{"id":5441,"date":"2013-07-13T02:01:44","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T02:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=5441"},"modified":"2013-07-13T02:01:44","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T02:01:44","slug":"18-1917-vol-01-prayers-and-meditations-1948","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/02other-editions\/01-prayers-and-meditations\/01-prayers-and-meditations-1948\/18-1917-vol-01-prayers-and-meditations-1948","title":{"rendered":"-18_1917.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\n
\n
\nJanuary<\/font><\/i><\/b> 4, 1917 <\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nLORD, Thou heapest Thy benefits upon me. Now that this being expects nothing, desires
\nnothing from life, life brings to it its most precious
\ntreasures, those treasures which men covet. In all
\nthe domains of individuality. Thou loadest me with
\nThy boons, mental, psychical and even material.
\nThou hast placed me in abundance, and abundance
\nappears to me as natural as poverty, and does not
\ncause me a greater joy; for, often, in poverty, the
\nspiritual life was for me more intense and conscious; but I perceive very well this abundance, and my
\nindividual being, whom Thou loadest thus with Thy
\nboons, prostrates itself before Thee with an ineffable
\ngratitude. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 269<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nThy goodness is without parallel and Thy mercy
\ninfinite. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nJanuary<\/i> 5, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nLOVE is nothing else than the tie which unites and holds together all the flowers of Thy
\ndivine bouquet. It is a role unobtrusive, modest,
\n<\/b>not <\/b>recognised; a role essentially unselfish, which, only
\nin this impersonality, can find all its utility. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is because I become more and more this tie,
\nthis link, assembling the scattered fragments of Thy
\nconsciousness, and enabling those fragments, by
\ngrouping them, to reconstitute better and better Thy
\nconsciousness, at once single and multiple, that
\n<\/b>it <\/b>has been possible for me to see clearly what love is
\nin the play of the universal forces, what is its place and its mission. It is not an end in itself, but a supreme means. Active, everywhere and between
\neverything, everywhere it is veiled by that very thing which it unites, and which while undergoing its effects,
\nsometimes does not even know of its presence. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nO Lord, Thy sweetness has entered into my soul,
\nand Thou hast filled all my being with joy. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAnd in this joy I have made to Thee a prayer, so
\nthat it may reach up to Thee. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 270<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n
\nJanuary<\/font><\/i><\/b> 6, 1917<\/font><\/a> <\/font>
\n<\/b> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHOU hast filled my being with an ineffable peace and an unequalled repose…and without
\nany personal thought or will, I let myself be cradled
\npassively by Thy infinity. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\nJanuary<\/font><\/i><\/b> 8, 1917<\/font><\/a> <\/font>
\n<\/b> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHOU hast made a silence in my mind and my head; but no voice rises from the depths of^
\nthis silence. Peace alone reigns, a sweet and beneficent
\nguest. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\nJanuary<\/font><\/i><\/b> 10, 1917<\/font><\/a> <\/font>
\n<\/b> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nIS it then Thy will to teach me that all effort that would have in view my own being as its aim
\nwould be vain and useless? Only an action which has
\n:as its motive the raying out of Thy Grace is done with
\nease and success. When the will puts itself forth for
\nan outward result, then it is powerful and effective; when it puts itself into an inward-going movement,
\nit is without any force or effect…Thus every action
\nundertaken for a personal progress becomes more and
\nmore unfruitful, and, in consequence, more and more
\nrare. On the other hand, the outer action appears to <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 271<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ngain in effectivity all that the inner has lost. In this
\nway, O Lord, Thou takest the instrument such as it
\nis, and if it must be refined, it will be by the working
\nitself. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nJanuary<\/i> 14, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nMAY the unhappy become happy, the wicked become good and the sick become healthy!"
\nThus was formulated in me the aspiration about the
\nmanifestation of Thy divine Love through this instrument. It was like a demand, a demand which a child \u00ab.
