{"id":2952,"date":"2013-07-13T01:44:51","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2952"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:44:51","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:51","slug":"33-note-on-the-texts-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\/33-note-on-the-texts-vol-32-the-mother-with-letters-on-the-mother","title":{"rendered":"-33_Note on the Texts.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\n\t
\n\tNote on the Texts<\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tNote on the Texts<\/a><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tTHE MOTHER WITH LETTERS ON THE MOTHER consists of two separate but related works:
\n\tThe Mother, a collection of short
\nprose pieces on the Mother, and Letters on the Mother<\/i>, a selection of letters by Sri Aurobindo in which he referred to the Mother in her
\ntranscendent, universal and individual aspects. In addition, the volume contains Sri Aurobindo’s translations of selections from the Mother’s
\nPrayers and M\u00e9ditations  <\/i>as well as his translation of “Radha’s Prayer”
\n\tThe Mother<\/p>\n

, the Letters <\/i>and the translations are published in three
\nseparate parts.
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tPART ONE: THE MOTHER
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Mother <\/span> <\/i>was first published as a booklet in 1928. It consists of six chapters, all of which were written in 1927. Each chapter has a
\nseparate history.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tChapter 1. Sri Aurobindo wrote this essay as a message for distribution on 21 February 1927, the birthday of the Mother. Three months earlier, after an important spiritual experience of 24 November 1926, Sri Aurobindo had withdrawn from outward contacts and placed the Mother in charge of the disciples who had gathered around
\nhim. He told them at that time to turn entirely to her for spiritual and practical guidance. This message therefore had a special significance in
\nits immediate historical context. In 1928 it was published as the first chapter of
\n\tThe Mother<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tChapter 2. Sri Aurobindo wrote this piece after he had finished replying to a series of questions asked by Motilal Mehta, a disciple
\nliving in Gujarat, in a letter dated 30 May 1927. Motilal’s questions and Sri Aurobindo’s replies are published on page 107 of
\nLetters on<\/i>
\nHimself and the Ashram<\/i>, volume 35 of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO. One of Motilal’s questions referred to the message that is
\npublished as Chapter 1 of The Mother. Another question asked for “the <\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 651<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\tsigns of the coming of the Divine Grace”. Sri Aurobindo concluded his reply to this question as follows: “Calling on God to do everything
\nand save one all the trouble and struggle is a self \u2014deception and does not lead to freedom and perfection.” He then expanded on this theme
\nin a continuation of the letter, which a year later was published as the second chapter of
\n\tThe Mother<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

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

\nChapter 3. Sri Aurobindo wrote this piece as a letter to Punamchand Shah, a disciple living in Gujarat, on 1 August 1927. In 1928 it
\nwas published as the third chapter of The Mother<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tChapter 4. Sri Aurobindo wrote this undated piece as a letter
\nto Punamchand Shah. At the time Punamchand was involved in the collection of money for Sri Aurobindo’s work. (See
\nAutobiographical<\/i>
\nNotes and Other Writings of Historical Interest<\/i>, volume 36 of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO, pp. 428 \u00ad 38.) In 1928 the
\nletter was published as the fourth chapter of  The Mother<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tChapter 5. Sri Aurobindo wrote this piece as a letter to Punamchand Shah on 19 August 1927. In 1928 it was published as the fifth chapter of
\n\tThe Mother<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

