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MY PHYSICAL EXISTENCE
Reply to a letter from an objective point of view If the supreme consciousness is incarnated and manifests itself in this body, all the negations in the world cannot prevent this from happening. And, in any case, my physical existence can be interesting only for those who have faith and who, by virtue of this faith, can, through me, enter into contact with the supreme consciousness. The question has no importance except for these, and others have no need at all to be concerned about it. For such a faith, in order to be sincere and effective, cannot be the object of any propaganda, either for or against it. Its birth must be free and spontaneous. It cannot be obtained through coercion nor destroyed by negation. He who feels the need to fight violently against any kind of conviction or faith proves, by that very fact, that some part of his being however tiny, is touched by this conviction, whilst another part of himself, generally speaking more important and external, altogether refuses to accept a faith which seems to him the more dangerous the more sensitive he is to it, and his wanting to deny it forcefully comes from the necessity of convincing himself. From the subjective point of view, I know what I am. But this living knowledge finds its worth only in my sincerity; and of this sincerity the Supreme alone can be the judge. 7 November 1951 THE MOTHER
It is a pity you have shown my answers to your questions. They were meant for you alone and nobody else. This has partly damaged the experience, as it was the vital and the mental wanting to take advantage of the situation to satisfy their own desires. THE MOTHER
If you prefer the pleasures of the palate to the union with the Divine, it your own lookout and I have nothing to say, except that I do not approve, Page - 31 but each one must be free to choose whether he will rise above his lower nature or sink down in the material pit. My help is always for those who choose the higher path. THE MOTHER
It seems to me, on the contrary, that the best way is to remain where you are and make effort to discover your own faults - you are bound to have some as everybody has - and try to correct them. To be conscious of one's own mistakes is the surest way to come out of a difficulty. THE MOTHER
Both of these dreams (are they only dreams?) are of a quality far superior to the former ones. The first seems to be one of those symbolic transcriptions of the inner condition and action which one so often gets in sleep. What appears to me most clear is how pointedly this dream shows the lack of any true ground for the apprehension you felt while swimming (the fear of not being able to reach the goal). For the protection showered from the shore to be reached brings you there even when in appearance conditions or circumstances seem to be driving you away from it. To say exactly what the motor launches stand for is difficult in the absence of details. The second is certainly not a dream but a reality, a very charming expression of the reality of the constant presence of Sri Aurobindo and of his help given through an intimate and true relation, even though veiled to the outer consciousness. This is a precious experience worth being kept in the most sacred corner of the remembrance. THE MOTHER
When you feel unhappy like that it means that you have a progress to make. You can say that we always need to progress, it is true. But at times Page - 32 nature gives its consent to the needed change and then everything goes smoothly, even happily. On the contrary, sometimes the part that has to progress refuses to move and clings to its old habits through inertia, ignorance, attachment or desire. Then, under the pressure of the perfecting force, the struggle starts translating itself into unhappiness or revolt or both together. The only remedy is to keep quiet, look within oneself honestly to find out what is wrong and set to work courageously to put it right. The Divine Consciousness will always be there to help you if your endeavour is sincere; and the more sincere your endeavour the more the Divine Consciousness will help and assist you.* 19 May 1952 THE MOTHER
I intended to let you go for your studies to England without telling you anything about it, because each one must be free to follow the path he has chosen. But after what you have written I feel compelled to write to you. No doubt from the exterior point of view, you will find in England all that you want for learning what human beings generally call knowledge, but from the point of view of Truth and Consciousness, you can find nowhere the atmosphere in which you are living here. Elsewhere you can meet with a religious or a philosophic spirit, but true spirituality, direct contact with the Divine, constant aspiration to realize Him in life, mind and action are in the world realised only by scattered individuals and no) as a living fact behind any university teaching however advanced it may be. Practically, as far as you are concerned, there will be a great risk ol drifting away from the experience you have realized and then you cannot know what will happen to you. That is all I wanted to say — now it is left to you to choose and decide With my blessings 22 October 1952 THE MOTHER * Mother said that this writing was very important and significant. She said that I shout read it peacefully at my place and if I could not understand it then to ask her. — Champaklal Page - 33
