{"id":4427,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:55","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4427"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:55","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:55","slug":"46-29-december-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\/46-29-december-vol-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","title":{"rendered":"-46_29 December.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n29
\n December 1954<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

This
\ntalk is based upon Sri Aurobindo’s Bases
\nof Yoga<\/i>, <\/span><\/p>\n

Chapter 3, \u201c<\/span>In Difficulty\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

So?<\/span><\/span> (To a child<\/i>) No questions? (To
\nanother<\/i>) You have a question? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet
\nMother, why is it said that \u201cthose who have the greatest power for Yoga…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>have too, very often…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>the greatest imperfections\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Why is it like that? (Silence<\/i>)
\nBecause one must have a very strong, very powerful nature, with great inner
\nstrength in order to have a great capacity for yoga; and very strong natures
\nhave also very strong difficulties. <\/span><\/p>\n

People who are neutral, dull,
\nunimportant, usually go their own little way without being disturbed very much.
\nBut they cannot do anything very much, their road is very small and very short;
\nthey reach the end very quickly. They can’t do much. But people who have a
\nstrong nature have also strong difficulties. For it is absolutely impossible in
\nthis world to be without difficulties. So long as the world remains what it is
\nand one participates in the world, one necessarily participates in its
\ndifficulties. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is only by a very persistent
\neffort that one can succeed in overcoming his difficulties; and yet it seems
\nimpossible to cut oneself off completely from one’s solidarity with the rest of
\nthe world. Therefore a perfect purity, a perfect perfection seem<\/span>
\nimpossible so long as the world has not reached at least a certain degree of
\nperfection. Even the ascetic, the solitary, who goes and sits in a cave or
\nunder a tree or in the jungle, cannot completely free himself from solidarity
\nwith the rest of the world. The air he breathes is full of all the vibrations
\nof the world, the <\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 446<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

food<\/span><\/span> he eats, whatever it may be, even
\nif it is reduced to the minimum, contains the vibrations of the world; and so,
\nit is enough for him to exist to be in solidarity with the difficulties of the
\nworld. <\/span><\/p>\n

That is why, in fact, the way is so
\nlong. Even without having any other consideration than that of what one is
\nabsorbing constantly into himself when breathing or eating, all these things
\none must constantly transform as one goes on absorbing them. It is a continuous
\nalchemy in which one absorbs a particular kind of vibration containing all the
\npossible disorders and must transmute this into something which is ready to
\nreceive the light from above. And this work is perpetual, and perpetually
\nrenewed. So it is impossible to live in this world, in the world as it is, and
\nbecome perfect without the world itself making a great progress. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(Long silence<\/i>) <\/span><\/p>\n

So?<\/span><\/span> There are no questions today? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother,
\ndoes an individual’s life depend on the experience his psychic being wants to
\nhave? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Very much! <\/span><\/p>\n

I was speaking about just this with
\nsomeone today, and I said this, that if one can become fully conscious of his psychic
\nbeing, at the same time one understands, necessarily, the reason of his present
\nexistence and the experience this psychic being wants to have; and instead of
\nhaving it somewhat half consciously and more than half unconsciously, one can
\nshorten this experience and so help his psychic being to cover in a limited
\nnumber of years the experiences it would perhaps take several lifetimes to go
\nthrough. That is to say, the help is reciprocal. The psychic, when it has an
\ninfluence on the outer life, brings to it light, order and quietude and the joy
\nof the divine contact. But also the physical being, the body-consciousness, if
\nit is identi<\/span>–<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 447<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

fied<\/span><\/span> with the psychic consciousness,
\nand through that learns what kind of experience the psychic being wants to
\nhave, it can help it to have these experiences in a very brief time, and not
\nonly save time but save many lives for the psychic being. It is a mutual help. <\/span><\/p>\n

