Chapter 7
Other Subjects
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Some, of course, might ask why any
sports at all in an Ashram which ought to be concerned
onl y with meditation and inner experiences and the escape
from life into Brahman. But that applies only to the ordinary kind of
Ashram to which we have got accustomed and this
is not that orthodox kind of Ashram. It includes life in
Yoga, and once we admit life we can include anything that we find
useful for life's ultimate and immediate purpose and not
inconsistent with the works of the Spirit. After all, the
orthodox Ashram came into being only after Brahman began to
shun all connection with the world and the shadow of
Buddhism stalked over all the land and the Ashrams turned
into monasteries. The old Ashrams were not entirely like
that; the boys and young men who were brought up in them were
trained in many things belonging to life. . . .
SRI AUROBINDO
*
It might be better to remind you that
we are here for a special work, a work which is done nowhere
else. We want to come in contact with the supreme
consciousness, the universal consciousness, we want to bring it down
in ourselves and to manifest it. But for that we must
have a very solid base; our base is our physical being, our body.
Therefore we have
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to build up a body solid, healthy,
enduring, skilful, agile and strong, ready for everything. There
is no better way to prepare the body than physical
exercise: sports, athletics, gymnastics, and all games are the best
means to develop and strengthen the body.
Therefore I call you to go through the
competitions beginning today, full-heartedly with all
your energy and all your will.
THE MOTHER
*
On this occasion of our physical
education and sportive activities; I must tell you once more
that for us spiritual life does not mean contempt for Matter
but its divinisation. We do not want to reject the body but
to transform it. For this physical education is one of the
means most directly effective.
THE MOTHER
*
Do not forget that to succeed in our
yoga one must have a strong and healthy body.
For this, the body must do exercise,
have an active and regular life, work physically, eat
well, and sleep well.
It is in good health that the way
towards transformation is found.
THE MOTHER
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Physical culture is the best way of
developing the consciousness of the body, and the more the body is
conscious, the more
it is capable of receiving the
divine forces that are atwork to transform it and give birth to
the new race.
THE MOTHER
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Sweet Mother,
Is it bad to go to the cinema in
town?
THE MOTHER
*
Sweet Mother,
There are too many tight knots in the
immense organisation of this Ashram. When will the promised day come
when there will be nothing but unmixed
harmony, joy and peace ?
If each one were more concerned with
correcting his own faults than with criticising those of
others, the work would go more quickly.
THE MOTHER
*
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Sweet Mother,
In a discussion with a friend about our physical education programme and the countless other activities we have here, he asked me:"Can you give me a valid example of even one person who takes part in so many activities and maintains a fairly high standard i one single person in the whole, world? "
Do not forget-all of you who are
here-that we want to realise something that does not yet
exist upon earth; so it is absurd to seek elsewhere for an example
of what we want to do.
He also told me this:"Mother says
that there is full freedom and every facility for those
who are gifted in a particular subject and want to pursue
it to the full. But where is this freedom to become,
for instance, a great musician?"Sweet Mother, can
you please say a few words on the subject of this
freedom?
The freedom I speak of is the freedom
to follow the will of the soul, not all the whims of the mind
and Vital.
The freedom I speak of is an austere
truth that strives to overcome all the weaknesses and
desires of the lower, ignorant being.
The freedom I speak of is the freedom
to consecrateoneself wholly and without reserve to
the highest, noblest, divinest- aspiration in oneself.
Who among you sincerely follows this
path? It is easy to judge, but more difficult to
understand, and far more difficult still to realise.
THE MOTHER
*
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Sweet Mother,
When a stranger asks us what the Ashram is, how can we give him a reply that is both short and correct?
The Ashram is the cradle of a new
world, of the creation of tomorrow.
And if other questions are put to you,
the only reply to be made is: you must read the books and
study the teaching.
THE MOTHER
*
Sweet Mother,
We see many people leaving the Ashram1 either to seek a career or to study; and
they are
mostly those who have been here since childhood. There is a
kind of uncertainty in our young people when they see
others leave here and they say cautiously:"Who knows
whether it won't be my turn some day!"I feel there is a
force behind all this. What is it?