Your father died because it was his time to die. Circumstances can be an occasion but surely not a cause. The cause is in the Divine's will and nothing can alter it. So, grieve not and surrender your sorrow at the feet of the Divine. He will give you peace and freedom. THE MOTHER
It often occurs to me to beg Thee for a key word for japa. OM. THE MOTHER
A sannyasi who makes demands is not sincere. To be sincere a sannyasi must be perfectly satisfied with what is given to him and ask for nothing more. In all that happens to him, he must see the Divine's Grace and be at once happy and grateful for it. Moreover he who wants to do "intensive sadhana" must be able to isolate himself from his surroundings and to sit if necessary in deep meditation even on a battlefield in the midst of the roaring guns. THE MOTHER
Each one has the right to follow the path he has chosen, but it must be at the right place, and obviously this Ashram is not the place to follow the path you have chosen. THE MOTHER Page - 34
He is quite legitimate in thinking and feeling as he does, but he ought to understand that the others also are legitimate although their thinking and feeling differ from his and he ought not to despise them and call them by bad names. THE MOTHER
If you have sympathy for them and true understanding of their difficulty you can always help them. THE MOTHER
Wake up in yourself a will to conquer. Not a mere will in the mind but a will in the very cells of your body. Without that you can't do anything, e.g., you may take a hundred medicines but they won't cure you unless you have a will to overcome the physical illness. I may destroy the adverse force that has possessed you. I may repeat the action a thousand times. But each time that a vacuum is created it will be filled up by one of the many forces that try to rush in. That is why I say wake up the will to conquer. THE MOTHER
I do not deny that you have got a connection with something of Sri Aurobindo, the something that was interested in you and in what you are doing. This something might have remained with you to inspire and help you in your work in America and elsewhere. But it is only a part, a very, very small pan of the Sri Aurobindo whom I know and with whom I lived physically for thirty years, and who has not left me, not for a moment — for He is still with me, day and night, thinking through my brain, writing through my pen, speaking through my mouth and acting through my organising power. 5 May 1953 THE MOTHER Page - 35 Bonne fete! Let it be, for you, a new birth of your consciousness, the constant and conscious contact with your psychic being and for your co-workers a new start of unselfish and real collaboration in the work. 10 April 1954 THE MOTHER Anilbaran, It is important and urgent that the people of your Unity Party should rise to a higher level of consciousness and stop all attacks of a petty political character on persons. They must learn to fight/or the Truth and the Divine Realisation and not against any political party. From the Divine's point of view there is truth behind all sincere convictions. It is in the mental and practical application to life and action that the falsehood appears and disfigures everything. The time has come when all those who are more or less connected with the Ashram and wish to base their action on Sri Aurobindo's or my teaching must abstain from all these low movements of political polemic and remain on the higher levels of the spirit. , I expect that you will take at once the necessary steps. 31 January 1955 THE MOTHER
Her mental disease was congenital, that is to say, caused by her physical constitution, and it would have happened to her wherever she would have been and whatever life she would have lived. In fact, I made her last here one and half years more than she would have lasted elsewhere. These congenital diseases can be cured only by an integral trans- formation of the body itself and we have not reached yet that period in the sadhana; otherwise it is only a so called "miraculous" cure that can take place and that kind of "miracle" can happen only as the result of an absolute sincerity in the consecration to the Divine and an unshakable faith in the Divine "Grace. This was not the case; she was full of fears, desires and Page - 36 demands and terribly concentrated on her exterior being and what she called its needs. This is just opposite of a sincere consecration. 25 March 1955 THE MOTHER "CUBISM" AND OTHER ULTRA-MODERNISM
If these painters were sincere, if they truly painted what they feel and see, the picture would be the expression of a confused mind and an unruly vital. But, unhappily, the painters are not sincere and then these pictures are nothing else than the expression of a falsehood, an artificial imagination based only on the will to be strange and to bewilder the public in order to attract attention and that has indeed very little to do with beauty. 27 March 1955 THE MOTHER
If business cannot be done with the true attitude of consecration to the Divine, then business will be stopped and banned from the Ashram as politics are banned for the reason. So unless the consciousness of the sadhaks recovers from this sad condition of confusion and pettiness, I shall find myself under the necessity of forbidding all commercial activities as it will be proved that they cannot be done in the. true spirit. 27 May 1955 THE MOTHER
