{"id":4535,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:41","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4535"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:41","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:41","slug":"29-18-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\/29-18-july-1956-vol-08-questions-and-answers-volume-08","title":{"rendered":"-29_18 July 1956.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n18 July 1956 <\/font>
\n <\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I would like an explanation,
\nSweet Mother. In Prayers and Meditations there is a sentence: \u201cAnd the hours s,
\nfading away like unlived dreams.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

19 January 1917<\/font><\/span><\/i> <\/font><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This is an experience. Do you know what an unlived dream is?…
\nI did not take the word \u201cdream\u201d in the sense of dreams at night; I took the
\nword dream to mean something one has built up in the best and most
\nclear-sighted part of one\u2019s being, something which is an ideal one would like
\nto see realised, something higher, more beautiful, more noble, more wonderful
\nthan all that has been created, and one has a power of imagination or creation
\nsomewhere in one\u2019s consciousness and one builds something so that it may be
\nrealised. <\/span><\/p>\n

 And then, for some reason
\nor other, it is not realised. Either the world was not ready or perhaps the
\nformation was not sufficient, but it is not realised. And so the hours pass,
\nsterile, unproductive <\/span>―<\/span> useless, vain, empty <\/span>―<\/span> they seem to fade away because
\nthey have no result and no usefulness. <\/span><\/p>\n

 And so I said: \u201cAnd the
\nhours pass, fading away like unlived dreams.\u201d <\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I have received two questions.
\nOne is about a sage from The Synthesis of Yoga<\/i><\/span> where it is
\nsaid: <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cFor there is concealed behind individual
\nlove, obscured by its ignorant human figure, a mystery which the mind cannot
\nseize, the mystery of the body of the Divine, the secret of a mystic form of
\nthe Infinite which we can approach only through the ecstasy of<\/span><\/i><\/b> <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\nPage – 222<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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


\n
\nthe heart and the passion of
\nthe pure and sublimated sense, and its attraction which is the call of the
\ndivine Flute-player, the mastering compulsion of the All-Beautiful, can only be
\nseized and seize us through an occult love and yearning which in the end makes
\none the Form and the Formless, and identifies Spirit and Matter. It is that
\nwhich the spirit in Love is seeking here in the darkness of the Ignorance and
\nit is that which it finds when individual human love is changed into the love
\nof the Immanent Divine incarnate in the material universe.\u201d <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\nThe
\nSynthesis of Yoga, p.150 <\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

This brings us back to the symbol of Krishna and Radha. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Krishna is the One of
\nwhom Sri Aurobindo speaks here, the divine Flute-player, that is to say, the
\nimmanent and universal Divine who is the supreme power of attraction; and the soul,
\nthe psychic personality, called here Radha, who responds to the call of the
\nFlute-player. So I have been asked to say something this evening on the
\nRadha-consciousness, that is, in fact, on the way in which the individual soul
\nanswers the call of the Divine. <\/span><\/p>\n

 It so happens that this
\nis exactly what Sri Aurobindo has described in the chapter we have just read:
\nit is that capacity of finding Ananda in all things through identification with
\nthe one divine Presence and a complete self-giving to that Presence. So I don\u2019t
\nthink I have much to add; what I could say would be a limitation or a
\ndiminution of the totality of this experience. <\/span><\/p>\n

 (After a silence)<\/span><\/i><\/b> This consciousness has the
\ncapacity of changing everything into a perpetual ecstasy, for instead of seeing
\nthings in their discordant appearance, one now sees only the divine Presence,
\nthe divine Will and the Grace everywhere; and every event, every element, every
\ncircumstance, every form changes into a way, a detail through which one can
\ndraw more intimately and profoundly closer to the Divine. Discordances
\ndisappear, ugliness vanishes; there is now only the splendour of <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 223<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>the divine Presence in a
\nLove shining in all things. <\/span><\/p>\n

