The Self that thou hast to become is that self that thou art within behind the veil of mind and life and matter. It is to be the spiritual, the divine, the superman, the real Purusha. For that which is above the mental being is the superman. It is to be the master of thy mind, thy life and thy body; it is to be a king over Nature of whom thou art now the tool, lifted above her who now has thee under her feet. It is to be free and not a slave, to be one and not divided, to be immortal and not obscured by death, to be full of light and not darkened, to be full of bliss and not the sport of grief and suffering, to be uplifted into power and not cast down into weakness . It is to live in the Infinite and possess the finite. It is to live in God and be one with him in his being. To become thyself is to be this and all that flows from it.

Be free in thyself, and therefore free in thy mind, free in thy life and thy body. For the Spirit is freedom.

Be one with God and all beings ; live in thyself and not in thy little ego. For the Spirit is unity.

Be thyself immortal, and put not thy faith in death; for death is not of thyself, but of thy body. For the Spirit is immortality.

To be immortal is to be infinite in being and consciousness and bliss; for the Spirit is infinite and that which is finite lives only by his infinity.

These things thou art, therefore thou canst become all these;

but if thou art not these things, then thou couldst never become them. What is within thee, that alone can be revealed in thy being. Thou appearest indeed to be other than this, but wherefore shouldst thou enslave thyself to appearances?

Rather arise, transcend thyself, become thyself. Thou art man and the whole nature of man is to become more than himself. He was the man-animal, he has become more than the animal man. He is the thinker, the craftsman, the seeker after beauty. He shall be more than the thinker, he shall be the seer of knowledge; he shall be more than the craftsman, he shall be the creator and master of his creation ; he shall be more than the seeker of beauty, for he shall enjoy all beauty and all delight. Physical he seeks for this immortal substance; vital he seeks after immortal

life and the infinite power of his being; mental and partial in knowledge, he seeks after the whole light and the utter vision.

To possess these is to become the superman; for he is to rise out of mind into the supermind. Call it the divine mind or Knowledge or the Supermind ; it is the power and light of the divine will and the divine consciousness. By the supermind the Spirit saw and created himself in the worlds, by that he lives in them and governs them. By that he is Swarat Samrat, self-ruler and all-ruler.

Supermind is superman ; therefore to rise beyond mind is the condition.

To be the superman is to live the divine life, to be a god; for the gods are the powers of God. Be a power of God in humanity.

To live in the divine Being and let the consciousness and bliss, the will and knowledge of the Spirit possess thee and play with thee and through thee, this is the meaning.

This is the transfiguration of thyself on the mountain. It is to discover God as thyself and reveal him to thyself in all things. Live in his being, shine with his light, act with his power, rejoice with his bliss. Be that Fire and that Sun and that Ocean. Be that joy and that greatness and that beauty.

When thou hast done this even in part, thou hast attained to the first steps of supermanhood.

SRI AUROBINDO  

Éducation

II

L'ÉDUCATION PHYSIQUE

DE tous les domaines de la conscience humaine, le physique est celui qui est le plus complètement régi par la méthode, l'ordre, la discipline, le procédé. Le manque de plasticité et de réceptivité de la matière doit y être remplacé par une organisation de détail, à la fois précise et compréhensive. Dans cette organisation, il ne faut pas oublier l'interdépendance et l'interpénétration de tous les domaines de l'être. Cependant, même une impulsion mentale ou vitale, pour s'exprimer physiquement, doit se soumettre à un procédé exact. C'est pourquoi toute éducation du corps, pour être efficace, doit être rigoureuse et détaillée, prévoyante et méthodique. Cela se traduira par des habitudes ; le corps est un être d'habitudes. Mais celles-ci doivent être contrôlées et disciplinées, tout en restant suffisamment souples pour s'adapter aux circonstances et aux besoins de la croissance et du développement de l'être.

Toute éducation corporelle doit commencer à la naissance même et se prolonger toute la vie: il n'est jamais trop tôt pour commencer, jamais trop tard pour continuer.

L'éducation physique aura trois aspects principaux: 1°) contrôle et discipline du fonctionnement du corps; 2°) développement intégral méthodique et harmonieux de toutes les parties et de tous les mouvements du corps ; 3°) rectification des défauts et des déformations s'il y a lieu.

