{"id":3905,"date":"2013-07-13T01:52:06","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3905"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:52:06","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:52:06","slug":"41-26-october-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\/41-26-october-1955-vol-07-questions-and-answers-volume-07","title":{"rendered":"-41_26 October 1955.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n26
\nOctober 1955 <\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/font><\/span>\u201cThe Four
\nAids\u201d. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

No questions! <\/span><\/p>\n

There aren’t any questions here, it is
\nclear as crystal. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Here it is written: \u201cThe word within may be the utterance of the inmost
\nsoul in us which is always open to the Divine or it may be the word of the
\nsecret and universal Teacher\u201d Why are they different, the Divine and the
\nuniversal Teacher? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The universal Teacher is only an aspect of
\nthe Divine, you see. The Divine contains all the possible activities; the
\nTeacher is only one activity, the One who teaches. Sri Aurobindo<\/span>
\nmeans that either it is a direct contact with the Divine or a contact with an
\naspect of the Divine, the One who teaches, the divine Guru. But the Divine is
\nnot only a Guru. <\/span><\/p>\n

 That’s all? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, here: \u201cIn some cases this representative word is only
\ntaken as a sort of excuse for the inner power to awaken and manifest\u201d Then in
\nthis case is it the individual’s aspiration or the power of the Word? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This depends a great deal on the degree of
\nthe sadhak’s<\/span> development, you see. If he is developed
\nand conscious enough to be in direct contact with the spiritual Force which is
\nworking behind the words, then the word is only an excuse. But if for him it
\nmust pass through his mental understanding in order to have its effect, then
\nthe word takes on a much greater importance. It
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 346<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

depends on the degree of
\ndevelopment. <\/span><\/p>\n

If one is capable of receiving directly,
\nthen one opens a book for instance, finds a sentence and has an illumination;
\nbecause it was just the word one was waiting for in order to put himself into contact
\nwith the Force he needed to take the next step. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Otherwise one must take a book,
\nstudy it, read it sentence by sentence, word by word, and then reflect and then
\nunderstand it and then assimilate it and then, later, very slowly, after the
\nassimilation and understanding, it begins to have an effect on the character
\nand one makes some progress. <\/span><\/p>\n

In one case it is a direct contact, you
\nsee, and just one sentence, one word… one reads a word, reads a sentence, and
\nhas an illumination. And then one receives all the Force that one needs. The
\nother is the path of the learned man, the scholar, who is an intellectual being
\nand needs to learn, reflect, assimilate, reason about all he has learnt, in
\norder to make progress. It is long, it is laborious. <\/span><\/p>\n

That’s all? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, there’s a flower you have named \u201cThe Creative Word\u201d. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What does that mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is the word which creates. <\/span><\/p>\n

 There are all kinds of old
\ntraditions, old Hindu traditions, old Chaldean<\/span>
\ntraditions in which the Divine, in the form of the Creator, that is, in His
\naspect as Creator, pronounces a word which has the power to create. So it is
\nthis… And it is the origin of the mantra. The mantra is the spoken word which
\nhas a creative power. An invocation is made and there is an answer to the
\ninvocation; or one makes a prayer and the prayer is <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 347<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

granted. This is the Word, the Word which,
\nin its sound… it is not only the idea, it is in the sound that there’s a
\npower of creation. It is the origin, you see, of the mantra. <\/span><\/p>\n

In Indian mythology the creator God is
\nBrahma, and I think that it was precisely his power which has been symbolised<\/span> by this flower, \u201cThe Creative Word\u201d. And when
\none is in contact with it, the words spoken have a power of evocation or
\ncreation or formation or transformation; the words… sound always has a power;
\nit has much more power than men think. It may be a good power and it may be a
\nbad power. It creates vibrations which have an undeniable effect. It is not so
\nmuch the idea as the sound; the idea too has its own power, but in its own
\ndomain \u2013 whereas the sound has a power in the material world. <\/span><\/p>\n