 It is obvious that from a
\npractical point of view one must be able to remain at a constant and unshakable
\nheight in order to be in that state without exposing oneself to fairly
\ntroublesome consequences. That is probably why those who wished to live in this
\nstate used to withdraw from the world and find the universal contact through
\nNature\u2026. I must say, without meaning to be unpleasant to men, that it is
\ninfinitely easier to realise this state of consciousness when one is surrounded
\nby trees, flowers, plants and even animals than by human beings. It is easier
\nbut not indispensable. And if one wants the state to be truly integral, one
\nmust be able to keep it at every moment, in the presence of anyone and
\nanything. <\/span><\/p>\n

 There are countless
\nlegends or stories of this kind, like that of Prahlad,\u00b9 for instance, which we
\nsaw recently in a film, stories which illustrate that state of consciousness.
\nAnd I am not only convinced, but I myself have the quite tangible experience
\nthat if in the presence of some danger or an enemy or some ill-will, you are
\nable to remain in this condition and see the Divine in all things, well, the
\ndanger will have no effect, the ill-will can do nothing to you, and the enemy
\nwill either be transformed or run away. That is quite certain. <\/span><\/p>\n

 But I must add a word
\nwhich is quite important. You must not seek this state of consciousness with
\nany motive or seek it because it is a protection or a help. You must have it
\nsincerely, spontaneously, constantly; it must be a normal, natural, effort<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/font>\u00b9 <\/font> <\/span>
\nIn Indian mythology Prahlad is the son of
\nKing Hiranyakashipu, an ardent enemy of the god Vishnu. The king had banned the
\nworship of Vishnu in his kingdom, and when he learnt that his son Prahlad was
\nworshipping this god in his own palace, he delivered him to serpents, but they
\ndid not bite him. Then he had him thrown down from the top of a hill into the
\nsea, but the child was miraculously carried by the waters. When the enraged
\nking asked his son, \u201cWho has saved you?\u201d, the child replied, \u201cVishnu is
\neverywhere, in the serpents and in the sea.\u201d It is interesting to note that the
\nking himself had been a soul temporarily driven out from the heaven of Vishnu
\ndue to the curse of some rishis<\/span> who had given him the
\nchoice between three lives on earth as the enemy of Vishnu and ten lives on
\nearth as the worshipper of Vishnu ― the king had chosen the shorter way
\nback.<\/font><\/span> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\nPage – 224<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

less way of being. Then it is effective. But if you try in the
\nleast to imitate the movement with the idea of obtaining a particular result,
\nit won\u2019t succeed. The result is not obtained at all. And then in your ignorance
\nyou will perhaps say, \u201cOh! but they told me that, but it is not true!\u201d That is
\nbecause there was some insincerity somewhere. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Otherwise, if you are
\nreally sincere, that is, if it is an integral and spontaneous experience, it is
\nall-powerful. If, looking into somebody\u2019s eyes, you can spontaneously see the
\ndivine Presence there, the worst movements vanish, the worst obstacles
\ndisappear; and the flame of an infinite joy awakes, sometimes in the other
\nperson as well as in oneself. If in the other person there is the least
\npossibility or just a tiny rift in his ill-will, the flame shines forth. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, about Radha, in
\nall the Vaishnavite stories and in the accounts of many mystics, there are
\nalways tears and anguish: \u201cShe wept and the Divine did not come\u2026. The Divine
\ntormented her\u2026.\u201d What does this mean? She was integral purity, then why\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

That is just on the way! That happens when one is still on the
\nway, when one has not reached the goal. They have that, they insist a lot on this,
\nfor\u2026for they like to prolong the human road, simply because they enjoy this
\nhuman road and because, as I told you, if you want to remain in life, in
\ncontact with life, a certain relativity necessarily remains in the experience.
\nThey like it that way <\/span>―<\/span> they like to quarrel with the Divine, they like the feeling of
\nseparation, these things give them pleasure! For they remain in the human
\nconsciousness and want to remain there. The moment there is perfect
\nidentification, all this disappears. So, it is as though one were depriving
\noneself of the pleasure of a drama! There is something that has gone out of
\nlife, that is, its illusion. They still need a reasonable amount of illusion;
\nthey can\u2019t enter directly into the Truth. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 225<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

