{"id":3869,"date":"2013-07-13T01:51:51","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:51:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3869"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:51:51","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:51:51","slug":"14-6-april-1955-vol-07-questions-and-answers-volume-07","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/07-questions-and-answers-volume-07\/14-6-april-1955-vol-07-questions-and-answers-volume-07","title":{"rendered":"-14_6 April 1955.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n
\n6 April 1955 <\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This talk is based
\nupon Bases of Yoga<\/i>, Chapter 5, <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPhysical
\nConsciousness, etc.\u201d. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What is this psychoanalysis of Freud,
\nSweet Mother? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah, my child, it
\nis something that was in vogue, very much in vogue at the beginning of the
\ncentury\u2026 no, in the middle of the century! <\/span><\/p>\n

(Mother turns to Pavitra<\/i>) Do
\nyou know, Pavitra, when it was in fashion? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(Pavitra) At the beginning of the
\ncentury. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

At the beginning
\nof the century, that’s it. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is what Sri Aurobindo says: dangerous, useless, ignorant,
\nsuperficial; and it was in fashion because people like these things, it
\ncorresponds precisely with all that is unhealthy in their nature. You know how
\nchildren love to waddle in the mud! Well, big people are no better than that.
\nThere! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, what does \u201cthe subliminal
\nbeing\u201d mean, exactly? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Well, it is what
\nhe says, you know. It’s what is behind. I think it is what could be called the
\nsubtle physical, the subtle vital, the subtle mind. It is something that’s
\nbehind what is manifested. One can imagine that what is manifested is like a
\nlayer or like a crust or a bark; it is that which we see and with which we are
\nin touch. And it clothes something, it clothes or expresses something which is
\nmore subtle and serves as its support. <\/span><\/p>\n

When one dreams, one goes very often into his subliminal being, and
\nthere things are almost the same and yet not absolutely <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 108<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

the same; there is
\na great resemblance and yet there is a difference; and usually this is greater.
\nOne has the impression of entering into something that’s vaster; and, for
\nexample, one feels that one can do more, that one knows more, one has a power
\nand clear-sightedness which one doesn’t have in the ordinary consciousness; one
\nhas the impression while dreaming that one knows many more things than when one
\nis awake. No? Doesn’t this happen? You don’t have dreams like that?\u2026 when one
\ndreams and knows a lot, for example, about the secret causes of things, about
\nwhat a movement expresses\u2026 all that, one feels that one knows it. For instance,
\nwhen one dreams of someone, one knows better what he thinks, what he wants, all
\nthese things, better than when one is in waking contact with him. This happens
\nwhen one has entered the subliminal. Very often one dreams in the
\nsubliminal.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Has the subliminal a contact with the
\npsychic? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Not directly, not
\nmore directly than the outside being. If externally, in your ordinary
\nconsciousness you have a contact with the psychic, that also has a contact with
\nthe psychic, or rather one can put it the other way round: if that has a
\ncontact with the psychic, it helps you to have a contact with the psychic, but
\nnot necessarily, not always; it depends on the degree of development of the
\nbeing. It is not necessarily more enlightened, more balanced \u2013 no. It is more
\nsubtle, it is less dull than our outer consciousness. Our external
\nconsciousness is so dull, it has no depth; as our outer understanding has no
\ndepth, our sensations have no depth; all this is something as though flat. So
\nhere it is fuller, but not necessarily more true. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then why is it the most important? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Because it is
\ninternal. This is what supports the outer. The outer is only an appearance of
\nthis. As I said, in a dream when one
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 109<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

goes there, one
\nknows things which one doesn’t know, one can do things, one is in touch with
\nthings which one doesn’t know in the waking consciousness, because it is too
\nsuperficial. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is like the inside of something. The outside is the expression of
\nthat, but an altogether surface expression. So naturally it looks the same; in
\nany case more than a resemblance, it has an identity with what we see of it
\nfrom outside. We see the form, don’t we, the expression; well, this expression
\nhas necessarily an analogy \u2013 more than an analogy \u2013 an identity with what is
\ninside. So if, externally, we see that someone is absolutely ignorant of his
\npsychic being, it is impossible that internally he is quite conscious of it; he
\ncan be closer, but he cannot be conscious of the psychic without its being
\nreflected outside. Therefore, if it is not reflected outside, it means that it
\nis not truly established within. <\/span><\/p>\n

Understand, no? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Not very well. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then what shall we
\ndo? Ask another question about the same subject. Perhaps so you will
\nunderstand. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Is the subliminal self the same thing? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That, my child, if
\nyou begin to ask me things like this, you must ask the gentleman who is seated
\nbehind you [Nolini], because these things I forget. <\/span><\/p>\n

Where is the subliminal self mentioned here? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe subliminal self stands behind and
\nsupports the whole superficial man\u2026\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This is what I
\nhave just told you. I have just told you this. How can we explain it? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(Long silence<\/span><\/i>) <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 110<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

