{"id":4452,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:06","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4452"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:06","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:06","slug":"24-07-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\/24-07-july-vol-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","title":{"rendered":"-24_07 July.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n7 July 1954<\/font><\/span><\/b>
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

A few days before
\nthis class, Mother told the children that she would proceed<\/span>
\ndifferently with the new book they were to study, Sri Aurobindo’s The Mother<\/i>. She herself (not the
\nchildren as previously) would read out passages from the book. Each child was
\nasked to read beforehand the chapter to be taken up in class and to prepare a questions<\/span> based upon it. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

The following talk is based upon Chapter I of The Mother.
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, it is written here: \u201cA….\u00a0
\n<\/span>submission… of the inner Warrior who fights against obscurity and
\nfalsehood.\u201d1<\/sup> Who is this \u201cinner Warrior\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is the vital being when it is
\nconverted. The vital turned completely to the Divine is like a warrior. It has
\neven the appearance of a warrior. The vital is the place of power and it is
\nthis power which impels it to fight, which can fight and conquer, and of all
\nthings this is the most difficult, for it is precisely these very qualities of
\nfighting which create in the vital the see of revolt, independence, the will to
\ncarry out its own will. But if the vital understands and is converted, if it is
\ntruly surrendered to the divine Will, then these fighting capacities are turned
\nagainst the anti-divine forces and against all the darkness which prevents
\ntheir transformations. And they are all-powerful and can conquer the
\nadversaries. The anti-divine forces are in the vital world; from there,
\nnaturally, they have spread out into the physical, but their true seat is in
\nthe vital world, and it is the converted vital force which has the true power
\nto vanquish them. But of all things this conversion is the most difficult. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n1<\/font>
\n<\/font><\/sup> <\/span>The complete sentence is:
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA glad and strong
\nand helpful submission is demanded to the working of the Divine Force, the
\nobedience of the illumined disciple of the Truth, of the inner Warrior who
\nfights against obscurity and falsehood, of the faithful servant of the Divine.\u201d<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage<\/font> –
\n203<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

What are \u201csubterfuges\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Subterfuges? They are tricks. You know
\nwhat a trick is? \u2013 Yes? Well, subterfuges are ways of deceiving, means employed
\nto deceive. One hides what one wants to do under other appearances, in order to
\ndeceive; these are subterfuges. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIrrevocable transformation\u201d?<\/span><\/i><\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Irrevocable \u2013 it means a transformation on
\nwhich one cannot go back, which is achieved once and for all. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, here it is written: \u201cIt is not enough that the psychic
\nshould respond and the higher mental accept or even the lower1 <\/sup>vital
\nsubmit and the inner physical consciousness feel<\/span> the
\ninfluence.\u201d Does this mean that there is also a higher vital? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, the higher vital is usually much less
\ndifficult to surrender, for it is under the influence of the mind and at times
\neven of the psychic; so it understands more easily. It is much easier to
\nconvert this than the lower vital which is essentially the vital of desires and
\nimpulses. So, you see, what he means is that the lower vital can submit, it
\nagrees to obey, to do what it is asked, but it is not at all satisfied. It is
\nnot happy; sometimes it even suffers; it pushes its revolt down into itself
\nthrough obedience, but it does not collaborate. And unless the vital
\ncollaborates with joy and true love, nothing can be done; the transformations
\ncannot come. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, here it is written…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/span> <\/span>
\n1
\n<\/font>
\n<\/sup><\/span>
\nSri
\nAurobindo’s word here is \u201cinner\u201d. In the French translation this word
\ntranslated as \u201cint\u00e9rieur<\/span>\u201d was by mistake printed as \u201cinf\u00e9rieur<\/span>\u201d which means \u201clower\u201d. The question arises due to
\nthis mistake.<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 204<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Wait, wait, your turn will come! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There is a mistake! Here, in French, we have \u201cthe lower
\n\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>inf\u00e9rieur<\/span>)
\nvital\u201d, but in English it is \u201cthe inner vital\u201d! <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Inner? The inner vital? Yes. But here the
\nmistake has been carefully reproduced! This edition is ours. (Mother shows the
\nbook printed at the Ashram Press.) Exactly! Yes, it is \u201cinner\u201d. It is the inner
\nvital. Yes, it should be \u201cinner\u201d here, as \u201cthe inner physical\u201d. (Pavitra<\/span> asks whether the error has been reproduced in all
\nthe editions.) In all the editions there seems to be it \u201cinf\u00e9rieur<\/span>\u201d…
\ninstead of \u201cint\u00e9rieur<\/span>\u201d…. But this is our own
\nedition, and we should have corrected it. This one is the first edition that
\nwas printed in <\/span>France<\/span>;1<\/sup><\/span><\/span> <\/sup>not this; this one, the small one, was
\nprinted in <\/span>France<\/span>. Of course, the letters are very similar,
\naren’t they? The t and f are very similar. <\/span><\/p>\n

