The Fear of Death and the Four Methods of Conquering It Generally speaking, perhaps the greatest obstacle in the way of man's progress is fear, a fear that is many-sided, multiform, self-contradictory, illogical, unreasoning and often unreasonable. Of all fears the most subtle and the most tenacious is the fear of death. It is deeply rooted in the subconscient and it is not easy to dislodge. It is obviously made up of several interwoven elements: the spirit of conservatism and the concern for self-preservation so as to ensure the continuity of consciousness, the recoil before the unknown, the uneasiness caused by the unexpected and the unforeseeable, and perhaps, behi

I cannot say they are wrong. All the teachers who give lessons to a certain group of students should agree among themselves to allot the work so that the students are not overworked and can enjoy a rest and a relaxation that are  indispensable. This collective preparation must be ready before I can give any useful advice. As for the subjects, it is indispensable to choose those which coincide with their personal experience so as to encourage introspection, observation and analysis of personal impressions.  December 1959 *   (A teacher of mathematics asked whether he should strictly adhere to the policy at that time, that children below the age of

 Physical Education   Of all the domains of human consciousness, the physical is the one most completely governed by method, order, discipline, process. The lack of plasticity and receptivity in matter has to be replaced by a detailed organisation that is both precise and comprehensive. In this organisation, one must not forget the interdependence and interpenetration of all the domains of the being. However, even a mental or vital impulse, to express itself physically, must submit to an exact process. That is why all education of the body, if it is to be effective, must be rigorous and detailed, far-sighted and methodical. This will be translated into habits; the body i

II SRI AUROBINDO ASHRAM DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION Founded in May 1945, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Depart- ment of Physical Education organises the physical education pro- gramme for the students and teachers of the Centre of Education and for the members of the Ashram. Its activities are coordinated and supervised by a group of instructors called captains, who give training in athletics (track and field events), aquatics, gym- nastics, games, combative sports and asanas. The yearly sched- ule is divided into four seasons: during the first three, there is a period of training followed by competitions; at the end of the year, partic

Youth Youth does not depend on the small number of years one has lived, but on the capacity to grow and progress. To grow is to increase one's potentialities, one's capacities; to progress is to make constantly more perfect the capacities that one already possesses. Old age does not come from a great number of years but from the incapacity or the refusal to continue to grow and progress. I have known old people of twenty and young people of seventy. As soon as one wants to settle down in life and reap the benefits of one's past efforts, as soon as one thinks that one has done what one had to do and accomplished what one had to accomplish, in short, as soon as one ceases to progress, to a

V ANSWERS TO A MONITRESS Sutras 1. Have no ambition, above all never lay claim to anything, but be at each moment the utmost that you can be. 25 February 1957 * 2. As for your place in the universal manifestation, the Supreme alone will show it to you. 2 May 1957 *   3. The Supreme Lord has ineluctably decreed the place you occupy in the world concert, but whatever that place may be, you have the same equal right as everyone else to scale the supreme heights as far as the supramental realisation. 17 May 1957 * 4. What you are in the truth of your being is ineluctably decreed and nothing and no one can prevent you from being it;

Teachers To love to learn is the most precious gift that one can make to a child, to learn always and everywhere.   It is an invaluable possession for every living being to have learnt to know himself and to master himself. To know oneself means to know the motives of one's actions and reactions, the why and the how of all that happens in oneself. To master oneself means to do what one has decided to do, to do nothing but that, not to listen to or follow impulses, desires or fancies. To give a moral law to a child is evidently not an ideal thing; but it is very difficult to do without it. The child can be taught, as he grows up, the relativity of all moral and social laws

The Olympic Rings It has been officially stated that the five rings of the symbol of the Olympic Games represent the five continents, but no special significance has been attached to the colour of the rings, nor has there been any intention of allotting a specific colour to each continent. Nevertheless, it is interesting to study these colours and to find out what meaning they may have and what message they may convey. It is quite well known that each colour has its significance, but the meanings attached to the various colours by different interpreters vary and are often conflicting. There does not seem to exist any universally accepted classification of these significan

8 February 1973             A: What is the best way of preparing ourselves, until we can establish a new system? Naturally, it is to widen and illumine your consciousness - but how to do it? Your own consciousness...to widen and illumine it. And if you could find, each one of you, your psychic and unite with it, all the problems would be solved.  The psychic being is the representative of the Divine in the human being. That's it, you see the Divine is not something remote and inaccessible. The Divine is in you but you are not fully conscious of it. Rather you have...it acts now as an influence rather than as a Presence. It should be a conscious Presence; you shoul

18 February 1973 A: Tonight, I am going to read you a letter from X. She gave us a letter about her class. You know that this year she has started working with the young children. Oh! A: So this is what she writes: “We would like to make it possible for each child to develop integrally and above all we want his desire to learn to remain spon- taneous.” (The letter goes on to describe the games suggested to the children, the material prepared for them and various group activities, and continues:) “But because all the tendencies of the children come into play when they are given enough free scope, sev- eral difficulties arise, e