{"id":4400,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:44","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4400"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:44","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:44","slug":"08-11-january-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\/08-11-january-1951-vol-04-questions-and-answers-volume-04","title":{"rendered":"-08_11 January 1951.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n
\n11
\n January 1951<\/font><\/span><\/b> <\/font><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother comments upon some of the qualities<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

enumerated in her article \u201cWhat a Child
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

Should Always Remember\u201d
\n<\/font> (On Education). <\/font> <\/i><\/span>
\n <\/font><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


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


\n\u201cTo
\nbe modest\u201d<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is to take oneself at one’s true worth. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Generally people pass from an excessive
\nappreciation of their personal value to an equally excessive discouragement.
\nOne day they say, \u201cI am wonderful\u201d, and the next day, \u201cOh! I am good for
\nnothing, I can do nothing.\u201d That is like a pendulum, isn’t it? There is nothing
\nmore difficult than knowing exactly what one is; one must neither overrate
\noneself nor depreciate oneself, but understand one’s limits and know how to
\nadvance towards the ideal set before oneself. There are people who see in a big
\nway and immediately imagine they can do everything. There are petty officers,
\nfor example, who imagine themselves capable of winning all the battles of the
\nworld, and small people who think they surpass everybody in the world. On the
\nother hand, I have known some people who had abilities but who spent their time
\nthinking, \u201cI am good for nothing.\u201d Generally the two extremes are found in the
\nsame person. But to find someone who knows exactly where he stands and exactly
\nwhere he can go, is very rare. We have avoided speaking of vanity because we
\nexpect that you won’t be filled with vanity as soon as you score a success. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Just imagine, there are plants which are vain!
\nI am speaking of plants one grows for oneself. If one pays them compliments, by
\nwords or by feelings, if one admires them, well, they hold up their head \u2013 with
\nvanity! It is the same with animals. I am going to tell you a short amusing
\nstory.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>In <\/span>Paris<\/span> there is a garden called \u201cThe Garden of
\nPlants\u201d: there are animals there also, as well as plants. They had just <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 29<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

received a magnificent lion. It was of course in a cage. And it
\nwas furious. There was a door in the cage behind which it could hide. And it
\nwould hide itself just when the visitors came to see it! I saw that and one day
\nI went up to the cage and began speaking to it (animals are very sensitive to
\nspoken language, they really listen). I began speaking softly to my lion, I
\nsaid to it, \u201cOh! How handsome you are, what a pity that you are hiding yourself
\nlike this, how much we would like to see you…\u201c Well, it listened. Then,
\nlittle by little, it looked at me askance, slowly stretched its neck to see me
\nbetter; later it brought out its paw and, finally, put the tip of its nose
\nagainst the bars as if saying, \u201cAt last, here’s someone who understands me!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


\n\u201cTo
\nbe generous\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I shall not speak here of material generosity which naturally
\nconsists in giving others what one has. But even this virtue is not very
\nwidespread, for as soon as one becomes rich one thinks more often of keeping
\none’s wealth than of giving it away. The more men possess, the less are they
\ngenerous. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I
\nwant to speak of moral generosity. To feel happy, for example, when a comrade
\nis successful. An act of courage, of unselfishness, a fine sacrifice have a
\nbeauty in them which gives you joy. It may be said that moral generosity
\nconsists in being able to recognise the true worth and superiority of others. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 30<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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