{"id":4317,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:08","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4317"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:08","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:08","slug":"25-bhakti-69-70-408-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\/25-bhakti-69-70-408-vol-10-on-thoughts-and-aphorisms-volume-10","title":{"rendered":"-25_bhakti-69-70_408.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


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

\n(Devotion)<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

  <\/span>Fourth Period of Commentaries<\/span><\/p>\n

 (1969 -1970)<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\n
\nBhakti (Devotion) <\/b> <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


\nDevotion is the key
\nwhich opens the door to liberation.<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n                                                                                                     
\n<\/font><\/span>The Mother<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

408 − I am not a Bhakta<\/span>, for I have not
\nrenounced the world for God. How can I renounce what He took from me by force
\nand gave back to me against my will? These things are too hard for me. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

409 − I am not a Bhakta<\/span>, I am not a Jnani<\/span>, I am not a worker for the Lord. What am I then? A
\ntool in the hands of my Master, a flute blown upon by the divine Herd-Boy, a
\nleaf driven by the breath of the Lord. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

410 − Devotion is not utterly fulfilled till it becomes action and
\nknowledge. If thou pursuest<\/span> after God and canst
\novertake Him, let Him not go till thou hast His reality. If thou hast hold of
\nHis reality, insist on having also His totality. The first will give thee
\ndivine knowledge, the second will give thee divine works and a free and perfect
\njoy in the universe. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

411 − Others boast of their love for God. My boast is that I did
\nnot love God; it was He who loved me and sought me out and forced me to belong
\nto Him. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

412 − After I knew that God was a woman, I learned something from
\nfar-off about love; but it was only when I became a woman and served my Master
\nand Paramour that I knew love utterly. <\/span><\/b>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 331<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo<\/span>
\nhad a genius for humour<\/span> and all we can do is admire
\nand remain silent.  <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n


\n20 March 1970<\/font><\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

What does Sri Aurobindo<\/span> mean by: How can I
\nrenounce what He took from me by force and gave back to me against my will? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And also when he says: \u201cAfter I knew that God was a
\nwoman\u2026\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

I cannot answer because, while he was in
\nhis body, he never told me anything about this. <\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

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

If anyone knows the exact date on which he
\nwrote this, it might be an indication. <\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

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

Perhaps could tell you when this was
\nwritten, or whether Sri Aurobindo<\/span> told him anything
\nabout it.\u00b9 <\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

413<\/a> − To commit adultery with God is the perfect experience for
\nwhich the world was created<\/span><\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I do not understand this Aphorism<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

This is the most perfect way in which Sri Aurobindo<\/span>, with his marvellous<\/span>
\nsense of humour<\/span>, could ridicule human morality. This
\nsentence is a whole satire in itself. <\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

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


\n21 March 1970<\/font><\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

414<\/a> − To fear God really is to remove oneself to a distance from
\nHim, but to fear Him in play gives an edge to utter delightfulness.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00b9 According to the information given to Mother, these
\nAphorisms were written shortly after Sri Aurobindo’s<\/span>
\narrival in Pondicherry<\/span>.<\/font> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage – 332<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

415 − The Jew invented the God-fearing man; <\/span><\/b>
\nIndia<\/span> the God-knower
\nand God-lover. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

416 − The servant of God was born in <\/span><\/b>
\nJudaea<\/span><\/span>, but he came to maturity among the Arabs. <\/span><\/b>
\nIndia<\/span>‘s joy is in the
\nservant-lover. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

417 − Perfect love casts out fear; but still keep thou some tender
\nshadow and memory of the exile and it will make the perfection more perfect. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

418 − Thy soul has not tasted God’s entire delight, if it has
\nnever had the joy of being His enemy, opposing His designs and engaging with
\nHim in mortal combat. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

419 − If you cannot make God love you, make Him fight you. If He
\nwill not give you the embrace of the lover, compel Him to give you the embrace
\nof the wrestler. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

420 − My soul is the captive of God, taken by Him in battle; it
\nstill remembers the war, though so far from it, with delight and alarm and
\nwonder. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What does Sri Aurobindo<\/span> mean by \u201cthe joy of
\nbeing His enemy\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Here too I <\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

have to say that I do not know
\nexactly, because he never told me. <\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

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

But I can tell you about my own
\nexperience. Until the age of about twenty-five, all I knew was the God of
\nreligions, God as men have created him, and I did not want him at any price. I
\ndenied his existence but with the certitude that if such a God did exist, I
\ndetested him. <\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

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

When I was about twenty-five I discovered
\nthe inner God <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage – 333<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

and at the same time I learned that the
\nGod described by most Western religions is none other than the Great Adversary. <\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

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

When I came to <\/span>India<\/span>, in 1914, and became acquainted with Sri Aurobindo’s<\/span> teaching, everything became very clear.  <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n


