{"id":4436,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:58","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4436"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:58","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:58","slug":"21-16-june-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\/21-16-june-vol-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","title":{"rendered":"-21_16 June.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n16
\nJune 1954 <\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This talk is based upon Sri Aurobindo’s
\n<\/font> Elements<\/font><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

of Yoga<\/font><\/span><\/i>, Chapter
\n12,\u201dDifficulties and Progress\u201d. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cQ: Do our thoughts (good and bad) about others affect them in any way? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cA: Yes, there is an influence. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cQ: Is it possible that the desires, doubts, etc. of one
\nperson can pass on to another? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cA: Anything can pass from one to another. It is
\nhappening all the time throughout the world.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Who has a questions?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, why doesn’t one receive the Divine as one receives other
\nthings? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What do you understand by \u201cother things\u201d? <\/span><\/p>\n

The questions has not been put very well.
\nDo you mean…\u00a0 <\/span>Here what is spoken about
\nare the influences which pass from one person to another \u2013 is that what you
\nmean? Why doesn’t one receive the Divine as easily as, say, one receives a
\nneighbour’s ill will? Is that it? <\/span><\/p>\n

Because it is not on the same plane. The
\nneighbour’s ill will or goodwill are on the same plane, whereas the Divine
\nbelongs to another world. That’s the reason why. If you want an image: all that
\nis on a horizontal plane in relation to you is very easily received, but all
\nthat comes from a vertical direction is much more difficult. First one must
\nlook up above, within oneself, and then open oneself so that it descends; while
\nin the other way…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>one moves like that
\nall the time. Don’t understand? <\/span><\/p>\n

And unfortunately, it is much easier to
\nslide down, to fall than to climb up. It is much easier to respond to an
\ninfluence
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 168<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

which drags you down than to a force that
\npulls you up. Is it not more easy to go down than to climb up? If you are at a
\ncertain place and have to climb a rock, it is much more difficult than if you
\nlet yourself slide in order to go down below. Isn’t that so? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, when one realises the Divine, does one no longer have
\nenemies? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah, indeed! Why? I believe it is rather
\njust the opposite. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Is it because there are adverse forces? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, surely. The earth is full of adverse
\nforces and of men who respond to these adverse forces; usually, the more one realises
\nthe Divine, the more enemies does he have around himself. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Do they act against the Divine? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, yes! At least they try. I don’t know
\nif they succeed, but they try. They try, they have always tried. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Why? The Divine hasn’t done anyone any harm! <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(Laughing) You think one acts against
\nothers only when they have done some harm? Usually it is just the contrary. Can
\nyou tell me why the strong use their strength against the weak? It is not that
\nthe weak have harmed them, but simply because they have the strength and wish
\nto use it for their own ends and want to compel the weak to obey their force,
\nso they beat them; when they have a chance, they ill-treat them. It is not
\nbecause the weak have made mistakes; it is because they want to use their
\nstrength for their own purposes, for the satisfaction of their desires. <\/span><\/p>\n

Suppose, for instance, that there are
\nforces in the universe
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 169<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

which are accustomed to govern, as there
\nare certain asuric forces governing the earth. They do not want to lose their
\nauthority. So all who put out a force which could compel them to withdraw, they
\nattack with as much strength as they have. They do this to keep their power.
\nBut it is not because these people… in fact, you understand, it is not that
\nthey are wicked or bad. It is because the light and power they represent are
\ncompletely opposed to the power represented by the other forces. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, it is said that something of the Divine is there even in the
\nAsuras. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Naturally! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then, when the Divine fights the Asura, what does the Divine in the
\nAsura do? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

He goes back into the Divine. But you know
\nthe story? He is re-absorbed by the Divine, as in the Ramayana; that story is
\nquite true in this see. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If the Divine were to withdraw from the Asura, the Asura would dissolve,
\nwouldn’t he? \u2013 the Divine who is in the Asura? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I know people who have rejected their
\npsychic being and who still continue to live; and yet, logically it would seem
\nthat a human being without a psychic being would die, still they continue to
\nlive. And perhaps it would be necessary in order finally to dissolve these
\nasuric forces in the world \u2013 perhaps it would be necessary for the Divine to
\nwithdraw his whole creation into himself, because these are at the very origin
\nof the creation. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then the transformations cannot come about unless the Divine withdraws
\ninto the Divine? <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 170<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

That, why, that is Pralaya! It is not
\ntransformations; it is the dissolution of the earth. It is said that there were
\nsix creations, that is, six exteriorisations of the universe, and that six
\ntimes the universe went back \u2013 it is recounted in the scriptures, you know \u2013
\nwent back into the Divine. But it is said that this is the end. It is evidently
\none ending, but it is not the completion. It is because the creation lacked
\nsomething and it was necessary to withdraw it and remake it. And it is said
\nthat our present creation is the seventh, and being the seventh it is the real
\none, that is, it is the final one, and it will not be withdrawn again, that it
\nwill continue to be transformed and become more and more perfect, so as not to
\nhave to be withdrawn. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How far is what is said true? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

