February 2017 Newsletter

February 2017 SRI AUROBINDO SOCIETY VOL 31.02 Singapore Permit No. MCI (P) 071/01/2017 NEWSLETTER Creatrix, the Eternal’s artist Bride A friend and yet too great wholly to know, She walked in their front towards a greater light, Their leader and queen over their hearts and souls, One close to their bosoms, yet divine and far. - Savitri, Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017. Guiding Light of the Month“Thee, O Mother universal, and in this double identity with That which isbeyond and That which is all the manifestation they taste the infinite joy of the perfect certitude.” The Mother, ‘Prayers and Meditations’ August 31, 1914 From the Editor’s DeskThis issue of our Newsletter focuses mainly on The Meditating on this utterance by Sri Aurobindo on theMother. The theme we have been exploring since June Mother, it appears that all we need to do is to establish a2016, Integral Health, will be covered extensively in simple, natural relationship with her and continueour next issue. In this issue we briefly introduce the communicating with Her. When we turn the searchlightsnext topic we are going to explore under the theme of onto and into ourselves, we realise all the obstructionsIntegral Health, ‘Mental well-being with an article by we are faced with in realising this fully, completely.The Mother from CWM, Volume 9.we turn our focus Importantly, this conditioned mind needs to surpass allnow on mental well being. human conditioning of the modern age and be ready to consider a relationship based on inner convictions andWe are fast approaching the first Darshan Day of not external and physical contact. To reach this status,2017, The Mother’s 139th Birth Anniversary. Born on21st February 1878, in Paris, to an Egyptian mother one can imagine what will be needed. Probably a goodand a Turkish father, her advent was the sign and helping of contemplation and reflection based on ansymbol of a changing era spanning the East and West. inner journey in an attempt to find out about that spaceThe Mother came to India to collaborate with a great within, will lay the foundation followed by a resolve toYogi, Sri Aurobindo and in its execution, lived to feel The Mother, hear her voice and feel her guiding touch and know what She is showing and pointing at.manifest Integral Yoga in this life upon earth. Her If we can understand deeply and fully Sri Aurobindo’s direction, then a whole gamut of mental searching andbirth was a clarion call to the descent of a higher order running in circles, hitting at unneeded objects, gettingon earth so that a life divine may be established. What entangled awhile and then spending time disentangling the knot will come to an end. The need of the hour is anbetter way to remember her and the life she lived in intimate relationship with The Mother. On this occasionthe midst of her human compatriots, then through the of the 139th Birth Anniversary of The Mother, it would be worth taking stock of our relationship with Her, ineyes of those who were blessed to live close to her and ourselves, whether we are in solitude or in the midst ofadored her as their Divine Mother on earth? This issue a thick crowd engaged in all the work we take uponfeatures reminiscences from Nirodbaran andChampaklal, two of Mother’s children who had theopportunity to be physically close to her.The attitude that one has to have towards the Mother ourselves. One simple question to ask every now andis highlighted in the excerpt from Nirodbaran’s, ‘Sri then would be perhaps, “Am I speaking with TheAurobindo - A Dream Dialogue with Children’. When Mother now?” Most likely, the busily buzzing mind andsomeone asks who the Divine Mother is, and what it the anxious heart strings pulling each other in differentmeans, Sri Aurobindo, succinctly proposes to directions will come to a standstill, return to base andeveryone to simply love her sincerely, from the depth allow Her to carry us up in consciousness. A relativelyof one’s heart and ask her to explain the mystery that higher state of consciousness, we can hope, would thenshe is. In turn, Sri Aurobindo assures, The Mother also suffuse the work we do. This effort will probablyherself will do everything and “cut asunder….all the have to be repeated an infinite number of times, withoutmost secret knots in the mind” and clear “the deepest any promise, only for the sake of establishing a livingdoubts and hesitations”. communicating with Her. Are we game?www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 2