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

\nChapter 6. Sri Aurobindo wrote this essay dealing with the four aspects of the Mother and related topics in the autumn of 1927 with
\nthe idea of publishing it in the booklet that eventually became The<\/i> Mother<\/i>. Referring to the essay in a letter to Punamchand Shah dated
\n3 October 1927, he wrote: “The `Four Aspects’ is half written and will be finished in a few days. It has been decided to publish these
\nfour writings with the February message in Calcutta.”1 The essay was published as the sixth chapter of
\nThe Mother <\/i>in 1928.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tOnce Sri Aurobindo had finished work on the “Four Aspects” essay, he gave his attention to the planned booklet. Work on the
\nproject was underway on 21 November, when he wrote in a letter that the publication of the booklet had been entrusted to Rameshwar
\nDe of the Arya Sahitya Bhawan, Calcutta. The publishers completed their work during the early part of 1928. Copies of the booklet reached
\nthe Ashram in Pondicherry in April of that year. The book has been reprinted many times since 1928. The text in the present volume has
\nbeen checked against Sri Aurobindo’s manuscripts and early editions.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\t1<\/sup> Autobiographical Notes and Other Writings of Historical Interest,
\n<\/i>p. 429. <\/font> <\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 652<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nIn the present text there are three verbal corrections which differ from previous editions; all three follow the manuscript readings. The corrections are: (1) page 11, line 30: money corrected to <\/i>money
\n\u2014force; (2) page 13, line 28: breathing or
\ncorrected to <\/i>breathing and; (3) page 25,
\nline 17: alteration corrected to <\/i>alternation. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tSri Aurobindo accorded The Mother
\n<\/i>a special place among his
\nworks. In 1937 he wrote to a disciple who had sent him the draft of a review of the book: “I think it [the review<\/i>] will give the reader the
\nimpression that The Mother <\/i>is a philosophical or practical exposition of Yoga 
\n\t\u2014while its atmosphere is really not that at all.” To a disciple
\nwho asked if he should continue the practice of reciting The Mother<\/p>\n

