{"id":4432,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:57","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4432"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:57","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:57","slug":"32-08-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\/32-08-september-vol-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","title":{"rendered":"-32_08 September.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"<table border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"6\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse\" width=\"100%\">\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><b><br \/>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\">8<br \/>\n September 1954<\/font><\/span><\/b><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\"><br \/>\n<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"2\">This talk is based upon Sri Aurobindo&#8217;s Bases of Yoga,<br \/>\nChapter 1. The book is comprised of extracts from letters written in reply to<br \/>\nthe queries of disciples. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>\u201cThe forces that stand in the way of sadhana are the forces of the lower<br \/>\nmental, vital and physical nature. Behind them are adverse powers of the<br \/>\nmental, vital and subtle physical worlds. These can be dealt with only after<br \/>\nthe mind and heart have become one-pointed and concentrated in the single<br \/>\naspiration to the Divine.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'>\n\t\t<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><br \/>\n\t\t&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>So?&#8230;<span>\u00a0\u00a0<br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Sweet Mother, what are the adverse powers of the subtle physical? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>What are the adverse forces? There are as<br \/>\nmany of them as there are elements in the world. Only, unless they express<br \/>\nthemselves physically, we do not see them. So we are not aware of them. But I<br \/>\ntold you the other day that the atmosphere is full of countless formations<br \/>\nwhich are usually made up of thoughts, desires, impulses, wills, and which are<br \/>\nas mixed as men&#8217;s thoughts. There are good ones, there are bad ones; and behind<br \/>\nthat there are all the formations of the vital world, a world <i>essentially<\/i> hostile to the Divine. Only<br \/>\nthe vital in man, under the psychic influence, can change and become a<br \/>\ncollaborator in the divine work. Otherwise, the vital world is essentially<br \/>\nformed of beings <i>hostile<\/i> to the<br \/>\ndivine work, and those who open themselves to these forces without any control<br \/>\nare naturally under the influence of the adverse forces. So, one can&#8217;t say what<br \/>\nthese adverse forces are. It would be easier to say what they are <i>not<\/i>.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\">Page &#8211; 305<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"WW-PlainText\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>(<i>Speaking<br \/>\nto the children in the first row<\/i>) Do you have a questions? You have a<br \/>\nquestion? And you? You? <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>It is outside the text. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Eh? It is outside the text? It is farther<br \/>\non? That will be for next time. (<i>Mother<br \/>\ncontinues questioning.<\/i>)<span>\u00a0 <\/span>And you, nothing?<br \/>\nNow then, you, you too have nothing to ask?<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>It comes a little later. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>So I have read very little? <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Pavitra: No, Mother! <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>I have received complaints because I read <i>The Mother<\/i> through too fast. I have been<br \/>\nasked to read more slowly; so I read more slowly. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Sweet Mother, what is meant by \u201cthe substance of the mental being\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>My child, the substance means&#8230; how shall<br \/>\nI put it?&#8230; it means the stuff of which the mental being is made. It could be<br \/>\nsaid, for instance, that the cells are the substance of your body. It is not<br \/>\nexactly matter, the mind is not quite material, but it is the very thing of<br \/>\nwhich the mind is made. If there were no mental substance, there would be no<br \/>\nmental being. It would be only a vibration; and even a vibration needs a medium<br \/>\nto manifest itself. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>But if your body were not made of material<br \/>\nsubstance, you wouldn&#8217;t have a body. This is what is called substance. It is<br \/>\nthe thing of which something is made. And precisely, what is important is that<br \/>\npeople usually think that mind is just a mode of activity, whereas there is a<br \/>\nmental substance as there is a vital<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\">Page &#8211; 306<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"WW-PlainText\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>substance and physical substance. And as<br \/>\nthere is a substance, there is a corresponding world with an autonomous existence,<br \/>\nthat is to say, there can be a mind without any physical support. The physical<br \/>\nbody may disappear and the mind can continue to exist. It is here that it is<br \/>\nimportant to understand that there is a mental substance which, obviously, is<br \/>\nmuch more&#8230; (Silence) how to put it?&#8230; immaterial than physical matter. