The Synthesis of Yoga - The Sunlit Path - The Integral Yoga - The Mother with Letters - Words of the Mother - II - The Psychic Being - The Life Divine
Words of the Mother - II
The reader should note that most of the statements here were given to particular persons under particular circumstances. The advice in them, therefore, may not apply to everyone.
CONTENTS:
Part One: Man's Relationship with the Divine - 1
The True Aim of Life
The Divine is With You
The "Divine" and "Man"
Relationship with the Divine
the Ways of Working of the Lord
Part Two: The Path of Yoga - 28
The Path
Yoga
Integral Yoga
Yogic Action
Aspects of Sadhana
Tapasya
Ascetic Practices
Concentration
Meditation
Experiences and Visions
Guru
General
Part Three: Elements of Yoga - 64
Sincerity
Aspiration
Faith - faith, confidence, certitude, the divine grace, the divine help,
faith in the divine grace and help, trust in the divine grace and help, the divine grace and difficulties
Devotion and Self-Giving - devotion, worship, offering, consecration, self-giving, service to the divine
Surrender to the Divine Will- surrender, to will what the divine wills, difficulties of surrender
Love
Openness and Receptivity - openness, wideness, plasticity, receptivity
Purity and Humility
Gratitude and Faithfulness
Will and Perseverance - will, resolution, determination, steady effort, persistence, perseverance, endurance, patience
Enthusiasm, Hope and Straightforwardness
Happiness and Joy - cheerfulness, happiness, joy, beatitude and bliss
Heroism and Bravery - heroism, boldness, courage
Prudence and Balance
Truth and Speech - truth, falsehood and truth, truth is above mind, opinion and truth, honesty, speak always the truth, control of speech, speech and practice
Part Four: Difficulties - 270
Difficulties - the cause and utility of difficulties, never complain about difficulties, face and overcome difficulties
Mistakes - mistakes can be effaced
Part Five: Human Relationships - 211
Part Six: Work - 296
Work as an Offering to the Divine
Part Seven: Parts of the Being - 328
The Soul (The Psychic)
The Mind - mind: only an instrument, mental limitation and weaknesses, quiet mind, calm mind, silent mind
The Heart
The Vital
The Senses
The Body
The Subconscient
General
Part One: Man's Relationship with the Divine - 1
The True Aim of Life
The Divine is With You
The "Divine" and "Man"
Relationship with the Divine
the Ways of Working of the Lord
Part Two: The Path of Yoga - 28
The Path
Yoga
Integral Yoga
Yogic Action
Aspects of Sadhana
Tapasya
Ascetic Practices
Concentration
Meditation
Experiences and Visions
Guru
General
Part Three: Elements of Yoga - 64
Sincerity
Aspiration
Faith - faith, confidence, certitude, the divine grace, the divine help,
faith in the divine grace and help, trust in the divine grace and help, the divine grace and difficulties
Devotion and Self-Giving - devotion, worship, offering, consecration, self-giving, service to the divine
Surrender to the Divine Will- surrender, to will what the divine wills, difficulties of surrender
Love
Openness and Receptivity - openness, wideness, plasticity, receptivity
Purity and Humility
Gratitude and Faithfulness
Will and Perseverance - will, resolution, determination, steady effort, persistence, perseverance, endurance, patience
Enthusiasm, Hope and Straightforwardness
Happiness and Joy - cheerfulness, happiness, joy, beatitude and bliss
Heroism and Bravery - heroism, boldness, courage
Prudence and Balance
Truth and Speech - truth, falsehood and truth, truth is above mind, opinion and truth, honesty, speak always the truth, control of speech, speech and practice
Part Four: Difficulties - 270
Difficulties - the cause and utility of difficulties, never complain about difficulties, face and overcome difficulties
Mistakes - mistakes can be effaced
Part Five: Human Relationships - 211
Part Six: Work - 296
Work as an Offering to the Divine
Part Seven: Parts of the Being - 328
The Soul (The Psychic)
The Mind - mind: only an instrument, mental limitation and weaknesses, quiet mind, calm mind, silent mind
The Heart
The Vital
The Senses
The Body
The Subconscient
General
Part One: Man's Relationship with the Divine
The True Aim of Life
Why are we on earth?
To find the Divine who is in each of us and in all things.
Yes, to live in the consciousness of the Divine Presence is the only thing that matters.
To want only what the Divine wants in us and for us, is the one important thing.
The individual self and the universal self are one; in every world, in every being, in each thing, in every atom is the Divine Presence, and man’s mission is to manifest it.
Only one thing is important, it is to find the Divine. For each one and for the whole world anything becomes useful if it helps to find the Divine.
Whatever we do, we must always remember our aim.
Conversion of the aim of life from the ego to the Divine: instead of seeking one’s own satisfaction, to have the service of the Divine as the aim of life.
You are here to contact your soul, and that is why you live. Aspire persistently and try to silence your mind. The aspiration must come from the heart.
To be and to become more and more what the Divine wants us to be should be our greatest preoccupation.
What is lasting, eternal, immortal and infinite, that indeed is worth having, worth conquering, worth possessing. It is divine Light, divine Love, divine Life—it is also Supreme Peace, Perfect Joy and All-Mastery upon earth with the Complete Manifestation as the crowning.
To find the Divine who is in each of us and in all things.
Yes, to live in the consciousness of the Divine Presence is the only thing that matters.
To want only what the Divine wants in us and for us, is the one important thing.
The individual self and the universal self are one; in every world, in every being, in each thing, in every atom is the Divine Presence, and man’s mission is to manifest it.
Only one thing is important, it is to find the Divine. For each one and for the whole world anything becomes useful if it helps to find the Divine.
Whatever we do, we must always remember our aim.
Conversion of the aim of life from the ego to the Divine: instead of seeking one’s own satisfaction, to have the service of the Divine as the aim of life.
You are here to contact your soul, and that is why you live. Aspire persistently and try to silence your mind. The aspiration must come from the heart.
To be and to become more and more what the Divine wants us to be should be our greatest preoccupation.
What is lasting, eternal, immortal and infinite, that indeed is worth having, worth conquering, worth possessing. It is divine Light, divine Love, divine Life—it is also Supreme Peace, Perfect Joy and All-Mastery upon earth with the Complete Manifestation as the crowning.
The Divine is With You
Never forget that you are not alone. The Divine is with you helping and guiding you. He is the companion who never fails, the friend whose love comforts and strengthens. The more you feel lonely, the more you are ready to perceive His luminous Presence. Have faith and He will do everything for you.
Whatever you do, always remember the Divine.
In each heart, the Divine’s Presence is the promise of future and possible perfections.
Behind the surface of things there is a sea of perfect consciousness in which we can always dip.
In the Divine, by the Divine all is transfigured and glorified; in the Divine is found the key of all mysteries and all powers.
In the Divine’s light we shall see, in the Divine’s knowledge we shall know, in the Divine’s will we shall realise.
All our strength is with the Divine. With Him we can surmount all the obstacles.
The Divine’s words comfort and bless, soothe and illumine, and the Divine’s generous hand lifts a fold of the veil which hides the
infinite knowledge.
The Divine’s Presence gives us peace in strength, serenity in action and an unchanging happiness in the midst of all circumstances.
The Divine is the sure friend who never fails, the Power, the Support, the Guide. The Divine is the Light which scatters darkness, the conqueror who assures the victory.
The opinion of the Supreme Lord alone has importance. The Supreme Lord alone deserves all our love and He returns it to us a hundredfold.
Think of the Divine alone and the Divine will be with you.
A single occupation, a single aim, a single joy—the Divine.
Concentration upon oneself means decay and death. Concentration on the Divine alone brings life and growth and realisation.
It is the Divine Presence that gives value to life. This Presence is the source of all peace, all joy, all security. Find this Presence in yourself and all your difficulties will disappear.
Day and night constantly the Presence is there. It is enough to turn silently inward and we detect it.
In activity and in silence, in taking and in giving, always the glad remembrance of Thee.
Whatever you do, always remember the Divine.
In each heart, the Divine’s Presence is the promise of future and possible perfections.
Behind the surface of things there is a sea of perfect consciousness in which we can always dip.
In the Divine, by the Divine all is transfigured and glorified; in the Divine is found the key of all mysteries and all powers.
In the Divine’s light we shall see, in the Divine’s knowledge we shall know, in the Divine’s will we shall realise.
All our strength is with the Divine. With Him we can surmount all the obstacles.
The Divine’s words comfort and bless, soothe and illumine, and the Divine’s generous hand lifts a fold of the veil which hides the
infinite knowledge.
The Divine’s Presence gives us peace in strength, serenity in action and an unchanging happiness in the midst of all circumstances.
The Divine is the sure friend who never fails, the Power, the Support, the Guide. The Divine is the Light which scatters darkness, the conqueror who assures the victory.
The opinion of the Supreme Lord alone has importance. The Supreme Lord alone deserves all our love and He returns it to us a hundredfold.
Think of the Divine alone and the Divine will be with you.
A single occupation, a single aim, a single joy—the Divine.
Concentration upon oneself means decay and death. Concentration on the Divine alone brings life and growth and realisation.
It is the Divine Presence that gives value to life. This Presence is the source of all peace, all joy, all security. Find this Presence in yourself and all your difficulties will disappear.
Day and night constantly the Presence is there. It is enough to turn silently inward and we detect it.
In activity and in silence, in taking and in giving, always the glad remembrance of Thee.
"The Divine" and "Man"
Every being carries within him the Divine Inhabitant; and although no being in the whole universe is as weak as man, none is as divine as he.
Suffocated by the shallowness of the human nature we aspire to the knowledge that truly knows, the power that truly can, the love that truly loves.
Who am I?
The Divine under many disguises.
Suffocated by the shallowness of the human nature we aspire to the knowledge that truly knows, the power that truly can, the love that truly loves.
Who am I?
The Divine under many disguises.
Relationship with the Divine
There is nothing more beautiful than to unite with the divine Consciousness. One is sure to find what one seeks—if one seeks it in all sincerity; for what one seeks is within oneself.
