The Maha Kali Aspect of The Mother

The Maha Kali Aspect of The Mother.

SRI AUROBINDO SAYS......,

Q: About the Mother's Mahakali aspect it is said in ‘The Mother’: “When she is allowed to intervene in her strength, then in one moment are broken like things without consistence the obstacles that immobilise or the enemies that assail the seeker”. How is this intervention of the Mahakali force felt?

A: It is felt as if something swift, sudden, decisive and imperative. When it intervenes, it has a kind of divine or supramental sanction behind it and is like a fiat against which there is no appeal. What is done cannot be reversed or undone. The adverse forces may try, may even touch or invade, but they retire baffled and it is seen as soon as they withdraw that the past ground has remained intact ? it is felt even in the attack. Also the difficulties that were strong before it touched by this fiat lose their power, their verisimilitude destroyed or are weak shadows that come only to flicker and fade away. I say ‘allowed’, because this supreme action of Mahakali is comparatively rare, the action of the other Powers or a partial action of Mahakali is more common.

Sri Aurobindo. 24-8-1933.

SRI AUROBINDO SAYS...,

Q: While praying today I saw the image of Mother Kali. She was black and naked and was standing with her foot on the back of Shiva ? as she is traditionally described. Why is Kali seen in such a form and on what plane is she seen like this?

A: It is in the vital. It is Kali as a destroying Force — a symbol of the Nature Force in the ignorance surrounded by difficulties, wresting and breaking everything in a blind struggle to get through till she finds herself standing with her foot on the Divine itself — then she comes to herself and the struggle and destruction are over. That is the significance of the symbol.

9-2-1934.

To the sincere seeker, Mahakali is the divine warrior, protecting and aiding the ascent. To those who oppose, she is the implacable enemy. “Terrible is her face to the Asura, dangerous and ruthless her mood against the haters of the Divine; for she is the Warrior of the Worlds who never shrinks from the battle.”

Sri Aurobindo, The Mother, Chapter Six, pp. 42-45.

Kali’s Dance of Destruction

Ideas warring and fierce leaped upon life; 

A hard compression held down anarchy 

And liberty was only a phantom’s name: 

Creation and destruction waltzed inarmed 

On the bosom of a torn and quaking earth; 

All reeled into a world of Kali’s dance. ||68.83||

Soul-Force of Mother of Works and Force as Kali

I wear the face of Kali when I kill, 

I trample the corpses of the demon hordes. ||123.16||

I am charged by God to do his mighty work, 

Uncaring I serve his will who sent me forth, 

Reckless of peril and earthly consequence. ||123.17||

I reason not of virtue and of sin 

But do the deed he has put into my heart. ||123.18||

Kali Black

I have created all, all I devour; 

I am Death and the dark terrible Mother of life, 

I am Kali black and naked in the world, 

I am Maya and the universe is my cheat. ||128.24||

I lay waste human happiness with my breath 

And slay the will to live, the joy to be 

That all may pass back into nothingness 

And only abide the eternal and absolute. ||128.25||

For only the blank Eternal can be true. ||128.26||

SRI AUROBINDO ASHRAM NEW YEAR MESSAGES 1933 - 1973

SRI AUROBINDO'S MAHASAMADHI 5 DECEMBER 1950

God departs - 5 DEC 1950.

At 1.26 a.m., leaving his physical sheath, "the Colonist from Immortality" departed from the earthly habitation, in the presence of the Mother who stood near his feet with an intense penetrating gaze, an incarnation of divine strength, poise and calm.
*************************************************************************
"A colonist from immortality. A treasurer of superhuman dreams, "

Sri Aurobindo’s Mahasamadhi - 5 th December 1950.

‘…the sadhaks came one by one and saw the Marvel and the Mystery, the body of the Golden Purusha in eternal sleep. And with tears of joy and grief they offered their prayer to the One who had sacrificed all for them.