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Some people use a rather unclassical word,<br \/>\n\u201crarefied\u201d, but I don&#8217;t think it has exactly this see. Well, you see, we say<br \/>\nthat substance has different deities, and the more material it becomes, the denser<br \/>\nit is, the farther it moves away from matter, the less dense it is. But it is a<br \/>\nsubstance all the same. There is even an etheric substance. I don&#8217;t say that<br \/>\nthis conforms with scientific theories; I don&#8217;t guarantee that I am not talking<br \/>\nscientific heresies! But this is a cosmic fact. (<i>Mother laughs.<\/i>)<span>\u00a0 <\/span>It is<br \/>\nexactly \u2013 I think I said this when I spoke about occultism \u2013 I said the first<br \/>\nthing one must know before being able to practise occultism is that the<br \/>\ndifferent states of being have a different deity, and they have an individual<br \/>\nindependent existence of their own, that they are existing realities, that they<br \/>\nare truly real substances, that it is not just a way of being. There can be a<br \/>\nmental being and mental activity and, for instance, a thought that is<br \/>\ncompletely independent of the brain, whereas the materialistic theories say<br \/>\nthat it is the brain which creates mental activity. But this is not correct.<br \/>\nThe brain is the material transcription of the mental activity, and mental<br \/>\nactivity has its own domain; the mental domain has its reality, its own<br \/>\nsubstance. One can think outside one&#8217;s brain, think, act, make formations<br \/>\noutside one&#8217;s brain. One can even live, move, go from one place to another,<br \/>\nhave a direct knowledge of mental things in the mental world, in a word,<br \/>\nabsolutely independent of a body which, indeed, can be in a state of complete<br \/>\ninertia, not only asleep but also in a cataleptic state. And moreover, it is<br \/>\nquite certain that so long as one has not understood that one is made up of<br \/>\ndifferent states of being which have their own independent life,<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\">Page &#8211; 307<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"WW-PlainText\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>one can&#8217;t have a complete 0control over<br \/>\none&#8217;s being. There will always be something that escapes you. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>(<i>To<br \/>\na child<\/i>)<span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Do you have something to<br \/>\nask? <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>It is outside the book. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Eh? Not from the book? If it is<br \/>\ninteresting it doesn&#8217;t matter! <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Mother, what is the significance of this abrupt change in the<br \/>\nprogramme?\u00b9 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Oh, but that \u2013 it is something altogether<br \/>\npersonal! <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Well, I can tell you: it is different for each<br \/>\none and it is for you to find it out in yourself. And if you find it you will<br \/>\nhave made some progress&#8230;<span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>(<i>Silence<\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;(<i>To<br \/>\na child<\/i>) Something to say? <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>No. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>(<i>To<br \/>\nanother<\/i>) You, do you have something to ask? No? No! You are dreaming!<br \/>\n(Laughter) Nobody has a question? (<i>To<br \/>\nanother<\/i>) You? <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>When one wants to concentrate, why do all kinds of thoughts come, which<br \/>\nnever come otherwise? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>What did you say? <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>When one wants to concentrate, why do all kinds of thoughts come which<br \/>\nnever came before? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"2\">\u00b9 <\/font> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"2\">The reference is to Mother&#8217;s having<br \/>\nstopped the morning \u201cBlessings\u201d which she used to give to the students and to<br \/>\nsome disciples. <\/font><\/span><br \/>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\">Page &#8211; 308<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"WW-PlainText\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Perhaps they came and you did not know it!<br \/>\nPerhaps it is because you want to concentrate that you become aware that they are<br \/>\nthere. It may also happen that there is an element of contradiction in the<br \/>\nconsciousness and that when you want to be silent, something says, \u201cNo, I won&#8217;t<br \/>\nbe silent!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>I think that many of you have an inner<br \/>\ncontradiction like this. When you have resolved to be good, there is something<br \/>\nwhich would like to push you into being wicked, and when you want to be quiet,<br \/>\nthere is something which pushes you into being agitated, and when you want to<br \/>\nbe silent, immediately thoughts begin to wander. It is a contradiction inherent<br \/>\nin man&#8217;s nature. It may be this; it may be what I said: that all these thoughts<br \/>\nare there but as you were not paying any attention to them, you were not aware<br \/>\nof them. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>It is quite certain that to create absolute<br \/>\nsilence is of all things the most difficult, for many things of which one was<br \/>\nnot aware, become enormous! There were all kinds of suggestion, movements,<br \/>\nthoughts, formations which went on as though <i>automatically<\/i> in the outer consciousness, almost outside the<br \/>\nconsciousness, on the frontiers of consciousness; and as soon as one wants to<br \/>\nbe absolutely silent, one becomes aware of all these things which go on moving,<br \/>\nmoving, moving and make a lot of noise and prevent you from being silent. That<br \/>\nis why it is better to remain very quiet, very calm and at the same time very<br \/>\nattentive to something which is above you and to which you aspire, and if there<br \/>\nis this kind of noise passing like that around you (<i>Mother moves her hands around her head<\/i>), not to pay attention, not<br \/>\nto look, not to heed it. If there are thoughts which go round and round and<br \/>\nround like this (<i>Gestures<\/i>), which<br \/>\ncome and go, do not look, do not pay attention, but concentrate upwards in a great<br \/>\naspiration which one may even formulate \u2013 because often it helps the<br \/>\nconcentration \u2013 towards the light, the peace, the quietude, towards a kind of<br \/>\ninner impassiveness, so that the concentration may be strong enough for you not<br \/>\nto attend to all that continues to whirl about all around. But if<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\">Page &#8211; 309<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"WW-PlainText\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>suddenly you say, \u201cAh, there&#8217;s some noise!<br \/>\nOh, here is a thought!\u201d, then it is finished. You will never succeed in being<br \/>\nquiet. Have you never seen those people who try to stop a quarrel by shouting<br \/>\nstill louder than the ones who are quarrelling? Well, it is something like<br \/>\nthat. (<i>Mother laughs<\/i>.)<span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Sweet Mother, may I ask you a question outside the subject? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>What questions? <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>In \u201cThe Brain of <\/span><\/i><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>India<\/span><\/i><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>\u201d Sri Aurobindo<br \/>\nhas written that the Bengalis can think with their hearts&#8230;<span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Who can think with his heart? I can&#8217;t<br \/>\nhear! The Bengalis can think with their hearts? That&#8217;s a poetic way of saying<br \/>\nit. (Laughter) Where has he written this? It is indeed a very poetic<br \/>\ndescription. That&#8217;s to say that they are essentially emotive beings and that<br \/>\ntheir heart is conscious even in their thought, that their thought is not<br \/>\npurely intellectual and dry, and that their heart is aware of their thought.<br \/>\nThat&#8217;s what he meant. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>But I can also tell you that when I was in<br \/>\n<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Japan<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'> I met a man who had formed a group,<br \/>\nfor&#8230; It can&#8217;t be said that it was for sadhana, but for a kind of discipline.<br \/>\nHe had a theory and it was on this theory that he had founded his group: that<br \/>\none can think in any part of one&#8217;s being whatever if one concentrates there.<br \/>\nThat is to say, instead of thinking in your head, you can think in your chest.<br \/>\nAnd he said that one could think here (<i>gesture<\/i>)<br \/>\nin the stomach. He took the stomach as the seat of <i>pr&#257;na<\/i>, you see, that is, the vital force. He used certain Sanskrit<br \/>\nwords, you know, half-digested, and all that&#8230; But still, this does not<br \/>\nmatter, he was full of goodwill and he said that most human miseries come from<br \/>\nthe fact that men think in their heads, that this makes the head ache, tires<br \/>\nyou and takes away your mental clarity. On the other hand, if you learn how to<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\">Page &#8211; 310<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"WW-PlainText\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>think here (<i>gesture indicating the stomach<\/i>), it gives you power, strength and<br \/>\ncalmness. And the most remarkable thing is that he had attained a kind of<br \/>\nability to bring down the mental power, the mental force exactly here (<i>gesture<\/i>); the mental activity was<br \/>\ngenerated there, and no longer in the head. And he had cured a considerable<br \/>\nnumber of people, considerable, some hundreds, who used to suffer from terrible<br \/>\nheadaches; he had cured them in this way. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>I have tried it, it is quite easy,<br \/>\nprecisely because, as I told you a while ago, the mental force, mental activity<br \/>\nis independent of the brain. We are in the habit of using the brain but we can<br \/>\nuse something else or rather, concentrate the mental force elsewhere, and have<br \/>\nthe impression that our mental activity comes from there. One can concentrate<br \/>\none&#8217;s mental force in the solar plexus, here (<i>gesture<\/i>), and feel the mental activity coming out from there. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>That man used to say, \u201cHaven&#8217;t you noticed<br \/>\nthat all men who have great power have a big belly? (Laughter) \u2013 Because they<br \/>\nconcentrate their forces there, so this makes their stomach big!\u201d He always<br \/>\nused to give the example of Napoleon; and he said, \u201cThese people stand up quite<br \/>\nstraight, always straight with their head erect, never like this (<i>Mother bends the head forward<\/i>), never<br \/>\nlike this (<i>Mother bends the head to the<br \/>\nright<\/i>), never like this (<i>Mother bends<br \/>\nthe head to the left<\/i>); always quite straight up but with all their force<br \/>\nhere (<i>pointing to the stomach<\/i>), and<br \/>\nso this makes them very powerful!