I am with you by Kailas Jhaveri
I am with you
“I am with you” recounts the author’s close relation with the Mother, reflected in the book’s title from a personal message received by the Mother, beginning with their first meeting in 1950 following Sri Aurobindo’s Mahasamadhi up until the Mother’s passing in 1973. It provides an inside view of the teaching and work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother from a deeply devoted and dedicated sadhaka. It recounts the author’s work for the Mother in helping to establish UNESCO’s sponsorship of Auroville and various projects to promote its international status, including extended compilations made by the author for this purpose. It recounts her work with Richard on flowers and their interactions with Mother in this work. The book is replete with personal messages, correspondences, prayers and poems exchanged with the Mother, as well as their exchange of beautiful gifts. The book conveys the essential nature of a soul and life sincerely devoted to the Divine.
Book Details
Author: Kailas Jhaveri
Print Length: 348p.
Publisher: Sri Aurobindo Ashram
Book format: Pdf, ePub, Kindle
Language: English
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Sample
I am with you
Kailas’s reply to the Mother’s blessings and birthday wishes:
“Mother Divine, I am unable to express my gratitude to Thee for making my path clear in front of me. Whatever be my external work or occupation, at the centre of my heart art Thou, living and acting, guiding and inspiring. I know I am nothing without Thee. I aspire with all my being for the day when it is Thou alone who livest in me, Thy love that radiates in me, and occupies each moment of my life so that it can blossom every heart that comes near me with pure joy.
Mother Divine, I leave all my past behind and come before Thee like an empty vessel which has nothing to call its own. With joyous surrender I implore Thee to fill it with Thy Light and Love.
Grant that I may be ever more worthy of Thy Presence and Thy action be unhindered and decisive in me. With complete trust and confidence in Thy Wisdom and Love, ever Thy own.”
Finally, in 1964, Kailas travelled to Pondicherry and joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Auroville was started as a project of the Sri Aurobindo Society in 1965, and Kailas began work helping in the development of this intentional community with its aim of World Unity. She also began working with Richard Pearson on the book Flowers and Their Messages in consultation with the Mother. Her work for Auroville continued until 1974 when a rift developed between the Aurovillians and the Sri Aurobindo Society. Though she tried her best, she failed to persuade both the parties to arrive at a position of reconciliation. When the matter went to court, she left her work for Auroville as she felt that such an action was against the declared objective of Auroville which was to realize unity through progressive universal harmony. Beginning in 1983 and extending to 1995, Kailas and Richard embarked on several visits to Europe and America where they gave presentations and slide-shows on flowers and carried the teachings and Presence of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother far and wide. In 2004, the first part of Kailas’s book I am with You was published. The second and third part of the book was published in a single volume in 2008. In March 2019 Kailas had permitted Overman Foundation to reprint the first part of I am with You which had been out of print for several years. This reprint saw the light of day in August 2019. In 2020 Kailas and Richard began work of a revised edition of I am with You with all the three parts incorporated in a single volume. They worked together on this until shortly before Kailas left her body on 10 May 2021, to unite with Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, just a month before her ninety-fifth birthday. Richard continued the work of revising the book until completing it in 2024.About Author: Kailas Jhaveri
Kailas was born on 11 June 1926 in Surat (Gujarat). Kailas’s early years were spent in Mumbai. Having completed her school education, she joined the Elphinstone College to pursue her Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in Philosophy. Here she was introduced to the works of Sri Aurobindo by Dr. J. N. Chubb who was her professor and also Head of the Department of Philosophy. Upon learning of Sri Aurobindo’s passing, Kailas travelled to Pondicherry arriving on the 9th December 1950, just after Sri Aurobindo’s body had been interred in the Samadhi, but had the darshan of the Mother during this visit. After finishing her M.A. she sailed to the USA in 1954 where she began working at the UN. and later in 1960 joined the Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) as an assistant-cum-secretary to Oliver Daniel, the Director of contemporary classical music. Her work at the BMI not only enabled her to attend the best orchestras of the world but also developed her interest in western classical music. While her life in New York kept her on her toes, Kailas’s inner life too blossomed. All the time she lived, felt and thought of the Mother who was at the centre of her being. And the Mother too was with her, guiding her, protecting her and making her feel Her love for her. As the years progressed, Kailas’s inner relationship with the Mother grew closer. Along with it her aspiration to meet Her face-to-face also grew stronger. She wanted to be with the Mother and in the Ashram at Pondicherry.