On peut dire que dès les premiers jours, presque les premières heures de sa vie, l'enfant doit être soumis à la première partie de ce programme en ce qui concerne l'alimentation, le sommeil, l'évacuation etc. Si dès le début de son existence,

Education

II

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

OF all the domains of human consciousness, the physical is —" the one most completely governed by method, order, discipline, procedure. The lack of plasticity and receptivity in matter has to be replaced there by an organisation of details, at once precise and comprehensive. In this organisation one must not forget, however, that all the domains of the being are interdependent and interpenetrating. Yet, even if a mental or vital impulsion is to be expressed physically it» must submit to an exact and precise procedure. That is why all education of the body, if it is to be effective, must be rigorous and detailed, foreseeing and methodical. That will be translated into habits: the body is a being of habits. But these should be controlled and disciplined, yet at the same time supple enough to adapt themselves to the circumstances and the needs of the growth and development of the being.

All education of the body should begin at the very birth and continue throughout life: it is never too soon to begin nor too late to continue.

The education of the body has three principal aspects: (1) control and discipline of functions, (2) a total, methodical and harmonious development of all the parts and movements of the body and (3) rectification of defects and deformations if there are any.

It may be said that from the very first days, almost even from the first hours, of life the child should be submitted to the first part of the programme in the matter of food, sleep, evacuation etc. If the child, from the very beginning of his existence,

Dans son état normal, c'est à dire sans l'intervention des notions mentales ou des impulsions vitales, le corps sait aussi très bien ce qui lui est bon et nécessaire, mais pour que cela

takes to good habits, that will save him a good deal of trouble and inconveniences during the whole of his life. And also the persons who have the charge to watch over him during his first years will find their task very much easier.

It is understood that this education, if it is to be rational, enlightened and effective, must be based upon a minimum knowledge of the human body, its structure and its functions. As the child grows, he must gradually acquire the habit of observing the 'functioning of its organs so that he may control it more and more, taking care that this functioning is normal and harmonious. In the matter of positions, postures and movements, bad habits are formed too early and too quick that may have disastrous consequences for the whole life. All who take the question of education seriously and wish to give their children large facilities to develop normally will easily find the necessary hints and instructions. The subject is being more and more carefully studied and many books have appeared and are appearing which give all indications and information needed on the subject.

It is not possible for me to enter into the details of execution, for each problem is different from another and the solution should suit the individual case. The question of food has been studied at length and with care. The dietary to help the children in their growth is generally known and can be usefully followed. But it is very important to remember that the instinct of the body, so long as it remains intact, knows more than all theory. Thus, if you wish that your children should develop normally, you must not force them to food for which they have a disgust; for often the body possesses a sure instinct as to what is harmful to it, unless the child is particularly capricious.

The body in its normal state, that is to say, if there is no intervention of mental notions or vital impulsions, knows also very well what is good and necessary for it. But a normal state of that kind can happen only when the child has been taught with care and learns to distinguish desires from needs. He must develop the taste for food that is simple and healthy, substantial and appetising, without any useless . complications.

Une autre chose doit être enseignée à un enfant dès son jeune âge, c'est le goût de la propreté et l'habitude' de l'hygiène; mais pour obtenir cette propreté et le respect des règles de l'hygiène, on prendra grand soin de ne pas lui inculquer la peur des maladies: la peur est le plus mauvais levier d'éducation et le plus sûr moyen d'attirer ce que l'on redoute. Cependant, sans craindre la maladie, il ne faut pas, non plus, avoir une inclination pour elle. Couramment, on rencontre la croyance que les brillants esprits sont dans des corps chétifs. C'est une opinion aussi illusoire que mal fondée; et si, peut-être, il y avait à une époque

He must avoid, in the daily food, all that merely stuffs and causes heaviness, particularly he must be taught to eat according to his hunger, neither more nor less and not to make food an occasion to satisfy his greed and gluttony. From the very childhood, one must know that one eats in order to give to the body strength and heath and not to enjoy the pleasures of the palate. The child should be given the food that suits his temperament, prepared with all safeguards in respect of hygiene and cleanliness, that is pleasant to the taste and yet very simple; and this food should be chosen and measured out according to the age of the child and his regular activities,* it must contain all the chemical and dynamic elements that are necessary for the development and the balanced growth of all the parts of the body.

