{"id":4311,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:05","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4311"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:05","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:05","slug":"03-jnana-60-61-13-vol-10-on-thoughts-and-aphorisms-volume-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/10-on-thoughts-and-aphorisms-volume-10\/03-jnana-60-61-13-vol-10-on-thoughts-and-aphorisms-volume-10","title":{"rendered":"-03_jnana-60-61_13.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n
\nJnana<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

(Knowledge<\/span>)  <\/span><\/p>\n

Second Period of Commentaries <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

(1960 – 1961)<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\n13 \u2013 They told me, \u201cThese things are hallucinations.\u201d I inquired what
\nwas a hallucination and found that it meant a subjective or psychical
\nexperience which corresponds to no objective or no physical reality. Then I sat
\nand wondered at the miracles of the human reason. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

What does Sri Aurobindo mean by \u201cthe miracles of the human reason\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

In this aphorism, by they Sri Aurobindo
\nmeans the materialists, the scientists and, in a general way, all those who
\nonly believe in physical reality and consider human reason to be the one
\ninfallible judge. Furthermore, the things he speaks of here are all the
\nperceptions that belong to worlds other than the material, all that one can see
\nwith eyes other than the physical, all the experiences that one can have in
\nsubtle domains from the sense perceptions of the vital world to the bliss of
\nthe Divine Presence. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>It
\nwas while discussing these and other similar things that Sri Aurobindo was told
\nthat they were \u201challucinations\u201d. When you look up the word \u201challucination\u201d in
\nthe dictionary, you find this definition: \u201cMorbid sensation not produced by any
\nreal object. Objectless perception.\u201d Sri Aurobindo interprets this or puts it
\nmore precisely: \u201cA subjective or psychical experience which corresponds to no
\nobjective or no physical reality.\u201d There could be no better definition of these
\nphenomena of the inner consciousness, which are most precious to man and make
\nhim something more than a mere thinking animal. Human reason is so limited, so
\ndown to earth, so arrogantly ignorant that it wants to discredit by a
\npejorative word the very faculties which open the gates of a higher and more
\nmarvellous life to man\u2026 In the face of this obstinate incomprehension Sri
\nAurobindo wonders ironically at the miracles of the human reason. For the power <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 39<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>to
\nchange truth into falsehood to such a degree is certainly a miracle.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n5 January 1960\u00b9<\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n14<\/a> \u2013 Hallucination is the term of Science for those irregular glimpses
\nwe still have of truths shut out from us by our preoccupation with matter;
\ncoincidence for the curious touches of artist in the work of that supreme and
\nuniversal Intelligence which in its conscious being, as on a canvas, has
\nplanned and executed the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

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

What does the \u201cartist\u201d represent here? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Here Sri Aurobindo compares the work of
\nthe Supreme Lord, creator of the universe, to the work of an artist painting in
\nhis conscious being, with sweeping brush-strokes, as on a canvas, the picture
\nof the world. And when by curious touches he paints one stroke over another, we
\nhave a \u201ccoincidence\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Usually the word \u201ccoincidence\u201d suggests
\nunconscious, meaningless chance. Sri Aurobindo wants to make us understand that
\nchance and unconsciousness have nothing to do with this phenomenon; on the
\ncontrary, it is the result of a refinement of taste and consciousness of the
\nkind that artists possess, and it can reveal a deep intention.
\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n12 January 1960 <\/span><\/font> <\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00b9 <\/font> <\/span>It should be noted that for the most part
\nthe dates in this section are those of the written questions. The Mother
\nsometimes answered long after the question was submitted to her, without dating
\nher reply. Some of the questions and answers towards the end of this section
\nwere oral.<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 40<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span>15<\/a> \u2013 That which men term a hallucination is the reflection in the mind
\nand senses of that which is beyond our ordinary mental and sensory perceptions.
\nSuperstition arises from the mind’s wrong understanding of these reflections.
\nThere is no other hallucination. <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/span><\/p>\n

Can hallucinations be compared to visions? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