This uncertainty and these departures
are due to the lower nature. which resists the influence of
the yogic power and tries to slow down the divine action,
not out of ill-will but in order to be sure that nothing is
forgotten or neglected in the haste to reach the goal. Few are
ready for a total consecration. Many children who have
studied here need to come to grips with life before they can
be ready for the divine work, and that is why they leave
to undergo the test of ordinary life.
THE MOTHER
*
1 Students of the Ashram school. after
they have finished their studies.
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Sweet Mother,
How can one make use of every moment of this unique privilege of living here in the Ashram?
Never forget where you are.
Never forget where you are living and
the true aim of life. Remember this at every moment and in
all circumstances. In this way you will make the best use
of your existence.
THE MOTHER
Sweet Mother,
Somebody asked me this question:"Is
it not a great loss for human society if persons
endowed with an exceptional capacity to serve mankind, such as a
gifted doctor
or lawyer, come to stay here in the
Ashram for their own salvation? They could perhaps serve the
Divine better by serving men and the world! "
Nobody comes here for his own
salvation
because Sri Aurobindo does not believe in salvation; for us salvation
is a meaningless word. We are here to
prepare for the transformation of the earth and men so that the new
creation may take place, and if we make individual
efforts to progress, it is because this progress is
indispensable for the accomplishment of the work.
THE MOTHER
*
Sweet Mother,
When department heads or superiors make mistakes or commit an injustice towards their subordinates, what should be the attitude of those affected by these errors?
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Should one keep silent and say,"It
is none of my business", or should one try to point out the
mistake to them?
Neither the one nor the other. .
First and always, we must ask ourselves
what our instrument of judgment is. One must ask,"What is my
judgment based on? Do I have perfect knowledge?
What in me is judging? Do I have the divine
consciousness? Am I completely disinterested in this matter? Am I
free of all desire and all ego?"
And since the answer to all these
questions 'will be the same, namely,"NO", the honest
and sincere conclusion must be:"I cannot judge, I do not have
the elements needed for a true judgment; therefore I will not
judge, I will keep quiet."
THE MOTHER
*
Sweet Mother,
I really feel that there is a great
lack of harmony and cooperation here among us and among the
various departments.' This results in a great waste of money and
energy. Where does this disharmony come
from and When will it be set right? Or is this
feeling I have only a reflection of my own nature!
Here is the best answer to your
questions, written by Sri Aurobindo:
Each one carries in himself the seeds
of this disharmony, and his most urgent work is to purify
himself of it by a constant aspiration.
THE MOTHER
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Sweet Mother,
Formerly you were very strict about permitting people to come and live in the Ashram. Now it is no longer so. Why?
As long as the Ashram was reserved for
those who wanted to practise yoga, it was natural to be
strict.
As soon as children were admitted here,
it was no longer possible to be strict and the nature of
the life changed. Now the Ashram has become a symbolic representation
of life on earth and everything can find
a place 'in it, provided it has the Will to progress towards a
diviner life.
THE MOTHER
Sweet Mother,
We are supposed to be attempting
something that no one has ever tried before. But, Mother,
isn't it true that we. now tend to direct our lives and
activities more and more towards the principles and ways of
ordinary life? In that case, aren 't we straying from
the true path?
You are still in the old rut that
separates spirituality from life, whereas Sri Aurobindo has
declared,"All life is Yoga", and affirmed that it is in life that
one must do Yoga. You seem to have forgotten this.
THE MOTHER
*
Sweet Mother,
Isn 't this immense freedom we are
given dangerous for those. of 'us who are not yet awake,
who are still unconscious? What is the explanation for this
opportunity, this
*
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Danger and risk are part of every
forward movement. Without them nothing would ever stir; and
also they are indispensable for moulding the Character of those who
want to progress.
THE MOTHER
*
Sweet Mother,
I feel it is most
shameful on our part
to waste the Divine Grace, to misuse this unique privilege
granted to us here. But, Mother, why do we do this? For,
each one of us has surely felt and enjoyed -at least once
in his life, in a blessed moment- the infinite Splendour
which is within our reach and awaits us. Yet there are
so few of us who take the yoga seriously. Why?
It is quite simply unconsciousness,
incoercible TAMAS.
THE MOTHER
*
Sweet Mother,
For several years now, we have been
hearing that the Ashram is in a terrible financial
condition, and from time to time we clearly see this for
ourselves. But, Mother, we also see extravagant spending by
certain individuals and departments. Moreover, these
expenditures are possible only through your generosity. So how
can it be said that the Ashram is undergoing a financial
crisis?