Since the child will be given only the food needed for maintaining heath and supplying necessary energy, one must be very careful not to use food as a means of coercion or punishment. The habit of telling a child: "you were not a good boy, you will not be given your dessert etc." is totally disastrous. You create in this way in his little consciousness the impression that food is given to him chiefly to satisfy his greed and not because it is indispensable for the good functioning of his body.

Another thing should be taught to a child from his early age; ;the taste for cleanliness and hygienic habits. But if you wish to get from the child this taste for cleanliness and respect for the rules of hygiene, you must take great care not to instil into him the fear of illness. Fear is the worst incentive for education and the surest way of attracting what is feared. Yet, while not fearing illness, one need have no inclination for it either. There is a current belief that brilliant minds have weak bodies. It is a delusion and has no basis. There was perhaps an epoch when a romantic and morbid taste for physical unbalance prevailed: but, fortunately, that tendency has disappeared. Nowadays a well-built, solid, muscular, strong and perfectly balanced body is appreciated at its true value. In any case, children should be taught to have respect for heath, admiration for a healthy man whose body knows how to repel attacks of

C'est pourquoi, dès que l'enfant pourra se servir de ses membres, il faudra consacrer quotidiennement un certain temps au développement méthodique et normal de toutes les parties de son corps. De vingt à trente minutes tous les jours, de préférence au réveil si possible, suffiront à assurer le bon fonctionnement et la croissance équilibrée de ses muscles, tout en prévenant l'ankylose des jointures et de la colonne vertébrale qui se produit beaucoup plus tôt qu'on ne le pense. Dans le programme général de l'éducation d'un enfant, il faut donner une bonne place aux sports et aux jeux en plein air; cela, plus que toutes les médecines du monde, lui assurera une bonne santé. Une heure de mouvement au soleil fait plus pour guérir la faiblesse et même l'anémie, que tout un arsenal de toniques. Je conseillerai de ne se servir des médicaments que lorsqu'il est absolument impossible de faire autrement; et cet "absolument impossible" doit être très rigoureux. Dans le programme de culture physique, quoiqu'il y ait des lignes générales bien connues pour le meilleur

illness. A child pretends illness to escape a troublesome necessity, a work that does not interest him or even simply to move the heart of his parents and get from them satisfaction of some caprice. Children must be taught, too, as early as possible that that procedure is not worth the game and that you are not more interesting by being ill; rather the contrary. The weak have a tendency to believe that their weaknesses make them particularly interesting and to use this weakness and even their illness, if necessary, as a means of attracting towards them the attention and sympathy of persons who are around them and live with them. On no account should this pernicious tendency be encouraged. Children should be taught that to be ill is a sign of falling and inferiority, not of a virtue or a sacrifice.

For that it would be good for the child, as soon as he is able to make use of his limbs, to devote daily some time to develop methodically and normally all parts of his body. Every day some twenty or thirty minutes, preferably on getting up from bed if possible, will suffice to assure good functioning and balanced growth of his muscles, preventing at the same time stiffening of the joints and of the spine that comes about much earlier than it is supposed. In the general programme of education for children, sports and outdoor games should be given a fair place; that, more than all the medicines of world, will assure him good health. An hour's moving about in the sun does more to cure weakness or anaemia than a whole armoury of tonics. My advice is that medicine should not be taken unless it is absolutely impossible to do otherwise; and this "absolutely impossible" must be absolutely strict. Although there are, in this programme of physical culture, certain well-known general lines as to how best to develop the human body, still if the method is to be fully effective, each case should be considered individually, if possible, with the help of a competent person, otherwise by consulting books concerning the subject that are already published or being published.

