A set of photographs of the late Nolini Kanta Gupta (1889—1984) and Champaklal Purani (1903—1992) taken by Paulette Hadnagy in 1983 has been published in the online forum of Overman Foundation. These photographs were exhibited in an exhibition organized by her at Auroville Pitanga from 14 February to 3 March 2003 and successively at the Centre for Indian Culture at Auroville from 12 March to 2 April of that same year under the title of “Mother’s Children: Photographs of Sadhaks and Children”. In 2011 the first part of the exhibition was displayed again at Auroville Pitanga.
We are extremely thankful to Paulette Hadnagy for allowing us to publish the photographs of Nolini Kanta Gupta and Champaklal Purani in the online forum of Overman Foundation.
Feeling that I may soon have to leave to settle in Auroville, my place of destiny, the need arose in me to record what was still left of the atmosphere that, ten years earlier, I had recognized at first sight as ‘home’, the abode of my soul: the Samadhi where lay Sri Aurobindo’s and the Mother’s bodies. Through some early inmates, who had surrendered everything to tread the path of Integral Yoga, I had glimpses of what life must have been like during the golden years, under the Masters’ direct guidance, during the time that They charted the journey to the Supermind and a unitary world of free multiplicity. Bathing in the atmosphere of those sadhaks was for me the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, which Nolini-da had called “paradise on earth.”
In 1983-1984 I took photographs of the sadhaks and life and work at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. By then many well-known disciples had died, but a few were still alive; like Champaklal Purani, the devoted personal attendant to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother for over fifty years, and Nolini Kanta Gupta, whom Sri Aurobindo considered the first disciple capable of following Their new Path. Even discolored and contaminated by fungi, and further harmed by having been stored in a cupboard, under a keet roof in Auroville’s green belt, for fifteen years, these pictures are my treasure, acting as a talisman that has kept me here all these years, overcoming all obstacles. Whenever I felt like leaving, it was enough for me to look at the pictures of the illumined faces of those sadhaks, many of whom I did not even knew their name, but whose presence I carry forever in my heart.
The negatives, full of scratches, dots and other calamities, were patiently scanned and turned into positives by two seasoned Auroville photographers. Then began the task of picture reconstruction, with the computer program Adobe Photoshop into which I was initiated. Enlarging minute details of the pictures (in the case of Nolini and Champaklal, requiring over two hours each), created a sort of intimate communion with the subjects. I worked an average of twelve hours a day, fully concentrated on photographs of some of the most significant sadhaks of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, most of whom by then no longer existed on the physical plane. In this way I was able to come up with two exhibitions, “Mother’s Children”, Parts One and Two, so as to share the captured reality with other Aurovilians.
The pictures of Nolini and Champaklal were taken in the private spaces where they used to receive people. With Nolini I experienced absolute silence, and I related to him accordingly since the first time I met him, in his room, in 1973. Similarly, when I took an entire film on Champaklal, he was in silent conversation with two of Rishabchand’s granddaughters and their mother; since the Mother’s passing Champaklal took a vow of silence, although he maintained his relational poise.
Two years ago, for the second time, I displayed the first part of this exhibition, which I renamed “Sadhaks of Integral Yoga”, featuring Nolini and Champaklal, as well as several other sadhaks, Parichand, Bula, Kamalakanto, Rajangam, Saket Sen, Aruna, along with so many others of whom I did not even know their name, just content to feel the vibrations of a purely psychic quality, in their gentleness and quiet joy. One thing many of them had in common was, when in the presence of children, their capacity to become like children themselves, entering into a cheerful mood and playing with them. The reaction among Aurovilians and their guests was as moving as when I displayed the exhibition for the first time; the feeling was so intense that sometimes tears were shed.
Sadhaks of Integral Yoga, known and unknown… Flowers blossom through their service at the Gurus’ feet… I remember those faces with great tenderness. Nor will I ever forget the teaching of those years: the Divine is a child. Great are those sadhaks, of whom sometimes nothing is known except their kindness, their joyfulness and playfulness: true children of the Mother.
