{"id":4418,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:51","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4418"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:51","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:51","slug":"33-15-september-vol-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/06-questions-and-answers-volume-06\/33-15-september-vol-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","title":{"rendered":"-33_15 September.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n


\n15
\n September 1954<\/font><\/span><\/b>
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This talk is based upon Sri Aurobindo’s Bases of Yoga, Chapter 1,
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCalm \u2013 Peace \u2013 Equality\u201d. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When one detaches oneself from the thought-mind, does the mind continue
\nto think? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Usually it continues to think, but this
\ndoes not affect you any longer. It is not exactly \u201cthinking\u201d, it is like a
\nmarket-place, you see. Things come, circulate, turn around, go out, come back,
\ncross, sometimes collide. It is absolutely like a market-place. These things go
\non like that (Gestures). <\/span><\/p>\n

The factory of thoughts is… this does
\nnot occur very often. Some people have a particular kind of occupation which
\nlies in giving a particular form to the thought-force that comes from outside.
\nThese are usually the people who write, speak, teach, and others… It is quite
\nrare; usually things come and go, come back, return, and if one detaches
\noneself, one can even look at it all from above as though one were looking at a
\nmarket-place from the top of a tower. Then all this becomes very amusing. One
\ncan even see where thoughts come from, where they go, what they stir up, what
\nthe results are. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, what does \u201cvital mind\u201d mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Well, you see, naturally these words are
\nused for classification in order to make oneself understood; but truly, each part
\nof the being is itself divided into four. There is a physical mind, a physical
\nvital and a physical physical, and there is even a physical psychic which is
\nbehind. Well, there is a vital mind, a vital vital, a vital physical and also a
\nvital psychic which is behind, hidden. And
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 316<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

there is a mental mind, a mental vital,
\nand a mental physical and a mental psychic which is hidden behind. And each one
\ncorresponds to a particular kind of activity, and also to a particular region,
\na zone of consciousness and being. And these zones or inner dimensions
\ncorrespond to outer zones and dimensions, universal, or terrestrial if you
\nlike, to simplify the problem. There is a mental mind within you, there is a
\nmental mind in the terrestrial atmosphere; and \u2013 how shall I put it? \u2013 the density
\nof these inner and outer region is the same, the vibratory mode is identical. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you enter consciously into your mental
\nmind, you can enter consciously the mental mind of the earth. We have explained
\nthis once, haven’t we? We made some sort of drawings, didn’t we? No, I am not
\nspeaking of the globe, I am speaking of…\u00a0
\n<\/span>those in which we marked the region, you know. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, how can one obtain a mental control of these impulses by a
\nstruggle? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

All educated people do it. Only the
\nbarbarian doesn’t do it. This is the very substance of education, you know, for
\nit is understood that if one lives in society \u2013 indeed even if one lives quite
\nalone, but still much more so if one lives in society \u2013 one cannot do all that
\nhis impulses drive him to do. It is altogether impossible, you know. From the
\ntime you are quite young, the work of your educators is to teach you to control
\nyour impulses and obey only those which are in conformity with the laws under
\nwhich you live or with the ideal you wish to follow or the customs of the
\nenvironment in which you are. The value of this mental construction which will
\ngovern your impulses depends a great deal on the surroundings in which you live
\nand the character of the parents or people who educate you. But whether it be
\ngood or bad, mediocre or excellent, it is always the result of a mental control
\nover the impulses. When your parents tell you, \u201cYou should not do this\u201d, or
\nwhen they say, \u201cYou have to do that\u201d, this is a beginning of education for the mind’s
\ncontrol over the impulses. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 317<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

So the man of real merit or the more
\ncivilised man has a whole mental construction to which he must conform in order
\nto be in harmony with the ideal of the environment in which he lives. But
\nsomeone who does not conform at least to the smallest part of this construction
\nwould be considered a savage and would be thrown out of the society
\nimmediately. In fact, people who are criminals or half-mad are those who obey
\ntheir impulses without any mental control. There isn’t a single person among
\nyou who gives way without control to all the impulses that get hold of him. You
\nhave only to observe yourselves living, you spend your time saying, \u201cNo, this I
\ncan’t do\u201d, or \u201cThis I can\u201d, or in restraining one movement or encouraging
\nanother. This is mental control. <\/span><\/p>\n