But. in any case, a child, whatever may be his activities, should have a sufficient number of hours for sleep. This number will vary with age. In the cradle, the baby should sleep longer

J'ai dit que dès le jeune âge, il faut inculquer aux enfants

than it remains awake. The number of hours for sleep will diminish as the child grows. But till the adult age the number should not be less than 8 hours and that in a quiet and well-ventilated place. The child should not be deprived of his early night sleep uselessly. The hours before midnight are the best for resting the nerves. Even during the waking hours, relaxation is an indispensable thing for everyone who wishes to maintain the nervous balance. To know how to relax the muscles and the nerves is an art which should be taught to the children even when very young. However, there are many parents who, on the contrary, force their children to constant activity. When the child remains quiet, they imagine he is ill. Even there are parents who have the bad habit to make their child do household work at the expense of his rest and relaxation. Nothing is worse than that for a growing nervous System which cannot stand the tension of too continuous an effort or an activity imposed upon it and not freely chosen. 1 hold against all current ideas and prejudices that it is not fair to demand services from a child, as if it is his duty to serve his parents. The contrary would be more true: certainly it is natural that parents should serve their children, at least take great care of them. It is only if the child chooses freely to work for the family and does the work as a play that the thing is admissible. And even then, one must be careful that it diminishes in no way the hours of rest absolutely necessary for the body to function properly.

I said that even from young age children should be taught respect for physical heath, strength and balance. The great importance of beauty also must be insisted upon. A young child should aspire for beauty, not for the sake of pleasing others or gaining fame, but for the love of beauty itself: for beauty is the ideal which physical life has to realise. In every human being there is the possibility of establishing harmony among the different parts of the body and the different movements when the body is in action. All human body that undergoes a rational method' of physical culture from the beginning of its existence can realise its own harmony and thus be fit to express beauty. When we shall speak of the other aspects of an integral education,

we shall see what are the inner conditions to be fulfilled if this beauty is to be manifested one day.

Till now 1 have referred only to the education to be given to children; for, a good deal of bodily defects, malformations can be avoided by an enlightened physical education given at the proper time. But if, for some reason or other, this education has not been given during childhood and even in youth, it can begin at any age and followed through the whole life. But the later one begins, the more one must be prepared to meet bad habits that have to be corrected, rigidities to be made supple, malformations to be rectified. And this preparatory work will need much patience and perseverence before one can start on a constructive programme for the harmonisation of the form and its movements. But if you hold within yourself the living ideal of beauty that is to be realised, you are sure to reach the goal you aim at.

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Report on the Quarter

THIS is the last time that we shall combine two quarters for — the game season. The next quarter had been allotted to Aquatics and Combatives but as we were not sufficiently equipped for either of these sections, we had made it a practice to combine the two quarters for the games season. This enabled us to have a long games programme with a number of leagues.

The next year however, we hope to be ready with our swimming pool, as we will explain later, and we are also preparing for combatives with such events as boxing, wrestling and fencing with foils. A permanent and covered boxing ring has already been constructed and the wrestling pit is almost ready. Lessons in fencing have also commenced.

In the games' tournaments this year the emphasis has again been on Tennis. We have had leagues for the different groups and a long mixed-doubles league which has just been completed. In addition there are the usual singles and doubles tournaments.

In the mixed doubles this year, the ladies showed a remarkable progress over their performance of last year in the same event. The pairs were well matched and the tournament keenly contested, with the result in doubt up to almost the very end.

In the men's singles also, the standard has gone up and some of the younger players have come to the fore, which augurs well for the future of the game here.

Next to tennis, the Basket Ball leagues attract much interest. Unfortunately there has not been much opportunity for Basket Ball practice recently and the players do not seem to be up to their usual form. The leagues are still going on however, and play will improve as the players get into their stride.

The Table Tennis leagues are well contested and here the standard is being maintained. The Volley Ball tournament is still to be played.

C'EST la dernière fois que nous combinons deux trimestres — pour en faire la saison des jeux sportifs. Le prochain trimestre devait être réservé aux sports aquatiques et aux sports de combat, mais comme nous ne possédons pas l'équipement nécessaire pour l'une ou l'autre de ces activités, nous avons décidé d'adjoindre ce trimestre au précédent qui est celui des jeux sportifs. Cela nous a permis d'avoir un long programme de jeux, avec plusieurs tournois (chacun jouant successivement contre tous les autres joueurs).

