Eight 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

A Leader It was in January 1907, shortly after the sanguinary crushing of the revolutionary movement in Russia. A few friends and I had assembled in a small group for philosophical studies, when we were informed of the presence of a mysterious visitor asking to be admitted. We went out to meet him, and in the anteroom we saw a man whose clean but very worn clothes, arms held close to his sides, pale face steadfastly turned towards the ground and half-concealed by a black felt hat, made him look like a hunted animal. At our approach he removed his hat and looked up to cast us a brief, frank glance. In the half-light of the hall one could sc

The Divinity Within All in us that is not wholly consecrated to the Divinity within is in the possession, by fragments, of the whole entirety of things that encompass us and act upon what we improperly call “ourselves”, whether through the intermediary of our senses or directly on the mind by suggestion.  The only way to become a conscious being, to be oneself, is to unite with the divine Self that is in all. For that, we must, by the aid of concentration, isolate ourselves from external influences.  When you are one with the Divinity within, you are one with all things in their depths. And it is through It and by It that you must ente

Thirteen The Conquest of Knowledge The great Rishi, Bhrigu, shining in splendour, sat on the summit of Mount Kailas, and Bharadwadja questioned him:  “Who made the world?  How wide is the sky?  Who gave birth to water? To fire? To the wind? To the earth?  What is life?  What is good?  What is there beyond the world?”  And so on. Great were the questions and great must be the Rishi who could answer them all!  But Bharadwaja's mind was the mind of a man who asks and asks ever and again, and never knows enough.  The child is the supreme questioner, he is always asking, “Wha

Fourteen Modesty Who is this coming to the door of this Japanese house?  It is the flower-artist, the man who is skilled in arranging flowers.  The master of the house brings a tray with some flowers, a pair of scissors, a knife, a little saw, and a beautiful vase.  “Sir,” he says, “I cannot make a bouquet beautiful enough for such a beautiful vase.”  “I am sure you can,” replies the master politely as he leaves the room.  Left alone, the artist sets to work, cutting, snipping, twisting and tying until a beautiful bunch of flowers fills the vase – a delight to the eyes.  The master and his friends enter the

Two Courage                          You fall into the water. You are not daunted by the great watery mass. You make good use of your arms and legs, grateful to the teacher who taught you how to swim. You grapple with the waves and you escape. You have been brave.  You are asleep. “Fire!” The cry of alarm has awakened you. You leap from your bed and see the red glare of the blaze. You are not stricken with mortal fear. You run through the smoke, the sparks, the flames, to safety. This is courage.  Some time ago I visited an infant school in England. The little school-children were between three and seven years old. There were both boys and

To the Women of Japan To speak of children to the women of Japan is, I think, to speak to them of their dearest, their most sacred subject. Indeed, in no other country in the world have the children taken such an important, such a primordial place. They are, here, the centre of care and attention. On them are concentrated – and rightly – the hopes for the future. They are the living promise of growing prosperity for the country. Therefore, the most important work assigned to women in Japan is child-making. Maternity is considered as the principal role of woman. But this is true only so long as we understand what is meant by the word maternity.

-00_Publisher^s Note.htm Publisher's Note This volume contains the talks given by Mother to the students, teachers and sadhaks of the Ashram in her "Wednesday classes" from the beginning of 1957 to the end of November 1958. These were the last of the talks given at the Playground. Mother generally began by reading from one of her French translations of Sri Aurobindo's works. From January to April 1957 the text was Thoughts and Glimpses, from April to October The Supramental Manifestation Upon Earth and from October 1957 to November 1958 the last six chapters of The Life Divine. After the reading, Mother commented on the text or answered questions.

3 April 1957 “All would change if man could once consent to be spiritualised; but his nature, mental and vital and phy- sical, is rebellious to the higher law. He loves his imperfection. “The Spirit is the truth of our being; mind and life and body in their imperfection are its masks, but in their perfection should be its moulds. To be spiritual only is not enough; that prepares a number of souls for heaven, but leaves the earth very much where it was. Neither is a compromise the way of salvation.        “The world knows three kinds of revolution. The material has strong results, the moral and intellectual are infinitely larger in

2 October 1957 “The essential character of Supermind is a Truth- Consciousness which knows by its own inherent right of nature, by its own light: it has not to arrive at knowledge but possesses it. It may indeed, especially in its evolutionary action, keep knowledge behind its apparent consciousness and bring it forward as if from behind the veil; but even then this veil is only an appearance and does not really exist: the knowledge was always there, the consciousness its possessor and present revealer.…In the Mind of Light when it be- comes full-orbed this character of the Truth reveals itself though in a garb that is transparent even whe