{"id":5446,"date":"2013-07-13T02:01:46","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T02:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=5446"},"modified":"2013-07-13T02:01:46","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T02:01:46","slug":"17-1916-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\/17-1916-vol-01-prayers-and-meditations-1948","title":{"rendered":"-17_1916.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\nJanuary<\/i> 15, 1916 <\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nO THOU whom I can call my God, Thou who art the personal form of the eternal Transcendent,
\ncause, source and reality of my individual being, who <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 242<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthroughout the centuries and the millenniums hast
\nslowly and subtly kneaded this Matter that one day it
\nmight consciously be identified with Thee and no
\nlonger aught else than Thou; O Thou who hast
\nappeared to me in all Thy divine splendour\u2014this
\nindividual being in all its complexity offers itself to
\nThee in an act of supreme adoration; it aspires in its
\nentirety to be identified with Thee, eternally Thou,
\nmerged for ever in Thy reality. But is it ready for that?
\nIs Thy work wholly accomplished? Is there in it
\nno longer any shadow, ignorance or limitation ?
\nCanst Thou at last take definitive possession of it and,
\nin the most sublime, the most integral transformation,
\nextricate it for ever from the world of ignorance and
\nmake it live in the world of Truth ? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nOr rather. Thou art myself divested of all error and
\nlimitation. Have I become integrally this true self in
\nevery atom of my being? Wilt Thou bring about an
\noverwhelming transformation, or will it still be a slow action in which cell after cell must be torn out from :its darkness and its limits?
\nThou art the Sovereign ready to take possession of Thy kingdom; dost Thou not find Thy kingdom yet
\nsufficiently ready for Thee to unite it definitively <\/b> to Thyself and become one body with it?
\nWill the great miracle of the integral Divine Life in
\nthe individual be accomplished at last? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 243<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nJanuary 22,<\/i> 1916
\n<\/a> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHOU hast taken entire possession of this miserable instrument, and if it is not yet perfected
\nenough for Thee to complete its transformation, its
\ntransmutation. Thou art at work in each one of its
\ncells to knead it, and make it supple and illumine
\nit, and to class, organise and harmonise it in the
\nensemble of the being. All is in motion, all is changing; <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThy divine action makes itself felt as the inexhaustible source of a purifying fire that circulates through
\nall the atoms. And this source has brought into the
\nbeing an ecstasy more marvellous than all that it
\nhas ever felt before. So to Thy action answers the
\naspiration of that on which Thou art at work, and
\nthe aspiration is all the more ardent because the
\ninstrument has seen itself as it is, in all its infirmity. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nO Lord, hasten, I implore Thee, the blessed day
\nwhen the divine miracle will be accomplished, hasten
\nthe day of the realisation of the Divine upon earth! <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nJanuary<\/i> 23, 1916<\/a> <\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nO DIVINE inhabitant of this gross form, Thou
\nseest that it is a mass of limitations: wilt
\nThou not break down all these limitations that it
\nmay participate in Thy infinity? Thou seest that it
\nis full of obscurities: wilt Thou not dissolve this <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 244<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ndarkness with Thy resplendent light that it may
\nshare in Thy brightness? Thou seest that it is
\nburdened with ignorant impurities: wilt Thou not
\nconsume all these impurities with Thy devouring fire
\nof love that the being in its integrality may no longer
\nbe anything else than one with Thee in all its consciousness? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nFindest Thou not that, for the earth and for
\nhumanity, this sombre and sorrowful experience of
\negoistic separativity has lasted long enough? In the
\nworld, has not the hour struck for this phase of
\nI development to be replaced by another, dominated by the pure and vast consciousness of Thy Unity? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAt every moment, without a stop:, my invocation
\nrises towards Thee, and I call Thee: "Lord, Lord,
\ntake possession of Thy kingdom, illumine <\/b> it with
\nThy eternal Presence, make the cruel error cease
\nin which it lives, thinking itself separate from Thee,
\nwhilst, in its reality and essence, it is Thyself. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBreak, break the last resistances, consume the
\nimpurities, strike with Thy thunder this being, if
\nneed be, but let it be transfigured! <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTokio, June<\/a><\/i> 7, 1916<\/a> <\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nLONG months have gone by in which nothing could be said, for it was a transitional period
\nof passage from one equilibrium to another, vaster <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 245<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nand more complete. The external circumstances Were
\nmanifold and novel, as if the being needed to accumulate  many perceptions and observations to give a
\nmore extensive and more complex base to its
\nexperience. But since it was wholly in this experience,
\nit had not the necessary self-withdrawal to see it
\nin its totality and know what it was and, above all,
\ntowards what it tended. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nSuddenly on the fifth June the veil was torn and
\nthere was light in my consciousness. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nWhen I contemplated Thee under Thy individual  form,
\nO Lord of eternity, and implored Thee
\nto take possession of Thy kingdom of the flesh,
\nThou hast set in motion, in activity, this vital, form
\nwhich, for the necessity of development and unification, had been living for years in a receptive and
\nharmonious passivity, but as a stranger to all active
\nmanifestation of Thy will. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThis return to activity implied a completely new
\nadaptation of the vital instrument, for its natural
\ntendency is always to engage in action with its old.
