{"id":4483,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:19","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4483"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:19","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:19","slug":"41-23-december-1953-vol-05-questions-and-answers-volume-05","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/05-questions-and-answers-volume-05\/41-23-december-1953-vol-05-questions-and-answers-volume-05","title":{"rendered":"-41_23 December 1953.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"<table border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"6\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse\" width=\"100%\">\n<tr>\n<td>\n<div class=\"Section1\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0\"><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">23 December 1953<\/font><\/span><\/b><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-size:16.0pt;color:#E2961A'><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">If the mind \u201cis incapable of finding<br \/>\nknowledge\u201d<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Lucida Console\"'>\u00b9<\/span><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> what part of the being finds knowledge? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">One must<br \/>\nenter the knowledge which belongs to the supramental region. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">But in order to bring it down? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Every time<br \/>\nsomething attracts this knowledge (something which is evidently ready to<br \/>\nreceive it), it comes. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">It does not come down into the mind, Sweet<br \/>\nMother? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Yes, it<br \/>\ndescends into the mind. Into a higher part of the mind or rather into the<br \/>\npsychic. One may have knowledge from the psychic \u2013 though it is of another kind<br \/>\nand is not formulated as in the mind. It is a sort of inner certitude which<br \/>\nmakes you do the right thing at the right moment and in the right way, without<br \/>\nnecessarily passing through the reason or mental formation. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">For<br \/>\ninstance, one may act with a perfect knowledge of what should be done, and without<br \/>\nintervention \u2013 the least intervention \u2013 of the reasoning mind. The mind is<br \/>\nsilent: it simply looks on and listens in order to register things, it does not<br \/>\nact. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Here you have said: \u201cKnowledge belongs to<br \/>\na region much higher than that of the human mind, even beyond the region of<br \/>\npure ideas.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"right\" style='margin:0;text-align:right;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"2\">\u201cThe Science of Living\u201d, On Education<br \/>\n<\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;Sweet Mother, what do you mean by \u201cpure<br \/>\nideas\u201d?<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Lucida Console\"'><font size=\"2\">\u00b9<\/font><\/span><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"2\"><br \/>\n\u201cThe Science of Living\u201d, On Education.<\/font><\/span><\/i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">Page \u2013 398<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='color:blue'><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">We have<br \/>\nalready spoken about this once, and not so long ago. Pure ideas are those which<br \/>\nare translated into numerous thoughts. One idea may give birth to many<br \/>\nthoughts, and can be expressed in many different ways; and yet it remains what<br \/>\nit is. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Sometimes we look fixedly at a point; one<br \/>\nforgets everything at that moment and if there is a noise one is disturbed.<br \/>\nWhat is this state? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Concentration!<br \/>\nIt is exactly the very principle of concentration. Can you do it spontaneously?<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Yes, many times. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Indeed,<br \/>\nthat\u2019s very good! <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Yes, Sweet Mother, but what I thought at<br \/>\nthat moment I cannot capture. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Ah!.. If<br \/>\nyou are suddenly pulled out from it, thought vanishes? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Yes<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">That\u2019s<br \/>\nbecause you enter a state of consciousness which is different from your<br \/>\nordinary state of consciousness and probably the link between the two is not<br \/>\nestablished very well. That takes time. It is as though one had to build a<br \/>\nbridge. Otherwise one takes a sudden jump to one side or the other, and then in<br \/>\njumping one forgets what was there. One leaves behind the experience one had.