Flowers are the moment’s representations of things that are in themselves eternal. -Sri Aurobindo
A B C D E F G H I J K L
M N O P Q R S T U V W Y
Index of Significances
Flowers are the moment’s representations of things that are in themselves eternal. -Sri Aurobindo
A B C D E F G H I J K L
M N O P Q R S T U V W Y
Life Sketch of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo
Originally named Mirra Alfassa, the Mother was born in Paris on 21 February 1878. She was the daughter of Maurice Alfassa, a banker (born in Adrianople, Turkey in 1843) and Mathidle Ismaloun (born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1857). Maurice, his wife and his son, Matteo (born in Alexandria in 1876), emigrated from Egypt to France in 1877, one year before Mirra's birth. Her early education was given at home. Around 1892 she attended a studio to learn drawing and painting, and later studied at the Paris Salon.
Concerning her early spiritual life, the Mother has written: "Between 11 and 13 a series of psychic and spiritual experiences revealed to me not only the existence of God but man's possibility of uniting with Him, of realising Him integrally in consciousness and action, of manifesting Him upon earth in a life divine." In her late twenties the Mother voyaged to Tlemcen, Algeria, where she studied occultism for two years with a Polish adept, Max Theon, and his wife. Returning to Paris in 1906, she founded her first group of spiritual seekers. She gave many talks to various groups in Paris between 1911 and 1913.
At the age of thirty-six the Mother journeyed to Pondicherry, India, to meet Sri Aurobindo. She saw him on 29 March 1914 and at once recognised him as the one who for many years had inwardly been guiding her spiritual development. Staying for eleven months, she was obliged to return to France because of the First World War. She lived in France for about a year and then in Japan for almost four years. On 24 April 1920 she returned to Pondicherry to resume her collaboration with Sri Aurobindo, and remained here for the rest of her life.
At that time a small group of disciples had gathered around Sri Aurobindo. The increase of disciples led to the founding of the Sri Aurobindo's Ashram on the 24th Nov, 1926. From the beginning Sri Aurobindo entrusted the Mother with full material and spiritual charge of the Ashram. After almost 50 years of work at every level, the Mother left her body on 17th Nov. 1973, at the age of ninety five.
Concerning her early spiritual life, the Mother has written: "Between 11 and 13 a series of psychic and spiritual experiences revealed to me not only the existence of God but man's possibility of uniting with Him, of realising Him integrally in consciousness and action, of manifesting Him upon earth in a life divine." In her late twenties the Mother voyaged to Tlemcen, Algeria, where she studied occultism for two years with a Polish adept, Max Theon, and his wife. Returning to Paris in 1906, she founded her first group of spiritual seekers. She gave many talks to various groups in Paris between 1911 and 1913.
At the age of thirty-six the Mother journeyed to Pondicherry, India, to meet Sri Aurobindo. She saw him on 29 March 1914 and at once recognised him as the one who for many years had inwardly been guiding her spiritual development. Staying for eleven months, she was obliged to return to France because of the First World War. She lived in France for about a year and then in Japan for almost four years. On 24 April 1920 she returned to Pondicherry to resume her collaboration with Sri Aurobindo, and remained here for the rest of her life.
At that time a small group of disciples had gathered around Sri Aurobindo. The increase of disciples led to the founding of the Sri Aurobindo's Ashram on the 24th Nov, 1926. From the beginning Sri Aurobindo entrusted the Mother with full material and spiritual charge of the Ashram. After almost 50 years of work at every level, the Mother left her body on 17th Nov. 1973, at the age of ninety five.
There is one divine Force which acts in the universe and in the individual and is also beyond the individual and the universe. The Mother stands for all these, but she is working here in the body to bring down something not yet expressed in this material world so as to transform life here -- it is so that you should regard her as the Divine Shakti working here for that purpose. She is that in the body, but in her
whole consciousness she is also identified with all the other aspects of the Divine.
from Volume 25, "The Mother", p. 49-50, 1920
SRI AUROBINDO
The Mother's presence is always there; but if you decide to act on your own idea, your own notion of things, your own will and demand upon things, then it is quite likely that her presence will get veiled; it is not she who withdraws from you, but you who draw back from her.
from Volume 25, "The Mother", p. 117, 1920
SRI AUROBINDO
The Mother's consciousness is the divine Consciousness and the Light that comes from it is the light of the divine Truth, the Force that she brings down is the force of the divine Truth. One who receives and accepts and lives in the Mother's light, will begin to see the truth on all the planes, the mental, the vital, the physical. He will reject all that is undivine, -- the undivine is the falsehood, the ignorance, the error of the dark forces; the undivine is all that is obscure and unwilling to accept the divine Truth and its light and force. The undivine, therefore, is all that is unwilling to accept the light and force of the Mother. That is why I am always telling you to keep yourself in contact with the Mother and with her light and Force, because it is only so that you can come out of
this confusion and obscurity and receive the Truth that comes from above.
When we speak of the Mother's Light or my Light in a special sense, we are speaking of a special occult action -- we are speaking of certain lights that come from the Supermind. In this action the Mother's is the White Light that purifies, illumines, brings down the whole essence and power of the Truth and makes the transformation possible. But in fact all light that comes from above, from the highest divine Truth is the Mother's.There is no difference between the Mother's path and mine; we have and have always had the same path, the path that leads to the supramental change and the divine realisation; not only at the end, but from the beginning they have been the same.
The attempt to set up a division and opposition, putting the Mother on one side and myself on another and opposite or quite different side, has always been a trick of the forces of the Falsehood when they want to prevent a Sadhak from reaching the Truth. Dismiss all such falsehoods from your mind.Know that the Mother's light and force are the light and force of the Truth; remain always in contact with the Mother's light and force, then only can you grow into the divine Truth.
from Volume 26, "On Himself", p.455, 10 September 1931SRI AUROBINDO
Sri Aurobindo was born in Calcutta on 15 August 1872. At the age of seven he was taken to England for his education. There he studied at St. Paul's School, London, and at King's College, Cambridge. Returning to India in 1893, he worked for the next thirteen years in the Princely State of Baroda in the service of the Maharaja and as a professor in the state's college.
In 1906 Sri Aurobindo quit his post in Baroda and went to Calcutta, where he became one of the leaders of the Indian nationalist movement. As editor of the news- paper Bande Mataram, he boldly put forward the idea of complete independence from Britain. Arrested three times for sedition or treason, he was released each time for lack of evidence.
Sri Aurobindo began the practice of Yoga in 1905. Within a few years he achieved several fundamental spiritual realisations. In 1910 he withdrew from politics and went to Pondicherry in French India in order to concentrate on his inner life and work. During his forty years there, he developed a new spiritual path, the Integral Yoga, whose ultimate aim is the transformation of life by the power of a supramental consciousness. In 1926, with the help of the Mother, he founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. His vision of life is presented in numerous works of prose and poetry, among which the best known are The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga and Savitri. Sri Aurobindo left his body on 5 December 1950.
