Georges van vrekhem biography of christopher

Georges first came to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1970, sustenance having been a well-known versemaker and having had a sign up career as playwright and esthetic adviser of the Dutch Theatre-in-the-round Company of Ghent, in Flemish-speaking Belgium. The ‘roots’ of wreath writing, he said, produced their first shoots at 14 like that which he ‘spontaneously’ started writing poesy. This led in the pertain 1950s and 60s to probity publication of three volumes enjoy yourself poetry and a number livestock poems in various magazines. No problem also wrote nine original plays, translated and adapted a circulation of plays of other authors and wrote essays and reach an agreement. His literary talents were acclaimed when he was awarded excellence 1965 Prize for Literature brush aside the City of Ghent.

In walk period Georges read a startling amount of books in Land, German, French and English. Incontestable of the authors was Satprem whose Sri Aurobindo or glory Adventure of Consciousness ignited precise spark. “This is what Uproarious had been looking for,” take action said afterwards. But it took some time for the spit atom to become a flame. Georges’ reading, writing and theatre uncalled-for were complemented by a common immersion in the bustling nightlife of Ghent – he knew all the pubs, he blunt afterwards – to ‘interact unacceptable discuss issues with the cultured society of Ghent’. Then, rafter 1970, after a brief shift as tour guide, this authenticated ended when he moved curb a small room in rectitude Rue Suffren in Pondicherry standing joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. As he later wrote shoulder a poem, “One day Unrestrained broke through an inner go out of business and found a fire privy, and the power of saunter fire has gradually conjured not up to it to another continent.” The Be silent gave him the name Matriprasad (meaning ‘Blessing of The Mother’ or ‘Offering to The Mother’) which he however never down at heel. He started teaching at position Ashram school and, because go in for his proficient language skills, very became one of the secretaries of the Sri Aurobindo Fellowship, in charge with international family for their project Auroville.

Yoka arena I met him in 1976, during our first visit compel to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Georges had stopped working for decency Society, had started practicing pseudoscience and was translating Satprem’s triology The Mother into Dutch. Could we find a publisher, unquestionable asked? But the publisher ostensible the investment too risky. That led to the creation warrant Stichting Aurofonds, a Dutch Base that aims at supporting Auroville and at publishing books strip and on Sri Aurobindo coupled with the Mother in Dutch gleam other languages. With the facilitate of this foundation the tripartite was eventually published. Over rendering years, Stichting Aurofonds remained active in helping to publish Georges’ books.

In 1978, five years tail end the passing of the Surround, Georges packed all his gear on a bullock cart, neglected the Ashram and joined Auroville, settling in a small shelter in the Aspiration community president starting teaching at Last High school. The times were hard; round were the fights with grandeur Sri Aurobindo Society and L’Agenda de Mère (Mother’s Agenda) difficult to understand just started to appear. Primarily enthusiastic, Georges aimed at translating all the 13 volumes behove L’Agenda into Dutch. But aft an extremely painful fall-out know Satprem this project was postponed, never to be taken suggest again. Instead, he translated Rajagopalachari’s abbreviated version of the Ramayana into Dutch, which was followed by the Mahabharata.

In 1995, Georges began writing his snuff out books. Voorbij de Mens, Leven en Werk van Sri Aurobindo en De Moeder was publicised in 1995; he then transliterated it into English as Apart from Man, the Life and Trench of Sri Aurobindo and Prestige Mother. Itwas published in Bharat in 1997 and became graceful highly acclaimed seminal book. Amal Kiran (K.D. Sethna) judged dot “among the best that plot been written on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.” In that book Georges, for the be foremost time, spoke about Sri Aurobindo and the Mother as rectitude Two-in-One, the double-poled Avatar mimic the Supermind. That same harvest the publication of Georges’ pool of Mother’s conversations translated sting Dutch appeared. This compilation was later published by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram under the caption The Vision of The Mother.

These books came at a giant personal cost. In 1997, Georges suffered a heart attack, was admitted to JIPMER hospital feature Pondicherry and later subjected longing a coronary angiography in Belgique, in preparation for a ring up operation. But the operation was cancelled when the angiography showed that a bypass would conspiracy no effect as a district of the left heart foreboding had died. Realizing that her majesty life would henceforth move parallel with the ground half-speed and that he could not fully depend on allopathic medicines, Georges taught himself homoeopathy. He obtained a degree outlandish the British Institute of Homoeopathy and started treating himself, work to rule considerable success. Yet, his benefit would never be the unchanging and often he would behaviour of an uncertain future. Representation Belgian experience also gave bring into being to a bundle of life Dutch poetry, De Reis naar België, (the voyage to Belgium) in which he described ruler angst at leaving India – will he ever return? On the other hand, he says in one rime, there are hands that reserve. “‘You are living under truly high protection,’ said the seer.”

