{"id":4496,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:24","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4496"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:24","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:24","slug":"10-20-may-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\/10-20-may-1953-vol-05-questions-and-answers-volume-05","title":{"rendered":"-10_ 20 May 1953.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

 <\/span><\/b>20 May 1953<\/b> <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You have said: \u201cAnd as for those who have
\nthe will of running away, even they, when they go over to the other side, may
\nfind that the flight was not of much use after all.\u201d <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n
\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Questions and Answers 1929 (28 April)<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What do you call \u201cthe other side\u201d?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

We speak of
\nthe other side of the veil, the other side of existence. <\/span><\/p>\n

It
\nis being no longer in the physical: being in the vital, for example, or in the
\nconscious part of the vital. One becomes conscious of two sides and so knows
\nwhat is happening. There are people who go out of their body methodically to
\nhave the experience of the separation between the two. But as for that, one
\nmust know how to do it, and one must not do it all alone. Someone should be
\nthere to look after and watch the body. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Are not offering and surrender to the
\nDivine the same thing? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

They are
\ntwo aspects of the same thing, but not altogether the same. One is more active
\nthan the other. They do not belong to quite the same plane of existence. <\/span><\/p>\n

For
\nexample, you have decided to offer your life to the Divine, you take that
\ndecision. But all of a sudden, something altogether unpleasant, unexpected
\nhappens to you and your first movement is to react and protest. Yet you have
\nmade the offering, you have said once for all: \u201cMy life belongs to the Divine\u201d,
\nand then suddenly an extremely unpleasant incident happens (that can happen)
\nand there is something in you that reacts, that does not want it. But here, if
\nyou want to be truly logical <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Page \u2013 53<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

with your
\noffering, you must bring forward this unpleasant incident, make an offering of
\nit to the Divine, telling him very sincerely: \u201cLet Your will be done; if You
\nhave decided it that way, it will be that way.\u201d And this must be a willing and
\nspontaneous adhesion. So it is very difficult. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even
\nfor the smallest thing, something that is not in keeping with what you
\nexpected, what you have worked for, instead of an opposite reaction coming in \u2013
\nspontaneously, irresistibly, you draw back: \u201cNo, not that\u201d – if you have made a
\ncomplete surrender, a total surrender, well, it does not happen like that: you
\nare as quiet, as peaceful, as calm in one case as in the other. And perhaps you
\nhad the notion that it would be better if it happened in a certain way, but if
\nit happens differently, you find that this also is all right. You might have,
\nfor example, worked very hard to do a certain thing, so that something might
\nhappen, you might have given much time, much of your energy, much of your will,
\nand all that not for your own sake, but, say, for the divine work (that is the
\noffering); now suppose that after having taken all this trouble, done all this
\nwork, made all these efforts, it all goes just the other way round, it does not
\nsucceed. If you are truly surrendered, you say: \u201cIt is good, it is all good, it
\nis all right; I did what I could, as well as I could, now it is not my
\ndecision, it is the decision of the Divine, I accept entirely what He decides.\u201d
\nOn the other hand, if you do not have this deep and spontaneous surrender, you
\ntell yourself: \u201cHow is it? I took so much trouble to do a thing which is not
\nfor a selfish purpose, which is for the Divine Work, and this is the result, it
\nis not successful!\u201d Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, it is like that. <\/span><\/p>\n

True
\nsurrender is a very difficult thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

For self-surrender, should one continue to
\ndo what one ought to do? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Continue to
\ndo what one ought to, what is clearly shown as the <\/span>
\n
\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 54<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

thing that ought
\nto be done, what is to be done – whether one succeeds or does not succeed,
\nwhether the result is what one thinks or expects or isn\u2019t – that has no
\nimportance; one continues. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But when one tries, if one makes a mistake
\nunconsciously, how can one know? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If you are
\nquite sincere, you know. Not to know one\u2019s fault is always the sign of an
\ninsincerity somewhere. And generally, it is hidden in the vital. When the vital
\nconsents to collaborate (which is already a big step), when it decides that it
\ntoo is going to work, to devote all its effort and all its energy to accomplish
\nthe work, even then there is underneath, well hidden somewhere, a sort of \u2013 how
\nshall we call it? \u2013 an expectation that things will turn out well and the
\nresult will be favourable. And that veils the complete sincerity. For this
\nexpectation is an egoistic, personal thing, and this veils the full sincerity.
\nThen you do not know. <\/span><\/p>\n

