Who is Mirra Alfassa?

Mirra to Mother

The unsaid power of a woman

Mirra Alfassa was affectionately referred to as "The Divine Mother" by her loved ones and spiritual seekers. She was a spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo. Her efforts and teachings greatly reshaped the spiritual landscape of India in the light of the teachings imparted by Sri Aurobindo. February 21, 2021 marked the 143rd birth anniversary of The Mother. Hereby my post highlights some well-known and less known facts of Her life in the form of a short biography. Sweet Mother is an exemplification of Woman's role in spirituality.


The Divine Mother


 Childhood


Mother was born as Blanche Rachel Mirra Alfassa on February 21, 1878 at 41 Boulevard Haussmann, Paris – second child of Maurice Alfassa and Mathilde Ismaloun. Her Jewish parents came from the family of bankers and being materialists, Mother was brought up free from religious or racial influences. She composed her first writing at the age of nine called “The Path of Later On” and also took lessons in piano, painting and tennis. Interestingly, Mother had a quest for knowledge and between 11 and 13, she had several spiritual experiences and a sense of God’s existence and man’s possibility of unification with Him. 

 

The Artist


On and around 1897, Mother attended the Académie Julian to learn painting. In the same year, on October 13, she got married to Henri Morriset, a painter and gave birth to a son André in 1898. During this time, she also interacted with well-known artists like Rodin and Matisse. On a personal note, Mother was very fond of her son. Similarly, little André was also very fond of his mother and used to say “Ma mére est la verité (meaning my mother is truth)." 

 

Occultism 


In 1905, Mother came across Max Théon and made trips to Tlemcen, Algeria to study occultism. This phase is very appealing to me but going into the details is beyond the scope of this post. During this phase, Mother underwent a series a mental changes leading to the realization that there is something beyond our mental capabilities. She met leaders from multiple religious order such as Abdul Baha (son of Baha Ullah, founder of Bahai Religion) and Buddhist writer David Néel. She also translated a vast body of texts such as Gita, Narada Bhakti Sutras, Isha Upanishads and some teachings of Sri Ramakrishna. Of note, Mother got divorced from Henri Morriset and three years later in 1911, she got married to Paul Richard, a barrister with deep interest in occultism and spirituality. 

 

Meeting Sri Aurobindo


On March 29, 1914, Mother and Paul Richard arrived in Pondicherry from Paris and met Sri Aurobindo at 41, rue François Martin. This meeting startled her as she recognized her “Krishna” who she perceived many years ago. On the very next day Mother wrote in her diary: “It matters little that there are thousands of beings plunged in the densest ignorance. He whom we saw yesterday is on Earth; his presence is enough to prove that a day will come when darkness shall be transformed into light, and Thy reign shall indeed be established upon Earth.”


Many years later, Sri Aurobindo recollected this very meeting and said: “That was the first time I knew that perfect surrender to the last physical cell was humanly possible... .”

 

Stay in Japan


In and around 1916-17, Mother went to Japan and adapted the Japanese way of life from the heart. She met Dr. Okhawa, a professor of Asian History and a Zen practitioner. During her stay in Japan, she met Rabindranath Tagore and had many spiritual exchanges. The years spent in Japan played a cardinal role in her spiritual and cultural growth. 

 

Mirra to Mother


Mother permanently arrived in Pondicherry on April 24, 1920. Until 1926, she immersed herself into the nuances of Ashram and got into deeper meditation along with many Ashram disciples (both men and women). This is the time when Sri Aurobindo slowly started withdrawing himself and Mother was taking up the work of sadhana – which is greatly reflected into the inner and outer realms of Ashrama even today. 


According to Nolini Kanta Gupta, “Sri Aurobindo would refer to the Mother quite distinctly as Mira….No one knows for certain on which particular date, at what auspicious moment, the word “Mother” was uttered by the lips of Sri Aurobindo.”

 

Auroville


On February 28, 1968 – “Auroville”, The City of Dawn was inaugurated, located north of Pondicherry, India. Indeed, existence of Auroville is one of the realized dreams of the Mother. In her own words, Mother has said that “Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness”.


On November 17, 1975, Mother left her body at the age of 95. 


Suggested Reading


Collected Works of the Mother, cent. ed. The Mother, Prayers and Meditations Reminiscences, Nolini. K. Gupta and Amrita, 1969

 

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