“silently with an aspiration to know what it contains”, Sri Aurobindo
\nreplied, “Yes, if you find that it helps you.”2
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tPART TWO: LETTERS
\nMOTHER ON THE
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tSri Aurobindo wrote the letters included in this part between 1927 and 1950. They have been selected by the editors from the much larger
\nbody of letters that Sri Aurobindo wrote to disciples during those years. Significant letters from this corpus appear in seven volumes of
\nTHE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO: Letters on Poetry and Art<\/i> (volume 27),
\nLetters on Yoga <\/i>(volumes 28 \u00ad 31), Letters on Himself<\/i>
\nand the Ashram <\/i>(volume 35), and the present volume. Letters of Sri Aurobindo written before 1927 to his family, friends, associates and
\nearly disciples are included in Autobiographical Notes and Other Writings of Historical Interest <\/i>(volume 36). The titles of these works specify
\nthe nature of the letters included in each, but there is some overlap. There are, for example, many letters mentioning the Mother in
\nLetters<\/i>
\non Yoga <\/i>and Letters on Himself and the Ashram<\/i>. Those selected for inclusion in the present volume have the Mother as their central focus.
\nThe questions and comments of the correspondent, which are printed along with many of the letters, bring out the historical circumstances
\nin which they were written. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tMany of the letters in the present volume appeared earlier in
\nLetters of Sri Aurobindo on the Mother <\/i>(1951), Sri Aurobindo on<\/i>
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\t2
\nLetters on Himself and the Ashram, <\/i>p. 102.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 653<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\tHimself and on the Mother <\/span> <\/i>(1953), and The Mother with Letters on<\/i>
\nthe Mother and Translations of Prayers and M\u00e9ditations <\/i>, volume 25
\nof the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library (1972).
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tThe Writing of the Letters<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tSri Aurobindo wrote most of the letters included in this volume to members of his Ashram, the rest to correspondents living outside it.
\nAshram members wrote to him in notebooks or on loose sheets of paper that were sent to him in an internal “post” once or twice a
\nday. Letters from outside that Sri Aurobindo’s secretary thought he might like to see were sent at the same time. Correspondents wrote
\nin English if they were able to. A good number, however, wrote in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi or French, all of which Sri Aurobindo read
\nfluently, or in other languages that were translated into English for him. Most letters were addressed to the Mother, even though most
\ncorrespondents assumed that Sri Aurobindo would reply to them. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tSri Aurobindo generally replied on the sheets of paper (bound
\nor loose) on which the correspondents wrote their comments and questions, writing below them or in the margin or between the lines.
\nSometimes, however, he wrote his answer on a separate, small sheet of paper from a “bloc
\n\t\u2014note” pad. In some cases he had his secretary
\nprepare a typed copy of his letter, which he revised before it was sent. In other cases, particularly when the correspondent was living outside
\nthe Ashram, he addressed his reply not to the correspondent but to his secretary, who quoted, paraphrased or translated Sri Aurobindo’s
\nreply and signed the letter himself. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tWhile going through Sri Aurobindo’s replies, the reader should
\nkeep in mind that each one was written to a specific person at a specific time, in specific circumstances and for a specific purpose. Each
\nsubject taken up was one that arose in regard to the correspondent’s inner or outer needs, or in answer to the correspondent’s questions.
\nSri Aurobindo varied the style and tone of his replies in accordance with his relationship with the correspondent (or, in the case of people
\nwriting from outside, the lack of it). <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tAlthough the letters were written to specific recipients, they contain much
\n\tof general interest. This justifies their inclusion in a volume<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 654<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\ndestined for the general public. But it is important for the reader to bear in mind some remarks that Sri Aurobindo made during the 1930s
\nabout the proper use of his letters: <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tIt is not a fact that all I write is meant equally for everybody.
\nThat assumes that everybody is alike and there is no difference between sadhak and sadhak. If it were so everybody would
\nadvance alike and have the same experiences and take the same time to progress by the same steps and stages. It is not
\nso at all.3 <\/sup> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tI should like to say, in passing, that it is not always safe to
\napply practically to oneself what has been written for another. Each sadhak is a case by himself and one cannot always or
\noften take a mental rule and apply it rigidly to all who are practising the Yoga.4
\n\t<\/sup>
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe tendency to take what I lay down for one and apply it without discrimination to another is responsible for much misunderstanding. A general statement too, true in itself, cannot be applied to everyone alike or applied now and immediately
\nwithout consideration of condition or circumstance or person or time.5
\n<\/sup>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nSri Aurobindo wrote the great majority of these letters between 1931 and 1937. He sometimes dated his answers, but most of the dates given
\nat the end of the letters are those of the letters or notebook entries to which he was replying.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tThe Typing and Revision of the Letters<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tMost of the shorter letters in this volume, and many of the longer ones,
\nwere not typed or revised during Sri Aurobindo’s lifetime and are reproduced here directly from his handwritten manuscripts. But a good number of the letters were, as mentioned above, typed for Sri Aurobindo and revised by him. Other letters were typed by the recipients for their
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\t3<\/sup> Letters on Himself and the Ashram, <\/i>p. 475.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\t4<\/sup> Letters on Himself and the Ashram,
\n<\/i>p. 473.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\n5<\/sup> The Mother with Letters on the Mother, <\/i>p. 349.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 655<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nown personal use or for circulation within the Ashram. Circulation was at first restricted to members of the Ashram and others whom Sri
\nAurobindo had accepted as disciples. When letters were circulated, personal references were removed. Persons mentioned by Sri Aurobindo
\nwere indicated by initials, or by the letters X<\/i>, Y<\/i>, etc. Copies of these typed letters were kept by Sri Aurobindo’s secretary and sometimes
\npresented to him for revision. Sometimes the typed copies contained typing errors or textual alterations. Recipients of letters, when they
\ntyped them up, sometimes omitted passages that seemed to them to be of no general interest. In a few cases, recipients added words or phrases
\nthat they believed made Sri Aurobindo’s intentions clearer. Some of these alterations remained even after Sri Aurobindo revised the copies.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nSri Aurobindo’s revision amounted sometimes to a complete rewriting of the letter, sometimes to making minor changes here and
\nthere. He generally removed personal references if this had not already been done by the typist. When necessary, he also rewrote the openings
