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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center; line-height:150%;margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size="4">I Tried Sannyas</font></b><i><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<div class=Section1>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><i><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></i></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>NOT once, not twice, but
thrice, – three times did I have the urge to take to the life of an ascetic, <i>sannyasa.
</i>But whether it was the bad luck of asceticism or out of my own good luck,
I had to give up the idea .on all the three occasions, though each time it
happened in a different way.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.3pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>This
was how it came about the first time. I had just come out of jail. What was I
to do next? Go back to the ordinary life, read as before in college, pass
examinations, <span class=GramE>get</span> a job? But all that was now out of
the question. I prayed that such things be erased from the tablet of my fate, s<i>irasi
ma likha, ma likha, ma likha. </i>But before I could come to any
final decision as to the future, I had to do something at least to while away
the time. So I gave my parents and relatives to understand that I would be
continuing my studies and so be on the look-out for a suitable college – for
any and every college would not dare to admit me, a live bomb-maker just out of
prison.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:13.5pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>After
going about a bit, I came to <st1:City><st1:place>Calcutta</st1:place></st1:City>
and put up with a friend at his Mess. One day, I felt a sudden inspiration. It
had to be on that very day: on that very day I must renounce the world, make
the Great Departure, there was to be no return. I decided to try the Belur Math
first. <span class=GramE>If they took me in, so much the better.</span> They
had a good library too, I had heard. <span style='mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>In<b>
</b></span>case they refused, well, one would see. It was about four in the
afternoon when I left the Mess. I had of course been to the Math before, and to
Dakshineshwar as well, but always by river in a country-boat. I had since been
told there was a railway-station at Belur. I thought the<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

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<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 383<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Math must be somewhere <span
class=GramE>near</span> the station, so I should go by train this time. With
exactly two and a half annas in my pocket, I left for the <st1:City><st1:place>Howrah</st1:place></st1:City>
station, bought a ticket for Belur and kept the change, a pice or two. On
alighting at the station I was told the Math was quite a distance from there, a
couple of miles at least. I had to set out on foot and finally arrived at the
Math. A few inmates – Sannyasis – sat on a bench in the verandah. They asked
me about the object of my visit. I blurted out straightaway, &quot;I have come
to stay here. I wish to take up the spiritual life, the life of <i>sannyasa.&quot;
</i>&quot;In that case,&quot; they said, &quot;you had better consult the
authority in charge.&quot; This authority was Sarat Maharaj. He received me in
his room and bade me sit by him. He listened to all I had to say. Then he spoke
to me in a most unassuming and affectionate tone and explained a number of
things.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:13.5pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>He
asked me, &quot;What precisely do you want to come here <span class=GramE>for
?&quot;</span><o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.75pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>I
said, “This is a sacred spot dedicated to the memory of Swami Vivekananda. I
have a deep attraction for Swamiji, and I want to follow his idea1.”<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:12.0pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>&quot;To
have an attraction for Swamiji,&quot; he said, &quot;is a very good thing. But
it is not enough. It is easy enough, especially for Indian youths, to adore him
and do him worship. What is more difficult is to know and understand his
Master, Sri Ramakrishna. And he who does not know and understand Sri
Ramakrishna cannot know and understand Swami Vivekananda wel1. In any case, you
will agree that anyone cannot be admitted to the Math just like that. You pay
us a few visits, let us get to know each other better, <span class=GramE>then</span>
perhaps we might decide something.&quot;<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:13.5pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:-.25in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>&quot;But I have no intention of going back,&quot; I said.
&quot;On that I am determined.&quot;<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:13.5pt;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Debabrata Basu and Sachin
Sen had already joined the Ramakrishna Mission before I came. Both of them had
been with me in Alipore Jail among the accused in the Bomb case.<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

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mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 384<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Let me here in parenthesis
note a few things about Debabrata Basu. He had been a contemporary of Barin, U
pen and Hrishikesh and was among the leaders of our group. He was one of the
writers. Indeed, it was he and Upen who gave a characteristic stamp to <i>Yugantar
</i>by their writings. His was the mind of a meditative thinker. His thought
was wide in its range, rich in <span class=GramE>knowledge,</span> he had
insight and inner experience. And all this he could combine with a fine sense
of humour which did not, however, as in the case of others always explode in
laughter. Nor did his appearance belie his mental stature; he was a<i>kara-sadrsa-prajña,
</i>a tall figure of a man. One would often find him seated in a meditative
pose, gathered silently within. When he came back to his waking self he would
sometimes impart to those around him something of the knowledge he had gained
in the world of thought or of his experiences in the inner worlds. He had a
sister, Sudhira, who was also well-known to us, for in spite of her being a
woman she too had shared in her brother's work as a revolutionary. On his
joining the Ramakrishna Mission, Debabrata Basu was given the name of Prajnananda.
He has written a book in Bengali, <i>Bharater Sadhana (The Spiritual Heritage
of </i><st1:country-region><st1:place><i>India</i></st1:place></st1:country-region><i>),
</i>which is well-known to select circles.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.3pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>I
had to bring up the names of Debabrata and Sachin for I thought – I had also
been told something to this effect&nbsp; – <span class=GramE>that</span> the Math
might feel a little nervous or perhaps even get into trouble with the police
because of my connection with the Bomb case. But Sarat Maharaj gave me finally
to understand that he could not accept me as an inmate. So I had to leave.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:9.8pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Now,
what was I to do next? I decided to start off straight along the Grand Trunk
Road, the road of the Mughals, which they say would take one as far as <st1:City><st1:place>Agra</st1:place></st1:City>
and <st1:City><st1:place>Delhi</st1:place></st1:City>. <span class=GramE>So, on
to the march now, never to return.</span> I could very well repeat the words of
the poet,<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

