The year 2020 was the centenary of a momentous event in the spiritual history of the world. It was on 24 April 1920 that the Mother arrived in Pondicherry for the second time, not to leave it physically till she left the body in 1973. The 53 years that she spent there in flesh and blood were a boon to mankind in ways more than one can enumerate. Just to mention a few, at Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, She gave a practical shape in the modern world to the ancient Indian life-embracing view of spirituality that She and Sri Aurobindo both wanted to re-introduce to the world. She answered with infinite patience the questions put to her by the seekers in the Ashram, thereby creating a precious resource for posterity to bank upon while walking the adventurous path of integral yoga. She brought to the systems set up in the Ashram the perfection in outer life, which is the hallmark of the West, while at the same time providing a foundation for the outer life in a high, wide and deep inner life, which is the hallmark of the East. While deeply immersed in the outer life of the Ashram, she also found time for Her own inner journey aimed at bringing down to the world a new level of Consciousness, the Supramental, which is essential for the next leap in evolution that would make the world a much better place to live in than it has been for thousands of years. She continues to be the most dependable and approachable source of Light, Love and Power to Her children, and Her children include all who turn to Her because "The whole world could take refuge in her single heart," as Sri Aurobindo says in 'Savitri'.
It was in 1926 that Sri Aurobindo decided to go into seclusion to concentrate on inner work, and He requested the Mother to take care of the Ashram. The Ashram then had only about 25 residents; the number had grown to more than a thousand when the Mother left the body. Thus, the Ashram was essentially the creation of the Mother. Soon after the Mother took charge of the Ashram, in 1928 Sri Aurobindo wrote a small but very powerful booklet titled 'The Mother', and also designed the Mother's symbol. In the book, Sri Aurobindo described the three pillars of sadhana aspiration, rejection and surrender- and the four aspects of the Mother Maheshwari, Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati. In the Mother's symbol, as explained by the Mother, "The central circle represents the Divine Consciousness. The four petals represent the four powers of The Mother. The twelve petals represent the twelve powers of the Mother manifested for Her work." In 1934, Sri Aurobindo specified the colours for the twelve petals in the outermost circle in the Mother's symbol that would best symbolize the power of manifestation for which the petal stands. As Brad Waites says, "For most of us, the outer circle will hold the most practical utility, as its twelve petals represent the attitudes we must cultivate to translate the Mother's powers into daily action in our lives." What has been done in this book is to take up one of these petals in each chapter.
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