(To the child who has just spoken) <\/span><\/i>So you think you are going to escape your
\nquestions? (Laughter)<\/span><\/p>\n

(To another child) <\/span><\/i>You don’t have one? No! Then it will be for next week. Today I am not
\nsaying anything, because you were not informed. Not long enough in advance. <\/span><\/p>\n

(To another child)\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i>And you?<\/span><\/span> You don’t have one? <\/span><\/p>\n

(To another) <\/span><\/i>And you?<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Here, I don’t understand this: \u201cFor if it [the supreme Grace] were to
\nyield to the demands of the Falsehood, it would defeat its own purpose.\u201d What
\ndoes the defeat of its own purpose mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes. This means that it would be going
\nagainst its work, its own work. The Grace has come; well, it works for the
\nrealisation of the truth. If it accepts the conditions laid upon it by the
\nfalse-<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n


\n1 <\/font> <\/span><\/sup>Sri Aurobindo, La M\u00e8re. Les grands<\/span> Ma\u00eetres<\/span> spirituels<\/span> dans<\/span> l’Inde<\/span> contemporaine<\/span>.<\/span>
\n<\/font> <\/span>Lyon<\/span><\/font>: \u00c9ditions<\/span> Derain<\/span>, 1945.<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 205<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

hood<\/span><\/span>, it can no longer do anything. Of this,
\nyou know, I could give you countless examples \u2013 of people who insist that
\nthings should happen in a particular way as far as they are concerned. They
\nimplore, at times even demand that things should be like that; and what they
\nask for is absolutely contrary to the truth; and if the Grace obeyed their
\ndemand, it would go against its own purpose and defeat its own purpose, that
\nis, it would go against its own work and aim. It comes here to realise the truth;
\nif it obeys the falsehood, it turns its back on truth. And people, you see,
\nvery often put the cart before the horse \u2013 most often through ignorance and
\nstupidity; but sometimes it is also through bad will that they insist on having
\ntheir conditions fulfilled, that they go in for a kind of bargaining in
\nexchange for their surrender, and they do it… Yes, many do it unconsciously \u2013
\nI said through ignorance and stupidity. There are others who do it consciously,
\nand so they want their conditions fulfilled. They say, \u201cIf it is like this and
\nlike that… \u201c And finally they go as far as to say to the Divine, \u201cIf you are
\nlike this and like that, if you fulfil the conditions I lay down for you, I
\nshall obey you!\u201d They don’t put it in this way because that would be too
\nridiculous, but they almost constantly do it. You see, they say, \u201cOh, the
\nDivine is like this. The Divine does this. The Divine must respond like this.\u201d
\nAnd they continue in this way, and they are not aware that they are quite
\nsimply imposing their conceptions and also their desires on what the Divine
\nought to be and do. And so, when the Divine does not do what they want or does
\nnot fulfil the conditions they lay down, they say, \u201cYou are not the Divine!\u201d
\n(Laughter) It is very simple. \u201cYou do not fulfil the conditions I lay down, so
\nyou are not the Divine!\u201d But they do it constantly, you know. So, naturally, if
\nto please people, the Divine Grace were to submit to their demands, it would be
\nworking entirely against its own purpose and would destroy its own Work. <\/span><\/p>\n

(To another child)\u00a0 <\/span>Now, do you have a questions? <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 206<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

