{"id":1517,"date":"2013-07-13T01:35:24","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=1517"},"modified":"2013-12-02T12:45:42","modified_gmt":"2013-12-02T20:45:42","slug":"17-interpretations-of-some-prayers-vol-25-the-mother-volume-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/25-the-mother-volume-25\/17-interpretations-of-some-prayers-vol-25-the-mother-volume-25","title":{"rendered":"-17_Interpretations of Some Prayers.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n


\nINTERPRETATIONS  OF  SOME   “PRAYERS”
\n\u00b9  AND  CONVERSATIONS” \u00b2  OF 
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/B>
\n


\nTHE  MOTHER<\/FONT> <\/font><\/B>
\n


\n


\nI. 
\n“PRAYERS  AND  MEDITATIONS”<\/FONT><\/B>
\n

 

Q: 
\n<\/FONT><\/B>In some of the Mother’s Prayers
\nwhich are addressed to “divin Ma\u00eetre” I find the words:  “avec notre
\ndivine<\/FONT><\/I> M\u00e8re”.  How can
\nthe Mother and  “divine Ma<\/I><\/FONT>\u00ee<\/FONT><\/I>tre”  have
\na  “divine M\u00e8re” ?  It is as if the Mother was not the  “divine
\nM\u00e8re”  and there was some other Mother and the  “divin
\nMa<\/I><\/FONT>\u00ee<\/FONT><\/I>tre”  was not the Transcendent and had
\nalso a  “divine M\u00e8re” !   Or is it that all these are addressed
\nto something impersonal ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  The Prayers are mostly
\nwritten in an identification with the earth-consciousness.  It is the
\nMother in the lower nature addressing the Mother in the higher nature, the
\nMother herself carrying on the Sadhana of the earth-consciousness for the
\ntransformation praying to herself above from whom the forces of transformation
\ncome.  This continues till the identification of the earth-consciousness
\nand the higher consciousness is effected.  The word  “notre”  is
\ngeneral, I believe, referring to all born into the earth-consciousness \u2014 it does
\nnot mean the Mother of the  “Divin Ma\u00eetre”  and
\nmyself.  It is the Divine who is always referred to as Divin Ma\u00eetre and Seigneur.  There is the Mother who is carrying on the
\nSadhana and the Divine Mother, both being one but in different poises, and both
\nturn to the Seigneur or Divine Master.  This kind of prayer from the Divine
\nto the Divine you will find also in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.<\/FONT>
\n

21-8-1936<\/FONT><\/B> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\n\u00b9<\/FONT><\/B> The “Prayers<\/B>” of the
\nMother, originally written in French, were subsequently published under the
\ntitle Pri<\/I><\/B><\/FONT>\u00e8<\/FONT><\/I><\/B>res<\/FONT> et M\u00e9ditations<\/FONT><\/B>.<\/FONT><\/I>  Some of them, translated by
\nSri Aurobindo in English, are included in Part Three of this volume.<\/FONT>
\n

\u00b2<\/FONT><\/B>
\nConversations<\/B><\/I> is a record of the Mother’s talks in English
\nwith a small group <\/B>of <\/B>disciples in 1929.<\/FONT>
\n

 <\/p>\n

Page – 383<\/p>\n

\n


\n(<\/FONT>This is Sri Aurobindo’s answer
\nto the Mother’s letter dated  26-11-1915  containing a record of her
\nexperience.  The Mother’s letter has been included in Part Three.  See  pp.  471-72.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>  The experience you have described is Vedic in the
\nreal sense, though not one which would easily be recognised by the modern
\nsystems of Yoga which call themselves Yogic.  It is the union of the 
\n“Earth”  of the Veda and Purana with the divine Principle, an earth which
\nis said to be above our earth, that is to say, the physical being and
\nconsciousness of which the world and the body are only images.  But the
\nmodern Yogas hardly recognise the possibility of a material union with the
\nDivine.<\/FONT>
\n

31-12-1915<\/FONT><\/B>
\n


\n <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/B>  There
\nare some Prayers of the Mother of 1914 in which she speaks of transformation and
\nmanifestation.  Since at that time she was not here, does this not mean
\nthat she had these ideas long before she came here ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  The Mother had been spiritually conscious from
\nher youth, even from her childhood, upward and she had done Sadhana and had
\ndeveloped this knowledge very long before she came to India.<\/FONT>
\n

23-12-1933<\/B><\/FONT>
\n


\n <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/I><\/B> 
\nNothing is more important than:  “Ta splendour veut rayonner” as the Mother
\nsays in her Prayer of the 16th June 1914.  All ideas of perfection for
\noneself or being an instrument seem flat and insipid when considered from the
\nstandpoint of the vast universal movement of consciousness.<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  It is correct. 
\nPerfection for oneself is not the true ideal.  Sadhana and instrumentation
\nare only useful as a means for the  “rayonnement”.<\/FONT>
\n

30-4-1936<\/FONT><\/B> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Page – 384<\/p>\n

