Birthday The Mother Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo Ashram

Sri Aurobindo

Let the new birth become manifest in your heart and radiate in calm and joy and take up all the parts of your being, mind and vision and will and feeling and life and body. Let each date in your life be a date of its growth and greater completeness till all in you is the child of the Mother. Let the Lighl and Power and Presence envelop you and protect and cherish and foster, till all in your inner and outer existence is one movement and an expression of its peace and strength and Ananda.
Sri Aurobindo

Handwritten by Sri Aurobindo

"Lead me from the unreal to the real.
Lead me from darkness to light.
Lead me from death to immortality."
So be it

- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
First Adhyaya (Chapter),
Third Brahmana,
28th Verse (1.3.28).

Unhappy is the man or the nation which, when the divine moment arrives, is found sleeping or unprepared to use it, because the lamp has not been kept trimmed for the welcome and the ears are sealed to the call. But thrice woe to them who are strong and ready, yet waste the force or misuse the moment; for them is irreparable loss or a great destruction.

- Sri Aurobindo
The Hour of God
Essays Divine and Human

Significance of Birthdays

Mother :It is your birthday tomorrow?
Sadhak: Yes, Mother.
How old will you be?
Sadhak: Twenty-six, Mother.
I shall see you tomorrow and give you something special.
You will see, I am not speaking of anything material- that, I shall give you a card and all that -but of something...
You will see, tomorrow, now go home and prepare yourself quietly so that you may be ready to receive it. Sadhak: Yes, Mother.
You know, my child, what "Bonne Fete" signifies, that is, the birthday we wish here?..
Sadhak: Like that, I know what it means, Mother, but not the special significance You want to tell me.

Yes, it is truly a special day in one's life. It is one of those days in the year when the Supreme descends into us -or when we are face to face with the Eternal -one of those days when our soul comes in contact with the Eternal and, if we remain a little conscious, we can feel His Presence within us. If we make a little effort on this day, we accomplish the work of many lives as in a lightning flash. That is why I give so much importance to the birthday -because what one gains in one day is truly something incomparable. And it is for this that I also work to open the consciousness a little towards what is above so that one may come before the Eternal. My child, it is a very very special day, for it is the day of decision, the day one can unite with the Supreme Consciousness. For the Lord lifts us on this day to the highest region possible so that our soul which is a portion of that Eternal Flame, may be united and identified with its Origin.

This day is truly an opportunity in life. One is so open and so receptive that one can assimilate all that is given. I can do many things, that is why it is important.
It is one of those days when the Lord Himself opens the doors wide for us. It is as though He were inviting us to rekindle more powerfully the flame of aspiration. It is one of those days which He gives us. We too, by our personal effort, could attain to this, but it would be long, hard and not so easy. And this -this is a real chance in life -the day of the Grace.
-A spoken comment of the Mother
which was noted down from memory by the sadhak
and later read to the Mother.

Hand-Written by The Mother
It is only in the
Divine that we can
find perfect peace
and total satisfaction.
With my Blessings .

Signed by The Mother

It is an occult phenomenon that occurs invariably, without our knowledge, on this particular day of the year. The soul leaves behind the body and journeys up and up till it merges into the Source in order to replenish itself and absorb from the Supreme Its Power, Light and Ananda and comes down charged for a whole year to pass. Then again and again... it continues like this year after year.
The Mother

Om namo bhagwate.
Mantra written by The Mother

There is a rhythm (one among many) in the play of the world-forces which is connected with the sun and the planets.
That makes the birthday a day of possible renewal when the being is likely to be more plastic.
It is for this reason that Mother sees people on their birthdays.
- Sri Aurobindo

I stretch it out to Thee with both arms
in a gesture of offering
and I ask of Thee:
If my understanding is limited, widen it;
if my knowledge is obscure, enlighten it;
if my heart is empty of ardour, set it aflame;
if my love is insignificant, make it intense;
if my feelings are ignorant and egoistic,
give them the full consciousness in the Truth'.
The Mother
Prayers and Meditations

The Mother on Sri Aurobindo's Birth

The Eternal Birth

15th August 1872

Physically, it means that the consciousness of this birth will last as long as the Earth. The consequences of Sri Aurobindo's birth will be felt throughout the entire existance of the Earth......