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017. Savitri A music of griefless things shall weave her charm; The harps of the Perfect shall attune her voice, The streams of Heaven shall murmur in her laugh, Her lips shall be the honeycombs of God, Her limbs his golden jars of ecstasy, Her breasts the rapture-flowers of Paradise. She shall bear Wisdom in her voiceless bosom, Strength shall be with her like a conqueror’s sword And from her eyes the Eternal’s bliss shall gaze. A seed shall be sown in Death’s tremendous hour, A branch of heaven transplant to human soil; Nature shall overleap her mortal step; Fate shall be changed by an unchanging will. (Book three, Canto four) They felt a larger future meet their walk; She held their hands, she chose for them their paths: They were moved by her towards great unknown things, Faith drew them and the joy to feel themselves hers; They lived in her, they saw the world with her eyes. (Book four, Canto two) Who really is The Mother?\"Not today, another time. It's time for the Mother to come now....\"And there she was standing at the door. All the children stood up.\"What's going on? How did you all gather here?\" she asked smiling. \"Listening to stories, are you?But now it is getting late, you should all be going home.”\"Yes, Sweet Mother, but we would like to come again to hear about Sri Aurobindo's life in England.\"So saying, they all turned towards Sri Aurobindo and slowly filed out of the room. Silently hewatched them go, a blessing in his eyes.I turned to look at the Mother. This was not the ten-armed goddess of Rishi Bankim nor the Motherof Sri Ramakrishna garlanded with human heads. No, she was our delightful Mother in flesh andblood.She said, frowning at me - \"Why not?\" I understood. Yes, thou art indeed that Mother. The tendirections are thy arms, O many-weaponed destroyer of Evil who ridest on the mighty Lion. On thyright hast thou Lakshmi, the fair and fortunate, on thy left Saraswati, mother of Art and Science, themighty victor Kartik is with thee and so is Ganesh, the master of all realisations. And now, wearinga mortal frame, thou hast descended upon earth, the \"Mother\" given us by Sri Aurobindo.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 3

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017.She entered Sri Aurobindo's room, smiling radiantly, holding a glass of ice-cold water on a plate. Apale pink sari was softly wrapped around her fair delicate frame and her hair was drawn back in abun. Fresh from her bath, she wafted grace and beauty. Her red-tinted feet glistening with goldanklets wore a pair of white sandals with golden straps. She came into the room and instantly it wasfilled with light and sweetness and perfume.Champaklal and I turned eagerly towards Sri Aurobindo. Leaning against the back-rest, he waswatching the Mother. ***Sri Aurobindo said, \"First of all, you must become like the Mother.\"\"But, Sir, who really is the Mother? Though we call her the Divine Mother, I don't very wellunderstand what that means.”\"You will, gradually. Love her with all your heart, and ask her to explain this mystery to you. Shewill make everything so luminously clear to you that, in the words of the Gita, it will be chhidyatéhridayagranthi, bhidyaté sarva- sangshaya, as if all the most secret knots in the mind were cutasunder and all the deepest doubts and hesitations dissolved. No other explanation can have a moreprofound effect on the being.”(Excerpts from “Sri Aurobindo - A Dream Dialogue with Children” by Nirodbaran,Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry) A deep of compassion, a hushed sanctuaryThe Mother had lived a 'human' life to all outward appearance, and had made the passage fromchildhood to girlhood, and then to womanhood and motherhood; and she had dreamt dreams, andseen mystic visions. She had read and talked and meditated, she had cultivated music and paintingand letters, but it was the inner Flame that had always lighted her path, and guided her in her travelsin Europe and Africa and Asia. On 29 March 1914 she had found at last what she had been seeking,and Sri Aurobindo was indeed the Lord of her being and her life. In Japan between 1916 and 1920she had completed her 'education', and the Japanese feeling for colour and form, their passion forprecision and detail, had fused with her French intellect with its clarity and sharpness and lucidityand her own feminine temperament with its impulse towards beauty and protectiveness andcompassionate understanding, and in the result her poise of purpose and radiant personality hadglowed like distant Mount Fuji on a warm bright day. She had returned to Pondicherry on 24 April1920, now ready to shoulder the tremendous task of setting up a pilot project for the promotion ofthe Life Divine and the transformation of the earth nature.The Ashram at Pondicherry had slowly begun to take a definite shape, and while Sri Aurobindo wasthe creator-spirit, the soul, the law, the Mother was the architect, the executrix, of the newunfoldment. Together the divine collaborators had set all doubts at rest, cleared whole jungles ofmental resistance, harnessed the tides of human emotion and energy to good purpose, and trained acommunity of sadhaks ready to aspire, to labour, to receive, to surrender - to be kneaded and made'new'. After Sri Aurobindo's passing, it had been the Mother's role all the more to force the pace,and carry the work forward. With the slow march of the years, the circumference of the Ashram'sactivities had been widening more and more, but always drawing prime sustenance from the centre,from the Mother herself. The Ashram was a human microcosm receiving the healing andtransforming touch of the Mother, and responding too, at once agreeably and purposively. But thereal work had only begun, and the Mother at eighty was like a divine child at the threshold of anendless creative Play. She seemed to bring to her task all the wisdom of the ages and all the energywww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 4

