{"id":3954,"date":"2013-07-13T01:52:27","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3954"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:52:27","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:52:27","slug":"44-12-november-1952-vol-15-words-of-the-mother-volume-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/15-words-of-the-mother-volume-15\/44-12-november-1952-vol-15-words-of-the-mother-volume-15","title":{"rendered":"-44_12 November 1952.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n
\n


\n12
\nNovember 1952 <\/span><\/font> <\/i><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

THE
\nSTEPS OF THE SOUL<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The human individual is a very complex
\nbeing: he is composed of innumerable elements, each one of which is an
\nindependent entity and has almost a personality. Not only so, the most
\ncontradictory elements are housed together. If there is a particular quality or
\ncapacity present, the very opposite of it, annulling it, as it were, will also
\nbe found along with it and embracing it. I have seen a man brave, courageous,
\nheroic to the extreme, flinching from no danger, facing unperturbed the utmost
\nperil, truly the bravest of the brave; and yet I have seen the same man
\ncowering in abject terror, like the last of poltroons, in the presence of
\ncertain circumstances. I have seen a most generous man giving things away
\nlargely, freely, not counting any expenditure or sacrifice, without the least
\ncare or reservation; the same person I have also found to be the vilest of
\nmisers with respect to certain other considerations. Again, I have seen the
\nmost intelligent person, with a clear mind, full of light and understanding,
\neasily comprehending the logic and implication of a topic; and yet I have seen
\nhim betraying the utmost stupidity of which even an ordinary man without
\neducation or intelligence would be incapable. These are not theoretical
\nexamples: I have come across such persons actually in life.<\/span><\/p>\n

The complexity arises not only in
\nextension but also in depth. Man does not live on a single plane but on many
\nplanes at the same time. There is a scale of gradation in human consciousness:
\nthe higher one rises in the scale the greater the number of elements or
\npersonalities that one possesses. Whether one lives mostly or mainly on the
\nphysical or vital or mental plane or on any particular section of these planes
\nor on the planes above and beyond them, there will be, accordingly, differences
\nin the\u00a0 <\/span>constitution or psycho-physical
\nmake-up of the individual <\/span>personality.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 355<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\nThe higher one stands, the richer the
\npersonality, because it lives not only on its own normal level but also on all
\nthe levels that are below it and which it has transcended. The complete or
\nintegral man, some occultists say, possesses three hundred and sixty-five
\npersonalities; indeed it may be much more. The Vedas speak of the three and
\nthirty-three and thirty-three hundred and thirty-three thousand gods that may
\nbe housed in the human vehicle − the basic three being evidently the
\ntriple status or world of Body, Life and Mind. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is the meaning of this
\nself-contradiction, this division in man? To understand that, we must know and
\nremember that each person represents a certain quality or capacity, a
\nparticular achievement to be embodied. How best can it be done? What is the way
\nby which one can acquire a quality at its purest, highest and most perfect? It
\nis by setting an opposition to it. That is how a power is increased and
\nstrengthened − by fighting against and overcoming all that weakens and
\ncontradicts it. The deficiencies with respect to a particular quality show you
\nwhere you have to mend and reinforce it and in what way to improve it in order
\nto make it perfectly perfect. It is the hammer that beats the weak and soft
\niron to transform it into hard steel. The preliminary discord is useful and
\nneeds to be utilised<\/span> for a higher harmony. This is
\nthe secret of self-conflict in man. You are weakest precisely in that element
\nwhich is destined to be your greatest asset. <\/span><\/p>\n

Each man has then a mission to fulfil<\/span>, a role to play in the universe, a part he has been
\ngiven to learn and take up in the cosmic Purpose, a part which he alone is
\ncapable of executing and none other. This he has to learn and acquire through
\nlife-experiences, that is to say, not in one life but in life after life. In
\nfact, that is the meaning of the chain of lives that the individual has to pass
\nthrough, namely, to acquire experiences and to gather from them the thread −
\nthe skein of qualities and attributes, powers and capacities − for the
\npattern of life he has to weave. Now, the inmost being, the true personality,
\nthe central <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 356<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

