arthra

Mirra Alfassa, later Mirra Morisset and Mirra Richard (February 21, 1878 - November 17, 1973), also known as The Mother, was the spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo. ... Mirra (or Mira) Alfassa was born in Paris in 1878, of a Turkish Jewish father, Maurice, and an Egyptian Jewish mother, Mathilde. She had an elder brother named Matteo. The family migrated to France the year before she was born.

Mirra Alfassa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


"The Mother met Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris in 1913 during his second visit to France.[2] This period according to her own testimony was the most important for her spiritual growth.[3] She attended may Bahá'í meetings held at the homes of Monsieur and Mme Dreyfus Barney, M. and Mme. Scott and Miss Edith Sanderson. These were the early French Bahá'ís and some of them had taken pilgrimage to Akká. They were the constant companions of Abdu'l-Bahá whenever he visited France. Hippolyte Dreyfus was the first Bahá'í of the France and he translated into French 'Some Answered Questions' compiled by the famous Laura Clifford Barney, his wife. Te mother in her 'Causeries' manuscripts mentions having met these friends and having attended these meetings. She sometimes spoke at these gathering herself.

In one of her published talks, the Mother mentioned that one day 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked her to speak in his place because he was not well.

She was 'startled', unprepared as she was to hear such a request, herself not being a Bahá'í. However after some persuasion she went and delivered a talk on living the life.[4] In this meeting on March 10, 1913, she thus spoke of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. "But 'Abdu'l-Bahá is not content to give us this teaching, he is living it, and therein lies all his power of persuasion." And she continued, "Indeed who has seen 'Abdu'l-Bahá and not felt in his presence this perfect goodness, this sweet serenity, this peace emanating from his being.[5]

Needless to say that the Mother was greatly impressed by the person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and though formally she was not a Bahá'í she had great faith in the things taught by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.[6] This is why she held long discussions with 'Abdu'l-Bahá on spiritual subjects. Perhaps one such meeting has been mentioned by Balyuzi in his book on 'Abdu'l-Bahá in these words: "That night (May 18,1913) He ('Abdu'l-Bahá) sat up with M. and Mme Richard (the Mother and her husband) until midnight, talking about mysticism and Sufi tenets and practices, in answer to their questions."[7]


Sri Aurobindo Movement and the Bahá'í Faith

cire perdue

What a great vignette! I would have never known or seen it otherwise. Just the right length!

Momtazi

ARTHRA...thank you so much for that story