{"id":4554,"date":"2013-07-13T01:56:49","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4554"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:56:49","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:56:49","slug":"05-01-february-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\/05-01-february-1956-vol-08-questions-and-answers-volume-08","title":{"rendered":"-05_01 February 1956.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

\n1 February 1956 <\/font> <\/span>
\n<\/b><\/b>
\n
\n <\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\nSri Aurobindo writes here, \u201cIt is possible, indeed, to begin
\nwith knowledge or Godward emotion solely or with both together and to leave
\nworks for the final movement of the Yoga.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe Synthesis of Yoga, p. 86<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/span>What is this knowledge? <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There are three principal paths of yoga: the path of knowledge,
\nthe path of love and the path of works. So Sri Aurobindo says that it depends
\non each case and person. Some people follow more easily the path of knowledge,
\nothers follow more easily the path of love, of devotion, and others follow the
\npath of works. He says that for the integral yoga the three must be combined
\nand with them something else, but that everybody can\u2019t do everything at the
\nsame time and that there are people who need to be exclusive and to choose one
\nof the three paths first in order to be able to combine them all later. <\/span><\/p>\n

 The path of knowledge is
\nthe well-known path of Raja Yoga, in which one practises detachment from one\u2019s
\nphysical being, saying, \u201cI am not the body\u201d, then detachment from one\u2019s
\nsensations, \u201cI am not my sensations\u201d, then from one\u2019s feelings, saying, \u201cI am
\nnot my feelings\u201d, and so on. One detaches oneself from thought and goes more
\nand more within until one finds something which is the Eternal and Infinite. <\/span><\/p>\n

 It is a path of
\nmeditation, which is truly the path of self-knowledge seen from the point of
\nview of the divine reality. It is the path of meditation, concentration, of
\nwithdrawal from life and action. This was the one most practised in the old
\nyogas. <\/span><\/p>\n

Or else, the path of devotion
\nand love, like that of Chaitanya or Ramakrishna.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This book [Part One of The Synthesis of Yoga<\/i><\/span>]
\nis entirely <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 43<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

about the yoga of works, of action, that is to say, the finding
\nof union with the Divine in action and work, and in the consecration of one\u2019s
\nwork to the Divine. That\u2019s all.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\nSweet Mother, \u201cthe consecration
\nof works is a needed element in that change. Otherwise, although they may find
\nGod in other-life, they will not be able to fulfil the Divine in life.\u201d <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\nThe Synthesis of Yoga, p. 85<\/font><\/span><\/i><\/span> <\/font><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\nWhy these two words: \u201cGod\u201d and
\n\u201cthe Divine\u201d? <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think that Sri Aurobindo contrasts them. This is only a
\nway of speaking. He does not set one against the other. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\nWhat does it mean? <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It means that they go out of existence to find the Divine, to
\nfind God, a God who is outside life; they themselves go outside life to find
\nHim. While in the integral yoga it is in life that the Divine must be found,
\nnot outside life. <\/span><\/p>\n

 There are those, for
\ninstance, who consider life and the world an illusion, and think it necessary
\nto leave them behind in order to find the Divine, whose nature, they say, is
\nthe opposite of that of existence. So Sri Aurobindo says that perhaps they will
\nfind God outside life but will not find the Divine in life. He contrasts the
\ntwo things. In one case it is an extra-terrestrial and unmanifested Divine, and
\nin the other it is the Divine who is manifested in life and whom one can find
\nagain through life. <\/span><\/p>\n

 Do you catch the point? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\nMother, when one is identified
\nwith the Divine in the higher part of the being while neglecting the lower
\nparts \u2014 neglecting life \u2014 doesn\u2019t the Divine, in the part where one is
\nidentified with Him, advise one to attend to the lower parts?<\/span><\/i><\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage – 44<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

And if before even beginning, one has decided that this must not
\nhappen, perhaps one makes it impossible for oneself to receive the advice of
\nthe Divine! <\/span><\/p>\n

 For, truly speaking, each
\none finds only what he wants to find of the Divine. Sri Aurobindo has said this
\nby turning it the other way round; he has said \u2014 I am not quoting the exact
\nwords, only the idea: what you expect from the Divine is what you find in the
\nDivine; what you want from the Divine is what you meet in the Divine. He will
\nhave for you the aspect you expect or desire. <\/span><\/p>\n

And His manifestation is always
\nadapted to each one\u2019s receptivity and capacity. They may have a real, essential
\ncontact, but this contact is limited by their own capacity for receiving and
\napproach\u2026 It is only if you are able to go out of all limits that you can meet
\nthe total Divine as He totally\u00a0 <\/span>is.<\/span><\/p>\n