\nhabits and modes. This period of adaptation was.
\nlong, painful, sometimes obscure, although, behind,
\nthe perception of Thy Presence and the perfect
\nsubmission to Thy Law were unchanging and sufficiently strongly conscious, so that no trouble could
\nshake the being. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nLittle by little, the vital being was habituated to
\nfind harmony in the most intense action, as it had
\nfound if in passive surrender. And once this harmony <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 246<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nwas sufficiently established, there was light
\nagain in all parts of the being, and the consciousness?
\nof what had happened became complete. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nNow the vital being has recovered in the midst
\nof action the perception of Infinity and Eternity. It can, through all
\nsensations and all forms, perceive
\nThy supreme Beauty and can live it. Even in its, sensation, extended, active and fully developed, it;
\ncan feel the contrary sensations at the same time
\nand always it perceives Thee. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt is not unaware, however, that this is only a stage,
\nand it bows down before Thee in deep adoration.
\nto tell Thee: "O Lord, Thou hast again taken up
\nThy instrument in hand to use it for action. The,
\ninstrument is aware of its imperfection and impurity
\nand implores Thy Mercy to perfect and purify it,,
\nso that, from day to day, it may, in a progressive
\ndisappearance of all its preferences and limitations,
\nmore integrally manifest Thee. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nNovember<\/i> 28, 1916<\/a> <\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHOU hast made me read over again these child’s prattlings, for they are the awkward attempts
\nexpression of a mind still in its early infancy, and
\n1 this appeared to me to be far, very far away, clad the charm and purity of the experiences of a candid
\nand enthusiastic childhood. And yet before Thee, <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 247<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nO eternal Lord, I have not grown older at all and I have
\nnot advanced any further: the expression of today
\nwould not be superior to that of those earlier times.
\nThe mind is as poor and awkward as ever. And what
\nis there so remarkable that it could have to express?
\nThere is no sensational experience: all experiences now
\nappear simple and natural. There is no new powerful
\nor exceptional idea, none of those ideas which fill one
\nwith the joy of discovery: all ideas, under whatever
\nform they may present themselves, now seem like old
\nacquaintances to whom one makes in passing a friendly
\nsalutation, but from whom one expects nothing unforeseen. There is no psychological analysis, scrupulous
\nand detailed, discovering some inner recess still
\nunexplored: the internal complications no longer exist
\nin themselves, they are the faithful and impartial reflections of all the
\nenvironing psychological movements ; and to describe what passes in the being would
\nbe at once complex and monotonous, like a description
\nof the world in its almost exclusively subconscient fumblings and wanderings.
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPoverty, poverty! Thou hast placed me in a desert,
\narid and bare, and yet this desert is sweet to me, like
\nall that comes from Thee, O Lord. In this dull and colourless greyness, in this light as of an ashen hue,
\nwithout brightness, I taste the savour of the infinite
\nspaces; the pure breeze of the ocean, the powerful
\nbreath of the free heights ever fill my heart and penetrate into my life; all barriers have fallen, within and
\naround me; and I feel like the bird that opens its wing <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 248<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nfor an unopposed soar. But the bird remains perched
\non the rock, its wings unfurled in the grey, cotton-wool
\nsky, pausing to take its flight, for something to happen
\n\u2014something that it awaits without knowing what it is.
