"...From that day on I would take a
stroll everyday in the morning
and evening in the open space before decree...
at times I would stay out for
two hours, there was no time limit about it.
I enjoyed this very much...On
one side were the jail industries, on the other
the cowshed - my independent
kingdom was flanked by these two. From the industrial
section to the
cowshed, from the cowshed to the industrial section,
traveling to and fro
I would recite the deeply moving, ageless, powerful
mantras of the Upanishads,
or watching the movements and activities of the
prisoners I tried to realise
the basic truths of the immanent Godhead, God
in every form. In the trees, the
houses, the walls, in men, animals, birds, metals,
the earth, with the help
of the mantra: All this is the Brahman
(sarvam khalvidam Brahma), I would
try to fix or impose the realisation on
all of these. As I went on
doing like this sometimes the prison ceased to
appear to be a prison at all.
The high wall, those iron bars, the white-wall,
the green-leaved tree shining
in the sunlight, it seemed these commonplace
objects were not unconscious
at all, but that they were vibrating
with a universal consciousness, they
love me and wish to embrace me or so I felt.
Men, cows, ants, birds are
moving, flying, singing, speaking, yet all
is Nature's play; behind
all this is a great pure detached Spirit
rapt in a serene delight. Once
in a while it seemed as if God Himself was
standing under the tree, to
play upon His flute of Delight; and with
its sheer charm to draw my
very soul out. Always it seemed as if
someone was embracing me, holding
me on one's lap. The manifestation of
these emotions overpowered my
whole body and mind, a pure and wide
peace reigned everywhere. It is impossible
to describe that state. The hard cover
of my life opened up and a
spring of love for all creatures gushed
from within. Along with this love
such sattvik emotions as charity,
kindness, ahimsa, etc., overpowered
my dominantly rajasic nature and found an
abundant release. And the more
these qualities developed, the greater
the delight and deeper the unclouded
peace. The anxiety over the case had
vanished from beginning, now it was
a contrary emotion that found room in
my mind. God is All-good, He had
brought me into the prison house for
my good, my release and the quashing
of the charge was certain. I grew firm
in this faith. After this for many
days I did not have to suffer any troubles in the jail."
Sri Aurobindo
From "Tales of Prison Life (Karakahani)"
