{"id":4020,"date":"2013-07-13T01:52:54","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4020"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:52:54","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:52:54","slug":"11-16-june-1929-vol-03-questions-and-answers-volume-03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/03-questions-and-answers-volume-03\/11-16-june-1929-vol-03-questions-and-answers-volume-03","title":{"rendered":"-11_16 June 1929.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n16 June
\n 1929<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/b>
\n<\/font>
\n<\/i>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Can
\nall physical ailments be traced to some disorder in the mind as their ultimate
\nsource? If so, what kind of mental disorder would produce such an ailment as,
\nfor example, prickly heat or sore throat? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There are as many reasons for an illness as there are people who
\nfall ill; the explanation is different in each case. If you ask me, \u201cWhy have I
\nthis ailment or that?\u201d I can look and tell you the reason, but there is no
\ngeneral rule. <\/span><\/p>\n

The ailments of the body are not always
\nthe outcome of a mental disorder, disharmony or wrong movement. The source of
\nthe malady may be something in the mind, it may be something in the vital; or
\nit may be something more or less purely physical, as in illnesses that arise
\nfrom an outer contact. Again, the disturbance may be the result of a movement
\nin the Yoga, and in that case too there is a multitude of possible causes. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let us take up the illnesses that are due
\nto Yoga; for our concern is more directly and intimately with them. Here,
\nalthough no one reason can be given for any particular illness, yet we can
\nseparate them into various groups according to the nature of the causes that
\nprovoke them. <\/span><\/p>\n

The force that comes down into one who is
\ndoing Yoga and helps him in his transformation, acts along many different lines
\nand its results vary according to the nature that receives it and the work to
\nbe done. First of all, it hastens the transformation of all in the being that
\nis ready to be transformed. If he is open and receptive in his mind, the mind,
\ntouched by the power of Yoga, begins to change and progress swiftly. There may
\nbe the same rapidity of change in the vital consciousness if that is ready, or
\neven in the body. But in the body the transforming power of Yoga is operative
\nonly to a certain degree; for the receptivity of the body is limited. The most
\nmaterial plane of <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 85<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

the universe is still in a condition in which receptivity is mixed
\nwith a large amount of resistance. But rapid progress in one part of the being
\nwhich is not followed by an equivalent progress in other parts produces a
\ndisharmony in the nature, a dislocation somewhere; and wherever or whenever
\nthis dislocation occurs, it can translate itself into an illness. The nature of
\nthe illness depends upon the nature of the dislocation. One kind of disharmony
\naffects the mind and the disturbance it produces may lead even as far as
\ninsanity; another kind affects the body and may show itself as fever or prickly
\nheat or any other greater or minor disorder. <\/span><\/p>\n

On one side, the action of the forces of
\nYoga hastens the movement of transformation of the being in those parts that
\nare ready to receive and respond to the power that is at work upon it. Yoga, in
\nthis way, saves time. The whole world is in a process of progressive
\ntransformation; if you take up the discipline of Yoga, you speed up in yourself
\nthis process. The work that would require years in the ordinary course, can be
\ndone by Yoga in a few days and even in a few hours. But it is your inner
\nconsciousness that obeys this accelerating impulse; for the higher parts of
\nyour being readily follow the swift and concentrated movement of Yoga and lend
\nthemselves more easily to the continuous adjustment and adaptation that it
\nnecessitates. The body, on the other hand, is ordinarily dense, inert and apathetic.
\nAnd if you have in this part something that is not responsive, if there is a
\nresistance here, the reason is that the body is incapable of moving as quickly
\nas the rest of the being. It must take time, it must walk at its own pace as it
\ndoes in ordinary life. What happens is as when grown-up people walk too fast
\nfor children in their company; they have to stop at times and wait till the
\nchild who is lagging behind comes up and overtakes them. This divergence
\nbetween the progress in the inner being and the inertia of the body often
\ncreates a dislocation in the system, and that manifests itself as an illness.
\nThis is why people who take up Yoga frequently begin by suffering from some
\nphysical discomfort <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 86<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

