{"id":4540,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:43","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4540"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:43","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:43","slug":"49-28-november-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\/49-28-november-1956-vol-08-questions-and-answers-volume-08","title":{"rendered":"-49_28 November 1956.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n28 November 1956<\/font><\/span><\/b> <\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0      <\/span>\u201cWhen we have passed beyond knowings, then we
\nshall have Knowledge. Reason was the helper; Reason is the bar. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have passed beyond willings, then we shall have Power.
\nEffort was the helper; Effort is the bar. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have passed beyond enjoyings, then we shall have Bliss.
\nDesire was the helper; Desire is the bar. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have passed beyond individualising, then we shall be real
\nPersons. Ego was the helper; Ego is the bar. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have passed beyond humanity, then we shall be the <\/span><\/i><\/b>
\nMan.<\/span><\/i><\/span> The Animal
\nwas the helper; the Animal is the bar.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n


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

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is the same principle expressed in all the activities or
\naspects of the being\u2026.It is obvious that in order to come out of the state of
\nthe original inconscience desire was indispensable, for without desire there
\nwould have been no awakening to activity. But once you are born<\/i><\/b> into consciousness,
\nthis very desire which helped you to come out of the inconscience prevents you
\nfrom liberating yourself from the bonds of matter and rising to a higher
\nconsciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is the same thing for the ego, the self. In order to s on to a
\nhigher plane, one must first exist; and to exist one must bee a conscious,
\nseparate individual, and to become a conscious separate individual, the ego is
\nindispensable, otherwise one remains mingled with all that lies around us. But
\nonce the individuality is formed, if one wants to rise to a higher level and
\nlive a spiritual life, if one wants even to become simply a higher
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 367<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

type of man,
\nthe limitations of the ego are the worst obstacles, and the ego must be
\nsurpassed in order to enter the true consciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n

And indeed, for the ordinary elementary life of man, all the
\nqualities belonging to the animal nature, especially those of the body, were
\nindispensable, otherwise man would not have existed. But when man has bee a
\nconscious, mental being, everything that binds him to his animal origin
\nnecessarily becomes a hindrance to progress and to the liberation of the being.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

So, for everyone<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>except for those who are born free, and
\nthis is obviously very rare<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>for everyone this state of reason, of
\neffort, desire, individualisation and solid physical balance in accordance with
\nthe ordinary mode of living is indispensable to begin with, until the time one
\nbecomes a conscious being, when one must give up all these things in order to
\nbee a spiritual being. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, has anybody a question to ask on the subject? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, when can one say that one is conscious? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That is
\nalways a relative question. One is never altogether unconscious and one is
\nnever completely conscious. It is a progressive state. <\/span><\/p>\n

But a time comes when instead of doing things automatically, impelled
\nby a consciousness and force of which one is quite unaware<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>a time comes when one can observe what goes on in oneself, study
\none’s movements, find their causes, and at the same time begin to exercise a
\ncontrol first over what goes on within us, then on the influence cast on us
\nfrom outside which makes us act, in the beginning altogether unconsciously and
\nalmost involuntarily, but gradually more and more consciously; and the will can
\nwake up and react. Then at that moment, the moment there is a conscious will
\ncapable of reacting, one may say, \u201cI have bee conscious.\u201d This does not mean
\nthat it is a total and perfect consciousness, it means that it is a begin<\/span>ning:<\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 368<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

for example,
\nwhen one is able to observe all the reactions in one’s being and to have a
\ncertain control over them, to let those one approves of have play, and to
\ncontrol, stop, annul those one doesn’t approve of. <\/span><\/p>\n

Besides, you must bee aware within of something like a goal or a
\npurpose or an ideal you want to realise; something other than the mere instinct
\nwhich impels you to live without your knowing why or how. At that time you may
\nsay you are conscious, but it doesn’t mean you are perfectly conscious. And
\nmoreover, this perfection is so progressive that I believe nobody can say he is
\nperfectly conscious; he is on the way to becoming perfectly conscious, but he
\nisn’t yet. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet Mother, what kind of a state is it in which one has passed
\nbeyond all enjoyings? <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Well, it is
\na desireless state in which one lives<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>as Sri
\nAurobindo explains later<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>in an Ananda which has no cause, which
\ndoes not depend on any circumstances, inner or outer, which is a permanent
\nstate, independent of the circumstances of life, causeless. One is in Ananda
\nbecause one is in Ananda. And in fact it is simply because one has bee aware of
\nthe divine Reality. <\/span><\/p>\n

