/;kuewya xqjksewZfrZ% iwtkewya xqjks% ine~ A

ea=ewya xqjksoZkD;a eks{kewya xqjks% —ik AA

The focal point of meditation is Guru’s form, the core of worship are Guru’s feet,
the soul of mantra is Guru’s utterance, the source of salvation is Guru’s grace.

Re a lization
Vol. 9, No. 2 February 2020
An e-magazine of Sri Aurobindo Ashram-Delhi Branch

;k nsoh loZHkwrs"kq psrusR;fHk/kh;rsA

ueLr;S ueLr;S ueLr;S ueks ue%AA
To that Devi Who in All Beings is Reflected as Consciousness, Salutations to
Her, Salutations to Her, Salutations to Her, Salutations again and again.
– Devi Mahatmyam

Sri Aurobindo Ashram-Delhi Branch

Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110 016
011-2656 7863; www.sriaurobindoashram.net
1
 Ongoing & Forthcoming Events
February 2020
Meditation & Satsang venue : Meditation Hall
Monday – Saturday 7 –7:30 pm Collective Meditation
Sunday Meditation & Discourses 10:00 – 11:30 am
Feb 02 Grahansheelta (Receptivity) Dr. Aparna Roy
Musical offering Ms. Premsheela
Feb 09 The Incorrigible Veil Dr. Mithu Pal
(Based on the Mother’s Prayers & Meditations of 18-19 April 1914)
Musical offering Dr. Mithu Pal
Feb 16 Creation (Based on Sri Aurobindo’s Sonnets, p. 45) Sh. Prashant Khanna
Musical Offering Dr. Maitreyee Karak
Feb 23 Let the All-Consciousness Decide Dr. Ramesh Bijlani
(Based on the Mother’s The Great Adventure, p.362)
Musical Offering Ms. Sowmya Narayanan

Sundays : 02, 09, 23 11:30 am–12:30 pm Sri Aurobindo’s Sonnets Shri Prashant Khanna

Venue: DAIVIC (Room 009, near Samadhi Lawns)

Thursdays: 06,13,20,27 11:30 am–12:30 pm Bhagvad Gita Shri Prashant Khanna
Fridays: 07,14,21,28 05:30 – 06:30 pm Bhagvad Gita Shri Prashant Khanna
Contact: 011-2656 7863; Email <contact@aurobindoonline.in>

Ashram Library (Knowledge)

Tuesday to Sunday Timings : 10:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M.
(Monday closed) Contact : 2656 7863

SRI AUROBINDO ASHRAM-DELHI BRANCH’S SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

YouTube : https://youtube.com/sriaurobindoashramdelhibranch
Facebook : http://facebook.com/sriaurobindoashramdelhibranch
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/sriaurobindoashramdelhibranch
Twitter : https://twitter.com/saadelhibranch

Advance Notice
COURSEON ‘HOW TO TEACH YOGA TO CHILDREN’
April 02–May 15, 2020 Monday-Friday 10:00 am-12:30 pm
For details, please contact: <srimayog@gmail.com>

2
 Important Days in the Ashram
12 February Foundation Day anniversary of Sri Aurobindo Ashram-Delhi Branch
Mother’s message for the foundation day
On 5th December 1950 at 1:26 a.m. Sri Aurobindo left his body 12.2.56 and by
mor ning the entire body was seen to be suffused withOpening
morning a golden-crimson
of thehue,
Sri so
Aurobindo Ashram
fresh and so magnificent, lif Delhi
ting us from the pall of gloom to a mute wonder
lifting wonder. Branch
. This
Let this
Supramental Light remained for five days at a stretch and many people place be worthy
witnessed
the magnificent and unique phenomenon. A mortal body generally shows signs and
of its name of manifest
decomposition within twenty-four hours, but for five days the true spirit body
Sri Aurobindo’s of Sri Aurobindo’s
remained intact with no signs of discoloration or decomposition. teaching and
Gradually
Gradually,, onmessage to
the world.
9th December
December,, the light began to fade, and in the evening the body was put in a
With my blessings
rosewood box and laid to rest in the Ashram courtyard under the cool shade of The Mother
the Ser vice TTree.
Service ree. - Nirod Baran

21 February 142nd Birth Anniversary of the Mother – Darshan Day

The Mother’s consciousness is the divine Consciousness

and the Light that comes from it is the light of the divine
Truth; the Force that she brings down is the force of the
divine Truth. One who receives and accepts and lives in
the Mother’s light, will begin to see the truth on all the
planes, the mental, the vital, the physical. He will reject
all that is undivine; the undivine is the falsehood, the
ignorance, the error of the dark forces; the undivine is all
that is obscure and unwilling to accept the divine Truth
and its light and force. The undivine, therefore, is all that
is unwilling to accept the light and force of the Mother.
That is why I am always telling you to keep yourself in
contact with the Mother and with her Light and Force,
because it is only so that you can come out of the confusion
and obscurity and receive the Truth that comes from
above.
– Sri Aurobindo
Darshan Day

29 February 16th Cycle of Supramental Manifestation upon Earth

… The manifestation of the Supramental on 29 February 1956 meant, among other things, that the
future embodiment of the supramentally conscious being beyond Man, of the divine Superman, was
now assured, as it was assured that the human aspiration throughout countless millenniums was being
fulfilled: the world would not always be a place of frustration, suffering and death. Like everything else
in the One Divine it would be able to materially develop its essential divine nature. K.D. Sethna wrote
in his diary: “I wonder when the world will realize that [on 29 February 1956] the greatest event in
history took place.”
– Georges Van Vrekhem in The Mother, The Story of Her Life