consciousness of the evolving individual is his
\npsychic being. It is, as it were, a very tiny spark of light lying in normal
\npeople far behind the life-experiences. In grown-up souls this psychic
\nconsciousness has an increased light − increased in intensity, volume and
\nrichness. Thus there are old souls and new souls. Old and ancient are those
\nthat have reached or are about to reach the fullness of perfection; they have
\npassed through a long history of innumerable lives and developed the most
\ncomplex and yet the most integrated personality. New souls are those that have
\njust emerged or are now emerging out of the mere physico<\/span>-vital
\nexistence; they are like simple organisms, made of fewer constituents related
\nmostly to the bodily life, with just a modicum of the mental. It is the soul,
\nhowever, that grows with experiences and it is the soul that builds and
\nenriches the personality. Whatever portion of the outer life, whatever element
\nin the mind or vital or body succeeds in coming into contact with the psychic
\nconsciousness − that is to say, is able to come under its influence −
\nis taken up and lodged there: it remains in the psychic being as its living
\nmemory and permanent possession. It is such elements that form the basis, the
\ngroundwork upon which the structure of the integral and true personality is
\nraised. <\/span><\/p>\n

The first thing to do then is to find out
\nwhat it is that you are meant to realise<\/span>, what is the
\nrole you have to play, your particular mission, and the capacity or quality you
\nhave to express. You have to discover that and also the thing or things that
\noppose and do not allow it to flower or come to full manifestation. In other
\nwords, you have to know yourself, recognise<\/span> your soul
\nor psychic being. <\/span><\/p>\n

For that you must be absolutely sincere
\nand impartial. You must observe yourself as if you were observing and criticising<\/span> a third person. You must not start with an idea
\nthat this is your life\u2019s mission, this is your particular capacity, this you
\nare to do or that you are to do, in this lies your talent or genius, etc. That
\nwill carry you away from the right track. It is not the liking <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 357<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

or disliking of your external being, your mental or
\nvital or physical choice that determines the true line of your growth. Nor
\nshould you take up the opposite attitude and say, \u201cI am good for nothing in
\nthis matter, I am useless in that one; it is not for me.\u201d Neither vanity and
\narrogance nor self-depreciation and false modesty should move you. As I said,
\nyou must be absolutely impartial and unconcerned. You should be like a mirror
\nthat reflects the truth and does not judge. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you are able to keep such an attitude,
\nif you have this repose and quiet trust in your being and wait for what may be
\nrevealed to you, then something like this happens: you are, as it were, in a
\nwood, dark and noiseless; you see in front of you merely a sheet of water, dark
\nand still, hardly visible − a bit of a pond imbedded in the obscurity;
\nand slowly upon it a moonbeam is cast and in the cool dim light emerges the
\ncalm liquid surface. That is how your secret truth of being will appear and
\npresent itself to you at your first contact with it: there you will see
\ngradually reflected the true qualities of your being, the traits of your divine
\npersonality, what you really are and what you are meant to be. <\/span><\/p>\n

One who has thus known himself and
\npossessed himself. conquering all opposition within himself, has by that very
\nfact extended himself and his conquest, making it easier for others to make the
\nsame or a similar conquest. These are the pioneers or the elite who by a
\nvictorious campaign within themselves help others towards their victory. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 358<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n5
\nFebruary 1956 <\/font> <\/a> <\/span><\/i><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How
\ncan suffering be overcome? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is not as simple as all that. The causes
\nof suffering are innumerable and its quality also varies a great deal, although
\nthe origin of suffering is one and the same and comes from the initial action
\nof an anti-divine will. To make this easier to understand, one can divide
\nsuffering into two distinct categories, although in practice they are very
\noften mixed. <\/span><\/p>\n

The first is purely egoistic and comes
\nfrom a feeling that one\u2019s rights have been violated, that one has been deprived
\nof one\u2019s needs, offended, despoiled, betrayed, injured, etc. This whole
\ncategory of suffering is clearly the result of hostile action and it not only
\nopens the door in the consciousness to the influence of the adversary but is
\nalso one of his most powerful ways of acting in the world, the most powerful of
\nall if in addition there comes its natural and spontaneous consequence: hatred
\nand the desire for revenge in the strong, despair and the wish to die in the
\nweak. <\/span><\/p>\n