We shall see! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But the last six times, is that what happened? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The first six, yes, it is true. Even the
\norder is given, the order in which…\u00a0
\n<\/span>Because each creation is built on certain attributes, and the order of
\nthese attributes is given. I know them, I have written them somewhere. But I
\ndon’t have it with me. So I can’t give it to you, I would make a mistake. But
\none day I could bring you the paper on which it is written. All that I know is
\nthat this time it is the creation based on equilibrium. But a special
\nequilibrium, for it is a progressive equilibrium. It is not a static
\nequilibrium. The attribute of the present creation is equilibrium; that is why
\nit is said that in this creation, if each thing is exactly in its place, in a
\nperfect balance, well, there is no more evil. What is evil? \u2013 it is things not
\nin equilibrium! There is nothing that is bad in itself, it is only the position
\nwhich is wrong, which is not the true position. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then what is the position of the Asuras? <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 171<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

To be taken back into the Divine. There
\nwere four great Asuras. Out of the four, two are converted. They are taking
\npart in the divine work. The other two are holding out well. How long will they
\nhold out? We shall see. So, they have the choice between being converted, that
\nis, taking their place, poised, in the whole totality or else being dissolved,
\nthat is, being re-absorbed by their origin. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is one of them who has almost
\nattempted conversion and not succeeded. When it had to be done, it seemed to
\nhim quite unpleasant. So he has put it off till another time. <\/span><\/p>\n

As for the other, he refuses to try. He
\nhas taken up a very, very important position in the world, because people who
\ndon’t know things call him \u201cLord of the Nations\u201d. In fact, I was speaking a
\nwhile ago about the forces which govern the world and don’t want to give up
\ntheir rule at all. They are perfectly satisfied with it \u2013 it is not that he
\ndoes not know that his end will come one day, but still he always postpones it
\nas long as he can. <\/span><\/p>\n

But as they do not have human dimensions,
\nit can go on for quite a long time, can’t it? As long as they find somewhere
\nupon earth a human consciousness ready to respond to their influence, they will
\nremain. So you can imagine the problem! Now it is not through individuals, it
\nis through nations that they exert their influence. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Which are the two forces that are already converted? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Do you know the four Asuras? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

No. I don’t know them. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Do you know what the origin of these four
\nAsuras is? (To another child<\/i>) Who
\nknows this?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You had once told us in class. <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 172<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Yes, surely; that’s just why I am asking
\nyou about it, to find out if you remember the things I tell you! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You said there were four divine forces: Love, Light, Truth and the
\nopposite of Death. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

And what? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(Another child, laughing) Life<\/i>! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then these four forces separated from the Divine and changed into
\nfalsehood…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, it is something like that! It is
\nsomething like that! <\/span><\/p>\n

Light or Consciousness, Ananda or Love,
\nLife and Truth. <\/span><\/p>\n

Then Light or Consciousness became
\nDarkness and Inconscience. Love and Ananda became Hatred and Suffering, and
\nTruth became Falsehood, and Life became Death. Well, it is the first
\ntwo…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>but not exactly in the same
\nconditions. The first is converted and works, but he has refused to take a
\nhuman body, he says it is a limitation in his work; perhaps one day he will
\ntake one, but for the time being he refuses. The second is converted and has of
\nhis own will been dissolved. He has dissolved into his origin. And the last two
\nare holding out well. <\/span><\/p>\n

The one of Death tried to incarnate. But
\nhe could not get converted. He tried to incarnate, which is something very
\nrare. But it was a partial, not a total incarnation. That is difficult for
\nthem, a total incarnation. Human bodies are quite small, human consciousnesses
\nare too small. <\/span><\/p>\n

As for the other, he has emanations which
\nare very active in certain human bodies and have played a big role in the
\nrecent history of the earth!
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 173<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Don’t the Asuras quarrel among themselves? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Oh yes, oh yes! Just like men who are under
\nasuric influences. They are the worst enemies among themselves. We must say it
\nis a blessing, for if they had an understanding, things would be much more
\ndifficult. Perhaps it is so just because it is a law of equilibrium that
\ngoverns the world. It is in order to lessen the strength of their influence.
\nBut still…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That Lord of Falsehood has truly a lot of
\ninfluence. This is what catches you with a contagion as strong as that of
\ncontagious diseases. Stronger still! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, did not Falsehood try to incarnate? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

He sent emanations upon earth but I don’t
\nthink that was with the purpose of conversion. Anyway, he did not succeed in
\nit. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But why is man a centre of attraction for the adverse forces? He is so
\nlimited! <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes. Also they do not usually work upon
\none man. But they try to get hold of the earth-atmosphere, you understand, and
\nwithout getting hold of men, they can’t get hold of the earth-atmosphere,
\nbecause it is in man that the highest terrestrial force manifests. As for
\ntaking a human body for conversion, that indeed is quite… the answer is quite
\nsimple. It is because in man there is a psychic being and there is no Asura who
\ncan eternally resist the influence of the psychic being, even were he to refuse
\nas much as he could to surrender and bind himself closely. That’s exactly the
\ncontradiction of their existence. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, Sri Aurobindo has said that one can pass from human love
\nto divine Love. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

