{"id":4503,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:28","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4503"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:28","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:28","slug":"16-24-june1953-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\/16-24-june1953-vol-05-questions-and-answers-volume-05","title":{"rendered":"-16_24 June1953.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

\n24 June 1953<\/b> <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThe beings of the vital world are
\npowerful by their very nature; when to their power they add knowledge, they
\nbecome doubly dangerous. There is nothing to be done with these creatures; you should
\navoid having any dealings with them unless you have the power to crush and
\ndestroy them. If you are forced into contact with them, beware of the spell
\nthey can cast. These vital beings, when they manifest on the physical plane,
\nhave always a great hypnotic power; for the centre of their consciousness is in
\nthe vital world and not in the material and they are not veiled or dwarfed by
\nthe material consciousness as human beings are.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Questions and Answers 1929 (12 May)
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 Mother, you say: \u201cThese beings are very
\npowerful\u201d; what kind of power have they? <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The power
\nthat the vital has over Matter. And, in fact, you can do nothing without the
\nvital power. If there were no vital power, Matter would be inert and
\nunconscious. The vital power is what men usually call \u201cpower\u201d in short. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Cannot the vital power be replaced by some
\nother higher power? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

No. The
\nvital must be transformed. I have always said that nothing can be done without
\nthe vital, but the vital must be converted; that is, instead of being an instrument
\nof those beings, it should become an instrument of the divine will. One can do
\nnothing in the physical world without the vital. It is exactly here that the
\nerror of the ascetics lies; as they know it is a power full of desires and
\nindeed full of the need of realising itself, they
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 117<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

abolish it,
\nso deaden it that it exists no longer. All ascetic methods are invented for
\nabolishing and deadening the vital. For that evidently is the most convenient
\nway of cutting off all connection with material life: one becomes worse than a
\nvegetative kind of being. <\/span><\/p>\n

What
\nis needed is that the vital, instead of serving its own ends or being an
\ninstrument of anti-divine forces, should become an instrument of the Divine and
\nput all its force at the service of the Divine. This is quite possible. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When we are afraid, is that due to the
\nmischief of these beings? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, my
\nchild. Fear is the prettiest gift these beings have given to the world. It is their
\nfirst present, and the most powerful. It is through fear that they hold human
\nbeings. First of all, they create a movement of fear; the movement of fear
\nweakens you, then hands you over little by little into their power. And it is
\nnot even a reasonable fear; it is a kind of fear which seizes you, you don\u2019t
\nknow why, something that makes you tremble, gives you anxiety. You do not know
\nwhy, it has no apparent reason. It is their action. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When one feels frightened, what should one
\ndo? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That
\ndepends upon who you are. There are many ways of curing oneself of fear. <\/span><\/p>\n

If
\nyou have some contact with your psychic being, you must call it immediately and
\nin the psychic light put things back in order. This is the most powerful way. <\/span><\/p>\n

When
\none does not have this psychic contact, but is still a reasonable being, that
\nis, when one has a free movement of the reasoning mind, one can use it to
\nreason with, to speak to oneself as one would to a child, explaining that this
\nfear is a bad thing in itself and, even if there is a danger, to face the
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 118<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

danger with
\nfear is the greatest stupidity. If there is a real danger, it is only with the
\npower of courage that you have a chance of coming out of it; if you have the
\nleast fear, you are done for. So with that kind of reasoning, manage to
\nconvince the part that fears that it must stop being afraid. <\/span><\/p>\n

If
\nyou have faith and are consecrated to the Divine, there is a very simple way,
\nit is to say: \u201cLet Your will be done. Nothing can frighten me because it is You
\nwho are guiding my life. I belong to You and You are guiding my life.\u201d That
\nacts immediately. Of all the means this is the most effective: indeed, it is.
\nThat is, one must be truly consecrated to the Divine. If one has that, it acts
\nimmediately; all fear vanishes immediately like a dream. And the being with the
\nbad influence also disappears like a dream along with the fear. You should see
\nit running away at full speed, prrt! Voila<\/i>.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Now,
\nthere are people having a strong vital power in them and they are fighters who
\nimmediately lift up their heads and say: \u201cAh! an enemy is here, we are going to
\nknock him down.\u201d But for that one must have the knowledge and a very great
\nvital power. One must be vitally a giant. That does not happen to everyone. <\/span><\/p>\n

So
\nthere are many different ways. They are all good, if you know how to make use
\nof the one that suits your own nature. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

