The tiny Blessing packets, associated with our Ashram, are unique in themselves in many and varied ways.
They have travelled all over the world, may it be by road, steamships, naval vessels, or on ordinary yet adventurous country rafts, on aircrafts like helicopters, supersonics, air buses, gliders, balloons, or even by Migs, by trains, by cars, by buses, by bullock-carts. But most of all they have travelled on bicycles, placed with love and reverence in the pockets of devotees. They travel very often close to the hearts of people.
If the small Blessing packet is seen—in whichever corner of the world it be—it is at once connected with the Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Pondicherry. There is nothing of the kind anywhere else associated with any spiritual group or temple. If there is a Blessing wrapped in a small 4 cms by 3 cms envelope made of decorated paper with the seal of a symbol, sure enough it has come from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.
They are not only unique in their appearance; they have thousands and millions of stories to tell, each one unique in its own way.
This one was told by the Mother. Once a man was travelling by bus. It was in Goa, during the struggle for freedom from the Portuguese rule. Often there were mobs on the way. Stopping the vehicles, looting, stoning, even killing the passengers. This man was leaving Goa and on the way the bus was stopped. There was utter chaos and confusion and crying and shrieking. He was very scared. But at some moment he remembered about the Blessing packet in his pocket. He clutched at it and called for help. There is no need to say anything more. As experienced by many the help was there. It is a matter of faith, the Mother had said once.
This tiny packet had a very simple and humble birth. Our Champaklal-ji has this to say:
“Early in the beginning the Mother used to give a rose to sadhaks who went to Her for Pranam. Then She started giving rose petals.
Some people were very careful, they received the petals with both hands and put them in their handkerchief or pocket. Their feelings and reverence could be seen in their action. They were so consciously careful that even if a tiny petal fell down their unhappiness could be seen on their face. They would delicately lift the dropped petal, touch it to their eyes and forehead before placing it in the handkerchief. It was a scene steeped in bhakti.
While, alas, some others were careless, and were in a hurry. They seemed as if snatching the petals or a rose from Her hands. They would quickly push them in their pocket dropping a few petals on their way out. A few would turn back to pick up the petals; they would receive a lovely smile from the Mother. Some did not bother. But often lucky ones were called back by the Mother. She would sweetly point at the petals on the ground.”
When Champaklal saw all this, as he was always near Her when people went to Her for Pranam, he started making little packets for the petals. The very first ones were made by an old sadhak, Charu Dutt. He used to come to the Mother with lots of reverence and devotion, but could not manage the loose petals. So the tiny envelopes were specially made by him.
Thus was born the Blessing packet made in simple butter paper. Then Birendra, another sadhak, offered to make these envelopes with symbols embossed on the flap.
When the marbling of paper started in the Ashram, this paper made its way to the making of the second decorative envelope for the butter-paper bag holding the rose petals. Then came the work of drying the rose petals and pressing them flat. Lots of senior sadhaks are now busy making these Blessing packets.
With the practice of using decorative covers becoming common, fancy paper from all over the world started arriving in sweet competition, asking to be used for the purpose. And what a variety of beautiful paper poured in.
There were sober rice paper, bright shining foil, satin finish smooth paper, and silk thread embedded handmade paper. Sometimes they were printed or else they were plain. They were fanciful, they were aristocratic. They were quietly simple, they were brilliantly decorative. The outer cover was made according to the liking of the person who made them.
Later on yet another sadhak thought of putting small photos on the packets. Thus started the series of Blessing packets with the Mother’s and Sri Aurobindo’s photos fixed on the envelopes. But the best were the plain butter-paper packets. The Mother sometimes wrote “Blessings” and the name of the person to whom She was giving it. These simple ones are really the rarest as just a few fortunate persons have them.
At times the Mother, as She gave them as Her Blessings, gave these packets special meanings. When She chose a packet for a particular person, She took Her own unhurried time to choose a packet from the various bundles She kept nearby.
“This blue one is for the man who is not able to sleep.”
“This one is for his worried wife.”
“These five packets for the family. But be careful, this one is for the girl with a sweet soul. Don’t mix it with others.”
These are just a few of Her innumerable little messages that accompanied the Blessing packets.
Sometimes She would press the packets in your palm making your whole body thrill with the touch. At other times She would tenderly keep the packet in your hand and whisper, “Mon petit.” There are hundreds of stories regarding the ways in which the Mother gave these Blessing packets.
And how particular She was when She gave these packets!
When the head of a department or a Centre wanted a number of packets for distribution, he would say: “Mother, can I have some Blessing packets?”
She would ask: “How many?”
“About fifty.”
She would pick up a pile or two at random, feel them in Her palms and give them. Invariably the number of packets would be precisely the requested number.
