{"id":2944,"date":"2013-07-13T01:44:47","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2944"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:44:47","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:47","slug":"21-the-mother-and-the-sadhana-in-the-ashram-vol-32-the-mother-with-letters-on-the-mother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/03-cwsa\/32-the-mother-with-letters-on-the-mother\/21-the-mother-and-the-sadhana-in-the-ashram-vol-32-the-mother-with-letters-on-the-mother","title":{"rendered":"-21_The Mother and the Sadhana in the Ashram.html"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\n

\n\t
\n\tSection Four
\n<\/font><\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tThe Mother in the Life <\/font><\/b> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tof the Ashram<\/font><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\n\t
\n\tThe Mother and the Sadhana
\n<\/font><\/b>
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\nin the Ashram <\/font><\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tThe Mother Does the Sadhana
\n<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tIn what way does the Mother do the sadhana for the sadhaks?
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tThe sadhana is done by the Mother according to the truth and
\nnecessity of each nature and of each plane of Nature. It is not one fixed process.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n13 September 1933 <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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

\nI heard from someone: “The Mother has chosen only those who have got capacity to do this Yoga, but they will reach the
\ngoal only if the vital gets transformed. If not, they will realise in the next birth.” Is it so?
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe Mother has never spoken of anything to be done in the next birth.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nNaturally the vital has to be transformed if one is to succeed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t15 January 1934
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tWhy do we feel that the Mother is experiencing this or that?
\nHas she still to go on experiencing? <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tExperiencing what? She has her own experiences in bringing
\ndown the things that have to be brought down  \u2014but what the sadhaks experience she had long ago. The Divine does the
\nsadhana first for the world and then in others.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t3 January 1935
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tYesterday you wrote in regard to the Mother, "Experiencing what?" I meant
\n\texperiencing what we feel. For sometimes we feel that our experiences are
\n\tfelt not only by us but by the Mother in us.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 329<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nNaturally, the Mother does sadhana in each sadhak 
\n\u2014only it is conditioned by their need and their receptivity.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nAlso I failed to understand your comment: “She has her own experiences in bringing down the things that have to be
\nbrought down.” <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tI have said that the Divine does the sadhana first for the world
\nand then gives what is brought down to others. There can be no sadhana without realisations and experiences. Both myself
\nand the Mother have done sadhana. The Prayers <\/i>are a record of Mother’s experiences.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n4 January 1935 <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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

\nWhat you write is in itself unexceptionable 
\n\u2014it is indeed what was offered to the sadhaks at the beginning  \u2014but the difficulty
\nis precisely there, in the complete sincerity of the nature. Few have been able to rise to it and only a distant approximation (if
\nthe phrase can be accepted) has been attained by some. Apart from incomplete sincerity, there is the difficulty that the brain
\nis clouded by egoism and desire and imagines it is doing the very thing when it is doing something else. That is why I spoke
\nof the danger of the theory of all from the Mother. There are people who have taken it that all that comes from the ego or the
\nvital, comes from the Mother, is her inspiration or what she has given them. There are others who have taken it as an excuse for
\ngoing on in the old rut indefinitely, saying that when the Mother wants she will change things! There were even some who on this
\nbasis created a subjective Mother in themselves whose dictates, flattering to their ego and desire, they pitted against the contrary
\ndictates of the Mother here and came to think that this external Mother was after all not so much the real thing as the inner one
\nor that she was putting them through an ordeal by contradicting the inner dictates and seeing what they would do!! The truth
\nremains the truth, but this power of twisting by the mind and other parts of the nature has to be kept in sight also.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n17 October 1936
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 330<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t
\n\tThe Mother’s Victory<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tI am confident that in the long run everything will be clear and there will be Mother’s victory.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe Mother’s victory is, essentially, the victory of each sadhak over himself. It can only be then that any external form of work
\ncan come to harmonious perfection.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t12 November 1936
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nBeing Taken Up by the Mother
\n<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tWhen does the Divine take up the sadhaks fully?
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nWhen they give up the ego. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tWhat is the meaning of “the Divine takes up” a sadhak?
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nWhen it is the Divine Force that works out all the Yoga and the actions by a direct action of which the sadhak is conscious.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nWhen a person begins to do Yoga and comes to live under the shade of the Mother, is he not taken up fully by her?
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nNot until he is ready. He has first to accept her and then to give up more and more his ego. There are sadhaks who at every
\nstep revolt, oppose the Mother, contradict her will, criticise her decisions. How can she take them up fully in such conditions?
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nWhat is the sign that one is taken up by the Divine? <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tOne can feel it.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n21 June 1933 <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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