Program details will be available on <www.sriaurobindoashram.net>

3
 Matri Kala Mandir (MKM) CLASS SCHEDULE
Mon/Fri 3:30-6:30 pm Hindusthani Classical Vocal Shri Smt. B.S. Rathna
Mon/Wed/Fri 3:00–6:30 pm Hindusthani Classical Vocal Shri Kshitij Mathur
Tue/Thu 4:00–5:00 pm Hindusthani Classical Vocal Smt. Premsheela
Wed/Fri 4:00–6:00 pm Hindusthani Classical Vocal Shri Vikas Kumar Jha
Wed/Sat 3:30–6:30 pm Carnatic Vocal Smt Jalaja Shankar
Wed/Thu 4:00–6:30 pm Tabla Shri Vijay Shankar Mishra
Mon/Fri 4:00–6:30 pm Sitar Shri Neel Ranjan Mukherjee
Mon/Fri 3:30–5:30 pm Flute Shri Himanshu Dutt
Mon/Fri 3:30–5:30 pm Violin Dr. Ranjan Srivastav
Mon/Fri 3:30–6:00 pm Hawaian Guitar & Key Board Shri Neel Ranjan Mukherjee
Tue/Thu 3:30–5:30 pm Spanish Guitar Shri Jagdish Kumar
Mon/Wed 4:00–6:00 pm Bharata Natyam Smt Rajeswari Natarajan
Tue/Thu 4:30–6:30 pm Kathak Nritya Smt. Raksha Singh
Wed/Sat 4:00–6:30 pm Kathak Nritya Km. Anjali Saini
Tue/Sat 3:00–5:30 pm Odissi Nritya Ms. Kalyani Behera
Tue/Thu 4:00–6:00 pm Painting Shri Tapan Ch. Bhowmick
Wed/Sat 4:00–6:00 pm Painting Ms. Sarita
Tue/Thu/Sat 4:15–6:00 pm Table Tennis Shri Gulshan Rai Khera
Mon to Sat 4:30–5:30 pm Taekwondo Shri Arshad Hashish
Tue/Thu/Sat 4:30–5:30 pm Basketball (M.I.S. students) Shri Kulwinder Singh/
Shri Pradeep Kumar
Contact: 78270 30932; 2656 7863; <matrikalamandir67@gmail.com>

4
 The Mother’s Integral Health Centre Activities
(Phone 011-2685 8563, Sanjeeb: 88005 52685, Mrs. Bhatia: 93122 65447 ; <tmihc2000@gmail.com>

2020 – Clean Mind Programme

(24x7 Helpline:cmpyosh2018@gmail.com)
At Delhi Ashram Health Centre; SPIRITUAL HEAL
PIRITUAL TH CAMP every Sunday; Time: 8am to 12noon
EALTH

Havan/Chanting;; Talk/Presentation; Physical culture : Yoga/Exercise/Games; Shramdan

For information and registration contact: 011 2685 8563; <tmihc2000@gmail.com>
February 2020: Schedule of Talks

Feb 02 How to Bear Injury and Insult Mr. Deepak Jhamb

Feb 09 Mind is One’s Best Friend, Mind is One’s Worst Enemy Dr. S. Katoch
Feb 16 The Art of Accommodating Others Ms. Monika Sharma
Feb 23 Do’s & Don’ts of Uttarayan Kaal Ayurvedic perspective Dr. S. Katoch

Daily 10am-2pm Ayurveda–General O.P.D.& Panchakarma

Tue/Thu/Sat Holistic Wellness – Ayurveda
Mind-Body Servicing Packages - Weekends/7 days/14 days

Speciality Clinics – By Appointment Only

Tue/Thu/Sat Accupressure Mon-Sat (11am-1pm) Physiotherapy
Mon to Sat Mind Body Medicine Mon/Fri Homeopathy
Tue/Thu Holistic Dermatology Mon/Thu Gynaecology
Saturday Ophthalmology (Eye) Tuesday Psychiatry
Tue/Wed General Surgery Tue/Thu Dental
Mon to Fri Psychology

NEW BATCH STARTS Mondays 3,10,17,24 9:00–11:00am Eye Exercise

Contact: 011-2685 8563; 88005 52685; Mrs. Bhatia 93122 65447
Sundays 9 am Havan
Tue/Thu/Sat 6:45–7:45 am Yogasana class Ms. Priya Gupta
Mon/Wed/Fri 8–9 am Yogasana class Ms. Anushree Jain
Mon/Wed/Fri 9:45-10:45 am Yoga for Senior Citizens Ms. Ritu Virdi
Mon/Wed/Fri 11 am–12 noon Yogasana class Ms. Puneeta Kaur Malik
Tue/Thu/Sat 4– 5 pm (Sat.: 5-6 pm) Yogasana class Shri Deepak Jhamb
Mon/Wed/Fri 5:30–6:30 pm Yogasana class Ms. Deepa Bisht

Ongoing activities venue: ONLY on SKYPE (ID: tmihc2000)

Monday 3:30–4:15 pm Vivekachoodamani Discourse Dr. Tarun Baveja
Wed/Fri 3:30–4:15 pm Svetasvatara Upanishad Discourse Dr. Tarun Baveja
Saturday 3:30–4:15 pm Bhagvad Gita Sadhana Discourse Dr. Tarun Baveja
Contact: 011-2685 8563; Ms. Swati Kohli <swatikohli3@gmail.com>

5
 The Reversal of Consciousness ( 25)

Q.: Sweet Mother, when does the ego become an instrument?