A vision is a perception, by the visual
\norgans, of phenomena that really exist in a world corresponding to the organ
\nwhich sees. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>For
\nexample, to the individual vital plane there corresponds a cosmic vital world.
\nWhen a human being is sufficiently developed he possesses an individualised
\nvital being with organs of sight, hearing, smell, etc. So a person who has a
\nwell-developed vital being can see in the vital world with his vital sight,
\nconsciously and with the memory of what he has seen. This is what makes a
\nvision. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is the same for all the subtle worlds \u2013
\nvital, mental, overmental, supramental \u2013 and for all the intermediate worlds
\nand planes of the being. In this way one can have visions that are vital,
\nmental, overmental, supramental, etc. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, Sri Aurobindo tells us
\nthat what is termed a hallucination is the reflection in the mind or the
\nphysical senses of that which is beyond our mind and our ordinary senses; it is
\ntherefore not a direct vision, but a reflected image which is usually not
\nunderstood or explained. This character of uncertainty produces an impression
\nof unreality and gives rise to all kinds of superstition. This is also why
\n\u201cserious\u201d people, or people who think themselves serious, do not accord any
\nvalue to these phenomena and call them hallucinations. And yet, in those who
\nare interested in occult phenomena, this type of perception often precedes the
\nemergence of the capacity of vision which may be in course of formation. But
\nyou must guard against mistaking this for true vision. For, I repeat, these
\nphenomena occur most often in a state of almost complete ignorance <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 41<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

and are too frequently accompanied by
\nmuch error and wrong interpretation; not to mention the cases of unscrupulous
\npeople, who introduce into the account they give of their experiences many
\ndetails and particulars not actually there, thus justifying the discredit with
\nwhich these phenomena are received by rational and thoughtful people. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>So
\nwe shall reserve the word \u201cvision\u201d for experiences that occur in awareness and
\nsincerity. Nevertheless, in both cases, in \u201challucination\u201d as well as in
\nvision, what is seen does correspond to something quite real, although it is
\nsometimes much deformed in the transcription.\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n20 January 1960 <\/font> <\/span>
\n <\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n16<\/a> \u2013 Do not like so many modern disputants smother thought under
\npolysyllables or charm inquiry to sleep by the spell of formulas and cant
\nwords. Search always; find out the reason for things which seem to the hasty
\nglance to be mere chance or illusion. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How can we find out the reason for things? If we try to do it with the
\nmind, will it not be yet another illusion screening the Truth? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There are many planes or zones of the
\nmind, from the plane of the physical mind, the lower zone of ordinary thoughts,
\nfull of error and ignorance and falsehood, to the plane of the higher mind
\nwhich receives, in the form of intuitions, the rays of the supramental truth.
\nBetween these two extremes there is a gradation of countless intermediate
\nplanes that are superimposed one upon another and which influence each other.
\nIn one of the lower zones lies the practical reason, the common sense of which
\nman is so proud and which, for ordinary minds, appears to be the expression of
\nwisdom, although it still works wholly in the field of ignorance. To this
\nregion of practical reason belong the <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 42<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u201cpolysyllables\u201d of which Sri Aurobindo
\nspeaks, the commonplaces and clich\u00e9s, all the ready-made phrases which run
\nabout in the mental atmosphere from one brain to another and which people
\nrepeat when they want to appear knowledgeable, or when they think themselves
\nwise.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Sri
\nAurobindo puts us on our guard against this trite and inferior way of thinking
\nwhen we are faced with a new or unexpected phenomenon and try to explain it. He
\ntells us to search always, untiringly, using our highest intelligence, the
\nintelligence which thirsts to know the true cause of things, and to go on
\nsearching without being satisfied by facile and popular explanations, until we
\nhave discovered a more subtle and truer truth. Then at the same time we shall
\nfind that behind everything, even what seems to be chance and illusion, there
\nis a conscious will at work to express the Supreme Vision.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n27 January 1960 <\/span><\/font> <\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n17<\/a> \u2013 Someone was laying down that God must be this or that or He would
\nnot be God. But it seemed to me that I can only know what God is and I do not
\nsee how I can tell Him what He ought to be. For what is the standard by which
\nwe can judge Him? These judgments are the follies of our egoism. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Is it possible to know God, even with one’s physical mind, once one has
\nexperienced identification?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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