 And this capacity for
\ncontact is perhaps what constitutes the true hierarchy of beings. For everyone
\ncarries within himself the Divine, and therefore everyone has the possibility
\nof uniting with the Divine \u2014 that possibility is the same in all. But according
\nto each one\u2019s capacity \u2014 in fact, according to his position in the divine
\nhierarchy \u2014 his approach will be more or less partial or total. <\/span><\/p>\n

 It could be said \u2014
\nalthough these words deform things a lot \u2014 that the quality of the approach is
\nthe same in every being, but the quantity, the totality is very different\u2026 It
\nis very difficult to explain in words, but if one may say so, the\u00a0 <\/span>point <\/i>at
\nwhich you are identified with the Divine is perfect in itself, that is to say,
\nyour identification is perfect in itself, at this point, but the number of
\npoints at which you are identified differs immensely.<\/span><\/p>\n

 And this is very marked in
\nthe difference between the paths followed to approach the Divine. Usually
\npeople set limits; they limit themselves by excluding everything that is not
\nexactly the path they have chosen, for this is much easier and they go much
\nfaster \u2014 relatively. But if, instead of following one road, you <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 45<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>go forward in a sort of
\nmovement which could be called spherical, where everything is included, which
\ntakes in all the possibilities of approach to the Divine, naturally the result
\nis much more complete \u2014 and it is this that Sri Aurobindo calls the integral
\nyoga \u2014 but the progress is much more difficult and much slower. <\/span><\/p>\n

 One who chooses the path
\nof knowledge \u2014 and even in the path of knowledge a special method, for everyone
\nhas his own method \u2014 and follows it, eliminating from his consciousness and
\nlife all that\u2019s not it, advances much more rapidly, for he is in search of only
\none aspect and this is much more direct, immediate. And so he rejects, rejects,
\nrejects all that is not this, and limits his being just to the path he travels.
\nAnd the more you want your approach to be integral, naturally the more will it
\nbee difficult, complicated, long, laborious.<\/span><\/p>\n

 But he who follows only
\none path, when he reaches his goal, that is, when he is identified with the Divine,
\nhis identification is perfect in itself; that is to say, it is really an
\nidentification with the Divine \u2014 but it is partial. It is perfect; it is
\nperfect and partial at the same time. <\/span><\/p>\n

 This is very difficult to
\nexplain, but it is a fact. He is really identified with the Divine and has
\nfound the Divine; he is identified with the Divine \u2014 but at one point. And so
\nhe who is able to identify himself in his totality with the Divine is
\nnecessarily, from the point of view of the universal realisation, on a much
\nhigher level of the hierarchy than one who could realise Him only at a single
\npoint. <\/span><\/p>\n

 And that is the true
\nmeaning of the spiritual hierarchy, this is why there is a whole spiritual
\nhierarchical organisation, otherwise it would have no basis, for from the
\nminute you touch the Divine, you touch Him perfectly: the point at which you
\ntouch Him is perfect in itself. And, from this point of view, all who are
\nunited with the Divine are equally perfect in their union \u2014 but not equally
\ncomplete, if I may say so.<\/span><\/p>\n

 Do you catch a little of
\nwhat I mean?
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 46<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\nWhat I wanted to ask, Mother,
\nwas whether in the part where they are identified, after their identification
\nwith the Divine, they don\u2019t find that this identification is not complete, that
\nis, that they have left behind other parts of their being, and that they must
\nbegin once again? <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This may happen. <\/span><\/p>\n

This may happen, but usually
\nthey have so well eliminated from themselves all that was not that, that
\nnothing remains for them to realise that the identification is not perfect.
\nThey have the experience of identification, they are lost in the Divine. From
\nthe personal, individual point of view, that is the most they can hope for. <\/span><\/p>\n

 It is not that what you
\nsay is impossible, indeed I think it is possible \u2014 but it is rare. It is not
\nfrequent. That would mean that in spite of their work of elimination they have
\nretained in their consciousness something which would be able to feel that they
\nare not entirely satisfied. <\/span><\/p>\n

 After the identification,
\nthere is no longer the position, for example, of Master and disciple, the Lord
\nand the aspirant. At the moment of identification that relationship disappears;
\nthere is no longer any Master or disciple, any Lord or aspirant: all is the
\nDivine. So, who receives the lesson? That could only happen if there were an
\nelement of consciousness which did not participate in this identification,
\nbecause it needed another approach than the one it had. And all would depend on
\nhow perfectly the aspirant has eliminated from his being all that has nothing
\nto do with the exclusive path he follows. For instance, if he keeps latent in
\nhis consciousness, elements of devotion or love, then if he has followed the
\npath of knowledge, well, at the time of identification these will miss
\nsomething. And then he will be able to understand that his experience is not
\ncomplete. But if they have been so well eliminated that they no longer exist,
\nthen who will notice that the union is not perfect? The <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 47<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>union is perfect in itself
\nat this particular point. It is purely a phenomenon of consciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n