\n

Q:<\/B>  In
\nher Prayer of the 17th May 1914, the Mother says,  “Telles furent les deux
\nphrases que j’\u00e9crivis hier par une sorte de n\u00e9cessit\u00e9 absolute.  La
\npremi\u00e9re, comme si la puissance de la<\/FONT>
\n<\/FONT>pri\u00e9re ne serait compl\u00e9te que si elle
\n\u00e9tait trac\u00e9e sur le papier”.<\/FONT><\/I>
\n


\nIt is true that a prayer
\nis not sufficiently powerful when it is kept unexpressed by speech or writing,
\nand that its expression is necessary to make it completely powerful ?<\/I><\/FONT> <\/p>\n


\n 

A: 
\n<\/B>It<\/FONT>
\n<\/I><\/B>was not meant as a general rule \u2014 it was only a necessity felt
\nwith regard to that particular prayer and that experience.  It all depends
\non the person, the condition, the need of the moment or of that stage or phase
\nof the consciousness.  These things in spiritual experience are always
\nplastic and variable.  In some conditions or in one phase or at one moment
\nexpression may be needed to bring out the effectuating force of the prayer or
\nthe stability of the experience;  in another condition or phase or at
\nanother moment it may be the opposite, expression would rather disperse the
\nforce or break the stability.<\/FONT>
\n

21-6-1936<\/B><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/FONT><\/I><\/B>  The Mother’s Prayer of the 12th December 1914, begins
\nwith:<\/I>  “Il<\/I> faut \u00e0 chaque instant savoir tout perdre pour tout
\ngagner …”<\/I><\/FONT>
\n


\nThe Isha Upanishad also
\nsays:  “tena tyaktena bhu\u00f1jīthā”.  Do not these two statements refer
\nto the same truth ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A: <\/B>Yes,
\ncertainly.  It is essentially the same truth put in different ways. 
\nIt might be put in a negative form \u2014  “if we cling to things as they are in
\ntheir imperfection in the Ignorance, we cannot have them in their truth and
\nperfection in the Divine Light, Harmony and Ananda”.<\/FONT>
\n

16-8-1935<\/B><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Page – 385<\/p>\n

\n


\nQ:<\/B>  In one
\nof her Prayers the Mother says:  “The joy contained in activity is
\nsuperseded by a greater joy in withdrawal from activity”.<\/FONT><\/I>  This implies that
\nwithdrawal from activity is preferable to activity.<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

 

A:<\/B>  <\/I>Do you think the Mother has a rigid
\nmind like you people and was laying down a hard and fast rule, for all time and
\nall people and all conditions ?  It refers to a certain stage when the
\nconsciousness is sometimes in activity and when not in activity withdrawn in
\nitself.  Afterwards comes a stage when the Sachchidananda condition is
\nthere in work also.  There is a still further stage when both are as it
\nwere one, but that is the supramental.  The two states are the silent
\nBrahman and the active Brahman and they can alternate  (1st stage),
\ncoexist  (2nd stage), fuse  (3rd stage).  If you reach even the
\nfirst stage then you can think of applying Mother’s dictum, but why misapply it
\nnow ?<\/FONT>
\n


\nQ:<\/I><\/B> 
\nIs it possible to have the highest Sachchidananda realisation in work
\n?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  Certainly it is realisable in work.  Good
\nLord !  How could the integral Yoga exist if it were not ?<\/FONT>
\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\n\t\tQ:<\/B> 
\nThe Mother says in her  “Prayers”  that experience is willed by the
\nDivine.  Am I then to suppose that dearth or abundance of experiences is in
\nany given case willed<\/FONT><\/I>
\nby the Divine ?
<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  To say so has no value unless you realise all
\nthings as coming from the Divine.  One who has realised as the Mother had
\nrealised in the midst of terrible sufferings and difficulties that even these
\ncame from the Divine and were preparing her for her work can make a spiritual
\nuse of such an attitude.  For others it may lead to wrong conclusions.<\/FONT>
\n

10-5-1934<\/B><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Page – 386<\/p>\n

\n

Q:<\/B> 
\nThe Mother in her Prayer of the 4th August 1914, says:<\/I>  “Les<\/I>
\nhommes, pouss\u00e9s par Ie conflit des forces, <\/I><\/FONT>acc<\/I>omplissent un sublime sacrifice ….” 
\nApparently she refers to the great war;  but, as a result of that war has
\nany  <\/I>“pure lumi\u00e8re”   filled the hearts of men or
\nthe  <\/I>“Force Divine”  spread on earth or something beneficial
\ncome out from that chaos, as she mentions ?  Since the nations are once
\nmore preparing for war and are in a state of constant conflict, there seems to
\nbe no indication of any change in the inner condition of men.  People all
\nover the world including even the Indians seems to be wanting another war and
\nhardly anyone seems to require Peace, Light or Love.<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

 

A:<\/B>  There has been a change for the worse \u2014 the
\ndescent of the vital world into the human.  <\/B>On the other hand except
\nin the  “possessed”  nations there is a greater longing for peace and
\nfeeling that such things ought not to happen.  India did not get any real
\ntouch of the war.  However what the Mother was thinking of was an opening
\nto the spiritual truth.  That has at least tried to come.  There is a
\nwidespread dissatisfaction with the old material civilisation, a seeking for
\nsome deeper light and truth \u2014 only unfortunately it is being taken advantage of
\nby the old religions and only a very small minority is consciously searching for
\nthe new Light.<\/FONT>
\n