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017.concealed in Nature. At eighty, her children still thought that she was ageless and yet young, thatshe was distant yet close to their hearts. On her eightieth birthday, the children were content to gatheraround her in limitless love and gratitude.(Chapter 49, “On The Mother”, K.R.Srinivasa Iyengar, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry) Flowers Speak… On The Divine MotherI wanted to offer something to the Mother. And I got the idea of painting two lotuses, one white andthe other red.Curiously, I received two beautiful lotuses and took up the painting. But due to other work I couldnot finish them in a day. These too, like my other paintings, I did during my lunch time as it gaveme great joy. It took some days before I could finish them little by little. Naturally it would havebeen better if the colouring could have been done in one sitting. However the result was not bad andit was with great joy that I took the paintings to Mother on my birthday on 2 February 1940.She received them very well indeed and exclaimed: \"Oh! Very pretty! Very pretty!\" She wonderedhow I could get time to do them. She took them in both hands and with a broad smile said: \"I givethem to you, Champaklal! Take them, they are for you. They are very pretty. You keep them.\"I did not answer and did not take them. And she repeated:\"Take them, Champaklal, I give them to you as my present.\"C: \"Bur Mother! I have done them for you.\"Seeing the state of my mind she found a way our. She gave another broad smile and said softly,almost in a whisper: \"Champaklal, I will take them to Sri Aurobindo and I will ask him to write onthem.”I said: \"Mother! Are you taking them to Sri Aurobindo? If so, it would be very nice if you ask himto write the significance. Mother! Sri Aurobindo will write on the white lotus and you will write onthe red one.\"When Mother brought them to Sri Aurobindo I was there. She showed them to him and said: \"See,how nice they are! Today is Champaklal's birthday; he has done these paintings for me. If you writethe significance on them I will give them to him. He wants you to write on the white lotus and I onthe red.” www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 5

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017.With a beautiful affectionate smile Sri Aurobindo said: \"Umm.\" Then he wrote above the whitelotus: AditiThe Divine MotherAnd under the red lotus he wrote:To ChampaklalWith blessings2.2.40Sri AurobindoThen Mother told me not to show the lotuses to anybody.But you know that after many years blocks were made out of these paintings and printed fordistribution. Do not ask me why I was told not to show them to anybody at one time as later thingswere changed. Obviously circumstances changed and the Mother never stood rigidly by what shesaid on an earlier occasion under different conditions. There are so many instances of this kind.(Excerpts from “The Artist and a Yogi” by Champaklal, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry) Development of the MindIt is a good thing to begin to learn at an early age that to lead an efficient life and obtain from one’sbody the maximum it is able to give, reason must be the master of the house. And it is not a questionof yoga or higher realisation, it is something which should be taught everywhere, in every school,every family, every home: man was made to be a mental being, and merely to be a man – we are notspeaking of anything else, we are speaking only of being a man – life must be dominated by reasonand not by vital impulses. This should be taught to all children from their infancy. If one is notdominated by reason, one is a brute lower than the animal; for animals don’t have a mind or a reasonto dominate them, but they obey the instinct of the species.There is an instinct of the species which is an extremely reasonable instinct that regulates all theiractivities for their own good, and automatically, without knowing it, they are subject to this instinctof the species which is altogether reasonable from the point of view of that species, of each species.And those animals which for some reason or other become free of it – as I was saying just a whileago, those which live near man and begin to obey man instead of obeying the instinct of the species– are perverted and lose the qualities of their species. But an animal left to its natural life and freefrom human influence is an extremely reasonable being from its own point of view, for it only doesthings which are in conformity with its nature and its own good.Naturally, it meets with disasters, for it is constantly at war with all the other species, but it does notitself act foolishly. Stupidities and perversion begin with conscious mind and the human species. Itis the wrong use man makes of his mental capacity. Perversion begins with humanity. It is adistortion of the progress of Nature which mental consciousness represents. And, therefore, the firstthing which should be taught to every human being as soon as he is able to think, is that he shouldobey reason which is a super-instinct of the species.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 6