One can live the Divine even though unable to express the Divine, one can realise and be the Divine’s infinity though unable to define or explain the Divine.
Communion with the Divine: for him who has it, all circumstances can truly become an opportunity for it.
The joy of perfect union can come only when what has to be done is done.
As we progress and purify ourselves of our egoism, our friendship with the Divine becomes more and more clear and conscious.
Closeness to the Divine will always grow with the growth of consciousness, equanimity and love.
(Types of relationships)
The Lord and his Shakti
God and his devotee
The father and his child
The master and his disciple
The Beloved and Lover
The Friend and co-worker
The child and his mother
One can live the Divine even though unable to express the Divine, one can realise and be the Divine’s infinity though unable to define or explain the Divine.
Communion with the Divine: for him who has it, all circumstances can truly become an opportunity for it.
The joy of perfect union can come only when what has to be done is done.
As we progress and purify ourselves of our egoism, our friendship with the Divine becomes more and more clear and conscious.
Closeness to the Divine will always grow with the growth of consciousness, equanimity and love.
(Types of relationships)
The Lord and his Shakti
God and his devotee
The father and his child
The master and his disciple
The Beloved and Lover
The Friend and co-worker
The child and his mother
the Ways of Working of the Lord
The Divine’s Grace is wonderful and almighty. And the ways of working of the Lord are full of a delightful sense of humour...
Be always ready to receive the Divine, for He may visit you at any moment. And if sometimes He makes you wait at the appointed meeting-place, that is certainly no reason for you yourself to be late.
Mother, Does the Divine punish injustice? Is it possible at all for Him to punish anybody?
The Divine does not see things as men do and has no need to punish or reward. Each and every action carries in itself its fruit and its consequences.
According to the nature of the action, it brings you near to the Divine or takes you away from Him, and that is the supreme consequence.
Human beings are capable of withdrawing from the Divine—and they often do it; but for the Divine to withdraw from human beings, that is an impossibility.
If the supreme Consciousness got angry over the defects of men, humanity would long since have ceased to be.
To understand the Divine we must have no more preferences.
To understand the Divine one must become the Divine.
Be always ready to receive the Divine, for He may visit you at any moment. And if sometimes He makes you wait at the appointed meeting-place, that is certainly no reason for you yourself to be late.
Mother, Does the Divine punish injustice? Is it possible at all for Him to punish anybody?
The Divine does not see things as men do and has no need to punish or reward. Each and every action carries in itself its fruit and its consequences.
According to the nature of the action, it brings you near to the Divine or takes you away from Him, and that is the supreme consequence.
Human beings are capable of withdrawing from the Divine—and they often do it; but for the Divine to withdraw from human beings, that is an impossibility.
If the supreme Consciousness got angry over the defects of men, humanity would long since have ceased to be.
To understand the Divine we must have no more preferences.
To understand the Divine one must become the Divine.
Part Two: The Path of Yoga
The Path
Life is a perpetual choice between truth and falsehood, light and darkness, progress and regression, the ascent towards the heights or a fall into the abyss. It is for each one to choose freely.
You take up the spiritual path only when you feel you cannot do otherwise.
When the path is known it is easy to tread upon it.
To follow the path to the end, one must be armed with a very patient endurance.
On the spiritual path each step forward is a conquest and the result of a fight.
Spiritual ascension: fearless, regular, uninterrupted.
You can follow the meanderings of innumerable reincarnations or choose the steep and rapid path of intensive “sadhana”.
For those whose destiny it is to scale the summits, the least false step risks being a mortal danger.
The perfect path: for each one the path which leads fastest to the Divine.
All was gold and gold and gold, a torrent of golden light pouring down in an uninterrupted flow and bringing with it the consciousness that the path of the gods is a sunlit path in which difficulties lose all reality. Such is the path open before us if we choose to take it.
You take up the spiritual path only when you feel you cannot do otherwise.
When the path is known it is easy to tread upon it.
To follow the path to the end, one must be armed with a very patient endurance.
On the spiritual path each step forward is a conquest and the result of a fight.
Spiritual ascension: fearless, regular, uninterrupted.
You can follow the meanderings of innumerable reincarnations or choose the steep and rapid path of intensive “sadhana”.
For those whose destiny it is to scale the summits, the least false step risks being a mortal danger.
The perfect path: for each one the path which leads fastest to the Divine.
All was gold and gold and gold, a torrent of golden light pouring down in an uninterrupted flow and bringing with it the consciousness that the path of the gods is a sunlit path in which difficulties lose all reality. Such is the path open before us if we choose to take it.
Yoga
Sadhak = one who follows a yogic discipline.
Sadhana = yogic discipline.
Yoga = union with the Divine (by extension: the path which leads to this union).
Would you please explain to me how doing Yoga brings you near to the Divine? And what is the real meaning of Yoga? Is it only contortive body-exercises or is there a yoga of the mind also?
This has nothing to do with a spiritual life, not even with religion. X will explain to you in detail, but I can tell you that Yoga is not only an aspiration of the mind towards the Divine but also and chiefly a yearning of the heart.
The whole world is in a process of progressive transformation; if you take up the discipline of Yoga, you speed up in yourself the process.
Sadhana = yogic discipline.
Yoga = union with the Divine (by extension: the path which leads to this union).
Would you please explain to me how doing Yoga brings you near to the Divine? And what is the real meaning of Yoga? Is it only contortive body-exercises or is there a yoga of the mind also?
This has nothing to do with a spiritual life, not even with religion. X will explain to you in detail, but I can tell you that Yoga is not only an aspiration of the mind towards the Divine but also and chiefly a yearning of the heart.
The whole world is in a process of progressive transformation; if you take up the discipline of Yoga, you speed up in yourself the process.
The Integral Yoga
The usual sadhanas have for aim the union with the Supreme Consciousness (Sat-chit-ananda). And those who reach there are satisfied with their own liberation and leave the world to its unhappy plight. On the contrary, Sri Aurobindo’s sadhana starts where the others end. Once the union with the Supreme
is realised one must bring down that realisation to the exterior world and change the conditions of life upon the earth until a total transformation is accomplished. In accordance with this aim, the sadhaks of the integral yoga do not retire from the world to lead a life of contemplation and meditation. Each one must devote at least one third of his time to a useful work. All activities are represented in the Ashram and each one chooses the work most congenial to his nature, but must do it in a spirit of service and unselfishness, keeping always in view the aim of integral transformation.
It is not what you do but the spirit in which you do it that is important for the integral Yoga.
is realised one must bring down that realisation to the exterior world and change the conditions of life upon the earth until a total transformation is accomplished. In accordance with this aim, the sadhaks of the integral yoga do not retire from the world to lead a life of contemplation and meditation. Each one must devote at least one third of his time to a useful work. All activities are represented in the Ashram and each one chooses the work most congenial to his nature, but must do it in a spirit of service and unselfishness, keeping always in view the aim of integral transformation.
It is not what you do but the spirit in which you do it that is important for the integral Yoga.
Yogic Action
From the standpoint of Yoga it is not so much what you do but how you do it that matters most.
It is not so much the act that matters, but the consciousness in which it is done. So all is well and do not torment yourself. My love is always with you.
From the point of view of a spiritual life, it is not what you do that matters most, but the way in which it is done and the consciousness you put into it. Remember always the Divine and all you do will be an expression of the Divine Presence. When all your actions are consecrated to the Divine, there
will be no longer activities that are superior and activities that are inferior; all will have an equal importance — the value given them by the consecration.
It is not so much the act that matters, but the consciousness in which it is done. So all is well and do not torment yourself. My love is always with you.
From the point of view of a spiritual life, it is not what you do that matters most, but the way in which it is done and the consciousness you put into it. Remember always the Divine and all you do will be an expression of the Divine Presence. When all your actions are consecrated to the Divine, there
will be no longer activities that are superior and activities that are inferior; all will have an equal importance — the value given them by the consecration.
Aspects of Sadhana
Divine Mother, I wish to get light on the following points.
1. Have I the capacity and are there potentialities in me to follow this path?
This is not the question, the question is whether you have the necessary aspiration, determination and perseverance and whether you can by the intensity and persistence of your aspiration make all the parts of your being answer to the call and become one in the consecration.
2. How should I continue my practice (sadhana) after returning home?
Quiet yourself and in the quiet see and feel the Mother.
3. How can I meditate? What is meant by opening? Where should I open?
An inner purity and receptivity that freely lets in the Mother’s influence. Begin with the heart.
4. I aspire for the higher life from above the head; but I always feel strained in the middle part of the forehead. What should I do?
Do not strain yourself.
How to open to the Mother? The following are the means:
(1) To remember You constantly or from time to time--
Good.
(2) By taking Your name through Japa [mantra; repeating the Mother's name]--
Helpful.
(3) With the help of meditation--
More difficult if one has not the habit of meditation.
(4) By conversation about You with those who love and respect You--
Risky because, when talking, often some nonsense or at least some useless things can be said.
(5) By reading Your books--
Good.
(6) By spending time in thoughts of You--
Very good.
(7) By sincere prayers--
Good.
Three things indispensable to begin with:
Absolute sincerity in the whole being and all its activities.
Complete self-surrender without any reservation.
Patient work on oneself and at the same time a steady conquering of perfect unshakable peace and equanimity.
Our human consciousness has windows that open on the Infinite but generally men keep these windows carefully shut. They have to be opened wide and allow the Infinite freely to enter into us and transform us.
Two conditions are necessary for opening the windows:
1) ardent aspiration;
2) progressive dissolution of the ego.
The Divine help is assured to those who set to work sincerely.
What is the best method to find the Divine who is in each of us and in all things?
Aspiration. Silence. Concentration in the solar plexus region.
If need be, a prayer addressed to the Divine:
I belong to You and I want to know You so that all that I do is nothing but what you want me to do.
Encourage only what leads quickly to the Lord and serves His divine purpose.
The Examiners
The integral yoga consists of an uninterrupted series of examinations that one has to undergo without any previous warning, thus obliging you to be constantly on the alert and attentive.
