Living India comes from a 24/7 experience of being pickled in the Indian culture, in the context of Auroville – the City of Dawn aspiring to live an actual human unity in diversity.
Living India, loving India – the essence of it and its countless eyes, names, faces, facets and flavours. Living it. Carrying it. Always.
Author: Anandi Zhang
Print Length: 117
Publisher: Our Home (OH), under Auroville Art Service
Book format: Pdf
Language: English
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Poems and writings by Vikas Vickers
This Collection of poems and writings was started in the 1970’s when Alan was given his name ‘Vikas’ (meaning Progress) by Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual collaborator, The Mother. He was born on 20th. November 1944, in York, England. In Auroville and amongst Aurovilians, he also differentiated himself as Vikas Vickers.
Having completed his education and practical training as an architect, Vikas went travelling in 1971, leaving the West feeling the need to seek something to give more meaning and purpose to his life. He didn’t know what he was looking for, but he did know that where and what he was, at that time, could not satisfy the deeper part of himself that wanted something more relevant to the world than an ordinary, little life. When he was on top of a truck en-route to Kathmandu, he met a 17 year-old Swedish man who embodied the maturity, calm and wisdom that made Vikas feel “I want some of that.” The young man had just come up from the former French territory of Pondicherry in the south of India. He started telling Vikas about Sri Aurobindo, about meeting The Mother and about the beginnings of Auroville. Vikas was fascinated. He immediately went there and this is where he started these writings. He also worked in the construction of The Matrimandir, the design and construction of the Amphitheatre and the design of the first EcoHouse in India.
His search has been for a vision and understanding, to use de Chardin’s phrase, of “the within of things”. To change one’s way of seeing the world it is necessary to change one’s consciousness out of ‘this earth-bound littleness’. In his case, he admits, a work still very much in progress after more than 50 years, but by following Sri Aurobindo’s ‘Integral Yoga’ he definitely feels that he is somewhere in the foothills. And he says that, rather than make a wretched battle out of the process, he has aspired to walk what The Mother called ‘the sunlit path’, which requires a surrender to the inner guide, who, one anyway discovers, has been leading us even when we thought we were doing the yoga of life.
Vikas laments the fact that England is currently somewhat Godless, although there is still a deep appreciation for philosophical poets like TS Eliot. In England there is a limited audience for the sort of spiritual seeking and vision which forms the inspiration for the kind of poetry Vikas writes. India, with its treasury of ancient spirituality and with the influence of Sri Aurobindo still recognises the value of poems about spiritual journeys. Vikas has also compiled two books of Auroville poems published by Prisma:
50 Poems from Auroville and 50 More Poems from Auroville
The writings included are thought-pieces exploring themes related to Auroville and a spirituality rooted in the aspiration for a better, truer, more beautiful life on earth.
Author: Vikas
Print Length: 53
Book format: Pdf
Language: English
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Collected Works of the Mother Volume 17
This volume contains the Mother’s correspondence with six members of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. The material covers a thirty-five year period, from 1932 to 1968. All the correspondences are presented in chronological order. Two of them were written in English; four were written wholly or partly in French and appear here in translation. Further information is given in the Note on the Texts.
Collected Works of the Mother Volume 16
This volume contains the Mother’s correspondence with fourteen persons; all but one of them were members of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. The material covers a forty-five year period, from 1927 to 1972. The earliest items are letters of the Mother to her son; the latest are brief thoughts and prayers written in a young disciple’s notebook. Each of the correspondences is presented in chronological order, with the exception of Series Six, which is arranged by theme. Two correspondences were written in English; twelve were written wholly or partly in French and appear here in translation. Further information is provided in the Note on the Texts.
Collected Works of the Mother Volume 15
This volume is divided into two parts, the first part containing writings, the second part, conversations.
Part One consists primarily of brief written statements by the Mother on various aspects of spiritual life. Written between the early 1930s and the early 1970s, the statements have been compiled from her public messages, private notes, and correspondence with disciples. About two-thirds of them were written in English; the rest were written in French and appear here in English translation. There are also a small number of spoken comments, most of them in English. Some are tape-recorded messages; others are reports by disciples that were later approved by the Mother for publication. These reports are identified by the symbol § placed at the end.
Part Two consists of thirty-two conversations not included elsewhere in the Collected Works. The first six conversations are the earliest recorded conversations of the 1950s’ period. About three-fourths of these conversations were spoken in French and appear here in English translation.
Collected Works of the Mother Volume 14
Short written statements on Yoga and life, dealing with the individual’s relationship with the Divine, the path of Yoga, qualities needed in Yoga, difficulties of spiritual life, and human relationships and work.
This volume consists primarily of brief written statements by the Mother on various aspects of spiritual life. Written between the late 1920s and the early 1970s, the statements have been compiled from her public messages, private notes, and correspondence with disciples. About two-thirds of them were written in English; the rest were written in French and appear here in English translation. The volume also contains a small number of spoken comments, most of them in English. Some are tape-recorded messages; others are reports by disciples that were later approved by the Mother for publication. These reports are identified by the symbol § placed at the end.
Collected Works of the Mother Volume 13
Short written statements on Sri Aurobindo, herself, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville, India and other nations.
This volume consists primarily of brief written statements by the Mother about Sri Aurobindo, herself, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville, India, and nations other than India. Written over a period of nearly sixty years (1914 – 1973), the statements have been compiled from her public messages, private notes, and correspondence with disciples. The majority (about sixty percent) were written in English; the rest were written in French and appear here in translation.
The volume also contains a number of conversations, most of them in the part on Auroville. All but one were spoken in French and appear here in translation. There are also several reports of comments by the Mother. These reports were noted down by disciples and later approved by her for publication. All of them were spoken in English.
The volume is arranged by theme in six parts, each part having a number of sections. Within the sections, dated pieces are placed in chronological order, undated ones where they best fit in thematically.
Readers should note that most of these statements were given to particular individuals under particular circumstances. The advice in them, therefore, may not apply to everyone.
It “dawns” on me that it is our duty to make life so interesting that all the gods and goddesses want to come and join in the play——a Life Divine, isn’t it? Otherwise, we will be taxed by the inner, eternal law.
The poems in this collection each came in their own time, and flow in the sequence of Nature, Man and God.
May we enjoy the banquet of life in all its flavours, including the hearty laughter.
Author: Anandi Zhang
Print Length: 109
Publisher: Our Home, under Auroville Art Service
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Book format: Pdf
Language: English
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The poems in this collection are inspired by interactions and connections with fellow human beings in our interwoven tapestry of life. Each describes a specific person or a life situation and reflection; and yet each seems to carry something universal as well.
It is a starter of a lifelong, longer than life endeavour – to write a poem for each and every being that I encounter and embrace.
Then hopefully life will grow like a Poetree and we can savour the Poetea:-)
Author: Anandi Zhang
Print Length: 130
Publisher: Our Home (OH), under Auroville Art Service
Book format: Pdf, ePub
Language: English
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