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017.Reason is the master of the nature of mankind. One must obey reason and absolutely refuse to bethe slave of instincts. And here I am not talking to you about yoga, I am not talking about spirituallife, not at all; it has nothing to do with that. It is the basic wisdom of human life, purely human life:every human being who obeys anything other than reason is a kind of brute lower than the animal.That’s all. And this should be taught everywhere; it is the basic education which should be given tochildren.The reign of reason must come to an end only with the advent of the psychic law which manifeststhe divine Will. ***To complement this movement of inner discovery, it would be good not to neglect the developmentof the mind. For the mental instrument can equally be a great help or a great hindrance. In its naturalstate the human mind is always limited in its vision, narrow in its understanding, rigid in itsconceptions, and a constant effort is therefore needed to widen it, to make it more supple andprofound. So it is very necessary to consider everything from as many points of view as possible.Towards this end, there is an exercise which gives great suppleness and elevation to the thought. Itis as follows: a clearly formulated thesis is set; against it is opposed its antithesis, formulated withthe same precision. Then by careful reflection the problem must be widened or transcended until asynthesis is found which unites the two contraries in a larger, higher and more comprehensive idea.Many other exercises of the same kind can be undertaken; some have a beneficial effect on thecharacter and so possess a double advantage: that of educating the mind and that of establishingcontrol over the feelings and their consequences. For example, you must never allow your mind tojudge things and people, for the mind is not an instrument of knowledge; it is incapable of findingknowledge, but it must be moved by knowledge. Knowledge belongs to a much higher domain thanthat of the human mind, far above the region of pure ideas. The mind has to be silent and attentiveto receive knowledge from above and manifest it. For it is an instrument of formation, oforganisation and action, and it is in these functions that it attains its full value and real usefulness.There is another practice which can be very helpful to the progress of the consciousness. Wheneverthere is a disagreement on any matter, such as a decision to be taken, or an action to be carried out,one must never remain closed up in one's own conception or point of view. On the contrary, onemust make an effort to understand the other's point of view, to put oneself in his place and, insteadof quarrelling or even fighting, find the solution which can reasonably satisfy both parties; therealways is one for men of goodwill. ***I emphasise this fact because there are quite a few people who, when mental silence has beentransmitted to them by occult means, are immediately alarmed and afraid of losing their intelligence.Because they can no longer think, they fear they may become stupid! But to cease thinking is a muchhigher achievement than to be able to spin out thoughts endlessly and it demands a much greaterdevelopment.So from every point of view, and not only from the spiritual point of view, it is always very good topractise silence for a few minutes, at least twice a day, but it must be a true silence, not merelyabstention from talking.(CWM, Volume 9, 12, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 7