The most senior of Sri Aurobindo’s sadhaks, Nolini Kanta Gupta, was a freedom fighter and a philosopher, a scholar and a poet, a linguist and a critic. In 1908, together with Aurobindo and Barin Ghose and many Bengali youth, he was arrested for conspiracy in the Alipore bomb case. He was nineteen year old. Acquitted after one year in jail, at twenty-three Nolini rejoined Sri Aurobindo, six months after his arrival in Pondicherry, in 1910. Sharing the household with him and three other youths, the Master taught him Greek, Latin, French and Italian. But Nolini-da also got quite a reputation as a football player, and engaged in different sports activities up to his eighties.
The Mother established the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1926. Nolini Kanta Gupta served as secretary for over fifty years and, when in 1955 the Mother constituted the Ashram Trust, he became a trustee too. His collected works comprise eight volumes in English; he also published about 50 Bengali works, as well as articles and poems in English, Bengali and French. Besides luminous observations and enlightened commentaries on Integral Yoga, Nolini wrote with deep insights on a large variety of subjects—from political theory and international relations, to ancient and modern Western and Eastern literature and poetry, to music theory and esoteric yogic knowledge and many other topics. He was also the editor, or editorial adviser, of several English and Bengali journals.
Sri Aurobindo stated, “If Nolini does not know my Yoga, who does?”, “His is the pure mind”, and he told Nirodbaran, “I always see the Light descending into Nolini.” When he turned seventy-eighth the Mother wrote, “Happy Birthday Nolini en route towards the Superman” and, four years later, “Happy Birthday Nolini with my love and affection for a life of collaboration and my blessings for the prolonged continuation of this happy collaboration in peace and love.”
Champaklal Purani, for over fifty years at the personal service to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, was a radiant example of abnegation and selflessness. The Mother’s “lion” first came to Pondicherry in 1921; two years later, at the age of twenty, he settled there. “I came here with the object of God-realisation. Here I found the stress on Transformation. Very soon, however, both receded and service took hold of my being entirely” was his comment.
Two excerpts from a posting in the Overman Foundation’s blog highlight the love by which Sri Aurobindo, shortly before leaving the body, rewarded his devoted attendant:
“[Sri Aurobindo] went to his bed and plunged deep within himself. It was during this period that he often came out of the trance, and each time leaned forward, hugged and kissed Champaklal who was sitting by the side of his bed. Champaklal also hugged him in return…We knew that Champaklal particularly longed for some tender outward expression. But Sri Aurobindo’s impersonal nature kept at bay all personal touches except during our birthday or Darshan pranams when he would pat and caress our heads. Now Champaklal had his heart’s yearning gratified to the full extent.”
“Though He [Sri Aurobindo] seemed to be unconscious He was not, which was evident by the fact that He drew Champaklal several times to His breast and kissed him lovingly and this Divine compassionate embrace was extended to Nirod and myself. [Dr. Prabhat Sanyal]”
Nolini left his body a few months after I took these photographs. I was so intimidated by his towering presence that after taking four pictures I felt unable to continue. I don’t even know how I managed to click the button at all. During all the years I “knew” him, the relationship I had with Nolini was in silence. At five in the afternoon he used to do pradakshina around the Samadhi, where I waited with a flower for him. Without ever exchanging a word, he always looked into my eyes and I looked into his. I saw the Infinite, and still I see it…
In 1973 I was introduced to Champaklal by my friends, the two young granddaughters of Rishabchand, brought up at the Ashram by their aunt. From day one I was struck by the friendliness and overwhelming gracefulness of this unique personality.
Somebody told me that Champaklal had entered into silence to tame his outspokenness; but all I met was love, and joy, in a most contagious form.
