The Mother was born Mirra Alfassa in Paris on 21 February 1878. A pupil at the Academie Julian, she became an accomplished artist, and also excelled as a pianist and writer. Interested in occultism, she visited Tlemcen, Algeria, in 1905 and l906 to study with the adept Max Theon and his wife. Her primary interest, …
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo was born in Calcutta on 15 August 1872. At the age of seven he was taken to England for education. There he studied at St. Paul’s School, London, and at King’s College, Cambridge. Returning to India in 1893, he worked for the next thirteen years in the Princely State of Baroda in …
SABDA
The Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department publishes the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and works by disciples on their life and teachings, in over 15 languages. The Publication Department's distribution unit is Sri Aurobindo Books Distribution Agency (SABDA). Apart from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram publications, SABDA also distributes books of other publishers with …
Wall Calendar 2027
Wall Calendars 2027 of Sri Aurobindo & the Mother are now available in our Shop under SABDA.
Aloe vera
Aloe vera, sometimes described as a “wonder plant,” is a short-stemmed shrub. Aloe is a genus that contains more than 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The leaves of Aloe vera are succulent, erect, and form a dense rosette. Many uses are made of the gel obtained from the plant’s leaves. The medicinal claims made …
Attar
In the world of perfumery, attar holds a significant place! Attar is an Arabic word that means scent. Also known as Ittar, attar is a natural perfume oil that is derived from plant sources like herbs, blooming flowers, spices, barks, and other such organic sources. Oils can also be extracted from chemical means; however, only …
Ayurvedic Section
Sometime in 1956, the Mother expressed her wish to start an Ayurvedic dispensary. She sent a message to a devotee in Gujarat, who was an Ayurvedic doctor, “Tell him I shall be very happy if he comes here and takes up this work. I like this system more than allopathy.“ In response to this call …
Marbling Group
The marbling of paper is an ancient art first practised in Japan in the ninth century. Completely realised by hand, it consists in producing certain patterns and effects by means of colours on water. A piece of paper or silk is laid on the water, so that the flowing patterns get imprinted on it. The …
Laboratoires Senteurs
‘Senteurs’, in French, signifies ‘Fragrance’. This name was given by The Mother to the perfumery department of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, which started in 1958. Udar Pinto and Kusum worked for it. Kusum dedicated herself to this new venture, which demanded patience, hard work, knowledge and a nose to create. With Mother’s grace and guidance …
Weaving Department
Hand-weaving is the method of forming a pliable plane of threads by interlacing them rectangularly: the process of passing the weft between taut, alternately raised warps, as in the basic weave, or between other selected warps, and pressing it into place. One of the most ancient of crafts, hand-weaving still survives today because of the …