What Sri Aurobindo represents in the world's history is not a teaching, not even a revelation; it is a decisive action direct from the Supreme.
from Volume 13, "Words of the Mother", pp.1-35, 14 February 1961
THE MOTHER
Sri Aurobindo came upon earth to teach this truth to men. He told them that man is only a transitional being living in a mental consciousness, but with the possibility of acquiring a new consciousness, the Truth-consciousness, and capable of living a life perfectly harmonious, good and beautiful, happy and fully conscious. During the whole of his life upon earth, Sri Aurobindo gave all his time to establish in himself
this consciousness he called supramental, and to help those gathered around him to realise it.
from Volume 12, "On Education", p.116, 24 July 1951
THE MOTHER
When in your heart and thought you make no difference between Sri Aurobindo and me, when to think of Sri Aurobindo will be to think of me and to think of me will mean to think of Sri Aurobindo inevitably, when to see one will mean inevitably to see the other, like one and the same Person, then you will know that you begin to be open to the supramental force and consciousness.
from Volume 13, "Words of the Mother", pp.1-35, 4 March 1958
THE MOTHER
Excerpts from Sri Aurobindo's and The Mothers Works
I have noticed a first elementary psychic vibration in plant life, and truly the blossoming of a flower is the first sign of the psychic presence. The psychic individualises itself only in man, but it existed before him; only it is not the same kind of individualisation, it is more fluid and manifests as force or as consciousness rather than as individuality. Take the rose, for example, its great perfection of form, colour and smell expresses an aspiration and is a psychic gift. Look at a rose opening in the morning with the first contact of the sun-it is a magnificent self-giving aspiration.
*
Have you ever watched a forest with all its countless trees and plants struggling to catch the light-twisting and trying in a hundred ways to be in the sun? That is precisely the feeling, of aspiration in the physical-the urge, the movement, the push towards the light. Plants have more of it in their physical being than man.
Their whole life is a worship of light. Light is of course the material symbol of the Divine, and the sun represents, under material conditions, the supreme Consciousness. The plants feel it quite distinctly in their own simple, blind way. Their aspiration is intense, if you know how to become aware of it.
*
The movement of love is not limited to human beings and it is perhaps less distorted in worlds other than the human world. Look at the flowers and trees. When the sun sets and all becomes silent, sit down for a moment and put yourself into communion with Nature. You will feel, rising from the earth, from below the roots of the trees and mounting upward and coursing through their fibers, up to the highest outstretching branches, the aspiration of an intense love and longing-a longing for something that brings light and gives happiness for the light that is gone and they wish to have back again. There is a yearning so pure and intense that if you can feel the movement in the trees, your own being too, will go up in an ardent prayer for the peace and light and love that are unmanifested here.
*
Be like a flower
Be like a flower. One must try to become like a flower: open, frank, equal, generous and kind. Do you know what it means?
A flower is open to all that surrounds it: Nature, light, the rays of the sun, the wind, etc. It exerts a spontaneous influence on all that is around it. It radiates a joy and a beauty.
It is frank: it hides nothing of its beauty, and lets it flow frankly out of itself. What is within, what is in its depths, it lets it come out so that everyone can see it.
It is equal: it has no preference. Everyone can enjoy its beauty and its perfume, without rivalry. It is equal and the same for everybody. There is no difference, or anything whatsoever.
Then generous: without reserve or restriction, how it gives the mysterious beauty and the very own perfume of Nature. It sacrifices itself entirely for our pleasure, even its life it sacrifices to express this beauty and the secret of the things
gathered within itself.
And then, kind: it has such a tenderness, it is so sweet, so close to us, so loving. Its presence fills us with joy. It is always cheerful and happy.
Happy is he who can exchange his qualities with the real qualities of the flowers. Try to cultivate in yourself their refined qualities.
*
I can transmit a state of consciousness more easily to a flower than to a man: it is very receptive, though it does not know how to formulate its experience to itself because it lacks a mind. But the pure psychic consciousness is instinctive to it. When, therefore, you offer flowers to me their condition is almost always an index to yours. There are persons who never succeed in bringing a fresh flower to me - even if the flower is fresh it becomes limp in their hands. Others, however, always bring fresh flowers and even revitalise drooping ones. If your aspiration is strong your flower-offerings will be fresh. And if you are receptive you will be also very easily able to absorb the message I put in the flowers I give you. When I give them, I give you states of consciousness; the flowers are the mediums and it all depends on your receptivity whether they are effective or not.
When I give flowers, it is as an answer to the aspiration coming from the very depths of your being. It is a need or an aspiration, it depends upon the person. It may fill a void or else give you the impetus to progress, or it may help you find the inner harmony in order to establish peace.
Flowers are extremely receptive. All the flowers to which I have given a significance receive exactly the force I put into them and transmit it. People don't always receive it because most of the time they are less receptive than the flowers, and, they waste the force that has been put in it through their unconsciousness and lack of receptivity. But the force is there, and the flower receives it wonderfully.
I knew this a very long time ago. Fifty years ago.... There was that occultist who later gave me lessons in occultism for two years. His wife was a wonderful clairvoyant and had an absolutely remarkable capacity - precisely - of transmitting forces.
They lived in Tlemcen. I was in Paris. I used to correspond with them. I had not yet met them at all. And the
n, an a day, she sent me in a letter petals of the pomegranate flower, "Divine's Love". At that time I had not given the meaning to the flower. She sent me petals of pomegranate flowers telling me that these petals were bringing me her protection and force.
Now, at that time I used to wear my watch on a chain. Wrist-watches were not known then or there were very few. And there was also a small eighteenth century magnifying glass... it was quite small, as large as this (gesture).... And it had two lenses, you see, like' all reading-glasses; there were two lenses mounted on a small golden frame, and it was hanging from my chain. Now, between the two glasses I put these petals and I used to carry this about with me always because I wanted to keep it with me; you see, I trusted this lady and knew she had power. I wanted to keep this with me, and I always felt a kind of energy, warmth, confidence, force which came from that thing.... I did not think about it, you see, but I felt it like that. And then, one day, suddenly I felt quite depleted, as though a support that was there had gone. Something very unpleasant. I said, "It is strange; what has happened? Nothing really unpleasant has happened to me. Why do I feel like this, so empty, emptied of energy?" And in the evening, when I took off my watch and chain, I noticed that one of the small glasses had come off and all the petals were gone. There was not one petal left. Then I really knew that they carried a considerable charge of power, for I had felt the difference without even knowing the reason. I didn't know the reason and yet it had made a considerable difference. So it was after this that I saw how one could use flowers by charging them with forces. They are extremely receptive.
*
An Experience
A deep concentration seized on, and I perceived that I was identifying myself with a single cherry-blossom, then through it with all cherry –blossoms, and , as I descended deeper into consciousness, following a stream of bluish force, I became suddenly the cherry tree itself, stretching towards the sky like so many arms its innumerable branches laden with their sacrifice of flowers. Then I heard distinctly this sentence:
“Thus hast thou made thyself one with the soul of the cherry trees and so thou canst take note that it is the Divine which makes the offering of this flower-prayer to heaven.”