You have asked to meet — but I do not see any use in this interview. What you could tell me you have already expressed abundantly in speech and numerous writings. As for me I have already conveyed to you several times in writing what I had to tell you. I can only add this: Quite evidently you are not satisfied with what I am doing for you. But that is the maximum that I can do and the means at my disposal do not allow me to do more. You seem to believe, rightly or wrongly, that elsewhere you would receive a treatment more in conformity with your Page - 37 needs. I should not like to deprive you of the possibility of improving your condition, and if other institutions which — in opposition to the Ashram — are making a financial profit from your work, can and should make you profit in some way from their gains, I do not want to prevent you from sharing in this profit. Here, altogether on the contrary, far from earning money with your work, we are at times obliged to invent some work to keep you occupied. And this is why I took the decision which was communicated to you on the 7th March last. It is well understood that I am always ready to welcome those who are really satisfied and trust in the sincerity of my goodwill. THE MOTHER
It must not be forgotten that the offering is made to the Divine's Work and not to any human enterprise. So the only thing that can be done is to express some appreciation in a few words. THE MOTHER
I have read your letters and am well satisfied with the confidence you have in your capacity to do the work. It is true that you have the capacity, but you will agree that there is a difference between having the capacity and having the knowledge; and to have the knowledge of a work it must be learned. So you must first learn from those who know and the best way of learning is to see them do. When you will know and have proved your thoroughness, steadiness and faithfulness in doing the work then I will entrust you with the full responsibility and give you the entire management of the work. THE MOTHER
Your soul blossoms to the Light as a flower opens to the sun. 30 May 1956 THE MOTHER Page - 38
How can we prepare ourselves to be your most faithful sadhaks during the possibly exciting events of this year? Keep a cool head and strong and very quiet nerves and complete trust in the Divine Grace. THE MOTHER
Why was not man created good from the beginning? It is not God who made man wicked. It is man who makes himself wicked by separating himself from God. 1 January 1957 THE MOTHER
A child's question: When the supreme Lord told you to make the world, how did you know what was to be done? I had nothing to learn for that, because the supreme Lord contains everything in Himself: the whole world, the knowledge of the world and the power of making it. When He decided that there should be a world, first He put out the Knowledge of the world and the power of making it, and this is myself, and then He commanded me to make the world.
Why have you come just as we are? Why didn't you come as you really are? Because if I had not come as you are I would never have been able to be near you and I would never have been able to tell you: "Become what I am." 25 September 1957 THE MOTHER Page - 39
Why did I did not give meditation yesterday evening? Because one does not enter the temple of the spirit with an unclean mind. THE MOTHER
Simultaneously with the progress and intensification of the sadhana there is increasingly felt the imperative need that all hypocrisy and compromise should stop. THE MOTHER
It is not in order to be happy that we are upon earth, for in the present conditions of terrestrial life happiness is an impossibility. We are upon earth to find and realise the Divine, for the Divine Consciousness alone can give true happiness. THE MOTHER
Everyone has to follow his own path which, necessarily, is the best and the swiftest for reaching the goal. As I happen to know the way, it is my duty to show it to them. THE MOTHER
That one feels sad for one's own faults, — this may, if necessary, be useful to strengthen one's resolution to correct them. But that one can be offended by another's bad conduct, this has truly nothing to do with the spiritual life and the service of the Divine. THE MOTHER Page - 40
About what you say on the last page of your letter. Things are not altogether what you think them to be. For some years already, I have had much to say on the subject. But what is the use...there are certain waters which are best left unstirred. In any case, I would like you never to forget this: What each one meets in life is always exactly in accordance with what he is. Not in the way ignorant human justice understands it, but according to a law that is much more subtle, more deep, more true. Let us never forget that the supreme Lord is behind everything and that it is He who is the master of our destinies. THE MOTHER
You have answered the trustful welcome given to you by an arrogant and uncomprehending attitude, judging everything from the viewpoint of an ignorant and presumptuous morality which could only alienate from you the sympathy so spontaneously extended to you as to all those who come here in quest of the spiritual life. But in order to profit by one's stay here, a minimum of mental humility and generosity of soul is indispensable. THE MOTHER Have confidence, I am near thee. With all my tender love THE MOTHER