9-6-1936<\/B><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/I><\/B> 
\nYou said that after the great war there has been  “the descent of the vital
\nworld into the human”. But did not the vital world already descend on
\nearth \u2014 in Matter \u2014 even before the human beings came ?  What other vital
\nworld remained yet to descend into the human ?  And how is it that it decided
\nto come down just at present \u2014 to prevent the higher Light from coming down in
\nthe human world ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  When there is a pressure on the vital world
\ndue to the preparing<\/FONT> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Page – 387<\/p>\n

\n

Descent from above, that world
\nusually precipitates something of itself into the human.  The vital world
\nis very large and far exceeds the human in extent.  But usually it
\ndominates by influence not by descent.  Of course the effort of this part
\nof the vital world is always to maintain humanity under its sway and prevent the
\nhigher Light.<\/FONT>
\n

9-6-1936<\/FONT><\/B>
\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/B>  If, as you say, there has been a
\nchange for the <\/I>worse due to the
\ndescent of the vital world, would it not make the supramental descent in the
\nearth-consciousness impossible or postpone its coming to some distant future
\ninstead of  “here and now” ?  And since the possessed nations are
\nendowed with all the possible material power, there seems to be little hope of
\nany movement of peace being successful.<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  The vital descent cannot prevent the
\nsupramental \u2014 still less can the possessed nations do it by their material
\npower, since the supramental descent is primarily a spiritual fact which will
\nbear its necessary outward consequences.  What previous vital descents have
\ndone is to falsify the Light that came down as in the history of Christianity
\nwhere it took possession of the teaching and distorted it and deprived it of any
\nwidespread fulfilment.  But the supermind is by definition a Light that
\ncannot be distorted if it comes in its own right and by its own presence.  It is
\nonly when it holds itself back and allows inferior Powers of consciousness to
\nuse a diminished and already deflected Truth that the knowledge can be seized by
\nthe vital Forces and made to serve their own purpose.<\/FONT>
\n

12-6-1936<\/B><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/I><\/B> 
\nIn her Prayer of the 16th August 1914, the Mother refers to  “chacun des
\ngrands \u00eatres Asouriques qui ont r\u00e9solu d’\u00eatre Tes serviteurs ….”<\/I><\/FONT>
\n


\n <\/p>\n

Page – 388<\/p>\n

\n


\nHow was it that the Asuras determined the servants of the Divine ?  Was it to exploit the
\nDivine or a  “coup de diplomatic” ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  It was in reference to Asuras who had taken
\nbirth in humane bodies \u2014 a thing they usually avoid if they can, for they prefer
\nto possess human beings without taking birth \u2014 with the claim that they wanted
\nto regenerate themselves by serving the Divine and doing his work.  It did
\nnot succeed very well.<\/FONT>
\n

15-6-1936<\/FONT><\/B>
\n


\n <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/I><\/B> 
\nIs there really an internal progress in the universe \u2014  “marche interne
\nd’univers”, as the Mother says ?  Except in a few individuals there is
\nhardly any progress in mankind.  Internally and externally the universe
\nseems to be moving in the same circle always without making any essential
\nprogress.<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

 


\nA:<\/B>  “Univers”  in French usually means not
\nthe whole universe but the  “world”  \u2014 the earth.  There must be
\na progress in the earth-consciousness, otherwise there could have been no
\nevolution.  The evolution of mankind may go by circles or spirals, but
\nthere is all the time an opening of more and more complete possibilities till
\nthe possibility of the evolution of a higher race becomes valid.<\/FONT>
\n

1-9-1936<\/FONT><\/B> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ: <\/B> In a
\nbook named   “Eveillez-vous”  (translated from English), there
\nare some ideas \u2014 like those about the Advent, the hostile beings, etc. \u2014 similar
\nto our own.  There is also a phrase in the book,  “La Paix r\u00e8gnera sur
\nterre”, which also occurs in the Mother’s  “Prayers”.  Has the author not
\ncopied this phrase from the Mothers  “Prayers”  (unpublished<\/I>)
\n?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n


\n <\/p>\n

Page – 389<\/p>\n

\n

A:<\/FONT><\/B> <\/FONT> <\/FONT><\/I>
\nNot necessarily, as the phrase can easily come to one who
\nhas<\/FONT> read the Bible and the
\nEnglish are very biblical.  The idea of the <\/B>hostile beings also is
\nnot new, in fact it is as old as the Veda.  The <\/B>expectation of the
\nAdvent is also pretty widespread, as according to the old prophecies it must be
\nwhen the Advent is due.<\/FONT>
\n

16-9-1935<\/FONT><\/B>


\n\t\tII. 
\n“CONVERSATIONS”<\/FONT><\/B>
\n\t\t

 


