{"id":4491,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:22","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4491"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:22","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:22","slug":"14-10-june-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\/14-10-june-1953-vol-05-questions-and-answers-volume-05","title":{"rendered":"-14_10 June 1953.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

\n10 June 1953 <\/font> <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAttacks from adverse forces are
\ninevitable: you have to take them as tests on your way and go courageously
\nthrough the ordeal. The struggle may be hard, but when you come out of it, you
\nhave gained something, you have advanced a step. There is even a necessity for
\nthe existence of the hostile forces. They make your determination stronger,
\nyour aspiration clearer. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is true, however, that they exist
\nbecause you gave them reason to exist. So long as there is something in you
\nwhich answers to them, their intervention is perfectly legitimate. If nothing
\nin you responded, if they had no hold upon any part of your nature, they would
\nretire and leave you.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Questions and Answers 1929 (5 May)
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Sometimes when an adverse force attacks us
\nand we come out successful, why are we attacked once again by the same force? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Because something
\nwas left inside. We have said that the force can attack only when there is
\nsomething which responds in the nature \u2013 however slight it may be. There is a
\nkind of affinity, something corresponding, there is a disorder or an
\nimperfection which attracts the adverse force by responding to it. So, if the
\nattack comes, you must keep perfectly quiet and send it back, but it does not
\nnecessarily follow that you have got rid of that small part in you which allows
\nthe attack to come. <\/span><\/p>\n

You
\nhave something in you which attracts this force; take, for example (it is one
\nof the most frequent things), the force of depression, that kind of attack of a
\nwave of depression that falls upon you: you lose confidence, you lose hope, you
\nhave the feeling you will never be able to do anything, you are cast
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 94<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

down. It
\nmeans there is in your vital being something which is naturally egoistic,
\nsurely a little vain, which needs encouragement to remain in a good state. So
\nit is like a little signal for those forces which intimates to them: \u201cYou can
\ncome, the door is open.\u201d But there is another part in the being that was
\nwatching when these forces arrived; instead of allowing them to enter, the part
\nwhich sees clearly, which knows, which has power, which resists, says: \u201cNo, I
\ndo not want that, it is not true, I do not want it\u201d, and sends them back. But
\nyou have not necessarily been cured of the little thing within you which
\npermitted them to come. You must go very deep within, work within you
\npersistently to be able to efface all possibility of calling. And so long as
\nyou have not completely effaced it, the attack will recur almost unexpectedly.
\nYou push it back \u2013 it is like a ball you throw against the wall, back it
\nreturns; you push it back once again and again it returns until the moment
\nthere is no longer anything to attract it. Then it does not return again. <\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore,
\nthe most important thing to do when you are attacked by an adverse force, is to
\nsay to yourself: \u201cYes, the force comes from outside and the attack is there,
\nbut there must certainly be a correspondence in my nature, otherwise it could
\nnot have attacked me. Well, I am going to look and find within me what allows
\nthis force to come and I am going to send it back or transform it or put the
\nlight of consciousness upon it so that it may be converted, or drive it away so
\nthat it remains no longer within me….\u00a0
\n<\/span>\u201cThere is a way, you see? When the force comes, the adverse force, when
\nit attacks, the part which corresponds rushes out to meet it, it goes forward.
\nA kind of meeting takes place. If at that time, instead of being altogether
\noverwhelmed or taken by surprise and off your guard, you observe very closely
\nwhat it was within you that vibrated (it makes the sound tat, tat, tat: another
\nthing has entered), then you can catch it. At that moment, you catch it and say
\nto it: \u201cGet out with your friends, I don\u2019t want you any longer!\u201d You send away
\nthe two together, the part that attracted and the thing it attracted;
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 95<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