Let this day of your birth be for you an occasion to give yourself a little more, a little better to the Divine. Let your consecration be more total, your devotion more ardent, your aspiration more intense. Open yourself to the New Light and walk with a joyful step on the path. Page - 41 Resolve on this day that it may be thus and the day will not have passed in vain. THE MOTHER
Now, what the intellect has understood let the whole being realise. Mental knowledge must be replaced by the flaming power of progress. THE MOTHER
Have full faith in your experiences, they come from true spiritual source. 12 December 1957 THE MOTHER
Your ego, at the slightest thing that displeases it, is in the habit of opening the door of your being to an evil spirit of arrogant and impudent disbelief which passes its time in throwing mud and filth on all that is sacred and beautiful and especially on the aspiration of your soul and the help from the Divine's Grace. If this is allowed to continue it will end in a sure catastrophe and ruin. Strong steps must be taken to put an end to this, and for that the collaboration of your soul is needed. It must wake up and join in the fight against the ego by resolutely closing the door to this evil spirit. 9 April 1958 THE MOTHER
You have allowed an evil spirit of arrogance and impudence to possess you. It is leading you to ruin and perdition. Allow your soul to wake up and save you from this catastrophe. 9 April 1958 THE MOTHER Page - 42
It is your attitude that must change — because nothing is personal, all belongs to the Divine and is meant for collective use if necessary. And as a concrete illustration of this, I must ask you to leave your present quarters and to go to a new house where you are given some lodging. I advise you to take this decision as a manifestation of the Grace. 16 April 1958 THE MOTHER
There is no question at all of "position" — nor of prestige. V has a lot of knowledge and experience of the stage that we do not have. She is willing to share it with us. So the only sensible thing for us to do is to learn as much as we can and to be grateful for it. Moreover never forget that we are working here for the Divine and that no egoistic feeling can be allowed to intervene and spoil the work. Always present with you. 5 November 1958 THE MOTHER
What has happened was more or less expected. Each one in life acts according to his own nature, and those who are not steady in their faith cannot be steady in their love either. Surely I am not angry with you and my help is always there whenever you want it. As for doing anything wrong, all human beings do wrong things so long as they live in this world of ignorance, because even if they wish to do right, they do not know what is the right thing to do, until their consciousness is transformed, and for transformation the first thing needed is complete sincerity, not only to speak the truth, this goes without saying, it is an indispensable elementary condition, but to be always true to oneself and the Divine. THE MOTHER Page - 43
I know that to be with me is, for you, neither a need nor a joy but a duty, and that you are happier elsewhere, with some others. So I call you only when it is necessary — not when it pleases me, for it is long since I have put my pleasure in my pocket and left it there. THE MOTHER
If there is somewhere in some part of your being, still the need for human affection and love, it is better to go through the experience of life, it is the best preparation for Yoga. THE MOTHER
Whenever, in your life, you meet with a hardship, take it as a boon from the Divine's Grace and it will become so. THE MOTHER
My advice is not to worry. More you think of it, more you concentrate upon it and, above all, more you fear, more you give a chance for the thing to grow. If, on the contrary, you turn your attention and your interest elsewhere you increase the possibilities of cure. THE MOTHER
You are making a big confusion between the maternal feeling which is the translation in the physical of the force of the universal Mother and the maternal act of procreation which is something altogether animalish, most often even bestial, and which is but a means Nature has found for perpetuating the different races. THE MOTHER Page - 44
You preferred human friendship to divine friendship but human friendship is unsteady, and now you feel cut off from both, not that the Divine has withdrawn His friendship from you, never does He withdraw it, but you have got into a state of vital incapacity for enjoying it. THE MOTHER
At last ft has been possible to go through all your communications. I shall see what can be done. Meanwhile here are two questions that do not call for a reply. What have you done/or the Divine to make so many demands? What have you done to the Divine, to receive so many blows? THE MOTHER
Certainly to do the right thing is not cruel or selfish. What is cruel and selfish is to follow blindly one's weakness and thus to drag another with oneself in a pit from which it is always difficult to come out and never without losing much of one's time and energy, if not much more and much worse. So do not worry; try now seriously to find out the meaning and the aim of your life and prepare yourself to carry it out thoroughly and sincerely. My help, love and blessings are with you. THE MOTHER