\nHaving no longer any bonds to enchain its flight, it
\nthinks no more of flying. Conscious of its freedom,
\nit does not enjoy it, and remains like others, among
\nothers, perched on the ground in the midst of a sombre
\nand dense mist. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nDecember<\/i> 4, 1916<\/a>. <\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nSINCE Thou permittest it, O Lord, I begin again <\/b> to
\n<\/b>come to Thee daily, extricating myself for a few
\nshort moments from an activity of which I know,
\neven while I do it, the entire relativity. Thou hadst
\nplunged me back into action and into the ordinary
\nconsciousness, and now Thou accordest to me the
\npower to resume regularly my flight towards Thee,
\nto soar a little into the immutable Silence and the
\neternal Consciousness. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThou hast willed, O Lord, that the being should
\nbecome larger and greater. It could not do so without
\nentering again, at least partially and temporarily,
\ninto ignorance and obscurity. It is this ignorance and
\nthis obscurity that it has come now to place at Thy feet
\nas the most modest of ordeals. I would not ask Thee to bestow on me as a
\ncontinual experience the Consciousness which Thou accordest to me in those <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 249<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nmoments of peaceful and pure communion. I would
\nask Thee only to make those moments still more peaceful and pure, to fortify and
\nenlighten the consciousness ever more, so that it can return to its daily
\nwork with a renewed strength and knowledge. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThou remindest me by these short moments of
\necstatic identification that Thou hast already granted
\nto me the power of consciously uniting with Thee. And
\nthe divine and musical harmony takes entire possession
\nof the being. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBut the sounds come together in the head as if
\nbehind a veil and no word comes out from the pea today. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nDecember<\/i> 5, 1916<\/a> <\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHOU hast granted to me the grace of Thy repose
\nin which all individual limits are dissolved and
\nin which one is in all, and still more clearly, all is in
\noneself. But the mind, immersed in this divine ecstasy,
\ncannot yet find the power to express itself. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n(Practical notation of the experience) <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Turn towards the .earth". The habitual injunction
\nwas heard in the silence of the immutable identification. Then the consciousness became that of the One
\nin all. "Everywhere and in all in whom thou canst
\nsee the One, will be awakened the consciousness of <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 250<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nthis identity with the Divine. Look"…It was a
\nJapanese street, brilliantly illuminated with gay lanterns,
\nset out picturesquely with vivid colours. And as
\nwhatever was conscious moved forward in the street,
\nthe Divine became visible in each and in all. One of
\nthe slight houses became transparent, so that one could
\nsee a woman seated on a tatami in a sumptuous violet
\nkimono embroidered with gold and vivid colours. The
\nwoman was beautiful and must have been between. thirtyfive and forty. She played on a golden samisen.
\nAt her feet was a young child. And in the woman also
\nthe Divine was visible. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nDecember<\/i> 7,
\n1916<\/a> <\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nLORD, I could justly say that I have neither Yoga nor virtue, for I am completely divested of
\nthat which makes the glory of all those who wish to
\nserve Thee. In appearance my life is the most ordinary and commonplace possible; and inwardly what
\nis it? Nothing but a calm tranquillity without any variation or anything
\nunexpected; the calm of something which is realised and is not sought for any-
\nlonger, which no longer expects anything from life
\nand things, which acts without anticipating any profit,
\nknowing perfectly that its action does not in any way
\nbelong to it, either in its impulsion or in its result,.
\nwhich wills, conscious that it is the supreme Will <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 251<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nalone that wills in it; a calm wholly made of an
\nincontestable certitude, of an objectless knowledge, of a causeless joy and of a
\nself-existent state of consciousness which no longer belongs to time. It is an immobility which moves in the domain of external life,
\nwithout, however, belonging to it or seeking to escape
\nfrom it. I hope for nothing, expect nothing, desire
\nnothing, aspire for nothing and, above all, I am
\nnothing; and yet happiness, a happiness calm and
\nunmixed, a happiness that does not know itself and has
\nno need to look at its existence, has come to inhabit the
\ntabernacle of this body. This happiness is Thou, O
\nLord, and this calm too is Thou, O Lord, for these are
\nnot at all human faculties and the senses of men can
\nneither appreciate nor enjoy them. Thus it is Thou,
\nO Lord, who dwellest in this body, and that is why
\nthis corporeal dwelling feels itself so poor and dull
\nfor so marvellous an occupant. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nDecember<\/i> 8, 1916<\/a><\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n SUCH was our conversation this morning, O Lord: <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThou hast made the vital being awake with the
\nmagic wand of Thy impulsion and Thou saidst to it: "Awake, bend the bow of thy will, for the hour of
\naction will soon come." Suddenly awakened, the
\nvital being rose, stretched itself and shook off the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 252<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ndust of its long torpor; it perceived from the elasticity
\nof its members that it was still vigorous and fit to act.