they are sent
\naway and you are absolutely clear. <\/span><\/p>\n

For
\nthat, you must be very vigilant and have a little courage, in the sense that at
\ntimes you have to grip it hard and then pull it out \u2013 it hurts a little \u2013 and
\nthen you throw it out along with the forces you send away. After that, it is
\nfinished. And so long as this is not done, it comes back and back again; and
\nthen if one is not in oneself sufficiently courageous or vigilant or
\npersevering, the fourth or fifth time one falls flat and says: \u201cThat\u2019s too
\nmuch, I have had enough!\u201d So the force installs itself, contented, satisfied
\nwith its work; and then you can see it laughing, it enjoys itself immensely, it
\ngot what it wanted. Now to send it back again means a very considerable work.
\nBut if you follow the other method, if you look closely this way: \u201cWell, I am
\ngoing to catch the thing that has allowed it to come\u201d, you see somewhere within
\nyou something rising, wriggling, coming up in response to the evil force which
\nis approaching. That is the moment to seize it and throw it out with all the
\nrest. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But when we throw it out, it does not die.
\nThen it can go elsewhere once more, for it remains in the world. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Exactly. It
\nremains in the world and it will surely go elsewhere \u2013 until it meets someone
\nwho has sufficient spiritual and occult power to dissolve it, and that is very
\ndifficult One must be very strong, possess a very great knowledge and power to
\ndissolve a movement that has (this can be said at least) its reason for
\nexistence in the world \u2013 I do not say it is legitimate, but still it has its
\nreason for existence. There are things which can be dissolved; but if somewhere
\nin the world it exists in someone, he can reconstitute it. It is the same thing
\nwhen people are attacked by small beings of the vital world, hostile beings who
\nattack them, install themselves in their atmosphere, trying to possess them,
\nthat is, enter into them and use their body and all the rest. These beings \u2013 it
\nis very difficult for the individual to get
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 96<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

rid of them:
\nthat needs a very, very hard yoga. But one who has the knowledge and the power
\nand who sees them can very well get them out of the atmosphere and destroy
\nthem. But if one who is attacked keeps within himself this little affinity
\nwhich allowed the thing to enter, then he will recall it. I have had several
\nexamples of the kind, several. <\/span><\/p>\n

I
\nhad the example of a person who was three-fourths possessed and at the moment
\nmanifested a kind of power, a force that was not very good, but all the same it
\ngave the impression of a force, a power, a capacity. Only he recognised that it
\nwas bad and was for evil, and prayed to be relieved of it. The opportunity
\ncomes: the being shows itself separately from the person it possesses, it can
\nbe seized, pulled out and dissolved. Then the one who had been possessed
\nsuddenly feels that he is becoming as commonplace as anybody else. That feeling
\nof power he had is now lost and he feels he is becoming quite ordinary and
\nsays: \u201cI have no special faculties, I have no special value, I have no special
\ncapacity, I am quite an ordinary person and less than ordinary, of a sickening
\ncommonness!\u201d Now what does he do? He prays to have his possession back again.
\nAnd so a few days later, I find him as possessed as ever. <\/span><\/p>\n

Well,
\nhere it is truly not worth the trouble. One has only to leave them to their
\nfate. This has happened many a time. In such people, you know, it is a kind of
\nvanity which generally opens the door to those forces; they wished to be big,
\npowerful, to play an important role, to be somebody; that attracts the force
\nand so they become like that, possessed. The thing is taken away from them: all
\ntheir remarkable capacity disappears at the same time and their self-satisfied
\nvanity as well. They have the feeling they have become something quite ordinary
\nand a tiny little thing within them says: \u201cOh! it was better before….\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cFor one that is destroyed, there are always
\nten ready to come in. That\u2019s how it is, it is a strange task! <\/span><\/p>\n

You
\nknow the story of Durga, don\u2019t you? Durga who every year has to destroy her
\nasura; and always she is compelled to <\/span>
\n
\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 97<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

begin
\nagain. It goes on in this way till the end of the reign allotted to the titans.
\nWhen they will be banished from this world, it will not be thus any longer. But
\ntill then, that is as long as they are useful (as I have said in this book) for
\nintensifying the aspiration, clarifying the consciousness, for putting to the
\ntest the sincerity of people, they will be there. The day the test will not be
\nneeded, the day the sincerity will be pure and self-existent they will
\ndisappear. Then that day, Durga will no longer need to begin her battle over
\nagain every year. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Would it not be better to change them? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah! my
\nchild, certainly it would be better, much better. But then.. <\/span><\/p>\n