It is not my turn! (Laughter) <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, how very convenient! (Laughing) So now
\nwhose turn is it? Yours? Your questions? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Here it is written: \u201c…it is only the very highest supramental Force
\ndescending from above and opening from below that can victoriously handle the
\nphysical Nature and annihilate its difficulties.\u201d I don’t understand the last
\npart. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Which words exactly don’t you understand? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

And opening from below that can victoriously handle the physical
\nNature.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Handle victoriously!… You don’t know
\nwhat this means? (Pavitra<\/span>
\nre-reads the sentence which had been incorrectly pronounced.)<\/i> Opening from
\nbelow \u2013 that is, something which comes from above and forces itself up from
\nbelow, forces its way, makes a kind of road, a path through the resistance
\nthat’s below, by opening a way, as when one enters a virgin forest and cuts
\ndown trees, one opens up a way. Well, it is like that, you see; there is a
\nresistance in the lower levels of matter, and by the pressure from above, it
\nopens the road and makes a passage through the resistance. And then, do you
\nunderstand what follows? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

No. \u201cThat can victoriously handle.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHandle\u201d \u2013 that means… \u201cdeal with\u201d; that
\nis, which can deal with all the resistances of the physical world. It is only
\nthe highest force which can overcome the difficulties of matter. That’s what it
\nmeans. All the resistances and difficulties of the physical world can be
\novercome only by the highest force \u2013 the highest
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 207<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

supramental<\/span><\/span> force. Do you understand now? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(To another child)\u00a0 <\/span>Nothing? <\/span><\/p>\n

(To another) You? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, it is said: \u201cReject the false notion that the divine Power will
\ndo and is bound to do everything for you at your demand and even though you do
\nnot satisfy the conditions laid down by the Supreme.\u201d Then…<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But, you know, there are people who are
\ntold, \u201cYou should surrender.\u201d Then they answer you with a smile, \u201cWell, make me
\nsurrender!\u201d Why, this is very simple! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When one wants to make some progress…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes!  <\/span><\/p>\n

One tries but finds that something doesn’t want to advance, doesn’t want
\nto progress. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, to progress. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then, if one asks the Divine to…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

To help? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That’s something quite different. To help,
\nthat’s understood, He is there to help. But what is said here means to sit idly
\nnot doing anything, not making the shadow of an effort, nor even aspiring
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 208<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

or<\/span><\/span> willing, nothing, and then say, \u201cWell,
\nGod will do this for me; the Divine will do everything for me. The Divine Grace
\nwill give me aspiration. If I need aspiration, It will give it to me. If I need
\nsurrender, It will give me that\u201d, and so on. \u201cI have to do nothing except to
\nremain passively seated, without stirring and without 0willing anything.\u201d Well,
\nthere are people like that, many! They are told \u201cAspire.\u201d \u201cGive me aspiration.\u201d
\n(Laughter) They are told, \u201cBe generous.\u201d \u201cOh, make me generous; and I shall
\ngive everything!\u201d (Laughter)\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And then? (To another child) Now, you! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I am repeating a questions<\/span>. Sweet Mother, here
\nin French it is written \u201copening the passage from below\u201d, but in English the
\nword \u201cpassage\u201d is not there. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes. Who has the English? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Read it, read your English! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c… and it is only the very highest supramental Force descending from
\nabove and opening from below that can victoriously handle the physical nature
\nand annihilate its difficulties.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Opening from below? (Long silence)\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This can mean allowing the force which is
\nhidden at the core of matter to manifest itself. It gives the idea of the supramental
\nPresence which is at the centre of all things but is hidden and incapable of
\nmanifesting itself, so to say, and which, then would be as if awakened by the
\nforce coming from above and would manifest. <\/span><\/p>\n

It can mean this,<\/span>
\nthat is to say, it may want to express the fact that the two extremities meet,
\nas in a circle, you know, the beginning and the end touch. It can mean this.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 209<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Pavitra<\/span><\/i><\/span>: Mother, that’s what the French means \u2013 the French translation! <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Obviously! Only, it is not said in these
\nvery words. It means, in fact \u2013 whether it is said in this way or another, it
\nmeans that the two extremities join, you see, they unite, the Supreme who is in
\nmatter and the Supreme who is outside matter unite and join. That’s what it means.
\nIn both cases it means the same thing. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, what does \u201cinert passivity\u201d mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Inert passivity? It means… Passivity, we
\nsaid the other day, didn’t we, is what does not move, does not act, vibrate,
\nrespond \u2013 well, an inert passivity is just this, what is absolutely unconscious,
\ninactive, what does not respond; whereas the other day we described a passivity
\nwhich responds, which opens and is receptive, but doesn’t move, doesn’t act,
\nwhich is the opposite of… Let us take passivity as the opposite of activity,
\nsomething that does not act but is receptive and receives. <\/span><\/p>\n

