{"id":4526,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:37","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4526"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:37","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:37","slug":"30-25-july-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\/30-25-july-1956-vol-08-questions-and-answers-volume-08","title":{"rendered":"-30_25 July 1956.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n25 July 1956<\/font><\/span><\/b> <\/font>
\n <\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIt may be said that a complete act of divine
\nlove and worship has in it three parts that are the expressions of a single
\nwhole, <\/span>―<\/span><\/i><\/b> a practical worship of the Divine in the act, a symbol of
\nworship in the form of the act expressing some vision and seeking or some
\nrelation with the Divine, an inner adoration and longing for oneness or feeling
\nof oneness in the heart and soul and spirit.\u201d  <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n


\nThe
\nSynthesis of Yoga, pp. 152-53 <\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/b>
\n<\/font>
\n
\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

I have not understood the first
\ntwo parts very well.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There is a purely physical form of the act, like those forms in
\ncults in which a particular gesture, a particular movement is meant to express
\nthe consecration. That is purely material, as for example, lighting incense,
\narranging offerings, or even looking after a temple, decorating an idol, indeed
\nall such purely physical acts. <\/span><\/p>\n

 The second part is a sort
\nof mental consecration which makes the act that is performed a symbol. One is
\nnot satisfied with merely lighting the incense, but while lighting the incense
\none makes this gesture symbolic <\/span>―<\/span> for example, of the aspiration burning in the body or of
\nself-giving in a dissolution, in the purification of the fire. That is to say,
\nfirst the act, then the symbol in this act and the symbolic understanding of
\nwhat is done. <\/span><\/p>\n

 And finally, behind these
\ntwo, an aspiration for union; that all this, these acts and the symbol you make
\nof them, may be only a means of drawing closer and closer to the Divine and
\nmaking yourself fit to unite with Him. <\/span><\/p>\n

 These three things must
\nbe there for the act to be complete: that is, something purely material,
\nsomething mental, and something psychic, the psychic aspiration. If one of the
\nthree is there <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 235<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

without the other two, it is incomplete. As a rule, very rarely
\nare the three consciously combined. That produces beings of exceptional
\nsincerity and consecration: the entire being, in all its parts, participates in
\nthe action. <\/span><\/p>\n

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

(Mother shows a packet of written questions)<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Well, there was a time we had some difficulty in finding
\nquestions; now we have gone to the other extreme! I have so many that they
\nwould keep us at least till <\/span>midnight<\/span> if they were all to be
\nanswered! So I shall have to make a selection\u2026. There is one at once very
\ncommon and very practical which seems to me quite appropriate. <\/span><\/p>\n

 I have noted <\/span>―<\/span> much too often, I must say <\/span>―<\/span> that most of you do not listen
\nto what I say, so much so that many a time I have answered a question in detail
\nand immediately afterwards someone or other among you asks me exactly the same
\nquestion, as though I had not said anything! And the phenomenon is explicable:
\neach one is shut up in his own thought, just as, I suppose, you are in the
\nhabit of doing at school where you repeat your lesson to yourself if you are
\nattentive and hardworking, and don\u2019t listen to what the teacher is asking or
\nwhat the other students are answering, and thus lose three-quarters of the
\nadvantage of not being alone in the class. Here, it is more serious, for I
\nnever give a personal, individual answer, I reply for everybody to profit by it
\nand if, instead of listening, you continue thinking of what is in your head, it
\nis quite obvious that you lose the opportunity of learning something. That\u2019s
\nthe first point. If you are here, well, first listen, don\u2019t think of something
\nelse\u2026. But that too is not enough, that\u2019s just the beginning: there is one good
\nway of listening and many bad ways of listening. <\/span><\/p>\n

