Ashram

Sri Aurobindo Ashram
The Story of the Main Building

Sri Aurobindo Ashram
The Story of the Main Building
First edition 2008
Rs 550
ISBN 978-81-7058-892-4
© Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust 2008
Published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department,
Pondicherry 605 002
Web http://www.sabda.in
Printed at:
Sudarshan Graphics
27 Neelakanta Mehta Street, T. Nagar, Chennai 600 017
PRINTED IN INDIA
Front cover painting by Jayantilal Parekh, 1939

Back cover painting by Krishnalal Bhatt, 1948
V
Preface
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother stayed for over half a century in a block House on 7 February 1927 after carrying out minimum repairs and
of four houses that came to be known as the Ashram main building at before paying the second instalment due in July of the same year.
Pondicherry. It was the centre of life in the Ashram when they were At first, the four houses were internally connected through
physically present and will remain so even in their physical absence. small doors and passages. For example, an extra door was added to
Hundreds of people go inside daily to breathe the serene atmosphere Sri Aurobindo’s bathroom connecting it to the terrace of the Secretariat,
and come out spiritually charged. On special occasions, long queues and Sri Aurobindo’s lunch was carried daily through this door at noon
are formed and visitors wait patiently to get a glimpse of their rooms. by the Mother and Pavitra. Similarly, a short link-staircase was built
The building has become a means of contact with their subtle-physical for the Mother to access the Library House from the courtyard of
presence. It is this reverence for the House of the Lord that has inspired the Secretariat, so that she could meet the sadhaks in the Stores after
this book on the Ashram main building. her afternoon drives to the countryside. Late in the evening, after
There were no grand beginnings, no great plans of action and not distri-buting soup to the disciples, she came back to the Meditation
much money either when Sri Aurobindo and the Mother moved from House through doorways cut in the Rosary House compound wall,
41 Rue François Martin to 9 Rue de la Marine on 25 October 1922. The one of which looked like a small tunnel, and Dara, a Muslim disciple,
Mother kept an account of the sundry expenses incurred on that day. preceded the Mother with a lantern in his hand. It is this blend of the
The rent was fixed at a hundred rupees a month and the owner charged material and the spiritual that makes early Ashram history so fascina-
them Rs 20 for the last six days of October. The property later came ting a study.
to be known as the Library House (because of a library on its ground The decision to rebuild the Secretariat came after a few unsuccessful
floor) – this is the house that you first see as you enter the main gate attempts to repair the dilapidated old building. Both the Secretariat and
of the Ashram main building. After a few years, two adjacent houses – the Library House were purchased in March-April 1929. Construction
7 Rue de la Marine and 8 Rue Saint Gilles – were taken on rent for the work began around August of the same year and, by April 1932,
disciples. These came to be known respectively as the Rosary House the “New Secretariat” was ready. It provided the Mother with much
(because of the rose-pots kept on its terrace) and the Secretariat where needed additional space to work and rest – the Green Room and Salon.
Pavitra, a French engineer and secretary to the Mother, resided on the Pavitra too had an office and room on the first floor with a balcony
first floor. Finally, the house at 28 Rue François Martin, later known attached to it, which the Mother later used for the Balcony Darshan.
as the Meditation House because of the two halls used for collective A workshop with a car-repair section and a garage were built on the
meditation, was rented in December 1926 and almost immediately ground floor. Work proceeded in the backyard of the Library House.
purchased. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother moved to the Meditation The Prosperity block and the ground floor rooms on the west (which
VI
now form the Cold Storage wing) were built by 1935, integrating the Stores on the first floor of the Library House witnessed lighter moments
new structures with the old buildings. The Ashram main building was when she conducted lotteries and simple games of skill for the first
now transformed into one large, well-connected mansion with several generation of sadhaks. Around the same time, she gave symbolic names
spacious courtyards. There was no further major construction except to the rooms in the Ashram main building according to their functions
for the building of additional rooms on existing terraces, including the or the sadhaks who occupied them. For example, Nolini’s and Amrita’s
Mother’s own rooms on the second floor of the Meditation House. rooms were named respectively “Pure Mind” and “Vital Immortality”.
This early phase of construction gave a certain administrative unity Sri Aurobindo’s room was named “Supreme Manifestation upon
to the Ashram, and the main building literally became a secretariat Earth”. The Darshan Room was “Divine Consciousness” and the soup
of the Mother. Many of the disciples who stayed in it served as the hall “Divine Communion”. Amusingly, the room where newspapers
principal secretaries of the Mother and played an important role in the were kept was called “Falsehood”.
small but well-organised life of the Ashram. Nolini, Amrita and Purani Finally, it is interesting to note the connection between Sri Aurobindo
resided on the ground floor of the Meditation House. Chandulal and and the Mother’s sadhana and the history of the Ashram main build-
Dyuman, heads of the Building Service and Dining Room respectively, ing. Sri Aurobindo wrote to Rajani Palit in 1936, “The change to this
moved to their new rooms on the ground floor of the New Secretariat. house [Meditation House from the Library House] marked the change
Purushottam, the disciple in charge of the Prosperity department, went in the sadhana on the vital to the sadhana on the physical level.” The
to his newly-built block, and Anilbaran, Champaklal and Rajangam, change of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s residence coincided with
the doctor, continued to stay in the Library House. The other Ashram their rejection of the Overmind creation after the Siddhi Day. A
services within the same premises were the Building Service, the “brilliant creation” with “marvellous experiences” and “all kinds of
Dispensary, the Dining Room and Kitchen (up to January 1934), manifestations which are considered miraculous” had become pos-
the Accounts Office, the Reading Room and Library, and Pavitra’s sible after the descent of the Overmind on 24 November 1926. But
workshop for repairing cars (Atelier), which also did electrical and Sri Aurobindo renounced it in order to prepare the physical conscious-
plumbing works. These departments were of course in their early form- ness for the descent of the Supermind. Nolini Kanta Gupta writes
ative stages and did not require much space. Most of them were later how this drastically affected the sadhana of the disciples. When the
shifted to separate buildings when the Ashram expanded in the forties and Mother dissolved this “brilliant creation”, “the Gods withdrew” and the
fifties. sadhaks “came down with a thud upon earth”. They had to “come to the
The most important part of life at the Ashram was the daily contact lower levels and work for the purification there, in order to raise them
of the disciples with the Mother in the Ashram main building. Daily beyond themselves by the infusion of the higher consciousness”. It is this
group meditations were held by the Mother in the two halls upstairs descent of the sadhana to the physical level that Sri Aurobindo refers to
and downstairs (during different periods) of the Meditation House. For in his letter to Rajani Palit with regard to the change of their residence
a short while, the room later occupied by Bula (head of the Electricity from the Library House to the Meditation House on 7 February 1927.
Service) was the venue of her morning pranam. Soup was distributed by Similarly, the construction of additional facilities for the Mother on
her in the evening to the disciples in the present Reception Room. The the second floor of the Meditation House began around the same time
VII
she went through a critical phase of her sadhana and life. In March-April therefore noted down in this book every structural change, major
1962, the Mother suffered a series of heart attacks that led to a perilous and minor, since the time Sri Aurobindo and the Mother moved in.
condition in which her “body was cut off from the vital and the mind Detailed drawings, explanatory graphics and old photographs have
and left to its own means”. She described it as “a sort of death”, and she been interspersed with textual documents and notes to provide a
“could have died, had the Lord willed it”. But then “the cells woke up picture of the building as it was at various stages, especially during the
to a new receptivity and opened directly to the divine Influence” and early period. The book leans preponderantly on the physical aspect, the
“there was the direct contact” of the body with the supramental power building itself, and we could barely touch the other interesting aspects
without the intermediacy of the vital and mind. On 13 April 1962, this of Ashram history, such as the collective activities of the Mother or
state culminated in her experience of the Supreme Love manifesting the growth of the departments under her guidance. We have only set
through “big pulsations”, each pulsation “bringing the world further the stage, or rather, built the external foundation of the history of
in its manifestation”. She recounted this experience time and again in Sri Aurobindo Ashram. It is now for others to delve deeper and tell us
later conversations as a major landmark in her sadhana. It was during the rest of the story.
this time that a bathroom was immediately constructed on the second Editor
floor, so that she did not have to come down to the first floor to take
her bath. Until then, her room on the second floor (which we now call
the Mother’s room and visit on Darshan days) had no attached bath!
Soon, another room for her organ (later known as the Music Room or
her Reception Room) was added to her second floor apartment, with a
balcony facing east. The Mother’s daily routine considerably changed
after the completion of her second floor apartment in 1962. When
she recovered from her illness, she did not go out anymore to attend
special functions in the School or Playground or other departments
of the Ashram. The daily early morning Balcony Darshan from the
first floor balcony overlooking Rue Saint Gilles was never resumed.
The venue of the general Darshan on the four Darshan days was
shifted from the Meditation Hall to the new balcony facing east and
overlooking Rue François Martin. Ashramites, school children and
visitors went upstairs to meet her individually as she restricted herself
to the second floor apartment for the last eleven years of her yoga of
physical transformation.
The Ashram main building thus acquires a far greater significance
than the mere brick and mortar structure that it outwardly is. We have
VIII
Note on captions used in this book
The captions used in this book to describe old photographs and drawings
do not sometimes relate to the actual date of the illustrations. For example,
“M.P. Pandit’s office” has been indicated in a photograph dated 1922-1929
on page 43, even though he had not come to the Ashram during that
period. Two reasons have led to the use of these anachronistic labels. One,
the sheer convenience of identifying that part of the Ashram building
with what most Ashramites and regular visitors are familiar with in the
present year of publication, which is 2008. Two, very little is known about
that room except that it was once occupied by Doraiswamy Iyer. At the
same time, I have avoided mentioning the present status as far as possible,
unless it has sufficient historical association. With the exception of such
cases, the captions correspond in time to the date of the illustration.
Wherever they do not, the dates to which the captions actually correspond
have been given in parentheses. Taking the example above, the room
occupied by M.P. Pandit in the photograph on page 43 dated 1922-1929
has been captioned “M.P. Pandit’s office (1993)” because he last occupied
it in 1993. However, the captions marked by the present year 2008 have
to be taken in the sense of “as last observed in 2008” rather than until the
end of that year.
IX
Contents
Preface V
1. The Four Houses 1
2. Earliest Plans and Photographs 27
3. Perspectives and Elevations 49
4. Photographs of Early Construction 1929-1958 67
5. The Story of the Samadhi 95
6. The Mother’s Rooms on the Second Floor 119
7. Symbolic Names 155
8. References to Texts 175
9. Indexes 177
The Four Houses
2 The Story of the Main Building
The Ashram Main Building
By “Ashram” is meant the building in which the Mother and Sri Aurobindo
lived. This building consisted of four small and big houses. They were at
first separate; when the Ashram was formed they were one by one bought
and, after they had been broken, repaired, their parts joined here and there
or doors made, they were welded into one large building. These houses
occupying the four corners in a rectangular fashion were constituted into
one whole structure, which we call the Ashram. More correctly, it is the
main building of the Ashram.
When one enters here through the main gate, the two-storey building
that first catches the eye, was the origin of what we call the Sri Aurobindo
Ashram. In 1922 Sri Aurobindo and the Mother came to this house with
some disciples. The Mother founded the Ashram while living in this house.
Sri Aurobindo used to live on the first floor in the south-east part. On
24th November 1926, he attained the Realisation known as the Descent
of the Overmind and, leaving the entire charge to the Mother, he retired
from that day into seclusion “obviously to work things out” as he wrote
to Nirodbaran.
Sahana Devi 1
The Four Houses 3
View from south-east 1949

The Ashram main building measures approximately 60 metres long from

east to west, and 45 metres wide from north to south with many open
courtyards within it. The main entrance is from the road to the south,
Rue de la Marine (School side). To the west is Rue Manakula Vinayagar
Koil, earlier called Rue d’Orléans (Atelier side). To the north is Rue Saint
Gilles (Balcony side). To the east is Rue François Martin (Dispensary side).
Although it is now difficult to believe, there were originally four separate
houses in this block. Compound walls separated them from each other.
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother first took the four houses on rent and later
purchased them one after another. To permit internal access from one
house to another, the inner compound walls and small outhouses were
demolished. The main courtyard of the Ashram as it is at present became
possible only after demolishing an entire house on the north side called
the Secretariat (also called Pavitra’s old building).
Ramakant Navelkar 2
The Four Houses 5
The four houses that constitute the Ashram Main Building are the Library
House, Rosary House, Meditation House and the Secretariat. The main
entrance of the Ashram building on Rue de la Marine is actually from
the main gate of the Library House, which extends all the way up to Rue
Saint Gilles to the north. The house got its name from the library that
was previously there in the present Ashram Reading Room. The main gate
of the Rosary House also opens on Rue de la Marine and faces the north
gate of the Ashram School. The house was named after the roses that were
grown on its terraces in the early days. The main gate of the Meditation
House opens on Rue François Martin to the east and is opposite the Ashram
Dispensary. This is the house where Sri Aurobindo and the Mother lived
from 1927 onwards. The name seems to have been derived from the two
Meditation Halls in this house (one upstairs and the other downstairs),
where the Mother held collective meditations for the sadhaks of the Ashram
between 1927 and 1938. The big gate of the garage where the Mother’s car
is kept and the small door east of it opening on Rue Saint Gilles are both
within the Secretariat. The main gate of the original house before it was
entirely demolished and rebuilt, stood a few metres further to the east of
the above-mentioned door. The four houses were so well integrated into a
single interconnected structure that it is difficult now to distinguish them.
However, the demarcations can be noticed with a little careful observation
of the design and level of windows and cornices.
Editor’s Note
The Library House

