{"id":4406,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:46","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4406"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:46","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:46","slug":"28-8-march-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\/28-8-march-1951-vol-04-questions-and-answers-volume-04","title":{"rendered":"-28_8 March 1951.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n8 March 1951<\/font><\/span><\/b>
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe true remembrance of past births may indeed be part of an integral
\nknowledge; but it cannot be got by that way of imaginative fancies. If it is on
\none side an objective knowledge, on the other it depends largely on personal
\nand subjective experience, and here there is much chance of invention,
\ndistortion or false building. To reach the truth of these things, your
\nexperiencing consciousness must be pure and limpid, free from any mental
\ninterference or any vital interference, liberated from your personal notions
\nand feelings and from your mind’s habit of interpreting or explaining in its
\nown way.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Questions and Answers 1929 (5 May)<\/font><\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

What should be
\ndone to get rid of mental intervention? <\/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

The mind must learn
\nto be silent<\/span> <\/span>\u2013<\/span> <\/span>remain calm, attentive, without making a
\nnoise. If you try to silence your mind directly, it is a hard job, almost
\nimpossible; for the most material part of the mind never stops its activity<\/span> <\/span>\u2013<\/span> <\/span>it<\/span> goes on and on like a non-stop recording machine. It
\nrepeats all that it records and unless there is a switch to stop it, it
\ncontinues and continues indefinitely. If, on the other hand, you manage to
\nshift your consciousness into a higher domain, above the ordinary mind, this
\nopening to the Light calms the mind, it does not stir any longer, and the
\nmental silence so obtained can become constant. Once you enter into this
\ndomain, you may very well never come out of it the external mind always remains
\ncalm. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The only true
\nsolution is aspiration for the higher light. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How to persuade the recalcitrant parts of
\nour nature to surrender?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage – 182<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Try to make them
\nunderstand, as one does with a child who does not understand, by all kinds of
\nmeans: pictures, explanations, symbols. Make them understand the necessity of
\nunion and harmony with the other parts of the being; reason with them, try to
\nmake them conscious of their acts and the consequences of these. Above all, be
\nvery patient,<\/span> do not tire of repeating the same
\nthings. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

In this work, can
\nthe mind be of help ?<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, if a part of
\nthe mind is fully enlightened, if it is surrendered to the psychic light and
\nhas a sense of the truth, the mind can be of great help, it can explain things
\nin the true way. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

For past lives,
\nare there any general rules, broad outlines, or is everything possible? <\/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

All depends on the
\ncategory to which one belongs, and the degree of the psychic being’s
\ndevelopment. If the psychic being is in an advanced stage, near maturity, the
\nchoice before death, about which I spoke to you the other day, is quite real
\nand this choice means that everything is possible; but in other cases, the
\nrebirth takes place almost automatically. The will of the psychic being is not
\ndeveloped and it does not choose. Hence, there are no rules. It depends very
\nmuch on circumstances, and especially on the line of formation which the
\npsychic being will follow, and that depends on its origin. It is difficult to
\nsay. In the matter of sex, that may vary for a long time. As the consciousness
\ngrows and gains some unity of action, of consciousness, it can choose to follow
\none line to the exclusion of another, but before this choice, through
\ninnumerable creations you have been undoubtedly of different sexes. That is why
\nperhaps some women have a masculine character, and vice versa, or have
\ntendencies opposite to their sex. But at the time of the \u201cchoice\u201d one may
\ndecide to belong to the creatrix<\/span> Consciousness or to
\nthe immobile Witness. That depends upon the origin.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 183<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Have all psychic
\nbeings the same origin? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This is how things
\nhappen. The origin of the psychic life, the divine Presence in Matter is one
\nand the same, that’s understood, but there are beings in the higher world who
\nhave never taken a body upon earth and who want to act there, have a
\nterrestrial action. So they wait till some psychic beings attain their full
\ndevelopment and unite with them to do some work according to their nature.
\nTheir consciousness is added to the psychic consciousness upon earth. These are
\nbeings who have never taken birth here, beings who<\/span> materialised<\/span> themselves more and more as the creation
\nproceeded. They are perhaps the first emanations,<\/span>
\nbeings sent into the universe for special reasons<\/span> <\/span>\u2013<\/span> <\/span>men call them
\n\u201cgods\u201d or \u201cdemi<\/span>-gods\u201d. So, one of these beings may
\nhave chosen, for some special reason, a psychic being in formation<\/span> <\/span>\u2013<\/span> <\/span>he helps it,
\nfollows its development and, when this psychic is sufficiently ready and
\nsufficiently strong to be able to support the identification, he unites with
\nit, identifies with it to do some work upon earth. This is not very frequent,
\nbut it has happened and still happens. You find stories in ancient traditions
\nabout gods incarnating upon earth; some mythologies speak of them. That
\ncorresponds to something true. But all psychic beings are not necessarily
\nunited with a being of the higher planes. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then Mother passes on to another question, that of
\n\u201cpossession\u201d or the embodiment on earth of beings of the vital world (See
\nQuestions and Answers 1929, 12 May). <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Have these vital
\nbeings a psychic being ?<\/span> <\/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

