{"id":4459,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:09","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4459"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:09","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:09","slug":"41-17-november-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\/41-17-november-vol-06-questions-and-answers-volume-06","title":{"rendered":"-41_17 November.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n17
\n November 1954<\/font><\/span><\/b>
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This talk is based upon Sri Aurobindo’s Bases of Yoga,
\nChapter 2, <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFaith \u2013 Aspiration \u2013 Surrender\u201d. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, here it is written: \u201cThe Truth for you is to feel the
\nDivine in you, open to the Mother and work for the Divine till you are aware of
\nher in all your activities.\u201d Why has he said \u201cthe Divine\u201d once and another time
\n\u201cthe Mother\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Probably he considers these the two
\naspects of the problem. The truth is that there are people who can more easily
\nget into contact with an impersonal Divine than with a personal Divine. For
\nthem, for certain minds, certain types of intelligence, it is easier; they
\nunderstand better or think they understand better. <\/span><\/p>\n

You see, there are certain… what we
\ncould call certain attributes of the Divine which it seems to them impossible
\nto give to a personal being, and so they prefer to have a relation with an impersonal
\nconception of the Divine. So, for them, he says this. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are others who are able to have both
\nat the same time, one completing the other; but for others still it is an
\nantinomy, a contradiction. So, they prefer to choose one or the other. I think
\nthis is why he has put it like that, so that each one may choose the approach
\nthat’s easiest for him and the most expressive also. Essentially it is the same
\nthing; in the human mind it becomes different. And then, man’s mind fashions
\nman’s consciousness; and as for the human consciousness, well, it depends on
\none’s inner attitude and one’s tastes. The mind always needs to make divisions,
\notherwise it thinks that it does not understand. Probably it is to help him in
\nhis work, so that there may not be someone who says, \u201cAh, no, I don’t want the
\npersonal Divine!\u201d \u2013 so he says, \u201cIt is all right, turn to an impersonal God.\u201d
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 401<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Mother, when we make an effort, there’s something in us which becomes
\nvery self-satisfied and boastful and contented with this effort, and that
\nspoils everything. Then how can we get rid of this? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah, that’s what looks on at what it is
\ndoing! There is always someone who observes when one is doing something. Now
\nsometimes, he becomes proud. Obviously, this takes away much strength from the
\neffort. I think it is that: it is the habit of looking at oneself acting,
\nlooking at oneself living. It is necessary to observe oneself but I think it is
\nstill more necessary to try to be absolutely sincere and spontaneous, very
\nspontaneous in what one does: not always to go on observing oneself, looking at
\nwhat one is doing, judging oneself \u2013 sometimes severely. In fact it is almost
\nas bad as patting oneself with satisfaction, the two are equally bad. One
\nshould be so sincere in his aspiration that he doesn’t even know he is
\naspiring, that he becomes the aspiration itself. When this indeed can be
\nrealised, one truly attains to an extraordinary power. <\/span><\/p>\n

One minute, one minute of this, and you
\ncan prepare years of realisation. When one is no longer a self-regarding being,
\nan ego looking at itself acting, when one becomes the action itself, above all
\nin the aspiration, this truly is good. When there is no longer a person who is
\naspiring, when it is an aspiration which leaps up with a fully concentrated
\nimpulsion, then truly it goes very far. Otherwise there is always mixed up in
\nit a little vanity, a little self-complacency, a little self-pity also, all
\nkinds of little things which come and spoil everything. But it is difficult. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, here it is written: \u201cIn this Yoga the whole principle is
\nto open oneself to the Divine Influence.\u201d What does it mean exactly: \u201cto open
\noneself to the Divine Influence\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How many times I have explained this to
\nyou! At least thirty
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 402<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

times. What is the use of explaining? You
\nmust try, you must make an effort yourself. To explain is simply to try to give
\na formula to the mind which allows the thing to be done without any effort. One
\nhas a fine explanation in his head and believes that it is enough for the thing
\nto be realised. But if one does just a little \u2013 even very awkwardly \u2013 gradually
\none progresses, one does better and better. When one does it really well, one
\nunderstands what one is doing, and one also knows how one has learnt to do it,
\nby doing it step by step, by trying. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What are the conditions in which there is a descent of faith? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The most important condition is an almost
\nchildlike trust, the candid trust of a child who is sure that it will come, who
\ndoesn’t even ask himself about it; when he needs something he is sure that it
\nis going to come. Well, it is this, this kind of trust \u2013 this indeed is the
\nmost important condition. <\/span><\/p>\n

