In memoriam - Kailas Jhavery

Kailas Jhavery passed away on May 10th, 2021 at the age of 94. Kailash had become a member of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1964, after studying and working for more than ten years in New York, USA. In 1966 the Mother appointed her as “Secretary-in-charge, UNESCO section” of the Sri Aurobindo Society, a post for which she was eminently suitable having interacted for two years with the United Nations. In that period Kailas wrote several compilations, the most notable of which were The Reshaping of Humanity, The Aim and Action of a True Spiritual Culture and Culture and International Co-operation and Peace. Some other noteworthy compilations made by her on Auroville were: Religion and Spirituality, Auroville and the Ideal of Human Unity, The Aim of Auroville, Matrimandir: The Sanctuary of Truth, Auroville and Education, Cultural Pavilions and Sri Aurobindo and the Future.

Kailas shared a special bond of friendship with Dr. Adiseshiah, the former Deputy Director-General of UNESCO. On the basis of the conversation she had with him, she had told the Mother that since Auroville was to be an international township, it was necessary to work for this project through UNESCO and that the Sri Aurobindo Society should be affiliated with UNESCO as a non-governmental organization. The Mother appreciated Kailas’s idea. Kailas prepared a paper on Religion and Spirituality, pointing out the differences between the two in the light of Sri Aurobindo’s vision and emphasized how Auroville, whose objective was to realize human unity, covered life in entirety as well as its activities and relationships on the basis of spirituality. On the basis of this paper, the Sri Aurobindo Society was admitted to the ‘C’ category of relationship of UNESCO, meaning an exchange of information of their mutual activities. In 1966, Kailas also went to New Delhi and contacted a few embassies representing the six continents. Together with Salah-El-Din Tewfik, UNESCO’s representative in New Delhi, she worked out a resolution for Auroville to be proposed by the Indian Government for UNESCO’s General Conference in Paris. This resolution was unanimously passed in November 1966 by the General Conference of UNESCO.

When Kailas came to know of the rift between Auroville and Sri Aurobindo Society, she volunteered to help in resolving it. Though she tried her best, she failed to persuade both the parties to reconcile. When the matter went to court, she stopped her work for Auroville as she felt that such an action was against the declared objective of Auroville which was to realize unity through progressive universal harmony.

Unreservedly surrendering to the Mother, accepting no intimidation, Kailas had a fiery personality. Her autobiography in two volumes, “I am with you” (a message she received from the Mother in support of her UNESCO battle) is a most exalted text of guru-bhakti. Kailas was the symbol of unquestionable faith in the Mother and in the true Auroville.

An extensive obituary by Anurag Bannerjee has been published at the website of the Overman Foundation, .