Krishna Tewari
(Krishna Tewari:) “On the 22nd morning (February 1972) we were told, “You will be given a special audience as a family.” Mother's secretary, MP Pandit, was the one who was to escort us. The five of us were taken to her room, and we were told that we could sit at her feet one by one, look into her eyes, and think of all the things we wanted. These words were used by Roger Anger who met me just outside the Mother's room. Typical French pronunciation, “Generrâl, think of all the things you want, Mother will grant them.” I didn't know him at that time. ...
- (Interviewer:) “When did you decide to come back?
Immediately. When we traveled back to Calcutta, this was discussed between us, and I knew I had to be there. I had to be here for life.
I was coming towards the tail end of my service. So within a few months of our return to Calcutta, after meeting the Mother, I asked for retirement. I asked for premature retirement, which you can seek. I was laughed at by everybody...
In the meantime I had written to Madhav Pandit that I had decided to leave the army. Within a day or two of receiving my letter, he rang me up in Calcutta, and I still remember the loud words of his, “The Mother has forbidden you to leave the army. She said it four times. Please note: he is not to leave the army, he must not leave the army, he must continue in service. We shall decide when he is to leave the army.” I had to withdraw my application! And I was laughed at and cursed a second time: I was wasting everybody's time.
Then, I was promoted, and in 1973 I was posted to Kashmir, for another unique experience before my retirement. Then there was a possibility that I might get another extension, a two years extension. I said no. So at the end of 1976, when the term was over, we decided (Kamala too) to leave the army. We came straight from Kashmir to Pondicherry. Permanently.”[1]
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- ↑ Turning Points: An inner story of the beginnings of Auroville, First Edition, p.14, “We shall decide...”
See also