Part VI — Drama
Scene from The Descent of the Blue
On 4 May 1908, Sri Aurobindo was arrested on charges of attempting to subvert British rule in India. During a year’s detention in Alipore Jail, Calcutta, while his case was being tried, he had many deep inner spiritual experiences. During this time, he received spiritual guidance from the soul of Vivekananda. Sri Chinmoy dramatises the interchange between Sri Aurobindo and Swami Vivekananda in the following scene taken from The Descent of the Blue, a play about the life of Sri Aurobindo written by Sri Chinmoy in 1958.(Aurobindo in his cell. Early morning.)
AUROBINDO: I wonder from where this fragrance is coming. There is no flower near by, nor even a gentle breeze.
(A voice breaks out in the silence.)
VOICE: I am Vivekananda. I want to speak to you about the workings of the consciousness above the mind.
AUROBINDO: Above the mind?
VOICE: Yes. I myself had no idea of such workings while I was in the body. Now I have it and I will help you with it. For this I shall visit you every day for about two weeks.
AUROBINDO: I believe these workings would lead towards some Supreme Dynamic Knowledge.
VOICE: That is for you to discover. I can but show what I have found. The world’s burden of progress rests upon your shoulders. It is a great happiness to find you ready to bear it. Godspeed.
(The spirit of Vivekananda disappears.)