It is perhaps \u2013
\nperhaps \u2013 something like this, like the taste of a fruit. You know, you see a
\nfruit, it has an appearance, it has a certain colour, it seems to you of a
\ncertain kind, but you cannot very well know what it tastes like until you taste
\nit, that is, until you have entered inside it. It is something like this,
\nsomething analogous to this. <\/span><\/p>\n

Or maybe as in a watch \u2013 note that it is just to try to make myself
\nunderstood, it is not really like that, it is only to try to make myself understood
\n\u2013 when you see a watch, you see a dial and the hands moving, but if you want to
\nknow the watch you must open it and see the working inside. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is something like that \u2013 you see only the effect, here; there is a
\ncause behind. It is somewhat like that. <\/span><\/p>\n

The world as we see it and our outer consciousness are the result of
\nsomething which is behind, which Sri Aurobindo calls the subliminal. And this
\nitself, as he says, is set in motion by impulses which come from the
\nsubconscient below and the superconscient above, and so it is as though it were
\nassembled there, and once it is organised there it is expressed in the outer
\nconsciousness, the ordinary consciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n

The best way is to go there; once you go there you understand what it
\nis. And it is not difficult; one goes there constantly in dreams, very easily,
\nwithout any effort. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How can we
\nunderstand that we have gone there? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If you remember,
\nyou understand. If one remembers the kind of difference of impression one had:
\none has a certain impression, and when one returns one feels something like a
\ndisconnection, the impression is different, even the point of view one had
\nabout things is different. Well, if one remembers this, one understands. If one
\nis in the habit, one can even while speaking or doing something, perceive very
\nwell \u2013 above all when speaking or thinking or reflecting on something \u2013 a
\nsecond layer which is behind, much vaster, in which things are organised much
\nmore
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 111<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

synthetically (not
\npositively understandable) than in the outer consciousness. If one reflects
\njust a little and looks at oneself thinking, one can see this at the back very
\nwell, one can see the two things moving together like this (gesture<\/i>)\u2026 like the formulated thought
\nand the source of the thought which is behind. And then when one thinks, you
\nsee, one has a feeling of being like this, enclosed in something; whereas,
\nthere, immediately one feels that one is in contact with many other things; and
\nit is much greater. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, what should true psychology
\nbe like? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

True psychology,
\nwhat do you mean by true psychology? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Because we said\u2026 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo says
\nthat this is not true psychology, he says that modern psychology has no
\nknowledge. True psychology would be a psychology which has knowledge. <\/span><\/p>\n

Psychology means\u2026 What is the precise meaning of logos? It is knowing,
\nscience; and psyche means soul. So it means the science of the soul or the
\nscience of the psychic, you see. This is the original sense. Now one has made
\nof that the knowledge of all the inner movements, of all feelings, all the
\ninner movements which are not purely physical movements, you see, all that
\nconcerns the feelings, thoughts, even the sensations in their subtlety. But
\ntrue psychology is the knowledge of the soul, that is, the knowledge of the
\npsychic being. And if one has the knowledge of the psychic being, one has at
\nthe same time the knowledge of all the true movements of the being, the inner
\nlaws of the being. This is true psychology but it is the etymological meaning
\nof the word, not as it is used nowadays. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Why is it less easy for oneself to go down
\ninto the lower parts of nature than to bring down the light?
\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 112<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Oh! Is it about
\nthat? These are theories, you know. Is this what I read this evening? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

No, Sweet Mother, last time\u2026 \u201cEasier!\u201d\u2026 I
\nmade a mistake. It is \u201ceasier\u201d\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah! Good. So,
\nre-read the sentence clearly. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Why is it easier for oneself to go down
\ninto the lower parts of nature than to bring down the light\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Is it written like
\nthat? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t know. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You can’t find it?
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is perhaps the other way\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps the other
\nway!\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is not written here. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is not written?
\nThen where did you pick it up? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go down into your lower parts or ranges
\nof nature, you must be always careful to keep a vigilant connection with\u2026\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But there’s no
\nquestion about its being easier or more difficult. What does she want to say? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(Pavitra) There is a paragraph:
\n\u201cIf you go down into your lower parts or ranges of nature, you must be always
\ncareful to keep a vigilant connection with the <\/i><\/span>
\n
\n
\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 113<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

higher\u2026 levels of the consciousness,\u201d etc.
\nThen later: \u201cThe safest way is to remain in the higher part of the
\nconsciousness and put a pressure from it on the lower to change.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, but this has
\nno connection with what you were asking. <\/span><\/p>\n

