{"id":4358,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:26","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4358"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:26","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:26","slug":"45-17-april-1951-vol-04-questions-and-answers-volume-04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/04-questions-and-answers-volume-04\/45-17-april-1951-vol-04-questions-and-answers-volume-04","title":{"rendered":"-45_17 April 1951.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n17 April 1951<\/font><\/span><\/b>
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n


\n <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe spiritual life reveals the one
\nessence in all, but reveals too its infinite diversity; it works for diversity
\nin oneness and for perfection in that diversity.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Questions and Answers 1929 (4 August)
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

This is the very
\nmotive of the creation of the universe, that is to say, all are one, all is one
\nin its origin, but each thing, each element, each being has as its mission the
\nrevealing of one part of this unity to itself, and it is this particularity which
\nmust be developed in everyone, while awakening at the same time the sense of
\nthe original unity. This is \u201cto work for unity in diversity\u201d. And the
\nperfection in that diversity lies in everyone’s being perfectly what he ought
\nto be. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You have said: \u201cMen have the impression
\nthat their desires are born within; they feel as if they come out of themselves
\nor arise in themselves; but it is a false impression. Desires are waves of the
\nvast sea of the obscure lower nature and they pass from one person to another.
\nMen do not generate desire in themselves, but are invaded by these waves;
\nwhoever is open and without defence<\/span> is caught in them
\nand tossed about.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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

             <\/span>
\n
\nCan the protective envelope also feel the
\nwaves of desire, the impulsions from others, etc… ? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\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><\/p>\n

You mean whether
\nthe protective envelope of which I spoke from a physical point of view can
\nserve also from a moral, a psychological point of view ? It is not the same
\nenvelope, it is another domain. A man may have this subtle-physical envelope
\nquite intact and it may work marvellously to protect him from <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 324<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

all illnesses and
\naccidents, and yet at the same time he may be full of desires, because desires
\nbelong to another sphere. Desire is not a physical thing, desire is something
\nvital, and this envelope is more material than the vital: it cannot prevent the
\nvital from entering into contact with the vital world and receiving from there
\nall its impulsions. Naturally he who has mastered himself, who has found his
\npsychic being, who lives constantly in the consciousness of this psychic being,
\nwho has established a perfect relation or at least a constant relation with the
\ninner divine Presence is enveloped in an atmosphere of knowledge, light,
\nbeauty, purity, which is the best of all protections against desires, but all
\nthe same it is possible for desire to intrude if one is not always on one’s
\nguard, because we say that it comes from outside. One may have overcome a
\ndesire within oneself, and yet it may come from outside as a contagion; but
\nthrough this envelope of light, knowledge and purity, the desire loses its
\nforce and instead of coming like a movement which evokes a blind and immediate
\nresponse, one perceives what is happening, becomes aware of the force which wants
\nto enter and one can quietly \u2013 \u00a0<\/span>when it
\nis not wanted \u2013 make an inner movement and reject the incoming desire. This is
\nthe only true defence<\/span>: a wakeful consciousness, pure
\nand alert, so to say, which does not sleep, does not let things enter without
\nbeing aware of them. The worst thing is that people are quite unconscious and
\nthat it is only after the contagion has entered that they notice it, and it is
\na little late to react \u2013 is not impossible, but it is more difficult \u2013 while if
\none sees it coming, if in the surrounding atmosphere it comes making a kind of
\nlittle black mark, one can chase it off as one would something disagreeable.
\nBut the protective envelope on the material plane has no effect in this
\ninstance. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is indeed
\nsomething very interesting… I have seen that material things are arranged in
\nsuch a way at present that one could reach a high degree of perfection of the
\nphysical instrument in any field whatever, no matter what may be the degree of
\ninner or psychic development. This was what I thought yesterday <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 325<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\nevening about the talkies. It is evidently a
\ngreat progress in the cinematographic art and it can’t be called in itself bad
\nor good. It was that I had always seen only talkies of idiotic, vulgar, crude
\nstories, indeed all the stupidities generally shown in cinemas, and this
\nperfection of the instrument had made the crudity yet more crude, the stupidity
\nyet more stupid, and this kind of impression of degradation yet more strong.
\nBut yesterday, when we saw that documentary with the beautiful birds singing…
\nThose who made this film have taken great pains, one can’t imagine how much of
\neffort and work it entails to film birds in their nests without disturbing
\nthem, then to record the sound accurately enough to be able to amplify it and
\nmake it perceptible to all. It is a very big work they have done there. And it
\nis the same perfecting of the same instrument which permitted the production of
\nthe lovely thing we saw yesterday evening and that ignoble thing we saw
\nsometime ago… This makes us reflect deeply on material things. <\/span><\/p>\n