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mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 385<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>&quot;Thou hast found a
shelter for everyone, </p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>O Shankara, O Lord of the
Worlds, </p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>But to me thou hast
assigned the road alone.&quot;<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Or the words of Christ,<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:150%;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>&quot;The
foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nest but the son of man hath not
where to lay his head.&quot;<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.0pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>So
I trudged along. The township was passed, human habitations grew thin and the
meadows stretched wider or both sides of the road. But what was this coming all
on a sudden? It started drizzling. I had no <span class=GramE>umbrella,</span>
there were no houses to offer me shelter, only the shades of wayside trees. I
began to get drenched and the rain damped my body and the inner spirit too
along with it. I now said to myself, &quot;Hang it all, but what is the point
in this useless suffering? Is this spiritual discipline? And is it essential to
that discipline to get oneself drenched in the rain out in this wilderness?&quot;
The answer came, &quot;No, it is not at all essential. Can't you recall Sri
Krishna's words, 'He who afflicts his body afflicts me too who dwell in that
body'? <span class=GramE>Now then?&quot;</span> Well, I thought I should now
turn back. If my resolution was not a sound resolution, there could be no harm
in going back on it. So I turned back.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:12.0pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>But
turn hack how? There was not enough money to pay for the train fare. In any
case, it would be easier to take a country-boat, from the place where I had
reached, – so I gathered from enquiries. I came to the riverside. It was
already getting on to eight and the last of the ferry boats was about to leave.
I ran for it and jumped in. And we crossed over to <st1:City><st1:place>Calcutta</st1:place></st1:City>.
As I prepared to get down, the boatman said, &quot;Your fare, please?&quot; I
rummaged my pockets and found there the two pice left. I offered them to the
man. But he said, &quot;Not two pice but four, the fare is one anna.&quot;
&quot;But I have nothing more.&quot; <span class=GramE>&quot;That I don't know,
you have</span><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

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mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 386<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><span class=GramE><span
style='font-family:Arial'>to </span>pay
the<span style='font-family:Arial'> </span>full fare.&quot; &quot;But I have
told you I have nothing more, how can I pay?&quot; &quot;I don't know about
that.&quot; &quot;All right, I can give you my pair of slippers.&quot;
&quot;No, they won't do. If you give me the <i>chuddar </i>you have on, I might
consider,&quot; It was a good shawl I had on, and I said, &quot;No, my dear
fellow, that I am not going to part with.&quot; &quot;But you will have
to.&quot;<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.3pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Our
exchanges were well on the way to a dispute, when a gentleman suddenly appeared
up on the river bank – it was a steep bank and the water had receded far down
at the ebb tide – and he asked me, &quot;What is the matter?&quot; I told him
all that had happened. &quot;Oh, is that all? Here, you fellow,&quot; he said,
&quot;<span class=GramE>here</span> is your fare.&quot; He gave him an anna. I
thanked him profusely, asked him <i>for </i>his address, but he went his way
without another word.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.55pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>I
too started on my way home and finally came back to my room at the Mess. My
friend was waiting for me to come before he sat down to dinner. I simply said,
&quot;Sorry, I have been late, going about here and there.&quot; I did not give
him the faintest hint of the drama I had just been through, how<span
style='font-family:Arial'> </span>from a near-tragedy I had landed into high
comedy.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:9.1pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>That
was &quot;my first attempt at <i>sannyasa. </i><span class=GramE>Now about
the next chance.</span><o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.55pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>I
have told you earlier that on our release from j ail, so long as we were in <st1:City><st1:place>Calcutta</st1:place></st1:City>,
Bejoy and I used to call on Sri Aurobindo regularly every afternoon at the
residence of his uncle at <i>Sanjivani </i>office. After a long deliberation
and discussion the two of us finally decided that we should now set out on a
career of wandering ascetics. I did not tell Bejoy of my earlier experiment.
But Up en had once told me while we had been in jail that in order to be able
to love one's country, one must know it and see it with one's own eyes by
journeying through it a little. Our sadhus and wandering ascetics too have a
custom of going the round of <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
and visiting the four corners of the land. <span class=GramE>Hence, on to the
march again, <i>caraiveti.</i></span><i> </i>Bejoy procured the necessary equip<span class=SpellE><span
class=GramE>ment</span>: </span></p>