\nmakes to its father with the certitude that it will be
\ngranted. For the certitude was in me when I asked: it appeared to me so simple and so easy, I felt so clearly
\nin me how this is possible. To grow from joy to joy,
\nfrom beauty to beauty\u2014is it not more natural and also
\nmore fruitful than to suffer and labour in a struggle
\nignorant and reluctantly undergone? If Thou enablest
\nthe heart to bloom freely at the touch of Thy divine
\nLove, this transformation is easy and takes place by
\nitself. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWilt Thou not permit this, O Lord, as a token of
\nThy compassion? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is with the confidence of a child that my heart
\nimplores Thee this evening. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 272<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nJanuary<\/i> 19, 1917<\/a><\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n AND the hours pass away like dreams unlived. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nJanuary<\/i> 23, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHOU hast filled my being with a love, a beauty and a joy so complete and intense that it has
\nseemed to me impossible that they should remain
\nuncommunicated. It was like a burning hearth from
\nwhich the breath of thought carried far away the sparks
\nwhich, in the secret depths of the hearts of men, went
\nto kindle other sparks, the sparks of Thy divine Love,
\nO Lord; of that Love which irresistibly pushes and
\nattracts human beings towards Thee. O my sweet
\nLord, grant that this may not be merely a vision of
\nmy consciousness in its ecstasy, but a reality truly
\ntransformative of beings and things! <\/font><\/p>\n

\nGrant that this love, this beauty and this joy which
\nflood all my being, hardly strong enough to bear
\ntheir intensity, may likewise flood the consciousness
\nof all those whom I have seen, of all those of whom I
\nhave thought and also of all those whom I have neither
\nthought of nor seen… Grant that all may awake to the
\nconsciousness of Thy infinite Bliss! <\/font><\/p>\n

\nO my sweet Lord, fill their hearts with joy, love
\nand beauty. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 273<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nJanuary<\/i> 25, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nO<\/font><\/b> RADIANT Love who fillest all my being and pourest joy into it, art Thou received, art
\nThou given? None can say, for Thou receivest Thyself and givest Thyself to Thyself, being at once
\nsovereignly active and receptive in every thing and
\nin every being. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nJanuary<\/i> 29, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nIN the world of forms a lack of Beauty is a fault as great as a lack of Truth in the world of
\nideas. For Beauty is the homage which Nature renders to the supreme Master of the universe; Beauty
\nis the divine language in the form. A consciousness
\nof the Divine which is not externally translated by
\nan understanding and an expression of Beauty would
\nbe an incomplete consciousness. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBut true Beauty is as difficult to discover, to understand and, above all, to live as any other expression
\nof the Divine; this discovery and this expression
\ndemand as much impersonality and abdication of
\negoism as the discovery of Truth or Bliss. Pure
\nBeauty is universal, and one must be universal in
\norder to see and recognise it. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nO Lord of Beauty, how many faults I have committed against Thee; how many faults I still commit!…
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 274<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nGive me a perfect understanding of Thy Law, so
\nthat I may no longer fall short of it. Love would be incomplete without Thee; Thou art one of its
\nmost perfect ornaments. Thou art one of its most
\nharmonious smiles. Sometimes I have misunderstood Thy role, but in the depth of my heart I have
\nalways loved Thee. And even the most arbitrary,
\nthe most radical doctrines have not been able to extinguish the fire of the cult
\nwhich, since my childhood, I have vowed to Thee. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThou art not what a vain people think of Thee,
\nThou art not exclusively attached to any particular
\nform of life: it is possible to awaken Thee, to make
\nThee shine in every form; but for this one must
\nhave discovered Thy secret. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nO Lord of Beauty, give me a perfect understanding
\nof Thy Law, that I may not fail in it and that Thou mayst become in me the harmonious crown of the
\nLord of Love. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nMarch<\/b><\/i> 27, 1917<\/b><\/a> <\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n(Communication in dialogue from received during
\nmeditation.)<\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nLOOK, thou seest the living form and the three inanimate images. The living form is clad in
\nviolet, the other three are made of dust, but whitened
\nand purified. It is in the calm of silence that the
\nliving form can, by penetrating in the other three, <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 275<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nunite them in order to transform them into a living; and active garment." <\/font><\/p>\n

\nO Lord, Thou knowest that I am surrendered to-
\nThee and that my being adheres with a peaceful
\nand profound joy to what Thou givest it! <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"I know thy adherence, but I would increase thy
\nconsciousness, and for that awaken what still sleeps.
