{"id":4517,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:33","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4517"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:33","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:33","slug":"50-05-december-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\/50-05-december-1956-vol-08-questions-and-answers-volume-08","title":{"rendered":"-50_05 December 1956.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

\n
\n5 December 1956<\/font><\/span><\/b> <\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Now we are going to read what should be done to realise what was
\nexpressed in the five preceding paragraphs: <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>      \u201cTransform reason into ordered
\nintuition; let all thyself be light. This is thy goal. <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201dTransform effort into an even and sovereign overflowing of the
\nsoul-strength; let all thyself be conscious force. This is thy goal. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cTransform enjoying into an even and objectless ecstasy; let all
\nthyself be bliss. This is thy goal. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cTransform the divided individual into the world-personality; let
\nall thyself be the divine. This is thy goal. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cTransform the animal into the Driver of the herds; let all
\nthyself be Krishna. This is thy goal.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\n
\nThoughts
\nand Glimpses, Cent. Vol. 16 , p. 377<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/span> <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

This is what
\nought to be done. <\/span><\/p>\n

I believe there is no need for any explanations, it is quite
\nclear…. Unless you have some questions? Yes? (To a child)<\/i><\/b> Very well,
\nask your question. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Here it is written: \u201cTransform enjoying into an even and
\nobjectless ecstasy\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, this
\nmeans that it has no cause. <\/span><\/p>\n

Usually one feels pleasure or joy or enjoyment due to this thing
\nor due to that<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>from the most material things to things
\npsychological or even mental. For example, to take a mental thing, you read a
\nsentence which gives you a great joy, for it brings you a light, a new
\nunderstanding; so that joy is a joy which has an object, it is because you read
\nthat sentence that <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 376<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

you feel
\nthis joy, if you had not read the sentence, you would not have felt the joy. In
\nthe same way, when you hear beautiful music or when you see a beautiful picture
\nor a beautiful landscape, that brings you joy; without those things you would
\nnot have felt that joy; it is these which brought you the joy. It is a joy
\nwhich has an object, which has a cause. <\/span><\/p>\n

What Sri Aurobindo says is that this enjoying, this joy, this
\npleasure, on whatever level it be, high or low, must be replaced by an inner
\nbliss which is <\/span>com<\/span>municated to the whole being and is continuous,
\n\u201ceven\u201d, that is, something that needs no reason, no cause for its existence.
\nThe cause is the contact with the divine Bliss which is everywhere and in all
\nthings. So once you are in relation with this universal and eternal Bliss, you
\nno longer need an outer object, an outer cause to have joy; it is objectless,
\nand being objectless it can be continuous, \u201ceven\u201d. Whatever the outer
\ncircumstances, whatever you may be doing, you are in the same state of joy, for
\nthis joy does not depend upon outer things, it depends upon your inner
\ncondition. You have found the source of joy in yourself, that is, the divine
\nPresence, <\/span>com<\/span>munion with the Divine; and having found this source of joy in
\nyourself, you need nothing else, nothing whatsoever to have this joy. And as it
\nhas no cause, it does not cease; it is a constant state.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(To the child)<\/span><\/i><\/b> Do you
\nunderstand? Not very well? Yes<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>ah! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Does anyone else have a question on what I have just read? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The last paragraph, Sweet Mother: \u201cTransform the animal into the
\nDriver of the herds; let all thyself be Krishna.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Oh! that is
\nan image. <\/span><\/p>\n

The animal<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>that’s all the instincts of the physical
\nbeing, the needs of the physical being and all the habits, all the impulses,
\nall the movements of the physical being, the need for food,<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 377<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>the need for sleep, the need for activity,
\nindeed all that constitutes the animal part of the being. And then Sri
\nAurobindo gives the image of Krishna, whom he describes as the Driver of the
\nherds, which is only an image; this means that it is the divine Consciousness
\nwhich takes possession of all the activities of the physical being and directs
\nand guides all those activities, all its needs, which controls and governs all
\nthe movements of the physical animal in man. Sri Aurobindo uses what could be
\ncalled Indian mythology, taking Krishna as the symbol of the Divine and the
\nherds as the symbol of the animal instincts and animal needs of man. So instead
\nof being one of the animals of the herd, you become the one who leads the herds
\nand governs all their movements instead of allowing them to dominate him\u2026.One
\nis bound; in ordinary life one is bound to all these activities of the physical
\nlife and all the needs it represents<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>the need for
\nfood, sleep, activity, rest, etc.<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>well, instead
\nof being an animal, that is, one subjected to these things and obliged to
\nsubmit to them, one becomes the Driver of the herd whom Sri Aurobindo calls
\nKrishna, that is, the Divine who takes possession of all the movements of the
\nbeing and guides and leads them in accordance with the divine Truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, when one has a world-personality, does one still
\nneed the individual personality?<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Need?…. I
\ndon’t understand. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What is its use? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But it is
\nthe individual personality which is transformed into the world-personality.
\nInstead of having the sense of the individual as he ordinarily is<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>this altogether limited individual who is one little person amidst
\nso many millions and millions of others, a little separate person<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>instead of feeling like that, this separate isolated individual,
\nthis little person amidst all the others,<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 378<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>becomes aware of the world-individuality, the
\nworld-personality, and naturally becomes divine. It is a transformation. It is one
\nthing being transformed into the other. <\/span><\/p>\n