When it is ready to become it.
Q.: How does that happen?
How does it happen?... In each one, I believe, it happens in a different way.
It may happen suddenly, in the space of a moment, by a kind of inner reversal;
it may take years; it may take centuries; it may take several lives. For each one
there is a moment when it happens: when he is ready.
And I think he is ready when he is completely formed. The purpose of
existence of the ego is the formation of the individual. When the individual is
ready the ego can disappear. But before that it does not disappear because it has
still some work to do.
When the world is ready to receive the new creation, the adverse forces will
disappear. But so long as the world needs to be tempted, kneaded, churned in
order to be prepared, the adverse forces will be there to be the temptation and
that which strikes you, pushes you, prevents you from sleeping, compels you to
be absolutely sincere.
A being that is absolutely sincere becomes the master of the adverse forces.
But so long as there is egoism in a being or pride or ill-will, it will always be the
object of temptation, of attack; and it will always be fully subject to this constant
conflict with what, under the appearance of hostile beings, toils in spite of itself
at the divine Work.
The time is not absolutely determined. I have already explained this to you
several times. There are many ûelds of consciousness, zones of consciousness
superimposed upon one another; and in each one of these fields of conscious-
ness or action there is a determinism which seems absolute. But the intervention
in one field of even the next higher field, like the in- tervention of the vital in the
physical, introduces the determinism of the vital in that of the physical, and
necessarily transforms the determinism of the physical. And if through aspira-
tion, the inner will, self-giving and true surrender one can enter into contact with
the higher regions or even the supreme region, from up there the supreme deter-
minism will come down and transform all the intermediate determinisms and it
will be able to bring about in a so-to-say almost inexistent span of time what
would have otherwise taken either years or lives to be accomplished. But this is
the only way.
If at the time of some event or circumstance — take for instance, to simplify
things, of a danger — if at that time instead of trying to struggle in the domain
where one is, one can traverse in a great soaring all the domains which are rungs
in the con- sciousness, and go to the supreme region, what Sri Aurobindo calls
the Transcendent, if one can enter into contact with this Transcendent, in a state
of perfect surrender, it is He who will act and change everything, in all circum-
stances — to the extent that this will be what people call miracles, because they
do not understand how it can happen.
The sole secret is to know how to climb up right to the top.
– The Mother

6
 Activities during December 16, 2019 – January 15, 2020
INTEGRAL EDUCATION & MATHEMATICS WORKSHOP: Under the Social Initiative Pro-
gram of Sri Aurobindo Ashram-Delhi Branch,
a comprehensive Integral Education & Math-
ematics workshop was conducted on the
Ashram campus from 21-28 December, 2019.
The objective of the workshop was to provide
training to over 40 teachers from 14 rural
schools of different regions of India
on Experiential Mathematics with various
learning materials and tools. The workshop
was designed to cover all key aspects of Inte-
gral Education for school teachers as laid
down by the Mother & Sri Aurobindo, which
should be of benefit to teachers as well as
their students. Through various innovation
tools and methods Mathematics was taught
to the teachers during the course of the work-
shop. Teachers learned to utilize things such
as Ganit Racks, Maths Mat, Number Ball,
Ganit Mala, Games, Blocks, Decimal Kit,
Fraction Kit and cards etc. which should make
the subject of maths more interesting and even

fun to the students. Each school

was given Teaching & Learning
Materials worth INR 30,000/- at
the end of the
workshop for utilization in their
rural school. Other activities of

the workshop included physical fitness

& games, and yoga & meditation, and
chanting. Resource persons for diverse
activities were: Dr. Ramesh Bijlani for
Integral Education, Dr. Jayanthy
Ramachandran for Reflections,
Narayan Meher and Srinath Maharana
for mathematics, Baren and Narendra
for minor game-play with mathemat-
ics, Srinath for yogasanas and Minati
Pradhan for chanting.

CLEAN MIND PROGRAMME: Under this program, on four Sundays, The Mother’s
Integral Health Centre of Delhi Ashram conducted manifold activities including
Maha Mrityunjay Havan & Gita path, yogasanas and talks/workshops. During
this period, Dr. S. Katoch gave a talk on ‘Hemant Ritu Ayurvedic guidelines’ to

7
16 participants on 22 December; Mr. Mukesh Batra to 23 attendees on “Culti-
vate Special Relation with God” on 29 December 2019; Mr. Deepak Jhamb on
‘To be Good’ to 13 participants on 5 January; Dr. S. Katoch to 29 attendees on
‘Health is Wealth’ on 12 January 2020. Distribution of used clothes and Prasad
comprised additional activities of the program.

DESCENT OF LIGHT, 25 DECEMBER 2019: Christmas was

celebrated in the Ashram as the day of the Descent of
Light as the days start getting longer from this point on,
symbolizing the
growth in Knowl-
edge. In the fore-
noon, Tara Didi
talked about how
Christmas was cel-
ebrated at
Pondicherry with
the Mother and
thereafter distrib-
uted gifts. In the
evening, the Ashram young-
sters played fun games in
which skill and ready wit were rewarded. Later in
the evening, Ashram community kindled lamps of
aspiration at and around Sri Aurobindo’s Shrine.
This was followed with a musical offering by the
Ashram Choir, interspersed by readings of relevant
passages by Tara Didi in the Meditation hall. Prasad
was distributed at the end to all attendees.

