{"id":4506,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:29","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4506"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:29","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:29","slug":"15-11-april-1956-vol-08-questions-and-answers-volume-08","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/08-questions-and-answers-volume-08\/15-11-april-1956-vol-08-questions-and-answers-volume-08","title":{"rendered":"-15_11 April 1956.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n11 April 1956<\/font><\/span><\/b> <\/font>
\n <\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn one side, he [the seeker]
\nis aware of an infinite and self-existent Godhead in being who contains all
\nthings in an ineffable potentiality of existence, a Self of all selves, a Soul of
\nall souls, a spiritual Substance of all substances, an impersonal inexpressible
\nExistence, but at the same time an illimitable Person who is here
\nself-represented in numberless personality, a Master of Knowledge, a Master of
\nForces, a Lord of love and bliss and beauty, a single Origin of the worlds, a
\nself-manifester and self-creator, a Cosmic Spirit, a universal Mind, a
\nuniversal Life, the conscious and living Reality supporting the appearance
\nwhich we sense as unconscious inanimate Matter.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe
\nSynthesis of Yoga, p. 115 <\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

            <\/span><\/i><\/b>
\n
\nSweet Mother, what does a
\n\u201cself-creator\u201d mean?<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Self-creator? It means, that He creates Himself. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Create is taken in the
\nsense of manifesting, of making objective, apparent. So it is His own self that
\nHe manifests. It is Himself He manifests, makes evident, objectivises. <\/span><\/p>\n

 In fact, the word
\n\u201ccreate\u201d is usually taken in another sense: it means to make something out of
\nsomething else. That is why Sri Aurobindo says \u201cself-creator\u201d, which means that
\nHe gives an external form of Himself to Himself. It is a change in the mode of
\nbeing: instead of being an unmanifested possibility it becomes a manifested
\nreality. It is simply reversed, nothing else. It is the same thing: from this
\nside it is not seen; from that side it is seen \u2014 that\u2019s all. You turn it round
\nagain and it is seen. You turn it like that and don\u2019t see it, you turn it like
\nthis and see it. That\u2019s all. As simple as that. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 108<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u201cOn the other side, he becomes
\naware of the same Godhead in effectuating consciousness and power put forth as
\na self-aware Force that contains and carries all within her and is charged to
\nmanifest it in universal Time and Space.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\n
\nIbid.,
\np. 115 <\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, that\u2019s it, that\u2019s exactly what I was saying: from one side
\nit is as if it did not exist, and then it is \u201cput forth\u201d, you see, He does that
\n(gesture), He puts it forth and it becomes visible and existent, and then,
\ninstead of being one thing existing all at once, it develops, it is manifested
\nin Time and Space. This is what Sri Aurobindo says, this is where the idea of
\nTime and Space begins, for it is no longer simultaneous. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo has first spoken
\nof the duality Brahman-Maya [eternal Existence and the existence of the world],
\nand now he speaks of the duality Ishwara-Shakti [the Divine in his Being and
\nthe Divine in his Force of cosmic realisation]. This duality Ishwara-Shakti, it
\nisn\u2019t very clear, is it? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The other one is simpler, isn\u2019t it? For it is cut into two,
\ndistinct: one is Reality and the other illusion; one is Light and the other
\ndarkness; one is Consciousness, the other inconscience; one is Truth, the other
\nfalsehood. That is very convenient. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Here, it is much more
\ndifficult: it is the same thing which exists in itself, unmanifest, and then,
\nsuddenly, it does this (gesture of projection). And it is exactly the same
\nthing, but it is a movement which puts forth what was within. And that\u2019s what
\nmakes the world. It is the same thing in a double movement: as when you sleep
\nand when you wake up, or when you remain still and when you begin to move, or
\nwhen you are silent and then begin to make a noise, it is like that. One
\nmovement is within, containing everything in itself, without any expression of <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 109<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

what is there; and the other movement is just this (same
\ngesture of projection<\/i><\/b>), and all that is within oneself comes out.<\/span><\/p>\n

 And then, for this to become
\nperceptible, it must be continuous. When it is within, it can be simultaneous,
\nfor it is unmanifest, so all is in an eternity outside Time and Space <\/span>― <\/span>immobile, inexistent. In the
\nopposite direction, everything becomes and so there is a continuity of
\nperceptions which follow one after another and spread out in Space and Time. <\/span><\/p>\n

