{"id":4429,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:56","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4429"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:56","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:56","slug":"35-29-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\/35-29-september-vol-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","title":{"rendered":"-35_29 September.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n


\n29
\n September 1954<\/font><\/span><\/b>
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is good for the physical to be more and more conscious, but it should
\nnot be overpowered by these ordinary human reactions of which it becomes aware
\nor badly affected or upset by them. A strong equality and mastery and
\ndetachment must come, in the nerves and body as in the mind, which will enable
\nthe physical to know and contact these things without feeling any disturbance;
\nit should know and be conscious and reject and throw away the pressure of the
\nmovements in the atmosphere, not merely feel them and suffer.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, how can the physical \u201cthrow away the pressure of the
\nmovements in the atmosphere\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You must first of all be conscious and
\nbecome aware that they are coming, that these movements… that there is a
\npressure; and then, you must have a will, the will not to accept them; and then
\nagain you learn, it is… how to put it?… it is a little trick one must
\nlearn, a movement of the consciousness, of the will, and at the same time as
\nthough you were using a force that emanates from the body; and finally do this
\nit (gesture of pushing away<\/i>), to push
\nback the movement and not accept it. <\/span><\/p>\n

But first of all you must be conscious. If
\nyou are not conscious you can do nothing. You must first see the pressure, the
\ninfluence, the suggestion, whatever it may be, the thing coming from outside;
\nyou must feel it coming, see it, observe it and then take a decision, refuse,
\nnot want it. These are three consecutive things.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 339<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

What is \u201cthe right spirit\u201d?\u00b9<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It depends on the case, my child. The
\nright spirit is the will to perfect oneself, or the will to be calm, or… it
\ndepends, you see, depends on the circumstances. That is why he has not stated
\nit precisely, in this way or that; it means that in each circumstance there is
\na spirit which is the suitable spirit, the one you ought to have, the attitude
\nyou must inwardly take. It depends on the case. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, you see, as soon as one feels
\na wave of physical disequilibrium, of ill health coming, well, to concentrate
\nin the right spirit is to concentrate in an inner calm, a trust in the divine
\nGrace, and a will to remain in physical equilibrium and good health. This is
\nthe right spirit. In another case, one may feel a wave of anger or a fit of
\ntemper coming from outside; then one should withdraw into an inner calm, a
\ndetachment from superficial things, with a will to express only what comes from
\nabove and always be submissive to the divine Will. This is the right spirit.
\nAnd in each case it is something like that. Naturally it always comes back to
\nthe same thing, that one must remember the Divine and put oneself at His
\nservice and will what He wills. <\/span><\/p>\n

But in one case you may want the calm, in
\nthe other you may want the force, in another still you may want health, in yet
\nanother something which resists the pressure from outside. <\/span><\/p>\n

When one is perplexed, when one has to
\nmake a choice, when one doesn’t know what the right thing to do is \u2013 you see,
\none has to choose among two or three or four possible decisions and doesn’t
\nknow which is the right one, then one must put himself as far as possible in
\ncontact with his psychic being and the divine Presence in him, present the
\nproblem to this psychic consciousness and ask for the true light, the true
\ndecision, the one <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b9 \u201cAspire,
\nconcentrate in the right spirit and, whatever the difficulties, you are sure to
\nattain the aim you have put before you.\u201d<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 340<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

most in accordance with the divine Will,
\nand try to listen and receive the inspiration. <\/span><\/p>\n

In each case, you see, it is the right
\nattitude. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Divine must always come first.\u201d\u00b9 I don’t understand. What does \u201ccome
\nfirst\u201d mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You do not understand the French
\nexpression \u201cpasser\u201d.\u00b2 However, in English it is the same thing; I don’t know
\nwhat the text is in English, but \u201ccomes first\u201d, do you understand what \u201ccomes
\nfirst\u201d means? It means that before every other consideration it is the Divine
\nwho is the first consideration that all other consideration which are not the
\nDivine are secondary, without importance. That is, as we have just explained
\nfor instance: when you have to make a choice, you must choose according to the
\ndivine inspiration or what will bring you closer to the Divine or put you in
\nthe best situation to attain to the Divine, because it is the Divine who comes
\nfirst, all personal interest or personal satisfaction must come afterwards.
\nFirst the Divine. And consecration to the Divine must come first, everything
\nelse comes afterwards. If it comes, it comes; if it doesn’t, it does not
\nmatter. What matters is the seeking for the Divine, this is the first thing,
\nthe thing that comes before everything, the most important thing. This is what
\nit means. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There is \u201csomething truer in you\u201d.\u00b3 It is the psychic, isn’t it? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Something…? Ah, it must be… You see,
\nthese are answers to letters. People used to write something and Sri Aurobindo
\nco-<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b9 \u201cFor those who wish
\nto lead the spiritual life, the Divine must always come first, everything else
\nmust be secondary.\u201d<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b2 The French
\ntranslation of the phrase, \u201cpasser\u201d, was not clear to the child.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b3 \u201cIt is in the
\npeace behind and that something truer’ in you that you must learn to live and
\nfeel it to be yourself.\u201d<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 341<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

