{"id":4264,"date":"2013-07-13T01:54:40","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4264"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:54:40","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:54:40","slug":"25-06-august-1958-vol-09-questions-and-answers-volume-09","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/09-questions-and-answers-volume-09\/25-06-august-1958-vol-09-questions-and-answers-volume-09","title":{"rendered":"-25_06 August 1958.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n
\n6 August 1958 <\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Sweet
\nMother, what is the effect and value of collective prayer? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

We have already spoken about this,
\nabout collective prayers, the use that has been made of them. I believe that it
\nhas even been published in the Bulletin<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides, there
\nare different kinds of collective prayer, just as there are different kinds of collectivities<\/span>. There is the anonymous mass, the crowd,
\nformed by chance circumstances, without any inner coordination, impelled by the
\nforce of circumstance, as for instance when a king or a person who attracts
\npublic attention is in a critical situation, either ill or the victim of an
\naccident, and the people gather to obtain news and also to express their
\nfeelings; and through chance circumstances people have collected there, that
\nis, there is no inner link except that of the same emotion or interest. There
\nhave been cases of crowds spontaneously beginning to pray to ask for the
\nrecovery of someone in whom they were specially interested. Of course, these
\nvery crowds can gather for a completely different purpose, out of hatred, and
\ntheir cries are also a sort of prayer, a prayer to the adverse and destructive
\nforces. <\/span><\/p>\n

Those
\nmovements are spontaneous, not organised, unexpected.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is
\nalso the collectivity<\/span> formed by individuals who have
\ngathered together around an ideal or a teaching or an action they want to carry
\nout, and who have an organising link between them, the link of the same
\npurpose, the same will and the same faith. These can gather in a methodical manner
\nto practise common prayer and meditation, and if their aim is high, their
\norganisation good, their ideal powerful, through their prayers or meditations
\nthese groups can have a considerable effect on world events or on their own
\ninner development and collective pro<\/span>gress<\/span><\/span>.   <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 369<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

These groups are necessarily far
\nsuperior to others, but they don\u2019t have the blind strength of the mobs, the
\ncollective action of the crowd. They replace this vehemence, this intensity by
\nthe strength of a deliberate and conscious organisation.<\/span><\/p>\n

      At
\nall times there have been on earth groups organised in this way. Some of them
\nhave had a historical life, a historical action in the world, but as a rule
\nthey have not succeeded better with the crowd, the mass, than exceptional
\nindividuals. They have always been suspected and subjected to attacks,
\npersecutions, and often they have also been dissolved in a very brutal, obscure
\nand ignorant way.\u2026There were those semi-religious, semi-chivalric groups,
\ngathered around a belief or rather a creed, with a definite aim, which have had
\na very interesting history in the world. And certainly, they have done much for
\ncollective progress through their individual effort. <\/span><\/p>\n

      There
\nis an ideal organisation which, if fully realised, could create a kind of very
\npowerful unity, composed of elements all having the same aim and the same will
\nand with enough inner development to be able to give a very coherent body to
\nthis inner oneness of purpose, motive, aspiration and action. <\/span><\/p>\n

      At
\nall times centres of initiation have tried this, more or less successfully, and
\nthis is always mentioned in all occult traditions as an extremely powerful
\nmeans of action. <\/span><\/p>\n

      If
\nthe collective unit could attain the same cohesion as the individual unit, it
\nwould multiply the strength and action of the individual. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Usually,
\nif several individuals are brought together, the collective quality of the
\ngroup is much lower than the individual value of each person taken separately,
\nbut with a sufficiently conscious and coordinated organisation, it would be
\npossible, on the contrary, to multiply the power of individual action.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n\u00a0<\/font><\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b>13 August
\n 1958<\/font><\/span><\/a><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, in July 1953 you told us
\nthat after five years you would give us lessons on spiritual life. \u00b9 I have
\nbrought what you said, Sweet Mother. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Really! That is interesting! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>(Mother reads the text given by the child<\/i>) Has it been printed? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

         \u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>No<\/i>,
\nMother.<\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Oh! I like the last sentence very
\nmuch! <\/span><\/p>\n

 (After
\na silence<\/i>) So, what do you expect me to do?\u2026To begin? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

           Yes, Mother. <\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But I have already started, haven\u2019t
\nI? Even before the five years have passed! It seems that on that day, I\u2026Oh! I wrote]
\nhere is something I wrote\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

