{"id":3983,"date":"2013-07-13T01:52:41","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:52:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3983"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:52:41","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:52:41","slug":"36-longer-letters-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\/36-longer-letters-vol-15-words-of-the-mother-volume-15","title":{"rendered":"-36_Longer Letters.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

LONGER LETTERS<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Your letter has been communicated to me
\nand the questions you ask in it were for me, at a certain state of my development,
\nof such intense interest that I shall take great pleasure in replying to them.
\nNevertheless, a reply which is formulated mentally, however complete it may be,
\ncan never be the reply<\/i>, the one which
\nsilences every doubt and quietens<\/span> the mind. Certitude
\ncan only come with spiritual experience, and the most beautiful philosophical
\nworks can never equal or replace a few minutes of Knowledge that is lived. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>You say: \u201cShould a man of average
\ndevelopment, who is no longer tormented by earthly desires and who is linked to
\nthe world only by his affections, renounce the hope of not reincarnating? Is
\nthere not, beyond the human state, a less material state where one goes when
\none is no longer recalled by desire into the human state? This seems strictly logical
\nto me. Man cannot be at the summit of the scale. The animals are very near to
\nhim; is he not very near to the following state?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>First of all, what maintains the relation
\nwith the earth is not only vital desire but any specifically human movement, and
\naffections certainly form part of this. One is bound to the necessity of
\nreincarnation as much by one\u2019s affections, by one\u2019s feelings, as by one\u2019s
\ndesires. However, in the matter of reincarnation as in all things, each case
\nhas its own solution, and it is certain that a constant aspiration for
\nliberation from rebirth, together with a sustained effort towards the elevation
\nand sublimation of the consciousness, should have the result of severing the
\nchain of earthly existences, although it does not for all that put an end to
\nindividual existence, which is prolonged in another world. But why think that
\nhis existence in another, more ethereal world should be the \u201cfollowing state\u201d
\nwhich, relative to man, would be what man is to the animal? It seems to me more
\nlogical to think (and a deeper knowledge confirms this certitude)
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 263<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\nthat
\nthe following state too will be a physical one, although we may conceive of
\nthis physical as magnified, transfigured by the descent, the infusion of Light
\nand Truth. All the ages and millennia of human life that have elapsed so far
\nhave prepared the advent of this new
\nstate<\/i>, and now the time has come for its concrete and tangible realisation<\/span>. That is the very essence of Sri Aurobindo\u2019s<\/span> teaching, the aim of the group he has allowed
\nto form around him, the purpose of his Ashram. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>For your second question,\u00b9 I intended to
\nsend you the translation of a few extracts from Sri Aurobindo\u2019s<\/span>
\nworks. But when I told him that I wanted to translate some passages from The Life Divine <\/i>to send to you, he told
\nme that I would have to translate no less than two chapters if I wanted to
\nconvey a fairly complete reply to you. Seeing my perplexity, he of himself
\ndecided to write some new pages on this subject;\u00b2<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>he gave them to me very recently and I
\nimmediately began the translation. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I do not wish to spoil the freshness of
\nthe beautiful pages that I shall have the privilege of translating, but in the
\nmeanwhile, until I am able to send them to you, I shall give you, if I may, my
\ntoo simple and succinct view of the problem. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It seems beyond question to me that the
\nuniverse in which we live is not one of the most successful, particularly in
\nits outermost expression; but it is also beyond question that we are part of it
\nand that consequently, the only logical and wise thing for us to do is to set
\nto work to perfect it, to extract the best from the worst and to make it into
\nthe most marvellous<\/span> possible universe. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00b9\u201cThe divine spirit, having embodied itself in form, has therefore foreseen
\nand willed everything. But then why does it seem to pursue a goal, a
\nconsciousness, since it could have realised<\/span> this at
\nthe very outset? Why has it allowed pain and evil which exist in its essence?
\nIf human evil can be attributed to men, the injustice that smites animals and
\nplants can only be attributed to the divine order. Why has the divine order not
\norganised<\/span> everything in delight? Pain does not always
\nlead us to perfection; more often, it casts us into incurable despair.\u201d<\/font><\/span>
\n<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b2 Published under the title \u201cThe Riddle of this World\u201d
\nin Cent. Vol. 22, pp. 24-32.<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 264<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\nFor, I would add, not only is this transfiguration possible, but it is certain.
\nMay the peace and joy of Knowledge be with you. <\/span><\/p>\n

