{"id":4446,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:02","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4446"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:02","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:02","slug":"29-11-august-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\/29-11-august-vol-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","title":{"rendered":"-29_11 August.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n


\n11 August 1954<\/font><\/span><\/b>
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This talk is based upon Chapter 6 of The Mother by Sri
\nAurobindo. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

At the very beginning is written: \u201cThe four Powers of the Mother.\u201d Which
\nare these four powers, Sweet Mother?   <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n\t\t
\n\t\t <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span>                The aspects, aren’t they, Mother? <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

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

Yes. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What does this mean: \u201cThe Supreme is…\u00a0
\n<\/span>manifested through her in the worlds as the one and dual consciousness
\nof Ishwara-Shakti and the dual principle of Purusha-Prakriti…. \u201c?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What does this mean? It means what it
\nsays. (Laughter) It means that in the world the single force of the creating
\nenergy is divided in all the manifestation, even the most contrary
\nmanifestation, you see. It is this single force which, in the creation, is
\ndivided into Purusha and Prakriti and, also, energy and resistance. That’s what
\nit means; at the origin the force is single and in the manifestation it is
\ndivided, and it is divided in all the contraries, which are at the same time
\ncomplementaries. Because, for creation, this division was necessary, otherwise
\nthere would have been only one single thing all the time. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What does \u201cVibhuti\u201d mean? <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 273<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

It means the incarnation of an emanation.
\nAn emanation of the Mother incarnates in a being and this being becomes a
\nVibhuti. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, here I do not understand this: \u201cBut something of her ways
\ncan be seen and felt through her embodiments and the more seizable because more
\ndefined and limited temperament and action of the goddess forms in whom she
\nconsents to be manifest to her creatures.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This means, you see, that precisely there
\nare different qualities, different ways of being which manifest in different
\nforms and that each of these forms is one of the godheads whom men have
\nworshipped and whom they understand because of the limitation. When something
\nis limited it is more easily understandable for man than when it is unlimited,
\nfor man has a limited nature and he naturally understands what is limited. And
\nso, to be comprehensible, things must be divided and limited. Otherwise the
\nPower in its essence, which is indivisible and unlimited, is absolutely above
\nhuman comprehension \u2013 for man as he now is, in his present state. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What is \u201cthe triple world of the Ignorance\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe triple world…\u201d? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c…of the Ignorance\u201d. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The Ignorance? <\/span><\/p>\n

Matter, life and mind; that is, the
\nphysical, the vital and the mental, the triple world of the Ignorance. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What do Mahasaraswati and Mahalakshmi look like? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What?
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 274<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

What do they look like? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

My child, you must see them.\u00b9 When you see
\nthem you will know…\u00a0 <\/span>The aspect is
\ndifferent in each case, according to the people to whom she shows herself,
\naccording to the work she does…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>not
\nthe one seen in this body. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Are the images we see of Mahasaraswati true? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, Lord! (Laughter) When a very small
\nchild tries to make someone’s portrait, does it resemble that person? It is
\nvery much like this, sometimes worse! Because the child is frank and sincere,
\nwhereas the one who makes the images of the gods is full of fixed notion and
\npreconceived ideas, or else of all that others have said about the subject and
\nof what has been written in the scriptures and what has been seen by people.
\nAnd so he is bound by all that. At times,
\nfrom time to time,<\/i> there are artists who have an inner vision, a great
\naspiration, a great purity of soul and of vision, who have made things which
\nare reasonably good. But this is extremely rare. And generally, I believe it is
\nalmost the opposite. <\/span><\/p>\n

I have seen some of these forms in the
\nvital and mental worlds, which were truly human creation. There is a force from
\nbeyond which manifests. But in these triple worlds of falsehood, truly man has
\ncreated God in his own image \u2013 more or less \u2013 and there are beings which
\nmanifest in forms which are the result of the formative thought of man. And
\nhere, you see, it is truly frightful! I have seen some of these formations…
\n(Silence) and all this is so obscure, so incomprehensible, inexpressive…\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the gods are more ill-treated than
\nothers. For example, that poor Mahakali, you know, what things are done to
\nher!… It is so frightful<\/i>, it is
\nunimaginable! But this form lives <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00b9 <\/font> <\/span>Mother having spoken very softly here,
\nsome words of this passage have not been clearly recorded. We have left the
\nsentences unfinished, as they were transcribed.<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 275<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

only in a very low world… yes, in the
\nlowest vital; and what it possesses of the original being is something… a
\nreflection so remote from the origin that it is unrecognisable. However, usually,
\nit is this that is attracted by human consciousness. And when an idol is made,
\nyou see, and the priest brings down a form \u2013 when the ceremony takes place in a
\nregular manner, he puts himself in an inner state of invocation and tries to
\nbring down a form or an emanation of the godhead into the idol in order to give
\nit a power \u2013 if the priest is truly a man with a power of invocation, he can
\nsucceed. But usually \u2013 there are exceptions to everything \u2013 but usually these
\npeople have been educated in the common ideas according to tradition. And so,
\nwhen they think of the godhead whom they are invoking, they think of all the
\nattributes and appearances that have been given to it, and the invocation is
\nusually addressed to entities of the vital world or at best to those of the
\nmental world, but not to the Being itself. And it is these small entities which
\nmanifest in one idol or another. All these idols in small temples or even in
\nfamilies \u2013 some people have their little shrines, you know, in their homes and keep
\nan image of the godhead they worship \u2013 these entities manifest in them;
\nsometimes the consequences are rather unfortunate, for these forms are
\nprecisely so remote from the original godhead that… they are awkward
\nformations. Some of those Kalis they worship in certain families are veritable
\nmonsters!<\/span><\/p>\n