<br \/>\nBut if the thing is done methodically, that is, if every day one keeps a<br \/>\nparticular time for this, and meditates for ten or fifteen minutes in order to<br \/>\nestablish a contact between that and the outer life, well, after some time one<br \/>\nsucceeds and then one remembers, and this becomes very useful. It is very<br \/>\nuseful. And if your power of concentration is complete, then there is <\/span><br \/>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">&nbsp;<\/font><\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">not a<br \/>\nproblem you cannot solve \u2013<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">Page \u2013 399<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='color:blue'><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'>\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\">I don\u2019t mean arithmetic problems (laughter), I mean<br \/>\nproblems about leading one\u2019s life, about decisions to be taken, psychological<br \/>\nproblems which need solving. There is not one that can resist this power of<br \/>\nconcentration. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">And<br \/>\nin fact it is very convenient to take a point: one looks steadily at the point,<br \/>\nand so steadily that at a certain moment one becomes the point. One is no<br \/>\nlonger somebody looking at the point; one is the point. And then, if you<br \/>\ncontinue with sufficient strength and quietness, without anything disturbing<br \/>\nyou, you may suddenly find yourself before a door which opens and you pass to<br \/>\nthe other side. And then you have the revelation. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Since<br \/>\nwhen have you been doing this? This has always happened? Or is it recent? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">I don\u2019t know. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">You don\u2019t<br \/>\nknow? Perhaps you were doing it and were not aware of it! <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">I didn\u2019t know<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">But you<br \/>\ndon\u2019t do it deliberately? It just comes upon you, takes hold of you? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Yes. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Ah! this is<br \/>\nperhaps also one of the reasons why you don\u2019t remember. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">(Another<br \/>\nchild) <i>Sweet Mother, when one passes into<br \/>\nthe region of knowledge, is it necessary to pass through the intermediary<br \/>\nregions<\/i>? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Intermediary?<br \/>\nBut you see, if one does it by a methodical discipline, generally one is<br \/>\nobliged to pass from one plane to <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">Page \u2013 400<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='color:blue'><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">an other:<br \/>\none wakes up in a particular plane, and then there one enters a sort of sleep<br \/>\nand wakes up in another plane, and so on. And if one does it this way, then one<br \/>\nremembers, for one does it with one\u2019s conscious will and witnesses the working<br \/>\nthese movements for quietening the being, precisely, in order to enter somewhere<br \/>\nand see what is happening there, and the movement of taking notes of what is<br \/>\nhappening and preparing oneself for another higher opening, all this<br \/>\nestablishes conscious contact between the different parts of the being, and<br \/>\nthen one can have experiences without forgetting anything, and even at will. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">But<br \/>\nthere are some rather uneducated people, for instance, who suddenly develop a<br \/>\nfaculty and have a direct experience somewhere in the higher mind or the<br \/>\npsychic being or in some other part of the being. There are many reasons for<br \/>\nthis: it may be the result of former lives, it may be a phenomenon of<br \/>\nconsciousness of this life, it could be many things. In any case, for it to be<br \/>\nfully useful, it should be done with the will to use it for one\u2019s progress and become<br \/>\nconscious of the different parts of the being in order to be able to do what<br \/>\none ought to do to the best of one\u2019s ability. For instance, I have known people<br \/>\nwho were absolutely ignorant and uneducated but had a gift of vision, and a<br \/>\nremarkable gift: they were put into trance and saw marvellously and described<br \/>\nthings \u2013 they knew how to see and describe all they saw whilst they were seeing<br \/>\nit. But when they came out of that condition, they were absolutely ordinary<br \/>\nbeings without any education and intelligence. Yet that was a marvellous gift.