Anniversary thoughts

But what?

When we look at what Mother said about anniversaries, it is clear that, for her, there is a much deeper dimension to some of them than simply marking a significant event in history or another year in one’s life. Regarding birthdays, for example, she said:

...it is truly a special day in one’s life. It is one of those days in the year when the Supreme descends into us – or when we are face to face with the Eternal – one of those days when our soul comes in contact with the Eternal and, if we remain a little conscious, we can feel His Presence within us. If we make a little effort on this day, we accomplish the work of many lives as in a lightning flash. That is why I give so much importance to the birthday – because what one gains in one day is truly something incomparable.

She explained that when people came to her on their birthday, which she termed the “day of Grace”, she worked to open their consciousness a little towards what is above so they could come before the Eternal... One is so open and so receptive that one can assimilate all that is given. I can do many things (on that day), that is why it is important.

Of course, Sri Aurobindo’s and Mother’s birthdays were celebrated in the Ashram, as they are the inspiration and fountainhead of the yoga. But when Indian Independence Day fell on August 15th, Sri Aurobindo’s birthday, he saw this as being more than a coincidence.

To me personally it must naturally be gratifying that this date which was notable only for me because it was my own birthday celebrated annually by those who have accepted my gospel of life, should have acquired this vast significance. As a mystic, I take this identification, not as a coincidence or fortuitous accident but as a sanction and seal of the Divine Power which guides my steps on the work with which I began life.

In the Ashram, other anniversaries are also marked. One of them marks the ‘Day of Victory’, the 24th November, 1926, when Sri Aurobindo experienced the descent of Krishna into his body.

Purani, one of the sadhaks present on that occasion, later wrote, “It was not as if a handful of disciples were receiving blessings from their supreme Master and Mother in one little comer of the earth. The significance of the occasion was far greater than that. It was certain that a higher Consciousness had descended on earth.”

A similarly important spiritual descent happened on February 29, 1956, when The Mother had the concrete experience of the descent of the Supramental Consciousness on Earth. Just over a month later, she explained,

The manifestation of the Supramental upon earth is no more a promise but a living fact, a reality. It is at work here, and one day will come when the most blind, the most unconscious, even the most unwilling shall be obliged to recognize it.

Mother called that day The Golden Day and said, “Henceforth the 29th February will be the Day of the Lord.”

So how were important anniversaries like this celebrated in the Ashram?

Most obviously, when they were in their physical bodies, Sri Aurobindo and Mother gave darshan four times a year to mark their birthdays, the Day of Victory, and the day of Mother’s final arrival in Pondicherry. ‘Darshan’ means ‘seeing’, more specifically, a ‘vision of the Divine’, and on these occasions the sadhaks would pass in front of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, who would transmit a particular force to each individual for their progress.

After Sri Aurobindo’s passing, The Mother continued to give darshans four times a year. From 1963 onwards, these darshans would be given from the terrace of her room, as she gazed upon those who had gathered in the street below.

When it came to the occasion of Sri Aurobindo’s birth centenary year in 1972, Mother made it very clear that it was to be celebrated in a very specific way. On the first day of that centenary year, she gave a message:

“Today is the first day of Sri Aurobindo’s centenary year. Though he has left his body he is still with us, alive and active.

Sri Aurobindo belongs to the future; he is the messenger of the future. He still shows us the way to follow in order to hasten the realisation of a glorious future fashioned by the Divine Will.

All those who want to collaborate for the progress of humanity and for India’s luminous destiny must unite in a clairvoyant aspiration and in an illumined work.”

Earlier, she had clarified how such an occasion should be marked.

“The best thing we can do is to study all that he has told us and endeavour to follow his example and prepare ourselves for the new manifestation.”

On 21st February 1972, the first anniversary of Matrimandir was celebrated. The Mother sent the Message:

“Let Auroville be the symbol of a progressive unity.

“And the best way to realise this is a unity of aspiration towards the divine perfection in work and in feeling, in a concentration of the entire life.”

In other words, The Mother took certain anniversaries seriously either because they marked an important spiritual breakthrough in the universal yoga; or an opportunity to state or restate an essential truth; or a unique opportunity for the individual or collective to make progress and rededicate themselves to their essential purpose.

Auroville is not the Ashram. It is, as Mother said, a more ‘outer’ experiment, intended to engage more fully with the outside world. In this sense, it is appropriate that plans for our 50th centenary should include celebrating our physical and artistic achievements and launching new community initiatives.

But this should not be our only, or even our main, focus. We should also use the occasion to find ways to express our gratitude to the Grace that supports this experiment and to rededicate ourselves, as fully as we can, to the great adventure that drew us here, which is nothing less than the creation of a new species, a new world.