{"id":4450,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:04","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4450"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:04","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:04","slug":"27-28-july-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\/27-28-july-vol-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","title":{"rendered":"-27_28 July.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n


\n28 July 1954<\/font><\/span><\/b>
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This talk is based upon Chapter 4 of The Mother by Sri
\nAurobindo. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMoney is the visible sign of a universal force, and this force in its manifestation
\non earth works on the vital and physical planes and is indispensable to the
\nfullness of the outer life. In its origin and its true action it belongs to the
\nDivine. But like other powers of the Divine it is delegated here and in the
\nignorance of the lower Nature can be usurped for the uses of the ego or held by
\nAsuric influences and perverted to their purpose.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

How does money manifest on other planes? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What other planes? He speaks of the vital
\nand physical, doesn’t he?… that it is a force which manifests on the vital
\nplane and the physical plane. The vital forces have a very great influence over
\nmoney. <\/span><\/p>\n

(After
\na silence<\/i>) You see, when one thinks of money, one thinks of bank-notes or
\ncoins or some kind of wealth, some precious things. But this is only the
\nphysical expression of a force which may be handled by the vital and which,
\nwhen possessed and controlled, almost automatically brings along these more
\nmaterial expressions of money. And that is a kind of power. (Silence)\u00a0 <\/span>It is a power of attracting certain very
\nmaterial vibrations, which has a capacity for utilisation that increases its
\nstrength \u2013 which is like the action of physical exercise, you see \u2013 it
\nincreases its strength through utilisation. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, if you have a control over this
\nforce \u2013 it is a force which, in the vital world, has a colour varying between
\nred, a dark, extremely strong red and a deep gold that’s neither
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 249<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

bright nor very pale. Well, this force \u2013
\nwhen it is made to move, to circulate, its strength increases. It is not
\nsomething one can accumulate and keep without using. It is a force which must
\nalways be circulated. For example, people who are misers and accumulate all the
\nmoney, all the wealth they can attract towards themselves, put this force aside
\nwithout using its power of movement; and either it escapes or it lies benumbed
\nand loses its strength. <\/span><\/p>\n

The true method of being in the stream of
\nthis money-power is precisely what is written here: a see of absolute
\nimpersonality, the feeling that it is not something you possess or which
\nbelongs to you, but that it is a force you can handle and direct where it ought
\nto go in order to do the most useful work. And by these movements, by this
\nconstant action, the power increases \u2013 the power of attraction, a certain power
\nof organisation also. That is to say, even somebody who has no physical means,
\nwho is not in those material circumstances where he could materially handle
\nmoney, if he is in possession of this force, he can make it act, make it
\ncirculate, and if ever he finds it necessary, receives from it as much power as
\nhe needs without there being externally any sign or any reason why the money
\nshould come to him. He may be in conditions which are absolutely the very
\nopposite of those of usual wealth, and yet can handle this force and always
\nhave at his disposal all the wealth that’s necessary to carry on his work. <\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, it was like this, you see: this
\nletter was written to someone who wanted to go out from here to collect money
\nfor Sri Aurobindo’s work, and this person had no means at all. So he began by
\nsaying to Sri Aurobindo, \u201cBut as I myself have no means, people will have no
\ntrust in me, and I won’t be able to get anything.\u201d And Sri Aurobindo answered
\nhim something like this, that it is not the external force in its most material
\nform which is necessary, it is the handling of the inner force which gives one
\ncontrol over money wherever it is: whether it is in public institutions or with
\nindividuals, one obtains control
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 250<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

over it and one can, when it is necessary,
\nattract by a certain movement what is needed. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, in what way have the money-forces left the Divine? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 Eh?
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

(The child repeats its questions.)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is precisely the main word in your questions
\nwhich I don’t understand. In what manner, in what way have the
\nmoney-forces…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

…left the Divine? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Left? The money-power belongs to a world
\nwhich was created deformed. It is something that belongs to the vital world;
\nand he says this, doesn’t he? He says that it belongs to the vital and material
\nworlds. And so at all times, always it was under the control of the Asuric
\nforces; and what must be done is precisely to reconquer it from the Asuric
\nforces. <\/span><\/p>\n