        \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span> It is written in Conversations,<\/span><\/i>\u00b2<\/span> Sweet Mother. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There I have written about the
\nconfusion made between asceticism and spiritual life, and then I promise that
\none day I shall speak to you about the confusion people make between what they
\ncall God and what I call the Divine. <\/span><\/p>\n

       But
\nI have already spoken to you about that several times, haven\u2019t I? <\/span><\/p>\n

       I
\ndid not remember my promise but I have kept it without remembering it and even
\nbefore the day came!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b9 <\/font> <\/span>
\nSee Question and Answers 1953 (15 July).<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b2 <\/font> <\/span>
\nPresently entitled Questions and Answers 1929.<\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 371<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Now, if you
\nask me a precise question on this subject, I shall see what I can say. What do you
\nwant to know about spiritual life?\u2026Do you have a particular question? <\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>You
\nmean you have started the meditations, Mother? <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Yes!\u2026And giving you explanations on
\nwhat I read. We have even begun, in the small class, to meditate on the
\ndisciplines which are necessary to lead a spiritual life. And when I took up
\nthe reading of the Dhammapada<\/span>, we read many things
\nleading to the knowledge of spiritual life. But if you have a precise question
\non a special point, you can ask it, I shall reply. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


\n            <\/span>Sweet Mother, why don\u2019t we profit as
\nmuch as we should by our presence here in the Ashram? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Ah! That is very simple; it is
\nbecause it is too easy!\u2026When you have to go all round the world to find a
\nteacher, when you have to give up everything to obtain only the first words of
\na teaching, then this teaching, this spiritual help becomes something very
\nprecious, like everything that is difficult to obtain, and you make a great
\neffort to deserve it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Most of you
\ncame here when you were very small, at an age when there can be no question of
\nthe spiritual life or spiritual teaching \u2013 it would be altogether premature.
\nYou have indeed lived in this atmosphere but without even being aware of it;
\nyou are accustomed to seeing me, hearing me; I speak to you as one does to all
\nchildren, I have even played with you as one plays with children; you only have
\nto come and sit here and you hear me speak, you only have to ask me a question
\nand I answer you, I have never refused to say anything to anybody\\is so easy.
\nIt is enough to\u2026live \u2013 to sleep, to eat, to do exercises and study at school.
\nYou live here as you would live anywhere else. And so, you are used to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

      If
\nI had made strict rules, if I had said, \u201cI shall not tell you  <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 372<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

anything until you have truly made
\nan effort to know it\u201d, then perhaps you might have made some effort, but that\u2019s
\nnot in keeping with my idea. I believe more in the power of the atmosphere and
\nof example than of a rigorous teaching. I count more on something awakening in
\nthe being through contagion rather than by a methodical, disciplined effort. <\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps,
\nafter all, something is being prepared and one day it will spring up to the
\nsurface. <\/span><\/p>\n

That is
\nwhat I hope for. <\/span><\/p>\n

One day you
\nwill tell yourself, \u201cJust think! I have been here so long, I could have learnt
\nso much, realised so much and I never even thought of it! Only like that, now
\nand then.\u201d And then, on that day\u2026well, on that day, just imagine, you are going
\nto wake up all of a sudden to something you never noticed but which is deep
\nwithin you and thirsts<\/i> for the truth, thirsts for transformation and is
\nready to make the effort required to realise it. On that day you will go very
\nfast, you will advance with giant strides.\u2026Perhaps, as I said, that day has
\ncome now after five years? I said, \u201cI give you five years….\u201d Now the five
\nyears have passed, so perhaps the day has come! Perhaps you will suddenly feel
\nan irresistible<\/i> need not to live in unconsciousness, in ignorance, in
\nthat state in which you do things without knowing why, feel things without
\nunderstanding why, have contradictory wills, understand nothing about anything,
\nlive only by habit, routine, reactions \u2013 you take life easy. And one day you
\nare no longer satisfied with that. <\/span><\/p>\n

      It
\ndepends, for each one it is different. Most often it is the need to know, to
\nunderstand; for some it is the need to do what must be done as it should be
\ndone; for others it is a vague feeling that behind this life, so unconscious, so
\nfutile, so empty of meaning, there is something to find which is worth <\/i>being
\nlived \u2013 that there is a reality, a truth behind these falsehoods and illusions.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