A friendship free from desire and attachment might be the ideal solution, but to be carried out it requires a perfect mastery over oneself and an unshakable discipline of the vital and the body. And as for the moment it is not yet the case, it is wiser not to tempt the devil and to cut all relations. THE MOTHER Page - 45
I am not eager to be the Guru of anyone. It is more spontaneously natural for me to be the universal Mother and to act in silence through love. But as you put the question, I shall answer. From the time you started using a mantra, I had put in it the power to make it effective. Now that you stated what is the word of this mantra, I am confirming the power into it. It can be useful for a time to have certain inner experiences, but this attitude is not to be kept permanently as it is only a partial truth and far from the whole truth of the integral yoga. THE MOTHER I received your letter. My deepest sympathy is with you. We must pray for the day when the light of the Truth will reappear in the consciousness. Meanwhile my love and blessings are always with you. THE MOTHER I have forwarded your prayer to the supreme. But if you want to live in Ananda you must not try to impose your will on the Lord, but on the contrary to be ready to accept all that comes from Him, with an equal peace, because He knows better than us what is good for our progress. THE MOTHER
I have sent for the "delinquent" to tell him that this kind of activity is out of place in the Ashram, though unfortunately it is only too often practised here; but I am sending you this letter before seeing him so that you may know that he has nothing to do with what I am writing to you. Page - 46 But the second part of your letter made me see that, without justifying the aggression, for an aggression cannot be justified, at least your state of mind warrants it. I have rarely seen such a display of hatred and envy, bitter criticism and commonplace morality arising from unsatisfied and repressed desires. All this is not very nice and immediately takes away the sympathy one could have felt because of the blows you received. I thank you for reminding me that my position as... gives me duties and responsibilities, but it is better to call the Grace rather than justice, for if it were to come into action very few would be those who could stand before it. THE MOTHER
What can be done will be done, but it is a matter of regret that you waited so long for the warning. In any case, the only thing which is really effective is to will what the Divine wills, and to keep an unshakable confidence in the supreme compassion of the Divine Grace; for through that it is always the best that happens; not the best according to human ideas but the best according to the supreme Truth. Be calm and full of a solid and pure faith. My love and blessings are with you. THE MOTHER
My love is always with you; if then you do not feel it, it is because you are not capable of receiving it. It is your receptivity that is lacking and should be increased; for this you must open yourself, and one opens oneself only if one gives oneself. Surely you are trying more or less consciously to draw the forces and the divine love towards you. The method is bad. Give yourself without calculating and without expecting anything in return, and then you will become capable of receiving. THE MOTHER Page - 47 Do not worry. It will pass. It is the vital's amour-propre that has received a fine knock on the face, it is vexed and gone on strike. When it starts understanding that it is a foolishness and that this leads to nothing, it will become reasonable again and listen once again to the wise advice of the psychic which tells it to be quiet and do its work well, that nothing of true value is lost, that true love is always there, immutable, and that only those movements which were not in conformity with the Divine Work have been destroyed. For it is to the Divine Work that one must exclusively belong because it alone can, in our life, give us true happiness. THE MOTHER
In order to be cured, my child, not only is it necessary to stop all these unseemly practices completely, but it is necessary to get rid of all these unhealthy desires from your thought and sensation, for it is desires that irritate the organs and make them ill. You must ruthlessly clean up everything and your will is not strong enough for that; invoke my will, call it sincerely and it will be there to help you. You are right when you say that with my help you will surely be able to conquer. That is true, but you must sincerely want this help and let it work within you and in all circumstances. THE MOTHER
The initial error was to hope to recommence the same experience as the one you had in your youth. In life experiences are not repeated identically, and if they are not better, that is, higher and more true, they become necessarily worse. After a happy and favourable experience it is necessary to rise from the human to the divine, otherwise one risks falling into the infernal and diabolic. THE MOTHER Page - 48 Friend, sister of former days and always, In your letter of the 9th June which has just arrived, you write that the Buddha is smiling with gentle irony", but the Buddha's smile can only be a smile of perfect understanding before a luminous accomplishment. And in this state in which already the physical life has lost for you so much of its concrete reality, whether one is in the solitudes of the Himalayas or in the solitude of a house on the road to N., it should be equally easy to live in the deep peace of the immense Buddhist compassion. THE MOTHER
