THE MOTHER Questions and Answers               Sri Aurobindo Ashram Pondicherry August, 1961     Questions and Answers I Mastery over oneself and mastery over the circumstances of one's life, are they independent of each other or are they interdependent ? THAT depends on the point of view where you put yourself. A The police commissioner, for example, has some mastery over circumstances, but generally has not much mastery over himself ! (laughter) Evidently one must first of all begin by self-mastery, otherwise one can act on life only to increase the confusion.

GUIDANCE IN WORK Correspondence with a Disciple GUIDANCE IN WORK Correspondence with a Disciple THE MOTHER SRI AUROBINDO ASHRAM PONDICHERRY First edition 1988 Second impression 1996 ISBN 81-7058-134-6 © Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust 1988 Published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department Printed at Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, Pondicherry PRINTED IN INDIA

GUIDANCE IN WORK Correspondence with a Disciple Mother Divine,1 It seems that yesterday's Pranam was a great blessing for me. For the whole day I remained in a state which I cannot describe. Happiness and joy were the most predominant factors. But a little heaviness — no, the word does not convey my sense — some sort of disappointment was also there. I think that my dying ambitions were responsible for it. Sri Aurobindo: It was due to the resistance of the vital which feels that under the pressure of the Light it will have to give up its desires. In meditation I felt as if the whole of my body, beginning from the head, were changed into a very

Publisher's Note This book contains the Mother's correspondence with a disciple who is identified in the text simply by his initial, R. Raised in Gurukul Kangri in Uttar Pradesh, the disciple came to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in July 1938, at the age of twenty-one, and has remained ever since. He sought to serve the Mother especially through his work, and this concern is reflected in his letters, most of which deal directly with problems of work. The disciple began corresponding shortly after his arrival. At first his letters were answered by Sri Aurobindo, but from 1939 onward it was the Mother who replied. The correspondence covers the thirty-three-year period from 1938 to 19

Patience and Perseverance   'T'HE people of the Punjab have a song which goes like this : The bulbul does not always sing in the garden,    And the garden is not always in bloom;   Happiness does not always reign,   And friends are not always together.    The conclusion to be drawn from this song is that we cannot expect to be always happy, and that to know how to be patient is most useful. For there are few days in our lives which do not give us the opportunity to learn greater patience.         You want to see a very busy man to ask him something. You go to his house. Already many visitors are there and he keeps you waiting a ver

The Giver    RANTIDEVA, who was a king, became a hermit in the forest. He had given his wealth to the poor and lived a simple life in the solitude of the jungle. He and his family had only the bare necessities of life.         One day, after a fast of forty-eight hours, a light meal of rice with milk and sugar was prepared for him.         A poor Brahmin came up to the door of the hut and asked for food. Rantideva gave him half of his rice. Then came a Sudra begging for help and Rantideva gave him half of what remained.         Then he heard a dog barking; the poor beast seemed to be starving. Rantideva gave him what was left. Last of all came a Pariah who stopped at t

The Simple Life   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 fibres 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 a 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 heat of the

Sincerity   A LION, a wolf and a fox went out hunting together. They killed an ass, a gazelle and a hare.    Seeing this catch, the lion said to the wolf:   "Kindly tell me, friend wolf, how we should divide this game."         "There is no need," replied the wolf, "to cut up the three animals. You take the ass, let the fox take the hare, and for my part I shall be content with the gazelle."         The lion's only answer was a roar of fury, and with a single blow, as reward for his advice, he crushed the wolf's head with his claw. Then the lion turned to the fox and said:         "And, my dear friend, what do you suggest?"         "Oh, Sire," the

Self-reliance   HATIM Tai had a great reputation among the Arabs of old for the lavishness of his gifts and alms.   "Have you ever met anyone more excellent than yourself?" his friends once asked him.   "Yes," replied Hatim Tai.    "Who was he?"         "One day I had forty camels sacrificed and I offered a feast to whoever would like to come and share in it. Then I set out with several chiefs to invite guests from far and wide. On the way we came across a woodcutter who had just cut a bundle of thorns. This was the way he earned his livelihood. Seeing that he was poor, I asked him why he did not go to the many feasts given by Hatim Tai. 'Those who earn th

Building and Destroying   CHILDREN, you all know what it is to build and to destroy.         Weapon in hand, the warrior goes forth to destroy.         The builder draws up plans, digs foundations, and the toiling hands of men build a farmhouse for the peasant or a palace for a prince.         It is better to build than to destroy, and yet destroying is sometimes necessary.         You, children, who have strong arms and hands, do you only build? Do you never destroy? And if you do, what do you destroy?         Listen to this account of an Indian legend:         A new-born baby lay in a grove. You might think that he was sure to die,