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017. Inside the flower of The Gita (Chariot garden, Photo Courtesy: Sandhya)Like the sacred source of a great river, Lives an eternal Wisdom at the heart of all creation. It is the Truth of world movements, The noble aim of all aspirations, The origin of all beauty. Flowing forth as a tale of reverence, It takes birth in the Vedic minds of rishis, An epic unfolds conceived of the Wisdom. Thus emerged the Ramayana and Mahabharata As two great literary rivers flowing across India Enriching many with their profound movements. Many are the characters, many are the lands, Flowing through time in the great epics. Among them, playing His rapturous flute And also a felicitous hide and seek, Is our peacock feathered prince of Mathura. Indeed tricking and playful is He, For He has chosen the most exciting stage To spawn His Wisdom into a beautiful music. Born at the battlefield, In the midst of war and strife, The Gita carries Krishna’s eternal Wisdom Each verse a pearl in the jewel of God. As the sacred scripture enters our lives, We feel the chariot of our journey driven by Krishna His advice soothing our forlorn Arjuna hearts Radha flowering in us, from the depths of our devotion. - Sandhyawww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 8

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017. December - January Sunday Activities at the Centre - A glimpseDecember 18th – Study of Secrets of Veda:Mr Ramanathan conducted the session on the “Secrets of the Veda”. The topic for the week was areview of verses 10, 11 and 12 of Sukta 1, Mandala 3 of the Rig Veda. In the previous verses (1 to9) we were introduced to the Ashwins and Indra. In verses 10 to 12, Saraswati, as we now worshipas the Goddess of Knowledge, is being introduced as the goddess of inspiration. This is the briefhighlight of what the Rishis meant in verses 10 to 12: • The intimate connection between the Vedic sacrifice and a certain state of mind and soul. • The interdependence between the offering of clarified butter, Soma juice and luminous thought. • Richness of psychological content. • Right states of the mind and its awakening and impulsion to Truth and Light. • Reveals the figure of Saraswati as the goddess of the inspiration, or sruti. • Establishes the connection between the Vedic rivers and psychological states of mind.According to Vedic Rishis, Saraswati liberates the life and being from falsehood, weakness andlimitation and opens to it the doors of the supreme felicity.Sri Aurobindo, mentions goddess Saraswati as embodying the following aspects: • She is that power of Truth, which we call inspiration. • Inspiration from the Truth purifies by getting rid of falsehood. • As per Indian idea, all sin is merely falsehood, wrongly inspired motion and wrongly directed will and action. • Idea of life and ourselves we start with is a falsehood and all else is falsified by it. • Truth comes to us as a light, a voice, compelling a change of thought, imposing a new discernment of ourselves and all around us. • Truth of thought creates truth of vision. • Truth of vision forms in us truth of being. • Out of truth of being (satyam) flows naturally truth of emotion, will and action.December 25th – Savitri, An unending journey:Book 2 (The Book of the World Traveller of the Worlds) - Canto 1 – The World – Stair – (pictures1 to 7)Mr Ramadas facilitated the video session on the Meditations on Savitri, where Mother reads certainpassages from Savitri with Huta’s paintings as the backdrop.In this Canto, Sri Aurobindo describes the beginning of the evolution, when the The SupremeDivine, fascinated by his own shadow took a plunge into it, and became the Inconscient, as mentonedin the “PurushaSukta”. The descent is depicted in picture 2 reflecting the following words fromSavitri:www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 9