\nMy dear Mother, I have heard a good deal about your divine power and supernatural knowledge from
\nX<\/i>. As I myself am a
\nhumble servant of the Goddess, I would request you to instruct me in the development of supernatural force in order to attain
\nthe ultimate end  \u2014Darshan of the Goddess.  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 331<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nReply1<\/sup> that the Mother is not able to write letters herself, and you are writing on her behalf. What is given by the Mother
\nis not a development of supernatural force, but if someone is accepted to take up this path of Yoga he is led towards a deeper
\nand higher consciousness in which he can attain union with the Divine Mother. This however is a path long and full of difficulties 
\n\u2014Sri Aurobindo and the Mother do not admit anyone to it unless they are sure of his call and his capacity to follow it and
\nthe person himself is sure of his will to follow it until the goal is reached.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n6 March 1937 <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tBroad Lines of the Sadhana
\n<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tThe basis of life here is wholly spiritual. An inner discipline is given, but it is on broad lines allowing each individual the
\nnecessary freedom for his nature and temperament to grow and change spontaneously. Broadly, the sadhana consists of a progressive surrender of oneself 
\n\u2014inward and based upon it the outward also  \u2014to the Guru, to the Divine; meditation, concentration, work, service 
\n\u2014all these are means for a self \u2014gathering in all one’s movements with the sole aim of delivering oneself
\ninto the hands of a Higher Power for being worked on and led towards the Goal. The Mother guides, helps each according to
\nhis nature and need, and, where necessary, herself intervenes with her Power enabling the sadhak to withstand the rigours
\nand demands of the Path. She has placed herself  \u2014with all the Love, Peace, Knowledge and Consciousness that she is 
\n\u2014at the
\ndisposal of every aspiring soul that looks for help. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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

\nAll in me is proceeding towards the Mother’s love, devotion and purity. Why then am I not going up in my consciousness
\nand getting higher experience? <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tThe power of experience is not gone 
\n\t\u2014but what is most important now is to develop the psychic condition of surrender,
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\t1<\/sup> Written by Sri Aurobindo to his secretary, who replied to the enquirer. 
\n\t\u2014Ed.<\/i>
\n <\/font> <\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 332<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\ndevotion, love and cheerful confidence in the Mother, an unshaken faith and a constant inner closeness, and also to bring
\ndown from above the peace, wideness, purity etc. of the higher Self which is that of the Mother’s consciousness. It is these things
\nthat are the basis of the siddhi in this Yoga  \u2014other experiences are only a help, not the basis.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n17 January 1934 <\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Mother and Other Paths of Yoga
\n\t<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tThe idea of your friend that it is necessary to receive a mantra from here and for that he must come is altogether wrong. There
\nis no mantra given in this Yoga. It is the opening of the consciousness to the Mother from within that is the true initiation and
\nthat can only come by aspiration and rejection of restlessness in the mind and vital. To come here is not the way to get it. Many
\ncome and get nothing or get their difficulties raised or even fall away from the Yoga. It is no use coming before one is ready,
\nand he does not seem to be ready. Strong desire is not a proof of readiness. When he is inwardly ready, then there will be no
\ndifficulty about his coming. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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

\nBefore coming here I was attracted to the path of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, and sometimes it attracts me still. Occasionally I
\nwonder if I will be able to follow this yoga through all its vicissitudes. I would like the Mother to tell me what I should do.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe Mother cannot decide for you, she can only offer to you the Truth she has come here to bring to the world and, if you accept
\nit, guide you towards it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t9 September 1933
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tSomeone told me that Ramana Maharshi lives on the overmental plane or that his realisation is on the same level as Shankara’s. How is it then that he is not aware of the arrival
\nof the Divine, while others, for instance X<\/i>‘s Guru, had this awareness?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 333<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nI can’t say on what plane the Maharshi is, but his method is that of Adwaita Knowledge and Moksha 
\n\u2014so there is no necessity
\nfor him to recognise the arrival of the Divine. X<\/i>‘s Guru was a bhakta of the Divine Mother and believed in the dynamic side of
\nexistence, so it was quite natural for him to have the revelation of the coming of the Mother.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n23 January 1936 <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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

