Darshan

PART I

"In a Solitude and an Immensity"

Dr. Beena R. Nayak

Down the dusty lanes of memories in time, the one of meeting the Mother shines like a beacon which made me see myself in the mirror of my soul. This memory is timeless, invincible like the golden weft and warp of the woven fabric of Self Imperishable. That momentous meeting with Her can be described best from these lines from Sri Aurobindo's 'Savitri':

Then suddenly there rose a sacred stir.

Amid the lifeless silence of the Void

In a solitude and an immensity

A sound came quivering like a loved footfall

Heard in the listening spaces of the soul;

A touch perturbed his fibres with delight.

An Influence had approached the mortal range,

A boundless Heart was near his longing heart,

A mystic Form enveloped his earthly shape.

All at her contact broke from silence' seal;

Spirit and body thrilled identified...

Book III, 4

Today we are remembering the Mother. The Mother as a child had a dream which She recollected at the conception of Auroville. Some of us were included at the beginning of realization of that conception. I request them to share those moments through their memoirs. We can also remember our meetings with the Mother—in our hearts.

The Mother has said, "Once I have looked upon a soul I never forget. They are linked with me forever." Forever can only

Page 1

be through memories, linking moments to past and future through visions, dreams, sounds and other experiences. Today we are gathered together to be in those moments of togetherness with the Mother through living memories in the sound of words, in the meaning, more than words. A Sufi saint, Rabiya Basri prayed to the Lord:

If I worship thee for fear of hell, burn me in hell.

If I worship thee for hope of Paradise, kick me from Paradise.

But if I worship Thee for Thy own sake only,

Kick me not from Thy everlasting Beauty.

Being with the Mother, remembering the Mother...

Savitri Bhavan

28-1-2001

Page 2