L'année prochaine, nous espérons que notre piscine sera prête, comme nous l'indiquons plus loin, et nous nous préparons aussi pour les sports de combat: boxe, lutte et escrime. Un ring de boxe permanent et couvert a déjà été érigé et un emplacement pour la lutte est presque prêt. Les leçons d'escrime ont commencé.

Dans les championnats sportifs de cette année l'importance première a encore été donnée au tennis. Nous avons eu des tournois pour les différents groupes, en particulier un long tournoi en double mixte, qui vient seulement de se terminer. En plus, se sont joués les championnats usuels en simple et en double.

En double mixte les dames se montrèrent cette année en progrès remarquable sur leur jeu de l'année dernière. Les équipes étaient bien assorties et le tournoi fut vivement disputé, avec le résultat incertain jusqu'à la fin.

Dans le championnat en simple aussi, le niveau s'est élevé et quelques uns des jeunes sont sortis en vedette, ce qui augure bien de l'avenir de ce jeu ici.

Après le tennis, ce fut le tournoi de basket-ball qui attira le plus d'intérêt. Malheureusement les occasions de pratiquer ce jeu n'ont pas été très fréquentes ces temps derniers et les

With the younger groups. Basket Ball has become very popular and many of the little ones are showing a remarkable aptitude for this fast game. The minor games also are being contested with the usual zest and plenty of vigour.

This quarter has witnessed a success with our Band. We had received earlier a full set of brass band instruments and had distributed them to the various aspirants. The players took seriously to their lessons and with perseverance and quick understanding they have already become familiar with their instruments and gave a very creditable performance at the March Past on the 21st February. They also gave us their first concert on the same day and the band master and the players received congratulations on their excellent performance. We publish in this number some pictures of the band.

We are including two poses of the famous John G. Grimek of the "Strength & Heath" Magazine, who had been the first Mr. Universe, elected in 1948. These pictures show his remarkable physique and they were sent by Mr. Grimek to us with his appreciation of our Bulletin.

We have also included a picture of Mr. Dilip Bose, the Indian Tennis Star who had been ranked as India No. 1. He visited the Ashram and the picture shows him in action on one of our courts.

Most of the photographs in this issue are connected with the children and so we can call this the "Children's Number". We show the children playing and enjoying themselves at their own little play-yard which contains the sea-saws, the chute, the jumping pits and a very convenient and popular tree which lends itself to a number of exciting games and stunts. The sand in the jumping pit has also been utilised for moulding sand figures which show great possibilities in some of the little ones. Pictures of all this have been printed here and also of the children having their French lessons from the Mother herself in the open air. They have these lessons thrice a week.

We have at last been able to get a new playground for our" selves. It is not yet ready but is in the process of being prepared. It is a fairly large pièce of ground and it will contain a full sized football field and a hockey field, which together can also be used

La plupart des gravures de ce numéro ont trait aux enfants et, ainsi, nous pouvons l'appeler le "Numéro des Enfants". Nous montrons les enfants jouant et s'amusant dans leur petite cour de jeux, laquelle renferme les bascules, le toboggan, les fosses à sable pour le saut et un arbre bien placé et très apprécié, qui se prête à des acrobaties et à des jeux bien excitants. Le sable des fosses a aussi été utilisé pour mouler des figures de

for cricket. The plot will include also our athletic tracks and as it is sufficiently long we will be able to have a 200 metre straight track.

In addition there is space for two more tennis courts and above all there is provision for a full sized swimming pool. For the necessary water supply an artesian well has already been sunk and construction of the pool itself will commence shortly. In our next number we will give more details of all this.

The levelling of the ground and the cutting down of the trees are being done by our own members on Sundays. The little ones also join in the work and contribute their share. It has become a regular Sunday feature with a sort of a picnic combined, and the work on the field is progressing apace. We publish some pictures of this activity and also of some of the children who volunteered for special holiday work at our Press when there was some urgent work to be done.

We have printed a picture of an outing on cycles by some of us, which was also for some time a regular Sunday feature.

Le lecteur trouvera enfin une photographie prise pendant une excursion à bicyclette; ces excursions furent aussi pour quelques uns d'entre nous un passe-temps régulier du dimanche.

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