I think I have explained this to you once;
\nI told you, for example, that words spoken casually, usually without any
\nreflection and without attaching any importance to them, can be used to do
\nsomething very good. I think I spoke to you about \u201cBonjour\u201d, \u201cGood Day\u201d, didn’t
\nI? When people meet and say \u201cBonjour\u201d, they do so mechanically and without
\nthinking. But if you put a will into it, an aspiration to indeed wish someone a
\ngood day, well, there is a way of saying \u201cGood Day\u201d which is very effective,
\nmuch more effective than if simply meeting someone you thought: \u201cAh! I hope he
\nhas a good day\u201d, without saying anything. If with this hope in your thought you
\nsay to him in a certain way, \u201cGood Day\u201d, you make it more concrete and more
\neffective. <\/span><\/p>\n

It’s the same thing, by the way, with
\ncurses, or when one gets angry and says bad things to people. This can do them
\nas much harm \u2013 more harm sometimes \u2013 than if you were to give them a slap. With
\nvery sensitive people it can put their stomach out of order or give them
\npalpitation, because you put into it an evil force which has a power of
\ndestruction. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is not at all ineffective to speak. Naturally
\nit depends a great deal on each one’s inner power. People who have no <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 348<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

strength and no consciousness can’t do
\nvery much \u2013 unless they employ material means. But to the extent that you are
\nstrong, especially when you have a powerful vital, you must have a great
\ncontrol on what you say, otherwise you can do much harm. Without wanting to,
\nwithout knowing it; through ignorance. <\/span><\/p>\n

Anything? No? Nothing? <\/span><\/p>\n

Another question?… Everything’s over? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

About sound, Mother, different languages have different expressions of
\nsounds; then on what does the power of a language depend? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But when one is perceptive, sensitive
\nenough, if someone speaks a language which one does not know at all, but he
\nputs into it a very precise intention, the same effects are felt. <\/span><\/p>\n

If someone wishes you a good day or good
\nhealth in a tongue that you don’t know at all and which has no relation with
\nyours, you can feel the effect without understanding the words. Or else if
\nsomeone says something violent to you or curses you in a language you are
\ntotally ignorant of, you can very well receive the vibrations. This does not
\ndepend on the understood word. In each language there are sounds which are
\nexpressive; it is not only one language that is expressive. And there are several
\nways of expressing the same thing. There are countless ways of expressing the
\nsame thing. <\/span><\/p>\n

I remember having heard learned people
\ndiscussing things, and they thought themselves very wise \u2013 and discussed with
\nan imperturbable seriousness to find out in which language God had said: \u201cLet
\nthere be Light.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Some of them said that it must have been
\nin Sanskrit, others said that it must have been a still more ancient tongue,
\nothers said that it must have been Syrian, and so on, you see; and nobody
\nthought that perhaps it was not any language at all! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Does the Word also follow the evolution?<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 349<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

That means?…<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It means that what was studied before has now become mediocre. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What Word? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What had been conceived by the scholars in the written Shastras<\/span>; that is, what is written here…<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Of the old traditions?… Yes. But Sri Aurobindo<\/span> also says that there is no reason for it not to
\nchange, for things not to be added, changed. He says… he himself answers your
\nquestion. <\/span><\/p>\n

 It is very good to keep the memory
\nof the past if it helps you, but it should not prevent you from going forward.
\nAnd the teaching which was good at one time is no longer so at another, that’s
\nabsolutely certain. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What I am asking is: Does it too follow the evolution? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What evolution? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That is, what was necessary formerly is no longer sufficient now<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Logically, one should always add. <\/span><\/p>\n

But, usually, those who are attached to
\nthe past want to keep the past by itself, and the others who want to go forward
\nwant to reject everything and keep only what they have found. And so both of
\nthem make a common mistake… that is, of limiting themselves and making their
\nconsciousness narrow instead of widening it. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Is sound particular only to the physical world or is
\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 350<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

there sound in the other domains also? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There is sound there also.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

