Sri Aurobindo [1872-1950] was a great Indian yogi, visionary and writer. After an extensive western school education in England, he was initially involved in the political freedom struggle against the British occupation after his return to India at the age of 21. After a series of profound experiences of enlightenment, he finally retired to Ponicherry in South India, where he devoted himself entirely to spiritual work. After composing an extensive body of writings, he withdrew almost completely for 35 years in order to realise his vision of a spirituality that does not flee from life but is able to transform it into a greater fullness.

With ‚Savitri‘, Sri Aurobindo wrote an epic poem of impressive beauty, which is considered the longest epic poem in the English language. He took the classical Indian tale of ‚Savitri and Satyavan‘ as the basis of his work. He counted Savitri as his most important work, on which he worked for over 40 years. He repeatedly emphasises that Savitri is not simply poetry, but that he has put his entire spiritual experience and vision into these verses. Savitri is not simply a ‚fantasy figure‘, but a living spiritual reality with which we can relate in a similar way as other traditions do, for example, with Jesus, Buddha and Krishna.

Mirra Alfassa [1878-1973], usually called ‚the Mother‘, was a French woman from Paris with oriental roots who developed a deep spiritual understanding early in life. She had visions of Sri Aurobindo in her early years and when she met him for the first time in India in 1914, she recognised him immediately. In 1920, the mother settled permanently in Podicherry and became Sri Aurobindo’s ’spiritual co-worker‘. Both recognised each other as equals in their spiritual realisation and in the following years the Mother took on all the outward work, such as building the ashram or later initiating the spiritual city project ‚Auroville‘.