{"id":4443,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:01","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4443"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:01","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:01","slug":"17-19-may-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\/17-19-may-vol-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","title":{"rendered":"-17_19 May.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n19
\nMay 1954 <\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

Elements of Yoga, Chapter 7, \u201cLove\u201d.
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There is a pure affection for the Divine and a pure love for the Divine.
\nWhat is the difference? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That depends upon the meaning you give to
\nyour words. It depends upon what you call affection. I don’t know, but
\ngenerally affection means something personal and external and a little
\nsuperficial; it depends altogether on the meaning you give to your words.
\nUsually, when someone says, \u201cOh! I have much affection for him\u201d, this means
\nthat one has good feelings, a sort of friendliness but it is nothing very deep;
\nbut one may also use the word in a deeper see. It is very difficult to
\ndistinguish between words unless one has already defined one’s whole vocabulary
\nquite precisely. It is at the moment of speaking, when one wants to say
\nsomething, if one puts a kind of intensity of thought, perception, knowledge
\ninto the words used, then it can carry that state \u2013 that soul-state \u2013 with the
\nwords. But if words are used altogether intellectually and, so to say,
\narbitrarily, before using them one should say, \u201cWhen I say this…\u201d and give a
\nlong explanation, a definition. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What does \u201cpsychic vision\u201d mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Vision?<\/span><\/span> You know what physical vision is, don’t
\nyou?\u00a0 <\/span>\u2013 physical<\/span>,
\ndo you know it? Well, the same thing happen<\/span> in the
\npsychic. That is to say, instead of seeing with physical organs, you see with
\npsychic organs. You have these eyes, here, don’t you? Well, there are eyes in
\nthe psychic which see psychically. It does not depend upon the quality of the
\nvision, it depends upon the state of being which sees, the organs which see. A
\npsychic sight
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 134<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

sees<\/span><\/span> what goes on in the psychic, either in
\nthe psychic state or the psychic domains or the psychic being. A mental sight
\nsees what goes on in the mind: it sees. It is a seeing like a physical sight,
\ntruly physical. <\/span><\/p>\n

With your physical eyes you cannot have a
\npsychic vision; only your psychic being can have psychic sight. You may have a
\nsufficiently close relation with your psychic being to remember what it has
\nseen, to be conscious of what it saw, but it is not your physical being which
\nsees, it is your psychic being. It is not your physical being seeing in a
\ndifferent way, it is your psychic which sees. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


\n             <\/span>Mother, here it is written: \u201cThe intensity of divine Love never creates
\na disturbance anywhere in the being.\u201d <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes.  <\/span><\/p>\n

But if someone has a weak body, doesn’t the intensity of divine Love
\ncreate a disturbance? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

In the body?<\/span><\/span> Why should divine Love create a
\ndisturbance in the body? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But if it cannot bear the intensity?<\/span><\/i><\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That is perhaps not divine Love, then; I
\ndon’t understand. Automatically one receives only what one can bear, when it is
\na question of divine Love. <\/span><\/p>\n

Divine Love is there always in all its
\nintensity, a formidable power. But most people \u2013 ninety-nine per cent \u2013 do not
\nfeel anything at all! What they feel of it is exclusively in proportion to what
\nthey are, to their capacity of receiving. Imagine, for instance, that you are
\nbathing in an atmosphere all vibrant with divine Love \u2013 you are not at all
\naware of it. Sometimes, very
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 135<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

rarely<\/span><\/span>, for a few seconds there is suddenly the
\nfeeling of \u201csomething\u201d. Then you say, \u201cOh, divine Love came to me!\u201d What a
\njoke! It is just that you were simply, for some reason or other, a wee bit
\nopen, so you felt it. But it is there, always, like the divine Consciousness.
\nIt is the same thing, it is there, all the time, in its full intensity; but one
\nis not even aware of it; or else in this way, spasmodically: suddenly one is in
\na good state, so one feels something and says, \u201cOh, the divine Consciousness,
\ndivine Love have turned to me, have come to me!\u201d It is not at all like that.
\nOne has just a tiny little opening, very tiny, at times like a pinhead, and
\nnaturally that force rushes in. For it is like an active atmosphere; as soon as
\nthere is a possibility of being received, it is received. But this is so for
\nall divine things. They are there, only one does not receive them, for one is
\nclosed up, blocked; one is busy with other things most of the time. Most of the
\ntime one is full of oneself. So, as one is full of oneself, there is no place
\nfor anything else. One is very actively laughing busy with other things. One is
\nfilled with things; there is no place for the Divine.<\/span><\/p>\n

