{"id":4433,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:57","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4433"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:57","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:57","slug":"37-13-october-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\/37-13-october-vol-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","title":{"rendered":"-37_13 October.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n13
\n October 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

\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, what does \u201cthe reduction of the mental being to the
\nposition of a witness\u201d mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Have you never felt this? As though you
\nwere a little behind or above things, and were looking at them taking place but
\nwere not doing anything yourself? Witness means an observer, someone who looks
\non and does not act himself. So, when the mind is very quiet, one can withdraw
\na little in this way from circumstances and look at things as though he were a
\nwitness, a spectator, and not participating in the action himself. This gives
\nyou a great detachment, a great quietude, and also a very precise see of the
\nvalue of things, because it cuts the attachment to action. When you know how to
\ndo this with yourself, when you can withdraw and watch yourself acting, you
\nlearn many things about yourself. When you are all mixed up and take part in
\nthe action, you do not observe yourself acting, you don’t know what you are
\nlike. But when you draw back and look at yourself, you can perceive many
\nimperfections which you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. <\/span><\/p>\n

(To
\na child<\/i>) Do you have a question to ask? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Here it is written: \u201cThe experience of this `solid block’ feeling
\nindicates the descent of a solid strength and peace….\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is always the same thing: people
\nwriting letters, you understand; they describe their experiences. So he uses
\nthe same words that they use for answering. This \u201csolid block\u201d feeling within
\noneself \u2013 he explains what it means: he says that it indicates the descent of a
\nstrength. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 360<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Sweet Mother, what does \u201csolid peace\u201d
\nmean? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You see, there is a negative peace, that
\nis, an absence of disturbance; but solid peace is a positive peace. One may
\nfeel a peace which is absolutely positive, which is not the negation of the
\nabsence of peace, a peace that is something solid, concrete, very… almost
\nactive, you see, that is, having a power of contagion, of spreading through the
\nwhole being and bringing peace even in places where there is none. This becomes
\nsomething very positive and concrete… as though one were touching a solid
\nobject. This indeed is true peace. The other is just the preceding step \u2013 the
\nnegation of the disturbance \u2013 that is to say, one remain untroubled, one has no
\nvibrations which shows any disturbance. <\/span><\/p>\n

(To
\na child<\/i>)\u00a0 <\/span>And then? Your question
\ntoday? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, it is not a question from this book. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Eh? It is not from this book? Oh! But we
\ndon’t have an entire library here. (Laughter)\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(To
\nanother<\/i>) So, you have a question? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What does \u201cthe experience of the silent Self\u201d mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone has in himself a being which he calls
\nthe \u201cSelf\u201d, and which is completely silent and immobile. So, if one becomes
\nconscious of this being in himself, one has the experience of the silent Self.
\nIt is an immobile and silent being which is within, which is like an aspect of
\nthe true being and also an aspect of the witness we were just speaking about.
\nIt is this silent being which, when it turns to things and looks at them,
\nbecomes the witness. But it can turn inwards, not look on, be in its silent
\ncontemplation. It depends on which side one turns to. It is a solid point in
\nthe being, in which the light of truth shines.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 361<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

If one feels that there is a calm in the atmosphere and everywhere, does
\nthis mean that the calm is within oneself? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Eh? Yes. The first thing that comes is
\nthat… for example, if one has a certain experience of a particular kind \u2013 as
\none may have an experience of peace, an experience of calm, one may also have
\nan experience of perfect benevolence, an experience of understanding or of
\ncompassion \u2013 the thing, the experience is as though the consciousness were
\npossessed by one of these movements; and so there occurs this thing which seems
\nstrange afterwards, but which for the moment is altogether natural\u00a0 <\/span>one feels everywhere, in everyone, in the
\nwhole atmosphere, all around himself and, if the consciousness is vast enough,
\nin the entire earth, exactly the same peace or the same compassion or the same
\nbenevolence. And so one can say in all sincerity, with a completely living
\nexperience: \u201cThe universe is perfect benevolence.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

If you come out of it, naturally this does
\nnot apply any longer. But while you are in the experience, it is altogether
\ntrue \u2013 at that time. And then, if you push this, these experiences, farther
\n(and this is exactly what happen to people who try to identify themselves
\nconsciously with the Divine), when you attain this identification and have the
\nconsciousness of the Divine in you, instantly you feel that the Divine is
\neverything and everywhere, in all things, that there is nothing but the Divine.
\nAnd people who have had this experience have said this, they have said, \u201cBut
\nthere is only the Divine, all is Divine, the Divine alone exists.\u201d Yet, when
\none comes out of the experience, if he continues to say it, he almost tells a
\nlie, in the see that this no longer corresponds at all to the state of
\nconsciousness he is in. <\/span><\/p>\n

