The Last Bow – by an Observer

Some of the present members of Sri Aurobindo Ashram have been almost brought up by the Mother. They have now ascended to the helm of affairs at the Ashram: they have been elected to be in its special core group, they control and co-ordinate the activities of the Centre of Education and other departments, and they have been inducted as Trustees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram. They have done a lot for the growth of the Ashram in the past, but many of these special people have also been fostering the growth of anti-divine activities. Today they may be powerful and may have a lot of supporters, but once dead, what will they be remembered for? Man tends to forget the earlier deeds and retains only the recent events. So the new generation will judge these authorities by their last stand, which is against the ideals of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo.  [extract]

The Last Bow

“Man proposes God disposes.” Man does not know when Death lays its icy fingers to pluck out someone from existence. People plan as usual about what they would do the next day.  But suddenly, without any notice, fate intervenes. They make their last bow and abruptly leave the stage of life. In a fraction of a second, “he is” changes into “he was”. Mr. X receives a title and becomes late Mr. X. Another person is pulled away from the present into history.

On 21st July 2012, Kumud-ben, the last personal attendant of the Mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, breathed her last. She was such a dynamic personality, almost the sole authority handling and managing various responsibilities in connection with the Mother's and Sri Aurobindo's rooms. She suddenly became mute and lifeless, and all her might and grandeur turned into ashes in no time. This sets us thinking how insignificant we are. Whatever the role we fulfill in life, nothing remains of us when we are dead. This is true of every creature on earth.

Is there life after life? Most people don't feel any need of thinking about it. They are interested in living life as they would like to and leave when they are compelled to. But we do leave behind us a strong memory of ourselves, our deeds and our achievements. We are remembered as good or bad, virtuous or worthless, builder or destroyer. Our life should be therefore exemplary for others to follow, a life lived according to our highest ideals. If we don't lead a fulfilling life, we don't leave any footprints on the sands of time. Surely we wouldn't like to be remembered for our wrong deeds.

Death is not predictable; in fact, most often it is sudden and it doesn't even give a chance to explain or repent. Knowing this truth, we should think how to make our life useful to others and for the community's ideal. If by a series of wrong or unpleasant events like in Karna's life, we have taken the side of falsehood, we must, when we become conscious about it, take the decision not to continue to support  anti-divine forces and allow ourselves to be led by them. It is never too late to return to the right path. One may have made a chain of mistakes and wrong judgments in the past, but it does not matter. Who is not prone to make mistakes?  “To err is human.” To recognise one's faults and try to correct them is, I think, the first important step in the sadhana. But if the eyes are covered with coloured glasses, we will fail to understand the Truth and judge everything in its distorted light.  

Some of the present members of Sri Aurobindo Ashram have been almost brought up by the Mother. They have now ascended to the helm of affairs at the Ashram: they have been elected to be in its special core group, they control and co-ordinate the activities of the Centre of Education and other departments, and they have been inducted as Trustees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram. They have done a lot for the growth of the Ashram in the past, but many of these special people have also been fostering the growth of anti-divine activities. Today they may be powerful and may have a lot of supporters, but once dead, what will they be remembered for? Man tends to forget the earlier deeds and retains only the recent events. So the new generation will judge these authorities by their last stand, which is against the ideals of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. The trustees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram are surely supposed to manage the healthy growth of this unique organisation, striving always to enhance the propagation of its true ideals, and not to put their own personal preferences and opinions, however satisfying they might be, against the ideals of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo.

           

All things, as they are in the Ashram today, are an unwanted anomaly, not envisaged by the Mother, and every member of the Ashram is knowingly or unknowingly responsible for it. All should make efforts to cut through this knot of falsehood. Whatever the leader does, the common man tries to follow. The actions of the leaders have not been in accordance with the Mother's plan – this is now clear to all of us. Should we be like wise-owls who never have the courage to face the light and grow and feed in darkness on our kith and kin? Do these authorities feel the need to change themselves into beings of Light? If they don't accept that in their hearts, they have wrongly placed their personal gains above the interests of the Ashram and the Ashramites, and this huge dark mass of Falsehood hovering overhead will not dissolve and nothing will change. If they opt for this change, they shall grow in the eyes of all their friends and foes. Then the massive structure erected as a fortress to house the Lord of Falsehood will crumble down, and they will be remembered in Ashram history as heroes who sacrificed their personal comforts for the sake of the Mother's ideal. They should now put themselves “deliberately and exclusively on the side of the Divine” before it is too late. Let them not wait to change at the eleventh hour, for they might indeed be plucked by those inevitable icy hands of Death. An actor is remembered by the last bow he makes before he leaves the stage and his whole past is judged by his final gesture.            

                                                                       An Observer