\nwithin thee. Open thy eyes to the Light, and in the clear mirror of thy mind
\nwill be reflected what thou
\nhast to know." <\/font><\/p>\n

\nLord, all is silent in my being and waits. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Knock at the door of consciousness and it wilt
\nbe opened to thee". <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe river streams limpid and silvery; its uninterrupted flow descends from the sky towards the earth,
\nBut what wouldst Thou say to me that I must know? <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Thy silence is not yet deep enough: something is. in movement in thy mind, <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"The fire of the soul has to be seen through the
\nveils of manifestation; but those veils should be clear and precise, like words
\ntraced on a luminous
\nscreen. And all this should be preserved in the purity of thy heart, as the
\nmeadow, sown with seeds, is
\nburied and protected under the snow. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Now that thou hast sown the seeds in the field
\nand traced the signs on the screen, thou canst return-
\nto thy calm silence, thou canst rise into thy calm retreat to be tempered in a
\ndeeper and truer consciousness. Thou canst forget thy personality and
\nrecover the charm of the universal. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 276<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n"May peace be on thee in these hours of rest,
\nbut forget not the reveille which will soon
\n:sound. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n: "Thou wilt yet smile at thy destiny which speaks to thee. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Thy heart will use the force which comes. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Thou wilt be the woodcutter who binds the faggot. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Thou wilt be the great swan with outspread wings
\nthat purifies the eyes with its pearly whiteness and
\n"warms the heart with its white down. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Thou wilt lead them all towards their supreme destiny. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Thou hast seen the hearth and thou hast seen the
\nchild. One was attracting the other, and both were
\ncontent; one, because it burned, and the other
\nbecause it was warmed. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Thou seest in thy heart this triumphant hearth; thou alone canst carry it without its becoming
\ndestructive. If others touched it, they would be
\nconsumed. Let them not, therefore, come too close to
\nit. The child has to know that it should not touch
\nthe dazzling flame which so attracts it. From a
\ndistance it warms the child and illumines its heart; too close, it would reduce it to ashes. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"One alone can dwell in this heart without fear; for he is the very ray that has kindled it. He is the
\nsalamander that is reborn in the fire. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Another is above, not afraid of any burning: he is the immaculate sphinx, the bird descended
\nfrom the sky, who knows how to return to it. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 277<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n"<\/i> One is the Power of realisation. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n" The other is the Light. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"And the third is the Sovereign Consciousness."<\/font><\/p>\n

\nO Lord, I listen to Thee and I am prostrate at
\nThy feet. Thou hast opened the door for me; Thou
\nhast opened my eyes, and a little of the night has
\nbeen illumined. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nMarch<\/i> 30, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHERE is a sovereign royalty in taking no thought
\nfor oneself. To have needs is to assert a weakness; to claim something proves
\nthat we lack what we
\nclaim. To desire is to be impotent; it is to recognise
\nour limitations and confess our incapacity to overcome
\nthem. If only from the point of view of a legitimate
\npride, man should be noble enough to renounce desire.
\nHow humiliating to ask something for oneself from
\nLife or from the Supreme Consciousness which.