Three groups of examiners set us these tests. They appear to have nothing to do with one another, and their methods are so different, sometimes even so apparently contradictory, that it seems as if they could not possibly be leading towards the same goal. Nevertheless, they complement one another, work towards the same end, and are all indispensable to the completeness of the result.
The three types of examination are: those set by the forces of Nature, those set by spiritual and divine forces, and those set by hostile forces. These last are the most deceptive in their appearance and to avoid being caught unawares and unprepared requires a state of constant watchfulness, sincerity and humility.
The most commonplace circumstances, the events of everyday life, the most apparently insignificant people and things all belong to one or other of these three kinds of examiners. In this vast and complex organisation of tests, those events that are generally considered the most important in life are the easiest examinations to undergo, because they find you ready and on your guard. It is easier to stumble over the little stones in your path, because they attract no attention.
Endurance and plasticity, cheerfulness and fearlessness are the qualities specially needed for the examinations of physical nature.
Aspiration, trust, idealism, enthusiasm and generous self-giving, for spiritual examinations.
Vigilance, sincerity and humility for the examinations from hostile forces.
And do not imagine that there are on the one hand people who undergo the examinations and on the other people who set them. Depending on the circumstances and the moment we are all both examiners and examinees, and it may even happen that one is at the same time both examiner and examinee. And the benefit one derives from this depends, both in quality and in quantity, on the intensity of one’s aspiration and the awakening
of one’s consciousness.
To conclude, a final piece of advice: never set yourself up as an examiner. For while it is good to remember constantly
that one may be undergoing a very important examination, it is extremely dangerous to imagine that one is responsible for setting examinations for others. That is the open door to the most ridiculous and harmful kinds of vanity. It is the Supreme Wisdom which decides these things, and not the ignorant human
will.
Each time you have to make progress, you have to undergo an examination.
In ancient times the disciple had to undergo severe tests to prove his ability for initiation. Here we do not follow that method. Apparently there is no test and no trial. But if you see the truth, you will find that here it is much more difficult. There the disciple knew that he was undergoing a period of trial and after he had passed through some outward tests, he was taken in. But here you have to face life and you are watched at every moment. It is not only your outer actions that count. Each and every thought and inner movement is seen, every reaction is noticed. It is not what you do in the solitude of the forest, but what you do in the thick of the battle of life that is important.
Are you ready to submit yourself for such tests? Are you ready to change yourself completely? You will have to throw off your ideas, ideals, values, interests and opinions. Everything will have to be learnt anew. If you are ready for all this, then
take a plunge; otherwise don’t try to step in.
The whole life is a sadhana. It is a mistake to cut it into bits and say this is sadhana and that is not. Even your eating and sleeping should be a part of sadhana.
1. Have I the capacity and are there potentialities in me to follow this path?
This is not the question, the question is whether you have the necessary aspiration, determination and perseverance and whether you can by the intensity and persistence of your aspiration make all the parts of your being answer to the call and become one in the consecration.
2. How should I continue my practice (sadhana) after returning home?
Quiet yourself and in the quiet see and feel the Mother.
3. How can I meditate? What is meant by opening? Where should I open?
An inner purity and receptivity that freely lets in the Mother’s influence. Begin with the heart.
4. I aspire for the higher life from above the head; but I always feel strained in the middle part of the forehead. What should I do?
Do not strain yourself.
How to open to the Mother? The following are the means:
(1) To remember You constantly or from time to time--
Good.
(2) By taking Your name through Japa [mantra; repeating the Mother's name]--
Helpful.
(3) With the help of meditation--
More difficult if one has not the habit of meditation.
(4) By conversation about You with those who love and respect You--
Risky because, when talking, often some nonsense or at least some useless things can be said.
(5) By reading Your books--
Good.
(6) By spending time in thoughts of You--
Very good.
(7) By sincere prayers--
Good.
Three things indispensable to begin with:
Absolute sincerity in the whole being and all its activities.
Complete self-surrender without any reservation.
Patient work on oneself and at the same time a steady conquering of perfect unshakable peace and equanimity.
Our human consciousness has windows that open on the Infinite but generally men keep these windows carefully shut. They have to be opened wide and allow the Infinite freely to enter into us and transform us.
Two conditions are necessary for opening the windows:
1) ardent aspiration;
2) progressive dissolution of the ego.
The Divine help is assured to those who set to work sincerely.
What is the best method to find the Divine who is in each of us and in all things?
Aspiration. Silence. Concentration in the solar plexus region.
If need be, a prayer addressed to the Divine:
I belong to You and I want to know You so that all that I do is nothing but what you want me to do.
Encourage only what leads quickly to the Lord and serves His divine purpose.
The Examiners
The integral yoga consists of an uninterrupted series of examinations that one has to undergo without any previous warning, thus obliging you to be constantly on the alert and attentive.
Three groups of examiners set us these tests. They appear to have nothing to do with one another, and their methods are so different, sometimes even so apparently contradictory, that it seems as if they could not possibly be leading towards the same goal. Nevertheless, they complement one another, work towards the same end, and are all indispensable to the completeness of the result.
The three types of examination are: those set by the forces of Nature, those set by spiritual and divine forces, and those set by hostile forces. These last are the most deceptive in their appearance and to avoid being caught unawares and unprepared requires a state of constant watchfulness, sincerity and humility.
The most commonplace circumstances, the events of everyday life, the most apparently insignificant people and things all belong to one or other of these three kinds of examiners. In this vast and complex organisation of tests, those events that are generally considered the most important in life are the easiest examinations to undergo, because they find you ready and on your guard. It is easier to stumble over the little stones in your path, because they attract no attention.
Endurance and plasticity, cheerfulness and fearlessness are the qualities specially needed for the examinations of physical nature.
Aspiration, trust, idealism, enthusiasm and generous self-giving, for spiritual examinations.
Vigilance, sincerity and humility for the examinations from hostile forces.
And do not imagine that there are on the one hand people who undergo the examinations and on the other people who set them. Depending on the circumstances and the moment we are all both examiners and examinees, and it may even happen that one is at the same time both examiner and examinee. And the benefit one derives from this depends, both in quality and in quantity, on the intensity of one’s aspiration and the awakening
of one’s consciousness.
To conclude, a final piece of advice: never set yourself up as an examiner. For while it is good to remember constantly
that one may be undergoing a very important examination, it is extremely dangerous to imagine that one is responsible for setting examinations for others. That is the open door to the most ridiculous and harmful kinds of vanity. It is the Supreme Wisdom which decides these things, and not the ignorant human
will.
Each time you have to make progress, you have to undergo an examination.
In ancient times the disciple had to undergo severe tests to prove his ability for initiation. Here we do not follow that method. Apparently there is no test and no trial. But if you see the truth, you will find that here it is much more difficult. There the disciple knew that he was undergoing a period of trial and after he had passed through some outward tests, he was taken in. But here you have to face life and you are watched at every moment. It is not only your outer actions that count. Each and every thought and inner movement is seen, every reaction is noticed. It is not what you do in the solitude of the forest, but what you do in the thick of the battle of life that is important.
Are you ready to submit yourself for such tests? Are you ready to change yourself completely? You will have to throw off your ideas, ideals, values, interests and opinions. Everything will have to be learnt anew. If you are ready for all this, then
take a plunge; otherwise don’t try to step in.
The whole life is a sadhana. It is a mistake to cut it into bits and say this is sadhana and that is not. Even your eating and sleeping should be a part of sadhana.
Tapasya
A discipline imposed by the will for any spiritual end is tapasya.§
Tapasya: a discipline aiming at the realisation of the Divine.
Mental tapasya: the process leading to the goal.
Vital tapasya: the vital undergoes a rigorous discipline in order to transform itself.
Integral tapasya: the whole being lives only to know and serve the Divine.
Perfect tapasya: that which will reach its goal.
No life can be successful without self-discipline.
To be a man, discipline is indispensable.
Without discipline one is only an animal.
One begins to be a man only when one aspires to a higher and truer life and when one accepts a discipline of transformation. For this one must start by mastering one’s lower nature and its desires.
It can be said that all discipline whatsoever, if it is followed strictly, sincerely, deliberately, is of considerable help, for it makes the earthly life reach its goal more rapidly and prepares it to receive the new life. To discipline oneself is to hasten the arrival of this new life and the contact with the supramental
reality.
Tapasya: a discipline aiming at the realisation of the Divine.
Mental tapasya: the process leading to the goal.
Vital tapasya: the vital undergoes a rigorous discipline in order to transform itself.
Integral tapasya: the whole being lives only to know and serve the Divine.
Perfect tapasya: that which will reach its goal.
No life can be successful without self-discipline.
To be a man, discipline is indispensable.
Without discipline one is only an animal.
One begins to be a man only when one aspires to a higher and truer life and when one accepts a discipline of transformation. For this one must start by mastering one’s lower nature and its desires.
It can be said that all discipline whatsoever, if it is followed strictly, sincerely, deliberately, is of considerable help, for it makes the earthly life reach its goal more rapidly and prepares it to receive the new life. To discipline oneself is to hasten the arrival of this new life and the contact with the supramental
reality.
Ascetic Practices
The true attitude is neither to be an ascetic nor to indulge in
desire. The true attitude is to take in all simplicity what I give,
to be perfectly satisfied with it and neither to ask for more nor
to refuse what is given. This is the true example to give, the one
that can help the others towards a better understanding of their
duties as sadhaks.
Remain my child, simple, quiet and content, and all will be all right.
A sannyasi who makes demands is not sincere. To be sincere a sannyasi must be perfectly satisfied with what is given to him and ask for nothing more. In all that happens to him, he must see the Divine’s Grace and be at once happy and grateful for it.
Moreover, he who wants to do “intensive sadhana” must be able to isolate himself from his surroundings and, if necessary, to sit in deep meditation even on a battlefield in the midst of the roaring guns.
I do not believe that sadhana in the cave is easy—only there the insincerity remains hidden, while in life and action it is revealed. You can look like a Yogi in a cave, but in life the humbugging is more difficult, because you have to behave like a Yogi.