In brief, this is what yoga means.
\nYoga helps you to become fully conscious of your destiny, that is, your mission
\nin the universe, and not only at the present moment but what it was in the past
\nand what it will be in the future. And because of this knowledge you can gather
\nby a concentration of the consciousness all these experiences in a very short
\ntime and gain lives, do in a few years what could take a fairly considerable
\nnumber of lives to achieve. The psychic being goes progressively through all
\nthese experiences towards its full maturity and complete independence, its
\nliberation \u2013 in the sense that it no longer needs any new life. If it wants to
\ncome back to the physical world, it returns, because it has something to do
\nthere and it chooses freely to return. But till then, till this liberation, it
\nis compelled to return to have all the experiences it needs. Well, if it
\nhappens that once the physical being is developed and conscious enough and has
\nenough goodwill to be able to become fully aware of the psychic being, it can
\nthen and there create all the circumstances, the outer experiences necessary
\nfor the psychic being to attain its maturity in this very life.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

(Long silence<\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Do
\npeople who roam about in the lower vital domain during the night suffer much
\nafter death? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Not necessarily more than those who don’t do it. Because by the
\nvery fact that they roam there, they are a little more armed, they are a little
\naccustomed to this world, it is not for them an altogether unknown domain; they
\nhave already gone there and, for instance, they might have had quite a few unpleasant experi<\/span>–<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 448<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

ences<\/span><\/span><\/span> and learnt how to defend
\nthemselves. It is true that usually the only defence<\/span>
\none has in these cases is to rush back into his body, and this is just the
\nthing one can no longer do. But all the same, they have a little bit of
\nexperience, while those who go there without knowing anything about it, and who
\nhave never had this consciousness, when they are thrown into this world, it is
\nlike being thrown into an altogether unpleasant unknown with a total
\nunawareness of the means of defending oneself. I think that those who have
\ndreams, what they call dreams, and who are conscious of them, are in a much
\nbetter position; even if their dreams are not very beautiful, they are in a
\nmuch more favourable condition than those who are quite unconscious. Because once
\none has left his body, whether he is conscious or unconscious, whether he is
\ndeveloped or not, one always goes out into the same domain to begin with \u2013
\nunless one is a yogi who can do what he likes with himself, but that, you know,
\nis so rare a case that one can’t consider it. All men when they leave their
\nbody are flung into a domain of the lower vital which has nothing particularly
\npleasant about it. And still, wait a bit, it is strange, there’s still
\nsomething I was speaking about today. <\/span><\/p>\n

The most important thing in this
\ncase is the last state of consciousness in which one was while both were joined
\ntogether, when the vital being and the body were still united. So the last
\nstate of consciousness, one may say the last desire or the last hope or the last
\naspiration, has a colossal importance for the first impact the being has with
\nthe invisible world. And here the responsibility of the people around the dying
\nman is much greater than they think. If they can help him to enter his highest
\nconsciousness, they will do him the greatest service they can. But usually what
\nthey do is to cling to him as much as they can, and to pull him towards them
\nwith a fierce selfishness; the result, you see, is that instead of being able
\nto withdraw in a slightly higher consciousness which will protect him in his
\nexit, he is gripped by material things and it is a terrible inner battle to
\nfree himself <\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 449<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

from<\/span><\/span> both his body and his attachments.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, you see \u2013 I say except for
\na very few, so few that one can hardly speak about them \u2013 all men live in a
\ntotal ignorance, a total ignorance of the way to live, not of the things in the
\nuniverse but simply of the most elementary knowledge of living. They don’t know
\nhow to live. All the time they do things they should not do, and I am not
\nspeaking of satisfying desires and all that, I am speaking simply of the life
\nof each moment, the movement of each instant; because one is in a state of
\ntotal ignorance, one does exactly the opposite of what one should do to get the
\nresult one wants. One tries to follow some aim, whatever it may be \u2013 it may be
\na selfish aim, it may be a disinterested aim, it may be a material aim, it may
\nbe a spiritual aim, but one wants to get somewhere \u2013 and one does just the
\nopposite of what is necessary to go there, all the time. And if you are simply
\njust a little attentive and are able to look at yourself at any minute,
\nwhatever be the thing you have to do, stop for half a second and look at
\nyourself and ask, \u201cDo I know what I have to do?\u201d If you are sincere you will
\nsee that you don’t know it at all. You do it automatically, instinctively, by
\nhabit or else with some kind of impulse, you see; but to know: \u201cIs this what
\nmust be done? Is it in this way that it ought to be done?\u201d \u2013 I don’t think once
\nin a thousand times you can answer. <\/span><\/p>\n

