The Arrival of Sri Aurobindo's Relics

by S.N.Jauhar

The great thing that the Mother told me

Through the pages of the 'Basant', I wish to share with my colleagues and other friends the greatest joy of my life that I have had recently. The house built on the Mehrauli Road in the year 1939-40 has stood there too conspicuously to have escaped the notice of anybody who has happened to go towards the Qutub Minar. My colleagues and friends have also known that the same had been offered to the Mother and named as "Sri Aurobindo Niketan".

Lately I had turned to the premises with a keen desire to develop them. Hence on the 15th August, 1955 - Sri Aurobindo's Birth Day - I commenced work on a number of small projects including compound wall, electrically operated automatic tube-well, sanitary and water installations in about a dozen latrines and bathrooms, and sewage lines throughout, with a septic tank for 100 persons, all of which have been happily completed. Electricity and power for the premises were obtained and the land was turned into a number of grass lawns and beautiful flower-beds, as well as into playfields. This quick growth astonished me and my heart was filled with hope. Many more ideas of further developments occurred to me and I reached the Ashram last December with a head and heart full of ideas and hopes.

I obtained an interview with the Mother and sought to present to Her how things had progressed at the Niketan House, and asked for a constitution for the Sri Aurobindo Niketan, to regulate its further growth. The Mother answered me graciously, "There is no need for a special constitution; it will be 'Sri Aurobindo Ashram Delhi Branch' and it will be a part of the Ashram here".

I can hardly describe the state of my mind when I heard these words. And further when She also agreed to have a Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo here too (a monument with relics), you can well imagine my happiness and wonder. She also agreed to our developing an educational institution and then, after deep consideration, fixed 12th February, 1956 as the day of inauguration of the Delhi Branch. This is the good news I bring to you.

This will not be merely a Centre as many others, working under the inspiration of the Ashram, but a part, a limb of the Ashram at Pondicherry, under the Mother's direct contact and guidance and Presence. Obviously, the decision to open a direct Branch of the great and unique Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, was a new departure in the history of the spiritual work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

I returned from the interview with a joy altogether overwhelming. What a fulfilment for me! What an opportunity for Delhi and India as a whole! I was happy beyond measure. A Branch of Sri Aurobindo Ashram means an extension of the atmosphere and the power of the Ashram of Pondicherry. That amounts to a physical availability of the influence of the Ashram in Delhi. What a privilege!

I have been full of these thoughts and feelings ever since I have had the opportunity of that great interview with the Mother. And I can have nothing better to share with my colleagues and friends, and I do this on the auspicious occasion of Basant, the happiest season of the year.

May we all, ever more widely and deeply, open ourselves to the influence and the power, that has become available to us in and through Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch, and seek more confidently the true joy and fulfilment of life.

Enshrinement of the Relics of Sri Aurobindo

The day was Wednesday, the date the 4th December 1956 and the place the Safdarjung Airport. The dazzling sun from the clear, cloudless sky had bathed the whole airport in its rays, thus dispelling the chill of December and making the afternoon bright and pleasantly warm. A crowd of quite a few hundred eager men, women and children stood just behind the railings, their eyes lifted towards the heavens keenly waiting for the descent.

Crowds at the Capital's airport these days are almost the order of the day. But the atmosphere at the airport on this day was distinctly unusual. There was no jostling of the crowds, shouting of slogans or stampede and garlanding. There were instead serenity and devotion writ large on the faces, investing the atmosphere with dignity and reverence. The crowd manifested clearly the cosmopolitan character of the Capital. Those present included leading politicians, parlimentarans, teachers, students, businessmen, journalists, and press photographers. A sprinklings of foreigners and saffron-robed Buddhist monks and swamis had made the scene not only a representative one but also quite colourful.

The Advent

At about ten past four there was a stir in the crowd and in a few minutes a giant Viscount of the IAC was wheeling on the metalled airstrip, a few hundred feet from the railings on which rested a thousand hands of the waiting devotees. A minute later the exit door of the plane opened vertically and we saw the lean and serene figure of Dr. Indra Sen carrying a small leather box, placed on a blue velvet cloth which lay on his outstreched hands, followed by the modestly smiling Anil K.Jauhar who was acting as an escort.

As Dr.Indra Sen began to alight on the steps, a small group of people, consisting amongst others, of Dr.C.D. Deshmukh, Shri Surendra Mohan Ghosh, Shri Haribhau Upadhyay, Kaka Saheb Kelkar, Shri Himangshu Neyogi and Shri Keshav Dev Poddar and myself and flanked on the two sides by a boy and a girl carrying Sri Aurobindo's and the Mother's flags respectively, came forward to accord reception. Heralded by the sweet, continuous melody of the conches and under the glare of the wirring movie cameras and exploding flash bulbs, the small group slowly headed towards the waiting van containing the palki.

Those gathered at the airport had now occupied every vantage position on the small route leading to the waiting van. Students of the Delhi Ashram School and the Modern School stood in formation on the two sides of the route and as the core of the procession passed, they showered rose petals. When Dr.Indra Sen reached the van containing the palki, the crowd pressed forward for a fleeting glimpse of the box in which lay the relics. He then placed the relics box in the small silver palki which rested on a raised wooden platform fixed in the rare open part of the van. Dr.Indra Sen and myself sat in the van facing the palki.