It is not by fasting but by improving the will that one obtains the Truth.
You said that X was “doing mischief” with the children, because in your mind the idea of sadhana is associated with quietness, stillness and meditation, but the more you stay here the more you will have to realise that it is not only in meditation that one can reach the Divine consciousness, you will learn that one can remain in contact with the Divine even while playing or doing gymnastics or walking or doing anything; at every moment, you should remember the Divine and try to remain in the Divine consciousness.
Here sensibleness is indispensable and the integral yoga is based on balance, calm and peace and not on an unhealthy need to suffer.
As long as it is an austerity there are reactions.
When it becomes an imperative need, it is good.
Should I spend some time in solitude?
It is the old methods of yoga which demand silence and solitude.
The yoga of tomorrow is to find the Divine in work and in relation with the world.
Look within yourself, reflect upon it and tell me what your choice is.
According to my experience people fall into tamas when they go into solitude.
desire. The true attitude is to take in all simplicity what I give,
to be perfectly satisfied with it and neither to ask for more nor
to refuse what is given. This is the true example to give, the one
that can help the others towards a better understanding of their
duties as sadhaks.
Remain my child, simple, quiet and content, and all will be all right.
A sannyasi who makes demands is not sincere. To be sincere a sannyasi must be perfectly satisfied with what is given to him and ask for nothing more. In all that happens to him, he must see the Divine’s Grace and be at once happy and grateful for it.
Moreover, he who wants to do “intensive sadhana” must be able to isolate himself from his surroundings and, if necessary, to sit in deep meditation even on a battlefield in the midst of the roaring guns.
I do not believe that sadhana in the cave is easy—only there the insincerity remains hidden, while in life and action it is revealed. You can look like a Yogi in a cave, but in life the humbugging is more difficult, because you have to behave like a Yogi.
It is not by fasting but by improving the will that one obtains the Truth.
You said that X was “doing mischief” with the children, because in your mind the idea of sadhana is associated with quietness, stillness and meditation, but the more you stay here the more you will have to realise that it is not only in meditation that one can reach the Divine consciousness, you will learn that one can remain in contact with the Divine even while playing or doing gymnastics or walking or doing anything; at every moment, you should remember the Divine and try to remain in the Divine consciousness.
Here sensibleness is indispensable and the integral yoga is based on balance, calm and peace and not on an unhealthy need to suffer.
As long as it is an austerity there are reactions.
When it becomes an imperative need, it is good.
Should I spend some time in solitude?
It is the old methods of yoga which demand silence and solitude.
The yoga of tomorrow is to find the Divine in work and in relation with the world.
Look within yourself, reflect upon it and tell me what your choice is.
According to my experience people fall into tamas when they go into solitude.
Concentration
Concentration on a precise goal is helpful to development.
The more we concentrate on the goal, the more it blossoms forth
and becomes precise.
“Knowledge can only come by conscious identity, for that is the only true knowledge,—existence aware of itself.”
There is always some kind of unconscious identification with the surrounding people and things; but by will and practice one can learn to concentrate on somebody or something and to get consciously identified with this person or this thing, and through this identification you know the nature of the person or
the thing.
Nothing is impossible for one who is attentive.
It is said that the faculty of concentrated attention is at the source
of all successful activity. Indeed the capacity and value of a man
can be measured by his capacity of concentrated attention.2
In order to obtain this concentration, it is generally recommended
to reduce one’s activities, to make a choice and confine
oneself to this choice alone, so as not to disperse one’s energy and
attention. For the normal man, this method is good, sometimes
even indispensable. But one can imagine something better.
At times I try to silence the mind, at times to surrender and at times to find my psychic being.
Thus I cannot fix my attention on a single thing. Which one should I try first?
All should be done and each one when it comes spontaneously.
The more we concentrate on the goal, the more it blossoms forth
and becomes precise.
“Knowledge can only come by conscious identity, for that is the only true knowledge,—existence aware of itself.”
There is always some kind of unconscious identification with the surrounding people and things; but by will and practice one can learn to concentrate on somebody or something and to get consciously identified with this person or this thing, and through this identification you know the nature of the person or
the thing.
Nothing is impossible for one who is attentive.
It is said that the faculty of concentrated attention is at the source
of all successful activity. Indeed the capacity and value of a man
can be measured by his capacity of concentrated attention.2
In order to obtain this concentration, it is generally recommended
to reduce one’s activities, to make a choice and confine
oneself to this choice alone, so as not to disperse one’s energy and
attention. For the normal man, this method is good, sometimes
even indispensable. But one can imagine something better.
At times I try to silence the mind, at times to surrender and at times to find my psychic being.
Thus I cannot fix my attention on a single thing. Which one should I try first?
All should be done and each one when it comes spontaneously.
Meditation
When you sit in meditation you must be as candid and simple as a child, not interfering by your external mind, expecting nothing, insisting on nothing. Once this condition is there, all the rest depends upon the aspiration deep within you. And if you call upon Divinity, then too you will have the answer.
Each meditation ought to be a new revelation, for in each meditation something new happens.
Even if you are not apparently successful in your meditation, it is better to persist and to be more obstinate than the opposition of your lower nature.
Mother,
I would like to know from you if it is good for me to devote more time to meditation than I am doing at present. I spend about two hours, morning and
evening together. I am as yet not quite successful in meditation. My physical mind disturbs me a lot. I pray to you that it may become quiet and my psychic being
may come out. It is so painful to find the mind working like a mad machine and the heart sleeping like a stone. Mother, let me feel your presence within my heart
always.
The increase of time given to meditation is not very useful unless the urge for meditation comes spontaneously from inside and not from any arbitrary decision of the mind.
My help, love and blessings are always with you.
To keep constantly a concentrated and in-gathered attitude is more important than having fixed hours of meditation.
When you give us a subject for meditation, what should we do about it? Keep thinking of it?
Keep your thought focused upon it in a concentrated way.
And when no subject is given, is it enough to concentrate on your Presence in the heart-centre? Should we avoid a formulated prayer?
Yes, concentration on the Presence is enough.
(Examples of subjects for meditation)
New birth. Birth to a new consciousness. The psychic consciousness.
How to awaken in the body the aspiration for the Divine.
The ill-effects of uncontrolled speech.
Each meditation ought to be a new revelation, for in each meditation something new happens.
Even if you are not apparently successful in your meditation, it is better to persist and to be more obstinate than the opposition of your lower nature.
Mother,
I would like to know from you if it is good for me to devote more time to meditation than I am doing at present. I spend about two hours, morning and
evening together. I am as yet not quite successful in meditation. My physical mind disturbs me a lot. I pray to you that it may become quiet and my psychic being
may come out. It is so painful to find the mind working like a mad machine and the heart sleeping like a stone. Mother, let me feel your presence within my heart
always.
The increase of time given to meditation is not very useful unless the urge for meditation comes spontaneously from inside and not from any arbitrary decision of the mind.
My help, love and blessings are always with you.
To keep constantly a concentrated and in-gathered attitude is more important than having fixed hours of meditation.
When you give us a subject for meditation, what should we do about it? Keep thinking of it?
Keep your thought focused upon it in a concentrated way.
And when no subject is given, is it enough to concentrate on your Presence in the heart-centre? Should we avoid a formulated prayer?
Yes, concentration on the Presence is enough.
(Examples of subjects for meditation)
New birth. Birth to a new consciousness. The psychic consciousness.
How to awaken in the body the aspiration for the Divine.
The ill-effects of uncontrolled speech.
Experiences and Visions
It is always better to control an experience of this kind rather than to be controlled by it. I mean that the experience in itself is good and useful, but it must come when we want it to come and not at any time when it chooses to come. It seems to me that it is better to allow this experience to come only when you are quietly at home or during meditation. When you are at work it is always better to remain fully aware of your body and its actions.
The initial errorwas to hope to recommence the same experience as the one you had in your youth. In life, experiences are not repeated identically, and if they are not better, that is, higher and more true, they become necessarily worse.
The descent of calm and light which you experience is a sign that the sadhana has actually begun in you; it shows that you are open now consciously to the Divine Force and its workings. The descent of calm and light into the being is the beginning of the foundation of the yoga. At first it may be felt in the mind
and upper part only, but afterwards goes further down until it touches all the centres and is experienced in the whole body. At first it comes only for a moment or two; afterwards it lasts for longer periods.
The other experiences show that the faculty of inner vision is opening; this is also a part of the yoga. The fire seen by you must have been the fire of aspiration lit in the vital being. The other things you saw are not definite enough to be interpreted.
Continue your progress.
Our blessings and protection are always with you.
I have felt a sort of pain, especially in the chest, as reaction to the intense descent of the vibration-force, and I have had the impression that the body wanted to prevent it.
In order that the experience may not be dangerously deformed and painful, one should keep an absolute calm.
It is only in the peace and the calm that the Divine Force expresses itself and acts.
Sometimes when I meditate, the body seems to vanish. I do not feel any kind of physical sensation, but at the same time I am conscious of everything around me. My consciousness remains only like an idea in the head. At times there is not a single thought in my mind; thoughts do come in it, but they just pass without creating any kind of confusion. This state is pleasant—like having rest. Mother, what exactly is this condition?
It is a withdrawal from the most external consciousness into the Purusha, the witness in the physical. One finds there a great repose, indeed.
If, while meditating in front of a flame, I think that it is the Divine and that it is within me, if I feel that the flame and I are one and the same thing—the Divine, if I feel this always and for everything, will it be what you call “living within”?
Unquestionably yes. It is an important step towards the psychic depths.
The initial errorwas to hope to recommence the same experience as the one you had in your youth. In life, experiences are not repeated identically, and if they are not better, that is, higher and more true, they become necessarily worse.
The descent of calm and light which you experience is a sign that the sadhana has actually begun in you; it shows that you are open now consciously to the Divine Force and its workings. The descent of calm and light into the being is the beginning of the foundation of the yoga. At first it may be felt in the mind
and upper part only, but afterwards goes further down until it touches all the centres and is experienced in the whole body. At first it comes only for a moment or two; afterwards it lasts for longer periods.