After consciously identifying itself with
\nthe Divine, the entire being even in its external parts \u2013 mental, vital and
\nphysical \u2013 undergoes the consequences of this identification, and a change
\noccurs which is sometimes even perceptible in the physical appearance. An
\ninfluence is at work on the thoughts, the feelings, the sensations and even the
\nactions. Sometimes, in all its movements, the being has a concrete and constant
\nimpression of <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 43<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

the Divine Presence and its action through
\nthe outer instrument. But one cannot say that the physical mind knows<\/i> God, for the very way of knowing
\nthat is characteristic of the mind is foreign to the Divine; one could even say
\nthat it is contrary to it. The physical mind itself can receive the divine
\ninfluence and be transformed by it, but so long as it remains the physical
\nmind, it can neither understand nor explain God, much less know Him; for to
\nknow God one must be identified with Him and for that the physical mind must
\ncease to be what it is now, and consequently cease to be the physical mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\ncapacity to know God can be achieved in the lower triplicity \u2013 the mind, the
\nvital and the physical \u2013 only with the supramental transformation, and this
\ncomes only just before the ultimate realisation which consists in becoming
\ndivine. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n3 February 1960 <\/span>
\n<\/font> <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n18<\/a> \u2013 Chance is not in this universe; the idea of illusion is itself an
\nillusion. There was never illusion yet in the human mind that was not the
\nconcealing and disfigurement of a truth. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What does this mean: \u201cthe idea of illusion is itself an illusion\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

We live in an illusion; no thoughtful
\nperson can deny this. But according to some people, behind the illusion that we
\nsee and live there exists nothing; there is nothingness, emptiness. Whereas
\nothers tell us that what we see and feel, the life we live, is a deceptive and
\nillusory appearance behind which, beyond which, within which, there is a
\nReality, an eternal Truth which we do not see in our present state, but which
\nwe can experience, if we take the trouble and follow the appropriate methods. <\/span><\/p>\n

In this Aphorism, by \u201cthe idea of
\nillusion\u201d, Sri Aurobindo means the philosophical theory which states that the
\nmaterial<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 44<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

world has no real existence: it is merely
\nan appearance created by an aberration of the ego and the senses, and when this
\naberration disappears the world will disappear at the same time. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Sri
\nAurobindo affirms, on the contrary, that behind all appearances, even the most
\nillusory, there is a truth, a conscious will that presides over the unfolding
\nof the universe. In this unfolding, each thing, each event, each circumstance
\nis both the result of what has gone before and the cause of what is to follow.
\nChance and incoherence are only a deceptive appearance as seen by the human
\nconsciousness which is too partial and limited to see the truth of things. But
\nthis tangible and real truth exists behind all appearances and their illusory
\nincoherence.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Sri Aurobindo tells us is: The world
\nis real, it is only our perception of it that is false.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/font> <\/span>
\n10 February 1960 <\/span><\/font> <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n19<\/a> \u2013 When I had the dividing reason, I shrank from many things; after I
\nhad lost it in sight, I hunted through the world for the ugly and the
\nrepellent, but I could no longer find them.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Is there really nothing ugly and repellent in the world? Is it our
\nreason alone that sees things in that way? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

To understand truly what Sri Aurobindo
\nmeans here, you must yourself have had the experience of transcending reason
\nand establishing your consciousness in a world higher than the mental intelligence.
\nFor from up there you can see, firstly, that everything that exists in the
\nuniverse is an expression of Sachchidananda (Being-Consciousness-Bliss) and
\ntherefore behind any appearance whatever, if you go deeply enough, you can
\nperceive Sachchidananda, which is the principle of Supreme Beauty. Secondly,
\nyou see that everything in the manifested universe is <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 45<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

relative, so much so that there is no
\nbeauty which may not appear ugly in comparison with a greater beauty, no
\nugliness which may not appear beautiful in comparison with a yet uglier
\nugliness. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>When you can see and feel in this way, you
\nimmediately become aware of the extreme relativity of these impressions and
\ntheir unreality from the absolute point of view. However, so long as we dwell
\nin the rational consciousness, it is, in a way, natural that everything that
\noffends our aspiration for perfection, our will for progress, everything we
\nseek to transcend and surmount, should seem ugly and repellent to us, since we
\nare in search of a greater ideal and we want to rise higher.<\/span><\/p>\n