9 Rue de la Marine
A great change was impending all unknown to us. The first seed of Sri Aurobindo paid Rs. 300 on 18 May 1922 as advance to Abdoul Aziz
the future Ashram was going to be sown. One day I casually heard Khan, the previous owner of the Library House, on the condition that a
that a fine house was to be had in Rue de la Marine for rent situated list of ten repairs would be carried out to the house. The monthly rent was
very near our own. It belonged to a Mahomedan official of the French fi xed at Rs 100, which was very high for Pondicherry in those days. “Three
Govt and at that time it was tenanted by a mistress of a brother of a to four months” elapsed before the old tenant could be ejected and the
certain Raja in Madras Presidency. The landlord wanted to get rid of necessary repairs done. Sixty more rupees were paid for the installation
her. I casually consulted Sri Aurobindo about taking the house on rent.... of a new water pipe, after which Abdoul Aziz Khan finally informed
Sri Aurobindo took me apart a day or two later and told me that this Sri Aurobindo that he could “occupy the building on Wednesday next,
new house must be taken soon as it meant much to our Yoga. They had 25 October 1922”. The first rental receipt of Rs. 20 for the last six days
seen that the new house was very auspicious and it was destined to play of October 1922 confirms that Sri Aurobindo and the Mother did move
a great part in our spiritual activities in future. in on that day.
I went to the owner and he demanded Rs. 100 as rent – an unusually Editor’s Note
big sum in Pondicherry. Sri Aurobindo said money did not count as
it was essential that we had the house soon. So a suit of ejection was
started and it took three to four months to get the house vacant for our
inspection.
Circa 18 May 1922 Barin Ghose 3
The Four Houses 7
Note from the landlord to Sri Aurobindo English Translation

Monsieur Aurobindo Ghose Mr. Aurobindo Ghose
Pondichéry, le 22 Octobre 1922 Pondicherry, the 22nd of October 1922
Monsieur, Sir,
Comme il reste encore quelques petites réparations à faire dans la As there are still a few minor repairs to be done in the house, I have
maison j’ai l’honneur de vous faire connaître que vous pouvez prendre the honour of informing you that you can occupy the building on
possession de l’immeuble le mercredi prochain, 25 Octobre 1922. Wednesday next, 25 October 1922.
Veuillez agréer, Monsieur, l’hommage de mes sentiments respectueux. Sir, please accept the homage of my respectful sentiments.
Abdoul Aziz Khan 4 Abdoul Aziz Khan 4
Earliest Rental Receipt

Reçu de M. Aurobindo Ghose la somme de vingt (20) roupies, loyer Received from Mr. Aurobindo Ghose the sum of rupees twenty (20)
échu du 25 au dernier octobre 1922, soit pour 6 jours. towards rent for six days from the 25th to the end of October 1922.
Pondichéry, le 16 Novembre 1922 Abdoul Aziz Khan 5 Pondicherry, 16 November 1922 Abdoul Aziz Khan 5
The Library House
View from south 1922-1929

The Four Houses 9
The Library House
View from south 2007

The Mother’s Account of Expenses

for moving to the Library House 7
Description of the Library House
Rupees Annas
It had a big gate with a canopy of creepers and an imposing and attrac-
tive frontage. On entering, first came a small garden abutting a verandah; for the garden 3
on one side of the verandah was a door leading to the back of the electricity 150
house and, on the other side, a staircase going up to the verandah on for the well’s covers 6 12
the first-floor. At the entrance of this verandah were Datta’s two small blinds (verandah) 13
rooms. Then came the Mother’s two rooms along the entire length of
basket 1 4
the verandah. On the south-east corner was Sri Aurobindo’s room. On
the north-east corner were the bathroom and a staircase for coming carpenter 2 2
down. This was the layout of the first floor of the Library House. tubs (mending) 0 14
In the room just below Sri Aurobindo’s room, lived Amrita on the locksmith 1 12
ground floor – it has now become the Library. On the west of it was tar 0 4
Nolini’s room facing the gate; later the Mother used to distribute here
vegetable soup as ‘Prasad’ at night. Next to it was a narrow passage coolies 14 6
going towards the inner garden on the north where a wooden staircase mat 1 8
led to Datta’s two rooms on the first floor. Under this staircase, adjoin- carpenter (tables) 6 8
ing the building and yet separate, was my room. In this garden, I had ropes 1 4
planted twenty to twenty-five banana and papaya trees and there used
Amrita’s bill 13 4
to be sometimes so many papayas that we used to get thirty to forty of
them daily for a month. electricity 20
partitions and shelf 4 8
Barin Ghose 6
blinds 5
electricity (repair) 5 6
250 12
water pipe 60
310 12
The Four Houses 11
The Library House
View from south-west 1975

The Rosary House

7 Rue de la Marine
Rental Receipt for July 1925

Reçu de Monsieur Barindra Kumar Ghose la somme de trente roupies The earliest rental receipt for the Rosary House is dated 5 August 1925.
loyer de ma maison située rue de la Marine No. 7. The premises must have been occupied in the previous month, July 1925.
The Rosary House, named after the rose pots kept on its terraces, is
Pondichéry, le 5 Août 1925 Carounamballe Françis 8 also known as the “Cartonnerie” from the cardboard boxes that were
being made there by Harikant Patel in the mid thirties. The house
was eventually purchased in December 1937, long after the other three
houses comprising the main Ashram building had been bought. One of
Translation its early occupants was Pavitra, who came to Pondicherry in December
1925 and spent “a little over one year” in the room south of what became
Received from Mr. Barindra Kumar Ghose the sum of thirty rupees later Pujalal’s room. The same room, symbolically named “Entire
towards the rent of my house located at No 7, Marine Street. Consecration” by the Mother, was occupied by Dyuman from 1927 to
June 1932, after which it became the ladies dining room for a short while.
Pondicherry, 5 August 1925 Carounamballe Françis 8 Around the same time, Dara and René stayed on the ground floor and
Kanai Ganguly on the first floor, of the east wing of the house.
Editor’s Note
The Four Houses 13
The Rosary House
In the foreground is the Rosary House with its main gate facing south. On the left 1922-1929
is the Library House. On the right is the Meditation House in a lighter shade of lime wash. View from south-east
The Rosary House
On the right is the Rosary House. On the left is the Library House with its long 1922-1929
chimney. Top centre is the Meditation House. Top left is the Old Secretariat. View from south-west
The Four Houses 15
The Rosary House
Note the structures on the terraces which are not there 2006
in the early photographs View from south
The Secretariat
8 Rue Saint Gilles
Rented from 4 May 1926

The Secretariat was rented from 4 May 1926 for Rs. 15 a month with an
advance of Rs. 45. The house was already in a dilapidated state when Pavitra,
the Mother’s secretary, occupied it in 1926. It was entirely demolished and
rebuilt after it was purchased in 1929. The terms “Old Secretariat” and
“New Secretariat” have been used in this book to refer to the old and new
buildings of the same property.
There is no photograph of the Old Secretariat which shows the full
building as it was except from a distance or only in parts. The best view
that we have of it is in the photograph on the next page. For a full view, see
the reconstructed drawing of the Old Secretariat on pages 32-35.
Editor’s Note
The Four Houses 17
The Secretariat and the Meditation House

View from south, 1926-1929
First floor of
First floor of Old Secretariat Drawing Office building (2008) Meditation House
Kitchen in Terrace of Mother coming down from the roof Room on the first floor
Rosary House Old Secretariat of the Meditation House of Rosary House
The Old Secretariat
The Old Secretariat seen between the Meditation House Circa October 1930
(on the left) and the newly built Balcony block (in the centre). View from north-west
The Mother’s car is parked in front of the main door of the (Rue Saint Gilles)
Old Secretariat. The figure seen on the terrace is most likely
the Mother.
The Four Houses 19
The New Secretariat
The motorcycle parked on the road is in front of the 2001

door of the New Secretariat (not to be confused with View from north-west
the big garage door under the balcony). The main door (Rue Saint Gilles)
of the Old Secretariat was farther to the east.
The Meditation House

28 Rue François Martin
The Mother’s Inspection of the Meditation House

Soon after coming back from Calcutta I heard that the house adjoining to me with her luminous mystic smile, she said, “I see untold wealth
ours was vacant. I don’t know what impelled me to go and see it. I here, Dara has brought it with him.” She moved about the house in a
casually mentioned it to Mother Mirra. She wanted to see it too. We did tense indrawn state.
not know at the time that this house would be Sri Aurobindo’s abode Ibrahim was later renamed Dara (after the eldest brother of Emperor
and the very centre of the Ashram buildings. Mother might have felt Aurangzeb) by the Master. She at once began negotiating for the
something of the kind but she did not give us any inkling until I actually purchase of the house. The owner wanted as much as Rupees 14000, an
took her there. exorbitant sum for it. Mother said money wasn’t of any consequence
A Bengali young man from Hyderabad (the Nizam’s capital) was in as this house meant so much for the future of the colony. So it was
correspondence with me at this time on Yoga and kindred matters. He purchased and repaired for Sri Aurobindo to live in. Gradually, all the
mentioned one Ibrahim in his letters, a young Mahomedan idealist, who four houses in this block of buildings were taken on rent. The dividing
wanted to come to Pondicherry and take up Yoga. Ibrahim subsequently walls were either demolished or doors were opened in them and the
wrote to me and actually came for a short visit. He was stout, fair, very entire block became the living beehive of the new spiritual colony.
quiet and unobtrusive, with large lustrous eyes and a great hankering
for things spiritual. He went away promising to come later, renouncing Circa 17 June 1926 Barin Ghose 9
the world for good and sit down at the feet of the great Master to learn
Yoga.
As soon as the key of the new house was procured, the Mother went
to inspect it. So far as I remember, it was a sweet and clear morning with
white fleecy clouds suspended in the blue sky. Ibrahim had returned by
this time. He also accompanied us. As Mother Mirra went up the grand
staircase of the new house, she fell into a trance. Gently she entered the
hall, looked about in her peculiar dreamy and absorbed way. Turning
The Four Houses 21
The Mother’s letter to her son André on 16 January 1927 Sri Aurobindo and the Mother move to the Meditation House
Our community is growing more and more; we are nearly thirty (not One afternoon all the inmates of the Ashram houses were told to go
counting those who are scattered all over India); and I have become out; the gates were locked and the Mother led Sri Aurobindo to the
responsible for all this; I am at the centre of the organisation, on the new house. When we came back we knew that the great Master had
material as well as the spiritual side, and you can easily imagine what removed to the new house, which would henceforth be his abode. I,
it means. We already occupy five houses, one of which is our property; Nalini Kanto Gupta, K. Amrita, and a few others removed there too. The
others will follow. New recruits are coming from all parts of the world. old building at Rue de la Marine was used for housing the Library and
With this expansion, new activities are being created, new needs are the stores department. Sri Aurobindo’s room was given to Anilbaran
arising which require new skills. Roy, the Congress leader of Bankura (a district of Bengal) who had
The Mother 10 come to the Ashram sometime back straight from jail after his release
from internment.
The house referred to in the phrase “one of which is our property” is the Barin Ghose 11
Meditation House. Eight days before the Mother’s letter to André, that is,
on 8 January 1927, Sri Aurobindo had signed an agreement of sale after
paying the first instalment of Rs. 7000 to Raghava Chettiar, the previous Mother, last night during my personal meditation I saw a cat, probably
owner of the Meditation House. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother moved one of your cats, the one which sleeps on the staircase; it came and en-
to the house on 7 February 1927. The second and final instalment of tered my drawing room where I was meditating. But I at once opened
Rs. 7000 was paid on 13 July 1927. Out of the five houses occupied by the my eyes. Kindly let me know the meaning of this cat and why I opened
growing community of the Ashram, the Meditation House was rented last my eyes.
Rajani Palit
but purchased first. The rental agreement was signed on 24 December
1926 for a monthly rent of Rs. 75 for a period of three years starting from If it is the cat Bushy, she has some strange connection with the siddhi in
1 January 1927. An advance of Rs. 450 was paid on the condition that a the physical consciousness. It was she who ushered us into our present
few repairs would be carried out to the building before occupation. But house running before us into each room. The change to this house
within a fortnight, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother decided to buy the marked the change in the sadhana on the vital to the sadhana on the
house, and an agreement of sale was signed on 8 January 1927. physical level.
Editor’s Note
July 1936 Sri Aurobindo 12
On the street is a pousse-pousse (an old type of rickshaw) 1922-1929

View from north-east
The Four Houses 23
Note the balcony on the second floor which is not there in the 2005
previous photograph. The Mother gave Darshan from this North-east corner
balcony from 1963 to 1973.
6th and 7th February 1927