      One
\nsuddenly feels that everything one does, everything one sees, has no meaning,
\nno purpose, but that there <\/i>is something  <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 373<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

which has a meaning; that
\nessentially one is here on earth for something, that all this \u2013 all these
\nmovements, all this agitation, all this wastage of force and energy \u2013 all that
\nmust have a purpose, an aim, and that this uneasiness one feels within oneself,
\nthis lack of satisfaction, this need, this thirst<\/i> for something must
\nlead us somewhere else. <\/span><\/p>\n

      And
\none day, you ask yourself, \u201cBut then, why is one born? Why does one die? Why
\ndoes one suffer? Why does one act?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

      You
\nno longer live like a little machine, hardly half-conscious. You want to feel
\ntruly, to act truly, to know truly. Then, in ordinary life one searches for
\nbooks, for people who know a little more than oneself, one begins to seek somebody
\nwho can solve these questions, lift the veil of ignorance. Here it is very
\nsimple. You only have to\u2026do the things one does every day, but to do them with
\na purpose. <\/span><\/p>\n

      You
\ngo to the Samadhi, look at Sri Aurobindo\u2019s picture, you come to receive a flower
\nfrom me, sit down to a lesson; you do everything you do but\u2026with one question
\nwithin you: Why? <\/span><\/p>\n

      And
\nthen, if you ask the question, you receive the answer. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Why?
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

      Because
\nwe don\u2019t want life as it is any longer, because we don\u2019t want falsehood and
\nignorance any longer, because we don\u2019t want suffering and unconsciousness any
\nlonger, because we do not want disorder and bad will any longer, because Sri
\nAurobindo has come to tell us: It is not necessary to leave the earth to find
\nthe Truth, it is not necessary to leave life to find one\u2019s soul, it is not
\nnecessary to give up the world or to have limited beliefs in order to enter
\ninto relation with the Divine. The Divine is everywhere, in everything, and if
\nHe is hidden\u2026it is because we do not take the trouble to discover Him. <\/span><\/p>\n

We can,
\nsimply by a sincere aspiration, open a sealed door in us and find\u2026that
\nSomething which will change the whole significance of life, reply to all our
\nquestions, solve all our problems and lead us to the perfection we aspire for
\nwithout <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 374<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

 knowing it, to that Reality
\nwhich alone can satisfy us and give us lasting joy, equilibrium, strength,
\nlife. <\/span><\/p>\n

All this
\nyou have heard many a time.<\/span><\/p>\n

      You
\nhave heard it \u2013 Oh! There are even some here who are so used to it that for
\nthem it seems to be the same thing as drinking a glass of water or opening a
\nwindow to let in the sunlight. <\/span><\/p>\n

      But
\nsince I promised you that in five years you would be able to live <\/i>these
\nthings, to have a concrete, real, convincing experience of them, well, that
\nmeans you ought to be ready and that we are going to begin. <\/span><\/p>\n

      We
\nhave tried a little, but now we are going to try seriously! <\/span><\/p>\n

      The
\nstarting-point: to want it, truly want it, to need it. The next step: to think,
\nabove all,<\/i> of that. A day comes, very quickly, when one is unable to think
\nof anything else. <\/span><\/p>\n

      That
\nis the one thing which counts. And then\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

      One
\nformulates one\u2019s aspiration, lets the true prayer spring up from one\u2019s heart,
\nthe prayer which expresses the sincerity of the need. And then\u2026well, one will
\nsee what happens. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Something
\nwill happen. Surely something will happen. For each one it will take a
\ndifferent form. <\/span><\/p>\n

      That\u2019s
\nall. I am glad you gave me this. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 375<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n15 August
\n 1958<\/font><\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\nThis short talk was given on a Friday, the day<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\non which the Dhammapada<\/span> was usually read.
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

As today is Sri Aurobindo\u2019s birthday
\nI thought that instead of reading the Dhammapada<\/span> I
\ncould read to you something which will both interest you and show you how Sri
\nAurobindo visualised our relation with the gods. <\/span><\/p>\n

You know,
\ndon\u2019t you, that in India especially, there are countless categories of gods,
\nwho are all on different planes, some very close to man, others very close to
\nthe Supreme, with many intermediaries. <\/span><\/p>\n

      You
\nwill understand better what I want to tell you if I mention the gods of the Puranas<\/span> \u2013 like those we saw the other day in the film \u2013 who
\nin many ways are, I must say, inferior to man (!) although they have infinitely
\nmore power. <\/span><\/p>\n