COMMUNITY SERVICE BY M.I.S. STUDENTS AT KECHLA SCHOOL : “It was life chang-
ing, thought-altering and awe inspiring in so many different ways. I feel like I
discovered multitudes in myself, and in
the beautiful world around me.” This is
how many MIS (The Mother’s Interna-
tional School, New Delhi) students de-
scribed their sojourn and experience in
Kechla where a group of 38 students and
2 teachers reached on 29 December
2019 to
fulfill the requirement of Community Service in their
curriculum of class XI. Every morning, from 8:30
to 10:00 a.m., the students taught children of Auro-
Mira Vidya Mandir (AMVM, a school for tribals
run by Auro-Mira Service Society at a remote vil-
lage, Kechla, in District Koraput of the state of
Odisha) followed by an hour of extra co-curricular
activities; debate, drama and declamation. Post
lunch, an hour of other interesting activities, rang-
8
 ing from martial arts to classical dance and
photography, ensued. Evenings were devoted
to treks, rock climbing expeditions and walks
in the hills with the indefatigable children. For
a blissful week, MIS students threw them-
selves into a way of life that struck perfect
balance between developing the mind, body
and heart, and experienced the untainted joy
of holistic learning. Whether it be their out-
standing scien-
tific and math-
ematical aptitude, or their excellence at all sports,
or their willingness to keep learning more, or the
all- encompassing love and kindness in their hearts,
the children of AMVM ended up teaching MIS stu-
dents perhaps as much as they themselves ended
up learning. On 5th January 2020, the last day of
MIS students’ sojourn, the entire assembly of
AMVM students put forth a demonstration of all
the diverse skills and forms of art that had been
taught to them, and to say that the display was a
success is an understatement. “The experience of
interacting with students [AMVM] who possess all
the ideals and qualities that we continuously strive to attain and imbibe was
nothing short of phenomenal” commented one admiring MIS student!

ADVENT OF THE NEW YEAR, 31 DECEMBER 2019-1 JANUARY 2020: To usher in the
New Year, vocalized reading of Savitri began on the afternoon of 31 December
2019 in the Meditation Hall
and continued till the after-
noon of 1 January 2020. The
reading was interrupted only
at 11.45 p.m. on the New
Year’s Eve for meditation
and distribution of the New
Year calendar. Earlier in the

evening, youngsters put up a variety cultural

program, which gave evidence of their multi-
faceted talents
starting at 8:30
pm till about 11
pm. A highlight
of the program
was a mime on
the excessive use of smartphones. On the new year
day, Ashram youngsters had games in the morning
and saw a film in the afternoon. In the evening the

9
 Ashram
community
and visi-
t o r s
kindled the
lamps of
aspiration
and partici-
pated in a
special
meditation in the which the Ashram choir made a musical offering accompanied
with reading by Tara Didi.

LIBRARY & STORY TELLING WORKSHOP: Under the Social Initiative Program of
Sri Aurobindo Ashram-Delhi Branch, another workshop was conducted, this
time on ‘Library and Story Telling’, in the Ashram campus from 1-8 January
2020. The objective of the workshop was to
impart a deeper understanding of Integral Edu-
cation and its benefits for the overall develop-
ment of children as envisioned by Sri
Aurobindo and the Mother to over 40 teach-
ers of rural schools from various parts of the
country. The workshop covered key aspects
of Integral Education, setting up of libraries
in rural schools, storytelling and the impor-
tance of book-reading for fostering creative
skills. Participants were guided to learn new

strategies, making desi TLMs to promote reading competency, to use games,

songs, rhymes, story books and other modes of reading to better understand the
world in which we live in. Each
school was given a bevy of books
to supplement libraries of their
schools. Besides storytelling, par-
ticipants also had interactive ses-
sions on yoga, chanting, games and
meditation. Resource persons
Nabanita Deshmukh and Bibhash
Jyoti Deshmukh were ably assisted

10
by several individuals from the Ashram.

ADVENTURE FOR M.I.S. STUDENTS AT KECHLA : Sixty six students of class VIII
and four teachers of The Mother’s International School (MIS) took part in a
Personality Development & Adventure Camp at Kechla, Odisha, from January
6-11, 2020. The trip was a beautiful amalgamation of physical and mental heal-
ing. Activities such as mountain
climbing, rappelling, boating and
cliff jumping at the waterfall were
indeed one of a kind experiences
for all students. Some conquered
their fear and some quenched their
thirst for adventure, but learning ran
deeper as these activities became
a source of bringing forth children’s
inner courage & strength. After
these strenuous and challenging activities cavorting in Kolab River Reservoir
surrounded by mounds of red soil and grass, turned out to be a really welcoming
spot to loosen the tired muscles. Other activities in-
cluded keep-fit exercises, trekking, learning eye care
routines, International folk-dancing, practical ses-
sions of breathing routines including pranayama for
a more efficient respiratory system to deal with pol-
lution on a personal basis. On 8 January 2020, the
group became a part of the Annual Sports Day of
Auro-Mira Vidya Mandir (AMVM), a unit of Auro-
Mira Service Society. This was an eye-opening ex-
perience for students as well as the teachers. The
students of AMVM performed exceptionally well
and displayed the meaning of hard work, resilience
and positive approach towards life. Students were
truly delighted with as
is obvious from their
feedback: “Kechla was
a beautiful experience
for all of us. We had ev-
erything from thrilling
adventure, sports, Inter-
national folk-dancing to
talks on the existence of
God and other deep
questions” (A.P.); “The
activities like bouldering, rappelling, etc. were quite
interesting” (D.M.); “There are a lot of things that I
experienced for the first time such as swimming in
the reservoir, jumping from a cliff and last but not the least the HAND PUMP,
we were so fascinated with it” (K.N.); “This place’s food was very fresh and
organic straight coming from the fields. It was healthy and had a special taste”
(P.P.); “I have learned how to live a life without electronic devices and trans-