\n\t\tQ:<\/FONT><\/I><\/B>  The Mother asks<\/I>  “What do you want the Yoga for
\n?  To get power ?”  <\/I>[ <\/I><\/FONT>
\nConversations<\/B><\/FONT>  <\/FONT><\/I>
\n(<\/FONT>July 1971
\nedition<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>,  p.  4.<\/FONT>]<\/FONT>  Does  ”power"  here
\nmean the power to communicate one’s own experience to others ?  What does
\nit precisely mean ?<\/FONT><\/I>
\n

A:<\/B>  Power is a general term \u2014 it is not confined
\nto a power to communicate.  The most usual form of power is control over
\nthings, persons, events, forces.<\/FONT>
\n

1-1-1937<\/B><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/I><\/B> 
\nThe Mother says  “What is required is concentration \u2014 concentration upon
\nthe Divine with a view to an integral and absolute consecration to its Will and
\nPurpose”.  <\/I>(<\/FONT>Ibid.<\/I><\/FONT>)  Is its Will different from its Purpose ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  The two words have not
\nthe same meaning.  Purpose means the intention, the object in view towards
\nwhich the Divine is working.  Will is a wider term than that.<\/FONT>
\n

1-1-1937<\/B><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 

Q:<\/FONT><\/I><\/B> 
\n“Concentrate in the heart”. <\/FONT><\/I> <\/I>(<\/FONT>Ibid.<\/I><\/FONT>)  What
\nis concentration ?  What is meditation ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

 <\/p>\n

Page – 390<\/p>\n

\n

A:<\/B>  Concentration means gathering of the
\nconsciousness into one centre and fixing it in one object or in one idea or in
\none condition.  Meditation is a general term which can include many kinds
\nof inner activity.<\/FONT>
\n

1-1-1937<\/B><\/FONT>
\n


\n <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/B>  “A fire is
\nburning there is burning there …. It is the divinity in you
\n\u2014<\/FONT> your true being.  Hear its voice, follow its
\ndictates”.<\/FONT><\/I><\/FONT> <\/FONT>
\n<\/FONT><\/I>(<\/FONT>Ibid., <\/I> p.  4.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>
\n


\nI have never seen this
\nfire in me.  Yet I feel I know the divinity in me.  I feel I hear its
\nvoice and I try my utmost to follow its dictates.  Should I doubt my
\nfeeling ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  No, what you feel is probably the intimation
\nfrom the psychic being through the mind.  To be directly conscious of the
\npsychic fire, one must have the subtle vision and subtle sense active or else
\nthe direct action of the psychic acting as a manifest power in the
\nconsciousness.<\/FONT>
\n

2-1-1937<\/B><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/I><\/B> 
\n“We have all met in previous lives”.  <\/I>(<\/FONT>Ibid.,<\/I>  p.  6.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>
\n


\nWho precisely are 
\n“we” ?  Do both of you remember me ?  Did I often serve you for this
\nwork in the past ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  It is a general principle
\nannounced which covers all who are called to the work.  At the time the
\nMother was seeing the past  (or part of it)  of those to whom she
\nspoke and that is why she said this.  At present we are too much occupied
\nwith the crucial work in the physical consciousness to go into these
\nthings.  Moreover we find that it encouraged a sort of vital romanticism in
\nthe Sadhaks which made them attach more importance to these things than to the
\nhard work of Sadhana, so we have stopped speaking of past lives and
\npersonalities.<\/FONT>
\n

2-1-1937<\/B><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Page – 391<\/p>\n

\n


\nQ:<\/FONT><\/B>  “There are two paths of Yoga,
\none of Tapasya  (discipline)  and the other of surrender”.  <\/FONT><\/I>(<\/FONT>Ibid., <\/I> p.  7.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>
\n


\nOnce you
\ninterpreted my vision us Agni, the fire of purification and Tapasya producing
\nthe Sun of Truth.  What path do I follow ?  What place has Tapasya in
\nthe path of surrender ?  Can one do absolutely without<\/FONT> Tapasya in
\nthe path of surrender ?<\/FONT><\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  There is a tapasyā<\/I>
\nthat takes place automatically as the result of surrender and there is a
\ndiscipline that one carries out by one’s own unaided effort \u2014 it is the latter
\nthat is meant in the  “two paths of Yoga”.  But Agni as the fire of  tapasyā<\/i> can burn in either case.<\/FONT>
\n

4-1-1937<\/FONT><\/B> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 

Q:<\/I><\/B>  “The strength of such impulses as those of sex
\nlies usually in the fact that people take too much notice of them”. 
\n<\/I>(<\/FONT>Ibid.<\/I>,  p.  8.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>
\n


\nWhat are the
\nother impulses referred to ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  It refers to strong vital
\nimpulses.<\/FONT>
\n

4-1-1937<\/FONT><\/B> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 

Q: <\/B>
\n“The whole world is full of the poison.  You take it in with every
\nbreath”.  <\/I>(<\/FONT>Ibid., <\/I>
\n p.  10.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>
\n


\nHow long is a Sadhak
\nsubject to this fear of catching contagion ?  I feel I won’t catch such a
\ncontagion now.  Is my feeling trustworthy ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  I don’t know that it
\nis.  One has to go very far on the path before one is so secure as
\nthat.<\/FONT>
\n

4-1-1937<\/B><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Page – 392<\/p>\n