In fact, for the feeling of separation to
\ndisappear, you must have realised within yourself a perfect identity; and once
\nthis perfect identity is realised, well, the story comes to an end, there is
\nnothing more to tell. <\/span><\/p>\n

That is why it is said
\nthat if the world, if creation realised its perfect identity with the Divine,
\nthere would no longer be any creation. If you realise this perfect identity in
\nwhich there is no longer any possibility of distinction and if the entire
\nuniverse realised this perfect identity in which there is no longer any
\npossibility of distinction, well, there would no longer be any universe. It
\nwould be a return to Pralaya. <\/span><\/p>\n

So the solution is to
\nfind Ananda, even in the play, in this exchange in which one both gives and
\nreceives, in which one seems to be two; and that is why they keep the duality. <\/span><\/p>\n

Otherwise, in identity,
\nnothing remains but the identity. If the identity is complete and perfect,
\nthere is no more objectivisation. <\/span><\/p>\n

But I said this
\nsomewhere when speaking about the story of love. I think nobody <\/span>―<\/span> oh! I don\u2019t
\nknow <\/span>― <\/span>probably very few people noticed the distinction. I said that it
\nbegins with the Ananda of identity, and that after the full circuit of the
\ncreation, it ends in the Ananda of union.\u00b9 Well, if there had been<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b9Later, someone asked Mother: \u201cWhat is this
\n\u2018it\u2019? the universe?\u201d To which Mother replied, \u201cI said \u2018it\u2019 deliberately, so as
\nnot to make it precise. I don\u2019t like the word \u2018creation\u2019; it immediately gives
\nthe impression of a special creation as though it were made out of nothing
\n<\/font> <\/span>― <\/span>but it is He Himself! And it is not the
\nuniverse \u2018which begins\u2019: the universe \u2018is begun\u2019. How to put it? It is not the
\nuniverse which takes the initiative of the movement! And if one says that the
\nLord began the universe, it becomes false. All these are such fixed ideas! If I
\nsay: \u2018The Lord began the universe,\u2019 one sees at once a personal God deciding to
\nbegin the universe <\/span>―<\/span><\/font> it is
\nnot that! <\/font> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cI have said that about Love, the
\nmanifestation of Love which is the supreme Ananda. Sri Aurobindo also said it:
\nbeyond Being and Non-being there is something which is, which manifests as
\nsupreme Love, and which is at once Being and Non-being. And the first
\nmanifestation of That is the Ananda of identity <\/font> <\/span>
\n―<\/span><\/font>
\nessentially it is the identity being aware of itself in Ananda, and then, it
\nmakes the full circuit through the whole manifestation and all the forms taken
\nby Love, and returns to the Oneness through union. And this adds to that
\nAnanda, the Ananda of union, which would never have existed if the circuit had
\nnot been made.\u201d<\/font><\/span><\/b><\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 226<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>no circuit, there would never be the Ananda of
\nunion, there would only be the Ananda of identity. Were there no circuit, there
\nwould be no union. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is perhaps a little subtle, but it is a fact: and perhaps
\nit is just in order that the Ananda of identity may find what I might call its
\nconsummation and crowning in the Ananda of union, that the whole circuit was
\nmade. <\/span><\/p>\n

 But if there is perfect identity, there can be no union,
\nthe feeling of union does not exist, for it necessarily implies something other
\nthan perfect identity. There can be perfect union but there is no perfect
\nidentity. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t try to understand with words and with your head, for these
\ntwo words express altogether different experiences. And yet the result is the
\nsame, but one is rich with all that was not in the other, the richness of the
\nwhole experience <\/span>―<\/span> the whole universal experience. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If union is experienced consciously, why do some mystics
\ncontinue to have all kinds of emotions like ordinary people, and weep and
\nlament? <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This is
\nperhaps because the union is not constant. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\nBut Radha is sincere in her aspiration<\/span><\/i><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If you
\nask me, I believe this is just literature, my children! Anyway, it is certainly
\nin order to give you an artistic picture of human life as it is! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\nVaishnavism is based on that<\/span><\/i><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But
\nthese people live in the vital and like it. Ah! one can\u2019t talk about that,
\nbecause\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, I have another question here, a very small question, but
\nnot without interest. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 227<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