I can tell you, believe me, that I have
\nadvised some people to take the statue and throw it in the <\/span>Ganges<\/span> in order to get rid of a thoroughly
\ndisastrous influence. In fact, this has succeeded very well… Some of these
\nare… unlucky presences. But this is man’s own fault. It is not the fault of
\nthe godheads. It would be wrong to put the blame on the godheads. It is man’s
\nfault. He wants to fashion the gods in his own image. Some who are wicked make
\nthem still more autocratic; and those who are nice make them still more nice;
\nthat is, men have magnified their own defects a little more.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 276<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

How can human thought create forms?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

In the mental world human thought is
\nconstantly creating forms. Human thought is very creative in the mental world.
\nAll the time when you are thinking, you are creating forms and you send them
\nout in the atmosphere and they go and do their work. Constantly you are
\nsurrounded by a heap of small formations. <\/span><\/p>\n

Naturally, there are people who can’t even
\nthink clearly. So they form nothing at all except faint eddies. But people who
\nthink clearly are surrounded by a heap of little forms which, sometimes, go out
\nto do some work in others; and when one thinks of them again, they return. <\/span><\/p>\n

And we have instances of people who are
\ntroubled by their own formations, which return constantly as though to take
\npossession of them, and which they can’t get rid of because they don’t know how
\nto undo the formations they have made. There are more cases of this kind than
\none would think. When they have made a particularly strong formation \u2013 for
\nthemselves, you see, relatively \u2013 this formation is always tied up with the one
\nwho makes it and return to knock at the brain to receive forces and ends up by
\ntruly acting as a necessity. It is a whole world to know; one truly lives in
\nignorance, one has powers one doesn’t know about, so naturally one uses them
\nvery badly. One uses them somewhat unconsciously and very badly. <\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t know if you have ever heard of
\nMadame David-Neel who went to Tibet and has written books on Tibet, and who was
\na Buddhist; and Buddhists \u2013 Buddhists of the strictest tradition \u2013 do not
\nbelieve in the Divine, do not believe in his Eternity and do not believe in
\ngods who are truly divine, but they know admirably how to use the mental
\ndomain; and Buddhist discipline makes you a good master of the mental
\ninstrument and mental domain. <\/span><\/p>\n

We used to discuss many things and once
\nshe told me: \u201cListen, I made an experiment.\u201d (She had studied a bit of
\ntheosophy also.) She said: \u201cI formed a mahatma<\/i>;
\nwith my thought
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 277<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

I formed a\u00a0
\n<\/span>mahatma\u201d And she knew (this has been proved) that at a given moment
\nmental formations acquire a personal life independent of the fashioner \u2013 though
\nthey are linked with him \u2013 but independent, in the see that they can have their
\nown will. And so she told me: \u201cJust imagine, I had made my mahatma so well that
\nhe became a personality independent of me and constantly came to trouble me! He
\nused to come, scold me for one thing, give me advice for another, and he wanted
\nto direct my life; and I could not succeed in getting rid of him. It was
\nextremely difficult, and I didn’t know what to do!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

So I asked her how she had tried. She told
\nme how. She said, \u201cHe troubles me a lot, my mahatma<\/i>
\nis very troublesome. He does not leave me in peace. He disturbs my meditation,
\nhe hinders me from working; and yet I know quite well that it is I who created
\nhim, and I can’t get rid of him!\u201d Then I said, \u201cThat’s because you don’t have
\nthe `trick’….\u201d (Mother laughs)\u00a0 <\/span>And I
\nexplained to her what she should do. And the next day \u2013 I used to see her
\nalmost every day in those days, you see \u2013 the next day she came and told me,
\n\u201cAh, I am freed from my mahatma<\/i>!\u201d
\n(Laughter)\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She had not cut the connection
\nbecause that’s of no use. One must know how to reabsorb one’s creation, that is
\nthe only way. To swallow up again one’s formations. <\/span><\/p>\n

But, you see, in a smaller measure and
\nless perfectly one is making formations all the time. When, for instance, one
\nthinks of somebody quite powerfully, there is a small emanation of mental
\nsubstance which, instantaneously, goes to this person, you understand, a
\nvibration of your thought which goes and touches his; and if he is receptive,
\nhe sees you. He sees you and tells you, \u201cYou came last night to see me!\u201d That’s
\nbecause you made a small formation and this formation went and did its work,
\nwhich was to put you into contact with this person or else to carry a message
\nif you had something special to tell him; and that was done. This happen
\nconstantly, but as it is quite a constant and spontaneous phenomenon and done
\nin ignorance, one is not even aware that one does this, one does it
\nautomatically.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 278<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

