I have been a seeker and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my Soul.
– Rumi (13th-century Persian poet)
Sri Aurobindo
“The Divine does not need to suffer or struggle for himself; if he takes on these things it is in order to bear the world-burden and help the world and men…” – Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo left his body on December 5, 1950. The Body was laid to rest in the Samadhi in Pondicherry for four days until December 9, 1950. The body did not show any sign of decay or decomposition during this period. A few saw a golden spiritual light around the body.
Lights on Life
Pulses of truth that clears up life’s pathway and makes it a joyful and confident journey
Questions and Answers
Our ordinary life is fraught with doubts, confusions and questions on its various aspects. Our Questions and Answers section is a compilation of questions on multiple subjects, asked by aspirants to Sri Aurobindo and The Mother and the answers given by Them. Please visit - an answer may be awaiting you, even if you do not have a question.
Inspiration
Sri Aurobindo came upon earth to announce the manifestation of the supramental world. And not only did he announce this manifestation but he also embodied in part the supramental force and gave us the example of what we must do to prepare ourselves for this manifestation.
Read MoreThe best thing we can do is to study all He has told us, strive to follow His example and prepare ourselves for the new manifestation.
This gives life its true meaning and will help us to overcome all obstacles.
Let us live for the new creation and we shall grow stronger and stronger while remaining young and progressive.
– The Mother
Guidance
On life’s journey, we are sometimes struck by a distressing obstacle in our path, numbing our strength and capacities to move ahead. Or it could also be a strong aspiration that blindly seeks an expression. At these times, if we concentrate and sincerely search for an inner guidance, it does somehow reach us through some means and a path opens up, almost like miracle! If you are in a situation like this, try our Guidance section and see if it helps. Do share your experience with us.
Events and Announcements
Glimpses of recent activities at SAS
Portrayal of the Story of Savitri
Few can explain and interpret Sri Aurobindo’s magnificent work with as much love and insight as Aadil Palkhivala. In this pre-recorded session, organized by NAMAH, Aadil will shed light on one central canto, ‘The Triple Soul-Forces’, where Savitri goes in search of her soul. Be prepared any time after 23 December 2022 to be genuinely uplifted in this presentation by one of yoga’s most eminent contemporary lights and teachers!
Individual and Family
Ms. Lakshmi Jyothi has been invited to deliberate on “Individual and Family: Insights from the Social Thought of Sri Aurobindo”. The lecture-discussion organized by AuroBharati will help one to appreciate a few aspects of the collective life in the light of Sri Aurobindo by focusing on the deeper dimensions of the relation between individual and family. Scheduled for Thursday, December 22, 2022, this event will be held at the Beach Office, Sri Aurobindo Society.
Society’s Work in 2021-22
All through 2021 and 2022, the world was forced to normalize itself from the ravages of Covid-19, and so were we! As a well-bonded team, we drew our strength from faith and, propelled by an aspiration to work for the Divine, continued our tireless work with more vigour and determination. As a result, we are here now. Please read about it all in Sri Aurobindo Society’s recently released Highlights Report-2022. As always, we look forward and welcome you to be a part of us.
South India’s first Jail Radio
Sri Aurobindo Society established the first-ever Jail Radio in South India in Central Prison, Pondicherry. Next to natural farming, the human library Jail Radio is the new initiative of the Society to reform prisoners. Jail Radio will keep the inmates and the Jail staff updated on the happenings in the outside world. It will also be a source of entertainment during leisure hours. Professional Radio Jockeys are training talented inmates to become Jail Radio Jockeys themselves.
Intangible Heritage
AuroBharati and SVARNIM Puducherry jointly organized an interactive session with Dr B. Venugopal, Former Director of the Indian Museum, Kolkata, who lectured on Intangible Heritage. The participants discussed Pondicherry’s heritage, including transmitting cultural traditions, influences and ideas.