But
\nif one is altogether, absolutely sincere, as soon as what one is doing is not
\nexactly what should be done, one feels it very clearly \u2013 not violently but very
\nclearly, – very precisely: \u201cNo, not this.\u201d And then if one has no attachment,
\nimmediately it stops, instantaneously it stops.<\/span><\/p>\n

Only
\none has attachment, even for a disinterested work. That\u2019s what you must understand.
\nYou have given your life for a cause that is not egoistic, but the ego is there
\nall the same. And you have a way of doing the thing which is special, personal
\nto you; and you have within you a hope (not to speak of a desire) that the
\nresult will be like this, that you will get this and it will be done. Even a
\nwork that is not done for yourself but which you have undertaken, you expect
\nthat it will succeed, that you will have success \u2013 not personally \u2013 for the
\nthing you have undertaken, the work that you are doing. Well, that brings in
\njust a little bit of something like that, down below, quite hidden, quite
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 55<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

a tiny
\nthing which is a little.. not very straight, a little bent, twisted. And then
\nyou do not know. But if that were not there, as soon as you failed to do
\nexactly what should be done, you would know. You would know it absolutely
\nprecisely. It is as delicate a movement as the thousandth part of a millimetre
\nwould be. Yes, it is there, and that is sufficient, you know: \u201cI was mistaken.\u201d
\nBut you must have that absolute sincerity which precisely does not want at any
\ncost to blunder, which will do anything, give up everything, everything, rather
\nthan live in any kind of illusion. But it is very difficult; it takes time and
\nmuch labour. When you are doing a thing, always those two, the mind and the
\nvital are there, trying to draw some benefit or other out of what you are
\ndoing: the benefit of personal satisfaction, the benefit of happiness, the
\nbenefit of a good opinion that you have of yourself. It is difficult not to
\ndeceive oneself. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What is the exact way of feeling that we
\nbelong to the Divine and that the Divine is acting in us?<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You must
\nnot feel with your head (because you may think so, but that\u2019s something vague);
\nyou must feel with your sense-feeling. Naturally one begins by wanting it with
\nthe mind, because that is the first thing that understands. And then one has an
\naspiration here (pointing<\/i> to<\/i> the<\/i>
\nheart<\/i>), with a flame which pushes you
\nto realise it. But if you want it to be truly the<\/i> thing, well, you must feel it. <\/span><\/p>\n

You
\nare doing something, suppose, for example, you are doing exercises,
\nweightlifting. Now suddenly without your knowing how it happened, suddenly you
\nhave the feeling that there is a force infinitely greater than you, greater,
\nmore powerful, a force that does the lifting for you. Your body becomes
\nsomething almost non-existent and there is this Something that lifts. And then
\nyou will see; when that happens to you, you will no longer ask how it should be
\ndone, you will know. That does happen<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 56<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

It
\ndepends upon people, depends upon what dominates in their being. Those who
\nthink have suddenly the feeling that it is no longer they who think, that there
\nis something which knows much better, sees much more clearly, which is
\ninfinitely more luminous, more conscious in them, which organises the thoughts
\nand words; and then they write. But if the experience is complete, it is even
\nno longer they who write, it is that same Thing that takes hold of their hand
\nand makes it write. Well, one knows at that moment that the little physical
\nperson is just a tiny insignificant tool trying to remain as quiet as possible
\nin order not to disturb the experience. <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes,
\nat no cost must the experience be disturbed. If suddenly you say: \u201cOh, look,
\nhow strange it is!\u201d… <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How can we reach that state? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Aspire for
\nit, want it. Try to be less and less selfish, but not in the sense of becoming
\nnice to other people or forgetting yourself, not that: have less and less the
\nfeeling that you are a person, a separate entity, something existing in itself,
\nisolated from the rest. <\/span><\/p>\n

And
\nthen, above all, above all, it is that inner flame, that aspiration, that need
\nfor the light. It is a kind of \u2013 how to put it? \u2013 luminous enthusiasm that
\nseizes you. It is an irresistible need to melt away, to give oneself, to exist
\nonly in the Divine. <\/span><\/p>\n