But an inert passivity is a passivity that
\nreceives nothing, it is like a stone; for instance, we say the stone has an
\ninert passivity, don’t we?… like the soil or sand. It is not quite true, for
\nthere is nothing which is not at least a little receptive to forces. But still,
\nthe more we go towards something we call unconscious, the more is it inert and
\npassive at the same time. That is it. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, an inert passivity in someone is a
\nkind of incapability of vibrating, receiving, opening himself, responding,
\nsomething that’s quite unconscious and does not move in any way! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, how can we make our submission gladly? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It must be sincere. If it is truly
\nsincere, it becomes happy. So long as it is not \u2013 you may reverse the thing \u2013
\nso long as it is not happy, you may be sure it is not perfectly sincere; for if
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 210<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

it<\/span><\/span> is perfectly sincere, it is always happy.
\nIf it is not happy, it means that there is something which holds back,
\nsomething which would like things to be otherwise, something that has a will of
\nits own, a desire of its own, its own purpose and is not satisfied, and
\ntherefore is not completely surrendered, not sincere in its surrender. But if
\none is sincere in one’s surrender, one is perfectly happy, automatically;
\nrather, one automatically enjoys an ineffable happiness. Therefore, as long as
\nthis ineffable happiness is not there, it is a sure indication that you are not
\nsincere, that there is something, some part of the being, larger or smaller,
\nwhich is not sincere. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, how to discover this part? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Aspire, insist, put the light on it, pray
\nif necessary. There are many ways. Sometimes surgical operations are necessary,
\nputting a red hot iron on the wound, as when there is a nasty abscess somewhere
\nwhich will not burst. <\/span><\/p>\n

(To another child)\u00a0 <\/span>Did you say something? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

No, it is not my turn! <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(Laughing) Oh, it is not your turn!
\n(Laughter)\u00a0 <\/span>So…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Here it is said: \u201cThe Supreme demands your surrender to her, but does
\nnot impose it: you are free at every moment, till the irrevocable
\ntransformations comes, to deny and to reject the Divine or to recall your
\nself-giving…. \u201c <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, this is something that happen every
\nminute! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(The child repeats the last phrase) \u201cTo deny and to reject the Divine\u201d \u2013 \u201cdeny\u201d
\nmeans? <\/i>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 211<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u201cDeny\u201d? That’s what I was just saying.
\nPeople who find that the Divine does not want all that they want or that He
\ndoes not comply with their own will, deny Him. They say, \u201cIt is not the
\nDivine!\u201d Or else, there are others who go still further. They say, \u201cThere is no
\nDivine, it does not exist, the Divine, for it is not consistent with… \u201c It is
\na nuisance that a Divine should be there: they say there’s no such thing! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, what does \u201can inert automaton\u201d mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Automaton \u2013 it’s just a little more than
\ninert passivity. Automaton \u2013 it’s a mechanical movement; and \u201cinert\u201d means
\nunconscious. So it is an unconscious mechanical movement, something that has no
\nsoul, no spirit, no will, no urge, something that is merely a machine, that has
\nno consciousness; and inert, absolutely without any consciousness and any
\nreceptivity. It is yet…\u00a0 <\/span>don’t think
\neven a watch, for example, could be called an inert automaton. A watch has
\nsomething like a soul: a machine, when it is very well made, has something like
\na soul, it responds, it has a certain receptivity. But the other is something
\nwhich has no receptivity, no consciousness, and is only like a machine which
\none rewinds and which does just this (Mother
\nmakes automatic movements<\/i>), you see, without knowing why or how! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, what does \u201chelpful submission\u201d mean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Submission… helpless? (Laughter) It
\ncan’t be that. It is a helpful submission. A helpful submission, we all know
\nwhat that is, don’t we? A helpful submission. <\/span><\/p>\n