 <\/span>It is from someone who is trying to prepare himself to receive
\nthe Supermind, and in this preparation, among other things come prayer and
\nmeditation. And then there is this reflection which is very frank and which
\nvery few would have the courage to make. Here it is: <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI begin to meditate and
\npray ardently and fervently, my aspiration is intense and my prayer full of
\ndevotion; and then, after a certain length of time <\/span>― <\/span>sometimes short, sometimes long
\n<\/span><\/i>―<\/span><\/i><\/span> the aspiration becomes mechanical and the prayer purely verbal.
\nWhat should I do?\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

This is
\nnot an individual case, it is extremely common. I have already said this a
\nnumber of times, but still it was in passing <\/span>―<\/span> that people who claim to
\nmeditate for hours every day and spend their whole day praying, to me it seems
\nthat three-fourths of the time it must be absolutely mechanical; that is to
\nsay, it loses all its sincerity. For human nature is not made for that and the
\nhuman mind is not built that way. <\/span><\/p>\n

 In order to concentrate and meditate one must do an
\nexercise which I could call the \u201cmental muscle-building\u201d of concentration. One
\nmust really make an effort <\/span>― <\/span>as one makes a muscular effort, for instance, to lift a weight <\/span>―<\/span> if you want the concentration
\nto be sincere and not artificial. <\/span><\/p>\n

 The same thing for the urge of prayer: suddenly a flame is
\nlit, you feel an enthusiastic <\/span>\u00e9<\/span>lan,<\/span><\/i><\/span> a great fervour, and express
\nit in words which, to be true, must be spontaneous. This must come from the
\nheart, directly, with ardour, without sing through the head. That is a prayer.
\nIf there are just words jostling in your head, it is no longer a prayer. Well,
\nif you don\u2019t throw more fuel into the flame, after a time it dies out. If you
\ndo not give your muscles time to relax, if you don\u2019t slacken the movement, your
\nmuscles lose the capacity of taking strains. So it is quite natural, and even
\nindispensable, for the intensity of<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 228<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>the movement to cease
\nafter a certain time. Naturally, someone who is accustomed to lifting weights
\ncan do it much longer than one who has never done it before. It is the same
\nthing; someone who is accustomed to concentration can concentrate much longer
\nthan one who is not in the habit. But for everybody there comes a time when one
\nmust let go, relax, in order to begin again. Therefore, whether immediately or
\nafter a few minutes or a few hours, if the movement becomes mechanical, it
\nmeans that you have relaxed and that you need no longer pretend that you are
\nmeditating. It is better to do something useful. <\/span><\/p>\n

 If you cannot manage to
\ndo a little exercise, for instance, in order to neutralise the effect of the
\nmental tension, you may read or try to note down what happened to you, you may
\nexpress things. Then that produces a relaxation, the necessary relaxation. But
\nthe duration of the meditation is only relatively important; its length simply
\nshows how far you are accustomed to this activity. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Of course, this may
\nincrease a great deal, but there is always a limit; and when the limit is
\nreached one must stop, that\u2019s all. It is not an insincerity, it is an
\nincapacity. What becomes insincere is if you pretend to meditate when you are
\nno longer meditating or you say prayers like many people who go to the temple
\nor to church, perform ceremonies and repeat their prayers as one repeats a more
\nor less well-learnt lesson. Then it is no longer either prayer or meditation,
\nit is simply a profession. It is not interesting. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Just a while ago you said that if one can spontaneously see the
\nDivine in one\u2019s enemy, the enemy is converted. Is that true? <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Not
\nnecessarily! I said: either he will be converted or he will run away. I did not
\nsay he is always converted! I said: if there is the least little rift in his
\nbad will, the thing will enter; and then he can suddenly be changed, or at any
\nrate become incapable <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 229<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

of acting. But if that is not there, well, he will go away. But he won\u2019t be
\nable to do anything. What I assert is that he won\u2019t be able to do anything; and
\nif he can do something it is a sign that the state of consciousness you were in
\nwas not sufficiently pure and complete. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Why then are there so many enemies of the Divine, since the
\nDivine can see Himself in His enemies? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t
\nquite understand your question. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Why are there so many enemies of the Divine? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

