{"id":4267,"date":"2013-07-13T01:54:41","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4267"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:54:41","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:54:41","slug":"15-23-october-1957-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\/15-23-october-1957-vol-09-questions-and-answers-volume-09","title":{"rendered":"-15_23 October 1957.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n
\n23
\n October 1957<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Mother begins the reading of the last six chapters of
\n<\/font> The Life Divine.<\/font><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cA spiritual
\nevolution, an evolution of consciousness in Matter in a constant developing
\nself-formation till the form can reveal the indwelling Spirit, is then the key-note,
\nthe central significant motive of the terrestrial existence. This significance
\nis concealed at the outset by the involution of the Spirit, the Divine Reality,
\nin a dense material Inconscience; a veil of Inconscience, a veil of
\ninsensibility of Matter hides the universal Consciousness-Force which works
\nwithin it, so that the Energy, which is the first form the Force of creation
\nassumes in the physical universe, appears to be itself inconscient and yet does
\nthe works of a vast occult Intelligence.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine,<\/i> p. 824<\/font><\/span>\u00a0<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t
\nunderstand, Sweet Mother, what this Consciousness-Force was, so I did not
\nunderstand anything!<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The first thing to understand is precisely this first sentence
\nwhich states the fact, the raison d\u2019\u00eatre<\/i>\u00a0 <\/span>and the very principle of universal
\nexistence. You see, we are beginning here at the end of the volume, these are
\nthe last six chapters. Throughout the beginning of the book Sri Aurobindo has
\ntaken one after another all the theories explaining the how and why of the
\nuniverse and of existence; he has carried them to their extreme limits in order
\nto explain fully what they mean, and at the end he has shown how far they were
\nincomplete or imperfect and given the true solution. All that is, as it were, finished
\nwith; it lies behind our
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 208<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

reading. It would have taken us something like ten years to go
\nthrough all that! And you would have required all kinds of knowledge and a great
\nintellectual development to be able to follow it with any profit. But for our
\npart, we are beginning from where he has shown, from the purely intellectual
\npoint of view, what the purpose of existence is, and he formulates it like
\nthis: \u201cthe central significant motive of the terrestrial existence.\u201d For he is
\nnot concerned with the entire universe, he has taken terrestrial life, that is,
\nour life here on Earth, as a symbolic and concentrated representation of the
\npurpose of the entire universe. In fact, according to very old traditions, the
\nEarth, from the deeper spiritual point of view, has been created as a symbolic
\nconcentration of universal life so that the work of transformation may be done
\nmore easily, in a limited, concentrated \u201cspace\u201d \u2013 so to say \u2013 where all the
\nelements of the problem are gathered together so that, in the concentration,
\nthe action may be more total and effective. So here he speaks only of
\nterrestrial existence, but we can understand that it is a symbolic existence,
\nthat is, that it represents<\/i> a
\nuniversal action. It is a symbolic, concentrated representation. And he says
\nthat \u201cthe central motive\u201d, that is, the purpose of terrestrial existence is to
\nawaken, to develop and finally to reveal in a total manifestation the Spirit
\nwhich is hidden at the centre of Matter and impels this Matter from within <\/i>outwards towards a progressive development which
\nwill liberate the Spirit working from within. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, in the outer appearances as you see them, at first you find
\nthe mineral kingdom with stones, earth, minerals which to us, in our outer
\nconsciousness, appear absolutely unconscious. Yet, behind this unconsciousness
\nthere is the life of the Spirit, the consciousness of the Spirit, which is
\ncompletely hidden, which is as if asleep \u2013 though that is only an appearance \u2013
\nand which works from within in order gradually to transform this Matter that is
\ncompletely inert in appearance, so that its organisation may lend itself more
\nand more to the manifestation of consciousness. And he says here that at first
\nthis veil of inert Matter is<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 209<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