\nAfter reading a chapter in The Synthesis of Yoga <\/i>I wrote to you the other day about the strong mental realisation of cosmic
\noneness; now I find that that state has disappeared. Was there anything wrong in writing about it? Is it that the Mother does
\nnot like this sort of Yoga of Knowledge? Or is it that one should always write about the darker side and never mention
\nthe other side? <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tWhy should Mother dislike Yoga of Knowledge? The realisation
\nof self and of the cosmic being (without which the realisation of self is incomplete) are essential steps in our Yoga; it is the
\nend of other Yogas, but it is, as it were, the beginning of ours, that is to say, the point where its own characteristic realisation
\ncan commence. The disappearance of a realisation when it is spoken of is an experience some people have, but it is not likely
\nto be the case with you. To write only of the dark side would be to overemphasise it and not to give a chance to the other.
\nIt is probable that the realisation comes only as a first touch; it comes often like that and afterwards repeats itself until the
\nconsciousness is able to hold it as its normal state.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t26 March 1936
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tTurning Entirely to the Mother
\n\t<\/a> <\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tAll things are the Divine because the Divine is there, but hidden
\nnot manifest; when the mind goes out to things, it is not with the sense of the Divine in them, but for the appearances only which
\nconceal the Divine. It is necessary therefore for you as a sadhak to turn
\n\tentirely to the Mother in whom the Divine is manifest and not run after the
\n\tappearances, the desire of which or the<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 334<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\ninterest in which prevents you from meeting the Divine. Once the being is consecrated, then it can see the Divine everywhere 
\n\u2014and then it can include all things in the one consciousness without a separate interest or desire.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tIs it easily possible for my nature to terminate the remaining
\njourney only with love, joy and happiness? I mean to say, can the transformation of my lower nature go on at the same time
\nthat the sadhana proceeds with full love? <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tIt is possible if you (1) can get free of vital demand, (2) regard the
\ndifficulties of the nature calmly and dispassionately as if some defects of a machine that has to be set right, the being that uses
\nthe machine remaining fully dedicated to the Mother.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t17 October 1935
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tNo, Mother was not serious or displeased with you at all. But
\nwhy attach so much importance to what X <\/i>or Y <\/i>do or say. They are still so full of darkness and ego.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe path you have now taken 
\n\u2014to cleave to the Mother through all circumstances and let nothing shake you from that 
\n\u2014will bring the true solution of difficulties for you. For it means that the psychic being has started its work in you.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n24 December 1935 <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tAcceptance of the Mother
\n<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tThere seems to be a lack of harmony or unity of will between you and the Mother. What you write the Mother seems to
\ncontradict almost intuitively by exerting her weight on the opposite side.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nOn what grounds do you come to this conclusion? I do not write anything that is not approved by the Mother.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nMy physical is convinced that the right will has not descended<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 335<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nin the Mother. That is why she finds so many reasons not to support me. I think it is better for the present that I remain
\nin retreat till the Will and love have descended in her, which would make her turn fully towards me.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nIs it the opinion of your physical that the test of the right will in the Mother is that she must always support
\nyou<\/i>? Does your
\nphysical think then that the infallible right will is necessarily in you  \u2014that it has descended in you first before it descends in
\nthe Mother? Otherwise, what is the basis of such a strange idea, that to disagree with you or suggest something else shows that
\nher will is in the wrong and in error?<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t8 November 1932
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tI feel I have an inner relation with you, but I do not feel the
\nsame relation with the Mother. In all probability she has no place in my inner heart. Perhaps it is this consciousness in her
\nthat makes her act against the spirit of what she agrees to when you write things.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nI again repeat that what I write is what the Mother approves or decides; we have not two separate wills. This idea of division or
\nopposition between us is a suggestion of the Ignorance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t10 November 1932
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tEven a good devotee and a brilliant student like X <\/i>finds it
\ndifficult to accept Mother. I cannot understand why he cannot see the simple truth about her.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nIf he finds it difficult to accept Mother, how is he a good devotee? A devotee to whom? A brilliant student is another matter; one
\ncan be a brilliant student and yet quite incompetent in spiritual matters. If one is a devotee of Vishnu or some other godhead,
\nthen it is different  \u2014one may see only one’s object of worship and so not be able to accept anything else.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n14 November 1934 <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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

