{"id":4377,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:34","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4377"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:34","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:34","slug":"56-14-may-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\/56-14-may-1951-vol-04-questions-and-answers-volume-04","title":{"rendered":"-56_14 May 1951.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n14
\nMay 1951 <\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChance can only
\nbe the opposite of order and harmony. There is only one true harmony and that
\nis the supramental<\/span> \u2013 the reign of Truth, the
\nexpression of the Divine Law. In the Supermind<\/span>,
\ntherefore, chance has no place. But in the lower Nature, the supreme Truth is
\nobscured: hence there is an absence of that divine unity of purpose and action
\nwhich alone can constitute order. Lacking this unity, the domain of the lower
\nNature is governed by what we may call chance \u2013 that is to say, it is a field
\nin which various conflicting forces intermix, having no single definite aim.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cChance\u201d, Questions and Answers 1929-31
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If chance is the expression of disorder in the
\nlower worlds, still there are \u201chappy\u201d chances which are not necessarily the
\nexpression of a disorder, aren’t there? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


\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

Happy for whom ?
\nFor generally in this world as we see it, what is happy for one is unhappy for
\nanother; what is happy in one case is unhappy in another, and that too is an
\nexpression of disorder. I don’t say that necessarily it is a chance occurrence
\nwhich makes you unhappy, I say that it does not correspond to the order of
\ntruths, which is very different. One may be very happy in the midst of disorder
\n! There are many who are perfectly satisfied with their disorder and would not
\nlike to change it. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

A happy chance may come from a set of
\ncircumstances which harm nobody. <\/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

We do not see it
\nharming anyone or anything simply because we do not have sufficient data. We
\ncannot judge circumstances, for we do not know the world. What do we know about
\nit ? Our <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 406<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

vision is so short
\nand so limited. Just think, a man can never know what lies beyond his hundred
\nand twenty years, at the maximum, and I am putting a very big limit, and I count
\nthe first years of his existence, though generally he does not remember what
\nhas happened then. What does one know about the world in so short a time and
\nabout the consequences of things ? Nothing at all. And even granting that one
\ncan remember sufficiently well to know the result or antecedent of a so-called
\n\u201cchance\u201d, it is altogether a local knowledge. What does one know about what is
\nhappening at the antipodes or in a million other places on the earth at the
\nsame moment ? We know nothing about it. And as we know that all that happens is
\nlinked, that all things are closely linked, consciously, that there cannot be a
\nvibration in one place without there being its consequences in another, how can
\nwe tell whether our chance is not harmful to someone, though it be favourable
\nfor us ? I think it is impossible to form a judgment (how shall I put it ?) a
\ncorrect judgment about things, for one does not know what is going on in the
\nworld. We do not know the whole, we know nothing of the play of forces. And we
\nsay that chance is the result of a play of forces; only, instead of being the
\nexpression of divine harmony, it is the expression of conflicting wills. These
\nwills are not all necessarily bad or hostile but they are always ignorant. Each
\none tries to realise<\/span> his own will and the victory is
\nto the strongest \u2013 the strongest is not necessarily the best in this field.
\nWhen one thing is realised, how many others could have been realised, which
\nwere not, because this one was realised ? And all these things, we do not know.
\nWe cannot compare what is with what could have been… No, I have not said
\nanywhere that chance was necessarily the work of hostile forces, but it is
\ncertainly the work of ignorant forces. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

From a scientific point of view chance is
\nconsidered as something without a cause or as the result of a number of small
\ncauses which intervene and are more <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Page – 407<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>or less
\nindependent of each other, giving rise to the notion of disorder. But how to
\nknow whether a thing, an event, etc… is due to chance or not ? The word
\n\u201cchance\u201d is rather a way of speaking, isn’t it ? <\/i> <\/span><\/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

But that is
\nexactly what I am saying ! I never said that chance did not have a cause. You
\nsay that a thing is due to \u201cchance\u201d because you cannot discern all the causes
\nwhich have brought about that thing. But one who is in contact with the divine
\ntruth can know very well if it came from there or not \u2013 quite easily. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But for one who can follow causes and effects…<\/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

Excuse me, we have
\ngiven a definition, we have said that unless an event is the result of the
\nintervention of the divine Will expressed without mixture, it is a question of
\nwhat we call \u201cchance\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then in the ordinary world many things are due to
\nchance. <\/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

But of course, I
\nhave not said anything else! In the ordinary world all is the reign of chance,
\nexcept, from time to time, something of which the cause is indiscernible to the
\ncrowd but discernible to one who is in touch with the divine Will. That alone
\nescapes chance \u2013 this does not happen very, very often, so it is not too risky
\nto say that all things in this world happen through chance. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

We are here then by chance ? <\/span>
\n<\/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

One cannot generalise<\/span>. Nor can one ask personal questions. So we shall
\nsay vaguely that for some it is a chance event, but for others it is a divine
\nWill.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

