Savitri

July 2017 SRI AUROBINDO SOCIETY VOL 31.07 Singapore Permit No. MCI (P) 071/01/2017 NEWSLETTER Savitri Sri Aurobindo’s compassion Innumerable, ever present, and effective in every instance.Botanical Name: Portulaca grandifloraCommon Name: Rose MossSpiritual Significance: Sri Aurobindo’s compassion If our souls could see and love and clasp God’s Truth, Its infinite radiance would seize our hearts, Our being in God’s image be remade And earthly life become the life divine. - Savitri, Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. July 2017. Guiding Light of the Month“All is light, all is love, ignorance and egoism are but vain phantoms,they can be dissolved.And over all things spreads Thy sovereign peace, Thy fecund calmness.” The Mother, ‘Prayers and Meditations’ June 11, 1914 From the Editor’s DeskA revelation, a meditation, a quest for the The messages therein are cryptic, well hidden behind Sri Aurobindo’s ingenious use of the EnglishTruth…this is how The Mother has describedSavitri. Dear Readers, we turn our attention to this language and open only to the being who is open andelevating theme on Savitri, Sri Aurobindo’s 724- ready for the true understanding of spiritual truths.lined epic poetry, for the next season. The first of Since The Mother and Sri Aurobindo collaborated deeply in their spiritual journey, Savitri, too, Thethe Savitri manuscript was published in 1916. Mother reveals, is her journey, as much as his – herAbout 15 years later, Sri Auribindo began to turn experiences of the previous nights, during which time Sri Aurobindo wrote, which he read out to herSavitri towards an epical marvel that it is now, in the following mornings would have similarities.today. Sri Aurobindo took on the work of Savitri Savitri is The Mother’s and Sri Aurobindo’s “joint adventure into… the Supermind.”attempting to recast a modern language, English,as a medium to express the inexpressible as best asit was possible, while working out the sadhana ofrealising the manifestation of the Supramental onearth. The result of this usually moves us into the How is Savitri important to the devotee, thespeechless, awe-stricken state, since his was a task follower, the sadhak? The Mother urges that whenof expressing the inexpressible; his use of imagery one’s consciousness is prepared enough, one wouldchallenges the understanding of the reader and see in Savitri every step that one had to take.astounds him into a deep silence at being Savitri is Sri Aurobindo’s and Her consciousnessconfronted with the unspeakable and and when one reads Savitri, one comes in contact with this consciousness to the measure that one isunapproachable. The Mother says that Savitri issomething which cannot be fully understood by capable, to the measure of the development of one’s own consciousness. When one holds Savitri, it isman, by or with the mind, since Sri Aurobindospells out his vision, his experience of the their consciousness that one holds; when one reads Savitri, it is their consciousness that speaks to us, orSupracosmic truths beyond mind. She explainsthat this poem of the future can only be understood whispers into our depths.in meditation, and when one is open and preparedfor the truths that Savitri would reveal. In fact, The With reference to her work with Huta on “About Savitri”, The Mother revealed, “You see, each timeMother refers to Savitri as a guide to sadhana inIntegral Yoga as Sri Aurobindo chronicles the when I speak, Sri Aurobindo comes here. And I speak exactly what he wants me to speak. It is thejoint adventure of his and The Mother’s indiscovering the Supreme Truth in exceptional inner hidden truth of Savitri that he wants me to reveal. You see, each time when I speak, Sridetail, thereby making the work of man morefeasible, by the mere tracing out of the routes and Aurobindo come here… each time he comes, a wonderful atmosphere is created. I have read Savitrihewing out a pathway in a virgin forest. TheMother says, “ He has noted all the stages, marked before, but it was nothing compared to this reading.” So with Sri Aurobindo and The Mother’s blessings,each step in order to advance integrally in theintegral Yoga.” we consecrate this season on Savitri at their feet. Lets begin.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 2

