{"id":3885,"date":"2013-07-13T01:51:58","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3885"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:51:58","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:51:58","slug":"20-25-may-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\/20-25-may-1955-vol-07-questions-and-answers-volume-07","title":{"rendered":"-20_25 May 1955.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n25 May 1955 <\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother reads from
\nSri Aurobindo’s The Human <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

Cycle, Chapter
\n14, \u201cThe Suprarational Beauty\u201d. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

I
\ncan see that you haven’t understood three-fourths of the thing. Now we shall go
\nslowly, step by step. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(To a child<\/i>) Ask a question
\njust from where it begins; simply say, \u201cHere, what does this mean?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Here, Sweet Mother, it
\nis written: \u201c\u2026the intellectual reason may well be an insufficient help and find
\nitself, not only at the end but from the beginning, out of its province and condemned
\nto tread\u2026 diffidently\u2026\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

So?
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

So, by what do we begin
\nif it is not by the intellect? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

By
\nwhat should one begin? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, with the help of
\nwhat? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You
\nsee, Sri Aurobindo defines religion as the seeking after the spiritual, that
\nis, the Supermind, of what is beyond the ordinary human consciousness, and what
\nought to influence life from a higher realm. So, as religion seeks this it is
\nbeyond the reason, because it goes to the suprarational. And so how can reason
\nhelp in the realm of religion? What he means is that if one uses reason to
\njudge the field of religion and progress in it, one is sure to make mistakes,
\nbecause reason is not the master there and it is not capable of enlightening.
\nIf you want to judge any religion with your reason, you are sure to make
\nmistakes, for it is outside and beyond the field of reason. Reason
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 168<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

can
\njudge things which belong to the rational domain of ordinary life. And as he
\nsays later, the true role of reason is to be like a control and an organiser of
\nthe movements of human life in the mind and the vital.<\/span><\/p>\n

Each time, for example, that one has some kind of vital disorder, of the
\npassions, desires, impulses and all these things, if one calls the reason and
\nlooks at these things from the point of view of reason, one can put them back
\ninto order. It is truly the role of reason to organise and regulate all the
\nmovements of the vital and the mind. For instance, you can call the reason in
\norder to see whether two ideas can go together or whether they contradict each
\nother, whether two theories can stand side by side in your mental construction
\nor one demolishes the other. It belongs to the domain of reason to judge and
\norganise all these things, and also perhaps still more it is the work of reason
\nto see whether the impulses are reasonable or not, whether they will lead to a
\ncatastrophe or can be tolerated and will not disturb anything in the life. So,
\nthis is its full domain; that’s what Sri Aurobindo says. <\/span><\/p>\n

But in order to know the value of a religion, whether it truly has the
\npower to put you into contact with the Divine, with the spiritual life, to lead
\nyou to it, how can the reason judge, since it is beyond its domain? It knows
\nnothing about it. It is not its field, it understands nothing there. We must
\nuse other means. Naturally, that’s how he begins, at the end he will say what
\nmeans one can use; I don’t know whether it is at the end of these chapters, but
\nin any case he always gives an indication. That’s what this means; he says:
\nDon’t use reason, you cannot judge with it that’s all. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Is the reason always
\nright in its own domain? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Reason?
\nYes. If it is really reason, it is right. It is not absolutely right if one
\nlooks at things from the spiritual point of view, for it understands nothing in
\nthese domains, but from <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 169<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

the
\nrational point of view it is naturally the sovereign judge. <\/span><\/p>\n

For everything that concerns the ordinary life, and as I say, the
\nmental, vital and physical life of man, a perfectly reasonable being, one who
\nlives according to his reason, cannot make a mistake from this point of view.
\nIt is only if one says, \u201cHuman life restricted to these planes is not complete,
\nnor perfect in these three planes, it is necessary to introduce a fourth one in
\nit, the spiritual or suprarational plane\u201d, then from this point of view we
\nbegin to say, \u201cReason understands nothing of this, and here it must keep quiet and
\nlet the suprarational influence work.\u201d But from the viewpoint of the ordinary
\nlife, for people who lead the ordinary life, who do not want to do yoga or
\ndevelop spiritually, reason is certainly an absolute and very recommendable
\nmaster. People who live according to reason are usually very sattwic and do not
\ncommit any kind of excesses or make serious mistakes, they live reasonably. It
\nis only when one comes out of the ordinary life, when one wants to enter a life
\nleading to a spiritual realisation, that the reason has to abdicate. It can
\nhelp all the same so long as one is not the absolute master of the movements of
\nhis mind and vital. As long as these two things are not transformed, to use
\nyour reason is very reasonable, because it will help you to master these
\nmovements. <\/span><\/p>\n