\n

Q:<\/FONT><\/B>  “But to those who
\npossess the necessary basis and foundation we say, on the contrary, ‘aspire and
\ndraw’ “.<\/FONT><\/I>  <\/font>
\n(<\/FONT>Ibid.,<\/I>  p.  15.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>
\n

Does this capacity
\nto aspire and draw indicate a<\/I><\/FONT> great advance already made ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  No.  It is a comparatively elementary
\nstage.<\/FONT>
\n

5-1-1937<\/FONT><\/B>
\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\n<\/FONT>:<\/FONT><\/B>  “Spiritual experience means the contact
\nwith the<\/FONT><\/I> Divine in
\noneself  <\/I>(or without, which comes to the same thing in that
\ndomain<\/I>)“. <\/I><\/FONT><\/FONT> <\/FONT> <\/I>
\n(<\/FONT><\/FONT>Ibid.,<\/FONT><\/I><\/FONT> <\/FONT>
\np. <\/i>22.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>  <\/FONT><\/I><\/FONT>
\n


\nWhat is meant by the
\nDivine  “without” ?  Does it mean the cosmic Divine or the
\ntranscendental or both ?<\/FONT><\/I>
\n

A:<\/B>  It means the Divine seen outside in things,
\nbeings, events etc., etc.<\/FONT>
\n

9-1-1937<\/FONT><\/B>
\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/I><\/B>  Was Jeanne d”Arc’s nature transformed even a
\nlittle because of her relation with the two Archangels, the two beings of the
\nOvermind ?  <\/I>(<\/FONT>See 
\nIbid.<\/FONT><\/I>)<\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  I don’t see
\nhow the question of transformation comes in.  Jeanne d’Arc was not
\npractising Yoga or seeking transformation.<\/FONT>
\n

9-1-1937<\/FONT><\/B> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/I><\/B> 
\nHow can one distinguish between a dream of deeper origin and a vision ? 
\n<\/I>(<\/FONT>See 
\nIbid., <\/I> p.  18.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  There is no criterion,
\nbut one can easily distinguish if one is in the inward condition, not sleep, in
\nwhich most visions take place, by the nature of the impression made.  A
\nvision in dream is more<\/FONT>
\n

 <\/p>\n

Page – 393<\/p>\n

\n

difficult to distinguish from a vivid
\ndream-experience but one gets to feel the difference.<\/FONT>
\n

9 -1-1937<\/FONT><\/B> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/B> 
\nSometimes<\/FONT> one remember
\nthe dreams, sometimes one does not.  <\/FONT><\/I>
\n(<\/FONT>See  Ibid.,  <\/I>p.  19.<\/FONT>)  Why is it so ?<\/I><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

A:<\/B>  It depends on the connection between the
\n<\/B>two states of consciousness at the time of waking.  Usually there is a
\nturn over of the consciousness in which the dream-state disappears more or less
\nabruptly, effacing the fugitive impression made by the dream events  (or
\nrather their transcription)  on the physical sheath.  If the waking is
\nmore composed  (less abrupt)  or, if the impression is very strong,
\nthen the memory remains at least of the last dream.  In the last case one
\nmay remember the dream for a long time, but usually after getting up the dream
\nmemories fade away.  Those who want to remember their dreams sometimes make
\na practice of lying quiet and tracing backwards, recovering the dreams one by
\none.  When the dream-state is very light, one can remember more dreams than
\nwhen it is heavy.<\/FONT>
\n

9-1-1937<\/B><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 

Q:<\/B> 
\n“You have no longer anything that you can call your own;  you feel
\neverything as coming from the Divine, and you have to offer it back to its
\nsource.  When you can realise that, then even the smallest thing to which
\nyou do not usually pay much attention or care, ceases to be trivial and
\ninsignificant;  it becomes full of meaning and it opens up a vast horizon
\nbeyond”.  <\/I>(<\/FONT>See 
\nIbid.,<\/I>  p.  28.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>
\n


\nIs this as elementary a
\nstage as the stage of  “aspire and draw” ?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n

A:<\/B>  Not so elementary.<\/FONT> <\/p>\n

14-1-1937<\/FONT><\/B> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Page – 394<\/p>\n

\n


\nQ:<\/B>  “But if we want
\nthe Divine to reign here we must give all we have and are and do here to the
\nDivine”. <\/I> (Ibid.,  <\/I>p.  30.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>
\n


\nIf one does this completely 
\nhas he anything more to do ?<\/FONT>
\n


\nA:  <\/B><\/FONT>No.  But it is not easy to do it
\ncompletely.<\/FONT>
\n

14-1-1937<\/FONT><\/B>
\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/FONT><\/B>  How can we
\nrecognise who gives all he has and is and does to the Divine ?<\/FONT><\/I>
\n


\nA: <\/FONT><\/B> You
\ncan’t, unless you have the inner vision.<\/FONT><\/I>
\n

14-1-1937<\/FONT><\/B><\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/FONT><\/I><\/B>  “For there is nothing in the
\nworld which has not its ultimate truth and support in the Divine”. 
\n<\/I><\/FONT><\/FONT>(<\/FONT>Ibid., <\/I> p.  33.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n


