In memoriam - Jean Neal

On July 10th, Jean Neal, wife of Bob Neal, peacefully left her body at the age of 86 in her UK home. She had been in constant pain for years and had got to the point where communication was not possible anymore.

Jean was and remained, until the end, in intimate relationship with Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Long before she knew anything of yoga, she had been drawn to practice meditation but knew of no one who was able to assist her. Knowing little herself and knowing no one to ask, her questions were nonetheless answered by an elderly, small gentleman in the subtle physical who would gently guide her. She later came to know this gentleman was none other than Sri Aurobindo.

Jean was a lively, amazing woman who already in the early seventies was part of London’s ‘Bell Street’ group that regularly came together to study the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. In 1998, Bob and Jean came to Auroville and settled in Sri Ma. Jean, who had from a young age onwards a second sight and hearing ability, would assist Aurovilians in different ways by giving ‘Beyond the 5th sense’ and other workshops and one-to-one treatment sessions. It was a great loss to Auroville that her health gradually started deteriorating, causing the couple to leave in April 2006. They both continued to work for Auroville through Auroville International UK.