MANTRAS IN SUNILDA'S NEW YEAR MUSIC 1972

MANTRAS IN SUNILDA'S NEW YEAR MUSIC - 1972
Sunil's New Year's Music had its genesis with the Mother. At the beginning of each new year, the Mother gave a special message and played original themes on the organ. In 1958, the Mother asked Sunil to orchestrate something based upon the broad outlines of one of her organ compositions. This became the New Year's Music of 1959. The Mother was so pleased with the music that beginnning with the year 1965, she asked Sunil to compose the annual new year music himself. This he did until his passing in 1998.

In 1966,The Mother asked Sunil Bhattacharya to compose the musical accompaniment for Her readings of Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri. She wrote to him, "Toi seul peut faire cette musique comme il convient." (You alone can do this music as it should be done). Continuously for over thirty years, this music was Sunil's preoccupation and labor.

In his compositions for Savitri and for the New Year, Sunilda incorporated chantings of mantras from the Vedas, the Upanishads and various Stavas and Stotras, invoking the diverse Godheads of India. To him, the Mother and Sri Aurobindo were the Supreme as well as all the Goddesses and Gods of Indian mythology. As a result, we often find him replacing the names of the different deities mentioned in the originals with the names of the Mother or Sri Aurobindo.
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1 MESSAGE BY THE MOTHER IN FRENCH AND ENGLISH

Il nous faut être tous dignes du centenaire de Sri Aurobindo.
(Paroles de la Mère 3, p 189)

Let us all try to be worthy of Sri Aurobindo’s centenary.
(CWM VOL 15 - THE WORDS OF THE MOTHER - p 189)

2
सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्यं वरेण्यं वरदं शुभं
ॐ नमो भगवते श्रीअरविंदाय।
श्रीअरविंदः शरणं मम ॥

To the Good of all good
To the highest one, the boon-giver, the benign one,
OM ! We bow in adoration to the Divine, Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo is my refuge.

- Source unknown

अग्निमच्छा देवयतां मनांसि चक्षूंषीव सूर्ये सं चरन्ति।
यदीं सुवाते उषसा विरूपे श्वेतो वाजी जायते अग्रे अह्नाम् ॥४॥
यदीं गणस्य रशनामजीगः शुचिरङ्क्ते शुचिभिर्गोभिरग्निः।आद् दक्षिणा युज्यते वाजयन्त्युत्तानामूर्ध्वो अधयज्जुहूभिः ॥३॥
अनिष्ट हि जेन्यो अग्रे अह्नां हितो हित्वेषरुषो वनेषु।
दमेदमे सप्त रत्ना दधानोऽग्निर्होता नि षसादा यजीयान् ॥५॥

The minds of men who seek the godhead converge towards the flame even as their seeings converge in the sun; when two dawns of different forms give birth to this Fire the white Horse is born in front of the days.
When he puts out the long cord of his troop, Fire in his purity reveals all by the pure herds of his rays; the goddess of understanding is yoked to her works, she supine he standing high, he has drunk from her breasts with his tongues of flame.
He was born victorious in front of the days, established in established things, ruddy-bright in the woodlands of our pleasure; in house and house founding the seven ecstasies the Fire took up his session as a Priest of the call strong for sacrifice.

-Rig Veda 5.1.4,3,5
Transliteration by Sri Aurobindo
SABCL Vol 11, pp 201-03