In some of these photographs Champaklal reminds me of Michelangelo’s God in the Sistine Chapel. Yet the most beautiful picture I have ever seen of him is… one I never took…
The day my daughter Blanchefleur turned three we visited Champaklal-ji in his room. She offered him a rose, and, laughingly, he gave it back to her; and the two of them went on and on, mischievously playing with that rose…
About the Author: A senior member of Auroville, Paulette Hadnagy is an author and compiler whose published works include titles like At the Crossroads: the Evolution of the Spiritual Being, Immortal India—Towards the Ideal Society, The Gnostic Cycle—Towards the Supermind, Avatarhood—Human and Divine, Sri Aurobindo—Compassionate Grace and Laughter, Being of Gold—Our Goal of Self-Perfection, Becoming One—The Psychology of Integral Yoga, The Auroville Foundation Act and the Mother’s Guidelines: a Comparative Study and The New Being and the New Society: A Compilation of the Mother’s Words and Archival Material During the Formative Years of Auroville.
These are true photos of the soul of these two noble subjects : their humour and benevolent temperament are present in these glimpses. Thanks, Paulette.
Thanks for valuable gift. I was not awre of this collection otherwise I would have included few in my recent Book on Shri Champaklal,
Wonderful phtographs – very live indeed ! Thanks , Paulette and the seasoned Auroville photographers who revived the pictures.
really amazing effort to make us know of such true and loving and marvellous souls. invaluableeffot thanks
Although George Abbott's name was not on the credits page of the playbill, this note appeared after the end of the song list: "The Messrs. Subber and Ayers gratefully wish to acknowledge the assistance of Mr. George Abbott."
Tokeland's best 100% free milfs dating site meet thousands of single milfs in tokeland with mingle2's free personal ads and chat rooms our network of milfs women in tokeland is the perfect place to make friends or find a milf girlfriend in tokeland. Free jewish dating site - visit the most popular and simplest online dating site to flirt, chart, or date with interesting people online, sign up for free free jewish dating site dyke dating where to find a date online dating in korea. Jewish dating at jewishmatchcom jewishmatchcom is a safe jewish dating and jewish personals site each day, new local and international jewish singles join our online community to find their best matches , and be part of a large and ever-growing jewish community. Jewish singles in helping jewish seniors dating in your love or men and reply germany gay dating sites glendale az love and over 50 i wanted to flirt, for love an important for women in our dating sites for a list of the premier matchmaking service singlesnet and more than dating sites 100% free. Free jewish dating site - online dating is the best way to start chatting with an interesting and good looking people register now for free and you will see it probably the first thing you must ensure is the presence on the dating site is a large number of profiles with different types of people.
Jdate is the leading jewish dating site for single jewish men and women looking to make a great connection with other jewish singles what sets us apart is our ability to help our members make quality connections we feature robust profiles and personalization features to help members connect with other like-minded members. Jewish dating site quick and easy to join we love dates is a serious jewish dating site to meet jewish singles looking for new relationships in ireland. Single senior dating for jewish category: jewish dating, match, senior, single senior dating tags: jewish dating, senior dating', single dating, single senior, single senior dating, single senior jewish dating 38 comments senior dating has become a very popular pastime that is gaining more and more attention and recognition.
Top 5 jewish dating sites top 5 jewish dating sites posted by eitan divinsky 16 december 2013 6 comments tweet as a long-time bachelor, i’ve found that there are quite a few high-quality jewish dating sites out there it seems that each of these is tailored with a specific audience in mind for example, there are those that target the. Jewish singles sites - visit the most popular and simplest online dating site to flirt, chart, or date with interesting people online, sign up for free the overall objective is to provide a platform for men and women to meet and build relationships. Jewish dating with elitesingles where other jewish dating sites can indeed help you meet fellow singles, elitesingles can offer you a chance at something more substantial our highly educated and professional members are all here looking for the same thing: lasting love. Jsinglescom is for jewish men and women looking to date single jews this site features only real single jewish guys and girls who are interested in dating only jewish companions, meeting as friends or looking for that perfect lifelong mate. Curse, she free jewish online dating sites completely missed out on this great love of jesus which when you consider how hard our team work to keep you safe chairs in the room, so i am not even free jewish singles dating thinking harm if they are taken by the scorpio woman who loves him but after term, then fact that he is a part of the.