At
\nthat moment you have the experience of your aspiration. <\/span><\/p>\n

But
\nthat moment should be absolutely sincere and as integral as possible; and all
\nthis must occur not only in the head, not only here, but must take place
\neverywhere, in all the cells of the body. The consciousness integrally must
\nhave this irresistible need… The thing lasts for some time, then diminishes,
\ngets extinguished. You cannot keep these things for very long. But then it so
\nhappens that a moment later or the next day or some time later, suddenly you
\nhave the opposite experience. Instead of feeling this ascent, and all that,
\nthis is no longer there and<\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 57<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

you have
\nthe feeling of the Descent, the Answer. And nothing but the Answer exists.
\nNothing but the divine thought, the divine will, the divine energy, the divine
\naction exists any longer. And you too, you are no longer there. <\/span><\/p>\n

That
\nis to say, it is the answer to our aspiration. It may happen immediately
\nafterwards \u2013 that is very rare but may happen. If you have both simultaneously,
\nthen the state is perfect; usually they alternate; they alternate more and more
\nclosely until the moment there is a total fusion. Then there is no more
\ndistinction. I heard a Sufi mystic, who was besides a great musician, an
\nIndian, saying that for the Sufis there was a state higher than that of
\nadoration and surrender to the Divine, than that of devotion, that this was not
\nthe last stage; the last stage of the progress is when there is no longer any
\ndistinction; you have no longer this kind of adoration or surrender or
\nconsecration; it is a very simple state in which one makes no distinction
\nbetween the Divine and oneself. They know this. It is even written in their
\nbooks. It is a commonly known condition in which everything becomes quite
\nsimple. There is no longer any difference. There is no longer that kind of
\necstatic surrender to \u201cSomething\u201d which is beyond you in every way, which you
\ndo not understand, which is merely the result of your aspiration, your
\ndevotion. There is no difference any longer. When the union is perfect, there
\nis no longer any difference. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Is this the end of self-progress?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There is never
\nany end to progress – never any end, you can never put a full-stop there. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Can that happen before the transformation
\nof the body? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Before the
\ntransformation of the body?.. This is a phenomenon of consciousness. For instance,
\nthe physical consciousness may <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 58<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

have this
\nexperience even for years before the cells change. There is a great difference
\nbetween the physical consciousness (the 58body consciousness) and the material
\nbody. This takes a long time, because it is a thing that has never been done.
\nThat state, as I have already told you, is a commonly known state which has
\nbeen realised by some people, the most advanced, the highest among the mystics;
\nbut the transformation of the body has never been done by anyone. <\/span><\/p>\n

And
\nit takes a terribly long time. Sri Aurobindo said \u2013 one day I asked him: \u201cHow
\nlong will it take to transform the body?\u201d He did not hesitate, he said: \u201cOh!
\nsomething like three hundred years.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Three hundred years from when? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Three hundred
\nyears from the time one has the consciousness I was just speaking about. (Laughter<\/i>) <\/span><\/p>\n

No,
\nthe conclusion, what you must succeed in doing, is to be able to prolong life
\nat will: not to leave the body until one wants to. <\/span><\/p>\n

So,
\nif one has resolved to transform the body, well, one must wait with all the
\nnecessary patience \u2013 three hundred years, five hundred years, a thousand years,
\nit does not matter \u2013 the time needed for the change. As for me, I see that
\nthree hundred years is a minimum. To tell you the truth, with the experience I
\nhave of things, I think it is truly a minimum. <\/span><\/p>\n

Just
\nimagine. You have never thought about what it means, have you? How is your body
\nbuilt? In a purely animal way, with all the organs and all the functions. You
\nare absolutely dependent: if your heart stops for even the thousandth part of a
\nsecond, you are gone and that\u2019s the end. The whole thing works and works
\nautomatically without your conscious will (happily for you, for if you had to
\nsupervise the functioning, it would have gone the wrong way long ago). All that
\nis there. Everything is necessary, because it was organised in that manner. You
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 59<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

