Prayers and Quotes From The Mother

by Jayaram V

The Mother, was born on 21 February 1878 in Paris of a Turkish Jewish father, Moïse Maurice Alfassa and an Egyptian Jewish mother. was originally known as Blanche Rachel Mirra Alfassa. Between eleven and thirteen she had a series of psychic and spiritual experiences in which she had encounters with many spiritual entities who introduced to the realms beyond and above ordinary human experience.

Later she practiced Raja Yoga and studied the Bhagavadgita and made further progress on the spiritual path. During this time she married twice. Her first marriage was to Henri Morisset in 1897. They were separated in 1908. Four years later she married Paul Antoine Richard, from whom she was not officially divorced.

In 1914, she came on a visit to India along with her husband Paul and met Sri Aurobindo at Pondicherry. From then on she remained a spiritual associate of Sri Aurobindo until she passed away on 17 November 1973. Paul stayed with her for sometime at Pondicherry until he moved on. After her mentor retreated into seclusion in 1926, she founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and managed the affairs of the Ashram and provided guidance to the community of disciples he organized.

The experiences of the last thirty years of Mother's life were preserved in the 13-volume work The Agenda. In those years she attempted the physical transformation of her body in order to become what she felt was the first of a new type of human individual by opening to the Supramental Truth Consciousness, a new power of spirit that Sri Aurobindo had allegedly discovered. Sri Aurobindo considered her an incarnation of the Mother Divine and called her by that name: The Mother. When asked why he called her the Mother, Sri Aurobindo wrote a seminal book The Mother by introduction to the Mother's outstanding Personalities, portions and embodiments of her divinity. That's how she came be known as The Mother.

Sri Aurobindo considered Mother to be an incarnation of the Supreme Shakti. In 1927 he wrote: “ The One whom we adore as the Mother is the Divine Conscious Force that dominates all existence, one and yet many-sided that to follow Her movement is impossible even for the quickest mind and for the freest and most vast intelligence. ” In his various letters, speeches and writings he suggested that one should surrender to the Mother unconditionally in total devotion and allow her to transform them and work through them.

In the early years, Mother appeared on the Ashram balcony to initiate the day with her blessings. She would also meet the heads of the various departments of the growing Ashram every morning, and then the initiates individually. Later, in the evening at 5:30 pm, she conducted meditation sessions. In 1938 Margaret Woodrow Wilson, the daughter of US President Woodrow Wilson, came to the Ashram and chose to remain there for the rest of her life. Henry Ford had also heard of Mother and wanted to meet her. On the eve of his departure, World War II broke out and prevented his coming to India.

The Mother was encouraged by Sri Aurobindo to wear saris. When she was offered 100,000 rupees for one, she called the devotees and distributed or sold them (along with her ornaments) to raise funds for the Ashram during the financially difficult years following the Master's death.

She considered flowers had spiritual significance and contained symbolic significance. She gave specific names to about 800 types, according to their spiritual quality, messages and symbolic significance. She would be present them to disciples during their meetings, to convery her blessings, grace and hidden guidance.

Following are some of the selected works, prayers, sayings, and quotations of the Mother available at Hinduwebsite.com