\n24 March 1970<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

422 − There are four stages in the pain God gives to us; when it
\nis only pain; when it is pain that causes pleasure; when it is pain that is
\npleasure; and when it is purely a fiercer form of delight. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

423 − Even when one has climbed up into those levels of bliss
\nwhere pain vanishes, it still survives disguised as intolerable ecstasy. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

424 − When I was mounting upon ever higher crests of His joy, I
\nasked myself whether there was no limit to the increase of bliss and almost I
\ngrew afraid of God’s embraces. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I would like You to explain to me the \u201cfour stages of pain\u201d which Sri Aurobindo<\/span> speaks of here. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

If Sri Aurobindo<\/span>
\nis speaking of moral pain, of any kind, I can say from experience that the four
\nstages he mentions correspond to four states of consciousness which are the
\nresult of inner development and the degree of union with the divine
\nconsciousness which the individual consciousness has achieved. When the union
\nis perfect, there only remains a fiercer form of delight. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage – 334<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

If it is the physical pain endured by the
\nbody, the experience does not follow such a clearly defined order; especially
\nbecause union with the Divine most often causes the pain to disappear.  <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n


\n25 March 1970<\/font><\/span><\/i> <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

425<\/a> − The next greatest rapture to the love of God, is the love of
\nGod in men; there, too, one has the joy of multiplicity. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

426 − For monogamy may be the best for the body, but the soul that
\nloves God in men dwells here always as the boundless and ecstatic polygamist;
\nyet all the time − that is the secret − It is in love with only one
\nbeing. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

427 − The whole world is my seraglio and every living being and
\ninanimate existence in it is the instrument of my rapture. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

Someone who has experienced love for the
\nDivine can no longer love anything but the Divine, and it is the Divine he
\nloves in all those for whom he feels affection; besides, this is the best way
\nto love, because in this way one can be a powerful help for others to become
\nconscious of the Divine who manifests in them. <\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

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


\n27 March 1970<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

428<\/a> − I did not know for some time whether I loved Krishna best or
\nKali; when I loved Kali, it was loving myself, but when I loved Krishna, I
\nloved another, and still it was myself with whom I was in love. Therefore I came
\nto love <\/span><\/b>
\nKrishna<\/span> better even than Kali.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 335<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo<\/span>
\nalways had his own way of saying things, always original and always unexpected. <\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

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


\n29 March 1970<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

429<\/a> − What is the use of admiring Nature or worshipping her as a
\nPower, a Presence and a goddess? What is the use, either, of appreciating her
\naesthetically or artistically? The secret is to enjoy her with the soul as one
\nenjoys a woman with the body. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

430 − When one has the vision in the heart, everything, Nature and
\nThought and Action, ideas and occupations and tastes and objects become the
\nBeloved and are a source of ecstasy. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

\n
\nNothing to say. <\/span><\/font>\n<\/p>\n


\n30 March 1970<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

431<\/a> − The philosophers who reject the world as Maya, are very wise
\nand austere and holy; but I cannot help thinking sometimes that they are also
\njust a little stupid and allow God to cheat them too easily. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

432 − For my part, I think I have a right to insist on God giving
\nHimself to me in the world as well as out of it. Why did He make it at all, if
\nHe wanted to escape that obligation? <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

433 − The Mayavadin<\/span> talks of my Personal
\nGod as a dream and prefers to dream of Impersonal Being; the Buddhist puts that
\naside too as a fiction and prefers to dream of Nirvana and the bliss of
\nnothingness. Thus all the dreamers are busy reviling each other’s visions<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 336<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

and parading their own as the panacea. What the soul utterly rejoices
\nin, is for thought the ultimate reality. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

434 − Beyond Personality the Mayavadin<\/span>
\nsees indefinable Existence; I followed him there and found my <\/span><\/b>
\nKrishna<\/span>
\nbeyond in indefinable Personality<\/span>. <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

As always, this is Sri Aurobindo’s<\/span>
\nwonderful way of making clear to us the inanity of human assertions by which
\neach one arrogantly denies anything that is not his own discovery or his own
\npersonal experience. <\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

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

Wisdom begins with the capacity to admit
\nall theories, even the most contradictory.  <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n


\n1 April 1970<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

435<\/a> − When I first met <\/span><\/b>
\nKrishna<\/span>, I loved Him as a friend and playmate till He deceived me; then I was
\nindignant and could not forgive Him. Afterwards I loved Him as a lover and He
\nstill deceived me; I was again and much more indignant, but this time I had to
\npardon. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

436 − After offending, He forced me to pardon Him not by
\nreparation, but by committing fresh offences. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

437 − So long as God tried to repair His offences against me, we
\nwent on periodically quarrelling; but when He found out His mistake, the
\nquarrelling stopped, for I had to submit to Him entirely. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

