{"id":4331,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:15","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4331"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:15","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:15","slug":"10-the-divinity-within-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02\/10-the-divinity-within-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","title":{"rendered":"-10_The Divinity Within.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

\n
\nThe
\nDivinity Within <\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n                        A<\/font><\/span>ll in us that is not wholly consecrated to the Divinity within is
\nin the possession, by fragments, of the whole entirety of things that encompass
\nus and act upon what we improperly call \u201courselves\u201d, whether through the
\nintermediary of our senses or directly on the mind by suggestion. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nonly way to become a conscious being, to be oneself, is to unite with the
\ndivine Self that is in all. For that, we must, by the aid of concentration,
\nisolate ourselves from external influences. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>When you are one with the Divinity within, you
\nare one with all things in their depths. And it is through It and by It that
\nyou must enter into relation with them. You are then, but without attraction or
\nrepulsion, near to whatever is near to It and far from whatever is far. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Living among others you should always be a
\ndivine example, an occasion offered to them to understand and to enter on the
\npath of the life divine. Nothing more: you should not even have the desire to
\nmake them progress; for that too would be something arbitrary. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Until you are definitively one with the
\nDivinity within, the best way, in your relations with the outside, is to act
\naccording to the unanimous advice given by those who have themselves had the
\nexperience of this unity. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>To
\nbe in a state of constant benevolence, with this as your rule, not to be
\ntroubled by anything and not to be the cause of trouble to others, not to
\ninflict suffering upon them so far as possible. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>8
\n June 1912<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 103<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\nThe Mother
\nand Abdul Baha<\/span> <\/a> <\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n


\n <\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n\u00a0 <\/span>
\n
\nI<\/font><\/span> knew
\nAbdul Baha<\/span> very well, the successor of Baha<\/span> Ullah<\/span>, founder of the Bahai<\/span> religion; Abdul Baha<\/span> was
\nhis son. He was born in prison and lived in prison till he was forty, I believe.
\nWhen he came out of prison his father was dead and he began to preach his
\nfather’s religion\u2026.\u00b9<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

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

\u00a0 <\/span>He was the son of the famous Baha<\/span> Ullah<\/span> who had been put into
\nprison for spreading ideas that were more progressive and broad-minded than
\nthose of the Sufis, and was resented by orthodox Muslims. After his death, his
\nson, the sole heir, became determined to preach his father’s religious ideas,
\nand for this purpose he travelled<\/span> to many countries
\nof the world. He had an excellent nature. He was as simple as his aspiration
\nwas great. I liked him very much…<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>His sincerity and his aspiration for the
\nDivine were simple and very spontaneous. One day, when I went to visit him, he
\nwas to give a lecture to his disciples. But he was sick and could not get up.
\nPerhaps the meeting would have to be postponed. When I came near to him, he
\nsaid, \u201cGo and take my place at today’s lecture.\u201d I was startled, unprepared as
\nI was to hear such a request. I said to him, \u201cI am not a member of your sect
\nand I know nothing about it, so how can I talk to them about anything?\u201d But he
\ninsisted, saying, \u201cIt does not matter. Say anything at all, it will be quite
\nall right. Go and talk…Concentrate in the sitting-room and then speak.\u201d At
\nlast he persuaded me to do it… <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Then one day he asked me to stay in <\/span><\/i>
\nParis<\/span><\/i> and
\ntake the responsibility for his disciples. But I told him that as I did not
\nmyself accept the beliefs of his sect, it was out of the question for me to do
\nso\u2026\u00b2<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