Physical
\nperfection does not at all prove, not the least in the world, that one has
\ntaken one step farther towards spirituality. Physical perfection means that the
\ninstrument the force will use \u2013 any force whatever \u2013 will be sufficiently
\nperfected to be remarkably expressive. But the important point, the essential
\npoint is the force which will use the instrument, and it is there that the
\nchoice is necessary. If you perfect your body and make of it a remarkable
\ninstrument, you must not at all think that because of that you are nearer to
\nthe spiritual life. You prepare a remarkable instrument so that this spiritual
\nlife may manifest in it, if it manifests itself. But it is for you always to
\nchoose what will be manifested. There are people who perfect their body, who
\nbuild a strong, solid, energetic, agile, capable body, and all this simply to
\nbe able to better affirm their ego and the strength of their ego. Others may
\nprepare the body to be sure that when the spiritual light manifests, it will
\nfind an instrument capable of doing all that is asked of it. Whatever the work
\nrequired, the instrument will be so perfected as to be able to do
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 326<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

it without
\ndifficulty, spontaneously, immediately… This is to arouse your attention to
\nthe most important fact which is the choice of the force you will allow to
\nmanifest in your body. Perfect your body, make it a remarkable instrument, but
\nnever forget that there is a choice to be made and that this choice ought to be
\nmade constantly \u2013 one doesn’t make it once for all, it must always be renewed.
\nBecause, before one reaches the total union, the total expression, there will
\nalways be this invasion of external things which will try to enter you and
\nspoil all the work. So, the necessary, indispensable condition is a constant
\nvigilance. Do not sleep with satisfaction under the pretext that you have once
\nmade your choice: \u201cOh ! Now it is all right, everything is all right.\u201d In
\nprinciple everything is all right; in the sincerity of your choice lies also
\nthe guarantee of its duration. But for the sincerity to be perfect and the
\nchoice unshakable, one must never sleep \u2013 I don’t mean you must not sleep
\nphysically, I mean the consciousness must not sleep ! And this is an
\nintroduction to what I shall read to you next time, a letter Sri Aurobindo
\nwrote quite a long time ago; if I remember rightly, it was in 1928, October
\n1928. You see, things do not change very quickly. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

How should one express the particularity
\nof one’s being ? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\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><\/p>\n

You must live it,
\nthat is to say, live according to the inner law, the truth of your being. I
\nhave explained this at some length in \u201cThe Science of Living\u201d, I have said that
\nthis truth of the being is precisely the particularity of every one. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But it differs with every one, doesn’t it ?
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\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><\/p>\n

The law of each
\nbeing is different, yes, otherwise how would a distinction be made? \u2013 From top
\nto bottom, the nature, appearance, actions, all would be the same. If there
\nwere only one law, there would be only one law and every one would repeat <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 327<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

the same thing.
\nThere would be no need at all to manifest a universe because it would be one
\nsingle law. The very characteristic of the universe is an infinite multiplicity
\nof laws which altogether, in their totality, reproduce the One. And it is this
\nwhich is particularly marvellous in the physical world (in man and in the
\nphysical world, for it is proper to the terrestrial being), that it can be one
\nof the innumerable elements which in their totality reproduce the One, and yet
\nat the same time have a personal relation with the One \u2013 that is to say,
\ncontain in itself the consciousness of the One and the relation with the One,
\nand at the same time be an element of the whole. But if the fact of becoming
\nconscious of the One and identifying oneself with it stopped one from being
\nparticular, one would cease existing as a personality. This is precisely what
\nthe Buddhists and the disciples of Shankara<\/span> try to realise<\/span>; they wish to abolish totally their personality,
\ntheir individuality, abolish the truth of their being, the special law of their
\nbeing. This is what they consider to be a fusion with the Divine. But this is
\nthe negation of this creation. And as I was saying, the miracle of this
\ncreation, as far as the terrestrial individuality goes, is that we may achieve
\nthis union, this complete identification with the Supreme, the One, and at the
\nsame time keep the consciousness of our diversity, of the particular law we
\nhave to express. It is more difficult but infinitely more complete, and it is
\nthe very truth of this universe. The universe has not been made for anything
\nelse but that, to unite these two poles, the two extremes of consciousness. And
\nwhen they are united, one understands that these two extremes are exactly the
\nsame thing \u2013 a whole, at once one and innumerable. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But one feels very different from others !
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\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><\/p>\n

Externally, this
\nis evident.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is ignorance<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 328<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

