{"id":2958,"date":"2013-07-13T01:44:53","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2958"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:44:53","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:53","slug":"09-incarnation-and-evolution-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\/09-incarnation-and-evolution-vol-32-the-mother-with-letters-on-the-mother","title":{"rendered":"-09_Incarnation and Evolution.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\n\t\t\tIncarnation and Evolution
\n\t\t\t<\/font><\/b> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe Mystery of Incarnation
\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Many years ago, the Mother wrote regarding life in the Asram:
\n“In our daily practices we are endeavouring to express the great mystery of the Divine Incarnation.”1<\/sup> I pray that this
\nmessage may be explained to me  \u2014and that I be enabled to understand its meaning fully and clearly. <\/p>\n

It means that we act as we do because we take it as a fact that the Divine can manifest and is manifested in a human body. <\/p>\n

Is this a message which can be circulated to all the members of the Asram? <\/p>\n

Yes, they ought to know it. <\/p>\n

To outsiders? <\/p>\n

Not unless they are interested and seek the meaning of what we do. <\/p>\n

I am also eager to know whether in my occupations at Madras, professionally and otherwise, I can pursue the life outlined in
\nthe message? Whether this message has any relation to such a life as mine? <\/p>\n

Yes, of course, it applies to everybody who accepts the fundamental truth on which Mother based what she wrote. <\/p>\n

29 December 1933 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n1<\/sup> The Mother, <\/i>Words of the Mother \u00ad III (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 2004),<\/i>
\nCollected Works of the Mother (second edition), vol. 15, p. 32.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage <\/font>\u2013 85<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

What is the utility of making an effort for other realisations &<\/i>
\nonce we have known the supreme secret (uttamam rahasyam<\/i>) that you are the Divine Incarnate and the Mother is the ParaShakti? That is the highest realisation, I think, and all others 
\n\t\u2014the realisation of the cosmic consciousness, of the presence
\nof the immanent Divine, even of the silent immutable Brahman  \u2014are secondary in comparison with it. Whatever is to be done
\nin the world will be done by you and the Mother. <\/p>\n

Yes, but for that to be a constant realisation in its fullness the
\nsame effort has to be made and if made will bring the other realisations with it as parts of the main realisation. <\/p>\n

30 October 1936 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe Reason for Their Embodiment
\n\t\t\t<\/a>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The supramental creation, since it is to be a creation upon earth, must be not only an inner change but a physical and external
\nmanifestation also. And it is precisely for this part of the work, the most difficult of all, that surrender is most needful; for this
\nreason, that it is the actual descent of the supramental Divine into Matter and the working of the Divine Presence and Power
\nthere that can alone make the physical and external change possible. Even the most powerful self
\n\u2014assertion of human will and
\nendeavour is impotent to bring it about; as for egoistic insistence and vital revolt, they are, so long as they last, insuperable obstacles to the descent. Only a calm, pure and surrendered physical consciousness, full of the psychic aspiration, can be its field; this
\nalone can make an effective opening of the material being to the Light and Power and the supramental change a thing actual and
\npracticable. It is for this that we are here in the body, and it is for this that you and other sadhaks are in the Asram near us. But
\nit is not by insistence on petty demands and satisfactions in the external field or on an outer nearness pleasing to the vital nature
\nand its pride or desire that you can get the true relation with the Divine in this province. If you want the realisation there, it is the
\ntrue nearness that you must seek, the descent and presence of the Mother in your physical consciousness, her constant inner touch
\n   <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage <\/font>\u2013 86<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

in the physical being and its activities, her will and knowledge behind all its work and thought and movement and the ever
\npresent Ananda of that presence expelling all vital and physical separateness, craving and desire. If you have that, then you have
\nall the nearness you can ask for and the rest you will gladly leave to the Mother’s knowledge and will to decide. For with
\nthis in you there can be no feeling of being kept away, no sense of “gulf” and “distance”, no complaint of a unity that is lacking
\nor an empty dryness and denial of nearness.<\/p>\n

\n

6 December 1930 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You have written in a letter, “A surrender by any means is
\ngood, but obviously the Impersonal is not enough, for surrender to that may be limited in result to the inner experience
\nwithout any transformation of the outer being.”2 I do not understand. <\/p>\n

It is rather surprising that you should be unable to understand such a simple and familiar statement; for that has been always
\nthe whole reason of this Yoga that to follow after the Impersonal only brings inner experience or at the most mukti. Without the
\naction of the integral Divine there is no change of the whole nature. If it were not so the Mother would not be here and
\nI would not be here  \u2014if a realisation of the Impersonal were sufficient. <\/p>\n

15 September 1936 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tConnections in Past Lives
\n\t\t\t<\/a>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By what
\n\t\t\tpu<\/i>ny<\/font>a <\/i>of ours has the Grace granted to us, mere .<\/i>
\nhumans, this rare privilege of coming here at the Divine’s Feet? <\/p>\n

It is the call of your soul that brought you here and also some
\naspiration or connection with the Mother and myself in past lives. <\/p>\n