No, I said that
\nthe first thing they have to do to incarnate is to drive away the psychic being
\nof the person whom they possess. That may happen from the very birth. There are
\nchildren who are almost still-born; they are taken to be dead <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 184<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

and<\/span><\/span> suddenly they
\nrevive<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u2013<\/span> <\/span>this means that a vital being has incarnated in them.
\nI have known such cases. This may happen also in the course of an illness:
\nsomeone is very ill and gradually he lets go of the contact with the psychic
\nbeing, then, in a swoon or some other similar state, he cuts the contact
\nentirely and the vital being rushes into the body. I have known cases of this
\nkind also. Or it may be a slow action: the vital being enters into the
\natmosphere of the person, goes on influencing him and finally brings about
\nillness, attacks, especially mental illness; then a time comes when the
\nconnection with the psychic being is entirely cut and the vital being takes
\npossession of the body. There are cases of people falling very ill and coming
\nout of the illness altogether different from what they were. Very often it is
\nthis that happens. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You have said that these beings of the
\nvital world are attracted by the spiritual life. Why? <\/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

They are
\nattracted, but this does not mean that they have decided sincerely to follow
\nthe spiritual life. The chief characteristic of these beings is falsehood:
\ntheir nature is made of deceit. They have a power of illusion; they can take
\nthe appearance of divine beings or higher beings, they can appear in a dazzling
\nlight, but truly sincere people are not deceived, they immediately feel
\nsomething that warns them. But if one likes the marvellous<\/span>,
\nthe unexpected, if one loves fantastic things, if one likes to live a romance,<\/span> one is likely to be easily deceived. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not long ago there
\nwas a historical instance, that of Hitler, who was in contact with a being whom
\nhe considered to be the Supreme: this being came and gave him advice, told him
\nall that he had to do. Hitler used to retire into solitude and remain there as
\nlong as it was necessary to come into contact with his \u201cguide\u201d and receive from
\nhim inspirations which he carried out later very faithfully. This being which
\nHitler took for the Supreme was quite plainly an Asura<\/span>,
\none who is called the \u201cLord of Falsehood\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 185<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

in<\/span><\/span> occultism, but
\nwho proclaimed himself the \u201cLord of the Nations\u201d. He had a shining appearance,
\nhe could mislead anybody except one who really had occult knowledge and could
\nsee what was there behind the appearance. He would have deceived anybody, he
\nwas truly splendid. Generally he used to appear to Hitler wearing a silver
\ncuirass and helmet; a kind of flame came out of his head and there was an
\natmosphere of dazzling light around him, so dazzling that Hitler could hardly
\nlook at him. He used to tell Hitler everything that had to be done<\/span> <\/span>\u2013<\/span> <\/span>he played with him
\nas with a monkey or a mouse. He had decided clearly to make Hitler commit all
\npossible extravagances till the day he would break his neck, which did happen.
\nBut cases like this are frequent, though on a smaller scale, of course. <\/span><\/p>\n

Hitler was a very
\ngood medium, he had great mediumistic capacities, but he lacked intelligence
\nand discrimination. This being could tell him anything whatever and he
\nswallowed it all. It was he who pushed Hitler little by little. And he was
\ndoing this as a distraction,<\/span> he did not take life
\nseriously. For these beings men are very tiny things with whom they play, as a
\ncat plays with a mouse, till finally they eat them up. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Are mentally deranged people possessed? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Yes, unless there
\nis a physical lesion, a defect in the formation or an accident, a congestion<\/span>. In all other cases it is always a possession.
\nThe proof of it is that if a person is brought to you who is<\/span>
\naltogether mentally deranged, if he has a lesion, he cannot be cured, while if
\nthere is no physical lesion, if it is a possession, then one can cure him.
\nUnfortunately these things happen only to people who like them; there must be
\nin the being much ambition, vanity, combined with much stupidity and a terrible
\npride<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u2013<\/span> <\/span>it<\/span> <\/span>is on such things that those beings play.
\nI have known cases like that, of persons who were partially possessed, and I succeeded
\nin freeing them from the beings who <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 186<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

