{"id":4513,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:32","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4513"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:32","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:32","slug":"07-15-february-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\/07-15-february-1956-vol-08-questions-and-answers-volume-08","title":{"rendered":"-07_15 February 1956.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n15 February 1956 <\/font>
\n <\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, Sri Aurobindo
\nspeaks of \u201cthis executive world-Nature\u201d. Is there an executive Nature on the
\nother planes also?<\/span><\/i><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

On the other planes, what do you mean? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

In the mind and higher up. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The earth-Nature contains not only matter \u2014 the physical and its
\ndifferent planes \u2014 but also the vital and the mind; all this is part of the
\nearth-Nature. <\/span><\/p>\n

 And after that there is
\nno Nature, that is to say, there is no longer this distinction. That belongs
\nessentially to the material world as it is described here.<\/span>\u00b9<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

But, as Sri Aurobindo says,
\nthis is not \u201call the true truth\u201d. He has simply given a summary of what is
\nexplained in the Gita. That is what the Gita says; it is not exactly like that.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 Only, as he says, this
\nmay be useful, that is, instead of causing a confusion between the different
\nparts of the being, this helps you to distinguish between what is higher and
\nwhat is lower, what is turned towards the Divine and what is turned towards
\nmatter. It is a psychologically useful conception, but, in fact, that\u2019s all
\nthere is to it. Things are not like that. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo writes: \u201cNature,
\n\u2014 not as she is in her divine Truth, the conscious Power of the Eternal, but as
\nshe appears to us in the Ignorance, \u2014 is executive <\/span><\/i><\/b>
\n
\n
\n <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00b9<\/font><\/span>In the sage of The Synthesis of Yoga} (p.
\n91) the Mother had just read, Sri Aurobindo expounds the traditional
\ndistinction between Purusha and Prakriti, the Master of Nature and Nature, and
\ndescribes the different stages of immersion of the Master of Nature in Nature,
\nor of the soul in the activities of the world; then he shows the traditional
\npath of the liberation of the spirit, which rises above Nature and bees once
\nagain the Master of Nature.<\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Force, mechanical in her steps,
\nnot consciously intelligent to our experiences of her, although all her works
\nare instinct with an absolute intelligence.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The Synthesis of Yoga, p. 91<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

              <\/span><\/b>
\n
\nNature is not consciously
\nintelligent?<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

There is an intelligence which acts in her and through her, in
\nher action, but she is not conscious of this intelligence. You can understand
\nthis with animals. Take ants, for example. They do exactly what they have to
\ndo; all their work and organisation is something which really looks perfect.
\nBut they are not conscious of the intelligence which organises them. They are
\nmoved mechanically by an intelligence of which they are not aware. And even if
\nyou take the most developed animals, like the cat and dog for instance, they
\nknow exactly what they have to do: a cat bringing up its little ones brings
\nthem up just as well as a woman hers \u2014 sometimes better than a woman but it is
\nimpelled by an intelligence which moves it automatically. It is not conscious
\nof the intelligence which makes it do things. It is not aware of it, it can\u2019t
\nchange anything at all in the movement by its own will. Something makes it act
\nmechanically but over that it has no control<\/span><\/p>\n

 If a human being
\nintervenes and trains a cat, he can make it change its behaviour; but it is the
\nconsciousness of the human being which acts upon it, not its own consciousness.
\nIt is not conscious of the intelligence which makes it act. <\/span><\/p>\n

 And this kind of
\nself-awareness, this possibility of watching oneself acting, of understanding
\nwhy one does things, how one does them and, therefore, of having a control and
\nchanging the action \u2014 that belongs to the mind and in his own right to man.
\nThis is the essential difference between a man and an animal \u2014 that a man is
\nconscious of himself, that he can bee aware of the force which makes him act,
\nand not only bee aware of it but control it. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 60\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