And then, when the problem of
\nwanting to help someone comes up…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>If
\nyou have goodwill and want to help someone…\u00a0
\n<\/span>You don’t know how to help yourself to begin with, but still, you are
\nnot selfish; at a particular moment you want to help someone, and then comes<\/span> this question: \u201cWhat should I do?\u201d You know nothing at
\nall about it. \u201cWhat does he need?\u201d I mean not only material things but the
\nfeeling you must have, the thought you must have, the word you ought to say. If
\nyou just take a step backward, you look at yourself, but you know nothing about
\nit; you do it like that, haphazardly, at random, in the hope that it will
\nsucceed, but the knowledge is not there. <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 450<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Without speaking, naturally,
\nabout…<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I am not speaking of people who know nothing
\nat all and who, when they happen to have even a child, don’t even know what is
\nto be done to hold it in the right way and keep it healthy. I am not even
\nspeaking of this kind of ignorance, because this everybody recognises. I knew,
\nyou see, countless mothers who hadn’t the
\nfaintest idea<\/i> of what had to be done to keep their children healthy. I am
\nnot even speaking of this. Because this \u2013 if one reads a book, works a little,
\nstudies, one can at least have a minimum of knowledge. <\/span><\/p>\n

I am speaking simply of a slightly
\nhigher step: morally, your moral, psychological relation with people. You are
\nwith someone who is in difficulty. Do you know what you should say to him? Do
\nyou even know the cause, the origin of his difficulty? What is going on in him?
\nYou may guess, you may imagine it, you may deduce, may reason, but you don’t
\nknow! <\/span><\/p>\n

To have this certitude, the knowledge,
\nthe<\/span> knowledge to know: \u201cThat’s it\u201d, this you don’t
\nhave. \u201cIs it this, is it like that? If I do this, will that happen? And if I do
\nthat, is that what will happen?\u201d And you go on, you may go on and on for hours,
\nhesitating, groping, asking yourself…\u00a0
\n<\/span>And this is exactly what Sri Aurobindo has written in his last article
\nwhich appeared in the Bulletin<\/i>. He
\nsays that if you want to prepare for the descent of the supermind, first of all
\nyour mind of ignorance and incapacity must be replaced by a mind of light which
\nsees and knows. And this is the first step! Before this step is crossed, one
\ncannot go forward. It is not to discourage you that I tell you this, but it is
\nfor those who believe that one has only to say, \u201cOh, I want the supramental
\nlight\u201d, and it will come just like that, as when one says, \u201cI want to drink a
\nglass of water\u201d and drinks it up. Not so easy! There we are. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now then, has anyone a question?
\nNo? <\/span><\/p>\n

Well, Friday, which is my reading
\nday, is the thirty-first. The thirty-first is the eve of the first. On the eve
\nof the first, usually, a long time ago \u2013 you were very small, perhaps you weren’t
\neven there \u2013 I used to read the prayer at <\/span>midnight<\/span>, <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 451<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

just<\/span><\/span> when we passed from one year to
\nthe next. Now it is too late, we people tire ourselves out very much the whole
\nday and need to sleep quietly. (The
\nchildren all ask Mother to read at <\/i><\/span>midnight<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/i>) No, no, I won’t do it. (Laughter<\/i>) Only, on that day, at this
\ntime, instead of reading anything at all, I shall read the prayer for 1955 to
\nyou, and you will listen. And if any of you want to ask questions, I shall
\nanswer you, and we shall finish our year in this way… not till <\/span>midnight<\/span>! (Laughter<\/i>) We shall end our year like this. Here we are. <\/span><\/p>\n

There, my children, that’s all? <\/span><\/p>\n

Au
\nrevoir!<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 452<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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