 I don\u2019t know if any of
\nyou are so fond of music as to know how to hear it. But if you want to listen
\nto music, you must create an absolute silence in your head, you must not follow
\nor <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 236<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\naccept a single thought,
\nand must be entirely concentrated, like a sort of screen which receives,
\nwithout movement or noise, the vibration of the music. That is the only way,
\nthere is no other, the only way of hearing music and understanding it. If you
\nadmit in the least the movements and fancies of your thought, the whole value
\nof the music escapes you. Well, to understand a teaching which is not quite of
\nthe ordinary material kind but implies an opening to something more deep
\nwithin, this necessity of silence is far greater still. If, instead of
\nlistening to what you are told, you begin to jump on the idea in order to ask
\nanother question or even to discuss what is said under the false pretext of
\nunderstanding better, all that you are told passes like smoke without leaving
\nany effect. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Similarly, when you have
\nan experience, you must never, during the period of the experience, try to
\nunderstand what it is, for you immediately cause it to vanish, or you deform it
\nand take away its purity; in the same way, if you want a spiritual teaching to
\nenter into you, you must be absolutely immobile in your head, immobile like a
\nmirror which not only reflects but absorbs the ray of light, lets it enter and
\ngo deep within, so that from the depths of your consciousness it may spring up
\nagain, some day or other, in the form of knowledge. <\/span><\/p>\n

 If you don\u2019t do that, you
\nare wasting your time, and, into the bargain, wasting mine. That\u2019s a proved
\nfact. I thought I had already told you this several times, but still perhaps I
\ndidn\u2019t tell you clearly enough. If you come here, come with the intention of listening
\nin silence<\/i><\/b>. What happens you will know later; the effect of this silent
\nattitude you will recognise later; but for the moment, the only thing to do is
\nto be like this (gesture<\/i><\/span>), silent, immobile, attentive, concentrated. <\/span><\/p>\n

 That is all.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The second question is of an
\naltogether external kind<\/span>―<\/span>relatively. But it seems quite indispensable, for it concerns
\nour sports education and also, generally, the psychological basis on <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 237<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

which we have founded our activity here. These things have been
\nwritten by Sri Aurobindo, I have written them very often, have explained them
\nto you many a time, but I am really sorry I am obliged to state that it has not
\nentered your consciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n

 I don\u2019t want to start a
\nwar against what you feel and do, but I should like you at least to understand why<\/i><\/b>
\nthings are done here as they are, instead of letting yourselves go in a
\nretrograde impulsiveness and copying all that is done elsewhere under the
\npretext that it is \u201clike that\u201d that things are done, under the pretext that
\nyour parents and great-grandparents, your relatives and friends, and the
\ngrandparents of your friends, all those who stay outside continue to do things
\nin this way and consider it the normal, natural way of doing them. <\/span><\/p>\n

 I don\u2019t dispute the fact,
\nin the sense that humanity was created by Nature for a special purpose and
\nspecial ends, and in order to realise her ends she has produced beings and also
\ngiven them special habits and special functions. Therefore, if you speak of
\n\u201cnatural\u201d things, I cannot tell you that this is not \u201cnatural\u201d, for that is the
\nway of Nature. But still, I believe I have told you <\/span>―<\/span> not only once but many times,
\nand Sri Aurobindo also has written this, not once but many a time <\/span>― <\/span>that we are not here to
\nrecommence, perpetuate, continue what is done elsewhere. And we have given a
\nconcrete form to this fact specially in our education; for I must say, without
\noffending anyone, that those who come here after having already seen much of
\nlife, those who have quite a heavy past behind them, may find it difficult to
\nchange their attitude and point of view immediately, but if you take very young
\nchildren who have not yet been too spoiled <\/span>―<\/span> they are always spoiled <\/span>―<\/span> but those who have not yet
\nbeen too spoiled by ordinary education, the ideas of their family, the atavism
\nof their parents, etc., you have a chance of orientating the consciousness on
\nthe right path and getting a tangible and concrete result. <\/span><\/p>\n

 To tell the truth, we
\nhave nothing to complain about, for <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 238<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>we have had striking
\nproofs that if one knows how to do it, what we claim is possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What we claim is this, which in similar conditions, with the
\nsame education and the same possibilities, there is no reason to make a
\ncategorical distinction, final and imperative, between what we call men and
\nwomen. For us, human beings are the expression of a single soul. It is true, as
\nI said at the beginning, that Nature has differentiated her expressions for the
\nsatisfaction of her needs and the realisation of her purpose, but if our needs
\nand purposes are of another<\/span> <\/b> <\/i>kind and we don\u2019t recognise the physical ends conceived
\nby Nature as final, and absolute, then we can try to develop consciousness on
\nanother line. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Unfortunately, we have
\nnoticed one thing. As the years pass and the little girls grow up into big
\ngirls, suddenly we find that they begin to remember that they are girls, that
\nthey must be pretty, they must please, must dress up in a special way, put on
\nlittle affectations to attract attention <\/span>―<\/span> and the whole result of our
\nwork collapses. <\/span><\/p>\n