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. July 2017. Savitri, a journey of Love and Light My hidden presence led thee unknowing on From thy beginning in earth’s voiceless bosom Through life and pain and time and will and death, Through outer shocks and inner silences Along the mystic roads of Space and Time To the experience which all Nature hides. Who hunts and seizes me, my captive grows: This shalt thou henceforth learn from thy heart-beats. For ever love, O beautiful slave of God! O lasso of my rapture’s widening noose, Become my cord of universal love. (Book eleven, Canto one)(Picture Source: http://savitri.in/library/mother/the-mother-on-savitri-facsimiles) The Mother says… On SavitriIt may then be said that Savitri a revelation, it is a meditation, it is a quest of the Infinite, the Eternal.If it is read with this aspiration for Immortality, the reading itself will serve as a guide to Immortality.To read Savitri is indeed to realise the Divine. Each step of Yoga is noted here, including the secretof all other Yogas. Surely, if one sincerely follows what is always what is revealed here in eachverse one will reach finally the transformation of supramental Yoga. It is truly the infallible guidewho never abandons you; his support is always there for him who wants to follow the path. Eachverse of Savitri is like a Mantra which surpasses all that man possessed by way of knowledge, andI repeat this, the words are expressed and arranged in such a way that the sonority of the rhythmleads you to the origin of sound, which is OM.My child, yes, everything is there: mysticism, occultism, philosophy, the history of evolution, thehistory of man, of the Gods, of creation, of Nature. How the universe was created, why, for whatwww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 3

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. July 2017.purpose, what destiny—all is there. You can find all the answers to all your questions therein.Everything is explained, even the future of man and of evolution, all that nobody yet knows. He hasdescribed it all in beautiful and clear words so that spiritual \"adventurers\" who wish to solve themysteries of the world may understand it more easily. But this mystery is well hidden behind thewords and lines and one must climb to the required level of true consciousness to discover it. Allprophecies, all that is going to come is presented with a precise and wonderful clarity. Sri Aurobindogives you here the key to find the truth, to discover the consciousness, solve the problem of whatthe light may penetrate there and transform it. He has shown the path, the way to liberate oneselffrom the ignorance and climb right up to the superconscience; each stage, each plane ofconsciousness, how they can be scaled, how one can cross even the barrier of death and reachimmortality. You will find the whole journey in detail, and much more yet. It is a real experience—reading Savitri. All the secrets that man possessed, he has revealed,—as well as that awaits him inthe future; all thus is found in the depth of Savitri. But one must have the knowledge to discover itall, the experience of the conquest of Death. He has noted all the stages, marked each step in orderto advance integrally in the integral Yoga.All this is own experience, and what is most surprising is that it is my own experience also. It is mysadhana which he has worked out. Each object, each event, each realisation, all the descriptions,even the colours are exactly what I saw and the words, phrases are also exactly what I heard. Andall this before having read the book. I read Savitri many times afterwards, but earlier, when he waswriting he used to read it to me. Every morning I used to hear him read Savitri. During the night hewould write and in the morning read out to me in the morning were those I had the previous night,word by word. Yes, all the descriptions, the colours, the pictures I had seen, the words I had heard,all, all, I heard it all, put by him into poetry, into miraculous poetry. Yes, they were exactly myexperiences of the previous night which he read out to me the following morning. And it was notjust one day by chance, but for days and days together. And every time I used to compare what hesaid with my previous experiences and that he had noted them down afterwards, no, he knew alreadywhat I had seen. It is my experiences he has presented of our joint adventure into the unknown orrather into the Supermind.These are experiences lived by him, realities, supracosmic truth. He experienced all these as oneexperiences of joy or sorrow, physically. He walked in the darkness of inconscience, even in theneighbourhood of death, endured the sufferings of perdition, and emerged from the mud, the world-misery to breathe the sovereign plenitude and enter the supreme Ananda. He crossed all theserealms, went through the consequences, suffered and endured physically what one cannot imagine.Nobody till today has suffered like him. He accepted suffering to transform suffering into the joy ofunion with the Supreme. It is something unique and incomparable in the history of the world. It issomething that has never happened, he is the first to have traced the path in the Unknown, so thatwe may be able to walk with certitude towards the Supermind. He has made the work easy for us.Savitri is his whole Yoga of Transformation, and this Yoga appears now for the first time in theearth-consciousness.And I think that man is not yet ready to receive it. It is too high and too vast for him. He cannotunderstand it, grasp it, for it is not by the mind that one can understand Savitri. One needs spiritualexperiences in order to understand and assimilate it. The more one advances on the path of Yoga,the more one assimilates and the better. No, it is something which will be appreciated only in thefuture, it is the poetry of tomorrow of which he has spoken in The Future Poetry. It is too subtle, toorefined,—it is not in the mind or through the mind, it is in meditation that Savitri is revealed.And men have the audacity to compare it with the work of Virgil or Homer and to find it inferior.They do not understand, they cannot understand. What do they know? Nothing at all. And it isuseless to try to make them understand. Men will know what it is, but in a distant future. It is onlythe new race with a new consciousness which will be able to understand. I assure you there is nothingunder the blue sky to compare with Savitri. It is the mystery of mysteries. It is the super-epic, it issuper-literature, super-poetry, super-vision, it is a super-work even if one considers the number ofwww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 4