But one cannot feel the Ananda unless one has become desireless.
\nIf one has desires, all one feels is just pleasures and enjoyments, but that is
\nnot Ananda. Ananda has an altogether different nature and can only manifest in
\nthe being when the desires are abolished. So long as one is a being of desire,
\none cannot feel the Ananda; even were a force of Ananda to descend, it would
\nimmediately be falsified by the presence of desires. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

 <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

(Mother unfolds a sheet of paper.)<\/span><\/i><\/b> Here I have a question referring to what we said last time about
\neffort, personal effort. <\/span><\/p>\n

The question is this: <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 369<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIn the inner life, why are
\nthere periods when one can no longer make a conscious effort, and if one enforces
\nit, parts of the nature revolt or else everything in the being seems to become
\npetrified; effort becomes the mechanical repetition of t movements. What should
\nbe done at such times?\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This has
\nbeen very well observed. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is not mentioned here is the nature of the effort, for it is
\na certain kind of effort which leads to the result described here, which is
\neither a revolt or a sort of<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>yes, petrifaction, truly, something that
\nbecomes absolutely insensible and no longer responds at all to this effort.
\nThis happens when the effort is almost exclusively mental and quite arbitrary,
\nin the sense that it does not at all take into account the state of the rest of
\nthe being; it has its own idea, its own will, and without any consideration for
\nthe rest of the being, it imposes this will on the being as a whole. This is
\nwhat usually brings about the revolt or the petrifaction. And the only thing to
\ndo is to make the mind quiet. And this is the time to make a movement of
\nself-giving, full of peace, quietude, confidence. If one makes this movement of
\nself-giving, of complete surrender to the divine Will, all the tension arising
\nfrom the effort, an effort which could be called premature or unconsidered<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>all the tension arising from this effort gives way. There is a
\nrelaxation in the being. And the progress one could not make by this purely
\nmental effort usually comes about almost automatically, by the very fact that
\none has relaxed in confidence and self-giving to the divine Will. <\/span><\/p>\n

And then, this is what follows: <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAt other times, one has the
\nimpression of making no effort, but of feeling only the presence of a
\nconsciousness due to which in many circumstances of daily life a means of
\nprogress is found. One wonders then what <\/i><\/b><\/span>
\n
\n
\n <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\nPage – 370<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

effort is and what its value? What we call effort<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>isn’t it too mental a movement?\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

That is
\nexactly what I have just explained, which shows that the observation is quite
\ncorrect. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is an arbitrary decision of the mind, and being arbitrary and
\nnot in conformity with the truth of things, it naturally brings about these
\nwrong reactions. This does not imply that no effort must ever be made but the
\neffort also must be spontaneous. So too I told you once that for meditation to
\nbe effective, it must be a spontaneous meditation which takes hold of you
\nrather than one you make an effort to have; well, effort, that kind of tension
\nof the will in the being, must also be something spontaneous, and not the
\nresult of a more or less inopportune mental decision. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

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

Any other question? No? No one has anything to say? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, when one wants to go beyond the mind, if one lets go the
\nmind acting (incorrect<\/i><\/span> text \u00b9)<\/i><\/span> and the influence from above
\ndoes not come immediately, then during that time what should one do? One
\nbecomes like an idiot.\u00a0 <\/span>(Laughter)<\/i><\/b>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

What do you
\nmean exactly? I don’t understand. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If one lets go the mind acting\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

If one lets
\nthe mind act? Why? I don’t understand your question. You said at the beginning,
\n\u201cWhen one has gone beyond the mind\u201d?… <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b9The text, incorrectly spoken here by a
\nchild, and also the text of the following ten lines, has been slightly modified
\nto give the approximate equivalent of the French. (Translator’s note)<\/font><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 371<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

In order to go beyond the mind\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Oh! to go
\nbeyond the mind, let the mind act?…Yes, that is the theory: to go beyond
\ndesire, one must let the desires be realised, and to\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(A child) He said \u201clet go the mind acting\u201d, Sweet Mother. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Let go? Oh!
\nbut one can’t \u201clet go the mind acting\u201d, that’s not English. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

To stop the action of the mind. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Ah, now we
\nhave it! that’s how you should have put it. So? To stop the action of the mind,
\nis that it? The way to do it? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I am asking\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Naturally!
\nBut that is already difficult enough. So what are you asking? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When one stops the reasoning, if something new from above doesn’t
\ncome immediately, then during that period sometimes\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

One acts
\nlike an idiot! (Laughter)<\/i><\/span> Then it is better not to stop the reason before going
\nbeyond that state! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I mean, in the conditions of life as it is, is it possible to be\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