And Sri Aurobindo does not mean that one loses one’s body, he does
\nnot speak of the body; he speaks of the vital consciousness, the psychological
\nconsciousness, the sense of the separate individual. Just think, you, child,
\nyou are one person amidst so many others, aren’t you? Well, instead of being
\nlike that, you feel you are the world-personality; this sense of division and
\nseparation goes away, this limitation disappears. But you remain in your body,
\nyou are not <\/span>com<\/span>pelled necessarily to lose your body; the body is something else.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it is precisely the body that he is speaking about in the last
\nparagraph: \u201cTransform the animal into the Driver of the herds.\u201d When one
\nbecomes a divine consciousness, a divine personality, then one can bee the
\nmaster of all the bodily activities, because one is superior to them; one is
\nnot bound to these activities, not subject to them, one dominates them, one has
\na greater consciousness than that of the individual, of the little separate
\nindividual; one can make just a little more progress and instead of being
\nsubject to all these animal needs of the being, one dominates them. But these
\nare not two consciousnesses, one superimposed on the other, it is one
\nconsciousness being transformed into another. <\/span><\/p>\n

(Looking at the child)<\/span><\/i><\/b> I am afraid
\nshe doesn’t understand at all! She is looking at me completely bewildered! <\/span><\/p>\n

You are wondering how in a body like this, you can be different
\nfrom what you are? Well, you can! (laughing<\/i><\/b>) It is something that can
\nhappen! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(Mother looks at some written questions.)<\/span><\/i><\/b> Here is the exact <\/span>com<\/span>plement of
\nyour question. I am asked:<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 379<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

  \u201cWhat are the characteristic features of a world-personality?\u201d <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The most characteristic
\nfeature is precisely this change of consciousness. Instead of feeling like a
\nlittle, isolated person, separated from others, one feels one is a universal
\nperson, containing all others and intimately united and identified with all
\nothers.<\/span><\/p>\n

And I am asked: <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cHow does this person speak and
\nact?\u201d <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Speak!…The
\nquestion is not very well put, for if you ask how he speaks, well, he speaks as
\neverybody does, with his voice, his tongue, his mouth and with words! If you
\nwere to ask what is the nature of what he says\u2026obviously, if he expresses the
\nstate of consciousness in which he lives, he expresses a universal state of
\nconsciousness, and seeing things in a different way from ordinary men, he will
\nexpress them differently, in accordance with what he sees and feels. As for
\nacting\u2026if all the parts of his being are in harmony, his action will obviously
\nexpress his state of consciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, there are people who have very decisive experiences in one
\npart of their being, but these are not necessarily translated, or at least not
\nimmediately, in the other parts of their being. It is possible that through
\nsadhana or concentration or through Grace, somebody has attained the
\nconsciousness of a world-personality, but that he still continues to act
\nphysically in quite an ordinary, nondescript way, because he has not taken care
\nto unify his whole being, and though one part of his being is universally
\nconscious, as soon as he begins to eat, to sleep, walk, act, he does this like
\nall human animals. That may happen. So, it is again a purely personal question,
\nit depends on each one, on his stage of development. <\/span><\/p>\n

But if it is someone who has taken care to unify his being, <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 380<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>to identify all its parts with the central truth,
\nthen naturally he will act with a total absence of egoism, with an
\nunderstanding of others, an understanding which comes to him from his
\nidentification with others<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>and so he will act like a sage. But that
\ndepends on the care he has taken to unify his whole being around the central
\nconsciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, to take the most positively material things like food
\nand sleep: it is quite possible that, if he has not taken care to infuse, as it
\nwere, his new consciousness into his body, his need for food and sleep will
\nremain almost the same and that he won’t have much control over them. On the
\nother hand, if he has taken care to unify his being and has infused his
\nconsciousness into the elements constituting his body, well, his sleep will be
\na conscious sleep and of a universal kind; he will be able to know at will what
\ngoes on here or anywhere, in this person or that other, in this corner of the
\nworld or any other; and his consciousness, being universal, will naturally put
\nhim in contact with all the things he wants to know. Instead of having a sleep
\nthat’s unconscious and useless, except from a purely material point of view, he
\nwill have a productive and altogether conscious sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n

For food it will be the same thing. Instead of being a slave to
\nhis needs, usually in almost entire ignorance of what he needs, well, he will
\nbe perfectly conscious, at once of the needs of his body and the means of
\ngoverning them. He will be able to control his needs and rule them, transform
\nthem according to the necessity of what he wants to do. <\/span><\/p>\n

But this requires a great self-mastery and the realisation of what
\nSri Aurobindo says in this last paragraph, that is, instead of remaining below,
\nsubject to the laws of Nature, dominated by these laws and <\/span>com<\/span>pelled to submit to them, failing which one is completely
\nunbalanced, one becomes the master, one looks at these things from above, knows
\nthe truth of these things and imposes it upon the body which should normally
\naccept it without any difficulty. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 381<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Anything else on the same subject? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, what does \u201cordered intuition\u201d mean? (\u201cTransform reason
\ninto ordered intuition.\u201d) <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Ordered
\nintuition…. For at the beginning, when one enters into contact with the realm
\nof intuition, it is a sort of spasmodic contact; that is, from time to time,
\nfor more or less explicable or conscious reasons, one suddenly has an intuition
\nor is possessed by the spirit of intuition; but it is not methodical, not a
\nphenomenon which occurs at will, organised and obeying a central will. But Sri
\nAurobindo says that if the entire reason is transformed \u2014 he speaks of
\ntransformation, you know<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>if the reason is transformed into the very
\nessence, the substance of intuition, then the whole inner movement of the inner
\nmind becomes a movement of intuition, organised as the reason is organised,
\nthat is, it becomes active at will, answers all needs and comes into the being
\nin accordance with a methodical system. It is not something which appears and
\ndisappears one doesn’t know how or why; it is the result of the transformation
\nof the reason, which is the higher part of the human mind, into a light higher
\nthan the mental light, a light of intuition. So it becomes ordered, organised,
\ninstead of being spasmodic and uncoordinated. <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 382<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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