‘I also saw, to my utter wonder and delight, that the entire body was suffused with a golden crimson hue, so fresh, so magnificent. It seemed to have lifted my pall of gloom and I felt light and happy without knowing why. When the Mother came, I asked naïvely, “Mother, won’t he come back?” No!” she replied, “If he wanted to come back, he would not have left the body.” Pointing to the Light she said, “If this Supramental Light remains we shall keep the body in a glass case.”

‘…for four days, the disciples, the people of the town, Ashram employees had the unique Darshan and paid their homage. Bhaktas had come from different parts of India for the benediction of the last Darshan of the Guru. Many of them felt the room surcharged with peace, force, light or bliss. Some saw Sri Aurobindo sitting on the bed and saying, “I am here, I am here!” as if to falsify Nature’s decree…

‘The Mother paid her visits to the room twice or thrice a day, clad in a white robe and with a scarf tied over her hair. Her face calm and grave, yet softened with a material sweetness, she looked like Maheshwari of transcendent glory. She would stand silently before the body, look at it for some time and quietly retire. Sometimes she was accompanied by Nolini, Pavitra, Amrita and others. She did not want the body to be touched and wished that an utter silence should prevail in the room at all times.’[1]
*******************************************************************************
‘The Mother then said Sri Aurobindo had lived so long in the Supramental Consciousness that it had come down into His body and made it shine with a golden light. But She added that one could not be sure how long the light would remain and in case it remained for a long time it was necessary to protect the body against dust and air-borne insects. So She asked me to prepare a large glass covering to go over the whole body in a way which would not disturb it. Immediately a man was sent to Madras to get the necessary large sheets of glass and through Dyuman we arranged for the silver angle strips to join them to form a cover.

‘In the meantime we thought it would be good if we could keep the room temperature low by arranging large blocks of ice round about with fans to blow over them. We did this without consulting the Mother. As soon as She saw it, She asked us to remove everything at once: She did not want any artificial measure to be taken at all. If the body was to remain without perishing, it would be by His will alone…

‘Mother gave me instructions for the casket which was made of solid wood and lined with silk. Sri Aurobindo was still lying on his bed and there was the most marvellous golden light emanating from his body, and a scent like a celestial perfume. The Mother told me how deep to go into the Samadhi and how to design it.

‘We built the Samadhi not as a hole in the ground but as a vault with thick concrete walls nine inches thick with cement floors and a cement roof. We went down eight feet and built a four-foot room with cement slabs. Over that the Mother instructed me to build another room also with walls, a floor and a roof. She told me to fill it with clean river sand and to put a large slab on the top. Thus was the Samadhi built.

‘Mother wanted Sri Aurobindo’s ‘Samadhi’ to be under the Service Tree in the Ashram courtyard. She gave detailed instructions, saying how deep we should go and that we should construct a waterproof chamber down below with a waterproof cement slab cover and then an air-space with another waterproof cement slab cover. Then earth was to be filled over this till it came above the surface of the ground, and around it the walls of the Samadhi were to be built.

‘The Mother also told us to prepare a fine case for His body. I got the Harpagon Workshop to start making one in solid thick rosewood with brass straps and brass rings on the side to take the ropes.

‘We started working from the morning of the 5th. We decided to build the Samadhi ourselves without paid labour. The ground was hard—very hard—and breaking it was quite a job. It was decided that the burial would take place on the evening of the 5th. Discoloration of the body generally sets in within 24 hours, 35 hours is the outside limit. But when it was about time for the burial there was no sign of decomposition at all. In fact, even though life had left the body, it was suffused with a golden light and Sri Aurobindo’s face shone with it.’[2].

REFERENCE:
[1] Nirodbaran, Twelve Years with Sri Aurobindo, pp. 280-282.

[2] Udar, One of Mother’s Children, pp. 35-37.