He was speaking of human love manifesting as
\nBhakti, as a force
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 174<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

of devotion for the Divine, and he says
\nthat at the beginning your love for the Divine is a very human love with all
\nthe characteristics of human love. He describes this very well, besides. Yet if
\nyou persist and make the necessary effort, it is not impossible for this human
\nlove to be transformed into divine love through identification with what you
\nlove. He has not said that the love between two persons can change into divine
\nlove. It is not that at all! He has always said the opposite. He spoke about
\nsomeone who had asked him about devotion, you know, about the sadhak’s love for
\nthe Divine. At the beginning your love is altogether human \u2013 and he speaks of
\nit even as commercial barter. If you make progress, your love will change into
\ndivine love, into true devotion. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Why do we sometimes have a special preference for a certain chapter, for
\ninstance, the one on sincerity or aspiration? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You mean the desire to read it? Because
\none probably needs what is in it! If you have an attraction for something,
\nusually it is that you need to read it, and it is exactly the thing you need to
\nunderstand which comes to you. You can use this even with an altogether
\nmaterial method which I have often given you. See, you concentrate \u2013 if you
\nhave a difficulty or want to be helped, you concentrate and then insert a
\nmarker in a book and you alight upon the thing which is the answer to what you
\nhave asked. That is the most material means; but if the mind is well disposed,
\nthen, quite naturally, when it reads the titles, it will say, \u201cOh, this is what
\nI want to read\u201d, without even knowing what is within, because it will feel that
\nthis is what has to be read to answer its questions or its need. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some people have this power even without
\nhaving tried to make any progress, and somebody will always come along to give
\nthem a book and tell them, without even knowing why, \u201cHere, read this book, it
\nwill interest you\u201d; or else they will
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 175<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

enter a house and see a book lying on the
\ntable \u2013 it is just the one thing they will want to read. It depends a great
\ndeal on the intensity of the inner aspiration. If you are in a state of
\nconscious aspiration and very sincere, well, everything around you will be
\narranged in order to help in your aspiration, whether directly or indirectly,
\nthat is, either to make you progress, put you in touch with something new or to
\neliminate from your nature something that has to disappear. This is something
\nquite remarkable. If you are truly in a state of intensity of aspiration, there
\nis not a circumstance which does not come to help you to realise this
\naspiration. Everything comes, everything, as though there were a perfect and
\nabsolute consciousness organising around you all things, and you yourself in
\nyour outer ignorance may not recognise it and may protest at first against the
\ncircumstances as they show themselves, may complain, may try to change them;
\nbut after a while, when you have become wiser, and there is a certain distance
\nbetween you and the event, well, you will realise that it was just what you needed
\nto do to make the necessary progress. And, you know, it is a will, a supreme
\ngoodwill which arranges all things around you, and even when you complain and
\nprotest instead of accepting, it is exactly at such moments that it acts most
\neffectively. <\/span><\/p>\n

I have written a short sentence1<\/sup>
\nwhich will appear in the Bulletin<\/i>,
\nthe next Bulletin<\/i>. It goes something
\nlike this (I don’t remember the words exactly now1<\/sup>): If you say to
\nthe Divine with conviction, \u201cI want only You\u201d, the Divine will arrange all the
\ncircumstances in such a way as to compel you to be sincere. Something in the
\nbeing… \u201cI want only You.\u201d… the aspiration… and then one wants a hundred
\nodd things all the time, isn’t that so? At times something comes, just…
\nusually to disturb everything \u2013 it stands in the way and prevents you from
\nrealising your aspiration. Well, the Divine will come without showing Himself,
\nwithout your seeing Him, without your having any ink-<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

1 <\/font> <\/span><\/sup>\u201cIf earnestly you say to the Divine, I
\nwant only Thee’, the Divine will arrange the circumstances in such a way that
\nyou are compelled to be sincere.\u201d<\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 176<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

ling of it, and He will arrange all the
\ncircumstances in such a way that everything that prevents you from belonging
\nsolely to the Divine will be removed from your path, inevitably. Then when all
\nis removed, you begin to howl and complain; but later, if you are sincere and
\nlook at yourself straight in the eye…\u00a0
\n<\/span>you have said to the Lord, you have said, \u201cI want only You.\u201d He will
\nremain close to you, all the rest will go away. This is indeed a higher Grace.
\nOnly, you must say this with conviction. I don’t even mean that you must say it
\nintegrally, because if one says it integrally, the work is done. What is
\nnecessary is that one part of the being, indeed the central will, says it with
\nconviction: \u201cI want only You.\u201d Even once, and it suffices: all that takes more
\nor less long, sometimes it stretches over years, but one reaches the goal. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But one has all kinds of imperfections! <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Eh? The more the imperfections, the longer
\nit takes; the more the attachments one has, the longer it takes. <\/span><\/p>\n

BUT THE GOAL IS
\nSURE! <\/font><\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

\nPage – 177<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

16 June 1954   This talk is based upon Sri Aurobindo’s Elements of Yoga, Chapter 12,\u201dDifficulties and Progress\u201d.   \u201cQ: Do our thoughts (good and…<\/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-4436","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\/4436","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=4436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4436\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}