 There are some <\/span>―<\/span> there are always exceptions to the rule <\/span>―<\/span> who have understood and who
\ntry to realise. But even among these there is still in the background that kind
\nof little satisfaction of not being quite \u201clike the others\u201d, of being able to
\ndo what the others cannot, and for this to be clearly seen, well, they must
\npare themselves with the others! <\/span><\/p>\n

 So that is exactly the
\noccasion of what I have just told you. It is a question from one of you which
\nhas given rise to another question, and I hope that if I explain to you once
\nmore in detail, insisting on the fact, we shall perhaps be able to start anew
\nand realise something more complete and more clear. <\/span><\/p>\n

 We come down altogether
\nto earthly things: somebody has been very successful in athletics and has come
\nfirst in one event. This somebody is a \u201cshe\u201d, for convenience in speaking. And
\nso, ah! besides the satisfaction of having done well, there was a little
\nsatisfaction in having done better than the others, and she came to ask: <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 239<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

 \u201cWhy are women\u2019s records
\nnot announced?\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

We have, I believe, repeated and reiterated that there are no
\n\u201cwomen\u2019s\u201d and no \u201cmen\u2019s\u201d records, there are only group records. There is the
\ngreen group <\/span>―<\/span> the various green groups <\/span>―<\/span> there is the red group, the
\ngrey group, the blue group, the khaki group, the white group. You may tell me
\nthat some of these groups are exclusively men\u2019s or women\u2019s. I shall answer what
\nI have just said, that unless one comes here very young, it is difficult to
\nchange one\u2019s habits, and that is what has made this separation necessary <\/span>―<\/span> but it is not the ideal. And
\nif we made it a habit to announce gloriously: \u201cThis very remarkable girl has
\ndone what no other girl could do before\u201d, oh, la, la, what a fall it would be!
\nNot to mention that this encourages vanity <\/span>―<\/span> which is not good <\/span>― <\/span>it is also an assertion that
\nthis fact is remarkable because it is a girl<\/i><\/span>; now it is not
\nat all a remarkable fact that it is a girl: it is remarkable because she has
\ndone very well, and there are many boys who have not done so well. But if one
\nwants to magnify this fine fact by paring her with other girls who have not
\ndone as well, it becomes deplorable.<\/span><\/p>\n

 So this question was
\nbrought to me. I believe that person has been given the answer which I have
\njust told you, that there are only group records and no records of sexes. <\/span><\/p>\n

 But that is not all. I am
\ntold that some have heard <\/span>―<\/span> not once but hundreds of times, especially from those who come
\nfrom outside with all the ideas of the world outside <\/span>―<\/span> this question: <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhy do you have the same programme of
\nphysical education for boys and girls \u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There are some who consider it a scandal; some consider it a
\nglaring error from the physical, material point of view. \u201cWhy aren\u2019t girls
\ntreated in a special way and quite differently from boys?\u201d<\/span>― <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>then the great argument\u201d<\/span>― <\/span>as it is<\/i><\/b> done
\neverywhere.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\nPage – 240<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Ah! thank you. Then why do we have an Ashram? Why do we have a
\nCentre of Education? If everywhere the same things are done, we don\u2019t need to
\nrepeat them, we won\u2019t do them any better than others. <\/span><\/p>\n

 And when they put this
\nargument in my way, they couldn\u2019t tell me anything that appears more utterly
\nstupid to me. It is done everywhere? That is just the reason for not doing it;
\nfor if we do what others do, it is not worth the trouble doing anything at all.
\nWe want precisely to introduce into the world something which is not there; but
\nif we keep all the habits of the world, all the preferences of the world, all
\nthe constructions of the world, I don\u2019t see how we can get out of the rut and
\ndo something new. <\/span><\/p>\n

 My children, I have told
\nyou, repeated it in every tone, in every way: if you really want to profit by
\nyour stay here, try to look at things and understand them with a new vision and
\na new understanding based on something higher, something deeper, vaster,
\nsomething more true, something which is not yet but will be one day. And it is
\nbecause we want to build this future that we have taken this special stand. <\/span><\/p>\n

