Mirra Alfassa - Work of Physical Transformation

Work of Physical Transformation

Sri Aurobindo said that in the Mother he found surrender to the Divine down to physical body itself, the cells of the body (not merely the mind and emotions), the likes of which could not be found in any human being.

In 1950 Sri Aurobindo left His body. Mother related that, upon his death, she came to stand beside the bed on which he lay, "and – in a way altogether concrete – concrete with such a strong sensation as to make one think that it could be seen – all this supramental force which was in him passed from his body into mine".

After Sri Aurobindo's passing, Mother fully took up her promise to Sri Aurobindo to continue the physical transformation. On 29 February 1956 ("Golden Day") she announced an experience in which she had a vast cosmic golden form and broke open the golden door that separated the Universe from the Divine, allowing the Supramental force to stream down to Earth in an uninterrupted flow. She later (24 April,) announced "The manifestation of the Supramental upon earth is no more a promise but a living fact".

From 1960 till her death in 1973, Mother had a number of near-weekly meetings with one of her disciples, Satprem. There she discussed her progress in her physical transformation, world events and her effect on world events, the new workings of the supramental consciousness in the world, her earlier life's experiences including her spiritual experiences, the changes and spiritualisation in the functioning of her physical body, her visions of the new race, and many other topics. These conversations were kept and were published in French and English in the 13-volume set known as The Agenda.

In 1961 a friend of John F. Kennedy took interest in Mother and examined in depth the philosophy and yoga of Sri Aurobindo. He met Mother and asked her what were the external signs by which one could discern the attainment of the Supramental consciousness in a person. Mother explained to him the conditions that would reveal the attainment of the Supramental consciousness and told him that of the three, equality, was the most significant. The visitor arranged for Kennedy to visit Mother, but it could not take place.

In 1962, at the age of 84, she was forced by an illness to withdraw from close physical contact with disciples (Agenda vol.3), although she continued to give public Darshans four times a year, at which thousands of devotees gathered and received her blessings. She continued her inner work, concerning the transformation of the physical and cellular consciousness.

In her discussions, she is alleged to have had a number of formidable spiritual experiences in the 1950s through the 1970s. Her experiences are supposed to have intensified through the later 1960s and 70s.

In later years she met with other renowned individuals, including the king of Nepal. She had a significant meetings with the Dalai Lama who had recently escaped from Chinese occupation of Tibet, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, VV Giri, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Indira Gandhi etc.

Concurrent with her work on the inner transformation, she worked on the outer as well. In 1956 she established the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch, together with Surendranath Jauhar and Mother's International School. In 1967 plans were made and some land acquired to found a universal city of spiritual seekers in Gujarat, which she named Ompuri. But in 1968, Mother, began Auroville as a 'more external extension' of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram (Mirapuri – Biography).

Mother left Her body on 17 November 1973; three days later her body was placed in the Samadhi, the vault in the courtyard of the Ashram where Sri Aurobindo's body was placed in 1950.