Nyctanthes arbor-tristis

Night Jasmine

Message of the Flower

Aspiration

The Mother’s Comment

Innumerable, obstinate, repeating itself tirelessly.

Spiritual Message by the Mother/ Quotes by Sri Aurobindo

There is no deep meaning of aspiration—the meaning is plain. It is the call of the being for higher things—for the Divine, for all that belongs to the higher or Divine Consciousness.

Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II: Aspiration

This taste for supreme adventure is aspiration–an aspiration which takes hold of you completely and flings you, without calculation and without reserve and without a possibility of withdrawal, into the great adventure of the divine discovery, the great adventure of the divine meeting, the yet greater adventure of the divine Realisation.

The Mother, Questions and Answers 1956: 25 January 1956

Aspiration is like an arrow, like this (gesture). So you aspire, want very earnestly to understand, know, enter into the truth. Yes? And then with that aspiration you do this (gesture). Your aspiration rises, rises, rises, rises straight up, very strong and then it strikes against a kind of… how to put it?… lid which is there, hard like iron and extremely thick, and it does not pass through. And then you say, "See, what's the use of aspiring? It brings nothing at all. I meet with something hard and cannot pass!" But you know about the drop of water which falls on the rock, it ends up by making a chasm: it cuts the rock from top to bottom. Your aspiration is a drop of water which, instead of falling, rises. So, by dint of rising, it beats, beats, beats, and one day it makes a hole, by dint of rising; and when it makes the hole suddenly it springs out from this lid and enters an immensity of light, and you say, "Ah, now I understand."

The Mother, Questions and Answers 1955: 13 July 1955

Colour

White, orange

Family

Verbenaceae

Person who named the flower

Carolus Linnaeus

Flower Size

1-2 inches wide

Flower Texture

Smooth

Number of Petals

Five to eight lobes

Floral Symmetry

Radial

Fragrance of Flower

Fragrant, especially at night

Leaf Texture

Hairy and rough

Leaf Arrangement

Opposite

Leaf Color

Green

Structural Variation (Shrub or Tree)

Can grow as a shrub or small tree

Life Cycle

Perennial

Blooming Period

Flowers late summer through fall

Climate

Tropical and subtropical climates

Water Requirements

Moderate, prefers well-drained soil

Soil Type

Prefers well-drained soil

Temperature Ranges

Not specified

Sun or Shade

Prefers full sun or partial shade

Susceptibility to Insects and Diseases

Susceptible to leaf spot and mildew

Pollinators

Attracts butterflies and bees

Habitat

Native to South Asia and India

Role in the Ecosystem

Attracts nocturnal pollinators

Quotations

Associated with legends in Hindu mythology

Ornamental

Not used

Uses in Other Aspects of Life

Not listed as endangered

Endangered Status

Sensitive to overwatering and extreme cold