(On the occasion of the laying of the first stone of the<\/i>
Matrimandir on February 21, Satprem had written a letter to<\/i>
the architect of Auroville.)<\/i>
\n
I saw your letter (I saw it in English), the letter you wrote to R. for the “Matrimandir”…. It’s interesting, it’s good…. They have a bulletin, a “Gazette,” it will be published there.[[Satprem’s letter was misunderstood and published abridged to suit the comprehension of the editors. ]]<\/p>\n
I get a lot of requests from all sorts of people, either to say<\/i><\/p>\n
\n Page 108<\/font><\/p>\n something or do something or comment on something or…. I<\/i><\/p>\n feel it’s not so good.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n What do they ask you?<\/p>\n One thing or another, a commentary, an explanation, "what do<\/i><\/p>\n I But does it come from Auroville?<\/p>\n Most of it, yes.<\/i><\/p>\n Listen, there’s quite a lazy group in Auroville!<\/p>\n Oh, that, yes!<\/i><\/p>\n People who don’t want to work. Now they say that according to your book, to get the true consciousness, one doesn’t have to work!<\/p>\n Yes, that’s it. I heard that also. They say, "Work belongs to the<\/i><\/p>\n old Yes, that’s how they understand it. So, what can you do?… What did you reply to them?<\/p>\n I spoke to R. I told him what I thought. I said that work is the<\/i><\/p>\n foundation.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Yes.<\/p>\n It’s by being and working in matter that one can bring a little<\/i><\/p>\n consciousness Yes, that’s it.<\/p>\n And if there isn’t any work, there isn’t any transformation.<\/i><\/p>\n Yes, that’s exactly what I wrote to them. [[Here is Mother’s text: “Consciousness develops best through work done as offering to the Divine. Indolence and inaction lead to tamas<\/i>: That is a fall into unconsciousness, it is contrary to all progress and light. To overcome one’s ego, to live only in the service of the Divine — that is the ideal and the shortest way towards acquiring the true consciousness.” ]] He told me, “They couldn’t care less.” Page 109<\/font><\/p>\n Oh, yes, that’s true!<\/i><\/p>\n Maybe they would listen to you if you told them that.<\/p>\n If you like, I can write.<\/i><\/p>\n Yes, you can write. Maybe they would listen to you, because they’re saying that in the name of your book, you see!<\/p>\n Oh, you know, in the name of my book they also say that Sri<\/i><\/p>\n Aurobindo book supersedes all that!<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Yes, oh, exactly! (general laughter)<\/i><\/p>\n I’ve heard just about everything.<\/i><\/p>\n Yes, that’s it! (laughter)<\/i><\/p>\n So, what can I say in the face of such things!?<\/i><\/p>\n (Mother laughs)<\/i><\/p>\n One even wrote me, “So, Sri Aurobindo didn’t have the key to<\/i><\/p>\n the Oh, really?<\/p>\n Yes, I’m the one who’s given it, you see.<\/i><\/p>\n Good heavens!<\/p>\n It’s bewildering!<\/i><\/p>\n (Mother laughs) <\/i>I think there are no limits to human stupidity.<\/p>\n Oh, yes!<\/i><\/p>\n (silence)<\/i><\/p>\n One doesn’t know what to do or say because it’s….<\/i><\/p>\n No, they have to be told: you’re talking nonsense. Page 110<\/font><\/p>\n Oh, I told them, you know, but still…. I told them they<\/i><\/p>\n had I learned what I’ve written!?"<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Exactly! (Mother laughs)<\/i> They’re terribly angry with me because I told them discipline is indispensable.<\/p>\n But of course!<\/i><\/p>\n That’s old hat, you see.<\/p>\n But, Mother, I told R. that the basic mistake is that when those<\/i><\/p>\n people them ready-made houses, they were given all they needed to<\/i><\/p>\n eat — they got everything on a silver platter. While these people<\/i><\/p>\n should have been made to build their own houses and to plant<\/i><\/p>\n their own potatoes if they wanted to eat; they should have<\/i><\/p>\n done everything by themselves.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Yes, exactly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n with coolies? One does not make a new world with hired<\/i><\/p>\n labor!"<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n I think a whole group of those people should go.<\/p>\n Yes, that’s my feeling.<\/i><\/p>\n (silence)<\/i><\/p>\n To one of them I said, "If I went over there, I’d go with a <\/i><\/p>\n whip!"<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n (Mother laughs) <\/i>There’s really a subhuman group over there.<\/p>\n Yes, certainly…. But how can you eliminate that?<\/i><\/p>\n (silence)<\/i><\/p>\n Another example: they even have a hired cook to do their<\/i><\/p>\n cooking, Page 111<\/font><\/p>\n Oh!…<\/p>\n There’s a fundamental flaw in all that, you know.<\/i><\/p>\n But how can that be?