-36_Series Six (1961-1968).htm SERIES SIX (1961-1968)* To a disciple who joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1939 at the age of twenty-one. He worked first as an assistant to an Ashram secretary, then supervised the management of several guest-houses, and is presently a writer, lecturer and the editor of three journals. (The disciple wrote to the Mother about rumours be- ing spread against him.) My dear child,             For the last months you have been fast progressing spiritually, and I would like you to take all these attacks as an outward expression of the usual tests that the adverse forces make to fortify and intensify the sadhana. It is teaching you to have

-19_Series Two (1937-1941).htm SERIES TWO To a Frenchwoman who came to live at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1937, at the age of sixty-six. Nothing is inevitable. At every moment an intervention may come from a higher plane into the material one and alter the course of circumstances. But in this particular case there is a conflict between a very powerful mental construction founded on medical opinion and your faith in the divine Grace.       The power of this medical suggestion lies in the fact that it insinuates itself into the subconscious and acts on the body from there, undetected even by the conscious mind unless it is in the habit of scouring the subconscious with the vigilance of a

-32_Series Four (1942-1970).htm SERIES FOUR (1942-1070) To a disciple who joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1931 at the age of thirty-one. He worked in the Building Service until the mid-1940s and then became head of the Furniture Service, which he managed up to his passing in 1970. Sri Aurobindo, Mother,             Grant us your help in our endeavour to understand your teaching.  1942 * (Programme for a class conducted by the disciple) 1. Prayer             (Sri Aurobindo Mother — grant us your help in our endeavour to understand your teaching)             2. Reading of Sri Aurobindo’s book             3. A moment of silence             4. One

-20_Series Three (1938-1971).htm SERIES THREE * To a disciple who is identified in the text simply by his initial, R. Raised in Gurukul Kangri in Uttar Pradesh, the disciple joined 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. During his fifty years in the Ashram, the disciple has served in many positions. The main ones, mentioned here because they are referred to in the correspondence, are: the preparation of fruit juices for Sri Aurobindo and the Mother; the a

-34_Series Five (1960-1973).htm SERIES FIVE (1960-1973) To a disciple who joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1944 at the age of eight. She worked for almost thirty years in the Ashram’s Department of Physical Education, becoming one of its first captains at the age of eleven. Sweet Mother, Are You with us during the collective meditation at the Playground? Certainly, I am always there. To benefit from it, what should we meditate on? And how? The method is always the same. Gather together the energies in you that are usually dispersed outside; concentrate your consciousness within, beneath the surface agitation, and establish, as far as possible

 quite suitable for a young woman's mind. But it would have been easy to make these cuts, and the rest is very good. (The French teacher continued her search for texts and suggested La France d'aujourd'hui by Marc Blanc- pain.) I have just been looking at the book, with interest. This time, it is very good.  May 1960 * Finding a Programme of Work (The French teacher outlined a study course on the history of civilisation for one of her students, a young Indian teacher, and submitted the project to Mother.) Yes, this work would be of interest, but only if it is based on Sri Aurobindo's The Human Cycle (it has

Reading Sweet Mother, You have said that I do not think well. How can one develop one's thought? You must read with great attention and concentration, not novels or dramas, but books that make you think. You must meditate on what you have read, reflect on a thought until you have understood it. Talk little, remain quiet and concentrated and speak only when it is indispensable.  31 May 1960 * I am reading a book on motor-cars, but I read it hastily; I skip the descriptions of complicated mecha- nisms. If you don't want to learn a thing thoroughly, conscientiously and in all its details, it is better not to take it up at all. It is a great mistake t

Messages for Competitions Athletics Competition 1959 Behind the appearances that the physical eyes can see, there is a reality much more concrete and lasting. It is in this reality that I am with you today and will be during all the athletic season. The force, the power, the light and the consciousness will be in your midst constantly to give to each one, according to his receptivity, the success in his endeavour and the progress which is the crowning result of all sincere effort.  19 July 1959 * Gymnastics Competition 1959 What I told you at the opening of the athletics stands good for the Gymnastic Competition; I will be with you all th

Languages To unite East and West, to give the best of one to the other and make a true synthesis, a university will be established for all kinds of studies. Our school will form a nucleus of that university.  In our school I have put French as the medium of instruction. One of the reasons is that French is the cultural language of the world. The children can learn the Indian languages at a later stage. If more stress is laid upon Indian languages at present, then the natural tendency of the Indian mind will be to fall back upon the ancient literature, culture and religion. You know very well that we realise the value of ancient Indian things, but we are here to create something

11 November 19671 So? A: The reply you gave to B's recent letter2 has been interpreted in two different ways. Some lay emphasis on the first sentence which says, “It would be infinitely preferable that the division should disappear immediately,” and think that we should try to do away with this division at once, right down to the practical level, by adopting a single orga- nisation for the whole school, that is, either a general- isation of the existing free-progress classes or a com- promise. The others think that we should first clear up the psychological differences and spread the spirit of free progress. On the basis o