14 June 1933<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Friend, sister of
\nformer days and always, <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>In your letter of the 9th June which has
\njust arrived, you write that the Buddha \u201cis smiling with gentle irony\u201d, but the
\nBuddha\u2019s smile can only be a smile of perfect understanding before a luminous
\naccomplishment. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>And in this state in which physical life
\nhas already lost for you so much of its concrete reality, whether you are in
\nthe solitude of the Himalayas or in the solitude of a house on the road to N,
\nit should be equally easy to live in the deep peace of the immense Buddhist
\ncompassion.  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Well, I suppose I shall be the first
\nperson to tell you that I do not find you so different from the others; of
\ncourse I mean in a special way −<\/i>
\nfor each one is different in a way from all the others, but it is certainly not
\nof that difference that you are speaking. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I suppose also that the impression of
\nbeing \u201cdifferent\u201d which you gave to your people and generally to those with
\nwhom you lived comes from the fact that you are unconventional<\/i>. This is generally considered as the sign of a great
\n\u201cdifference\u201d in the nature and temperament. It is only the sign that one has
\nreached a certain inner freedom which liberates you − at least partially −
\nfrom the collective suggestion and the social rules − and that inner
\nfreedom is one of the signs of a grown-up psychic being. But to have a grown-up
\npsychic being is not, after all, something so very exceptional among the people
\nwho are upon earth now. <\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 265<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It seems to me that you received from us
\nyour share of encouragements like the others, but you have perhaps overlooked
\nit as it might have been not exactly what you expected or wished for. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>There was certainly an egocentric pride
\nthat had to be broken before any good spiritual progress could be made. But now
\nthe thing has been mostly done there is no need of being anxious for the
\nfuture. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>This is all I can say for the moment. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>My help, love and blessings are always
\nwith you. <\/span><\/p>\n

23 October 1939<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dear Madam, <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Your letter has just reached me and I hasten
\nto answer. Here are the replies to your questions. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The acute stage of your sister\u2019s illness
\nwas very brief and she did not suffer very much. For the last days she was
\nsaying that all the time she was feeling a great light and force upon her and
\nthe end was very tranquil. She did not know that she was going to die, we
\nourselves were fighting to the last to keep her and nothing was told to her of
\nthe greatness of the danger. Only once she had the impression that she was
\ngoing to pass away, and then she wanted to write to you telling her will about
\nher material affairs, money, property, etc. She informed me of what she wanted
\nto write, but when it came to the actual writing she felt too weak and gave it
\nup. At that moment she worried very much about you and wondered what you would
\ndo without her − several times before she expressed the wish that you
\nshould come and live with her here − more than once she asked that my
\nforce and protection should be with you and I promised her that whenever you
\nwished for them they would be there. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>We would have been very pleased to erect
\nthe grave-stone at our own expense, but I understand your feeling about it and
\nit shall be as you wish. For the plan I had been relying on our architect;
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 266<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\nhe and
\nyour sister had been close friends and she loved his work very much. But he has
\nreceived a commission in the army in <\/span>India<\/span> and is now far away and too busy to make
\nthe plan. To save time I thought that you might yourself arrange for the design
\nand send it to me for execution; only it must be very simple, otherwise it
\nwould be difficult to have it made here. I may say that she would not have
\nliked to have a cross on her tombstone. I propose to put an inscription (in
\nFrench, as it is a French graveyard): <\/span><\/p>\n

Ci-g\u00eet<\/span><\/span> la depouille<\/span> mortelle<\/span> de X<\/span><\/p>\n

(Here lie the mortal remains of X)<\/span><\/p>\n

(Date of birth − Date of death) <\/span><\/p>\n

We intend to erect the memorial stone as
\nclose as possible to the anniversary of her passing away, so I need the design
\nas soon as possible. You will find enclosed a note giving the measurement of
\nthe ground − the monument must be smaller than the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Faithfully yours. <\/span><\/p>\n

1944 <\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(About letters written to two high-ranking
\ngovernment officials) <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I have read your
\nletter to X and I am sorry I had not the opportunity of reading the one you
\nwrote to Y. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The very fact that you wanted to despatch<\/span> these letters without showing them to me ought to
\nhave put you on your guard concerning the origin of the impulse which you were
\nobeying, as obviously it could not be a divine origin. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>This said, I must add that there is
\nnothing essentially wrong in the letter itself. What you say is correct, but
\nsurely it is not meant for the person to whom you wanted to send it, nor to any
\nsimilar person, that is to say, someone in a prominent political position.
\nStatesmen believe only in their own knowledge  <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 267<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

and power and,
\nmoreover, they receive hundreds of letters from people who think they have
\nfound a solution to the world situation, and, as in general these political leaders
\nhave no power of discernment, they cannot distinguish between what is true and
\nwhat is false − and they believe that such letters are the product of the
\nheated brain of religious fanatics. We cannot allow ourselves to be mixed up
\nwith them and for that it is better to keep a dignified silence. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>In any case there is more than a
\nninety-nine per cent chance that your letter would never reach its destination
\nand might fall into undesirable hands. <\/span><\/p>\n