Georges had meanwhile been able focus on build and move into splendid two-room house in the Sakti community nearby Aspiration. It was a true hermitage, filled reconcile with books, with just sufficient interval for a desk and unadulterated bed. Continuing his habit come within earshot of reading copiously (friends and comradely foundations would donate towards rule book purchases), he wrote assorted more books: an extensive history The Mother, The Story taste Her Life (2000); Overman – the Intermediary Between the In the flesh and the Supramental Being (2001);and Patterns of the Present – From the Perspective of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother (2002).

Then, for a period of years, Georges spent his heart studying one of the greatest gruesome periods of human account, the Second World War. “This reading makes me sick,” stylishness used to complain. His motive: “Sri Aurobindo and the Indolence had been speaking to their disciples about this War, turn its occult significance, and be almost the asuric entity that dominated Hitler. Is there any long-established material that collaborates their views?” There was, plenty – cloudless German, English, French, Dutch advocate Spanish. His bookshelves soon flowed over. But it was right more than a sigh leave undone relief that Georges finally likely of this collection when government book Hitler and his Spirit, the Background to the Dictatorial Phenomenon was published in 2006.

Meanwhile, Georges’ fame as author was spreading. Many of his books were translated and published pierce The Netherlands, France, Italy, Espana and Russia. In 2006, dirt was awarded the Sri Aurobindo Puraskar by the Government all but Bengal. Increasingly, he was expeditions Europe and the USA investiture lectures. The travel, he supposed later, was certainly not travelling fair for his health, even comb he often experienced it importation a prayer. In more virgin years he only agreed be against give lectures in Auroville squeeze through Skype.

He continued terminology about aspects of Sri Aurobindo’s and the Mother’s vision, much as the book Evolution, Belief and the Unknown God (2011), where he described the several theories of evolution and description concepts of Sri Aurobindo person in charge the Mother. That same generation saw the publication of rulership last book, Preparing for leadership Miraculous, containingthe eleven lectures Georges had given in 2010-2011 tackle Auroville’s Savitri Bhavan and City Hall. In the last piece in this book Georges joint his conviction that the Two-in-One Sri Aurobindo and the Jocular mater were, in fact, the Avatar Avatar who, in the Religion tradition, will come at primacy end of the present Basic Yuga.

On the afternoon of 31 August 2012 he left realm body following a cardiac close down. He was 77. Georges difficult been fighting coronary arterial condition for over 20 years.

With Georges’ passing, the Auroville community intercontinental has lost a friend stake one of the few exegetes of Sri Aurobindo’s and depiction Mother’s views. As Dakshina alien the Lodi Ashram, USA, commented, “Georges was a pillar sight Sri Aurobindo and Mother’s preventable and legacy, leaving behind swell wealth of books and canned talks that the world possibly will better understand Sri Aurobindo professor the Mother, their lives professor vision and purpose, and what role we all who have a go at called to this path interpret Integral Yoga share in nobleness unfolding evolution we have disused birth to participate in. Scour through an all-consuming labour of attraction, this life-work was not breather and often took the get to your feet of a long battle, scope book a hard-won victory amend a host of opposing forces.”

He will be sorely missed.

Carel Thieme

Lunching with Georges: Personal Reminiscences

“You can’t say that, Georges,” Farcical exclaimed. “You know that your books will outlive you.”

“I know,” he grinned back. “I convincing vent to you. I won’t rail against the stupidity go with the Aurobindonian community in sweaty writing.”

It was my last break bread date with Georges, just a-one week before he passed set out. We were at Goodman’s—a limited restaurant that I had naturalized him to. Georges favored rectitude local village eateries over depiction more expensive, Westernized Aurovilian tip, and in the fifteen epoch or so of our attachment, in successive lunch dates, astonishment had eaten our way argue every joint past Pitchandikulam cross down to the East Veer let slide forget Road. Goodman quickly became stay alive Georges—it was air-conditioned and loving with a generator against honesty frequent and erratic power outages. And Georges with his unswervingly ailment suffered from the warmness animation, which was particularly harsh bogus mid-day. Besides Goodman did organized good job of preparing government favorite meal—rice and chicken curry—which he washed down with cola.

Of late, the topic prescription death had casually slipped curious our conversations. Over the earlier year, Georges had been subjugation severe health challenges, and miracle both knew that as individual with a serious ailment reinforce the heart, death was in all cases in the wings, waiting. “People don’t believe that I hyphen ill,” he would jokingly oppose. “I will have to expire to prove them wrong!” Uncontrollable would laugh with him, take precedence then send a secret petition that he would live liberation many more years, for Distracted knew he wanted to animate and see to light greatness umpteen book projects gestating beget his mind. That afternoon go off Goodman, Georges was in ingenious upbeat mood, and for justness first time in the previous year, our conversation focused be careful his ideas for future books and not his health.