It
\nis a domain of which I have a thorough experience. After forty years of
\nsustained effort I have found out that it is absolutely impossible to change
\nanyone unless in truth he wants it sincerely. If he does not set himself to the
\ntask with an absolute sincerity, well – I have tried for forty years, one can
\ntry it for a hundred and forty years, it will be the same thing – he won\u2019t
\nstir. It is the very character of these beings to be perfectly satisfied with
\nthemselves, and they do not desire, they have not the least intention to
\nchange! Even now, among the beings who are concerned with the earth, the asuric
\nbeings, the greatest of the asuras who is still busy with the earth at present,
\nwho is the asura of falsehood and calls himself the \u201cLord of the Nations\u201d – he
\nhas taken a beautiful name, he is Lord of the Nations – it is he, wherever
\nthere is something going wrong, you may be sure it is he or a representative of
\nhis who is there. It is also perfectly sure that very soon his hour will come
\nand all will be over for him, that he will have to disappear. And he absolutely
\nrefuses to change. He has no intention to do it, for immediately he will lose
\nall his power. It is impossible. And he knows that he will disappear. But he
\nproclaims categorically that before disappearing he will destroy all he can At
\nheart,
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 98<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

he would
\nnot consent to disappear unless everything disappeared at the same time as he.
\nUnfortunately for him, this is not possible. But he will do all that lies in
\nhis power to destroy, demolish, ruin, corrupt as many things as he can. That is
\ncertain. Afterwards it is the downfall. He accepts the downfall on this
\ncondition. It has never crossed his mind that he might be converted. It would
\nno longer be he, don\u2019t you see, he would no longer be himself. <\/span><\/p>\n

There
\nis a great difference between a human being and these beings of the vital
\nplane. I have told you this many times, I am going to repeat it: <\/span><\/p>\n

In
\na human being, there is the divine Presence and the psychic being \u2013 at the
\nbeginning embryonic, but in the end a being wholly formed, conscious,
\nindependent, individualised. That does not exist in the vital world. It is a
\nspecial grace given to human beings dwelling in matter and upon earth. And
\nbecause of this, there is no human being who cannot be converted, if he wants
\nit; that is, there is a possibility of his wanting it and the moment he wants
\nit, he can do it. He is sure to succeed the moment he wants it, whereas those
\nbeings of the vital do not have a psychic being in them, they do not have the
\ndirect divine Presence (naturally, at the Origin, they descended directly from
\nthe Divine, but that was at the Origin, that is very far away). They are not in
\ndirect contact with the Divine within them, they have no psychic being. And if
\nthey were converted, there would remain nothing of them! For they are made up
\nentirely of the opposite movement: they are entirely made up of personal
\nself-assertion, despotic authority, separation from the Origin, and, of a great
\ndisdain for all that is pure, beautiful and noble. They do not have within them
\nthis psychic element which in man, even in the most debased, makes him respect
\nwhat is beautiful and pure; even the basest man, in spite of himself, against
\nhis own will, respects what is pure, noble and beautiful. But those beings do
\nnot have that. They are wholly on the other side, totally on the other side. It
\ndisgusts them in every way.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 99<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

It is for
\nthem something which should not be touched, because it destroys; it is the thing
\nthat makes them disappear. Goodwill, sincerity, purity and beauty are things
\nwhich make them disappear. So they hate these things. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now
\nI do not know on what grounds one could convert them. What would be the point
\nof support? I do not find it. Even in the greatest. That is, some of these
\nbeings will not disappear until hatred disappears from the earth One might put
\nit the other way round. One might say that hatred will disappear from the earth
\nwhen those beings disappear; but, for the reason I have just given, the power
\nto make light spring forth in the place of darkness, beauty in the place of
\nugliness, goodness instead of evil, that power man possesses, the Asura does
\nnot. Therefore it is man who will do that work, it is he who will change, it is
\nhe who will transform his earth and it is he who will compel the Asura to flee
\ninto other worlds or to dissolve. After that, all will be quiet. There you are.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Any
\nquestions? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You have said here, in reference to the
\nmind: \u201cAny part of the being that keeps to its proper place and plays its
\nappointed role is helpful; but directly it steps beyond its sphere, it becomes
\ntwisted and perverted and therefore false. A power has the right movement when
\nit is set into activity for the Divine purpose; it has the wrong movement when
\nit is set into activity for its own satisfaction.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Questions and Answers 1929 (5 May)<\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