When one is in an ordinary external
\nconsciousness, everything is not at all divine, far from it. So those who come
\nand tell you that in this external consciousness all is divine, are hum- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 362<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

bugs! But when they are in the experience
\nand live the Divine, when they have become the Divine, then for them everything
\nis divine. They perceive nothing but the Divine, and they may say, \u201cAll is
\ndivine\u201d, because they perceive only the Divine. But as soon as they come out of
\nthis experience, they can no longer say it. <\/span><\/p>\n

But one may say anything. One may say,
\n\u201cAll is peace, all is equanimity, all is compassion, all is comprehension, all
\nis light.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Each time one sincerely has an experience
\nand is entirely absorbed in the experience, all that he sees becomes identical
\nwith him, because in fact it is everywhere and when one becomes conscious of it
\nin himself, he becomes conscious of it in everything. It is true. <\/span><\/p>\n

But it is not solely true, all the rest is
\nalso there. And the opposite is also true: when you enter a state of hatred and
\nhave the experience of hatred, the whole world for you is full of hatred; at
\nthat time almost nothing else exists but hatred. <\/span><\/p>\n

The more your experience becomes absorbing
\nfor you, the more does all the rest become identical. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then, Mother, is there not any true reality, does all depend on oneself?
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

No, it is just the opposite! <\/span><\/p>\n

One becomes conscious of the reality only
\nwhen one becomes conscious of it in oneself. All this is true. Indeed, it is true:
\nyou cannot say that it exists unless you experience it yourself. When you do
\nnot experience it, if you say, \u201cIt is like this\u201d, well…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>You can say, \u201cThere was a time when it was
\nlike this for me\u201d; then that’s right. But if you say, \u201cIt is like this\u201d, at a
\ntime when you don’t feel it, it is quite simply a mental statement. <\/span><\/p>\n

But everything is there! Everything is
\nthere…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>all the things which you can
\nexperience and infinitely more which you cannot,
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 363<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

because a being is not absolutely complete
\nin himself. If he were complete in himself, he could have the experience of the
\nwhole, without any exception. And in fact, potentially it is like that. Only,
\neach one develops according to his own line. It comes to saying this: that one
\nis conscious of the universe only to the extent to which the universe is in his
\nconsciousness. For you the universe stops at your consciousness, no matter what
\nothers may say. Everything that you read, for example, all the descriptions you
\nare given, all the sentences you hear, you can understand only as far as they
\ncorrespond to something in your consciousness; and if they are not in your
\nconsciousness, you do not understand them, and consequently they do not exist
\nfor you. But this does not mean that they do not exist outside you. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You were saying that there is this experience when one sees the Divine
\neverywhere. <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

One sees the Divine everywhere means what? Is it…? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Because one has become the Divine in
\noneself; so, in this case, the Divine is everywhere. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

No…\u00a0 <\/span>When you say, \u201cOne sees the
\nDivine everywhere\u201d…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

What does that mean, what does one see exactly? Does one see a…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What does one see? (Laughter) One
\nperceives, if you like; one can see, but not see with a physical image. There
\nis not only the physical sight, it is not seeing with… And in fact, one can
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 364<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

see with one’s eyes, if the eyes are
\nplastic enough to allow the higher Consciousness, the divine Consciousness to
\npass through them. One can see also, one can see also, but one no longer sees things
\nas they are physically, that’s natural. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you keep a tiny part of your outer
\nconsciousness, if you are not entirely absorbed in the experience, you may see
\nthe two superimposed. But then the perception is not as clear and total. Yet it
\nmay happen that, for example, there is something in you which keeps the outer
\nphysical consciousness, and at the same time there is something which is
\nsufficiently absorbed in the experience of the Divine for the Divine alone to
\ncount for you and the rest to be as if you were seeing a thing through a fine
\nveil, a very thin tissue or a transparent paper. Then the paper or tissue
\nexists, but it does not prevent you from seeing things in the other way. <\/span><\/p>\n

