{"id":4531,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:39","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4531"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:39","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:39","slug":"53-26-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\/53-26-december-1956-vol-08-questions-and-answers-volume-08","title":{"rendered":"-53_26 December 1956.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n
\n26
\n December 1956<\/font><\/span><\/b> <\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot to go on for ever repeating what man has already done is our
\nwork, but to arrive at new realisations and undreamed-of masteries. Time and
\nsoul and world are given us for our field, vision and hope and creative imagination
\nstand for our prompters, will and thought and labour are our all-effective
\ninstruments. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is there new that we have yet to ac<\/span><\/i>com<\/span>plish? Love, for as yet we have only ac<\/span>com<\/span>plished hatred and self-pleasing; Knowledge, for as yet we have
\nonly ac<\/span>com<\/span>plished error and
\nperception and conceiving; Bliss, for as yet we have only ac<\/span>com<\/span>plished pleasure and pain and indifference; Power, for as yet we
\nhave only ac<\/span>com<\/span>plished weakness and
\neffort and a defeated victory; Life, for as yet we have only ac<\/span>com<\/span>plished birth and growth and dying; Unity, for as yet we have only
\nac<\/span><\/i>com<\/span><\/i>plished war and association. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIn a word, godhead; to remake ourselves in the divine image.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Thoughts and Glimpses, Cent. Vol. 16, pp.
\n378-79<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/font> <\/span><\/font><\/i><\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

We have only accomplished \u201cweakness and effort and a defeated
\nvictory\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Until now
\nall the victories which have been won have reactions that are finally defeats.
\nThere is never anything definitive and complete. Every time one has the feeling
\nof having gained a victory, one finds out that this victory was incomplete,
\npartial, fugitive. This is a fact one can always observe if one looks carefully
\nat oneself. Not that things are necessarily what they were before, no,
\nsomething has changed, but everything has not changed and not changed
\ncompletely.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is very apparent, very noticeable in physical conquests
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 401<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

over the
\nbody. Through a very assiduous labour one succeeds in over<\/span>com<\/span>ing a weakness, a limitation, a bad habit, and one believes this
\nis a definitive victory; but after some time or at times immediately one
\nrealises that nothing is completely done, nothing is definitive, that what one
\nthought to have ac<\/span>com<\/span>plished has to be done again. For only a
\ntotal change of consciousness and the intervention of a new force, a reversal
\nof consciousness can make the victory complete. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the old Chaldean tradition, very often the young novices were
\ngiven an image when they were invested with the white robe; they were told: \u201cDo
\nnot try to remove the stains one by one, the whole robe must be purified.\u201d Do
\nnot try to correct your faults one by one, to over<\/span>com<\/span>e your weaknesses one by one, it does not take you very far. The
\nentire consciousness must be changed, a reversal of consciousness must be
\nachieved, a springing up out of the state in which one is towards a higher
\nstate from which one dominates all the weaknesses one wants to heal, and from
\nwhich one has a full vision of the work to be ac<\/span>com<\/span>plished<\/span><\/p>\n

I believe Sri Aurobindo has said this: things are such that it may
\nbe said that nothing is done until everything is done. One step ahead is not
\nenough, a total conversion is necessary. <\/span><\/p>\n

How many times have I heard people who were making an effort say,
\n\u201cI try, but what’s the use of my trying? Every time I think I have gained
\nsomething, I find that I must begin all over again.\u201d This happens because they
\nare trying to go forward while standing still, they are trying to progress
\nwithout changing their consciousness. It is the entire point of view which must
\nbe shifted, the whole consciousness must get out of the rut in which it lies so
\nas to rise up and see things from above. It is only thus that victories will
\nnot be changed into defeats. <\/span><\/p>\n

Anything else?<\/span><\/span> No, nothing more? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, how to change one’s consciousness? <\/span><\/i><\/b>
\n
\n
\n <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\nPage – 402<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

Naturally, there
\nare many ways, but each person must do it by the means accessible to him; and
\nthe indication of the way usually comes spontaneously, through something like
\nan unexpected experience. And for each one, it appears a little differently. <\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, one may have the perception of the ordinary
\nconsciousness which is extended on the surface, horizontally, and works on a
\nplane which is simultaneously the surface of things and has a contact with the
\nsuperficial outer side of things, people, circumstances; and then, suddenly,
\nfor some reason or other<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>as I say for each one it is different<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>there is a shifting upwards, and instead of seeing things
\nhorizontally, of being at the same level as they are, you suddenly dominate
\nthem and see them from above, in their totality, instead of seeing a small
\nnumber of things immediately next to yourself; it is as though something were
\ndrawing you above and making you see as from a mountain-top or an aeroplane.
\nAnd instead of seeing each detail and seeing it on its own level, you see the
\nwhole as one unity, and from far above. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are many ways of having this experience, but it usually
\ncomes to you as if by chance, one fine day. <\/span><\/p>\n