      There
\nare gods of the Overmind who are the great creators of the earth \u2013 until now.
\nThere are the gods of the Vedas who are mentioned in everything that has come
\ndown from the Rishis. And there are the gods of the Supermind, those who are
\ngoing to manifest on earth, although of course they exist from all eternity on
\ntheir own plane. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Here
\nSri Aurobindo is speaking mostly about the Vedic gods, but not exclusively nor
\nin a very definite way. At any rate these gods are higher than the gods of the Puranas<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Here
\nis what Sri Aurobindo tells us. <\/span><\/p>\n

      In
\nfact, it is a prayer: <\/span><\/p>\n

Be wide in
\nme, O Varuna<\/span>; <\/span><\/p>\n

Be mighty
\nin me, O Indra; <\/span><\/p>\n

O Sun, be
\nvery bright and luminous; <\/span><\/p>\n

O Moon, be
\nfull of charm and sweetness. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Be fierce
\nand terrible, O Rudra;<\/span><\/p>\n

Be
\nimpetuous and swift, O Maruts<\/span>; <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 376<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Be strong and bold, O Aryama<\/span>; <\/span><\/p>\n

Be voluptuous and pleasurable, O Bhaga<\/span>; <\/span><\/p>\n

Be tender and kind and loving and passionate, O Mitra<\/span>.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Be bright and revealing, O Dawn; <\/span><\/p>\n

O Night, be solemn and pregnant. <\/span><\/p>\n

O Life, be full, ready and buoyant; <\/span><\/p>\n

O Death, lead my steps from mansion to mansion. <\/span><\/p>\n

Harmonise all these, O Brahmanaspati<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let me not be subject to these gods, O Kali.\u00b9 <\/span><\/p>\n

So Sri
\nAurobindo makes Kali the great liberating power who ardently impels you towards
\nprogress and leaves no ties within you which would hinder you from progressing.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 I think this will be a good
\nsubject for meditation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n(Meditation) <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

\n\u00b9 Thoughts and Aphorisms, Cent. Vol. 17, p. 85.<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 377<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n2<\/font>7 August
\n 1958<\/font><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b>
\n<\/font> <\/span>
\n<\/a><\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, when you tell us to
\nmeditate on a subject, we choose, for instance, to meditate that we are opening
\nto the light; we imagine all sorts of strange things, we imagine a door
\nopening, etc., but this always takes a mental form. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It depends on the individual.
\nEveryone has his own particular process. It depends altogether on each one.
\nSome people may have an imagery which helps them; others, on the contrary, have
\na more abstract mind and only see ideas; others, who live more in sensations or
\nfeelings, have rather psychological movements, movements of inner feelings or
\nsensations \u2013 depends on each one. Those who have an active and particularly
\nformative physical mind, see images, but everybody does not experience the same
\nthing. If you ask the person next to you, for instance\u2026(To the next child<\/i>)
\nWhen I give a subject, do you see images like that? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Sometimes.
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes?<\/span><\/p>\n

      
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Most
\noften I feel something. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What<\/span><\/i> is it, most often? <\/span><\/p>\n

      <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>A
\nsensation. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

A sensation, yes. It is more
\nfrequently a sensation \u2013 I mean generally \u2013 more frequently a sensation or a feeling
\nthan an image. The image always comes to those who have a formative <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 378<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

mental power, an active physical
\nmind. It is an indication that one is active in one\u2019s mental consciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(The child
\nwho had asked the first question)  But is this right?<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But everything is right if it has a
\nresult! Any means is good. Why shouldn\u2019t it be right?\u2026Images like that are not
\nnecessarily ridiculous. They are not ridiculous, they are mental images. If
\nthey bring you some result, they are quite appropriate. If they give you an
\nexperience, they are appropriate. <\/span><\/p>\n

      For
\nexample, when I ask you to go deep down within yourselves, some of you will
\nconcentrate on a sensation, but others may just as well have the impression of
\ngoing down into a deep well, and they clearly see the picture of steps going
\ndown into a dark and deep well, and they go down farther and farther, deeper
\nand deeper, and sometimes reach precisely a door; they sit down before the door
\nwith the will to enter, and sometimes the door opens, and then they go in and
\nsee a kind of hall or a room or a cave or something, and from there, if they go
\non they may come to another door and again stop, and with an effort the door
\nopens and they go farther. And if this is done with enough persistence and one
\ncan continue the experience, there comes a time when one finds oneself in front
\nof a door which has\u2026a special kind of solidity or solemnity, and with a great
\neffort of concentration the door opens and one suddenly enters a hall of
\nclarity, of light; and then, one has the experience, you see, of contact with
\none\u2019s soul.\u2026But I don\u2019t see what is bad in having images! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>No, but
\nit is only an imagination, isn\u2019t it, Mother? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