\nAnd it was with an ardent faith that it replied to the
\nsovereign call: "Here am I, what demandest Thou
\nof me, O Lord?" But before another word could be
\nuttered, the mind intervened in its turn, and after
\nbowing down before the Master in token of obedience, .
\nthus spoke to him: "Thou knowest, O Lord, that I
\nam surrendered to Thee, and that I try my best to be
\na faithful and pure intermediary of Thy supreme Will. But when I turn my look
\ntowards the earth, I 
\nsee that man’s field of action, however large it may be,
\nis always terribly restricted. A man, who, in his mind
\nand even in his vital being, is vast like the universe, or
\nat least like the earth, as soon as he begins to act,
\nis shut up within the narrow limits of a material action,
\nvery bounded in its field and results. Whether he is
\nthe founder of a religion or the author of a political
\ntransformation, the man of action becomes a petty,
\nlittle stone in a general edifice, a grain of sand in the
\nimmense dune of human activities. I cannot see any
\nrealisable action which is of so great a worth that the
\nwhole being should concentrate upon it and make of
\nit its reason of existence. The vital being delights in
\nthe adventure: but must it be allowed to throw itself
\ninto some lamentable adventure, unworthy of an instrument conscious of Thy
\nPresence? "Fear nothing ", was the reply. " The vital being will not be
\nallowed to set itself in motion, thou wilt not be asked
\nto bring in all the effort of thy organising faculties <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 253<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nexcept when the proposed action will be vast and complex enough for all the qualities of the being to be
\nfully and usefully employed. What this action will
\nbe exactly, thou wilt know when it will come to thee.
\nBut I warn thee from now, so that thou mayst prepare
\nthyself not to reject it. I warn thee also, as well as the
\nvital being, that the time of a small tranquil, uniform and peaceful life will be over. There will be effort,
\ndanger, the unforeseen, insecurity, but also intensity.
\nThou wert made for this role. After having agreed
\nfor long years to forget it completely, because the time
\nhad not come and also because thou wert not ready,
\nawake now to the consciousness that it is very truly thy role and that it was for this that thou wert created."
\nThe vital being, first, awoke to the consciousness and with the enthusiasm which is natural to it
\nexclaimed, " I am ready, O Lord, Thou canst count
\nupon me." The mind, more feeble and timid, although
\nas docile, added, "What Thou wiliest I too will.
\nThou knowest well, O Lord, that I belong entirely
\nto Thee. But shall I be able to be at the height of the
\ntask, shall I have the power to organise what the vital
\nbeing has the capacity to realise?" "It is to prepare
\nthee for it that I am working at this moment, it is for
\nthis that thou art undergoing a discipline of plasticity
\nand enrichment. Do not worry about anything: power
\ncomes with the need. It is not because, at the same
\ntime as the vital being, thou hast confined thyself to
\nvery small activities when it was useful that it should
\nbe so, in order that the things which had to be prepared <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 254<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nmight have the time to prepare themselves,\u2014
\nit is not that, I say, that can make thee incapable of
\nliving outside these smallnesses in a field of action in
\nkeeping with thy true stature. I have chosen thee from
\nall eternity to be my exceptional representative upon
\nthe earth, not in an invisible and hidden way, but in
\na way apparent to the eyes of all men. And what thou
\nwert created to be, thou shalt be." <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAs always, O Lord, when the voice of the depths
\nwas silent, the sublime and all-powerful benediction
\nenveloped me fully. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nAnd for a moment, the Master and the instrument
\nwere but one: the One without a second, the Eternal,
\nthe Infinite. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nDecember<\/i> 9, 1916<\/a> <\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nIT is long after coming out of contemplation that
\nI get a clear idea of what it has been. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nOnce more this evening I entered into that state in
\nwhich the consciousness is dispersed in a multitude
\nof diverse elements, individual and collective centres
\nof consciousness, for accomplishing there an action
\nor rather as many actions as these elements permit. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBy flashes, this or that point appears in a precise
\nmanner, then is blotted out to give place to another.
