The Task Ahead

But all this, the ideal of achieving a perfect and harmonious blending of the principles of freedom and discipline, cannot be realised in a day in all the members of the Ashram. So if at times we happen to see some imperfections troubling the atmosphere of our collective life here, we should not turn unduly pessimistic. Knowing that there cannot but be some natural difficulties on the arduous path of the achievement of our difficult goal, we should redouble our efforts at self-amelioration and invoke the Mother's Grace and help to crown our efforts with victory.

But one thing we have to avoid: we must not be complacent in our attitude and allow things to drift on. On one side we have to remember that "the Ashram is an epitome of the human nature that has to be changed." (Nirodbaran's Correspondence with Sri Aurobindo, p. 1047) On the other hand, we should not lapse into the indolent attitude, "We need not bother; the Mother will do everything for us." There are some who would like to rationalise this attitude of laisser-aller by reminding us of the following dialogue of the Mother with our Kishorbhai (Gandhi):

Q.: What is the right thing that we should expect from you ?

A.:Mother answers: Everything.

Q.: What have you been expecting from us and from humanity in general for the accomplishment of Your Work upon earth?

A.: Nothing.

Q.: From your long experience over sixty years, have You found that Your expectation from us and from humanity has been sufftciently fulfilled ?

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A.: As I am expecting nothing I cannot answer this question.

Q.: Does the success of Your Work for us and for Humanity depend in any way upon the fulfilment of Your expectation from us and from humanity?

Mother answers: Happily not.

(On Education, CWM Vol. 12, p. 308)

While citing the above assertion of the Mother in defence of our attitude of lethargy and inaction vis-a-vis our weaknesses and imperfections, we conveniently forget that the Mother has said something else too which goes apparently counter to what she has stated in the course of the above piece of dialogue. She has referred to the Law of Collectivity and pointed out that even a supreme Avatar cannot accomplish the Goal set before us unless and until there is a conscious collaboration of others in the task. Here is the relevant portion of her observation:

"I do not think that a single individual on the earth as it is now, a single individual, however great, however eternal his consciousness and origin, can on his own change and realise - change the world, change the creation as it is and realise this higher Truth which will be a new world more true, if not absolutely true. It would seem that a certain number of individuals - until now it seems to have been more in time, as a succession, but it could also be in space, a collectivity - are indispensable so that this truth can become concrete and realise itself.

"Practically, I am sure of it.

"That is to say, however conscious, however powerful he may be, one Avatar cannot by himself realise the supramental life on earth. It is either a group in time, extending over a period of time, or a group spread out in space -perhaps both - that are indispensable for this Realisation. I

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am convinced of it." (On Thoughts and Aphorisms, CWM Vol. 10, p. 138)

Before we quote anything from the Mother in order to justify our tamasic attitude, we should be aware of all else that she has said. A global synthetic comprehension of all that the Mother and Sri Aurobindo have pronounced on any issue or question can alone protect us from taking recourse to a one-sided facile course of action. The Mother herself has warned us against the danger of such a onesided interpretation and advised us about how we should proceed while reading Sri Aurobindo's and her own writings. This is what she says:

"If you want to know what Sri Aurobindo has said on a given subject, you must at least read all that he has written on that subject. You will then see that he has apparently said the most contradictory things. But when one has read everything, and understood a little, one perceives that all the contradictions complement each other and are organised and unified into an integral synthesis." (On Education, p. 399)

If we rightly apply the above maxim to the solution of the problem of mutual relation between personal effort and the action of the divine Grace, we can come to understand what we should do whenever we confront a situation like that. This has been clearly indicated in one of Sri Aurobindo's letters:

"All this cannot be done in a day. So you are once more right in not being anxious or uneasy. One must be vigilant, but not anxious or uneasy. The Mother's Force will act and bring the result in its own time, provided one offers all to her and aspires and is vigilant, calling and remembering

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her at all times, rejecting quietly all that stands in the way of the action of her transforming Force." (The Mother, p. 202)

So what is expected of every inmate of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram is that he be constantly faithful to the Mother's and Sri Aurobindo's teachings and that he try to put into effective practice the following instruction of the master:

"Always behave as if the Mother was looking at you; because she is, indeed, always present."