Pondicherry/Auroville Poetry Festival 2022
Twenty renowned poets from around the country will participate in a two-day poetry fiesta in various venues in Pondicherry and Auroville! ‘Pondicherry Poets’ and ‘The Brown Critique’ will open their Pondicherry/Auroville Poetry Festival 2022 (‘equality/oneness’) at Sri Aurobindo Society’s restored Heritage building Matri Niketan on the morning of 21 December 2022.
Workshops for Women and Children
Though this fortnight, SARVAM conducted workshops to create awareness on ending violence against women and girls, building a positive reputation in community work, and making women and children computer savvy in this digitalized world. As always, there was active participation by the women and children in all the workshops. Following their tremendous enthusiastic response, SARVAM is under pressure to organize many such uplifting workshops in the future.
Peace in the Physical
Next in the ‘Perfection of the Body’ series, AuroYanja announces its weeklong yoga on perfecting the physical. Join the ‘Peace in the Physical’ yoga sessions from December 19-24, 2022. The sessions are conducted both online and in-house at the Society House. For more details
Sri Aurobindo: A New Dawn
An Animation Film in the Making
Sri Aurobindo: A New Dawn – Behind the Scenes!
An animation film ‘Sri Aurobindo: A New Dawn’ is being made by Sri Aurobindo Society to inspire the youth of India and the world, through the story of Sri Aurobindo and his immense contribution to the renaissance of India. This is our offering for the 150th anniversary of Sri Aurobindo’s birth.
We are happy to share with you that the Animation film studio is finally gearing up to move towards the Animation Design stage.
As the film will cover the political & spiritual journey of Sri Aurobindo, it will be interesting to look at some of the main stages in Sri Aurobindo’s life. In the series ‘Life in Baroda (1893-1906)’, we shall see glimpses of Sri Aurobindo’s active literary, cultural and political pursuits during his stay at Baroda and his entry into spirituality.
Click here to tune in to Sri Aurobindo’s ‘Life in Baroda’!
Join hands to make this inspirational film! Donate
AuroPublications
AuroPublications, the publications division of the Sri Aurobindo Society, publishes spiritually themed books and creates multimedia and audio-visual products with deep insights and values. There is a special focus on Integral Yoga and the vision of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
Flowers and Their Spiritual Significance
The Mother once remarked that plants and flowers aspire for the Divine, but they express their aspiration through silence and beauty. This book primarily focuses its attention on this new, and not so commonly known, spiritual and deeper aspect of flowers. The book also takes in its ambit articles from different lands which reveal the many facets of one of the most wonderful of Nature’s creations.
With numerous photographs, illustrations, charts and articles, this interesting and informative book denotes the spiritual significance of flowers as revealed by the Mother.
Click the link to get the copy
Visit AuroPublications https://auropublications.org/ for online purchases, or visit Aura Bookstore on 16 Goubert Avenue (Beach Road), Pondicherry, to pick up a copy.
The Readers' Column
In a trip taken to the interiors of Kashmir with her family in August this year, our graphic designer Kavita Dutta returned with these stunning images. Apart from being a great travel enthusiast, Kavita has immense love for the natural world and is a huge supporter of all environmental causes. As is quite evident, she had a marvellous experience in a place which can surely be described as a ‘nature lover’s paradise’ and vows to return there again.
Dose of Sunshine
(…is all we need to embrace life with a smile!)
Potion of Laughter
If you want to laugh, here it is for you…
A man tells his doctor, “Doctor, help me, I am addicted to Twitter”
The doctor replies, “Sorry, I don’t follow you…
Can a kangaroo jump higher than the Empire State Building?
Of course! The Empire State Building can’t jump.
What did the duck say when it bought some lipstick?
“Put it on my bill.”
Did you hear about the painter who was hospitalized?
The doctors say it was due to too many strokes.
Courtesy: Many sources
A Capsule of Good News
SPANDAN: The Portable ECG device
SPANDAN is a 12-gram portable ECG machine that can detect heart ailments immediately and quickly and save human lives. The loss of one of his friends at the young age of 21 to an undetected heart attack shattered Rajat Jain, a then-IIT student who, along with his friends, invented this device. Not to mention, this was a boon when Corona was at its full flare.