{"id":4342,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:19","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4342"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:19","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:19","slug":"24-order-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\/24-order-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","title":{"rendered":"-24_Order.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

\n
\nTen <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


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

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

\n                   M<\/font><\/span>en in ancient India had a very poetic idea about the earth and the
\nworld \u2013 an idea intended to express order. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nland inhabited by men was called Jambu<\/span> Dvipa<\/span> and it was surrounded by a sea of salt. Then came a ring
\nof land and then a sea of milk. Another ring of land, and a sea of butter. More
\nland, and a sea of curds. Land again, and a sea of wine. More land, and after
\nthat a sea of sugar. Still more land, and at last, the seventh and final ring
\nof pure water: the sweet, the sweetest of all seas! <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>If
\nyou look at a map of the world like the ones we now use in schools, you will
\nnot find the sea of sugar, or the sea of milk, or the others. Nor did the
\nIndians think that these seas really existed, but for them it was an original
\nway of expressing a profound idea. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nancient legend meant among other things that everything in the world is made to
\nbe arranged in an orderly way; that the earth will truly become a place of
\nrest, a reasonable place, and a dwelling fit to live in, only when each thing
\nhas found its right place. Indeed, how could one enjoy even the best things,
\nsalt, milk, butter, wine, sugar, water, if instead of being kept apart in an
\norderly way they were to form the frightful mixture you can imagine?  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>All
\nthe religious books of mankind, by means of the most varied images, teach this
\nlaw of order. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nHebrew Book of Genesis, in its own way, also tells a story of order. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In
\nthe beginning there was chaos, that is, disorder and darkness. And the first
\nact of God was to throw light upon this <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 226<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

disorder, just as a man shines the light of his lamp into the
\ngloom of the dark and dirty cellar he wants to enter. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>After that the Bible tells how, day by day,
\nthings emerged from the chaos in an orderly way until at last the human race
\nappeared. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>It
\nis the glory of man to create order and to discover it everywhere. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nastronomer looks up towards the stars and makes a map of the heavens; he
\nstudies the regular paths of the heavenly bodies and names them, he calculates
\nthe motions of the planets around the sun and forecasts the moment when the
\nmoon, passing between the earth and the sun, will cause what we call an
\neclipse. The whole science of astronomy depends on a knowledge of order. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Arithmetic is also a science of order. Even a
\nvery small child takes delight in repeating numbers in the right order. He soon
\ndiscovers that there is no meaning in saying: one, five, three, ten, two, as he
\ncounts his fingers or his marbles. He counts: one, two, three, four; and all
\nmathematics comes from that. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nwithout order, what would become of that lovely thing, music? There are seven
\nnotes in the scale: do, re, mi, fa<\/span>, sol, la, si<\/span>. If you play these notes one after another, it is all
\nright, but if you strike them all together, and mix their sounds, it will make
\na frightful noise. They can produce a harmonious sound together only when they
\nare played in a certain order. Do, mi, sol, do, for example, sounded together,
\nform what is known as a \u201cchord\u201d. The whole science of music is based on that
\norder. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nit could be shown that order is also the basis of every other science and of
\nall the arts that man can invent.  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But
\nis it not equally indispensable in everything? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>If you
\nwent into a house and found the furniture and ornaments all topsyturvy<\/span>
\nand scattered about, and covered with a <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 227<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