*
Have you ever watched a forest with all its countless trees and plants struggling to catch the light-twisting and trying in a hundred ways to be in the sun? That is precisely the feeling, of aspiration in the physical-the urge, the movement, the push towards the light. Plants have more of it in their physical being than man.
Their whole life is a worship of light. Light is of course the material symbol of the Divine, and the sun represents, under material conditions, the supreme Consciousness. The plants feel it quite distinctly in their own simple, blind way. Their aspiration is intense, if you know how to become aware of it.*
The movement of love is not limited to human beings and it is perhaps less distorted in worlds other than the human world. Look at the flowers and trees. When the sun sets and all becomes silent, sit down for a moment and put yourself into communion with Nature. You will feel, rising from the earth, from below the roots of the trees and mounting upward and coursing through their fibers, up to the highest outstretching branches, the aspiration of an intense love and longing-a longing for something that brings light and gives happiness for the light that is gone and they wish to have back again. There is a yearning so pure and intense that if you can feel the movement in the trees, your own being too, will go up in an ardent prayer for the peace and light and love that are unmanifested here.
*
Be like a flower
Be like a flower. One must try to become like a flower: open, frank, equal, generous and kind. Do you know what it means?
A flower is open to all that surrounds it: Nature, light, the rays of the sun, the wind, etc. It exerts a spontaneous influence on all that is around it. It radiates a joy and a beauty.
It is frank: it hides nothing of its beauty, and lets it flow frankly out of itself. What is within, what is in its depths, it lets it come out so that everyone can see it.
It is equal: it has no preference. Everyone can enjoy its beauty and its perfume, without rivalry. It is equal and the same for everybody. There is no difference, or anything whatsoever.
Then generous: without reserve or restriction, how it gives the mysterious beauty and the very own perfume of Nature. It sacrifices itself entirely for our pleasure, even its life it sacrifices to express this beauty and the secret of the things
gathered within itself.
And then, kind: it has such a tenderness, it is so sweet, so close to us, so loving. Its presence fills us with joy. It is always cheerful and happy.
Happy is he who can exchange his qualities with the real qualities of the flowers. Try to cultivate in yourself their refined qualities.
*
I can transmit a state of consciousness more easily to a flower than to a man: it is very receptive, though it does not know how to formulate its experience to itself because it lacks a mind. But the pure psychic consciousness is instinctive to it. When, therefore, you offer flowers to me their condition is almost always an index to yours. There are persons who never succeed in bringing a fresh flower to me - even if the flower is fresh it becomes limp in their hands. Others, however, always bring fresh flowers and even revitalise drooping ones. If your aspiration is strong your flower-offerings will be fresh. And if you are receptive you will be also very easily able to absorb the message I put in the flowers I give you. When I give them, I give you states of consciousness; the flowers are the mediums and it all depends on your receptivity whether they are effective or not.
When I give flowers, it is as an answer to the aspiration coming from the very depths of your being. It is a need or an aspiration, it depends upon the person. It may fill a void or else give you the impetus to progress, or it may help you find the inner harmony in order to establish peace.
Flowers are extremely receptive. All the flowers to which I have given a significance receive exactly the force I put into them and transmit it. People don't always receive it because most of the time they are less receptive than the flowers, and, they waste the force that has been put in it through their unconsciousness and lack of receptivity. But the force is there, and the flower receives it wonderfully.
I knew this a very long time ago. Fifty years ago.... There was that occultist who later gave me lessons in occultism for two years. His wife was a wonderful clairvoyant and had an absolutely remarkable capacity - precisely - of transmitting forces.
They lived in Tlemcen. I was in Paris. I used to correspond with them. I had not yet met them at all. And the
n, an a day, she sent me in a letter petals of the pomegranate flower, "Divine's Love". At that time I had not given the meaning to the flower. She sent me petals of pomegranate flowers telling me that these petals were bringing me her protection and force.Now, at that time I used to wear my watch on a chain. Wrist-watches were not known then or there were very few. And there was also a small eighteenth century magnifying glass... it was quite small, as large as this (gesture).... And it had two lenses, you see, like' all reading-glasses; there were two lenses mounted on a small golden frame, and it was hanging from my chain. Now, between the two glasses I put these petals and I used to carry this about with me always because I wanted to keep it with me; you see, I trusted this lady and knew she had power. I wanted to keep this with me, and I always felt a kind of energy, warmth, confidence, force which came from that thing.... I did not think about it, you see, but I felt it like that. And then, one day, suddenly I felt quite depleted, as though a support that was there had gone. Something very unpleasant. I said, "It is strange; what has happened? Nothing really unpleasant has happened to me. Why do I feel like this, so empty, emptied of energy?" And in the evening, when I took off my watch and chain, I noticed that one of the small glasses had come off and all the petals were gone. There was not one petal left. Then I really knew that they carried a considerable charge of power, for I had felt the difference without even knowing the reason. I didn't know the reason and yet it had made a considerable difference. So it was after this that I saw how one could use flowers by charging them with forces. They are extremely receptive.
*
An Experience
A deep concentration seized on, and I perceived that I was identifying myself with a single cherry-blossom, then through it with all cherry –blossoms, and , as I descended deeper into consciousness, following a stream of bluish force, I became suddenly the cherry tree itself, stretching towards the sky like so many arms its innumerable branches laden with their sacrifice of flowers. Then I heard distinctly this sentence:
“Thus hast thou made thyself one with the soul of the cherry trees and so thou canst take note that it is the Divine which makes the offering of this flower-prayer to heaven.”
“When I had written it all was effaced; but now the blood of the cherry tree flows in my veins and with it flows and incomparable peace and force, what difference is there between the human body and the body of a tree? In truth, there is none; the consciousness which animates them is identically the same.
Then the cherry tree whispered in my ear:
“It is in cherry-blossom that lies the remedy for the disorders of spring.”
*
There are certain illnesses that people get particularly in Spring- boils, impurities of the blood, etc.- which the Japanese cure with teas made from cherry-blossoms. I did not know this when I had experience.
Questions & Answers - The Mother
The Significance of Flowers
Flowers on the Samadhi
The Offering of Roses
The fragrance of flowers
Contact with the psychic
Dreams, Beings and Forces
The care of Plants and Flower
Answers by Sri Aurobindo
The Significance of flowers
Sweet Mother, how do you give significance to a flower?
By entering into contact with it and giving a more or less precise meaning to what I feel… by entering into contact with the nature of the flower, its inner truth; then one knows what it represents.
Each flower has its special significance, hasn't it?
Not as we understand it mentally. There is a mental projection when one gives a precise meaning to a flower. It may answer, vibrate to the touch of this projection, accept the meaning, but a flower has no equivalent of the mental consciousness. In the vegetable kingdom there is a beginning of the psychic, but there is no beginning of the mental consciousness. In animals it is different; mental life begins to form and for them things have a meaning. But in flowers it is rather like the movement of a little baby - it is neither a sensation nor a feeling, but something of both; it is a spontaneous movement, a very special vibration. So, if one is in contact with it, if one feels it, one gets an impression which may be translated by a thought. That is how I have given a meaning to flowers and plants - there is a kind of identification with the vibration, a perception of the quality it represents and, little by little, through a kind of approximation (sometimes this comes suddenly, occasionally it takes time), there is a coming together of these vibrations(which are of a vital-emotional order) and the vibration of the mental thought, and if there is a sufficient harmony, one has a direct perception of what the plant may signify.