In gymnastics when I want to take a jump
\nand feel frightened, why does this happen? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah! there,
\nmy children, it depends You must distinguish two very different things and you
\nmust deal with them very differently. <\/span><\/p>\n

If
\nit is a vital fear, you must reason with yourself and go about it all the same.
\nBut if it is a physical instinct (that is possible, it happens very often that
\nthere is a kind of physical instinct), in that case you must listen to it, for
\nthe instinct of the body is a very sure thing, if it is not disturbed by
\nthought
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 119<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

or vital
\nwill. The body left to itself knows very well what it can and what it cannot
\ndo. And not only that but even a thing that one can do and does usually, if one
\nday you feel a sort of repulsion, as if you were shrinking back, you must
\ndefinitely not do it; it is an indication that for some reason or \u2013 other \u2013 a
\npurely material reason of a disorder in the functioning of the body \u2013 you are
\nnot fit to do the thing at that time. Then you must not do it. In that case, it
\nis not even a fear, it is something that shrinks, that withdraws, there is
\nnothing in the head, it does not correspond to any kind of thought like: \u201cWhat
\nis going to happen?\u201d When the head starts working and you say: \u201cWhat is going
\nto happen?\u201d, you must sweep it away because it is worth nothing; you must use
\nall the means of reason and good sense you have to drive that away. But if it
\nis a purely physical sensation, as though something were contracting, a kind of
\nphysical repugnance, if the body itself is refusing, so to say, you should
\nnever force it, never, because it is usually when you force it that there\u2019s an
\naccident. That may very well be a kind of premonition that there\u2019s going to be
\nan accident, that if you do the thing, you will not go far. And in such a case
\nyou must not do it. You must not put into it the least amour-propre. You must
\nrealise: \u201cToday I am not in a good condition.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

But
\nif it is a vital fear, if for example you have a competition or a tournament,
\nand you felt this kind of fear and then: \u201cWhat is going to happen?\u201d, you must
\nsweep it away quickly, it means nothing. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But sometimes, it is laziness that
\nprevents us from doing a thing. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ah! if you
\nare tamasic, that is yet something else. If you have a tamasic nature, you must
\nuse another procedure. You must exert your consciousness, your will, your
\nforce, gather your energy, shake yourself a little and whip yourself and say:
\n\u201cClac! clac! forward, march.\u201d If it is laziness that keeps you back from,
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 120<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

say, doing
\nthe vaulting, you must immediately do something much more tiring and say:
\n\u201cWell, you don\u2019t want to do that? All right, you are going to do 1500 metres
\nrunning!\u201d Or else: \u201cI don\u2019t want to do the weight-lifting today, I don\u2019t feel
\nlike doing it: good, I shall do skipping 4000 times at a stretch.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The same method should be used for studies
\nalso? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes,
\nexactly. If you don\u2019t feel like learning your lesson, you take a book ten times
\nmore tiring, something dry and compel yourself to read it with attention. There
\nare books of this kind, so dry, of such an arid kind of knowledge.. Well, if
\nyou don\u2019t feel like reading your book of history or geography, which are after
\nall very easy and very entertaining, instead of that take one of those books
\nthat are given to you (Mother looks at a
\nteacher<\/i>) \u2013 I do not dare to say anything, because your teacher is there! \u2013
\nextremely arid, and compel yourself to study at least half the book.
\nAfterwards, everything else appears charming to you. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Would it not be better to continue the
\nwork even if one feels lazy? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That
\ndepends on the work; there we enter another domain. <\/span><\/p>\n

If
\nit is a work that you are doing for the collectivity and not for yourself
\npersonally, then you must do it, whatever happens. It is an elementary
\ndiscipline. You have undertaken to do this work or have been given the work and
\nhave taken it up, therefore you have accepted it, and in that case you must do it.
\nAt all times, unless you are absolutely ill, ill in the last degree and unable
\nto move, you must do it. Even if you are rather ill, you must do it. An
\nunselfish work always cures you of your petty personal maladies. Naturally, if
\nyou are really compelled to be in bed without being able to move, with a
\nterrible fever or a very serious illness, then that\u2019s quite different. But
\notherwise, if you are just a little indisposed: \u201cI am not feeling quite
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 121<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

well, I have
\na little headache or I have indigestion, or I have a bad cold, I am coughing\u201d,
\nthings like that \u2013 then doing your work, not thinking of yourself, thinking of
\nthe work, doing it as well as you can, that puts you right immediately. <\/span><\/p>\n