So one can, one can have the perception of
\nthe Divine in the world, in others, and at the same time see a kind of vague
\nappearance of these things, and it gives you this experience \u2013 which may then
\nremain very vividly in your consciousness \u2013 of the unreality of external forms;
\nto what an extent it is only…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>yes, it
\nis like a sheet of thin paper, it has no consistency, no body, it is something
\naltogether superficial and unreal; and the divine Presence, the divine
\nSplendour behind, is the only thing which exists, which is true, solid,
\ndurable. This experience one can have. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, the psychic being in us is always in contact with the Divine: so
\none should have this experience all the time, for…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If one were in contact with one’s psychic
\nbeing all the time, yes. But it is a fact: from the moment one is in contact
\nwith one’s psychic being all the time, one is in contact with the divine
\nPresence all the time. And you may reverse the statement and say, \u201cI shall know
\nthat I am in contact with my psychic being all
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 365<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

the time, when I am in contact with the
\ndivine Presence all the time, in all things. This will be a proof for me that I
\nam in contact with my psychic being.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

This changes the state of consciousness
\ntotally, totally, one cannot…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You know, there are people who come and
\nask you, \u201cAm I conscious of my psychic being?\u201d One can tell them, \u201cThis itself
\nis the proof that you are not.\u201d Because if you are, you can no longer ask this.
\nIt changes your state of consciousness completely. <\/span><\/p>\n

Is that all? Then… (Turning to the child who wanted to ask a question outside the book<\/i>)
\nIf we don’t need the text, you can ask your question. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, there are people who suffer from certain illnesses year after
\nyear, we know. Now, if we observe this illness, we see that it comes at a
\nparticular time of the year and this goes on the next year also, and it is like
\nthat. But the time is fixed. Then what is the reason, and how can one get rid
\nof this? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What is…?
\n <\/span><\/p>\n


\n        <\/span>The reason…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

There could be many reasons. It depends on
\nthe person you ask. If you ask an astrologer he will tell you, \u201cIt is the
\nstars, when the stars come into the same position, the same conditions recur.\u201d
\nWell, this is not so wrong. It can be like that. It can also be the
\nindividual’s reaction to certain types of climate, you see, or to the sun’s
\nposition; or it may be quite simply a bad habit. That’s all. (Laughter)\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And if one forms…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>If by chance it has happened to you twice
\nconsecutively, then you form…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>you
\nhave a good formations, you see, which remain like that (gesture<\/i>) in the subcon- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 366<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

 scient, without showing itself \u2013 if you
\ndon’t observe it! And then, just when the time draws near, quite gently it
\npushes up from within and tells you, \u201cTake care, the time is coming, the time
\nis coming, the time is coming!\u201d So naturally, that comes along too. Usually
\nthese things are like that. <\/span><\/p>\n

But almost everything that happen in the
\nphysical is like that. The first time it may be quite simply a concurrence of
\ncircumstances; then, the mind intervenes and makes a constructions. Now, if one
\naccepts the constructions, one is sure that it functions with clockwork
\nprecision. But even if one says, \u201cOh, nonsense, it is only an idea!\u201d and does
\nthis (gesture<\/i>), still the idea,
\ninstead of going away, enters inside, into the subconscient, simply the subconscious
\nmind, and there it remain quietly. And then, when the time comes to manifest
\nitself, from inside, like this, it makes a kind of… as though it were
\ntickling the memory a little, nothing more than that, just that. If it rubs the
\nmemory just a little, like that, then suddenly one day you remember: \u201cWhy, last
\nyear, at this time I was ill.\u201d And crash! There it is, it has entered. It has
\nentered the zone of the active consciousness, and a few days later the thing
\nhappen. <\/span><\/p>\n

But when you have had either an experience
\nor, like this, some kind of phenomenon or an illness (above all in the case of
\nillness or even an accident), the body remembers for a very long time. If you
\nwant to be completely cured, you must cure this memory in the body, this is
\nabsolutely indispensable. And whether you know it or not, you work in order to
\ncure the memory in the body. When the remembrance is effaced, the body is truly
\nhealed. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, instead of destroying the
\nremembrance, you push it back. Most of the time you push it down into the
\nsubconscient and sometimes into the inconscient, still more deep. Well now, if
\nit is pushed back, if it is not completely effaced, then very gently, very
\ngently, without seeming to do so at all it comes up to the surface; and something
\nof which you have been cured for years, if by chance it crosses your mind
\nsimply
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 367<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