In some countries (particularly here) certain plants are used as the media for worship, offering, devotion. Certain plants are given on special occasions. And I have often seen that this identification was quite in keeping with the nature of the plant, because spontaneously, without knowing anything, I happened to give the same meaning as that given in religious ceremonies. The vibration was really there in the flower itself.... Did it come from the use that had been made of it or did it come from very far, from somewhere deep down. From a beginning of the psychic life? It would be difficult to say.
Have flowers a power in the occult world?
Yes, they have an occult power; they can even transmit a message if one knows how to charge them with it.
Can the flowers transmit other messages apart from the significances you have given?
It is not impossible but the person who sends the message must have a great power of formation.
Is the power of formation purely occult or can a mental or vital power of formation also transmit messages?
The mental power of formation can certainly transmit messages. But for these messages to be received and understood, the person to whom they are sent must himself be very receptive mentally and particularly attentive.
When we offer flowers, with what attitude should we offer them? Does it matter if we do not know the significance?
This depends completely on the person who gives the flowers and on his state of consciousness. The same answer may be given to both the questions. According to the degree of consciousness of people what they do has a deep significance.
If our flower-offering depends on our state of consciousness, does it help us to learn the significances of flowers even if it is purely mental to begin with?
Yes, surely.
By entering into contact with it and giving a more or less precise meaning to what I feel… by entering into contact with the nature of the flower, its inner truth; then one knows what it represents.
Each flower has its special significance, hasn't it?
Not as we understand it mentally. There is a mental projection when one gives a precise meaning to a flower. It may answer, vibrate to the touch of this projection, accept the meaning, but a flower has no equivalent of the mental consciousness. In the vegetable kingdom there is a beginning of the psychic, but there is no beginning of the mental consciousness. In animals it is different; mental life begins to form and for them things have a meaning. But in flowers it is rather like the movement of a little baby - it is neither a sensation nor a feeling, but something of both; it is a spontaneous movement, a very special vibration. So, if one is in contact with it, if one feels it, one gets an impression which may be translated by a thought. That is how I have given a meaning to flowers and plants - there is a kind of identification with the vibration, a perception of the quality it represents and, little by little, through a kind of approximation (sometimes this comes suddenly, occasionally it takes time), there is a coming together of these vibrations(which are of a vital-emotional order) and the vibration of the mental thought, and if there is a sufficient harmony, one has a direct perception of what the plant may signify.
In some countries (particularly here) certain plants are used as the media for worship, offering, devotion. Certain plants are given on special occasions. And I have often seen that this identification was quite in keeping with the nature of the plant, because spontaneously, without knowing anything, I happened to give the same meaning as that given in religious ceremonies. The vibration was really there in the flower itself.... Did it come from the use that had been made of it or did it come from very far, from somewhere deep down. From a beginning of the psychic life? It would be difficult to say.
Have flowers a power in the occult world?
Yes, they have an occult power; they can even transmit a message if one knows how to charge them with it.
Can the flowers transmit other messages apart from the significances you have given?
It is not impossible but the person who sends the message must have a great power of formation.
Is the power of formation purely occult or can a mental or vital power of formation also transmit messages?
The mental power of formation can certainly transmit messages. But for these messages to be received and understood, the person to whom they are sent must himself be very receptive mentally and particularly attentive.
When we offer flowers, with what attitude should we offer them? Does it matter if we do not know the significance?
This depends completely on the person who gives the flowers and on his state of consciousness. The same answer may be given to both the questions. According to the degree of consciousness of people what they do has a deep significance.
If our flower-offering depends on our state of consciousness, does it help us to learn the significances of flowers even if it is purely mental to begin with?
Yes, surely.
Concerning the flowers on the Samadhi, does Sri Aurobindo transmit a special message through them, apart from their significance?
I do not think so-that would depend on different cases. It would be rather that he would receive messages if people put them into the flowers. That is quite possible. It may happen that if people put flowers with an intention or a precise prayer, Sri Aurobindo receives the message and answers it and that one receives his answer if one is sufficiently sensitive.
The Offering of Roses
Why do u generally give red roses to men and light-coloured roses to women and different colours to the little boys and girls?
It is because red roses give an impression of force and light-coloured roses an impression of charm and sweetness.
May I ask you with what intention you give me one red rose and one light-coloured one?
The human being transforms all its passions into love for the Divine and the Divine replies with his ineffable love.
The fragrance of flowers
Is there a relation between the perfume of a flower and its significance?
Certainly there should be one but so far I have not studied it.
How can one begin to study this relation? What is the first step?
Study and experience. You take a flower with a strong and definitive perfume. You breathe in the perfume, trying to find what thought or image it evokes. If you find something, you compare it with the significance given to the flower.
It is a long and detailed work. After some hundreds of experiences one may arrive at a conclusion.
In the study of perfumes of which you spoke, one observes that some perfumes seem to made up of several perfumes. Must one study each sub-perfume separately?
Yes, certainly. If one wants to study this is a terribly complicated, for not only are there differences between flowers but even similar flowers must differ among themselves, which means that the study can never come to an end and one cannot reach anything final and complete.
This is, you know, the influence of the hour –day and night-the influence of the time of the year, the influence of the seasons…
Scientists explain that flowers have perfume in order to attract insects. What do u think about it?
It is men who see and find a reason for everything-but I suppose if the Supreme has any such preoccupation.
Contact with the Psychic
You have written: "Love of flowers is a valuable help for finding and uniting with the psychic. Could you explain this more in detail?
Since flowers are the manifestation of the psychic in the vegetal kingdom, love of flowers would mean that one is drawn by the psychic vibration and consequently by the psychic in one's own self.
When you are receptive to the psychic vibration, that puts you in a more intimate contact with the psychic in your own self. Perhaps the beauty of flowers too is a means used by Nature to awaken in human beings the attraction for the psychic.
What is the best way of opening ourselves to the deep influence of flowers?
To love them. If you can enter into psychic contact with them, then that would be perfect.
How can one enter into psychic contact with flowers?
When one is in conscious contact with one's own psychic, one becomes aware of an impersonal psychic behind the whole creation and then, through this, one can enter into contact with flowers and know the psychic prayer they represent.
What is this impersonal Psychic you spoke of?
By impersonal psychic I mean the psychic region which does not belong to any individual in particular-the psychic region which is the creation, as air is in the earth’s atmosphere.
What is this psychic prayer that flowers represent?
The psychic, when it manifests in a plant, in the form of a flower, is in the form of a wordless prayer; it is the รฉlan of the plant towards the Divine.
We have flowers with such significances as ‘Greed for money’, ‘Passion’, ‘Vanity’, ‘Chatter’, etc. How do these flowers represent a psychic prayer?