\nEach element of consciousness that acts is clearly
\nconscious of its action, but a consciousness of the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 255<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nwhole appears at once impossible on account of the
\nextreme complexity it would entail, and useless for
\nthe accomplishment of the work itself. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nDecember 10,<\/i> 1916<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nCERTAIN apparent weaknesses are sometimes
\nmore useful for Thy work, O Lord, than too
\nobvious a perfection. A manifested perfection appears
\nto be the appanage only of one who has retired at once
\nfrom the world and from the work in the world. But for him whom Thou hast chosen
\nas one of Thy
\nworkers upon earth, I see very well that certain weaknesses, certain imperfections (provided they are only
\napparent and not real,) are in Thy eyes more useful,.
\nand, in consequence, more perfect than perfection
\nitself. And to renounce perfection in its apparent form
\nis part of an integral renunciation of the ignorance of
\nthe separate self. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIs it for this, O Lord, that Thou givest me but
\nrarely the ecstasy of the complete identification and
\nthe perfect consciousness? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nFormerly I was spoiled by Thee. Thou madest me
\n<\/i>live so constantly in Thy Presence… But now it seems
\nthat Thou wishest to teach me how to know an
\nunchanging felicity even in the midst of darkness, and
\nto have no preference between consciousness and
\ninconscience. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 256<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nTo be beyond all desires, plunged in the condition
\nof those who live by desire.. .that is strange! <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBut what is most strange, is that it leaves me perfectly
\ncalm, peaceful and contented, and that in this darkness
\nI perceive a great power; and that even from the depth
\nof this night the sublime celestial harmonies can also
\nbe heard. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nEach new step into Thy Kingdom, O Lord, is a
\nnew cause of wonder. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nDecember<\/i> 12, 1916<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nMY mind has been disquieted at being so constantly
\nturned towards such little things, at moving
\nin so narrow a circle of practical and immediate
\nideas. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt has learned to see Thee in every thing, O Lord,
\nand in the smallest it perceives Thee and delights in
\nThee. But even while it thus enjoys Thee and
\nrecognises Thee in the most futile things and activities
\nas well as in the most vast and noble, it wonders why
\nsome prevail over others. Many a time for several
\nmonths it has tried to react against this tendency, but
\nalways in vain. Is it because Thou findest it good that
\nit should be so, or because it is incapable of being
\notherwise? It put Thee the question, and as always,
\nThy smile came to comfort it; but the precise reply
\nhas not been heard.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 357<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nNow for this mind the least riling becomes an
\nunfathomable mystery, and all is a constantly renewed
\ncause of wonder. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\nDecember<\/font><\/i><\/b> 14, 1916<\/font><\/a> <\/font>
\n<\/b> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nI SALUTE Thee, O Lord, and bow down before
\nThee. But I shall write nothing, for Thou
\nhast just said to me in reply to a question about the
\npresent meditation: "We have had a private conversation which even Thy own physical ears must not
\nhear." <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nDecember 20,<\/i> 1916<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nDAYS have passed, apparently stormy and troubled,
\nbut calm and strong in their reality reflecting
\nThy divine Will; they have passed, deploying, discovering, developing once more all the unforeseen
\nand varying splendour of Thy tireless divine play.
\nAnd what a wonder it is to watch it when one perceives the infinite intercrossing of the movements
\nbrought into play by Thy eternal Will; when one knows
\nthat all this is from all eternity and that it is only in
\nour imperfect faculties that it becomes an uninterrupted succession of facts in which we are the well-
\nintentioned but ignorant agents. We act with the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 258<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\napparent inconscience and blindness of those who do
\nnot know, and yet I know, and even while being an
\nagent, I am also a witness. But I am not yet pure enough for Thee to reveal to my eyes the totality of
\nthe effects and results; it is only partially and imperfectly that I know them before the act and am allowed
\nto act with the knowledge of the why of it and with a
\nfull illumination on what Thou attendest from me.
\nWhen, O Lord, shall I have that purity? But for this
\nalso I have no longer any impatience, and I implore
\nno longer. I see how far Thy splendours are obscured
\nand veiled in this wretched and poor instrument; but
\nThou knowest why it is so; and Thou makest use also
\nof these shadows and weaknesses for Thy eternal ends. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nMy soul is in prayer and bows down with love
\nbefore what it can understand and know of Thee.
