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8 January 1972 MA XIII-24 Now that I am here like this, in seclusion, the lowest nature of everyone comes out. They do things thinking, "Oh, Mother won't know." That's how it is. So this "Mother won't know" means there's, no more restraint. I would say it's rather disgusting. People to whom I have said, "You can't stay in the Ashram" move in anyway. And nobody stops them. Not only that, but they go to the Auroville offices and try to direct things. I tell you... it has become really, really disgusting. Because I am here, because I don't see so clearly any more and my hearing isn't so good - so they take advantage of it. MA XIII-41-42 [In the Mother's Agenda conversation of 12 January 1972, Mother is asking for a certain paper. She explains that in 1927 she told Sri Aurobindo the meaning of the petals in her symbol. He wrote it down but that paper could not be found later. ] Last time I told you I was looking for the twelve attributes (Mother takes out a sheet of paper). Here they are, someone found this.
The first eight concern the attitude towards the Divine, and the last four towards humanity. And we also found a text from Sri Aurobindo (with a colored chart of the twelve petals):
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They're going to build twelve rooms around the Matrimandir, at ground level, and [the architect] wanted each room to have a name: one of the twelve attributes of the Mother, and the corresponding color.* MA XIII-80-81
Page-232 That's how it is, like an imperative Order: Don't step out of line or else everything will go wrong. It's become terrible. Another Auroville child died (a one and a half year old baby) because his parents didn't have the right attitude. He has just died. That's how it works. It's getting terrible. Terrible. A kind of Pressure - a frightening Pressure -which compels the necessary progress. I feel it in myself, on my body. But my body isn't afraid; it says (Mother opens her hands), "Well, if I must be finished, I'll be finished." That's how it is at every instant: the truth... (Mother brings down her fist) or the end. That's what seems to have descended — you remember, I said something had descended on the 21st (I wrote it somewhere), and one day we would know, we would know soon what it was. Do you remember?
Well, this is it. Something like: "No half measures, no compromises, no half ways, no...." None - it's like this (Mother brings down her fist).
No compromises, no half measures, no "It will come later". Just like this (Mother brings down her fist): a dreadful Will. And that's the only way for things to go fast.
There was probably nobody over in the workshop; it wasn't open yet. But when I was told the news, I had a feeling someone had been burned inside - I didn't say anything because.... It's only a vision, of course, but.... All the machines, all the stock of food, everything was burned to cinders.
Yes. Oh, they're all quarreling among themselves! And some even disobey deliberately, they refuse to recognize any
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MA XIII-83-89
Well, there isn't enough money here, and there's even less there.... Because in people's minds, it's all the same thing [the Ashram and Auroville], and so they don't know where to give any more. There's so much money wasted in the world — some people don't even know what to do with it! What would be needed for Auroville's protection, how much?
Page-234 India's financial situation is VERY bad. Because they used to receive a lot of money from America, but that has practically stopped. It's very bad - India has become poor, that's the trouble. Otherwise we could ask, but they are really in trouble.
If only I were given a plan. I haven't seen to these things so far, but if there were an acceptable plan, I could work on it. Right now I don't know what to do.
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Page-237 I'll try to speak to [the head of Sri Aurobindo Society] first, he's the hardest. I'll speak to [the head of Sri Aurobindo's Action] after. [The head of Sri Aurobindo's Action] is very bright, he'll have very good answers to offer you! (Mother laughs) I've already spoken to [the head of Sri Aurobindo's Action], Mother, I already know his answers. But [the head of Sri Aurobindo's Action] is beginning to change, because he is an extremely bright man, so he understood he had to change.
I could put it this way: it's either progress, or death. Each and everyone must, must absolutely progress, make the required progress, or else... (gesture of dissolution). That fire was symbolic - I suppose you know about it: there's been a terrible fire.
You see, we preach Unity, we say that humanity must be one, that all efforts must join together for the general progress, for the advent of the Supramental... but everyone pulls as hard as he can in his own direction. That's the situation. So I wanted to tell all of you, "Practice what you say, or you will cease to exist." One has no right to preach unity to the world when one gives such an example of utter division.... That's all. It's quite simple, so simple that a child could understand - but THEY don't understand.
As for me, the power of consciousness goes on increasing; for the time being -1 repeat, for the time being - the physical power is reduced to almost nought. I am forced to stay here, minding nothing, and makeshift with seeing people. So I need some
Page-238 people to do the practical work I used to do before and can no longer do... (Mother is short of breath). I can't speak with the same strength as before — the physical is undergoing a transformation, you know. Sri Aurobindo himself had said - and rightly so — he said (because one of us had to go, and I offered to go), "No, your body is capable of enduring it, it HAS THE STRENGTH to undergo transformation." It's not easy. I can assure you, it's not easy. Yet my body is good willed, it is really good willed. But for the moment it is in the process of... well, it is no longer quite on this side but not yet on the other. The transition isn't easy. So I am stuck here, like an old woman, incapable of doing any work. If I can hold on — if only I can hold on - at one hundred things will be better. That I know. I am absolutely convinced there will be a renewal of energy. But I have to hold on.... That's all.