I think it is only the savage who doesn’t
\nhave it, one who lives in a jungle, you know, who is not in contact with
\nanybody. And yet, even he should control himself, for something will go
\nterribly wrong with him if he doesn’t control himself. In his case too the mind
\nmust act to prevent him from doing things which will cause him serious trouble.
\nThis is the nature of the human being: to have a kind of mental activity in him
\nwhich governs the rest of his being, more or less. And his level of
\ncivilisation depends exactly on the point this control has reached, and
\nnaturally, as I said, on the value of the controlling mental construction. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, is the physical mind the same as the mechanical mind? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Almost. You see, there is just a little
\ndifference, but not much. The mechanical mind is still more stupid than the
\nphysical mind. The physical mind is what we spoke about one day, that which is
\nnever sure of anything. <\/span><\/p>\n

I told you the story of the closed door,
\nyou remember. Well, that is the nature of the physical mind. The mechanical
\nmind is at a lower level still, because it doesn’t even listen to the possi- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 318<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

bility of a convincing reason, and this
\nhappen to everyone. Usually we don’t let it function, but it comes along
\nrepeating the same things, absolutely mechanically, without rhyme or reason,
\njust like that. When some craze or other takes hold of it, it goes… For
\nexample, you see, if it fancies counting: \u201cOne, two, three, four\u201d, then it will
\ngo on: \u201cOne, two, three, four; one, two, three, four.\u201d And you may think of all
\nkinds of things, but it goes on: \u201cOne, two, three, four\u201d, like that… (Mother
\nlaughs.) Or it catches hold of three words, four words and repeats them and
\ngoes on repeating them; and unless one turns away with a certain violence and
\npunches it soundly, telling it, \u201cKeep quiet!\u201d, it continues in this way,
\nindefinitely. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, do thoughts and ideas belong exclusively to the mental world? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There are ideas and thoughts which come
\nfrom beyond and above, and then these are only given a form by the mind. In
\nfact, this is what I was just going to say. The true writer, the true thinker,
\nthe true orator does not construct thoughts in his head, he receives an
\ninspiration from above, and while entering his mind it is formulated into
\nwords. But the source of thought is very much higher. <\/span><\/p>\n

But what you wanted to say was, \u201cAre there
\nthoughts which come from below?\u201d These are not thoughts. They are just impulses
\nwhich are translated into words in the consciousness, formulated in words, but
\nthese are not thoughts. They have a different nature. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What does \u201csubconscient\u201d mean, exactly? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Subconscient? It is what is half
\nconscious, you see. And we say \u201csub\u201d, because that means \u201cbelow\u201d the
\nconsciousness. It is something more obscure than the consciousness, but which,
\nat the same time, is like a lower substratum supporting the conscious- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 319<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

ness. It is like those stores from which
\none would draw out something quite unformed, a formless substance which could
\nbe translated into forms or translated into actions or translated into impulses
\nor even into feelings. But it is like those stores containing a considerable
\nnumber of fairly mixed things, not very distinct, but which would be very rich
\nin possibilities; only they would have to be drawn out into the light and
\norganised, classified, put into shape so as to give them a value. <\/span><\/p>\n

So long as they are there, it is a mass, a
\nmixture, certainly subconscient, that is to say, half-conscious,
\nsemi-conscious, in which everything is muddled up. It lacks organisation and
\nclassification. It is the characteristic of consciousness to organise and
\nclassify… classification, putting into order, arranging logically…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>there are varieties of logic, but still,
\nsome logic, a beginning of logic. There are higher and higher kinds of logic,
\nmore and more superior. But even preliminary logic is the first work of the
\nconsciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n

But consciousness is plunged \u2013 plunged as
\nthough by its roots \u2013 into this domain, and draws up as it would draw up sap;
\nit constantly pumps this subconscient which it has to transform into something
\norganised. That is why we spend our time re-doing the same work. If we had a
\nsmall limited amount of consciousness which was our own, as some people imagine
\nit, like a small bag full of consciousness, you know, which is one’s own
\nconsciousness, well, when you have put it in good order and organised it well,
\nyour work will be done, and you can be quiet. But it is not at all like that,
\nit is not at all like that. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even as there are elements of consciousness
\nwhich escape and evaporate, which spread out, there is this constant rising, as
\nfrom a deep ground, of something that asks to be made conscious. And your work
\nhas to be perpetually re-done. But one can \u2013 if one is careful and attentive \u2013
\ninstead of re-doing exactly the same thing each time, one can re-do it with a
\nlittle progress. Then the movement is not rectilinear, but a movement which
\ngoes like this…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>you see (Gesture of spiral move-<\/i><\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage – 320<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