\nanimates it! How humiliating for us, how ignorant
\n<\/b>an <\/b>offence against Her! <\/font><\/p>\n

\nFor all is within our reach, only the egoistic limits
\nof our being prevent us from enjoying the whole- universe as completely and
\nconcretely as we possess
\nour own body and its immediate surroundings. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nSuch also should be our attitude towards the means-
\nof action. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThou who dwellest in my heart and directest
\neverything by Thy supreme Will, saidst to me a year <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 278<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nago to cut off all bridges and fling myself headlong
\ninto the Unknown, like Caesar when he crossed the
\nRubicon: it was the Capitol or the Tarpeian Rock. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThou hidst from my eyes the result of action. Still
\nnow Thou keepest it secret; and yet Thou knowest
\nthat the equality of my soul remains the same in front
\nof grandeur or misery. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt was Thy Will that for me the future should be
\nuncertain, and that I should advance with confidence,
\nwithout even knowing where the road would lead. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt was Thy Will that I should wholly entrust ten
\nThee all care for my destiny and totally renounce all
\npersonal preoccupation. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt was, no doubt, because say <\/i> path must be virgin
\neven to my thought. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nMarch<\/i> 31, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nEACH time that a heart leaps at the touch of Thy Divine breath, a little more beauty seems to be
\nborn upon the earth, the air is embalmed with a sweet
\nperfume, all becomes more friendly. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nHow great is Thy power, O Lord of all existences,
\nthat an atom of Thy Joy is sufficient to efface so much
\ndarkness, so many sorrows, and a single ray of Thy
\nglory can light up thus the dullest pebble, illumine
\nthe blackest consciousness! <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThou hast heaped Thy favours upon me. Thou
\nhast unveiled to me many secrets. Thou hast made <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 297<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nme taste many unexpected and unhoped for joys, but
\nno grace of Thine can be equal to this Thou grantest
\nto me when a heart leaps at the touch of Thy Divine
\nbreath. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAt these blessed hours all earth sings a hymn of
\ngladness, the grasses shudder with pleasure, the air
\nis vibrant with light, the trees lift towards heaven
\ntheir most ardent prayer, the chant of the birds
\nbecomes a canticle, the waves of the sea billow with
\nlove, the smile of children tells of the infinite and the
\nsouls of men appear in their eyes. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nTell me, wilt Thou grant me the marvellous power to give birth to this dawn in expectant hearts, to
\nawaken the consciousness of men to Thy sublime
\nPresence, and in this bare and sorrowful world awaken
\na little of Thy true Paradise? What happiness, what riches, what terrestrial
\npowers can equal this. wonderful gift ? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nO Lord, never have I implored Thee in vain, for
\nthat which speaks to Thee is Thyself in me. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nDrop by drop Thou allowest to fall in a fertilising
\nrain the living and redeeming flame of Thy almighty
\nlove. When these drops of eternal light descend softly
\non our world of obscure ignorance, one would say a
\nrain upon earth of golden stars one by one from a
\nsombre firmament. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAll kneels in mute devotion before this ever renewed
\nmiracle. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 280<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nApril<\/i> 1, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHOU hast shown to my mute and attentive soul
\nall the splendour of fairy landscapes: the trees
\nen fete and lonely paths which appear to climb up to the sky. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBut of my destiny Thou hast not spoken. Must it remain so entirely veiled from me? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAgain and everywhere I see cherry trees. Thou hast
\nput into these flowers magical virtue: they seem to
\nspeak of Thy sole Presence; they bring with them the
\nsmile of the Divine. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nMy body is at rest and my soul blossoms: what a
\ncharm hast Thou put into these trees in bloom? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nO Japan, it is the rich apparel of thy good will that is in its festival, it is thy purest offering, it is the token of
\nthy fidelity; it is thy way of saying that thou reflectest the sky. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAnd now here is a magnificent country of high
\npine-covered mountains and valleys in full cultivation.
\nAnd the little pink roses which this Chinaman brings are they a promise of the near future? <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nApril<\/i> 7, l9l7<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nA DEEP concentration seized on me, and I perceived that I was identifying myself with a
\nsingle cherry-blossom, then through it with all <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 281<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ncherry-blossoms, and as I descended deeper in the
\nconsciousness, following a stream of bluish force, I
\nbecame suddenly the cherry-tree itself, stretching
\ntowards the sky like so many arms its innumerable
\nbranches laden with their sacrifice of flowers. Then
\nI heard distinctly this sentence: <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Thus hast Thou made thyself one with the soul
\nof cherry-trees and so Thou canst take note that it is
\nthe Divine who makes the offering <\/b> of this flower-
\nprayer to heaven." <\/font><\/p>\n

\n. When I had written it, all was effaced; but now the
\nblood of the cherry-tree flows in my veins and with
\nit flows an incomparable peace and force. What
\ndifference is there between the human body and the body of a tree? In truth,
\nthere is none, the consciousness which animates them is identically the same.