\u201d And he always spoke of Napoleon. He used to<br \/>\nsay, \u201cNapoleon, you see&#8230;\u201d (<i>Mother shows<br \/>\nthat Napoleon had a big stomach.<\/i>) And he had a visit from Tagore when<br \/>\nTagore was in <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Japan<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'> and he told me, \u201cHave you observed how<br \/>\nTagore stands quite upright, like this, with his head erect?\u201d Then I told him,<br \/>\n\u201cBut he doesn&#8217;t have a big stomach!\u201d He said to me, \u201cIt will come.\u201d<span>\u00a0 <\/span>(Laughter).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>There were hundreds of people at his<br \/>\nmeetings. They would all sit on their knees as one does in <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Japan<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>. He struck a table with a stick and<br \/>\neveryone brought down his mental force to the<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\">Page &#8211; 311<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"WW-PlainText\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>stomach; and then they remained like that<br \/>\nfor&#8230;<span>\u00a0 <\/span>oh! at least half an hour. And after<br \/>\nhalf an hour he struck the table a second time and they released their mental<br \/>\nforce and began chatting&#8230;<span>\u00a0 <\/span>not very<br \/>\nmuch, for the Japanese do not talk much, but nevertheless they speak. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>There now! But mark that there was<br \/>\nsomething very true, in the see that if ever you have a headache I advise you<br \/>\nto do this: to take the thought-force, the mental force \u2013 and even if you can<br \/>\ndraw a little of your vital force, that too \u2013 and make it come down, like this<br \/>\n(<i>gesture of very slowly sliding both<br \/>\nhands from the top of the head downwards<\/i>). Well, if you have a headache or<br \/>\na congestion, if you have caught a touch of the sun, for instance, indeed if<br \/>\nanything has happened to you, well, if you know how to do this and bring down<br \/>\nthe force here, like this, here (<i>showing<br \/>\nthe centre of the chest<\/i>), or even lower down (<i>showing the stomach<\/i>), well, it will disappear. It will disappear.<br \/>\nYou will be able to do this in five minutes. You can try, the next time you<br \/>\nhave a headache&#8230;<span>\u00a0 <\/span>I hope you won&#8217;t have<br \/>\na headache but the next time you have it, try this. Sit upright, like this (<i>movement showing an &#257;sana posture<\/i>).<br \/>\nThe Japanese say you should sit on your heels<span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<\/span>but that might disturb your meditation, sitting like that \u2013 they call it<br \/>\nsitting at ease. The Indian fashion is like this (<i>gesture<\/i>), otherwise you must sit like this (<i>gesture<\/i>); this is harder when you are not accustomed to it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>So, sit quite at ease and then take all<br \/>\nyour force as though you were taking, you see&#8230;<span>\u00a0 <\/span>all the energy in your head, take it and then<br \/>\nmake it come down, down, down, like this, slowly, very carefully, right down<br \/>\nhere, down to the navel. And you will see that your headache will disappear. I<br \/>\nhave made the experiment many times&#8230;<span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<\/span>It is a very good remedy, very easy; there is no need to take pills or<br \/>\ninjection; it gets cured in this way. So there you are! <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Any other questions? Yes!<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\">Page &#8211; 312<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"WW-PlainText\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>How can we establish a settled peace and silence in the mind? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>First of all, you must want it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>And then you must try and must persevere,<br \/>\ncontinue trying. What I have just told you is a very good means. Yet there are<br \/>\nothers also. You sit quietly, to begin with; and then, instead of thinking of<br \/>\nfifty things, you begin saying to yourself, \u201cPeace, peace, peace, peace, peace,<br \/>\ncalm, peace!\u201d You imagine peace and calm. You aspire, ask that it may come:<br \/>\n\u201cPeace, peace, calm.\u201d And then, when something comes and touches you and acts,<br \/>\nsay quietly, like this, \u201cPeace, peace, peace.\u201d Do not look at the thoughts, do<br \/>\nnot listen to the thoughts, you understand. You must not pay attention to<br \/>\neverything that comes. You know, when someone bothers you a great deal and you<br \/>\nwant to get rid of him, you don&#8217;t listen to him, do you? Good! You turn your<br \/>\nhead away (<i>gesture<\/i>) and think of<br \/>\nsomething else. Well, you must do that: when thoughts come, you must not look<br \/>\nat them, must not listen to them, must not pay any attention at all, you must<br \/>\nbehave as though they did not exist, you see! And then, repeat all the time<br \/>\nlike a kind of \u2013 how shall I put it? \u2013 as an idiot does, who repeats the same thing<br \/>\nalways. Well, you must do the same thing; you must repeat, \u201cPeace, peace,<br \/>\npeace.