To aspire is indispensable. But some
\npeople aspire with such a conflict inside them between faith and absence of
\nfaith, trust and distrust, between the optimism which is sure of victory and a
\npessimism which asks itself when the catastrophe will come. Now if this is in
\nthe being, you may aspire but you don’t get anything. And you say, \u201cI aspired
\nbut didn’t get anything.\u201d It is because you demolish your aspiration all the
\ntime by your lack of confidence. But if you truly have trust…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Children when left to themselves and not
\ndeformed by older people have such a great trust that all will be well! For
\nexample, when they have a small accident, they never think that this is going
\nto be something serious: they are spontaneously convinced that it will soon be
\nover, and this helps so powerfully in putting an end to it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Well, when one aspires for the Force, when
\none asks the Divine for help, if one asks with the unshakable certitude that it
\nwill come, that it is impossible that it won’t, then it is sure to come. It is
\nthis kind…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>yes, this is truly an
\ninner opening, this
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 403<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

trustfulness. And some people are
\nconstantly in this state. When there is something to be received, they are
\nalways there to receive it. There are others, when there is something to have,
\na force descends, they are always absent, they are always closed at that
\nmoment; while those who have this childlike trust are always there at the right
\ntime. <\/span><\/p>\n

And it is strange, isn’t it, outwardly
\nthere is no difference. They may have exactly the same goodwill, the same
\naspiration, the same wish to do good, but those who have this smiling
\nconfidence within them, do not questions, do not ask themselves whether they
\nwill have it or not have it, whether the Divine will answer or not \u2013 the
\nquestions does not arise, it is something understood…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat I need will be given to me; if I pray
\nI shall have an answer; if I am in a difficulty and ask for help, the help will
\ncome \u2013 and not only will it come but it will manage everything.\u201d If the trust
\nis there, spontaneous, candid, unquestioning, it works better than anything
\nelse, and the results are marvellous. It is with the contradictions and doubts
\nof the mind that one spoils everything, with this kind of notion which comes
\nwhen one is in difficulties: \u201cOh, it is impossible! I shall never manage it.
\nAnd if it is going to be aggravated, if this condition I am in, which I don’t
\nwant, is going to grow still worse, if I continue to slide down farther and
\nfarther, if, if, if, if…\u201d like that, and one builds a wall between oneself
\nand the force one wants to receive. The psychic being has this trust, has it
\nwonderfully, without a shadow, without an argument, without a contradiction.
\nAnd when it is like that, there is not a prayer which does not get an answer,
\nno aspiration which is not realised. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How can we get rid of abhimana?\u00b9<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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

Oh, good heave! First of all, see how
\nutterly disastrous it is: it is very petty, it is destructive; and then take a
\nstep farther <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00b9 <\/font> <\/span>Hurt pride, self-pity because one feels
\nill-treated.<\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 404<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

and hold yourself up to ridicule, see to
\nwhat extent you are ludicrous. So, in this way you get rid of it. But so long
\nas you take it seriously, so long as you justify the movement, so long as
\nsomewhere in the mind there’s the idea, \u201cAfter all, it is quite natural, I was
\nill-treated and I suffer from the ill-treatment\u201d, then it is finished, it will
\nnever go. But if you begin to understand that it is a sign of weakness, of
\ninferiority \u2013 naturally, of a very considerable egoism, a narrow-mindedness,
\nand above all of a pettiness of the feelings, a small-heartedness \u2013 if you
\nunderstand that, you can fight it. But your thought should be in agreement. If
\nthere is the attitude, \u201cI have been hurt, I am suffering, I am going to show
\nthat I am suffering\u201d, then it is like that. I am not going so far as to mention
\npeople who nurse a fairly secret spirit of vengeance and say, \u201cI have been made
\nto suffer, I shall make them suffer.\u201d This indeed becomes nasty enough for
\npeople to notice that it should not exist \u2013 though it is not always easy to
\nresist. It indicates something very petty in the nature. It may be very
\nsensitive, it may be very emotional, it may have a certain intensity but it is
\nquite petty, it is all turned back on oneself, and is quite petty. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, you can use your reason, if you
\nhave one which works. You can make use of the reason and can tell yourself something
\nwhich is very true: that in our being it is only egoism which always suffers,
\nand that if there was no egoism there would be no suffering, and that if one
\nwants the spiritual life, one must overcome his egoism. So the first thing to
\ndo is to look straight at this suffering, perceive to what an extent it is the
\nexpression of a very petty egoism and then sweep the place clean, make a clean
\nground and say, \u201cI don’t want this dirt, I am going to clean my inner chamber.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Are even physical sufferings ascribable to the ego? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Physical sufferings? No, she\u00b9 is not
\nspeaking of physical sufferings. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00b9 <\/font> <\/span>The child who asked the question.<\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 405<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Physical sufferings? One thing is
\ncertain, you know; I think this was in the system, in the nature, that it was
\ninvented as an indicator; because, for example, if the body was disorganised in
\nsome way or other and this caused no suffering at all, one would never look for
\na way to stop the disorganisation. One thinks of curing an illness only because
\none suffers. If it caused you no unpleasantness, you would never think of being
\ncured of it. So, in the economy of Nature I think that the first purpose of
\nphysical suffering was to give you a warning. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there is the vital which
\npokes its nose into the affair and takes a very perverse pleasure in
\nincreasing, twisting, sharpening the suffering. Now this deforms the whole
\nsystem because instead of being an indicator, sometimes it becomes an occasion
\nfor enjoying the illness, for making oneself interesting, and also having the
\nopportunity to pity oneself \u2013 all kinds of things which all come from the vital
\nand are all detestable, one more than another. But originally I think that it
\nwas this: \u201cTake care!\u201d You see, it’s like a danger-signal: \u201cTake care, there’s
\nsomething out of order.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Only, when one is not very much coddled,
\nwhen one has a little endurance and decides within himself not to pay too much
\nattention, quite remarkably the pain diminishes. And there are a number of
\nillnesses or states of physical imbalance which can be cured simply by removing
\nthe effect, that is, by stopping the suffering. Usually it comes back because
\nthe cause is still there. If the cause of the illness is found and one acts
\ndirectly on its cause, then one can be cured radically. But if one is not able
\nto do that, one can make use of this influence, of this control over pain in
\norder \u2013 by cutting off the pain or eliminating it or mastering it in oneself \u2013
\nto work on the illness. So this is an effect, so to say, from outside inwards;
\nwhile the other is an effect from within outwards, which is much more lasting
\nand much more complete. But the other also is effective. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, you see, some people suffer
\nfrom unbearable toothache. It depends above all…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>some people are more or less
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 406<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

