Sri Aurobindo Ashram

The community that existed before the ashram was quite informal. The majority of Sri Aurobindo's time was spent writing and meditating. Three or four young men who had accompanied him to Pondicherry in 1910 stayed with him and took care of the home. They were free to do anything they wanted the rest of the time. In 1914, the Mother and French writer Paul Richard met Sri Aurobindo and proposed that they publish a monthly review; however, they were forced to leave India due to the outbreak of World War I, and Sri Aurobindo had to do almost all of the work on the review himself, with some assistance from the young men who were living with him.The Mother returned to Pondicherry in April 1920, and the community quickly evolved into an ashram, owing to the sadhaks' willingness "to devote their entire inner and outer existence to the Mother rather than any aim or plan of hers or of Sri Aurobindo." Following its formalisation in 1926, the ashram enjoyed a period of tremendous expansion, with enrollment rising from approximately 24 in early 1927 to more than 150 by 1934. Due to a scarcity of adequate homes, membership peaked in 1934. There was a set regimen during these years. Every morning at 6:00 a.m., the Mother appeared on the ashram balcony to bless the new day.Sadhaks would have risen early and performed the most of the day's labour, including meditation, before gathering under the balcony to receive her blessings. Many departments arose as the ashram grew, and the sadhaks took care of them as part of their sadhana: offices, libraries, dining rooms, book/photograph printing, workshops, sports/playground, art gallery, dispensary/nursing home, farms, dairies, flower gardens, guest houses, laundry, bakery, and so on. In the morning, the department heads met with the Mother and received her blessings and directives. She would see the sadhaks individually again at 10 a.m., and then lead meditation and meet the sadhaks in the evening at 5:30 p.m.Moreover, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother used to conduct public Darshans (spiritual meetings when the guru bestows blessings) to thousands of devotees assembled to receive grace four times a year.