I’ve received some news from my friend in Paris who looked<\/i><\/p>\n
after “The Gold-Washer” and “The Adventure of Consciousness.” <\/i>\n <\/p>\n
I mentioned “The Sannyasin” to him, or rather the difficulties<\/i><\/p>\n
of the “Sannyasin,” and also “Supermanhood.”<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
On the Way to Supermanhood <\/i>is the important one.<\/p>\n
My friend thinks the two should be presented as a unit.<\/i><\/p>\n
But On the Way to Supermanhood <\/i>is like this (gesture above)<\/i> in relation to the Sannyasin.<\/i><\/p>\n
They’re two very different kinds of book.<\/i><\/p>\n
Oh, definitely!… Supermanhood <\/i>is the important one for me. We shouldn’t draw the attention to the other one and then….
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Page 105<\/font><\/p>\n No, what will happen is that they’ll probably take both or refuse both.<\/i><\/p>\n You think so?… They shouldn’t take the Sannyasin <\/i>and leave the other one.<\/p>\n I can see to that. But I don’t think so, because “Supermanhood"<\/i><\/p>\n is the reverse choice.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n There are no limits to human stupidity, you know.<\/p>\n First they have to read them and see.<\/i><\/p>\n I don’t very much like the destiny of the two books being mixed together. You see, I had made a special formation [for “Supermanhood”], I had put a special force, but it was on that one.<\/p>\n I can call him, it’s quite easy.<\/i><\/p>\n It would be better to tell him.<\/p>\n I’ll write him. But I doubt there’s any kind of danger.<\/i><\/p>\n (Mother purses her lips skeptically)<\/i> We’ll see.<\/p>\n But you know (this is an aside), the “Sannyasin" isn’t so low as<\/i><\/p>\n that.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n But I didn’t say it was “low.” It’s an entirely different kind of book.<\/p>\n Because basically, “Supermanhood” contains the essence of<\/i><\/p>\n the “Sannyasin”; the whole of the “Sannyasin” is in “Super<\/i><\/p>\n manhood.” “Supermanhood” is simply concentrated and said <\/i><\/p>\n with power, but everything is there in the “Sannyasin” as well.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n (Mother nods her head)<\/i><\/p>\n The “Sannyasin” is the “story” of “Supermanhood.”<\/i><\/p>\n But that’s why, mon petit! That’s just it! I think men like the easier things. Page 106<\/font><\/p>\n But experience has shown that people don’t understand my<\/i><\/p>\n story at all, while they will understand “Supermanhood.”<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n You think so?<\/p>\n Yes. They don’t understand my story. Four publishers have<\/i><\/p>\n read (Mother is reassured)<\/i><\/p>\n So I don’t think there’s any danger! [with a touch of bitter<\/i><\/p>\n Then it’s all right. * * * (A little later. Concerning a young Frenchman <\/i> just arrived in Pondicherry.)<\/i> I saw the boy who went to see you twice … (Mother expresses thinness with her fingers). <\/i>Very thin. I don’t think he has much strength, but … I was supposed to decide if he should return to France or go to the Himalayas…. The Himalayas are a little beyond his strength, but if he goes back to France, he’ll go down the drain.<\/p>\n Certainly.<\/i><\/p>\n So I think he should be given a chance, let him try. If he doesn’t hold up, he’ll be crushed.<\/p>\n Better be crushed while seeking something than be crushed while going downhill!<\/i><\/p>\n That’s OUR opinion. But among ordinary people … there are not two in a hundred who would make that choice. You have no idea, oh! … Anyway, he has shown some goodwill, so let’s give him a chance. I wanted to speak to you, I said I would answer him this evening. Of the two possibilities, let him go to the Himalayas. Page 107<\/font><\/p>\n I’ll tell him.<\/i><\/p>\n Tell him his highest possibility is being given to him…. He’ll have done his utmost in his life if he goes there. (long silence)<\/i> I am such a different person that I don’t remember my past life anymore! I was asked a question this morning: I was blank! I was asked whether the first time I came to Pondicherry I came by train or by boat. [[By boat. ]] The second time I still remember [by boat]. Logically it’s by train; but it’s like giving an answer concerning someone else. An impression of something that belongs to someone else — it’s quite curious. Usually it’s the body that retains the continuity of the being, but that continuity belongs to such a material and superficial realm that … (Mother shakes her head) <\/i>unbelievable. All that seems … it’s as if I were speaking of someone else. It’s curious. No sense — no sense at all of the personality. Someone whose history I know well, that’s all. It’s quite curious. I didn’t know it had gone so far. <\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" April 21, 1971 I’ve received some news from my friend in Paris who looked after “The Gold-Washer” and “The Adventure of Consciousness.” I mentioned “The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[149],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12-volume-12","wpcat-149-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6685","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=6685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6685\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\n really much more accessible; so I don’t think they’d make<\/i><\/p>\n
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\n it and all four have said that it was incomprehensible.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n ness].<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\nPage 108<\/font><\/p>\n