July 28, 1964 (This conversation is about Dr. S., who left for the U.S.A. for a brain operation. The operation consists in introducing a needle into the diseased spot and injecting liquid oxygen to destroy the group of affected cells. The first operation took place three months earlier, and the second was scheduled for this month.) I've just received a long letter from Dr. S.... You know that one side was operated on and that ... To make it interesting, I should tell you the story from the beginning. Before his departure for America, when he spoke to me about the operation, I immediately saw not only that it was dangerous (that was obvious, he himself knew it), but that it couldn't

July 13, 1964 (Satprem is back from a three-month journey to France. Unfortunately, only a fragment of this conversation was kept.) ... Did you get my last note on the golden card? Yes, I did. But you know, I had an amusing experience.... When I came back to Brittany from my trip to Savoy, I was in a car with my brother, and as we approached the Quiberon peninsula, I saw in the sky two extraordinary, immense wings, two clouds that were like immense wings. I said to my brother, "Look!" It really struck me: "Look at those immense wings, look at that victorious angel welcoming us!" It was wonderful.... Then I went into the house, and found your letter: "Open your wings and soar..." It'

April 29, 1964 (From Satprem to Sujata) Paris I have obtained from the embassy my return visa and I am quite relieved, because I was terribly anxious that this visa might be refused - it's silly, but I waited for this visa with a horrible fear. Page 115

August 14, 1964 Last night, and maybe the night before, oh, you and I talked for a very, very long time about all sorts of subjects, and I became aware that there is a place, somewhere in the physical Mind, but very close to the earth, where people must almost inevitably go at night. There are sorts of big meeting rooms where people come and discuss all kinds of problems: they meet, work out programs and discuss problems. I don't know why, I've been going there for the last two nights (I am afraid it is because of all those seminars and all that business where they play tape-recordings of me[[To mark August 15, several groups connected to the Ashram have been meeting in Pondicherry.

July 18, 1964 (Mother translates into French the following letter by Sri Aurobindo:) "The one safety for man lies in learning to live from within outward, not depending on institutions and machinery to perfect him, but out of his growing inner perfection availing to shape a more perfect form and frame of life...."[[We publish below the letter in full. ]] It made me see something so interesting.... Automatically, human thought is always convinced (automatically convinced, anyway) that things must "follow the mechanism." For the body, in order to get cured, to change something, they instinctively feel that things have to follow the mechanism. For example, I've had these last few d

September 23, 1964 (Regarding a disciple who is following a Tantric discipline:) Page 200 ... "He" has completely stupefied him. He has to do six to seven hours of japa a day. From a certain point of view, it's good, because W has never been able to see anything through to the end, it's the first time he has persevered. From that point of view, it's good for his character. But still, I found the amount fantastic! He has to do three lakhs of this, four lakhs[[One lakh = 100,000. ]] of that, some six or seven hours of recitation a day.... It's a lot. And then you have to remain sitting in the same position all the time - he should at least be allowed to do it walking. Yes

March 28, 1964 The big difficulty is that all of N.'s experiences are in his mind. He has worked in his mind, transformed his mind; he has experiences, he's had all the experiences - but IN THE MIND: not at all in the body. But then all that I am saying here, all these experiences I have now are in the body - he doesn't understand. That's the difficulty. He cannot understand. And who can? ... I don't know: As soon as it concerns mental things, he understands perfectly well; as soon as it concerns material things, he doesn't understand anymore. But who can understand?... I can't say I "understand," but ... You feel. Page 97 I transpose. I transpose a truth that I underst

October 17, 1964 You? Me, I am going through all the phases, but fortunately very quickly, in a few hours - two, three hours - with new phases.... Anyway, rather unpleasant things. * * * Page 242 (Regarding the cards Mother sends the disciples on their birthdays. Those cards generally contain an indication of the effort or realization to be achieved during the new year.) ... What a work it is, you know! You understand, with people from outside (about 200 people to whom I also send cards, maybe a little more), and all the Ashram people (except for very rare exceptions), it makes about 1,500 cards a year. There are only 365 days; so you can figure out how many cards

January 31, 1964 Mother reads the text of a message she has just given: I wrote it in English yesterday: The only hope for the future is in a change of man's consciousness and the change is bound to come. But it is left to men to decide if they will collaborate in this change or if it will have to be enforced upon them by the power of crushing circumstances. Then, at the end, I put: So, wake up and collaborate. There seems to be a "push from behind" - I don't know how I could explain it to you.... I feel something, as if from behind a veil something were pushing and saying, "Come on! Move on, now!" As if everything were almost completely asleep and there were, behind, so

January 29, 1964 Mother reads a few extracts from letters of Sri Aurobindo: I have here three quotations on difficulties.... They apply so marvelously now! Sri Aurobindo wrote them in ... 1946, '47, '48 - the dark hours. And things are repeating themselves now: "The Mother's victory is essentially a victory of each sadhak over himself. It can only be then that any external form of work can come to a harmonious perfection." November 12, 1937 Then this one, which is very interesting: Page 41 "I know that this is a time of trouble for you and everybody. It is so for the whole world. Confusion, trouble, disorder and upset everywhere is the general state of things. The