But all
\nthose who feel themselves driven by a force and say, \u201cI was forced to do it\u201d,
\nwithout the participation of their will, show that they are still deeply rooted
\nin animality, that is to say, in the inconscient. One begins to become a
\nconscious human being only when one knows why one does things and when one is
\ncapable of changing one\u2019s action by a determined will, when one has a control.
\nBefore having any control, one is still more or less an animal with a small
\nembryo of consciousness which is just beginning, a little flame flickering and
\ntrying to burn, and likely to be blown out by the slightest sing breeze. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNature as Prakriti is an
\ninertly active Force, \u2014 for she works out a movement\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>imposed upon her; but within her is One
\nthat knows.\u2026 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe individual soul or the
\nconscious being in a form may identify itself with this experiencing Purusha or
\nwith this active Prakriti. If it identifies itself with Prakriti, it is not
\nmaster, enjoyer and knower\u201d\u2026 <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n


\nThe
\nSynthesis of Yoga, p. 91<\/font><\/span><\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

If Nature is led by the Power
\nwhich is self-aware and if she does exactly what is imposed upon her, how is it
\nthat there are all these distortions? How can Nature distort things? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, I was expecting that. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I tell you this is the theory
\nof the Gita, it\u2019s not the whole Truth. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I heard this when I was in
\nFrance; there are people who explain the Gita, saying there is no flame without
\nsmoke \u2014 which is not true. And starting from that they say, \u201cLife is like that
\nand you can\u2019t change it, it\u2019s like that. All you can do is to pass over to the
\nside of the Purusha, become the governing force instead of being the force that
\nis governed.\u201d That\u2019s all. But, as Sri Aurobindo says at the end, it is the
\ntheory of the<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>Gita, it\u2019s not the whole
\ntruth; it is only a partial way of seeing things \u2014 useful, practical,
\nconvenient, but not wholly true. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If that is so, how is it that
\nsome of the disciples of Sri Aurobindo preach the message of the Gita for the
\nsalvation of the world? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s their business. If that makes them happy, it\u2019s all the
\nsame to me. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But it has no connection with
\nSri Aurobindo\u2019s yoga? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

One can\u2019t say no connection; but it\u2019s narrow-mindedness, that\u2019s
\nall. They have caught hold of a small bit and make it the whole. But that
\nhappens to everybody. Who is capable of grasping the whole, I would like to
\nknow? Everyone grasps his bit and makes it his whole. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But Sri Aurobindo has
\nexplained\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Oh! but you are a propagandist! Why do you want to convince
\nthem? If they are content with that, leave them in their contentment.\u2026 If they
\ncome and tell you, \u201cThis is Sri Aurobindo\u2019s theory\u201d, you have the right to tell
\nthem, \u201cNo, you are mistaken, that is the traditional theory, this is not the
\ntheory of Sri Aurobindo.\u201d That\u2019s all. But you can\u2019t tell them, \u201cYou must change
\nyours.\u201d If it pleases them, let them keep it. <\/span><\/p>\n

 It\u2019s very convenient. I
\nsaw this in France, in Paris, before coming to India, and I saw how very
\npractical it was. First, it allows you to grasp a very profound and extremely
\nuseful truth, as I said; and then it shields you from all necessity of changing
\nyour outer nature. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s so convenient, isn\u2019t it? You say, \u201cI am like that, what can
\nI do about it? I separate myself from Nature, I let her do whatever she likes,
\nI am not this Nature, I am the Purusha. Ah! <\/span><\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\nlet her go her own way; after
\nall, I can\u2019t change her.\u201d This is extremely convenient. And that is why people
\nadopt it; for they imagine they are in the Purusha, but at the least scratch
\nthey fall right back into Prakriti, and then they fly into a temper or are in
\ndespair or fall ill. And that\u2019s that. <\/span><\/p>\n

