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One crosses a bridge over a water channel into the Gardens area, which has thus
an oval form.
One enters by the longest of the main pathways.
There are 4 main pathways.
One will enter by the one which is West of Matrimandir; that is, one will face the
East. It is the longest perspective.
Each of these pathways gives a perspective onto the sphere that emerges from
among the 12 Petals.
One enters a field of experience composed of 12 individual Gardens, plus the
Garden of Unity which is around the Banyan Tree.
Each of these Gardens – the material realisation of these Gardens must be such
that one enters a specific atmosphere, unique: the atmosphere of a state of being.
The Mother has given names to these Gardens, such as Perfection, Power, Life,
Light, Youth, Progress, Bliss… and She has insisted that the experience must be so
concrete that, as one moves from one Garden to another, one passes from one
state of being to another.
That is to say that the presence – from the collaboration between a deliberate
arrangement and the energy and consciousness of Nature -, the presence of the
flowers, of the plants, must manifest this state.
So, it is a process that is a preparation.
One can follow the path all the way to the Matrimandir, or one can move through
the Gardens, stay there awhile…
Then one comes near to the sphere and around the sphere there are the 12 large
Petals.
If one continues, the path becomes a ramp descending towards the start of the
stairway that reaches up into the sphere.
Half-way down the ramp, one can enter one of the Petals; instead of moving
directly to the sphere, one can go left or right into one of the 12 chambers.
Each Petal has its chamber of… one may call it a chamber of meditation.
It is a space that has the shape of an egg lying on its side; and each of these is a
coloured light, of a specific colour – according to the colours Sri Aurobindo has
given to the twelve Powers of the Mother.
And each of these eggs has a name given by the Mother: it is more like a state of
the consciousness, such as Aspiration, Humility, Courage, Perseverance…
According to the necessity at the time, one can remain in one of these spaces,
which may help one to get ready. It is like a bath of energy, of a particular energy
one may need.
From there one can also descend all the way under the sphere.
There is an open area, with a pond that will receive the ray piercing through the
whole sphere from above. There is a promenade around it. One may also remain
there.
Insofar as one feels ready to ascend to the Mother’s Chamber – which is truly Her
Chamber, a space exclusively reserved for Her Force -, insofar as one feels ready to
go up, one may choose one of the 4 entrances.