June 2019 Newsletter - Edited

June 2019 SRI AUROBINDO SOCIETY VOL 33.06 Singapore NEWSLETTER The Mother’s intimate relationship with Nature Intimacy with Universal Nature This intimacy is only possible for those who are vast and without preferences or repulsions. Lagerstroemia speciosa Queen's crape myrtle, Pride of India, Pyinma Medium-sized mildly fragrant rose purple flower, larger and with petals more open than Lagerstroemia Indica. A large showy ornamental tree. Oftener in dumb Nature's stir and peace A nearness she could feel serenely one; The Force in her drew Earth's subhuman broods; And to her Spirit's large and free delight She joined the ardent -hued magnificent lives Of animan and bird and flower and tree They answered to her with the simple heart. Savitri, Sri Aurobindo

The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. June 2019. Guiding Light of the Month All Nature hails Thee, O Lord, and with arms lifted and hands outstretched she implores Thee. Not that she doubts Thy infinite generosity and thinks she must ask in order to have; but that is her way of bowing to Thee and giving herself to Thee, for is this giving anything else than being ready to receive? She delights in thus offering a prayer to Thee though she knows that this prayer is superfluous. June 28, 1914 Prayers and Meditations, The Mother From the Editor’s Desk This month’s edition of the newsletter considers the in the veins of Nature. In a beautiful prayer on April theme ‘The Mother’s intimate relationship with 7th, 1917, The Mother recounts her experience in Nature’. Interestingly, the Oxford English Dictionary Japan with a particular cherry blossom tree, defines ‘Nature’ as ‘The phenomena of the physical expressing, “but now the blood of the cherry-tree world collectively, including plants, animals, the flows in my veins and with it flows an incomparable landscape, and other features and products of the peace and force. What difference is there between the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations.’ The human body and the body of a tree? In truth, there is Sanskrit terminology for Nature is Prakrti. It is derived none: the consciousness which animates them is from the Sankya philosophy, which offers a identically the same.” comprehensive meaning of nature. Nature is referred to as the “primal matter with three different innate The Mother’s intimacy with the world of flowers is qualities whose equilibrium is a basis of all observed well-known to us. For a long time, The Mother has empirical reality.” The Vedic concept of Prakrti refers realised the occult significance of flowers. In ashram, to nature as the original or natural form or condition of she offered flowers to sadhaks with special anything or the original or primary substance. In this significance ascribed to each flower or the quality it regard, Prakrti is also referred to as the feminine carried. These were sources of direct help or answers aspect of all life-forms. The woman is seen as the to sadhaks’ aspirations. Sadhaks too used to bring to symbol of Prakrti. In contrast, the opposite of Prakrti The Mother certain flowers as offerings. The Mother is Purusha which is pure awareness and metaphysical explains that flowers carry a certain spontaneous consciousness. The man is seen then as the symbol of vibration and when one enters into them, one can feel Purusha. these subtle vibrations and She gives them the significance accordingly. According to Her, flowers According to the ‘Future Evolution of Man’, which is speak a subtle and fragrant language and that they a compilation of selections from Sri Aurobindo’s “speak to us when we know how to listen to them.” works by P.B. Saint Hilaire, Prakrti is Nature, which is In many ways, The Mother demonstrated to people apparently, “a play of unconscious and mechanical around her by example how to communicate with forces.” However behind the the apparent is “the ever Nature in intimacy. Sri Aurobindo penned these lines present living Consciousness and Force of the Divine” depicting the relationship between Savitri and Nature: or the Divine Shakti. Nature is said to be only “the Around her were the austere sky-pointing hills, outer or executive aspect of the Shakti or Conscious And the green murmurous broad deep-thoughted woods Force that forms and moves the worlds.” Muttered incessantly their muffled spell. Such is the nature of Nature that we draw our attention A dense magnificent coloured self-wrapped life Draped in the leaves’ vivid emerald monotone to in this edition. It is no surprise that The Mother And set with chequered sunbeams and blithe flowers found a deep connect with Nature as She herself flows Immured her destiny’s secluded scene. There had she grown to the stature of her spirit: www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 2 The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature

The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. June 2019. Savitri The Earth multiplied to her a changing brow And called her with a far and nameless voice. The mountains in their anchorite solitude, The forests with their multitudinous chant, Disclosed to her the masked divinity's doors Alone with the cry of birds and hue of flowers And wilderness of wonder lit by her moons And grey seer-evening kindling with the stars And dim movement in the Night's infinitude. 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, Sri Aurobindo Questions & Answers What is the best way of opening ourselves to the profound influence of flowers? To love them. If you can enter into psychic contact with them, it is perfect. * www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 3 The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature

The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. June 2019. How can one enter into psychic contact with flowers? When one is in conscious contact with one's won psychic, one becomes aware of an impersonal psychic behind the whole creation, and then through it one can enter into contact with flowers and know the psychic prayer they represent. * Yesterday , you spoke of an impersonal psychic behind the whole creation. What is this impersonal psychic? By impersonal psychic I mean the psychic region that does not belong to any individual in particular, the psychic region that is in the creation as air is in the air's atmosphere. (Tara Jauhar, Growing up with The Mother, Sri Aurobindo Ashram - Delhi Branch Trust , New Delhi) www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg Infant and dim the eternal Mights awoke, In inert Matter breathed slumbering Life, In a subconcient Life Mind lay asleep; In waking Life it stretched it's giant limbs To shake from it the torpor of its drowse; A senseless substance quivered into sense, The world's heart commenced to beat, It's eyes to see. Savitri, Sri Aurobindo 4 The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature

The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. June 2019. A nearness she could feel serenely one; Savitri When she was about twelve, Mirra used to go for solitary walks in the woods at Fontainebleau, and she would often sit for hours at the foot of a tree losing herself in communion with Nature. It was a singular concatenation, the ardent young girl self-absorbed in the infinitudes, and the silent ageless tree with the imperious woods around: quite an equation of the mathematics of the Spirit! The very birds and squirrels made friends with her, and would often perch on her, or crawl lovingly over her. And, indeed, Mirra felt perfectly at peace there in the bosom of Nature, and experienced a sense of identity. Some of the trees at Fontainebleau were supposed to be quite ancient - perhaps two thousand years old or more and it was as though Mirra had captivated the heart of primordial Nature. The trees almost seemed to understand her, and whisper in a familiar language to her. The spirit of a tree had once become aware of the talk of cutting it down, and when Mirra went to sit under it began soliciting her to somehow save it from the threatened destruction. In later life she intervened in several cases and succeeded in staying the murderous axe. Her companionship with Nature was thus no pose, no mere figure of speech, but a deep commitment flowing from a sense of spiritual oneness with all life, all Nature. (‘On The Mother’, Chapter 1 – “Childhood and Girlhood”, K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar, Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry) Prayers and Meditation April 7, 1917 A DEEP concentration seized on me, and I perceived that I was identifying myself with a single cherry- blossom, then through it with all cherry-blossoms, and, as I descended deeper in the consciousness, following a stream of bluish force, I became suddenly the cherry-tree itself, stretching towards the sky like so many arms its innumerable branches laden with their sacrifice of flowers. Then I heard distinctly this sentence: “Thus hast thou made thyself one with the soul of the cherry-trees and so thou canst take note that it is the Divine who makes the offering of this flower-prayer to heaven.” When I had written it, all was effaced; but now the blood of the cherry-tree flows in my veins and with it flows an incomparable peace and force. What difference is there between the human body and the body of a tree? In truth, there is none: the consciousness which animates them is identically the same. Then the cherry-tree whispered in my ear: “It is in the cherry-blossom that lies the remedy for the disorders of the spring.” (Collected works of the Mother in 17 volumes) www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 5 The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature

The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. June 2019. April - May Sunday Activities at the Centre - A glimpse April 21st – Read passages from The Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity, War and Self – Determination Conditions for the Coming of a Spiritual Age. Mr Jared facilitated our understanding of the passages read from the continuation of the last month’s reading. Sri Aurobindo again and again reminds us of the readiness of the common mind to accept that there is yet a higher order to come that is the Spiritual change. Right now there is an element of unpreparedness, unfitness of the society or of the common mind of man which is always the chief stumbling block. Sri Aurobindo is very clear that when the common mind of man accepts the Divinisation or Spiritualisation of the human elements it can be seen even in their powers of poetry and music which will flower with rapidity and ease under the light and rain of spiritual and psychic influence.Even in our Upanishad, Maharishi Bhrigu, son of Varuna goes step by step on how he thought at first Matter and the physical as the reality, then life and vital as the self and spirit and then Mind and mental being and only then he could get beyond the superficial subjective to supramental Truth-Consciousness to the eternal, the blissful which is covered by the above sheaths. Sadly though the present humanity is not as persistent or as plastic as great Maharishi Bhrigu! The humanity’s vital subjectivism burdened man with servitude to the machinery of the outer material life. This vital elan (Energy, style, and enthusiasm) as Sri Aurobindo says, is not evil in themselves if they are directed to finding something beyond that is higher than the superficial, external life. April 24th - Darshan Day Meditation was followed by reading of Darshan Message from Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Puducherry by Sri KV Rao. 99 years after The Mother's Final Arrival in Pondicherry The message is as follows: In the physical world, of all things it is beauty that expresses best the Divine. The physical world is the world of form and the perfection form expresses is beauty. Beauty interprets, expresses, manifests the Eternal. Its rule is to put all manifested nature in contact with the Eternal through perfection of form, through harmony and a sense of the ideal which uplifts and leads towards something higher. -The Mother Then we watched the video of Alok Pandey giving a very detail talk on this significant day. April 28th - Continuation of the reading of passages from, The Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity, War and Self –Determination, Conditions for the Coming of a Spiritual Age. Following the vital subjectivism, came the mental subjectivism. Based upon the reason and rationality, the social existence was governed by the ordered scientific plan. But this will mechanise human life in a more intelligent way than in the past as reason is only an intermediate interpreter. The next step will be the greatening of his mental and psychic being and a discovery of his subliminal nature. Discovering this subliminal nature will give life an opportunity for the joy of power of www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 6 The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature

The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. June 2019. knowledge. Our subliminal nature is like a vast ocean. Whatever happens on the surface are like the waves of this subliminal sea. When subliminal knowledge takes hold of communal mind, there will be a profound revolution throughout the whole range of human existence. This change will give human mind a new tone and atmosphere, a loftier spirit, wider horizons and a greater aim. This will make the great achievements of the past comparatively a little thing for example even in Art and Beauty! May 5th – Read a few passages from April 2019 issue of Awakening to the beauty of the future. The Mother about 24th April 1920 Mother narrates Her experience as the boat she was travelling from Japan was closer to Pondicherry. She says she could feel the aura of Sri Aurobindo. It was a physical experience, anyone sufficiently awakened to the higher consciousness can feel that! For all the anguish and expectation filled questions asked by sadhaks about the fate of our world, she answers that mankind should fight against his own difficulties and make inner purificaion the main goal to become spiritualised. This will help the civilisation from plunging into darkness again. True courage and Good Will In this passage Mother talks about True Courage in its deepest sense is to be able to face any situation either small or big and it goes from material things to spiritual challenges. She gives the example of Queen Elizabeth who in spite of being extremely ill had the amazing courage to get up to meet the people who had come to meet her to give a petition. Fear is the outcome of unconsciousness and ignorance. Children for example without the knowledge of danger do certain things, but real courage is with the full knowledge of things and all the possibilities, ready to face everything without exception. Can One Help the world with a Vibration of Goodwill? In this passage Mother says how our good wishes and actions without being contaminated by the desires in us to satisfy our ego will go a long way to bring about a marvellous effect in the world. The Living Symbol Read the lines of Savitri at the back of the magazine. Book 2- Canto 1… Single stair to being’s goal. A summary of the stages of the spirit, Its copy of the cosmic hierarchies Refashioned in our secret air of self A subtle pattern of the universe. It is within, below, without, above. Acting upon this visible Nature’s scheme It wakens our earth-matter’s heavy doze To think and feel and to react to joy; It models in us our diviner parts, Lifts mortal mind into a greater air, Makes yearn this life of flesh to intangible aims, Links the body’s death with immortality’s call: www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 7 The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature

The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. June 2019. Out of the swoon of the Inconscience It labours towards a superconscient Light. If earth were all and this were not in her, Thought could not be nor life-delight’s response: Only material forms could then be her guests Driven by an inanimate world-force. Earth by this golden superfluity Bore thinking man and more than man shall bear; This higher scheme of being is our cause And holds the key to our ascending fate; It calls out of our dense mortality The conscious spirit nursed in Matter’s house. The living symbol of these conscious planes, Its influences and godheads of the unseen, Its unthought logic of Reality’s acts Arisen from the unspoken truth in things, Have fixed our inner life’s slow-scaled degrees. What is in the macrocosm is repeated in principle in the microcosm. Corresponding to the gradations of the worlds in the cosmos, there are in the individual gradations of consciousness, representing and forming successive stages or steps in the unfoldment of the Spirit. It is because of this graded consciousness within that man is able to live, feel and take joy. This labouring consciousness works to give shape to greater potentialities awaiting activisation in man; capacities and functionings of a range greater than the human are forged by it. Under the push of this developing consciousness man is slowly developing into a conscient power greater than the human and is well on his way to becoming a God. This inner stair of the being of man embodies the presence and the workings of the many Powers and Personalities that are active in the Cosmos. The sequence and the purpose of all that takes place in this multi-dimensional creation, the cause of everything which lies in the ensouling truth, are known there spontaneously. All these features determine the pace and the direction of the inner evolution of the soul. May 12th – Continuation of reading of passages from, The Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity, War and Self –Determination. Continuing with the passages read from 28th April, Jared facilitated our understanding of Sri Aurobindo’s vision for humanity which is now entangled in the mechanical turning of his physical, vital, and mental subjectivity machinery. In the past, there were attempts by a few realised souls to spiritualise mankind by a sort of rapid miracle. But that didn’t work as the evolution of consciousness cannot progress without the trodding intervening stages of matter as the reality- Annam Brahman, Life as the great Eternal - Prano Brahma, and Mind as the original reality - Mano Brahma. If humanity, without getting stuck in these stages for centuries, makes an attempt to go beyond, it will succeed in becoming a Spiritualised soul! www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 8 The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature

The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. June 2019. 19th May - Continuation of reading of passages from, The Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity, War and Self –Determination. Jared took up the passages that followed from last week. Sri Aurobindo makes it very clear that mental subjectivity should find itself no more than a secondary power of the Spirit’s working and the Spirit as the Eternal, ayam atma brahma. The Three essential truths of existence which are God, Freedom and Unity are only words now. The truth is, all these are one; unless we realise God, there is no freedom and unity. God is waiting to be known internally, not simply erecting His images and praying in words which only grounds our mind ego and life ego. The ego pivot should be unearthed as the first step in the path of realising God within. The spiritualised society is born when the collective soul takes over from collective ego or collective Will. The process of transformation, however, cannot be brought about by slaying the hard-won individuality to the collective Will. Every individual should find the kingdom of God within not in the distant heaven. That will see the birth of the Spiritual Sun rising in human kind. Jared also talked about the legend of Atlantis who supposedly lived some 9000 years ago which is a story about a moral, spiritual people who lived in a highly advanced, utopian civilization. But they became greedy, petty, and \"morally bankrupt,\" and the gods became angry because the people had lost their way and turned to immoral pursuits. As punishment, Orser says, the gods sent \"one terrible night of fire and earthquakes\" that caused Atlantis to sink into the sea. From the time Sri Aurobindo had this vision for human kind between 1915 and 1918 in the monthly Arya magazines, a larger change is already seen in the mental subjectivity of mankind now with Artificial Intelligence bringing closer connections in human unity. Just by reading and understanding the above passages, something in us beyond our mind stirs to come up, giving us a feeling of Oneness that is so beautiful! - Jayalakshmi www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 9 The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature

The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. June 2019. PROGRAMME FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE 2019 2 June 2019 8 AM Monthly Morning Walk * Sunday 6 PM AIM Magazine Reading and Discussion 9 June 2019 6 PM Thematic Study Circle Part I : Sunday The Human Cycle 16 June 2019 6 PM Thematic Study Circle Part II : Sunday The Human Cycle 23 June 2019 4 PM Youth Programme Sunday 6 PM Savitri Circle 30 June 2019 6 PM Documentary on Integral Yoga • Please see below for details. Date: June 2019 MORNING WALK – NO. 406 Time: Walk Venue: Sunday,2nd June 2019 Meeting Point: 8:00 A.M. sharp for warm up exercise. Contact No: East Coast Park ( Rain Tree Cove) Car Park C4 at East Coast Park Service Road Mr SN Venkat (9668 3658) www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 10 The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature

The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. June 2019. Hosts: M/s Anand and Vrunda Patel Block 3, Tanah Merah Kechil Road, #02-05, The Tanamera, Singapore 466664 HP: 98307621 / 98206389 email: [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. Prayers and meditation will commence sharp at 10.30 A.M. All are requested to be punctual. PREVIEW OF FORTHCOMING SUNDAY MORNING WALKS WALK NO DATE PLACE HOST 407 07/7/19 Bedok Reservoir Mr Sanjay Mehta & Family 408 04/8/19 409 04/08/19 TBA TBA Macrtichie Reservoir Mr K V Rao & Family Along the Way… May Walk Review (walk no 405) It had been over a year since I had a chance to go for the Aurobindo society walks. And seeing so many people gathered in Costa Del Sol condominium on the first Sunday of May was wonderful. It was very heartening to see this tradition that has been an intrinsic part of my childhood, becoming a part of the experience for many young kids from families new to me. Before we went over to East Coast Park to begin the walk, Anjali led us with some warmup exercises. This reminded me of the many times my brother, Pranav, and I used to be asked to do that when we were younger. I have to say, she is far better at it than we were. ECP is the park in Singapore that I maybe know best, and I owe that largely to these walks our society has. That being said, ECP is not hard to know. It is a straightforward path in whichever direction you chose to go. Nothing confusing, so it really allows time for reflection – be it quietly or through conversation. That day, it was really hot and the sun was shining right into our eyes as we set out to walk. Pranav and I set out together. While my father led the charge at the front of the group, we found www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 11 The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature

The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. June 2019. ourselves at a comfortable pace in the middle. As we looked out into the water, we talked about the number of ships we could see. The further they were, the fainter their outlines; but it gave the view a sense of infinitude and filled me with a sense of awe and wonder. As we returned to the starting point near Bedok jetty, we knew our walk had come to an end. The whole group made its way back to Costa Del Sol to the house of Bakthi and Ashok Patel. I used to frequent their house as a Primary school kid to learn Maths from Bakthi aunty. It brought back nostalgic memories of those times and of Late Patel Uncle (a.k.a. Nandlal Bhai) who was a grandfatherly figure for me. As everyone in the society looked up to him and loved him, many others who joined that day also fondly spoke of their times with him. We all then sat down for prayers and meditation. That was followed by a great meal prepared by our host. As we returned to the starting point near Bedok jetty, we knew our walk had come to an end. The whole group made its way back to Costa Del Sol to the house of Bakthi and Ashok Patel. I used to frequent their house as a Primary school kid to learn Maths from Bakthi aunty. It brought back nostalgic memories of those times and of Late Patel Uncle (a.k.a. Nandlal Bhai) who was a grandfatherly figure for me. As everyone in the society looked up to him and loved him, many others who joined that day also fondly spoke of their times with him. We all then sat down for prayers and meditation. That was followed by a great meal prepared by our host. It was really nice for me to catch up with everyone who I hadn’t see in the past year. I want to thank everyone who came down for the walk and the brunch and the whole Patel family for hosting us in their lovely home. - Pradeeptha Venkat 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.sg www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 12 The Mother’s initmate relationship with Nature