In the same way as here? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There certainly is a sound in all the
\nmanifested worlds, and when one has the appropriate organs one hears it. <\/span><\/p>\n

 There are sounds which belong to the
\nhighest regions, and in fact, the sound we have here gives the feeling of a
\nnoise in comparison with that sound. <\/span><\/p>\n

 For example, there are regions
\nharmonious and musical in which one hears something which is the origin of the
\nmusic we have here \u2013 but the sounds of material, physical music seem absolutely
\nbarbaric in comparison with that music! When one has heard that, even the most
\nperfect instrument is inadequate. All constructed instruments, among which the
\nviolin certainly has the purest sound, are very much inferior in their
\nexpression to the music of this world of harmonies. <\/span><\/p>\n

 The human voice when absolutely pure
\nis of all instruments the one which expresses it best; but it is still… it
\nhas a sound which seems so harsh, so gross compared with that. When one has
\nbeen in that region, one truly knows what music is. And it has so perfect a
\nclarity that at the same time as the sound one has the full understanding of
\nwhat is said. That is, one has the principle of the idea, without words, simply
\nwith the sound and all the inflexions of the… one can’t call it sensations,
\nnor feelings… what seems to be closest would be some kind of soul-states or
\nstates of consciousness. All these inflexions are clearly perceptible through
\nthe nuances of the sound. And certainly, those who were great musicians,
\ngeniuses from the point of view of music, must have been more or less
\nconsciously in contact with that. The physical world as we have it today is an
\nabsolutely gross world; it looks like a caricature. <\/span><\/p>\n

 It’s the same thing with painting:
\nall the pictures we know <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 351<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

today look like daubings<\/span>
\nwhen one has seen the domain of form and colour<\/span>, the
\nsource of the things expressed through the painting. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

And fundamentally it is the same thing
\nfrom the point of view of ideas. If one enters into contact with the domain of
\npure ideas beyond words, all words are such limitations, restrictions… it
\nbecomes a kind of caricature. The intensity of life contained in the idea is
\nuntranslatable. One can receive it if one is capable of entering consciously
\nthis domain. One can transmit it to a certain extent if one is master of its
\nvibrations and can let them pass and emanate from him. But all that one says or
\nall that one writes is truly a caricature. <\/span><\/p>\n

Is that enough? <\/span><\/p>\n

Or other questions still? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, today is Victory Day (Durga<\/span> Puja<\/span>). It is said that every year on this day you win some
\nvictory<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But in order to have the right to know it,
\nyou must have at least some faint experience of it. <\/span><\/p>\n

What victory has been won today? <\/span><\/p>\n

Do you know it, you, eh? <\/span><\/p>\n

No? You haven’t had any experience of this
\nkind? <\/span><\/p>\n

Has anyone had an experience? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The conquest of desires. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What? You no longer have any desires, you?
\nIt is finished? I congratulate you!\u00a0 <\/span>(Laughter<\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Even following the tradition \u2013 which is
\nonly a local tradition, you know, not even a terrestrial tradition and still
\nless a universal one \u2013 for how many thousands of years has she been <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 352<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

winning a victory every year? And then she
\nmust begin once again always. <\/span><\/p>\n

It must be something very difficult to
\ndestroy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is that all?<\/span><\/p>\n

Ah! We are going to make an experiment. We
\nare going to meditate for ten minutes and during these ten minutes I shall put
\nyou in touch with what has happened; but I won’t say a word to you. If there is
\nsomeone who becomes aware of something, well, you will write it down on a sheet
\nof paper later and I shall see it tomorrow. <\/span><\/p>\n

There, now. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 353<\/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":"

26 October 1955   Mother reads from {The Synthesis of Yoga}, \u00a0\u201cThe Four Aids\u201d.   No questions! There aren’t any questions here, it is clear…<\/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-3905","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\/3905","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=3905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}