The other experiences show that the faculty of inner vision is opening; this is also a part of the yoga. The fire seen by you must have been the fire of aspiration lit in the vital being. The other things you saw are not definite enough to be interpreted.
Continue your progress.
Our blessings and protection are always with you.
I have felt a sort of pain, especially in the chest, as reaction to the intense descent of the vibration-force, and I have had the impression that the body wanted to prevent it.
In order that the experience may not be dangerously deformed and painful, one should keep an absolute calm.
It is only in the peace and the calm that the Divine Force expresses itself and acts.
Sometimes when I meditate, the body seems to vanish. I do not feel any kind of physical sensation, but at the same time I am conscious of everything around me. My consciousness remains only like an idea in the head. At times there is not a single thought in my mind; thoughts do come in it, but they just pass without creating any kind of confusion. This state is pleasant—like having rest. Mother, what exactly is this condition?
It is a withdrawal from the most external consciousness into the Purusha, the witness in the physical. One finds there a great repose, indeed.
If, while meditating in front of a flame, I think that it is the Divine and that it is within me, if I feel that the flame and I are one and the same thing—the Divine, if I feel this always and for everything, will it be what you call “living within”?
Unquestionably yes. It is an important step towards the psychic depths.
Guru
In an age like ours success alone counts and the material satisfactions it brings. However, an ever-increasing number of dissatisfied people are seeking to know the reason of life. And, on the other hand, there are sages who know and strive to help suffering humanity and to spread the light of knowledge. When
the two meet, he who knows and he who wants to know, there springs up a new hope in the world, and a little light penetrates the prevailing darkness.
The western mind always finds it difficult to submit totally to a Guru and without total and unquestioning surrender to the Guru his help to you is paralysed. That is why generally I advise westerners to find the guidance and the Presence within themselves; it is true that this process is very often open to uncertainty and self-deception, mistaking some voice of the ego in disguise for the Divine’s guidance.In both cases, it is only an absolute sincerity and an unmixed humility that can be your safeguard.
With my blessings.
the two meet, he who knows and he who wants to know, there springs up a new hope in the world, and a little light penetrates the prevailing darkness.
The western mind always finds it difficult to submit totally to a Guru and without total and unquestioning surrender to the Guru his help to you is paralysed. That is why generally I advise westerners to find the guidance and the Presence within themselves; it is true that this process is very often open to uncertainty and self-deception, mistaking some voice of the ego in disguise for the Divine’s guidance.In both cases, it is only an absolute sincerity and an unmixed humility that can be your safeguard.
With my blessings.
General
May I ask Your help in dealing with the feeling of loneliness which appears when I am alone.
Those who feel lonely in the world are ready for union with the Divine.
Those who feel lonely in the world are ready for union with the Divine.
Part Three: Elements of Yoga
Sincerity
Be sincere.
Sincerity is the gate to Divinity.
Sincerity is the gate to Divinity.
Aspiration
The urge of aspiration: nothing is too high, nothing too far for its insatiable ardour.
It never does any harm to express an aspiration—that gives force to it.
Go on aspiring and the necessary progress is bound to come.
Daily we must aspire to conquer all mistakes, all obscurities, all ignorances.
We must always aspire to be free from all ignorance and to have a true faith.
Day after day our aspiration will grow and our faith will intensify.
When the aspiration is awake, each day brings us nearer to the goal.
It never does any harm to express an aspiration—that gives force to it.
Go on aspiring and the necessary progress is bound to come.
Daily we must aspire to conquer all mistakes, all obscurities, all ignorances.
We must always aspire to be free from all ignorance and to have a true faith.
Day after day our aspiration will grow and our faith will intensify.
When the aspiration is awake, each day brings us nearer to the goal.
Faith and the Divine Grace
FAITH
Faith is spontaneous knowledge in the psychic.
Faith—confidence in the Divine and the unshakable certitude of the Divine’s Victory.
It is good to have this unshakable faith—it makes your path easier and shorter.
True faith does not depend on circumstances.
Faith in spiritual power must not depend on circumstances.
A faith based on material proofs is not faith—it is a bargaining.
Faith first, knowledge afterwards.
They who have faith will go through.
It is indispensable to keep the faith and the will to conquer.§
Faith is the surest guide in the darkest days.
In an unshakable faith lies all our hope.
At every moment all the unforeseen, the unexpected, the unknown is before us—and what happens to us depends mostly on the intensity and purity of our faith.
If we had a truly living faith, an absolute certitude of the almighty power of the Divine, His manifestation could be so evident that the whole earth would be transformed by it.
Have faith in the Divine, and go deep inside yourself. My help is always with you.
Have faith and go on.
Our best help is faith—the Divine is all merciful.
With love and blessings.
CONFIDENCE
It is with the confidence of a child that our heart implores the Divine.
The best way of meeting difficulties is a quiet and calm confidence in the Grace.
Everybody is imperfect and has to progress. Keep firm and confident.
Be confident, you will become what you have to be and achieve what you have to do.
With confidence we shall advance; with certitude we shall wait.
CERTITUDE
We must march on with the quiet certitude that what has to be done will be done.
THE DIVINE GRACE
We must march on with the quiet certitude that what has to be done will be done.
Each one here represents an impossibility to be solved, but as for Thy Divine Grace all is possible. Thy Work will be, in the detail as in the whole, the accomplishment of all these impossibilities transformed into divine realisations.
Divine Grace, Thy goodness is infinite. We bow before Thee in gratitude.
Mother,
What is the rationale of Divine Grace? Is not the Supreme Mother always ready with Her Grace for those who can call it down?
Yes.
Is it not true that even most of the seekers after God cannot call it down? And yet they can receive it if someone, a guru or avatar, has once called it down within him. Is it so?
Yes.
So can we conclude that Divine Grace works best when it is established in the earth consciousness? Is it the aim of your endeavour to establish it permanently?
Yes.
Please explain to me the whole principle.
The Divine Grace cannot be explained through words and mental formulas.
It is only the Divine’s Grace that can give peace, happiness, power, light, knowledge, beatitude and love in their essence and their truth.
Who is worthy or unworthy in front of the Divine Grace?
All are children of the one and the same Mother.
Her love is equally spread over all of them.
But to each one She gives according to his nature and receptivity.
Say—“I have received his Grace: I must be worthy of it”, and then all will be well.
Let us give ourselves without reserve to the Divine, so best shall we receive the Divine Grace.
The Grace is equally for all. But each one receives it according to his sincerity. It does not depend on outward circumstances but on a sincere aspiration and openness.
THE DIVINE HELP
Whenever there is sincerity and goodwill, the Divine’s help also is there.
Be ever one-pointed in your surrender and sincere in your aspiration and you will constantly feel the presence of the Divine’s help and guidance.
With the Divine’s help nothing is impossible.
For nobody would sadhana be possible without the Divine’s help. But the help is always there.
The help is always there. It is you who must keep your receptivity living.
The Divine help is much vaster than what any human being is able to receive.
FAITH IN THE DIVINE GRACE AND HELP
Continue to have full faith in the Divine’s Grace,Will and Action and all will be all right.
The Grace is always with you; concentrate in your heart with a silent mind and you are sure also to receive the guidance and the help you aspire for.
The Grace and the help are always there for all who aspire for them and their power is limitless when received with faith and confidence.
The Grace is always there ready to act but you must let it work and not resist its action. The one condition required is faith. When you feel attacked, call for help to Sri Aurobindo and myself. If your call is sincere (that is to say, if you sincerely want to be cured) your call will be answered and the Grace will cure
you.
Yes, faith in the Grace always brings about its intervention.
For the Grace to have a perfect and total result of its action, the faith must be total and perfect.
The Grace will never fail us—such is the faith we must keep constantly in our heart. It is our lack of faith that creates our limitations.
The Divine Grace is with us and never leaves us even when the appearances are dark.
The Supreme’s power is infinite—it is our faith that is small.
In failure as well as in success, the Divine’s Grace is always there.
The closer you come to the Divine, the more you live under a shower of overwhelming evidence of His immeasurable Grace.
An absolute faith and trust in the Grace is, in the last analysis, the Supreme Wisdom.
It is when all seems lost that all can be saved. When you have lost confidence in your personal power, then you should have faith in the Divine Grace.
In the final analysis everything really depends on the Divine Grace and we should look at the future with confidence and serenity, progressing at the same time as quickly as we can.
Have faith and unshaken confidence. The Divine Grace will do the rest.
Let us offer our will to the Divine Grace; it is the Grace that accomplishes all.
The Grace, the Grace alone can act. That alone can open the way, that alone can do the miracle.
TRUST IN THE DIVINE GRACE AND HELP
The Grace is infinite for him who sincerely trusts the Grace.
Our trust in the Divine must not depend upon outward circumstances.
It is absurd to ask for help and yet to have no trust; on the contrary with confidence everything becomes so easy.
With trust in the Divine’s Grace all obstacles can be surmounted.
When we trust in the Divine’s Grace we get an unfailing courage.
Like the child who does not reason and has no care, trust thyself to the Divine that His will may be done.
Aspiration for trust in the Divine: an intense need for that immutable peace given by the certitude of the Divine Grace.
Nothing can be compared to the peace that comes from a total trust in the Grace.
Leave all care to the Divine’s Grace, including your progress, and you will be in peace.
Sweet Mother,
How can I subdue the children’s naughtiness when I tremble before it? How can I call down an atmosphere in which these wrong movements will not occur and no
bad talk will come from the children’s lips? How can I bring peace and wisdom into this chaotic mob? I am too weak, too shy. How should I act so as to be able to
control this movement in them?
In order to bring peace and wisdom one must be wise and peaceful; you say that you are weak, but nobody is asking you to rely on your own strength; your strength, your wisdom and your peace belong to the Divine and you must rely on Him alone. Have an absolute trust in the Grace, set aside your little personality and allow the Grace to act; it will make you do what is needed and everything will be all right.
The more one knows, the more one realises that one knows nothing.
