Homage to Sri Aurobindo - Part- II
Published: 3 years ago
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In Search of The Mother
An exhibition on Sri Aurobindo was put up in August in the Exhibition Hall of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. The Mother gave it the name ' Homage to Sri Aurobindo'.
"There is a history behind this. It happened sometime in the third or fourth week of March 1972. As I was waiting in the Teachers room of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education for the first bell to ring, Sisir Kumar Mitra who was the Headmaster showed me a pamphlet depicting an exhibition on Sri Aurobindo that was put up in Delhi by the Government of India. After that he began to rebuke me saying that while the Government was doing something for the centenary of Sri Aurobindo, we are doing nothing here. I replied to him that since he was the Headmaster, it was for him to take the initiative and that we could not do anything on our own. Immediately after the morning music was over, he stormed into the room of the Registrar, Kireet Joshi. I knew nothing of what transpired between them. However the next day Kireetbhai called me and said that I was to put up and exhibition on Sri Aurobindo. Sisirda had suggested my name to The Mother and Mother had warmly approved of it.
I was taken totally by surprise and felt very nervous whether I would be able to do it well; for after all it was on Sri Aurobindo and nothing short of perfection was acceptable. However, I decided to accept the challenge and wrote to Mother expressing my apprehensions and praying for her help. I also requested her to give me a theme for the Exhibition. She sent me a reply immediately giving me her blessings and wrote down three words as the theme. These words were: "Respect, Sincerite, Adoration."
I felt comforted but I was still not at all sure and confident of putting up the exhibition. The next few days were spent contacting many of the senior sadhaks of the Ashram seeking their advice on how to go about the situation. No one gave me a truly satisfactory reply. Finally I went to Satprem and recounted to him the whole background and the theme that The Mother had given me. He sat quietly for a few moments looking at me and gave me a strong rebuke. He said, "Are you not aware that Sri Aurobindo is there with you. I can see his face behind your head and he is helping you. Mother too has given you the theme and her help and Grace are with you and yet you are going and asking people for help. Stop all this and concentrate on Mother and Sri Aurobindo and you will get all that is needed." This rebuke brought me back to my senses and from that moment, most remarkably and palpably; I got all the help needed for the work. Everything worked out beautifully, the right people came, support came from unexpected quarters and everything worked out wonderfully.
Nolinida along with Andreda, Sisirda and Kireetbhai opened the exhibition on 12th August; it was a great success. The exhibition was to be kept open till the evening of 20th August. Many persons, deeply touched by the exhibition wanted an extension. When the question was referred to The Mother, She refused to extend it even by a minute. She said that a special concentrated force and presence of Sri Aurobindo had manifested during that period and she did not want to continue it further.
This in brief is the background of the exhibition "Homage to Sri Aurobindo."
- Kittu Reddy
About the Compiler of the Exhibition:
Prof. Kittu Reddy was born in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh on 1st July 1936. At the young age of five in 1941 he was taken to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, by his father Narayan Reddy,an eminent member of the Swaraj party formed by C.R. Das. He has lived there ever since. Show more
"There is a history behind this. It happened sometime in the third or fourth week of March 1972. As I was waiting in the Teachers room of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education for the first bell to ring, Sisir Kumar Mitra who was the Headmaster showed me a pamphlet depicting an exhibition on Sri Aurobindo that was put up in Delhi by the Government of India. After that he began to rebuke me saying that while the Government was doing something for the centenary of Sri Aurobindo, we are doing nothing here. I replied to him that since he was the Headmaster, it was for him to take the initiative and that we could not do anything on our own. Immediately after the morning music was over, he stormed into the room of the Registrar, Kireet Joshi. I knew nothing of what transpired between them. However the next day Kireetbhai called me and said that I was to put up and exhibition on Sri Aurobindo. Sisirda had suggested my name to The Mother and Mother had warmly approved of it.
I was taken totally by surprise and felt very nervous whether I would be able to do it well; for after all it was on Sri Aurobindo and nothing short of perfection was acceptable. However, I decided to accept the challenge and wrote to Mother expressing my apprehensions and praying for her help. I also requested her to give me a theme for the Exhibition. She sent me a reply immediately giving me her blessings and wrote down three words as the theme. These words were: "Respect, Sincerite, Adoration."
I felt comforted but I was still not at all sure and confident of putting up the exhibition. The next few days were spent contacting many of the senior sadhaks of the Ashram seeking their advice on how to go about the situation. No one gave me a truly satisfactory reply. Finally I went to Satprem and recounted to him the whole background and the theme that The Mother had given me. He sat quietly for a few moments looking at me and gave me a strong rebuke. He said, "Are you not aware that Sri Aurobindo is there with you. I can see his face behind your head and he is helping you. Mother too has given you the theme and her help and Grace are with you and yet you are going and asking people for help. Stop all this and concentrate on Mother and Sri Aurobindo and you will get all that is needed." This rebuke brought me back to my senses and from that moment, most remarkably and palpably; I got all the help needed for the work. Everything worked out beautifully, the right people came, support came from unexpected quarters and everything worked out wonderfully.
Nolinida along with Andreda, Sisirda and Kireetbhai opened the exhibition on 12th August; it was a great success. The exhibition was to be kept open till the evening of 20th August. Many persons, deeply touched by the exhibition wanted an extension. When the question was referred to The Mother, She refused to extend it even by a minute. She said that a special concentrated force and presence of Sri Aurobindo had manifested during that period and she did not want to continue it further.
This in brief is the background of the exhibition "Homage to Sri Aurobindo."
- Kittu Reddy
About the Compiler of the Exhibition:
Prof. Kittu Reddy was born in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh on 1st July 1936. At the young age of five in 1941 he was taken to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, by his father Narayan Reddy,an eminent member of the Swaraj party formed by C.R. Das. He has lived there ever since. Show more
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