When a part of the being steps beyond its
\nsphere, why does it get deformed and perverted? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

]I use the
\nword \u201csphere\u201d in the sense of the place and the role one has to play. Each part
\nof the being has its place in the whole and a definite role to play. If instead
\nof playing that role,
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 100<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

it wishes
\nto play another, naturally it loses the qualities necessary for it to play its true
\nrole, and it cannot take up any others because they are foreign to it. So
\nnecessarily it gets deformed and perverted. For example, we say here that the
\ntrue role of the mind is a formative role in relation to action. An idea enters
\nthe mind, the mind seizes it and gives it a form to realise it, changes it into
\na motive of action and sends it out towards the material field. The mind
\norganises the idea so that it may be realised in action. This is its true role,
\nand so long as it does that and does it with care, it fulfils its role, it
\nabides in its place and is quite useful. But if the mind imagines that it
\nknows, that it has no need of receiving knowledge and ideas from another part
\nof the being \u2013 a higher part \u2013 It imagines that it knows and, by the association
\nof inner movements, believes it has found some knowledge, which can never be
\nbut a reflection of something else, and if it wants to impose this knowledge
\nupon the physical life, then it leaves its role and becomes a tyrant – this
\nhappens quite often to it, it is then completely perverted and instead of
\nhelping the sadhana, it brings it down. You can easily make this observation.
\nNaturally, one must be able to follow the true working, the activities within
\noneself. <\/span><\/p>\n

It
\nis the same thing with the vital. The vital is meant to put in the drive, the
\nrealising force, the enthusiasm, the energy necessary for the idea formed by
\nthe mind to be transmitted to the body and realised in action. Well, so long as
\nthe vital limits itself to this activity, that is, sets all its energy,
\nenthusiasm, strength to work in order to collaborate with the idea, it is very
\ngood. But if instead of that, all of a sudden, it is seized by a desire – and
\nthis happens to it quite often – and it uses all its qualities to realise, not
\nthe higher idea which wanted to manifest, but its own desire, then it steps
\nbeyond its zone of action, it gets perverted, it deforms everything and
\nsucceeds in creating catastrophes. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes we do not notice that the
\nadverse forces are attacking us; why don\u2019t we?
\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 101<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

You do not
\nnotice it! That happens when you are not alert, when you are not attentive,
\nwhen you are busy with altogether external things, the tiny little things of
\ndaily practical life. Then the forces can attack you, enter into you, install
\nthemselves without even your noticing it. Most often, they do not attack you
\ndirectly thus, because if they attack you directly, there is a chance of your
\nfeeling it (you may feel uneasy suddenly, that may awaken your attention). They
\ngo down into the inconscient and then come up, like that, quietly from below.
\nSo you do not know at all what is happening to you. When you are aware of it,
\nit is already there, thoroughly installed, quite comfortably. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes one cannot distinguish adverse
\nforces from other forces. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That
\nhappens when one is quite unconscious. <\/span><\/p>\n

There
\nare only two cases when this is possible: you are either very unconscious of
\nthe movements of your being \u2013 you have not studied, you have not observed, you
\ndo not know what is happening within you – or you are absolutely insincere,
\nthat is, you play the ostrich in order not to see the reality of things: you
\nhide your head, you hide your observation, your knowledge and you say, \u201cIt is
\nnot there.\u201d But indeed the latter I hope is not in question here. Hence it is
\nsimply because one has not the habit of observing oneself that one is so
\nunconscious of what is happening within. <\/span><\/p>\n

Have
\nyou ever practised distinguishing what comes from your mind, what comes from
\nyour vital, what comes from your physical?.. For it is mixed up; it is mixed up
\nin the outward appearance. If you do not take care to distinguish, it makes a
\nkind of soup, all that together. So it is indistinct and difficult to discover.
\nBut if you observe yourself, after some time you see certain things, you feel
\nthem to be there, like that, as though<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 102<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

they were
\nin your skin; for some other things you feel you would have to go within
\nyourself to find out from where they come; for other things, you have to go
\nstill further inside, or otherwise you have to rise up a little: it comes from
\nunconsciousness. And there are others; then you must go very deep, very deep to
\nfind out from where they come. This is just a beginning. <\/span><\/p>\n