Page – 408<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Even in the ordinary world it is not only chance
\nwhich acts. Thus for the molecules of hot gas there are twomovements<\/span>
\nwhich seem to be superimposed: a disorderly movement and a combined movement.
\nProbably we may then say that the happenings of the ordinary world are a
\nmixture of these two movements: a disorderly movement and a concerted movement
\nwhich aims at a fixed goal ? <\/span><\/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 have found
\nthat all by yourself ! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You have said in the same talk: \u201cPeace has been
\ngiven to you several times and often you lost it…\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cChance\u201d, Questions and Answers 1929-31
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, how many
\ntimes has peace been given to you and how many times have you lost it ?
\nInnumerable times, I have said. Divine peace, not only ordinary peace (because,
\nfor ordinary peace, I believe you may go around the world several times without
\nfinding it) but divine peace has been given to you and every time you have lost
\nit. Why ? Because something in you refuses to give up its petty selfish
\nroutine. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But divine peace is always there, isn’t it? It is
\nnot \u201cgiven\u201d ? <\/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 not
\nforget that when I said that, we were a small group of twelve to sixteen,
\ngathering regularly, and it was to these I was speaking. I never thought I
\nwould be reading this to more than fifty people, never. But I said this
\npositively to those who were there, in that little group, those to whom I had
\ngiven this peace innumerable times, and every time they had lost it. That is
\nwhat I mean, it was something altogether particular. Now, generally speaking,
\nfor those who are here, one may say as you do that peace is constantly given
\n(as also consciousness,
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

Page – 409<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

force, knowledge)
\nto a certain extent, as much as the mind is able to receive it. So it can no
\nlonger be said that it is \u201clost\u201d; but one becomes aware of it, then unaware,
\nand again aware, then<\/span> again unaware; quite simply for
\na reason similar to the one I have given (for it is always true, whether there
\nare sixteen or eighteen or a hundred and fifty or seven hundred, the reason is
\nalmost the same) \u2013 that even when you are well-intentioned there is something
\nin the being which clings desperately to its habits. People imagine that if
\nsomething has changed in their little outer habits, they have made a great
\nprogress; they tell you, \u201cBut don’t you see ? I travel, I change my
\nenvironment, change circumstances and I adapt myself very well.\u201d All that means
\nnothing at all. It is the inner habits, the inner reactions, the inner way of
\nseeing, the way of thinking, of directing one’s action, it is this which
\nrefuses to change, which finds it so difficult to change. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When you speak of \u201cgiving peace\u201d do you refer to
\na special gift or to something general ? <\/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

It is special, it
\nis something put upon you, with insistence, and then, for some seconds or some
\nminutes, or even some hours, you feel it. You<\/span> feel
\nsuddenly filled with peace, force<\/span>, light \u2013 sometimes
\neven with yet more precious things: knowledge, consciousness<\/span>,
\nlove. And then, it disappears. Then you say, \u201cOh! Truly, these divine forces
\nare not generous. They make you taste the thing to see how good it is, then
\ntake it away from you so that you may desire it all the more!\u201d This is the
\nusual conclusion. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yet we know the causes which prevent us from
\nkeeping the given peace and we try to get rid of these obstacles. <\/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

And so you enter
\ninto a terrible battle and lose the peace still <\/span><\/p>\n

Page – 410<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

more!…You mean
\nthat when one loses the contact and makes an effort, one manages to get rid of
\nthe obstacle ? That happens only when you are truly an A1 sadhak<\/span>
\n! There are not many who do that. Those who do it I must congratulate, for they
\nwill go very fast. But there are not many who know the cause \u2013 I have told you
\nthat \u2013 ninety-nine times out of a hundred it is the poor Divine who is guilty:
\nit is He who has given and then withdrawn what He gave; He is quite whimsical.
\nHe makes you taste of the wonderful fruit like that, then He takes it away from
\nyou, and then when He gets it into his head He gives it back to you…Indeed,
\nHe is quite a fanciful personage ! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of giving peace, why doesn’t the Divine
\nabolish all at once the ego ? <\/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

Ah ! That, that is
\nthe work for each one. That is what I told you the other day, I read to you
\nwhat Sri Aurobindo has written: \u201cDo not harbour<\/span> the
\nindolent illusion that you will be given the aspiration and the work will be
\ndone for you.\u201d The aspiration must come from you and the abolition of the ego
\nalso. You are helped, you are supported; every time you take a step forward you
\nwill feel there is something which gives you all that is necessary to enable
\nyou to take the step, but it is you who must walk, no one will take you on his
\nback and carry you… Abolish the ego first, that’s a wonderful programme<\/span> ! Once the ego is abolished, there will be
\nnothing more to do, all the work will be over, for it is precisely the ego
\nwhich impedes you from being in touch with the Divine. Once the ego is gone,
\nquite simply you will be like that, in a beatific union with the Divine, and
\nall the work will be over. But generally, one does not begin by the end. In any
\ncase, what I have just told you holds good: to abolish the ego is your work.
\nYou will be helped, but you must walk on your own feet. Do not at all hope that
\nsomeone is going to carry you on his back and that you will have nothing to do
\nexcept let yourself be carried. <\/span><\/p>\n

Page – 411<\/span><\/p>\n

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

14 May 1951   \u201cChance can only be the opposite of order and harmony. There is only one true harmony and that is the supramental…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-04-questions-and-answers-volume-04","wpcat-124-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4377","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=4377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4377\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}