Special souls at the ashram⁷

There was a girl named Chinmoyi. She lived the life of a real saint. Mother Teresa would have appreciated her immensely.

Chinmoyi’s brother’s name was Prashanta. His name, “Prashanta,” means “full of poise.” He got his Master’s degree from Hyderabad University, and he wrote a letter to Sri Aurobindo. At that time Sri Aurobindo’s secretary was Sri Aurobindo’s younger brother. He was absolutely ready to give his life for Sri Aurobindo. He had such love for his brother, and Sri Aurobindo was his life-breath. Again, after some time he disappeared. He did not remain at the Ashram.

The story is that Sri Aurobindo’s brother did not show Prashanta’s letter to Sri Aurobindo. He himself answered it. The letter asked, “How long does it take for one to realise God? How many years does it take?”

Sri Aurobindo’s brother said, “If you are very sincere and you meditate eight hours a day for six months, then you are bound to realise God.”

Prashanta said to himself, “Six months is nothing. Let me realise God first. Then I shall go to Cambridge University to get my Ph.D.”

He came to the Ashram. I had many occasions to see him. He was my eldest brother’s very close friend. He remained at the Ashram for ten, twenty, thirty-five years, but alas, God-realisation was not taking place in his life. In the meantime, Sri Aurobindo’s younger brother left the Ashram. Poor Prashanta! He tried for quite a few months to meditate for eight hours a day, but he was unable to meditate and pray for so many hours. He could not blame Sri Aurobindo’s brother for his failure to realise God. Sri Aurobindo’s brother had said it was necessary to meditate eight hours a day. Prashanta thought that, since he was such a brilliant student at the university and he was able to read for so many hours, the same number of hours he would be able to devote to his prayers and meditations. But it did not work out that way. One can read books for many hours, but one may not be able to meditate for such a long time. So the poor fellow did not get his God-realisation.

If you asked for a job at the Ashram, the Mother had her own way of giving jobs. Prashanta’s job was to wash bananas. They used to put something in the water to disinfect the fruit. For two hours or so every day he and my eldest brother used to wash bananas. My brother Hriday did not get a Master’s degree, but he was a great philosopher, a very brilliant boy, and he did very well in his studies, with honours. He gave up his university studies and joined the Ashram. These two became very good friends.

In the Moghul dynasty, there was a prince named Dara. The Taj Mahal was the offering of his father, Shah Jahan, to his wife, Mumtaz. Another brother of Chinmoyi, a boy named Dara, joined the Ashram. Sri Aurobindo said that he was the same Dara, Shah Jahan’s eldest son. He had studied India’s Vedas and Upanishads as a prince in his earlier incarnation, although at that time he came of a Muslim family. When he joined the Ashram, by that time he had had two or three more incarnations after his Moghul incarnation.

Dara was very tall, stout and dignified. If you looked at his eyes, you would definitely feel something. When he was the prince, he was very, very kind and very majestic. But he was imprisoned by his younger brother, Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb did many undivine things, but luckily he did not kill Dara. Dara was supposed to be the emperor, but Aurangzeb put him in jail so that he could not become the emperor.

Simplicity and sincerity incarnate — quite a few good qualities Dara had. He started writing poems at the Ashram. He had only that one hobby. He did not believe in work. The Mother said, “You do not have to work.” He was from such a high family, so he did not work. He would move around, absolutely like a renunciate, and he used to write poems. Again, so many good qualities he had.

Dara wanted the young boys to come to his place and listen to his poems! He wanted to inspire the young boys not to swerve from the path of truth and light. I was one of those ten or twelve young boys. I behaved well, but some young boys made a condition, since Dara was so rich. The condition was that if we came to hear his poems, he would give us fruits and milk and other things that were so difficult for us to get at the Ashram. He came from the richest family, in this incarnation.

This brother of Chinmoyi’s, Dara, did not have any ambition. He was beyond ambition! Again, he only begged the boys, the teenagers who were so restless, to come and listen to his poetry. At least seven or eight times I went there. It was very near our place. In my case, I did not ask for fruits; that was too much. Again, when you saw his eyes, it was really something. He was the same Dara, the prince who had studied the Vedas and the Upanishads when he was the Muslim Emperor Shah Jahan’s eldest son. He was supposed to become the emperor, but his younger brother, Aurangzeb, gave him a lifelong jail sentence.

This was one of Chinmoyi’s brothers. The other was Prashanta, who wanted to realise God first and then get his Ph.D.