\nor other parts of the answers in order to free them from dependence on the correspondent’s question.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tThe Publication of the Letters<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tDuring the early 1950s, the principal editor of Sri Aurobindo’s letters
\nconceived and organised two volumes containing Sri Aurobindo’s letters on the Mother and on himself. The first of these,
\nLetters of Sri<\/i>
\nAurobindo on the Mother<\/i>, was published in 1951. The second, Sri<\/i>
\nAurobindo on Himself and on the Mother<\/i>, was published two years
\nlater. The editor arranged the contents of the latter volume in three parts: (1) Sri Aurobindo on Himself: Notes and Letters on His Life; (2)
\nSri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother; and (3) Sri Aurobindo on the Mother. Part 3 was an expansion of the text of
\nLetters of Sri<\/i>
\nAurobindo on the Mother <\/i>(1951). <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tIn 1972, the material making up Sri Aurobindo on Himself and on<\/i>
\nthe Mother <\/i>was incorporated in two different volumes: On Himself:<\/i>
\nCompiled from Notes and Letters <\/i>(volume 26 of the Sri Aurobindo
\nBirth Centenary Library) and The Mother with Letters on the Mother<\/i> and
\n\tTranslations of Prayers and M\u00e9ditations 
\n<\/i>(volume 25 of the Centenary Library).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 656<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nIn THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO, the material in Part One of On Himself
\n<\/i>is incorporated in two volumes: Letters on Himself<\/i>
\nand the Ashram <\/i>(volume 35) and Autobiographical Notes <\/i>(volume 36), and is discussed in the Note on the Texts in those volumes. The material
\nin Part Two of On Himself<\/i>, headed “Sri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother”, is incorporated in Part Two of the present volume,
\nprimarily in Section Two, “The Mother, Sri Aurobindo and the Integral Yoga”. The present volume contains many letters on the Mother that
\ndid not appear in the Centenary Library edition of The Mother with<\/i> Letters on the Mother
\n<\/i>and On Himself<\/i>.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nThe editor of Letters of Sri Aurobindo on the Mother <\/i>(1951) and Sri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother
\n<\/i>(1953) included edited
\nversions of the correspondents’ questions if he thought they would help the reader to understand Sri Aurobindo’s replies. He also placed
\nheadings before individual letters or groups of letters and supplied the dates if they were known. The editors of the present volume have
\ncontinued these practices, adding many headings and edited questions, and supplying dates for all letters that were dated or for which there
\nwas reliable dating information.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tThe Selection, Arrangement and Editing
\n<\/b>
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nof the Letters in the Present Volume
\n<\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tThe corpus of Sri Aurobindo’s correspondence between 1927 and 1950
\nconsists of tens of thousands of replies that he wrote to hundreds of correspondents. Most of the replies, however, were written to a few
\ndozen disciples, almost all of them resident members of his Ashram. A smaller number of disciples, no more than a dozen, received more
\nthan half of the entire body of published letters. In compiling the volumes of Sri Aurobindo’s
\n\tcorrespondence published in THE COMPLETE WORKS, the editors have gone
\n\tthrough all known manuscripts, typed copies or photographic copies of
\n\tmanuscripts, and printed texts. From these sources they have selected the
\n\tletters that seemed suitable for publication. This selection includes most
\n\tletters consisting of more than a few words that deal with topics of general
\n\tinterest. Electronic texts of the selected letters were then produced and
\n\tchecked against all handwritten, typed and printed versions.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 657<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nThe selection and arrangement of the material in this volume is the work of the editors. The underlying structure of Part Two of
\nThe<\/i>
\nMother with Letters on the Mother <\/i>(1972) has been preserved, but the letters have been rearranged under new section and group headings.
\nIn a note of February 1936, Sri Aurobindo wrote that the placing of letters in group categories was possible in the case of “letters about
\nsadhana”, which could “very easily fall under different heads”. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tPart Two, “Letters on the Mother” consists of almost 1400 separate items, an “item” being defined as what is published between one heading or asterisk and another heading or asterisk. Many items
\ncorrespond exactly to individual letters; other items, however, consist of portions of single letters, or two or more letters or portions of letters
\nthat were joined together by earlier editors or typists and revised in that form by Sri Aurobindo. In the present volume portions of letters that
\nhad been separated by previous editors have sometimes been reunited. In some cases, however, the separation has been considered justifiable
\nand been retained. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tIn some cases the text of a given letter has been published in
\nmore than one volume of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO. Some of this doubling of letters occurs between
\nLetters on Yoga <\/i>and
\nThe Mother with Letters on the Mother<\/i>. Sometimes Sri Aurobindo’s revised version of a letter has been placed in
\nLetters on Yoga<\/i>, while
\nthe original handwritten version, along with the recipient’s question, has been put in
\nThe Mother with Letters on the Mother<\/i>.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nAs in previous collections of Sri Aurobindo’s letters, names of members of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and of disciples living outside
\nthe Ashram have been replaced by the letters X<\/i>, Y<\/i>, Z<\/i>, etc. In any given letter,
\nX <\/i>stands for the first name replaced, Y <\/i>for the second, Z <\/i>for
\nthe third, A <\/i>for the fourth, and so on. An X <\/i>in a given letter has no necessary relation to an
\nX <\/i>in another letter.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nFollowing a practice begun in Letters of Sri Aurobindo on the<\/i> Mother
\n<\/i>(1951) and Sri Aurobindo on Himself and on the Mother<\/i>
\n(1953), the editors of the present volume have included the questions to which
\nSri Aurobindo replied, or the portions of the correspondents’ letters on which
\nhe commented, whenever these are available and helpful for understanding his
\nreplies or comments. As a rule, only as much of a correspondent’s letter has
\nbeen given as is needed to understand
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 658<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nthe response. In some cases the questions have been lightly revised for the sake of clarity. Mistakes of grammar, spelling and punctuation due
\nto the correspondent’s imperfect grasp of English have been corrected. Questions written in languages other than English have been translated. When the question is not available, only Sri Aurobindo’s reply is printed.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nReaders should note that Sri Aurobindo almost always spelled the word “Asram” without an “h” though some of his correspondents
\noccasionally wrote “Ashram”. By the late 1940s, when “Ashram” had become the standard spelling in the Ashram’s publications, Sri
\nAurobindo was no longer writing letters himself but dictated them to a disciple, who tended to write “Ashram”. This spelling therefore
\noccurs in letters of the final period, as well as in headings and other editorial matter throughout the book.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tFrench Original of a Letter in Section Four<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tIn the letter of 27 February 1933 on page 596, the question and the
\nMother’s reply to it in the footnote were originally written in French:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t<\/p>\n