ment<\/span><\/i>). One seems at times to be going back,
\nbut that’s in order to go farther and farther forward. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Can one have silence without having peace? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps, yes; that is to say, one may have
\nsilence in the mind and not have peace in the heart. It can very well happen that
\nthe mind is quite silent and immobile but that, all the same, here, in the
\nheart something vibrates and throbs. This usually proves that one is pretty
\ndivided. But many people are divided. One can indeed have mental silence and
\nnot have peace in the heart. It can very well happen that the mind is quite
\nsilent and immobile, but that, despite this, there are still tremblings in the
\nnerves which continue vibrating and jumping there, and yet the mind is quite
\nsilent. But if the silence is kept long enough, the rest must necessarily
\nfollow. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Are quietude and calm the same thing? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Quietude and calm? Yes, almost. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of course there are very different kinds
\nof calm and very different kinds of peace, and to each a different word could
\nbe given, another name, if one wanted to be quite precise and exact. But then,
\nit is a work which means constructing a vocabulary for oneself and, obviously,
\nwhen one has to speak always to the same people and the number is limited, one
\ncan build up a vocabulary precise enough for there not to be any need to
\nexplain the words used. <\/span><\/p>\n

But if you are communicating with new
\npeople or those outside, you would have to begin your work all over again, for
\nit is something, in short, quite… not only relative but quite arbitrary. My
\nwords are given a certain meaning, each one gives them a certain meaning, and
\npeople don’t understand one another well unless they have the habit of speaking
\nto each other and are in agreement, at least tacitly, about the meaning of the
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 321<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

words they use. You speak to a new person
\nwho comes from quite a different environment \u2013 say, someone who comes from
\nanother country than yours \u2013 and has, for instance, a very, very different
\ntrend of thinking. Well, you say something to him, he does not understand what
\nyou tell him. He understands something else which is in his head, because he
\ndoesn’t give the same meaning as you to the words you use. It is when people
\nhave the habit of speaking to one another, when they have taken care to make
\ntheir vocabulary precise, that they can speak to one another with the least
\nlack of understanding or, if you like, the maximum understanding. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What is the way to accept the Grace with gratitude? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah! First of all you must feel the need
\nfor it. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is the most important point. It is to
\nhave a certain inner humility which makes you aware of your helplessness
\nwithout the Grace, that truly, without it you are incomplete and powerless.
\nThis, to begin with, is the first thing. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is an experience one can very well
\nhave. When, you see, even people who know nothing find themselves in quite
\ndifficult circumstances or facing a problem which must be solved or, as I just
\ntold you, an impulse which must be overcome or something that has disturbed
\nthem… and then they realise they are lost, they don’t know what to do \u2013
\nneither their mind nor their will nor their feelings help \u2013 they don’t know
\nwhat to do, then it happen; there is within them something like a kind of call,
\na call to something which can do what one cannot. One aspires to something
\nwhich is capable of doing what one can’t do. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is the first condition. And then, if
\nyou become aware that it is only the Grace which can do that, that the
\nsituation in which you find yourself, from there the Grace alone can pull you
\nout, can give you the solution and the strength to come out of it, then, quite
\nnaturally an intense aspiration awakes in you, a consciousness which is
\ntranslated into an opening. If you call,
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 322<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

aspire, and if you hope to get an answer,
\nyou will quite naturally open yourself to the Grace. <\/span><\/p>\n

And later \u2013 you must pay great attention
\nto this (Mother puts her finger on her
\nlips<\/i>) \u2013 the Grace will answer you, the Grace will pull you out of the
\ntrouble, the Grace will give you the solution to your problem or will help you
\nto get out of your difficulty. But once you are free from trouble and have come
\nout of your difficulty, don’t forget that it is the Grace which pulled you out,
\nand don’t think it is yourself. For this, indeed, is the important point. Most
\npeople, as soon as the difficulty has gone, say, \u201cAfter all, I pulled myself
\nout of the difficulty quite well.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

There you are. And then you lock and bolt
\nthe door, you see, and you cannot receive anything any more. You need once
\nagain some acute anguish, some terrible difficulty for this kind of inner
\nstupidity to give way, and for you to realise once more that you can do
\nnothing. Because it is only when you grow aware that you are powerless that you
\nbegin to be just a little open and plastic. But so long as you think that what
\nyou do depends on your own skill and your own capacity, truly, not only do you
\nclose one door, but, you know, you close lots of doors one upon another, and
\nbolt them. You shut yourself up in a fortress and nothing can enter there. That
\nis the great drawback: one forgets very quickly. Quite naturally one is
\nsatisfied with one’s own capacity. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But Mother, even when one tries to think that one is powerless, there is
\nsomething which believes one is powerful. So? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah, yes, ah, yes! Ah, it is very difficult
\nto be sincere…\u00a0 <\/span>That is why the blows
\nmultiply and sometimes become terrible, because that’s the only thing which
\nbreaks your stupidity. This is the justification of calamities. Only when you
\nare in an acutely painful situation and indeed before something that affects you
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 323<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

deeply, then that makes the stupidity melt
\naway a little. But as you say, even when there is something that melts, there
\nis still a little something which remain inside. And that is why it lasts so
\nlong…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

