Video in English
"Many people find it difficult to understand what Sri Aurobindo was in fact trying to do here. [...] I have tried to look at it from different points of view. Let me try to explain this ..."
At the Feet of The Mother
M V Nadkarni: Invitation to Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri
31 talks recorded in 1995 (22 hours)
· Audio Player
· ZIP archives
"The rishi is one who lives in the world, who exerts for the world and who wants to bring perfection to the world, who wants to make this world a heaven. That is the rishi ideal..."
"... there are the subtle physical worlds, vital worlds, worlds of Darkness, mental worlds, and there are overmental worlds. All these Aswapati explores... but does not find the power that is needed to solve the problem that confronts mankind."
"You are now hugging a surface individuality, a borrowed individuality as your own. When you discard this and take your stand on the locus of your own inner being and then progress, then you participate in this becoming."
".... your primary purpose of being here is to ask that guide, that witness, that burning flame, bring it to the front and make that the leader of your pilgrimage in this life. That is the purpose of going within."
" ... nothing needs to frighten you in life, all you have to do is to be conscious of the Divine guidance in all situations, in all circumstances. The secret of this is the ultimate secret of all success is — let Thy Will be done."
" the primary thing in your life is to realise the soul that you are, not read about it. Reading spiritual literature doesn’t help; direct realisation is what helps. Realise that you are the soul, bring it to the front and lead your entire life under its guidance."
"You become completely defenceless, all your strengths, all your support is taken away from you. Why is that done? ... that’s the time when the ego automatically drops down, and you kneel down and surrender yourself unconditionally to the Lord..."
‘Vain is the sage’s light’ — avatars have come and gone, but basically the human nature hasn’t changed..... We worship the sons of god after we have buried them. "
"in the 20th century ... for Sri Aurobindo to write an epic remains to many people something of a mystery... where do people have time for 720 pages of poetry?"
Sri Aurobindo has taken up legend almost in its entirety without adding any upakhyanas, any sub-plots or stories to it, but he has made some significant alterations..."
On the title page of Savitri you will find description which calls it ‘A Legend and a Symbol’. The original story goes back to Mahabharata, where the Pandavas are spending a lot of time in the forest...
Video in English
A series of 31 talks on Sri Aurobindo's Savitri presenting a comprehensive overview of the entire epic, now distributed also on YouTube as static videos