Where is the text? We can’t say a helpless
\nsubmission. (Laughter) (Mother looks for the text.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Helpful, it is not helpless!
\n(Laughter)\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A glad submission, as I was just saying.
\nStrong, you understand, not something weak and without energy; strong,
\npowerful, and helpful, that is, which acts, is active, produces results,
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 212<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

a<\/span><\/span> submission which makes itself useful, a
\nsubmission which, for example, wants to collaborate in the work, collaborate in
\nthe progress. It is the opposite of the inert automaton, the very opposite. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, what does \u201can exclusive self-opening to the divine Power\u201d
\nmean? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of self-opening we could put
\nreceptivity, something that opens in order to receive. Now, instead of opening
\nand receiving from all sides and from everyone, as is usually done, one opens
\nonly to the Divine to receive only the divine force. It is the very opposite of
\nwhat men usually do. They are always open on the surface, they receive all the
\ninfluences from all sides. And then this produces inside them what we might
\ncall a pot-pourri<\/span><\/i>
\n(Mother laughs) of all kinds of contradictory movements which naturally create
\ncountless difficulties. So here, you are advised to open only to the Divine and
\nto receive only the divine force to the exclusion of everything else. This
\ndiminishes all difficulties almost entirely. Only one thing remain difficult.
\nIt is…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>One can do it and, unless one
\nis in a state of total alchemy, well, it is difficult to be in contact with
\npeople, to speak to them, for example, to have any kind of exchange with them
\nwithout absorbing something from them. It is difficult. If one is in a kind
\nof…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>if one is in an atmosphere that’s
\nlike a filter, then everything that comes from outside is filtered before it
\ntouches you. But it is very difficult; it requires a very wide experience. That
\nis why, also, people who wanted the easiest path went into solitude to sit
\nunder a tree, did not speak any more and saw nobody; for this helps to diminish
\nundesirable exchanges. Only, it has been noticed that these people begin to
\nbecome enormously interested in the life of little animals, the life of plants,
\nfor it is difficult not to have any exchange with anything at all. So it is
\nmuch better to face the problem squarely and be surrounded by an atmosphere so
\ntotally concentrated on the Divine that what comes through this atmosphere is
\nfiltered in its passage.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 213<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

And then again, even when this has been
\ndone, there is still the problem of food; as long as our body is compelled to
\ntake in foreign matter in order to subsist, it will absorb at the same time a
\nconsiderable amount of inert and unconscious forces or those having a rather
\nundesirable consciousness, and this alchemy must take place inside the body. We
\nwere speaking of the kinds of consciousness absorbed with food, but there is
\nalso the Inconscience that’s absorbed with food \u2013 quite a deal of it. And that
\nis why in many yogas<\/span> there was the advice to offer to
\nthe Divine what one was going to eat before eating it (Mother makes a gesture of offering, hands joined, palms open<\/i>). It
\nconsists in calling the Divine down into the food before eating it. One offers
\nit to Him \u2013 that is, one puts it in contact with the Divine, so that it may be
\nunder the divine influence when one eats it. It is very useful, it is very
\ngood. If one knows how to do it, it is very useful, it considerably reduces the
\nwork of inner transformations which has to be done. But, you see, in the world
\nas it is, we are all interdependent. You cannot take in the air without taking
\nin the vibrations, the countless vibrations produced by all kinds of movements
\nand all kinds of people, and you must \u2013 if you want to remain intact \u2013 you must
\nconstantly act like a filter, as I was saying. That is to say, nothing that is
\nundesirable should be allowed to enter, as when one goes to infected areas, one
\nwears a mask over the face so that the air may be purified before one breathes
\nit in. Well, something similar has to be done. One must have around oneself so
\nintense an atmosphere in a total surrender to the Divine, so intensified around
\noneself that everything that passes through is automatically filtered. Anyhow,
\nit is very useful in life, for there are \u2013 we spoke about this too \u2013 there are
\nbad thoughts, bad wills, people who wish you ill, who make formations. There
\nare all kinds of absolutely undesirable things in the atmosphere. And so, if
\none must always be on the watch, looking around on all sides, one would think
\nonly of one thing, how to protect oneself. First of all, it is tiresome, and
\nthen, you see, it makes you waste much
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 214<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

time<\/span><\/span>. If you are well enveloped in this way,
\nwith this light, the light of a perfectly glad, totally sincere surrender, when
\nyou are enveloped with that, it serves you as a marvellous filter. Nothing that
\nis altogether undesirable, nothing that has ill-will can pass through. So,
\nautomatically, these things return where they came from. If there is a
\nconscious ill-will against you, it comes, but cannot pass; the door is closed,
\nfor it is open only to divine things, it is not open to anything else. So it
\nreturns very quietly to the source from where it came. <\/span><\/p>\n