So for the moment, we lack money. We lack money because money is being scattered. People no longer know where to give, so they stop giving: "Should I give here, should I give there, should I...?" They don't give anything any more.
I can see, I have truly the occasion to see that if I left, I have nobody here, it would be our destruction.
Then if the work must be done, if Auroville must be built, not only do I have to remain in my body but the body must become strong. I know. I know that. All depends on what the Divine Will is -He doesn't tell me! When I ask Him, I have the impression... (once or twice, in moments of difficulty, I have put the question regarding this body), and then (laughing) I seem to see a smile, you know, a smile as big as the world, but no answer. I can still see that smile: "Don't try to know, it is not yet time."
Page-239 If we knew how to remain always in the true consciousness, there would be... a smile. But we have a tendency to become tragic. It's our weakness. It is our limitations that make a drama. We are too small — too small and too short-sighted. But... the Consciousness knows — it knows. MA XIII-117-119
Since we have set aside all conventions, immediately everybody thinks, "Ah, nice place to fulfil our desires!" And they almost all come with that intention. And because I made a maternity clinic for the children of those people that I was obliged to send away from the Ashram, so that they could have a place to have their child, people think that the maternity clinic is established for all children born in an illegal way! I don't care for legality, I don't care for law, I don't care for convention. But what I want is a more divine life, not an animal life. And they use the liberty for license, for the satisfaction of desires, and all these things that we truly have worked all our life to master, they indulge in - dissipation. I am absolutely disgusted. We are here to give up all desires and to turn towards the Divine and to become conscious of the Divine.* To realize and manifest the Divine in our life is the way, not to become animals, living like cats and dogs. [Exactly the opposite; the majority of the population at Auroville is an infra-humanity and not a supra humanity. So it is high
Page-240 time that all that must end. There are people who have just dropped in here and now when I tell them, "All that won't do at all," they answer, "We didn't come here for this." That is how it stands.]
How I would like to be able to go and tell all of them, right to their faces, that they are wrong, that this is not the way. But I think it's time to put it in writing.
Yes, I know. I know: when I am like now, I always see the Force — it isn't "my" force, it is the Divine Force. I try — I only try to be like this (gesture like a channel). This body tries to be simply... simply a transmitter, as transparent as possible, as impersonal as possible. So the Divine can do whatever He wants.
It has become very transparent. For as soon as something is put before you, the action is done immediately.
Yesterday, it was fifty-eight years since I came here for the first time. For fifty-eight years I have been working FOR THAT, for the body to be as transparent and immaterial as possible, so that it doesn't obstruct the descending Force. Now - now it's the body itself, the body wants this with all its cells. That is its only purpose in life. To try, to try to create on earth one completely transparent, translucent element that would let the force pass through without any distortion.
Page-241 MA XIII-124-127
I will tell you that we are preaching unity - unity of humanity - and we are all quarreling - horrible quarrels, resentments and all sorts of urgings that we condemn in the others. We are giving a nice example, and people laugh! Voilà. It has come to me from many quarters. Begin with yourself, they say, and they are right. Each one, all of you have good reasons, everybody seems to lie. Everybody has "good reasons". You know, the ego is the most clever rogue I have ever met. He takes such nice, nice appearances, and each one says: "I would, but I can't." Voila. And I tell you, from some places far away and from near, from far and from near, from India and from other countries: Begin with yourself. That is, we are ridiculous - ridiculous. And such good reasons we have! — all the people have good reasons. It is above reason, it has nothing to do with reason, nothing to do with that, we want... a new creation. If the Divine had only for one hour the same feelings as men have, there would be no more world. That I can tell you. I have seen clearly - you believe me if you want - I have seen the world with the eye of the Divine. It is something so terrible, you know, so contrary to what it must be, that if the Divine said "only He," brrt! everything would go, there would be no world, there would be no men, there would be only That. Des egos pulvérisés [smashed egos]. It is difficult, it is the most difficult thing - we are here to do difficult things. We are in the period of transition. I can't tell you: be like this or be like that, because there is no example as yet. It is being done, and we are just at the time of the transition. It is very, very difficult - but. very interesting. For centuries and centuries, humanity has waited for this time. It has come. But it is difficult. I don't simply tell you we are here upon earth to rest and enjoy ourselves, now it is not the time for that. We are here... Page-242 to prepare the way for the new creation. The body has some difficulty, so I can't be active, alas. It is not because I am old - I am not old. I am not old, I am younger than most of you. If I am here inactive, it is because the body has given itself definitely to prepare the transformation. But the consciousness is clear and we are here to work - rest and enjoyment will come afterwards. Let us do our work here. So I have called you to tell you that. Take what you can, do what you can, my help will be with you. All sincere efforts will be helped to the maximum.