These flowers offer their bad vibrations for transformation.
Do strong-scented flowers represent a more ardent psychic prayer than the unscented ones?
Their nature gives itself more generously and more integrally.
And is there the same difference among plants and trees?
No, that is like the difference among the animals; some are big some are small. But everyone is like that… in minerals, in animals, in men. Each manifests its own nature and these natures are innumerable.
Dreams, Beings and Forces
What do flowers and gardens in our dreams signify? Sometimes in dreams one sees flowers which don’t exists?
This happens undoubtedly in the subtle physical. But it may also be possible that these flowers exist physically on the earth in a place you don’t know.
What do these flowers symbolise?
These symbols are most often individual and most often different people have different significances. It may happen that certain people have written books and those who regard them adopt their symbology. But it is purely mental question. You give a certain meaning to the flower. For instance to a rose-we have a certain meaning for rose.
As we have given this meaning, in your dreams you see the same symbolism. If you could tell me one of your dreams I could explain it to you. You see, a flower must spontaneously tell you something, then that would be symbolic for you. But it may be what we have already decided.
Are there subtle beings who are in an intimate relation with flowers?
That is possible, even probable. There are children who have experienced this and related it.
Is it possible to become conscious of these beings and work in harmony with them?
Yes. It is a question of nature and capacity.
Is possible to develop this capacity and how to do it?
Certainly one can develop the capacity if one takes sufficient interest in this to put in the time and necessary effort. Naturally it will be more or less difficult according to each one’s nature.
To become conscious of one’s dreams helps to do this. A silent and still concentration helps also.
Are there forces directly hostile to the vegetal nature? Are insects a manifestation of these forces?
There do not seem to exist forces consciously and voluntarily hostile to the vegetal kingdom. Insects do harm because they feed on plants, it is in a way they serve them also; both things are there, good and bad, without any conscious will. They do good they do harm, without knowing it.
Mother, does a plant have its own individuality and does it also reincarnate after death?
This may happen but is accidental. There are trees-trees especially-which have lived long and can be the home of a conscious being, a vital being. Generally it is vital entities which take shelter in trees, or else certain beings of the vital plane which live in forests-as certain beings of the vital live in water. There are old legends like that, but are very based on facts. The plants serve as home and shelter, but the being is not created by the plant itself!
The care of Plants and Flowers
How to develop our consciousness in order to work in a better way with plants and flowers?
First you must learn to be silent, and note carefully what happens in the consciousness.
Why do plants fall ill and what can we do to help them?
When man does not meddle, the illness of plants seems to be accidental. But when man’s action has upset the life of plants, even as that of animals, of course.
There are many plants we are trying to grow here which suffer because of our climate. How can we help them to grow and blossom here?
Naturally, plants which like cold climates grow in greenhouses. Also by planting forests one could have a regulating action on the climate.
Growth of consciousness in the atmosphere will surely have an effect which is difficult to describe beforehand.
Sweet Mother, what should we do with the flowers which you give us every day?
Flowers? You ought to keep them as long as they are fresh, and when they are no longer so, you must collect them and give them to the gardener (any gardener you know), so that he can put them in the earth to produce other flowers. Yes, one must giveback to the earth what it has given us, for otherwise it will become poor.
Can I remove the branches of shrubs which are overhanging and causing inconvenience to the inmates?
I cannot say yes or no, as all depends on the way it has to be done. It is not only the welfare of the inmates that must be taken into consideration but also the welfare of the shrubs.
Why is the flower symbolising your compassion so delicate and why does it wither away so soon?
No, the compassion does not wither with its symbol - flowers are moment's representation of things that are in themselves eternal.What is the significance of the Mother's giving us flowers at Pranam every day?
It is meant to help the realisation of the thing the flower stands for.
Are powers mere symbols and nothing more? Can the flower symbolizing silence, for example, help in the realisation of silence?
It is when the Mother puts her force into the flower that it becomes more than a symbol. It then can become very effective if there is receptivity in the one who receives.
BROADENING
When the consciousness is narrow and personal or shut in the body, it is difficult to receive from the Divine - the wider it expands, the more it can receive. A time comes when it feels as wide as the world and able to receive all the Divine into itself.
SRI AUROBINDO
Broadening of the Being
All the parts of the being broaden in order to progress.
Sinningia speciosa
Florists' gloxinia, Gloxinia, Brazilian gloxinia, Violet slipper gloxinia
Showy medium-sized single or double velvety bell-shaped flowers with a spreading limb divided into five to twelve lobes with ruffled edges; in many colours; borne singly or in small clusters on long stems. A low tuberous perennial herb with broad pubescent leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Cbcastro
Organised Emotional Broadening
The broadening should not be the result of an instinctive impulse but of a conscious organisation.
Sinningia speciosa
Florists' gloxinia, Gloxinia, Brazilian gloxinia, Violet slipper gloxinia
Showy medium-sized single velvety bell-shaped white flower with numerous purple dots and with a spreading limb divided into five to twelve lobes with ruffled edges; borne singly or in small clusters on long stems. A low tuberous perennial herb with broad pubescent leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Essjay
Broadening of the Most Material Vital
The limitations of the ego begin to be shaken.
Sinningia speciosa
Florists' gloxinia, Gloxinia, Brazilian gloxinia, Violet slipper gloxinia
Showy medium-sized single velvety purple bell-shaped flowers with a spreading limb divided into five to twelve lobes with ruffled edges; borne singly or in small clusters on long stems. A low tuberous perennial herb with broad pubescent leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Cbcastro
Broadening of the Emotional Centre
It opens and widens itself in order to receive better.
Gloxinia perennis
Canterbury bells
Medium-sized fragrant purplish blue downy campanulate flower with a darker throat, borne singly from the leaf axil on a sparse terminal raceme. A rhizomatous perennial herb with fleshy spotted stems and waxy heart-shaped leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Eric in SF
It opens and widens itself in order to receive better.
Gloxinia perennis
Canterbury bells
Medium-sized fragrant purplish blue downy campanulate flower with a darker throat, borne singly from the leaf axil on a sparse terminal raceme. A rhizomatous perennial herb with fleshy spotted stems and waxy heart-shaped leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Eric in SF
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BRAVERY
Bravery
Fears nothing and knows how to stand up against adversities.
Amaranthus tricolor ‘Molten fire’
Minute deep mauve flowers in dense clusters surrounding the stem. An annual herb with maroon lower leaves and brilliant magenta pink upper leaves.
(Flowers not visible in the image)
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BOLDNESS
Boldness
Do fearlessly what has to be done, dreading no difficulty.
Celosia argentea (Cristata)
Common cockscomb
Colourful compact velvety rounded or flared floral heads with intricate convolutions; the tiny inconspicuous flowers are sparsely arranged on the stem below; in white and shades of yellow, orange, pink, purple and red. A bold striking annual.
Photo Courtesy: EarthSpontaneous Boldness
One of the results of perfect trust in the Divine
Celosia argentea (Cristata)
Common cockscomb
Green compact velvety rounded or flared floral heads with intricate convolutions; the tiny inconspicuous flowers are sparsely arranged on the stem below. A bold striking annual.
