping at the shores among the mangroves, beautiful flowers and colorful leaves, heard melodiousbirds’ songs.But soon it was time to return to the assigned meeting point. In the playground nearby, I spotted anempty swing which beckoned to the child in me. Without hesitation, I sat on it and enjoyed takingit higher and higher into the air. The delightful breeze blew my grey hair wildly about. A youngparent who was highly amused at this sight could not restrain from observing, “You are reallyenjoying the swing, aren’t you? How lovely!”Assembling at at our hosts’ residence, we enjoyed the usual meditation followed by Sanskrit slokarecitations by Dr. Sheel Aditya and Jaishree as well as readings of the Mother’s and Sri Aurobindo’swritings.The power of prayer cannot be underestimated. We all prayed to the Divine Mother for Shashi Bhaiwho is undergoing medical treatment. May She grant him physical and mental strength at thisdifficult time and bless him with an early and complete recovery.The session adjourned after the sumptuous brunch lovingly arranged by our hosts Ritesh and UpaliThacker. We express our gratitude to them for their warm hospitality. - Anju Aditya 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 14