That is why in the past, all those who wanted
\nto do Yoga or follow a discipline, used to say that one should not touch money,
\nfor it was something \u2013 they said \u2013 diabolic or Asuric or at least altogether
\nopposed to the divine life. But the whole universe, in all its manifestation,
\nis the Divine Himself, and so belongs entirely to Him; and it is on this ground
\nthat he says that the money-forces belong to the Divine. One must reconquer
\nthem and give them to Him. They have been under the influence of the Asuric
\nforces: one must win them back in order to put them at the disposal of the
\nDivine so that He may be able to use them for His work of transformations.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

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

\nPage – 251<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Sweet Mother, it is men who have created money. Then how is it a divine
\npower? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Hm! (laughing) It is as though you told
\nme: it is a man and woman who have created another person, then how can he be
\ndivine in essence? It is exactly the same thing! The whole creation is made
\nexternally by external things, but behind that there are divine forces. What
\nmen have invented \u2013 paper or coins or other objects \u2013 all these are but means
\nof expression \u2013 nothing else but that…\u00a0
\n<\/span>I just said this a moment ago, it is not the force itself, it is its
\nmaterial expression as men have created it. But this is purely conventional.
\nFor example, there are countries where small shells are exchanged instead of
\nmoney. There are even countries where…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>Someone has written a story like this: in the North wealth means having
\nhooks for fishing; and the rich man is he who has the greatest number of fish-hooks.
\nYou know what these are, don’t you? \u2013 small iron hooks for catching fish which
\nare fixed at the end of the line. So, the multimillionaire is one who has a
\nhuge number of hooks! <\/span><\/p>\n

It is purely conventional. What is behind
\nis the force I am speaking about, you see, and so it manifests in all sorts of
\nways. For example, even gold, you know…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>men have given a certain value to gold, because of all metals it
\ndeteriorates the least. It is preserved almost indefinitely. And this is the
\nreason, there’s no other. But it is a mere convention. The proof is that each
\ntime a new gold-mine is found and exploited, the value of gold has fallen.
\nThese are mere conventions between human beings. But what makes money a power
\nis not this, it is the force that’s behind. As I was saying a while ago, it is
\na force that is able to attract and use anything whatever, all material things
\nand…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So this is used according to a convention.
\nNow, it is understood that wealth is represented by bits of paper which become
\nvery dirty, and on which something is printed. They are altogether disgusting,
\nmost often good only for lighting the fire. But it is considered a great
\nfortune. Why? Because that’s the con- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 252<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

vention. Yet one who is capable of
\nattracting this and using it for something good, to increase the welfare of
\nthis world, the welfare and well-being of the world, that man has a hold on the
\nmoney-power, that is to say, the force that is behind money. <\/span><\/p>\n

In French we call money \u201cargent<\/i>\u201d. \u201cArgent<\/i>\u201d is also the name of a white metal which is just a little
\nmore… a little prettier and a little more lasting than other metals, one
\nwhich is less easily oxidised and spoilt. So this is called \u201cargent<\/i>\u201d, money. And then, by expansion,
\nall that is wealth is also called \u201cargent<\/i>\u201d.
\nIt is really paper or gold or sometimes just written things…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>because many large fortunes are only numbers
\nwritten on paper, not even these papers which circulate, only books! There are
\nimmense fortunes which govern the world and are just written on papers, like
\nthat, with some documents and conventions between men. The fortune may
\nincrease, become triple, fourfold, tenfold, or else it may be reduced to
\nnothing. They sell everything, they sell cotton, they sell sugar, they sell
\ncorn, coffee, anything at all, but there is nothing! There is no cotton, no
\nsugar, no corn, nothing. Everything is on paper! And so you buy millions of
\nworth of cotton: you don’t have a wisp of cotton there! It is all on paper. And
\nso, sometimes later, you sell it off again. If the price of cotton has
\nincreased, you gain a fortune, if it has gone down you lose a fortune. And you
\nhave with you neither money nor cotton nor anything, nothing but paper.
\n(Laughter)\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It is entirely a convention.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How can one merge oneself one’s separative ego in the divine
\nConsciousness?\u00b9 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How can one merge in the divine
\nConsciousness? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How must one merge oneself one’s separative ego in the divine
\nConsciousness?\u00b9<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00b9 <\/font> <\/span>The French text here is wrongly spoken by the child<\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 253<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Eh? merge oneself?
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

…one’s separative ego…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I don’t understand what you mean. \u201cMerge\u201d?
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n…in the divine Consciousness. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, that’s just what I mean… How can
\none dissolve, you mean dissolve in the Divine, and lose one’s ego? <\/span><\/p>\n

