{"id":4518,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:34","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4518"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:34","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:34","slug":"52-19-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\/52-19-december-1956-vol-08-questions-and-answers-volume-08","title":{"rendered":"-52_19 December 1956.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

\n
\n19 December 1956<\/font><\/span><\/b> <\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cImpossibility is only a sum of greater unrealised possibles. It
\nveils an advanced state and a yet unac<\/span><\/i><\/b>com<\/span>plished
\njourney. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIf thou wouldst have humanity advance, buffet all preconceived
\nideas. Thought thus smitten awakes and becomes creative. Otherwise it rests in
\na mechanical repetition and mistakes that for its right activity. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cTo rotate on its own axis is not the one movement for the human
\nsoul. There is also its wheeling round the Sun of an inexhaustible
\nillumination. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cBe conscious first of thyself within, then think and act. All
\nliving thought is a world in preparation; all real act is a thought manifested.
\nThe material world exists, because an Idea began to play in divine
\nself-consciousness. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThought is not essential to existence nor its cause, but it is an
\ninstrument for being; I become what I see in myself. All that thought suggests
\nto me, I can do; all that thought reveals in me, I can become. This should be
\nman’s unshakable faith in himself, because God dwells in him.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Thoughts and Glimpses, Cent. Vol. 16, p.
\n378<\/font><\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

What is the meaning of \u201cthought awakes and becomes creative\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

No, Sri
\nAurobindo says at the beginning of the sentence: \u201cThought\u00a0 <\/span>thus smitten <\/i><\/b>awakes\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/b>
\nWhat he says is that in order to progress one must break up old constructions,
\nbuffet, demolish all preconceived ideas. Preconceived ideas are the habitual
\nmental constructions in which one lives, and which are fixed, which become
\nrigid fortresses and cannot progress because they
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 395<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

are fixed.
\nNothing that is fixed can progress. So the advice is to break down, that is,
\ndestroy all preconceived ideas, all fixed mental constructions. And this is the
\ntrue way to give birth to new ideas or to thought<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>active
\nthought<\/span>
\n\u2014 <\/span>thought which is creative. <\/span><\/p>\n

And a little further on Sri Aurobindo says that you must first be
\nconscious of yourself, then<\/i><\/b> think, and then<\/i><\/b> act. The vision of
\nthe inner truth of the being must precede all action; first the vision of the
\ntruth, then this truth formulating itself into thought, then the thought
\ncreating the action. That is the normal process.<\/span><\/p>\n

And this is what Sri Aurobindo gives as the process of creation.
\nIn the Unmanifest a thought began to play, that is to say, it awoke and became
\nactive; and because thought became active, the world was created. <\/span><\/p>\n

And in conclusion Sri Aurobindo declares that thought is not
\nessential to existence, it is not the cause of existence, but is just the
\nprocess, the instrument of being, for thought is a principle of precise
\nformulation which has the power of creating forms. And as an illustration Sri
\nAurobindo says that all that one thinks one is, one can, by the very fact of
\nthat thinking, become. This knowledge of the fact that\u00a0 <\/span>all that one thinks one can be, is a very
\nimportant key for the development of the being, and not only from the point of
\nview of the possibilities of the being, but also from that of the control and
\nchoice of what one will be, of what one wants to be. <\/span><\/p>\n

This makes us understand the necessity of not admitting into
\nourselves any thought which destroys aspiration or the creation of the truth of
\nour being. It reveals the considerable importance of not allowing what one
\ndoesn’t want to be or doesn’t want to do to formulate itself into thought within
\nthe being. Because to think these things is already a beginning of their
\nrealisation. From every point of view it is bad to concentrate on what one
\ndoesn’t want, on what one has to reject, what one refuses to be, for the very
\nfact that the thought is there gives to things one <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 396<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>wants to reject a sort of right of existence
\nwithin oneself. This explains the considerable importance of not letting
\ndestructive suggestions, thoughts of ill-will, hatred, destruction enter; for merely
\nto think of them is already to give them a power of realisation. Sri Aurobindo
\nsays that thought is not the cause of existence but an intermediary, the
\ninstrument which gives form to life, to creation, and the control of this
\ninstrument is of foremost importance if one wants disorder and all that is
\nanti-divine to disappear from creation. <\/span><\/p>\n

One must not admit bad thoughts into oneself under the pretext
\nthat they are merely thoughts. They are tools of execution. And one should not
\nallow them to exist in oneself if one doesn’t want them to do their work of
\ndestruction.  <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

No one has any questions? I have brought one. In fact I have
\nbrought two. (Mother unfolds a paper and reads:) <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIs it possible for a human being
\nto be perfectly sincere?\u201d <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