\n\tPourquoi la M<\/span>\u00e8<\/font>re s’habille \u2014t \u2014elle avec des v\u00ea<\/font>tements riches et<\/span><\/i>
\nbeaux?<\/i>  
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Mother: Avez
\n\u2014vous donc pour conception que le Divin doit <\/i><\/span>
\n\t\u00ea<\/font><\/span><\/i>tre<\/i> <\/p>\n

r<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>present<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font> sur terre par la pauvret<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font> et la laideur?<\/i>
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tEnglish Translations of French Words<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tin “On Pri\u00e8res et M\u00e9ditations  de la M\u00e8re<\/i>” in Section Five
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tPage French Original <\/i> \u2014English Translation  
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

\n\t601 divin Ma\u00ee<\/font>tre <\/i> \u2014divine Master<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t601
\navec notre divine M\u00e8re <\/i> \u2014with our divine Mother \t<\/span> \t<\/p>\n

\n\t602
\nSeigneur <\/i> \u2014Lord
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t602 Telles furent les deux phrases que j’<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>crivis hier par une sorte de n<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>cessit<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font> absolue. La premi<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>re, comme si la puissance de la pri<\/i><\/span>\u00e8<\/font><\/i>re ne serait complete que si elle
\n\t\u00e8tait trac\u00e8e sur <\/i> le
\n\tpapier  \u2014<\/i>These were two sentences I wrote yesterday
\n\t<\/span>\t<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 659<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\tby a kind of absolute necessity. The first, as though the power of the prayer would not be complete unless it
\n\t<\/span>\t <\/p>\n

\n

\n\twere traced on paper. \t<\/span> \t<\/p>\n

\n\t602
\nTa splendeur veut rayonner <\/i> \u2014Thy splendour wants to radiate<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t603
\net le raisonnement est une facult<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font> humaine, c’est \u2014<\/i><\/span>\u00e0<\/font> \u2014dire<\/i>
\nindividuelle
\n<\/i> \u2014but reasoning is a human faculty, that is,
\n\tit is individual\t<\/span>\t<\/p>\n