The work has begun, test after test is being passed through. I entered Two dates are available for the change of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s
to live in the New House at 7 p.m. Shri Aurobindo and Mira Devi residence from the Library House to the Meditation House. One
entered the New House at 8.30 p.m. approximately. The House breathes would tend to give more credence to Haradhan’s diary notation than
of grandeur. Champaklal’s recollection noted down at a much later date. Haradhan
Haradhan Bakshi 13 even notes down the time when Sri Aurobindo and the Mother “entered
the New House”. As his diary notation refers jointly to the events of
6 and 7 February 1927, it can be assumed that Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother “entered the new House” on the day he wrote his diary notation
– 7 February 1927. At any rate, there is no mention of the change of
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s residence in Haradhan’s diary notation of
8 February 1927. It is possible that Champaklal dated the same event by
8 February 1927 the first day Sri Aurobindo and the Mother spent in the Meditation House,
When they moved to Meditation House from Library House on February which is 8 February 1927. The 7th of February 1927, strictly speaking,
8, 1927, Mother told me to carry certain things of Sri Aurobindo to was the day of shifting when Sri Aurobindo and the Mother spent most
Meditation House…. of the day in the Library House before moving to the Meditation House
late in the evening at 8.30 p.m.
Champaklal 14
Editor’s Note
The Four Houses 25
The Mother’s letter to her son André on 16 February 1927 Sri Aurobindo signs the Sale Deed of the Meditation House
I think I told you about our five houses; four of them are joined in An interesting incident happened yesterday:
a single square block which is surrounded on all sides by streets and Sri Aravind signed on the deed for the house he has purchased in the
contains several buildings with courtyards and gardens. We have just presence of local French citizens as per French law. Among the citizens
bought, repaired and comfortably furnished one of these houses and were Philippe [Pavitra], M. Potel (husband of Madame Potel), David
then, just recently, we have settled there, Sri Aurobindo and myself, as (barrister), Doraiswamy (not as a citizen but at Babuji’s invitation), and
well as five of the closest disciples. the house owner. When everything was arranged in one of the rooms
We have joined the houses together with openings in some of the on the first floor of his house, the above named people went upstairs.
outer walls and outbuildings, so that I may walk freely in our little Chairs were already placed there. First, Matushri [the Mother] came
realm without having to go out into the street — this is rather nice. and saw if all had come. Then she went inside. Next, they both came
But I am busier than ever now, and I can say that at the moment I am out, Sri Aravind in front and Matushri behind him. Doraiswamy made
writing to you in a hurry. sashtanga-dandavata. Sri Aravind’s seat was, as always, immediately
beside the door. Everyone folded their hands. He himself was very
The Mother 15
serious. Taking the deed from the owner, Doraiswamy gave it to him.
He read the whole of it. Meanwhile, Doraiswamy took the pen from the
table, opened it and put it in Matushri’s hand. She was standing beside
his chair. Then he said, “Where have I to sign?” Doraiswamy pointed
The phrase “one of these houses” refers to the Meditation House. The
out the place. After signing, he immediately got up, bowed with folded
repairs were done by a local contractor called Subramaniam. Chandulal,
hands to all and, without saying or doing anything, went inside.
the Ashram engineer, had not yet arrived. Among the five disciples who
Doraiswamy was saying that his body appeared very tender and
moved in with Sri Aurobindo and the Mother were Barin, Amrita,
much fairer than before. This was the first time he came out after
Nolini and Haradhan. The last of the five houses mentioned in the first
November [24, 1926].
sentence is the Guest House, where generally guests or new disciples
Write the above account to Chandulal at Bombay. To identify the
stayed for some time.
room, write that this was the room where Matushri and Sri Aravind sit
Editor’s Note
for meditation.
14 July 1927 Punamchand’s letter to Dikshit 16

Earliest Plans
and Photographs
Earliest Ground Floor Plan of the Ashram Main Building
The earliest ground floor plan

that we have of the entire Ashram
main building is dated 17 June
1931. Drawn by Chandulal, the
Ashram engineer, it represents
an already advanced stage of
construction. The Old Secretariat
has been demolished and the
Balcony block and the rooms on
the ground floor connecting it to
the Meditation House have been
built.
Earliest Plans and Photographs 29
Old Secretariat
Ground Floor Plan First Floor Plan
The ground and first floor plans of the Old Secretariat were drawn
in July 1929, before it was demolished and reconstructed. They give
us the layout of the old building and enable us to reconstruct the
plan of the Ashram building as it was prior to the construction work
which began around September 1929.
Reconstructed Ground Floor Plan of the Ashram Main Building

N

In order to reconstruct the plan
of the Ashram main building as it
was in July 1929, the ground floor
plan of the Old Secretariat was
superimposed upon the earliest
ground floor plan of the Ashram
main building drawn by Chandulal
on 17 June 1931. As most of the old
structures of the Library House,
Meditation House and Rosary
House have remained intact to the
present day, the reconstructed plan
should give us a fairly good idea
of the Ashram building as it was
in early 1929, and even a few years
prior to that, assuming that not
many changes would have taken
place before the properties were
bought by Sri Aurobindo. A few
minor details missing in Chandulal’s
first drawing had to be added by
using old photographs from that
period, descriptions in the original
sale deeds and interviews with
Dyuman.

Old Secretariat Old Secretariat
Banana garden Garage
compound wall
Garage
Meditation House
Dining Room
(1929 -1934) Meditation House
compound wall
Milking place
This room was

demolished by 1930
Library House
Rosary House
Library House
compound wall
Compound wall
Kitchen Kitchen
Open to sky Cowshed Garage (before 1929) (1929-1934) Rosary House
Perspective of the Ashram Main Building from south-east in 1929
in
art
M
is
Rue nço
de r a
la M
a eF
rine Ru

Once the ground floor plan was reconstructed, the N
three dimensional perspective plans were drawn by
the study of old photographs and the existing old
structures of the Ashram main building.
Garage Banana garden Garage Old Secretariat
Dining Room
Grace (2008)
(1929 -1934)
Champaklal’s Drawing Office

kitchen (1927) (2008)
Library House Meditation

House

N
Embroidery
Garage Dept. (2008)
Kitchen Notice Board area Kitchen

Rosary House
(before 1929) (2008) (1929 -1934)
Perspective of the Ashram Main Building from north-west in 1929
s
lé an
Rue ’ Or
Sa int G ed
illes Ru

N
Kitchen Kitchen
Meditation House Rosary House
(1929-1934) (before 1929)
Library House
Champaklal’s
kitchen (1927)
Dining Room
(1929-1934)

N
Garage
Old Secretariat Garage Banana garden

The Library House
View from south-east 1922-1929

Banana plantation
Library House (Prosperity garden – 2008)
Champaklal’s terrace
(extended in 1929)
Notice board area (2008)

had a tiled roof in 1929
Main gate of
Library House
Terrace of
Rosary House
Shed Chimney of kitchen

(dismantled in 1929) in Library House
The Library House, Rosary House and Meditation House.
View from west (Rue de la Marine) 1922-1929

Compound wall of
Cowshed
Meditation House
Partition wall
Meditation House
in Library House
Library House Rosary House
Kitchen Kitchen in
Garage Library House
in Rosary House
The Secretariat and the Meditation House

View from south, 1926-1929
First floor of
First floor of Old Secretariat Drawing Office building (2008) Meditation House
Kitchen in Mother with Pavitra Shed on

Rosary House on terrace of Old Secretariat Rosary House
Close-up of the Mother

The Meditation House, Library House and the Old Secretariat
View from east (Rue François Martin) 1926-1929

Rosary House Notice board area First floor of

compound wall (2008) Old Secretariat
Siddhi room
(Library House)
Staircase leading
Kitchen in
to the roof of
Rosary House
Meditation House
Mother on roof of
Kamala’s room M.P. Pandit’s office
(2003) (1993)
Room to the south of

M.P. Pandit’s office (1993)
was later demolished
Close-up of the Mother

Top right is the Mother’s Room 2001

with the Service Tree on its left View from east
The Library House Backyard
Prosperity courtyard Banana garden
View from east 2001 View from south-west 1922-1929

First floor of First floor of

Drawing Office Hindocha house
building (2008) (2008)
Banana garden Garage in

(Prosperity courtyard Library House.
in 2008)
Perspectives and Elevations
Pondicherry Town
The plans for building the town of Pondicherry were first prepared by On this was laid a flooring about 20 cm thick made up of layers of
the Dutch and later developed by the French during their occupation. thin bricks placed vertically in lime mortar and running diagonal to
The oval shaped town had a series of parallel roads running east to west the joists. The final layer of bricks was placed horizontally and the top
and north to south with roads on the periphery marking the limits of finished in lime mortar. The old buildings of the Library house,
the town area. These roads were called the North, South, East and West Meditation house and Rosary house were built in this way.
Boulevards, beyond which were villages and agricultural lands. The
town was practically divided by a Canal running from north to south,
which carried drainage as well as rain water to the sea. To the east of Construction of the Ashram Main Building
this Canal were mostly administrative offices and residences of French
The new construction that took place on the north and west sides
officials built in the French Renaissance style. This area of the town
of the Ashram main building has load-bearing brick walls in cement
between the Canal to the west and the Bay of Bengal to the east was
mortar and not in mud mortar as in the older buildings. The notice
called the “White Town”. The remaining area west of the Canal was
board verandah and water filter passage have Madras terracing on
occupied by the people of Pondicherry. The houses in this area were
steel joists. Pavitra’s office and the garage for Mother’s car have Madras
built in the traditional Tamil style.
terracing on wooden joists and beams. The north block consisting of
Nirodbaran’s room, the Bulletin Office and Dyuman’s room has pre-
Method of Construction cast reinforced cement concrete (R.C.C.) rafters on which has been laid
the R.C.C. floor. In this block, semicircular arches in brickwork were
Both for the traditionally built houses to the west of the Canal and made above the door and window openings. The Mother’s Room on
for the French style houses to the east, the same materials and method the second floor is built on R.C.C. columns, beams and slabs. But the
of construction were used. The walls were about 60 cm thick and made roofing for further extensions – the bathroom, the Music Room and
up of brickwork, with a layer of bricks in lime mortar after every few the balcony on the east – were done with lightweight asbestos sheets.
layers of bricks in mud mortar. The wall surface was plastered inside Similarly, for the extension on the south-east corner on the first floor
and outside with lime mortar. The floors were built according to the (Abhay Singh’s room) asbestos sheets were used. This was done to avoid
then existing method called Madras terracing. This method utilised heavy loads on the old walls below.
heavy wooden main beams to support joists or smaller wooden beams. Ramakant Navelkar 17
Perspectives and Elevations 51
Construction of the New Secretariat Construction of the Prosperity Block

The construction of the New Secretariat is the biggest change that the Stage Three (1931-1932) was the building of the Prosperity Block
Ashram building has undergone from 1929 up to the present. Unlike (Prosperity Office and Stores) in the open courtyard to the north of the
the other three houses where much of the old structure remains intact, Library House. The ground floor and basement of this portion was joined
nothing remains of the old building except bits of the compound wall. It with the Balcony block on the west. The garage beside the old Dining
was so well integrated into the structures of the Meditation House and Room on the north-west corner of the Library House was demolished at
Library House that it is now difficult to distinguish it from the other this stage.
houses. The New Secretariat was built in two stages. The term “Stage Three” has been used more as a convenience than to
Stage One (1929-1930) was the construction of the reverse L-shaped denote a precise chronological sequence, as work on the Prosperity Block
Balcony block, ground and first floor, providing one long hall and a room seems to have overlapped with Stage Two.
for Pavitra upstairs and a place for his workshop (Atelier) downstairs.
It left the old building intact and used the courtyard west of it — the
space now occupied by the portico and garage of the Mother’s car. It also Construction of the Cold Storage Block
partly covered the area of the Library House where an old garage had
Stage Four (1935) was the building of what is now the Cold Storage
to be demolished for the purpose — the space now occupied by André’s
downstairs, including its machine room. It joins the Prosperity Office to
office. It was around this time that the Notice Board verandah probably
the north and the main building of the Library House to the south. The
got its new roof (the old tiled roof was removed) so that Champaklal’s
old Dining Room was demolished at this stage.
terrace was extended to more than twice its original size. The old garage
Editor’s Note
facing Rue de la Marine was also demolished and the bathrooms west of
the men’s lavatory were constructed in its place.
Stage Two (1931-1932) was the demolition of Pavitra’s old house and
the construction of the connecting corridor and rooms joining the Balcony
block with the Meditation House. The Mother’s Salon, the connecting
corridor of which the Green Room (the Mother’s Boudoir) is a part, and
the rooms on the ground floor then occupied by Dyuman, Radhanand
and Chandulal (later by Prafull, Bulletin Office and Nirodbaran) are
all part of Stage Two.
Chronology of Construction (1929-1935) Later Constructions (1935-1962)

The Secretariat and Library House were bought respectively on 23 March The later constructions, except for the Mother’s second floor rooms
1929 and 6 April 1929. Construction of the Balcony block began within a which form a separate section, have not been gone through in detail.
few months of their purchase and was finished around October 1930. The The following rooms, in brief, were added on the terraces of the Ashram
old building of the Secretariat was demolished in February 1931. The building after 1935:
first floor was coming up when Nagin Doshi joined the Ashram in June
1931 and worked as a supervisor in the Building Service. The connecting (1) The Fruit Room on the first floor on the north-west corner of the
corridor and rooms of Stage Two were ready with the Prosperity block Ashram building was built in 1948.
still under construction on 1 January 1932 when Chandulal requested
the Mother to inspect the new building. The Mother gave ten minutes (2) The Mother’s Room on the second floor, overlooking the Samadhi,
for the inspection. Priority was given to finishing the Mother’s rooms was built in 1953.
on the first floor, and, according to Dyuman, the Mother’s Salon (the
room above the Bulletin Office) was opened on 24 April 1932. This (3) Abhay Singh’s and Navajat’s rooms on the terraces of the Rosary
seems to have been celebrated by a music programme during which House were built in 1955.
Dilip and Sahana sang in front of the Mother in the Meditation Hall
downstairs. The ground floor was taken up next and Dyuman occupied (4) Ravindra’s rooms on the first floor of the Cold Storage Block were
his new room on 21 June 1932, two days after his 29th birthday. On this completed in January 1958.
day, the Mother snipped selected portions from the manuscript of her
Prayers and Meditations and distributed them to the sadhaks during a (5) The Mother’s Music Room and balcony on the east side were
“Prosperity meeting” in the Library House. The Prosperity block came completed in December 1962.
next. Purushottam, the sadhak in charge of Prosperity, moved into it in Editor’s Note
July 1932, but the electrical wiring of the entire block was completed only
in September 1932. On 4 January 1934 the Dining Room and Kitchen
were shifted to Aroumé, their present premises beside the Governor’s
house. The construction of what is now the ground floor of the Cold
Storage block (Stage Four), was begun in January 1935 after demolishing
the old Dining Room, and completed in August of the same year.
Perspectives of the Ashram Main Building
tin
ar
s M
i
ço
Rue r an
de la M eF
arine Ru

N
Perspective from south-east 1929

tin
ar
s M
i
ço
Rue
de Fran
la M e
arine Ru

N
What you see in the centre of the courtyard is not the Samadhi but the three tanks 1947
that were built in 1930 for construction work. Refer to chapter on the Samadhi. Perspective from south-east
tin
ar
s M
i
Rue ço
de r an
la M eF
arine Ru

N
Perspective from south-east 2000

Elevations of the Ashram Main Building

Changes in the North Elevation (1)
Meditation House
W X
Old Secretariat Library House

W XW X
1922-1929
Balcony block
W X
View from Rue Saint Gilles 1929-1930

Changes in the North Elevation (2)
New Secretariat
1932
W X
Prosperity block Room