But He is there. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is like all the wonders that are there
\naround you; you do not see them. Do you see them?…<\/span>
\nNo. Sometimes, one moment when you are just a tiny bit more receptive, or else
\nwhen in sleep you are less exclusively busy with your small affairs, you have a
\ngleam of something and see, feel something. But usually, as soon as you are
\nawake again, all this is obliterated \u2013 first, as you know, by the formidable
\nego which is all full of itself, and the whole universe moves in accordance
\nwith this ego: you are at the centre, and the universe turns round you. If you
\nlook at yourself attentively, you will see it is like that. Your vision of the
\nuniverse \u2013 that’s you at the centre and the universe all around. So there is no
\nplace for anything else. It is not the universe you see: it is yourself you see
\nin the universe.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, at first, to begin with, one must be
\nable to get out of the ego. Afterwards, it has to be, you understand, in a<\/span> certain
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 136<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

state<\/span><\/span> of inexistence. Then you begin to
\nperceive things as they are, from a little higher up. But if you want to know
\nthings as they really are, you must be absolutely<\/i>
\nlike a mirror: silent, peaceful, immobile, impartial, without preferences and
\nin a state of total receptivity. And if you are like that, you will begin to
\nsee that there are many things you are not aware of, but which are there, and
\nwhich will start becoming active in you. <\/span><\/p>\n

Then you will be able to be in these
\nthings instead of being exclusively enclosed within the little point you are in
\nthe universe. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are all kinds of ways of getting out
\nof yourself<\/span>. But it is indispensable if you want to
\nbegin to know things as they are and not in terms of yourself. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What attitude should one take to get out of the ego? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Attitude? It is rather a will, isn’t it?
\nYou must will it… What should one do, are you asking that? <\/span><\/p>\n

The surest means is to give oneself to the
\nDivine; not to try to draw the Divine to oneself but try to give oneself to the
\nDivine. Then you are compelled at least to come out a little from yourself to
\nbegin with. Usually, you know, when people think of the Divine, the first thing
\nthey do is to \u201cpull\u201d as much as they can into themselves. And then, generally,
\nthey receive nothing at all. They tell you, \u201cAh! I called, I prayed and I did
\nnot have the answer. I had no answer, nothing came.\u201d But then, if you ask, \u201cDid
\nyou offer yourself?\u201d \u2013 \u201cNo, I pulled.\u201d \u2013 \u201cAh, yes, that is why it did not
\ncome!\u201d It is not that it did not come, it is that when you pull you remain so
\nshut up in your ego, as I told you just now, that it raises a wall between what
\nis to be received and yourself. You put yourself in prison and then you are
\nastonished that in your prison you feel nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prison, and still
\nmore, with no windows on the street.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Throw yourself out (Mother opens her hands<\/i>), give yourself without holding back
\nanything, simply for the joy of giving
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 137<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

yourself<\/span><\/span>. Then there’s a chance that you may feel
\nsomething.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But if one tries to feel…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If one tries to feel? Is this not still an
\negoism, this trying to feel?…<\/span> If one wants to get
\nout of the ego while still remaining egoistic, it is very difficult, isn’t it?
\nThe two are pretty contradictory. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTry to feel\u201d \u2013 why? for<\/span>
\nyour own satisfaction? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If one tries to feel that one does not exist, that it is the Divine who
\nexists, is that a way of getting out of the ego? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

One does not exist? This \u2013 I don’t know if
\none can succeed in anything by trying mentally, because this is a kind of
\nmental effort. So one makes mental constructions and does not achieve anything
\nvery much. No, what is necessary is something spontaneous, intense, a flame
\nburning in the being, a flame<\/i> of
\naspiration, something… I don’t know how to put it. <\/span><\/p>\n

If the thing goes on in the head, nothing,
\nnothing happen. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The effort one can make can be only mental. What can one do to make it
\nspontaneous? <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Eh?  <\/span><\/p>\n

The effort one…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, I heard you quite well. But why do
\nyou assert that all effort one makes can be only mental? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But what can be done to make it spontaneous? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I believe there is a vast difference
\nbetween an effort<\/span> for trans- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 138<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

formations<\/span><\/span> which, precisely, comes from the psychic
\ncentre of the being and a kind of mental constructions to obtain something. <\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t know, it is very difficult to make
\noneself understood, but so long as the thing goes on in the head in this way (Mother turns a finger near her forehead<\/i>),
\nit has no power. It has a very little force that is extremely limited. And all
\nthe time it belies itself. One thinks that with great difficulty one collects a
\nwill, artificial enough, besides, and one tries to catch something, and the
\nvery next minute it has all vanished. And one doesn’t even realise it; one asks
\noneself, \u201cHow does it happen to turn out like that?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t know, indeed it seems to me very
\ndifficult to do yoga with the head \u2013 unless one is gripped. <\/span><\/p>\n

