{"id":4788,"date":"2013-07-13T01:58:22","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4788"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:58:22","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:58:22","slug":"01-publishers-note-vol-05-the-spiritual-significance-of-flowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/02other-editions\/05-the-spiritual-significance-of-flowers\/01-publishers-note-vol-05-the-spiritual-significance-of-flowers","title":{"rendered":"-01_Publisher’s Note.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\n
\nTHE MOTHER<\/font><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Spiritual Significance of Flowers<\/font><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPart I<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nTest and Photograph<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPublisher s Note<\/font>
\n<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n"Flowers speak to us when we know how
\nto listen to them," the Mother said. "It is
\na subtle and fragrant language." As if to
\nprovide a key to this language, she identified
\nthe significances of almost nine hundred
\nflowers. In this book, these flowers and their
\nmeanings are presented in -the light of her
\nvision and experience.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe book consists of two separately bound
\nparts. Part 1, the text and photographs, is
\narranged thematically on the basis of the
\nMother’s flower-significances. In each of the
\ntwelve chapters, flowers of related significance
\nare grouped together; these groups are then
\nplaced in a sequence that develops the theme of the chapter. The organisation of
\nthe chapters is outlined in the Contents.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\nFor each flower in Part 1, the following
\ndetails are given: the Mother’s significance,
\nher comment on the significance, the
\nbotanical name, and the colour or colours
\nof the flower. Relevant quotations from the
\nworks of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother
\naccompany many flower-significances as an
\naid to understanding them. For most flowers
\nthere is a colour photograph to facilitate
\nidentification.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPart 2 is a reference volume containing
\nindexes, glossaries, detailed descriptions of
\nthe flowers and other information. The three
\nindexes make it possible to locate the flowers
\nin Part 1 by looking under the Mother’s
\nsignificance, the botanical name or the
\ncommon name.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\nThe Origin of the Significances<\/font>
\n<\/font><\/a><\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nMother, when flowers are brought to you, how
\ndo you give them a significance?
\n<\/i>By entering into contact with the nature of
\nthe flower, its inner truth. Then one knows
\nwhat it represents.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nMother, how do you give a significance to
\na flower?<\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\nBy entering into contact with it and giving a
\nmeaning, more or less precise, to what I feel.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nMother, each flower has its own significance,
\ndoesn’t it?<\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\nNot as we understand it mentally. There is a
\nmental projection when one gives a precise significance to a flower. … A
\nflower does not have the equivalent of a mental consciousness. … It is rather like the movement
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nof a little baby, neither a sensation nor a
\nfeeling, but something of both; it is a spontaneous movement, a very special vibration.
\nWell, if one is in contact with this vibration,
\nif one feels it, one receives an impression
\nwhich may be translated by a thought. This
\nis how I give a significance to flowers and
\nplants. There is a kind of identification with
\nthe vibration, a perception of the quality
\nit represents, and gradually through a kind
\nof approximation (sometimes it comes
\nsuddenly, occasionally it takes time) there is
\na convergence of these vibrations, which are
\nof a vital-emotional order, and the vibration
\nof mental thought, and if there is sufficient
\naccord one has a direct perception of what
\nthe plant may signify. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nTHE MOTHER<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nThe Mother<\/a><\/font><\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Mother<\/font> <\/font>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThe Mother was born Mirra Alfassa on
\n21 February 1878 in Paris. A student at
\nthe Academic Julian, she became an accomplished artist. Gifted from an early age with
\na capacity for spiritual and occult experience,
\nshe went to Tlemcen, Algeria, in 1906 and
\n1907 to study occultism with the adept Max
\nTheon and his wife. Between 1911 and 1913
\nshe gave a number of talks to various groups
\nof seekers in Paris and began to record her
\ndeepening communion with the Divine in
\nthe diary later published as Prayers and
\nMeditations.<\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

\nIn 1914 the Mother voyaged to Pondicherry,
\nSouth India, to meet the Indian mystic Sri
\nAurobindo. After a stay of eleven months,<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\nshe was obliged by the outbreak of the First
\nWorld War to return to France. A year later
\nshe went to Japan, where she remained
\nfor four years. In April 1920 the Mother
\nrejoined Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry. Six
\nyears later, when the Sri Aurobindo Ashram
\nwas founded, Sri Aurobindo entrusted its
\nmaterial and spiritual charge to her, for
\nhe considered her not a disciple but his
\nspiritual equal and collaborator. Under
\nher guidance the Ashram grew into a large,
\nmany-faceted spiritual community. She
\nalso established a school, the Sri Aurobindo
\nInternational Centre of Education, in 1952,
\nand an international township, Auroville,
\nin 1968. The Mother passed away on 17
\nNovember 1973.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nSri Aurobindo <\/font><\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\nSri Aurobindo<\/font> <\/font>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nSri Aurobindo was born in Calcutta on
\n15 August 1872. At the age of seven he was
\ntaken to England for his education. There
\nhe studied at St. Paul’s School, London, and
\nat King’s College, Cambridge. Returning
\nto India in 1893, he worked for the next
\nthirteen years in the Princely State of Baroda
\nin the service of the Maharaja and as a
\nprofessor in the state’s college.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nIn 1906 Sri Aurobindo quit his post in
\nBaroda and went to Calcutta, where he
\nbecame one of the leaders of the Indian
\nnationalist movement. As editor of the news-
\npaper Bande Mataram,<\/i> he boldly put forward
\nthe idea of complete independence from
\nBritain. Arrested three times for sedition or
\ntreason, he was released each time for
\nlack of evidence.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\nSri Aurobindo began the practice of Yoga
\nin 1905. Within a few years he achieved
\nseveral fundamental spiritual realisations.
\nIn 1910 he withdrew from politics and
\nwent to Pondicherry in French India in
\norder to concentrate on his inner life
\nand work. During his forty years there,
\nhe developed a new spiritual path, the
\nIntegral Yoga, whose ultimate aim is the
\ntransformation of life by the power of a
\nsupramental consciousness. In 1926, with
\nthe help of the Mother, he founded the
\nSri Aurobindo Ashram. His vision of life
\nis presented in numerous works of prose
\nand poetry, among which the best known
\nare The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga
\n<\/i>and Savitri.<\/i> Sri Aurobindo passed away on
\n5 December 1950.<\/font><\/p>\n

 \n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE MOTHER   The Spiritual Significance of Flowers   Part I   Test and Photograph   Publisher s Note   "Flowers speak to us when…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[131],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-05-the-spiritual-significance-of-flowers","wpcat-131-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4788\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}