The other category of suffering, whose
\ninitial cause <\/i>is the pain of
\nseparation created by the adversary, is totally opposite in nature: it is the
\nsuffering that comes from divine compassion, the suffering of love that feels
\ncompassion for the world\u2019s misery, whatever its origin, cause or effect. But
\nthis suffering, which is of a purely psychic character, contains no egoism, no
\nself-pity; it is full of peace and strength and power of action, of faith in
\nthe future and the will for victory; it does not pity but consoles, it does not
\nidentify itself with the ignorant movement in others but cures and illumines
\nit. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is obvious that in the purity of its
\nessence, only that which is perfectly
\ndivine <\/i>can feel that suffering; but partially, momentarily, like flashes of
\nlightning behind the dark clouds of egoism, it appears in all who have a vast
\nand generous heart. However, <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 359<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

most often, in the individual consciousness it is
\nmixed with that mean and petty self-pity which is the cause of depression and
\nweakness. Nevertheless, when one is vigilant enough to refuse this mixture or
\nat least to reduce it to a minimum, one soon realises<\/span>
\nthat this divine compassion is based on a sublime and eternal joy which alone
\nhas the strength and the power to deliver the world from its ignorance and
\nmisery. <\/span><\/p>\n

And this suffering too will disappear from
\nthe universe only with the total disappearance of the adversary and all the
\neffects of his action. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 360<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n1958
\n(1) <\/font> <\/a> <\/span><\/i>  <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

MEMORY
\nOF PAST LIVES<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If one were to say things truly, one would
\nhave to say everything, in full detail. For among the innumerable experiences
\nthat I have had in the course of eighty years, many were of such a variety and
\napparently so contradictory that one might say: after all, everything is
\npossible. So then, if I tell you something about past lives without presenting
\nthe thread running through everything, that would be opening the door to
\ndogmatism. You will say one day, \u201cMother has said this, Mother has said that.\u201d
\nAnd that is how dogmas, alas, are made. <\/span><\/p>\n

Given then the multitude of experiences
\nand the impossibility that I should pass my life in talking and writing, you
\nmust tell yourself that everything is possible and not be dogmatic. I may,
\nhowever, give a few general indications. <\/span><\/p>\n

Only when one is consciously identified
\nwith one\u2019s divine origin, can one in truth speak of a memory of past lives. Sri
\nAurobindo<\/span> speaks of the progressive manifestation of
\nthe Spirit in the forms in which it dwells. When one reaches the summit of this
\nmanifestation, one has a vision that plunges down upon the way traversed and
\none remembers. <\/span><\/p>\n

But this memory is not a thing of the
\nmental kind. Those who claim to have been such a baron of the Middle Ages or
\nsuch a person who lived at such a place and such a time, are fanciful, they are
\nsimply victims of their own mental imagination. In fact, what remains of past
\nlives are not beautiful pictures in which you appear as a mighty lord in a
\ncastle or a victorious general at the head of an army − that is only
\nromance. What remains is the memory of those instants when the psychic being
\nemerged from the depths of your being and revealed itself to you − that
\nis to say, the memory of those instants when you were wholly conscious. That
\ngrowth of consciousness is progressively <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 361<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

effectuated in the course of evolution, and the memory
\nof past lives is generally limited to the critical moments of evolution, to the
\ndecisive turns that marked the progress of your consciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the time when you live such moments of
\nyour life, you do not care at all about remembering that you were Mr. X, such a
\nperson, living at such a place and in such an epoch; it is not the memory of
\nyour civic status that remains. On the contrary, you lose all consciousness of these
\npetty external things, accessories and perishables, so that you may be wholly
\nin the flare of the soul revelation or of the divine contact. When you remember
\nsuch instants of your past lives, the memory is so intense that it seems to be
\nstill very close, still living, and much more living than most of the ordinary
\nmemories of our present life. At times, in dreams, when you come into contact
\nwith certain planes of consciousness, you may have memories of such intensity,
\nsuch vibrant colour<\/span>, so to say, even more intense
\nthan the colours<\/span> and things of the physical world.
\nFor these are the moments of true consciousness, and everything then puts on an
\nextraordinary brilliance, everything is vibrant, everything is imbued with a
\nquality that escapes the ordinary eye. <\/span><\/p>\n