11
ports” (T.V.); “Kechla has opened my eyes to how rural people can be educated
and continue to live naturally... The Sports Day [of Auro-Mira Vidya Mandir]
was amazing. I have never seen kids perform better” (K.A.); “.. all those differ-
ent treks and especially boating and the waterfall jump was truly exceptional!”
(V.G.); “Every evening we had to go to learn folk dances of different countries.
We learned Mayim Mayim [Israel], New York, New York [U.S.A.] & Prime
Minister [England]” (S.H.); “There are so many things to take away from here
and I am taking a few. This was a very educational trip and all of us got to know
things we didn’t know before” (S.B.); “I liked the demonstrated eye cleaning
process using honey by Dr. Nirankar Agarwal which helped in strengthening the
eyes” (S.S.); “Thanks to this trip I have started trying new things which I never
thought I could do” (H.G.); “The treks were beautiful and the scenery was breath-
taking. This was a once in a life time experience for us” (C.V.); “Everything in
Kechla was more than perfect... If I would have to give a feedback it would be
a big big smile” (S.K.); “THANK YOU for giving me this wonderful trip!”
(S.S.).

SPORTS DAY OF AURO-MIRA VIDYA MANDIR : This academic year’s annual sports
day by students of Auro-Mira Vidya Mandir was celebrated on 8 January 2020
with precision, enthusiasm and exuberance as is apparent from the pictures:

12
 WORKSHOP FOR B.EL.ED. STUDENTS: A one-day workshop on Integral Education
was conducted for 50 third year B.El.Ed. (Bachelor of Elementary Education)
students accompanied by three teachers of Lady Shri Ram College for Women,
New Delhi, on 9 January 2020. The students were introduced to the planes &
parts of the being which contribute to the total-
ity of a person, and how this conglomerated
forms the basis of integral education. Examples
were also given to show them as to how the
philosophy of integral education can be put into
practice with help from psychic education. The
students were also made conscious of how a
good teacher’s example & contribution can be-
come a vehicle for fulfilling the real evolutionary purpose of life. Some feedback
comments at the end of the workshop include: “the aura of this place is so pure,”
“a great experience to remember lifelong,” “got a reason to change my life’s
decisions,” “very insightful and enriching,” “made me realize the true impor-
tance of integral education,” “got a glimpse of our roles as future teachers” and
“liked the games we played.”

