Sri Aurobindo’s Mahasamadhi Day

Sri Aurobindo left his body on December 5, 1950. In the words of the Mother:

He was not forced to leave his body; he has chosen to do so.

For a glimpse into what happened at that climactic moment, again we have to turn to the words of the Mother:

He had accumulated in his body much supramental Force, and as soon as he left… You see, he was lying on his bed, I stood by his side, and in a way altogether concrete – concrete with such a strong sensation as to make one think that it could be seen – all this supramental Force which was in him passed from his body into mine. And I felt the friction of the passage. It was extraordinary. It was an extraordinary experience.

The Mother also said to K.D. Sethna:

As soon as Sri Aurobindo withdrew from his body, what he has called the Mind of Light got realized in me.

In Sri Aurobindayan, Nirodbaran describes the occasion:

“On 5th December 1950 at 1:26 a.m. he left his body and by morning the entire body was seen to be suffused with a golden-crimson hue, so fresh and so magnificent, lifting us from the pall of gloom to a mute wonder. This Supramental Light remained for five days at a stretch and many people witnessed the magnificent and unique phenomenon. A mortal body generally shows signs of decomposition within twenty-four hours, but for five days Sri Aurobindo’s body remained intact with no signs of discoloration or decomposition. Gradually, on 9th December, the light began to fade, and in the evening the body was put in a rosewood box and laid to rest in the Ashram courtyard under the cool shade of the Service Tree.“