\nThen the cherry-tree whispered in my ear: <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"It is in the cherry-blossom that lies the remedy for the disorders of the spring." <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\nApril<\/font><\/i><\/b> 9, 1917<\/font><\/a> <\/font>
\n<\/b> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nWHEN once the threshold of the kingdom of Thy
\nOmniscience has been crossed, each time that
\nthere is a return to the mental world, every thought one has there, seems to be a marvellous and unfathomable problem of which one had never dreamt
\nbefore. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 282<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nAbove, no question arises; in that calm silence all
\nis known from all eternity. Below, all is new, unknown, unexpected. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAnd the two united in a single consciousness give a
\nconfident wonder which begets Peace, Light and
\nJoy. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nApril<\/i> 10, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nMY heart has fallen asleep, down to the very depths
\nof my being. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe whole earth is in a stir and agitation <\/b> of
\nperpetual change; all life enjoys and suffers, endeavours,.
\nstruggles, conquers, is destroyed and formed again. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nMy heart has fallen asleep, down to the very depths of my being. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIn all these innumerable and manifold elements,.
\nI am the Will that moves, the Thought that acts, the Force that realises, the Matter that is put in
\nmotion. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nMy heart has fallen asleep, down to the very depths- of my being. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nNo more personal limits, no more any individual
\naction, no more any separatist concentration creating
\nconflict; nothing but a single and infinite Oneness. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nMy heart has fallen asleep, down to the very depths
\nof my being. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 283<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n
\nApril<\/i> 28, 1917<\/a> <\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nO MY divine Master, who hast appeared to me this
\nnight in all Thy radiant splendour. Thou canst in an instant make this being perfectly pure, luminous,
\ntranslucid, conscious. Thou canst liberate it from its
\nlast dark spots, free it from its last preferences. Thou canst…but hast Thou not done this tonight when it
\n"was penetrated with Thy divine effluence and Thy
\nineffable light? It may be… for in me is superhuman
\nstrength made all of calm and immensity. Grant that
\nfrom this summit I may not fall; grant that peace
\nmay for ever reign as the master of my being, not only in my depths of which it has long been the
\nsovereign but in the least .of my external activities,
\nin the smallest recesses of my heart and of my
\naction. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nI salute Thee, O Lord, deliverer of beings! <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Lo! here are flowers and benedictions! Here is the
\nsmile<\/i> of divine Love! It is without preferences and <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWithout repulsions… It streams out towards all in a
\ngenerous flow and never takes back its marvellous
\n.Sifts!" <\/font><\/p>\n

\nHer arms outstretched in a gesture of ecstasy, the
\nEternal Mother pours upon the world the unceasing dew of Her purest love. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 284<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nAkakura, July<\/a><\/i> 13, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nONE day I wrote: "My heart has fallen asleep, down to the very depths of my being…" Merely
\nasleep? I cannot believe it. I think it is at peace,
\nperhaps for ever. From sleep one awakes, from peace
\none does not fall back. And since that day I have not
\nnoticed any relapse. In place of something very intensely concentrated which was
\nfor a long time intermittently tumultuous, an immensity so vast and calm
\nand untroubled has come to fill my being; or rather the being has melted into
\nit; for how could the unlimited be contained in a form? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAnd these great mountains with serene outlines,
\nwhich I see from my window majestically ranging up
\nto the horizon, are in perfect harmony with the rhythm
\nof this being, filled with an infinite peace. Lord, may
\nit be that Thou hast taken possession of Thy kingdom ?
\nOr rather, of this part of Thy kingdom, for the body
\nis still obscure and ignorant, slow to respond, devoid
\nof plasticity. Will it one day be purified like the rest?
\nAnd will Thy victory then be complete? It matters
\nlittle. This instrument is what Thou wouldst have it
\nbe and unmixed is its felicity. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nSeptember<\/i> 24, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHOU hast subjected me to a hard discipline,.
\nrung after rung, I have climbed the ladder <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 285<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nwhich leads to Thee; and, at the summit of the ascent,
\nThou hast made me taste the perfect joy of identity
\n"with Thee. Then, obedient to Thy command, rung
\nafter rung, I have descended to outer activities and
\nexternal states of consciousness, re-entering into
\ncontact with these worlds that I left to discover Thee.