1932 1935
W XW X
1930-1935
Music Room and Balcony The Mother’s Room
1962 1953
W XW X
Cold Storage Fruit Room and Cold Storage
1958 1948
W X
View from Rue Saint Gilles 2005

Changes in the South Elevation
Library House Rosary House

W XW X
1922-1929
Abhay Singh’s room

Bathroom Navajat’s room 1955
W X
1961 1955
W XW X
Toilet
1929
W X
View from Rue de la Marine 2005

Changes in the West Elevation
Library House
W X
Dining Room
Garage X X 1922-1929
Rooms
W X
1935
Cold Storage & Fruit Room Ravindra’s room Cold Storage

1948 1958 2003
W XW X
Cold Storage
X X 1936-2005
1958
View from Manakula Vinayagar Koil Street (Rue d’Orléans)

Changes in the East Elevation
Rosary House Meditation House

W XW X
1922-1929
The Mother’s Room (behind)

1953 W
W
W
W
Abhay Singh’s room Music Room & Balcony (front)
1955 1962
W X
2005
View from Rue François Martin

First Four Stages of the Construction
s
lé an
Rue
Sa d’ Or
int G e
illes Ru
View of Old Secretariat from north-west before reconstruction N

1922-1929
Stage One of the Construction
s
Rue lé an
S aint
d’ Or
Gill e
es Ru

N
Balcony block built. Old Secretariat not yet demolished 1930

Stage Two of the Construction
s
lé an
Rue
S d’ Or
aint e
Gill
es Ru

N
Old Secretariat demolished. It was at this point of time that a temporary bridge was built on the June 1931
scaffolding for the Mother to go from the Meditation House to the Balcony block. See pages 78-82.
Stages Two and Three of the Construction
s
Rue lé an
Sa int G d’ Or
illes e
Ru

N
New Secretariat and Prosperity block built 1932

Stage Four of the Construction
s
lé an
Rue
S aint d’ Or
Gille e
s Ru

N
Ground floor of Cold Storage block built 1935

Photographs of
Early Construction
1929 - 1958
Construction of the Balcony Block
The houses in the background circa September 1929

are across Rue Saint Gilles. View from south
Early Construction 1929-1958 69
Main gate of Main gate of

Accounts Office Grace (2008)
(2008)
Balcony block
Nos travaux de construction sous la direction exclusive de disciples

ingénieurs.
Mère
Translation:
Construction work under the sole supervision of engineer-disciples.
Mother
Balcony Block under construction
View from north-east (Rue Saint Gilles) circa September 1929

Library House
Banana garden
(Prosperity
garden – 2008)
Champaklal’s
kitchen
Compound wall of
Old Secretariat
Library House
Autre vue du chantier.

Mère
Translation:
Another view of the construction.
Mother
The Balcony Block
South view 2001 South view circa October 1930

Pavitra’s room in Pavitra’s room

New Secretariat in Old Secretariat
Notice Board area

(2008) Le nouveau batîment (côté jardin).
A droite un coin de la vieille maison
qui sera démolie dès que l’autre sera
terminée.
Mère
Translation:
The new building (garden side). On the
right, a corner of the old house which
will be demolished when the other will
be completed.
Mother
The Balcony Block
The Balcony block has been built but the Old Secretariat has circa October 1930
not yet been demolished. The Mother with disciples in front View from Rue Saint Gilles
of the main gate of the Old Secretariat.
Bathroom door linking Meditation House

with Old Secretariat
Balcony block
Terrace of
Banana garden
Old Secretariat
Meditation House Compound wall

of Library House
Mother, Pavitra and other sadhaks standing near the Renault car
Close-up of the Mother in front of the main gate of the Old Secretariat
The Mother’s Evening Drives
In the other building [Old Secretariat] attached to the house of the Mother
and Sri Aurobindo lived “Pavitra”, a Frenchman named P.B. Saint-Hilaire,
on the first floor. Chandulal, the Ashram engineer, lived in a room on the
ground-floor of this building. This building, too, had a door leading to
the road on the North. The Mother used this door to leave the Ashram
premises for her daily evening drive lasting for about an hour and a half.
It was Pavitra who drove the Mother’s car. Many inmates of the Ashram
used to assemble near the door at the hour of the Mother’s going out to
get a glimpse of her. Later the old building was pulled down and a new
one constructed on the site.
Sahana Devi 18
The Mother’s Bridge
The other day you were saying that this whole structure, this whole When the old Secretariat was demolished, a temporary bridge on the
building was rebuilt in the thirties. scaffolding was made for the Mother to walk across from the Meditation
It was all demolished and newly built. When I came, I was supervisor House to the Balcony block. The photos in this section show the bridge
here. starting from the bathroom door on the first floor of the Meditation
House and, after following a zig-zag course, ending on the portico of the
It was built right from the basement? Balcony block. The Mother walked on this bridge to go to Pavitra’s room,
Yes, yes. But when I reached the Ashram, it had already come up. We according to Nagin Doshi. The term “Mother’s bridge” has been taken
were almost on the upper floor. Pavitra’s quarters were ready and he from the work reports of Mrityunjoy who was in charge of the Electric
was living there [pointing at the Balcony block]. Mother was living there Service during this period. In mid-June 1931, he fixed bulbs on the two
[pointing at the Meditation House] and those rooms above Dyuman’s ends of the bridge to provide light for the Mother when she walked on
room were being built. One important thing you should know is this, it.
that when this second storey was being built, the Mother used to go to Editor’s Note
Pavitra’s room to give him meditation at 12 o’clock at night, and she
used to walk on the scaffolding!
An Interview with Nagin Doshi 19
The bridge in the photograph on page 79

seems to have preceded the one in the other
photographs of this section. Part of the
old undemolished house is used here with
railings on the side whereas the later one is
almost entirely built on the scaffolding.
Tiled roof of kitchen School building Siddhi Room

in Rosary House (2008) (Library House)
Old Secretariat partly demolished 1931

forming a temporary bridge View from north
Drawing Office
building (2008)
Meditation House
Mother’s bridge
Meditation House
compound wall
Pavitra’s room
Portico
Kitchen in
Rosary House

Meditation House Tiled roof of Kitchen

bathroom door in Rosary House
Mother’s bridge
Chandulal’s room
under construction
(Nirodbaran’s room
in 2006)
View from north 1931

Pavitra’s room in the Mother has walked

Balcony Block across the scaffolding Mother’s bridge
Rosary House
View from south-east circa June 1931

Construction of the New Secretariat
Close-up of the construction site. Meditation House

on the left, Balcony Block on the right.
To the right is the construction site. 1931

Meditation House in the foreground. View from north-east.
Construction workers sieving sand in 1931

the courtyard
Scaffolding erected for construction 1931

1931
Chandulal, head of the Ashram Building Service,

supervising the workers
1931
Completion of the New Secretariat
The New Secretariat was completed in 1932 1932-1942

View from south-west
Construction of the Prosperity Block
The Prosperity block was completed in 1932 1932-1934

View from north-west
The Ashram main building after completion of the 1932-1934

Prosperity block and before construction of the View from north-west
Cold Storage block.
Champaklal’s Library House

kitchen
Dining Room
Balcony block (1929-1934)
Cycle House
Prosperity block terrace
Construction of the Cold Storage Block
Ground floor of the Cold Storage Block 1935

under construction. View from south
View from north-west before construction 1932-1934

of the Cold Storage Block.
Completion of the ground floor of the Cold Storage Block
View from north-west 1935

Completion of the Fruit Room 1948

View from south
Terrace of the ground floor 1947-1948

of Cold Storage block before View from south-east
construction of the first floor.
Golconde seen at the back.
The first floor of the Cold Storage block was completed in January 1958 1958-1962
Recent view of the Cold Storage block 2001

The Story of the Samadhi
The Samadhi
A visitor to the Ashram building today would admire the perfect Was there any particular reason for planting the tree there?
arrangement of the pillars and the Service Tree in relation to the Samadhi. No, we were doing gardening. We [Ambu and myself] were under
The tree gives shade to the Samadhi and the courtyard around it and Manubhai; he went and brought a sapling and we put it there.
the pillars support the tree. The pillars also provide the supports for the
cloth canopy above the Samadhi. The crossbeams around it give vantage Was it intended to be central or was it just a tree there?
on the east for people to stand and concentrate while leaving enough It may have been decided in the upper world, it has to be; otherwise
space on the other three sides to kneel down comfortably. The visitor why should it be there?
would naturally assume that the Samadhi came first, the tree next and
the pillars last. It was not so. The tree came first, the pillars next and When you planted it, you didn’t think that it would be dominating
the Samadhi last! If the visitor should insist that the arrangement is too the courtyard?
perfect not to have been pre-planned, we have Dyuman’s answers to one We didn’t know. She [the Mother] may have known it in the occult
such set of questions. world.
Editor’s Note
Was the Mother aware that you are going to plant a tree here?
Why, even the smallest thing we did not do without asking her.
An Interview with Dyuman 20

The Story of the Samadhi 97
The Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother 2001

The Service Tree providing 2001

shade to the Samadhi View from west
The pergola supporting the Service Tree 2001

The Three Tanks
When this house was being built, we required some place to wash the
bricks. So three cisterns were made, three tanks, and all the bricks of the
house were washed there.
Dyuman 21
The three water tanks were made for the purpose of washing bricks when
the construction of the New Secretariat began around September 1929.
Some modifications were apparently made to them by the time the concrete
pergola was built in 1942 – compare the photograph on the next page with
the drawings and photograph on pp 106-107 and 109. This last structure
was demolished in 1950 and the Samadhi was built in the same place.
After constructing the chamber on the east to intern Sri Aurobindo’s body,
Udar Pinto was instructed by the Mother to add the small extension on the
west to conform to the structure that had been there.
Editor’s Note
The water tanks built at the time of the construction of the New circa 1929
Secretariat. The staircase leading to Champaklal’s room is on the right. View from north-west
1. Kitchen in Rosary House 3. Library House

2. The water tanks that were later replaced by the Samadhi 4. Old Secretariat
The central courtyard of the Ashram main building 1929

View from east
The Kitchen in the 1932-1942

Rosary House with View from south-west
the branches of the
Service Tree on its
tiled roof.
The Planting of the Service Tree The pergola supporting the Service Tree
There was a mango tree where the Service Tree now stands. The mango The Service Tree began to grow; the branches began to go on the roof
tree had to be cut down; the Mother asked us to get a Service Tree plant of the old kitchen. When we had to remove the old kitchen, what to
from the Botanical garden. As Parichand is now the Ashram gardener, do with the branches which were taking support on it, how to support
Manubhai was then the gardener – his helpers were Ambu and myself. them? So this scaffolding was built, what we call the Sanchi railings were
The tree was planted on a Tuesday in [May] 1930. built. They were done by Sammer, the architect from Czechoslovakia,
Dyuman 22 who had come here with Raymond and Nakashima. The three together
built Golconde. So this whole construction in the Ashram courtyard
was done by Sammer and, at the foot of each pillar, you’ll find a square
place. You see, the Mother used to come in the evening on the terrace
Fill the tanks and put pots of fern and give meditation. Her idea was to have grass in each square but that
could not be done, so pebbles were put.
The cats were always running about and she [the Mother] did not allow
Dyuman 24
us to remove those three tanks when this house was built. She said, “Fill
them up and put corrugated sheets on top.” We put galvanised sheets
and the tiles would drop on them when the cats fought on the roof of Demolition of the old kitchen
the old kitchen, making a huge noise in the middle of the night. We
asked her, “Mother, why not remove these things?” She said, “No. If you It was demolished when the Japanese threw a bomb in Madras and
like, remove the corrugated sheets and put pots of fern.” Calcutta [in 1942]. Fearing that something may happen here, we were
Dyuman 23 given training – how to extinguish fires, etc. I told the Mother, “Mother,
this is alright, but with you here, if something happens on it [the old
kitchen], I am sure to go on its roof, which is sure to come down with
me.” Thus the whole thing was demolished.
Dyuman 25
Sammer’s design of the concrete pergola 1942

to support the Service Tree View from south-west
Sketches by Jayantilal Parekh
Temporary supports have been placed under the branches

of the Service Tree after the demolition of the Kitchen.
The permanent supports of the Service Tree were built in 1942