Note: Pictures can be viewed up to 150% size for finer detail

13
 E d i t o r ’s N o t e
“Serialization of The Message of the Gita in ‘Realization’ began from February 2017. The
book was compiled by Shri Anil Baran and first published in 1938 by Sri Aurobindo Ashram,
Pondicherry. Commentary text in the book derived from Essays on the Gita was no intel-
lectual undertaking by Sri Aurobindo but rather “... whatever spiritualisation and divinisation
it [his own intellect] attained was through the descent of a higher supra-intellectual knowl-
edge into that silence. The book, Essays on the Gita, itself was written in that silence of the
mind, without intellectual effort and by a free activity of this knowledge from above.”
Text has been rearranged to suit the magazine format, and phonetic rendering of San-
skrit text in Roman Script has been incorporated.
*****
Sri Aurobindo considers the message of the Gita to be the basis of the great spiri-
tual movement which has led and will lead humanity more and more to its libera-
tion... escape from falsehood and ignorance... From the time of its first appearance,
the Gita has had an immense spiritual action; but with the new interpretation [Essays
on the Gita] that Sri Aurobindo has given to it, its influence has increased consider-
ably and has become decisive. – The Mother
*****
The world abounds with scriptures sacred and profane, with revelations and half-
revelations, with religions and philosophies, sects and schools and systems. To these
the many minds of a half-ripe knowledge or no knowledge at all attach themselves
with exclusiveness and passion and will have it that this or the other book is alone the
eternal Word of God... It may therefore be useful in approaching an ancient Scripture,
such as the... Gita, to indicate precisely the spirit in which we approach it and what
exactly we think we may derive from it that is of value to humanity and its future... In
the Gita there is very little that is merely local or temporal and its spirit is so large,
profound and universal that even this little can easily be universalised without the
sense of the teaching suffering any diminution or violation; rather by giving an ampler
scope to it than belonged to the country and epoch, the teaching gains in depth, truth
and power. Often indeed the Gita itself suggests the wider scope that can in this way be
given to an idea in itself local or limited... the principal ideas suggestive and penetrat-
ing which are woven into its complex harmony, are eternally valuable and valid; for
they are not merely the luminous ideas or striking speculations of a philosophic intel-
lect, but rather enduring truths of spiritual experience, verifiable facts of our highest
psychological possibilities...
We do not belong to the past dawns, but to the noons of the future. A mass of new
material is flowing into us; we have not only to assimilate the influences of the great
theistic religions of India and of the world... but to take full account of the potent
though limited revelations of modern knowledge and seeking... All this points to a new,
a very rich, a very vast synthesis; a fresh and widely embracing harmonisation of our
gains is both an intellectual and a spiritual necessity of the future. But just as the past
syntheses have taken those which preceded them for their starting-point, so also must
that of the future... proceed from what the great bodies of realised spiritual thought and
experience in the past have given. Among them the Gita takes a most important place.
– Sri Aurobindo in Essays on the Gita
*****
Preface to THE MESSAGE OF THE GITA
The Gita is a great synthesis of Aryan spiritual culture and Sri Aurobindo’s luminous
exposition of it, as contained in his Essays on the Gita, sets out its inner significances in a
way that brings them home to the modern mind. I have prepared this commentary
summarising its substance with the permission of Sri Aurobindo. The notes have been
entirely compiled from the Essays on the Gita and arranged under the slokas in the manner
of the Sanskrit commentators.
Sri Aurobindo Ashram,
Pondicherry, 21st February, 1938 – ANILBARAN, Editor
14
 THE MESSAGE OF THE GITA
With Text, Translation and Notes AS INTERPRETED BY
SRI AUROBINDO
Edited by ANILBARAN ROY
*****
CONSPECTUS
FOURTEENTH CHAPTER
Above the Gunas – The Gita now proceeds to work out its ideas of the action of the gunas, of the
ascension beyond the gunas and of the culmination of desireless works in know- ledge where knowledge
coalesces with bhakti,—knowledge, works and love made one,—and it rises thence to its great finale, the
supreme secret of self-surrender to the Master of Existence.
prq n Z ’ kks · /;k;%
xq . k=;foHkkx;ks x %
F OURTEENTH C HAPTER
GUNATRAYAVIBHAAGAYOGAH
Above the Gunas
JhHkxokuq o kp &
ija Hkw ; % iz o {;kfe Kkukuka Kkueq Ù kee~ A
;TKkRok eq u ;% los Z ijka flf)ferks xrk%AA14&1AA
Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha –
Param bhooyah pravakshyaami jnaanaanaam jnaanamuttamam;
Yajjnaatwaa munayah sarve paraam siddhimito gataah. 14-1
The Blessed Lord said: I will again declare the supreme* Knowledge, the
highest of all knowings, which having known, all the sages have gone hence to
the highest perfection.
* The distinctions between the Soul and Nature rapidly drawn in the verses of the thirteenth chapter by
a few decisive epithets, especially the distinction between the embodied soul subject to the action of Nature
by its enjoyment of her gunas, qualities or modes and the Supreme Soul who dwells enjoying the gunas, but
not subject because it is itself beyond them, are the basis on which the Gita rests its whole idea of the
liberated being made one in the conscious law of its existence with the Divine. That liberation, that oneness,
that putting on of the divine nature, sadharmya, it declares to be the very essence of spiritual freedom and
the whole significance of immortality. Therefore, says the Gita this is the supreme knowledge because it
leads to the highest perfection, and brings the soul to likeness with the Divine. This supreme importance
assigned to sadharmya is a capital point in the teaching of the Gita.
bna Kkueq i kfJR; ee lk/kE;Z e kxrk%A
lxs Z · fi uks i tk;Urs iz y ;s u O;FkfUr pAA14&2AA
Idam jnaanam upaashritya mama saadharmyam aagataah;
Sarge’pi nopajaayante pralaye na vyathanti cha. 14-2
Having taken refuge in this knowledge and become of like* nature and law
of being with Me, they are not born** in the creation, nor troubled by the anguish
of the universal dissolution.
* Mark that nowhere in the Gita is there any indication that dissolution of the individual spiritual being
into the unmanifest, indefinable or absolute Brahman, avyaktam anirdeshyam, is the true meaning or condi-
tion of Immortality or the true aim of Yoga. On the contrary, it describes Immortality later on as an indwell-
ing in the Ishwara in his supreme status, mayi nivasishyasi, param dhama, and here as sadharmya, param
siddhim, a supreme perfection, a becoming of one law of being and nature with the Supreme, persistent still