\nMy soul is in prayer and gives itself to Thee in one of
\nthose sublime fervours which end in identification.
\nMy soul is in prayer…and my body also; and my
\nthought is silent in a mute ecstasy. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n(Communication received at 5-3O in the evening
\nafter meditation.) <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n"As you are contemplating me, I shall speak to you this evening. I see in your heart a diamond surrounded with a golden light. It is at once pure and warm, so
\nthat it can manifest impersonal love; but why do you
\nlet this treasure lie enclosed in this sombre casket
\nlined with an intense purple? The outermost envelope is of a deep blue which is not luminous, a veritable <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 259<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nmantle of darkness. One would say that you were
\nafraid of showing your splendour. Learn to radiate
\nand do not fear the storm: the wind carries us far
\naway from the shore but shows us the world. Is it
\nthat you would husband your tenderness? But the
\nsource of love is infinite. Are you afraid of being: misunderstood? But where have you seen man able
\nto understand the Divine? And if the eternal truth
\nfinds in you a means to manifest, what can the rest
\nmatter to you? You are like a pilgrim coming out
\nof a sanctuary; standing on the threshold in front
\nof the crowd, he hesitates before revealing his precious.
\nsecret, the secret of his supreme discovery. Listen, I too hesitated for days,
\nfor I could foresee both my 
\npreaching and what would be its result; the imperfection of expression and the still greater imperfection.
\nof understanding. And yet I turned towards the
\nearth and men and I brought to them my message,
\n"Turn towards the earth and men", is this not the
\ncommand you always hear in your heart\u2014in your
\nheart, for it is that which carries a blessed message
\nfor those who are athirst for compassion? Henceforth
\nnothing can attack the diamond. It is unassailable
\nin its perfect constitution, and the soft radiance which
\nshoots from it can change many things in the hearts
\nof men. You doubt your power and are afraid of 
\nyour ignorance? It is precisely this that covers your
\npower with this dark mantle of starless night. You
\nhesitate and tremble as if on the threshold of a mystery,
\nfor, now the mystery of the manifestation appears <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 260<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nto you as more terrible and more unfathomable than
\nthat of the Eternal Cause. But you must take courage
\nand obey the injunction from the depths. It is I
\nwho say it to you, for I know and love you as you
\nknew and loved me before. I have appeared clearly
\nbefore your eyes, so that you may not doubt my
\nwords in the least. And also to your eyes I have
\nshown your heart, so that you may thus see what
\nthe supreme Truth has willed and discover in it the
\nlaw of your being. The thing still appears to you very
\ndifficult; a day will come when you will wonder how
\nthe truth could seem to you other than what it is." <\/font><\/p>\n

\nShakyamuni <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\nDecember<\/i> 21,1916<\/a> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nLORD, Thou hast spoken to me through the mouth of one of those who have known Thee
\nbest, doubtless to make me understand Thy lesson
\nbetter (was I then deaf to Thy direct suggestion?).
\nAnd yet even now I do not understand what to do.
\nThou knowest what would be my happiness if by
\nThy Grace I could be integrally transformed into a
\nhearth of divine love\u2014that love which is the first and
\nhighest manifestation of Thy eternal Truth, that
\nlove which is at once the most complete expression
\nof Thy Truth in this world and the most direct
\npath, leading <\/b> to it the human consciousness, which <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 261<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nhas lost its way. At the time when I was aspiring,
\ndesiring, asking, how many times have I not demanded
\nfrom Thee the grace of this condition as the most in
\nconformity with my existing ideal of action! And at
\nthat time it seemed to me that on the day when I
\nshould be purified of all egoistic preference. Thou
\nwouldst choose this individual terrestrial being as
\nan instrument of Thy manifestation of love upon
\nearth. And now that Thou demandest it of me, more
\nthan ever I feel my powerlessness. So long I thought
\nI knew what is love, and now that I no longer see
\nanything which cannot be called love, I no longer
\nsee anything either which can be specially called
\nlove. And how to be that thing which I can no longer
\ndefine, that state which I can no longer distinguish?
