As part of the Shakti Kumbh 2024, a 9-day event held at Unity Pavilion, Auroville from February 21-29, Dr. Beloo Mehra, Senior Academic Mentor and Renaissance Editor, was invited to speak on February 26 on the topic – Significance of Sri Aurobindo’s Symbol.

The theme of the 2024 edition of Shakti Kumbh: Regenerative Renaissance of Mother India was Swarna Sankhya, which explored the deep symbolism and significance of numbers in Indic wisdom and in the light of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

Sri Aurobindo’s symbol is a six-pointed star. In her talk, Dr. Mehra discussed the deep significance of each part of this symbol, the number 6 and other numbers associated with the symbol, such as 3, 6, 9 and 7. She also described the history of this symbol which she had discovered in her research through some of the documents available in Sri Aurobindo Ashram archives as well as the Mother’s conversations. She also gave a brief account of the history of the six-pointed star as a symbol found across centuries and cultures throughout the world.

While discussing the significance of six-pointed star or shatkona found in the symbol of the Anahata Chakra, Dr. Mehra pointed out the parallel with the psychic entity in Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga as well as the image of offspring in the Vedic symbolism. This way the intersections between the symbolism found in Sanatana Dharma and with the deep symbolism in the outer forms seen in Sri Aurobindo’s and Mother’s Integral Yoga were explored throughout Dr. Mehra’s talk.

Towards the later part of her presentation, Dr. Mehra spoke about how meditating on Sri Aurobindo’s symbol can become an aid in our own inner work, our sadhana, as we contemplate on the meaning of descending triangle as Divine Grace from above, and the ascending triangle as Aspiration from below.

On the evening of 29th February, Dr. Mehra helped organise the closing ceremony of Shakti Kumbh 2024 at Sri Aurobindo Society. A sapling of Supramental Action tree was planted to commemorate the event, and water from the sacred river Ganga and Auroville was poured along with the sacred soil from Rishikesh (where the first Shakti Kumbh was held in 2023) and Auroville.

Shri Pradeep Narang, Chairman, Sri Aurobindo Society was present during the closing ceremony and spoke about the significance of the golden day and the role of Shakti, the Divine Mother in supramental manifestation. Dr. Aarti Pachegaonkar and Ms. Priti Mandi, two other speakers from Sri Aurobindo Society at the Shakti Kumbh were also present.