*******************************************************************************
A Tribute Through His Savitri.

A colonist from immortality. 
A pointing beam on earth’s uncertain roads, 
His birth held up a symbol and a sign; 
His human self like a translucent cloak Covered the 
All-Wise who leads the unseeing world. 
Affiliated to cosmic Space and Time And paying here 
God’s debt to earth and man A greater sonship was his divine right. 
Although consenting to mortal ignorance, 
His knowledge shared the Light ineffable. 
A strength of the original Permanence 
Entangled in the moment and its flow, 
He kept the vision of the Vasts behind: 
A power was in him from the Unknowable. 
An archivist of the symbols of the Beyond, 
A treasurer of superhuman dreams,
He bore the stamp of mighty memories 
And shed their grandiose ray on human life.
His days were a long growth to the Supreme. 
[ SAVITRI. BOOK I: The Book of Beginnings, Canto Three
The Yoga of the King.Page - 22. ].
******************************************************************************************************************
Immeasurable by the common look, 
He made great dreams a mould for coming things 
And cast his deeds like bronze to front the years. 
His walk through Time outstripped the human stride. 
Lonely his days and splendid like the sun’s.
[ Savitri. BOOK I: The Book of Beginnings. CANTO III: The Yoga of the Soul’s Release. Page 45.]
He knew the source from which his spirit came:
Movement was married to the immobile Vast; 
He plunged his roots into the In?nite, 
He based his life upon eternity.
[ Savitri. BOOK I: The Book of Beginnings. CANTO III: The Yoga of the Soul’s Release. Page 34. ]
His soul lived as eternity’s delegate, 
His mind was like a fire assailing heaven,
His will a hunter in the trails of light. 
An ocean impulse lifted every breath; 
Each action left the footprints of a god, 
Each moment was a beat of puissant wings. 
[ SAVITRI. BOOK I: The Book of Beginnings 
CANTO III: The Yoga of the Soul’s Release ].
******************************************************************************************************************
He who would save the race must share its pain: 
This he shall know who obeys that grandiose urge.
The Great who came to save this suffering world 
And rescue out of Time’s shadow and the Law, 
Must pass beneath the yoke of grief and pain; 
They are caught by the Wheel that they had hoped to break, 
On their shoulders they must bear man’s load of fate. 
Heaven’s riches they bring, their sufferings count the price 
Or they pay the gift of knowledge with their lives. 
The Son of God born as the Son of man 
Has drunk the bitter cup, owned Godhead’s debt, 
The debt the Eternal owes to the fallen kind 
His will has bound to death and struggling life 
That yearns in vain for rest and endless peace.
Now is the debt paid, wiped off the original score. 
The Eternal suffers in a human form, 
He has signed salvation’s testament with his blood:
He has opened the doors of his undying peace.
The Deity compensates the creature’s claim, 
The Creator bears the law of pain and death;
A retribution smites the incarnate God. 
His love has paved the mortal’s road to Heaven: 
He has given his life and light to balance here 
The dark account of mortal ignorance. 
[ SAVITRI.BOOK VI: The Book of Fate
CANTO II: The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain Page 445 ].
******************************************************************************************
It is finished, the dread mysterious sacrifice, 
Offered by God’s martyred body for the world; 
Gethsemane and Calvary are his lot, 
He carries the cross on which man’s soul is nailed; 
His escort is the curses of the crowd; 
Insult and jeer are his right’s acknowledgment; 
Two thieves slain with him mock his mighty death. 
He has trod with bleeding brow the Saviour’s way.
He who has found his identity with God
Pays with the body’s death his soul’s vast light. 
His knowledge immortal triumphs by his death. 
[ SAVITRI.BOOK VI: The Book of Fate
CANTO II: The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain Page 445 ]
******************************************************************************************************************
But when God’s messenger comes to help the world
And lead the soul of earth to higher things, 
He too must carry the yoke he came to unloose;
He too must bear the pang that he would heal: 
Exempt and unafflicted by earth’s fate, 
How shall he cure the ills he never felt? 
He covers the world’s agony with his calm; 
But though to the outward eye no sign appears 
And peace is given to our torn human hearts, 
The struggle is there and paid the unseen price; 
The fire, the strife, the wrestle are within.
He carries the suffering world in his own breast;
Its sins weigh on his thoughts, its grief is his: 
Earth’s ancient load lies heavy on his soul; 
Night and its powers beleaguer his tardy steps, 
The Titan adversary’s clutch he bears; 
His march is a battle and a pilgrimage. 
Life’s evil smites, he is stricken with the world’s pain:
A million wounds gape in his secret heart. 
[ SAVITRI. BOOK VI: The Book of Fate 
CANTO II: The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain Page 448 ].

