Sri Aurobindo, born on 15th August 1872, was a great Rishi and a son of Mother India who saw the evolutionary destiny of India and of humankind, a yogi, he opened the path to the next scale of sadhana, not just to attain the Divine but to bring that divinity down for earth, so that the life, mind, and humanity may change and grow towards its greater destiny. An epic poet and visionary, he laid out the future landmarks for India and the world on his 75th birthday, known as the Five Dreams, to herald the birth of an independent India.
Maharishi Aurobindo’s 150th birth anniversary is being commemorated in Pondicherry in 2022. Pondicherry was the seat of his sadhana and his seminal works: The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, The Human Cycle, The Secret of the Vedasamong others, and his epic poem, Savitri. Here the Sri Aurobindo Ashram was born under the guidance of The Mother. From this core, hundreds of centers have grown around India and across the world, among these the Sri Aurobindo, Delhi Ashram Branch, as well as centers in Baroda and Kolkata carry a special history, together with the Sri Aurobindo Society centers and, Auroville, the city of the future, which was named after Sri Aurobindo, is notable.
On this special occasion, the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi will release a commemorative stamp and coin in honour of Sri Aurobindo’s memory and his legacy for the future. This will be a virtual release at a program to be held in Pondicherry on 13th December 2022, at the Kamban Kalai Sangam at 5 pm.
This programme is being anchored by the Ministry of Culture as part of the 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations. Towards this, a special High-Level Committee of renowned persons from India and abroad had earlier been formed and different programs have been conducted over the year around the country. Among these, the Digital Repository of Shri Kireet Joshi’s writings on Sri Aurobindo has been released. Several films such as A Spiritual History of India – in the Light of Sri Aurobindo, by Manoj Pavithran, and Koham-Soham by Arnab Choudhary were produced. The City Exhibition - A Vision Takes Shape a state of the art exhibition by Anupama Kundoo, on the ‘model town’ that Sri Aurobindo and the Mother spoke and worked towards, was inaugurated at India Space, Bharat Nivas, Auroville. The Cosmic Dance based on Sri Aurobindo’s Sonnets created by Devasmita Patnaik was performed at the Sri Aurobindo Auditorium, Auroville. Usha and the Coming of the Dawns, inspired by Sri Aurobindo’s interpretations of the Vedas and the Upanishads and drawn from his Hymns to the Mystic Fire, The Secret of the Vedas, The Upanishads, Essays on the Gita & Savitri was a dramatic creation by Aryamani, with Aurovilians and presented at the Matrimandir gardens in Auroville. A guided art project, as a meditation on Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri, done by Divyanshi Chug, achieved 150 paintings as a homage to his 150 years.