An imagination? But what is an
\nimagination?\u2026You cannot imagine anything which doesn\u2019t exist in the universe!
\nIt is impossible to imagine something that doesn\u2019t exist somewhere. The <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 379<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

only possibility is that one may not
\nput one\u2019s image in its place: either one gives it virtues and qualities it
\ndoesn\u2019t have, or explains it with some other than the right explanation. But
\nwhatever one imagines exists somewhere; the main thing is to know where and to
\nput it in its proper place. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of course,
\nif after having imagined that you are in front of a door which is opening, you thought
\nthat it was really a physical door inside your body, that would be a mistake!
\nBut if you realise that it is the mental form taken by your effort of
\nconcentration, this is quite correct. If you go wandering in the mental world,
\nyou will see plenty of forms like that, all kinds of forms, which have no
\nmaterial reality but truly exist in the mental world. <\/span><\/p>\n

      You
\ncannot think powerfully of something without your thought taking a form. But if
\nyou were to believe that this form was physical, that would obviously be an
\nerror, yet it really does exist in the mental world. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Imagination
\nis a power of formation. In fact, people who have no imagination are not
\nformative from the mental point of view, they cannot give a concrete power to
\ntheir thought. Imagination is a very powerful means of action. For instance, if
\nyou have a pain somewhere and if you imagine that you are making the pain
\ndisappear or are removing it or destroying it \u2013 all kinds of images like that \u2013
\nwell, you succeed perfectly.<\/span><\/p>\n

      There\u2019s
\na story of a person who was losing her hair at a fantastic rate, enough to
\nbecome bald within a few weeks, and then someone told her, \u201cWhen you brush your
\nhair, imagine that it is growing and will grow very fast.\u201d And always, while
\nbrushing her hair, she said, \u201cOh, my hair is growing! Oh, it will grow very
\nfast!…\u201d \u2013 And it happened! But what people usually do is to tell themselves,
\n\u201cAh, all my hair is falling again and I shall become bald, that\u2019s certain, it\u2019s
\ngoing to happen!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

      And
\nof course it happens!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Mother,
\nin the Friday Classes, you often read a sen<\/span>tence\u00b9 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 380<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

to us and ask us to meditate on it.
\nBut how should we meditate on a sentence? That is, should we think, meditate on
\nthe idea or\u2026what should we do? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Meditate on a sentence?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Yes.
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Obviously on what it means. <\/span><\/p>\n

        
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>That is, we must think\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Because
\nthat, Mother, becomes a mental function or what? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The sentence is already a mental formation;
\nthe mental formation is made. The sentence is the expression of the mental
\nformation. So when you meditate on a sentence, there are two methods. There is
\nan active, ordinary external method of reflecting and trying to understand what
\nthese words mean, understand intellectually what the sentence means exactly \u2013
\nthat is active meditation. You concentrate on these few words and take the
\nthought they express and try, through reasoning, deduction, analysis, to
\nunderstand what it means. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is
\nanother method, more direct and deep; it is to take this mental formation, this
\ncombination of words with the thought they represent, and to gather all your
\nenergy of attention on it, compelling yourself to concentrate all your strength
\non that formation. For instance, instead of concentrating all your energies on
\nsomething you see physically, you take that thought and concentrate all your
\nenergies on that thought \u2013 in the mind, of course.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b9<\/font> <\/font> <\/i><\/span>
\nAt that time it was
\nfrom the Dhammapada<\/span>.<\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 381<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

And then, if you are able to
\nconcentrate the thought sufficiently and stop it from vacillating, you pass
\nquite naturally from the thought expressed by the words to the idea which is
\nbehind and which could be expressed in other words, other forms. The
\ncharacteristic of the idea is the power to clothe itself in many different
\nthoughts. And when you have achieved this, you have already gone much deeper
\nthan by merely understanding the words. Naturally, if you continue to
\nconcentrate and know how to do it, you can pass from the idea to the luminous
\nforce that is behind. Then you enter a much vaster and deeper domain. But that
\nasks for some training. But still, that is the very principle of meditation. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you are
\nable to go deep enough, you find the Principle and the Force behind the idea,
\nand that gives you the power of realisation. This is how those who take
\nmeditation as a means of spiritual development are able to unite with the
\nPrinciple which is behind things and obtain the power to act on these things
\nfrom above. <\/span><\/p>\n