Heroism is not what people say, it is to be completely united - and the divine help will always be with those who have, in all sincerity, resolved to be heroic. Voilà. You are here now, I mean on earth, because you once chose to be - you don't remember it, but I know; that's why you are here. Well, you must stand up to the task. You must make an effort, you must conquer pettiness and limitations, and above all tell the ego: your time is over. We want a race without ego, with the divine consciousness in place of the ego. That's what we want: the divine consciousness, which will enable the race to develop and the superman to be born. If you think I am here because I am bound, you are wrong. I am not bound. I am here because my body has given itself for the first attempt at transformation. Sri Aurobindo told me so, he told me, "I know of no one who can do it, except you." I said, "All right, I will do it." It's not... I don't wish anyone to do it in my place, because... because it's not very pleasant, but I am doing it gladly, because everybody will benefit from the results. I ask only one thing: don't listen to the ego. That's all. The time of the ego is over. We want to go beyond humanity and its ego, to leave it behind, we want a race without ego, with a divine consciousness in place of the ego. There, that's all.
If there is a sincere "yes" in your hearts, you will have satisfied me fully. I don't need words: I need your hearts' sincere adherence. That's all.
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(To the architect:) Did you follow? Yes, Mother. Are you in agreement? Fully in agreement. (the other two are silent Mother turns to them and speaks in English) [Directly to the heads of the Sri Aurobindo Society and Sri Aurobindo's Action:] You and you, you must agree. You are here for that. You have come to this place at this time for that. We must give to the world the example of what must be, not petty egoistic movements, but an aspiration towards the manifestation of Truth. Voila.
I can assure you that all sincere effort will be PLEINEMENT, fully helped by the Divine. Of that I am sure. And I can assure you of that.
MA XIII-129-136
Some people say that they are spies and are kept by the American Government, some others (some Americans) tell me that the Americans would never take such incapable spies! So myself I don't see the.... To tell the truth, I don't appreciate them Page-244 very much, but I have nothing very positive against them. That's all. It's all like that. I tried my best to push them out, that is to say, that they would WANT to go. But they... it didn't happen, they really willed to remain. If we could have evident proof that they are spies, then it would be very easy. I would tell them to go. But for so many years they have been here. It must be proved, it can't be a feeling or an idea or something like. that, there must be a concrete proof. Voila. I would like that the Divine's will should manifest very clearly, in a very positive way. Because human appreciation is worth nothing. He alone knows the Truth, and it is He who has to decide. Like that. I don't know if you understand and follow; what I say may not be clear. But I - you see, to tell the truth, I have no respect for human appreciation and outlook, and I am absolutely convinced that only the Divine can see the truth. What I do is to tell, to show clearly His way so that we will do only what He says, what He sees. We are not capable of seeing. We will go by the Divine.
Que Ta volonté soit faite [let Your will be done] - WHATEVER it is. Voila. That's my position.
(The architect:) There has been a chain of events which makes it necessary for me to ask you a question. I have read this question to [the Liaison], because we have spoken together at length, insofar as we feel that certain decisions must be made to try and improve the situation in Auroville. But we keep running up against the same problem, which I have summarized in this letter:
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In a general and absolute way, difficulties are ALWAYS graces. And due to.. . (how can I put it?) human weakness they fail to be helpful. Difficulties are ALWAYS graces. I have been on earth for quite a while this time and always - always, always, always, without a single exception - I have seen in the end that difficulties are nothing but graces. I can ' n e it h e r feel nor see things otherwise because it has been my experience all my life. I might be upset at first and say, "How come, Lam full of goodwill, yet difficulties keep piling up.... " But afterwards, I could have simply given myself a slap: " Silly you! It's just to bring more perfection to your character and the work!" There.
Some persons have been driven out of the Ashram into Auroville. Those, I admit, are difficult elements who make things difficult. I wish they would be naturally driven out of Auroville to... somewhere else. This wouldn't be very nice for the rest of the world — but never mind! Although in a free environment, they may be tolerable. Practically, one would have to speak to each one individually.
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Is there no one who could be given the responsibility for those things?