<br \/>\nThat means there are beings who can make the greatest progress from the<br \/>\nspiritual point of view, and even the intellectual, and who yet are apparently<br \/>\nand in their outer life quite ordinary. There are others \u2013 I have known some<br \/>\nwho had an absolutely marvellous spiritual realisation, who lived constantly in<br \/>\nthe divine Presence and yet never had a vision in all their life! And they used<br \/>\nto complain about it\u2026 It is a question of temperament, destiny, and probably of<br \/>\nthe work one has<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">Page \u2013 401<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='color:blue'><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><span>\u00a0<\/span>to do, for evidently one can\u2019t do everything \u2013<br \/>\nphysically it is impossible. Consequently one must choose. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">When the body falls ill, do the mind and<br \/>\nvital also fall ill? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Not necessarily.<br \/>\nIllness (I have explained this to you) comes usually from a dislocation between<br \/>\nthe different parts of the being, from a sort of disharmony. Well, it can very<br \/>\nwell happen that the body has not followed a certain movement of progress, for<br \/>\ninstance, that it has remained behind, and that, on the other hand, the other<br \/>\nparts of the being have progressed, and so that disequilibrium, that rupture of<br \/>\nharmony creates the illness, and the mind may be in a very fine state and the<br \/>\nvital also. There are people who have been ill for years \u2013 with terrible,<br \/>\nincurable diseases \u2013 and who have kept their mental capacity marvellously clear<br \/>\nand progressed mentally. There is a French poet (a very good poet) called Sully<br \/>\nPrudhomme; he was mortally ill; and it was then that he wrote his most<br \/>\nbeautiful poems. He remained charming, amiable, smiling \u2013 amiable with<br \/>\neveryone, and yet his body was going to pieces. That depends on people. There<br \/>\nare others still \u2013 as soon as they feel the least bit ill, everything is upset<br \/>\nfrom top to bottom they are then good for nothing. For each one the combination<br \/>\nis different. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">It is said there is a relation between the<br \/>\nbody and the mind. If the mind is not quite all right, then what? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">But<br \/>\ncertainly there is a relation between the body and the mind! There is even more<br \/>\nthan a relation: it is a very close tie, for most of the time it is the mind<br \/>\nwhich makes the body ill. In any case, it is the principal factor. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">And if the body is not well?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">Page \u2013 402<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='color:blue'><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">That<br \/>\ndepends on people, I told you. There are people \u2013 as soon as the least thing<br \/>\nhappens to their body, their mind is completely upset. There are others still<br \/>\nwho may be very ill and yet keep their mind clear. It is rarer and more<br \/>\ndifficult to see a mind that\u2019s upset and the body remaining healthy \u2013 it is not<br \/>\nimpossible but it is much rarer, for the body depends a great deal on the state<br \/>\nof the mind. The mind (I have written it there in the book) is the master of<br \/>\nthe physical being. And I have said the latter was a very docile and obedient<br \/>\nservant. Only one doesn\u2019t know how to use one\u2019s mind, rather the opposite. Not<br \/>\nonly does one not know how to use it, but one uses it ill \u2013 as badly as<br \/>\npossible. The mind has a considerable power of formation and a direct action on<br \/>\nthe body, and usually one uses this power to make oneself ill. For as soon as<br \/>\nthe least thing goes wrong, the mind begins to shape and build all the<br \/>\ncatastrophes possible, to ask itself whether it could be this, whether it could<br \/>\nbe that, if it is going to be like that, and how it will all end. Well, if<br \/>\ninstead of letting the mind do this disastrous work, one used the same capacity<br \/>\nto make favourable formations \u2013 simply, for example, to give confidence to the<br \/>\nbody, to tell it that it is just a passing disturbance and that it is nothing,<br \/>\nand if it enters a real state of receptivity, the disorder will disappear as<br \/>\neasily as it has come, and one can cure oneself in a few seconds \u2013 if one knows<br \/>\nhow to do that, one gets wonderful results. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">There<br \/>\nis a moment for choice, even in an accident. For instance, one slips and falls.<br \/>\nJust between the moment one has slipped and the moment one falls there is a<br \/>\nfraction of a second. At that moment one has the choice: it may be nothing<br \/>\nmuch, it may be very serious. Only, the consciousness must naturally be wide<br \/>\nawake and one must be in contact with one\u2019s psychic being constantly \u2013 there is<br \/>\nno time to make the contact, one must be in contact. Between the moment one<br \/>\nslips and the moment one is on the ground, if the mental and psychic formation<br \/>\nis sufficiently strong, then there is nothing, nothing will happen \u2013 nothing<br \/>\nhappens. But if at that moment, the mind <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">Page \u2013 403<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='color:blue'><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">according<br \/>\nto its habit becomes a pessimist and tells itself: \u201cOh! I have slipped&#8230;.