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017.Once in the Vigil of a deathless gazeThese grades had marked her giant downward plungeThe wide and prone leap of a godhead’s fallOur life is a holocaust of the Supreme.The great World-Mother by her scacrificeHas made her soul the body of our state…In Picture 5, we see the formation of the Universe, seen through these words from Savitri A slow reversal’s movement then took place: A gas belched out from some invisible Fire, Of its dense rings were formed these million stars; Upon earth’s new-born soil God’s tread was heard.In Picture 6, we see the advent of Man (a spark of the Divine) described by Sri Aurobindo throughthese significant lines: A miracle of the Absolute was born, Infinity put on a finite soul, All ocean lived within a wandering drop, A time-made body housed the Illimitable. To live this Mystery out our souls came here.December 31st – Midnight Meditation with Readings from Savitri:We started the prayers at 11 pm with a reading from Mother’s Prayers and Meditations, after whichwe started reading from Book III (The Book of the Divine Mother), Canto Three (The House of theSpirit and the New Creation) of Savitri, where Aswapati devotes his attention on the “MightierTask” which is awaiting .. “A Mightier task remained than all he had done To that he turned from which all being comes, A sign attending from the Secrecy Which knows the Truth ungrasped behind our thoughts And guards the world with its all-seeing gaze, In the unapproachable stillness of his soul, Intense, one-pointed, monumental, lone, Patient he sat like an incarnate hope Motionless on a pedestal of prayer. A strength he sought that was not yet on earth, Help from a Power too great for mortal will, The light of Truth now seen afar, A sanction from his high omnipotent force.The readings continued till five minutes to midnight, after which we set through a beautifulmeditation session with The Mother’s music to celebrate the commencement of the New Year, forthe establishment of a “new birth of our consciousness”. www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 10

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017.January 1st – New Year’s Day, Darshan day special meditation:We started the new year with a peaceful meditation with Sunil da’s music. We read some beautifulprayers of the Mother followed by the reading of Savitri - Book 1, Canto 1 - “The Symbol Dawn”.January 1st – Reading from AIM Magazine:We read from 2 pages of the Dec 2016 issue of the AIM magazine. In page 40, The Mother discussedabout the advent of the New Race. She mentioned that in a few thousand years, “There will be anew heaven and a new earth, a new race will be born, the world will be transformed”, as foretoldby the prophets of the various traditions. The Mother mentioned that this was possible to beaccomplished in a few thousand years because “man has thought of and awaits it”.In page 41 the Mother talks about the “Difference in the Earth Atmosphere”, where she mentionsthat “people who are inwardly ready”, who are open and in contact with higher forces, people whohave had a more or less direct personal contact with the Supramental Light and Consciousness areable to feel the difference in the earth atmosphere.January 8th - Reading from Questions and Answers, The Mother:Volume 8, Page no. 121The passage talks about how we get lost finding perfection of divine in the personal relationshipsand get disappointed! Mother says only when a relationship turns sour we turn to divine. It is muchwiser to take a straight path to see all the relationships in the Divine. It is aptly put in the followingSeven Beatitudes of Life in the human body: (Thoughts and Aphorisms) Discipleship to God theTeacher, sonship to God the Father, tenderness of God the Mother, clasp of the divine Friend,laughter and sport with our Comrade and boy Playfellow, blissful servitude to God the Master,rapturous love of our divine Paramour, these are the seven beatitudes of life in the human body.Canst thou unite all these in a single supreme and rainbow-hued relation? Then hast thou no need ofany heaven and thou exceedest the emancipation of the Adwaitin. - Sri AurobindoHow blissful it would be if we have the Love of Gopis for Lord Krishna!January 15th – Savitri, An unending journey:Book 2 (The Book of the World Traveller of the Worlds) - Canto 2 – The Kingdom of Subtle Matter– (pictures 1 to 9)In this Canto Sri Aurobindo describes the world beyond the physical world through Aswapati’sjourney.Mr Ramadas, the facilitator for the video session on the Meditations on Savitri, read from MPPandit’s summary on The Kingdom of Subtle Matter, an extract of which is provided below.Crossing beyond the borders of the physical world, Aswapati enters into a realm of wonder anddelight—the world of subtle matter. This world overtops our physical world. Beautiful, symmetricalin forms, with senses subtler and more far-ranging than the physical ones, this realm is the shiningorigin of the world below. All here on earth follows the lines already mapped out there in the subtleworld above.It forms a protective shield to the material world, intercepting the charge of the higher Light andPower and allowing only so much of it as can be borne by it without it breaking under the impact.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 11