To be
\nunreasonable? Unfortunately that happens very often!<\/span><\/p>\n

Is it possible to disregard reason?… It is possible only when
\nyou have passed beyond mental activity. It is possible only when
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 372<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

you have
\nachieved a surrender, a total giving of yourself. It is possible only when you
\nno longer have any desires. So long as you have desires, have an ego and a will
\nof your own, you cannot give up reason, because, as I said just a moment ago,
\nyou would bee quite unbalanced and perhaps insane. Therefore reason must be the
\nmaster until one has gone beyond the state in which it is useful. And as I
\nsaid, as long as there is an ego and as long as there are desires, and so long
\nas there are impulses and so long as there are passions and preferences, and so
\nlong as there are attractions and repulsions, etc., as long as all these things
\nare there, reason is altogether<\/i><\/span> useful. <\/span><\/p>\n

I shall also add that there is another quite indispensable
\ncondition in order not to have recourse to reason any more; that is to open no
\ndoor, no part of the being to the suggestions of the adverse forces. For if you
\nare not completely liberated from the habit of responding to adverse
\nsuggestions, if you give up your reason, you also give up reason itself, that
\nis, <\/span>com<\/span>mon sense. And you begin to act in an incoherent way which may
\nfinally become quite unbalanced. Well, to be free from suggestions and adverse
\ninfluences, you must be exclusively under the influence of the Divine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now you see the problem; it is a little difficult. This means that
\nunless you are in the presence of a completely illumined and transformed being,
\nit is always better to advise people to act according to their reason. It is
\nperhaps a limitation<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>it is in fact a great limitation<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>but it is also a control and it prevents you from being one of
\nthose half-idiots who are far too numerous in the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

Reason is a very respectable person. Like all respectable people
\nit has its limitations and prejudices, but that does not prevent it from being
\nvery useful. And it keeps you from making a fool of yourself. You would do many
\nthings if you did not have reason, things which would lead you straight to your
\nruin and could have extremely unfortunate consequences, for your best means of
\ndiscernment until you have attained higher levels <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 373<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>is reason. When one no longer listens to
\nreason, one can be led into all sorts of absurdities. Naturally, it is neither
\nthe ideal nor the summit, it is only a kind of control and a guide for leading
\na good life, it keeps you from extravagances, excesses, inordinate passions and
\nabove all from those impulsive actions which may lead you to the abyss. There
\nyou are.<\/span><\/p>\n

One must be very sure of oneself, quite free from the ego and
\nperfectly surrendered to the divine Will to be able to do safely without
\nreason. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between true and false
\nreasons! <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Ah! no, you
\nare playing with words. That word, as you use it here, has altogether another
\nmeaning, altogether; they are two very different things. Reason is a faculty of
\ndiscernment. You are speaking of the reasons you give yourself for doing one
\nthing or another<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>these are excuses the mind gives itself;
\nbut the meaning of the word \u201creason\u201d is quite different there, it is not the
\nsame word at all, though it is pronounced and written in the same way. You can
\nlook it up in your dictionary, it will give you two completely different
\ndefinitions of the word \u201creason\u201d. The reasons one gives oneself<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>that is, the excuses or explanations one gives oneself<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>are always tinged with egoism and a need to delude oneself that
\none is indeed a reasonable being. Ninety-nine and a half times out of a hundred
\nthis is the way to convince oneself that one is very good, what one does is
\nvery good, what one feels is very good, what one thinks is very good; it is to
\ngive oneself the impression that one is truly quite satisfactory. So, whatever
\nyou do, if you begin to reflect a little, you will tell yourself, \u201cBut certainly,
\nI did that because it was like that, that’s the real reason; I felt like that,
\nbut it was because of this, that’s an excellent reason\u201d<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>and so on. But that has nothing to do with being reasonable; quite
\nthe contrary. It is an excellent means of deceiving oneself and keeping one<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 374<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

self from
\nprogressing. It is justifying oneself in one’s own eyes. <\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, these are always reasons which whitewash you and blacken
\nothers; it is a means of keeping your conscience very <\/span>com<\/span>fortable, isn’t it? What happens to you is the fault of
\ncircumstances, if you have made a mistake it is the fault of others, if you
\nhave a bad reaction it is others who are responsible, etc.; you emerge white as
\nsnow from the judgment of your mind. <\/span><\/p>\n

Is that all? <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 375<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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

28 November 1956    \u00a0      \u201cWhen we have passed beyond knowings, then we shall have Knowledge. Reason was the helper; Reason is the bar. \u201cWhen…<\/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-4540","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\/4540","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=4540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4540\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}