So many
\nenemies of the Divine? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

These hostile forces. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

But why
\nare there so many completely unconscious human beings? I find that still more
\nastonishing! For it is quite simply an act of unconsciousness: to be an enemy
\nof the Divine is nothing but being unconscious. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(A teacher) He means that they should have been converted since
\nthe Divine can see the Divine\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But,
\nexcuse me, the Divine where? I don\u2019t understand your reasoning. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When a man is the Divine\u2019s enemy\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

But
\nafter all, suppose there is one man in a million who has realised this
\nconsciousness in himself. It is possible he may have had an effect on those
\naround him <\/span>― <\/span>and yet I took care to tell you that for this state to be
\nperfectly realised, generally it is necessary to live in solitude, otherwise
\nthere are too many con<\/span>tradictory <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 230<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

 things, there are too many brutally material necessities which contradict it,
\nfor you to be able to attain that state absolutely perfectly. But if you do
\nattain it absolutely perfectly, everything around you will necessarily become
\ndivine. <\/span><\/p>\n

And so? I don\u2019t even understand the argument. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>(The teacher) He was
\nobjectifying the Divine and was thinking: when somebody is the Divine\u2019s enemy,
\nhe is an enemy of a divine form, and this divine form sees the Divine in his
\nenemy, therefore the enemy must be converted. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

No, I
\nstill haven\u2019t caught it! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>(Another disciple) Sweet
\nMother, it is perfect but it doesn\u2019t exist!\u00a0
\n<\/span>(Laughter) What he says doesn\u2019t exist. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

No, I
\nadmit I don\u2019t follow you at all, neither him, nor you, nor you! (Laughter) Good
\nLord, what do you all mean! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When one is an enemy of the Divine, one is an enemy of what? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Oh!…
\nThat depends exclusively upon each one. Usually one is an enemy of one\u2019s own
\nidea of the Divine, and that is why it is said that one who denies the Divine
\nis very often the greatest devotee. For if he did not have within himself the
\ncertitude that the Divine exists, he would not take the trouble of denying Him.
\nAnd this is still stronger in one who hates Him, for if he did not have
\nsomewhere far within himself the certitude of the Divine\u2019s existence, how could
\nhe hate Him? <\/span><\/p>\n

 This has been symbolised here in <\/span>India<\/span> in the stories of those who
\nwanted to identify themselves with the divine Reality and chose to become His
\nenemies, for the path of the enemy was more direct than the path of the
\nworshipper. These are well <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 231<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

known
\nstories here, all the old legends and Indian mythology speak about it. Well,
\nthis simply illustrates the fact that one who has never put the problem to
\nhimself and never given the faintest thought to the existence of the Divine is
\ncertainly farther away from the Divine than one who hates Him or denies Him.
\nFor one can\u2019t deny something one has never thought about. <\/span><\/p>\n

 He who says or writes: \u201cI declare, I certify, all my
\nexperience goes to prove that there is no Divine, no such thing exists, it is
\njust man\u2019s imagination, man\u2019s creation\u2026\u201d, that means he has already thought
\nover the problem any number of times and that something within him is
\nprodigiously interested in this problem. <\/span><\/p>\n

 As for the one who detests Him <\/span>―<\/span> there it is even more obvious:
\none can\u2019t be the enemy of an illusion. <\/span><\/p>\n

So (speaking to the disciple),<\/i><\/b> your question no longer holds. For
\nperhaps, after all, this is one more form of meeting which may have its
\ninterest. One sometimes says in a lighter vein: \u201cMy intimate enemy\u201d, and it is
\nperhaps not altogether wrong. Perhaps there is more intimacy in hatred than in
\nignorance. One is nearer to what one hates than to what one is ignorant of. <\/span><\/p>\n