Mentally, it is a birth the memory of which will last eternally. Through the ages Sri Aurobindo's birth will be remembered, with all the consequences it has had....

Psychically, it is a birth which will recur eternally, from age to age, in the history of the universe. This birth is a manifestation which takes place periodically, from age to age, in the history of the Earth.....

And finally, from the purely spiritual point of view, it will be said that it is the birth of the Eternal on Earth. For each time the Avatar takes a physical form it is the birth of the Eternal himself on Earth.
-The Mother

The Instrumentality of The Time

Mother reads from Sri Aurobindo's The Synthesis of Yoga, "The Four Aids". Then a sadhak asks a question:

Q: Sweet Mother, here: "Last comes the instrumentality of Time, Kala; for in all things there is a cycle of their action and , a period of the divine movement " What is this period of the divine movement?

For each thing it is different.

For each activity, each realisation, each movement, there is a definite period of time, which differs. There are countless periods of time which are entangled; but each thing is regulated by a kind of rhythm which is this thing's own rhythm.

You see, for the facility of their outer existence, men have divided time more or less arbitrarily into years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds, etc... it is a rhythm that's more or less arbitrary, because it has been created by man, but it has in itself a certain reality, for it corresponds to universal movements... as far as possible. And that is why, by the way, we celebrate the birthday, for example: because there is a certain rhythm in each one's existence which is established by this regular return of circumstances analogous to those in which he was born.

And all movements -when you observe them, you become aware that they have a certain rhythm -the movements of inner consciousness, for example, not only from the point of view of understanding but that of personal reactions, of the ups and downs in progress; of a fairly regular periodic return, at once of advancing and recoiling, of difficulties and of helps. But if each person is attentive he realises that his own rhythm is absolutely particular to him; it is not the same rhythm as his neighbour's. But even as the ,- seasons follow a certain rhythm, regular enough on the whole, so the individual life has its seasons. And when one studies oneself attentively, one finds out that there are even certain repetitions of analogous circumstances at regular intervals. Even, very sensitive people become aware that there are certain days of the week or certain hours of the day when they can do things more easily. Some of them have particular difficulties on particular days and at particular hours; some on the contrary have better inspirations at particular moments -but every one has to find this out in himself by observation. Naturally it is far from being absolute, it is not strict, and if it is troublesome, it can be eliminated very easily simply by a little effort of resolute will. But if it helps, one can make use of it.

And all this, each thing having its own rhythm, well, it .

makes an extremely complicated criss-crossing of rhythms, which results in what we see: something which seems to have none -because it is too complicated, it is too complex.

Q: How can we make use of it, Sweet Mother?

Well, if... let us say, you know... we are speaking of ," yoga... if you observe in yourself a certain repetition of conditions, for example, that at a particular hour, a certain time of day, in certain circumstances, it is easier for you to concentrate or meditate, well, you make use of that by doing it at that time.

Naturally, you must not become its slave; one can use it but it must not become a necessity so that if the hour has gone by one can't meditate then. But if it is a good help, one uses the help; it's all a matter of observation.

If you study yourself you can become aware that in the year certain periods come due not only to personal condi- tions but more general ones -conditions of Nature in general. There are times when you meet more difficulties in the sadhana; there are times, on the contrary, when you feell in yourself a greater push for the growth of knowledge and consciousness. This helps you in the sense that, if at a given time you find yourself in the midst of special difficulties or something that seems like a stoppage, instead of lamenting you tell yourself, "Why, it's the usual time; it's because we are at this particular time of the year." And you wait with patience for the time to pass; or do what you can, but without being discouraged and saying, "Ah, look, I am not getting on, I am not making any progress." It helps you to be reasonable.

And naturally one can take one more step, and take precautions in such away... inner precautions to be independent of these external influences. But this comes much later, when one begins to be the conscious master of one's sadhana. That comes afterwards.