pied what they said, you understand; and
\nprobably this person said that he felt within him \u201csomething truer\u201d. And so he
\nsays: this \u201csomething truer\u201d in you is certainly the psychic. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, how can we find the Divine who is hidden in us? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This we have explained many, many times.
\nBut the first thing is to want it, and know precisely that this comes first,
\nbefore all other things, that this is the important thing. That is the first
\ncondition; all the rest may come later, this is the essential condition. You
\nsee, if once in a while, from time to time, when you have nothing to do and all
\ngoes well and you are unoccupied, suddenly you tell yourself, \u201cAh, I would like
\nso much to find the Divine!\u201d \u2013 well, this \u2013 it may take a hundred thousand
\nyears, in this way. <\/span><\/p>\n

But if it is the important thing, the only
\nthing that matters, and if everything else comes afterwards, and you want
\nnothing but this, then \u2013 this is the first condition. You must first establish
\nthis, later we may speak of what follows. First this, that all the rest does
\nnot count, that only this counts, that one is ready to give up everything to
\nhave this, that it is the only thing of importance in life. Then one puts
\noneself in the condition of being able to take a step forward. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, one day you said that if one makes mistakes knowing that
\none is making a mistake, one pushes the divine Grace away and builds a wall, a
\nveritable wall between the Divine and himself. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t remember exactly what I said, but
\nthere is one thing: if you make a mistake knowing that it is a mistake and
\ncommitting it all the same, then you do that. If through ignorance you make a
\nmistake because you don’t know that it is a mistake, you may have very
\nunpleasant consequences but you won’t
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 342<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

push away the Divine, because you have
\ndone the thing through ignorance. That’s not to say that the fault is not a
\nfault! It is a fault all the same, but as I said, you are not in the state in which
\nyou push away the divine Grace. But if you know that it is a fault and commit
\nit all the same, each time you do so you are pushing away the divine Grace, and
\nyou push it away a little farther. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, there are mistakes… one knows they are mistakes, but still it
\nis as though one were pushed into making them. Then? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Pushed by what? Ah, this is exactly what
\nhappens! It is the lower nature, the instincts of the subconscient which govern
\nyou and make you do things you should not do. And so it is a choice between
\nyour will and accepting submission. There is always a moment when one can
\ndecide. It goes to the point where as I said there is even a moment when one
\ncan decide to be ill or not to be ill. It even goes so far that a moment comes
\nwhen one can decide to die or not to die. But for that one must have an
\nextremely awakened consciousness because this speck is infinitesimal in time
\nand like the hundredth part of a second, and because before it one can do
\nnothing and after it one can do nothing; but at that moment one can. And if one
\nis absolutely awake, one can, at that moment, take the decision. <\/span><\/p>\n

But for ordinary things, as for example,
\ngiving way before an impulse or refusing it, it is not a space, not even the
\nspace of a second; one has plenty of time before him, one certainly has several
\nminutes. And it is a choice between weak submission and a controlling will. And
\nif the will is clear, if it is based on truth, if truly it obeys the truth and
\nis clear, it always has the power to refuse the wrong movement. It is an excuse
\nyou give yourself when you say, \u201cI could not.\u201d It is not true. It is that truly
\nyou have not wanted it in the right way. For there is always the choice between
\nsaying \u201cyes\u201d and saying \u201cno\u201d. But
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 343<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

one chooses to be weak and later gives
\noneself this excuse, saying, \u201cIt is not my fault; it was stronger than I.\u201d It
\nis your fault if the thing was stronger than you. Because you are not these
\nimpulses, you are a conscious soul and an intelligent will, and your duty is to
\nsee that this is what governs you and not the impulses from below. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, is \u201ctruth in thought\u201d the same thing as purity in thought?
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