Photo Courtesy: KoizumiMental Boldness
May your mind be capable of foreseeing the perfections of tomorrow.
Celosia argentea (Cristata)
Common cockscomb
Yellow compact velvety rounded or flared floral heads with intricate convolutions; the tiny inconspicuous flowers are sparsely arranged on the stem below. A bold striking annual.
Photo Courtesy: Forest & Kim StarrVital Boldness
Should submit to reason.
Celosia argentea (Cristata)
Common cockscomb
Dark red compact velvety rounded or flared floral heads with intricate convolutions; the tiny inconspicuous flowers are sparsely arranged on the stem below. A bold striking annual.
Photo Courtesy: ElectriclibrarianPhysical Boldness
Nothing seems impossible in its consecration to the Divine.
Celosia argentea (Cristata)
Common cockscomb
Red compact velvety rounded or flared floral heads with intricate convolutions; the tiny inconspicuous flowers are sparsely arranged on the stem below. A bold striking annual.
Photo Courtesy: Cliff1066
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BOASTFULNESS
Boastfulness
One of the greatest obstacles to progress. A stupidity one must carefully avoid if one aspires for true progress.
Parkia pedunculata
Mungo tree, Nittu tree
Medium-sized brownish ball-like heads covered with soft cream white stamens and borne on long pendulous stalks. A large stately tree with feathery foliage.
Photo Courtesy: Dinesh Valke
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BLOSSOMING
Blossoming
The result of trust and success.
Tulipa
Tulip
Medium to large showy erect cup-shaped flower with six overlapping petals, in all colours; borne singly on sturdy stems. A spring-flowering bulb.
Blossoming of Nature
Abundant and strong, nothing can stop its growth.
Calluna vulgaris
Ling, Scots heather
Tiny fragrant rose pink bell-shaped flowers densely borne in one-sided spikelike terminal racemes. A small evergreen shrub.
Blossoming of the New Creation (Blossoming of Auroville)
The more we concentrate on the goal, the more it blossoms forth and becomes precise.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Chinese hibiscus, Hawaiian hibiscus, Rose-of-China
Large semi-double flower of the cup-and-saucer type with rounded outer petals and a tufted centre, in bright orange or bright yellow with a fire red centre.
Photo Courtesy: RogerR00
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BLOOD
Light in the Blood
When the blood becomes receptive to the higher consciousness.
Anethum graveolens
Dill
Tiny yellow five-petalled flowers in compound umbels. A culinary herb with soft feathery strongly aromatic leaves.
Picture Courtesy: VariationenAlso
Foeniculum vulgare
Fennel
Sturdy compound umbels of numerous tiny slightly cup-shaped greenish yellow flowers. A culinary herb with soft finely divided aromatic leaves.
Picture Courtesy: KENPEI
Purity in the Blood
Can only be obtained by the absence of desires.
Pimpinella major
Minute white flowers in small flat lacy umbels clustered together to form larger umbels. A tall ungainly annual herb with sparse pinnate leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Sriaurobindoashram.com
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BLESSING
Blessings[My blessings are] for the Will of the Lord to be done, with full force and power. So it is not necessary that there should always be a success. There might be a failure also, if such is the Will of the Lord. And the Will is for the progress, I mean the inner progress. So whatever will happen will be for the best.
THE MOTHER
Pure and innumerable, manifesting themselves infinitely.
Scabiosa atropurpurea
Mournful widow, Sweet scabius. Pincushion flower, Egyptian rose
Small rounded heads composed of tiny mildly fragrant pinkish lavender flowers with numerous white stamens resembling a pincushion, the outer row with larger rounded lobes; borne singly on long stems. An erect annual with somewhat leathery leaves.
Blessings on the Material World
Puissant and innumerable, they answer all needs.
Scabiosa atropurpurea
Mournful widow, Sweet scabius, Pincushion flower, Egyptian rose
Small rounded heads composed of tiny mildly fragrant deep purple flowers with numerous white stamens resembling a pincushion, the outer row with larger rounded lobes; borne singly on long stems. An erect annual with somewhat leathery leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Ellievanhoutte
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BIRTH
The New BirthWhen I speak of "New Birth" I am always speaking of the birth of a new consciousness.
THE MOTHER
What is called "new birth" is the birth into the spiritual life, the spiritual consciousness; it is to carry in oneself something of the spirit which individually, through the soul, can begin to rule the life and be the master of existence.
THE MOTHER
You become a new person, and whatever your path or its difficulties later on, that feeling never leaves you. It is not even something, like many other experiences, which recedes, passes into the background, leaving you externally with a kind of vague memory that is difficult to hold, a memory that grows faint and blurred — it is not that. You are a new person and you are definitively that, whatever happens. And even all the incapacities of the mind, all the difficulties of the vital, all the inertia of the physical are unable to change this new state - a new state that makes a decisive break in the life of the consciousness. The being one was before and the being one is after, are no longer the same. The position one has in the universe and in relation to it, in life and in relation to it, in understanding and in relation to it, is no longer the same: it is a true reversal which can never be undone again.
THE MOTHER
Birth into the true consciousness, that of the Divine Presence in us.
Origanum majorana
Sweet marjoram, Knotted marjoram
Very tiny white or mauve starlike flowers with exserted stamens set in ball-like overlapping green bracts that arise from the leaf axils. Included in the significance are the small rounded very aromatic greyish green leaves. A perennial culinary herb.
Photo Courtesy: Forest & Kim StarrBirth of True Mental Sincerity
With its birth the mind will understand that it is only an intermediary and not an end in itself.
Melampodium paludosum
Small single yellow compositae flower with a dark brown centre; borne in leafy cymes. A long-blooming perennial herb.
Photo Courtesy: Van swearingen
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BIRD
Bird of ParadiseThe soul of man soars as the Bird, the Hansa, past the shining firmaments of physical and mental consciousness, climbs as the traveller and fighter beyond earth of body and heaven of mind by the ascending path of the Truth to find this Godhead waiting for us, leaning down to us from the secrecy of the highest supreme. . ..
SRI AUROBINDO
A bird that never flies away.
Heliconia
False bird of paradise, Lobster claw, Wild plantain
Large sturdy erect orange red bracts, somewhat boat-shaped or resembling a lobster claw, enclosing small inconspicuous pale green flowers and arranged alternately in a terminal inflorescence. A clumping rhizomatous herb with leaves that are similar to those of the banana plant.
Photo Courtesy: KENPEISupramental Bird
It remains where it has descended.
Strelitzia reginae
Bird of paradise, Crane flower
Large spectacular orange yellow flower with a dark blue "tongue" that emerges from a folded bract, the whole inflorescence resembling the head of a crested bird; borne on long sturdy stalks. A rhizomatous clumping perennial herb with leaves that are similar to those of the banana plant.
Photo Courtesy: Forest & Kim Starr
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BENEVOLENCE
Benevolence
Makes life fragrant without attracting attention.