The will is not in the head.<\/span><\/p>\n

The will \u2013 what I call the will \u2013 is
\nsomething that’s here (Mother points to
\nthe centre of the chest<\/i>), which has a power of action, a power of
\nrealisation. <\/span><\/p>\n

What one does exclusively in the head is
\nsubject to countless fluctuations; it is not possible to construct a theory,
\nfor instance, without there intervening immediately things, which give all the
\nopposite arguments. And so, there’s the great skill of the mind, you know: it
\ncan prove no matter what, argue about anything at all. Consequently one does
\nnot go a step farther. Even if momentarily one catches an idea that has a
\ncertain force, unless one can keep that state of intensity, as soon as there is
\na relaxation all the contrary things come along, and all, as you know, with the
\ncharm of their expression. So it is a ceaseless battle. <\/span><\/p>\n

It has no solution. <\/span><\/p>\n

You ask how it can be spontaneous? Even in
\nthe body, for instance, when there is something like an attack, an accident, an
\nillness trying to come in \u2013 something \u2013 an attack on the body, a body that is
\nleft to its natural spontaneity has an urge, an aspiration, a spontaneous will
\nto call for help. But as soon as the affair goes to the head, it takes the form
\nof things to which one
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 139<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

is<\/span><\/span> accustomed: everything is spoilt. But if
\nthe body is seen in itself, just as it is, there is something which suddenly
\nwakes up and calls for help, and with such a faith, such an intensity, just as
\nthe tiny little baby calls its mamma, you know \u2013 or whoever is there, it says
\nnothing if it cannot speak. But the body left to itself without this kind of
\nconstant action of the mind upon it…\u00a0 <\/span>well,
\nit has this: as soon as there is some disturbance, immediately it has an
\naspiration, a call, an effort to seek help, and this is very powerful. If
\nnothing intervenes, it is very powerful. It is as though the cells themselves
\nsprang up in an aspiration, a call. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the body there are invaluable and
\nunknown treasures. In all its cells, there is an intensity of life, of
\naspiration, of the will to progress, which one does not usually even realise.
\nThe body-consciousness would have to be completely warped by the action of the
\nmind and vital for it not to have an immediate will to re-establish the
\nequilibrium. When this will is not there, it means that the entire
\nbody-consciousness has been spoilt by the intervention of the mind and vital.
\nIn people who cherish their malady more or less subconsciously with a sort of
\nmorbidity under the pretext that it makes them interesting, it is not their
\nbody at all \u2013 poor body! \u2013 it<\/span> is something they have
\nimposed upon it with a mental or vital perversion. The body, if left to itself<\/span>, is remarkable, for, not only does it aspire for
\nequilibrium and well-being but it is capable of restoring the balance. If one
\nleaves one’s body alone without intervening with all those thoughts, all the
\nvital reactions, all the depressions, and also all the so-called knowledge and
\nmental constructions and fears \u2013 if one leaves the body to itself,
\nspontaneously it will do what is necessary to set itself right again. <\/span><\/p>\n

The body in its natural state likes<\/span> equilibrium, likes harmony; it is the other parts of
\nthe being which spoil everything. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, how can one prevent the mind from intervening? <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 140<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Ah! First you must will it, and then you
\nmust say, as to people who make a lot of noise, \u201cKeep quiet, be quiet, be
\nquiet!\u201d; you must do this when the mind comes along with all its suggestions and
\nall its movements. You must tranquillise it, pacify it, make it silent. The
\nfirst thing is not to listen to it. Most of the time, as soon as all these
\ncome, all these thoughts, one looks, seeks to understand, one listens; then<\/span> naturally that imbecile believes that you are very much
\ninterested: it increases its activity. You must not listen, must not pay
\nattention. If it makes too much noise, you must tell it: \u201cBe still! Now then,
\nsilence, keep quiet!\u201d without making a lot of noise yourself, you understand?
\nYou must not imitate those people who begin shouting: \u201cKeep quiet\u201d, and make
\nsuch a noise themselves that they are even noisier than the others! <\/span><\/p>\n

(Here
\nthe tape-recorder stops at the end of the band. To the disciple:<\/span><\/i>)
\nDon’t put in another, it is finished. Fate! <\/span><\/p>\n

Voil\u00e0, au revoir, good night! <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

\nPage – 141<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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