These minutes of contact with the soul are
\noften those that mark a decisive turn of our life, a forward step, a progress
\nin consciousness, and that frequently corresponds with a crisis, an extremely
\nintense situation when there comes a call in the whole being, a call so strong
\nthat the inner consciousness pierces the layers of unconsciousness covering it
\nand is revealed all luminous on the surface. This call of the being, when very
\nstrong, can also bring about the descent of a divine emanation, an
\nindividuality, a divine aspect which joins with your individuality at a given
\nmoment in order to do a given work, win a battle, express one thing or another.
\nThe work done, the emanation very often withdraws. Then one may retain the
\nmemory of the circumstances that were around those minutes of revelation or
\ninspiration: one sees again the scenery, the colour<\/span>
\nof the dress <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 362<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

that one had put on, the colour<\/span>
\nof one\u2019s own skin, the things about you at that time − all that is fixed
\nindelibly with an extraordinary intensity, because the things of the ordinary
\nlife revealed themselves then in their true intensity and their true colour<\/span>. The consciousness that reveals itself in you,
\nreveals at the same time the consciousness that is in things. At times, with
\nthe help of these details you may reconstitute the age in which you lived or
\nthe action that you did, find out the country where you were; but it is very
\neasy also to make a romance and take imagination for reality. <\/span><\/p>\n

Yet you must not believe that all memories
\nof past lives are those of moments of great crisis, of important mission or of
\nrevelation. Some times they are moments very simple, transparent, when an
\nintegral, a perfect harmony of the being was expressed. And that may correspond
\nto altogether insignificant external situations. <\/span><\/p>\n

Apart from the things that were in your
\nimmediate surrounding at that moment, apart from that moment of contact with
\nyour psychic being, nothing remains. Once the privileged moment passes, the
\npsychic being plunges into an inner somnolence and the whole outer life melts
\ninto a grey monotony which does not leave any trace. Besides, it is almost the
\nsame phenomenon as what happens in the course of the life that you lead at
\npresent: apart from those exceptional moments when you are at the summit of
\nyour being, mental or vital or even physical, the rest of your life seems to
\nmelt into a kind of neutral colour<\/span> which has no great
\ninterest, when it matters little whether you were at such a place instead of
\nbeing at another, whether you did this thing or that. If you try to look at
\nyour life all at once, in order to gather, as it were, its essence, the twenty
\nor thirty or forty years behind you, you will see rise up spontaneously two or
\nthree images which were the true moments of your life; the rest is effaced. A
\nkind of spontaneous choice works in your consciousness and there is a
\ntremendous elimination. This will give you a little idea of what happens in
\nregard to past lives: <\/span>the choice of a few select moments and an immense
\nelimination.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 363<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

It is very true that the earliest lives
\nare very rudimentary; very few things subsist out of that, scattered memories
\nfew and far between. But the more one progresses in consciousness, the more the
\npsychic being is consciously associated with the outer activities; the memories
\ngrow in number and become more coherent and precise. But still, here also, the
\nmemory that remains is that of the contact with the soul and at times that of
\nthings which were associated with the psychic revelation − not the civic
\nstatus or the changing scenes around. And this will explain to you why the
\nso-called memories of past animal lives are the most fantastic: the divine
\nspark in them is buried much too deep down to be able to come up consciously to
\nthe surface and be associated with the outer life. One must become a wholly
\nconscious being, conscious in all its parts, totally united with one\u2019s divine
\norigin before one can truly say that one remembers his past lives. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 364<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n1958
\n(2) <\/font> <\/a> <\/span><\/i><\/b>       <\/span>  <\/span><\/p>\n

INNER
\nREALISATION IS THE KEY TO OUTER REALISATION<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When the adverse forces want to attack
\nthose who are around me and when they do not succeed in making them openly
\nhostile to Sri Aurobindo\u2019s<\/span> work or in turning them
\nagainst me personally, they proceed in the matter always in the same way, with
\nthe same argument: \u201cYou may have all the inner realisations<\/span>
\nyou like,\u201d they say, \u201cthe most beautiful experiences possible within the four
\nwalls of the Ashram, but on the outer plane your life is spoiled, wasted. There
\nis an abyss that you will never fill between the inner experience and the
\nconcrete realisation<\/span> in the world.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

This is the number one argument of the
\nadverse forces. I know it. For millions of years I have heard the same thing
\nrepeated and each time I have unmasked it. It is a falsehood − it is the
\nfalsehood. Everything that tends to establish a divorce between earth and the
\nSpirit, is good for them, everything that separates the inner experience from
\nthe divine realisation<\/span> in the world. But it is the
\ncontrary that is true: it is the inner realisation<\/span>
\nthat is the key to the outer realisation<\/span>. How can you
\nexpect to know the true thing which you have to realise<\/span>
\nin the world so long as you do not possess the truth of your being? <\/span>         <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 365<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n30
\nMay 1958 <\/font> <\/a> <\/span> <\/i>  <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