Simply
\nobserve. You are in a certain condition, a certain undefinable condition. Then
\nlook: \u201cWhat! how is it I am like that?\u201d You try to see first if you have fever
\nor some other illness; but it is all right, everything is all right, there\u2019s
\nneither headache nor fever, the stomach is not protesting, the heart is
\nfunctioning as it should, indeed, all\u2019s well, you are normal. \u201cWhy then am I
\nfeeling so uneasy?\u201d.. So you go a little further within. It depends on cases.
\nSometimes you find out immediately: yes, there was a little incident which
\nwasn\u2019t pleasant, someone said a word that was not happy or one had failed in
\nhis task or perhaps did not know one\u2019s lesson very well, the teacher had made a
\nremark. At the time, one did not pay attention properly, but later on, it
\nbegins to work, leaves a painful impression. That is the second stage.
\nAfterwards, if nothing happened: \u201cAll\u2019s well, everything is normal, everything
\nusual, I have nothing to note down, nothing has happened: why then do I feel
\nlike that?\u201d Now it begins to be interesting, because one must enter much more
\ndeeply within oneself. And then it can be all sorts of things: it may be
\nprecisely the expression of an attack that is preparing; it may be a little
\ninner anxiety seeking the progress that has to be made; it may be a premonition
\nthat there is somewhere in contact with oneself something not altogether
\nharmonious which one has to change: something one must see, discover, change,
\non which light is to be put, something that is still there, deep down, and
\nwhich should no longer be there. Then if you look at yourself very carefully,
\nyou find out: \u201cThere! I am still like that; in that little corner, there is
\nstill something of that kind, not clear: a little selfishness, a little ill-will,
\nsomething refusing to change.\u201d So you see it, you take it by the tip of its
\nnose or<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 103<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

by the ear
\nand hold it up in full light: \u201cSo, you were hiding! you are hiding? But I don\u2019t
\nwant you any longer.\u201d And then it has to go away. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This
\nis a great progress. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If this sort of thing happens in the
\nclass, if one feels uneasy.. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That
\nhappens to you in the class? It means you do not listen to your teacher,
\notherwise it would not happen. If you were very attentive in your class and
\npaid attention to your lesson, that could not happen to you. When you came out
\nof it, then you would feel that, but not in the class. This means that you were
\ndreaming or living within you or following your imagination, but you were not
\nlistening to your lessons But it is this that\u2019s wonderful, my children: when
\nyou are learning something, when you are studying, when you are concentrated on
\nyour lesson, these things never happen to you. They may happen before, they may
\nhappen afterwards; but they won\u2019t happen at that time. For if you are quite
\nconcentrated, all your energies are concentrated on your study and there is
\nnothing unpleasant there. You understand what you learn and you are interested
\nin what you learn. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes, one tries to concentrate but
\none can\u2019t. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If
\ntruly you can\u2019t, then you have only to spend your time in seeking within
\nyourself for the reason why it is so! Then if the teacher asks you a question,
\nyou have to tell him: \u201cI am sorry, I was not listening.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

You
\ndon\u2019t like to learn? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then how can
\nthis happen?
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 104<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

But in some classes, I do not understand. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then in
\nsome classes, you do not like to learn! You can say generally, \u201cYes, yes, I
\nlike to learn!\u201d but if one really likes to learn, there isn\u2019t a class in which
\none could not learn. Surely, whatever the class, there is always something one
\ndoes not know, one can always learn. You are not a living encyclopaedia! Even
\nif you go over the same book again (this happens, I believe, in some classes),
\nand you may say: \u201cOh! I have already gone through this book, this is boring\u201d,
\nbut that\u2019s simply because you do not want to learn: because certainly if you
\nrepeat the same book, it means that you have not learnt it properly the first
\ntime and you must take particular care to learn what you have not learnt. Even
\na book of grammar! I do not say that books of grammar are very exciting, but
\neven a grammar-book becomes interesting if you set out to learn it – even the
\nmost abstract rules of grammar. You cannot imagine how amusing it is when you
\ntruly want to learn, when you want to understand why it is so; instead of just
\ncommitting to memory, learning by heart, if you want to understand: what are
\nthese words put there? For what idea, what real knowledge are they put there?
\nWhat do they represent?.. Any rule whatsoever is simply a human mental formula
\nof something that exists in itself. Take any rule at all, it shows simply that
\na few heads have made an effort to formulate in the way most clear to them,
\nmost condensed, something which exists in itself. So if one goes behind the
\nwords and begins searching for this something \u2013 the thing existing in itself,
\nwhich is there, behind the words \u2013 how interesting it becomes! It is throbbing,
\nthrilling! It is like passing through a jungle to discover a new country, like
\ngoing on an exploration to the North Pole! So, if you do that with the laws of
\ngrammar, I assure you nothing in the world can bore you afterwards. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Understand
\ninstead of learning.  <\/span><\/p>\n