But all these things are…\u00a0 <\/span>One can learn how to do them through a kind
\nof study and science. But they can be done without any study or science
\nprovided the aspiration and surrender are absolute and total. If the aspiration
\nand surrender are total, it is done automatically. But you must see to it that
\nthey are total; and besides, as I was saying just now, you become very clearly
\naware of it, for the moment they are not total, you are no longer happy. You
\nfeel uneasy, very miserable, dejected, a bit unhappy: \u201cThings are not quite
\npleasant today. They are the same as they were yesterday; yesterday they were
\nmarvellous, today they are not pleasing!\u201d \u2013 Why? Because yesterday you were in
\na perfect state of surrender, more or less perfect \u2013 and today you aren’t any
\nmore. So, what was so beautiful yesterday is no longer beautiful today. That
\njoy you had within you, that confidence, the assurance that all will be well
\nand the great Work will be accomplished, that certitude \u2013 all this, you see,
\nhas become veiled, has been replaced by a kind of doubt and, yes, by a
\ndiscontent: \u201cThings are not beautiful, the world is nasty, people are not
\npleasant.\u201d It goes sometimes to this length: \u201cThe food is not good, yesterday
\nit was excellent.\u201d It is the same but today it is not good! This is the
\nbarometer! You may immediately tell yourself that an insincerity has crept in
\nsomewhere. It is very easy to know, you don’t need to be very learned, for, as
\nSri Aurobindo has said in Elements of Yoga: One knows whether one is happy or
\nunhappy, one knows whether one is content or discontented, one doesn’t need to
\nask oneself, put
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 215<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

complicated<\/span><\/span> questions for this, one knows it! \u2013 Well,
\nit is very simple. <\/span><\/p>\n

The moment you feel unhappy, you may write
\nbeneath it: \u201cI am not sincere!\u201d These two sentences go together: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I
\nFEEL UNHAPPY<\/font><\/span>.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I
\nAM NOT SINCERE.<\/font><\/span>\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, what is it that is wrong? Then one
\nbegins to take a look, it is easy to find out…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There you are, my children. Is that all? <\/span><\/p>\n

Have we exhausted the questions or not? <\/span><\/p>\n

(To a child) You haven’t asked your
\nquestions, have you? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, in the Letters Sri Aurobindo says somewhere1<\/sup> that the
\nGrace does not choose the just and reject the sinner. It has its own
\ndiscernment which is different from the mind’s<\/span>. That
\nis how, for example, the Grace came to <\/span><\/i>St. Augustine<\/span><\/i>‘s help. Then, why
\ndoes Sri Aurobindo say here: \u201cBut the supreme Grace will act only in the
\nconditions of the Light and the Truth…. \u201c? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, I noticed that. When I read it, I
\nthought about this. <\/span><\/p>\n

I thought about it. I think he wrote the
\nsentence in this way so that it would be more easily understandable. But in
\nfact, what he meant he has said here: You are yourself rejecting the
\nGrace…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Isn’t that it? He says \u2013 where
\nis it? what page? page four? Yes, \u201c…\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>pushing the divine Grace from you\u201d, yes; \u201c…you are yourself pushing
\nthe divine Grace away from you.\u201d No, it is not that; it is… (The child begins
\nreading: \u201cthe Grace…\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>No, after that,
\nmy child…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt will not act…\u201d (To
\nanother child) This is what we have explained. That is something else. You see,
\nthis is what I have explained: you ask the Grace to do something for you, but
\nthis thing is a falsehood. It won’t do it, because It always acts only in the truth.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

1
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/sup>See Letters on
\nYoga, Cent. Vol. 23, p. 609.<\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 216<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