The whole trouble comes from the fact that you cannot harmonize with someone unless he is in agreement with your own ideas and his opinion and way of doing things are in conformity with yours. You must widen your consciousness and understand that everyone has his own law. It is necessary to find the ground of understanding and harmony in a happy combination of individual wills and not to try that all may be the same in an identical will and action. THE MOTHER
I am writing to tell you that surely you should be able to feel my presence everyday. I am with you so concretely, I see you so clearly, we speak together, we contemplate the harmony of a beautiful park; I explain to you and show you how to keep within oneself always this great peace which makes you live in eternity,s beyond all human miseries, in the Presence (Truth) of the Lord. THE MOTHER Page - 49
Evidently, according to human laws I was wrong in telling you that I shall see you every month, since I was not sure of being able to do so, even whilst not forgetting what I had said. In truth, I live from moment to moment, according to the supreme Guidance and, consequently, am incapable of making plans. I know that this is not comfortable for the human mentality which believes it can decide everything in advance. But from the spiritual point of view it is inevitable. THE MOTHER
I am sorry, but for the moment we are not in a position to increase the number of inmates. It is already difficult to manage with those who are here — exception made of the very few cases of those who might come with a genuine call for sadhana. 1 August 1959 THE MOTHER So my dear child, Your letter of the 24th November has just come, bringing me your problem which, by the way, is the problem of the life of all human beings, specially when they have reached a certain degree of inner development but are not yet on the summit of spiritual freedom through the unification of their being around their conscious soul. For it is the lack of unification which is the cause of all problems. One part of the being pulls one way, another pulls the other way, sometimes one is stronger and gives a certain orientation of life, sometimes it is the other and then the orientation suddenly changes, and the result is an incoherence... And as it is the unsatisfied part which usually comes to the surface to express its want of satisfaction, so unless one is a sage, one is never satisfied with the life one leads and always misses the life one could have led — whether in one direction or the other. In your case there is something more. As your soul remains very closely Page - 50 linked with my being, as the contact with the supramental consciousness grows more and more total and constant, it acts very strongly on your soul like an almost irresistible attraction. This is what happened in 58.. To conclude, "an easy and pleasant life" can only satisfy the outer being; but what answers in the physical being to the soul's influence need; for its flowering a life more in conformity with the soul's needs and "languishes" when it cannot find it. 3 December 1959 THE MOTHER
There was a time when you were very passionate and your affection! degenerated immediately into passions with all the disequilibrium that this entails. But now you are more sober and undoubtedly you are more calm and quiet until the day there will be no attachments any longer but luminous and sweet sympathies without any demand or egoism. THE MOTHER
It is clumsy and unbecoming enough to kiss a girl when she likes it; but kiss her when she does not want it is a coarse and imbecilic act. THE MOTHER
You ask if you can retain the same relation with me if you stay away for some time more. Well, it will surely depend on the length of the time. Because little by little you forget that you have (or had) a true being and you will get so accustomed to be a "thoughtful", "tactful" am "reasonable" creature that you will no more dream of being otherwise. In any case you have to take yourself the decision, neither your parent nor I can take the decision for you. They have no more than I have than right to interfere in your destiny. I can say only one thing, if ever and a soon as you feel disgusted of being a thoughtful, tactful and reasonable Page - 51 creature, run away from there, quick and without hesitation, and come back here. I shall give you back your true self. THE MOTHER
You speak of absolute renunciation, but to give up the body is not the absolute renunciation. The true and total renunciation is to give up the ego which is a much more arduous endeavour. If you have not renounced your ego, to give up the body will not bring freedom to you. THE MOTHER
As usual, it is only a misunderstanding, and also as usual, the ego of each one, by its reaction, magnifies the thing and aggravates it. But it is easy to arrange, and, with the goodwill of all, I am sure that all will be well. I consider that we are at an excellent occasion for collective and individual sadhana and that is why I engage myself in it and take special interest in it. We do not work for the success of X's play, or of Y's dance, or of Z's scenario. ' We want to render in physical terms, as perfectly as possible, the inspiration sent by the Lord for the accomplishment of His work upon earth. And for that each individual soul is a helper and a collaborator, but each human ego is a limitation and an obstacle. 1960 THE MOTHER