And yet it is still only a half-wisdom
\nwhich is very far from the true wisdom, a wisdom that appears wise only in the
\nmidst of ignorance and unconsciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the Truth everything is different, and
\nthe Divine shines in all things. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n17 February 1960 <\/span>
\n<\/font> <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n20<\/a> \u2013 God had opened my eyes; for I saw the nobility of the vulgar, the
\nattractiveness of the repellent, the perfection of the maimed and the beauty of
\nthe hideous.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

This Aphorism is the complement and almost
\nan explanation of the previous one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once again, Sri Aurobindo tells us clearly
\nthat behind the appearances there is a sublime Reality which is, one may say,
\nthe luminous opposite of all external deformations. Thus, when the inner eyes
\nare open to this divine Reality, it is seen with such power that it is able to
\ndissolve all that normally veils it to the ordinary vision.
\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n24 February 1960
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/i>
\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 46<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\n21<\/a> \u2013 Forgiveness is praised by the Christian and the Vaishnava, but for me,
\nI ask, \u201cWhat have I to forgive and whom?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

When we ask forgiveness of the Divine, does He always forgive us? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo himself gives us the
\nDivine’s answer: \u201cForgive whom and what?\u201d The Lord knows that all is Himself
\nand therefore that all actions are His and all things are Himself. To forgive,
\none must be other than the one who is forgiven and the thing to be forgiven
\nmust have been done by someone other than oneself.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\ntruth is that when you ask forgiveness you hope that the dire consequences of
\nwhat you have done will be wiped away. But that is possible only if the causes
\nof the error you have committed have themselves disappeared. If you have made a
\nmistake through ignorance, the ignorance must disappear. If you have made a
\nmistake through bad will, the bad will must disappear and be replaced by
\ngoodwill. Mere regret will not do, it must be accompanied by a step forward. <\/span><\/p>\n

For the universe is constantly evolving;
\nnothing is at a standstill. Everything is perpetually changing, moving forward or
\nbackward. Things or acts that set us back seem bad to us, and cause confusion
\nand disorder. The only remedy for them is a radical forward movement, a
\nprogress. This new orientation alone can annul the consequences of the backward
\nmovement. <\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore it is not a vague and abstract
\nforgiveness that one should ask of the Divine, but the power to make the
\nnecessary progress. For only an inner transformation can wipe out the
\nconsequences of the act. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n\u00a0<\/font><\/span>2 March 1960<\/font><\/span><\/i> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 47<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\n22<\/a> \u2013 God struck me with a human hand; shall I say then, \u201cI pardon Thee
\nthy insolence, O God\u201d? <\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n23 \u2013 God gave me good in a blow. Shall I say, \u201cI forgive thee, O
\nAlmighty One, the harm and the cruelty, but do it not again\u201d? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

What does this mean: \u201cGod struck me with a human hand\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

These two Aphorisms are illustrations of
\nthe affirmation of the Divine Presence in all things and all beings, and they
\nalso develop the idea which has already been touched on, that there is nothing
\nand no one to forgive, since the Divine is the originator of all things.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is how this sentence, \u201cGod struck me
\nwith a human hand\u201d, should be read and understood. If you see nothing but the
\nappearances, it is only one man hitting another. But for one who sees and knows
\nthe Truth, it is the supreme Lord who gives the blow through that human hand,
\nand the blow necessarily does good to the one who receives it, that is to say,
\nbrings about a progress in his consciousness, for the ultimate aim of creation
\nis to awaken all beings to the consciousness of the Divine. <\/span><\/p>\n

Once you have understood that, the rest of
\nthe two Aphorisms is easily explained. <\/span><\/p>\n

Are we to forgive the Lord for the good He
\ndoes us, while, at the same time, asking Him not to do it again? <\/span><\/p>\n