\nAnd yet Thou madest me see yesterday that I held
\nenclosed in a dark envelope one of the most precious
\nand most powerful of Thy gifts. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nO Lord, my whole being aspires to obey Thy
\nVoice, to conform to Thy Law, but it does not know
\nin its outer consciousness, it has not understood, what
\nThou attendest from it. It feels very well that at
\npresent its love is a passive state and that Thy will
\nis to bring about its birth into an active state; but
\nhow to pass from the one to the other, that escapes
\nit. It knows that this active state of love should be
\nconstant and impersonal, that is to say, altogether
\nindependent of circumstances and persons, since it
\ncannot and should not be concentrated on any of
\nthem in particular; and in that it will resemble the <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 262<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\npresent passive state of love, which is pure, unchanging
\nand impersonal. But what it does not know yet is, even
\nwhile remaining in its qualities of purity, invariability
\nand impersonality which are now inherent in its being,
\nhow to resume its activity? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nIt was for this that this evening I implored Lord
\nMitra who so perfectly symbolises Thy truth of love,
\nasking him to come to my help for enlightening my
\nignorance, dissolving my doubts, conquering my
\nhesitation, dissipating the last obstacles and taking
\npossession of this physical instrument, so that it may
\nbecome what Thou attendest from it. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nBut my words are timid and my voice is unskilled
\nin its utterance, and I do not know if Lord Mitra
\nheard my prayer. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nDecember<\/i> 24, 1916<\/a> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nLORD, without letting my mind be aware of what was going to take place and how it would
\ntake place. Thou hast made me this evening feel
\nbeforehand what Thou attendest from me; feel only,
\nfor it is the first, very timid step upon the marvellous
\nway Thou hast half-opened before me. It was like
\nthe rising flow which swells a river more and more
\nuntil it overflows, covering everything with its
\nbeneficent waters. And this time it was the heart that
\nthus swelled under the pressure of the powers of <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 263<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nlove Thou madest flow into it, and the whole being
\nhas begun to love, love more and more, without
\nany definite aim, nothing and everything at the same
\ntime, that which it knows and that which it knows
\nnot, that which it sees and that which it has never
\nseen; and little by little, this potential love has become
\nan effective love, ready to spread over everything
\nand all things in beneficent waves, in an active out-
\npouring of its rays… It was but a beginning, a very
\nfeeble beginning. But I know, O Lord, that it is
\nthis Thou wiliest. As always. Thy Will is an infinite
\nGrace which floods the being with its divine delight
\nand transports it above mean contingencies towards
\nthe Glory of Thy heavenly abode. .,
\nTo be what Thou wiliest is to be divine! <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nDecember<\/i> 25, 1916<\/a> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n(What I heard in the silence and noted last evening.) <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nBY renouncing everything, even wisdom and consciousness, thou wert able to prepare thy
\nheart for the role which was assigned to it: apparently
\nthe most thankless role, that of the fountain which
\nalways lets its waters flow abundantly for all, but
\ntowards which no stream can ever remount: it draws its inexhaustible force from
\nthe depths and has nothing to expect from outside. But thou feelst already
\nbeforehand what sublime felicity accompanies this <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 264<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\ninexhaustible expansion of love; for love is sufficient
\nunto itself and has no need of any reciprocity; this
\nis true even of individual love, how much more
\ntrue, then, of divine love which so nobly reflects
\nthe infinite! <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Be this love in everything and everywhere, ever
\nmore widely, ever more intensely, and the whole
\nworld will become at once thy work and thy estate, thy field of action and thy conquest. Strive with
\npersistence to throw down the last limits which are but frail barriers before the expansion of the being,
\nto conquer the last obscurities which the illumining
\nPower is already lighting up. Fight that thou mayst
\nconquer and triumph; struggle to surmount all that
\nhas been up to this day, to make the new Light
\nemerge, the new example, which the world needs.
\nFight stubbornly against all obstacles, outer or inner.
\nThis is the pearl without price which is proposed
\nfor thee to realise." <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\nDecember<\/font><\/i><\/b> 26, 1916<\/font><\/a> <\/font>
\n<\/b> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nALWAYS the word Thou makest me hear in the silence is sweet and encouraging,
\nO Lord.
\nBut I see not in what this instrument is worthy of
\nthe grace Thou accordest to it or how it will have
\nthe capacity to realise what Thou attendest from it.