\nAnd now that I have come back to the bottom of the
\nladder, all is so dull, so mediocre, so neutral in me and
\n.around me, that I understand no more. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhat is it then that Thou awaitest from me, and to what use that slow long preparation, if all is to end in a result to which the majority of human beings
\nattain without being subjected to any discipline ? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nHow is it possible that having seen all that I have
\n;seen, experienced all that I have experienced, after
\nI have been led up even to the most sacred sanctuary
\nof Thy knowledge and communion with Thee, Thou
\nhast made of me so utterly common an instrument in such ordinary circumstances ? In truth,
\nO Lord, Thy ends are unfathomable and pass my understanding. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhy, when Thou hast placed in my heart the pure
\ndiamond of Thy perfect Felicity, sufferest Thou its surface to reflect the
\nshadows which come from outride, and so leave unsuspected and, it would seem,
\nineffective, the treasure of Peace Thou hast granted
\nme? Truly all this is a mystery and confounds my
\nunderstanding. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhy, when Thou hast given me this great inner <\/font><\/p>\n

\nsilence, sufferest Thou the tongue to be so active and
\nthe thought to be occupied with things so futile? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 286<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nWhy?… I could go on questioning indefinitely and,
\nto all likelihood, always in vain. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nI have only to bow to Thy decree and accept my condition without uttering a word. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nI am now only a spectator who watches the dragon of the world unrolling its coils without end. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n(After some days)<\/a><\/i> <\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nLord, how many times, weakening in face of Thy
\ncommand, I have prayed to Thee: "Spare me this
\ncalvary of the terrestrial consciousness; let me merge
\nin Thy supreme unity." But my prayer is cowardly,
\nI know it, for <\/b> it remains fruitless. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nOctober<\/i> 15, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nI HAVE cried to Thee in my despair, O Lord, and Thou hast answered my call.
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nI have no right to complain of the circumstances of
\nmy existence; are they not consonant with what I am? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBecause Thou ledst me to the threshold of Thy
\nsplendour and gavest me the joy of Thy harmony, I
\nthought I had reached the goal; but, in truth. Thou
\nhast regarded Thy instrument in the perfect clarity
\nof Thy light and plunged it back into the crucible of
\nthe world that it may be melted anew and purified. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 287<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nIn these hours of an extreme and anguished aspiration I see, I feel, myself drawn by Thee with a dizzy
\nrapidity along the road of transformation and my
\nwhole being vibrates to a conscious contact with the
\nInfinite. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is so that Thou givest me patience and the
\nstrength to surmount this new ordeal. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nNovember<\/i> 25, 1917<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nO LORD, because in an hour of cruel distress I
\nsaid in the sincerity of my faith: "Thy Will be
\ndone," Thou earnest garbed in Thy raiment of glory.
\nAt Thy feet I prostrated myself, on Thy breast I
\nfound my refuge. Thou hast filled my being with
\nThy divine light and flooded it with Thy bliss. Thou
\nhast reaffirmed Thy alliance and assured me of Thy
\nconstant presence. Thou art the sure friend who never
\nfails, the Power, the Support, the Guide. Thou art
\nthe Light which scatters darkness, the Conqueror
\nwho assures the victory. Since Thou art there, all
\nhas become clear. Agni is rekindled in my fortified
\nheart, and his splendour shines out and sets aglow
\nthe atmosphere and purifies it. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nMy love for Thee, compressed so long, has leaped
\nforth again, powerful, sovereign, irresistible\u2014increased
\ntenfold by the ordeal it has undergone. It has found
\nstrength in its seclusion, the strength to emerge to the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 288<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nsurface of the being, impose itself as master on the
\nentire consciousness, absorb everything in its over-
\nflowing stream. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThou hast said to me: "I have returned to leave
\nthee no more." <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAnd, my forehead on the soil, I have received Thy
\npromise. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 289<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nHOME<\/span><\/a><\/font><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January 4, 1917   LORD, Thou heapest Thy benefits upon me. Now that this being expects nothing, desires nothing from life, life brings to it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-01-prayers-and-meditations-1948","wpcat-135-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5441","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=5441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}