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. July 2017.lines he has written. No these human words are not adequate to describe Savitri. Yes, one needssuperlatives, hyperbolas to describe it. It is a hyper-epic. No, words express nothing of what Savitriis; at least I do not find them. It is of immense value—spiritual value and all other values; it is eternalin the subject, and infinite in its appeal, miraculous in its mode and power of execution; it is a uniquething, the more you come in contact with this, the higher will you be uplifted. Ah, truly it issomething! It is most beautiful thing he has left for man, the highest possible. What is it? When willman know it? When is he going to lead a life of truth? When is he going to accept this in his life?This yet remains to be known.(Source: http://savitri.in/library/mother/the-mothers-talk-on-savitri) Sketch of Savitri – The Mother One had returned from the transcendent planes And bore anew the load of mortal breath, Who had striven of old with our darkness and our pain; She took again her divine unfinished task: Survivor of death and the aeonic years, Once more with her fathomless heart she fronted Time. Again there was renewed, again revealed The ancient closeness by earth-vision veiled, The secret contact broken off in Time, A consanguinity of earth and heaven, Between the human portion toiling here And an as yet unborn and limitless Force. (Savitri, Book four, Canto one)(Picture Source: http://savitri.in/library/mother/the-mother-on-savitri-facsimiles)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 5

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. July 2017. Lines from Ancient tale of Savitri as in Mahabharatha Savitri tells Yama By the Truth the saints lead the sun; By askesis the saints uphold the earth; The past, present and future find their refuge in the saints. Noble persons in the midst of the saints have never any grief. Savitri Upakhyana vana parva, Mahabharatha In the one task for which our lives were born, To raise the world to God in deathless Light, To bring God down to the world on earth we came, To change the earthly life to life divine. (Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri, Book eleven, Canto one)(Source of the lines from Ancient Tale: http://savitri.in/books/ry-deshpande/the-ancient-tale-of-savitri-according-to-mahabharata) Savitri, A jewel from the eternal flute music Impatient for felicity he came, High-fluting with the coil’s happy voice, His peacock turban trailing on the trees; - Sri Aurobindo, Savitri (An artistic impression of the Savitri book by Sandhya)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 6

