Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world.
- Louis Pasteur
Ram Katha, a Living Tradition of India
Diwali has transcended the borders of India and is presently celebrated as the Festival of Light across many western countries, including the USA. Diwali, one of the most vibrant and popular festivals of India, is deeply connected with the most revered avatar of Lord Vishnu, the inimitable Sri Rama, idolized as the ideal king and the perfect man.
The decisive victory of the divine man, the avatar Sri Rama over the Rakshasa Ravana is a reminder that the anarchic, vitalistic-animalistic temperament which is excessive, dominating and violently egoistic, must eventually lose to a temperament that is harmonising, sattvic and gentle.
This is the essence of the story of the Ramayana, a work which Sri Aurobindo says has had an immeasurable power in moulding the cultural mind of India. For thousands of years, Ramayana has been a living literary and cultural tradition of our land. In fact, it also went beyond the land of Bharat and captured the cultural imagination of many parts of South-east Asia.
The article in the current issue of the e-journal, Rennaissance, presents a wide view of various Indian cultural forms from classical literature to folk theatre to modern audio-visual forms to suggest that Rām-kathā continues to thrive as an important influence despite the outer hybridity in Indian popular cultural landscape.
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
To walk through life armoured against all fear, peril and disaster,only two things are needed, two that go always together—the Grace of the Divine Mother and on your side an inner state made up of faith, sincerity and surrender.
– Sri Aurobindo
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
Exploring Past Lives
Have we existed in different forms at different times? The mystique of past life, is eternally intriguing. Namah, the Journal of Integral Health, presents the deeply experienced and insightful therapist and practitioner, Aurovillian Sigrid Lindemann, in the online sessions between Nov 18-20, 2021. Enroll to this introduction to Integral Regression Therapy, to get an intense understanding of the hidden source of our present-day beliefs, psychological movements, motivations and inexplicable bodily phenomena, and a glimpse into the mystery of our past life.
Realise your Divine Potential
The true purpose of life is to realize the Divine within us. Dr. Debabrata Sahani helps one in this vast and complex pursuit to realize the latent divine potential lying hidden inside, through the online sessions on Nov 26 and 27, 2021. Enroll for the workshop which is organized by NAMAH, the Journal of Integral Health.
SARVAM women @Chennai
Sacred Classroom, Sacred Curriculum, and Four-step Learning Process. These are all part of the Creative Gurukul for the New Age, an innovative approach that elevates learning to its purest significance. The one-and-a-half-hour immersive conversation organized by AuroBharati with Ms. Jayashree Ashok, Mr. B. Ashok, and Ms. Reshma Madhusudan from the Creative School, Bengaluru, was an insightful revelation to all the participants.
From Vedanta to Sri Aurobindo: A Youth's Seeking for Truth
As part of our celebrations for the 150th Birth Anniversary of Sri Aurobindo and 75th Independence Day of India, this is an invitation to all, for the second Special Lecture on the theme – ‘From Vedanta to Sri Aurobindo: A Youth's Seeking for Truth’. This online session is organized by two of our units - AuroBharati and AuroYajna. The speaker, Dr. Shivaram Prasad, apart from being a student of advaita Vedanta, Mahabharatha and Sri Aurobindo’s Integral yoga is also a graduate in dental surgery. Please note the time: Sunday, November 28, 2021 from 4 to 5 p.m.
Training on psychosocial care in disaster management
The National Institute of Disaster Management, the Government of Puducherry, and Sri Aurobindo Society together organized a 5-day training programme for the Government officials of Puducherry. Around 40 participants from 13 government offices attended the training. Ms. Ajinder Walia Kaur, NIDM, New Delhi and Shri. Karpoora Senthoorapandian, NIDM, Puducherry were the facilitators of the training. The training programme was inaugurated by the Hon'ble Minister Shri A. Namassivayam and Shri Ashwani Kumar, Chief Secretary Government of Puducherry gave away the certificates to the participants during the valedictory function.
Svarnim Puducherry - Ambassadors of Health with Puppets
Svarnim Puducherry, in its pursuit to make Puducherry, a holistic model Indian state, is building its leaders in schools. For one of their health programs, students will be empowered with the knowledge and communication skills to convey health awareness to their peers and to the community, through the interesting medium of Puppetry. An ideation workshop with senior teachers was organized by Svarnim team, which generated interesting concepts and innovative approach for the initiative.
Offering in Humility and Gratitude
We have stepped into an important year on 15 August 2021 as it starts the 150th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo and the 75th year of India’s independence. This section is our humble offering to this momentous occasion. We will bring a few golden glimpses from the Master’s avataric life as well as a few glorious achievements of independent India.
November 10 is observed as World Science Day for Peace and Development. India has always been a front-runner in Science and Technology, since ancient times. We present today, her more contemporary achievements in the field.
- At rank 48, India is amongst the top 50 countries in the Global Innovation Index.
- C V Raman, the Nobel awardee for Physics in 1930, was the first Asian and first non-white to receive Nobel Prize in the sciences.
- India has joined the elite global club of a few countries who have developed their own atomic clock – a sophisticated ultra-precision astrophysical device to measure time.
Dose of Sunshine
(…is all we need to embrace life with a smile!)
Potion of Laughter
Marriages are made in heaven. And therefore, they do malfunction at times, on earth.
Here are a few normal instances.
I was on a sofa next to my wife who was eating and typing on her phone…So I heard my phone ringing in the kitchen where I was charging it. I went to check, the SMS was from my wife and she wrote, “bring the salt on your way back.”
My friend Garrick had the solution to forgetting his wife’s birthday and their wedding anniversary: He opened an account with a local florist and provided it with both dates as well as instructions to send flowers and a card signed “Your loving husband, Garrick.”
Courtesy: Many Source
A Capsule of Good News
When our passion overrides constraints, one is become unstoppable. The dreams of these women, woven in handlooms, crossed the shores of the country. Let their story inspire the colours of our own passions.