The danger to our Ashram community is not so much ' from direct and open opposition from outside. The danger is from those who profess to accept the Mother's and Sri Aurobindo's teachings, join the organisation, and, then, sabotage and subvert it from within as its accepted members.

We have to be vigilant so that, with the arrival of such entrants not yet spiritually surrendered to the Mother, the Ashram does not degenerate into some sort of a huge boarding and lodging house where the inmates can legitimately expect the fulfilment of their desires and fancies in return for a modicum of service in some Department for a number of hours every day. Sri Aurobindo has denounced this bargaining give-and-take attitude on the part of some inmates. It is worth quoting here what he has said in this connection:

"What your vital being seems to have kept all along is the 'bargaining' or the 'mess' attitude in these matters. One gives some kind of commodity which he calls devotion or surrender and in return the Mother is under obligation to supply satisfaction for all demands and desires spiritual, mental, vital and physical, and, if she falls short in her task, she has broken her contract. The Ashram is a sort of communal hotel or mess, the Mother is the hotel-keeper or

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mess-manager. One gives what one can or chooses to give, or it may be nothing at all except the aforesaid commodity; in return the palate, the stomach and all the physical demands have to be satisfied to the full; if not, one has every right to keep one's money and to abuse the defaulting hotel-keeper or mess-manager." (The Mother, p. 232)

Let us substitute "the Ashram Trustees" for the "Mother" in the above passage from Sri Aurobindo and we get an exact description of the attitude entertained by many an Ashramite of our times. But Sri Aurobindo has come down heavily on this sort of wrong attitude of mind and heart. He has asserted:

"This attitude has nothing whatever to do with Sadhana or Yoga and I absolutely repudiate the right of anyone to impose it as a basis for my work or for the life of the Ashram." (Ibid.)

All the sadhaks, especially the new entrants, should clearly understand the basic character of this Ashram and the reason for their stay here. Things cannot move smoothly in our community unless and until most if not all the Sadhaks here come to realise that "they are not here for their ego and self-indulgence of their vital and physical demands but for a high and exacting Yoga of which the first aim is the destruction of desire and the substitution for it of the Divine Truth and the Divine Will." (Ibid., p. 244)

For over-all harmony to reign in the Ashram, another important point we have to attend to with all the sincerity of execution: it is as regards the mutual relationship of Departmental Heads and the sadhaks and sadhikas who work under their supervision. Let the following words of Sri Aurobindo act as a constant guide to our behaviour:

"None should regard or treat another member of the Ashram as his subordinate. If he is in charge, he should

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regard the others as his associates and helpers in the work, and he should not try to dominate or impose on them his own ideas and personal fancies, but only see to the execution of the will of the Mother. None should regard himself as a subordinate, even if he has to carry out instructions given through another or to execute under supervision the work he has to do.

"All should try to work in harmony, thinking only of how best to make the work a success; personal feelings should not be allowed to interfere, for this is a most frequent cause of disturbance in the work, failure or disorder." (The Mother, p. 239)

We feel happy to conclude this Section of our essay, entitled "The Task Ahead", by quoting the introductory passage of the booklet Sri Aurobindo Ashram issued by the Board of Trustees on the 1st of January 1995. The inspiring passage is as follows:

"The beautiful words of our Beloved Mother... come to us as a reminder to tell us why we all are here and to make us aware once more of the work we have to do, 'together', as a united harmonious community. Each one of us, at heart, wants to realise Mother's Work and Will, for we all deeply feel that Mother continues to preside over the Ashram and to guide our destiny.

"The changing times have brought us many challenges which we need to face. With the message of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother gaining ever wider attention and acceptance, more and more people are attracted towards the Ashram. This is natural and obviously augurs well for the world. But such a situation also demands greater cohesion, understanding and efficiency on the part of the Ashram. This is why those of us who are members of the Ashram and feel we are Mother's children need always to keep in

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mind our spiritual aim and express it in dedicated action. How important it becomes for us to live constantly in accordance with the high dignity of this institution created by our Master and Mother. If only we would remember the purpose of our living here in the Ashram and unite in love, surely most of our difficulties, the irritations and annoyances we experience and cause others to experience will disappear." (p.4)