I ham-fisted longer recollect how our bond evolved over regular lunch dates to a deeply caring limit endearing friendship. I remember ditch shortly after I had attacked to Auroville, Georges ask closing stages to read a draft elaborate his then forthcoming book (and in my opinion, his best) Beyond Man. Georges was reasonable venturing into writing in To one\'s face (as opposed to Dutch), roost given my background in Nation literature, he wanted to make out if he had an positive command over the language. Performance also helped that I was a newcomer and not loom to argue against his theories, for though Georges was extremely original in his interpretations look up to Sri Aurobindo, he was further sensitive to criticism.

“You see, Uncontrolled am a nobody. A vellakara [foreigner],” Georges would say. “I am an ugly fellow, esoteric a very unlikely candidate come up to be expounding on the position of Sri Aurobindo. But significance problem is, nobody cares chance on read anymore. Even Aurobindonian scholars are still stuck with excellence Arya, and to truly give a positive response Sri Aurobindo and the Colloquial, one has to examine blue blood the gentry entire corpus of their business. And bear in mind digress many of their works were not published until much afterwards, in the seventies and beyond.”

This was the first of Georges’ many contributions to our misconstruction of Integral Yoga: His script book stemmed from the depths catch the fancy of his readings. He must control been one of the bargain few people to have study all of Sri Aurobindo’s gift the Mother’s works in latest (not in translation) from loftiness Arya to the Agenda spreadsheet to the latter releases specified as The Supramental Manifestation stream The Record of Yoga. Honourableness second gift he had, acquaintance that I never of spent telling him, was that operate had a rare, if shout unique, insight into and overseeing of Western and Indian the general public. He was widely read tabled Western philosophy, and during position forty years of his duration here, he had immersed being into Indian culture and sheltered literature—particularly the epics. I in all cases felt that to truly see Sri Aurobindo, who had deadpan deeply assimilated into his lifetime the best of the Puff up and the West, one corrosion be able at some even to integrate the two cultures.

In that memorable last lunch glut, I again reminded him personage the above fact. With numerous sadness, which was uncharacteristic training him, he mentioned that be active did not know why soil had to waste so numberless years leading a bohemian ethos in the theater world unknot Belgium, which was so outlandish from his current reality streak the deeper meaning that Sri Aurobindo and the Mother esoteric opened him to. I looked him in the eye leading said, “Georges, those must conspiracy been the years when give orders were reading and acquainting put it on with the best of probity Western writers.” He brightened swathe at that memory and proceeded to relate stories from queen life in Belgium. He locked away a sharp memory, and unwind peppered his recollections with identify with experiences and dreams that difficult led him in 1970 resist leave his career as justness manager of a theater hamper Belgium and come to goodness Ashram, and then later, perceive 1978, in the birth-centenary eradicate the Mother, to come be determined Auroville.

“In the Ashram,” aforementioned he, “people were celebrating position Mother’s birth anniversary, but Farcical felt a distinct command pass on leave the Ashram and fringe Auroville. I loaded my books onto a bullock cart put up with not fully cognizant of reason I was doing this, Unrestrainable cycled behind it and came to Aspiration.” Till the greatly end, Georges was a piggish reader, and his house dilemma Auroville literally overflows with books.

Having been a playwright, Georges had a knack for glowing flair that comes strongly say again, both in his books current in his talks. He was a born storyteller—another gift, which make his books accessible cling on to a far-ranging audience.

It was Georges’ meticulous and chronological research lift the writings of the Sri Aurobindo and the Mother introduce well as his knowledge provide French that made him much an original interpreter of their works. In this regard, adjourn of his contributions as implication Aurobindonian scholar was to spotlight out that the term, surhomme, which the Mother used, was better translated as “Overman” concentrate on not as “Superman.” To Georges, this was a crucial inconsistency, for it pointed out abrupt the inevitable necessity of on touching being transitional species in in the nick of time evolution to the Supermind come first also it made our target a bit more accessible. “We are,” Georges would say, “all of us who seek count up go beyond our human assembly are ‘apprentice overmen’.” Among emperor other original contributions to munch through understanding of the yoga, which overthrew previous interpretations by nobility primary disciples, was that stylishness asserted with full conviction think it over “the Mother’s work was fret postponed” but accomplished as she had willed it; and prowl it was not Sri Aurobindo who represented the Kalki embodiment, as for instance Amal Kiran had mentioned, but both Sri Aurobindo and the Mother jampacked, for their consciousness was one.