The original pergola had only seven supports forming two squares 1942
The central courtyard of the Ashram. The structure with pots of fern 1942
on top can be seen behind the group of children.
The Possibility of a Glass Case
December 6th – I entered Sri Aurobindo’s room before dawn. Mother I also saw, to my utter wonder and delight, that the entire body was
and I had a look at Him; how wonderful, how beautiful He looked, suffused with a golden crimson hue, so fresh, so magnificent. It seemed
with a golden hue. There were no signs of death as science had taught to have lifted my pall of gloom and I felt light and happy without
me, no evidence of the slightest discoloration, or decomposition. The knowing why. When the Mother came, I asked naively, “Mother, won’t
Mother whispered, “As long as the supramental light does not pass he come back?” “No!” she replied, “If he wanted to come back, he
away, the body will not show any signs of decomposition, and it may would not have left the body.” Pointing to the Light she said, “If this
be a day or it may take many more days.” I whispered to Her, “Where Supramental Light remains we shall keep the body in a glass case.” Alas,
is the light you speak of – can I not see it?” I was then kneeling by it did not remain and on the fifth day, on the 9th of December in the
Sri Aurobindo’s bed, by the Mother’s feet. She smiled at me and with evening, the body was laid in a vault.
infinite compassion put Her hand on my head. There He was – with a Nirodbaran 27
luminous mantle of bluish golden hue around Him.
With the morning came the procession of people, taking a last
glimpse of the Divine Master. The Mother said to me, “People do not
know what a tremendous sacrifice He has made for the world. About a
year ago, while I was discussing things I remarked that I felt like leaving
this body of mine. He spoke out in a very firm tone, ‘No, this can never
be. If necessary for this transformation I might go, you will have to
fulfil our yoga of supramental descent and transformation!’ ”
Prabhat Sanyal 26
When was it decided to make a glass case? So, at first, Mother didn’t think of a burial, she thought of keeping the
You see, Sri Aurobindo passed away on the fifth and arrangements for body in a glass case?
burial in the Ashram courtyard were started after Pavitra obtained
permission for it from the Government. At the same time, Panou She did think of a burial in the beginning. Then, as the body showed no
started making the coffin of rosewood with silver lining. Then, on the signs of deterioration, she decided to keep it in a glass case. But when
sixth, as Mother found no deterioration whatsoever in Sri Aurobindo’s the body showed some signs of deterioration (we, of course, didn’t
body, she decided to keep it in a glass case instead of burying it. A shop- notice it), Mother decided to go ahead with the burial.
keeper from Madras, I don’t remember his name, had come for the last
Darshan of Sri Aurobindo. He offered to help us in getting the glass So there was a possibility of no burial at all?
from Madras. Jayant Patel and myself went with him and he arranged
Yes, it was a possibility. I fully remember that Mother first said, “There
for the glass from China Bazaar. We came back the same evening and
will be a showcase, no burial.” And then, on the third day, Mother said,
the glass arrived without breakage on the seventh morning. Panou
“No. We will change to burial.”
received the glass and was about to start making the glass case when the
message came from Udar asking Panou to stop work on the glass case An Interview with Vishwanath Lahiri 28
and resume work on the coffin. So that was the situation.
Construction of the Samadhi
When I went to the Mother, She gave me full instructions about where went up about four and a half feet and then levelled off to lay the cover,
to bury Sri Aurobindo and asked me to go down to a depth of eight which was to be of the pre-cast slabs from Coco Garden, about 1 ½
feet. There was already there a construction of sorts on which flower inches thick of well reinforced cement concrete. Then the walls were
pots were kept and all that had to be broken down and the pit dug also plastered and the room made ready for the body of the Lord. All
up. Some roots of the tree over the place had to be cut and Mother this was done in one day, on the 5th December 1950.
gave precise instructions about this. The whole thing had to be finished But the body of Sri Aurobindo did not decompose; it lay on His
in one day as we did not know, at the time, that His body would not bed, with a royal and calm look and with a great and wonderful golden
decompose, and so we had to work very fast and very hard. light all around Him. The golden light was really marvellous. His body
About the digging, which was the most difficult work, I remember lay in this state till the morning of the 9th December when the Mother
two persons who worked very well and very hard. One was a visitor, a gave Her order to put Him into the coffin we had prepared and to lay
Jew, one Dr. H.P. Kaplan, who was staying at Golconde at the time. He Him in the room we had made ready. Although Dr. Sanyal said that
worked like four men. It was wonderful to see how well and quickly decomposition had set in, I was not convinced that it had, as there
he worked. The other was our dear Biren, the boxer. He also worked was no smell at all of decomposition, a very unmistakable smell. But
wonderfully. So many of our sadhaks and sadhikas worked and even Mother said that as the golden light had withdrawn and a greyness was
the children. We needed many persons as we did all the work ourselves coming on His face, that was the sign She had received for the burial
and did not bring in our paid workers. Besides the digging, the soil to take place. But, She allowed me to keep my belief which is that His
had to be taken away and the hollow blocks of cement concrete had body will not decompose for thousands of years but will remain, grey
to be brought from the Coco Garden and also the present reinforced in colour and much thinned down by the loss of liquid and with all
concrete slabs, to form the cover of the pit. We dug down to eight feet the features quite intact. I had seen, in my youth, the body of Saint
below the ground level and then we rammed down the earth and laid Francis Xavier in Goa and had noted the greyness of the colour of the
a layer of about six inches of solid, dense concrete as the base, and this skin and the shrinkage of the flesh, but that all the features were quite
was plastered over to make a good clean floor. Then the four side walls intact, even the eyelashes on the eyes. That is my belief and the Mother
were built, using the concrete hollow blocks from Coco Garden, with did not discourage it. So I had prepared a very, very solid coffin, lined
the hollows vertical and these hollows were then filled with concrete with silver sheet and with a thick and solid cover and a rubber gasket
so that the walls were of solid cement concrete, eight inches thick. We all around and with so many screws that even small bacteria would not
be able to enter from outside. I did not want that things from outside But, with the constant stream of persons coming to the Samadhi, this
should attack His body. surface became soon quite soiled and, before each Darshan, the whole
When I lifted His body to place it into the coffin, the whole body was had to be scrubbed and washed and repainted grey. This went on for
lying in the liquid that had come out of it. Normally such liquids have a many years and it was only in the mid sixties that the Mother agreed to
very foul smell, but, in this case, the liquid had a celestial perfume that the marble cladding of the surfaces….
was really wonderful. My whole body, my clothes and all, was soaked In all, 54 pieces of marble were brought and with these the cladding
with this liquid and it was so good that I did not change my clothes or was done and completed on the evening of the 3rd April 1967, on the
even bathe for some days, to keep all that wonderful perfume on me. eve of the 4th April which is the anniversary of Sri Aurobindo’s arrival
After His body was laid in the room we had made ready for Him, at Pondicherry…. When the Mother left Her body, the top slab had to
the concrete slab cover was put on and fully sealed and plastered to be lifted off and for this some of the marble had to be chipped off and
make the floor of the room to be built above it. This room was built a replaced by some pieces which we had kept. This second cladding was
bit later in the same way as the lower one, to a height of about four and finished in the night of the 23rd November 1973, the eve of the 24th
a half feet, and when it reached its top, it was about two feet above the November, the Siddhi Day.
ground level. Udar Pinto 29
Regarding this second room when the Mother had asked me to build
it, I protested as I knew that this room was meant for Herself and I
did not want to participate in anything that anticipated Her leaving us.
But the Mother was adamant and said to me what She had never said
before, “I order you to do it!” After that there was nothing but to obey.
The portion above the ground level, to a height of about 2 ½ feet,
was built with an added piece to the west, to conform to the original
structure which had the flower pots on it. This is the present form of
the Samadhi as seen above the ground level. The surface of this was at
first just finished with cement plaster and grey washed, to match the rest
of the Ashram buildings. The Mother did not want anything elaborate.
Sri Aurobindo’s Samadhi 9 December 1953

The Samadhi under the shade 26 April 1951

of the Service Tree View from south-west
The Samadhi at noon February 1957

View from south-east
Sri Aurobindo’s Samadhi View from south-west

The Mother’s Rooms
on the Second Floor
The Mother’s Room
The Mother did not have a room of her own [until 1953]. She used to rest in a hall
[the Salon] adjoining Sri Aurobindo’s rooms. But it was a sort of public hall. People were
constantly coming in and going out, so the Mother was never left in peace. But being the
Divine Mother, she never uttered a word against it. She was accustomed to putting up
with all kinds of discomfort, disturbance and inconvenience. But this caused great pain to
Dyuman. He began thinking of how to have a separate room for the Mother.
One day she felt indisposed and returned from the Playground before nightfall. She
called Dyuman and said, “Get me a pillow. I want to lie down flat.”
Dyuman rushed to bring a pillow and gave it to her. The Mother put off the lights and
rested for half an hour. Dyuman became pensive. He mused, “The Mother does not have
a private room where she can rest undisturbed during the day. The coming and going
of people stops late at night and only then can she rest for some time.” He found this
situation unbearable. He told the Mother, “Mother, where will you rest if you fall ill during
the daytime? Where can you lie down? This is a sort of a common room. Should you not
have a private room?”
The Mother agreed with him, but added immediately, “Dyuman, you may construct a
room for me, but see that you do not spend any Ashram money for it.”
Dyuman accepted the Mother’s condition. He wrote to his close friend Navajata in
Bombay to send a lakh of rupees for the construction of the Mother’s room. What was it
that Navajata would not do for the Mother? He immediately sent the money and Dyuman
built a room for the Mother.
Ranadhir Upadhayay 30
The Mother’s Rooms 121
The Mother moves to the second floor
It was also during 1953 that a disciple offered to construct a new room On the morning of the 9th December, 1953, after meditation, Mother
for the Mother above the first floor of the Meditation House. Soli informed Dyuman that she would go up to her new room on the
Albless, another disciple, was one of the architects entrusted with the second floor from that night. Thereafter she spent the nights there. And
task of designing and building the room overlooking Sri Aurobindo’s now and then she would spend some time there during the daytime
Samadhi. The spacious room was completed and properly furnished by also.
the first week of December and was ready for occupation. Champaklal 32
31
Srinivas Iyengar
What is known as the Mother’s room is the room which is opened for
Darshan on her birthday (21st February) and the day of her passing
away (17th November). It was built by Soli Albless in 1953 and it should
not be confused with the Music Room (also known as her Reception
Room) built by Udar Pinto in 1962. Both are on the second floor of the
Meditation House; the former is on the west overlooking the Samadhi
while the latter is adjacent to the balcony on the east. It should be noted
that the Mother also stayed in other rooms of the Ashram main building
at different times, though these are not known as such. See pages 160-61,
170-73.
Editor’s Note
The Mother’s Room on the second floor 1947-1948

of the Meditation House has not yet been built. View from north-west
The Mother’s Room on the second floor has been built. September 1955
Note that the Music Room is not yet there. View from north-west
Close-up of the Mother’s Room on the second floor September 1955

The Mother in her room 4 January 1960

Redesigning the Mother’s Room
Were you involved in the construction of Mother’s Room on the west?

No, because at that time [1953], I was not in charge of the Drawing Office,
I was in the Electric Service. But during the construction, Udar and I, we
both did the vibration of the concrete.
Who designed it?

Soli Albless designed it. Umirchand executed it and I was doing a little
supervision here and there. And in Albless’ design, the windows were
jutting out and Mother had no end of problems with the rains getting in.
So we had to put a verandah all around to protect the windows from the
rains. The verandah was added later on [in 1958]. We had put in concrete
cantilever beams for the verandah into the wall below, and then we could
cast the verandah and, over that, the asbestos roof was provided.
An Interview with Vishwanath Lahiri 33
The Mother’s Room after the after 1958

verandah and shade were built View from south-east
around it.
The Mother’s Room before the 1953-1958

verandah and shade were built View from south-east
around it.
The Music Room and the East Balcony
Mother had been presented with a wonderful Wurlitzer Electric Organ When all had been built I informed Mother that everything was
on which She would play regularly. It was kept in Pavitra’s room. This ready for Her to see, and She came to see. She liked very much the large
also She could not use now. Then one day I said to Her that unless She Music Room in which we had already installed the organ. Then She
played on the organ from time to time it would get spoiled, and none looked out east and saw the balcony and She said: “Udar! What is this
of us would like to play on Her organ. So Mother asked me what was to you have done? A balcony! Do you expect me to start giving Darshans
be done and I suggested that we bring the organ up to Her new room again from here?” I replied: “Mother, I expect nothing but only that
[the room overlooking the Samadhi]. She refused to agree to this as She You are happy with what we have done. So please come out and see this
said that there was no space for the instrument in Her room: it would balcony.” And Mother came out. In the meanwhile, we had sent word
upset the balance of the furnishing of the room. So then I suggested around that Mother might come on the new balcony, and so there were
that we build a special room next to Her bathroom as there was enough people all about, on the street and on each surrounding terrace, etc.
place on the terrace for it. Mother agreed to have a small room specially Almost the whole Ashram had turned out and they all had a Darshan
for the organ, and we set about to design it. of Mother, after such a long time. Mother gave a real Darshan, stand-
Now my Aunt Mary had given to Mother a beautiful carpet, an ing some time looking at all as She did whenever She gave Darshans.
Aubusson, which she had herself received from the Maharaja of Mysore. All were so happy and Dyuman came to me and embraced me warmly
Mother liked the carpet very much but did not know where She could use and said: “Udar, forget all I said before. Our people have had Mother’s
it. So we decided to put it into the Music Room that we were designing. Darshan at last. This is worth all that has been spent and even more; I
We then did a strange thing: we designed the size of the room to fit the am very, very happy.” This brought tears to my eyes because I am very
carpet instead of getting, as is usual, a carpet to fit a room. This made fond of Dyuman and was not happy that he had been angry with us.
the room quite large and then there was still some space left between Now it was all wonderful.
the end of the room and the eastern extremity of the building. That This, then, is how the new balcony came to be and Mother gave Her
space, we felt, could well be used for a covered balcony which could be Darshans on every Darshan Day from there. The Music Room was also
carried round to the south side also. This change we kept rather secret very useful to Her, not only for Her to play the Organ but also to give
and did not even inform Mother about it. It also meant quite a bit more Her interviews: She could be quiet and undisturbed there. So on every
expense. So Dyuman, who had to find the money for all the work, was count it was a very happy thing brought about by Mother’s Grace and
annoyed at this additional expenditure which had not been sanctioned by Her Love.
by Mother, and he expressed himself quite strongly. Udar Pinto 34
The Mother’s Music Room and 21 February 1963

balcony on the second floor. View from Rue François Martin
The Mother’s Music Room and balcony on the second floor. 1965
To the left partly hidden by the branches of the Service Tree is View from south
her room built in 1953.
The Mother in her Music Room 14 December 1965