The Procession

Piloted by a motor-cyclist and a jeep, which carried Sri Aurobindo's flags, the relics started the journey to the Ashram in a procession made up of a score of cars and some trucks which were packed with the devotees and school children. It was about 5 p.m.when the procession reached the Ashram where a number of persons were waiting for the reception of the the relics. Dr.Indra Sen took the relics inside the Ashram and kept them on a decorated table in the Meditation Hall the air of which was thick with sweet fragrance of incense. The Hall was crowded immediately and the devotees started filing past the relics while many more waited outside in a long queue.

At about 5.10 pm the meeting scheduled for the occasion commenced its deliberations in the long and decorated front lawn of the Ashram with a few minutes' meditation. Among those who briefly addressed the congregation were Shri Jay Smith, Shri Haribhau Upadhyay and Dr.Indra Sen. The meeting concluded with a devotional song by Mr.Ramesh Kapur. Long after the termination of the meeting, a number of people remained behind in the Ashram, most of them seated in the Meditation Hall, wondering at the marvel and drawing upon the Divine Presence.

The Meditation Hall,wherein the relics lay prior to enshrinement was the scene of constant meditation by the aspirants whose prayers mingled with the sweet fragrance of flowers and incense to create a deeply devotional atmosphere. Men and women, deeply touched by the serenity and solemnity of the occasion, peered at the casket containing the relics, marvelling at their power and force which had so highly surcharged the atmosphere with divinity.

The Second Day

The advent of the relics in the Capital, the touching reception accorded to them at the airport the previous day and its wide coverage by the Press and the AIR had, one might say, made the Delhi air breath the name of Sri Aurobindo. Thus, defying the chilly breeze on the December morning; the devotees had started trickling into the Ashram since early hours. A number of sadhaks came from different parts of the country - Calcutta, Bombay, Ahmedabad, Assam, Panna, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, etc - many of whom stayed in the Ashram.

By about 9 am. when the function was scheduled to begin, the front lawn of the Ashram, which was the venue, was fully packed with devotees. People came to pay homage to the Master despite the distance, the overcast sky which actually broke into a drizzle twice or thrice and the fact that it was a working day. Clouds and the sun competed with each other to offer their shraddhanjali, thus investing the atmosphere with enchanting and dramatic colour and beauty. Gods also did not lag behind and they sent the rainbow as their colorful offering.

On a specially erected four feet high dais, about twenty feet from the Shrine, sat Dr.C.D. Deshmukh, Kaka Sahib Kelkar, Shri Haribhauji, Dr.Indra Sen, Shri Yashpal Jain and Shri Hansraj Gupta and myself. The audience included Shri K.C.Reddy,Shri Kesi Neogi, Shri Surendra Mohan Ghosh, MP, Shri K.C.Poddar, Shri Himangshu Neogi and others. On the right side of the platform was the Press enclosure with a contingent of correspondents representing the Delhi Press besides the ace commentator of the AIR, Melville de Mello.

It was in these settings that the function started at 9 am.sharp with a sweet rendering of Sarod by one of India's top musicians, Shri Nandlal Ghosh. The music ushered in deep meditation for about 10 minutes. Shri Yash Pal Jain then read out the messages of President, Dr.Rajendra Prasad, Vice-President Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, the Congress President Shri U.N.Dhebar and others. The Chairman of the Sri Aurobindo Samadhi Working Committee, Shri Haribhau Upadhyay then read out a brief welcome address and requested Dr.C.D. Deshmukh to enshrine the relics.

The Enshrinement

The relics were now brought out from the Meditation Hall in a small procession led by a boy and a girl carrying Sri Aurobindo's and the Mother's flags. The procession entered the gaily decorated lawn in which lies the grey marble Shrine around which sadhaks had woven beautiful patterns of multi-coloured flowers which formed symbols alternately of Shri Aurobindo and the Mother. I lifted the red marble lotus bud and Dr.Deshmukh, his head bowed and hands carrying the casket, advanced and placed the relics in the marble bowl on the top of the cube. The marble lotus bud was now put back into its place - over the casket containing the relics - and thus ended the brief, simple and dignified Enshrinement Ceremony.

The resumed proceedings of the meeting began with Dr.Deshmukh's address, alternating in English and Hindi. The address was scholarly, analytical and eloquent. He made a great impact which was further enhanced by the quite dignity, modesty and humility of his person. Dr.Deshmukh was followed by Kaka Sahib Kalelker. It was well past noon when Dr.Indra Sen, whose countenance glowed with deep gratification, rose to speak on the significance of the occasion and the Shrine.

Towards the close of the function with Shri Dhebarbhai arrived and straightaway went to the Shrine where he placed flowers as a token of his shraddhanjali. In a brief address, I said that all those who had been associated with the enshrinement ceremony, in one or the other capacity, were indeed privileged and blessed, and doubly blessed were those fortunate souls to whom it was given to discover the twin prophets of the age. The proceedings were formally concluded with the Bande Mataram rendered by a group of girls.

The New Era

And thus came to an end a ceremony which has, so to say, ushered a new era into Delhi. The establishment of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Delhi Branch earlier and now the presence of the Master's relics in New Delhi have made a momentous contribution towards filling an important void, a near vacuum of spirituality, in the life of the rapidly growing and internationally important metropolis of India. That the Shrine of Sri Aurobindo should rise in an area dotted by the ruins of great kings and kingdoms is symbolic of the perpetual triumph of the spirit over matter. Shri Aurobindo's Shrine is not simply another historical monument amongst the cluster of ancient monuments. It is no monument to a king or a worldly kingdom but to the immortal, ever-inspiring and ever-elevating soul, immune to the ravages and vagaries of time and space.