or disorder. That need not happen if they are on their guard and
\ncareful. Or if there is a greater and unusual receptivity in the body, then too
\nthey escape. But an unmixed receptivity making the physical parts closely
\nfollow the pace of the inner transformation is hardly possible, unless the body
\nhas already been prepared in the past for the processes of Yoga. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the ordinary life of man a progressive
\ndislocation is the rule. The mental and the vital beings of man follow as best
\nthey can the movement of the universal forces, and the stream of the world’s
\ninner transformation and evolution carries them a certain way; but the body
\nbound to the law of the most material nature, moves very slowly. After some
\nyears, seventy or eighty, a hundred or two hundred, \u2013 and that is perhaps the
\nmaximum,\u00a0 <\/span>the \u2013 dislocation is so serious
\nthat the outer being falls to pieces. The divergence between the demand and the
\nanswer, the increasing inability and irresponsiveness of the body, brings about
\nthe phenomenon of death. By Yoga the inner transformation that is in slow
\nconstant process in the creation is rendered more intense and rapid, but the
\npace of the outer transformation remains almost the same as in ordinary life.
\nAs a result, the disharmony between the inner and the outer being in one who is
\ndoing Yoga tends to be all the greater, unless precautions are taken and a
\nprotection secured that will help the body to follow the inner march as closely
\nas possible. Even then it is the very nature of the body to hold you back. It
\nis for this reason that to many we are obliged to say, \u201cDo not pull, do not
\nhurry; you must give your body time to follow.\u201d Some have to be kept back even
\nfor years and not allowed to do much or progress far. Sometimes, to avoid the
\ndisequilibrium becomes impossible; and then you have a disturbance which varies
\naccording to the nature of the resistance and the measure of the care you have
\ntaken or your negligence. This too is the reason why each time that there is a
\nstrong movement of progress, it is almost invariably followed by a period of
\nimmobility, which seems to those who are not warned a spell of dullness and
\nstagnation <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 87<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

and discouragement in which all progress is stopped, and they
\nthink anxiously, \u201cWhat is the matter? Am I losing time? Nothing is being done.\u201d
\nBut the truth is that it is the time needed for assimilation; a pause is made
\nfor the body to open itself more and become receptive and approach nearer to
\nthe level attained by the inner consciousness. The parents have been walking
\ntoo far ahead; they must halt so that the child left behind may run up and
\ncatch them by the hand; only then can they start again on the journey together.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Each spot of the body is symbolical of an
\ninner movement; there is there a world of subtle correspondences. But this is a
\nlong and complex subject and we cannot enter into its details just now. The
\nparticular place in the body affected by an illness is an index to the nature
\nof the inner disharmony that has taken place. It points to the origin, it is a
\nsign of the cause of the ailment. It reveals too the nature of the resistance
\nthat prevents the whole being from advancing at the same high speed. It
\nindicates the treatment and the cure. If one could perfectly understand where
\nthe mistake is, find out what has been unreceptive, open that part and put the
\nforce and the light there, it would be possible to re-establish in a moment the
\nharmony that has been disturbed and the illness would immediately go. <\/span><\/p>\n

The origin of an illness may be in the
\nmind; it may be in the vital; it may be in any of the parts of the being. One
\nand the same illness may be due to a variety of causes; it may spring in
\ndifferent cases from different sources of disharmony. And there may be too an
\nappearance of illness where there is no real illness at all. In that case, if
\nyou are sufficiently conscious, you will see that there is just a friction
\nsomewhere, some halting in the movement, and by setting it right you will be
\ncured at once. This kind of malady has no truth in it, even when it seems to
\nhave physical effects. It is half made up of imagination and has not the same
\ngrip on matter as a true illness. <\/span><\/p>\n

In short, the sources of an illness are
\nmanifold and intricate; each can have a multitude of causes, but always it
\nindicates <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 88<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

where is the weak part in the being.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To whatever cause an illness may be due,
\nmaterial or mental, external or internal, it must, before it can affect the
\nphysical body, touch another layer of the being that surrounds and protects it.
\nThis subtler layer is called in different teachings by various names, \u2013 the
\netheric body, the nervous envelope. It is a subtle body and yet almost visible.
\nIn density something like the vibrations that you see around a very hot and
\nsteaming object, it emanates from the physical body and closely covers it. All
\ncommunications with the exterior world are made through this medium, and it is
\nthis that must be invaded and penetrated first before the body can be affected.
\nIf this envelope is absolutely strong and intact, you can go into places
\ninfested with the worst of diseases, even plague and cholera, and remain quite
\nimmune. It is a perfect protection against all possible attacks of illness, so
\nlong as it is whole and entire, thoroughly consistent in its composition, its
\nelements in faultless balance. This body is built up, on the one side, of a
\nmaterial basis, but rather of material conditions than of physical matter, on
\nthe other, of the vibrations of our psychological states. Peace and equanimity
\nand confidence, faith in health, undisturbed repose and cheerfulness and bright
\ngladness constitute this element in it and give it strength and substance. It
\nis a very sensitive medium with facile and quick reactions; it readily takes in
\nall kinds of suggestions and these can rapidly change and almost remould its
\ncondition. A bad suggestion acts very strongly upon it; a good suggestion
\noperates in the contrary sense with the same force. Depression and
\ndiscouragement have a very adverse effect; they cut out holes in it, as it
\nwere, in its very stuff, render it weak and unresisting and open to hostile
\nattacks an easy passage. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is the action of this medium that
\npartly explains why people often feel a spontaneous and unreasoning attraction
\nor repulsion for each other. The first seat of these reactions is in this
\nprotecting envelope. Easily we feel attracted towards people who bring a
\nreinforcement to our nervous envelope; we are <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 89<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