Another question? <\/span><\/p>\n

(To another child<\/i>) You have
\nunderstood, haven’t you? understood something in any case. No? Then ask a
\nquestion. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, what is
\nthe suprarational beauty?\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah!
\nThat, my child, when we have read the chapter you will know, because that’s the
\nvery subject of the chapter. So he is going to explain it to you right through.
\nIf I tell you about it now it won’t be worth the trouble to read the chapter.
\n(Laughter) <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Is reason the highest
\nfunction of the mind? <\/span><\/i>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 170<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Of
\nthe mind properly speaking, of the human mind, yes, certainly. That is, with
\nthe reason one doesn’t risk making mistakes, as long as one remains in the
\npurely human and purely mental domain. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How can reason become an
\nobstacle to the spiritual life? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Because
\nit understands nothing about it. Spiritual life goes beyond it, it is not its
\ndomain, and it doesn’t understand anything there. It is a very good instrument
\nfor all ethics, morality, self-control, but spiritual life goes beyond these things
\nand reason understands nothing of it. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But if one truly has
\nreason, then reason has to admit that the spiritual life is higher! <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then why does it become
\nan obstacle? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

On
\ncondition that it keeps quiet, does not intervene any more\u2026 if it tries to
\nintervene it is an obstacle, if it withdraws in an orderly way and remains
\nquiet, then it is very good. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is an obstacle if you want to use it as judge and master. But it is
\nnot an obstacle if you use it as an instrument, like all the other parts of the
\nbeing. It is an excellent instrument on condition that it remains an instrument
\nand doesn’t want to become the master who decides and judges. It is a power of
\njudgment which, in its field, is absolutely right. But as soon as it goes
\nbeyond its domain, it cannot understand, it has no discernment any longer. <\/span><\/p>\n

So if the reason understands this and keeps quiet, with the attitude of
\nan instrument and not of master and judge, it is perfect. But for this the
\ngrowing consciousness must already be
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 171<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

developed
\nenough in a suprarational domain to be able to act on the reason from above and
\nmake it understand the thing, because that domain is not a part of reason. So
\nnaturally it denies it unless there is a part of the consciousness which is
\nsufficiently developed to be able to put something upon it that will make it
\nunderstand. All depends on the degree of development of the individual’s
\nconsciousness. It is a purely individual question. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, when you speak
\nof the suprarational domain, is it a domain higher than the reason or is it a
\nspecial domain? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It
\nis rather a state than a domain. In the physical it is possible to have a
\nsuprarational domain, in the vital it is possible to have a suprarational
\ndomain, in the mind too it is possible to have a suprarational domain, and
\nthere are suprarational regions which lie beyond all these domains. In a
\ncertain part of the consciousness and of life it is rather a state than a
\nregion. It is a mode of being. It is something which goes beyond the state of
\nordinary consciousness. But even physically it can be experienced, vitally
\nalso. Suddenly one may feel that one is in contact with something surpassing
\nall rational regions and it is there, in the vital itself, it is an influence
\nacting from above. Otherwise it would be absolutely impossible to hope for the
\ntransformation of the lower parts of the being – either mental or vital or
\nphysical; they could never be transformed if they were incapable of receiving
\ninto themselves the suprarational influence; and it is here, it is to be found,
\nto be discovered. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, here Sri
\nAurobindo has written: \u201cOn one side it (the reason) is an enlightener – not
\nalways the chief enlightener\u2026\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes,
\nthis is what we said, that in the rational domain that’s
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 172<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

what
\ngives the true judgment, the true guidance. This is what we call an
\nenlightener: one who gives light. When you are not sure of something, when you
\nare in darkness, in a confusion, if you call to reason, it can guide you very
\nwell, make you see clearly where you were in darkness; therefore it is an
\nenlightener. Now, \u201cminister of the Spirit\u201d means precisely what he was asking,
\nthat is, that it can be transformed into an instrument for revealing the
\nspiritual reality in the lower parts of the being; \u201cminister of the Spirit\u201d \u2013
\nthat’s what it means; a minister is an instrument of something, you see, it
\nmeans the instrument of the Spirit. And it can prepare the paths for the coming
\nof the rule of the Spirit, precisely make the being balanced and peaceful,
\nright in its judgments, right in its way of acting, so that being in a state of
\nluminous equilibrium, it becomes capable of receiving the Spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

