{"id":4398,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:43","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4398"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:43","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:43","slug":"53-7-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\/53-7-may-1951-vol-04-questions-and-answers-volume-04","title":{"rendered":"-53_7 May 1951.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n7
\nMay 1951 <\/font><\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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

Mother reads the first part of Chapter 6 of The Mother
\nby Sri Aurobindo. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What is a \u201chierarchy\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

It is a grouping
\norganised in order of merit. For instance, you have a chief at the centre and
\nyou may have four persons around him, and around these four, 8, then 12, 24,
\n36, 48,124, and so on, each with his special mission, his special work, his
\nparticular authority, and all referring in an ascending order to the centre.
\nThat is a hierarchy. In governments they try to form hierarchies, but these are
\nuntrue, they are arbitrary and not worth anything. But in all ancient
\ninitiations there were hierarchies which were expressions of individual merit \u2013
\nindividual powers and merits \u2013 having always at their centre the representative
\nof the Supreme and the Shakti<\/span>; sometimes having only
\nthe Supreme, depending on the religions. But the groups were always organised
\nin that way, that is, with a growing number of individuals, each one having to
\nrefer to the officer immediately above him. For instance, the 124 had to refer
\nto the 48, the 48 had to refer to the 24, the 24 refer to the 12, the 12 to the
\n8, and so on. That is a hierarchy. The word is used in a very imprecise and
\nvague way. They speak of a hierarchy and think it is the men who govern and
\nhave subordinates. But the true hierarchy is an occult hierarchy, and this
\noccult hierarchy had as its purpose the manifesting, the expressing of a more
\nprofound hierarchy which is a hierarchy of the invisible worlds. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What is the \u201ctranscendent Mother\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

Don’t you know
\nthat there are three principles: the transcendent, the universal and the
\nindividual or personal ? No ? \u2013 the transcendent
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 392<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

which is above
\ncreation, at the origin of creation; the universal which is the creation, and
\nthe individual which is self-explanatory. There is a transcendent Divine, a
\nuniversal Divine and an individual Divine. That is, one may put oneself in
\ncontact with the divine Consciousness within oneself, in the universe and,
\nbeyond all forms, in the transcendent. So these three aspects are also the
\nthree aspects of the divine Mother: transcendent, universal and individual…Do
\nyou know the flower I have called \u201cTransformation\u201d ?\u00b9 Yes. You know it has four
\npetals. Well, these four petals are arranged like a cross: one at the top which
\nrepresents the transcendent; two on each side, the universal; and one at the
\nbottom, the individual. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The petal at the top is divided into two. <\/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

Exactly, the
\ntranscendent is one and two (or dual) at the same time. This flower is almost
\nperfect in its form. This was the original meaning of the cross also, but that
\nwas not as perfect as the flower, for it was one, two, and three. It was not so
\ngood \u2013 the flower is perfect. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The divine Mother is the divine Shakti<\/span>, that is, the creative Force. She is identified with
\nthe cosmos. How can she have a transcendent aspect ?<\/span><\/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 perhaps the
\ndivine Mother was there before the creation ! She must certainly have existed
\nbefore the creation, for she cannot be her own product. If it is she who has
\ncreated, she must have existed before the creation, otherwise she could never
\nhave created. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

She existed in the Supreme, then, before the
\ncreation ? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn\u201d the
\nSupreme… It is a little difficult to speak of \u201cwithin\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00b9 The flower of the cork-oak of India (millingtonia<\/span> hortensis<\/span>).<\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

Page – 393<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

and \u201cwithout\u201d when
\none is outside all forms ! If you like, say that she is a movement of the
\nSupreme (if that makes you understand better) or an action of the Supreme or a
\nstate of the Supreme, a mode…You may say what you like, what most gives you
\nan understanding of the thing. You see, the human mind likes to cut things into
\nlittle bits… I am going to tell you a little story meant for children. The
\nSupreme, having decided to create a universe, took a certain inner attitude
\nwhich corresponded with the inner manifestation (unexpressed) of the divine
\nMother, the supreme Shakti<\/span>. At the same time, he did
\nthis with the intention of its being the mode of creation of the universe he
\nwanted to create, the creative power of the universe. Hence, first of all, he
\nhad to conceive the possibility of the divine Mother in order that this divine
\nMother could conceive the possibility of the universe. You are following ? I
\ntell you once again that it is not quite like that, but after all, it is meant
\nfor childish minds. So, we may very well say that there is a transcendent
\nDivine Mother, that is, independent of her creation. She may have been conceived,
\nformed (whatever you like) for the creation, with the purpose of creation, but
\nshe had to exist before the creation to be able to create, else how could she
\nhave created ? That is the transcendent aspect, and note that this transcendent
\naspect is permanent. We speak as though things had unfolded in time at a date
\nwhich could be fixed: the first of January 0000, for the beginning of the
\nworld, but it is not quite like that ! There is constantly a transcendent,
\nconstantly a universal, constantly an individual, and the transcendent,
\nuniversal and individual are co-existent. That is, if you enter into a certain
\nstate of consciousness, you can at any moment be in contact with the
\ntranscendent Shakti<\/span>, and you can also, with another
\nmovement, be in contact with the universal Shakti<\/span>,
\nand be in contact with the individual Shakti<\/span>, and all
\nthis simultaneously \u2013 that does not unfold itself in time, it is we who move in
\ntime as we speak, otherwise we cannot express ourselves. We may experience it
\nbut we can express it only by saying one word after another. <\/span><\/p>\n

Page – 394<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>(Unfortunately, one cannot say all the words
\nat the same time; if one could say them all at the same time, that would be a
\nlittle more like the truth.) <\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, all that
\nis said, all that has been said, all that will be said, is always only an
\nextremely clumsy and limited way of expressing something which may be lived but
\nwhich cannot be described. And there is a moment, when one lives the thing, in
\nwhich one sees that the same thing can be expressed almost with the same
\nexactness or the same truth in religious language, mystical language,
\nphilosophic language and materialistic language and that from the point of view
\nof the lived truth, it makes very little difference. It is only when one is in
\nthe mental consciousness that one thing seems true to you and another does not
\nseem true; but all these are only ways of expression. The experience carries in
\nitself its absolute, but words cannot describe it \u2013 one may choose one language
\nor another to express oneself, and with just a very little precaution, one can
\nalways say something approaching the Truth in all instances. <\/span><\/p>\n

I am telling you
\nthis not to throw you into confusion but simply to let you understand that
\nthere is a considerable difference between the truth of experience and the way
\nof expressing it, whatever it may be, even the best.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Page – 395<\/span><\/p>\n

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

7 May 1951   \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mother reads the first part of Chapter 6 of The Mother by Sri Aurobindo.   What is a \u201chierarchy\u201d? \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…<\/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-4398","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\/4398","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=4398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4398\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}