SAIIER 2013:Savitri Bhavan learning materials

Savitri Bhavan research projects		Savitri Bhavan outreach activities
Savitri Bhavan learning materials

Objective

To collect, create and disseminate Learning Materials of lasting value, to aid appreciation and understanding of the vision and teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother which underlie the aims and objectives of Auroville.

Outputs

Facilities

Five collections of Learning Materials focusing on the life, works and teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and the aims and ideals of Auroville are maintained at Entity::Savitri Bhavan for the use of students, researchers and interested members of the public, as follows:

• The Reading Room maintains a growing collection of books and journals.
• The Digital Library offers individual computer access to a wide range of documents and audio-visual materials.
• The Huta D. Hindocha Collection comprises the paintings made by Huta under the guidance of the Mother from 1956 to 1971, as well as many associated materials such as the Mother‘s original sketches, letters and comments and Huta‘s diaries.
• The House of Mother’s Agenda shares recordings, translations, compilations and other documentation relating to the Mother‘s Agenda – the record of her yoga from 1956 to 1973.
• The Savitri Bhavan Archive holds an ever-expanding collection of photographs, documents and audio and video recordings of the activities of the Bhavan since its inception. There is also a loan section which provides copies of non-copyright materials on request, and offers weekly film shows of collected material.

Compilations

During 2012-13 two compilations prepared at Savitri Bhavan were published in book form: the second volume of K.D. Sethna‘s writings on Savitri – Collected Comments was released at Savitri Bhavan in October 2012 by the publishers, the Clear Ray Trust, Pondicherry. (The first volume – Essays – also compiled at Savitri Bhavan, was published by the Trust in 2010). A 600 page compilation of essays by Dr. M.V. Nadkarni covering the whole of Savitri was published by Savitri Bhavan and released by Dr. Nadkarni‘s widow, Mrs. Meera Nadkarni.

Audio and video recordings

Recordings are being made of several of the regular activities held at Savitri Bhavan. From these audio and video recordings various types of Learning Material are being created, intended for wider use. For example, the voice exercises developed by Narad, the leader of the weekly OM Choir, have been demonstrated on a DVD which is distributed to new participants and to groups wishing to start independent choirs elsewhere. Transcripts of the audio recordings of the weekly “English of Savitri” class have been edited for publication. Since 2011 they are being serialized in the Savitri Bhavan journal of study notes on Savitri. These articles have been received with appreciation and interest by readers from around the world. A group in Gujarat has undertaken publication in book form of Gujarati translations of the articles under the title Savitri Sabdamrut. A first volume of 400 pages covering Cantos 1 and 2 of Book One of Savitri was published by Yoga-Yukta Prakashan of Ahmadabad in August 2012. This was welcomed with enthusiasm by Gujarati Savitri lovers, and a second volume, covering Canto 3, is in preparation to appear in August 2013. Translations are also being undertaken into French and German by volunteers. Video recordings are also being made of the “English of Savitri” sessions; in view of the great interest being shown in these sessions, in March 2013 a project of video-editing was undertaken with a view to providing films of every session, which can be accessed by individual in the Digital Library, shown to groups on request, distributed on DVD to interested individuals and centres, and posted on the internet.

Exhibition

In July 2012 the Savitri Bhavan team prepared an exhibition of paintings inspired by Savitri made by the late Shri S.K. Paliya of Ahmedabad. The paintings had been entrusted to Savitri Bhavan by his widow and daughter. The texts from the poem corresponding to each painting were collected by team-members from the artist‘s diary and panels were printed to accompany the paintings.

Outcomes

The learning materials collected, created and shared by the Savitri Bhavan team are supporting hundreds if not thousands of people around the world in their quest for deeper understanding of the vision and teachings of Sri Aurobindo and their efforts towards a higher consciousness and a better tomorrow for the whole of the human family.

Remarks

During this year it has become clear that creating Learning Materials of lasting value for the use of interested individuals and groups around the world will be a major part of the mission of Savitri Bhavan in the future. The Outreach Activities held at the Bhavan are already reaching hundreds of people and sharing the message of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. But they are also increasingly generating study aids that can be of much wider use and impact. The team will be devoting more and more energy in this direction over the coming year.