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

\n\u00b9 <\/font>
\nQuestions
\nand Answers 1950-51 (14 April), pp. 316-17.<\/font><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00b2 From an unpublished talk.<\/font> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 104<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\nINTRODUCTION TO A TALK <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>All
\nthe prophets, all the instructors who have come to bring the divine word to
\nmen, have, on one point at least, given an identical teaching. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>All
\nof them have taught us that the greatest truths are sterile unless they are
\ntransformed through us into useful actions. All have proclaimed the necessity
\nof living their revelation in daily life. All have declared that they show us
\nthe path but that we must tread it ourselves; no being, however great, can do our
\nwork in our stead. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Baha<\/span> Ullah<\/span> was no exception to
\nthis rule. I shall not quote the texts to you, you know them as well and better
\nthan I do. How many times Abdul Baha<\/span> has said: \u201cDo
\nnot talk, act; words are of no use without actions, we must be an example to
\nthe world.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>It
\nis indeed very necessary that each one of us should be an example to the world.
\nFor it is only by showing to men how an inner commerce with the eternal truths
\ntransforms disorder into harmony and suffering into peace, that we shall induce
\nthem to follow the way which will lead them towards liberation. But Abdul Baha<\/span> is not content to give us this teaching, he is living
\nit, and therein lies all his power of persuasion. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Indeed, who has seen Abdul Baha<\/span>
\nand not felt in his presence this perfect goodness, this sweet serenity, this
\npeace emanating from his being? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nthe revelations of Baha<\/span> Ullah<\/span>
\nimparted through the mouth of his son are all the more comprehensible and
\nconvincing to us since he is living them within himself. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>To
\nsome of you, perhaps, this reflection will occur: \u201cIf Abdul Baha<\/span>
\ncan realise this beauty, it is because he is the master, but for us\u2026\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Certainly, our indolence could not formulate a
\nbetter reason for refusing to make any effort, but this is merely a lazy
\nexcuse. <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 105<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>There is, without doubt, an almost
\nineradicable difference between individuals, the one arising from their special
\nrole, their place, their status in the infinite hierarchy of beings; but
\nwhatever this role or status may be, within it each one can develop his own
\nqualities to perfection, each one can and must aspire to gain the perfect
\npurity, the perfect sincerity, the deep harmony which bring us into accord with
\nthe laws of order in the universe. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I
\nknew an old sage who used to compare men to minerals that were more or less
\ncrude, more or less rich, but all containing gold. Let this ore undergo the
\npurifying flames of spiritualisation and at the bottom of the crucible will be
\nfound an ingot which is more or less heavy, but always of pure gold. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>We
\nmust therefore seek to release from its matrix the pure gold that is within us.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>How
\nmany methods have been recommended for this! <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>They are all excellent, but each one applies
\nto a special category of mentality and character, and each individual must find
\nthe one that best suits his temperament. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>That is why, unless I am mistaken, Miss
\nSanderson asks one person or another to set forth here his own special view of
\nthe question or else the method which he finds most effective. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I
\ndo not intend today to expound any one of these methods to you in its entirety.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I
\nwould like \u2013 since we are taught that our first duty is to act and, moreover,
\nthat our acts are for ourselves the most powerful agents of transformation \u2013 I
\nwould like only to draw your attention to two categories of action which, in my
\nopinion, are not always accorded the full importance they have with regard to
\nothers and to ourselves. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>They are purely mental actions, but
\nnonetheless, very much alive, very powerful and consequently very beneficial or
\nvery harmful according to the direction imparted to them. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nfirst is our faculty of mental formation, thought; the second is our activity
\nin states of sleep, which is usually known <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 106<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