cannot do
\nwithout an organ, at least totally; there must be something in you representing
\nit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Transformation
\nimplies that all this purely material arrangement is replaced by an arrangement
\nof concentrations of force having certain types of different vibrations
\nsubstituting each organ by a centre of conscious energy moved by a conscious
\nwill and directed by a movement coming from above, from higher regions. No
\nstomach, no heart any longer, no circulation, no lungs, no.. All this
\ndisappears. But it is replaced by a whole set of vibrations representing what
\nthose organs are symbolically. For the organs are only the material symbols of
\ncentres of energy; they are not the essential reality; they simply give it a
\nform or a support in certain given circumstances. The transformed body will
\nthen function through its real centres of energy and not any longer through
\ntheir symbolic representatives such as were developed in the animal body.
\nTherefore, first of all you must know what your heart represents in the cosmic
\nenergy and what the circulation represents and what the stomach and the brain
\nrepresent. To begin with, you must first be conscious of all that. And then,
\nyou must have at your disposal the original vibrations of that which is
\nsymbolised by these organs. And you must slowly gather together all these
\nenergies in your body and change each organ into a centre of conscious energy which
\nwill replace the symbolic movement by the real one You believe it will take
\nonly three hundred years to do that? I believe it will take much more time to
\nhave a form with qualities which will not be exactly those we know, but will be
\nmuch superior; a form that one naturally dreams to see plastic: as the
\nexpression of your face changes with your feelings, so the body will change
\n(not the form but within the same form) in accordance with what you want to
\nexpress with your body. It can become very concentrated, very developed, very
\nluminous, very quiet, with a perfect plasticity, with a perfect elasticity and
\nthen a lightness at will… Have you never dreamt of giving a kick to the
\nground and then soaring into the air, flying away? You move about. You push <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 60<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

a little
\nwith your shoulder, you go this way; you push again, you go that way; and you
\ngo wherever you like, quite easily; and finally when you have finished you come
\nback, enter your body. Well, you must be able to do that with your body, and
\nalso certain things related to respiration \u2013 but there will no longer be lungs;
\nthere\u2019s a true movement behind a symbolic movement which gives you this
\ncapacity of lightness; you do not belong any longer to the system of
\ngravitation, you escape it.<\/span>\u00b9<\/span>
\nAnd so for each organ.<\/span><\/p>\n

There
\nis no end to imagination: to be luminous whenever one wants it, to be
\ntransparent whenever one wants it. Naturally there is no longer any need of any
\nbones also in the system; it is not a skeleton with skin and viscera, it is another
\nthing. It is concentrated energy obeying the will. This does not mean that
\nthere will no longer be any definite and recognisable forms; the form will be
\nbuilt by qualities rather than by solid particles. It will be, if one may say
\nso, a practical or pragmatic form; it will be supple, mobile, light at will, in
\ncontrast to the fixity of the gross material form. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So,
\nto change this into what I have just described, I believe three hundred years
\nare truly very little. It seems many more than that are needed. Perhaps with a
\nvery, very, very concentrated work.. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Three hundred years with the same body? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Well, there
\nis change, it is no longer the same body.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n1 According to Sri Aurobindo, this true movement
\nbehind respiration is the same as the one governing electrical and magnetic
\nfields; it is what the ancient yogis used to call Vayu, the Life-Energy. The
\nbreathing exercises (prānāyama<\/i>)
\nare simply one system (among others) for acquiring mastery over Vayu which
\neventually enables you to be free from gravitation and gives certain powers
\nknow to the ancients: the power to be extremely light or extremely heavy, very
\nbig or very tine (garimā,
\nlaghimā, mahimā, an<\/span>imā<\/i>). As an appendix to this
\ntalk we publish an extract from a conversation of Sri Aurobindo with a French
\nscientist-disciple, dealing with some of these \u201ctrue movements\u201d behind the
\nexternal movement of Matter.<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 61<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

