"Sri Aurobindo at Evening Talk" by V. Chidanandam

Sri Aurobindo at Evening Talk: Some notes of May-to-November 1926
by V. Chidanandam

(V. Chidanandam:) “These notes were not taken on the spot. They are recollections of the talks at which their author, V. Chidanandam, was present. Whatever in those talks seized the young aspirant's mind was jotted down the next day. Neither complete continuity nor absolute accuracy could be maintained. But, in reconstructing from memory, the author sought to capture something of the language no less than the thought-substance. In places, later editing has been found necessary in order to clarify notations which had served merely as signposts.”

(A. B. Purani:) “From 1922 to 1926, No. 9, Rue de la Marine, where he and the Mother had shifted, was the place where the sittings were held. There, upstairs, was a verandah, a table in front of the central door out of three, and a broad Japanese chair, the table covered with a cloth, a small flower vase, an ash-tray, a block calendar indicating the date and an ordinary time-piece, and a number of chairs in front in a line. The evening sittings used to be after meditation at 4 or 4.30 p.m. After 24 November 1926, the sittings began to get later and later, till the limit of 1 o’clock at night was reached. Then the curtain fell. Sri Aurobindo retired completely after December 1926, and the evening sittings came to a close.”

Notes as published in Mother India:

• "Sri Aurobindo at Evening Talk" published Nov-Dec 1971
• "Sri Aurobindo at Evening Talk" published Jan 1972

---

See also

• Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo recorded by A. B. Purani