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. July 2017. May - June Sunday Activities at the Centre - A glimpseMay 28th - Savitri, an Unending JourneyEight members met in the centre premises today and continued with Canto Five, ‘The Godheads of theLittle Life’, the screening of which was carried out in the last month, leaving today’s session forexplanations, discussions and sharing of thoughts. One by one, we read out the lines of all the picturesand looked into detail Pictures 1 to 10. We attempted to travel with Aswapathi as he turned his gaze intothe turmoil of the little life, “an unhappy corner in eternity” and the governing godheads. Life was beingscourged with his vision’s “sun-white blaze”. All within, small and little was left bare to this “search-light” and this little life in us too was left bare for our scrutiny. In this dreariness of the little life that waspainted, there was some hope in the lines devoted to the last picture we concluded with for today, Pic.10:“Our seekings are short-lived experimentsMade by a wordless and inscrutable PowerTesting its issues from inconscient NightTo meet its luminous self of Truth and Bliss…..Amid the figures of the Ignorance,In the symbol pictures drawn by word and thoughtIt seeks for the source of Light with vision’s lamp…”June 4th – Readings from AIM Magazine:We read a few passages from March 2017 edition, All India MagazineThe theme of this week’s readings was “The Value of Money”. The circle was about 8-strong. Weopened the evening’s contemplation on money with a reading from The Mother’s writing on page 21,titled, “Helping humanity with money”. Though several other passages were read, such as, “Conqueringmoney for the Divine Work” and “Money is meant for action and not possession”, many of the readerspresent constantly made references to the first passage in understanding the right attitude towards moneyand its handling. In this passage, Mother speaks about the value of philanthropy and how that need notnecessarily serve the Divine purpose but instead, may serve the ego of the person practicingphilanthropy. When we give to the poor, do we create more of them by the very act of giving? Accordingto the Mother, this is not altogether false. Instead, in this yoga, one remains the first person that oneshould help. Here is an excerpt from this passage:“…the first human being that concerns you is yourself. You want to diminish suffering, but unless youcan change the capacity of suffering into a certitude of being happy, the world will not change. It willalways be the same …. For there is something missing, something not there, that is the consciousness.That’s all”We reread the whole of the passage that was first read out for the evening, and settled down intoconcentration with the New Year’s music for a good length of minutes.June 11th - Musical Offering of Devotional Songs by Padmini Chandrashekhar, Ashwin andLakshmiIt was an hour of sweet devotion that filled the centre this day when Padmini, Ashwin and Lakshmi tookto the stage with their musical offering of bhajans. Besides joining in with his flawless voice, Ashwinconstantly kept tune at the keyboard while His wife, Lakshmi and Mother-in-Law, Padmini. He was veryadept at the keyboard, having trained under A R Rahman for two years and practicing in Mumbai for ayear. The numerous compositions, mainly in Sanskrit by great composers, formed a bouquet of bhajanswww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 7

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. July 2017.on all the deities we are acquainted with and uplifted the atmosphere to that level. The numbers rangedfrom Gajavathana as the starting piece, followed by Guru Deva Tava, Shankara Chandrashekhara, NamoDevi, Anantha rupini, Pranatha Palini Ma, into Mathurashtakam, a medley of songs on Lord Krishna,Lord Rama and Anjeneya and Durga Pancharatnam, with a beautiful western orchestration composedby Ashwin himself. The last piece offered for the occasion was a composition by Alwaar and Surdas setto music again by Ashwin.The fifteen of us who were present there thrived in a hour of bliss and with gratitude singing in ourhearts, thanked the devoted artists from the bottom of our hearts.June 18th – Awareness through The Body – Sharing an ExperienceSome 21 members turned up for this day’s journey into awareness through the body (ATB) shared byJayanthy. She shared her experiences in this area gleaned from workshops she had attended in Delhi andAuroville conducted by ATB exponents. Basically, ATB helps one better acquainted with the body, itsphysical habitual movements, reactions and the degree to which body senses are tuned to function betterand efficiently. Furthermore, once we recognise habits and tendencies in us which may not be helpingus towards whatever goals we have set for ourselves in life, then we have the chance of consciouslychanging habits to ones which help us lead a life of purpose and quality. Integral yoga leverages on theintegral transformation of our nature such that divinity can find its abode on earth, manifested in ourbeings.The session was an interactive one with short breaks of interactions and activities that required membersto be quietly observing them as they walked around the room with the focus on their bodies, state ofbeing and the atmosphere around them. The paces were increased and changes in their states of beingwere observed and shared. Next, members walked around the room with eyes closed. This was quite anexperiences and several members commented that it heightened their sense of awareness of their bodyas other functions took over the process of walking with eyes closed. Last of all, one by one, eachmember walked towards the facilitator diagonally and touched her outstretched hands (palms) once witheyes open and afterwards, with eyes closed. Some made it spot on while others went astray. But theactivity was fun and an eye-opener.After a brief sharing session, everyone concentrated, with full awareness on the body and through thebody on The Mother’s New Year’s music. - Jayanthy PROGRAMME FOR THE MONTH OF JULY 2017DATE TIME DETAILS2nd July 2017 8:00 AM Monthly Morning Walk* Sunday2nd July 2017 Reading from AIM Magazine Sunday 6:00 PM Savitri – An unending Journey The Story of Auroville By Joss9th July 2017 6:00 PM Sunday Secret of the Vedas16th July 2017 Sunday 6:00 PM TBC23th July 2017 6:00 PM Sunday30th July 2017 Sunday 6:00 PM* Please see below for details.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 8