\nToday is really a great day for me. What greater day can there<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 336<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nbe than the one when the Mother is accepted even by the obscure, ignorant, revolting parts of my lower vital nature?
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nYes, when that has been done, it is one of the biggest steps in the sadhana.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n28 March 1935 <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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

\nThe Mother puts energy into all who can receive it; it depends on them whether they use it rightly or not 
\n\u2014or waste it. Men are
\nnot machines, they have a will  \u2014and they can choose whether they accept the Divine or not 
\n\u2014whether they do the Divine’s
\nwill or not.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tConfidence in the Mother
\n<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tHave confidence in the Mother and be sure that the liberation from these things will surely come. What the soul feels is the sign
\nof the spiritual destiny as of the spiritual need. What opposes is a remnant of the nature of the human ignorance. Our help will
\nbe there with you fully to overcome it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t27 February 1935
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nRecognising the Mother’s Divinity
\n<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tUp till now, I have not recognised the divinity of anyone except
\nSri Krishna. I have looked on the Mother as a Guru who can take me to him. But now something in me wants to hold the
\nMother fast as divinity. I can’t keep her out of my mind, nor can I reject Sri Krishna. The more I think, the more I am
\nperplexed. I pray for your help. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tThis struggle in you (between bhakti for Sri Krishna and the
\nsense of the divinity of the Mother) is quite unnecessary; for the two things are one and go perfectly together. It is he who has
\nbrought you to the Mother and it is by adoration of her that you will realise him. He is here in the Asram and it is his work
\nthat is being done here.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t2 March 1932
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 337<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nThis evening when I looked at the Mother, I found in her the utmost beauty. She was glimmering. I felt as if a great Goddess
\nhad come down from the heavens. Can I know what this was? <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tIt was only that you felt the Divinity with her which is always
\nthere.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t20 July 1933
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tThere are people who start at once, others take time.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nX <\/i>recognised the Mother as divine at first sight and has been happy ever afterwards; others who rank among Mother’s
\ndevotees took years to discover or admit it, but they arrived all the same. There are people who had nothing but difficulties and
\nrevolts for the first five, six, seven or more years of the sadhana, yet the psychic ended by awaking. The time taken is a secondary
\nmatter: the one thing needful is  \u2014soon or late, easily or with difficulty 
\n\u2014to get there.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\ncirca 22 July 1935 <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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

\nIt seems X <\/i>has climbed to the top rung of your spiritual ladder in a very short period. In your heavenly Parliament he must
\nhave been in charge of a very important portfolio! Otherwise I don’t see how he could, at first sight, have had a vision of
\nthe Divine in the Mother, besides other things. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tWhat top rung and what Parliament? There is no such thing as
\na heavenly parliament. X <\/i>progressed smoothly and rapidly from the beginning in Yoga, first, because he was in dead earnest;
\nsecondly, because he had a clear and solid mind and a strong and tenacious will in complete control of the nerves; thirdly,
\nbecause his vital being was calm, strong and solid; finally, and chiefly, because he had a complete faith and devotion to the
\nMother. As for seeing the Divine in the Mother at first sight, he is not the only one to do that. Plenty of people have done
\nthat who had no chance of any portfolios, e.g. Y<\/i>‘s cousin, a Musulman
\n\tgirl, who as soon as she met her declared "This is not a woman, she is a
\n\tgoddess" and has been having significant dreams of her ever since and
\n\twhenever she is in trouble, thinks of her and gets helped out of the
\n\ttrouble. It is not so damnably
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 338<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\ndifficult to see the Divine in the Mother as you make it out to be.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n23 July 1935 <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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