\n\t603
\n\telle est consciente, voulue <\/i> \u2014it is conscious, willed <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t603 Les hommes, pouss<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>s par le conflit des forces, accomplissent<\/i>
\n\t\tun sublime sacrifice <\/i> \u2014Men, driven by the conflict of forces, \tare performing a sublime sacrifice<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t603
\npure lumi\u00e8re <\/i> \u2014pure light \t<\/span> \t<\/p>\n

\n\t603
\nForce Divine <\/i> \u2014divine Force<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t605 chacun des grands etres Asouriques qui ont r<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>solu d’etre<\/i>
\n\t\tTes serviteurs <\/i> \u2014each one of the great Asuric beings who have resolved to be Thy servitors
\n\t<\/span>\t <\/p>\n

\n\t605 coup de diplomatie <\/i> \u2014diplomatic coup<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t606
\nLa joie contenue dans l’activit<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font> est compens<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>e et equilibr<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>e<\/i>  par la joie plus grande peut \u2014<\/i><\/span>\u00ea<\/font><\/span><\/i>tre encore contenue dans le<\/i>
\n\tretrait de toute activit<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font> <\/i> \u2014The joy that is contained in activity \tis compensated and balanced by the perhaps still greater
\n\tjoy contained in withdrawal from all activity\t<\/span>\t<\/p>\n

\n\t606
\ndans tous les coins du monde une de Tes divines pierres est<\/i> pos<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>e par la puissance de la pens<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>e consciente et formatrice<\/i>
\n\t\u2014in every corner of the world one of Thy divine stones is laid by the power of conscious and formative thought<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t607
\nIl faut a chaque instant savoir tout perdre pour tout gagner<\/i> \t\u2014We must know at each moment how to lose everything
\n\tthat we may gain everything  
\n\t<\/span> \t <\/p>\n

\n\t607 Il [mon <\/i> <\/span>
\n\t\u00ea<\/font><\/span><\/i>tre] sait que cet <\/i> <\/span>\u00e9<\/font>tat d’amour actif doit <\/i> <\/span>
\n\t\u00ea<\/font><\/span><\/i>tre constant<\/i>
\n\t\tet imp<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>rsonnel, c’est \u2014<\/i><\/span>\u00e0<\/font>\t\u2014dire tout <\/i> <\/span>
\n\t\u00e0<\/font>\tfait independant des<\/i>
\n\tcirconstances et des personnes, puisqu’il ne peut et ne doit <\/i> <\/span>\u00e9<\/font>tre concentre sur aucune en particulier <\/i> \u2014It [my being]
\n\tnows that this active state of love should be constant and impersonal, that is, absolutely independent of circumstances
\n\tand persons, since it cannot and must not be concentrated \tupon any one
\n\tthing in particular <\/span>\t<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 660<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t608
\nLa Paix r<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>gnera sur terre <\/i> \u2014Peace will reign upon earth
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tOriginal English Texts of French Words<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tin “On Entretiens avec la M\u00e8re<\/i>” in Section Five
\n\t<\/span>\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

\n\tFrench Translation <\/span> <\/i> \u2014English Original
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t623
\n\t\tMeme ceux qui ont la volont<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>\tde s’enfuir <\/i>[du monde<\/i>], quand \tils arrivent de l’autre cot<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>, peuvent trouver que la fuite ne<\/i>
\n\tsert pas a grand \u2014chose apres tout <\/i> \u2014And as for those who
\n\thave the will of running away [from the world], even they, when they go over to the other side, may find that
\nthe flight was not of much use after all.\t<\/span>\t<\/p>\n

\n\t623
\nEn fait, la mort a <\/i>
\n\t<\/span>\u00e9<\/font>t<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font> attach<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>e a toute vie sur terre <\/i> \u2014\tDeath as a fact has been attached to all life upon earth
\n\t<\/span>\t<\/p>\n