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017.It functions as a regulating channel to the downflow of the Powers from above. With all its glitter,however, this world is not all safe. Attractive and delightful though it is on its summits, it hasdangerous gulfs on its lower levels. Peril is clothed in beauty, danger is invested with charm. Afterreading MP Pandit’s summary Mr Ramadoss shared Huta’s paintings with Mother’s voice in thebackground reading the relevant lines from Savitri. We list below two out of the nine pictures thatdepict this Canto.Picture 2 – We see a golden roof with dew drops dripping from the sky.The words from Savitri is as follows:This brilliant roof of our descending plane,Intercepting the free boon of heaven’s air,Admits small inrushes of a mighty breathOr fragrant circuits through gold lattices…And bright dews drip from the Immortal’s SkyIn Picture 9 which is the last picture - We see a very happy soul swinging in a cradleThe words from Savitri is as follows:Life in its boundaries lingered satisfied…..The beautiful body of a soul at ease,Like one who laughs in sweet and sunlit groves,Childlike she swung in her gold cradle of joy. - Rama PROGRAMME FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2017DATE TIME DETAILS5th February 2017 8:00 AM Monthly Morning Walk * Sunday 6:00 PM 6:00 PM Reading from AIM Magazine5th February 2017 Sunday Q & A from Mothers Complete Works Vol 8 Followed by Om Choir12th February 2017 Sunday19th February 2017 Sunday 9:30 AM Centre cleaning**19th February 2017 6:00 PM Savitri – An unending Journey Sunday21st February 2017 Tuesday 7:00 PM Darshan Day – Special Programme to celebrate The Mother’s 139th birth anniversary **26th February 2017 6:00 PM Study of Secret of the Vedas Sunday* Please see below for details.** Please note on the occasion of Mother’s Birthday we shall be organising centre cleaning on19th Feb at 9.30AM.**See flyer for details of special programme.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 12

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017. FEBRUARY 2017 MORNING WALK – NO. 378Date: Sunday, 5th February 2017Time: 8:00 A.M. sharp for warm up exerciseWalk Venue: Singapore Botanical GardensMeeting Point: Tanglin Gate EntranceContact No: Mr S.Ramanathan (9138 5130)Directions to Driving Please enter Tanglin Gate Car Park via Junction of Holland/Napier Roadthe WalkVenue: MRT & Bus: Nearest MRT – Orchard, take a bus to reach here 7, 105, 123, 174 (SBS Transit) and 75,77.106 (SMRT) - Alight at Glenn Eagles Hospital stopHosts: Prof Sheel Aditya and FamilyRSVP HP: 97533451 (Mrs. Anju Aditya) Email: [email protected] forMeditation andBrunch: Sri Aurobindo Society Premises, 2A Starlight Road.Note: All are encouraged to attend the Walk. Those, however, who are not able to join the Walk, thehosts would be very happy that they directly come and join in the brunch by 10:15 AM. Prayers andmeditation will commence sharp at 10.30 A.M. All are requested to be punctual. PREVIEW OF FORTHCOMING SUNDAY MORNING WALKSWALK NO DATE PLACE HOST 379 05/03/2017 Bedok Reservoir Mr Anand K Venkat & Family 380 381 02/04/2017 Upper Selatar Reservoir Swati and Kiran Krishnamurthy 382 07/05/2017 East Coast Park Mr Ashok Patel and Family 04/06/2017 East Coast Park Mr Anand Patel and Familywww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 13

