Pavitra (January 16, 1894 – May 16, 1969) (from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

word for "pure") was one of the very early disciples of

Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...

and The Mother. The name was one of

Srimati Radharani Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also d ...

's 1000 names.

Early life

He was born Philippe Barbier Saint-Hilaire in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In 1914, he graduated from the Ècole Polytechnique with a degree in

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

. He served in the army in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as an artillery officer, and after the war worked as a junior engineer in Paris, at the Ministry of transport and communication.

Quest

He was interested in

occultism The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism an ...

, and in 1920 departed for

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to study

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

. In 1924, he left Japan and spend time with tantric

lama Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...

s in

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

in North China and

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. In 1925 Saint-Hilaire came to India and met

and The Mother in Pondicherry, where he was accepted as a sadhak, and Sri Aurobindo gave him the name ''Pavitra'' meaning "Pure". In 1951 The Mother appointed him director of the newly founded

Sri Aurobindo International University Centre Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese ...

. He served in this position for 18 years, as well as being general secretary of the

Sri Aurobindo Ashram The Sri Aurobindo Ashram is a spiritual community (ashram) located in Pondicherry, in the Indian territory of Puducherry. The ashram grew out of a small community of disciples who had gathered around Sri Aurobindo after he retired from ...

, until his death in 1969.

Death

The Mother reports in

Agenda Agenda may refer to: Information management * Agenda (meeting), points to be discussed and acted upon, displayed as a list * Political agenda, the set of goals of an ideological group * Lotus Agenda, a DOS-based personal information manager * Pers ...

of May 1969 link
/ref> that Pavitra left his body in a

yogic Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

way and merged with her. According to

Satprem Satprem (30 October 1923 – 9 April 2007) was a French author and a disciple of Mirra Alfassa. Early life Satprem was born Bernard Enginger in Paris and had a seafaring childhood and youth in Brittany. During World War II he was a member of th ...

(see note to "On Pavitra and Pavitra's Death"), Pavitra left memoirs of his conversations with Sri Aurobindo and Mother in 1925 and 1926, large parts of which were destroyed (almost a third of Pavitra's notebooks) by his closest collaborator, with the pretext that it would be "better left unsaid". What was left was published as ''Conversations avec Pavitra''.

Partial bibliography

* ''L'évolution future de l'Humanité'' a compilation of texts by Sri Aurobindo (1962) * ''The Message of Sri Aurobindo Ashram'', Pondicherry, (1954) * ''Conversations avec Pavitra''. Paris: "Fayard". Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust. Pondicherry, 1972

References

External links

Name Index
- brief biography

- mentions that pages have been torn out) * ttp://intyoga.online.fr/pavdeath.htm On Pavitra and Pavitra's Death- From Mother's Agenda {{Authority control 1894 births 1969 deaths Converts to Hinduism French expatriates in India French expatriates in Japan French military personnel of World War I Engineers from Paris Sri Aurobindo 20th-century translators École Polytechnique alumni