Reseda odorata
Mignonette, Sweet reseda
Small heads of tiny very fragrant yellowish white or greenish yellow flowers with six sepals, six petals and prominent orange anthers; borne in dense erect racemes. A branching spreading annual.
Photo Courtesy: Sriaurobindoashram
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BELIEF
Belief
Simple and candid, does not question.
Clerodendrum
Small very delicate white salverform flower with a long thin corolla tube, an irregularly shaped limb with scalloped edges and long thin rose violet stamens; borne in clusters. A small shrub or woody herb.
Photo Courtesy: Forest & Kim Starr
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BEING, THE
Broadening of the BeingThere is no happiness in smallness of the being, says the Scripture, it is with the large being that happiness comes. The ego is by its nature a smallness of being; it brings contraction of the consciousness and with the contraction limitation of knowledge, disabling ignorance. ... To recover what is lost we must break out of the worlds of ego.
SRI AUROBINDO
All the parts of the being broaden in order to progress.
Sinningia speciosa
Florists' gloxinia, Gloxinia, Brazilian gloxinia, Violet slipper gloxinia
Showy medium-sized single or double velvety bell-shaped flowers with a spreading limb divided into five to twelve lobes with ruffled edges; in many colours; borne singly or in small clusters on long stems. A low tuberous perennial herb with broad pubescent leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Cbcastro
Combined Offering of Two parts of the Being
This heralds the progress and effectiveness of the being.
Alcea Rosea
Hollyhock
Medium to large single or double funnel-shaped bicoloured flowers with satiny overlapping lobes and a short staminal column covered with loose yellow pollen; borne on tall spirelike stems. A tall biennial herb with rough hairy leaves.
Photo Courtesy: TTConversion of the Emotional Being
It blossoms in harmonious receptivity.
Hippeastrum
Amaryllis, Knight's star lily, Barbados lily
Large trumpet-shaped light pink flowers with reddish pink lines and a white streak through the middle of each petal; flowers with six flared petals and long curving stamens; borne on tall sturdy scapes. A large bulb with thick, usually strap like leaves that appear after the blooming season.
Photo Courtesy: Tony from SydneyIntegral Opening of the Being to the Divine
The first step of the ascent.
Barleria cristata
Philippine violet
Small white salverform flowers with five rounded separated lobes that emerge from a spiny bracted spike. An erect spiny shrub and herb.
Picture Courtesy: Dinesh ValkeOrganisation of the Being around the Psychic
The first stage of transformation.
Plumbago indica
Small pinkish red salverform flower with five rounded lobes and a thin corolla tube, set in a dark red tubular calyx covered with hairs; borne in spikelike racemes. A semi-scandent evergreen shrub.
Photo Courtesy: Nipplerings72
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BEGINNING
Realisation is ... when something for which you are aspiring becomes real to you; e.g. you have the idea of the Divine in all, but it is only an idea, a belief; when you feel or see the Divine in all, it becomes a realisation.
SRI AUROBINDO
In a more deep and spiritual sense a concrete realisation is that which makes the thing realised more real, dynamic, intimately present to the consciousness than any physical thing can be.
SRI AUROBINDO
Beginning of Realisation
Full of promise and hope, it radiates joy and confidence.
Sesbania grandiflora
Scarlet wistaria tree, Vegetable humming-bird
Medium-sized, occasionally large, pendulous white, pink or red clawlike papilionaceous flowers held in glossy light green calyces; borne in clusters of two to four. A small short-lived tree with pinnate leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Forest & Kim StarrBeginning of Realisation in Matter
Matter responds to the Divine influence.
Erythrina variegata
Coral tree
Dense striking terminal racemes of medium-sized orange red to dark red flowers with one prominent curving partly folded petal and long exserted stamens. A large thorny deciduous tree.
Photo Courtesy: TauสปolungaBeginning of the Supramental Realisation
Of charming beauty it is the herald of victory.
Butea monosperma
Flame-of-the-forest. Palas
Dense racemes of medium sized bright red-orange papilionaceous flowers; small to medium-sized tree
Photo Courtesy: Tony
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BEAUTY
Let Beauty be your constant ideal:
beauty of soul
beauty of sentiment
beauty of thought
beauty of action
beauty in work
so that nothing comes out of your hands which is not an expression of pure and harmonious beauty. And the Divine help will always be with you.THE MOTHER
In the world of forms a violation of Beauty is as great a fault as a violation of Truth in the world of ideas. For Beauty is the worship that Nature offers to the supreme Master of the universe; Beauty is the divine language in form. And a consciousness of the Divine that is not translated outwardly by an understanding and expression of Beauty would be an incomplete consciousness.THE MOTHER
Beauty is his footprint showing us where he has passed, Love is his heart-beats' rhythm in mortal breasts, Happiness the smile on his adorable face.
SRI AUROBINDO
Beauty is Ananda taking form - but the form need not be a physical shape. One speaks of a beautiful thought, a beautiful act, a beautiful soul. What we speak of as beauty is Ananda in manifestation. ...SRI AUROBINDO
Beauty Arising from Consecration
Be sincere and absolute in your consecration to the divine and your life will become harmonious and beautiful.
Asparagus racemosus
Small delicate snowy racemes of highly fragrant tiny starlike white flowers. A light thorny vine with drooping stems and curved needlelike leaves.
Photographer: Fagg, MPhoto Courtesy: Australian National Botanic Gardens
Static Beauty
Transfixed in an immutable beauty.
Camellia japonica
Common camellia
Medium to large showy sessile flowers with few to many rows of delicately sculpted rounded petals symmetrically arranged in a circular form; white through pink to red and bicoloured. A large evergreen shrub with glossy leathery leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Fui
Abundance of Beauty
A beauty that blossoms freely and abundantly.
Rhodedendron
Ericaceae Azalea, Rhododendron
Small to medium, occasionally large, delicate open bell-shaped or funnelform flowers with five deeply cut overlapping petal-like lobes and long exserted stamens; borne in dense clusters in a great variety of colours. There are more than 800 species of shrubs(or rarely small trees).
Photo Courtesy: Ram-Man
Aristocracy of Beauty
So perfectly formed that it compels admiration.
Iris
Flag, Fleur-de-lis, Sword lily
Large showy often fragrant flower usually with three erect and three softly recurved petals that may be bearded or crested; occurring in a wide variety of shades and colour combinations except pure red. A rhizomatous or bulbous perennial herb with sword-shaped leaves.
Photo Courtesy: AdSRAlso
Dietes iridioides
African iris
Medium-sized irislike flower with a centre of three erect incurving lavender crests and six flat rounded white petals, three of which are wider and have a prominent golden orange mark from the base to the centre, and three alternate petals, narrower and spotted brown at the base; blooming singly at the ends of branching spikes. A rhizomatous herb with bladelike leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Jeremy Raff-Reynolds
Power of Beauty
Beauty acquires its power only when it is surrendered to the Divine.
Narcissus
Daffodil, Trumpet narcissus
Large mildly fragrant striking yellow flowers with a prominent trumpet surrounded by six spreading petals; borne singly on sturdy scapes. A spring-blooming bulb.
