Savitri is a lifetime study, in fact a lifetime sadhana since reading itself is a sadhana. Reading Savitri is a powerful means of opening to the consciousness of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. That is why it has to be read and re-read until it seeps into our inner being and its mantras begin their work of transformation.
Savitri has to be read and received as a mantra which means to try to feel its rhythm with the inner ear. One can listen to the Mother’s readings of Savitri to understand how it has to be read, slowly, rhythmically, entering into its depths or swimming in its currents, engaging our whole being with it and not merely the understanding mind. In fact the understanding mind often prevents us from understanding because the very effort at trying to understand mentally veils the rest of the consciousness from receiving its full impact. It is so because Savitri is not a book written by the intellectual mind and it cannot be understood by engaging the intellectual mind alone. It is a book of revelation and the quieter the mind becomes the better we receive it. Read it not only with the intellectual mind which is useful to understand science and mathematics but also with the intuitive mind that becomes operational when the outer mind becomes quiet. Engage the heart as well, even primarily so as when one reads a fascinating tale or an epic.
One can take help from talks and commentaries if one wishes to. They help prepare the ground and the atmosphere. But the true understanding dawns within as we read and re-read it. Savitri is indeed not a book to be read and finished but incorporated in our daily life. Thus it begins to grow upon us and we begin to grow in it.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