THE
\nANTI-DIVINE<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I have noticed one thing, that in at least
\nninety-nine cases out of a hundred this [attack by adverse forces] is an excuse
\nwhich people give to themselves. I have seen that practically almost all who
\nwrite to me: \u201cI am violently attacked by adverse forces\u201d, give this as an
\nexcuse. It is because there are many things in their nature which do not want
\nto surrender, so they put all the blame on the adverse forces. <\/span><\/p>\n

In reality I am turning more and more
\ntowards something where the role of the adverse forces will be reduced to that
\nof an examiner; that is to say, they are there to test the sincerity of your
\nspiritual seeking. These things have their reality in the action and for the
\nwork − and it is a great reality − but when you have gone beyond a
\ncertain region, all that reaches a point where it is no longer so distinct and
\nclear-cut. In the occult world, or rather, if you look at the world from the
\noccult point of view, these adverse forces are very real, their action is very
\nreal, completely concrete, and their attitude towards the divine realisation<\/span> is positively hostile. But as soon as you pass
\nbeyond this domain and enter into the spiritual world where there is nothing
\nother than the Divine, who is everything, and where there is nothing that is
\nnot divine, these \u201cadverse forces\u201d become a part of the total play and they can
\nno longer be called adverse forces. It is only a posture that they have taken;
\nto speak more exactly, it is only a posture that the Divine has taken in his
\nplay.<\/span><\/p>\n

This also forms part of the dualities of
\nwhich Sri Aurobindo speaks in The
\nSynthesis of Yoga<\/i>, the dualities that are reabsorbed. I do not know if he
\nhas spoken of this particular one I do not think so − but it is the same
\nthing; it is just a way of seeing. He has spoken of the dualities
\nPersonal-Impersonal, Ishwara-Shakti<\/span>, Purusha-Prakriti<\/span>. There is one more: the Divine and the
\nAnti-Divine. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 366<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n19 July 1958<\/font> <\/font>
\n<\/a> <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

EATING
\nTHE FRUIT<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A
\npeach should ripen on the tree; it is a fruit that is to be plucked when the
\nsun is there upon it. At the time when the sun falls upon it, you come, pluck
\nit and bite into it. Then it is absolutely heavenly !<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

There
\nare two fruits like this: the peach and the golden greengage. It is the same
\nfor both: you must take them warm from the tree, bite them, and you are filled
\nwith an Edenic<\/span> taste. <\/span><\/p>\n

Each
\nfruit should be eaten in a special way. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fundamentally,
\nthis is the symbol of earthly paradise and of the tree of Knowledge: in eating
\nof the fruit of Knowledge, you lose your spontaneity of movement and you begin
\nto objectify, to learn, to discuss; thus, when they had eaten of the fruit they
\nbecame full of sin. <\/span><\/p>\n

I
\nsay each fruit should be eaten in its own way. A being living according to its
\nown nature, its own truth, should spontaneously discover its own way of using
\nthings. When you live according to the truth of your being, you have no need to
\nlearn things,<\/span> you do them spontaneously, according to the
\ninner law. When you follow your nature spontaneously and sincerely, you are
\ndivine. As soon as you think, see yourself doing and begin to discuss, you are
\nfull of sin. <\/span><\/p>\n

It
\nis man\u2019s mental consciousness that has filled all Nature with the idea of sin
\nand all the misery which it brings! Animals are not unhappy in the way we are,
\nnot at all, not at all, except<\/span>, as Sri Aurobindo<\/span> says, those that have been corrupted. The
\ncorrupted ones are those that live with men. Dogs have the sense of sin and
\nguilt. It is because their whole aspiration is to become like man − man
\nis god − and then, dissimulation, falsehood. Dogs do lie. Men admire
\nthat; they say, \u201cOh! How intelligent they are!\u201d  <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 367<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

They have
\nlost their divinity. <\/span><\/p>\n

The
\nhuman species, in the spiral ascent, is truly at a point which is not pretty.  <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

But isn\u2019t a dog more conscious than a tiger, more evolved, and higher in
\nthe spiral, that is to say, nearer to the Divine? <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

