{"id":3897,"date":"2013-07-13T01:52:03","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3897"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:52:03","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:52:03","slug":"48-14-december-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\/48-14-december-1955-vol-07-questions-and-answers-volume-07","title":{"rendered":"-48_14 December 1955.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n14 December 1955<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/b>
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother reads from (The Synthesis of Yoga),<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSelf-Consecration\u201d. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, I haven’t understood this paragraph very well. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Which paragraph? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe powers of this world and their actual activities, it is felt,
\neither do not belong to God at all or are for some obscure and puzzling cause,
\nMaya or another, a dark contradiction of the divine Truth.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It is a certain attitude which produces
\nthis. He says it earlier, doesn’t he? He explains it. There is an attitude in
\nwhich all material things appear to be not only not the expression of the
\nDivine but incapable of becoming that and essentially opposed to the spiritual
\nlife. And so there is only one solution \u2013 it was that of the old Yogas, you
\nknow \u2013 the total rejection of life as not being able to participate in the
\nspiritual life at all, the rejection of material life. This is what he
\nexplains. He says that with this attitude, that’s how one looks at life. He
\ndoes not say that it is like that; he says that one looks at it, considers it
\nlike that; that it is the attitude of those who have completely separated life
\nfrom the spirit, and who say that life is an illusion, a falsification, and
\nthat it is incapable of expressing the Divine. <\/span><\/p>\n

That’s all? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, \u201c…we can … enrich our realisation with the booty torn
\nfrom the powers that oppose us.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 405<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

What is this booty? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

All the adverse forces at work in the
\nworld. <\/span><\/p>\n

The world as it is today is in its greater
\npart under the influence of the adverse forces. We call them adverse because
\nthey do not want the divine life; they oppose the divine life. They want things
\nto remain as they are, because it is their field and their power in the world.
\nThey know very well that they will lose all power and all influence the moment
\nthe Divine manifests. So they are fighting openly and completely against the
\nDivine, and we have to tear away from them bit by bit, little by little, all
\nthe things they have conquered in the outer life. And so when it is torn away
\nfrom them, it is so much gained. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, if, as was done
\nformerly, we try what is called clearing the ground, that is, if we let go all
\nthe things we consider as not capable of being transformed, then it is so much
\nlost for the divine realisation. <\/span><\/p>\n

All the realisations of Nature in the
\nouter life, all that it has created \u2013 for example upon earth all this vegetable
\nand animal kingdom, you see, and this ordinary human world which it has created
\n\u2013 if we give up all this as an illusion incapable of expressing the Divine,
\nthen this is so much left in the hands of the adverse forces which try to keep
\nit, no doubt, for their own ends. Whereas if we consider that all this may be
\nat present deformed but that in its essence and origin not only does it belong
\nto the Divine but is the Divine Himself, then we can work consciously,
\ndeliberately at the transformation and wrest all these things from the hostile
\ninfluence which now governs them. <\/span><\/p>\n

That’s all?… Still\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, what is our universal being? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Our universal being?… What it is?… I
\ndon’t understand your question very well. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 406<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

What is it? \u201cFor our entire nature and its environment, all our personal
\nand all our universal self, are full of habits and of influences that are
\nopposed to our spiritual rebirth\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Our universal self is our relation with
\nall others and all the movements of Nature. <\/span><\/p>\n

And I have often told you, haven’t I?,
\nthat the first state of your being is a state of an almost total mixture with
\nall things from outside, and that there is almost no individualisation, that
\nis, specialisation which makes you a different being. You are moved \u2013 a kind of
\nform which is your physical being is moved \u2013 by all the common universal
\nforces, vital forces or mental forces, which go through your form and put it in
\nmotion. <\/span><\/p>\n