The self-contradiction and stupidity of
\nsuch a formula are obvious. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n9 March 1960 <\/span>
\n<\/font> <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n24<\/a> \u2013 When I pine at misfortune and call it evil, or am jealous and
\ndisappointed, then I know that there is awake in me again the eternal fool.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 48<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

What is this
\n\u201cmisfortune\u201d and why does it come?<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If you act in order to obtain a result and
\nif the result obtained is not the one you expected, you call this a misfortune.
\nAs a general rule, any event that is unexpected or feared is considered by
\nordinary minds to be a misfortune. Why does this misfortune come? In each case
\nthe reason is different; or rather, it is only after the event that the need to
\nexplain things makes us look for reasons. But most often our evaluation of
\ncircumstances is blind and mistaken. We judge in ignorance. It is only later
\non, sometimes very much later on, when we have the necessary perspective and
\nview the train of events and the overall results, that we see things as they
\nreally were. Then we perceive that what seemed bad to us was in truth very
\nuseful and helped us to make the necessary progress. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Sri
\nAurobindo describes the state of one who is sunk in ignorance and desire and
\nwho judges everything from the point of view of his narrow and limited ego as
\nthat of eternal fool. To be able to understand and feel things correctly one
\nmust have a universal vision and be conscious of the Divine Presence and Will
\nin all things and in all circumstances. <\/span><\/p>\n

Then we know that whatever happens to us
\nis always for our good, if we take the point of view of the spirit in the
\nunfolding of time. <\/span><\/p>\n


\n16 March 1960 <\/span>
\n<\/font> <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n25<\/a> \u2013 When I see others suffer, I feel that I am unfortunate, but the
\nwisdom that is not mine, sees the good that is coming and approves. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What is this \u201cwisdom\u201d?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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

It is the supreme wisdom, the wisdom of
\nthe Supreme. By this wisdom the present, the past and the future are all seen
\nequally. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 49<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

It knows the causes of all effects and the
\neffects of all causes. The sum total of all circumstances, perceived
\nsimultaneously in their entirety, is seen by it as Nature’s sublime effort to
\nexpress the Divine progressively, her ascending march towards divine
\nperfection. That is \u201cthe good that is coming\u201d, everything tends towards that;
\nand that is why the true wisdom approves.<\/span><\/p>\n

For it is only our shortsightedness, our
\ntoo limited perception and our misguided sensations that, for us, change into
\nsuffering what is a possibility and an opportunity for progress. <\/span><\/p>\n

And this is proved by the fact that as
\nsoon as we understand and collaborate, suffering disappears.
\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n23 March 1960 <\/span>
\n<\/font> <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n26<\/a> \u2013 Sir Philip Sidney said of the criminal led out to be hanged,
\n\u201cThere, but for the grace of God, goes Sir Philip Sidney.\u201d Wiser, had he said,
\n\u201cThere, by the grace of God, goes Sir Philip Sidney.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I have not understood the meaning of this Aphorism.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Sir Philip Sidney was a statesman and a
\npoet, but in spite of his success in life, he retained his humble nature.
\nSeeing a criminal being taken to the gallows, he is supposed to have said the
\nfamous words which Sri Aurobindo quotes in his Aphorism and which could be
\nparaphrased like this, \u201cThat could have happened to me too, but for the Grace
\nof God.\u201d Sri Aurobindo remarks that had Sir Philip Sidney been wiser he would
\nhave said, \u201cThat could have happened to me too, by the Grace of God.\u201d For the
\ndivine Grace is everywhere, always, behind everything and every event, whatever
\nour reaction to that thing or event may be, whether it appears good or bad,
\ncatastrophic or beneficial. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nif Sir Philip had been a Yogi, he would have had the experience of human unity
\nand he would have felt concretely <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 50<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

that it was himself or a part of himself
\nwhich was being led to the gallows and he would have known at the same time
\nthat everything that happens happens by the Grace of the Lord.
\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n30 March 1960<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n27<\/a> \u2013 God is a great and cruel Torturer because He loves. You do not
\nunderstand this, because you have not seen and played with Krishna. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