google-site-verification: google7620485bffb80bbc.html

SRI AUROBINDO and THE MOTHER ON MONEY

Money is the visible sign of a universal force, and this force in its manifestation on earth works on the vital and physical planes and is indispensable to the fullness of the outer life. In its origin and its true action it belongs to the Divine. But like other powers of the Divine it is delegated here and in the ignorance of the lower Nature can be usurped for the uses of the ego or held by Asuric influences and perverted to their purpose. This is indeed one of the three forces – power, wealth, sex – that have the strongest attraction for the human ego and the Asura and are most generally misheld and misused by those who retain them. The seekers or keepers of wealth are more often possessed rather than its possessors; few escape entirely a certain distorting influence stamped on it by its long seizure and perversion by the Asura. For this reason most spiritual disciplines insist on a complete self-control, detachment and renunciation of all bondage to wealth and of all personal and egoistic desire for its possession. Some even put a ban on money and riches and proclaim poverty and bareness of life as the only spiritual condition. But this is an error; it leaves the power in the hands of the hostile forces. To reconquer it for the Divine to whom it belongs and use it divinely for the divine life is the supramental way for the Sadhaka.

You must neither turn with an ascetic shrinking from the money power, the means it gives and the objects it brings, nor cherish a rajasic attachment to them or a spirit of enslaving self-indulgence in their gratifications. Regard wealth simply as a power to be won back for the Mother and placed at her service.

All wealth belongs to the Divine and those who hold it are trustees, not possessors. It is with them today, tomorrow it may be elsewhere. All depends on the way they discharge their trust while it is with them, in what spirit, with what consciousness in their use of it, to what purpose.

In your personal use of money look on all you have or get or bring as the Mother’s. Make no demand but accept what you receive from her and use it for the purposes for which it is given to you. Be entirely selfless, entirely scrupulous, exact, careful in detail, a good trustee; always consider that it is her possessions and not your own that you are handling. On the other hand, what you receive for her, lay religiously before her; turn nothing to your own or anybody else’s purpose.

Do not look up to men because of their riches or allow yourself to be impressed by the show, the power or the influence. When you ask for the Mother, you must feel that it is she who is demanding through you a very little of what belongs to her and the man from whom you ask will be judged by his response.
If you are free from the money-taint but without any ascetic withdrawal, you will have a greater power to command the money-force for the divine work. Equality of mind, absence of demand and the full dedication of all you possess and receive and all your power of acquisition to the Divine Shakti and her work are the signs of this freedom. Any perturbation of mind with regard to money and its use, any claim, any grudging is a sure index of some imperfection or bondage.

The ideal Sadhaka in this kind is one who if required to live poorly can so live and no sense of want will affect him or interfere with the full inner play of the divine consciousness, and if he is required to live richly, can so live and never for a moment fall into desire or attachment to his wealth or to the things that he uses or servitude to self-indulgence or a weak bondage to the habits that the possession of riches creates. The divine Will is all for him and the divine Ananda.

In the supramental creation the money-force has to be restored to the Divine Power and used for a true and beautiful and harmonious equipment and ordering of a new divinised vital and physical existence in whatever way the Divine Mother herself decides in her creative vision. But first it must be conquered back for her and those will be strongest for the conquest who are in this part of their nature strong and large and free from ego and surrendered without any claim or withholding or hesitation, pure and powerful channels for the Supreme Puissance.

VOLUME 32. THE MOTHER WITH LETTERS ON THE MOTHER [Chapter IV. PAGE 10-11].

