Mirra Alfassa, also known as The Mother, was a spiritual teacher and collaborator of Sri Aurobindo. She founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and established the town of Auroville. Mirra Alfassa was born in Paris in 1878 to a Sephardic Jewish family. She had a strong interest in art and occultism and traveled to Algeria to practice occultism with Max Théon. In 1914, she traveled to Pondicherry, India, where she met Sri Aurobindo and played a key role in publishing his writings. She later returned to Pondicherry permanently and helped organize and develop the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. In 1943, she started a school in the ashram and in 1968 established Auroville. Mirra Alfassa died in 1973. Her life experiences were documented in the 13-volume work called Mother's Agenda by Satprem.