What does \u201cto play with Krishna\u201d mean? What does \u201cGod is a great and
\ncruel Torturer\u201d mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Krishna is the immanent Divine, the Divine
\nPresence in everyone and in all things. He is also, sovereignly, the aspect of
\nDelight and Love of the Supreme; he is the smiling tenderness and the playful
\ngaiety; he is at once the player, the play and all his playmates. And as both
\nthe game and its results are wholly known, conceived, willed, organised and
\nplayed consciously in their entirety, there can be room for nothing but the
\ndelight of the play. Thus to see Krishna means to find the inner Godhead, to
\nplay with Krishna means to be identified with the inner Godhead and to share in
\nhis consciousness. When you achieve this state, you enter immediately into the
\nbliss of the divine play; and the more complete the identification, the more
\nperfect the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But
\nif some corner of the consciousness keeps the ordinary perception, the ordinary
\nunderstanding, the ordinary sensation, then you see the suffering of others,
\nyou find the play that causes so much suffering very cruel and you conclude
\nthat the God who takes pleasure in such a play must be a terrible Torturer; but
\non the other hand, when you have had the experience of identification with the
\nDivine, you cannot forget the immense, the wonderful love which he puts into
\nhis play, and you understand that it is the limitation of our vision that makes
\nus judge <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 51<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

in this way, and that far from being a
\nvoluntary Torturer, he is the great beneficent love that guides the world and
\nmen, by the quickest routes, in their progressive march towards perfection, a
\nperfection which, moreover, is always relative and is always being surpassed. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>But a day will come when this
\napparent suffering will no longer be required to stimulate the advance and when
\nprogress can be made more and more in harmony and delight.
\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n6 April 1960 <\/span>
\n<\/font> <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n28<\/a> \u2013 One called Napoleon a tyrant and imperial cutthroat; but I saw God
\narmed striding through Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Are all these wars necessary for the evolution of the earth?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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

At a certain stage of human development,
\nwars are inevitable. In prehistoric times the whole of life was a war; and to
\nthe present day human history has been one long history of wars. Wars are the
\nnatural result of a state of consciousness dominated by the struggle for life
\nand egoistic aggressiveness. And at the present time, in spite of some human
\nefforts towards peace, there is, as yet, nothing to assure us that war is no
\nlonger an inevitable calamity. Indeed, does not a state of war, open or
\notherwise, exist at this moment in many parts of the world? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Besides, everything that happens on earth necessarily
\nleads to its progress. Thus wars are schools of courage, endurance,
\nfearlessness; they may serve to destroy a past which refuses to disappear
\nalthough its time is over, and they make room for new things. Wars can, like
\nKurukshetra,\u00b9 be a way to rid the earth of a domineering or destructive race so
\nthat justice and<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00b9 <\/font> <\/span>In the Bhagavad Gita, the legendary battle-field where
\nthe Pandavas, led by Sri Krishna, and the Kauravas confronted each other<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 52<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

right may reign. They can, through the presence
\nof danger, shake the apathy of a too tamasic\u00b9 consciousness and awaken dormant
\nenergies. Finally they can, by contrast, and because of the horrors that
\naccompany and follow them, drive men to seek an effective way to make such a
\nbarbarous and violent form of transformation unnecessary. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>For
\neverything that is unnecessary to the evolution of the earth automatically
\nceases to exist.<\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


\n13 April 1960 <\/span>
\n<\/font> <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You have written: \u201cThey [wars] may serve to destroy a past which refuses
\nto disappear although its time is over, and they make room for new things.\u201d Now
\nthat the Supermind has descended upon earth will war be necessary to change the
\npresent state of the world?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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

All will depend on the receptivity of
\nnations. If they open widely and quickly to the influence of the new forces and
\nif they change rapidly enough in their conceptions and actions, war may be
\navoided. But it is always threatening and always in abeyance; every error,
\nevery darkening of the consciousness increases this threat. <\/span><\/p>\n

And yet in the last analysis everything
\nreally depends on the Divine Grace and we should look towards the future with
\nconfidence and serenity, at the same time progressing as fast as we can.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n15 April 1960
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\n\u00b9 <\/font> <\/span>Governed by tamas, the principle of
\ninertia and obscurity.<\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 53<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


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

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