First of all, one must will it. And then
\none must aspire with great perseverance, and each time the ego shows itself,
\none must give it a little rap on the nose (Mother
\ntaps her nose<\/i>) until it has received so many raps that it is tired of them
\nand gives up the game. <\/span><\/p>\n

But usually, instead of rapping it on the
\nnose, one justifies its presence. Almost constantly, when it shows itself, one
\nsays, \u201cAfter all, it is right.\u201d And mostly one doesn’t even know that it is the
\nego, one thinks it is oneself. But the first condition is to find it essential
\nnot to have the ego any longer. One must really understand that one doesn’t
\nwant it. It is not so easy. It is not so easy! For one can very well turn words
\nover in the head and say, \u201cI don’t want the ego any more, I no longer want to
\nbe separated from the Divine.\u201d All this goes on inside, like that. But it
\nremain just there, it hasn’t much effect on your life. The next moment you do
\nsomething purely egoistic, you see, and find it quite natural. It doesn’t even
\nshock you. <\/span><\/p>\n

One must first begin to understand truly
\nwhat this means. The first method… you see, there are many stages… first,
\none must try not to be selfish \u2013 which is something quite different, isn’t
\nit?… If you take the English words you understand the difference. In English,
\nyou see, there is the word \u201cselfish\u201d, and there is also the word \u201cegoism\u201d. The
\nego \u2013 \u201cego\u201d \u2013 exists in English, and \u201cselfish\u201d. And these are two very
\ndifferent things; in French there is not this distinction. They say, \u201cI don’t
\nwant
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 254<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

to be selfish\u201d, you see. But this is a
\nvery small thing, very small! People, when they stop being selfish, think they
\nhave made tremendous progress! But it’s a very small thing. It is simply, oh,
\nit is simply to have a see of its ridiculousness. You can’t imagine how
\nridiculous these selfish people are! <\/span><\/p>\n

When one sees them thinking all the time
\nabout themselves, referring everything to themselves, governed simply by their
\nown little person, placing themselves in the centre of the universe and trying
\nto organise the whole universe including God around themselves, as though that
\nwere the most important thing in the universe. If one could only see oneself
\nobjectively, you know, as one sees oneself in a mirror, observe oneself living,
\nit is so grotesque! (laughing) That’s enough for you to… One suddenly feels
\nthat he is becoming \u2013 oh, so absolutely ridiculous! <\/span><\/p>\n

I remember I read in French \u2013 it was a
\ntranslation \u2013 a sentence of Tagore’s which amused me very much. He was speaking
\nof a little dog. He said… he compared it with something… I don’t remember
\nthe details now, but what struck me was this: the little dog was sitting on its
\nmistress’s lap and fancying itself the centre of the universe! This struck me
\nvery strongly. It is true! I used to know a little dog like this! But there are
\nmany like that, almost all are like that. You see, they want everybody to pay
\nattention to them, and in fact they succeed very well. Because when there is a
\nlittle dog, as when there is a little child \u2013 it’s almost the same thing \u2013
\neveryone attends to them. <\/span><\/p>\n

Haven’t you noticed that when a child of
\nthis height (Mother indicates the height<\/i>)
\ncomes along, everything else stops? Before that, people could speak, say
\ninteresting things, be busy with something higher; but as soon as a child comes
\nalong, everybody begins to smile, to mimic a baby, to try to make it speak, to
\nattend to it. One can’t bring along a child without everybody fussing over it,
\nwanting to take it, to make it speak. So naturally the child feels itself the
\ncentre of the universe! It is quite natural! <\/span><\/p>\n

For a puppy it is the same thing, for a
\nkitten it is the same. It is a kind of…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>it is a very poor deformation of a kind of need
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 255<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

to protect something that’s smaller than
\noneself. And this is one of the forms, one of the earliest forms of unegoistic
\nmanifestation of the ego! It feels so comfortable when it can protect
\nsomething, busy itself with something much smaller, much weaker than itself,
\nwhich is almost at its mercy, almost \u2013 even entirely \u2013 at its mercy, which has
\nno power to resist. And so one feels good and generous because one doesn’t
\ncrush it! <\/span><\/p>\n

This is the first manifestation of
\ngenerosity in the world. But all this, when one can see behind it and a little
\nabove, it cures you from being selfish, for truly it is ridiculous! It is truly
\nridiculous! <\/span><\/p>\n