6 May 1933 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n2 Sri Aurobindo, <\/i>Letters on Yoga (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 1970),<\/i>
\n<\/font>
\nSri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library, vol. 23, p. 613.<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage <\/font>\u2013 87<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

What sort of bhakti <\/i>in my past lives has brought me to the Mother’s feet? <\/p>\n

The aspiration for union with the Divine and perhaps also for the descent of the Divine on the earth. <\/p>\n

8 May 1933 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

People make all sorts of effort to have God’s darshan; some even weep and weep, yet they fail to obtain it. We in the Asram
\ndon’t seem to have done very much, and yet we are here with you. What has brought this about? <\/p>\n

There are many things that have brought it about 
\n\u2014a connection in past lives with the Mother and myself, the development
\nof your nature in former births which made it possible for you to seek the Divine, bhakti in those lives bearing its fruit now 
\n\u2014finally, the Divine Grace.<\/p>\n

\n

October 1935 <\/p>\n


\nCarrying on the Evolution<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is said that you and the Mother have been on the earth
\nsince its creation. But what have you been doing for so many millions of years in disguise? I say “disguise” because it is only
\nnow that you are showing yourselves to the world in your real nature. <\/p>\n

Carrying on the evolution.<\/p>\n

\n

25 September 1935 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I fail to understand what you mean by “Carrying on the
\nevolution.” Could you explain this more fully? <\/p>\n

That would mean writing the whole of human history. I can only
\nsay that as there are special descents to carry on the evolution to a farther stage, so also something of the Divine is always there
\nto help through each stage itself in one direction or another.<\/p>\n

\n

26 September 1935 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage <\/font>\u2013 88<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

I can understand how ordinary people in the past may not have recognised your presence, especially when you lived outwardly
\nlike human beings. But how is it that even Sri Krishna, Buddha or Christ could not recognise your presence in this world? <\/p>\n

Presence where and in whom? If they did not meet, they would not recognise, and even if they met there is no reason why the
\nMother and I should cast off the veil which hung over these personalities and reveal the Divine behind them. Those lives
\nwere not meant for any such purpose.<\/p>\n

\n

27 September 1935 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you and the Mother were on earth all the time, it would
\nmean that you were here when those great beings descended. Then whatever your external cloak, how could you hide your
\ninner self  \u2014the true divinity  \u2014from them? <\/p>\n

But why cannot the inner self be hidden from all in such lives?
\nYour reasoning would only have some force if the presence on earth then were as the Avatar, but not if it was only as a Vibhuti. <\/p>\n

So, in answer to the question, “Presence where and in whom?” I would say, “Presence in this world and in Thyself and the
\nMother.” <\/p>\n

“Presence in Thyself” means nothing. It is “presence” in or
\nbehind some body and behind some outer personality. Also “presence” in what part of the world? If Mother were in Rome
\nat the time of Buddha, how could Buddha know as he did not even know the existence of Rome? <\/p>\n

I did not mean that you or the Mother needed to cast off your veil. It is those great men who should have recognised you in
\nspite of the veil. <\/p>\n

One can be a great man without knowing such things as that.
\nGreat men or even great Vibhutis need not be omniscient or know things which it was not useful for them to know. <\/p>\n

27 September 1935 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage <\/font>\u2013 89<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

You write: “But why cannot the inner self be hidden from all in such lives?” I fail to understand how anyone could hide
\none’s inner self from Avatars and Vibhutis. <\/p>\n

An Avatar or Vibhuti have the knowledge that is necessary for
\ntheir work; they need not have more. There was absolutely no reason why Buddha should know what was going on in Rome.
\nAn Avatar even does not manifest all the Divine omniscience and omnipotence; he has not come for any such unnecessary display;
\nall that is behind him but not in the front of his consciousness. As for the Vibhuti, the Vibhuti need not even know that he is
\na power of the Divine. Some Vibhutis, like Julius Caesar for instance, have been atheists. Buddha himself did not believe
\nin a personal God, only in some impersonal and indescribable Permanent. <\/p>\n

Still I can’t understand one thing: even though you did not cast off your veil, how could Krishna, Buddha and Christ not
\nhelp casting off their veil in order to recognise you? <\/p>\n

Why should they? The veil was there necessary for their work.
\nWhy should it be thrown off? So if the Mother was present in the life of Christ, she was there not as the Divine Manifestation but
\nas one altogether human. For her to be recognised as the Divine would have created a tremendous disorder and frustrated the
\nwork Christ came to do by breaking its proper limits. <\/p>\n

Moreover, you must have heard that just before Christ was
\nborn some Rishis from India knew of the divine Descent and set out for Jerusalem merely by their inspiration, though they
\nhad not known what and where Jerusalem was. <\/p>\n

I never heard of Rishis from India going there. There is a legend
\nof some Mages getting an intimation that a divine Birth was there on earth and following a star that led them to the stable in
\nwhich Christ was born. But this is a legend, not history.<\/p>\n