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mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 387<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span class=SpellE>that is, the blanket and the <i>lota </i>or
water-pot. The date of departure was fixed, only the itinerary remained.
&quot;But before we start,&quot; he said, &quot;we must inform Sri Aurobindo
and obtain his blessings. And then we leave,&quot;<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:12.2pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>So,
one afternoon, in the course of one of our regular visits, we told him of our
plan. He kept quiet for a while, <span class=GramE>then</span> he said,
&quot;Well, you might wait for a few days.&quot; I was a little surprised, for
I had thought that he would endorse our scheme without any hesitation. Anyhow,
we had to wait for a few days. He said to us one day, &quot;You wanted to go on
a tour of the country, didn't you? Well, you come with <span class=GramE>me,</span>
I shall take you on a tour.&quot; We were taken aback and were delighted at the
same time. He was to leave for <st1:country-region><st1:place>Assam</st1:place></st1:country-region>
on a political mission, first to a Provincial Conference to be held at a place
called Jalsuka in the Sylhet area, and thence to the other areas of <st1:country-region><st1:place>Assam</st1:place></st1:country-region>
on a tour.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.75pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>This
provided me with a fresh opportunity to see once again the beauty of old <st1:place>Bengal</st1:place>,
the land of the rivers, from a new angle of vision this time. Water, water
everywhere, so much water you do not see at any other place, an endless sheet
of water spread out below, matching the vast expanse of the sky above. From
Goalando we went by steamer to Narayangunge along the Padma and the Sitalaksha,
thence to the Meghna; one who has not seen the Meghna cannot imagine what it is
really like – it was, as it were, the living Goddess of the water, Jaleshwari –
and next, the mighty Dhaleshwari and on to the Surma. We travelled by river
steamer for days on end without a break and we moved about by country-boat. The
rains had come. The low-lying tracts – they call them Howr – which at other
times are just dry lowlands were now all submerged under water. As far as the
eyes could reach, there was a vast expanse of water clear and still. Only at
places here and there one could see jutting out of its midst a few houses or a
village. One day, in the twilight of the evening, land and river took on a rosy
hue in the crimson glow of the setting sun as we sailed along by a<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

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<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 388<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><span class=GramE>slow-moving</span>
boat. Sri Aurobindo was there and two or three other leaders. I was so
powerfully moved by the scene that – the child that I was – I felt an
irresistible desire to burst forth there and then into song:<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:150%;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><span
class=GramE>&quot;In front the clouds glow, over the setting sun.</span> </p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:150%;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Row on thy
boat, for now it is too late to cross.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>The golden land is
half-seen through the gloam: </p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Wouldst thou then take thy
boat to the other shore?&quot;<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Somehow with difficulty I
contained myself and sat in quiet contemplation.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:.15in;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Out
on tour, Sri Aurobindo used to address meetings, meet people when he was free
and give <span class=GramE>them</span> instructions and advice. Most of those
who came to his meetings did not understand <span class=GramE>English,</span>
they were common village-folk. But they came in crowds all the same, men, women
and children, just to hear him speak and have his <i>darshan. </i>When he stood
up to address a gathering, a pin-drop silence prevailed. His audience must
surely have felt a vibration of something behind the spoken word. It is not
that he confined himself to political matters alone. There were many who knew
that he was a, Yogi and- spiritual guide and they sought his help in these
matters too. I have myself seen as I spent whole nights with him in the same
room, at Jalsuka, how he would sit up practically the whole night and go to bed
only for a short while in the early hours of the morning.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:.15in;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>We
toured the country for about ten or twelve days and then we came back. On our
return, Sri Aurobindo made us an offer: we were to have a home at the
Shyampukur premises of <i>Karmayogin </i>and <i>Dharma. </i>I have already told
you about that.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:.15in;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>The
story of my third and last attempt at <i>sannyasa </i>can be briefly told.
The scene was here in <st1:City><st1:place>Pondicherry</st1:place></st1:City>
and the time immediately before the final arrival of the Mother. Five of us
lived here as permanent inmates then, not counting Sri<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><span class=GramE>Aurobindo
of course.</span> </p>

<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 389<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:12.95pt;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'>

<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>

</div>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>We were indeed well on the way to <i>sannyasa </i>in
that life of Brahmacharya and single blessedness. The first time it had been <span
class=GramE>myself</span>, my own self or soul, who rejected <i>sannyasa. </i>The
second time the veto was pronounced by the Supreme Soul, the Lord – Sri
Aurobindo himself. And the third time it was the Supreme Prakriti, the
Universal Mother who it seems scented the danger and hastened as if personally
to intervene and. bar that way of escape for ever, by piling up against us the
heaven-kissing thorny hedge of wedlock. Three of us got caught in this manner,
although the other two did find a way of escape.<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 390<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'>

<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>

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