repelled by those who disturb or hurt it. Whatever gives it a
\nsense of expansion and comfort and ease, whatever makes it respond with a
\nfeeling of happiness and pleasure exercises on us at once an attraction; when
\nthe effect is in the contrary sense, it responds with a protecting repulsion.
\nThis movement, when two people meet, is often mutual. It is not, of course, the
\nonly cause of affinities, but it is one and a very frequent cause. <\/span><\/p>\n

If the whole being could simultaneously
\nadvance in its progressive transformation, keeping pace with the inner march of
\nthe universe, there would be no illness, there would be no death. But it would
\nhave to be literally the whole being integrally from the highest planes, where
\nit is more plastic and yields in the required measure to transforming forces,
\ndown to the most material, which is by nature rigid, stationary, refractory to
\nany rapid remoulding change. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are certain regions which offer a
\nmuch stronger resistance than others to the action of the Yogic forces, and the
\nillnesses affecting them are harder to cure. They are those parts that belong
\nto the most material layers of the being, and the illnesses that pertain to
\nthem, as, for instance, skin diseases or bad teeth. Sri Aurobindo spoke once of
\na Yogi who, still enjoying robust health and a magnificent physique, had been
\nliving for nearly a century on the banks of the <\/span>Narmada<\/span>. Offered by a disciple medicine for a
\ntoothache, he observed, in refusing, that one tooth had given him trouble for
\nthe last two hundred years. This Yogi had secured so much control over material
\nnature as to live two hundred years, but in all that time he had not been able
\nto conquer a toothache. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the diseases which are considered
\nmost dangerous are the easiest to cure; some that are considered as of very
\nlittle importance can offer the most obstinate resistance. <\/span><\/p>\n

The sources of an illness are manifold and
\nintricate; each can have a multitude of causes, but always it indicates where
\nis the weak part in the being. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nine-tenths of the danger in an illness
\ncomes from fear. Fear <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 90<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

can give you the apparent symptoms of an illness; and it can give you
\nthe illness too, \u2013 its effects can go so far as that. Not so long ago the wife
\nof one who frequents the Ashram but is not herself practising Yoga, heard that
\nthere was cholera in the house where her milkman lived; fear took her and the
\nnext moment she began to show symptoms of the disease. She could however be
\nrapidly cured, because the apparent symptoms were not allowed to develop into
\nthe real illness. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are physical movements, effects of
\nthe pressure of the Yoga, which sometimes create ungrounded fears that may do
\nharm if the fear is not rejected. There is, for instance, a certain pressure in
\nthe head of which there has been question and which is felt by many, especially
\nin the earlier stages, when something that is still closed has to open. It is a
\ndiscomfort that comes to nothing and can easily be got over, if you know that
\nit is an effect of the pressure of the forces to which you are opening, when
\nthey work strongly on the body to produce a result and to hasten the
\ntransformation. Taken quietly, it can turn into a not unpleasurable sensation.
\nBut if you get frightened, you are sure to contract a very bad headache; it may
\neven go as far as a fever. The discomfort is due to some resistance in the
\nnature; if you know how to release the resistance, you are immediately free of
\nthe discomfort. But get frightened and the discomfort may turn into something
\nmuch worse. Whatever the character of the experience you have, you must give no
\nroom to fear; you must keep an unshaken confidence and feel that whatever
\nhappens is the thing that had to happen. Once you have chosen the path, you
\nmust boldly accept all the consequences of your choice. But if you choose and
\nthen draw back and choose again and again draw back, always wavering, always
\ndoubting, always fearful, you create a disharmony in your being, which not only
\nretards your progress, but can be the origin of all kinds of disturbance in the
\nmind and vital being and discomfort and disease in the body. <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 91<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\n
\n\u00a0 <\/font> <\/span>
\n
\nH<\/a><\/font><\/span>OME<\/font><\/a><\/b>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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