Sri Aurobindo
Autobiographical Notes
and Other Writings of Historical Interest
Part Two. Letters of Historical Interest
3. Other Letters on Yoga and Practical Life 1921–1938
On Yoga and Fund-raising for the Ashram, 1921–1938
To Punamchand M. Shah [1]1
To
Punamchand
I. Separation of Purusha and Prakriti to establish tranquility of heart and mind.
(a) Separated Purusha, calm, observing Prakriti.
(b) Prakriti in the heart and mind attending calmness.
II. Offering of all the actions, all that is done in your life as a sacrifice to the Lord.
III. Realisation of the Higher Divine Shakti doing all the works.
(a) Living with the constant idea that it is the Shakti which does the work.
(b) Feeling of the Divine Shakti descending from above the mind and moving the whole being.
1921
1 Punamchand Mohanlal Shah (born 1898), of Patan, Gujarat, met Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry in 1919. Four years later he became a member of his household. Between 1927 and 1931, he spent much of his time in Gujarat trying to collect money for the newly founded Ashram. In August 1927 Sri Aurobindo wrote three letters to Punamchand on fearlessness, work and money, which were published in 1928 as chapters 3, 4 and 5 of The Mother. Here thirteen other letters to Punamchand on fund-raising and other subjects are reproduced.