Editing Sri Aurobindo (section)

=== Mirra Alfassa Mother and the Development of the Ashram ===
Sri Aurobindo's close spiritual collaborator, [[Mirra Alfassa]] (born Alfassa), came to be known as ''The Mother''.<ref>{{cite book |title= Leap of Perception: The Transforming Power of Your Attention |edition= 1 |year= 2013 |publisher= Atria books |location= New York |isbn= 978-1-58270-390-9 |page= 121}}</ref> She was a [[French people|French national]], born in [[Paris]] on 21 February 1878. In her 20s, she studied [[occultism]] with [[Max Theon]]. Along with her husband, Paul Richard, she went to Pondicherry on 29 March 1914,{{sfnp|Aurobindo|2006|p=102|ps=}} and finally settled there in 1920. Sri Aurobindo considered her his spiritual equal and collaborator. After 24 November 1926, when Sri Aurobindo retired into seclusion, he left it to her to plan, build, and run the ashram, the community of disciples gathered around them. Sometime later, when families with children joined the ashram, she established and supervised the [[Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education]] with its experiments in education. When he died in 1950, she continued their spiritual work, directed the ashram, and guided their disciples.{{sfnp|Jones|Ryan|2007|pp=292–293|ps=}}