A being who is in a whirlwind of darkness is obviously not ready to
\nreceive the Spirit. But when by the use of reason one has managed to organise
\nhis being logically and reasonably, in a balanced and wise way \u2013 reason is
\nessentially an instrument of wisdom – well, this is an excellent preparation
\nfor going beyond, on condition that one knows that it is not a culmination,
\nthat it is only a preparation. It is like a base, you see; people who have
\nspiritual experiences, who have a contact with the higher worlds and are not
\nready in the lower domains, have a lot of trouble, because they have to fight constantly
\nagainst a heap of elements which are neither organised nor purified nor
\nclassified; and each one pulls its own way, there are impulses and preferences
\nand desires, and so this light which has come from above has to organise all
\nthis; whereas if the reason had worked to begin with and made the place at
\nleast a habitable one, when the Spirit came it would have been more easily
\ninstalled. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How can the reason be
\ndeveloped? <\/span><\/i>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 173<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Oh!
\nBy using it. Reason is developed like the muscles, like the will. All these
\nthings are developed by a rational use. Reason! Everyone possesses reason, only
\nhe doesn’t make use of it. Some people are very much afraid of reason because
\nit contradicts their impulses. So they prefer not to listen to it. Then,
\nnaturally, if one makes it a habit not to listen to reason, instead of
\ndeveloping, it loses its light more and more. <\/span><\/p>\n

To develop reason you must want to do it sincerely; if on one side you
\ntell yourself, \u201cI want to develop my reason\u201d, and on the other you don’t listen
\nto what the reason tells you to do, then you never come to anything, because
\nnaturally, if each time it tells you, \u201cDon’t do this\u201d or \u201cDo this\u201d, you do the
\nopposite, it will lose the habit of saying anything at all. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, even in ordinary
\nlife, how can reason help in the appreciation of beauty, for example? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It
\ncannot do it. That’s exactly what Sri Aurobindo is going to tell you in here:
\nthat reason is quite useless for appreciating beauty. In the last analysis, it
\nis worthless, because beauty is something analogous to religion and goes beyond
\nreason. The whole chapter is going to explain this to you. That is why he calls
\nit the suprarational beauty. The higher principle of beauty is a suprarational
\nprinciple and therefore reason understands nothing at all about it. If you want
\nto judge art by reason you are sure to say foolish things. <\/span><\/p>\n

In here (I think it is in this very chapter), he shows that beauty
\nbelongs to a domain as lofty as that of religion; that through beauty one can come
\ninto contact with the Divine even as through religion. And the next chapter is
\n\u201cThe Suprarational Good\u201d, and there he is going to show that reason cannot be
\nthe final judge also for what is good and not good; that the final judge is a
\nsuprarational judge. Only, in the same way, it can be a preparation, it can
\nprepare the road by which to go there; but it is only a preparation. Of course,
\nto understand fully what <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 174<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

he
\nwanted to tell us, we should have to read the entire book. But that way it would
\ntake us something like ten years, so I am not trying. I have taken only these
\nbecause these two subjects are very interesting, apart from all the others:
\nbeauty and the good. <\/span><\/p>\n

Beauty is the aesthetic instinct of man, and the good is his ethical
\ninstinct, and these two things are very important in human education and
\ngrowth; and that is why I have chosen these two chapters for you. But to have
\nthe full development of the idea you must read the whole book. Later you will
\nread it\u2026 perhaps some of you will have the curiosity to read it. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, what do
\naesthetic and ethical mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Aesthetic
\nis what is concerned with beauty, and ethical with the good. <\/span><\/p>\n