\nAs for the Divine in the Mother, I know what the Musulman lady exactly saw. From what you say it seems to be a flash of
\nintuition. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tNot at all, it was a direct sense of the Godhead in her 
\n\t\u2014for I
\nsuppose you mean by intuition a sort of idea that comes suddenly? That is what people usually understand by intuition. It
\nwas not that in her case nor in X<\/i>‘s. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tBy seeing the Divine in the Mother, I don’t mean imagination
\nor calm, calculated reasoning. But to see actually the fully flaming, resplendent, effulgent Divine Mother in any one of
\nher Powers  \u2014why, that is damnably difficult at least for me who have not even seen the halo around her.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nI don’t believe X <\/i>or anybody would have that at first view. That can only come if one has already developed the faculty of
\nvision in the occult planes. What is of more importance is the clear perception or intimate inner feeling or direct sense “This
\nis She.” I think you are inclined to be too romantic and poetic and too little spiritually realistic in these things.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n29 July 1935 <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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

\nI suppose you do not expect me to answer in detail this list of old grievances or try to justify the Mother or explain what you
\nconsider to be her indefensible conduct. I do not intend to do these things. It is for each sadhak to discover for himself whether
\nhe can take the Mother as divine or accept her government and guidance, or regards her as one like himself or inferior to himself,
\nwhose conduct he can see rightly, weigh, condemn and judge. It is not for the Mother to explain or justify herself, nor indeed was
\nit ever the rule for the Guru to stand at the bar for the judgment of the disciple. Each has to see for himself whether he can give
\nthat obedience and self \u2014opening to one who has or lives in the Divine Consciousness or has realised
\nthe Divine Truth, by which<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 339<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nalone he can receive what is to be given.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t19 December 1936
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tI do not have an active faith on every occasion that the Mother
\nis divine or that her dealings with us are divine. How to have a firm conviction of this?
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nIt is only if you see the divinity of the Mother that there can be a settled conviction 
\n\u2014that is a question of the inner consciousness
\nand vision.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t5 June 1937
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tIt seems to me that the part of my external nature which was
\nnot accepting the Mother as divine is now being convinced of her divinity. But why do I forget her divinity when I actually
\ncome before her? <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tIt is the physical mind in its most external action that sees physical things as only physical.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t15 August 1937
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tHow to convince the mind that the Mother is the Divine and
\nthat her workings are not human? <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tIt is by opening up the psychic and letting it rule the mind and
\nvital that it can be done  \u2014because the psychic knows and can see what the mind cannot.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tIs there some doubting part in me, always doubting that the
\nMother is divine, or does something in me simply form for the enjoyment of doubt?
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nIf
\nsomething forms for the enjoyment of doubt and if that something is in you, then
\nthat part must surely be a doubting part. Or if these formations (which are
\nalways busily going about in the atmosphere) present themselves to you and
\nsomething in you responds, it means that there is a part in you which is still
\nopen to the suggestions of doubt.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 340<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nThere is, I suppose, something in your vital and exterior mind which is still prone to the idea that the Mother cannot be
\ndivine because she does not satisfy their desires or act according to their ideas.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tDiscontent with the Mother <\/a> <\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tIn your letter to the Mother I note that you profess to be writing
\na confession, but the tone of it is rather a justification of your faultless self accompanied by an accusation against the Mother
\nof favouritism, bad temper, and injustice. I observe also that your statement of facts is incorrect and as far as it concerns the
\nMother, grotesque. You lay stress too on a point in which you can justify yourself, and you ignore all the rest in which you were
\nin fault. I will assume, however, that all this was unintentional and that, in writing such a letter, you were unconscious of the
\nmovements of your vital being which inspired its spirit and tone. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tI would suggest that in your relations with others, 
\n\t\u2014which
\nseem always to have been full of disharmony,  \u2014when incidents occur, it would be much better for you not to take the standpoint
\nthat you are all in the right and they are all in the wrong. It would be wiser to be fair and just in reflection, seeing where you have
\ngone astray, and even laying stress on your own fault and not on theirs. This would probably lead to more harmony in your
\nrelations with others; at any rate, it would be more conducive to your inner progress, which is more important than to be the
\ntop \u2014dog in a quarrel. Neither is it well to cherish a spirit of selfjustification and self
\n\t\u2014righteousness and a wish to conceal either
\nfrom yourself or from the Mother your faults or your errors. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tAs for your doubts about the Mother, they are not likely to disappear so
\n\tlong as you think you can read the Mother’s mind by the light of your own
\n\tand pass your mental judgments on her and her action from those erroneous
\n\tdata. Nor can they easily disappear if your faith breaks down every time
\n\tthat she does something which your limited intelligence cannot understand or
\n\twhich is displeasing to the feelings and demands of your vital nature. If
\n\tyou do not believe that she has a consciousness <\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 341<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\ngreater and wider than yours and not measurable by ordinary standards and judgments, at the very least a Yogic consciousness,
\nI do not see on what ground you are practising Yoga here under her guidance. Those who constantly doubt and criticise and
\nblame or attribute her actions to the most common and vulgar human feelings and motives and yet pretend to accept her or to
\naccept myself and my Yoga, are guilty of a stupid and irrational inconsequence. As for understanding, that is another matter. I
\nwould suggest that you must grow out of the ordinary mind and become conscious with the true consciousness before you can
\nhope to do it. And for that faith and surrender and fidelity and openness are conditions of some importance.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n6 November 1929 <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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

