Attachment There should be no attachment--- to any object or any mode of life. You must be absolutely free. If you want to have the true yogic attitude, you must be able to accept everything that comes from the Divine and let it go easily and without regret. The attitude of the ascetic who says, “I want nothing" and the attitude of the man of the world who says, “I want this thing" are the same. The one may be as much attached to his renunciation as the other to his possession. You must accept all things--- and only those things--- that come from the Divine. Because things can come from concealed desires. The desires work in the subconscious a

Soft Bed The Prophet Mohammed, who devoted his life to teaching the Arab people, cared not for ease or riches. One night he slept on a hard mat, and when he awoke his skin bore the marks of the knots and fibers of his bed. A friend said to him, “O Messenger of Allah! This bed was too hard for you, and if you had asked me I would joyfully have prepared a softer one, so that your rest might have been better." The Prophet replied, “A soft bed is not for me. I have work to do in the world. When my body needs rest, I give it rest, but only as a horseman who ties his horse for a little while under the shade of a tree, to spare him from the

Personal Fancies Is it to satisfy little personal needs that you have come to Auroville? That was really not necessary. The ordinary world is there for that. One comes to Auroville to realise a divine life which wants to manifest on earth. Each one should make an effort in this direction and not remain hypnotised by so-called “needs" which are nothing but personal fancies. Look upward and forward, strive to surmount the animal human nature. Make the resolution and you will see that you are helped on the way. The Mother 13: 217

Indispensable Sweet Mother, which things are truly indispensable for our life? I don't think they are the same for everyone. It depends on the country, it depends on the habits, and to tell you the truth, if one analyses very closely, I don't think there are many. You see, if you travel round the world, in every country people have different habits of sleeping, habits of eating, habits of dressing, habits for making their toilet. And quite naturally, they will tell you that the things they use are indispensable. But if you change countries you will realise that all these things are of no use for those people, because they mak

Bazaar Sometimes we go to the bazaar to buy our things. Is that good? One cannot make general rules. This depends on the spirit in which you make your purchases. It is said that you should have no desires- if this is not a desire, it is all right. You understand, there is no movement, no action which in itself is good or bad; it depends absolutely on the spirit in which it is done. If, for instance, you are in a state of total indifference about what you have and what you do not (it is a condition a little difficult to realise, but after all, one can attain it- a state of detachment: “If I have it, I have it; if I don't, I don't"), there comes a

Possess Nothing One of these verses is very beautiful .We could translate it like this: “Happy is he who possesses nothing, he will partake of the delight of the radiant gods." To possess nothing does not at all mean not to make use of anything, not to have anything at one’s disposal. “Happy is he who possess nothing": he is someone who has no sense of possession, who can make use of things when they come to him, knowing that they are not his, that they belong to the Supreme, and who, for the same reason, does not regret it when things leave him; he finds it quite natural that the Lord who gave him these things should take them away from him fo

Indispensable Needs I am not even discussing the idea of need, for it is quite arbitrary. I knew a Dutch painter who had come here, and done Sri Aurobindo’s portrait (it seems this portrait is still existent). This Dutch painter was practicing yoga. And so, one day, he told me this: “Oh! As for me, I think I can do without anything. Truly I believe one can reduce one’s needs to a minimum. But all the same, I must have a tooth-brush." I had not yet lived in India at that time, otherwise I would have told him: “There are millions of people who have never had a tooth-brush and whose teeth are quite clean. This is not the only way of keeping one’s t

More Conscious The more we are consciously in contact with our inner being, the more are the exact means given to us. The Mother 13: 214

Comfort When, as a child, I used to complain to my mother about food or any such small matter she would always tell me to go and do my work or pursue my studies instead of bothering about trifles. She would ask me if I had the complacent idea that I was born for comfort. “You are born to realise the highest Ideal," she would say and send me packing. She was quite right, though of course her notion of the highest Ideal was rather poor by our standards. We are all born for the highest Ideal: therefore, whenever in our Ashram some petty request for more comfort and material happiness is refused, it is for your own good to make you fulfil what you are here for.

Cleanliness Cleanliness is the first indispensable step towards the supramental manifestation. The Mother 13: 247 An absolute cleanliness is indispensable in this country and climate to avoid illness. Great precautions must be taken. The Mother 13: 247