438 − When I saw others than Krishna and myself in the world, I
\nkept secret God’s doings with me; but since I began to see Him and myself
\neverywhere, I have become shameless and garrulous.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\nPage – 337<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

In his writings, Sri Aurobindo<\/span>
\nhad a genius for expressing the most extraordinary experiences in the most
\nordinary words, thus giving the impression that his experiences are simple and
\nobvious.  <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n


\n2 April 1970<\/font><\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

439<\/a> − All that my Lover has, belongs to me. Why do you abuse me
\nfor showing off the ornaments He has given to me? <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

440 − My Lover took His crown and royal necklace from His head and
\nneck and clothed me with them; but the disciples of the saints and the prophets
\nabused me and said, \u201cHe is hunting after Siddhis.\u201d\u00b9<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

441 − I did my Lover’s commands in the world and the will of my
\nCaptor; but they cried, Who is this corruptor of youth, this disturber of
\nmorals? <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

442 − If I cared even for your praise, O ye saints, if I cherished
\nmy reputation, O ye prophets, my Lover would never have taken me into His bosom
\nand given me the freedom of His secret chambers. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

443 − I was intoxicated with the rapture of my Lover and I threw
\nthe robe of the world from me even in the world’s highways. Why should I care
\nthat the worldlings<\/span> mock and the Pharisees turn their
\nfaces? <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

444 − To thy lover, O Lord, the railing of the world is wild honey
\nand the pelting of stones by the mob is summer rain on the body. For is it not
\nThou that railest<\/span> and peltest<\/span>,
\nand is it not Thou in the stones that strikest<\/span> and hurtest<\/span> me? <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b9 <\/span>Occult powers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 338<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

There is nothing to say. One can only bow
\nbefore the perfection of the experience.  <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n


\n3 April 1970<\/span><\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

445<\/a> − There are two things in God which men call evil, that which
\nthey cannot understand at all and that which they misunderstand and,
\npossessing, misuse; it is only what they grope after half-vainly and dimly understand
\nthat they call good and holy. But to me all things in Him are lovable<\/span><\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

446 − They say, O my God, that I am mad because I see no fault in
\nThee; but if I am indeed mad with Thy love, I do not wish to recover my sanity.
\n<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

447 − \u201cErrors, falsehoods, stumblings<\/span>!\u201d
\nthey cry. How bright and beautiful are Thy errors, O Lord! Thy falsehoods save
\nTruth alive; by Thy stumblings<\/span> the world is
\nperfected. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

448 − Life, Life, Life, I hear the passions cry; God, God, God, is
\nthe soul’s answer. Unless thou seest<\/span> and lovest<\/span> Life as God only, then is Life itself a sealed joy
\nto thee<\/span><\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

449 − \u201cHe loves her,\u201d the senses say; but the soul says, \u201cGod,
\nGod, God.\u201d That is the all-embracing formula of existence. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

In this way Sri Aurobindo<\/span>
\nreveals and formulates the secret of existence. All that remains is to
\nunderstand and live it.  <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n


\n4 April 1970<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage – 339<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

450<\/a> − If thou canst not love the vilest worm and the foulest of
\ncriminals, how canst thou believe that thou hast accepted God in thy spirit? <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

451 − To love God, excluding the world, is to give Him an intense
\nbut imperfect adoration. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

452 − Is love only a daughter or handmaid of jealousy? If Krishna
\nloves Chandrabali,\u00b9 why should I not love her also? <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

453 − Because thou lovest<\/span> God only, thou
\nart apt to claim that He should love thee rather than others; but this is a
\nfalse claim contrary to right and the nature of things. For He is the One, but
\nthou art of the many. Rather become one in heart and soul with all beings, then
\nthere will be none in the world but thou alone for Him to love. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

454 − My quarrel is with those who are foolish enough not to love
\nmy Lover, not with those who share His love with me. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

455 − In those whom God loves, have delight; on those whom He
\npretends not to love, take pity. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

This is the most charming criticism one
\ncan make of jealousy and also the best way to cure it by overcoming the limits
\nof the ego and by uniting with the Divine Love which is eternal and universal.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

6 April 1970<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00b9 Sri <\/font> <\/span>Krishna<\/span><\/font> loved Radha<\/span> best among the gopis<\/span>, but he loved Chandrabali<\/span>
\nand the other gopis<\/span> also<\/font><\/span>.<\/font> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage – 340<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/i><\/p>\n


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

BHAKTI (Devotion)   Fourth Period of Commentaries  (1969 -1970)  Bhakti (Devotion)   Devotion is the key which opens the door to liberation.                                                                                                       The Mother  …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-10-on-thoughts-and-aphorisms-volume-10","wpcat-122-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4317","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=4317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4317\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

421<\/a> − Most of all things on earth I hated pain till God hurt and
\ntortured me; then it was revealed to me that pain is only a perverse and
\nrecalcitrant shape of excessive delight. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n