 I heard someone who had,
\nhowever, realised precisely this kind of identification with the Purusha and
\nradiated a very remarkable atmosphere; but he called dangerous revolutionaries
\nall those who wanted to change something in the earth-Nature, all who wanted
\nthings on earth to change \u2014 wanted, for example, that suffering might be
\nabolished or ultimately the necessity of death might be done away with, that
\nthere might be an evolution, a luminous progress requiring no destruction: \u201cAh!
\nthose who think like that are dangerous revolutionaries. If need be, they
\nshould be put in prison!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 But if one wants to be
\nwise even without being a great yogi, one must be able to look at all these
\nthings with a smile, and not be affected by them. You have your own experience;
\ntry to make it as true and complete as possible, but leave each one to his own
\nexperience. Unless they come seeking you as a guru and tell you, \u201cNow, lead me
\nto the Light and the Truth\u201d; then, there your responsibility begins \u2014 but not
\nbefore. (Looking at a disciple<\/b>)<\/i> He is longing to speak! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sri Aurobindo has said, \u201cThe
\nGita\u2026 pauses at the borders of the highest spiritual mind and does not cross
\nthem into the splendours of the supramental Light.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The Synthesis of Yoga, p. 87<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

By following the Gita, why
\ndoesn\u2019t one catch the central truth and e to the path of the supramental Yoga? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what you mean. But there are also many people who
\nbelieve they are following the yoga of Sri Aurobindo and
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 63\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

who don\u2019t reach the supramental truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

It does not depend so much on
\nthe path one follows; it depends on the capacity one has. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But I am asking: the central
\ntruth of the Gita is surrender to the Lord \u2014 why doesn\u2019t one grasp that?\u201d\u2026 Its
\nhighest mystery of absolute surrender to the Divine Guide, Lord and Inhabitant
\nof our nature, is the central secret.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The Synthesis of Yoga, p. 87<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

But of course, this is what is written in the Gita, that you
\nmust give yourself entirely. You know, in the Gita, Krishna is the Guide and
\ninner Master, and you must give yourself entirely to Him, make a total
\nsurrender \u2014 so? I tell you, people profess one teaching or another, but they
\nare not always able to follow it; they come to a certain point and stop. <\/span><\/p>\n

 I don\u2019t understand your
\ndifficulty. You mean that those who are convinced of the truth of the teaching
\nof the Gita do not realise this teaching? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The teaching of surrender. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Yes, anyway the teaching contained in the Gita \u2014 and this
\nsurprises you? But there are countless people throughout the world who are
\nconvinced of the truth of a teaching, but that doesn\u2019t make them capable of
\nrealising it. For instance, all Buddhists, the millions of Buddhists in the
\nworld who profess that Buddhism is the truth \u2014 does this enable them to bee
\nlike a Buddha? Certainly not. So, what is so surprising about that? <\/span><\/p>\n

 I told you why there are
\npeople who accept this even after having read and studied Sri Aurobindo: why
\nthey accept it, hold fast to it, cling to this teaching of the Gita; it is
\nbecause it\u2019s comfortable, one doesn\u2019t need to make any effort to change one\u2019s
\nnature: one\u2019s nature is unchangeable, so you don\u2019t at all
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n
\n

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

need to think of changing it;
\nyou simply let it go its own way, you look at it from the top of your ivory
\ntower and let it do whatever it likes, saying, \u201cThis is not I, I am not that.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 This is very convenient,
\nit may be done very rapidly \u2014 at least one could claim that it\u2019s done. As I
\nsaid, in practice one is rarely consistent with one\u2019s theory; if you have a bad
\nthroat or a headache or have grazed your foot, you begin to cry out or plain,
\nto groan, and so you are not detached, you are altogether attached and tightly
\nbound. This is a very human fact. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Or else, when someone says something unpleasant to you, you get
\nquite upset. It is like that \u2014 because you are closely attached to your nature,
\nalthough you have declared you are not. That\u2019s all. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 65 <\/font> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

15 February 1956     Sweet Mother, Sri Aurobindo speaks of \u201cthis executive world-Nature\u201d. Is there an executive Nature on the other planes also?  …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-08-questions-and-answers-volume-08","wpcat-127-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4513","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=4513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4513\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}