Conceive With Awareness

  “The education of a human being should begin at birth and continue throughout his life. Indeed, if we want this education to have its maximum result, it should begin even before birth; in this case it is the mother herself who proceeds with this education by means of a twofold action: first, upon herself for her own improvement, and secondly, upon the child whom she is forming physically.” — The Mother When we think about preparing for a child, we think about health, work, finances, a home and all the things that will have to change. These are necessary. But The Mother takes us to a preparation that begins much earlier and is much quieter. She asks the woman to look at herself. Not at the child who has not yet come. Not at what the child will study or become. But at the state in which the mother herself is living. It makes us stop and think. Before conception, before there is even a body to care for, there is already something that can be prepared. So, the question for this r...

“The soul takes birth each time, and each time a mind, life and body are formed out of the materials of universal Nature, according to the soul’s past evolution and its need for the future.” — Sri Aurobindo We usually think of birth as the beginning of a new life. The body has its beginning, and the outer personality will slowly develop. But Sri Aurobindo points to a soul that has already been on a journey. The soul comes into birth carrying what it has gathered through its experiences and its growth. Sri Aurobindo writes: “The soul gathers the essential elements of its experiences in life and makes that its basis of growth in the evolution; when it returns to birth it takes up with its mental, vital, physical sheaths so much of its Karma as is useful to it in the new life for further experience.” “The soul comes into birth for experience, for growth, for evolution till it can bring the Divine into matter. It is the central being that incarnates, not the outer personality — the person...

" There are other parents who know that their children must be educated and who try to do what they can. But very few, even among those who are most serious and sincere, know that the first thing to do, in order to be able to educate a child, is to educate oneself, to become conscious and master of oneself so that one never sets a bad example to one’s child.” — The Mother When a baby is expected, we naturally begin to prepare. Lists are made. Appointments are scheduled.  Books on parenting are purchased. The tiny clothes are chosen with extraordinary care. The room is cleaned. A cradle is brought home. A thousand little things are thought of before the baby arrives. There is something beautiful about this preparation.  It is love taking practical form. We want everything to be ready. We want the child to be safe, comfortable, healthy and well cared for. But while we are preparing everything for the baby, what about preparing ourselves? What about the person who will be caring...

“The psychic being is the developing soul consciousness manifested for the created being as it evolves” — Sri Aurobindo    When a child is born, we ask, “Is it a boy or a girl?”  “Whom does the baby resemble?”   “What shall we name the child?”   “What will the child become one day?”   These questions are natural. They arise from love. Every family asks them. Every generation has asked them. But there is another question we may not ask very often.   Who is this child who has come to us? We do not ask this question very often because we naturally see what is visible. We see a tiny body, a smiling face, little fingers wrapped around our own. We see the beginning of a new life. And of course, something wonderful has happened. A child has entered the world. Sri Aurobindo and The Mother ask us to look a little deeper. They ask us to look beyond the body. Beyond the name. Beyond the family. Beyond everything that is immediately visible. They ask us to see...

"Man is a transitional being; he is not final." — Sri Aurobindo There are ideas that remain relevant in every age. Some of them become even more meaningful as time goes by. Conscious Conception is one such idea. At first, the question may seem unnecessary. Why should we speak about Conscious Conception today?  After all, children have been born for thousands of years. Every generation has welcomed new life with hope, love and dreams for the future. Parents have always wanted the very best for their children. What has changed? Perhaps it is not only the way we bring children into the world, but the world into which we are bringing them. If we look around us, we can see how much humanity has progressed. Never have we had so much knowledge. Medicine has transformed pregnancy and childbirth. Science continues to reveal the extraordinary mysteries of life. Technology has connected people across continents. Education is more accessible than ever before. With a simple search, we...