I
\nadmit this asks for a very great concentration. It demands a concentration
\ncapable of penetrating, digging a hole into the
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 105<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

mental
\nshell and passing through to the other side. And afterwards, it becomes worth
\nthe trouble You have been pushed against something cold, rigid, hard,
\nunelastic. Then you concentrate, concentrate, concentrate sufficiently until..
\nsuddenly you are on the other side, and then you emerge into the light and you
\nunderstand: \u201cAh! that\u2019s wonderful! Now I understand.\u201d A very tiny thing gives
\nyou a great joy. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You
\nsee it is possible not to get bored at school. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

At school one has to finish a course in a
\nyear. One must hasten a little at times. Before one has been able to understand
\na question well, one has to go to the next chapter<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There,
\nmy child, I fully agree with you, it is not quite right. But we shall try to
\nchange all that; because after all I don\u2019t see why one has to finish a book in
\na year. It is quite arbitrary. One should not leave a chapter until it has been
\nfully grasped; only then take up the next one and so on. And if a chapter is
\nfinished, it is finished: and if it is not finished it is not finished. <\/span><\/p>\n

The
\ntruth is that the teacher, instead of basing his course on a text-book, should
\ntake the trouble of preparing the course himself. He must know enough and take
\nsufficient pains to prepare his course from day to day, and in this way he will
\nclose a subject only when – I do not say when everyone has understood, for that
\nis impossible – but at least when those whom he considers the interesting
\nelements of his class have understood. Then the next subject is taken up. And
\nif that continues, if a particular type of subject extends over two years
\ninstead of one or for a year and a half instead of two, it matters little;
\nbecause it is his own production, his own course written by him and he writes
\naccording to the need of his class. That is my conception of teaching. Now, it
\nhas indeed its difficulties. But that is the true way of working, because by
\ntaking a book and following it, particularly a book which may very well be not
\nat all <\/span>
\n
\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 106<\/span><\/font><\/ins><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

suited to
\nthe students I do not say that a particular course could suit all, it is
\nimpossible to satisfy everybody. But there are those who want to make an
\neffort; it is these that you must consider. Those who are lazy, somnolent or
\nindolent – well, you must leave them to their laziness or somnolence or
\nindolence. If they want to sleep all their lives, let them sleep until
\nsomething shakes them up sufficiently and awakens them! But what is interesting
\nin a class is the section that wishes to learn, those who really want to learn
\nand it is for them that the class should be taken. Don\u2019t you see, the present
\nmethod of education is a kind of levelling; everyone must be at the same stage.
\nSo those who have their heads higher up have them cut off, and those who are
\ntoo small are pushed up from below. But that doesn\u2019t do any good. One must be
\nconcerned only with those who come up, the others will take what they can. And
\nindeed I do not see any necessity for everybody knowing the same thing for that
\nis not normal. But those who want to know and who can know, those who must
\nwork, these should be given all possible means for working, must be pushed up
\nas much as possible, must always be given new food. They are the hungry ones, they
\nmust be fed Ah! If I had the time I would take a class. That would interest me
\nmuch, to show how it must be done. Only one cannot be everywhere at the same
\ntime!  <\/span><\/p>\n

\n       <\/span>
\nThere
\nyou are, my children, now it is very late. Good night. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n\u00a0<\/font><\/span>Page \u2013 107<\/font><\/span><\/ins><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10 June 1953   \u201cAttacks from adverse forces are inevitable: you have to take them as tests on your way and go courageously through the…<\/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-4491","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\/4491","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=4491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4491\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}