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The Mother - The Mother of the Ashram
On the 24 November 1926 (Siddhi Day) Sri Aurobindo reported himself to have had an important experience in which he realised the Overmental plane and brought down to Earth, in his words, the Overmental Krishna (Das 1978 p.233).
This was also the official founding of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. At the time there no more than 24 disciples in the Ashram (ibid pp.233-4).
In December of that year, Sri Aurobindo decided to withdraw from public view. It was at this point that he identified Mirra with the Divine Mother, and instructed his followers to do the same. He informed his disciples that henceforth The Mother would take full charge of the ashram and he would live in retirement. Mirra heard for the first time that this new responsibility was conferred on her and she had been installed officially as The Mother. She related later that Sri Aurobindo had not consulted her prior to the declaration nor did he inform her of his intention, but that she had heard the news for the first time along with the disciples (Karmayogi no date).
Sri Aurobindo considered that Mirra was an avatar (incarnation) of the supreme shakti. In 1927 he wrote:
The One whom we adore as the Mother is the divine Conscious Force that dominates all existence, one and yet many-sided that to follow her movement is impossible even for the quickest mind and for the freest and most vast intelligence. -- (The Mother (Sri Aurobindo) p.19).
Sri Aurobindo's letters and instructions to his disciples taught the path of spiritual surrender through devotion to The Mother; a form of Bhakti Yoga.
In 1927, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother moved to Rue Francoi Martin, where they stayed for the remainder of their lives (The Mother - Some dates).
In the early years, The Mother appeared on the ashram balcony to initiate the day with her blessings. She would also meet the heads of the various departments of the growing ashram every morning, and then the sadhaks individually. Once again, in the evening at 5:30 PM, she conducted meditation and met each sadhak once more.
In 1938 Margaret Woodrow Wilson, the daughter of US President Woodrow Wilson, came to the Ashram and chose to remain there for the rest of her life. (Nirodbaran 1972, Karmayogi no date).
Henry Ford heard of The Mother and wanted to meet her. On the eve of his departure, World War II broke out and prevented his coming to India. (Karmayogi no date).
During the war, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother declared their support of the Allies. They said that victory of the Nazis would have been a disaster for the spiritual work, and professed to have participated in world history, changing the course of World War II (e.g. Purani (1982) p.746, Reddy 2000, Van Vrekhem 2001).
Through letters, the Mother had remained in contact with her son Andre Morisset ever since leaving for Japan. In this way she kept him apprised of the development of the ashram and her and Sri Aurobindo's sadhana. He became increasingly interested, but was prevented from visiting by the outbreak of the World War II. In 1949 he finally arrived at Pondicherry (Remembrances of André Morisset, in Das 1978 pp.250-1).
The first issue of the Bulletin of Physical Education was published in 1949. In the late 1940s The Mother envisaged an Ideal City in Hyderabad where she would live together with Sri Aurobindo, but gave up this idea after Sri Aurobindo's passing. In 1951 she founded the Sri Aurobindo International University to modernize and expand the scope of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry (Mirapuri - Biography).
The Mother liked to wear saris and acquired a collection of about 500. When she was offered 100,000 rupees for one, she called all the sadhikas and distributed or sold them to raise funds for the ashram (Karmayogi no date).
She considered flowers of spiritual significance, and gave names to 800 different types (Karmayogi no date), according to the spiritual quality they convey (Flowers and Their Messages, Flowers and Their Spiritual Significance). These would be presented to disciples, as a vehicle for conveying her blessings and grace. Satprem records being presented with various flowers during his visits, each described according to its spiritual quality (Agenda vol. xxx p.xxx).
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The Mother of the Ashram", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