But,
\nyou see, when our little humanity says three hundred years with the same body,
\nyou say: \u201cWhy! when I am fifty it already begins to decompose, so at three
\nhundred it will be a horrible thing!\u201d But it is not like that. If it is three
\nhundred years with a body that goes on perfecting itself from year to year,
\nperhaps when the three hundredth year is reached one will say: \u201cOh! I still
\nneed three or four hundred more to be what I want to be.\u201d If each year that
\npasses represents a progress, a transformation, one would like to have more and
\nmore years in order to be able to transform oneself more and more. When
\nsomething is not exactly as you want it to be – take, for example, simply one
\nof the things I have just described, say, plasticity or lightness or elasticity
\nor luminosity, and none of them is exactly as you want it, then you will still
\nneed at least two hundred years more so that it may be accomplished, but you
\nnever think: \u201cHow is it? It is still going to last two hundred years more!\u201d On
\nthe contrary, you say: \u201cTwo hundred years more are absolutely necessary so that
\nit may be truly done.\u201d And then, when all is done, when all is perfect, then
\nthere is no longer any question of years, for you are immortal. <\/span><\/p>\n

But
\nthere are many objections that may be raised. It may be said that it would be
\nimpossible for the body to change unless something changes in the surroundings
\nalso. What would be your relation with other objects if you have changed so
\nmuch? With other beings also? It seems necessary that a whole set of things
\nchanges, at least in relative proportions, so that one can exist, continue to
\nexist. This then brings much complication, for it is no longer one individual
\nconsciousness that has to do the work, it becomes a collective consciousness.
\nAnd so it is much more difficult still.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(Silence<\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If we are not conscious of all that the
\nDivine is doing for us, do we not progress? <\/span><\/i>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 62<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

You
\nprogress, but you are not conscious of your progress; and so it is not a willed
\nprogress. That is, it is a progress that the Divine brings about in you without
\nyour collaboration. That takes much more time. It does occur, but it takes much
\nmore time. When you are conscious and collaborate and indeed do consciously
\nwhat you should do, it is done much more quickly. <\/span><\/p>\n

There
\nare many people who are not even conscious, the immense majority of people are
\nnot even conscious of the action of the divine Force in them. If you speak to
\nthem about it, they look at you in round-eyed wonder, they think you are half
\nmad, they don\u2019t know what you are talking about. That is the vast majority of
\nhuman beings. And yet the Consciousness is at work, working all the time. It
\nmoulds them from within whether they want it or not. But then, when they become
\nconscious of this, there are people who are shocked by it, who are so stupid as
\nto revolt and say: \u201cAh! no, I want it to be myself<\/i>!\u201d
\nMyself, that is, an imbecile who knows nothing. And then, that stage too
\npasses. At last there comes a moment when one collaborates and says: \u201cOh! What
\njoy!\u201d And you give yourself, you want to be as passive and receptive as
\npossible so as not to stand in the way of this divine Will, this divine
\nConsciousness that is acting. You become more and more attentive, and exactly
\nto the extent you become more attentive and more sincere, you feel in what
\ndirection, in what movement this divine Consciousness is working, and you give
\nyourself to it wholly. The thing ripens more quickly. And in this way you are
\ntruly able to do in a few minutes the work that would otherwise take years. And
\nthat is the goal of yoga: one can do the work in a few hours, in a
\nconcentrated, shortened time; one can do in another way what Nature is doing \u2013
\nNature will do it, Nature will succeed in transforming all this, but when one
\nsees the time she has taken to do what she has done till now, if one wants to
\ndo all that in another way Evidently, for the divine Consciousness time means
\nvery little, but for the consciousness here, it is very long. There is a point
\nof view from which you say: \u201cBah! That will
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 63<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

be done, it
\nis sure to come about, so it is all right, one has only to let things go on.\u201d But
\nthen it is not the external human consciousness, it does not take part, for
\nthis tiny consciousness which has been formed by the body (this body that\u2019s at
\npresent made in this way), well, it will have gone away long before the thing
\nis done. Because after all the progress of Nature is not accomplished from one
\ncentury to another. If we look back, we do not see that there has been really
\nmuch progress in comparison with what man was some three thousand years ago \u2013
\njust a little, something; something that happens particularly in the head which
\nunderstands a little better; and then a kind of control over what Nature does,
\nan understanding of her processes; one begins to understand her tricks. Then as
\none begins to learn her tricks, one begins to intervene. But as one does not
\nhave the true knowledge, when one intervenes one may very easily make a lot of
\nblunders Indeed, I do not know what will happen when men will know all the
\nsecrets of the formation of matter, for example. They have already invented a
\nvery fine way of destroying themselves. We shall see what is going to happen.
\nBut this is just a very small step; it happens particularly here (pointing to the head<\/i>), with very
\nrelative material results. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How should one practise this
\nconsciousness?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You must establish
\nthis will to be conscious constantly and then change the mental will into an
\naspiration. You must have this movement. And then never to forget. You must
\nlook, look at yourself, and look at your life with the sincerity not to make a
\nmistake, never to deceive yourself. Oh! how difficult it is! <\/span><\/p>\n