\nAll in it appears so small, weak and ordinary, so lacking <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 265<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nin intensity and force and amplitude in comparison
\nwith what it should be to undertake this overwhelming role. But I know that what the mind
\nthinks is of little importance. The mind itself knows
\nit and, passive, it awaits the working out of Thy decree. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nThou biddest me strive without cease, and I could
\nwish to have the indomitable ardour that prevails
\nover every difficulty. But Thou hast put in my
\nheart a peace so smiling that I fear I no longer know
\neven how to strive…Things develop in me, faculties
\nand activities, as flowers bloom, spontaneously and
\nwithout effort, in a joy to be and a joy to grow, a
\njoy to manifest Thee, whatever the mode of Thy
\nmanifestation. If struggle there is, it is so gentle and easy that it can hardly be given the name. But
\nhow small is this heart to contain so great a love!
\nand how weak this vital and physical being to carry
\nthe power to distribute it! Thus Thou hast placed
\nme on the threshold of the marvellous Way, but
\nwill my feet have the strength to advance upon it?…
\nBut Thou repliest to me that my movement is to
\nsoar and it would be an error to wish to walk…
\nO Lord, how infinite is Thy compassion! Once
\nmore Thou hast taken me in Thy omnipotent arms
\nand cradled me on Thy unfathomable heart, and
\nThy heart said to me, "Torment not thyself at all, be confident like a
\nchild: art thou not myself crystallised for my work?" <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 266<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nDecember<\/i> 27, 1916<\/a> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nO MY beloved Lord, my heart is bowed before Thee, my arms are stretched towards Thee,
\nimploring Thee to set all this being on fire with Thy
\nsublime love, that it may radiate from there on the
\nworld. My heart is wide open in my breast, my
\nheart is open and turned towards Thee, it is open
\nand empty that Thou mayst fill it with Thy divine
\nLove; it is empty of all but Thee and Thy presence fills it through and through
\nand yet leaves it empty,
\nfor it can contain also all the infinite variety of the
\nmanifested world. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nO Lord, my arms are outstretched in supplication
\ntowards Thee, my heart is wide open before Thee,
\nthat Thou mayst make of it a reservoir of Thy
\ninfinite love. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n"Love me in all things, everywhere and in all
\nbeings" was Thy reply. I prostrate myself before
\nThee and ask of Thee to give me that power. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nDecember<\/i> 29, 1916<\/a> <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nO MY sweet Lord, teach me to be the instrument
\nof Thy Love. <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 267<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nDecember<\/i> 30, 1916<\/a> <\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nWHY, O Lord, does my heart seem to be so cold and dry?
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nI feel, I see my soul live within my being, and my
\nsoul sees Thee, recognises and loves Thee in every-
\nthing, in all that is; it is fully conscious of this, and
\nas the outer being is surrendered to it, that being also
\nis conscious; the mind knows and never forgets; the
\nvital being, purified, no longer knows any attractions
\nand repulsions, and more and more it tastes the joy
\nof Thy Presence in all and always. But the heart
\nseems to be asleep in a slumber of exhaustion, and the
\nsoul no longer finds in it an activity sufficiently
\nresponsive to its impulsion. Why? Was it so poor that
\nthe fight has so exhausted it, or so deeply wounded
\nthat it is quite anchylosed? And yet it desires to answer
\nthe inner call; it wills it with a faith and ardour
\nthat have never wavered; but it seems to be like an
\nold man who smiles benevolently at the play of youth
\nbut cannot take part in it. And yet it is full of joy
\nand confidence, it overflows with gratitude for all
\nthe treasures of affection that nature has generously
\nlavished upon it; and it would, in exchange for all
\nthese precious gifts, spread in inexhaustible waves
\nthe golden wine of tenderness which revives and
\nfortifies, enlivens and consoles, the true wine of life
\nfor all human beings. It would and tries…but how
\npoor is what it does in comparison with what it dreams
\nof doing, how mediocre is what it can do in comparison <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 268<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nwith what it hopes, for it hopes always. It knows that
\nThy call is never heard in vain; and it doubts not
\nthat it can realise one day the splendours of which
\nThou hast given it a glimpse.
\nWho will open these flood-gates still closed?
\nMy heart loves in a human way, and in that way,.
\nit seems to me, it loves with force, constancy and
\npurity. But it is Thy will that it should love divinely in a limitless
\ndeployment of Thy sovereign power;
\nand this is for it still unrealised.
\nWho will open these flood-gates still closed? <\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage – 269<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

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

January 15, 1916   O THOU whom I can call my God, Thou who art the personal form of the eternal Transcendent, cause, source and…<\/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-5446","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\/5446","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=5446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5446\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}