Offerings

On the 68th Foundation Day of Sri Aurobindo Ashram (Delhi Branch), the day began with an invocation for divine Presence by Srila Basu in the Meditation Hall. While the ongoing exhibitions continue to be open to viewing, a new art exhibition was inaugurated displaying work done by Ashram youngsters in a workshop conducted by Ms. Shilpi Pratap. Themes of the art work embraced the twelve qualities incorporated in the Mother’s Symbol, and the Upanishadic tale of two birds – one eating the fruits, both sweet and bitter, and the other watching as the witness. The exhibition was a living demonstration of hidden talent and team work on one hand, and the inspiring guidance provided by Ms. Pratap.

The tradition of taking group pictures of the Ashram Community on the Foundation Day (please see page 11) afternoon was continued in the afternoon. In the evening, the Ashram community kindled lamps of aspiration at and around Sri Aurobindo’s Shrine. Subsequently, a musical offering was made by Mithu, Srila, Minati and Linthoi, interspersed with reading by Tara Didi of the message given by the Mother for foundation of the Delhi Branch of Sri Aurobindo Asrham in 1956, and also some excerpts from the history of the Ashram based on the founder Shri Surendra Nath Jauhar’s memoirs. Shri Jauhar, popularly called Chacha-ji, has humorously narrated in one of his memoirs as to how he had dreamt of living like a king in a palatial house built on the land on which the Ashram stands today. However, the dream never materialized; instead, after his momentous visit to Pondicherry, he philosophized, “This was, then, the supreme discovery of my life, the miracle of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, where I lost my heart and won the soul and the real life.”