The rich and vibrant and powerful voice..., resonant and far-ringing, carrying in its spell a kind of authority

Mangesh V Nadkarni that became a Savitri legend for us by RY Deshpande on Mon 03 Mar 2008 01:45 AM PST Permanent Link

Nadkarni...'s Savitri study classes...meant a feast for the lovers of this immortal work, immortal but also a difficult work, not very easily accessible to the general students. It not only needs enormous command over English, but also great knowledge about spiritual-philosophical-literary-historical matters, about classical and modern branches of learning, both oriental and occidental, with sufficient depth of grasp and penetration into them, an encyclopaedic preparation to enter into its spirit. This is not a commodity which is that easily available and that is one immediate reason which causes awe in us when we open Savitri. Nadkarni’s classes took care of many of these aspects and therefore they were extremely popular. Attendees with different backgrounds and preparations included those coming from different parts of the country, and also from abroad. To take note of such a kaleidoscopic variation is a formidable task, but Nadkarni did take care of them masterly.

But the one thing that impressed everyone was, the rich and vibrant and powerful voice of the speaker, resonant and far-ringing, carrying in its spell a kind of authority that gripped more the heart of the listener than his mind. His articulation was superb, with an English spoken in an accentuated English way. It is that which endeared him to Nirod-da, Nirod-da making a particular point not to miss any of these sessions. The last session in the series, the day before his birthday, used to be invariably at Savitri Bhavan in Auroville. Thus continued the feast for several happy and fruitful years...

Aswapati argues with the Divine Mother, compelling her to take a mortal birth, that thus might earth’s seeing widen into the infinite. The Savitri-discourses of Nadkarni were charged with this message and it is that message which he carried far and wide. Sri Aurobindo called Savitri “a Legend and a Symbol”. While unraveling the meaning of the ‘symbol’ Nadkarni himself, in the process, became a legend, a legend which differs from individual to individual the way he sees the symbol. That is the power of the symbol by living in which each one of us discovers the legend each one of us is, our true soul and our spirit. Keywords: SriAurobindo, Spirituality, Savitri, Mother, IntegralYoga, India, Ashram Science, Culture and Integral Yoga