\n

29 September 1935 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage <\/font>\u2013 90<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

Since you and the Mother were on earth constantly from the beginning what was the need for Avataras coming down here
\none after another? <\/p>\n

We were not on earth as Avataras. <\/p>\n

15 December 1935 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You say that you both were not on earth as Avatars and yet you were carrying on the evolution. Since the Divine Himself
\nwas on the earth carrying on the evolution, what was the necessity for the coming down of the Avatars who are portions
\nof Himself? <\/p>\n

The Avatar is necessary when a special work is to be done and
\nin crises of the evolution. The Avatar is a special manifestation, while for the rest of the time it is the Divine working within the
\nordinary human limits as a Vibhuti.<\/p>\n

\n

18 December 1935 <\/p>\n


\nThe Guru, the Divine and the Truth<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Is there really any difference between the Guru, the Divine and
\nthe Truth in our Yoga? I have been considering that the Mother and yourself are not only the Gurus but also the Divine, and
\nthat whatever either of you say is the law of the Truth. Why then are you using these three different words?3<\/sup> <\/p>\n

I wrote the general law of spiritual life and obedience. You have to know that as well as its special application here. Moreover
\nmany here are satisfied with saying “The Mother is divine,” but they do not follow her commands. Others do not really regard
\nher as Divine  \u2014they treat her as if she were an ordinary Guru.<\/p>\n

\n

13 June 1933 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yesterday you spoke about the Mother’s commands. What are
\nthey? I want to try to follow them. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t3 See letter of 12 June 1933, published on page 672 of
\n<\/i>Letters on Himself and the
\nAshram, volume 35 of <\/i>T<\/font>HE<\/font> C<\/font>OMPLETE WORKS OF<\/font> S<\/font>RI<\/font> A<\/font>UROBINDO<\/font>.  \u2014Ed.<\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage <\/font>\u2013 91<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

They are supposed to be known. You have to do the right thing and follow the Yoga sincerely. <\/p>\n

14 June 1933 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe Mother, Sri Aurobindo and the Overmind
\n\t\t\t<\/a> <\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even the Overmind is for all but the Mother and myself either unrealised or only an influence, mostly subjective. <\/p>\n

24 March 1934 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tThe Mother, Sri Aurobindo and the Supramental Descent
\n\t\t\t<\/a> <\/b><\/p>\n

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

X <\/i>has made the following remark: “The present preparation is going on to bring down the Supermind into the physical of
\nthe Mother and Sri Aurobindo.” Is it correct? <\/p>\n

[Sri Aurobindo bracketed “The present preparation is going on<\/i>
\nto bring down the Supermind into the physical”, and wrote:<\/i>] Not quite correct in all points. The things to be brought down
\nwere in us no doubt  \u2014but not all outwardly manifested, from the beginning. Of course
\nX<\/i>‘s statement is altogether true only as
\nfar as the bracket goes.<\/p>\n

\n

14 September 1935 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When you wrote “as far as the bracket goes”, did you not
\nnotice that you cut off the last part of X<\/i>‘s answer? <\/p>\n

Yes, of course. What is being done is meant to prepare the
\nmanifestation of the supermind in the earth \u2014consciousness down to Matter itself, so it can’t be for the physical of myself or the
\nMother alone.<\/p>\n

\n

15 September 1935 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It seems to me that if the Supermind has not descended into
\nMother’s body \u2014consciousness, it is not because she is not ready for it, but because she has first to prepare the physical of the
\nsadhaks and of the earth to a certain extent. But some people here take it in the wrong way; they think that the Supermind
\n\thas not yet descended into her body because she has not yet reached
\n\tperfection. Am I right? <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage <\/font>\u2013 92<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

Certainly. If we had lived physically in the Supermind from the beginning, nobody would have been able to approach us
\nnor could the sadhana have been done. There could have been no hope of contact between ourselves and the earth and men.
\nEven as it is, Mother has to come down towards the lower consciousness of the sadhaks instead of keeping always in her
\nown, otherwise they begin to say, “How far away, how severe you were; you do not love me, I get no help from you etc. etc.”
\nThe Divine has to veil himself in order to meet the human.<\/p>\n

\n

18 October 1935 <\/p>\n


\nThe Triple Transformation and Control over Death
\n<\/a>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are three stages of the sadhana, psychic change, transition
\nto the higher levels of consciousness  \u2014with a descent of their powers, conscious forces 
\n\t\u2014the supramental. In the last even
\nthe control over death is a later, not an initial stage. Each of these stages demands a great length of time and a high and long
\nendeavour. The legend related to you comes partly from a false idea that Mother and Sri Aurobindo will bring down everything
\nand the sadhaks have only to wait and receive, a misconception responsible for much inner indolence and inertia, and the fact
\nthat for a long time a certain protection was over the Asram so that there was no death of any sadhak and little illness 
\n\t\u2014the legend survives, though the circumstances are not now the same. <\/p>\n

26
\nJuly 1937<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage <\/font>\u2013 93<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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