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017. Along the Way… January 2017 Walk ReviewThe morning walk in January was at a lovely place. As the name suggests, it was a hill—yes, BukitTimah. Beautiful place for morning walk, also with beautiful people.This was just the start of the New Year and the very first month of the year. The most amazing thingwas that, the turnout was tremendous. Around 30 people had come for the walk. With this turn out,Kashyap uncle was very happy and he told us that 30 years back, the morning walk was at BukitTimah and that the turn out used to be very large.On reaching the place, it was quite refreshing to breathe in the fresh air and walk on the track,surrounded by tall trees, allowing a small gap for the sun to peep through.With this atmosphere, anyone can get a very nice feeling, difficult to express in words, but only canexperience and then we remember the beautiful words from Savitri. “Our souls can visit in great silent hours Still regions of imperishable light And moon flame oceans of swift fathomless bliss And calm immensities of spirit space.” - Canto 4 - Book 1I just cannot stop here before writing the starting lines from Canto 4 of Book 1 – Savitri: “On a height he stood that looked towards greater heights Our early approaches to the infinite Are Sunrise splendours on a marvelous verge While lingers yet unseen the Glorious Sun What now we see is a shadow of what must come”With a wonderful young leader - Sophia, leading us merrily through the woods, it was a stunningexperience and more so because of the very excited Adrian (our host). He was very happy discussingabout different trails and we really enjoyed. I consider myself lucky not to have missed the walk.There were many people at the reserve and everybody was enjoying the walk, everybody in his orher own high spirits. Great walk, great people.After the walk, when we reached Adrian and Kiruthika’s home, we all had a warm welcome fromthem. The whole apartment was flooded with people. It was really nice to see so many people andsuch a warm welcome.The meditation was nice with the Divine music being played behind. We all soaked in the meditation.Then the very exciting moment came when the birthdays and wedding anniversaries were read out.Then we were all treated to a sumptuous brunch which was not just a brunch but more like lunch.It was a memorable Day, more so, at the very start of the New Year. - Kiranchandra Vasant Sule ***www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 14

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017. A Walk to rememberContrary to what the title may suggest, this is not a review of the popular film from 2002. Rather, Iwanted the title to convey clearly the gist of the short essay that follows.As a freshman at college, most of my time is spent attending lectures, rushing out assignments andspending time with friends. I never consciously dedicate time for my health. I have gotten by fornineteen years without ever really paying attention to my body and its needs.Hence it was fortunate that my mother insisted that I accompany her to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.The walk through Durian Loop allowed me to explore a different type of nature than I amaccustomed to, and I felt myself becoming more awake as I took in my surroundings. Growing upin Singapore, I have been so used to the orderly trees planted alongside our roads. I also felt myselfbecoming more alert, as I had to look out for mud and thorns through the hike up to the summit.What made the experience memorable was that I did not feel tired at any one point during the walk.There was so much to take in, from the abundant flora and fauna (including one fascinating bluesnake) to the constantly changing inclines. It was a stark contrast to the gym, where I would normallygo when the rare burst of enthusiasm for fitness hits me. Though the gym is comfortable, it is boring.Exercise is a lot more appealing when there are things to see and people to do it with you.The walk also gave me time to think about the pressing need to conserve water and biodiversity.Global warming threatens the existence of all species. Closer to home, the end of our remainingwater agreement with Malaysia in less than 50 years comes to mind. In a small country likeSingapore with few real resources, preservation initiatives should be treated seriously and naturereserves held in high regard.To sum up simply, nature is important - especially given the challenging realities of the world welive in. Moving forward, I hope to take more time to value and safeguard the planet we live on, notjust for myself, but for everyone and everything around me as well. - Saaradhaa Muthunatarajan ANNOUNCEMENTS Centre CleaningOn the occasion of The Mother’s birth anniversary celebrations on February 21st, we will be cleaning our Centre on Sunday, 19th February 2017 from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM. The cleaning will be followed by lunch. All are welcome to come along and take part in this special offering. www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 15

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. February 2017. The Mother’s 139th Birth AnniversaryThe 139th Birth Anniversary of The Mother will be observed at our centreSri Aurobindo Society, 2A Starlight Road, # 01-07, Singapore 217755 on 21st February 2017, Tuesday. Morning Meditation at 9:00 AM Evening Programme starts at 7:00 PM Meditation with Sunil’s Music Readings from The Mother’s ‘Prayers and Meditations’ Reading of Darshan Message from Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Puthucherry Welcome Address by the Chairman Devotional Music Offering by Ms Sushma Somasekharan Closing Meditation Mahaprasad All are cordially invited Membership Renewal for 2017 & Subscription to AIMFor 2017, Annual Members need to pay SGD 60 as their membership subscription to the Society. Those subscribingto 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 the followingaddress: Sanjay Mehta Treasurer – Sri Aurobindo Society 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 16