April 12, 1961 (The disciple asks for permission to poison some cats who have been disturbing him every night. Mother replies.) I once had a cat with almost a child's consciousness, and someone poisoned it. And when he came back poisoned, dying, I cursed all people who poison cats. And that's serious, so you mustn't do it. It was a real curse - I was with Sri Aurobindo, so it was serious - so don't do it. But there is a way.... Page 158 You know, I made a pact with cats, with the King of the Cats - it goes back very, very far. And it's extraordinary (it happened in Tlemcen, entirely on the occult plane), extraordinary! For certain reasons, the King of the Cats gave me a pow

July 26, 1961 (Satprem reads several passages from the July 15th conversation where Mother says that Sri Aurobindo left before saying what he had been doing, and that it was a path through a virgin forest: 'Eyes blindfolded, knowing nothing, one plods on....') It's still true. When shall we see the end? In a hundred years? Page 276 (For an instant Mother remains pensive) It came fleetingly: twenty years. I give it to you for whatever it's worth! Page 277

July 28, 1961 Here is something important. Sri Aurobindo says that everything is involved down here - the mind, the vital, the supermind - and that what is involved evolves. But if everything is involved, including the supermind, what is the need for a 'descent'? Can't things evolve by themselves? Ah! He has explained this somewhere. But I don't remember seeing anything that satisfied me. Isn't it in the Essays on the Gita ? He explains what Krishna says and how the two [descent and evolution] are combined. I read it not long ago because I was interested in this very question. And I even said something myself about the difference between what evolves (what emerges from this

May May 2, 1961 There is obviously a force at work.... When Sri Aurobindo was here, the work was done in another way; there was such an impression of hovering above difficulties, of acting on them from above. It was so strong that even rebellious elements, even things which were not going well, even ... they were dominated from above and they could not manifest - they stayed like that. And as they could not manifest, they faded quietly away. I have seen people (people from outside) who were enemies - all their enmity was pacified, pacified, pacified. They were unable to do any harm, even when they wanted to. Everything was made innocuous in that way. And it was the same thing here i

August 18, 1961 (Satprem began his book on Sri Aurobindo on August 15.) Have you been working? Yes. Ah! ... Good. Here (Mother gives some flowers), this is the Generosity [[Balsam. Also called 'Impatiens' because of the fruit's irritability: the instant it is touched, it explodes and projects its seeds far and wide. ]] of inspiration, and this is the crowning achievement [Divine Love [[Punica granatum (Pomegranate flower). ]] ]. So, petit, everything all right? ... Yes? A little difficult. That (pointing to the forehead) must remain silent.... Well, yes. ... Let it come from here (pointing to the heart). I am fully confident. Even if there is so

February 18, 1961 (Mother gives Satprem a flower she has named 'Supramental Action.' [[Barringtonia speciosa. ]] ) Don't you find it beautiful? How living, vibrant! Isn't it lovely! Oh, the other day I had some zinnias (Endurance) - literally works of art, as though each petal had been painted, and all together so harmonious and so varied at the same time. Oh, Nature is wonderful! ... In the end, we are just copycats, and clumsy ones at that. (after a moment of silence) Well, that's all. The situation remains the same. And your legs? Right in the subconscient, a subconscient ... oh, hopelessly weak and dull and ... (how to put it?) enslaved to a host of thin

July 12, 1961 (Regarding the last conversation, where Mother spoke of divine Perfection and of the series of invocations in her japa imploring the Lord to manifest his various aspects.) ... But Perfection is only one side, one special way of approaching the Divine. There are innumerable sides, angles, aspects - innumerable ways to approach the Divine. When I am walking, for example, doing japa, I have the sense of Unity (I have spoken to you of all the things I mention when I am upstairs walking: will, truth, purity, perfection, unity, immortality, eternity, infinity, silence, peace, existence, consciousness - the list goes on). And when one follows a particular tack and does suc

September 30, 1961 (Mother gives Satprem a flower she has recently named 'Unostentatious Certitude': Platycodon grandiflorum) This is the complete negation of 'bluff.' I find it very beautiful. When I saw this flower, it struck me as something very profound, very calm - absolutely sure, immobile. I don't know why, but the longer I looked at it, the more it gave that impression and when I was asked its significance, I said, 'Unostentatious Certitude.' It's what one might call a superlative good-taste in the realm of spiritual experience: something with greater content than it expresses. * (Following the letter Satprem had written to Mother the previous day regarding the book o

January 19, 1961 I am going to let you work. No work for me! I'm a little.... I haven't eaten for two days, so ... not very bright. It won't tire you if I read these texts? No. It's purely physical. It's because people.... When I came down, I felt fine. Only they kept me standing there, on and on. When I am seated, it's all right; but beyond a certain point, speaking also becomes difficult. * After the work: I think it would be wiser if I went back upstairs - although if I leave here too early, people will be waiting for me and I'll have to see them before going up. We could meditate a little; as soon as I meditate, everything is fine. (meditation) Page 31

July July 4, 1961 (Mother remarks in passing that the inspiration coming to her from Sri Aurobindo when she writes is sometimes in French and sometimes in English, and adds:) Sri Aurobindo told me he had been French in a previous life and that French flowed back to him like a spontaneous memory - he understood all the subtleties of French. How is your work going? Tomorrow I'll begin on 'Savitri.' O lucky man! What joy! You know, Savitri is an exact description - not literature, not poetry (although the form is very poetical) - an exact description, step by step, paragraph by paragraph, page by page; as I read, I relived it all. Besides, many of my own experiences that I