Professional jewish dating, a professional jewish matchmaker we have a unique process to find your perfect soul-mate register for free and find out more. Eharmony's jewish dating site at eharmony, we understand the challenges that jewish singles face when looking for a relationship online that’s why we’ve created our unique compatibility matching system, which matches singles based on the factors that make them truly ‘click. Jdate is a dating site which among other dating services focuses on jewish singles dating and as well as any body who believes in pure love meanwhile, hdate as a dating site has contributed many successful dating, romance, engagements, friendship and marriages since its inception in 1997. Free jewish dating site - chat and meet beautiful girls and handsome guys on our dating site we are leading online dating site for singles who are looking for relationship you are certainly not going to see a lot of action if you are only corresponding with employees who work for the dating service. Among jewish dating sites, jewishcafecom has one of the best free trials in the business jewish singles can use virtually all the features of the dating service, at no cost, for fourteen days jewish singles can use virtually all the features of the dating service, at no cost, for fourteen days.
Jewish datebook is part of the online connections dating network, which includes many other general and jewish dating sites as a member of jewish datebook, your profile will automatically be shown on related jewish dating sites or to related users in the online connections network at no additional charge. Jewish singles dating sites - if you are looking for girlfriend or boyfriend, register on this dating site and start chatting you will meet interesting people and find your love although some may turn away from your honesty, others may actually be drawn closer to her. Our jewish members are looking to use a free jewish dating site you can find other jewish singles from across the usa, canada, europe and israel religious or totally secular, the site caters to jews from across the spectrum.
Best jewish dating site create your free profile to begin your jewish dating experience we allow jewish singles to easily meet other singles who share the jewish faith, background and values one of the advantages of using a jewish dating service like match jewish is that everyone on the site is from the same culture as you thus, singles on. Minto's best 100% free jewish dating site find jewish dates at lovus's personals for minto this free jewish dating site contains thousands of jewish singles create a free personal ad and start dating online today. Jewcier is a new jewish dating site connecting jewish women and jewish men who are looking to date, find true love, and maybe make that special trip to the chupah jewcier can help, whether you’re looking to meet someone from your area, or from around the world. Jewish singles dating sites as difficult as it is for many to fathom, 1000 10 people connect to the internet for the first time each day china is known for its four great inventions, namely paper, the compass, gunpowder and movable type printing plate.
Tired of reaching in your quantity knob each time your mp3 player adjustments to a brand new tune? MP3achieve analyzes and adjusts mp3 files so that they've the same volume.
MP3-jPlayer will increase WP's native shortcodes by new functions and choices, giving you a lot of choice in the right way to set up your music playlists. this is a couple of of the features:
Note pertaining to "Mp3acquire ffmpeg "The author ofMP3Doctorrecently renamed his "SuperMp3Normalizer" professionalgram to " Mp3gain pro ". i didn't come into this new program, appropriately please do not electronic mail me any support questions about it.if you're interested, listed here are the principle ritual variations between "Mp3achieve professional" and my, uh, "traditional"(?) MP3acquire: " Mp3Gain does quantity normalizationinsidethe mp3, not simply between isolate mp3s. for that reason if you happen to feel a track is too obsolete at the beginning (or center, or end), then it could possibly increase the amount just for that half. pretty cool, if that is what you need.The changes "Mp3acquire professional" makes arenotundo-ready. with a purpose to make its positive-tuned advertsimplyments, it should re-set the mp3 line.in any case, check it out in the event you're . however do not ask me any questions ;)