Last month Rohan Chitale visited several places in the South as a Quester of Inner Silence. He made extensive notes of the impressions he had during his travel. The present Section is about his visit and stay at Sri Aurobindo Ashram Pondicherry. During his stay he visited me also, almost suddenly, without prior intimation; but we as quickly got got settled down for a 2-hour session and things became happier and happier. Rohan is certainly a seeker and I am sure his visits have given him the direction in which to go and proceed. In spite of his very busy schedules as one of the Managers and Owners of the Pune-famed Chitale Dairy he is looking for something deeply spiritual in the dynamics of life. This certainly is significant about him. We wish every success to him in this wonderful enterprise, adding potful of lustrous honey to fire-pure milk of his Dairy.

— RY Deshpande

The following is from Rohan Chitale’s Travel Notes in the Word.format:

Yogi Aurobindo Samadhi – Pondicherry.Tamil Nadu

Date:

Time of Visit: Weather / Mood:

Silent Moments

26th October 2025

4:45 p.m.

Clear Calm

After switching off our mobiles completely, we meditated near Sri Aurobindo’s Samadhi.

Observations

The atmosphere was filled with devotion towards Yogi Aurobindo’s remarkable achievements. After meditation, we were enamoured by the beautiful books written by Yogi Aurobindo such as “Savitri” and “The Life Divine”.

Later, we met Dr. R. Y. Deshpande, a senior scientist and physicist, who gave us a glimpse into the message of Savitri.

Reflection: Perfect Body for Perfect Spirituality

Closing Thought: Through penance, remarkable achievements can be accomplished.

Sri Aurobindo – The Flame of Integral Transformation

Devotion and Love for Country

He saw India as the living embodiment of the Divine Shakti – a nation destined to guide humanity toward higher consciousness. His early years were spent in revolutionary struggle for India’s freedom, but his nationalism was never narrow. He believed that India’s true liberation lay in spiritual resurgence, not merely political power.

Ideal and Vision

Sri Aurobindo envisioned a divine life on earth, where matter itself could be illumined by spirit. His ideal was not renunciation but transformation – the ascent of human consciousness from the mental to the supramental, from ignorance to divine perfection. His life, writings, and the Ashram he founded were devoted to manifesting this ideal of Integral Yoga, where the spiritual and the material harmonise as one.

Deep Penance (Tapasya)

In the stillness of Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo entered a vast inner silence that became the crucible of his tapasya. For years he lived in seclusion, experiencing states of consciousness far beyond the known mind. Through this intense inner work, he realized the Supramental Truth­ Consciousness – a divine knowledge-power beyond intellect – and sought to bring it down into earthly life.

Mission in Life

Sri Aurobindo’s mission was the spiritual evolution of mankind. He sought not to found a religion but to awaken a new consciousness – where human beings could live as instruments of the Divine Will. Through his writings – The Life Divine, Savitri, The Synthesis of Yoga – he mapped the path from human limitation to divine realisation.

Core Concept and Path to Enlightenment

Sri Aurobindo’s spirituality is not an escape into the Beyond, but the descent of the Beyond into life. His Integral Yoga unites the three ancient paths – Knowledge, Devotion, and Work – into one comprehensive movement toward the Divine. He taught that enlightenment is not the end, but a beginning – the starting point for the transformation of mind, life, and body into divine instruments. In his vision, evolution is the slow manifestation of God in matter; each soul’s awakening contributes to the earth’s divine future.

In Essence

Sri Aurobindo’s life was a bridge between the ancient and the future – a living prophecy of humanity’s next step in evolution.

Life Span: 1872-1950 (Age 78)

RY Deshpande reading a passage from Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri The Book of Fate Canto Two

RY Deshpande and Rohan Chitale