Needs March 30, 1917 There is a sovereign royalty in taking no thought for oneself. To have needs is to assert a weakness; to claim something proves that we lack what we claim. To desire is to be impotent; it is to recognise our limitations and confess our incapacity to overcome them. If only from the point of view of a legitimate pride, man should be noble enough to renounce desire. How humiliating to ask something for oneself from life or from the Supreme Consciousness which animates it! How humiliating for us, how ignorant an offence against Her! For all is within our reach, only the egoistic limits of our being prevents us from enjoying t

Modern times Having fully understood what vigilance is, the sages delight in it and take their pleasure in the presence of the Great Ones. Throughout this teaching there is one thing to be noticed; it is this: you are never told that to live well, to think well, is the result of a sudden struggle or of a sacrifice; on the contrary it is a delightful state which cures all suffering. At that time, the time of the Buddha, to live a spiritual life was a joy, a beatitude, the happiest state, which freed you from all the troubles of the world, all the sufferings, all the cares, making you happy, satisfied, contented. It is t

Simple Life In all countries, many people are beginning to understand that a simple life is more desirable than a life of extravagance, vanity and show. There are more and more men and woman who though they can afford to buy costly things for themselves, feel that their money can be put to a better use. They take a healthy diet instead of rich foods, and prefer to decorate their homes with furniture that is simple, strong and in good taste, rather than with cumbersome, ornate and useless articles meant only for display. In every age, the best and most energetic servitors of earth’s progress have known how to lead a quiet and fru

Healthy Diet One thing is certain, that a simple life has never harmed anyone, while the same cannot be said for luxury and over-abundance. Most often, the things which are of no use to men are also which cause them harm. In the reign of the famous Akbar, there lived at Agra a Jain saint name Banarasi Das. The Emperor summoned the saint to his palace and told him: “Ask of me what you will, and because of your holy life, your wish shall be satisfied." “Parabrahman has given me more than I could wish for," replied the saint. “But ask all the same," Akbar insisted. “Then, Sire, I would ask that you

Be Content The Mother does not provide the Sadhaks with comforts because she thinks that the desires, fancies, likings, preferences should be satisfied --- in Yoga people have to overcome these things. In any other Ashram they would not get one tenth of what they get here, they would have to put up with all possible discomforts, privations, hard and rigorous austerities, and if they complained, they would be told they were not fit for Yoga. If there is a different rule here, it is not because the desires have to be indulged, but because they have to be overcome in the presence of the objects of desire and not in their absence. The first rule of Y

Money The more money we have, the more we need… The more money one has the more one is in a state of calamity, my child. Yes, it is a calamity. It is a catastrophe to have money. It makes you stupid, it makes you miserly, it makes you wicked. It is one of the greatest calamities in the world. Money is something one ought not to have until one no longer has desires. When one no longer has any desires, any attachments, when one has a consciousness vast as the earth, then one may have as much money as there is on the earth; it would be very good for everyone. But if one is not like that, all the money one has is like a cur

Poor man When we say “a poor man - un homme pauvre", what is the exact meaning of “poor man"? A poor man is a man having no qualities, no force, no strength, no generosity. He is also a miserable, unhappy man. Moreover, one is unhappy only when one is not generous--- if one has a generous nature which gives of itself without reckoning, one is never unhappy. It is those who are doubled up on themselves and who always want to draw things towards themselves, who see things and the world only through themselves--- it is these who are unhappy. But when one gives oneself generously, without reckoning, one is never unhappy, never. It

Attachment There should be no attachment--- to any object or any mode of life. You must be absolutely free. If you want to have the true yogic attitude, you must be able to accept everything that comes from the Divine and let it go easily and without regret. The attitude of the ascetic who says, “I want nothing" and the attitude of the man of the world who says, “I want this thing" are the same. The one may be as much attached to his renunciation as the other to his possession. You must accept all things--- and only those things--- that come from the Divine. Because things can come from concealed desires. The desires work in the subconscious a

Soft Bed The Prophet Mohammed, who devoted his life to teaching the Arab people, cared not for ease or riches. One night he slept on a hard mat, and when he awoke his skin bore the marks of the knots and fibers of his bed. A friend said to him, “O Messenger of Allah! This bed was too hard for you, and if you had asked me I would joyfully have prepared a softer one, so that your rest might have been better." The Prophet replied, “A soft bed is not for me. I have work to do in the world. When my body needs rest, I give it rest, but only as a horseman who ties his horse for a little while under the shade of a tree, to spare him from the

Personal Fancies Is it to satisfy little personal needs that you have come to Auroville? That was really not necessary. The ordinary world is there for that. One comes to Auroville to realise a divine life which wants to manifest on earth. Each one should make an effort in this direction and not remain hypnotised by so-called “needs" which are nothing but personal fancies. Look upward and forward, strive to surmount the animal human nature. Make the resolution and you will see that you are helped on the way. The Mother 13: 217