thick layer of dust, you would exclaim, \u201cWhat dirt and disorder!\u201d
\nFor dirt itself is nothing but disorder. There is a place for dust in the
\nworld, but not on the furniture. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Similarly, the place for ink is in the ink-pot
\nand not on your fingers or on the carpet. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Everything is clean when each thing is in its
\nplace. And your books at school, your clothes and toys at home should each have
\na place which is really its own and which no other thing can claim. Otherwise,
\nbattles will follow and your books will get torn, your clothes stained and your
\ntoys lost. Then it will cost you much trouble and patience to find your way in
\nthis muddle and put everything right. Whereas it is so convenient when things
\nare kept in order. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nlife and work of men, and even the wealth and prosperity of nations, all depend
\non this same principle of order. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nthat is why one of the main occupations of the government of a country is to
\nmaintain good order. From the emperor, king or president, down to the ordinary
\npoliceman, each one must contribute to this task as best he can. And all the
\ncitizens, whatever their occupations may be, should also take part in this work
\nof maintaining order; for in this way each one can contribute to the
\norganisation of a strong and prosperous nation. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Think of the serious consequences that the
\nslightest disorder can sometimes have. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>What regularity and precision there must be
\namong the multitude of railwaymen<\/span>, gate-keepers,
\nengine-drivers and pointsmen<\/span> so that the numerous
\ntrains which run in all countries can leave and arrive on time, at the exact
\nminute calculated to avoid all congestion. And if by accident or negligence
\nthis order is disrupted even for a moment, what unfortunate incidents can
\nhappen! How many things can be upset by a simple delay: friends miss each
\nother, employees and businessmen arrive late at their offices or for their
\nappointments, passengers miss their boats. And you cannot imagine all the other
\ntroubles that will follow. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Think of the sad state things would be in if
\norder and <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 228<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

regularity suddenly ceased to exist in the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>See
\nhow the whole routine of the house is disturbed simply when a clock stops
\ngiving its charming example of regularity and begins to go slow or else to go
\nmadly fast. If it cannot be put right, then the best thing to do is to get rid
\nof it.  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

In the parlour<\/span> of
\nan old farmhouse there was an antique grandfather clock which for more than a
\nhundred and fifty years had never ceased ticking faithfully. Every morning at
\ndaybreak when the farmer came down, the first thing he would do was to visit
\nthe clock to be sure that it was right. Now it happened one morning that as he
\nwent into the parlour<\/span> as usual, the clock began to
\nspeak: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cFor more than a century and a half,\u201d it said,
\n\u201cI have been working without a stop and keeping perfect time. Now I am tired;
\ndon’t I deserve to take a rest and stop ticking?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cYour complaint is unjustified, my good
\nclock,\u201d the shrewd farmer replied, \u201cfor you are forgetting that between each
\ntick you have a second’s rest.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>After a moment’s thought, the clock began to
\nwork again as usual. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Children, what does this story show? That in
\norderly work fatigue and rest balance each other, and that regularity avoids
\nmuch pain and effort.  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How greatly orderliness increases the
\npower in each thing! Are not the most powerful machines the ones in which each
\npart, each cog, each lever fulfils its function with order and precision? And
\nin a machine like that, even the smallest screw, when it keeps to its proper
\nplace, can claim to be as useful as the majestic flywheel. <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 229<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>Similarly a little child who carefully carries
\nout his task makes a useful contribution to the order of his school, of his
\nhome, of his own small world within the greater world. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>At
\nfirst it may take some pains to acquire order. Nothing can be learnt without an
\neffort; nor is it easy to learn to swim, to row, to do gymnastics; but success
\ncomes little by little. In the same way, after a certain time, we can learn to
\ndo things in an orderly way without the least difficulty. And more and more, we
\nfind disorder painful and disagreeable. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>When you first learnt to walk, you often
\nstumbled, you fell, you bumped yourself, you cried. Now you walk without giving
\nit a thought and you run skilfully<\/span>. Well, the
\nmovements of walking and running are a splendid example of the orderly
\nfunctioning of your nerves, your muscles and all your organs. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Thus order always in the end becomes a habit. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nabove all, don’t imagine that being orderly, regular, punctual, must prevent
\nyou from being happy and smiling. It is not necessary to pull a long face when
\ncarrying out a task exactly. And to prove it to you, we shall end this lesson
\non order with a little laughter. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Listen to this example of punctuality, which
\nshould not be copied. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>An
\nArab lady had a servant. She sent him to a neighbour’s<\/span>
\nhouse to fetch some embers to light her fire. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nservant met a caravan going towards Egypt. He began talking with the men and
\ndecided to go with them. And he stayed away a whole year. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>On
\nhis return, he went into the neighbour’s<\/span> house to
\nfetch the embers. But as he was carrying them, he tripped and fell. The burning
\ncoals dropped and went out. Then he cried: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhat a nuisance to be in a hurry!\u201d
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 230<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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