The Essence of a Yogi

Second 'Darshan' of Sri Aurobindo

1923

A Note by M.P. Pandit

I recall the circumstances in which Shri Kapali Sastriar first met Sri Aurobindo. It was in 1917 that he had been invited to deliver a lecture at Pondicherry and he took the occasion to seek an interview with Sri Aurobindo through a common friend Bharati, the poet. He had admired Sri Aurobindo as an effective political leader of the National Freedom Movement and later had been profoundly impressed by his writings in the Arya. And when he met Sri Aurobindo it was both a fulfillment of a longstanding wish as well as the commencement of a fresh pilgrimage. They talked of politics, religion and philosophy.

The next meeting was in 1923. It was a meeting that proved decisive both in his inner as well as outer life. For though he had met Sri Aurobindo six years earlier, he had not at that time sought to change his own line of spiritual seeking and take to Sri Aurobindo’s Yoga of the Super-mind. But a series of inner developments took place ever since he took leave of Sri Aurobindo, the most notable of which was the almost daily experience in sleep of being bodily lifted up, flown and brought down into a particular room which he later came to recognise when he met Sri Aurobindo again in 1923 in his new house. Secondly, as he told me once in intimate confidence, when things were very much near the culminating stage in the yoga he was practising, he realised that that was not the object of his inner-most soul in taking this birth. The choice of his being was to participate in the Divine Manifestation, not to withdraw from it.

Sastriar was not very communicative of what happened during this meeting except to say that he found Sri Aurobindo completely changed in his physical appearance; he had then a golden hue on his body which had become fair in complexion whereas it was brownish-dark when he had seen him last. He was amazed and mentioned it to Sri Aurobindo, who smiled. What was the talk about, what did he ask and what did Sri Aurobindo tell him? These were my questions. He answered always briefly and I did not press further. It was only recently that while going through his papers I found written on a page of an old, old note-book a few notes under the heading: His Instructions (personal to me) 1923 July. ... Also found in the same note-book are ... Notes under the caption: Her Instructions (personal to me) on different occasions.

..He had asked Sri Aurobindo in detail about this yoga for the Supermind, mentioned his own seeking for it. Sri Aurobindo explained things exhaustively and then told him:

"Only two can give you this Truth: myself or the Shakti.” Sastriar would always be moved whenever he recounted this gesture of trust and confidence by Sri Aurobindo. He would also describe, vividly, the parting at that time:

“Can I know that the help I would receive is Yours? ” he asked.

“Yes”, replied Sri Aurobindo and instantaneously there started a tremendous downpour of a Consciousness which never ceased thereafter.