So that is the universal being. <\/span><\/p>\n

And all that you have wrested from this
\ngeneral semi-consciousness, and have crystallised into a more or less
\nindependent being, conscious of itself and having its own qualities, all this
\nis your individual being. And this individual being is full of all the
\nmovements of obscurity, unconsciousness, and of the limitations of ordinary
\nlife, and that’s… and that’s what you must gradually open to the divine
\ninfluence and bring to the consciousness and understanding of things. That’s
\nwhat Sri Aurobindo says. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, the first victory is to create an
\nindividuality. And then later, the second victory is to give this individuality
\nto the Divine. And the third victory is that the Divine changes your
\nindividuality into a divine being. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are three stages: the first is to
\nbecome an individual; the second is to consecrate the individual, that he may
\nsurrender entirely to the Divine and be identified with Him; and the third is
\nthat the Divine takes possession of this individual and changes him into a
\nbeing in His own image, that is, he too becomes divine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Generally, all the yogas stopped at the
\nsecond. When one <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 407<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

had succeeded in surrendering the
\nindividual and giving him without reserve to the Divine to be identified with
\nHim, one considered that his work was finished, that all was accomplished. <\/span><\/p>\n

But we<\/i>
\nbegin there, and we say, \u201cNo, this is only a beginning. We want this Divine
\nwith whom we are identified to enter our individuality and make it into a
\ndivine personality acting in a divine world.\u201d And this is what we call
\ntransformation. But the other precedes it, must precede it. If that is not
\ndone, there is no possibility of doing the third. One can’t go from the first
\nto the third; one must pass through the second. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, the third depends entirely on the
\nDivine, whether He wills to take possession or not. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact everything depends entirely on the
\nDivine. It is only the consciousness you have of it which is different. So in
\nthe third stage, obviously, one becomes conscious that it is the Divine who
\ndoes everything; so it depends entirely on the Divine. <\/span><\/p>\n

When you say this, the part of your
\nconsciousness which is still convinced of its separation and its own existence
\nis looking at the other and saying, \u201cAh, good! Now I shall no longer have to do
\nanything.\u201d But if it no longer exists, if it becomes conscious that it is the
\nDivine, then it can’t have this impression. It does the work, continues to do
\nit, but with the true consciousness, instead of having the distorted
\nconsciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(Silence<\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

 That’s all? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, how can one feel the divine Presence constantly? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Why not?<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 408<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

But how can one do it? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But I am asking why one should not feel
\nit. Instead of asking the question how to feel it, I<\/i> ask the question: \u201cWhat do you do that you don’t feel it?\u201d There
\nis no reason not to feel the divine Presence. Once you have felt it, even once,
\nyou should be capable of feeling it always, for it is there. It is a fact. It
\nis only our ignorance which makes us unaware of it. But if we become conscious,
\nwhy should we not always be conscious? Why forget something one has learnt?
\nWhen one has had the experience, why forget it? It is simply a bad habit,
\nthat’s all. <\/span><\/p>\n

You see, there is something which is a
\nfact, that’s to say, it is<\/i>. But we
\nare unaware of it and do not know it. But after we become conscious and know
\nit, why should we still forget it? Does it make sense? It’s quite simply
\nbecause we are not convinced that once one has met the Divine one can’t forget
\nHim any more. We are, on the contrary, full of stupid ideas which say, \u201cOh!
\nYes, it’s very well once like that, but the rest of the time it will be as
\nusual.\u201d So there is no reason why it may not begin again. <\/span><\/p>\n

But if we know that… we did not know
\nsomething, we were ignorant, then the moment we have the knowledge… I am
\nsincerely asking how one can manage to forget. One might not know something,
\nthat is a fact; there are countless things one doesn’t know. But the moment one
\nknows them, the minute one has the experience, how can one manage to forget? Within
\nyourself you have the divine Presence, you know nothing about it \u2013 for all
\nkinds of reasons, but still the chief reason is that you are in a state of
\nignorance. Yet suddenly, by a clicking of circumstances, you become conscious
\nof this divine Presence, that is, you are before a fact \u2013 it is not
\nimagination, it is a fact, it’s something which exists. Then how do you manage
\nto forget it once you have known it? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But still this state of ignorance is in us.<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 409<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Ah! And why? Because you are convinced
\nthat it is a normal state and that one can’t do otherwise. <\/span><\/p>\n