\n\t623
\nSi cette croyance pouvait \u00eatre rejet<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>e, d’abord de la mentalit<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font> consciente, . . . la mort ne serait plus in<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>vitable <\/i> \u2014If this
\n\tbelief could be cast out first from the conscious mind, . . death would no longer be inevitable  
\n\t<\/span>\t <\/p>\n

\n\t624 etres pervers et hostiles de plus grande envergure et d’une plus<\/i>
\n\t\thaute origine que tous ceux dont j’ai parl<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>\tjusqu’a pr<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>sent<\/i> \t \u2014perverse or hostile beings of a greater make and higher
\n\torigin than those of whom I have till now spoken\t<\/span>\t<\/p>\n

\n\t624
\nla marche interne de l’univers <\/i> \u2014the inner march of the \tuniverse
\n\t<\/span> \t<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\tPART THREE: TRANSLATIONS OF PRAYERS 
\nOF THE MOTHER<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t<\/p>\n

\n\tPri\u00e8res et M<\/span>\u00e9<\/font>ditations de la M\u00e8re<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i> <\/p>\n

\nThe Mother’s Pri\u00e8res et M<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>ditations
\nde la M\u00e8re <\/i>consists of extracts from her spiritual journal which she selected for publication. The first
\nedition of the French original was printed for private circulation in 1932. An edition meant for the general public was released in 1944,
\nand new editions followed in 1952, 1973, 1980 and 1990. In 1952 the
\n title was shortened to Pri\u00e8res et M<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>ditations<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tAn English translation of the entire text of Pri\u00e8res et M<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>ditations<\/i>
\nde la M\u00e8re <\/i>was published in 1948. A second, newly translated edition  
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage <\/font>\u2013 661<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\ncame out in 1979; the text of this edition was reproduced in 2003.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tOf the 313 prayers in the original French edition of
\n\tPri\u00e8res et<\/i>
\n\tM<\/i><\/span>\u00e9<\/font>ditations
\n\tde la M\u00e8re<\/i>, only 24 were translated fully or in part by
\nSri Aurobindo. His own handwritten manuscripts of these prayers or parts of prayers still exist. Twenty
\n\u2014two of the 24 translations were first
\npublished in 1941 in Prayers and M\u00e9ditations  of the Mother<\/i>, which contained 61 prayers; the remaining two translations were published
\nsubsequently: the prayer of 28 November 1913 was brought out in 1962 in a slightly enlarged edition of the book above; the prayer of
\n28 December 1928 came out in 1979 in a complete translation of all the prayers, entitled
\nPrayers and M\u00e9ditations <\/i>, which is volume 1 of
\nthe Collected Works of the Mother. These 24 translations, along with “Radha’s Prayer”, make up the contents of Part Three of the present
\nvolume. Sri Aurobindo also revised in his own hand translations of around one hundred prayers done by others. These revised translations
\nhave not been included in the present volume; more than half were first published in the 1941 edition mentioned above.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nRadha’s Prayer. The Mother originally wrote “Radha’s Prayer” in English on 12 January 1932 and rendered it into French the following
\nday. Sri Aurobindo then translated the French version into English. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Mother wrote this prayer for a disciple who was preparing
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nto perform a dance about Radha. In a letter to the disciple the Mother wrote:
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nTo complete what I told you yesterday about Radha’s dance I have noted this down as an indication of the thought and
\nfeeling Radha must have within her when she stands at the end in front of Krishna:
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

\n\t“Every thought of my mind, every emotion of my heart, every movement of my being, every feeling and every sensation, each cell of my body, each drop of my blood, all, all is yours, yours absolutely, yours without reserve. You can decide
\nmy life or my death, my happiness or my sorrow, my pleasure or my pain; whatever you do with me, whatever comes to me
\nfrom you will lead me to the Divine Rapture.”6<\/sup>
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\t6<\/sup> Words of the Mother \u00ad III
\n<\/i>(Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 2004), Collected
\nWorks of the Mother, volume 15, p. 209.
\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
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