In
\nreality illness is only disequilibrium; if then you are able to establish
\nequilibrium, this disequilibrium disappears. An illness is simply, always, in
\nevery case, even when the doctors say that there are microbes – in every case,
\na disequilibrium in the being: a disequilibrium among the various functions,
\ndisequilibrium among the forces. <\/span><\/p>\n

This
\nis not to say that there are no microbes: there are, there are many more
\nmicrobes than are known now. But it is not because of that you are ill, for
\nthey are always there. It happens that they are always there and for days they
\ndo nothing to you and then all of a sudden, one day, one of them gets hold of
\nyou and makes you ill – why? Simply because the resistance was not as it used
\nto be habitually, because there was some disequilibrium in some part, the
\nfunctioning was not normal. But if, by an inner power, you can re-establish the
\nequilibrium, then that\u2019s the end, there is no more difficulty, the
\ndisequilibrium disappears. <\/span><\/p>\n

There
\nis no other way of curing people. It is simply when one sees the disequilibrium
\nand is capable of re-establishing the equilibrium that one is cured. Only there
\nare two very different categories you come across.. Some hold on to their
\ndisequilibrium – they hold on to it, cling to it, don\u2019t want to let it go. Then
\nyou may try as hard as you will, even if you re-establish the equilibrium the
\nnext minute they get into disequilibrium once again, because they love that.
\nThey say: \u201cOh no! I don\u2019t want to be ill\u201d, but within them there is something
\nwhich holds firmly to some disequilibrium, which does not want to let it go.
\nThere are other people, on the contrary, who sincerely love equilibrium, and
\ndirectly you give them the power to get back their equilibrium, the equilibrium
\nis re-established and in a few minutes they are cured. Their knowledge was not
\nsufficient or their
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 122<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

power was
\nnot sufficient to re-establish order – disequilibrium is a disorder. But if you
\nintervene, if you have the knowledge and re-establish the equilibrium, quite
\nnaturally the illness will disappear; and those who allow you to do it get
\ncured. Only those who do not let you do it are not cured and this is visible,
\nthey do not allow you to act, they cling to the illness. I tell them: \u201cAh! you
\nare not cured? Go to the doctor then.\u201d And the funniest part of the thing is
\nthat most often they believe in the doctors, although the working remains the
\nsame! Every doctor who is something of a philosopher will tell you: \u201cIt is like
\nthat; we doctors give only the occasion, but it is the body that cures itself.
\nWhen the body wants to be cured, it is cured.\u201d Well, there are bodies that do
\nnot allow equilibrium to be re-established unless they are made to absorb some
\nmedicine or something very definite which gives them the feeling that they are being
\ntruly looked after. But if you give them a very precise, very exact treatment
\nthat is sometimes very difficult to follow, they begin to be convinced that
\nthere is nothing better to do than to regain the equilibrium and they get back
\nthe equilibrium! <\/span><\/p>\n

I
\nknew a doctor who was a neurologist and treated illnesses of the stomach. He
\nused to say that all illnesses of the stomach came from a more or less bad
\nnervous state. He was a doctor for the rich and it was the rich and unoccupied
\npeople who went to him. So they used to come and tell him: \u201cI have a pain in
\nthe stomach, I cannot digest\u201d, and this and that. They had terrible pains, they
\nhad headache, they had, well, all the symptoms! He used to listen to them very
\nseriously. I knew a lady who went to him and to whom he said: \u201cAh! your case is
\nvery serious. But on which floor do you live? On the ground floor? All right.
\nThis is what you have to do to cure your illness of the stomach. Take a bunch
\nof fully ripe grapes (do not take your breakfast, for breakfast upsets your
\nstomach), take a bunch of grapes; hold it in your hand, like this, very
\ncarefully. Then prepare to go out – not by your door, never go out by your
\ndoor! You must go out by the window. Get a stool. And go <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 123<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

out by the
\nwindow. Go out in the street, and there you must walk while eating one grape
\nevery two steps – not more, yes, not more! You will have stomach-ache! One
\nsingle grape every two steps. You must take two steps, then eat one single
\ngrape and you should continue till there are no more grapes. Do not turn back,
\ngo straight on till there are no more grapes. You must take a big bunch. And
\nwhen you have finished, you may return quietly. But do not take a conveyance!
\nCome back on foot, otherwise the whole trouble will return. Come back quietly
\nand I give you the guarantee that if you do that every day, at the end of three
\ndays you will be cured.\u201d And in fact this lady was cured! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(A child) Sometimes there is a lot of
\nwork. One does not know what to do.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