*********************************************************************************************

 THE MOTHER on

“MONEY MANAGEMENT”

I once asked the Mother what is the right attitude to money, should we store money, should we be misers or should we be spendthrifts. she told me something which has always stuck in my mind. It is a paradox.

she said you should be both. you should welcome money, conserve it with attention to the last pie; it is an occult law that where money is treasured, where money is respected, there it flows. Money flows where it is welcomed, where it is cherished, where it worshipped. That is why money in the west has always flowed to the jewish community.And once it starts coming. it forms a habit of pouring there. so you conserve, you have to be a careful accountant when you get and keep the money. But she said, when you spend you have to be liberal, be generous; do not calculate when you spend. Choose a good cause, spend , but do not waste. Whether it is coins, currency notes or food or clothes, do not waste but spend wisely; Nature always rushes things where they are properly used.

So we have to educate ourselves on both the fronts, on acquiring money without greed as a force of god to be won, treasured, cherished and utilised.

ART OF LIVING
[ Talks on the Mother's Affirmative Spirituality
By M.P. Pandit p.no 159 ]

24 November 1926

Siddhi Day - Day of Victory.

24 November 1926.

The 24th November is called the day of Victory in remembrance of a very important spiritual event which took place in 1926

The Mother

***************************************************************************************

"It was the descent of Krishna into physical."

Sri Aurobindo

"Krishna is not the supramental Light. The descent of Krishna would mean the descent of the Overmind Godhead preparing, though not itself actually, the descent of Supermind and Ananda. Krishna is the Anandamaya; he supports the evolution through the Overmind leading it towards the Ananda."

 Sri Aurobindo.

**********************************************************************

Ambalal Balakrishna Purani writes: ‘From the beginning of November 1926 the pressure of the Higher Power began to be unbearable. Then at last the great day, the day for which the Mother had been waiting for so many long years, arrived on 24 November. The sun had almost set, and everyone was occupied with his own activity—some had gone out to the seaside for a walk—when the Mother sent round word to all the disciples to assemble as soon as possible in the verandah where the usual meditation was held. It did not take long for the message to go round to all. By six o’clock most of the disciples had gathered. It was becoming dark. In the verandah on the wall near Sri Aurobindo’s door, just behind his chair, a black silk curtain with gold lace work representing three Chinese dragons was hung. The three dragons were so represented that the tail of one reached up to the mouth of the other and the three of them covered the curtain from end to end. We came to know afterwards that there is a prophesy in China that the Truth will manifest itself on earth when the three dragons (the dragons of the earth, of the mind region and of the sky) meet. Today on 24 November the Truth was descending and the hanging of the curtain was significant.

   ‘There was a deep silence in the atmosphere after the disciples had gathered there. Many saw an oceanic flood of Light rushing down from above. Everyone present felt a kind of pressure above his head. The whole atmosphere was surcharged with some electrical energy. In that silence, in that atmosphere full of concentrated expectation and aspiration, in the electrically charged atmosphere, the usual, yet on this day quite unusual, tick was heard behind the door of the entrance. Expectation rose in a flood. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother could be seen through the half-opened door. The Mother with a gesture of her eyes requested Sri Aurobindo to step out first. Sri Aurobindo with a similar gesture suggested to her to do the same. With a slow dignified step the Mother came out first, followed by Sri Aurobindo with his majestic gait. The small table that used to be in front of Sri Aurobindo’s chair was removed this day. The Mother sat on a small stool to his right.

   ‘Silence absolute, living silence—not merely living but overflowing with divinity. The meditation lasted about forty-five minutes. After that one by one the disciples bowed to the Mother.

   ‘She and Sri Aurobindo gave blessings to them. Whenever a disciple bowed to the Mother, Sri Aurobindo’s right hand came forward behind the Mother’s as if blessing him through the Mother. After the blessings, in the same silence there was a short meditation.