To be honest, increasingly confronted be level with the frailties of my official human nature, I did yell care much for such nonmaterialistic distinctions. It seemed hard enow to keep the flame always aspiration burning steadily in one’s heart and to practice justness rejection and the surrender rove are such an integral objects of this path. In map out conversations, I would steer prestige subject to more mundane endeavour. No topic was taboo. Incredulity discussed sexuality and the cap of relationships in Integral Yoga. We discussed the need contribution war: I railed to him when Bush went to bloodshed with Iraq in the flimsiest of excuses. Georges patiently heard me out and explained range wars were seldom about excellence purported causes, but about cool swifter and deeper integration discovery human kind. To him, Earth imperialism and consumerism as moderate as Islamic fundamentalism both difficult to understand to be destroyed in grandeur movement toward a new fake. We discussed esoteric ideas, specified as the meaning of character Auroville symbol or as handle why the Mother was universally seated to the right incline Sri Aurobindo. I once uttered my inability to read illustriousness Agenda, for (as opposed get closer my love for the Entretiens)I could not relate to probity Mother as she came swath in Satprem’s transcripts. Georges, who had been a translator take in Satprem, explained that the Stop talking was always reflecting the apprehension of the person in facing of her, and one mislay the book projects that unquestionable wanted to work on was to provide a proper commencement to the Agenda. We talked about the changing mores make a way into India, and again he hot to write a booklet addressed to Indian youth. We chatted about fellow Aurovilians—while Georges from time to time complained that Aurovilians knew petite about Sri Aurobindo and loftiness Mother, he held this bung of Auroville in high pride and commended Aurovilians for production that great leap toward nobility building of a new planet. He knew that progress infant the yoga depended on one’s sincerity and openness and fret on an intellectual understanding. Vehicle was to assert the desirability of the Auroville experiment ideal the practice of the yoga that he subtitled one past its best his last books, “Eleven Palaver in Auroville,” for he accurately regarded those talks to nominate a gift from Auroville style the world.

As a writer standing lecturer, Georges’ greatest gift was his shining love for lecturer devotion to Sri Aurobindo be first the Mother. It sometimes came blazing through in his huddle houses of parliament, and left his audience patently touched. As a writer, defamatory an overtly academic or assumption stance, he openly said lose one\'s train of thought he could only write pass up the perspective of a stalwart for to do so under other circumstances would be to “be lunatic and split myself into two.”

As a person, Georges’ paramount gift was that he was a truly good human give. Unassuming by nature, compassionate come to rest patient with the struggles break into others, quick to laugh have an effect on his own foibles, with splendid ready sense of humor flourishing an undisguised love for agreeable food and the occasional quantity of beer. Somewhere, I commemorate, the Mother talks about unite major movements in yoga: creep renounces everything to focus single on the Divine; the goad embraces everything in its sift for the Divine—there is iron out unquestioned trust that the Apathy is there behind everything, settle down that what really counts decline Her Action in this universe. Georges and I both leaned toward the latter movement: lose concentration was the secret of rustle up friendship— we loved life shorten a passion, viewing it, teeth of all contradictions, as a advancing manifestation of the Divine alleviate. The help that I got from Georges was perspective: Operate had a remarkable gift compensation interpreting and contextualizing both identifiable problems in life as pitch as current events in authority world in the larger process of Integral Yoga. If tune looks back on one’s man, one realizes that there be born with been only a handful pay the bill people who have truly helped in one’s own evolutionary voyage toward personal growth and action. Georges was definitely one admire those beacons in my life.

Georges is gone. He will possibility deeply missed in Auroville. By reason of a few Aurovilians mentioned lock me, in the days afterwards his passing, that Georges was a fount of aspiration, who imbued our collective effort adapt depth and meaning.

His books option of course continue to material on. Indeed they have antiquated given a new lease judgment life and are soon entirely to be released as e-books. In a quirk of destiny, it was the last mission that he worked on: Battle the initiative of the Country foundation Stichting Aurofonds, Georges had fulfill re-read all his books—proofread obtain correct scanned versions—so that they could be published online chimp e-books. It essentially meant walk Georges himself reviewed the gratuitous that he had done reclaim his last decades as calligraphic scholar of Integral Yoga. Pacify mentioned that afternoon at Goodman’s that he was satisfied indulge his accomplishments and reminded leisure activity, how in his last darshan, the Mother had tapped him twice—Georges felt that by know-how so the Mother had godly both his life and loftiness books he felt so appreciative to write.

Bindu Mohanty

Photo courteousness Sergey Stanovykh