OLD AGE   [1]   Why this laughter? Why this merriment? When there is always this fire that consumes you are enveloped by darkness and you do not seek the light.   [2]   Look at this decorated image, the body full of sores, a heaped mass, diseased, full of vagaries with no stable status.   [3]   This form is decrepit, given to diseases, a mass of corruption, it breaks up – life ends in death.   [4]   What lure can there be at the sight of these bones white as dovefeather, that are thrown away like gourds in autumn.  Page – 217 [5]   A fortress has been made of bones and it is plastered with flesh and blood. Age

OF THE PLEASANT   [1]   One who yokes himself to things unworthy, one who unyokes             himself from things worthy, One who abandons the goal for the sake of the pleasant,             will envy those who are yoked to their soul.   [2]   Never seek the pleasant, nor even the unpleasant; It is painful not to see the pleasant and it is painful to see the unpleasant.   [3]   Therefore regard nothing as dear, for the loss of what is dear             is painful; No bondage exists for those who have neither likes nor dislikes.   [4]   The pleasant gives rise to grief, the pleasant gives rise to fear;

November I7, I973   THE Mother's body belonged to the old creation. It was meant to be the pedestal of the New Body. It served its purpose well. The New Body will come. This is a test, how far we are faithful to Her, true to Her Consciousness. The revival of the body would have meant revival of the old troubles in the body. The body troubles were eliminated so far as could be done while in the body – farther was not possible. For a new mutation, a new procedure was needed. "Death" was the first stage in that process.   (2)   Sweet Mother, Your physical body belonged to the old creation because you wanted to be one with your children. You wanted this b

A Programme for the Second Century of the Divine Manifestation   I   IT IS Integration. I am using a much used, much abused word but it happens to be the word. We have reached a status of consciousness within as distinct units, individual or collective: our effort should now be to co-ordinate, to harmonise the different and differing units or separate elements into a well-knit single whole. That means, the ego-centres that are still left and active are to be exorcised, purified – the separative knot has to be dissolved and the true centre of unity to be found – the psychic divine centre. First each element in the individual, each level of hi

DHAMMAPADA   Pali    THE TWINS   [1]   Mind is the foremost of all movements, mind is the highest of all movements, mind enters into all movements. If with an evil mind you speak or act, suffering will pursue you even as the wheel of the cart does the hooves of the bullock.   [2]   Mind is the foremost of all movements, mind is the highest of all movements, mind enters into all movements. If with a clean mind you speak or act, happiness will follow you even like your never-failing shadow.   [3]   "I am blamed, I am beaten, I am defeated, I am robbed" – they who cherish such thoughts can never quieten their feeling of enmit

ACT III: THE RETURN     SCENE l: TRANSCENDENCE   SHE                             Fire and fire and fire and fire! Unnameable incandescence, towards which the universe bends even as a giant banyan tree with its million branches churning the interstellar milk with their golden scourges, its radiant suns and its black suns, fruits of darkness. It bends, all its rays veering towards their source and its fruits fall into the Light.  Page – 301 But over there, still are burning thousands of suns for the Festival. Given back to me, one with me! The banyan tree vanished, burnt down, swallo

A Review of Sri Aurobindo's Life   A Review of Sri Aurobindo's Life   I PROPOSE to speak to you on a very interesting subject – about Sri Aurobindo. You know it is his centenary, that is to say, this August¹ he completes a hundred years of earthly existence: I say earthly advisedly because although he has left his body he has not left earth's atmosphere. The Mother assures us he will be there to see the work begun be completed. I will speak on a very peculiar aspect of Sri Aurobindo's life. Many must have noticed it but I wish to draw your particular attention to it. Sri Aurobindo's life is an extraordinary phenomenon. It is not that of an ordinary human being. The life of an ordinary man foll

Janaka and Yajnavalkya   I   KING JANAKA was a great king and a great sage. He wielded an empire without and equally an empire within: he had realised the Truth, known Brahman. He was svarāt and samrāt. A friend and intimate of his was Rishi Yajnavalkya, who also was a sage ― in fact, considered to be the greatest sage of the time, a supreme knower of Brahman. Once upon a time King Janaka invited sages from everywhere, whoever wanted to come to the assembly. The king from time to time used to call such assemblies for spiritual discussion and interchange of experiences. This time he summoned the assembly for a special reason. He had collected a herd of one thousand cows and

THE BHIKKHU   [1]   It is good to control one's eye, good to control one's ear, good to control one's nose, good to control one's tongue.   [2]   It is good to control one's body, good to control one's speech, good to control one's mind; it is good to have control everywhere. The Bhikkhu who has control everywhere is freed from all sorrows.   [3]   One who has control over his hands, who has control over his feet, who has control over his speech, is the best among the self-controlled; he is concentrated in the Spirit, wholly self-absorbed, lone and happy, he is indeed a Bhikkhu.  Page – 244 [4]   The Bhikkhu who has his mo

Soul's Freedom Soul's Freedom   THE pressure from above has been withdrawn and normalcy restored to the earth-consciousness.  Pressure meant a separation: something foreign acting from elsewhere, an interference. As a process, a passage needed for a time, for a special purpose and under special circumstances, it was necessary and welcome. But circumstances have changed. The higher consciousness is not to remain always high but become level with the normal. Either the higher must come down and mingle totally with the lower or the lower has to rise and merge altogether into the higher, or both meet and unite midway somewhere. Earth or material nature does not easily tolerate any thin