 And it is the same thing.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 It is exactly as if you
\nare like this (gesture of being doubled up<\/i><\/span>),<\/i>
\nand then you do this (gesture of opening)<\/span> <\/b> <\/i><\/span>― <\/span>and so what was there comes
\nout. So these two movements are literally opposite, but it is the same thing in
\ntwo opposite attitudes which are simultaneous: it remains like this (inward
\ngesture),<\/i><\/b> and at the same time it is like this
\n(outward gesture)<\/span>;<\/b><\/i> the
\none does not cancel out the other and they exist simultaneously. But in one
\ndirection it is imperceptible because it is contained within itself, in the
\nother movement it is thrown outside, and so it can be seen. And when it is self-contained,
\nit is co-existent in a perfect simultaneity; and in the other movement, it
\nunfolds itself in a constant being. And when it unfolds itself, it necessarily
\ncreates Time and Space, while there it is outside Space, outside Time and
\nbeyond all possible perception. But it is the same thing in two opposite
\nmovements.<\/span><\/p>\n

 And that is what truly<\/i><\/b>
\nis. <\/span><\/p>\n

 It is like that. And when
\nit does this (outward gesture)<\/span>,<\/b><\/i> it does not cease to be like that (inward
\ngesture);<\/i><\/b> that is to say, when it is self-contained, it does not cease
\nto manifest itself and when it manifests, it does not cease to be
\nself-contained. To put it otherwise, it is a permanent and simultaneous
\nduality, but it is the same thing, one single thing in two opposite aspects. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Has all this gone in a
\nlittle? No? <\/span><\/p>\n

 Nothing? You have nothing
\nmore to ask?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, may I ask you a
\nquestion I have<\/span><\/i><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 110<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>already asked before? For I haven\u2019t understood
\nyou properly. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Ah! let us see if I can make myself clearer. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t yet understood the
\nmeaning of \u201cPersonal\u201d and \u201cImpersonal\u201d: \u201cThe two great elements of the divine
\nMystery, the Personal and Impersonal, are here fused together.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe
\nSynthesis of Yoga, p. 116 <\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

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

 You, you are personal,
\naren\u2019t you? You feel you are a person. And then there\u2019s the air, you don\u2019t feel
\nthe air is a person ― so the air is impersonal. <\/span><\/p>\n

 This is not altogether
\ncorrect, it is an analogy: the air,wind,water,do have a personality, but this
\nis only to make you understand. To the air you cannot give a precise and
\ndefinite form, it is everywhere: in your body, outside your body, here, there;
\nbut it has no precise form. It has an exact, precise position, but of course we
\nare not talking about chemistry, we are speaking only of the appearance. You
\ndon\u2019t get the feeling of a person when you think of the air. <\/span><\/p>\n

 I wouldn\u2019t say as much of
\nwater, because water has very specific characteristics. The water of one river
\nis not the same as that of another; and this is perceptible, so it also has
\nsomething of a personal character. <\/span><\/p>\n

 But air or steam gives
\nyou the impression of something which is not a person; well, that\u2019s it. When a
\nforce or a quality manifests in a definite body like yours or someone else\u2019s,
\nit becomes personal. But when it is everywhere at the same time and without
\nparticular characteristics, expressed in an indefinite way, it is called
\n\u201cimpersonal\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

 So, the personal God is
\nthe God to whom a form is given. For example, the inner God of each one is a
\npersonal God, for
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 111<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

He has a personal relation with each one, He is the God who
\nbelongs to this person, who is his very own. <\/span><\/p>\n

 But something which has
\nneither form nor characteristics nor any definite outline of any kind, and with
\nwhich one cannot have a personal relation <\/span>―<\/span> that is the impersonal Divine.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 And so Sri Aurobindo says
\nthat there is a state in which the two are one. Still it is the same thing: it
\nis like the right and wrong side of the same material. If you approach the
\nDivine in a certain way, you meet Him in His impersonal form, that is to say,
\nyou cannot have any personal contact with Him. But if you approach Him in the
\nother way, you meet Him as a person <\/span>―<\/span> <\/span>who is quite out of proportion to your little person, but with
\nwhom you can have personal relations. And yet it is the same Divine, seen in
\nthis way or that.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 112<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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