Look, my children, if there are words which you don’t understand, take a
\ndictionary and look them up. Because that will teach you the language and at
\nthe same time you will learn a little French. But, these words are the same in
\nEnglish; you ought to know them. They are written a little differently,
\npronounced a little differently, but they are exactly the same words. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, here Sri
\nAurobindo says: \u201cIn its own sphere of finite knowledge, science, philosophy,
\nthe useful arts, its right, one would think, must be indisputable. But this
\ndoes not turn out in the end to be true\u2026 \u201c <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Then what should
\nbe the function of reason in the study of science, philosophy and the useful
\narts? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

A
\nfunction of preparation, as I said; it is in order to prepare for something
\nhigher which is suprarational and which must come. It is a preparation. You
\nsee, he has said, \u201cone would think\u201d, it means that it is just an impression one
\nhas that its right is indisputable. It is not indisputable. He says that its
\npro- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 175<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

vince
\nis vast, you see, that its powers are ample, that its action is more
\nself-confident, but it always finds itself standing between the two other
\npowers of our being, the infrarational and the suprarational. It is an
\nintermediary to free us from the infrarational influence \u2013 that of all the
\ninstincts, all the desires, all the passions, all the impulses \u2013 to free us
\nfrom this domain and prepare for the coming of the suprarational one. Therefore
\nit is an instrument of mediation, of transition, and in this intermediating\u2026 in
\nthis region, it is the best master. But it cannot go further. There is a point where
\nit loses its power. When one is ready for the suprarational intervention, well,
\nit has to keep quiet; and if for example, by an inner development, by a yogic
\naction you have managed to come into contact with a divine consciousness and
\nreceive inspirations from this divine consciousness, if at this moment you want
\nto judge these inspirations by the reason, then you are sure to make stupid
\nmistakes, because reason understands nothing of this, and it should abdicate.
\nBut you must be sure that it is truly a contact with the divine Force; and to
\nbe sure of this\u2026 well, until one is sure of it, reason is very good for
\npreventing you from deceiving yourself. <\/span><\/p>\n

Usually people who have a tendency for not altogether ordinary
\nexperiences find reason very troublesome; and even before being ready to
\nsurpass its action they reject it, and that is how usually they become
\nabsolutely unreasonable and end up by being half-mad. That is why, so long as
\nyou don’t have an absolute certainty of having reached where you want to go,
\nwell, you must keep the reason very active in yourself in order to prevent
\nyourself from becoming derailed. This is very, very important. One cannot
\ndethrone reason unless the experience of the higher regions is so absolute, so
\ntrue, so complete, that it compels recognition. It is not a very frequent
\nthing. So I always advise people to keep their reason. But there’s a point
\nwhere it must cease having its superior rights \u2013 that’s to judge spiritual
\nexperience, because it cannot judge this, it does not under- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 176<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

stand
\nit; but it must truly be a spiritual experience, not something which tries to
\nimitate it; here an absolute sincerity is necessary. One must not deceive
\noneself through ambition, or indeed let oneself be deceived by any odd humbugs
\nwho come and tell you extraordinary stories in order to make you believe in
\ntheir superiority. <\/span><\/p>\n

That’s all? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

To prepare the path
\nmeans\u2026 ? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Oh!
\nWhat does it mean, to prepare the path? <\/span><\/p>\n

Have you never had the feeling in your life that you were on the way
\ntowards something? No? One doesn’t have the impression that when he is born he
\nbegins to set his feet on a road which is going to lead him by a curve through
\nhis whole life? That’s the image. So if you take the path which must lead you
\nto a spiritual realisation, well, it means that all your actions are
\ndeliberately going to be directed to this goal. And so he says that there is a
\nbit of the way which is under the control of reason and that reason, if you
\nfollow it, helps you to go forward here without your making mistakes too often.
\nFor it is quite remarkable that in life you start without knowing anything, and
\nthat at each step you take you have to learn, and that usually you come to the
\nend, to the end of the path, without having learnt anything very much, because
\ntoo often you make mistakes and you have nothing to guide you. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ordinary people enter life without even knowing what it is to live, and
\nat each step they have to learn how to live. And before knowing what they want
\nto realise, they must at least know how to walk; as we teach a tiny little
\nchild how to walk, in life one has also to learn how to live. Which people know
\nhow to live? And it is through experience, through mistakes, through all kinds
\nof misfortunes and troubles of every sort that gradually one begins to be what
\nis called reasonable, that is, when one has made a mistake a certain number of
\ntimes and <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013177<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

has
\nhad troublesome consequences from this mistake, one learns not to make it
\nagain. But there is a moment, when the brain is developed enough and you can
\nuse the reason, well, reason can help you to reduce the number of these
\nmistakes, to teach you to walk the path without stumbling too often. <\/span><\/p>\n