possessed<\/span><\/span> them. Naturally
\nthey felt some relief, a kind of ease for a time, but it did not last long;
\nalmost immediately it wore off and they thought: \u201cNow I have become quite an
\nordinary creature, whereas before I was an exceptional being!\u201d They used to
\nfeel within them an exceptional power, even if it was a power to do evil, and
\nthey were satisfied with it. So what did they do? They called back with all
\ntheir force the power they had lost! Of course, the being that had been
\ndestroyed could not come back, but as these beings exist in thousands it was
\nreplaced by another. I have seen this happen three times consecutively in a
\ncase, so much so that in the end I had to tell the person: \u201cI am tired, get rid
\nof it yourself<\/span>, I am no longer interested!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

In these cases what happens to the psychic
\nbeing? <\/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

Generally, it goes
\naway. <\/span><\/p>\n

I must tell you
\nthat the beings of the vital world are immortal<\/span> <\/span>\u2013<\/span> <\/span>they cannot die.
\nThey can be destroyed, but it is only the pure spiritual force which can
\ndestroy them. For example, in a vital battle (there are people who have a vital
\nfighting power),<\/span> the experience is always the same: if
\nyou fight in the vital world with a vital being, you can crush it, kill it, but
\nit will be reborn always<\/span> <\/span>\u2013<\/span> <\/span>always they form themselves again. I think
\nherein lies the origin of the legends of hydras or monsters with many heads.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is only one
\nforce in the world which can destroy them categorically, that is, without any
\nchance of return, and it is a force which belongs to the supreme creative
\nPower. It is a force that comes from beyond the supramental<\/span>
\nworld<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u2013<\/span> <\/span>it<\/span> is not at the disposal of everybody. It
\nis a luminous force, of a dazzling whiteness, so brilliant that if ordinary
\neyes looked at it, they would turn blind. A being of the vital world has just
\nto be touched by this light to get dissolved immediately<\/span> <\/span>\u2013<\/span> <\/span>it<\/span> is liquefied, like those slugs which melt in water if
\na little salt is put on them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 187<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Was Rasputin a vital 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

I have
\nheard the most contradictory things about him<\/span> <\/font> <\/span>
\n\u2013<\/font><\/span>
\n<\/font> <\/span>some
\nlooked upon him as an incarnate godhead, others as an incarnate devil. I can
\nsay nothing,<\/span> I have had no contact with him. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

When Hitler died, did the Lord of
\nFalsehood pass into Stalin ?<\/span><\/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 not
\naltogether like that that things happen, but it is something similar. This
\nbeing did not wait for Hitler’s death,<\/span> it is there you
\nmake a mistake. These beings are not at all tied to a single physical presence.
\nThe being in question could very well possess Hitler and at the same time
\ninfluence many others. Hitler was got rid of because he had behind him a whole
\nnation and a physical power, and if he had succeeded it would have been a
\ndisaster for humanity, but there was no deluding oneself about it; it was not
\nsufficient to get rid of him in order to get rid of the force that was behind
\nhim<\/span> <\/font> <\/span>
\n\u2013<\/font><\/span> <\/font> <\/span>that is not so easy. I must tell you that
\nthe origin of these beings is prior to that of the gods; they are the first
\nemanations, the first individual beings of the universe; so they cannot be got
\nrid of so easily, by winning one war. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>As long as they are necessary for the
\nuniversal evolution they will exist. The day they lose their utility, they will
\nbe converted or will disappear. <\/span><\/p>\n

Besides, they know
\nthat they are nearing their last hour and that is why they are doing as much
\ndamage as they can. <\/span><\/p>\n

There were four of
\nthem. The first one has been converted,<\/span> another is
\ndissolved into its origin. Two are still living and these two are more
\nferocious than the others. One is known in occultism as the \u201cLord of Falsehood\u201d (<\/span>I have told you this) the other is the \u201cLord of Death\u201d. And
\nas long as these two beings exist, there will be difficulties.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage – 188<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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

8 March 1951   \u201cThe true remembrance of past births may indeed be part of an integral knowledge; but it cannot be got by that…<\/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-4406","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\/4406","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=4406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4406\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}