To be conscious
\nis not the point. Man is more evolved than the tiger, there is not the shadow
\nof a doubt, but the tiger is more divine than man. You must not confuse things:
\nthe two things are quite different. <\/span><\/p>\n

You
\nsee, the Divine is everywhere, in everything. You should never forget that, not
\nfor a second should you forget it. He is everywhere, in everything; and
\nunconsciously, but spontaneously and therefore sincerely, everything that is
\nbelow the mental manifestation is divine without mixture, that is to say, spontaneously,
\nby its very nature. It is man with his mind who has introduced the idea of
\nguilt. Naturally he is much more conscious !<\/span> That is
\nnot to be disputed, it is well understood, because what we call consciousness
\n(what \u201cwe\u201d call, that is to say, what man calls consciousness) is the power to
\nobjectify and mentalise<\/span> things. It is not the true
\nconsciousness, but it is what men call consciousness. So in this human way, it
\nis understood that man is much more conscious than the animal. But with man
\ncomes sin and perversion, which do not exist outside the state that we call
\n\u201cconscious\u201d, but which is not truly conscious, which simply consists in mentalising<\/span> things, in having the capacity to objectify
\nthem. <\/span><\/p>\n

It
\nis a curve of ascent, but that curve moves away from the Divine, and one must
\nrise much higher to find again, naturally, a higher Divine, for it is a
\nconscious Divine, whereas the others are divine without being conscious,
\nspontaneously and instinctively. And our whole moral notion of good and bad, we
\nhave  <\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 368<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

thrown<\/span><\/span>
\nall that upon the creation with our deformed and perverted consciousness. It is
\nwe who have invented it. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>We are the deforming intermediary
\nbetween the purity of the animal and the divine purity of the gods. <\/span>
\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 369<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n21 July
\n1958 <\/font> <\/a> <\/span> <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

DO
\nNOT WASTE ENERGY<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Human
\nbeings do not know how to preserve energy. When something happens, an accident
\nor an illness, they ask for help and a double or triple dose of energy is
\nadministered. They feel that they are receptive and they receive it. This
\nenergy is given for two reasons: to repair the disorder caused by the accident
\nor illness, and to give a power for transformation in order to mend, to change
\nwhat was the true cause of the illness or accident.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead
\nof utilising<\/span> energy in that way, immediately,
\nimmediately they throw it out. They begin to move about, they begin to be
\nactive, they begin to work, they begin to speak, they begin\u2026 they feel
\nthemselves full of energy and throw everything out !<\/span>
\nThey can keep nothing. Then naturally, since the energy was not meant to be
\nwasted like that, but for an inner use, they fall quite flat. And this is
\nuniversal. They do not know, they do not know how to make this movement: to go
\nwithin, to utilise<\/span> the energy − not to keep it,
\nit cannot be kept − to utilise<\/span> it to mend the
\ndamage done to the body and to go deep down to find out the reason for the
\naccident or the malady, and there, to change that into an aspiration, an inner
\ntransformation. Instead of this, people begin immediately to chatter, to move about,
\nto act, to do this, to do that !<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed,
\nthe great majority of human beings feel that they are alive only when they
\nwaste energy; otherwise it does not look like life. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not
\nto waste energy means to utilise<\/span> it for the purposes
\nfor which it was given. If the energy is given for transformation, for the
\nsublimation of the being, it must be used for that; if the energy is given to
\nset right something that has been disorganised<\/span> in the
\nbody, it must be used for that.   <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 370<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Naturally,
\nif someone is given a special work and if he is given the energy to do that
\nwork, it is all right, it is used for its own purposes, and it was given for
\nthat. <\/span><\/p>\n

As
\nsoon as a man feels energetic, he rushes immediately into action. Or else,
\nthose who have not got the sense to do something useful, gossip. Worse still,
\nthose who have no control over themselves become intolerant and begin to dispute !<\/span> If their will is contradicted, they feel
\nthemselves full of energy and take it as holy wrath !<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 371<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n(July?)<\/font><\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span> 1958 <\/font> <\/a> <\/span> <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Why,
\nand through what mechanism, does mental formulation dissipate an experience,<\/span> cause it to lose the major part of its power for
\naction on the consciousness? <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

If, for example,
\nyou want to get rid of a wrong movement and, as the result of a grace, the
\nforce is sent out for this purpose, this force begins to act on the
\nconsciousness. Then, if you draw it towards you, so to speak, in order to
\nformulate it, naturally you decentralise<\/span> it, disperse
\nand dissipate it. <\/span><\/p>\n

