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Life in Pondicherry, 1910 1950
Meeting with the Mother
Fate had just then brought him into contact with a remarkable Frenchman and his wife, Paul and Mirra Richard. They had for years been in search of a Master. . . .
[Altered to:] . . . with a remarkable Frenchman and his wife, Paul Richard and she who is now known as Sri Mira Devi. They had for years been in search of a Master in whom they could recognize a World-Teacher. . . .
*
Mirra Richard was no less overwhelmed by this vision — this reality — of the new Man.
[Altered to:] Mira Devi who had already gone far in spiritual realisation and occult vision and experience, was no less overwhelmed by this vision . . .
The magazine [Arya] was presumably not a financial success.
It was, in fact; it paid its way with a large surplus.
Sri Aurobindo thought that the time had come to establish in Pondicherry an “ashram”, a rallying centre of aspiration and realization, the nucleus of a new community.
This is hardly the fact. There was no Asram at first, only a few people came to live near Sri Aurobindo and practise Yoga. It was only some time after the Mother came from Japan that it took
Page – 102 the form of the Asram, more from the wish of the sadhaks who desired to entrust their whole inner and outer life to the Mother than from any intention or plan of hers or of Sri Aurobindo.
*
In the meantime, Mirra Richard, after her recent visit to
France, returned to Pondicherry on the 24th April, 1920. The number of disciples now showed a tendency to increase
rather rapidly and Sri Aurobindo decided to entrust Mirra, the Mother, with the task of organizing the “ashram” on a wider
basis. . . .
The facts are In the meantime, the Mother, after a long stay in
France and Japan, returned to Pondicherry on the 24th April, 1920. The number of disciples then showed a tendency to increase rather rapidly. When the Asram began to develop, it fell to the Mother to organise it; Sri Aurobindo soon retired
into seclusion and the whole material and spiritual charge of it devolved on her.
*
[On a section of a biography in which the writer dwelt at
length on the Mother.]
Section V of this Chapter is better omitted. Up till now Sri
Aurobindo has prohibited any public propaganda of the idea of his personal divinity and that of the Mother or of certain
aspects of the Asram life; these things have been kept private for the Asram itself, and its inmates and the disciples
— especially
anything in the English language. In later pages of the book all that can be fruitfully said about the life of the Asram and the
position of the Mother in the eyes of the disciples and in their life has been said and that should be sufficient.
[A telegram was sent to the Secretary of the Viceroy.]
The only telegram to the Secretary of the Viceroy was one
Page – 103
accompanying a donation of Rs.1000/ to the War Fund which was meant as a mark of Sri Aurobindo’s adhesion to the cause
of the Allies against the Axis. There was also a letter to the Governor of Madras forwarding another contribution along with
a statement of his views about the war which was published. Besides this, other contributions were made direct to France.
Later on, letters supporting the war were made public. As for the Cripps’ offer, it was supported in a long telegram sent not to
the Viceroy’s Secretary but to Cripps himself after his broadcast in which he announced the offer.
*
[The telegram was a "political gesture".]
Sri Aurobindo does not know whether this can be described as a public political gesture. The interest of your chapters is historical and biographical rather than concerned with the present course of politics or any new intervention in it. At any rate Sri
Aurobindo did not intend these notes as constituting any such public intervention or gesture.
Muslims and the 1947 Partition of Bengal
Muslims, the descendants of foreigners, favoured the partition
of Bengal.
This would seem to indicate that all the Mohammedans in India
are descendants of foreigners, but the idea of two nationalities in India is only a new-fangled notion invented by Jinnah for
his purposes and contrary to the facts. More than 90% of the Indian Mussulmans are descendants of converted Hindus and
belong as much to the Indian nation as the Hindus themselves. This process of conversion has continued all along; Jinnah is
himself a descendant of a Hindu converted in fairly recent times named Jinnabhai and many of the most famous Mohammedan
leaders have a similar origin.
*
Page – 104 Assam had a majority of Muslims.
The majority in Assam is made up of the Hindus and the tribal
peoples; in Assam proper the Mussulmans are only 20% of the population. The balance has been altered by the inclusion of Sylhet, a Bengali district in Assam, but even so the non-Mussulmans predominate. At present [1946] a Congress Government is in
power in Assam elected by a large majority and Assam is vehemently refusing to be grouped with Mussulman Bengal in the
new constitution.
Page – 105
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