People who have desires add to the mental formation
\na kind of small envelope, a vital shell which gives it a still greater reality.
\nThese people are usually surrounded by a number of tiny entities which are
\ntheir own formations, their own mental formations clothed with vital force,
\nwhich come all the time to strike them to try to make them realise materially
\nthe formations they have made. <\/span><\/p>\n

You have perhaps read the books of Maurice
\nMagre; there are some in the library. He describes this; he had come here,
\nMaurice Magre, and we spoke and he told me that he had always noticed \u2013 he was
\nhighly sensitive \u2013 he had always noticed that people who have sexual desires
\nare surrounded by a kind of small swarm of entities who are somewhat viscous
\nand rather ugly and which torment them constantly, awakening desire in them. He
\nsaid he had seen this around certain people. It was like being surrounded by a
\nswarm of mosquitoes, yes! But it is more gross, and much uglier still, and it
\nis viscous, it is horrible, and it turns round and round the person and gives
\nhim no peace, and it awake in him the desire that has formed these entities and
\nthey batten on it. It is their food. This is absolutely true. His observation
\nwas quite correct. His vision was very true. It is like that. <\/span><\/p>\n

But everyone carries around himself the atmosphere
\nof his own desires. So you don’t at all require that people should tell you
\nanything; you have only to look and you see around them exactly the state they
\nare in. They may want to give themselves the airs of angels or saints but they
\ncan’t deceive you, because that thing is there, turning around them. So, just
\nimagine! (Mother points to all those
\nseated in front of her<\/i>). You see what you are like, how many of you there,
\nall of you here, and each one has his own little world in this way, of mental formations
\nof which some are clothed in vital substance, and all these crawl together, mix
\nwith each other, knock against each other. There is a struggle to see which is
\nthe strongest, which tries to realise itself, and all this creates an
\natmosphere indeed!…\u00a0 <\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 279<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

When we come before you what do these things do? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When you come to me, it is all this I see.
\nIt is exactly this I see, and that is why your coming is useful. Because, to
\ngive you a flower is of course very well, but that’s not anything much…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>there are things more important than that.
\nBut every time I see you, in a second \u2013 a flash is enough, a second \u2013 each one
\nwho comes appears with all his formations, and then I do just… I do just
\nthis… (gesture) The flower is an excuse, through the flower I give something.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

And then, when sometimes, you know, I seem
\nto go deep within, my eyes close, and then very slowly either I give something
\nor I don’t move for a moment \u2013 that’s when the work to be done is imminent.
\nSometimes it is necessary to intervene for one reason or another, to help or to
\ndemolish something, or to push you towards some progress which is beginning, or
\nother things like that…\u00a0 <\/span>So I just
\ncatch hold of your hand sometimes, you see: \u201cDon’t move!\u201d So the person thinks:
\n\u201cMother has gone into a trance.\u201d I feel quite amused… (Laughter) I am busy
\nworking, putting things in order; sometimes I am obliged to perform a surgical
\noperation, I take away certain things which are there and should not be there.
\nA second is enough, you see, I don’t need any time for this; sometimes the work
\ntakes a little longer, a few more seconds, a minute… Otherwise, usually \u2013 in
\na general way \u2013 when things are as we would say \u201cnormal\u201d, it is enough just to
\nsee, you understand, and… the response? I give the flower…even without the
\nflower, like this… simply I put just the little flash or sometimes the little
\nred-hot iron, or a light, anything, and just at the right moment and the right
\nplace where it is needed…\u00a0 <\/span>and \u201cAu revoir<\/i>\u201d! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, aren’t these entities afraid of you? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah, my child, terribly afraid! (Laughter)
\nAll those which are ill-willed try to hide, and usually do you know what they
\ndo?
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 280<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

They gather together behind the head of
\nthe one who comes (Laughter)\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>in order
\nnot to be seen. But this is useless, because, just think, I have the capacity
\nto see through. (Laughter)\u00a0 <\/span>Otherwise \u2013
\nthey always do this, instinctively. When they can manage to get in, they try to
\nget in. But then… I intervene with greater force, because that is nasty.
\nThese are people who have the instinct to hide, you see. So I pursue them,
\nthere inside. With others very little is needed, very little; but there are
\nsome \u2013 there are such people, you know, they themselves have told me \u2013 when
\nthey are about to come to me, it is as though there were something which pulled
\nthem back, which told them: \u201cNo, no, no, it’s not worthwhile, why go there?
\nThere are so many people for Mother to see, why add one more?\u201d And they draw
\nback, like that, so that they don’t come. So I always tell them what it is: \u201cIt
\nwould be better not to listen to that, for it’s not something with a very good
\nconscience.\u201d Some people cannot bear it. There have been instances like this,
\nof people who were obliged to run away, because they themselves were too
\nattached to their own formations and did not want to get rid of them. Naturally
\nthere is only one way, to run away! <\/span><\/p>\n

There we are! <\/span><\/p>\n

We shall stop now for today.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 281<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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