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(Courtesy: Mother India, May 2001)
About the Author: Born in Kenya, Nairobi on 24 February 1934, to Shivabhai Amin, Sunanda visited Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, for the first time at the age of eight in August 1942 and had the Darshan of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. She returned to Pondicherry in 1951 and joined the Ashram where she started teaching English in the Ashram School. Following her marriage to Balkrishna Poddar, the Mother asked them to open a branch of Sri Aurobindo Book Distribution Agency (SABDA) in East Africa. To the young couple, the Mother had said: “I will keep you as my children and will call you back to the Ashram. This arrangement will not be permanent.” After spending eight years in East Africa, they returned to Pondicherry and Sunanda devoted her time to teach in the Last School at Auroville and work at SABDA. In 1974 she gave up teaching and began to work full-time for SABDA. She was also instrumental in establishing the SABDA branch on Rue de la Marine. When Srismriti, a museum which houses objects used by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother was started by the Ashram, Sunanda was put in charge of it. She has also written two books for children entitled Rainbow Lands and We Five and Other Tales.
M. P. Pandit writes in his book, “Mother and I” :
“Champaklal describes how particular Mother was about the attitude and the spirit in which Blessings packets are prepared. She held a packet in hand and showed how to keep oneself gathered. She used to appreciate Dharmachand’s doing of the packets; she could make out that he had done them. When Udar wanted to assemble a team of people to prepare the packets on a large scale, Mother said, no, and asked him to first get a list of the persons prepared for
‘Atul-da was born on 26 December 1907. He was a lean man and all through his life susceptible to cold and asthma. He probably joined the ashram around 1951 and was posted on Ashram gate-duty. He left his earthly abode at the age of 77. Maybe he was in my care for about 4 years, from 1980 till 1984. He became weak to carry on the work of regular gate-duty, but he was never unhappy.
In the 1960s Champaklal-ji’s need for Blessing Packets was around 400 a month. But after the Mother left, the need in the ’80s shot up to 12000. Light-di was helping Champaklal-ji. Light-di was my mathematics teacher in 1957-58.
Champaklal-ji had two problems regarding Blessing Packets:
1) Once the Mother was asking for a Blessing Packet to give to someone and he just didn’t have any in stock!
2) The Mother was also complaining to him, “Who has made these Blessing Packets? They have not been made with a proper attitude; and thus are ineffective when I give to people.”
I don’t know whether you remember the story of BBH—Big Boys’ Home. You will also recollect that the Mother had passed a comment regarding us old boys, “These boys are selfish, they don’t make anything for me.” This remark of hers had obviously pinched me. So as I took more interest in making Blessings Packets, Champaklal-ji was very happy and he straightaway said, “the Mother has sent you to me and I am relieved.” Being an engineer passed out of our Centre of Education, I knew at once that making small 24000 thousand envelopes was a small scale industry work, so got small dies, hand-cutting machine and an embossing machine; we also had the Mother and Sri Aurobindo’s small-size photos printed in colour. We were now in business.
Now it struck to me, that if the Blessing Packets were made by senior sadhaks, then hopefully the second problem of the right attitude would also be solved. It could be an additional help to meet the requirement of 12,000/month. I was discouraged by several Ashramites who were doing the work. They said: “The Blessing Packets have got to be in perfect shape. The photos have to be stuck properly in the centre of the packets. And these old people with poor eyes and trembling hands will have difficulties regarding these strict conditions of perfection.”
However, I did not relent; after a lot of careful explanation and initial rejections, slowly Rani-di, Atul-da, Uma-ji, and few others picked up the job to satisfaction.
In fact, it became a passion for some of the senior sadhikas: Earlier they were ailing from physical problems due to old age and were constantly complaining. Now Rani-di and some others, in the middle of the night at 2 am would sit down to make Blessing Packets. Thus problems and worries turned into blessings in disguise,—an offering of their sincere work to the Mother!
Atul-da was given responsibility of our Good-Will Home Library. He also made Blessing Packets. He probably was fully conscious, like Gangadhar-ji, that his time had come. The last month of his sojourn on earth he was clearing everything from his room,—even smallest bits of old papers and personal letters.
Then one day he came and told me, “I have eleven Rupees in the Ashram Bank, I want to offer the sum to the Mother.”
I replied, “Atul-da, it is in Ashram Bank. Finally it will go to the Mother, isn’t it? Why worry then?”
He remained unconvinced, but he accepted.
Finally, on the last day in the morning, he was sitting in his chair and making Blessing Packets. He was feeling a little unwell. He asked the maid-servant to help him to go to the bath-room. The servant asked him to just wait for some time. She would clean Dhan-ben’s room and come back to help him. After a few minutes, when the she went to him, she had some doubt; she called me.
I saw to my utter disbelief; here was this Karmayogi sitting in the chair, making a Blessing Packet. In his hand there was a partly folded packet; his spectacles had fallen from his eyes over his hands. His soul had departed and flown from his earthly frame to the Mother.
Such sublime was the moment that, till day, I remember the scene with gratitude and feelings, with eyes wet!’
Quoted from Srikant Jivarajani’s post entitled “Atul-da and the Blessing Packets” published in savitri.in