No, the ignorance
\nis to deny the essential identity, the one origin. And I consider it an
\nignorant absurdity to want to deny the external differences of the
\nmanifestation. Why should there be a manifestation then ? What purpose would it
\nserve ? This would mean there has been an absurdity at the beginning of
\ncreation. If this had not been done designedly, it would mean that things are
\nnot made on purpose or that He has made a mistake or even that He has not
\nunderstood what He wanted to do! that He thought of doing one thing and did
\nanother ! Besides, I hasten to tell you that if there were a universe in which
\nall the elements were identical, truly one would immediately ask why it
\nexisted. If all of you in front of me, all, were all the same, speaking in the
\nsame way, thinking in the same way, reacting in the same way, I believe I
\nshould immediately run away ! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You said that if there were a third world
\nwar, it would be the end of the present civilisation. Would the terrestrial
\ncondition be affected favourably<\/span> by it or adversely ?
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\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><\/p>\n

Listen. Would you
\nask whether a fatal illness is favourable to health or not ? It is exactly
\nthat. A civilisation, whatever it may be, is the result of very long efforts to
\nbecome conscious of oneself, of Nature, and to master this Nature and draw the
\nbest possible advantage from it. We were saying a while ago that the training
\nof the physical being consists in preparing an instrument so that the Divine
\nmay manifest Himself. A civilisation prepares an instrument so that the Divine
\nmay manifest in that instrument. The more slowly, carefully, minutely the
\ncivilisation is worked out, and succeeds in conquering the laws of Nature, the
\nmore favourable is the instrument to the manifestation of the Divine. That is
\nwhy we also have this idea of the prolongation of life, it is to be able to
\nperfect the instrument so as to manifest the divine Force which wants to
\nmanifest. Otherwise, it would evidently be much easier, as soon as the body
\nbecame a
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 329<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

little ill or a
\nlittle old or incapable of reacting as it did when young, to do what one does
\nwith an old torn dress \u2013 one throws it away and gets another. Unfortunately, it
\nis not like that. All the fruit of the work, all the accumulated effort to
\nbecome conscious is lost. If, for instance, this civilisation we have built,
\nwhich in a way has so considerably mastered the forces of Nature, which has
\nsucceeded in understanding laws of an altogether unique order and has
\naccumulated so many experiences of all kinds to reach self-understanding and
\nself-expression, if all this disappeared, it would be necessary, naturally, to
\nbegin all over again. And then, for a new-born child, how many years of slow
\nand insipid education are needed for its brain to be ready to express even a
\nsimple general idea, for its movements to be conscious instead of being
\nabsolutely unconscious, how many years ! For a civilisation, how many years
\nwould be necessary simply to get back all that is lost ? There have been many
\ncivilisations on the earth, there are scientists trying to rediscover what has
\nbeen, but nobody can say with certitude exactly what was there: the major part
\nof these civilisations is completely lost (I am speaking of civilisations
\npreceding this one which for us is historical) . Well, if thousands of years
\nare yet needed to begin another, obviously… In any case, for our external
\nhuman consciousness, it is a loss of time. But we are told that the Work to be
\ndone, the promised Realisation<\/span> is going to take place
\nnow. It is going to take place now because the framework of this civilisation
\nseems to be favourable as a platform or a base for building up. But if this
\ncivilisation is destroyed, upon what are we going to build ? First a foundation
\nplatform must be made in order to be able to build. If five or ten thousand
\nyears are still needed to make this platform, this proves that it is not now
\nthat things will be done \u2013 they will be done, that is well understood, they
\nwill be done, but… How many lives have you all had? What do you remember of
\nyour past lives ? What is the good of all the efforts you have made in your
\npast lives to perfect yourselves, to try to understand yourselves, to master
\nyourselves <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 330<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

a little, simply
\nto make use of the instrument which has been given to you ? What remains to you
\nof all that? Will you tell me ? Who here can tell me that he is consciously
\nprofiting by the experiences of his past lives \u2013 unconsciously there is
\nsomething which remains but not much- but consciously ?… No one will answer ?
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

No, precisely, one has the impression that
\nafter having lived so long, one is only beginning to know a very little. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, exactly, it
\nis just like that. This is because the farther one goes, the more does one realise<\/span> that there is everything to understand and
\neverything to learn. And consequently, if one has behind him some sixty years,
\nit is nothing. One would like to have hundreds and hundreds of years before one
\nto be able to do the work. It is like that, you are all little children, you
\nsee, so the years seem to you long, because you have not lived much; but you
\nwill see, the more one advances, the more does one realise<\/span>
\nthat there is a long road in front, long, very long, and one would not like to
\nhave to begin all over again, for it is so much more time lost. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 331<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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