 I tell you that we have
\nhad quite material proofs of the correctness and truth of our position, but
\nthey are not lasting. Why? Because it is extremely easy to fall back into the
\nordinary consciousness, and there is nothing more difficult than to always
\nstand on the top of the ladder and try to look at the world from up there. <\/span><\/p>\n

 We don\u2019t<\/i><\/b> want to obey the
\norders of Nature, even if these orders have millions of years of habits behind
\nthem. And one thing is certain, the argument of Nature when she is opposed to
\nthings changing, is: \u201cIt has always been thus.\u201d I claim this is not true.
\nWhether she likes it or not, things change, and a day will come when it will be
\nsaid: \u201cAh! yes, there was a time when it was like that, but now it is
\ndifferent.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 Well, grant only for some
\ntime, in a way which is still that of faith and trust, that we are in fact
\nbringing about this change, <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 241<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

that we have come to a point where things are going to take a
\nturn and a new orientation. You are simply asked to have just a little faith and
\ntrust and allow yourselves to be guided. Otherwise, well, you will lose the
\nadvantage of being here, that\u2019s all. And you will go back with the same
\nweaknesses and same habits one sees in life as it is outside. There you are.<\/span><\/p>\n

 You thought I was a
\nlittle severe, a little hard, and that after all it was not easy to satisfy me!
\nThat is why you tie pretty little pink ribbons in your hair or on pigtails
\nhanging at the back. I say, perhaps a little uncharitably: \u201cYou look
\nridiculous!\u201d For you think you are very fine to look at, but truly this makes
\nyou ridiculous. If you want to go out into the world and preen yourselves as
\ngirls do in the world and give yourselves airs in order to please because that
\nis your sole defense and sole weapon, to attract attention and to please, and
\nbe quite pretty, quite seductive, you are quite free to do so, it\u2019s no longer
\nmy concern. But indeed to do all that here is ridiculous. It is ridiculous and
\nyou also bring yourselves down immediately to a level which is not very pretty.<\/span><\/p>\n

 Naturally, you may blame
\nme for telling you all this in front of \u201cthe other sex\u201d. But I include him in
\nthe ridicule, for if he did not think as he does, if he did not feel as he does
\nand did not act as he does, you would have long ago been disgusted with these
\nchildish little affectations. There we are. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now I have told you all I
\nwanted to say. I think this is enough for today, isn\u2019t it? You have really had
\nit!
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span>
\n
\nWith
\nthis talk we are publishing a few extracts<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span>
\n
\n\u00a0<\/font><\/span>from a brochure of Mother\u2019s entitled \u201cTo<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span>
\n
\n\u00a0<\/font><\/span>Women About Their Body\u201d. These are an-<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span>
\n
\nswers
\nto questions on the sports education of<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span>
\n
\n\u00a0<\/font><\/span>women. The brochure opens with the follow-<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span>
\n
\ning
\nlines: <\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

For God\u2019s sake, can\u2019t you forget that you are a girl or a boy,
\nand try to become a human being? <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 242<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

What is the ideal for a girl,
\nfrom the point of view of physical education<\/span><\/i><\/b>? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see why there should be one special ideal for the
\nphysical education of girls and another for the education of boys. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Physical education aims at
\ndeveloping all the possibilities of the human body <\/span>― <\/span>possibilities of harmony,
\nstrength, suppleness, skill, endurance <\/span>―<\/span> and increasing the mastery of
\nthe functions of its members and organs, making the body a perfect instrument
\nat the disposal of the conscious will. This programme is excellent for all
\nhuman beings equally; there is no reason for wanting to have another one for
\ngirls. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

 What part will man and
\nwoman play in the new life? What relations will they have? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Why make a distinction between the two? They are both human
\nbeings trying to become fit instruments for the divine work, above questions of
\nsex, caste, creed and nationality; they are all children of the same infinite
\nMother and aspirants to the one and eternal Godhead. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What is the ideal of physical
\nbeauty for a woman?<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Perfect harmony of
\nproportions, suppleness and strength, grace and force, plasticity, endurance
\nand, above all, an excellent health, unvarying, unchanging, the result of a
\npure soul, of a joyful trust in life and an unshakable faith in the divine
\nGrace. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The
\nbrochure ends with the following words: <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

One word more to finish: <\/span><\/p>\n

 I have told you these
\nthings because you needed to hear them. But don\u2019t make an absolute dogma from
\nthem, for that takes away all their truth. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 243<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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

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