what I call \u201ccoddled\u201d, that is, unable to
\nresist any pain, to bear it; they immediately say, \u201cI can’t! It is unbearable.
\nI can’t bear any more!\u201d Ah, this indeed changes nothing in the circumstances;
\nit does not stop the suffering, because it is not by telling it that you don’t
\nwant it that you make it go away. But if one can do two things: either bring
\ninto oneself \u2013 for all nervous suffering, for example \u2013 bring into oneself a
\nkind of immobility, as total as possible, at the place of pain, this has the
\neffect of an anaesthetic. If one succeeds in bringing an inner immobility, an
\nimmobility of the inner vibrations, at the spot where one is suffering, it has
\nexactly the same effect as an anaesthetic. It cuts off the contact between the
\nplace of pain and the brain, and once you have cut the contact, if you can keep
\nthis state long enough, the pain will disappear. You must form the habit of
\ndoing this. But you have the occasion, all the time, the opportunity to do it:
\nyou get a cut, get a knock, you see, one always gets a little hurt somewhere \u2013 especially
\nwhen doing athletics, gymnastics and all that \u2013 well, these are opportunities
\ngiven to us. Instead of sitting there observing the pain, trying to analyse it,
\nconcentrating upon it, which makes it increase indefinitely…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>There are people who think of something else
\nbut it does not last; they think of something else and then suddenly are drawn
\nback to the place that hurts. But if one can do this…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>You see, since the pain is there, it proves that
\nyou are in contact with the nerve that’s transmitting the pain, otherwise you
\nwouldn’t feel it. Well, once you know that you are in contact, you try to
\naccumulate at that point as much immobility as you can, to stop the vibrations
\nof the pain; you will perceive then that it has the effect of a limb which goes
\nto sleep when you are in an awkward position and that all of a sudden…\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>you know, don’t you?…\u00a0 <\/span>and then, when it stops, it begins to vibrate
\nagain terribly. Well, you deliberately try this kind of concentration of
\nimmobility in the painful nerve; at the painful point you bring as total
\nan\u00a0 <\/span>immobility as you can. Well, you will
\nsee that it works, as I told you, like an anaesthetic: it puts the thing to
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 407<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

sleep. And then, if you can add to that a
\nkind of inner peace and a trust that the pain will go away, well, I tell you
\nthat it will go. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of all things, that which is considered
\nthe most difficult from the yogic point of view is toothache, because it is
\nvery close to the brain. Well, I know that this can be done truly to the extent
\nof not feeling the pain at all; and this does not cure the bad tooth, but there
\nare cases in which one can succeed in killing the painful nerve. Usually in a
\ntooth it is the nerve which has been attacked by the caries, the disease, and
\nwhich begins to protest with all its strength. So, if you succeed in
\nestablishing this immobility, you prevent it from vibrating, you prevent it
\nfrom protesting. And what is remarkable is that if you do it fairly constantly,
\nwith sufficient perseverance, the sick nerve will die and you will not suffer
\nat all any more. Because it was that which was suffering and when it is dead it
\ndoes not suffer any longer. Try. I hope you never have a toothache. (Laughter<\/i>)
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 408<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

17 November 1954   This talk is based upon Sri Aurobindo’s Bases of Yoga, Chapter 2, \u201cFaith \u2013 Aspiration \u2013 Surrender\u201d.   Sweet Mother, here…<\/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-4459","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\/4459","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=4459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4459\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}