  ‘In the interval of silent meditation and blessings many had distinct experiences. When all was over they felt as if they had awakened from a divine dream. Then they felt the grandeur, the poetry and the absolute beauty of the occasion. It was not as if a handful of disciples were receiving blessings from their Supreme Master and the Mother in one little corner of the earth. The significance of the occasion was far greater than that. It was certain that a Higher Consciousness had descended on earth. In that deep silence had burgeoned forth, like the sprout of a banyan tree, the beginning of a mighty spiritual work. This momentous occasion carried its significance to all in the divine dynamism of the silence, in its unearthly dignity and grandeur and in the utter beauty of its every little act. The deep impress of divinity which everyone got was for him a priceless treasure.

    ‘Sri Aurobindo and the Mother went inside. Immediately Datta was inspired. In that silence she spoke: “The Lord has descended into the physical today.”’

                                                     

Nolini Kanta Gupta writes: ‘Even before that date [24 November], for some time past, Sri Aurobindo had been more and more withdrawing into himself and retiring within. An external sign of this became visible to us as his lunch hour shifted gradually towards the afternoon. We used to have our meal together and the Mother too ate with us… There used to be about eight or ten of us. On the previous day, Sri Aurobindo came down to lunch when it was past four. We would naturally wait till he came.

   ‘Then the great day arrived. In the afternoon, it was in fact already getting dark, all of us had gone out as usual. I was on the sea-front. Suddenly, someone came running at full speed and said to me, “Go, get back at once; the Mother is calling everybody.” I had not the least idea as to what might be the reason. I came back running and went straight up, to the verandah… Sri Aurobindo used to take his seat there in the evening for his talks with us or rather for answering our questions. As I came up, a strange scene met my eyes. Sri Aurobindo was seated in his chair, the Mother sat at his feet, both of them with their faces turned towards us. I looked round to see if all were present. Satyen was missing and I said, “Satyen has not come. Shall I call him in?” The Mother spoke out, “Yes, all, all.” All were called in, everybody was now present. We took our seats before Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, both of whom were facing us. The whole scene and atmosphere had a heavenly halo.

   ‘Sri Aurobindo held his left hand above the Mother’s head and his right hand was extended to us in benediction. Everything was silent and still, grave and expectant. We stood up one by one and went and bowed at the feet of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. After a while, both of them went inside. And then, Datta who had been among us, suddenly exclaimed at the top of her voice, as though an inspired Prophetess of the old mysteries, “The Lord has descended. He has conquered death and sorrow. He has brought down immortality.”

                                                       

Rajani Palit narrates his recollections: ‘On the 24th at about 4 p.m. I had gone to the Ashram and was meditating in Bejoy Nag’s room… A great Power was trying to descend but it seemed to me that I should be broken into pieces—so intense was the pressure of the Higher Force over my head and so great the resistance in my head. The result was that I could not receive the Power, although I tried to do so.

   ‘At about 5 p.m., Amrita was called upstairs and he came down with the Mother’s express direction that all the disciples were to assemble in the upstairs verandah for Sri Aurobindo’s blessings.

   ‘As soon as I heard this I went to Barinda’s room and told him that the long expected Descent must have taken place.

   ‘The Mother’s wishes were communicated to all the disciples including those staying in the Guest House. But many had gone out to the sea-side for their evening stroll and some had gone to play football.

   ‘So messengers were sent to call them and, when all of us had assembled in the Ashram, we went upstairs at about 6.30 p.m…. On the wall, near the central door, was hung a black silk curtain with a Chinese Dragon in gold lace-work.

   ‘The bent-wood chairs in which we used to sit for meditation were all removed and replaced by mats spread on the floor.

   ‘Absolute silence prevailed and the verandah was full of Spiritual Light. Automatically we got into a state of meditation, waiting for the arrival of the Master.

   ‘A few minutes after, at about 7 p.m., the door behind the curtain opened and the Mother and the Master appeared—the Master with his majestic gait and the Mother in her queenly bearing. The Master was dressed in a silk dhoti and chaddar, and the Mother in a silk sari. The Master took his seat in his usual low cushioned chair and the Mother on his foot-rest which was placed on this day a little to the left.