But then how can It<\/span> come to the help of the
\nsinner? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It doesn’t help the sinner to be a sinner!
\nIt helps the sinner to give up his sin; that is to say, It does not push away
\nthe sinner, saying, \u201cI won’t do anything for you.\u201d It is there, always, even
\nwhen he is sinning, to help him to come out of it, but not to continue in his
\nsin. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is a great difference between this
\nand the idea that you are bad and so \u201cI won’t look after you, I shall throw you
\nfar away from me, and whatever is to happen to you will happen, I am not
\nconcerned about it.\u201d This is the common idea One says, \u201cGod has rejected me\u201d,
\nyou know. It is not that. You may not be able to feel the Grace, but It will
\nalways be there, even with the worst of sinners, even with the worst of criminals,
\nto help him to change, to be cured of his crime and sin if he wants to be. It
\nwon’t reject him, but It won’t help him to do evil. It wouldn’t be the Grace
\nany longer. You understand the difference? <\/span><\/p>\n

But there is a sentence here that’s…
\nhere we are, it is absolutely true: \u201cYou are yourself pushing the divine Grace
\naway from you\u201d, and then there is a..<\/span> (The lamp had to be switched on and this made
\na noise in the mike. Mother shows a little surprise,<\/span>
\nthen continues turning the pages of the book to find the sentence.<\/i>) I
\nthought it was here… (She finds the sentence and reads) \u201cThen…\u201d here we
\nare, \u201c…always you will be open to attack and the Grace will recede from you.\u201d
\nYou see, this… (silence) It is not the Grace which recedes from you, it is
\nyou who recede from the Grace. It is a feeling, and the expression of the fact.
\nFor in the sentence… a preceding sentence, we have: \u201cYou are yourself pushing
\nthe divine Grace away from you.\u201d This is just the thing. You are yourself
\npushing the divine Grace away from you. But after having pushed It away, you
\nhave the impression that It has receded from you; and it is rather this: \u201c…then
\nalways you will be open to attack and the Grace will recede from you.\u201d It is
\nnot a fact that It recedes from you, you
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 217<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

have<\/span><\/span> the impression that It recedes from you.<\/span><\/p>\n

While reading it I noticed this. I don’t
\nknow what it is in English. Here it is on page seven. I don’t know, it must be
\napproximately on the same page, I suppose: \u201cIf you call for the Truth…\u201d,<\/span> something like that. <\/span><\/p>\n

(Someone looks up the required sentence in
\nthe English book and reads: \u201cthe Grace will recede from you.\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

Ah, yes. \u201cRecede from you\u2026\u201d \u201c…then
\nalways you will be open to attack and the Grace will recede from you.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

It expresses one’s impression. But it is
\nnot that the Grace withdraws. For it is written here, you see, just a little
\nbefore, \u201cit is not the divine Grace you must blame\u201d, it is you who push It<\/span> away from you. <\/span><\/p>\n

In one case he takes the position of the
\nGrace and in the other he takes the attitude of the person who says, \u201cThe Grace
\nrecedes from me.\u201d But it is not the Grace that recedes, it is he himself who
\npushes It away, that is, he has put a distance between himself and the Grace.
\nIn fact, even \u201cpushing away\u201d doesn’t give the correct picture; you see, this is
\nnot written, it was not written to a philosopher, and it is not in
\nphilosophical terms. In one case, you see, he has taken this particular
\nattitude, but the phenomenon is the same; that is, there is a kind of
\npsychological distance created between the Grace and the individual. And due to
\nthis psychological distance the individual cannot receive the Grace and feels that
\nIt is not there. But It<\/span> is<\/i> there, in fact; only, as he has established this distance
\nbetween the two, he doesn’t feel It any longer. This is the real phenomenon. It
\nisn’t that the Grace goes away, it isn’t even that he has the power to push It
\naway, for if It doesn’t want to go, no matter how much he tries, It won’t go.
\nBut he makes himself incapable of feeling It and receiving its effect. He
\ncreates a psychological barrier between himself and the Grace. <\/span><\/p>\n

There you are, my children, I think that’s
\nenough for this evening. <\/span><\/p>\n

Good night. <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

\nPage – 218<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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