as dream and is very intimately linked with the first, as you will
\nsee.\u00b9 <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The very ancient traditions, whether Chaldean<\/span> or Hindu, have taught from all time that thoughts
\nare formations: by his thought a human being has the power of giving birth to
\nreal, living and active entities. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nit should not be thought that this can be done only through some extraordinary
\nand dangerous practice known as magic. Nothing of the kind. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Any
\nthought that is at all strong and persistent, any desire that is at all intense
\n\u2013 which is again a way of thinking \u2013 determine mechanically, so to say, in
\ntheir own medium, a formation whose duration and power of action will depend on
\nthe force and intensity of the thought or desire which has given birth to
\nit.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>To
\nmake myself understood more clearly, I have brought you a few passages from an
\nas yet unpublished philosophical volume. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll that lives is substantial, but all
\nthat is substantial is living. Every state of substance is a world of living
\nforces, of real forms. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cTo
\nrestrict the real to the sole domain of the forms we perceive is to restrict
\nthe universal intelligence to its physical manifestation alone, all light to
\nthe one field of our vision. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cHowever, no space exists where there is no
\nvibration of light, no depth exists where the essence of the intelligible does
\nnot assume appropriate forms.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo long as we imagine that the whole
\nuniversal reality is confined to the one order of substance, to the one state
\nof materiality perceived by our senses, we know nothing and can explain
\nnothing. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00b9 <\/font> <\/span>This introduction seems originally to have
\npreceded the third talk on thought (pp. 83-92) and the talk on dreams (pp.
\n30-37).<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 107<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhen science endeavoured<\/span>
\nto understand what light is, it had to break out of the too narrow space and
\ntoo limited area of perceptible phenomena, and it postulated, under the name of
\nether, a subtle state of reality. But, in reaching this state, it has taken
\nonly its first steps on the path of infinite transcendence… <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThus, we can now become aware that the realm
\nof being which we know is merely the field of manifestation, of a more complete
\nmaterialisation<\/span> of its own distant and anterior
\nmodes, the last among the fields of life.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we could perceive the living images
\nwhich thoughts produce around us at each moment, if we could measure the force
\nof their power of formation, we would understand what can be created by the
\nconcourse of our converging wills and the formidable concert of the collective
\nideas and beliefs of a people, a civilisation, a race.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, all ideas are not creative to
\nthe same degree. In fact, few minds are capable of thinking real thoughts; and
\nmost individual mental formations are no more than distortions, malformations
\nof stereotypes formed by some anonymous thinker which have become common
\nproperty. The forms they assume in the intellectual substance are usually crude
\nand stupid; besides, they do not last long. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cBut as soon as an idea becomes an idea-force,
\na true mental dynamism, it tends to produce and maintain its plastic representation
\nin a more stable and precise form. And great thoughts, co-ordinated<\/span>
\nsyntheses of intellectual force, are in actual fact, in the substance they have
\nassumed, living creations and active entities.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(At
\nthis point, in this talk of 10 March, the Mother presented again some material
\nalready given in the third talk on thought, including the \u201cdescription of the
\nmental atmosphere of a city like Paris\u201d (p. 83) \u2013 the \u201cnight\u201d referred to in
\nthe sentence which follows.<\/i>)<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 108<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

And yet we must kindle the stars that one
\nby one will come to illumine this night. This is, from the mental point of
\nview, what Abdul Baha<\/span> expects from us all. This is
\nthe way to be intellectually an example to the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>For
\nsuch an action more than for any other, perhaps, the usefulness of meetings
\nsuch as this one becomes clearly visible. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>By
\nuniting our thoughts for one or two hours around a very pure and lofty idea, in
\na common will for disinterested progress, we create a mental atmosphere that is
\never more luminous and strong. But this is not enough; it would even be very
\nlittle if, when leaving these meetings, we were to plunge back defenceless<\/span> into this coarse and heavy atmosphere. For in
\nthe mental as in the physical domain we are in a state of perpetual interchange
\nwith the corresponding environment.\u00b9 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>10 March 1912<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nNOTES FOR A MEETING <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>What
\na true meeting should be. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Mr.
\nBer<\/span> talked to us last Friday about mantras. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>2
\nkinds of masters according to Ramakrishna: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nmaster who gives the mantra and who is thus an indirect means of
\nspiritualisation. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nmaster who has had the deep experience of divine union and who by his presence
\nalone transmits spirituality \u2013 Abdul Baha<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>What a single man can do by his spiritual
\npower can be achieved by a group if it unites in a thought of goodwill: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>Chaldean<\/i><\/span> initiation<\/i>: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhen you are twelve united in righteousness,
\nyou will manifest the Ineffable.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Groups are subject to the same laws as individuals.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