So there is a long, long, long way to go
\nbefore merging one’s ego in the Divine. <\/span><\/p>\n

Merge one’s ego in the Divine! But first,
\none can’t merge one’s ego in the Divine before becoming completely
\nindividualised. Do you know what it means to be completely individualised?
\nCapable of resisting all outer influences? <\/span><\/p>\n

Some days ago I received a letter from
\nsomeone who told me that he was very hesitant about reading books of ordinary
\nliteratures, for example, novels or dramas, because his nature had an almost
\ninsuperable tendency to receive imprints of the characters in these books and
\nto begin living the feelings and thoughts of these characters, the nature of
\nthese persons. There are many more people than one would think who are like
\nthat. They read a book and while they are reading it they feel within
\nthemselves all kinds of emotions, thoughts, desires, intentions, plans, even
\nideals. They are simply just absorbed in the reading of the book. They are not
\neven aware of it, because at least ninety-nine parts of an individual’s
\ncharacter are made of soft butter \u2013 inedible of course… but on which if one
\npresses one’s thumb, an imprint is made. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, everything is a \u201cthumb\u201d: an expressed
\nthought, a sentence read, an object looked at, an observation of what someone
\nelse does, and of one’s neighbour’s will. And all these wills… you know, when
\none sees them they are all there, like this, inter- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 256<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

mingled (Mother intercrosses her fingers<\/i>), each one trying to get the
\nuppermost and causing a kind of perpetual conflict within, outside…\u00a0 <\/span>It goes in and out of people like that, you
\nsee, like electric currents. One is not at all aware of all this, and it is a
\nperpetual conflict of all the wills which are trying to express themselves; and
\nthe strongest one will succeed. But as there are many of these and as one has
\nto fight alone against a great number, it is not easy. <\/span><\/p>\n

So one is tossed like a cork on the waves
\nof the sea…\u00a0 <\/span>One day one wants this,
\nthe next day one wants that, at one moment one is pushed from this side, at
\nanother from that, now one lifts one’s face to the sky (Mother makes the movement<\/i>), now one is sunk deep in a hole. And so
\nthis is the existence one has! <\/span><\/p>\n

First one must become a conscious, well-knit,
\nindividualised being, who exists in himself, by himself, independently of all
\nhis surroundings, who can hear anything, read anything, see anything without
\nchanging. He receives from outside only what he wants to receive; he
\nautomatically refuses all that is not in conformity with his plan and nothing
\ncan leave an imprint on him unless he agrees to receive the imprint. Then one
\nbegins to become an individuality! When one is an individuality, one can make
\nan offering of it. <\/span><\/p>\n

For, unless one possesses something, one
\ncannot give it. First, one must be, and then afterwards one can give oneself. <\/span><\/p>\n

So long as one does not exist<\/span><\/i>, one can give nothing. And for the
\nseparative ego to disappear, as you say, one must be able to give oneself
\nentirely, totally without reservation. And to be able to give oneself, one must
\nfirst exist. And to exist one must be individualised. <\/span><\/p>\n

If your body were not made in the rigid
\nform it is \u2013 for it is terribly rigid, isn’t it? \u2013 well, if all that were not
\nso fixed, if you had no skin, here, like this, solid, if externally you were
\nthe reflection of what you are in the vital and mental fields, it would be
\nworse than being a jelly-fish! Everything would fuse into everything else, like
\nthis…\u00a0 <\/span>Oh, what a mess it would be!
\nThat
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 257<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

is why it was at first necessary to give a
\nvery rigid form. Afterwards we complain about it. We say, \u201cThe physical is
\nfixed, it is a nuisance; it lacks plasticity, it lacks suppleness, it hasn’t
\nthat fluidity which can enable us to merge into the Divine.\u201d But this was
\nabsolutely necessary, for without this… if you simply went out of your body
\n(most of you can’t do it because the vital being is hardly more individualised
\nthan the physical), if you came out of your body and went into the vital world,
\nyou would see that all things there intermingle, they are mixed, they divide;
\nall kinds of vibrations, currents of forces come and go, struggle, try to
\ndestroy one another, take possession of each other, absorb each other, throw
\neach other out… and so it goes on! But it is very difficult to find a real
\npersonality in all this. These are forces, movements, desires, vibrations. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are individualities, there are
\npersonalities! But these are powers. People who are individualised in that
\nworld are either heroes or devils! <\/span><\/p>\n

