Dortoir

V — Recollections of Parul Chakraborty

Dortoir

“Let us work as we pray, for indeed work is the body’s best prayer to the Divine.”
THE MOTHER

“There must be order and harmony in work. Even what is apparently the most insignificant thing must be done with perfect perfection, with a sense of cleanliness, beauty, harmony and order.”
THE MOTHER

Dortoir, a haven created by the Mother for Her children, started on 15th January 1945 . . . My brother Badal and I found our way to Dortoir on 26th August 1949. We were immediately accepted into the loving and caring family. I was then 11 years of age.

When one lives in a collectivity, discipline, collaboration and obedience are qualities that help one to grow in a healthy and progressive manner.

Every morning a bell would ring at 5.30 to wake us up. In Dortoir the girls occupied the first floor while the boys lived on the ground floor. Our day started with the Mother’s Darshan — the Balcony Darshan, around 6.15 a.m. If one of us missed it, Mother would notice the absence and later enquire the reason for it.

During these early morning Darshans, She gave attention and help to every individual present there for his inner growth and development.

Mother always encouraged us to be self dependent regarding our personal work like making one’s own bed tidily before going to sleep and after waking up, and placing the mosquito net properly. Each of our belongings had to be kept in its respective place — the shoes on the shoe rack, clothes, cleaned and arranged neatly on the shelves. As we were students a cupboard for books was given to each of us which we had to keep in an orderly manner.

Mother visited Dortoir from time to time during the Playground hours and by casting just a glance at our shelves, cupboards and almirahs She knew how each one of us was progressing. She could judge a person’s nature and habits instantly by seeing the way he kept his things. On one of these visits She complimented me after She saw my cupboard saying that I was well organised, well disciplined, and that I had clean habits.

Not to take care of material things which one uses is a sign of inconscience and ignorance.
You have no right to use any material object whatsoever if you do not take care of it.
You must take care of it not because you are attached to it, but because it manifests something of the Divine Consciousness.
THE MOTHER

As we grew up we developed a sense of awareness and responsibility regarding our work, our material possessions and other things. We were taught to be grateful for everything, and to be respectful towards all.

Our Playground and School were in the same place in 1949. Sisir-da was our headmaster. At 8 a.m. the school bell would ring and we would line up. Then Sisir-da would call out a student who had to face us all and recite the morning prayer and the rest of us had to repeat it after him.

Here is the French version of that prayer:

Douce Mère,
Permets que nous soyons dès maintenant et pour toujours, simplement Tes petits enfants.

Sweet Mother,
Grant that we may be, even from now and forever, simply Thy little children.

On 6th January 1952 our old school shifted to its present building.

One of my teachers to whom I will always remain deeply grateful is Pavita, a teacher during my childhood years in school. She not only inculcated in us the values and virtues of life, she herself was an example to us. She appreciated simplicity and straightforwardness, which she tried to bring out from within us.

At school in the morning she expected us to be in our classroom before the school bell rang. She laid stress on our personal cleanliness. She would check our nails, our teeth, our clothes and each of us had to have a handkerchief. She insisted that we develop correct posture, that we hold our pencils properly and practise good handwriting.

To us she was like a mother, a nurse, a friend and always a well-wisher. When any of us felt unwell she would make us lie down and rest. If any of us became sick and vomited on the floor she cleaned up the whole mess herself.

It was from her that I learnt flower arrangement. She taught us how to clean flower vases carefully and arrange fresh flowers in them attractively. We learnt to dust and sweep our classroom regularly and keep it clean.

She would always encourage us to learn, to do our work properly, and progress. She taught us to read well, to write well, to sketch, to draw and so many things that helped us to go forward in life with confidence and with the right attitude towards our aim and goal.

Our morning classes began at 8 a.m. After our 2nd period, that is around 9.30 a.m. we used to go to the Ashram for Mother’s blessings.

Lunch break was from 11.45 to 12.30. Most of us didn’t have the habit of having an afternoon nap. We would rest for a while and then begin our homework or read books. Afternoon classes were held from 2.15 to 4 p.m. Each one of us had a specific duty to do between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. The older girls — Lata Jauhar, Urmila R., Paru, Usha R., Aruna Pandya, and others used to go to the Ashram to help Ravindra-ji to prepare fruit juice or to cut fruits into small pieces to be served to the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. Then Lata would go to Harpagon to put plastic covers on books, while Aruna and Usha would proceed for work to “Prosperity”. Tara worked in P.E.D.

Others like Sumedha, Arunkant, Usha had to fill small cloth bags with groundnuts which the Mother distributed later on to everybody in the Playground after our group activities.

The boys too had different duties to perform. Arun Pandya used to go to Vishwanath-da to help him with radio repairing work. Narendra looked after the Playground equipment and watered the ground in the afternoons.

Chitra and I were given the task of making various sizes of envelopes out of paper that could not be used for any other purpose — waste paper. We got a lot of encouragement and appreciation for this work. These envelopes were used by the Mother and by some departments of the Ashram.

The Mother has said, “To do the work that one does with all sincerity, as perfectly as one can, is certainly one of the best ways to serve the Divine.”

From the early 50’s I began to work with Udar-da in Harpagon, — typing letters and filing them. I have always loved physical work, so I also took up the job of writing down the results on the notice board during the seasons of “group competition” organised by Udar-da.

Tara, Usha R., Aruna and I became captains at a very early age. We would lead our teams in various activities during group time at the Playground in the evenings.

Whether we were studying, working or playing or whatever, we were always enveloped in a beautiful atmosphere which inspired us to become better and better in everything we did. We were conscious of the fact that we had to become good instruments to serve the Mother.

We were encouraged to utilise our free time usefully. Whenever we had time on our hands we would either read or draw and paint, do some needlework, or dust and rearrange our bookshelves and cupboards. We had no time to sit and gossip. Mother told us, “Talk as little as possible, work as much as you can . . . the most important thing is to avoid useless talking. It is not work but useless talk which takes us away from the Divine.”

In Dortoir there was a sick room. Whoever fell ill was put in that room. Mother was always informed about it, and according to Her advice Nripen-da would attend to us and help us to get well. Once I was very ill. I had urticaria. My face and my limbs had swollen up to such an extent that I could hardly be recognised. I was put in quarantine. Owing to my unpleasant appearance I refused to meet the Mother. After six days of the attack Tara came and took me to the Playground to see the Mother in Her room. For a second, Mother could not recognise me. But at the very next moment I had a concrete feeling of certainty that Her glance upon me would work like a miracle.

And it did!

Within two days all the swelling subsided. The old skin got replaced by a new skin. I recovered completely and resumed my normal activities. It was all due to Her Divine Grace. Regarding an illness the Mother once said — “The illness has come like a test and gone like a purification carrying away all that was standing in the way of joy of an integral consecration.”

We only need to have faith, and offer ourselves entirely to Her. Whenever we think of Her or call Her we find that She is always beside us, helping us all in our endeavour to progress.