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat lasts the fraction of a second; that<br \/>\ndoesn\u2019t take even a minute, it is a fraction of a second; during a fraction of<br \/>\na second one has the choice. But one must be so awake, every minute of one\u2019s<br \/>\nlife! For a fraction of a second one has the choice, there is a fraction of a<br \/>\nsecond in which one can prevent the accident from being serious, can prevent<br \/>\nthe illness from entering in. One always has the choice. But it is for a<br \/>\nfraction of a second and one must not miss it. If one misses it, it is<br \/>\nfinished. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;line-height:150%'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">One can make it afterwards? (laughter) <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">No. Afterwards<br \/>\nthere is yet another moment One has fallen, one is already hurt; but there is<br \/>\nstill a moment when one can change things for the better or worse, so that it<br \/>\nmay be something very fugitive the bad effects of which will quickly disappear<br \/>\nor something which becomes as serious, as grave as it can be. I don\u2019t know if<br \/>\nyou have noticed that there are people who never miss the opportunity of an<br \/>\naccident! Every time there is the possibility of an accident, they have it. And<br \/>\nnever is their accident ordinary. Every time the accident can be serious, it is<br \/>\nserious. Well, usually in life one says: \u201cOh! he is unlucky, he is unfortunate,<br \/>\nindeed he has no luck.\u201d But all that is ignorance. It depends absolutely on the<br \/>\nworking of his consciousness. I could give you examples \u2013 only I would have to<br \/>\nspeak about certain people and I don\u2019t want to. But I could give you striking<br \/>\nexamples! And this &#8211; this is the sort of thing one sees all the time, all the<br \/>\ntime here! There are people who could have been killed and who come out of it<br \/>\nunscathed; there are others for whom it was not serious, and it becomes<br \/>\nserious. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">But<br \/>\nthat does not depend on thought, on the working of the ordinary thought. They<br \/>\nmay apparently have thoughts as good as the others \u2013 it is not that. It is the<br \/>\nsecond of the choice \u2013 people knowing how to react just in the right way at the<br \/>\nright time. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">Page \u2013 404<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='color:blue'><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">I could<br \/>\ngive you hundreds of examples. It is quite interesting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">This<br \/>\ndepends absolutely on character. Some have such an awakened consciousness, so<br \/>\nalert, that they are not asleep, they are awake within. Just at the second it<br \/>\nis required they call the help. Or they invoke the divine Force. But just at<br \/>\nthe second it is needed. So the danger is averted, nothing happens. They could<br \/>\nhave been killed: they come out of it absolutely unhurt. Others, on the<br \/>\ncontrary, as soon as they have the least little scratch, something gets<br \/>\ndislocated in their being: a sort of fright or pessimism or defeatism in their<br \/>\nconsciousness which automatically comes up \u2013 it was nothing, they had just<br \/>\ntwisted their leg and the next minute they break it. There is no reason for it.<br \/>\nThey could very well have not broken their leg. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">There<br \/>\nare others who climb up to a first floor on a ladder which gives way under<br \/>\nthem. They could have collapsed \u2013 they come out of that without the least hurt.<br \/>\nHow did they manage it? Apparently this seems wonderful, and still this is how<br \/>\nthings happen to them. They find themselves lying on the ground in an<br \/>\naltogether fine state; nothing has happened to them. I could give you the<br \/>\nnames, I am telling you exact facts. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">So,<br \/>\non what does this depend? It depends on whether one is sufficiently awake for<br \/>\nthe second of the choice to.. And note that this is not at all mental, it is<br \/>\nnot that: it is an attitude of the being, it is the consciousness reacting in<br \/>\nthe right way. It goes quite far, very far, it is formidable, the power of this<br \/>\nattitude. But as it is just a fraction of a second, it implies an altogether<br \/>\nawakened consciousness which never sleeps, never enters the inconscient. For<br \/>\none does not know when these things are going to happen, isn\u2019t that so? Hence,<br \/>\none does not have the time to wake up. One must be awake. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">I<br \/>\nknew someone who, indeed, should have died and did not die because of this. For<br \/>\nhis consciousness reacted very fast. He had taken poison by mistake: instead of<br \/>\ntaking one dose of a certain medicine, he had taken twelve and it was a poison;<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">Page \u2013 405<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='color:blue'><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">he should<br \/>\nhave died, the heart should have stopped (it was many years ago) and he is<br \/>\nstill quite alive! He reacted in the right way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">If<br \/>\nthese things were narrated they would be called miracles. They are not<br \/>\nmiracles: it is an awakened consciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">How were we saved the other day when<br \/>\nworking down there with the crane?<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Lucida Console\"'>\u00b9<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">I suppose<br \/>\nyou ought to know! <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">We know partly. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Very<br \/>\npartially, vaguely, a sort of impression \u201clike that\u201d an impression, almost an<br \/>\nattitude, but not knowledge. How that works, one would not be able to say! <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">It was by Grace. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">But if you can<br \/>\nexplain to me how that works, it would be interesting for everybody. It would<br \/>\nbe very interesting to know who exactly had that wakeful consciousness, had<br \/>\nfaith and a sort of.. something that answered automatically, and perhaps not<br \/>\nconsciously. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">There<br \/>\nare degrees, many degrees. Human intelligence is such that unless there is a<br \/>\ncontrast it does not understand. You know, I have received hundreds of letters<br \/>\nfrom people thanking me because they had been saved; but it is very, very<br \/>\nrarely that someone writes to thank me because nothing has happened, you<br \/>\nunderstand! Let us take an accident, it is already the beginning <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='font-family:\"Lucida Console\"'><font size=\"2\">\u00b9<\/font><\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"2\">A team of young Ashram disciples was trying to lift a tree-trunk into a<br \/>\ntruck with the help of a crane, when the crane broke apart, flying into pieces<br \/>\non all sides, but without hurting anyone. Then the tree-trunk half lifted in<br \/>\nbegan rolling slowly, causing the truck to lean on one side threatening to<br \/>\ncrush several boys, when, without any apparent reason or any physical object to<br \/>\nhold it back, the trunk suddenly stopped in its course. <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">Page \u2013 406<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='color:blue'><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">of a<br \/>\ndisorder. Naturally when it is a public or collective accident, the atmosphere<br \/>\nof each person has its part in the thing, and that depends on the proportion of<br \/>\ndefeatists and those who, on the contrary, are on the right side. I don\u2019t know<br \/>\nif I have written this \u2013 it is written somewhere \u2013 but it is a very interesting<br \/>\nthing. I am going to tell you People are not aware of the workings of Grace<br \/>\nexcept when there has been some danger, that is, when there has been the<br \/>\nbeginning of an accident or the accident has taken place and they have escaped<br \/>\nit. Then they become aware. But never are they aware that if, for instance, a<br \/>\njourney or anything whatever, passes without any accident, it is an infinitely<br \/>\nhigher Grace. That is, the harmony is established in such a way that nothing<br \/>\ncan happen. But that seems to them quite natural. When people are ill and get<br \/>\nwell quickly, they are full of gratitude; but never do they think of being<br \/>\ngrateful when they are well; and yet that is a much greater miracle! In<br \/>\ncollective accidents, what is interesting is exactly the proportion, the sort<br \/>\nof balance or disequilibrium, the combination made by the different atmospheres<br \/>\nof people. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">There<br \/>\nwas an aviator, one of the great \u201caces\u201d as they are called of the First [World]<br \/>\nWar, and a marvellous aviator. He had won numerous battles, nothing had ever<br \/>\nhappened to him. But something occurred in his life and suddenly he felt that<br \/>\nsomething was going to happen to him, an accident, that it was now all over.