\nTo know this
\nperfectly by experience is to have a very great attainment, perhaps the final
\nattainment;<\/FONT><\/I>  am I right ?<\/I><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n


\nA:<\/FONT><\/B>  Yes.<\/FONT>
\n

19-1-1937<\/B><\/FONT> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 

Q:<\/FONT><\/I><\/B> 
\n“Obviously, what has happened had to happen;  it would not have been, if it
\nhad not been intended”.  <\/I>(<\/FONT>Ibid.<\/FONT><\/I>)<\/FONT>
\n


\nThen, what is the place
\nof repentance in man’s life ?  Has it any place in the life of a Sadhak
\n?<\/FONT> <\/I>
\n

A:<\/B>  The place of repentance is in its effect for
\nthe future \u2014 if it induces the nature to turn from the state of things that
\nbrought about the happening.  For the Sadhak however it is not
\nrepen<\/FONT>tance
\n

 <\/p>\n

Page – 395<\/p>\n

\n

but recognition of wrong movement and the necessity of its not
\nrecurring that is needed.
\n

19-1-1937<\/FONT><\/B> <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ: <\/FONT><\/B> “You are tied to the chain of Karma, and
\nthere, in that chain, whatever happens is rigorously the consequence of what has
\nbeen done before”.  <\/FONT><\/I>(<\/FONT>Ibid.,<\/I>  p. 35.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n


\nDoes 
\n“before”  mean all the past lives, beginning from the very first up to this
\none ?<\/FONT><\/I><\/FONT>
\n


\n 

A:<\/B>  That is taking things in the mass.  In a
\nmetaphysical sense whatever happens is the consequence of all that has gone
\nbefore up to the moment of the action.  Practically particular consequences
\nhave particular antecedents in the past and it is these that are said to
\ndetermine it.<\/FONT>
\n

(From where are these
\nquotations ?  In the exact intention of a sentence much sometimes depends
\non the context.  <\/FONT>(It is obvious from the remark of Sri Aurobindo that while
\nanswering this series of questions, he was not aware that the quotations cited
\nin the question were from the Mother’s book
\nConversation<\/B><\/I>.) <\/FONT>)<\/FONT>
\n

19-1-1937<\/B><\/FONT>
\n


\n <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/FONT><\/I><\/B>  “Many people would tell you
\nwonderful tales of how the world was built and how it will proceed in the
\nfuture, how and where you were born in the past and what you will be hereafter,
\nthe lives you have lived and the lives you will still live.  All this has
\nnothing to do with spiritual life”.  <\/I><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n(<\/FONT>Ibid.<\/FONT>  <\/FONT><\/I>p.  47.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n


\n 


\nIs what such people say
\na complete humbug ?  Is there a process other than the spiritual by which
\none can know all these things ?<\/FONT><\/I>
\n

 

A:<\/B>  Often it is, but even if it is correct, it has
\nnothing spiritual in<\/FONT>
\n

 <\/p>\n

Page – 396<\/p>\n

\n

it.  Many mediums, clairvoyants or
\npeople with a special faculty<\/FONT> tell
\nyou these things.  That faculty is no more spiritual than the capacity to
\nbuild a bridge or to cook a nice dish or to solve a mathematical problem.  There are intellectual
\ncapacities, there <\/I>are occult capacities<\/FONT> \u2014<\/FONT><\/I> <\/FONT>that is all.<\/FONT>
\n


\n20-1-1937<\/FONT><\/B>
\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 

Q:<\/B>  “They  <\/I>[the vampires<\/I>]  are not
\n<\/I><\/FONT><\/FONT>human;  there is
\nonly an human form or appearance ….  Their method is to try first to cast
\ntheir influence upon a man;  then they enter slowly into his atmosphere and
\nin the end may get complete possession of him, driving out entirely the real
\nhuman soul and personality”. <\/I> (<\/FONT>Ibid.,<\/I>  pp.  49 – 50.<\/FONT>)<\/FONT>
\n

 


\nX has married a girl
\nwho, the Mother has said, is vampire-like to some extent.  Is he then under
\nall these risks ?  What precautions should he take ?  Shall I warn him
\n?<\/I><\/FONT>
\n


\n 

A: 
\n<\/B>First of all what is meant is not that the vampire or vital being
\neven in possession of a human body tries to possess yet another human
\nbeing.  All that is the description of how a disembodied 
\n(vampire)  vital being takes possession of a human body without being born
\ninto it in the ordinary way \u2014 for that is their desire, to possess a human body
\nbut not by the way of birth.  Once thus human, the danger they are for
\nothers is that they feed on the vitality of those who are in contact with them \u2014
\nthat is all.<\/FONT>
\n

 

Secondly in this case.  Mother only
\nsaid vampire-like to some extent.  That does not mean that she is one of
\nthese beings, but has to some extent the habit of feeding on the vitality of
\nothers.  There is no need to say anything to X.  It would only disturb
\nhim and not help in the least.<\/FONT>
\n

27-1-1937<\/B><\/FONT>
\n


\n <\/P><\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nPage –
\n397<\/FONT><\/P>
\n