But the moment you know that it is an
\nabsolutely abnormal state, contrary to the Truth, how does it happen that it
\ncan be repeated? It is simply because you are not convinced. It’s because when
\nyou have the experience of the divine Presence it seems to you something
\nfabulous, miraculous and extraordinary, and almost abnormal. And so… \u201cThis
\nsublime state \u2013 how can I keep it? It is absolutely contrary to my own
\nexistence.\u201d But this indeed is the stupidity. For this sublime state is the
\nnatural state, and it’s what you constantly are that is not natural but a
\nfalsification, a deformation \u2013 you see, a state… which is not normal.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But to have the knowledge and live in the
\nTruth \u2013 this indeed is the normal state. Then, how does it happen that once you
\nhave had it… it is over, the abnormal state disappears, you become normal and
\nlive in the Truth. Once one is in the Truth, how does one manage to come out of
\nit again? <\/span><\/p>\n

Quite simply it’s that you have not
\nentered totally into the Truth, and only one part of yourself has had the
\nexperience and the others don’t yet have it; and then you don’t remain in this
\npart of yourself which had the experience and begin to live in other parts
\nwhich do not have it yet; and all these parts must have this experience one
\nafter another. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is the reply to my question, this is
\nwhat you should have told me: why, it is because we are not made of a single
\npiece and the piece which had the experience is not the only one in us and is
\nnot always there, it is replaced by all kinds of other pieces which have not
\nyet had the experience and must have it. That’s why. <\/span><\/p>\n

But truly speaking, it is not inevitable.
\nBecause even if the part which had the experience and knows is no longer right
\nin front and master of the consciousness, if it is replaced by another part
\nwhich is still in the ignorance, that’s no reason for forgetting the other, for
\nthat other part is also yourself, and re- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 410<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

mains yourself, and is there. Why forget
\nit? Why, when the obscure, unconscious and ignorant part comes up, why not put
\nit immediately face to face with the other \u2013 like this \u2013 so that the other may
\nshow it that it is in the ignorance? This everybody can do. It’s only a
\nquestion of wanting it. We are not obliged to fall back into error, we are not
\nobliged to fall back into obscurity, ignorance and stupidity. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is because something in us, through
\ncowardice or defeatism, accepts this. If one did not accept it, it wouldn’t
\nhappen. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even when everything seems to be suddenly
\ndarkened, the flame and the Light are always there. And if one doesn’t forget
\nthem, one has only to put in front of them the part which is dark; there will
\nperhaps be a battle, there will perhaps be a little difficulty, but it will be
\nsomething quite transitory; never will you lose your footing. <\/span><\/p>\n

That is why it is said \u2013 and it is
\nsomething true \u2013 that to sin through ignorance may have fatal consequences,
\nbecause when one makes mistakes, well, these mistakes have results, that’s
\nobvious, and usually external and material results; but that’s no great harm, I
\nhave already told you this several times. But when one knows what is true, when
\none has seen and had the experience of the Truth, to accept the sin again, that
\nis, fall back again into ignorance and obscurity \u2013 this is indeed an infinitely
\nmore serious mistake. It begins to belong to the domain of ill-will. In any
\ncase, it is a sign of slackness and weakness. It means that the will is weak. <\/span><\/p>\n

So your question is put the other way
\nround. Instead of asking yourself how to keep it, you must ask yourself: how
\ndoes one not keep it? Not having it, is a state which everybody is in before
\nthe moment of knowing; not knowing \u2013 one is in that state before knowing. But
\nonce one knows one cannot forget. And if one forgets, it means that there is
\nsomething which consents to the forgetting, it means there is an assent
\nsomewhere; otherwise one would not forget. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 411<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

(Silence<\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s all?… <\/span><\/p>\n

That’s all, nothing more?<\/span><\/p>\n

No more questions anywhere? <\/span><\/p>\n

You want to meditate? Yes?  <\/span><\/p>\n

(Meditation<\/i>) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 412<\/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":"

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