15
in existence and conscious of the universal movement but above it, as all the sages still exist, munayah
sarve, not bound to birth in the creation, not troubled by the dissolution of the cycles.
** To be immortal was never held in the ancient spiritual teaching to consist merely in a personal
survival of death of the body: all beings are immortal in that sense and it is only the forms that perish. The
souls that do not arrive at liberation, live through the returning aeons; all exist involved or secret in the
Brahman during the dissolution of the manifest worlds and are born again in the appearance of a new cycle.
To be immortal in the deeper sense is something different from this survival of death, and this constant
recurrence. Immortality is that supreme status in which the Spirit knows itself to be superior to death and
birth, not conditioned by the nature of its manifestation, infinite, imperishable, immutably eternal,—immor-
tal, because never being born it never dies. The divine Purushottama, who is the supreme Lord and su-
preme Brahman, possesses for ever this immortal eternity and is not affected by his taking up a body or by
his continuous assumption of cosmic forms and powers because he exists always in this self-knowledge. His
very nature is to be unchangeably conscious of his own eternity; he is self-aware without end or beginning.
He is here the Inhabitant of all bodies, but as the unborn in every body, not limited in his consciousness by
that manifestation, not identified with the physical nature which he assumes; for that is only a minor circum-
stance of his universal activised play of existence. Liberation, Immortality is to live in this unchangeably
conscious eternal being of the Purushottama. But to arrive here at this greater spiritual Immortality the
embodied soul must cease to live according to the law of the lower nature; it must put on the law of the
Divine’s supreme way of existence which is in fact the real law of its own eternal essence. In the spiritual
evolution of its becoming, no less than in its secret original being, it must grow into the likeness of the
Divine.
ee ;ks f ueZ g n~ c z ã rfLeUxHkZ a n/kkE;ge~ A
lEHko% loZ H kw r kuka rrks Hkofr HkkjrAA14&3AA
Mama yonirmahadbrahma tasmin garbham dadhaamyaham;
Sambhavah sarvabhootaanaam tato bhavati bhaarata. 14-3
My womb is the Mahat Brahman; into that I cast the seed; thence* spring all
beings, O Bharata.
* The soul of man could not grow into the likeness of the Divine if it were not in its secret essence
imperishably one with the Divine and part and parcel of his divinity: it could not be or become immortal if it
were merely a creature of mental, vital and physical Nature. All existence is a manifestation of the divine
existence and that which is within us is spirit of the eternal Spirit.
loZ ; ks f u"kq dkS U rs ; ew r Z ; % lEHkofUr ;k%A
rklka cz ã eg|ks f ujga chtiz n % firkAA14&4AA
Sarvayonishu kaunteya moortayah sambhavanti yaah;
Taasaam brahma mahadyonir aham beejapradah pitaa. 14-4
Whatever forms are produced in whatsoever wombs, O Kaunteya, the Mahat
Brahman is their womb, and I am the Father who* casts the seed.
* He is at once the Father and Mother of the universe; the substance of the infinite Idea, vijnana, the
Mahat Brahman, is the womb into which he casts the seed of his self -conception. As the Over-Soul he casts
the seed; as the Mother, the Nature- Soul, the Energy filled with his conscious power, he receives it into this
infinite substance of being made pregnant with his illimitable, yet self-limiting Idea. He receives into this
Vast of self-conception and develops there the divine embryo into mental and physical form of existence
born from the original act of conceptive creation. All we see springs from that act of creation.
What is it then that makes the difference, what is it that gets the soul into the appearance of birth and
death and bondage,—for this is patent that it is only an appearance ?
lÙoa jtLre bfr xq . kk% iz — frla H kok%A
fuc/ufUr egkckgks ns g s ns f gueO;;e~ A A14&5AA
Sattwam rajastama iti gunaah prakriti sambhavaah;
Nibadhnanti mahaabaaho dehe dehinam avyayam. 14-5
The three gunas born of Prakriti, Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas bind* in the body,
16
O great-armed one, the imperishable dweller in the body.
* It is a subordinate act or state of consciousness, it is a self-oblivious identification with the modes of
Nature in the limited workings of this lower motivity and with this self-wropped ego-bounded knot of action
of the mind. life and body that gets the soul into the appearance of birth and death and bondage. To rise
above the modes of Nature, to be traigunyatita, is indispensable, if we are to get back into our fully con-
scious being away from the obsessing power of the lower action and to put on the free nature of the spirit
and its eternal Immortality. That condition of the sadharmya is what the Gita next proceeds to develop.
r= lÙoa fueZ y RokRiz d k’kdeuke;e~ A
lq [ kla x s u c/ukfr Kkula x s u pku?kAA14&6AA
Tatra sattwam nirmalatwaat prakaashakam anaamayam;
Sukhasangena badhnaati jnaanasangena chaanagha. 14-6
Of these Sattwa is by the purity of its quality a cause of light and illumina-
tion, and by virtue of that purity produces no disease or morbidity or suffering in
the nature; it binds* by attachment to knowledge and attachment to happiness, O
sinless one.
* The Sattwa binds, as much as the other gunas and binds just in the same way by desire, by ego; a
nobler desire, a purer ego,—-but so long as in any form these two hold the being, there is no freedom. The
man of virtue, of knowledge, has his ego of the virtuous man, his ego of knowledge, and it is that sattwic ego
which he seeks to satisfy; for his own sake he seeks virtue and knowledge. Only when we cease to satisfy
the ego, to think and to will from the ego, the limited “I” in us, then is there a real freedom. In other words,
freedom, highest self- mastery begins when above the natural self we see and hold the supreme Self of
which the ego is an obstructing veil and a blinding shadow. And that can only be when we see the one Self in
us seated above Nature and make our individual being one with it in being and consciousness and in its
individual nature of action only an instrument of a supreme Will, the one Will that is really free. For that we
must rise high above the three gunas, become trigunatita.
jtks jkxkReda fof) r` " .kkla x leq n ~ H koe~ A
rf™kc/ukfr dkS U rs ; deZ l a x s u ns f gue~ A A14&7AA
Rajo raagaatmakam viddhi trishnaasangasamudbhavam;
Tannibadhnaati kaunteya karmasangena dehinam. 14-7
Rajas, know thou, has for its essence attraction of liking and longing; it is a
child of the attachment of the soul to the desire of objects; O Kaunteya, it binds
the embodied spirit by attachment to works.
reLRoKkuta fof) eks g ua loZ n s f guke~ A
iz e knkyL;funz k fHkLrf™kc/ukfr HkkjrAA14&8AA
Tamastwajnaanajam viddhi mohanam sarvadehinaam;
Pramaadaalasyanidraabhis tannibadhnaati bhaarata. 14-8
But Tamas, know thou, born of ignorance, is the deluder of all embodied
beings; it binds by negligence, indolence and sleep, O Bharala.
lÙoa lq [ ks la t ;fr jt% deZ f .k HkkjrA
Kkueko` R ; rq re% iz e kns la t ;R;q r AA14&9AA
Sattwam sukhe sanjayati rajah karmani bhaarata;
Jnaanamaavritya tu tamah pramaade sanjayatyuta. 14-9
Sattwa attaches to happiness, rajas to action, O Bharata; tamas covers up the
knowledge and attaches to negligence of error and inaction.*
* The soul by attachment to the enjoyment of the gunas and their results concentrates its consciousness
on the lower and outward action of life, mind and body in Nature, imprisons itself in the form of these things
and becomes oblivious of its own greater consciousness behind in the spirit, unaware of the free power and
scope of the liberating Purusha. Evidently, in order to be liberated and perfect we must get back from these
things, away from the gunas and above them and return to the power of that free spiritual consciousness
above Nature.
17
 jtLreÜpkfHkHkw ; lÙoa Hkofr HkkjrA
jt% lÙoa reÜpS o re% lÙoa jtLrFkkAA14&10AA
Rajastamashchaabhibhooya sattwam bhavati bhaarata;
Rajah sattwam tamashchaiva tamah sattwam rajastathaa. 14-10
Now sattwa leads, having overpowered rajas and tamas, O Bharata; now
rajas, having overpowered sattwa and tamas; and now tamas, having overpow-
ered sattwa and rajas.*
* These three qualities of Nature are evidently present and active in all human beings and none can be
said to be quite devoid of one and another or free from any one of the three; but they are not constant in any
man in the quantitative action of their force or in the combination of their elements; for they are variable
and in a continual state of mutual impact, displacement and interaction. Only by a general and ordinary pre-
dominance of one or other of the qualities can a man be said to be either sattwic or rajasic or tamasic in his
nature; but this can only be a general and not an exclusive or absolute description.
loZ } kjs " kq ns g s · fLeuiz d k’k mitk;rs A
Kkua ;nk rnk fo|kf}o` ) a lÙofeR;q r AA14&11AA
Sarvadwaareshu dehe’smin prakaasha upajaayate;
Jnaanam yadaa tadaa vidyaa dvivriddham sattwamityuta. 14-11
When into all the doors in the body there comes a flooding of light,* a light
of understanding, perception and knowledge, one should understand that there
has been a great increase and uprising of the sattwic guna in the nature.
* The intelligence is alert and illumined, the senses quickened, the whole mentality satisfied and full of
brightness and the nervous being calmed and filled with an illumined ease and clarity, prasada. Knowledge
and a harmonious ease and pleasure and happiness are the characteristic results of sattwa.
But how does sattwa, the power of knowledge and happiness, become a chain? It so becomes because it
is a principle of mental nature, a principle of limited and limiting knowledge and of a happiness which
depends upon right following or attainment of this or that object or else on particular states of the mentality,
on a light of mind which can be only a more or less clear twilight. Its pleasure can only be of a passing
intensity or a qualified ease. Other is the infinite spiritual knowledge and the free self-existent delight of
our spiritual Being.
yks H k% iz o ` f ÙkjkjEHk% deZ . kke’ke% Li` g kA
jtL;s r kfu tk;Urs foo` ) s Hkjr"kZ H kAA14&12AA
Lobhah pravrittir aarambhah karmanaam ashamah sprihaa;
Rajasyetaani jaayante vivriddhe bharatarshabha. 14-12
Greed, seeking impulsions,* initiative of actions, unrest, desire—all this
mounts in us when rajas increases.
* It is the force of desire which motives all ordinary personal initiative of action and all that movement
of stir and seeking and propulsion in our nature which is the impetus towards action and works, pravritti.
Rajas, then, is evidently the kinetic force in the modes of Nature. Its fruit is the lust of action, but also grief,
pain, all kinds of suffering; for it has no right possession of its object—desire in fact implies non-posses-
sion—and even its pleasure of acquired possession is troubled and unstable because it has not clear knowl-
edge and does not know how to possess nor can it find the secret of accord and right enjoyment. All the
ignorant and passionate seeking of life belongs to the rajasic mode of Nature.