And now, in the mind… (Silence) If only
\nyou become conscious of your physical mind in itself…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Some people have called it a public square,
\nbecause everything comes there, goes across, passes, comes back…\u00a0 <\/span>All ideas go there, they enter at one place,
\nleave by another, some are here, some there, and it is a public square, not
\nvery well organised, for usually ideas meet and knock into one another, there
\nare accidents of all kinds. But then one becomes aware: \u201cWhat can I call my mind?<\/i>\u201d or \u201cWhat
\nis my mind<\/i>?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

One needs years of very attentive, very
\ncareful, very reasonable, very coherent work, organisation, selection,
\nconstructions, in order to succeed simply in forming, oh, simply this little
\nthing, one’s own way of thinking<\/i>! <\/span><\/p>\n

One believes he has his own way of
\nthinking. Not at all. It depends totally upon the people one speaks with or the
\nbooks he has read or on the mood he is in. It depends also on whether you have
\na good or bad digestion, it depends on whether you are shut up in a room without
\nproper ventilation or whether you
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 258<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

are in the open air; it depends on whether
\nyou have a beautiful landscape before you; it depends on whether there is
\nsunshine or drain! You are not aware of it, but you think all kinds of things,
\ncompletely different according to a heap of things which have nothing to do
\nwith you! <\/span><\/p>\n

And for this to become a coordinated,
\ncoherent, logical thought, a long thorough work is necessary. And then, the
\nbest of the business is that when you have succeeded in making a beautiful,
\nwell-formed, very strong, very powerful mental constructions, the first thing
\nyou will be told is, \u201cYou must break this so that you can unite with the
\nDivine!\u201d But so long as you haven’t made it, you cannot unite with the Divine
\nbecause you have nothing to give to the Divine except a mass of things which
\nare not yourself! One must first exist in
\norder to be able to give oneself<\/i>. I am repeating what I said a while ago. <\/span><\/p>\n

Truly, in the present state of the world,
\nthe only thing one can give the Divine is one’s body. But that’s what one
\ndoesn’t give Him. Yes, one can try to consecrate one’s work! But still, here
\nthere are so many elements which are not true! <\/span><\/p>\n

You want to merge your body in the Divine,
\neh? Just try! How are you going to do this? You can merge your mind, you can
\nmerge your vital, you can fuse all your emotions, you can fuse all your
\naspiration, you can fuse all that, but your body \u2013 how are you going to do
\nthat? You are not going to melt it in a boiling-pot! (Laughter) And yet it is
\nthe only thing about which you can say with certitude, \u201cIt is\u201d, and give a name
\nto it; yet even your name is a convention… but still, you are in the habit of
\ncalling yourself by a certain name \u2013 say, \u201cThis, this is I.\u201d You look at
\nyourself in a mirror, and although what you were twenty years ago is very
\ndifferent from what you are now… it is unrecognisable…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>still something makes you say all the same,
\n\u201cYes, this is I.\u201d Yes? \u201cI am so-and-so\u201d \u2013 Peter, Louis, Jack, Andr\u00e9, whoever it
\nmay be…\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(After
\na silence<\/i>) And even this, if one were to look at oneself, every seven years
\nall the cells are changed, and it is only
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 259<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

by a kind of habit that it remain the
\nsame. Does it remain the same? Do you have photographs of the time you were
\nvery young? And the photographs when you were ten, twenty, thirty years old \u2013 it
\nis because one very much wants to do so that one recognises oneself; otherwise,
\ntruly, one is not at all the same…\u00a0
\n<\/span>When you were this height and now when you are this height, that makes a
\nconsiderable difference! So, there we are…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All this… it is not in order to swamp
\nyou that I tell you all this. It is only in order to tell you that before
\nspeaking of merging one’s ego in the Divine, one must first know a little what
\none is. The ego is there. Its necessity is that you become conscious,
\nindependent beings, individualised \u2013 I mean in the see of independent \u2013 that
\nyou may not be the public square where everything goes criss-cross! That you
\nmay exist in yourselves. That is why there is an ego. It is like that; that is why
\nalso there is a skin, like that… though truly, even physical forces pass
\nthrough the skin. There is a vibrations which goes a certain distance. But
\nstill, it’s the skin that prevents us from blending into one another. But
\neverything else must be like that too. <\/span><\/p>\n