<br \/>\nWhat they call their \u201cgood luck\u201d had gone. This man left the military to enter<br \/>\ncivil aviation and he piloted one of these lines \u2013 no, not civil aviation: the<br \/>\nwar ended, but he continued flying military airplanes. And then he wanted to make<br \/>\na trip to South Africa: from France to South Africa. Evidently, something must<br \/>\nhave been upset in his consciousness (I did not know him personally, so I don\u2019t<br \/>\nknow what happened). He started from a certain city in France to go to<br \/>\nMadagascar, I believe (I am not sure, I think it was Madagascar). And from<br \/>\nthere he wanted to come back to France. My brother was at that time governor of<br \/>\nthe Congo, and he wanted to get back <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">Page \u2013 407<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='color:blue'><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">quickly to<br \/>\nhis post. He asked to be allowed as a passenger on the plane (it was one of<br \/>\nthose planes for professional tours, to show what these planes could do). Many<br \/>\npeople wanted to dissuade my brother from going by it; they told him, \u201cNo,<br \/>\nthese trips are always dangerous, you must not go on them.\u201d But finally he went<br \/>\nall the same. They had a breakdown and stopped in the middle of the Sahara, a<br \/>\nsituation not very pleasant. Yet everything was arranged as by a miracle, the<br \/>\nplane started again and put down my brother in the Congo, exactly where he<br \/>\nwanted to go, then it went farther south. And soon after, half-way the plane<br \/>\ncrashed &#8211; and the other man was killed It was obvious that this had to happen.<br \/>\nBut my brother had an absolute faith in his destiny, a certitude that nothing<br \/>\nwould happen. And it was translated in this way: the mixture of the two<br \/>\natmospheres made the dislocation unavoidable, for there was a breakdown in the<br \/>\nSahara and the plane was obliged to land, but finally everything was in order<br \/>\nand there was no real accident. But once he was no longer there, the other man<br \/>\nhad all the force of his \u201cill- luck\u201d (if you like), and the accident was<br \/>\ncomplete and he was killed. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">A<br \/>\nsimilar incident happened to a boat. There were two persons (they were<br \/>\nwell-known people but I cannot remember their names now), who had gone to<br \/>\nIndo-China by plane. There was an accident, they were the only ones to have<br \/>\nbeen saved, all the others were killed, indeed it was quite a dramatic affair.<br \/>\nBut these two (husband and wife) must have been what may be called bringers of<br \/>\nbad-luck \u2013 it is a sort of atmosphere \u2013 they carry. Well, these two wanted to<br \/>\ngo back to France (for, in fact, the accident occurred on their way back to<br \/>\nFrance), they wanted to return to France, they took a boat. And quite<br \/>\nunexpectedly, exceptionally, right in the midst of the Red Sea the boat ran<br \/>\ninto a reef (a thing that doesn\u2019t happen even once in a million journeys) and<br \/>\nsank; and the others were drowned, and these two were saved. And I could do<br \/>\nnothing, you know, I wanted to say: \u201cTake care, never travel with these<br \/>\npeople!\u201d.. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">Page \u2013 408<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='color:blue'><\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" align=\"center\">\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">There are<br \/>\npeople of this sort, wherever they are, they come out of the thing very well,<br \/>\nbut the catastrophes are for the others. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">If<br \/>\none sees things from the ordinary viewpoint, one does not notice this. But the associations<br \/>\nof atmosphere one must take care of that. That is why when one travels in<br \/>\ngroups, one must know with whom one travels. One should have an inner<br \/>\nknowledge, should have a vision. And then, if one sees somebody who has a kind<br \/>\nof small black cloud around him, one must take care not to travel with him,<br \/>\nfor, surely an accident will occur \u2013 though perhaps not to him. Hence, it is<br \/>\nquite useful to know things a little more deeply than in the altogether<br \/>\nsuperficial way. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:justify;text-indent:.25in;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">(<i>Looking at the child<\/i>) He looks as if he<br \/>\nfound life becoming very difficult in this way!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style='margin:0;text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span lang=\"EN-GB\">&nbsp;<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><font size=\"3\">Page \u2013 409<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style='text-align:center'><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style='color:blue'><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;23 December 1953 &nbsp; If the mind \u201cis incapable of finding knowledge\u201d\u00b9 what part of the being finds knowledge? &nbsp; One must enter the knowledge&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-05-questions-and-answers-volume-05","wpcat-126-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4483","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=4483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4483\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}