Or else, one may have an experience which is almost its very
\nopposite but which comes to the same thing. Suddenly one plunges into a depth,
\none moves away from the thing one perceived, it seems distant, superficial,
\nunimportant; one enters an inner silence or an inner calm or an inward vision
\nof things, a profound feeling, a more intimate perception of circumstances and
\nthings, in which all values change. And one becomes aware of a sort of unity, a
\ndeep identity which is one in spite of the diverse appearances. <\/span><\/p>\n

Or else, suddenly also, the sense of limitation disappears and one
\nenters the perception of a kind of indefinite duration beginningless and
\nendless, of something which has always been and always will be. <\/span><\/p>\n

These experiences come to you suddenly in a flash, for a second, a
\nmoment in your life, you don’t know why or how\u2026. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 403<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>There are other ways, other
\nexperiences<\/span>
\n\u2014 <\/span>they are innumerable, they vary according
\nto people; but with this, with one minute, one second of such an existence, one
\ncatches the tail of the thing. So one must remember that, try to relive it, go
\nto the depths of the experience, recall it, aspire, concentrate. This is the
\nstarting-point, the end of the guiding thread, the clue. For all those who are
\ndestined to find their inner being, the truth of their being, there is always
\nat least one moment in life when they were no longer the same, perhaps just
\nlike a lightning-flash<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>but that is enough. It indicates the road
\none should take, it is the door that opens on this path. And so you must s
\nthrough the door, and with perseverance and an unfailing steadfastness seek to renew
\nthe state which will lead you to something more real and more total. <\/span><\/p>\n

Many ways have always been given, but a way you have been taught,
\na way you have read about in books or heard from a teacher, does not have the
\neffective value of a spontaneous experience which has come without any apparent
\nreason, and which is simply the blossoming of the soul’s awakening, one second
\nof contact with your psychic being which shows you the best way for you, the
\none most within your reach, which you will then have to follow with
\nperseverance to reach the goal<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>one second which shows you how to start,
\nthe beginning\u2026.Some have this in dreams at night; some have it at any odd time:
\nsomething one sees which awakens in one this new consciousness, something one
\nhears, a beautiful landscape, beautiful music, or else simply a few words one
\nreads, or else the intensity of concentration in some effort<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>anything at all, there are a thousand reasons and thousands of
\nways of having it. But, I repeat, all those who are destined to realise have
\nhad this at least once in their life. It may be very fleeting, it may have come
\nwhen they were very young, but always at least once in one’s life one has the
\nexperience of what true consciousness is. Well, that is the best indication of
\nthe path to be followed.<\/span><\/p>\n

One may seek within oneself, one may remember, may<\/span>
\nob- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 404<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

serve; one
\nmust notice what is going on, one must pay attention, that’s all. Sometimes,
\nwhen one sees a generous act, hears of something exceptional, when one
\nwitnesses heroism or generosity or greatness of soul, meets someone who shows a
\nspecial talent or acts in an exceptional and beautiful way, there is a kind of
\nenthusiasm or admiration or gratitude which suddenly awakens in the being and
\nopens the door to a state, a new state of consciousness, a light, a warmth, a
\njoy one did not know before. That too is a way of catching the guiding thread.
\nThere are a thousand ways, one has only to be awake and to watch. <\/span><\/p>\n

First of all, you must feel the necessity for this change of
\nconsciousness, accept the idea that it is this, the path which must lead to the
\ngoal; and once you admit the principle, you must be watchful. And you will
\nfind, you do find it. And once you have found it, you must start walking
\nwithout any hesitation. <\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, the starting-point is to observe oneself, not to live in a
\nperpetual nonchalance, a perpetual apathy; one must be attentive. <\/span><\/p>\n

Is that all?  <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Here is a question I have been asked<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>it seems
\nmany people are asking themselves the same thing! I am going to read to you
\nwhat is written, then I shall speak to you afterwards. It looks so convincing,
\nthis question! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow should we understand `not to have preferences’? Shouldn’t we
\nprefer order to disorder, cleanliness to dirt, etc? Not to have preferences<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>does it mean treating everybody in the same way?\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Now, here is
\nmy answer: this is playing on words! What you call preference, I call choice.
\nYou must be in a perpetual state of choice; at every minute of your life you
\nmust make a choice
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 405<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

between what
\ndrags you down and what draws you up, between what makes you progress and what
\nmakes you go backwards; but I do not call this having preferences, I call this
\nmaking a choice<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>making a choice, choosing. At every minute
\none has to choose, this is indispensable, and infinitely more so than choosing
\nonce for all between cleanliness and dirt, whether moral or physical. The
\nchoice: at every second the choice is before you, and you may take a step
\ndownward or a step upward, take a step backward or a step forward; and this
\nstate of choice must be constant, perpetual, you must never fall asleep. But
\nthis is not what I call having preferences. Preferences<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>this means precisely not choosing. There is something for which
\nyou feel sympathy or antipathy, repulsion or attraction, and blindly, without
\nany reason, you become attached to this thing; or else, when you have a problem
\nto solve, you prefer the solution of this problem or this difficulty to be of
\none particular kind or another. But that is not at all choosing<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>don’t you see, what the truest thing is doesn’t come into
\nquestion, it is a matter of having a preference. For me the meaning of the word
\nis very clear: a preference is something blind, an impulse, an attachment, an
\nunconscious movement which is usually terribly obstinate. <\/span><\/p>\n