like that, just like a little dart, as
\nfast as that, like a passing dart: \u201cWhy, at this time I had that\u201d, you may be
\nsure that sooner or later \u2013 a few seconds, a few minutes, a few hours or days
\nlater, it will return. You can…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It
\nmay come back in a much milder form, it may come back in the same form, it may
\ncome even more strongly. That depends on your inner state. If you are in a pessimistic
\nstate, it will come back more strongly. If you are in an optimistic state, it
\nwill be much weaker. But it will come back and you will have to begin the
\nbattle all over again against the memory of your body so as to destroy it if
\nthis time you are more attentive. If you can destroy it, you are cured. But if
\nyou don’t destroy it, it will return. It will take a longer or shorter time, it
\nwill be more or less total, but it will return. It can come back in a flash. If
\nyou are wide awake and, when it returns, if you have enough knowledge and indeed
\nenough clear-sightedness to tell yourself, \u201cWell, here is that wretched
\nremembrance come back again to play its tricks\u201d, then you can give, can strike
\na violent blow and indeed destroy its reality. If you know how to do this, then
\nit is an opportunity to get rid of the thing immediately. But it is not very
\neasy to do this.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Pavitra: How to do it? <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How to do it? (Mother laughs.<\/i>) How to do it? It is the same thing as, the same
\nmethod as, knowing how to destroy a formation, you understand. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is a certain strength to dissolve
\nthings, which can undo formations. It depends on the nature of the formations.
\nIf it is like this, a formations of an adverse kind, then you need the force of
\na perfectly pure constructive light. If you have this at your disposal, all
\nthat you have to do is to bombard the thing with it, and you can dissolve it.
\nBut it is an operation which must be performed with inner forces; it cannot be
\ndone physically. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 368<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

That is why all physical remedies, you
\nsee, are simply palliatives; they are not cures, because they are not strong
\nenough to touch the living centre of the thing. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(Silence<\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The same phenomenon occurs with moral
\ndifficulties. If one could succeed in destroying their remembrance, destroying
\nin oneself the memory of the state one is in when in that difficulty, if one is
\nsincere it would be the end of all difficulties for ever. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, for instance, when one makes a resolution to do something, one
\nfinds that sometimes one comes into conflict with the feelings of others. Then
\nwhat should be done in this case? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When one has decided to do something…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

…then one finds that sometimes one comes into conflict with another’s
\nfeelings. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Into conflict? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That is to say…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, yes, I understand quite well. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

So what should be done? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It depends absolutely on the case. It is
\ndifficult to say…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>First
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 369<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

of all… (Silence) If it is just an
\nexternal and superficial decision based on the little knowledge one has, and
\nthe little qualities and little defects one has, then naturally, if one comes
\ninto conflict with other wills of a similar quality \u2013 you see, the wills may be
\ndifferent but the quality is the same, then one has to decide according to the
\ncircumstances and in accordance with the inner result one wants to get. It is
\nvery difficult to say, in each case the decision must be different. <\/span><\/p>\n

But if one belongs to those who act only
\nwhen they feel within that it is an order from the higher truth-consciousness,
\nthat \u201cThis I have decided to do because it has to be done whatever the
\nconsequences\u201d, then if one comes into conflict with the preferences, wills,
\nopposition of others, one must quite simply do this (Mother makes a movement as of turning her back<\/i>) and continue on
\none’s way. But it is only in this case that one has the right to do it. <\/span><\/p>\n

When it is just a personal movement, moved
\nby one’s personal preferences, one’s personal desires or even one’s personal
\nconceptions, well, as soon as one meets with oppositions one must weigh the
\nproblem, see the facts and act according to…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>(Silence)\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>the best goodwill one
\nhas, the best perception one has. And this depends absolutely on what one
\nwanted to do, and the opposition one meets with. So it is impossible to make a
\nrule of a general kind. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is only one thing that gives you the
\nright to go straight on your path without caring for anything: that’s if you
\nhave been set going, set in motion by a higher truth. But you must be sure of
\nthat. You must not take your desire for the higher truth, you understand,
\nbecause one very easily makes a mistake. You must know it, and have solid
\nproofs to support it, and know that it is usually something which does not
\ntouch you personally. If you are in the least interested in it, one way or another,
\nbe on your guard and think twice before being convinced that it is the higher
\nwill and the expression of a truth. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, there are cases where it is like
\nthat. \u201cThis is what
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 370<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

ought to be done; this indeed is the
\ntruth.\u201d And then, whatever the opposition, one goes straight on one’s way,
\nwithout worrying about circumstances or consequences. But it is only in this
\ncase that one has the right to do it; that is, at the time the Divine acts in
\nyou, you ought no longer to care for anything except the divine Will. But if it
\nis not the divine Will, each problem must be resolved according to the case,
\nthe circumstances and…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, one has decided not to chat, then…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