How many blows are needed in life for one
\nto know to the very depths that one is nothing, that one can do nothing<\/i> that one does not exist<\/i>, that one is nothing<\/i>,
\nthat there is no entity without the divine Consciousness and the Grace. From
\nthe moment one knows it, it is over; all the difficulties have gone. When one
\nknows it integrally and there is nothing which resists… but till that
\nmoment…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>And it takes very long. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Why doesn’t the blow come all at once? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Because that would kill you. For if the
\nblow is strong enough to cure you, it would simply crush you, it would reduce
\nyou to pulp. It is only by proceeding little by little, little by little, very
\ngradually, that you can continue to exist. Naturally this depends on the inner
\nstrength, the inner sincerity, and on the capacity for progress, for profiting
\nby experience and, as I said a while ago, on not forgetting. If one is lucky
\nenough not to forget, then one goes much faster. One can go very fast. And if
\nat the same time one has that inner moral strength which, when the red-hot iron
\nis at hand, does not extinguish it by trying to pour water over it, but instead
\ngoes to the very core of the abscess, then in this case things go very fast
\nalso. But not many people are strong enough for this. On the contrary, they
\nvery quickly do this (gesture<\/i>), like
\nthis, like this, in order to hide, to hide from themselves. How many pretty
\nlittle explanation one gives oneself, how many excuses one piles up for all the
\nfoolishnesses one has committed. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Does the number of blows depend on people, Sweet Mother? <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 324<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Yes, it depends on people; it depends, as
\nI said, on their capacity for progress, and on their strength and their
\nresistance. But I know very few people who don’t need blows at all. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, is the blow which comes Mahakali’s? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The blow? Not necessarily. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you swallow a poison and are poisoned,
\nit won’t be Mahakali’s fault. It is you who will have swallowed the poison. If
\none puts oneself into absolutely ridiculous conditions, one is in a state in
\nwhich one is bound to break one’s head or arm or back; because you are not in a
\nstate of true equilibrium, you can’t accuse the divine forces. It is the normal
\nmechanical consequence of the stupidity committed, of the inner state. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What is the nature of Mahakali’s blow? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It makes you feel very happy. It gives you
\na sweet warmth in the heart, like that. You feel quite satisfied. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Does one have to aspire for it or does it come naturally? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, one must have a sincerity in the
\naspiration, really want to progress. One must truly say, \u201cYes, I want to
\nprogress\u201d with sincerity… \u201cWhatever happen, I want to progress.\u201d Then it
\ncomes. <\/span><\/p>\n

But as I said, it comes with a power of
\nplenitude which holds an intense joy. When one has taken a decision, has
\ndecided to stop something in oneself, just not to repeat a stupidity one has
\ncommitted, or to do something which one finds impossible or difficult to do and
\nwhich, one knows, should be done, and when one has taken the decision and has
\nput in the full sincerity of one’s will, well, then if a terrible blow comes to
\ncompel you to do what you have decided to do, it is a blow, but you feel
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 325<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

glorified, you are quite happy, it is
\nmagnificent, you see, you feel something magnificent here (Mother points to the heart<\/i>). <\/span><\/p>\n

There is such a big difference between the
\nmishaps that come to you just because you are in a purely external, mechanical,
\nphysical consciousness and in a state of ignorance which makes you commit all
\npossible follies which naturally bring their consequences, inevitably \u2013 there
\nis such a great difference between this and the altogether higher state to
\nwhich you rise when you have determined to master yourself, to live only in the
\nconsciousness of Truth, whatever the cost, no matter what the price of
\nprogress, to progress… and the things that happen to you then are so full of
\nmeaning, you see so clearly in them that shining truth, that light which
\nillumines you on the path as though you had a beacon, here, to guide you… you
\nsee so clearly! It is no longer something that crushes you, like a block of
\nstone falling on your back. It is an overpowering resplendence. <\/span><\/p>\n

That is why one always says: it is only
\nthe first step that needs an effort. The first step means: come out from that
\nlevel and climb to this one. After that everything, everything changes. <\/span><\/p>\n

But one must come out completely from that
\nlevel, one must not remain there, one must not try to keep one foot here and
\none foot there, for that will not do. <\/span><\/p>\n

There you are, my children.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 326<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

15 September 1954   This talk is based upon Sri Aurobindo’s Bases of Yoga, Chapter 1, \u201cCalm \u2013 Peace \u2013 Equality\u201d.   When one detaches…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","wpcat-125-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4418","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=4418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4418\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}