Terrace Darshan
On her eighty-fifth birthday (21 February 1963), the Mother gave was such a crowd of people on the streets and rooftops wanting to see
Darshan in the evening at 6.15 from the new “balcony” on the terrace her that she “had no choice but to go out on the balcony”. Though this
adjoining her apartments on the second floor of the Meditation House, could be recorded as her first Terrace Darshan, the first official Terrace
the north-east section of the main Ashram building. A large number Darshan was on 21 February 1963. Apart from a few special occasions,
of disciples and admirers had gathered in the street below, and they the Terrace Darshans were given only on the four Darshan days, that is,
had their long-awaited Darshan of the Mother and her benedictions. 21 February, 24 April, 15 August and 24 November, ending with the last
For almost thirteen months there had been no Darshan, and hence this Darshan on 15 August 1973.
was truly an uncommon event. Fair and frail in appearance yet visibly The two balconies used for Balcony Darshan and Terrace Darshan
divine, the Mother stood in her simple attire, and surveyed and blessed should not be confused. The Balcony Darshan refers to the Mother’s
the mass of humanity looking up to her in love and adoration. There Darshan from the balcony on the north side of the first floor of the
was the union of poise and slow rhythmic movement in her sustained Secretariat; the disciples gathered daily on Rue Saint Gilles at about
semi-circular sweep of compassionate comprehension, and everyone 6.15 a.m. until March 1962. The Terrace Darshan refers to the Darshan
of the rapt and packed congregation thought the Mother had eyes for from the balcony on the east side of the second floor of the Meditation
him or her alone, and everyone’s face lighted with the mystic glow of House. Strictly speaking, this is a terrace enclosure and not a balcony.
ineffable fulfilment. The disciples gathered on Rue François Martin from 1963 to 1973 and
Srinivas Iyengar 35 the starting time of the Terrace Darshan varied from 5.15 to 6.15 p.m.,
depending on the month and the year.
There was also a “Terrace Darshan” during the mid-forties when the
When the Mother fell ill in March 1962, she stopped coming down Mother used to walk at about 10 a.m. on the terrace of the first floor of
from the second floor to give the Balcony Darshan. After skipping it on the Meditation House and the New Secretariat before her rooms on the
the 17th and 19th, she gave her last Balcony Darshan on the 20th of second floor were built (see pp. 148-153). When this was suspended, the
March 1962. As her room on the second floor (the room overlooking the term “Terrace Darshan” became associated with the Darshan the Mother
Samadhi) had only an attached toilet, plans for a new bathroom were gave from the second floor balcony to the east from 1963 to 1973.
immediately drawn and executed. The new bathroom on the second
floor was ready on 11 May 1962. The Music Room and the balcony Editor’s Note
to the east were completed on 15 December 1962. When the Mother
came to inaugurate them on the next day, that is, on the 16th, there
The Mother’s Terrace Darshan 21 February 1963

View from east (Rue François Martin)
The Mother’s Terrace Darshan 29 December 1967

The Mother’s Terrace Darshan 21 February 1968

View from east (Rue François Martin)
Disciples on Rue François Martin during the Mother’s Terrace Darshan View from north
The Mother’s Terrace Darshan 28 December 1967

The Two Balconies
The balcony to the east of the Ashram main building used

by the Mother for “Terrace Darshan” from 1963 to 1973
The balcony to the north of the Ashram main building used by

the Mother for “Balcony Darshan” from 1938 to 1962.
Early morning view of the Ashram main building from April 2004
north-east showing both the balconies
Balcony Darshan
Often you have asked me to write to you about the most striking things poets and sportsmen are moving to the one gravitational point of the
of the Ashram here and so long I have somehow dodged the issue. You balcony of grace. They are like muted waves driven to the shore by a
see, it isn’t at all an easy job to pick and choose the striking things of the simple, sweeping breath of some invisible power. Nothing, it seems,
place. I am still, like a novice, seeing things more than understanding can resist this centripetal movement. Whether one comes alone or in
their deeper import. However, just to satisfy your curiosity, I am giving twos and threes, the driving force is one undivided Presence. Within
below some idea of what’s known as the Balcony Darshan here. In my a few minutes, the whole scene of multitudinous gathering gets set
view it is the most marvellous part of the daily routine followed here before us. Small children have selected a little spot of their own. Free
and I have attended it almost every day of my stay here. Yet who can and frolicking as they are, they must have their little chat and fun even
conspire with words to arrest and confine the peculiar thrill of the here and at this hour. The Mother keeps them in her breast forever and
union of the human soul with the Divine? It is no ordinary darshan we need they suspend their little talk and play for the sake of what we call
see before us. There is no proclamation, no ceremony, no obsequious conscious aspiration? And yet here even these child-souls never for a
bowing or supercilious admittance. Here is no hurry, no bustle, no moment forget the purpose for which they have come, the glimpse of
pushing nor jostling. Here there is no newspaper trumpeting of the loving mother they will have. But some of the grown-ups among
numbers, nor pompous festoonings and loud greetings. them are already quietly standing or sitting apart, trying to awaken
Here is the quiet rhythmic beauty of a simple gathering of human the proper spirit of welcome in their bosom and thought. Some of the
souls below and the smiling peace and power of the graciously humanised adults quietly talk shop for a while; they almost automatically adjust
Divinity. themselves to the divine hour. But most are wholly engaged in silently
Just mark, what a fine pattern of meeting quietly unfolds itself ! sending prayers from the places they have chosen themselves. Each has
The drowsy mists of the night are fled and Dawn is slowly breaking, his or her own favourite spot and as soon as they are on it, their inner
developing into day. The birds are astir with the eager songs for the being, it seems, gets in touch with the Divine Mother as though some
coming glory. Our human hearts are aflutter with the desire to see the unerring Finger has tuned them at once to a spell-binding mood of
Mother. It is time for her to appear at the balcony – should I add, the celestial waiting.
infallible balcony of our sincere aspiration? From the east, from the west, Except for the little children’s audible prattling, the whole assembly is
from north and south, aspirants of all ages and climes, workers, scholars, now gathered to such a silent upsurge of meditative quietness, there is now
created such a superhuman atmosphere of calm expectation that the scene radiance of the divine beauty. The breeze plays a celestial music. The
appears to be ideally set for the purifying advent of the golden Dawn. soul blossoms with a rapturous fragrance. Wearing a smiling gravity
While this silent drama of human aspiration is being staged below, all through, the multiform, multi-dimensional aspects and powers of
O with what an incredible quietness but no less unhurrying quickness truth converge upon a single leaning, down-looking expression of the
the gracious body of the supreme Mother now appears like some fairy Mother. The earth is gathered up into the heavenly vision. Truth alone
queen at the balcony above! Not only all eyes but all hearts and souls rules and triumphs….
are instantaneously turned towards the heavenly face with bated breath. Shreekrishna Prasad 36
What a perfect puissant peace now growingly spreads over the purified
place! As though some magic Will said “Let there be peace” and so there
was the clear birth of peace all round. Even the children are hushed into
silence.
While all eyes and thoughts are centred on the unfolding glory
above, the divine eyes quietly survey the upturned being below. What
inimitable phases of the beauteous smile, what outflowings, emanations
of the superhuman compassion, what a personal touch of security and
succour to each! There is an expansion of the soul-movements opened
from below, there is a swift spontaneous widening of the human
consciousness all round. Even the children are affected. All corporeal
movements are suspended. All have ceased to live in their body. There
is a strange silent transformation indeed! If one has the inward sight
to see, one knows that bodies of inert clay have momentarily turned
into undying flames of conscious beings. Time itself seems to stand
still. Eternity has been squeezed into a few minutes. The human soul is
face to face with the Divine Reality. The very atmosphere takes on the
Disciples walking towards the balcony 1950

on Rue Saint Gilles for the Mother’s View from east
Balcony Darshan
Disciples waiting for the 1950

Mother’s Balcony Darshan View from west
The Mother’s Balcony Darshan on rue Saint Gilles 1950

View from north-east
Balcony Darshan 24 April 1954

The Balcony Darshan attended by the young and the old 24 April 1950
The Balcony Darshan attended by the Ashram school children and elders 24 November 1950
Balcony Darshan 1959

The Mother’s Terrace Walk
After giving a biscuit to the crow, Mother went like this and stood here [see Point 1 in drawing] and
we had her darshan. We were very young, we tried to go to the top of the staircase there [Kamalaben’s
staircase]. You might know Jwalanti and Nishtha, they sat with us.
Was this immediately after the Window Darshan?
After some time, within half an hour, by ten o’clock.1 She would feed the crow and come and stand
here [Point 1]. She saw everybody, and then she would go up by this staircase.2 She went to the top
where is now her room, that is, the top landing of the second floor. She stood there [Point 2], and from
there, looked again this side [south]. We all used to be here [in the courtyard south of Madhav Pandit’s
office]. Then from there, she walked straight to Pavitra’s terrace. On that terrace, she came right up to
the edge [Point 3]. She stood there in the middle, just above the door of Pavitra-da’s room. From here
[courtyard south of Dyuman’s room], we ran there [to the courtyard south of Pavitra’s room]. The Service
tree was quite small and compact then. By that time, Mother would come to the top of the Salon [Point 4].
Mother’s room on the second floor was not yet there. It was built later, in 1953. She used to come right
up to the edge [of the terrace of the Salon]. She stood there with Chinmayi holding the umbrella over
her. And then, again, she walked down the length of the room to come to the landing there [Point 2].
She would again look around, and start coming down. Come down; come there again [Point 1]. And
go in [the Salon].
An Interview with a Sadhika 37
1. The timing seems to have varied during different periods. Rakhal Bose reports the same Terrace Walk (Darshan) of the Mother
at “about 11 a.m.” in 1944. Similarly, there are varying reports of the route followed by the Mother during her Terrace Walk .
2. The staircase, at that time, didn’t start from the south of the Salon, but from the terrace of Madhav Pandit’s office.
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Ru s
ed nçoi
e la r a
Ma eF
rin Ru
e
The terrace south of the Salon where the Mother used to come
and stand before going to the second floor for her walk
Disciples in the Ashram courtyard waiting to see the Mother View from north-west
during her terrace walk
Disciples in the Ashram courtyard during the Mother’s terrace walk

Symbolic Names
Symbolic Names 157
Symbolic Names of Rooms in the Ashram Main Building
The symbolic names of rooms in the Ashram main building seem to have been given by the Mother
during the years 1928-1932. The period when the names were given can be determined by the change
of function of the room called “Communion with the Divine”. This room was used by the Mother to
distribute soup to the disciples from 1928 to 1931. It became the Reception Room in 1932, after the
Mother fell ill in October 1931 and the soup distribution was stopped. The names given to the rooms
on the first floor of the New Secretariat – “La Réserve” (Green Room or the Mother’s Boudoir) and
“Occultism” (Pavitra’s bedroom) – provide another clue to the dating as these rooms were completed
in 1932.
The symbolic names were related to the functions of the rooms. For example, the Darshan
Room was named “Divine Consciousness”, and the adjacent hall where the Mother meditated with
the disciples was called “Purified Worship”. Dr Rajangam’s dispensary in the Library House was
“Power of Healing” and the room where Champaklal worked was “Orderly Work”. Other names
were indicative of the persons who occupied the rooms. Sri Aurobindo’s room was named “Supreme
Manifestation upon earth”, while Nolini’s study room was “Pure Mind”, Amrita’s room “Vital
Immortality” and Purani’s room “Agni”.
The names were commonly used in the early thirties. Mrityunjoy, the sadhak then in charge of the
Electricity Service, wrote on 21 November 1931 in his report to the Mother, “Library House Silence
verandah – bulb fused.” Chandulal, head of the Building Service, likewise mentioned the need to
repair “the roof above Occultism” in his report of 7 July 1932.
Editor’s Note
Ashram Main Building - First Floor
Occultism Alchemy La Réserve Integral Purity Supreme Manifestation upon earth

Pavitra’s bedroom Laboratory Green room Salon Bathroom Sri Aurobindo’s room
Realisation
Pavitra’s office Krishna’s Ananda
Sitting room
Connection
Flame Divine’s Love
Kitchen Dressing room
Water Perfect Creation
Datta’s bathroom Central Hall
Psychic centre
Datta’s second room Divine Consciousness
Darshan room
Psychological
Perfection Purified Worship
Champaklal’s room Meditation Hall upstairs
Stores Spiritual Intensity

Staircase - upper flight
Vital conversion
Datta’s room Wealth
Stores - first room
Patience Orderly work Love the Victor Material Prosperity Riches

Stores verandah Passage Anilbaran’s room Stores - third room Stores - second room
Symbolic Names 159
Ashram Main Building - Ground Floor
Life Energy Spiritual Ascension Aspiration for vital purity Vital Immortality
Purushottam’s room Staircase - lower flight Bathroom Amrita’s room
Conquest over the Transformation

greed for food Nolini’s bedroom
Dining Room
Pure Mind
Nolini’s study
Vital progress
Bathroom Matter consenting to
be spiritualised
Falsehood Meditation hall downstairs
Reading room
Spiritual Aspiration
Power of Healing Front verandah
Rajangam’s room
Agni
Health Purani’s bedroom
Dispensary
Peace in the Physical
Service
Purani’s study
Satyen’s room
Divine Grace
Divine Communion
Pranam room
Soup hall
Supramentalised friendship
Silence with the Divine
Soup verandah Doraiswamy’s room
Mind Obedience Perfect Consecration Fulfilment Fire
Library Verandah Dyuman’s room Dyuman’s room Boiler room
( before June 1932) (after June 1932)
Occupants of the Library House - First Floor
When I first came here in April 1921, Sri Aurobindo was living in the Guest House. When
I came for good in June 1923, both Sri Aurobindo and the Mother were living in Library
House. Sri Aurobindo used to see people in the morning in the verandah upstairs. At
that time it was an open verandah, covered on three sides (east, west and south) with big
curtains;1 the windows you now see on these sides were put in much later. The hall to its
north, where Mother distributed Prosperity blessings, was then her Stores. The room to
the north of this hall was Mother’s room (it was later to be my room). The corner room (to
the east of the hall) was Sri Aurobindo’s. The room to the left, on the top of the staircase,
was Datta’s (later Rajangam’s).
Champaklal 38
1. See Mother’s account of expenses for moving to the Library House on page 10, where the fourth item is “blinds
(verandah) – Rs. 13”.
Symbolic Names 161
s
lé an
d’ Or
e
Ru Ru 6. Pavitra’s rooms
e Sai (1926-1929)
nt
Gil
les
7. Sri Aurobindo’s room
(1927-1950)
3
2
6
4
5
1
7

(1922-1927)
Ru
2. The Mother’s room e de in
la Ma Mart
(1922-1927) s
rin
e nçoi
r a
3. Datta’s room eF
Ru
N
4. Prosperity Stores