Yes. Something could be organized with the people we can trust, and if the others are dissatisfied, they can leave. Do you understand what I mean? Instead of taking an active position of "Go away" (which for many reasons is very difficult), if we put them under an authority they don't accept, they will be forced to leave. They will protest at first, but we must remain firm: "This is how it is." We must find the people capable of doing this, with the required strength of character, and once we find them, they can be given the authority, and if the others don't like it, they'll have to leave! And that's that. But we can't dismiss people who are already there as long as we don't have the person or persons capable of actively assuming that position.
Page-247 Ah, no! If they are not satisfactory, they can be sent away. I was only speaking of those (this is in fact what I was saying to [the Liaison]), whom I was forced to remove from the Ashram because they were totally undesirable in the Ashram, and they went to Auroville; these people should either go, or else feel... as I said, feel that they have no place here. But the newcomers, those who are accepted on a trial basis and who turn out to be undesirable, can be sent away. I meant the old-timers, those who have been here for years and years. But the newcomers, all those who have been taken on trial and are not satisfactory, they can leave - they MUST leave. I give you full authority to send them away. You see, some people come to me - I don't know their names, I don't know what they do, I know nothing about them; the new requests for admission should come to me through one of you two (because you know the practical situation and the people). Unfortunately, many people write to me, and I don't know, you see, I never remember names; I only remember when I know who they are, what they do and so on. But if you know these people's worth and can tell me, "This one is like this or that," I trust what you say; and if you tell me, "That person is undesirable," well, he must go. But I have to be informed beforehand, because people usually go through one person, then another to get their request to me, and I don't keep track, I don't know. Do you see the picture? I give a general answer, and they take it as... because I think it's somebody else. I don't remember, I forget names — the next minute I have forgotten. My head is full of... something far vaster than all that, you know. There should be one person — one or two (two is very good) -to present the admissions to me, the new admissions to Auroville, and I fully agree to send back those you find undesirable.
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You must give them at least one month. At least one month. But if they show the slightest insincerity, you understand, if they say, "I don't do this, I do that, I won't do this, etc.", just tell them, "You can leave." You don't even need to ask me, you can just send them away. Simply inform me: such and such person has been found unsatisfactory. I give you the authority to do it. I won't protest. But I must be informed because plenty of people come to me and... they're very cunning, you see: they find another person to channel their request.
No! Certainly not! No, no, I don't favor deliberately adding difficulties! I know they come for.... But they shouldn't be invited — on the contrary. They shouldn't. Things should be made as easy as possible. Only, we shouldn't be ruffled by difficulty, that's the point. I am not at all saying that difficulties should be accepted - don't invite them at all, at all, at all; life is difficult enough as it is! But when a difficulty comes, you must take heart and face it courageously. We must strive for Order, Harmony, Beauty and... collective aspiration - all the things which for the moment are not there. We must... you see, being the organizers, our task is to set the example of what we want others to do. We must rise above personal reactions, be exclusively attuned to the divine Will and be the docile instruments of the divine Will - we must be impersonal, without any personal reaction. Page-249 We must "be" in all sincerity. What the Divine wants — let it be. That's all. If we can be that, then we are as we ought to be, and THAT is what we must become. For the rest... for all the rest, we do the best we can. I know it's not easy, but we are not here to do easy things; the whole world is there for those who like an easy life. I would like people to feel that coming to Auroville does not mean coming to an easy life - it means coming to a gigantic effort for progress. And those who don't want to keep up with it should leave. That's how things stand. I wish It were so strong — the need for progress, for the divinization of the being, so intense - that those who are unable (unable or unwilling) to adjust to it would leave by themselves: "Oh, this is not what I expected." As it is now, all those who want an easy life and to do what they please as they please, say, "Let's go to Auroville!" It should be just the opposite. People should know that coming to Auroville means an almost superhuman effort for progress. It is the sincerity of our attitude and effort which makes a difference. People should feel that insincerity and falsehood have no place here — they just don't work, you can't fool people who have devoted their entire life to go beyond humanity. There is only one way to be convincing - it is to BE that. Then we'll stand strong, we'll have all the divine force on our side. We are here to prepare a super humanity, not to fall back into desires and easy life - no. People must feel it; it should be so strong that the sheer force of our sincerity would drive them out - that's what they have to feel. At that point, we will be what we should be. The power of the realization - of the sincerity of the realization - is such that it's UNBEARABLE to "t ho se who are insincere.
If in all sincerity we are on the side of the Divine, we ARE all we should be. Page-250 That's what Sri Aurobindo always said. If men only knew this: if in all sincerity — in all sincerity — they give themselves to the Divine and side with the Divine, they become all they should be. It may take time, there may be turmoil and difficulty - you must be... inflexible: "I am for the Divine and the divine manifestation, in spite of everything and anything." Voila. Then it is omnipotence - EVEN OVER DEATH.
I am not saying tomorrow, I am not saying immediately, but... it's a certainty.
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