\u201d So you try this for a few minutes and then do what you have to do; and<br \/>\nthen, another time, you begin again; sit down again and then try. Do this on<br \/>\ngetting up in the morning, do this in the evening when going to bed. You can do<br \/>\nthis&#8230;<span>\u00a0 <\/span>look, if you want to digest your<br \/>\nfood properly, you can do this for a few minutes before eating. You can&#8217;t<br \/>\nimagine how much this helps your digestion! Before beginning to eat you sit<br \/>\nquietly for a while and say, \u201cPeace, peace, peace!\u201d and everything becomes<br \/>\ncalm. It seems as though all the noises were going far, far, far away<span>\u00a0 <\/span>(<i>Mother<br \/>\nstretches out her arms on both sides<\/i>) and then you must continue; and there<br \/>\ncomes a time when you no longer need to sit down, and no matter what you are<br \/>\ndoing, no matter<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\">Page &#8211; 313<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"WW-PlainText\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>what you are saying, it is always \u201cPeace,<br \/>\npeace, peace.\u201d Everything remain here, like this, it does not enter (<i>gesture in front of the forehead<\/i>), it<br \/>\nremain like this. And then one is always in a perfect peace&#8230; after some<br \/>\nyears. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>But at the beginning, a very small<br \/>\nbeginning, two or three minutes, it is very simple. For something complicated<br \/>\nyou must make an effort, and when one makes an effort, one is not quiet. It is<br \/>\ndifficult to make an effort while remaining quiet. Very simple, very simple,<br \/>\nyou must be very simple in these things. It is as though you were learning how<br \/>\nto call a friend: by dint of being called he comes. Well, make peace and calm<br \/>\nyour friends and call them: \u201cCome, peace, peace, peace, peace, come!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Is that all, my children? <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Mother, is the seat of understanding in the head? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>The faculty of understanding? Is that what<br \/>\nyou are asking about, whether it is in the head? I have just said the opposite.<br \/>\nA few minutes ago I said that all mental faculties are in the mind and it is<br \/>\nonly by habit that they are in the head. One can understand from any place<br \/>\nwhatever. One can understand from wherever the seat of the consciousness is. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>You say \u201cby habit\u201d. One can&#8217;t change it, one is born like that! <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>Were you thinking when you were born? <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>It is natural to think with the head. How can one make a habit of it? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>It has been a habit for a very long time \u2013<br \/>\nthe parents of the parents of the parents, and so on \u2013 but not for everyone! It<br \/>\nis like the habit of looking with the eyes, but it has been proved that it is<br \/>\npossible to create centres of vision elsewhere than in<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\">Page &#8211; 314<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"WW-PlainText\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>the eyes \u2013 with a little concentration. I<br \/>\ndon&#8217;t say that the brain is not made for thinking, I have never told you that,<br \/>\nbut I said that thought does not depend upon the brain, which is quite a<br \/>\ndifferent thing. If one knows how to handle mental forces, one sees clearly<br \/>\nthat the brain is very suitable for expressing oneself \u2013 it has evidently been<br \/>\nmade for that, for receiving thoughts and putting them into action, into<br \/>\nexpression, words<span>\u00a0 <\/span>but it doesn&#8217;t need to<br \/>\nbe exclusive. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>(<i>After<br \/>\na silence<\/i>) I mean that this exclusiveness is a habit. However, when one has<br \/>\ndone a little yoga seriously, one knows very well that one can think here (<i>Mother shows the centre of the forehead<br \/>\nbetween the eyebrows, then the right side, then the left<\/i>) one can think<br \/>\nhere, one can think here, one can think in front and, as I was saying just now,<br \/>\none can think much higher up but naturally, one thinks that all<br \/>\nthought-phenomena, concentration, are produced in the brain<span>\u00a0 <\/span>and when one thinks up above, here<span>\u00a0 <\/span>(<i>Mother<br \/>\nshows the space above the head<\/i>), one thinks much better than when one<br \/>\nthinks here. It is only that one has never tried to do otherwise. Not \u201cnever<br \/>\ntried\u201d, there are quite a number of people who have tried and have succeeded. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'>There you are, my children! I think that&#8217;s<br \/>\nall. It&#8217;s enough for this evening.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Times New Roman\"'><font size=\"3\">Page &#8211; 315<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"WW-PlainText\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/p>\n<p> <span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;color: #0000FF;font-weight: 700\"><br \/>\n  <font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>8 September 1954 &nbsp; This talk is based upon Sri Aurobindo&#8217;s Bases of Yoga, Chapter 1. The book is comprised of extracts from letters written&#8230;<\/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-4432","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\/4432","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=4432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4432\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}