And this
\nquestion continues: <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIs there a mental
\nsincerity, a vital sincerity, a physical sincerity? What is the difference
\nbetween these sincerities?\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Naturally,
\nthe principle of sincerity is the same everywhere, but its working is different
\naccording to the states of being. As for the first question, one could simply
\nanswer: No, not if man remains what he is. But he has the possibility of
\ntransforming himself sufficiently to become perfectly sincere. <\/span><\/p>\n

To begin with, it must be said that sincerity is progressive, and
\nas the being progresses and develops, as the universe unfolds <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 397<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>in the being, sincerity too must go on
\nperfecting itself endlessly. Every halt in that development necessarily changes
\nthe sincerity of yesterday into the insincerity of tomorrow. <\/span><\/p>\n

To be perfectly sincere it is indispensable not to have any
\npreference, any desire, any attraction, any dislike, any sympathy or antipathy,
\nany attachment, any repulsion. One must have a total, integral vision of
\nthings, in which everything is in its place and one has the same attitude
\ntowards all things: the attitude of true vision. This programme is obviously
\nvery difficult for a human being to realise. Unless he has decided to divinise
\nhimself, it seems almost impossible that he could be free from all these
\ncontraries within him. And yet, so long as one carries them in himself, one
\ncannot be perfectly sincere. Automatically the mental, the vital and even the
\nphysical working is falsified. I am emphasising the physical, for even the
\nworking of the senses is warped: one does not see, hear, taste, feel things as
\nthey are in reality as long as one has a preference. So long as there are
\nthings which please you and others which don’t, so long as you are attracted by
\ncertain things, and repulsed by others, you cannot see things in their reality;
\nyou see them through your reaction, your preference or your repulsion. The
\nsenses are instruments which get out of order, in the same way as sensations,
\nfeelings and thoughts. Therefore, to be sure of what you see, what you feel,
\nwhat you experience and think, you must have a complete detachment; and this is
\nobviously not an easy task. But until then your perception cannot be wholly
\ntrue, and so it is not sincere.<\/span><\/p>\n

Naturally, this is the maximum. There are crass insincerities
\nwhich everybody understands and which, I believe, it is not necessary to dwell
\nupon, as for example, saying one thing and thinking another, pretending that
\nyou are doing one thing and doing another, expressing a wish which is not your
\nreal wish. I am not even speaking of the absolutely glaring lie which consists
\nin saying something different from the fact, but even that diplomatic way of
\nacting which consists in doing things with the
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 398<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

idea of
\nobtaining a certain result, in saying something and expecting it to have a
\ncertain effect; every combination of this kind which naturally makes you
\ncontradict yourself, is a kind of insincerity gross enough for everybody to
\neasily recognise.<\/span><\/p>\n

But there are others more subtle which are difficult to discern.
\nFor instance, so long as you have sympathies and antipathies, quite naturally
\nand as it were spontaneously you will have a favourable perception of what is
\nsympathetic to you and an unfavourable perception of what<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>or whom<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>you dislike. And there too the lack of
\nsincerity will be flagrant. However, you may deceive yourself and not perceive
\nthat you are being insincere. Then in that case, you have, as it were, the
\ncollaboration of mental insincerity. For it is true that there are
\ninsincerities of slightly different types according to the state of being or
\nthe parts of the being. Only, the origin of these insincerities is always a
\nsimilar movement arising from desire and the seeking of personal ends<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>from egoism, from the combination of all the limitations arising
\nfrom egoism and all the deformations arising from desire. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, as long as the ego is there, one cannot say that a being
\nis perfectly sincere, even though he is striving to become sincere. One must
\npass beyond the ego, give oneself up totally to the divine Will, surrender
\nwithout reserve and without calculation\u2026 then one can be perfectly sincere, but
\nnot before. <\/span><\/p>\n

That does not mean that one should not make an effort to be more
\nsincere than one is, saying to oneself, \u201cAll right, I shall wait for my ego to
\ndisappear in order to be sincere\u201d, because one may reverse the terms and say
\nthat if you do not try sincerely your ego will never disappear. Therefore,
\nsincerity is the basis of all true realisation, it is the means, the path<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>and it is also the goal. Without it you are sure to make
\ninnumerable blunders and you have constantly to redress the harm you have done
\nto yourself and to others.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is, besides, a marvellous joy in being sincere. Every act of
\nsincerity carries in itself its own reward: the feeling of
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 399<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

purification,
\nof soaring upwards, of liberation one gets when one has rejected even one tiny
\nparticle of falsehood. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sincerity is the safeguard, the protection, the guide, and finally
\nthe transforming power. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 400<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

19 December 1956    \u201cImpossibility is only a sum of greater unrealised possibles. It veils an advanced state and a yet unaccomplished journey. \u201cIf thou…<\/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-4518","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\/4518","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=4518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4518\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}