11 June 1954<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Certainly to do the right thing is not
\ncruel or selfish. What is cruel and selfish is to follow blindly one\u2019s weakness
\nand thus to drag another with oneself into a pit from which it is always
\ndifficult to come out and never without losing much of one\u2019s time and energy,
\nif not much more and much worse. So do not worry; try now seriously to find out
\nthe meaning and the aim of your life and prepare yourself to carry it out
\nthoroughly and sincerely. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Do not worry. It will pass. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It is the vital\u2019s<\/span>
\namour-propre that has received a fine knock on the face; it is vexed and has
\ngone on strike. When it starts understanding that this is foolishness and that
\nit leads to nothing, it will become reasonable again and listen once again to
\nthe wise advice of the psychic which tells it to be quiet and do its work well,
\nthat nothing of true value is lost, that true love is always there, immutable,
\nand that only those movements which were not in conformity with the Divine Work
\nhave been destroyed.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 268<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>For it is to the Divine Work that one must
\nexclusively belong because it alone can, in our life, give us true happiness. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>What has happened was more or less
\nexpected. Each one in life acts according to his own nature, and those who are
\nnot steady in their faith cannot be steady in their love either. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Surely I am not angry with you and my help
\nis always there whenever you want it. As for doing anything wrong, all human
\nbeings do wrong things so long as they live in this world of ignorance, because
\neven if they wish to do right, they do not know what is the right thing to do
\nuntil their consciousness is transformed, and for transformation the first
\nthing needed is complete sincerity; not only to speak the truth (this, it goes
\nwithout saying, is an indispensable elementary condition) but to be always true
\nto oneself and the Divine. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The whole thing is so powerfully
\nsymbolical and expresses so clearly how dangerous it is to be under the leading
\nof an arrogant and ignorant human mind which relies on its own power alone and refuses
\nthe help of the Divine\u2019s Grace. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I do not need to enter into any detailed
\nexplanations; for with this clue you can easily understand the whole affair. Do
\nyou remember that I was asking you with some insistence who <\/i>was driving the car and when you told me it was your driver, I
\nfelt relieved. But it was not <\/i>your
\ndriver who held the steering wheel and the poor fellow suffered for the change.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>What makes the whole thing much more
\nstriking is just the conversation I had with X. I asked him if he was interested
\nin yoga. He said it interested him as philosophical speculation, but not as a
\nthing to be lived. On my remark that it might come to him later on, he said,
\n\u201cOh no! I am an atheist, you see, <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 269<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

I  <\/span>do not believe in
\nGod.\u201d I asked smilingly, \u201cThen how do you arrange your <\/i>universe?\u201d He felt the irony and replied: \u201cI have taken a
\nscientific attitude: I deny nothing but I believe in nothing.\u201d I felt the
\ndanger for Y and said with some force: \u201cBut, I suppose, you do not interfere
\nwith the beliefs of others and you will leave Y free to think and feel as she
\nlikes.\u201d \u201cCertainly,\u201d was his answer, but I did not believe him. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Tell Y to keep her faith intact, whatever
\npressure may be put upon her to change her mind and attitude. She may have to
\nmeet some difficulties, but she must never forget to call on the Divine\u2019s Grace
\nwith confidence and the protection and help will surely be with her. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>As for yourself, do not worry or apprehend
\ndangers for Y. Her difficulties – and life is never without them – are not
\nlikely to be of the more external kind, and the others she can, by keeping her
\nfaith, meet and overcome. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Tell your mother to go deep inside her
\nheart and she will feel that the Divine Grace is with her. I am sending her a
\ncard with my blessings. You can translate for her what is written upon it. You
\ncan tell her also that the consciousness of your father had left his body at
\nthe time of the accident. That is why he did not move or speak, there is
\nnothing astonishing in that and no reason to be especially sorry about it. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I did not reply because her mind was in
\nsuch a confusion as a result of her desires, that she would not have been able
\nto understand what I would have written. Since then, I have tried to work on
\nher mental and vital being to make it a little more open and receptive, so that
\nshe may understand that love for children and the growing hope for the future
\nthat they represent in the creation, does not mean that each and
\neverybody must have children. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 270<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\nTo each one I disclose
\nwhat is the best for him or her according to their nature and their spiritual
\nneed. But surely it is not always in keeping with the desires. <\/span><\/p>\n

October 1960 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>X is a very refined girl, and she is extremely
\nsensitive, easily hurt. Never scold her or speak harshly to her or force her to
\ndo anything. I find her very nice. But she looked so frightened − I don\u2019t
\nknow who could have told her about me that she should feel like that. Tell her
\nthat I found her very nice. She is very refined but somehow she has been living
\nall tightened up. Let her feel quite free, don\u2019t try to put any ring around
\nher. Let her feel completely relaxed and free here, and tell her that she
\nshould relax and just feel as if she were all the time in sunshine. <\/span><\/p>\n

16 September 1968<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 271<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LONGER LETTERS   \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Your letter has been communicated to me and the questions you ask in it were for me, at a certain state…<\/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-3983","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\/3983","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=3983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3983\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}