      But
\neven without going so far \u2013 that implies a rather hard discipline, doesn\u2019t it,
\na long-standing habit \u2013 you can pass quite easily from the thought to the idea,
\nand that gives you a light and an understanding in the mind which enables you,
\nin your turn, to express the idea in any form. An idea can be expressed in many
\ndifferent forms, in many different thoughts, just as when you come down to a
\nmore material level, a thought can be expressed through many different words.
\nGoing downwards, towards expression, that is, spoken or written expression,
\nthere are many different words and different formulas which may serve to
\nexpress a thought, but this thought is only one] of the forms of thought which
\ncan express the idea, the idea behind, and this idea itself, if it is followed
\ndeeply, has behind it a principle of spiritual knowledge and power which can
\nthen spread and act on the manifestation.<\/span><\/p>\n

      When
\nyou have a thought you look for words, don\u2019t you, and then you try to arrange
\nthese words to express your thought; <\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 382<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

you can use many words to express a
\nthought, you tell yourself, \u201cNo, look, if I put this word instead of that, it
\nwould express what I am thinking much better.\u201d That is what you learn when you
\nare taught style, how to write.<\/span><\/p>\n

      But
\nwhen I give you a written sentence which has the power to express a thought and
\ntell you to concentrate on it, then, through this thought-form you can go back
\nto the idea behind, which can be expressed in many different thoughts. It is
\nlike a great hierarchy: there is a Principle right at the top, which itself is
\nnot the only one, for you can go still higher up; but this Principle can be
\nexpressed in ideas, and these ideas can be expressed in a great number of
\nthoughts and this great number of thoughts can make use of many languages and
\nan even greater number of words. <\/span><\/p>\n

      When
\nI give you a thought it is simply to help you to concentrate.\u2026There are schools
\nwhich put an object in front of you, a flower or a stone, or any object, and
\nthen you sit around it and concentrate on it and your eyes go like this (Mother
\nsquints<\/i>) until you become the object. That too is a method of
\nconcentration. By gazing steadily like that, without moving, you finally pass
\ninto the thing you are gazing at. But you must not begin to gaze at all kinds
\nof things: only gaze steadily at that. That gives you a look\u2026it makes you
\nsquint. <\/span><\/p>\n

      All
\nthis is to learn concentration, that\u2019s all. <\/span><\/p>\n

     Sometimes
\none of these sentences expresses a very deep truth. It is one of those happy
\nsentences which are very expressive. So that helps you to find the truth that
\nis behind. <\/span><\/p>\n

When we
\nhave finished the Dhammapada<\/span>, that is what I intend
\nto do. I am at present translating the latest of Sri Aurobindo\u2019s books we have
\npublished, Thoughts and Aphorisms, <\/i>and I intend, every Friday, to give
\none single sentence, one single aphorism \u2013 with or without the commentary as
\nnecessary \u2013 as a subject for meditation. We still have to see how we should go
\nabout it.\u2026We could proceed in two different ways. As I am going to take them up
\nin order, you will always know which <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 383<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

one will be for the following week
\nand prepare questions in advance; or else if you don\u2019t prepare the questions in
\nadvance, perhaps it will be more interesting to take a sentence, to have a
\nmeditation on it, and in the following lesson to ask me questions on the
\nsentence from the previous week. Then, from the questions I am asked, I shall
\nchoose those that seem to me the most intelligent and answer them. And later we
\nshall take a new sentence which will serve as the subject for meditation on
\nthat day and the subject for questions the following week. And this I am going
\nto do with a very precise, very definite purpose: to bring you out of your
\nmental somnolence and compel you to reflect and try to understand what I tell
\nyou.\u2026For, it makes a little noise in your ears, a still softer noise in your
\nheads, and then it goes out from the other side, and then it is finished!
\nSometimes, very rarely, by a special grace, there is just a little effect here,
\nlike this (gesture<\/i>), which lasts like a little flickering flame\\burns,
\nand then, pfft<\/span>!\u2026Something blows on it, it goes out
\nand it is all finished. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>We
\nneed lessons, Sweet Mother.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When you told me the other day that
\nI had promised to give you \u201clessons\u201d, well, I took it very seriously. I am
\ngoing to keep my promise. There. <\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 384<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n


\n\t
\n\tHOME<\/span><\/a><\/font><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

6 August 1958   Sweet Mother, what is the effect and value of collective prayer?   We have already spoken about this, about collective prayers,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-09-questions-and-answers-volume-09","wpcat-120-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4264","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=4264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4264\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}