A lot of
\nwork.. Truly a lot of work? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Many kinds of work. For example, in our
\nstudies, we have many subjects to read. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What do you
\ndo the whole day, from morning till evening? How much time do you devote to
\nyour toilet, to take your bath, to dress? Approximately, not exactly to a minute.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

About three quarters of an hour. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How much
\ntime do you take for eating? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Fifteen minutes. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Every time?
\nHow many times per day? Four? All right. How much time do you spend in
\ngossiping?.. That you don\u2019t know!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t gossip. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 124<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

You don\u2019t
\ngossip! You are a marvel, indeed. I shall put you on a pedestal. You don\u2019t
\ngossip? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, I gossip, but when I have work, I
\ndon\u2019t gossip. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes. And
\nhow many hours per day do you need to work to be able to do your tasks? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

In the morning sometimes I get up at
\nhalf-past four. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

To do your
\nhome-work? You are still half asleep, aren\u2019t you, at half-past four? Are you
\nquite awake?.. No! Ah! And then, you start working immediately? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Because I am
\nleading exactly towards that.. When you work, if you are able to concentrate,
\nyou can do absolutely in ten minutes what would otherwise take you one hour. If
\nyou want to gain time, learn to concentrate. It is through attention that one
\ncan do things quickly and one does them much better. If you have a task that
\nshould take you half an hour – I don\u2019t say if you have to write for half an
\nhour of course – but if you have to think and your mind is floating about, if
\nyou are thinking not only of what you are doing but also of what you have done
\nand of what you will have to do and of your other subjects, all that makes you
\nlose thrice as much time as you need to do your task. When you have too much to
\ndo, you must learn how to concentrate exclusively on what you are doing, with
\nan intensity in your attention, and you can do in ten minutes what would
\notherwise take you one hour. <\/span><\/p>\n

So
\nI do not know, I cannot decide without full knowledge of the matter, if you
\nhave too much work, unless you bring me all the work you have to do; but I do
\nnot believe that you are overburdened with work. I say I do not believe it.
\nNow, I do not <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 125<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

assert this
\nbecause I do not know what all the teachers do. But in any case, if you have
\nmuch to do, you must learn how to concentrate much, all the more, and when you
\nare doing a thing, to think of that only, and focus all your energy upon what
\nyou do. You gain at least half the time. So if you tell me: \u201cI have too much
\nwork\u201d, I answer: \u201cYou do not concentrate enough.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(Another child) For a mathematical
\nproblem, sometimes the solution comes quickly, sometimes it takes too long. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, it is
\nexactly that: it depends on the degree of concentration. If you observe
\nyourself, you will notice this quite well: when it does not come, it is because
\nof a kind of haziness in the brain, something cloudy, like a fog somewhere, and
\nthen you are there as in a dream. You push forward trying to find it, and it is
\nas though you were pushing into cottonwool, you do not see clearly there; and
\nso nothing comes. You may remain in that state for hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

Concentration
\nconsists precisely in removing the cloud. You gather together all the elements
\nof your intelligence and fix them on one point, and then you do not even try
\nactively to find the thing. All that you do is to concentrate in such a way as
\nto see only the problem – but seeing not only its surface, seeing it in its
\ndepth, what it conceals. If you are able to gather together all your mental
\nenergies, bringing them to a point which is fixed on the enunciation of the
\nproblem, and you stay there, fixed, as though you were about to drill a hole in
\nthe wall, all of a sudden it will come. And this is the only way. If you try:
\nIs it this, is it that, is it this, is it that?.. You will never find anything or
\nelse you will need hours. You must get your mental forces to a point with
\nstrength enough to pierce through the words and strike upon the thing that is
\nbehind. There is a thing to be found find it. <\/span><\/p>\n

And
\nit is always the days you are a little hazy that it
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 126<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

becomes
\ndifficult. You are hazy: as though there is something you seem to catch and
\nwhich escapes you. <\/span><\/p>\n

Naturally,
\nif it is materially impossible – you do not have to deal with monsters! I
\nbelieve your teachers are reasonable enough and if you go to them and say,
\n\u201cWell, I could not do it, I had no time, I did what I could, I did not have the
\ntime\u201d, they won\u2019t scold you, I don\u2019t think so. But here ninety-nine times out
\nof a hundred, it is a kind of half-inertia of the mind which makes you think
\nthat you have too much work. If you observe yourself, you will find out that
\nthere is always something which pulls this way, something which pulls that way
\nand then this kind of haziness as though you were living in cottonwool, in the
\nclouds: nothing is clear. <\/span><\/p>\n