But
\nthis is not all: the simple fact of speaking to another person opens you
\nautomatically to whatever may come from him; an interchange always occurs. In
\nthis way his curiosity, his obscurity, his good-will and also at times his
\nill-will intervenes, modifies, deforms. <\/span><\/p>\n

On
\nthe other hand, if you want to speak of your experience to your Guru and he
\nagrees to listen to you, it means that he adds his force, his knowledge and his
\nexperience to the working of the force and he helps to bring about the result.  <\/span><\/p>\n

But
\ndoesn\u2019t the harm caused by the formulation still exist? <\/span><\/i> <\/span>Yes, but he repairs it. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 372<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n(July?)<\/font><\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span> 1958 <\/font> <\/a> <\/span> <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

THE
\nSENSE OF BEAUTY<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To
\ndo this yoga, one must have, at least a little, the sense of beauty. If one does
\nnot, one misses one of the most important aspects of the physical world. <\/span><\/p>\n

There
\nis this beauty, this dignity of soul − a thing about which I am very
\nsensitive. It is a thing that moves me and evokes in me a great respect always.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes,
\nthis beauty of soul that is visible in the face, this kind of dignity, this
\nharmony of integral realisation<\/span>. When the soul
\nbecomes visible in the physical, it gives this dignity, this beauty, this majesty,<\/span> the majesty that comes from one\u2019s being the
\nTabernacle. Then, even things that have no particular beauty put on a sense of
\neternal beauty, of it the eternal beauty. <\/span><\/p>\n

I
\nhave seen in this way faces that pass from one extreme to the other in a flash.
\nSomeone has this kind of beauty and harmony, this sense of divine dignity in
\nthe body; then suddenly there comes the perception of an obstacle, a
\ndifficulty, and the sense of fault, of indignity − and then, a sudden
\ndeformation in the appearance, a kind of decomposition of the features !<\/span> And yet it is the same face. It was like a flash
\nof lightning, and it was frightful. That kind of hideousness of torment and
\ndegradation − what has been translated in religions as \u201cthe torment of
\nsin\u201d − that gives you a face indeed !<\/span> Even
\nfeatures that are beautiful in themselves become horrible. And it was the same
\nfeatures, the same person. <\/span><\/p>\n

Then
\nI saw how horrible the sense of sin is, how much it belongs to the world of
\nfalsehood. <\/span>
\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 373<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n10
\nOctober 1958 <\/font> <\/a> <\/span> <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

THE WORSHIP OF THE SUPREME IN MATTER<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In
\nall religious and particularly in occult initiations, the ritual of the
\ndifferent ceremonies is prescribed in every detail; each word uttered, each
\ngesture made has its importance and the least infraction of the rule, the least
\nmistake committed can have disastrous consequences. It is the same with the
\nmaterial life, and if one were initiated into the true way of living, one would
\nbe able to transform physical existence. <\/span><\/p>\n

If
\nthe body is considered as the tabernacle of the Lord, then medical science, for
\nexample, becomes the initiatory ritual for service of the temple and doctors of
\nall categories are the priests who officiate in the different rituals of the
\nworship. Thus, medicine is truly a priesthood<\/span> and
\nshould be treated as such. <\/span><\/p>\n

The
\nsame thing may be said of physical culture and of all the sciences dealing with
\nthe body and its working. And if the material universe is regarded as the
\nexternal robe and manifestation of the Supreme, then it can be said, generally,
\nthat all the physical sciences are rituals of worship. <\/span><\/p>\n

So
\nwe always come back to the same thing: the absolute necessity of a perfect
\nsincerity, a perfect honesty, and a sense of the dignity of what one does, so
\nthat one does it as it should be done.<\/span><\/p>\n

If
\none could know all the details truly, perfectly, all the details of the
\nceremony of life, of the worship of the Lord in physical life, it would be
\nwonderful − to know and not to make more mistakes, never make any more
\nmistakes. One performs the ceremony with the perfection of an initiation.  <\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 374<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

12 November 1952   THE STEPS OF THE SOUL    The human individual is a very complex being: he is composed of innumerable elements, each…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[114],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-15-words-of-the-mother-volume-15","wpcat-114-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3954","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=3954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3954\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}