<\/p>\n That’s the way it is, you see. They have a hired cook.<\/i><\/p>\n Heavens! (long silence)<\/i> What do you propose then?<\/p>\n Nothing, I don’t know, Mother.<\/i><\/p>\n (silence)<\/i><\/p>\n I feel R. should organize things in such a way that people are <\/i><\/p>\n compelled to work.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Yes…. Yes, we’ll have to do something.<\/p>\n That way, the sorting out would be done right away.<\/i><\/p>\n Yes…. But I need to know the number of people in the group, both those who (silence)<\/i> Of course, we could take very “drastic” steps.<\/p>\n Yes.<\/i><\/p>\n For instance, so many hours of work per day are required in order to be fed, or else you eat only if you pay for it.<\/p>\n Yes, Mother, it should be done. Because, you see, they are so <\/i><\/p>\n crafty that they all say they work: they putter around here and<\/i><\/p>\n there, they go to work on the Matrimandir for half an hour or<\/i><\/p>\n so…. So, to them, they’ve "worked." You see, they just putter<\/i><\/p>\n around.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n (after a silence)<\/i> I suddenly felt I had lost my influence over those people. I tell them things — they couldn’t care less. Page 112<\/font><\/p>\n You could speak to R. and see.<\/p>\n Yes, Mother…. But R. says, "Mother doesn’t want to interfere<\/i><\/p>\n perhaps it’s up to him to make a decision.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n But no one will listen to him. You see, I can’t make decisions anymore because they don’t listen to me. As long as they listened to me, it was easy — it was easy, there was an influence. Now, something has happened, I don’t have any authority at all anymore, so what can we do?[[Nor do we know what kind of report Mother was getting from the trio of intriguers who were already quarreling over the direction and funds of Auroville. Certainly there was a lazy group in Auroville, but that group quickly disappeared on its own. Is it a “lack of authority” over the Aurovillians or over the trio, whose rivalries were beginning to arouse the mistrust of the Aurovillians? ]]<\/p>\n Well, if you tell R., he will see that it’s done.<\/i><\/p>\n (Mother goes within for a long time)<\/i> We’ll have to find some way….<\/p>\n Mother, it seems to me you could call together those who are<\/i><\/p>\n responsible Yes, good idea. (silence)<\/i> The trouble is that when several of them are here together, they talk among themselves, I don’t hear. So….<\/p>\n If it would help, I can be there.<\/i><\/p>\n I think it would. (long silence I really feel it is necessary to start again on a new basis and entire place must be swept clean of all those people. We start afresh in a new location and make them work.<\/i><\/p>\n Page 113<\/font><\/p>\n Yes, but how about the accommodations?<\/p>\n In the meantime they could live in huts, which they would<\/i><\/p>\n build But they’re in huts.<\/p>\n I mean with thatched roofs.<\/i><\/p>\n (silence)<\/i> I’ll see. I’ll try to arrange something. I’ll tell you Saturday. <\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" April 28, 1971 (On the occasion of the laying of the first stone of the Matrimandir on February 21, Satprem had written a letter to the architect…<\/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-7106","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\/7106","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=7106"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10234,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7106\/revisions\/10234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\n think of…."<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n world"…!<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n into oneself.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n and Mother are now obsolete, and that in a way my<\/i><\/p>\n
\n superman."<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n a lot of nerve. And I asked them, "But where do you think<\/i><\/p>\n
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\n came here, everything was handed to them: he gave<\/i><\/p>\n
\n those people!<\/i><\/p>\n
\n
\n
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\nwork and those who do nothing. And then….
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\n
\n
\n
\n
\n . Mother doesn’t want to make any decisions." But I think<\/i><\/p>\n
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\n and take some decisions.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Mother goes within)<\/i><\/p>\n
\n the<\/i><\/p>\n
\n have to<\/i><\/p>\n
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\n themselves.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\n114<\/font><\/p>\n