I did not reply because her mind was in such a confusion as a result of her desires, that she would not have been able to understand what I would have written. Since then I have tried to work on her mental and vital being to make it a little more open and receptive, so that she may understand that love for children and the growing hope for future that they represent in the" creation, does not mean that each one and everybody must have Page - 52 children. To each one I disclose what is the best for him or her according to their nature and their spiritual need. But surely it is not always in keeping with the desires. October 1960 THE MOTHER
It is indeed indispensable that something should change radically in your nature before you are fit for staying here. You are far too ego-centric to lead a spiritual life; and it is also the cause of this catastrophe and of the suffering it has brought to you, which is the natural consequence of the whole affair. Indeed it is good if you go to face the ordinary life now and learn to live with the others and for the others instead of making of the Ashram life an excuse for living selfishly for yourself. I shall see you and give you blessings in the afternoon just before your departure. September 1961 THE MOTHER
Always remember that on the happiness you give will depend the happiness you get. 2 June 1963 THE MOTHER
The inner progress has been sufficiently rapid for the exterior being to find it difficult to follow. Now the body must learn to receive the Divine Force and to keep it. THE MOTHER The will not to cheat but also that of not being cheated. With blessings. THE MOTHER Page - 53
It is not necessary to attach any importance to the opinions of people because they are the passing results of passing impressions; other times and new impressions easily change them. THE MOTHER
My blessings are always with you, but never forget that, as much outside as in the Ashram, if you want to live a happy life, you must be the master of your lower nature and control your desires and vital impulses. Otherwise there is no end to the troubles and the miseries. THE MOTHER Dear friend, Your letter came bringing me news I knew already, because often your thought comes bringing me your remembrance and keeps me in touch with your tribulations. Everyone, in truth, has his own and you know as well as I that is only in the inner attitude that peace is found. So long as we are in a body, whatever its age and difficulties, it is certain that we have something to do or learn in it, and this conviction gives the necessary strength to face all vicissitudes. I had hoped, in putting you into touch with the Tibetan refugees, that among them there would be one who would be happy to consecrate his or her life to have the opportunity to develop intellectually and learn all that you would be able to teach him or her in exchange for this service. Would this not be possible? For me the Grace is an active reality which guides our destiny through the ages. One must not be in a hurry and hasten the departure, even if it is for the eternal repose or the beatitude of nothingness. As long as we are in a body, undoubtedly we have yet something to do or learn therein. THE MOTHER Page - 54
I have received your letters and answered inwardly, confident that you are capable of receiving these intimate communications. But I feel something must be added to what I wrote to you already. There is no question of going to people and collecting funds. The thing to be done is to find one man, or one financial group, or one foundation that is in a position to dispose of the total amount needed and is ready to go into this adventure and to run the risk for the sake of doing something new and worthwhile. Such men or such people exist. There is only to make the two poles meet. THE MOTHER
Could it be that you are a little impatient about what you consider as a slow advance? Is it that you are restless and eager to taste soon the fruit of your efforts? Moreover I cannot see how to be plunged again, even for a few weeks only, in the very atmosphere which is responsible for the thickness of the surface-crust through which your soul has to pierce to make itself felt exteriorly, can in the least help you to get rid of the "clinging impediments". You are quite conscious of the aspiration and the aim of your soul; you are quite conscious of what your soul wants you and expects you to become. It is only some consequences of this present physical formation that stand in the way, and now, it is only a steady and patient working out of these impediments that can solve the difficulty. So, from the yoga point of view, any "taking leave" would be a kind of "giving way" to the obstinacy of the resistance. This for me, is quite clear. But are you quite sure that there is not the remembrance of an attachment lurking in some corner of the mind which makes you answer unknowingly to the insistence of a pressure coming from outside? In that case the problem would have to be considered from another angle. THE MOTHER Page - 55 This is a misunderstanding. The sentence in French was clear enough. I meant that at these moments of depression or of revolt, no fresh decision must be taken under the impulse of the wrong movement, but practically one must go on with the usual routine quietly and undisturbed. THE MOTHER
