21 February 1878

Dr R Neerunjun Gopee Mauritius Times Friday 17 February 2006 Home

It is no coincidence that Mirra Richard became the foremost disciple of Sri Aurobindo and continued his work after the latter attained mahasmadhi on December 5, 1950. She was born Mirra Alfassa on 21 February 1878 in Paris, of an Egyptian mother and a Turkish father. She had a very cultured upbringing both in her childhood and later when she joined the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, being ground in music – especially the piano – philosophy, political and social systems, etc. What is remarkable, however, is that from her childhood she started having spontaneous experiences “including those of coming out of her body to discover inner realities without understanding what they really meant.”

In 1904, she had a series of visions: “I knew nothing of India, mind you, nothing. In several of these visions I saw Sri Aurobindo just as he looked physically, but glorified; that is, the same man I would see on my first visit… I prostrated before him in the Hindu manner. All this without any comprehension... But my impression was that it (the vision) was premonitory.”

In the light of these visions, it becomes clear that Mother was destined, as it were, to become the foremost disciple of Sri Aurobindo and the person to transmit his legacy until she herself passed on in November 1973. However, the good work goes on at Auroville which she founded at Pondicherry. The anniversary of her birthday on Tuesday next is a blessed opportunity for us to reflect upon the deeper meanings and karmic links of life, illustrated by her own passage on planet Earth -- from the beginning almost a spiritual journey.

It took a perfect stranger born and brought up in a foreign land and an alien culture to the feet of her master, whom she had recognized in planes of consciousness years before she actually came face to face with him. Indeed, come to think of it, were they indeed strangers to each other? Sri Aurobindo did say that other than his own, the language and culture he felt closest to was French, although he had never been to France. All this may appear very odd and inexplicable to us. But happily this is not so – Sri Aurobindo’s and Mother’s experiences and visions of planes accessible through Integral Yoga provide the intuitive rationale that underlies their connectivity. If we search, we will surely find also.