You are placed in certain circumstances; one thing or another may
\nhappen, and you yourself have an aspiration, you ask to be guided, but within
\nyou there is something which prefers the answer to be of a certain kind, the
\nindication to be a particular one, or the event to come about in one way rather
\nthan another; but all this is not a question of choice, it is a preference. And
\nwhen the answer to your aspiration or prayer is not in accord with your desire,
\nthis preference makes you feel unhappy, you find it difficult to accept the
\nanswer, you must fight to accept it; whereas if you had no preferences,
\nwhatever the answer to your aspiration, when it <\/span>com<\/span>es,
\nyou cling to it joyfully, spontaneously with a sincere <\/span>\u00e9<\/span>lan.<\/span><\/i><\/b> Otherwise you are <\/span>com<\/span>pelled to
\nmake an effort to accept what <\/span>com<\/span>es, the decision which comes in answer to
\nyour aspiration; you wish, desire, pre<\/span>fer<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 406<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

things
\nto be like this and not like that. But that, indeed, is not a choice. The
\nchoice is there at every minute; every minute you are faced with a choice: the
\nchoice to climb up or go down, the choice to progress or go backwards. But this
\nchoice does not imply that you prefer things to be like this or like that; it
\nis a fact of every moment, an attitude<\/i><\/b> you take. <\/span><\/p>\n

Choice means a decision and an action. Preference is a desire. A
\nchoice is made and ought <\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>to be made, and if
\nit is truly a choice, it is made without care for the consequences, without
\nexpecting any result. You choose; you choose according to your inner truth,
\nyour highest consciousness; whatever happens does not touch you, you have made
\nyour choice, the true choice, and what comes about is not your concern. While,
\non the contrary, if you have preferences, you will choose through preference in
\none way or another, your preference will distort your choice: it will be
\ncalculation, bargaining, you will act with the idea that a particular thing
\nmust happen because this is what you prefer and not because that is the truth,
\nthe right thing to do. Preference is attached to the result, acts with a view
\nto the result, wishes things to be in a particular way and acts to bring about
\nits wish; and so this opens the door to all kinds of things. Choice is
\nindependent of the result. And certainly, at every minute you can choose, you
\nare faced with the necessity of choosing at every second. And you do not choose
\nreally well, in all sincerity, unless it is the truth of the choice which
\ninterests you, and not the result of your choice. If you choose with the result
\nin view, that falsifies your choice. <\/span><\/p>\n

So I say it is playing on words, it is mixing up two different
\nthings; and so you ask questions which seem insoluble, for it is a mixture.
\nThere is a confusion in the question. <\/span><\/p>\n

As for treating everybody in the same way, it is a worse confusion
\nstill! It is the kind of confusion one makes when one says that the Divine must
\ntreat everybody in the same way. So it would not be worth the trouble to have
\ndiversity in the world, not worth the trouble of not having two identical
\nindividuals; <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 407<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>for this contradicts the very principle of
\ndiversity. <\/span><\/p>\n

You may<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>or you ought to if you can’t<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>aspire to have the same deep attitude of understanding, unity,
\nlove, perfect passion for all that is in the universe; but this very attitude
\nwill be applied to each case in a different way, according to the truth of that
\ncase and its necessity. What could be called the motive or rather the origin of
\nthe action is the same, but the action may even be totally and diametrically
\nopposite in accordance with the case and the deeper truth of each case. But for
\nthat, precisely, one must have the highest attitude, the most profound, the
\nmost essentially true, that which is free from all outer contingencies. Then one
\ncan see at every minute not only the essential truth but also the truth of the
\naction; and in each case it is different. And yet, what we may call \u201cfeeling\u201d<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>though this is an inadequate word<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>or
\nthe state of consciousness in which one acts, is essentially the same. <\/span><\/p>\n

But this cannot be understood unless one enters the essential
\ndepth of things and sees them from the highest summits. And then it is like a
\ncentre of light and consciousness high enough or deep enough to be able to see
\nall things at the same time, not only in their essence but in their
\nmanifestation; and although the centre of consciousness is one, the action will
\nbe as diverse as the manifestation is diverse: it is the realisation of the
\ndivine Truth in its manifestation. Otherwise it would be doing away with all
\nthe diversity of the world and bringing it back to the essential unmanifest
\nOneness, for it is only in the non-manifestation that the One is manifested as
\nthe One. But as soon as one enters the manifestation, the One manifests as the
\nmultiplicity, and multiplicity implies a multitude of actions and ways. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, to sum up: the choice must be made without care for the
\nconsequences, and the action must be performed in accordance with the truth of
\nthe multiplicity in the manifestation. <\/span><\/p>\n

There we are. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 408<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

26 December 1956    \u201cNot to go on for ever repeating what man has already done is our work, but to arrive at new realisations…<\/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-4531","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\/4531","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=4531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4531\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}