This is one of my favourite paintings: I gave the instructions to the painter myself as I wanted #MaharanaPratap to bow down to Bharat Mata – as he did indeed in real life. Do you know that Sri Aurobindo said: “” Mother India is not a piece of earth , She is a Power, a Godhead.”

When I first came to India, I drove from Paris to Delhi and spent my first night in the Sri Aurobindo ashram, what is now known as Mother’s school. And that first evening, I had a powerful experience, that in this country that was totally unknown to me, there was an Infinite knowledge and that I would stay here for the rest of my life and dedicate it to defend that Knowledge. I also felt that there was something radiating from the earth that there was a living Goddess present there, an experience which I would have again in different parts of India (even in Kashmir) over the years. I was 19 years old then…

There have been innumerable saints, yogis, yoginis, warriors heroines, who bowed down to Mother India – and this is why in spite of so many invasions, in spite of the repeated rape of India, Bharat survives today, the last living Knowledge in the world

When I started the Shivaji Maharaj Museum of Indian History Pune, the first thing I did was to build a temple dedicated to Bharat Mata. And in that temple, my wife and I designed a statue of Bharat Mata giving to Shivaji Maharaj the Divine Sword to defend India. It’s a unique statue and a unique temple. Please support us: this is a sewa project and we depend entirely on donations. We have US and Indian tax exemption. If you wish to help and sponsor one of the 5 exhibitions we are mounting at the moment (Vijaynagar empire/ Jijabai, mother of Shivaji Maharaj/ Tarabai/ Rani Kittur Chennama/ Sciences in the Vedas), send me a mail at fgautier@rediffmail.com

Namaste

Francois gautier