For one who has total trust in the Divine, in His wisdom and mercy, there are no more problems.
The triumph of the Divine is certain. If we keep the true trust, we shall never take the wrong path.
THE DIVINE GRACE AND DIFFICULTIES
It is only by remaining perfectly peaceful and calm with an unshakable confidence and faith in the Divine Grace that you will allow circumstances to be as good as they can be. The very best happens always to those who have put their entire trust in the Divine and in the Divine alone.
When, in your life, you meet with a hardship, take it as a Grace from the Lord and, indeed, it will become so.
In any case and whatever happens, always consider events as a gift from the Divine Grace which is leading you by swift paths towards the spiritual goal of your life.
All depends on what you want. If you want Yoga, take all that happens as the expression of the Divine Grace leading you towards your goal, and try to understand the lesson that circumstances give.
People believe that the Grace means making everything smooth for all your life. It is not true.
The Grace works for the realisation of your aspiration and everything is arranged to gain the most prompt, the quickest realisation.
The Grace is something that pushes you towards the goal to be attained. Do not try to judge it by your mind, you will not get anywhere, because it is something formidable which is not explained through human words or feelings. When the Grace acts, the result may or may not be pleasant—it takes no account of any human value, it may even be a catastrophe from the ordinary and superficial point of view. But it is always the best for the individual. It is a blow that the Divine sends so that progress may be made by leaps and bounds. The Grace is that which makes you march swiftly towards the realisation.
Of one thing we must be convinced—all that happens is exactly what must happen in order to lead us and the world as quickly as possible to the goal—the union with the Divine and ultimately the manifestation of the Divine. And this faith—sincere and constant—is at once our help and protection.
Faith is spontaneous knowledge in the psychic.
Faith—confidence in the Divine and the unshakable certitude of the Divine’s Victory.
It is good to have this unshakable faith—it makes your path easier and shorter.
True faith does not depend on circumstances.
Faith in spiritual power must not depend on circumstances.
A faith based on material proofs is not faith—it is a bargaining.
Faith first, knowledge afterwards.
They who have faith will go through.
It is indispensable to keep the faith and the will to conquer.§
Faith is the surest guide in the darkest days.
In an unshakable faith lies all our hope.
At every moment all the unforeseen, the unexpected, the unknown is before us—and what happens to us depends mostly on the intensity and purity of our faith.
If we had a truly living faith, an absolute certitude of the almighty power of the Divine, His manifestation could be so evident that the whole earth would be transformed by it.
Have faith in the Divine, and go deep inside yourself. My help is always with you.
Have faith and go on.
Our best help is faith—the Divine is all merciful.
With love and blessings.
CONFIDENCE
It is with the confidence of a child that our heart implores the Divine.
The best way of meeting difficulties is a quiet and calm confidence in the Grace.
Everybody is imperfect and has to progress. Keep firm and confident.
Be confident, you will become what you have to be and achieve what you have to do.
With confidence we shall advance; with certitude we shall wait.
CERTITUDE
We must march on with the quiet certitude that what has to be done will be done.
THE DIVINE GRACE
We must march on with the quiet certitude that what has to be done will be done.
Each one here represents an impossibility to be solved, but as for Thy Divine Grace all is possible. Thy Work will be, in the detail as in the whole, the accomplishment of all these impossibilities transformed into divine realisations.
Divine Grace, Thy goodness is infinite. We bow before Thee in gratitude.
Mother,
What is the rationale of Divine Grace? Is not the Supreme Mother always ready with Her Grace for those who can call it down?
Yes.
Is it not true that even most of the seekers after God cannot call it down? And yet they can receive it if someone, a guru or avatar, has once called it down within him. Is it so?
Yes.
So can we conclude that Divine Grace works best when it is established in the earth consciousness? Is it the aim of your endeavour to establish it permanently?
Yes.
Please explain to me the whole principle.
The Divine Grace cannot be explained through words and mental formulas.
It is only the Divine’s Grace that can give peace, happiness, power, light, knowledge, beatitude and love in their essence and their truth.
Who is worthy or unworthy in front of the Divine Grace?
All are children of the one and the same Mother.
Her love is equally spread over all of them.
But to each one She gives according to his nature and receptivity.
Say—“I have received his Grace: I must be worthy of it”, and then all will be well.
Let us give ourselves without reserve to the Divine, so best shall we receive the Divine Grace.
The Grace is equally for all. But each one receives it according to his sincerity. It does not depend on outward circumstances but on a sincere aspiration and openness.
THE DIVINE HELP
Whenever there is sincerity and goodwill, the Divine’s help also is there.
Be ever one-pointed in your surrender and sincere in your aspiration and you will constantly feel the presence of the Divine’s help and guidance.
With the Divine’s help nothing is impossible.
For nobody would sadhana be possible without the Divine’s help. But the help is always there.
The help is always there. It is you who must keep your receptivity living.
The Divine help is much vaster than what any human being is able to receive.
FAITH IN THE DIVINE GRACE AND HELP
Continue to have full faith in the Divine’s Grace,Will and Action and all will be all right.
The Grace is always with you; concentrate in your heart with a silent mind and you are sure also to receive the guidance and the help you aspire for.
The Grace and the help are always there for all who aspire for them and their power is limitless when received with faith and confidence.
The Grace is always there ready to act but you must let it work and not resist its action. The one condition required is faith. When you feel attacked, call for help to Sri Aurobindo and myself. If your call is sincere (that is to say, if you sincerely want to be cured) your call will be answered and the Grace will cure
you.
Yes, faith in the Grace always brings about its intervention.
For the Grace to have a perfect and total result of its action, the faith must be total and perfect.
The Grace will never fail us—such is the faith we must keep constantly in our heart. It is our lack of faith that creates our limitations.
The Divine Grace is with us and never leaves us even when the appearances are dark.
The Supreme’s power is infinite—it is our faith that is small.
In failure as well as in success, the Divine’s Grace is always there.
The closer you come to the Divine, the more you live under a shower of overwhelming evidence of His immeasurable Grace.
An absolute faith and trust in the Grace is, in the last analysis, the Supreme Wisdom.
It is when all seems lost that all can be saved. When you have lost confidence in your personal power, then you should have faith in the Divine Grace.
In the final analysis everything really depends on the Divine Grace and we should look at the future with confidence and serenity, progressing at the same time as quickly as we can.
Have faith and unshaken confidence. The Divine Grace will do the rest.
Let us offer our will to the Divine Grace; it is the Grace that accomplishes all.
The Grace, the Grace alone can act. That alone can open the way, that alone can do the miracle.
TRUST IN THE DIVINE GRACE AND HELP
The Grace is infinite for him who sincerely trusts the Grace.
Our trust in the Divine must not depend upon outward circumstances.
It is absurd to ask for help and yet to have no trust; on the contrary with confidence everything becomes so easy.
With trust in the Divine’s Grace all obstacles can be surmounted.
When we trust in the Divine’s Grace we get an unfailing courage.
Like the child who does not reason and has no care, trust thyself to the Divine that His will may be done.
Aspiration for trust in the Divine: an intense need for that immutable peace given by the certitude of the Divine Grace.
Nothing can be compared to the peace that comes from a total trust in the Grace.
Leave all care to the Divine’s Grace, including your progress, and you will be in peace.
Sweet Mother,
How can I subdue the children’s naughtiness when I tremble before it? How can I call down an atmosphere in which these wrong movements will not occur and no
bad talk will come from the children’s lips? How can I bring peace and wisdom into this chaotic mob? I am too weak, too shy. How should I act so as to be able to
control this movement in them?
In order to bring peace and wisdom one must be wise and peaceful; you say that you are weak, but nobody is asking you to rely on your own strength; your strength, your wisdom and your peace belong to the Divine and you must rely on Him alone. Have an absolute trust in the Grace, set aside your little personality and allow the Grace to act; it will make you do what is needed and everything will be all right.
The more one knows, the more one realises that one knows nothing.
For one who has total trust in the Divine, in His wisdom and mercy, there are no more problems.
The triumph of the Divine is certain. If we keep the true trust, we shall never take the wrong path.
THE DIVINE GRACE AND DIFFICULTIES
It is only by remaining perfectly peaceful and calm with an unshakable confidence and faith in the Divine Grace that you will allow circumstances to be as good as they can be. The very best happens always to those who have put their entire trust in the Divine and in the Divine alone.
When, in your life, you meet with a hardship, take it as a Grace from the Lord and, indeed, it will become so.
In any case and whatever happens, always consider events as a gift from the Divine Grace which is leading you by swift paths towards the spiritual goal of your life.
All depends on what you want. If you want Yoga, take all that happens as the expression of the Divine Grace leading you towards your goal, and try to understand the lesson that circumstances give.
People believe that the Grace means making everything smooth for all your life. It is not true.
The Grace works for the realisation of your aspiration and everything is arranged to gain the most prompt, the quickest realisation.
The Grace is something that pushes you towards the goal to be attained. Do not try to judge it by your mind, you will not get anywhere, because it is something formidable which is not explained through human words or feelings. When the Grace acts, the result may or may not be pleasant—it takes no account of any human value, it may even be a catastrophe from the ordinary and superficial point of view. But it is always the best for the individual. It is a blow that the Divine sends so that progress may be made by leaps and bounds. The Grace is that which makes you march swiftly towards the realisation.
Of one thing we must be convinced—all that happens is exactly what must happen in order to lead us and the world as quickly as possible to the goal—the union with the Divine and ultimately the manifestation of the Divine. And this faith—sincere and constant—is at once our help and protection.
Devotion and Self-Giving
DEVOTION
Devotion: modest and fragrant, it gives itself without seeking
for anything in return.
WORSHIP
Worship: the form or outer expression of your devotion.
OFFERING
Life must blossom like a flower offering itself to the Divine.
Offering: the placing of your entire being, with all its movements true and false, good and bad, right and wrong, before the Divine for transformation.
Offer sincerely to the Divine your obscurities and you will be able to receive the light.