These of course are just definitions. It
\ndepends on the sentences, the context, the way the words are used, etc. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then what does truth of thought mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It simply means thought expressing the
\ntruth. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then what does purity of thought mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Inevitably a thought which expresses the
\ntruth is necessarily a thought which is pure, for otherwise it could not express
\nthe truth. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, how can we make our consciousness vast? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Vast? Ah, there are many ways of doing
\nthis. <\/span><\/p>\n

The easiest way is to identify yourself
\nwith something vast. For instance, when you feel that you are shut up in a
\ncompletely narrow and limited thought, will, consciousness, when you feel as
\nthough you were in a shell, then if you begin thinking about something very
\nvast, as for example, the immensity of the waters of an ocean, and if really
\nyou can think of this ocean and how it stretches out far, far, far, far, in all
\ndirections, like this\u00a0 <\/span>(Mother stretches out her arms<\/i>), how,
\ncompared with you, it is so far, so far that you cannot see the other shore,
\nyou can- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 344<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

not reach its end anywhere, neither behind
\nnor in front nor to the right or left…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>it is wide, wide, wide, wide… you think of this and then you feel that
\nyou are floating on this sea, like that, and that there are no limits… This
\nis very easy. Then you can widen your consciousness a little. <\/span><\/p>\n

Other people, for example, begin looking
\nat the sky; and then they imagine all those spaces between all those stars, and
\nall… that kind of infinity of spaces in which the earth is a tiny point, and
\nyou too are just a very tiny point, smaller than an ant, on the earth. And so
\nyou look at the sky and feel that you are floating in these infinite spaces
\nbetween the planets, and that you are growing vaster and vaster to go farther
\nand farther. Some people succeed with this. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is a way also by trying to identify
\nyourself with all things upon earth. For example, when you have a small narrow
\nvision of something and are hurt by others’ vision and point of view, you must
\nbegin by shifting your consciousness, try to put it in others, and try
\ngradually to identify yourself with all the different ways of thinking of all
\nothers. This is a little more … how shall I put it?… dangerous. Because to
\nidentify oneself with the thought and will of others means to identify oneself
\nwith a heap of stupidities (Mother laughs<\/i>)
\nand bad wills, and this may bring consequences which are not very good. But
\nstill, some people do this more easily. For instance, when they are in
\ndisagreement with someone, in order to widen their consciousness they try to
\nput themselves in the place of the other and see the thing not from their own
\npoint of view but from the point of view of the other. This wide the
\nconsciousness, though not as much as by the first ways I spoke about, which are
\nquite innocent. They don’t do you any harm, they do you much good. They make
\nyou very peaceful. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are lots of intellectual ways of
\nwidening the consciousness. These I have explained fully in my book. But in any
\ncase, when you are bored by something, when something is painful to you or very
\nunpleasant, if you begin to think of the ete<\/span>r<\/span>nity  <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 345<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

of time and the immensity of space,
\nif you think of all that has gone before and all that will come afterwards, and
\nthat this second in eternity is truly just a passing breath, and that it seems
\nso utterly ridiculous to be upset by something which in the eternity of time
\nis…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>one doesn’t even have the time to
\nbecome aware of it, it has no place, no importance, because, what indeed is a
\nsecond in eternity? If one can manage to realise that, to… how to put
\nit?…\u00a0 <\/span>visualise, picture the little
\nperson one is, in the little earth where one is, and the tiny second of
\nconsciousness which for the moment is hurting you or is unpleasant for you,
\njust this \u2013 which in itself is only a second in your existence, and that you
\nyourself have been many things before and will be many more things afterwards,
\nthat what affects you now you will have probably completely forgotten in ten
\nyears, or if you remember it you will say, \u201cHow did I happen to attach any
\nimportance to that?\u201d… if you can realise that first and then realise your
\nlittle person which is a second in eternity, not even a second, you know,
\nimperceptible, a fragment of a second in eternity, that the whole world has
\nunrolled before this and will unroll yet, indefinitely \u2013 before, behind \u2013 and
\nthat… well, then suddenly you see the utter ridiculousness of the importance
\nyou attach to what happened to you…\u00a0
\n<\/span>Truly you feel… to what an extent it is absurd to attach any
\nimportance to one’s life, to oneself, and to what happen to you. And in the
\nspace of three minutes, if you do this properly, all unpleasantness is swept
\naway. Even a very deep pain can be swept away. Simply a concentration like
\nthis, and to place oneself in infinity and eternity. Everything goes away. One
\ncomes out of it cleansed. One can get rid of all attachments and even, I say,
\nof the deepest sorrows \u2013 of everything, in this way \u2013 if one knows how to do it
\nin the right way. It immediately takes you out of your little ego. There we
\nare. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, how can we make our resolution very firm? <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 346<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