<\/p>\n


\nQ:<\/FONT><\/B>  The
\nMother, in her  “Conversations”  says that the first effect of Yoga is
\nto take away the mental control so that the ideas and desires which were so long
\nchecked become surprisingly prominent and create
\ndifficulties. <\/FONT><\/I> (<\/FONT><\/FONT>See
\nIbid., <\/I> p.  8<\/FONT>.)
<\/FONT>
A:<\/B>  They were not prominent
\nbecause they were getting some satisfaction or at least the vital generally was
\ngetting indulged in one way or another.  When they are no longer indulged
\nthen they become obstreperous.  But they are not new forces created by the
\nYoga <\/SPAN>\u2014 <\/FONT> they were there all the
\ntime.<\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P>
\n

 <\/P>
\n

What is
\nmeant by the mental control being removed is that the mental simply kept them in
\ncheck but could not remove them.  So in Yoga the mental has to be replaced
\nby the psychic or spiritual self-control which could do what the vital cannot,
\nonly many Sadhaks do not make this exchange in time and withdraw the mental
\ncontrol merely.<\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P>
\n

12-5-1933<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P><\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 

Q:<\/SPAN><\/B>  In  “Conversations”  the
\nMother says:  “One who dances and jumps and screams has the feeling that he
\nis somehow very unusual in his excitement;  and his vital nature takes
\ngreat pleasure in that”.  <\/SPAN><\/I>(<\/SPAN><\/FONT>Ibid.,  <\/I>p.  15<\/SPAN><\/FONT>)  Does she mean that one should be usual instead of
\nunusual in one’s excitement during spiritual experience
\n?<\/I>
<\/SPAN>
<\/SPAN>A:<\/SPAN><\/B>  The Mother did not mean that one
\nmust be usual in one’s excitement at all <\/SPAN>\u2014 <\/FONT> <\/SPAN>
\nshe meant that the man is
\nnot only excited but also wants to be unusual (extraordinary) in his
\nexcitement.  The excitement itself is bad and the desire to seem
\nextraordinary is worse.<\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P>
\n

7-6-1933<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P><\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 

Q:<\/B>  What
\ndoes Mother mean by the sentence in  “Conversations”:  “When you eat,
\nyou must feel that it is the Divine who is eating through you” <\/I>?  <\/p>\n

(<\/SPAN>Ibid.,<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/I>  p.  29.<\/FONT><\/SPAN>) <\/SPAN><\/P><\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 

Page –
\n398<\/SPAN><\/P>
\n

<\/p>\n


\nA:<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B>  It means an offering of the food not to the ego or desire but to
\nthe Divine, who is behind all action.<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/P>
\n

11-1-1935<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>
\n


\n <\/P><\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/B>  In  “Conversations”  the Mother speaks of
\nthe power  of thoughts and gives the example that if 
\n“you have a keen desire for a certain person to come and that, along with this
\nvital impulse of desire, a strong imagination accompanies the mental formation
\nyou have made …. And if there is a sufficient power of will in your
\nthought-form, if it is a well-built formation, it will arrive at its own
\nrealisation<\/I>".  (<\/FONT>Ibid.,  <\/I> pp.<\/FONT>  <\/FONT>
\n58-9.<\/FONT>) <\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIn the
\nexample given, suppose there is no strong desire in the vital but only thoughts
\nor vague imaginations in the mind, would they go and induce that person to come
\n?<\/I>
<\/FONT>
<\/SPAN>A:<\/FONT><\/B>  It
\nmight;  especially if that person were himself desirous of coming, it could
\ngive the decisive push.  But in most cases desire or will behind the
\nthought-force would be necessary.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n

26-8-1936<\/B><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/P>
\n

 <\/P><\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 


\nQ:<\/B> 
\nIn  “Conversations”  the Mother says that depression or discouragement
\ncut holes in the nervous envelope and make hostile attacks more
\neasy.<\/I><\/SPAN>  <\/I>(See Ibid.,<\/I>  p.  102.<\/FONT>)  In one sense this means
\nthat a man with goodwill should not discourage anyone’s wrong ideas, impulses or
\nmovements.  But would this not be against the principles in ordinary life
\nas well as in Sadhana ?  There is the way of keeping silent when dealing
\nwith such people, but even that sometimes hurts them more than a point-blank
\ndiscouragement.<\/I><\/SPAN><\/P>
\n

 <\/P>
\n


\nWould the bad
\neffects of depression and discouragement indicated by the Mother happen in
\nordinary life also ?<\/I><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n <\/P>
\n