 (Turning to the child<\/i><\/span>) In
\nyour consciousness there is still the idea that you unite with \u201cSomething\u201d
\nwhich knows more about it than you and will make you recognise your mistake.
\nBut that no longer exists after the identification! That is just the first
\ncontact, but not the identification. <\/span><\/p>\n

 In identification there
\nis no longer any difference between the one who is identified and what he is
\nidentified with: it is the same thing. So long as there is a difference, it is
\nnot identification.<\/span><\/p>\n

 I say that by any path
\nwhatever and by eliminating all that is not of this path, it is possible for
\neach one to be perfectly identified with the Divine, that is to say, to bee the
\nDivine \u2014 but at only one point, the point he has chosen. But this point is
\nperfect in itself. I don\u2019t say it contains everything, I say it is perfect in
\nitself, that is, the identification is perfect \u2014 but it is not total. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\nThey have the full bliss? <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Perfect bliss \u2014 perfect bliss, eternity, infinity, everything. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span>
\nThen what\u2019s the difference?<\/span> <\/b><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The difference exists only in the manifestation. By this
\nidentification, whatever it may be, one automatically goes out of the
\nmanifestation, except at the point where one is identified. And if, in the path
\none has followed, the aim is to go out, as for instance with those who seek
\nNirvana, if it is a going out of the manifestation, well, one goes out of the
\nmanifestation, it\u2019s the end. And once one goes out of the manifestation, there
\nis no longer any difference or any hierarchy, it is finished, one has gone out
\nof the manifestation. That is it, you understand, everything depends on the
\ngoal one pursues. If one goes out of the <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 48<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

\u00a0<\/span>manifestation, one goes
\nout of the manifestation, then there is no longer a possibility of any
\nhierarchy at all. But as soon as one enters the manifestation, there is a
\nhierarchy. That is to say \u2014 if we take the realisation of the supramental world
\n\u2014 everybody will not be on the same level and made in the same pattern, and
\nwith the same capacity and possibility. It\u2019s always this illusion, isn\u2019t it, of
\na sort of indefinite repetition of something which always resembles itself \u2014 it
\nis not that. In the realisation, the manifestation, there is a hierarchy of
\ncapacity and action, and of manifestation. But if the aim is to go out of the
\nmanifestation, then quite naturally, at whatever point you go out, you go out. <\/span><\/p>\n

 It all depends on the
\nideal one puts before oneself. And while you go out because you have chosen to
\ndo so, to enter into Pralaya, there is all the rest of the universe which
\ncontinues\u2026 But that\u2019s totally immaterial to you. As your aim was to get out of
\nit, you get out of it. But that doesn\u2019t mean that the rest also go out! You are
\nthe only one to go out, or those who have followed the same aim and the same
\npath as you. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n(Long silence)<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

That is precisely the problem
\nwhich faced Sri Aurobindo here and me in France: should one limit one\u2019s path and
\nreach the goal first, and later take up all the rest and begin the work of
\nintegral transformation; or should one go step by step, not leaving anything
\naside, not eliminating anything on the path, taking in all the possibilities at
\nthe same time and progressing at all points at the same time? That is to say,
\nshould one retire from life and action until one reaches one\u2019s goal, becomes
\nconscious of the Supermind and realises it in oneself; or should one embrace
\nthe entire creation and with this entire creation gradually go forward towards
\nthe Supermind? <\/span><\/p>\n

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

\nPage – 49<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

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

One can understand that things
\nget done by stages: you go forward, reach one stage, and so, as a consequence,
\ntake all the rest forward; and then at the same time, in a simultaneous
\nmovement, you reach another stage and again take others forward \u2014 and so on. <\/span><\/p>\n

 That gives the impression
\nthat you are not moving. But everything is on the move in this way. <\/span><\/p>\n

 That\u2019s all. <\/span><\/p>\n

 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Sweet
\nMother\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I would rather we didn\u2019t fall back into inessentials. If you
\nhave understood what I said and it is about that you want to ask a question,
\nask it. <\/span><\/p>\n

 No? Well, then, it would
\nbe better to meditate. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 50<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 February 1956     Sri Aurobindo writes here, \u201cIt is possible, indeed, to begin with knowledge or Godward emotion solely or with both together…<\/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-4554","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\/4554","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=4554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4554\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}