CONSECRATION
Consecration is the consummation, when the Light has illuminated all the parts of your being, with a central will acting on the feelings, impulses, thoughts, emotions, activities, directing them always towards the Divine and when you move no more from darkness to light or from falsehood to truth or from misery
to happiness but from light to more light, from truth to greater truth, from happiness to increasing happiness.
The quiet mind one gets through meditation is indeed of short duration, for as soon as you come out from meditation you come out at the same time from the quietness of mind. The true lasting quietness in the vital and the physical as well as in the mind comes from a complete consecration to the Divine;
for when you can no more call anything, not even yourself, yours, when everything, including your body, sensations, feelings and thoughts, belongs to the Divine, the Divine takes the entire responsibility of all and you have nothing more to worry about.
A sincere consecration of all you are and all you do is for the
sadhana much more effective than meditation.
True love and consecration leadmuch quicker to the Divine than
an arduous Tapasya.
SELF-GIVING
Self-giving is true prayer.
Self-giving: by this the whole being gets progressively unified round the central psychic being.
Give yourself up—it is the best way of finding yourself.
Never say, “I have nothing to give to theDivine.” There is always something to give, for always you can give yourself in a better and more complete way.
To give to the Divine what one has in excess is not an offering. One should give at least something out of what one needs.
If you remember what you have given to the Divine, He will have no need of remembering it Himself; and if you ever mention the gift or speak of it to anybody, it is not to the Divine that you have made the offering but to the demon of your vanity.
There is no joy more perfect than to give oneself totally to
that which is greater than oneself. God, Supreme Origin, Divine
Presence, Absolute Truth—it doesn’t matter what name we give
Him or what aspect we most easily approach Him through--
to forget oneself totally in an integral consecration is the surest
path towards Realisation.
Three typical modes of total self-giving to the Divine:
(1) To prostrate oneself at His feet, giving up all pride in
perfect humility.
(2) To unfold one’s being before Him, open one’s whole body from head to foot, as one opens a book, exposing one’s centres so as to make all their movements visible in a complete sincerity that allows nothing to remain hidden.
(3) To nestle in His arms, to merge in Him in a loving and absolute trust.
These movements may be accompanied by three formulas or any one of them according to the case:
(1) Let Thy Will be done and not mine.
(2) As Thou willest, as Thou willest.
(3) I am Thine for eternity.
Generally, when these movements are done in the true way, they are followed by a perfect identification, a dissolution of the ego, giving rise to a sublime felicity.
Three Steps towards the Supreme Identification.
Give all you have, this is the beginning.
Give all you do, this is the way.
Give all you are, this is the fulfilment.
I have read and heard that one should “give oneself” to the Divine. I don’t understand how one should “give oneself”.
With your thought, give your thoughts.
With your heart, give your feelings.
With your body, give your work.
SERVICE TO THE DIVINE
No joy can be greater than that of serving the Divine.
We should be in no other service but in God’s alone.
Devotion: modest and fragrant, it gives itself without seeking
for anything in return.
WORSHIP
Worship: the form or outer expression of your devotion.
OFFERING
Life must blossom like a flower offering itself to the Divine.
Offering: the placing of your entire being, with all its movements true and false, good and bad, right and wrong, before the Divine for transformation.
Offer sincerely to the Divine your obscurities and you will be able to receive the light.
CONSECRATION
Consecration is the consummation, when the Light has illuminated all the parts of your being, with a central will acting on the feelings, impulses, thoughts, emotions, activities, directing them always towards the Divine and when you move no more from darkness to light or from falsehood to truth or from misery
to happiness but from light to more light, from truth to greater truth, from happiness to increasing happiness.
The quiet mind one gets through meditation is indeed of short duration, for as soon as you come out from meditation you come out at the same time from the quietness of mind. The true lasting quietness in the vital and the physical as well as in the mind comes from a complete consecration to the Divine;
for when you can no more call anything, not even yourself, yours, when everything, including your body, sensations, feelings and thoughts, belongs to the Divine, the Divine takes the entire responsibility of all and you have nothing more to worry about.
A sincere consecration of all you are and all you do is for the
sadhana much more effective than meditation.
True love and consecration leadmuch quicker to the Divine than
an arduous Tapasya.
SELF-GIVING
Self-giving is true prayer.
Self-giving: by this the whole being gets progressively unified round the central psychic being.
Give yourself up—it is the best way of finding yourself.
Never say, “I have nothing to give to theDivine.” There is always something to give, for always you can give yourself in a better and more complete way.
To give to the Divine what one has in excess is not an offering. One should give at least something out of what one needs.
If you remember what you have given to the Divine, He will have no need of remembering it Himself; and if you ever mention the gift or speak of it to anybody, it is not to the Divine that you have made the offering but to the demon of your vanity.
There is no joy more perfect than to give oneself totally to
that which is greater than oneself. God, Supreme Origin, Divine
Presence, Absolute Truth—it doesn’t matter what name we give
Him or what aspect we most easily approach Him through--
to forget oneself totally in an integral consecration is the surest
path towards Realisation.
Three typical modes of total self-giving to the Divine:
(1) To prostrate oneself at His feet, giving up all pride in
perfect humility.
(2) To unfold one’s being before Him, open one’s whole body from head to foot, as one opens a book, exposing one’s centres so as to make all their movements visible in a complete sincerity that allows nothing to remain hidden.
(3) To nestle in His arms, to merge in Him in a loving and absolute trust.
These movements may be accompanied by three formulas or any one of them according to the case:
(1) Let Thy Will be done and not mine.
(2) As Thou willest, as Thou willest.
(3) I am Thine for eternity.
Generally, when these movements are done in the true way, they are followed by a perfect identification, a dissolution of the ego, giving rise to a sublime felicity.
Three Steps towards the Supreme Identification.
Give all you have, this is the beginning.
Give all you do, this is the way.
Give all you are, this is the fulfilment.
I have read and heard that one should “give oneself” to the Divine. I don’t understand how one should “give oneself”.
With your thought, give your thoughts.
With your heart, give your feelings.
With your body, give your work.
SERVICE TO THE DIVINE
No joy can be greater than that of serving the Divine.
We should be in no other service but in God’s alone.
Surrender to the Divine Will
SURRENDER
Surrender: the decision to hand over the responsibility of your
life to the Divine. This is done either through the mind or the
emotion or the life-impulse or through all of them together.
If you are truly surrendered to the Divine, in the right manner
and totally, then at every moment you will be what you ought
to be, you will do what you ought to do, you will know what
you ought to know.
But for that you should have transcended all the limitations
of the ego.
*
Detailed surrender means the surrender of all the details of life,
even the smallest and the most insignificant in appearance. And
this means to remember the Divine in all circumstances; whatever
we think, feel or do, we must do it for Him as a way of
coming close to Him, to be more and more what He wants us
to be, capable of manifesting His will in perfect sincerity and
purity, to be the instruments of His Love.
*
If man surrenders totally to the Divine, he identifies himself with
the Divine.
13 May 1954
*
Perfect surrender: the indispensable condition for identification.
The path is long, but self-surrender makes it short; the way is
difficult, but perfect trust makes it easy.
*
Surrender to the Divine is the best emotional protection.
*
The true repose is that of a perfect surrender to the Divine.
*
What is the secret of success in sadhana?
Surrender.
TO WILL WHAT THE DIVINE WILLS
Surrender: to will what the Divine wills is the supreme wisdom.
Will one with the Divine will: a condition that triumphs over all
obstacles.
Divine Will—the will expressing the highest Truth.
Let us do our best in all circumstances, leaving the result to the
Divine’s decision.
We must be satisfied with what the Divine gives us, and do what
He wants us to do without weakness, free from useless ambition.
Whenever there is any difficulty we must always remember that
we are here exclusively to accomplish the Divine’s will.
The Divine’s will is that we should be like channels always open,
always more wide, so that His forces may pour their abundance
into the mould.
16 October 1954
*
Our will must always be a perfect expression of the Divine’s will.
17 October 1954
*
Our constant prayer is to understand the Divine’s will and to
live accordingly.
28 October 1954
*
We must lie before the Divine always like a page perfectly blank,
so that the Divine’s will may be inscribed in us without any
difficulty or mixture.
20 November 1954
*
At each moment may our attitude be such that the Divine’s Will
determines our choice so that the Divine may give the direction
to all our life.
22 November 1954
*
We must see only through the Divine’s eyes and act only through
the Divine’s will.
We must know how to depend for everything and in everything
on the Divine. He alone can surmount all difficulties.
Always the SupremeWill remains the eternal mystery calling for
all our wonder and marvelling.
16 December 1954
*
Like the child who does not reason and has no care we trust
ourselves to the Divine that the Divine’s Will may be done.
18 December 1954
*
To do at each moment the best we can and leave the result to the
Divine’s decision, is the surest way to peace, happiness, strength,
progress and final perfection.
We are always free to make our proposals to the Lord, but after
all it is only His will that is realised.
If one looks from high enough, whatever one does one never
wastes one’s time since one acts according to one’s nature and
—without knowing it—according to the will of the Lord.
DIFFICULTIES OF SURRENDER
It is rare that somebody can surrender entirely to the Divine’s
Will without having to face one or another of the difficulties.
The way in which most people surrender:
Let God manifest his will but let it be the same as mine.
15 April 1931
*
One thing you must know and decide:
It is if you want the True Divine as He is, or if you want a
Divine in keeping with your own conception of what He ought
to be.
And if you have decided to surrender sincerely and totally
to the Divine and to be and do what He wants you to be and do
according to His own will, or if you want the Divine to do what
you want Him to do and to act according to your own will.
*
I have forwarded your prayer to the Supreme Lord. But if you
want to live in Ananda, you must not try to impose your will on
the Divine, but, on the contrary, you must be ready to accept all
that comes to you from Him, with an equal peace; because He
knows better than we what is good for our progress.
When men will understand that the Divine knows better than
they do what is the best for them, many of their difficulties will
disappear.
1 April 1963
*
If the Lord wills for you a hardship, do not protest. Take it as a
blessing and indeed it will become so.
*
The Lord is not an all-powerful automaton that human beings
can move by the push-button of their will.