    ‘The Master looked absolutely grand, omniscient, omnipotent, Samrāt, as if the Emperor of the Universe, head lion-like, eyes wide-open as if looking from far beyond, detached yet supporting the entire universe; absolutely powerful, yet compassionate and kind to all, the supreme Godhead, absolutely Svarāt, one who had conquered himself entirely and had established his Ananda and light in every part and each cell of his body, from head to foot, his whole body radiating light and love and bliss to all creation.

   ‘The Mother was the embodiment of Love, Compassion, Purity, Beauty, Youth, Grace and Rhythm. She also looked majestic, her beaming eyes full of compassion for the earthly creation, Mother of the universe, Shakti of the Master.

    ‘It was a very auspicious day, since on this day Sri Krishna, who is the Anandamaya and who supports the evolution, descended into the physical. Sri Aurobindo embodied the Supreme Godhead on this day.

   ‘The Master held out his left hand a few inches above the head of the Mother and he blessed the disciples who had assembled with his right hand as they bowed down to him and the Mother, one by one; some of his disciples bowed more than once.

   ‘There was absolutely no talk, no sound. Neither the Mother nor Sri Aurobindo spoke a word, the atmosphere was charged with utter calmness and peace and bliss, perfect silence reigned throughout the function. Then after about half an hour or so, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother withdrew and went within.

   ‘Now Datta came out, inspired, and declared, “The Master has conquered death, decay, disease, hunger, and sleep.” We were spellbound and unable to move for some time. We felt as if we had been transported to heaven. Then we came downstairs, probably one by one.

   ‘Regarding myself, I spoke to Barinda for a special interview with the Mother, since the Pressure was very great, more than I could bear.

   ‘The Mother saw me at about 9 p.m. and I bowed down to Her and told Her about my difficulties. She assured me that it would be o.k. and blessed me.

   ‘Then there was the usual distribution of “Soup” by the Mother.

   ‘Sri Aurobindo “retired” either on the following day or one or two days after.’

                                                             

Dr. K. Rajangam writes: ‘24th November 1926 was indeed a glorious day. It was the day of the descent of Sri Krishna Consciousness into Sri Aurobindo. I still remember Dutta [sic]… exclaiming as if in trance:

                                           He has conquered Life.

                                           He has conquered Death.

                                           He has conquered All.

                                           Krishna the Lord has descended!’

                                                            *

Champaklal recalls: ‘Datta spoke:

                                           Krishna the Lord has come.

                                           He has ended the hell of suffering.

                                           He has conquered pain.

                                           He has conquered death.

                                           He has conquered all.

                                           He has descended tonight

                                           Bringing Immortality and Bliss.

As each one made pranam to the Mother and she gave her blessing, Sri Aurobindo held his palm above hers in blessing. I was the only person to do pranam to both. It was a spontaneous movement; something in me rushed out and made me do it.’

                                                          *

Jaya Devi remembers: ‘On November 24 a little before evening all the sadhaks were asked to assemble. One after another we trooped to the upper hall. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother blessed us all with both hands. I was told: “Mahashakti, the Supreme Consciousness-Force, has descended into Sri Aurobindo.” I could myself see light and glory bursting out of his body.

                                                            

And finally we come to the Mother’s own recollections about the eventful date 24 November 1926: ‘He [Sri Aurobindo] called everyone together for one last meeting. He sat down, had me sit next to him, and said: “I called you here to tell you that, as of today, I am withdrawing for purposes of sadhana, and Mother will now take charge of everyone. You should address yourselves to her. She will represent me and she will do all the work”… These people had always been very intimate with Sri Aurobindo, so they asked: “Why, why, why?”… I had no intention of explaining anything and I left the room with him, but Datta began speaking… She said she felt Sri Aurobindo speaking through her and she explained everything: that Krishna had incarnated and that Sri Aurobindo was now going to do an intensive sadhana for the descent of the Supermind; that it meant Krishna’s adherence to the Supramental Descent upon Earth and that, as Sri Aurobindo would now be too occupied to deal with people, he had put me in charge and I would be doing all the work.’