            One meets somebody who chatters? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>No…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

           One just turns one’s back and goes away!
\n(Laughter)\u00a0 <\/span>Very simple! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then the other person will be very angry. <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

Eh?
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

The other person will be very angry. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

So much the worse for him! (Laughter)\u00a0 <\/span>So much the worse for him. This is exactly
\nthe instance, one of the instances I spoke about: not to care. One can, if one
\nlikes the person very much and doesn’t want to displease him too much, one can
\ntell him gently, \u201cNo, please, let us not talk uselessly, it is bad for
\neverybody.\u201d That’s all. If it is someone you don’t care for or who is not important
\nfor you, you have only to turn your back upon him and go away. <\/span><\/p>\n

Especially if he is a friend, someone who,
\nlike you, ought to know that this should not be done…\u00a0 <\/span>In this case you must be categorical. If it
\nis someone who, through a set of circumstances, ought to know like you that it
\nis something that ought
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 371<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

not to be done and if he begins to do it
\nin spite of that, he is dishonest. Because when one does something he knows he
\nshould not do, one becomes dishonest from that minute; and you are not to have
\nany consideration for such a person. You have only to turn round and walk away;
\nand if he gets angry, so much the worse for him. He will only have to… the
\nresult will be that he will have to overcome his anger. That’s all. This will
\nperhaps do him some good. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is a great weakness in social
\nrelations, a very great weakness; and that is why, in fact, one gets angry and
\ngets carried away and says things he should not say. If one were not weak, one
\nwould never be violent. Weakness and violence are two things that go together.
\nHe who is truly strong is never violent. This is something one should always
\nremember. Violence is [it always] a sign of a weakness somewhere. Of course,
\none sees a man with bulging muscles who is very strong, knocking down another
\nwith all his might, and one says, \u201cHe is strong!\u201d It is not true. He has
\nmuscles, but morally he is very weak. So, he may be strong here and weak there.
\nUsually this is what happen. <\/span><\/p>\n

But I say, and also people who have
\nobserved animals, for example, animals which are very strong: how quiet they
\nare. Naturally, when they run after their prey they put out all their energy;
\nbut it is not violence, it is energy. But if you have ever seen a lion \u2013 when
\nit has nothing to do, it does not fidget. If it is ill, it is restless. But if
\nit is well, in good health, if it has nothing to do, it will not move, it will
\nbe quite still. It will look like a sage. (Laughter)\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Agitation, violence, anger, all these things
\nare always, without exception, signs of weakness. And especially when one gets
\ncarried away in his speech and says things one should not say, [it this] indeed
\nis the sign of a frightful mental weakness \u2013 mental and vital \u2013 frightful.
\nOtherwise you may hear all the insults in the world, people may tell you all
\npossible stupidities; if you are not weak, you may perhaps not smile outwardly,
\nfor it is not always good taste to smile, but deep within you, you are
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 372<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

smiling, you let it pass, it does not
\ntouch you…\u00a0 <\/span>Simply, if your mind has
\nformed the habit of being quiet as it is recommended here, and you have the
\nperception of truth within yourself, you can hear anything at all. It does not
\neven produce the semblance of a vibrations \u2013 everything remain absolutely
\nimmobile and quiet. And then if the witness we were speaking about a while ago
\nis there, looking on at the comedy, he surely smiles. <\/span><\/p>\n

But if you feel the vibrations which come
\nfrom the other person who throws on you all his violence and anger, if you feel
\nthis… at first it does… and then, suddenly, there is a response; and then
\nif you yourself begin to get into a temper, you may be sure that you are as
\nweak as he. <\/span><\/p>\n

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

I think this is enough for today.<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nPage – 373<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

13 October 1954   This talk is based upon Sri Aurobindo’s Bases of Yoga, Chapter 1, \u201cCalm \u2013 Peace \u2013 Equality\u201d.   Sweet Mother, what…<\/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-4433","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\/4433","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=4433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4433\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}