But perhaps it is just because certain
individuals and departments are spending extravagantly that there is
a financial crisis! . . . .
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30 November 1966
THE MOTHER
*
There is something here that is so
much
better than the appearances, something like a warm and
living sun in the heart and in the spirit.
This is true discernment and I
congratulate you. Those who see only the appearances are unable to
discern in them the differences, subtle but of capital
importance, which arise from the presence of a true and
luminous consciousness.
THE MOTHER
*
0n the occasion of Sri Aurobindo 's
centenary, many people will come to the Ashram. What can we do to
show them the reality of the Ashram?
Live it. Live this reality. All the
rest-talking, etc. -is of no use.
How to prepare ourselves for it?
an intense aspiration,
a perfect concentration,
a constant dedication.
THE MOTHER
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PERSISTENT PRACTICE
All of you who have come here have been
told many things; you have been put in contact
with a world of truth, you live in it, the air you breathe is
full of it. And yet how few of you know that these truths
have value only when they are put into practice and
that it is useless to talk about consciousness, knowledge,
equality, universality, infinity, eternity, supreme truth, the
divine presence and all sorts of things like that, if you
yourselves don't make an effort to live
these things and feel
them concretely in you. And don't tell yourselves," Oh, I
have been here so many years! Oh, I would really like to see
some result for my efforts!"You must know that very
persistent efforts and very steadfast endurance are necessary
to overcome the least weakness, the least pettiness,
the least meanness in one's nature. What is the use of
talking about divine love if one cannot love without egoism? What is
the use of talking about immortality if one is stubbornly
attached to the past and the present and one doesn't want to
give anything in order to receive everything?
You are still very young, but you must learn right away that to reach the goal you must know h0w to pay the price and that to understand the supreme truths you must put them into practice in your daily life.
THE MOTHER
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A DREAM
There should be
somewhere on earth a
place which no nation could claim as its own, where
all human beings of goodwill who have a sincere aspiration
could live freely as citizens of the world and obey one
.single authority, that of the supreme truth; a place of
peace, concord and harmony where all the fighting
instincts of man would be used exclusively to conquer the-causes
of his sufferings and miseries, to surmount his
Weaknesses and ignorance, to triumph over his limitations and
incapacities; a place where the needs of the spirit and the
concern for progress would take precedence over the
satisfaction of desires and passions, the search for-pleasure and
material enjoyment. In this place, children would be able
to grow and develop integrally without losing contact with
their souls; education would be given not for passing
examinations or obtaining certificates and posts but to enrich
existing faculties and bring forth new ones. In this place,
titles and positions would be replaced by opportunities to
serve and organise; the bodily' needs of each one would be
equally provided for, and intellectual, moral and
spiritual superiority would be expressed in the general
organisation not by an increase in the pleasures and powers of life but
by increased duties and responsibilities. Beauty in all its
artistic forms, painting, sculpture, music, literature, would be
equally accessible toall; the ability to share in the joy it
brings would be limited only by the capacities of each one and
not by social or financial position. For in this ideal
place money would no longer be the sovereign lord;
individual worth would have a far greater importance than that of
material wealth and social standing. There, work would not be
a way to earn one's
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living but a way to express oneself and
to develop one's capacities and possibilities while
being of service to the community as a whole, which, for its
own part, would provide for each individual's subsistence and sphere
of action. In short, it would be a place where
human relationships, which are normally based almost
exclusively on competition and strife, would be replaced by
relationships of emulation in doing well, of collaboration and
real brotherhood.
The earth is certainly not ready to
realise such an ideal, for mankind does not yet possess
sufficient knowledge to understand and adopt it nor the
conscious force that is in dispensable in order to execute it;
that is why I call it a dream.
And yet this dream is in the course of
becoming a reality; this is what we are striving for in Sri
Aurobindo's Ashram, on a very small scale, in
proportion to our limited means. The realisation is certainly far
from perfect, but it is progressive; little by little we are
advancing towards our goal which we hope we may one day be
able to present to the world as a practical and effective
way to emerge fromthe present chaos, to be born into a
new life that is more harmonious and true.
THE MOTHER
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