By wanting it to be very firm!
\n(Laughter)\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

No, this seems like a joke… but it is
\nabsolutely true. One does not want it truly. There is always, if you… It is a
\nlack of sincerity. If you look sincerely, you will see that you have decided
\nthat it will be like this, and then, beneath there is something which has not
\ndecided at all and is waiting for the second of hesitation in order to rush
\nforward. If you are sincere, if you are sincere and get hold of the part which
\nis hiding, waiting, not showing itself, which knows that there will come a
\nsecond of indecision when it can rush out and make you do the thing you have
\ndecided not to do…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But if you really want it, nothing in the
\nworld can prevent you from doing what you want. It is because one doesn’t know
\nhow to will it. It is because one is divided in one’s will. If you are not
\ndivided in your will, I say that nothing, nobody in the world can make you
\nchange your will. <\/span><\/p>\n

But one doesn’t know how to will it. In
\nfact one doesn’t even want to. These are velleities: \u201cWell, it is like
\nthis…\u00a0 <\/span>It would be good if it were like
\nthat…\u00a0 <\/span>yes, it would be better if it
\nwere like that…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>yes, it would be
\npreferable if it were like that.\u201d But this<\/i>
\nis not to will. And always there at the back, hidden somewhere in a corner of
\nthe brain, is something which is looking on and saying, \u201cOh, why should I want
\nthat? After all one can as well want the opposite.\u201d And to try, you see… Not
\nlike that, just wait…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>But one can
\nalways find a thousand excuses to do the opposite. And ah, just a tiny little
\nwavering is enough…\u00a0 <\/span>pftt…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>the thing swoops down and there it is. But
\nif one wills, if one really knows that this is the thing, and truly wants this,
\nand if one is oneself entirely concentrated in the will, I say that there is
\nnothing in the world that can prevent one from doing it, from doing it or being
\nobliged to do it. It depends on what it is. <\/span><\/p>\n

One wants. Yes, one wants, like this
\n(Gestures). One wants: \u201cYes, yes, it would be better if it were like that. Yes,
\nit would be finer also, more elegant.\u201d…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>But, eh, eh, after all one is a
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 347<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

weak creature, isn’t that so? And then one
\ncan always put the blame upon something else: \u201cIt is the influence coming from
\noutside, it is all kinds of circumstances.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The breath has passed, you see. You don’t
\nknow… something…\u00a0 <\/span>a moment of
\nunconsciousness…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOh, I was not
\nconscious.\u201d You are not conscious because you do not accept… And all this
\nbecause one doesn’t know how to will. <\/span><\/p>\n

To learn how to will is a very important
\nthing. And to will truly, you must unify your being. In fact, to be a being,
\none must first unify oneself. If one is pulled by absolutely opposite
\ntendencies, if one spends three-fourths of his life without being conscious of
\nhimself and the reasons why he does things, is one a real being? One does not
\nexist. One is a mass of influences, movements, forces, actions, reactions, but
\none is not a being. One begins to become a being when he begins to have a will.
\nAnd one can’t have a will unless he is unified. <\/span><\/p>\n

And when you have a will, you will be able
\nto say, say to the Divine: \u201cI want what You want.\u201d But not before that. Because
\nin order to want what the Divine wants, you must have a will, otherwise you can
\nwill nothing at all. You would like to. You would like it very much. You would
\nvery much like to want what the Divine wants to do. You don’t possess a will to
\ngive to Him and to put at His service. Something like that, gelatinous, like
\njelly-fish… there… a mass of good wills \u2013 and I am considering the better
\nside of things and forgetting the bad wills \u2013 a mass of good wills,
\nhalf-conscious and fluctuating…\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ah, that’s all, my children. That’s enough
\nfor today. There we are. <\/span><\/p>\n

Only, put this into practice; just a
\nlittle of what I have said, not all, eh, just a very little. There.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 348<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


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

29 September 1954   This talk is based upon Sri Aurobindo’s Bases of Yoga, Chapter 1, \u201cCalm \u2013 Peace \u2013 Equality\u201d.   \u201cIt is good…<\/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-4429","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\/4429","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=4429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4429\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}