\nAre there sadhaks in the Asram who do not understand that “the Divinity acts according to the Consciousness of the Truth
\nabove and the Lila below and not according to men’s ideas about what it should or should not do”?
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThere are plenty who do not realise it 
\n\u2014they expect the Mother to act according to their ideas and wishes, not according to a
\nhigher consciousness.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t20 October 1934
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tWhen the Mother pointed out my mistake, I became discontented. Misguided by the suggestions of the refractory parts of my being, I took it as an undeserved reproach. I feel very
\nashamed. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tIt was simply a statement of fact, not a reproach, and it was not
\nyou but your ego that got discontented because it felt scratched by the facts.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nI had promised you that I would never be discontented with the Mother. I failed
\nto keep that promise. I pray to you again to pull me out of this state and I
\npromise again that I shall never be discontented with the Mother.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 342<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nVery well, I take the promise. But the rising of discontent is surely a sufficient indication that the consciousness is going wrong. As
\nsoon as you feel it you should immediately draw back and say, “O ego, you are up again against the Mother! Stop that or I
\nwill take you by the scruff of the neck and throw you out of the window.” I hope indeed to see that “thrown out” actually
\nhappen one day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t21 October 1935
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t 
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tI have no intention of entering into an explanation, defence or
\napology for the Mother’s action. I have long ago decided that I would not allow the Mother’s rightful position here to be
\nlowered by the sadhaks putting her as an accused before the tribunal of their ignorant mind or vital ego and demanding that
\nshe or I for her should plead her case. The Mother acts from her own knowledge and consciousness which is not that of the
\nsadhaks; their ideas of what she ought to do or ought not to do have no place. Rather they are here to discard such ideas and
\naccept her guidance by which they can themselves enter into a higher consciousness where these mental and vital errors have
\nno right of existence. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tI have already pointed out to you that your action was
\nentirely mistaken. You had no right to ask for a letter placed there for the Mother’s perusal. You had no right to demand that
\nthe Mother should give you the letter. You had no special claim to mend the envelope for
\nX<\/i>. It is not a question of bad or good
\ndesire. The pretension of doing good can contain as much ego and desire as any other personal claim, and that it was egoistic
\nis proved by the violent reaction against the Mother that her not satisfying it raised in you. If it had been pure of ego, you would
\nhave had no reaction but quietly accepted the Mother’s action as right because it was the Mother’s.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nIf you want to get rid of the painful inner and physical reactions, you must get rid of their cause in you, the ego of selfesteem,
\ndemand and desire. It is only by a complete surrender of yourself, your mind,
\nvital and everything else to the Divine that this ego can go. Your reaction and
\naccusation of injustice against <\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 343<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nthe Mother shows that you are still clinging to it in some part of you and you should welcome rather than resent anything that
\ngives you a chance of rejecting it still more from your nature.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t7 March 1937<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 344<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Section Four   The Mother in the Life of the Ashram   The Mother and the Sadhana in the Ashram   The Mother Does the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-32-the-mother-with-letters-on-the-mother","wpcat-56-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2944","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=2944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2944\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}