(After
\na silence<\/i>) And then, later, one offers all this to the Divine. Years of
\nwork are needed. You must not only…(Silence)…become conscious of yourself,
\nconscious in all details, but you must organise what you call \u201cyourself\u201d around
\nthe psychic centre, the divine centre of your being, so that it would make a
\nsingle, coherent, fully conscious being. And as this divine centre is itself
\nalready consecrated (Mother makes a
\ngesture of offering<\/i>) entirely to the Divine, if everything is organised
\nharmoniously around it, everything is consecrated to the Divine. And so, when
\nthe Divine thinks it proper, when the time has come, when the work of
\nindividualisation is complete, then the Divine gives you permission to let your
\nego merge in Him, to live henceforward only for the Divine. <\/span><\/p>\n

But it is the Divine who takes this
\ndecision. You must first have done all this work, become a conscious being,
\nsolely and exclusively centred around the Divine and governed by Him.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 260<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

And after all that, there is still an ego;
\nbecause it is the ego which serves to make you an individual. But once this
\nwork is perfect, fully accomplished, then, at that moment, you may tell the
\nDivine, \u201cHere I am, I am ready. Do you want me?\u201d And the Divine usually says,
\n\u201cYes.\u201d All is over, everything is accomplished. And you become a real
\ninstrument for the Divine’s work. But first the instrument must be constructed.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

You think that you are sent to school,
\nthat you are made to do exercises, all this just for the pleasure of vexing
\nyou? Oh, no! It is because it’s indispensable for you to have a frame in which
\nyou can learn how to form yourself. If you did your work of individualisation,
\nof total formations, by yourself, all alone in a corner, nothing at all would
\nbe asked of you. But you don’t do it, you wouldn’t do it, there’s not a single
\nchild who would do it, he wouldn’t even know how to do it, where to begin. If a
\nchild were not taught how to live, he could not live, he wouldn’t know how to
\ndo anything, anything. I don’t want to speak about disgusting details, but even
\nthe most elementary things he would not do properly if he were not taught how
\nto do them. Therefore, one must, step by step… That is to say, if everyone
\nhad to go through the whole experience needed for the formations of an
\nindividuality, he would be long dead before having begun to live! This is the
\nadvantage of those \u2013 accumulated through centuries \u2013 who have had the
\nexperience and tell you, \u201cWell, if you want to go quickly, to know in a few
\nyears what has been learnt through centuries, do this!\u201d Read, learn, study and
\nthen, in the material field, you will be taught to do this in this way, that in
\nthat way, this again in this way gestures. Once you know a little, you can find
\nyour own method, if you have the genius for it! But first one must stand on
\none’s own feet and know how to walk. It is very difficult to learn it all
\nalone. It’s like that for everyone. One must form oneself. Therefore, one needs
\neducation. There we are! <\/span><\/p>\n

(To
\na child<\/i>) Do you have something to ask? No? Is there anyone who has
\nsomething to ask?
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 261<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Mother, last time you said that often there is in us a dark element
\nwhich… which suggests to us… which makes us commit stupidities. So you said
\nthat when one is conscious of this element, it must be pulled out. But does
\npulling it out mean…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>For example,
\nwhen one is conscious that this element comes to make us do stupid things,
\nthen, if by an effort of will one abstain from doing it, can one say that one
\nhas pulled it out? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That one doesn’t commit stupidities? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


\n     <\/span>By an effort of will. For example, one doesn’t do that action which one
\nshouldn’t do. <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, yes.  <\/span><\/p>\n


\n    <\/span>Then, can one say that one has pulled out the element which was the
\ncause? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

One has sat upon it. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


\n    <\/span>Then, how to pull it out? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

For that, first of all, you must become
\nconscious of it, you see, put it right in front of you, and cut the links which
\nattach it to your consciousness. It is a work of inner psychology, you know. <\/span><\/p>\n