 This doesn\u2019t mean I recommend hatred! That is not what I
\nam saying, but I have very often happened to see more love in a look or an
\nexpression of fury and hatred than in an absolutely dull and inert state. It is
\ndeformed, spoilt, disfigured, whatever you like, but there is something living,
\na flame is there. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Of course, even in unconsciousness and immobility, in the
\ncomplete inertia <\/span>―<\/span> apparently <\/span>― <\/span>of the stone, one may find a dazzling Light, that of the divine
\nPresence. But then that is the state we were just speaking about: one sees Him
\neverywhere, meets Him everywhere, and in so manifold and marvellously
\nharmonised a way that all these difficulties disappear.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>(Silence)<\/span><\/i><\/b> <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Truly
\nspeaking, to be practical, the problem could be ex- <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 232<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

pressed
\nlike this. If the Divine had not conceived His creation as progressive, there
\ncould have been from the beginning a beatific, immobile and unchangeable
\ncondition. But the minute\u2026 How shall I explain it, I don\u2019t know. Just because
\nthe universe had to be progressive, perfect identity, the bliss of this
\nidentity, the full consciousness of this identity had necessarily to be veiled,
\notherwise nothing would have ever stirred. <\/span><\/p>\n

 A static universe may be conceived. One could conceive of
\nsomething which is \u201call at one and the same time\u201d: that there is no time, only
\na kind of objectivisation <\/span>―<\/span> but not an unfolding in which things manifest progressively one
\nafter another, according to a special rhythm; that they are all manifested at
\nthe same time, all at once. Then all would be in a blissful state and there
\nwould be no universe as we see it, the element of unfolding would be missing,
\nwhich constitutes\u2026 well, what we live in at present.<\/span><\/p>\n

 But once we admit this principle that the universe is
\nprogressive, the unfolding progressive, that instead of seeing everything
\ntogether and all at once, our perception is progressive, then everything takes
\nits right place within it. And inevitably, the future perfection must be felt
\nas something higher than what was there before. The realisation towards which
\nwe are moving must necessarily seem superior to the one which was accomplished
\nbefore. <\/span><\/p>\n

 And this opens the door to everything <\/span>―<\/span> to all possibilities. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Sri Aurobindo often said this: what appeared beautiful,
\ngood, even perfect, and marvellous and divine at a given moment in the
\nuniverse, can no longer appear so now. And what now seems to us beautiful,
\nmarvellous, divine and perfect, will be an obscurity after some time. And in
\nthe same way, the gods who were all-powerful at a certain period belong to a
\nlower reality than the gods who will manifest tomorrow. <\/span><\/p>\n

 And that is a sign that the universe is progressive. <\/span><\/p>\n

 This
\nhas been said, this has been repeated, but people don\u2019t understand, you know,
\nwhen it concerns all those great ages, <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 233<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

that
\nthey are like a reduction of the universal progress to the human measure. <\/span><\/p>\n

 That is why if one enters the state in which everything,
\nas it is, appears perfectly divine, one necessarily goes out of the universal
\nmovement at the same time. This is what people like Buddha or Shankara had
\nunderstood. They expressed in their own way that if you could realise the state
\nin which everything appears to you perfectly divine or perfectly perfect, you
\nnecessarily go out of the universal movement and enter the Unmanifest. <\/span><\/p>\n

 This is correct. It is like that. <\/span><\/p>\n

 They were sufficiently dissatisfied with life as it was
\nand had very little hope that it could become better; so for them this was the
\nideal solution. I call it escaping, but still\u2026. It is not so easy! But for them
\nit was the ideal solution <\/span>―<\/span> up to a certain point, for\u2026 there is perhaps one more step to
\ntake. <\/span><\/p>\n

 But it is a fact. If one wants to remain in the universe,
\none must admit the principle of progress, for this is a progressive universe.
\nIf you want to realise a static perfection, well, you will inevitably be thrown
\nout of the universe, for you will no longer belong to its principle. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is a choice. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Only, Sri Aurobindo often used to say: people who choose the
\nexit forget that at the same time they will lose the consciousness with which
\nthey could congratulate themselves on their choice! They forget that. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 234<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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

18 July 1956     I would like an explanation, Sweet Mother. In Prayers and Meditations there is a sentence: \u201cAnd the hours s, fading…<\/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-4535","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\/4535","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=4535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4535\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}