5. Verandah
Occupants of the Library House – Ground Floor
Now regarding the rooms on the ground floor of this house: the room which is at present
the office of the Reception Service (where photographs are sold) was Moni’s. He had a
humorous and happy disposition and his poems reflect this nature. When he left, that
room was given to me. The present Reception Hall was Nolini’s room and the present
reading room was Amrita’s. What is now the Publication Department display and sales
room was Bijoy’s and its office under the terrace leading to Ravindra’s rooms in the back
courtyard was Barin’s room.
When Sri Aurobindo came down to the dining room (the present fruit distribution
room) to have his food, he came down the Prosperity stairs, passed through Nolini’s room,
Bijoy’s room and then entered the dining room. (This dining room was only for the inmates
of Library House; the inmates of Guest House, where I stayed in the room that Mother
had lived in, had a separate dining room.) It is specially interesting to me that everybody
receives fruits from the very room where once Sri Aurobindo had his meals.
Champaklal 39
Symbolic Names 163
Sri Aurobindo’s Path to the Dining Room
1. Amrita’s room
2. Nolini’s room
8
3. Moni’s room
7
4. Bijoy’s room 9
10
5
5. Barin’s room
3
4
6
2
6. Dining room
1 (1922-1927)
Ru
ed 7. Dining room
e la
Ma (1929-1934)
rin
e
N 8. Garage

9. Banana garden
10. Garage
Sri Aurobindo’s Lunch
Pavitra kept all his tools in his room, which was no larger than the go. Crossing the terrace, Pavitra accompanies the Mother through
one he had occupied in Rosary House. Evidently its builder had no her bathroom door, carrying four or five bowls, one above the other,
premonition of its tall new dweller! But however inconvenient, the covered with saucers; they contain Sri Aurobindo’s lunch.
dweller didn’t mind. He had been trained well and had the capacity to Mrityunjoy Mukherjee 40
adjust to any circumstance. In that little room, the cot occupied almost
half the space. Then there was a huge almirah, a shabby deal-wood
almirah, and a few boxes that had accompanied him to Japan, Mongolia The reader might wonder why Sri Aurobindo’s lunch had to be carried
and China, and are even now lying in his room. These wonderful through the “bathroom door”, but this door provided a connection
artefacts covered almost the whole floor. One could somehow manage to between the Meditation House and the Old Secretariat. Sri Aurobindo
negotiate the room through the narrow passage that was left. And and the Mother’s bathroom on the first floor of the Meditation House was
through it the Mother passed daily at least twice, in the afternoon and adjacent to the terrace of the Old Secretariat where Pavitra stayed. It was
evening. The cot itself, with its mattress rolled back to one side, served thus convenient to add a door on the west wall of the bathroom and link
as a spacious table, suitable for all purposes. There was also a chair and it to the terrace of the Old Secretariat in order to have direct access from
a small table which Pavitra used for preparing salads for Sri Aurobindo one house to the other. Incidentally, Sri Aurobindo’s bathroom already
and the Mother. He could make a variety of salads – true French had (and even now has) two other doors, one to the east opening into his
salads. Simply to watch him at work was to learn a chapter of human own room, and one to the south opening in front of the staircase landing.
life. What a clean and orderly arrangement of every detail: the utensils When the New Secretariat was built in 1932, the door to the west was
in position, the water in the bowls, the knives and forks and spoons, connected to the corridor leading to Pavitra’s new room on the first floor
the apron and towels, the salt and pepper, vinegar and oil, and then the of the New Secretariat. See the drawings on pages 168-169 for a more
vegetables, some boiled, some raw, some soaked in salt since the day graphic representation.
before, and lastly the washing place with a big jug of water – all set up as The drawing on the opposite page shows the courtyard of the Old
if in a scientist’s laboratory! Pavitra’s swiftness, clarity and neatness on Secretariat with the present location of the Samadhi. The building
the job was a picture. And as he worked, still he could talk to a young on the right is the Old Secretariat which was demolished in 1931. The
disciple sitting on the window-sill! structure on the left is the kitchen in the Rosary House demolished in
At any moment the Mother will come. He has to hurry up. The 1942. The passage of the Mother as described in Mrityunjoy’s story is
time is 1:00 p.m. Yes, here is the Mother, surprised to see a novice here drawn in red.
at this hour, but, all gracious, she allows him to remain. It is time to Editor’s Note
Symbolic Names 165
Passage for carrying Sri Aurobindo’s Lunch

Inside view facing east, 1929
3 4
1. Kitchen in Rosary House 3. Old Secretariat 5. Meditation house

(Pavitra’s rooms on first floor)
2. Water tanks 6. Bathroom door
(present location of the Samadhi) 4. Terrace of the old Secretariat
The Mother’s Passage to the Prosperity Stores in 1929
By [1929], the small old houses on the plot adjoining Library House Many interconnections were made for the Mother to move freely through
were being bought. They have all been demolished now to make the the four houses of the Ashram main building. Apart from the bathroom
big courtyards of the Ashram. Pavitra was shifted to one of them, a door linking the Meditation House with the Old Secretariat, a small
little two-storeyed house in the centre of the small courtyard near the link-staircase “at the foot of the present Samadhi” gave her access to the
Mother’s first room in Meditation House. Pavitra’s house had only one Library House from the courtyard of the Old Secretariat. The original
small room upstairs, with a door facing an open terrace that led to the staircase of the Library House leading to Champaklal’s room on the first
Mother’s bathroom. Crossing that terrace, the Mother would come to floor started only from the south, that is, from the courtyard in front of
Pavitra’s room. When she went down to the car for her afternoon drive, the present Notice Board verandah. The covered passage (Item 11 on
or in the evening when she went to the Prosperity room, she would page 168) was another connection between the Library House and the
always pass through Pavitra’s room. Descending his staircase, she would Rosary House through which the Mother came back to the Meditation
walk a few steps across the courtyard, go up the staircase at the foot of House in the evening after distributing soup to the sadhaks.
the present Samadhi, and pass through Champaklal’s or Anilbaran’s
room in order to enter “Prosperity”; there she spent a while looking Editor’s Note
into the accounts of the daily expenditure for the garden, kitchen,
general stores, and so on. During all these activities, Pavitra followed
her like a shadow.
Mrityunjoy Mukherjee 41
Symbolic Names 167
When the Secretariat was rebuilt in 1932, the Mother did not have to climb up and down the two staircases to
go to the Prosperity Stores in the Library House. She could now simply walk through the corridor connecting
the Meditation House with the New Secretariat, go through Pavitra’s room, cross Champaklal’s terrace and
enter either Anilbaran or Champaklal’s room to reach the Prosperity Stores on the first floor of the Library
House.
Editor’s Note
The corresponding drawings of these two pages describing the Mother’s passage
in the Ashram main building before and after the construction of the New
Secretariat are on the next two pages.
s
lé an 6. Staircase of Old Secretariat
d’ Or
e
Ru Ru
e
7. Pavitra’s rooms
Sai
nt
Gil 8. Sri Aurobindo’s bathroom
les
2
7
1
3 8
4 5 6 9
10
11
N

2. Champaklal’s room
Ru
ed a rtin
3. Anilbaran Roy’s room e la
çois M
Ma
rin ran
4. Staircase - Library House e ueF 10. Kitchen in Rosary House
R
5. Link Staircase 11. Covered passage

Symbolic Names 169
ns
r léa 6. Salon
e d’O Ru
Ru e Sai 7. Sri Aurobindo’s bathroom
nt
Gil
les
4
2
1
3 5 7
6 8
N
2. Champaklal’s room
Ru

ed
3. Anilbaran Roy’s room e la
Ma in
ri ne Mart
is
4. Pavitra’s office
r anço
e F
Ru
5. Corridor
First Floor of the Meditation House
Rooms and their Significances Furniture used by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother
A. Sri Aurobindo’s Room (Supreme Manifestation upon Earth) 1. Sri Aurobindo’s chair (November 1946 -1950)
B. Central Hall (Perfect Creation) 2. Sri Aurobindo’s bed (November 1946 -1950)
C. Meditation Hall upstairs (Purified Worship) 3. Chair used by Sri Aurobindo for writing (1940’s)
D. Darshan Room (Divine Consciousness) 4. The Mother’s Darshan chair (1951-1962)
E. The Mother’s Dressing Room (Divine’s Love) 5. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s Darshan seat (1927-1928)
Also used by the Mother for collective meditation (1927-1928)
F. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s Sitting Room (Krishna’s Ananda)
6. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s Darshan seat (1928-1950)
Symbolic Names 171

D
1 A
3
6
C
B
5
4
Ground Floor of the Meditation House and First Floor of the New Secretariat
Rooms and their Significances Furniture used by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother
A. Front verandah (Spiritual Aspiration) 1. Seat used by the Mother for Pranam (1931-1938)
B. Nolini’s study (Pure Mind) 2. The Mother’s chair placed here on 29.2.1960
(first anniversary of the Supramental Manifestation)
C. Nolini’s bedroom (Transformation)
3. The Mother’s bed placed here after 17.11.1973
D. Amrita’s room (Vital Immortality)
4. Chair used by the Mother for blessings (1944 - 1962)
E. Meditation Hall downstairs (Matter consenting to be spiritualised)
5. The Mother’s chair in the Salon
F. Staircase leading to the first floor – first flight
(Spiritual Ascension) 6. Sri Aurobindo’s correspondence chair and table in the Salon (1930’s)
G. Staircase leading to the first floor – second flight 7. The Mother’s sofa in the Salon
(Spiritual Intensity)
8. The Mother’s couch in the Salon
H. The Mother’s Salon on the first floor
9. The Mother’s chair in the corridor upstairs
I. Corridor leading to Pavitra’s room and office
10. The Mother’s dressing table
J. Green Room – The Mother’s Dressing Room
(La Réserve)
Symbolic Names 173
8 7
6 9
H
5
G I
J
10

4
3
N
2
A E
1
B D
C
Indexes and References 175
13 (p. 24) Haradhan Bakshi, Documents in SAAA
14 (p. 24) Champaklal, Champaklal Speaks (2002), p. 75

References to Texts 15 (p. 25) The Mother, CWM, Volume 16, p. 3
CWM: Collected Works of the Mother 16 (p. 25) Punamchand, Documents in SAAA
SAAA: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives 17 (p. 50) Ramakant Navelkar, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Drawing Office
18 (p. 77) Sahana Devi, Breath of Grace (1973), p. 108
1 (p. 2) Sahana Devi, At the Feet of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo, pp. 4-5 19 (p. 78) An Interview with Nagin Doshi, Documents in SAAA
2 (p. 4) Ramakant Navelkar, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Drawing Office 20 (p. 96) An Interview with Dyuman, Documents in SAAA
3 (p. 6) Barin Ghose, Documents in SAAA 21 (p. 100) An Interview with Dyuman, Documents in SAAA
4 (p. 7) Abdoul Aziz Khan, Documents in SAAA 22 (p. 104) Dyuman, Mother India, January 1989, p. 29. Text emended.
5 (p. 7) Abdoul Aziz Khan, Documents in SAAA 23 (p. 104) An Interview with Dyuman, Documents in SAAA
6 (p. 10) Barin Ghose, Amrita, Baisakh 1341 (April/May 1936) 24 (p. 104) Dyuman, Mother India, January 1989, p. 32.
7 (p. 10) The Mother, Documents in SAAA Text emended and collated.
8 (p. 12) Carounamballe Françis, Documents in SAAA 25 (p. 104) An Interview with Dyuman, Documents in SAAA
9 (p. 20) Barin Ghose, Documents in SAAA 26 (p. 110) Prabhat Sanyal, A Call from Pondicherry, Mother India,
10 (p. 21) The Mother, CWM, Volume 16, p. 3 December 1953, p. 187
11 (p. 21) Barin Ghose, Documents in SAAA 27 (p. 110) Nirodbaran, Twelve Years with Sri Aurobindo (2000), p. 280
12 (p. 21) Sri Aurobindo, Documents in SAAA 28 (p. 111) An Interview with Vishwanath Lahiri, Documents in SAAA
29 (pp. 112-113) Udar Pinto, Sri Aurobindo’s Action, July 1992, pp. 6-7
30 (p. 120) Ranadhir Upadhyay, Translated from Dyuman ni Dyuti,
pp.113-14
31 (p. 121) Srinivas Iyengar, On the Mother (1994), p. 568
32 (p. 121) Champaklal, Champaklal Speaks (2002), p 224
33 (p. 126) An Interview with Vishwanath Lahiri, Documents in SAAA
34 (p. 128) Udar Pinto, Mother India, April 1978, pp. 261-62
35 (p. 132) Srinivas Iyengar, On The Mother (1994), p. 708
36 (pp. 140-41) Shreekrishna Prasad, Mother India, August 1956, pp. 29-30
37 (p. 148) An Interview with a Sadhika, Documents in SAAA
40 (p. 164) Mrityunjoy Mukherjee, Glimpses of Pavitra, Mother India,
January 1989, 44
41 (p. 166) Mrityunjoy Mukherjee, Glimpses of Pavitra, Mother India,
December 1988, p. 815

Subject Index labels on photographs sent to her son .... 69, 71, 73
letters to her son André .... 21, 25
Sri Aurobindo meditation with Pavitra .... 78
change in the sadhana from the vital to the physical level .... 21 moving to the Library House .... 2, 6-7, 10
glass case for preserving his body in 1950, possibility of .... 110-111 moving to the Meditation House .... 21, 24-25
moving to the Library House .... 2, 6-7, 10 path to the Prosperity Stores in 1929 and 1932 .... 166-169
moving to the Meditation House .... 21, 24-25 rooms of,
passage from Old Secretariat to Meditation House to carry in the Library house .... 160-161
his lunch .... 164-165 in the Meditation House .... 158, 169-171
passage to the dining room .... 163 Music Room and east balcony .... 57, 60, 128-131
rooms of, on the first floor of New Secretariat .... 51-52, 57,
in the Library house .... 160-161 158, 172-173
in the Meditation House .... 158, 161, 168-171 on the second floor of New Secretariat .... 52, 57, 60,
rooms and furniture used by him in the Meditation house 120-127
and Secretariat .... 170-173 rooms and furniture used by her in the Meditation house and
symbolic names of his rooms in the Meditation House and Secretariat .... 170-173
New Secretariat .... 157-158 symbolic names of her rooms in the Meditation House and
signs the sale deed of the Meditation House .... 25 the New Secretariat .... 158
self-sketch in 1948 .... 152
The Mother Terrace Darshan .... 23, 128-130, 132-139
account of expenses for moving to Library house .... 10 terrace walk in mid 1940’s .... 148-153
Balcony Darshan .... 132, 138-147
bridge on the scaffolding, walks on .... 63, 78-82 Ashram Main Building
car drives .... 18, 74-77 four houses of .... 2, 4-5
change in the sadhana from the vital to the physical level .... 21 construction
illness in 1962 .... 132 1929 to1935, stages of .... 51
inspection of the Meditation House .... 20 1929 to1962, chronology of .... 52
Balcony block in 1929-1930 .... 56, 68-75 Samadhi