so total that, to a superficial glance, it is something that has
\nneither life nor consciousness. When you pick up a stone and look at it with
\nyour ordinary eyes and consciousness, you say, \u201cIt has no life, no
\nconsciousness.\u201d For one who knows how to see behind appearances, there is,
\nhidden at the centre of this Matter \u2013 at the centre of each atom<\/i> of this Matter \u2013 there is, hidden, the Supreme Divine
\nReality working from within, gradually, through the millennia, to change this
\ninert Matter into something that is expressive enough to be able to reveal the
\nSpirit within. Then you have the progression of the history of Life: how, from
\nthe stone there suddenly appeared a rudimentary life and through successive species
\na sort of organisation, that is, an organic substance capable of revealing
\nlife. But between the mineral and vegetable kingdoms there are transitional
\nelements; one doesn\u2019t know whether they belong to the mineral or already to the
\nvegetable kingdom \u2013 when one studies this in detail one sees some strange
\nspecies which belong neither here nor there, which are not quite this and yet
\nnot quite that. Then comes the development of the vegetable kingdom where
\nnaturally life appears, for there is growth, transformation \u2013 a plant sprouts
\nup, develops, grows \u2013 and with the first phenomenon of life comes also the
\nphenomenon of decomposition and disintegration which is relatively much more
\nrapid than in the stone: a stone, if protected from the impact of other forces,
\ncan last apparently indefinitely, whereas the plant already follows a curve of
\ngrowth, ascent and decline and decomposition \u2013 but this with an extremely
\nrestricted consciousness. Those who have studied the vegetable kingdom in
\ndetail are well aware that there is a consciousness there. For instance, plants
\nneed sunlight to live \u2013 the sun represents the active energy which makes them
\ngrow \u2013 so, if you put a plant in a place where there is no sunlight, you see it
\nalways growing up and up and up, trying, making an effort<\/i> to reach the sunlight. In a virgin forest, for instance,
\nwhere man does not interfere, there is this kind of struggle among all the
\nplants which are always growing straight upwards in one way <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 210<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

or another in their effort<\/i>
\nto catch the sunlight. It is very interesting. But even if you put a flower-pot
\nin a fairly small courtyard surrounded by walls, where the sun doesn\u2019t come, a
\nplant which normally is as high as this (gesture<\/i>),
\nbecomes as tall as that: it stretches up and makes an effort<\/i> to find the light. Therefore there is a consciousness, a
\nwill to live which is already manifesting. And little by little, with species
\nthat are more and more developed, you again reach another transitional passage
\nbetween what is no longer entirely a plant and still not yet an animal. There
\nare several species like that, which are very interesting. There are those
\nplants which are carnivorous, plants like an open mouth: you throw a fly
\ninside, snap! they swallow it. It is no longer quite a plant, it is not yet an
\nanimal. There are many plants of this kind. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Then you come to
\nthe animal. The first animals, yes, it is difficult to distinguish them from
\nplants, there is almost no consciousness. But there you see all the animal
\nspecies, you know them, don\u2019t you, right up to the higher animals which,
\nindeed, are very conscious. They have their own completely independent will.
\nThey are very conscious and marvellously intelligent, like the elephant, for
\ninstance; you know all the stories about elephants and their wonderful
\nintelligence. Therefore, it is already a very perceptible appearance of mind.
\nAnd through this progressive development, we suddenly pass on to a species which
\nhas probably disappeared \u2013 traces of which have been found \u2013 an intermediate
\nanimal like a monkey or of the same line as the monkey \u2013 something close to it,
\nsimilar, if not the monkey as we know it \u2013 but already an animal that walks on
\ntwo legs. And from there we come to man. There is an entire beginning of the
\nevolution of man; we can\u2019t say, can we, that he shows a brilliant intelligence,
\nbut there is already an action of the mind, a beginning of independence, of
\nindependent reaction to the environment and the forces of Nature. And so, in
\nman there is the whole range, right up to the higher being capable of spiritual
\nlife. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 211<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