The immense majority of human beings are born, live and die without
\nknowing why this has happened to them. They take it\u2026 it is like that; they are
\nborn, they live, they have what they call their joys and their sorrows, and
\nthey come to the end and go away. They came in and went out without learning anything.
\nThis indeed is the immense majority. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is among them a small number of people called the \u00e9lite, who try
\nto know what has happened to them, why they are upon earth and why all that
\nhappens to them happens. Then among these there are some who use their reason
\nand they find a way of walking properly on the path, much faster than the
\nothers. These are reasonable beings. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now there is a handful \u2013 a big handful \u2013 of people who are born with the
\nfeeling that there is something else to find in life, a higher purpose to life,
\nthat there is an aim, and they strive to find it. So for these the path goes
\nbeyond reason, to regions which they have to explore either with or without
\nhelp, as chance takes them, and they must then discover the higher worlds. But
\nthere are not many of this kind. I don’t know how many of these there are now
\nin the world, but I have the impression that they could still be counted. So
\nfor these it depends on when they begin. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now there are beings, I think, who are born and whose rational period of
\nlife may begin very early, when they are very young, and it may last for a very
\nshort time; and then they are almost immediately ready to set out on new and
\nunexplored paths towards the higher realities. But in order to set out on these
\npaths without fear and without any danger, one must have organised his being
\nwith the help of reason around the highest centre he consciously possesses, and
\norganised it in such a way <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 178<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

that
\nit is inwardly in his control and he has not to say at every moment, \u201cAh! I
\nhave done this, I don’t know why. Ah! That’s happened to me, I don’t know why\u201d \u2013
\nand always it is \u201cI don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know\u201d, and as long as it
\nis like that, the path is somewhat dangerous. Only when one does what he wants,
\nknows what he wants, does what he wants and is able to direct himself with
\ncertitude, without being tossed about by the hazards of life, then one can go
\nforward on the suprarational paths fearlessly, unhesitatingly and with the
\nleast danger. But one need not be very old for this to happen. One can begin
\nvery young; even a child of five can already make use of reason to control
\nhimself; I know it. There is enough mental organisation in the being in these
\nlittle tots who look so spontaneous and irresponsible; there is enough cerebral
\norganisation for them to organise themselves, their life, their nature, their
\nmovements, actions and thoughts with reason. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are some little ones here of this kind. They are not all like that
\nbut there are some. There are some like that here, I know them. So if these
\nwere taught how to use their reason properly while still very young, they would
\nbe ready to start on the great adventure. They would gain much time. But one
\nmust not set out on this road with a baggage of impulses and desires, for that
\nbrings along all kinds of serious disturbances. <\/span><\/p>\n

There, my children, that’s all? <\/span><\/p>\n

Nobody is saying a word? <\/span><\/p>\n

(To a child<\/i>) You have still
\nsomething to say? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Do the laws of Nature
\nfollow the law of human reason? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Oh,
\nno! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then how can we explain
\nso many laws of Nature by human reason?
\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 179<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Because
\nhuman reason is higher than Nature. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nature is infrarational. The laws of Nature are infrarational laws. So
\nwhen men come along and tell you, \u201cBut what do you want, it is the law of
\nNature\u201d, as for me, it makes me laugh. It is not worth being a man, it would be
\nbetter for you to be a monkey or an elephant or a lion. The laws of Nature are
\ninfrarational. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is the only superiority that man has, his having a reason, and when
\nhe doesn’t make use of it he becomes absolutely an animal. <\/span><\/p>\n

That’s the last excuse to give: \u201cWhat do you want, it’s the law of
\nNature!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

It is late, otherwise I would tell you a few stories. <\/span><\/p>\n

We must stop. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 180<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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

25 May 1955   Mother reads from Sri Aurobindo’s The Human Cycle, Chapter 14, \u201cThe Suprarational Beauty\u201d.   I can see that you haven’t understood…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[112],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-07-questions-and-answers-volume-07","wpcat-112-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3885","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=3885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3885\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}