New Secretariat in 1931-1932 .... 83-86 Service Tree and pergola, arrangement of .... 96-99, 103-104
Prosperity block in 1932 .... 87-90 water tanks in 1929 .... 100-102
Cold Storage block, ground floor, in 1935 .... 90-92 planting of Service Tree in 1930 .... 104
Fruit Room in 1948 .... 92 demolition of Old Kitchen in 1942 .... 104
Mother’s room on the second floor in 1953 .... 52, 57, 60, 120-127 construction of pergola in 1942 .... 104-109
Abhay Singh’s room in 1955 .... 50, 52, 58, 60 central courtyard, 1942 .... 108-109
Navajat’s room in 1955 .... 52, 58 glass case for preserving Sri Aurobindo’s body in 1950,
Ravindra’s room in 1958 .... 93 possibility of .... 110-111
Music Room and east balcony in 1962 .... 57, 60, 128-131 construction of Sri Aurobindo’s Samadhi in 1950 .... 112-113
symbolic names of rooms in .... 157-159 internment of the Mother’s body in 1973 .... 113
Library House
renting of .... 6-7 Pondicherry
moving to .... 6-7, 10 construction in .... 50
occupants in 1923 .... 160-163
purchase of .... 52
Meditation House
renting of .... 20
moving to .... 21, 24-25
purchase of .... 25
rooms and furniture used by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother .... 170-173
Rosary House
renting and purchase of .... 12
Secretariat
renting and purchase of .... 16, 52
construction of New Secretariat .... 83-86
rooms and furniture used by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother in
.... 170-173
Index of Photographs 1930 .... 18, 72-76

1931 .... 79-82
The Mother 1931-32 .... 83-85
1926-1929, on terrace of Old Secretariat .... 40-41 1932-1934 .... 87-90
1926-1929, on terrace of Meditation House .... 42-44 1932-1942 .... 86, 103
1926-1929, on staircase of Meditation House .... 17 1935 .... 90-91
1930-1931, on terrace of Old Secretariat .... 18 1942 .... 109
1930-1931, with her car on Rue Saint Gilles .... 74-76 1947-1948 .... 92, 122
1931, on the scaffolding .... 82 1948 .... 92
1950, Balcony Darshan .... 143 1949 .... 3
1954, Balcony Darshan .... 144 1950 .... 143
1959, Balcony Darshan .... 147 1955 .... 123-124
1960, in her room on the second floor .... 125 1958-1962 .... 93
1963, Terrace Darshan .... 133 1968 .... 135
1965, in the Music Room .... 131 1975 .... 11
1967, Terrace Darshan .... 134, 137 2001 .... 19, 45-46, 72, 94, 97-99
1968, Terrace Darshan .... 135 2004 .... 139
2005 .... 23
Disciples 2006 .... 9, 15
during the Mother’s Balcony Darshan .... 142-143, 145-146
during the Mother’s Terrace Darshan .... 135-136 Library House
during the Mother’s terrace walk .... 151, 153 1922-1929 .... 8, 13-14, 36-39, 46-47
1926-1929 .... 42-43
Ashram Main Building 1929 .... 68-71
1922-1929 .... 8, 13-14, 22, 36-39, 46-47 1930 .... 18, 72-75
1926-1929 .... 17, 40-44 1932-1934 .... 87-90
1929 .... 68-71, 101 1935 .... 90-91
1947 .... 91 1929 .... 70-71, 101

1948 .... 92 1930 .... 18, 72-76
1958-1962 .... 93 1931 .... 79-85
1975 .... 11 1932-1942 .... 86
2001 .... 19, 46 1958-1962 .... 93
2006 .... 9 2001 .... 19, 72
Samadhi
Meditation House 1929, the water tanks .... 101
1922-1929 .... 13-14, 22, 38-39 1932-1942, old kitchen .... 103
1926-1929 .... 17, 40-44 1942, central courtyard .... 109
1930 .... 18, 74-75 1950’s, Sri Aurobindo’s Samadhi .... 114-117
1931 .... 81, 83 2001, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s Samadhi .... 97-99
1932-42 .... 103
1958-1962 .... 93 The Mother’s rooms on the second floor
1968 .... 135 the Mother’s Room
2001 .... 19, 45 1955, view from north-west .... 123-124
2005 .... 23 1960, inside view .... 125
1958, circa .... 127
Rosary House 1965, the Mother’s Room and the Music Room .... 130
1922-1929 .... 13-14, 36-39 2001, view from south-east .... 45
1926-1929 .... 17, 40-43 Music Room
1932-42 .... 103 1963, Music Room and balcony on the east .... 129, 133
2006 .... 15 1965, inside view .... 131
1965, Music Room and the Mother’s Room .... 130
Secretariat 1968, balcony on the east .... 135
1922-1929 .... 14 undated, the two balconies .... 138-139
1926-1929 .... 17, 40-44
The Mother’s balconies Index of Drawings

balcony on the north
1930 … 18, 74-75 The Mother
1932-34 … 87 Self-sketch by the Mother dated 4.3.1948 .... 152
1947-48 … 122 Jayantilal Parekh
1950 … 143 temporary and permanent supports of the Service Tree .... 106-107
1954 … 144 Sammer, François
1955 … 123-24 design of the pergola to support the Service Tree .... 105
1959 … 147
1958-62 … 93 Ashram Main Building
1963 … 139
2001… 19
Plans
undated 138
ground & first floor plans of Old Secretariat in 1929 .... 29
balcony on the east
reconstructed ground floor plan in 1929 .... 30-31
1963 … 129, 133
ground floor plan in 1931 .... 28
1965 … 130
ground floor plan in 1932 with symbolic names of rooms .... 159
1968 … 135
first floor plan in 1932 with symbolic names of rooms .... 158
2004 … 139
plan of the pergola in 1942 …. 108
2005… 23
undated … 138 Perspectives
from south-east in 1929 .... 32-33, 53
from south-east in 1947 .... 54
Golconde .... 92-93, 122-123
from south-east in 2000 .... 55
from north-west in 1929 .... 34-35, 61
from north-west in 1930 .... 62
from north-west in June 1931 .... 63
view of the central courtyard of in 1929 showing the present location Index of Names
of the Samadhi …. 102
inside view facing east in 1929, showing the Mother’s passage Abdoul Aziz Khan 6-7
for carrying Sri Aurobindo’s lunch …. 167 Abhay Singh 50, 52, 58, 60
Ambu 96, 104
Elevations
Amrita 10, 21, 25, 157, 159, 162-163, 172-173
north elevation, 1929-2005 .... 56-57
André Morisset 21, 25, 51
south elevation, 1929-2005 .... 58
Anilbaran Roy 21, 158, 166-169
west elevation, 1929-2005 .... 59
Barin Ghose 6, 10, 12, 20-21, 25, 162-163
east elevation, 1929-2005 .... 60
Bijoy Nag 162-163
Isometric Views
Bushy, the cat 21
part open Isometric View showing first floor occupancy
Carounamballe Françis 12
of Library House in 1923 .... 161
Champaklal 24, 33, 35, 37, 51, 71, 89, 101, 121, 158,
part open Isometric View showing ground floor occupancy of Library
160, 162, 166-169
House and Sri Aurobindo’s passage to the dining room in 1923 .... 163
Chandulal 25, 28, 30, 51-52, 77, 81, 85, 157
part open Isometric view showing the Mother’s passage through
Chinmayi 148
the Old Secretariat in 1929 .... 168
Dara 12, 20
part open Isometric view showing the Mother’s passage through
Datta 10, 158, 160-161
the New Secretariat in 1932 .... 169
David 25
part open Isometric View showing the route of the Mother’s terrace walk
Dikshit 25
in 1940’s .... 149
Dilip Kumar Roy 52
open Isometric View of the first floor of Meditation House showing
Doraiswamy Iyer 25, 159
rooms & furniture used by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother .... 170-171
Dyuman 12, 30, 50-51, 78, 96, 100, 104, 120-121,
open Isometric View of ground and first floor of Meditation House
128, 148, 157, 159
and New Secretariat showing rooms and furniture used
Haradhan Bakshi 24
by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother .... 172-173
Harikant Patel 12
Hindocha 47
Iyengar, Srinivas 121, 132
Jayant Patel 111 Purushottam 52, 159

Jayantilal Parekh 106-107 Radhanand 51
Jwalanti 148 Raghava Chettiar 21
Kamalaben 43, 148 Rajangam 159-160
Kanai Ganguly 12 Rajani Palit 21
Kaplan, H.P. 112 Rakhal Bose 148
M.P Pandit 43, 148 Ranadhir Upadhyaya 120
Manubhai 96, 104 Ravindra 52, 59, 162
Mary (Udar’s aunt) 128 Raymond 104
Moni 162-163 René 12
Mrityunjoy Mukherjee 78, 157, 164, 166 Sahana 2, 52,77
Mysore, Maharaja of 128 Sammer 104-105
Nagin Doshi 52, 78 Sanyal, Prabhat 110, 112
Nakashima 104 Satyen 159
Navajat 52, 58, 120 Shreekrishna Prasad 140-141
Nirodbaran 50-51, 81, 110 Soli Albless 121, 126
Nishtha 148 Subramaniam 25
Nolini Kanto Gupta 21, 25, 157, 159, 162-163, 172-173 Udar Pinto 100, 111-113, 126, 128
Panou 111 Umirchand 126
Parichand 104 Vishwanath Lahiri 111, 126
Pavitra 12, 16, 25, 40-41, 50-51, 72-78, 80, 82, Xavier, Saint Francis 112
111, 128, 148, 157-158, 161, 164-169
Potel 25
Prafull 51
Pujalal 12
Punamchand 25
Purani 159
Index of Departments Kitchen

in Aroumé 52
Accounts Office 68-69 in Library House 31-39
André’s Office 51 in Rosary House 17, 31-35, 40, 42-43, 52, 79-82,
Atelier 51 102-104, 106, 164-165, 168-169
Banana garden 31-37, 46-47, 70-71, 74-75, 163 Champaklal’s kitchen 33, 35, 71, 89
Building Service 52, 68-71, 83-85, 100-102, 126, 157 Library 159
Bulletin Office 50-52 Milking place 31
Cold Storage 51-52, 57, 59, 90-94 Notice board verandah 32-33, 36-37, 42-43, 50-51,
Cow shed 31, 38-39 72-73, 166
Cycle House 88-89 Prosperity office 51-52, 57, 87-89
Dining Room Prosperity Stores 51, 158, 160-161, 166-169
in Library House (1922-27) 160-161 Publication Dept 162-163
in Library House (1929-34) 31-35, 51-52, 59, 88-89, 159 Reading Room 159
in Rosary House 12 Reception Hall 162-163
Dispensary 159 Reception Service 162-163
Drawing Office 17, 33, 40-41, 46-47, 80, 126 School 79
Electric Service 78, 126, 157 Soup Hall 159
Embroidery Dept 32-33
Fruit room 52, 57, 59, 92-94, 162-163
Garages 31-35, 38-39, 46-47, 51, 59, 163
Gardening 96, 104
Golconde 92-93, 122-123
Guest House 160, 162
Grace 33, 69

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Sri Aurobindo Ashram

The Story of the Main Building

Front cover painting by Jayantilal Parekh, 1939

Note on captions used in this book

1. The Four Houses 1

2. Earliest Plans and Photographs 27

3. Perspectives and Elevations 49

4. Photographs of Early Construction 1929-1958 67

5. The Story of the Samadhi 95

6. The Mother’s Rooms on the Second Floor 119

7. Symbolic Names 155

8. References to Texts 175

The Ashram Main Building

View from south-east 1949

The Ashram main building measures approximately 60 metres long from

The Library House

Note from the landlord to Sri Aurobindo English Translation

Earliest Rental Receipt

The Library House

View from south 1922-1929

The Library House

View from south 2007

The Mother’s Account of Expenses

The Library House

View from south-west 1975

The Rosary House

Rental Receipt for July 1925

The Rosary House

The Rosary House

The Rosary House

Rented from 4 May 1926

The Secretariat and the Meditation House

The Old Secretariat

The New Secretariat

The motorcycle parked on the road is in front of the 2001

The Meditation House

The Mother’s Inspection of the Meditation House

The Meditation House

On the street is a pousse-pousse (an old type of rickshaw) 1922-1929

The Meditation House

6th and 7th February 1927

14 July 1927 Punamchand’s letter to Dikshit 16

Earliest Ground Floor Plan of the Ashram Main Building

The earliest ground floor plan

Ground Floor Plan First Floor Plan

Reconstructed Ground Floor Plan of the Ashram Main Building

This room was

Perspective of the Ashram Main Building from south-east in 1929

Garage Banana garden Garage Old Secretariat

Champaklal’s Drawing Office

Library House Meditation

Kitchen Notice Board area Kitchen

Perspective of the Ashram Main Building from north-west in 1929

Old Secretariat Garage Banana garden

The Library House

View from south-east 1922-1929

Notice board area (2008)

Shed Chimney of kitchen

The Library House, Rosary House and Meditation House.

View from west (Rue de la Marine) 1922-1929

Library House Rosary House

The Secretariat and the Meditation House

Kitchen in Mother with Pavitra Shed on

Close-up of the Mother

View of Old Secretariat from north-west before reconstruction N