Photo Courtesy: John
Beauty Aspiring for the Supramental Realisation
Beauty is no longer sufficient unto itself; it wants to become divine.
Narcissus poeticus
Poet's narcissus, Pheasant's eye narcissus
Medium-sized very fragrant snow white flower with six rounded or pointed petals and a small orange or yellow central cup; borne singly or in umbels on scapes. A spring-blooming bulb.
Photo Courtesy: Naturenick
Pride of Beauty
Likes to show itself and be admired.
Hyacinthus orientalis
Hyacinth, Dutch hyacinth, Common hyacinth
Small intensely fragrant narrow funnelform flowers with six spreading to reflexed lobes, in white, yellow, pink, red, purple or blue; borne in a dense raceme on a short scape. A spring-flowering bulb.
Modesty of Beauty
It blossoms without attracting attention.
Gypsophila elegans
Baby’s breath
Tiny round white flowers with five slightly recurved petals; borne in graceful airy sprays. A low branching annual or perennial with narrow lanceolate leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Hyougushi / Hideyuki KAMON
Smile of Beauty
Nature is happy to be beautiful.
Prunus subhirtella
Oriental cherry, Japanese flowering cherry
Small delicate white to pink single or double flowers with rounded petals and many stamens; borne in clusters of three to five. A medium-sized very ornamental tree covered with flowers in spring.
Photo Courtesy: Kropsoq
Joy of Beauty
Beauty is the joyous offering of Nature.
Ipomoea Nil 'Scarlet O'Hara'
Morning glory
Large striking bright magenta funnelform flower; borne singly or in small clusters. An annual climber.
Photo Courtesy: Toptropicals
Spontaneous Beauty
Delicate and magnificent, it has an incomparable charm.
Ipomoea Nil 'Cornell'
Morning glory
Large showy rose pink funnelform flower with a white border and throat; borne singly or in small clusters. An annual climber.
Pure Sense of Beauty
Can be acquired only through a great sense of purification.
Ipomoea tricolor 'Heavenly Blue'
Morning glory
Large lovely translucent sky blue funnelform flower with a yellow throat; borne singly or in small clusters. An annual climber.
Photo Courtesy: Daryl Mitchell
Nature Makes an Offering of Her Beauty
It is a spontaneous and effortless offering.
Ipomoea
Morning glory
Small to large showy, usually funnelform flowers in white and shades of red, pink, purple and blue; borne singly. Mostly climbing annual or perennial herbs. The significance includes all Ipomoeas not specifically named by the Mother.
Photo Courtesy: Heartlover1717
Beauty in Art
A beauty that displays itself and allows itself to be contemplated.
A beauty that displays itself and allows itself to be contemplated.
Paeonia
Peony
Large showy fragrant single or double bowl-shaped flowers with broad slightly recurved and often frilled petals; in white, yellow, purple, red and pink; borne terminally, one to many. A floriferous perennial herb or shrub that is among the most popular garden plants in temperate climates.
Photo Courtesy: Fairy Whisper
Beauty in Collective Simplicity
Each element plays its part in the whole.
Ornithogalum umbellatum
Star of Bethlehem, Nap at noon, Summer snowflake
Small white star-shaped flowers with six pointed petals; borne in compact many-flowered racemes. A small bulbous plant with narrow leaves.
Photo Courtesy: it1315922
Supramental Beauty in the Physical
Its promise is charming.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Chinese hibiscus, Hawaiian hibiscus, Rose- of-China
- Medium-sized single light golden orange flower with orange veins and a deep red centre.
- Another form is a large single deep salmon pink flower changing to cream yellow at the edges of the petals, with a deep red centre.
Photo Courtesy: Dinesh Valke
Beauty of Supramental love (Flower of Auroville)
It invites us to live at its height
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Chinese hibiscus, Hawaiian hibiscus, Rose- of-China
- Large single salmon pink flower with broadly overlapping rounded petals, a small pink centre and a pale pink aura.
- Another form is medium to large with each petal delicately shaded yellow and a pale pink aura.
Photo Courtesy: Nemo's great uncle
2.
Photo Courtesy: Kimberlyfaye
Beauty of Supramental Youth
Exquisite in its freshness, powerful in its undeniable beauty.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Chinese hibiscus, Hawaiian hibiscus, Rose- of-China
Medium-sized single flower with recurved soft salmon orange petals specked with pale yellow, reddish veins and a red centre.
Beauty of the New Creation (Beauty of Auroville)
The new creation strives to better manifest the Divine.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Debbie Ann'
Chinese hibiscus, Hawaiian hibiscus, Rose- of-China
Large single crimson pink flower with soft heavily crinkled petals that shade to pale pink on the edges and a dark red centre.
Beauty of Tomorrow
The beauty that will express Divine Power.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Chinese hibiscus, Hawaiian hibiscus, Rose- of-China
Large single flowers in light or bright orange shades, with or without a variously coloured, but not white, centre; the flowers open pinkish orange and change into yellow orange during the day.
Beauty of Tomorrow Manifesting the Divine
A beauty that exists only by and for the Divine.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Chinese hibiscus, Hawaiian hibiscus, Rose-of-China
Large single flowers in shades of orange, with a striking white centre and often with a pale pink aura.
Power of Spiritual Beauty (Spiritual Beauty of Auroville)
Spiritual beauty has a contagious power.
Hibiscus Hawaiian
Medium-sized or large single salmon-orange to golden-yellow flower with soft crinkled petals, deep magenta centre and silver-white aura.
Victorious Beauty
When it has removed the ugliness of life.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Grace Goo'
Malvaceae Chinese hibiscus, Hawaiian hibiscus, Rose-of- China
Large single flower with crinkled petals in golden ochre to mustard with a very deep red or vermilion centre and a silver grey or pale lavender aura.
Photo Courtesy: Chrissy OlsonBeauty Offers itself in Service to the Divine
Incomparable splendour, it becomes a modest servitor.
Rosa ‘Confidence’
Rose
Medium to large salmon coloured flower. A large shrub.
Photo Courtesy:Forest & Kim Starr
Emotional Beauty in the Cells
Seeking and radiating all the emotions of beauty.
Lantana
Shrub verbena
Tiny mauve salverform flowers in round compact axillary or terminal heads. A vigorous shrub with coarse strongly scented leaves and a long blooming season.
Photo Courtesy:BY-YOUR-⌘
Beauty of Attachment to the Divine
When the physical world manifests the splendour of the Divine, all will become marvellous.
Cattleya
Orchid
Lavender pink flower with a lime green throat marked with magenta.Large fragrant flower with three narrow petal-like sepals held behind two wide horizontal trilled petals and a third lower petal modified to form a showy lip; borne in few-flowered racemes. An epiphyte with thick stiff leaves and pseudo-bulbs.
Spiritual Beauty
Immaculate whiteness, sweetness and purity, you seem to come from another world.
Leontopodium alpinum
Edelweiss
Small tight terminal clusters of white or yellowish white starlike flowers with a tufted centre surrounded by greyish white petal-like bracts. A low woolly perennial herb with greyish leaves.
Photo Courtesy: Inklaar
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