The safest way is precisely not to go down, it is to remain above and
\nfrom there to put a pressure on what is below. But if you go down it is very
\ndifficult to keep the contact with what is above; so if one forgets one can do
\nnothing, one becomes like the part into which one has gone down. So, as it is
\nsomething very difficult to do, on the contrary, it is better to remain in
\none’s higher consciousness and from there act upon the lower movements without
\ngoing down into them. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, it is as when one feels anger rising up from the
\nsubconscient; well, if one wants to control it one must be very careful not to
\nbe identified with it. One must not go down into it. One must remain in one’s
\nconsciousness, above, quiet, peaceful, and from there look at this anger and
\nput the light and quietude upon it so that it calms down and vanishes. But if
\none gets identified with it, one is also in anger, one can’t change it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Anything? Nothing! Nowhere. Nobody has anything to say? Nothing! Up
\nthere? No? That’s all? You are all convinced? Good, then we’ll stop, if
\neveryone is convinced. <\/span><\/p>\n

(To the child who had asked the
\nquestion<\/i>) You had something else to ask? Oh! She had prepared a heap of
\nquestions. But not like that one! You must at least understand the text before
\nasking. Now, what is your other question? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is about what you read last time: \u201cthe
\nhigher already regenerated levels of the consciousness\u201d which are spoken about.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, and so?
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 114<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

I don’t understand. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What don’t you
\nunderstand? You don’t know what \u201cregenerated\u201d means? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, to reproduce what was\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Regenerated means
\ntransformed, made perfect, and purified, enlightened. And then it is a question,
\nthere, of all the levels of consciousness, from the most material to the most
\nsubtle. So in these planes of consciousness there are parts which are more
\nenlightened than others. <\/span><\/p>\n

And so, what is your question? You want to know which parts of your
\nbeing are more enlightened? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah! Let us see. We
\ncould play a little game like this: <\/span><\/p>\n

Which part of the being in everyone has a more total faith in the divine
\nGrace? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The psychic. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah, no! I am
\nspeaking of an experience, I am not speaking of a verbal knowledge. I am
\nspeaking\u2026 which is the part in everyone of you in which you have the greatest
\nfaith in the divine Grace? It can be in the physical, it can be in the vital,
\nit can be in the psychic, and it can be in this part or that, or this activity
\nor that other. There are people, for example, who have absolutely a kind of
\nmental realisation of contact with the Grace, of faith in the Grace; and then,
\nas soon as they are in their vital or physical consciousness, there is nothing
\nany more. There are others, on the contrary, who, even physically, in their
\nbody\u2026 who perhaps don’t have much mental knowledge, but who in their physical
\nconsciousness have an absolute faith in the divine
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 115<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Grace, and a total
\ntrust, and they live like that in this faith and trust. Others still have it
\nonly in their deep feelings; and their thoughts are vagabond. And there are
\nothers who have even a vital faith \u2013 these are rare but they exist \u2013 who have a
\nvital faith in the divine Grace, that all will always go absolutely well – with
\na considerable sense of power. <\/span><\/p>\n

But haven’t you ever lent yourself to this little exercise, to see?
\nFirst, have you faith in the divine Grace? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes! Good, that’s
\nalready good. And where then, in which part of your being? Is it in your
\nthought, is it in your feelings, is it in your sensations, is it in your
\nphysical activity? If it is everywhere at the same time, you are perfect
\nbeings, and I congratulate you.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sensations? You
\nhave a sensation of this? Then you are a very rare person! (Laughter<\/i>) <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

No, it is in the feeling. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah, the feeling,
\nthat’s different. Usually it is in the feeling, but there are people who have
\nit first in thought, who have a kind of mental knowledge, and then that’s all,
\nit stops there. And some people have the feeling and don’t have the mental
\nexperience, their mind is like that\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Can’t it be like this, that sometimes one
\nhas a feeling in oneself and another time it is the thought? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This is another
\nphenomenon. It means that this faith, this trust in the divine Grace is in the
\npsychic \u2013 behind, there, like that, <\/span>
\n
\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 116<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

in the psychic, always there. So sometimes it is the feeling, sometimes
\nit is the thought, sometimes even it is the body which is in contact with the
\npsychic, under the influence of the psychic even without knowing it; and at
\nthat moment this kind of trust, of faith comes in front like that and supports.
\nThis happens when one has momentary contacts with his psychic. For example,
\nwhen you find yourself in a very great difficulty or a very great physical
\ndanger, and suddenly feel this, this force coming into you, the force of a
\nfaith, an absolute trust in the divine Grace which helps you. So it means that
\nthere is a conscious contact with one’s psychic and it comes to help you \u2013 is a
\nspecial grace bestowed. This is the condition which ought to be the most
\nfrequent here, for this contact is established all the time, consciously,
\ndeliberately, in everyone. So this instance ought to be the most frequent, it
\nis the most normal \u2013 here. That is, according to the part which is active or
\naccording to the necessity of the moment, it is here or there or there that
\nsuddenly you feel this trust which takes possession of you and guards you. It
\nis like that. <\/span><\/p>\n

There we are! <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 117<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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