Do not forget that to succeed in our yoga one must have a body strong and in good health. For that the body must do exercise, have an active and regular life, eat well, work physically and sleep well. In good health lies the path towards perfection. Blessings. THE MOTHER
When you give yourself to the accomplishment of an unselfish aim, never expect the ordinary people to praise and support you. On the contrary they will always fight against you, hate and curse you. But the Divine will be with you. THE MOTHER
{About the map of India at the Ashram playground) The map was made after the Partition. It is the map of the real India despite all fugitive appearances; and it will always remain the map of the true India, whatever men may think about it. 29 July 1964 THE MOTHER Page - 56
Behind all destructions, whether the immense destructions of Nature, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, cyclones, floods, etc., or the violent human destructions, wars, revolutions, revolts, I find the power of Kali, who is working in the earth-atmosphere, to hasten the progress of transformation. All that is not only divine in essence but also divine in realization is by its very nature above these destructions and cannot be touched by them. Thus the extent of the disaster gives the measure of the imperfection. The true way of preventing the repetition of these destructions is to learn their lesson and make the necessary progress. THE MOTHER
How can we know that we are receptive? When we feel the urge to give and the joy of giving to the Divine's work, then we can be sure that we have become receptive. 12 July 1965 THE MOTHER Always with you in a growing light and peace. Forward, always forward in love and joy and a peace rising ever higher. THE MOTHER Do not give too much importance to the little incidents of life. The importance of these incidents lies in the extent to which they have served you to make a progress. And once the progress has been made, the consequences of past errors, if there are any, disappear through the intervention of the divine Grace. THE MOTHER Page - 57
It is obvious that your inner being is not very strong and does not have the power to counteract the pernicious influence of an environment full of sterile doubts, defeatist pessimism, egoism and unfaithfulness. Our path is not easy, it demands great courage and untiring endurance. One must work hard and make a great effort with quiet stability to obtain results which at times are scarcely perceptible outwardly. There are many human beings who need to roll in the mire in order to feel the necessity to cleanse themselves. If the desire is too persistent for you to have the strength to overcome it, ask the people you know to find you a post (this is usually not too difficult for the young people going out from the Ashram) and go and face the ordinary life until you learn the true value of the life you would have left. One must have heroism to be a precursor; for, generally, men have faith only in what is already accomplished, evident, visible and recognised even by the most sceptical. THE MOTHER All depends upon the kind of attraction. If it is a physical attraction, the need, the instinct of the animal pushing it to reproduction, the best thing is that you leave the place and not see X again. For this would mean that this person's influence awakens and encourages the lower instincts. If it is a vital attraction you can try to purify and control it, by avoiding a too close intimacy and cutting down your relation to what is indispensable when living in the same house. If it is a sentimental and emotional attraction, it is easier to channelize and turn it to the Divine by confining your relations to a common seeking for the Divine and the spiritual life. Then all will depend on your sincerity and reciprocal goodwill. THE MOTHER Page - 58
Truth does not depend on any external form and shall manifest in spite of all bad will or opposition. Blessings. 12 February 1966 THE MOTHER
To forget the past and to lose habits of thinking is indeed a difficult thing and generally requires a strong "tapasya". But if you have faith in the Divine's Grace and you implore it full-heartedly, you will succeed more easily. Blessings. 22 November 1968 THE MOTHER It is a wrong use of a great quality — perseverance. Make a good use of it and it will be all right. Be obstinate in your efforts towards progress, and your obstinacy will become useful. 29 May 1971 THE MOTHER
If you have faith and confidence, it is not the human form of the Guru that you worship, but the Supreme Lord who manifests through him. Be not troubled and give yourself unreservedly to the Supreme Lord through whatever channel helps you. With love and blessings. 12 November 1971 THE MOTHER Page - 59 In an ardent faith lies salvation. In the final analysis, it is the Supreme Lord who does all. We must be faithful instruments. 29 August 1972 THE MOTHER To Indira, Our best help is faith — the Divine is all merciful. With love and blessings. 12 September 1972 THE MOTHER
Apart from the fact that the Ashram is not meant for those who seek the satisfaction of their vital or sentimental desires, but for those who aspire to perfect their consecration to the Divine, I have to warn you that here you must do only what can be done publicly because nothing can remain hidden. THE MOTHER Page - 60 |