Did
\nyou ever have spontaneously \u2013 spontaneously without effort – the perception
\nthat you had made a mistake? I am not speaking of an external reaction that
\ngives you a knock, wakes you up suddenly and you say: \u201cOh my God, what have I
\ndone?\u201d I am not speaking of that. When you do a thing, feel a thing, when you
\nsay a thing \u2013 take simply the petty quarrels
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013  64<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

like those
\nI hear about at least a dozen of them a day (at least), idiotic, (I wonder how,
\nhaving one\u2019s reason, one can quarrel about such things), well, at the time you
\nutter those words that should not be uttered, that are simply silly, do you see
\nthat you are truly stupid \u2013 not to say anything worse \u2013 spontaneously?.. You
\nalways give an excuse. You have always the feeling that the other person is
\nwrong, and that you are right and that, indeed, he must be told that he is
\nwrong, yes? Otherwise he would never know it! Isn\u2019t that so? I am putting the
\nthing rather glaringly, as though under a small microscope, so that it may look
\na little bigger. But it is like that. And so long as it is like that, you are a
\nmillion miles away from the true consciousness. When you are unable
\nimmediately, instantaneously to step back, put yourself in the place of the
\nother person, understand why he has this feeling, have a glimpse of your own
\nweakness, compare the two and come to the conclusion: \u201cWell, it is that, that\u2019s
\nthe true thing\u201d, it means that you are still very far behind. When you are able
\nto do it spontaneously, instantaneously, when it does not take time, when it is
\na natural movement, then you may feel satisfied that you have made a little
\nprogress\u2026 How many times do you have the experience during the day? Even if you
\ndo not come to an open quarrel, how many times is the reaction there in the
\nhead, there, something that leaps up in the head, instead of this wisdom of
\nequanimity which, at the very moment things are happening and it is observing
\nthem, understands how they are happening and why all this occurs \u2013 and that
\nimpersonally enough to be able to smile always and never have a violent
\nreaction, never. <\/span><\/p>\n

And
\neven if you perceive the Truth, which is far beyond and far above, and the
\nTruth that is not realised and you want to realise, if you have its clear vision
\nand can see constantly the difference between what is true and what should be
\nand what is false and deformed and must give place to the other, see it so
\nclearly, there is no reaction any longer, and even things that seem to you most
\nstupid, most idiotic, most obscure, most
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 65<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

ignorant,
\nmost vulgar, most crude can make you smile, for you are able 65to see the whole
\nlength of the way you have to cover so that That which is up there may come
\ndown here. And if you had had violent reactions, long ago there would have been
\nno world any more. Because, in truth, if the world could exist only on
\ncondition of its being true, then long ago it would have ceased to exist! For
\nit has never been true even to this very day. <\/span><\/p>\n

But
\nif you remain in that consciousness and look from there, then you begin to
\nunderstand something of the truth. And this consciousness has to be so total,
\nthat even if things come directly against you, even the physical movement of
\nsomeone coming to beat you (you must not allow him to kill you, no; you have
\nperhaps to do what is necessary not to get killed), but if you are yourself in
\nthis perfect consciousness and have no personal reaction, well, I give you the
\nguarantee the other cannot kill you. He will not be able to, even if he tries.
\nHe will not be able to beat you, even if he tries. Only, you must not have a
\nsingle violent or wrong vibration, you understand? Even if there is just a
\nlittle false vibration, that opens the door and the thing enters and all goes
\nwrong. You must be fully conscious, have the full knowledge, the perfect
\nmastery over everything, the clear vision of the Truth \u2013 and perfect peace. <\/span><\/p>\n

You
\nmust make an effort all the time. <\/span><\/p>\n

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

\nPage \u2013 66<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

 20 May 1953   You have said: \u201cAnd as for those who have the will of running away, even they, when they go over to…<\/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-4496","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\/4496","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=4496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4496\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}