That is what Sri Aurobindo tells us on this page. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>That is all. Now, if
\nyou have a question to ask?\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet
\nMother, here he says: \u201cThis consciousness… reaches its climax of intelligence
\nand exceeds itself in Man….\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Yes, that is what I have just told you: at his highest stage, man
\nbegins to be altogether independent of Nature \u2013 \u201caltogether\u201d is an
\nexaggeration: he can become altogether independent. A man who has realised the
\nspiritual consciousness in himself, who has a direct relation with the divine
\nOrigin is literally independent of Nature, of the force of Nature. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>(It begins to rain.<\/i>) Ah! That is to cool down our minds! (Laughter<\/i>) <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And that is what he calls \u201cexceeding
\nitself\u201d, that is, that the Being, the inner divine Consciousness, the supreme
\nspiritual Reality in its effort to develop\u2026(It
\nrains harder.<\/i>) Oh, oh! We shall have to stop talking\u2026in its effort to
\ndevelop a conscious means of manifesting itself has arrived at a being capable
\nof having a direct contact with It without going through the whole process of
\nNature. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Now, I think we are
\ngoing to stop. No meditation, because\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 212<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\n30 October 1957<\/font><\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThis
\nterrestrial evolutionary working of Nature from Matter to Mind and beyond it
\nhas a double process: there is an outward visible process of physical evolution
\nwith birth as its machinery, \u2013 for each evolved form of body housing its own
\nevolved power of consciousness is maintained and kept in continuity by
\nheredity; there is, at the same time, an invisible process of soul evolution
\nwith rebirth into ascending grades of form and consciousness as its machinery.
\nThe first by itself would mean only a cosmic evolution; for the individual
\nwould be a quickly perishing instrument, and the race, a more abiding
\ncollective formulation, would be the real step in the progressive manifestation
\nof the cosmic Inhabitant, the universal Spirit: rebirth is an indispensable
\ncondition for any long duration and evolution of the individual being in the
\nearth-existence. Each grade of cosmic manifestation, each type of form that can
\nhouse the indwelling Spirit, is turned by rebirth into a means for the individual
\nsoul, the psychic entity, to manifest more and more of its concealed
\nconsciousness; each life becomes a step in a victory over Matter by a greater
\nprogression of consciousness in it which shall make eventually Matter itself a
\nmeans for the full manifestation of the Spirit.\u201d
\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Life Divine, pp. 825-26 <\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


\n          <\/span>It is
\ndifficult to understand, Sweet Mother. <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah!\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n      <\/span>If you take terrestrial history, all the forms of life have
\nappeared one after another in a general plan, a general pro<\/span>gramme<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 213<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

with the
\naddition, always, of a new perfection and a greater consciousness. Take just
\nanimal forms \u2013 for that is easier to understand, they are the last before man \u2013
\neach animal that appeared had an additional perfection in its general nature \u2013
\nI don\u2019t mean in all the details \u2013 a greater perfection than the preceding ones,
\nand the crowning point of the ascending march was the human form which, for the
\nmoment, from the point of view of consciousness, is the form most capable of
\nmanifesting consciousness; that is, the\u00a0
\n<\/span>form at its height, at the height of its possibilities, is capable of
\nmore consciousness than all preceding animal forms. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is one<\/i> of Nature\u2019s
\nways of evolution. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Sri Aurobindo told us
\nlast week that this Nature was following an ascending progression in order to
\nmanifest more and more the divine consciousness contained in all forms. So,
\nwith each new form that it produces, Nature makes a form capable of expressing
\nmore completely the spirit which this form contains. But if it were like this,
\na form comes, develops, reaches its highest point and is followed by another
\nform; the others do not disappear, but the individual does not progress. The
\nindividual dog or monkey, for instance, belongs to a species which has its own
\npeculiar characteristics; when the monkey or the man arrives at the height of
\nits possibilities, that is, when a human individual becomes the best type of
\nhumanity, it will be finished; the individual will not be able to progress any
\nfarther. He belongs to the human species, he will continue to belong to it. So,
\nfrom the point of view of terrestrial history there is a progress, for each
\nspecies represents a progress compared with the preceding species; but from the
\npoint of view of the individual, there is no progress: he is born, he follows
\nhis development, dies and disappears. Therefore, to ensure the progress of the
\nindividual, it was necessary to find another means; this one was not adequate.
\nBut within the individual, contained in each form, there is an organisation of
\nconsciousness which is closer to and more directly under the influence of the
\ninner divine Presence, and
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 214<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

the form which is under this influence \u2013 this kind of inner
\nconcentration of energy \u2013 has a life independent of the physical form \u2013 this is
\nwhat we generally call the \u201csoul\u201d or the \u201cpsychic being\u201d \u2013 and since it is
\norganised around the divine centre it partakes of the divine nature which is
\nimmortal, eternal. The outer body falls away, and this remains throughout every
\nexperience that it has in each life, and there is a progress from life to life,
\nand it is the progress of the same<\/i>
\nindividual. And this movement complements the other, in the sense that instead
\nof a species which progresses relative to other species, it is an individual
\nwho passes through all the stages of progress of these species and can continue
\nto progress even when the species have reached the limit of their possibilities
\nand\u2026stay there or disappear \u2013 it depends on the case \u2013 but they cannot go any
\nfarther, whereas the individual, having a life independent of the purely
\nmaterial form, can pass from one form to another and continue his progress indefinitely.<\/i> That makes a double
\nmovement which completes itself. And that is why each individual has the
\npossibility of reaching the utmost realisation, independent of the form to
\nwhich he momentarily belongs. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are people \u2013 there used to be and there still are, I believe
\n\u2013 who say they remember their past lives and recount what happened when they
\nwere dogs or elephants or monkeys, and tell you stories in great detail about
\nwhat happened to them. I am not going to argue with them, but anyway this
\nillustrates the fact that before being a man, one could have been a monkey \u2013
\nperhaps one doesn\u2019t have the power to remember it, that\u2019s another matter \u2013 but
\ncertainly, this inner divine spark has passed through successive forms in order
\nto become more and more conscious of itself. And if it is proved that one can
\nremember the form one had before becoming a psychic being as it is found in the
\nhuman form, well, one might very well recollect climbing trees and eating
\ncoconuts and even playing all sorts of tricks on the traveller passing beneath!
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>In any case, the fact
\nis there. Perhaps later we shall see that
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 215<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