\nPage –
\n399<\/FONT><\/P>
\n

<\/p>\n


\n\tA:<\/span><\/b> 
\n The knowledge about the bad effect of depressions is meant for the Sadhak to
\n learn to avoid these things.  He cannot expect people to flatter his failures
\n or mistakes or indulge his foibles merely because he has the self-habit of
\n indulging in depression and hurting his nervous envelope if that is done.  To
\n keep himself free from depression is his business, not that of others.  For
\n instance some people have the habit of getting into<\/span>
\n depression if the Mother does not comply with their desires \u2014 it does not
\n follow that the Mother must comply with their desires in order to keep them
\n jolly \u2014 they must learn to get rid of this habit of mind.  So with people’s
\n wish of encouragement or praise for all they do.<\/span> 
\n One can be silent or non-intervening, but if even that
\n depresses them, it is their own fault and nobody else’s.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of course, it is the same in ordinary life \u2014 depression
\n is always hurtful.  But in Sadhana it is more serious because it becomes a
\n strong obstacle to the smooth and rapid progress towards the goal.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n 18-7-1936<\/span><\/b>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n\tQ:<\/span><\/i><\/b> 
\n In  "Entretiens"  <\/span><\/i>(<\/span><\/font>The
\n French translation of Conversations<\/i><\/b> <\/i>by the Mother<\/span>)<\/span><\/font> 
\n the Mother says,  "M\u00eame ceux qui ont la volont\u00e9
\n de s’enfuir, quand ils arrivent de l’autre c\u00f4t\u00e9, peuvent trouver que la fuite
\n ne sert pas \u00e0 grand’ chose apr\u00e8s tout". <\/i><\/span>
\n <\/span><\/i>(<\/span><\/font>"And
\n as for those who have the will of running away, even they when they go
\n over to the other side, may find that the flight was not of much use after
\n all."<\/span> <\/span> Conversations<\/i><\/b>, <\/i><\/span>
\n  <\/span><\/i>p.
\n <\/span> <\/span>30<\/span>)<\/span><\/font> 
\n What does "arrivent de l’autre cote" mean in this sentence ?  Does it mean 
\n "when they come into <\/i>this world"  or  "when they go into the world of
\n silence which they realised".<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n*<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nA:<\/b>  No \u2014  "Arrivent de l’autre c\u00f4t\u00e9" 
\n simply means  "when they die".  What Mother intended was that when they
\n actually arrive at their Nirvana they find it is not the ultimate solution or
\n largest realisation of the Supreme and they must eventually come back and have
\n their share of the world action to reach that largest reali<\/span>sation.<\/p>\n

2-<\/font>5-<\/span>1935<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n Page – 400<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n
<\/span>\n <\/div>\n


\n\tQ:  <\/span><\/i><\/b>
\n The Mother has said in  "Entretiens": 
\n "En fait, la mort a \u00e9t\u00e9 attach\u00e9e \u00e0 toute vie sur terre".<\/span><\/i>
\n <\/span> (<\/span>"Death
\n as a fact has been attached to all life upon earth". 
\n Conversations<\/i><\/b>, <\/i><\/span> <\/span><\/i>p.
\n <\/span> <\/span>43<\/span>) 
\n The words  "En fait"  and  "attach\u00e9e"  tend to
\n give the impression that after all death is inevitable.  But the preceding
\n sentence <\/i>\u2014 "Si cette croyance pouvait
\n \u00eatre rejet\u00e9e, d’abord de la mentalit\u00e9 consciente … la mort ne serait plus
\n in\u00e9vitable" <\/i>(<\/span>"If
\n this belief could be cast out first from the conscious mind…. death would no
\n longer be inevitable".<\/span>  <\/span>Conversations<\/span><\/i><\/b>,<\/span>
\n <\/span> p. <\/span>
\n  <\/span>43<\/span>)<\/span><\/font> 
\n <\/span>\u2014 brings in an
\n ambiguity because it does not make death so
\n inevitable;  it introduces a condition <\/i>\u2014 an  "if" <\/i>\u2014
\n by<\/i> which it could be avoided.  But the categoricality of the sentence with  "En fait"  rather dilutes one’s expectation of a material
\n immortality.  Moreover, the  "if"  in the other sentence is too formidable to
\n be satisfied.<\/i><\/p>\n

A:<\/b>  There is no ambiguity that I can
\n see.  "En fait"  and  "attach\u00e9e"  do not convey any sense of inevitability. 
\n "En fait"  means simply that in fact, actually, as things are at present all
\n life <\/span> (on earth)<\/span>
\n  has death attached to it as its end;  but it does not
\n in the least convey the idea that it can never be otherwise or that this is
\n the unalterable law of all existence.  It is at present a fact for certain
\n reasons which are stated, \u2014 due to certain mental and physical circumstances \u2014
\n if these are changed, death is not inevitable any longer.<\/span> 
\n Obviously the alteration can only come  "if"  certain<\/span>
\n conditions are satisfied \u2014 all progress and change by
\n evolution depends upon an  "if"  which gets satisfied.  If the animal mind had
\n not been pushed to develop speech and reason, mental man would never have come
\n into existence, \u2014 but the  "if",  \u2014 a stupendous and formidable one, was
\n satisfied.  So with the ifs that condition a farther progress.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n 31-7-1936<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n  <\/p>\n

\n Page – 401<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

INTERPRETATIONS  OF  SOME   “PRAYERS” \u00b9  AND  CONVERSATIONS” \u00b2  OF  THE  MOTHER I.  “PRAYERS  AND  MEDITATIONS”  Q:  In some of the Mother’s Prayers which are addressed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-25-the-mother-volume-25","wpcat-33-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9838,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517\/revisions\/9838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}