Friday, March 02, 2007

She is a little impatient with books. She abhors the fondness of intellectuals to discuss and debate issues endlessly

THE DELHI ASHRAM, A HOME AWAY FROM HOME Sachidananda Mohanty ’75 who is a profes­sor at the Department of English, University of Hyderabad, writes about the Delhi Ashram and Mother’s International School (MIS)
IIT Kanpur’s annual cultural festival called “Cul Fest” attracts one of the best gather­ings of students in North India. In March 1986, I found myself acting as a judge in the poetry recitation in the festival. One student made a difference to the event. Sri Aurobindo’s early poem “Who” seldom fails to inspire the au­dience. There was no exception here too. After the event, I went back stage. The participant, a girl, I learned, came from the Mother’s Interna­tional School (MIS), Delhi. I was not sur­prised. For many years, I had watched with admiration the functioning of this school as well as two others called “Meera Nursery” and “Mi­rambika,” arguably among the best insti­tutions in their cat­egory in the country.

For most of us visitors, the MIS is one of the successful units and the public face of an organization called “Sri Aurobindo Ashram Delhi branch.” There is no doubt that the real credit for the success of the Delhi experiment in new education and community living of the spiritual kind goes to the late Surendranath Jauhar, the father of Tara-di, Kake, Lata-di, and late Chhote with whom we as children grew up at Pondicherry. It is Surendranath-ji who practically single-hand­edly built up the whole institution from scratch. A chanced acquisition of a large piece of land in South Delhi came as a windfall after the Parti­tion. Today, this land shares border with some of the best-known destinations in the field of education: IIT Delhi and the NCERT are im­portant neighborhood landmarks.

I do not know in what circumstances the Mother lent the name “Sri Aurobindo Ashram Delhi branch” to this organization. Ideologi­cally and conceptually, the founders of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram did not seem to have be­lieved in the idea of a “branch.” I do not wish to speculate on this matter. I have seen the name in Mother’s own handwriting and I accept this fact as a settled one. There must have been some oc­cult reason as to why the Mother made an exception in the case of the Delhi experi­ment. Significantly, over the years, this Ashram has played a pivotal and pioneer­ing role in promot­ing quality education at the national level. It has been host to a number of seminars, workshops and con­ferences on future education. It has organized youth camps for education, physical culture and national integration in Delhi, Nainital and elsewhere in the country. It has financially sup­ported the education of those who come from the weaker section of the society.

Tara-di’s approach to the empowerment of the young is sound and is based on scientific and spiritual principles. Language plays an impor­tant role in personality development and confi­dence building. Therefore a great deal of stress is given at the Delhi Ashram to all newcomers, spe­cially Vocational Trainees (V.T.s) coming from a regional background to a quick acquisition of Hindi and English. All students under this scheme are given equal opportunities in learning. They are provided with basic needs that include comfortable accommodation, wholesome nutri­tious food, medical facilities and other ameni­ties. All free of cost. They can join classes in mu­sic and performing arts in the evening. The most noteworthy aspect is that education here is de-linked from commercialization. The money required for such ventures is raised with the help of government and private sector sup­port.

All organizers have their own ap­proach and their own view. Tara-di is basically a person of action. She does not think much of intellectual­ity per se. She is a little impatient with books. She abhors procrastination or delays arising out of the fondness of intellectuals to discuss and debate issues endlessly. What has to be stressed however is that Tara-di is tolerant and accom­modative by nature. She likes to decentralize things while keeping a firm control over men and matters. Perhaps, this is how all good orga­nizations are run. The presence of a leader who has a vision and ability to inspire the communi­ty is absolutely essential for all group function­ing. The Delhi Ashram is no exception.

The MIS is clearly one of the best wings of the Delhi Ashram. It carries out innovative pro­grams in all parts of integral education: physi­cal, mental, vital, psychic and spiritual — com­mensurate with the needs of students, staff and parents who belong essentially to the “outside” world. The system at the MIS has, over the years, found acceptance and appreciation among par­ents, teachers and educationists. The Outlook magazine in a recent survey judged the MIS as the best school in its category in Delhi. Simi­larly, the school has attracted celebrities and outstanding visi­tors due to its well earned reputation in the field.

Today, the vision of the founder of the Delhi experiment is being carried out by Tara-di, Anil Jauhar and others. Surendranath-ji was guided at every step by the Mother. The place is blessed by Her, and that more than anything else, might account for the suc­cess of the experiment. I regard the Delhi Ashram as an oasis in the commercial and bureaucratic heartland of the national capital. The Ashram with its sprawl­ing green campus sits amidst a city dedicated to money making, power and hedonism. Here visitors find love, care and a welcome abode at a price incredibly low. Many of us have been ben­eficiaries of this wonderful place. We can there­fore do no better than to wish and pray for its continued success and growth. May this abode continue to remain a beacon to the new world. FEBRUARY 2006 The Golden Chain

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