a certain state of inner organisation is necessary for this
\npsychic being to be able to have memories in the way the mental being has them \u2013
\nwe shall speak about it later, when we come to it in the book \u2013 but in any case
\nthe fact is established: it is this double movement of evolution intersecting
\nand complementing itself which gives the utmost possibilities of realisation to
\nthe divine light within each being. This is what Sri Aurobindo has explained. (Turning to the child<\/i>) This means that in
\nyour outer body you belong to the animal species in the course of becoming a
\nsupramental species \u2013 you are not that yet! but within you there\u2019s a psychic
\nbeing which has already lived in many, many, countless species before and
\ncarries an experience of thousands of years within you, and which will continue
\nwhile your human body remains human and finally decomposes. <\/span><\/p>\n

We shall see later whether this psychic being has the possibility
\nof transforming its body and itself creating an intermediate species between
\nthe animal man and superman \u2013 we shall study this later \u2013 but still, for the
\nmoment, it is an immortal soul which becomes more and more conscious of itself
\nin the body of man. There. Now have you understood? <\/span><\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>(Another child) Mother, in Nature we often see the disappearance
\nof an entire species. What is that due to? <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Probably Nature thought that it was not a success!\u2026You see, she
\nthrows herself into action with abundance and a total lack of sense of economy.
\nWe can see this. She tries everything she can, in every way she can, with all
\nsorts of inventions which are obviously very remarkable, but at times\u2026it\u2019s like
\na blind alley. Pushing forward in that direction, instead of progressing, one
\nwould reach things that are absolutely unacceptable. She throws out her creative
\nspirit in an abundance without any calculation, and when the combination is not
\nvery successful, well, she just does this (gesture<\/i>)
\nthen rejects it; she doesn\u2019t mind. For Nature, <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 216<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

you see, there is a limitless abundance. I believe she doesn\u2019t
\nshrink from any kind of experiment. Only if something has a chance of leading
\nto a successful issue does it continue. Certainly there have been
\nintermediaries or parallel forms between the ape and man; traces of them have
\nbeen found \u2013 perhaps with some wishful thinking! but anyway, traces have been
\nfound \u2013 well, those species have disappeared. So, if we like to speculate, we
\nmay wonder whether the species which is now to come and which is an intermediary
\nbetween animal man and superman will remain or whether it will be considered
\nuninteresting and rejected.\u2026That we shall see later. The next time we meet we
\nshall speak about it again! <\/span><\/p>\n

It is quite simply the activity of a limitless abundance. Nature
\nhas enough knowledge and consciousness to act like someone with innumerable and
\ncountless elements which can be mixed, separated again, reshaped, taken to
\npieces once more and\u2026It is a huge cauldron: you stir it, and something comes
\nout; it\u2019s no good, you throw it back in and take something else. Imagine the
\ndimension\u2026just take the earth: you understand, one or two forms or a hundred,
\nfor her this is of no importance at all, there are thousands and thousands and
\nthousands of them; and then a few years, a hundred, a thousand, millions of
\nyears, it is of no importance at all, you have eternity before you! <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Simply, when we look
\nat things on the human scale, in space and time, oh! it seems enormous, but for
\nNature it is nothing. It is just a pastime. One may like it or not, this
\npastime, but still it is a pastime. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It is quite obvious
\nthat Nature enjoys it and is in no hurry. If she is told to press on without
\nstopping and to finish one part of her work or another quickly, the reply is
\nalways the same: \u201cBut what for, why? Doesn\u2019t it amuse you?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 217<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\nHome<\/a><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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