The Handwritten Magazines

In the Ashram school, in Bengali I used to get 100 out of 100. In English, from 90 to 100. In history, always 100 I used to get. Only in mathematics I did not do as well. How did I always get 100 in history? I would learn the whole book by heart.

I prayed to Mother Saraswati for years to give me a great memory. She blessed me. The history book was about 120 pages. I learned it by heart. In history class, I used to sit in the front row. My teacher was right in front of me so he could see I was not copying from the book or from anybody else. I used to get very high marks from memorising the book.

One incident perhaps some of you know. A teacher who taught in a higher class, was the editor of a handwritten magazine. The name of that magazine was Shikha. A friend of mine and I were the co-editors of another handwritten magazine named Jatri. My poem “Jatri Amara Manina Ratri”¹⁸ first appeared in that magazine.

Both the handwritten magazines were sent to Sri Aurobindo. We were kids, 15 or 16 years old. Sri Aurobindo said our Jatri was far better than Shikha. That created such a sensation. My friend’s name was Debu. He is now a homeopath.

In the evening of her life this teacher/editor became paralysed. Her son, who was a doctor, used to take her out in a wheelchair. One day, during one of my visits to the Ashram, I was 50 or 60 metres away from her. How could she recognise me? Her son, the doctor, called out, “Chinmoy! My mother wants to see you.”

Very humbly I stood in front of her. My humility was sincere. She said, “I knew you were destined to be a great writer and great man.” She knew, that was her comment.

In school I showed my retentive faculty. I prayed to Saraswati. This is the mantra I used to say. (Repeats mantra. Sri Chinmoy often referred to this mantra.)

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Saraswati mahabhage vidye kamalalocane

Vidyarupe visalaksi vidyam dehi namostute

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There was another Saraswati mantra I used to repeat in my childhood that our servant taught me. But Saraswati mahābhāge I repeated thousands and thousands of times because Saraswati is the Mother of music, Mother of art, Mother of learning.

It is all Mother Saraswati’s blessings that I became a writer, I became an artist, I became a musician. It is all Mother Saraswati’s Grace.

For my weightlifting, if I have to give credit, which I must, it goes to Mother Kali. I owe it all to her.

14 April 2007, Aspiration-Ground, New York

From:Sri Chinmoy,Concern: A Reality of the Heart, Agni Press, 2025
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/crh