– To be continued

18
 ... O Wisdom-Splendour, Mother of the universe,
Creatrix, the Eternal’s artist Bride,
Linger not long with thy transmuting hand
Pressed vainly on one golden bar of Time,
As if Time dare not open its heart to God.
O radiant fountain of the world’s delight
World-free and unattainable above,
O Bliss who ever dwellst deep-hid within
While men seek thee outside and never find,
Mystery and Muse with hieratic tongue,
Incarnate the white passion of thy force,
Mission to earth some living form of thee.
One moment fill with thy eternity,
Let thy infinity in one body live,
All-Knowledge wrap one mind in seas of light,
All-Love throb single in one human heart.
Immortal, treading the earth with mortal feet
All heaven’s beauty crowd in earthly limbs!
Omnipotence, girdle with the power of God
Movements and moments of a mortal will,
Pack with the eternal might one human hour
And with one gesture change all future time.
Let a great word be spoken from the heights
And one great act unlock the doors of Fate.”
– From Savitri by Sri Aurobindo
NOTICE BOARD
For Ashram’s emagazines : ‘The Call Beyond’ & ‘Realization’
To take advantage of FREE Subscription or to Unsubscribe
Send email from your email address, fill-in 2 fields: ‘To’ & ‘Subject’
To callbeyond@aurobindoonline.in
Subject Subscribe
OR
Subject Unsubscribe
Then click on Send
For Ashram’s Hindi emagazine : ‘Sri Arvind Karmadhara’
For FREE subscription, send email to : <sakarmadhara@gmail.com>
For information about Sri Aurobindo Ashram-Delhi Branch,
schedules of its activities or
for accessing back issues of the emagazines
kindly browse the website <www.sriaurobindoashram.net>
Publisher: Sri Aurobindo Ashram-Delhi Branch, New Delhi Editor: Nirankar Agarwal, Ph.D.
Feedback : <emag@aurobindoonline.in>

19