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. July 2017. July 2017 MORNING WALK – NO. 383Date: Sunday, 2nd July 2017Time: 8:00 A.M. sharp for warm up exercise. We shall proceed with the walk by 8.20 AM without waiting for anyone. Those who would like to join late for the walk may proceed directly to the walk venue (map given below)Walk Venue: Tampines Eco Green / Sun Plaza ParkMeeting Point: Block 720 Tampines Street 72 Void Deck @ Host’s Residence. We will walk to park venue from here after warm-up exercise. Walkers are requested to bring umbrella/ hat & water.Contact No: Mr S.Ramanathan (9138 5130)Directions to the DrivingHost’s Residence From TPE turn into Tampines Avenue 10 (Exit 5). Turn left into Tampines Avenue 9and Meeting and make the next right into Tampines Street 72. Make an immediate left into the Carpoint: Park. From PIE towards Changi Airport, exit at Bedok Reservoir (Exit 8A) and drive along the road (Bedok North Road) which becomes Tampines Avenue 10. Take a right on Tampines Avenue 9 and take the next right into Tampines Street 72. Take an immediate left into the Car Park. MRT: Nearest MRT: Tampines Interchange Bus: 72 (from Tampines Interchange) or 168 (from Bedok Interchange) or 27 (Hougang Interchange or Changi Airport). Stop at Bus Stop in front of Block 721 along Avenue 9.Hosts: Mr. & Mrs. Sanjay & Ami Mehta Block 720, Tampines Street 72, # 03-31 Singapore 520720.RSVP 6544 3252, Mobile: 98750767, 91446105 Email ID: [email protected])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 9

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. July 2017.PREVIEW OF FORTHCOMING SUNDAY MORNING WALKSWALK NO DATE PLACE HOST Mr K.V. Rao and Family384 06/08/2017 Macritchie Reservoir385 03/09/2017 Bedok Reservoir Park Mr. Arjun Madan386 01/10/2017 Gardens by the Bay Mr Shashi Lal Kashyap & Family387 05/11/2017 Woodlands Waterfront Mr Kiranchandra Vasant Sule and Family Park Along the Way… June 2017 Walk Review“The radiant Dawns have risen up for glory, in their white splendor like the waves of waters.She maketh paths all easy, fair to travel, and, rich, hath shown herself benign and friendly.”RigvedaThe sky at dawn on Sunday, 4 June revealed the promise of a bright and clear day just perfect forthe walk.Enthusiastic members of Sri Aurobindo Society Singapore gathered at the East Coast Park, afavourite walk venue at the stipulated time. As a pre-walk warm-up, Jayanthy led the eager groupthrough some exercises to loosen up the muscles. At the end, we learnt how to form and stand in aperfect circle without any instructions, each participant focusing only on himself and finding his orher space within it!Catching up on pleasant chatter is as much fun as walking with our friends! This monthly walkprovides ample opportunity for this activity too.We all set off at a brisk pace with the intention of exploring as much of the ECP as possible in thespan of an hour and a half. It was amazing to see the area filled with such diversity. People throngedthe pedestrian and cycling paths - young and old, families and singles, walkers and joggers, campersand cyclists, nature lovers everywhere. There were even some pet lovers who were walking theirdogs in prams!The best part was that “Surya devta” gave us some respite from the unexpected heat by invitingsome clouds to give some cover. The sweet breeze that was wafting around was the proverbial icingon the cake.It was soon time to move to the house of our hosts for the meditation session. Many of the memberswho were unable to participate in the walk joined us there.Prayers and meditation were held in an atmosphere of calm & peace. Affable birthday andanniversary wishes were passed to those celebrating these events in the month of June. Young Shivhappily cut a cake and received bountiful blessings from all.We thank our hosts, Anand and Vrunda Patel for their hospitality and making all the arrangementswith so much love. - 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 10