The twelve petals around the Matrimandir correspond to the twelve petals of the Mother’s symbol. Inside each petal is a small meditation room representing one of the twelve powers of the Universal Mother.
The colors of the meditation rooms in the petals correspond to those in Mother’s symbol.
Chart of the colors given by Sri Aurobindo for the Mother’s symbol on 20.03.1934
“Centre and four powers white, the twelve all of different colors in three groups:
“The central circle represents the Divine Consciousness; the four petals represent the four powers of the Mother: Maheshwari, Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, Mahasaraswati: twelve petals: the twelve powers of the Mother manifested for Her work.”
“Sincerity, Humility, Gratitude, Perseverance, Aspiration, Receptivity, Progress, Courage, Goodness, Generosity, Equality, Peace.”
The Mother wrote the following list of 12 Virtues in French and explained that the first eight represent attitudes towards the Divine and the last four attitudes towards humanity.
“To be perfectly sincere, it is indispensable not to have any preference, any desire, any attraction, any dislike, any sympathy or antipathy, any attachment, any repulsion.
One must have a total, integral vision of things, in which everything is in its place and one has the same attitude towards all things: the attitude of true vision.”
— The Mother
“True humility is humility before the Divine, that is, the precise, exact, living sense that one is nothing, one can do nothing, understand nothing without the Divine, that even if one is exceptionally intelligent and capable, this is nothing in comparison with the divine Consciousness, and this sense one must always keep, because then one always has the true attitude of receptivity, – a humble receptivity that does not put personal pretensions in opposition to the Divine.”
— The Mother
“It is a very special vibration unlike anything other than itself. It is something that widens you, that fills you, that is so fervent!
Of all the movements within the reach of human consciousness, it is certainly the one that draws you most out of your ego…
When you can enter this vibration in its purity, you realize immediately that it has the same quality as the vibration of Love: it is directionless.”
— The Mother
“The decision to go to the very end of the perseverance breaks down all the obstacles. One continues the work as long as necessary; even if one must begin again one million times, I shall do it one million times, but I shall go until the end.”
— The Mother
“In aspiration there is what I might call an unselfish flame… – a flame which illumines but never burns”.
“Aspiration is one of the marvelous gifts of grace given to human nature.”
— The Mother
“Receptivity is the capacity of admitting and retaining the Divine Workings.”
“Give yourself without bargaining, without wanting anything in return, and you will become capable to receive.”
— The Mother
“The purpose of earthly life is progress.”
“Progress: to be ready, at every minute, to surrender all that we are, all that we have, to move on the path.”
— The Mother
“True courage, in its deepest sense, is to be able to face everything, everything in life, from the smallest things to the greatest, from material things to the things of the spirit, without a shudder, without physically… without the heart beginning to beat faster, without the nerves trembling, without the slightest emotion in any part of the being. Face everything with the constant awareness of the Divine Presence, a total self-giving to the Divine, and the whole being unified in this will; then you can go forward in life and face anything whatever.”
— The Mother
“One must do as well as one can, the best one can, but without expecting a result, without doing it with a view to the result. Just this attitude, to expect a reward for a good action – to become good because one thinks that this will make life easier – takes away all value from the good action. You must be good for the love of goodness, you must be just for the love of justice, you must be pure for the love of purity and you must be disinterested for the love of disinterestedness; then you are sure to advance on the way.”
— The Mother
“Gives and gives itself without bargaining. Gives for the joy of giving, gives itself without calculating. All in Nature is spontaneously generous.”
— The Mother
“Equality: it means not to be touched or disturbed by things that happen, or things said or done to you but to look at them with a straight look, free from the distortions created by personal feeling, and to try to understand what is behind them, why they happen, what is to be learnt from them, what is it in oneself which they are cast against and what inner profit or progress one can make out of them.”
— The Mother
“Immutable peace and calm – equal in all circumstances,
and keeps a perfect mastery of himself and remains peaceful in the presence of whatever happens…”
— The Mother
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