The
\nusefulness of work is nothing else but that: to crystallise this mental power.
\nFor, what you learn (unless you put it in practice by some work or deeper
\nstudies), half of what you learn, at least, will vanish, disappear with time.
\nBut it will leave behind one thing: the capacity of crystallising your thought,
\nmaking something clear out of it, something precise, exact and organised. And
\nthat is the true usefulness of work: to organise your cerebral capacity. If you
\nremain in your hazy movement in that kind of cloudy fluidity, you may labour
\nfor years, it will be quite useless to you; you will not come out of it more
\nintelligent than when you entered it. But if you are able, even for half an
\nhour, to concentrate your attention on things that seem to you of very little
\ninterest, like a rule of grammar, for example (the rules of grammar are some of
\nthe dry things I was speaking about, there are other things much more arid, but
\nindeed the rules of grammar are sufficiently arid), if you take one of them and
\ntry to understand it \u2013 not learn it by heart and apply mechanically what you
\nhave learnt by heart, that will be of no use \u2013 but try to understand the
\nthought behind the words: \u201cWhy was this rule formulated in this way?\u201d and try
\nto find out your own formula for the thing; that is so interesting. \u201cWhy has
\nthis gentleman who wrote this rule written it in this way? <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 127<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

But I am
\nstudying, trying to understand why. Why has he put this word after that and that
\nword after that other, and why has he stated the rule in this way? It is
\nbecause he thought that it was the most complete and the most clear way of
\nexpressing the thing.\u201d And so that\u2019s the thing you must find. And when you find
\nit, you suddenly exclaim: \u201cThat is what it means! It must be seen in this way,
\nthen it becomes very clear.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

I
\nam going to explain it to you: when you have understood, it forms a little
\ncrystal in you, like a little shining point. And when you have put in many,
\nmany, many of these, then you will begin to be intelligent. That is the utility
\nof work, not simply to stuff the head with a heap of things that take you
\nnowhere. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How is it that in people occupied with
\nscientific studies artistic imagination is lacking? Are these two things
\nopposed to each other? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Not
\nnecessarily. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

In general? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

They do not
\nbelong to the same domain. It is exactly as though you had what is called \u201ca
\ntorchlight\u201d, a small beacon-light in your head at the place of observation.
\nScientists who want to do a certain work turn the beacon in a particular way,
\nthey always put it there and the beacon remains thus: they turn it towards
\nmatter, towards the details of matter. But people with imagination turn it
\nupward, because up above there is everything, you know, all inspirations of
\nartistic and literary things: this comes from another domain. It comes from a
\nmuch more subtle domain, much less material. So these turn upward and want to
\nreceive the light from above. But it is the same instrument. The others turn it
\ndownwards, and it is just a lack of gymnastic skill. It is the same instrument.
\nIt is the same power of a luminous ray upon something. But as one has made it a
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 128<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

habit of
\nconcentrating it in a certain direction, one is no longer supple, one loses the
\nhabit of doing things otherwise. <\/span><\/p>\n

But
\nyou can at any time do both the things. When you are doing science, you turn it
\nin one direction and when you do literature and art, you turn it in the other
\ndirection; but it is the same instrument: all depends on the orientation. If
\nyou have concentration, you can move this power of concentration from one place
\nto another and in every way it will be effective. If you are occupied with
\nscience, you use it in a scientific way, and if you want to do art, you use it
\nin an artistic way. But it is the same instrument and it is the same power of
\nconcentration. It is simply because people do not know this that they limit
\nthemselves. So the hinges get rusty, they do not turn any more. Otherwise, if
\none keeps the habit of turning them, they continue to turn. Moreover, even from
\nthe ordinary point of view, it is not rare to find a scientist having as his
\nhobby some artistic occupation \u2013 and the reverse also. It is because they have
\nfound that the one was not harmful to the other and that it was the same
\nfaculty which could be utilised in both. <\/span><\/p>\n

Essentially,
\nfrom the general point of view, particularly from the intellectual viewpoint,
\nthe most important thing is the capacity of attention and concentration, it is
\nthat which one must work at and develop. From the point of view of action
\n(physical action), it is the will: you must work and build up an unshakable
\nwill. From the intellectual point of view, you must work and build up a power
\nof concentration which nothing can shake. And if you have both, concentration
\nand will, you will be a genius and nothing will resist you. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 129<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

24 June 1953   \u201cThe beings of the vital world are powerful by their very nature; when to their power they add knowledge, they become…<\/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-4503","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\/4503","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=4503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4503\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}