\n\u00b9 This
\ntalk continues with passages which have come already in\u00a0 <\/span>On Thought – III, etc.<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 109<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>More favourable moments due to collective
\nsuggestions. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Renewals: the beginning of each new year,
\nwhatever date is chosen as a starting-point. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>An
\nopportunity is given to awaken in oneself the idea that all things can be new
\nand the resolution to make them so. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Consequently, the usefulness of meeting at
\nfixed times to make favourable resolutions together. <\/span><\/p>\n

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

\n\u00a0<\/font><\/span>3 January 1913<\/font><\/span> <\/p>\n

\nTHE DEPARTURE OF ABDUL BAHA <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Last Monday, Abdul Baha<\/span>
\ntook leave of us; in a very few days he will have left Paris, and I know many
\nhearts which will feel a great void and will grieve. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Yet
\nonly the body is leaving us, and what is the body if not precisely that in
\nwhich men are most alike, be they great or small, wise or ignorant, terrestrial
\nor divine? Yes, you may rest assured that only his body is leaving us; his
\nthought will remain faithfully with us, and his unchanging affection will
\nenfold us, and his spiritual influence will always be the same, absolutely the
\nsame. Whether materially he is near or far matters little, for the divine
\nforces elude completely the laws of the material world: they are omnipresent,
\nalways at work to satisfy every receptivity, every sincere aspiration. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>So
\nalthough it may be pleasant for our outer being to see his physical appearance
\nor hear his voice, to dwell in his presence, we must truly tell ourselves that,
\ninasmuch as it seems indispensable to us, this shows that we are still little
\nconscious of the inner life, the true life. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Even if we do not attain to the marvellous
\ndepths of the divine life, of which only very rare individuals are constantly
\nconscious, already in the domain of thought we escape the laws of time and
\nspace. <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 110<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>To
\nthink of someone is to be near him, and wherever two beings may find
\nthemselves, even if they are physically separated by thousands of kilometres<\/span>, if they think of each other they are together
\nin a very real way. If we are able to concentrate our thought sufficiently and
\nto concentrate sufficiently in our thought, we can become integrally conscious
\nof what we are thinking of, and if it is a man, sometimes see or hear him \u2013 in
\nany case know his thought. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Thus separation no longer exists, it is an
\nillusory appearance. And in France, in America, in Persia or in China, we are
\nalways near the one we love and think of. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But
\nthis fact is all the more real in a case such as ours, where we want to come
\ninto contact with an especially active and conscious thought, a thought which
\nassumes and manifests an infinite love, a thought which enfolds the whole earth
\nwith a loving and fatherly solicitude that is only too glad to come to the help
\nof those who entrust themselves to it. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Experience this mental communion and you will
\nsee that there is no room for sorrow. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Each morning when you get up, before you begin
\nyour day, with love and admiration and gratefulness hail this great family,
\nthese saviours of mankind who, ever the same, have come, come and will come
\nuntil the end of time, as guides and instructors, as humble and marvellous
\nservants of their brothers, in order to help them to scale the steep slope of
\nperfection. Thus when you wake up, concentrate on them your thought full of
\ntrust and gratitude and you will soon experience the beneficial effects of this
\nconcentration. You will feel their presence responding to your call, you will
\nbe surrounded, imbued with their light and love. Then the daily effort to
\nunderstand a little better, to love a little more, to serve more, will be more
\nfruitful and easier at the same time. The help you give to others will become
\nmore effective and your heart will be filled with an unwavering joy.
\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

9
\nJune 1913<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nPage – 111<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Divinity Within                           All in us that is not wholly consecrated to the Divinity within is in the possession, by fragments, of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","wpcat-123-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4331","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=4331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4331\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}