One can see, when one studies oneself very
\nattentively… \u00a0<\/span>For example, if you
\nobserve yourself, you see that one day you are very generous. Let us take this,
\nit is easy to understand. Very generous: generous in your feelings, generous in
\nyour sensations, generous in your thoughts and even in material things; that
\nis, you understand the faults of others, their intentions, weaknesses, even
\nnasty movements. You see all this, and you are full of good feelings, of
\ngenerosity. You tell yourself, \u201cWell… everyone does the best he can!\u201d \u2013 like
\nthat.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 262<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Another day \u2013 or perhaps the very next
\nminute \u2013 you will notice in yourself a kind of dryness, fixity, something that
\nis bitter, that judges severely, that goes as far as bearing a grudge, has
\nrancour, would like the evil-doer punished, that almost has feelings of
\nvengeance; just the very opposite of the former! One day someone harms you and
\nyou say, \u201cDoesn’t matter! He did not know\u201d… or \u201cHe couldn’t do
\notherwise\u201d…\u00a0 <\/span>or \u201cThat’s his nature\u201d…
\nor \u201cHe could not understand!\u201d The next day \u2013 or perhaps an hour later \u2013 you
\nsay, \u201cHe must be punished! He must pay for it! He must be made to feel that he
\nhas done wrong!\u201d \u2013 with a kind of rage; and you want to take things, you want
\nto keep them for yourself, you have all the feelings of jealousy, envy,
\nnarrowness, you see, just the very opposite of the other feeling. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is the dark side. And so, the moment
\none sees it, if one looks at it and doesn’t say, \u201cIt is I\u201d, if one says, \u201cNo,
\nit is my shadow, it is the being I must throw out of myself\u201d, one puts on it
\nthe light of the other part, one tries to bring them face to face; and with the
\nknowledge and light of the other, one doesn’t try so much to convince \u2013 because
\nthat is very difficult \u2013 but one compels it to remain quiet… first to stand
\nfarther away, then one flings it very far away so that it can no longer return \u2013
\nputting a great light on it. There are instances in which it is possible to
\nchange, but this is very rare. There are instances in which one can put upon
\nthis being \u2013 or this shadow \u2013 put upon it such an intense light that it
\ntransforms it, and it changes into what is the truth of your being. <\/span><\/p>\n

But this is a rare thing…It can be done,
\nbut it is rare. Usually, the best thing is to say, \u201cNo, this is not I! I don’t
\nwant it! I have nothing to do with this movement, it doesn’t exist for me, it
\nis something contrary to my nature!\u201d And so, by dint of insisting and driving
\nit away, finally one separates oneself from it. <\/span><\/p>\n

But one must first be clear and sincere
\nenough to see the conflict within oneself. Usually one doesn’t pay any attention
\nto these things. One goes from one extreme to the other. You see, you can
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 263<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

say, to put it in very simple words: one
\nday I am good, the next day I am bad. And this seems quite natural…\u00a0 <\/span>Or even, sometimes for one hour you are good
\nand the next hour you are wicked; or else, sometimes the whole day through one
\nis good and suddenly one becomes wicked, for a minute very wicked, all the more
\nwicked as one was good! Only, one doesn’t observe it, thoughts cross one’s
\nmind, violent, bad, hateful things, like that… Usually one pays no attention
\nto it. But this is what must be caught! As soon as it manifests, you must catch
\nit like this (Mother makes a movement)\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>with a very firm grip, and then hold it, hold it up to the light and
\nsay, \u201cNo! I \u2013 don’t \u2013 want \u2013 you! I don’t\u00a0
\n<\/span>want\u00a0 <\/span>you! I have nothing to do
\nwith this! You are going to get out of here, and you won’t return!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

(After
\na silence<\/i>) And this is something \u2013 an experience that one can have daily,
\nor almost… when one has those movements of great enthusiasm, great
\naspiration, when one suddenly becomes conscious of the divine goal, the urge
\ntowards the Divine, the desire to take part in the divine work, when one comes
\nout of oneself in a great joy and great force… and then, a few hours later,
\none is miserable for a tiny little thing; one indulges in so petty, so narrow,
\nso commonplace a self-interestedness, has such a dull desire… and all the
\nrest has evaporated as if it did not exist. One is quite accustomed to
\ncontradictions; one doesn’t pay attention to this and that is why all these
\nthings live comfortably together as neighbours. One must first discover them
\nand prevent them from intermingling in one’s consciousness: decide between
\nthem, separate the shadow from the light. Later one can get rid of the shadow. <\/span><\/p>\n

There we are, and now it is time. Anything
\nurgent to ask? No? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah!
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 264<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

…between mental preference and vital insistences, which are the more
\ndangerous for yoga? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Those that one has! (Laughter)\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

\nPage – 265<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

28 July 1954   This talk is based upon Chapter 4 of The Mother by Sri Aurobindo.   \u201cMoney is the visible sign of a…<\/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-4450","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\/4450","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=4450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4450\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}