The psychic joy derived from a selfless act

In the course of her talks with Ashram inmates, the Mother Mirra Alfassa would from time to time casually reminiscence incidents which had occurred in France.  One particular anecdote she discussed was that of a woman who had experienced a spontaneous psychic joy after an act of generosity.  Even though the woman is unnamed, given the personal details revealed, it is quite possible that this woman was the Mother herself.  Alternately, it could be her friend Alexandra David-Neel.  Irrespective of who the woman was, the incident is uplifting to read.

Sri Aurobindo’s interaction with an American soldier during World War II

One night, holed up in a trench in France during World War II, Sgt. John Kelly of the US Army (Easy Company, 276th Infantry Regiment, 70^th Infantry) began  having spectacular visions of two beings of Light whom he called ‘Great Sir’ and ‘Heaven Lady’.  Their continuing guidance through visions and voices saved him from enemy fire a few times.  After the war, John found a copy of Sri Aurobindo’s The Life Divine in a library, and then came across a photograph of the Mother Mirra Alfassa.  At this point, he realized that the two Beings who had guided him during the war were Sri Aurobindo and the Mother Mirra Alfassa.  He visited the Ashram in Pondicherry in 1966 and met the Mother.  In this article, he recounts his experiences from the war.  This article first appeared in the Spring/summer 1984 issue of the Collaboration journal.

Sri Aurobindo’s 1947 meeting with two French visitors

Towards the end of September 1947, leading Indian newspapers carried reports that Sri Aurobindo, in seclusion since 1926 had received two visitors, the first it was said since his meeting with Rabindranath Tagore 19 years earlier. These two visitors who remained with Sri Aurobindo in his room for three-quarters of an hour were M. Maurice Schumann, leading a cultural mission despatched to newly-independent India by the Government of recently-liberated France, and M. Francois Baron, then Governor of Pondicherry.  Three members of Auroville International France were privileged to meet M. Schumann in December 1988 and to interview him about his visit to Sri Aurobindo.   The text that follows is an extract translated from the account of this interview published in the Summer 1989 issue of La Revue d’Auroville. It tells us something of what happened in Sri Aurobindo’s room that day.  This article was written by Shraddhavan and has also appeared in the 1989 issue of the Mother India magazine and Summer 1990 of  the Collaboration magazine