And yet most of those who surrender to God expect that
from Him.
Surrender: the decision to hand over the responsibility of your
life to the Divine. This is done either through the mind or the
emotion or the life-impulse or through all of them together.
If you are truly surrendered to the Divine, in the right manner
and totally, then at every moment you will be what you ought
to be, you will do what you ought to do, you will know what
you ought to know.
But for that you should have transcended all the limitations
of the ego.
*
Detailed surrender means the surrender of all the details of life,
even the smallest and the most insignificant in appearance. And
this means to remember the Divine in all circumstances; whatever
we think, feel or do, we must do it for Him as a way of
coming close to Him, to be more and more what He wants us
to be, capable of manifesting His will in perfect sincerity and
purity, to be the instruments of His Love.
*
If man surrenders totally to the Divine, he identifies himself with
the Divine.
13 May 1954
*
Perfect surrender: the indispensable condition for identification.
The path is long, but self-surrender makes it short; the way is
difficult, but perfect trust makes it easy.
*
Surrender to the Divine is the best emotional protection.
*
The true repose is that of a perfect surrender to the Divine.
*
What is the secret of success in sadhana?
Surrender.
TO WILL WHAT THE DIVINE WILLS
Surrender: to will what the Divine wills is the supreme wisdom.
Will one with the Divine will: a condition that triumphs over all
obstacles.
Divine Will—the will expressing the highest Truth.
Let us do our best in all circumstances, leaving the result to the
Divine’s decision.
We must be satisfied with what the Divine gives us, and do what
He wants us to do without weakness, free from useless ambition.
Whenever there is any difficulty we must always remember that
we are here exclusively to accomplish the Divine’s will.
The Divine’s will is that we should be like channels always open,
always more wide, so that His forces may pour their abundance
into the mould.
16 October 1954
*
Our will must always be a perfect expression of the Divine’s will.
17 October 1954
*
Our constant prayer is to understand the Divine’s will and to
live accordingly.
28 October 1954
*
We must lie before the Divine always like a page perfectly blank,
so that the Divine’s will may be inscribed in us without any
difficulty or mixture.
20 November 1954
*
At each moment may our attitude be such that the Divine’s Will
determines our choice so that the Divine may give the direction
to all our life.
22 November 1954
*
We must see only through the Divine’s eyes and act only through
the Divine’s will.
We must know how to depend for everything and in everything
on the Divine. He alone can surmount all difficulties.
Always the SupremeWill remains the eternal mystery calling for
all our wonder and marvelling.
16 December 1954
*
Like the child who does not reason and has no care we trust
ourselves to the Divine that the Divine’s Will may be done.
18 December 1954
*
To do at each moment the best we can and leave the result to the
Divine’s decision, is the surest way to peace, happiness, strength,
progress and final perfection.
We are always free to make our proposals to the Lord, but after
all it is only His will that is realised.
If one looks from high enough, whatever one does one never
wastes one’s time since one acts according to one’s nature and
—without knowing it—according to the will of the Lord.
DIFFICULTIES OF SURRENDER
It is rare that somebody can surrender entirely to the Divine’s
Will without having to face one or another of the difficulties.
The way in which most people surrender:
Let God manifest his will but let it be the same as mine.
15 April 1931
*
One thing you must know and decide:
It is if you want the True Divine as He is, or if you want a
Divine in keeping with your own conception of what He ought
to be.
And if you have decided to surrender sincerely and totally
to the Divine and to be and do what He wants you to be and do
according to His own will, or if you want the Divine to do what
you want Him to do and to act according to your own will.
*
I have forwarded your prayer to the Supreme Lord. But if you
want to live in Ananda, you must not try to impose your will on
the Divine, but, on the contrary, you must be ready to accept all
that comes to you from Him, with an equal peace; because He
knows better than we what is good for our progress.
When men will understand that the Divine knows better than
they do what is the best for them, many of their difficulties will
disappear.
1 April 1963
*
If the Lord wills for you a hardship, do not protest. Take it as a
blessing and indeed it will become so.
*
The Lord is not an all-powerful automaton that human beings
can move by the push-button of their will.
And yet most of those who surrender to God expect that
from Him.
Love
In the Divine’s love we always find all support and all consolation.
When you reach the contact with the Divine’s love you see this
love in everything and all circumstances.
Certainly one has the right to love and true love carries in itself its
joy, but unhappily human beings are egoistic and immediately
mix with their love the desire to be loved in return, and this
desire is contrary to spiritual truth and the cause of passions
and sufferings.
The one you love must have the right of freedom in her feelings
and if you want the truth youmust understand this right and
accept it. Otherwise there will be no end to your miseries. This
is an occasion to surmount your egoism and to open to the true
life. If you decide to make this effort my help will be with you.
When you reach the contact with the Divine’s love you see this
love in everything and all circumstances.
Certainly one has the right to love and true love carries in itself its
joy, but unhappily human beings are egoistic and immediately
mix with their love the desire to be loved in return, and this
desire is contrary to spiritual truth and the cause of passions
and sufferings.
The one you love must have the right of freedom in her feelings
and if you want the truth youmust understand this right and
accept it. Otherwise there will be no end to your miseries. This
is an occasion to surmount your egoism and to open to the true
life. If you decide to make this effort my help will be with you.
Peace and Silence
The first step is perfect calm and equanimity.
Openness and Receptivity
OPENNESS
Openness is thewill to receive and to utilise for progress the force
and influence; the constant aspiration to remain in touch with
the Consciousness; the faith that the force and consciousness are
always with you, around you, inside you and that you have only
to let nothing stand in the way of your receiving them.
Open to the consciousness which is working on and in you and
keep always as quiet and peaceful as you can.
The opening to the Divine Light cannot be made through coercion.
If you open yourself to the Force and the Help, there will be no
strain.
Integral opening of the being towards the Divine: the first step
of the ascent.
WIDENESS
To widen and open as vastly as one can is more effective than to
bring down and to try to push the force into the narrowness of
the small human being.
PLASTICITY
Plasticity: always ready for the progress demanded.
RECEPTIVITY
Receptivity is the capacity of admitting and retaining the Divine
Workings.
*
Receptivity: conscious of the Divine Will and surrendered to it.
*
Integral receptivity: the whole being is aware of the Divine Will
and obeys it.
*
Psychic receptivity: the psychic responds joyously to the ascending
force.
*
Mental receptivity: always ready to learn.
*
Emotional receptivity: emotions wanting to be divinised.
*
Vital receptivity happens only when the vital understands that
it must be transformed.
The vital blossoms in aspiration for the Divine.
Physical receptivity: that which one should not have except
towards the Divine.
*
Supramentalised receptivity: the receptivity of tomorrow.
*
It is with the widening of the consciousness and the onepointedness
of the aspiration that the receptivity increases.
22 December 1934
*
By revolt the doors of receptivity are closed.
*
In order to be filled anew the vessel must get empty sometimes.
It is when we are preparing for greater receptivities that we
feel empty.
Try to be satisfied with what you receive—for it is a matter of
receptivity, because—you can believe me—I give always much
more than what the people are capable of receiving—and in two
or three minutes they could have quite enough to go for a whole
month. But the mind interferes with its ignorant demands and
the whole thing is spoiled.
My love is always with you; if then you do not feel it, it is
because you are not capable of receiving it. It is your receptivity
that is lacking and should be increased; for this you must open
yourself, and one opens oneself only if one gives oneself. Surely
you are trying more or less consciously to draw the forces and
the divine love towards you. The method is bad. Give yourself
without calculating and without expecting anything in return,
and then you will become capable of receiving.
To be receptive
To be receptive is to feel the urge to give and the joy of giving to
the Divine’s Work all one has, all one is, all one does.
Openness is thewill to receive and to utilise for progress the force
and influence; the constant aspiration to remain in touch with
the Consciousness; the faith that the force and consciousness are
always with you, around you, inside you and that you have only
to let nothing stand in the way of your receiving them.
Open to the consciousness which is working on and in you and
keep always as quiet and peaceful as you can.
The opening to the Divine Light cannot be made through coercion.
If you open yourself to the Force and the Help, there will be no
strain.
Integral opening of the being towards the Divine: the first step
of the ascent.
WIDENESS
To widen and open as vastly as one can is more effective than to
bring down and to try to push the force into the narrowness of
the small human being.
PLASTICITY
Plasticity: always ready for the progress demanded.
RECEPTIVITY
Receptivity is the capacity of admitting and retaining the Divine
Workings.
*
Receptivity: conscious of the Divine Will and surrendered to it.
*
Integral receptivity: the whole being is aware of the Divine Will
and obeys it.
*
Psychic receptivity: the psychic responds joyously to the ascending
force.
*
Mental receptivity: always ready to learn.
*
Emotional receptivity: emotions wanting to be divinised.
*
Vital receptivity happens only when the vital understands that
it must be transformed.
The vital blossoms in aspiration for the Divine.
Physical receptivity: that which one should not have except
towards the Divine.
*
Supramentalised receptivity: the receptivity of tomorrow.
*
It is with the widening of the consciousness and the onepointedness
of the aspiration that the receptivity increases.
22 December 1934
*
By revolt the doors of receptivity are closed.
*
In order to be filled anew the vessel must get empty sometimes.
It is when we are preparing for greater receptivities that we
feel empty.
Try to be satisfied with what you receive—for it is a matter of
receptivity, because—you can believe me—I give always much
more than what the people are capable of receiving—and in two
or three minutes they could have quite enough to go for a whole
month. But the mind interferes with its ignorant demands and
the whole thing is spoiled.
My love is always with you; if then you do not feel it, it is
because you are not capable of receiving it. It is your receptivity
that is lacking and should be increased; for this you must open
yourself, and one opens oneself only if one gives oneself. Surely
you are trying more or less consciously to draw the forces and
the divine love towards you. The method is bad. Give yourself
without calculating and without expecting anything in return,
and then you will become capable of receiving.
To be receptive
To be receptive is to feel the urge to give and the joy of giving to
the Divine’s Work all one has, all one is, all one does.
Purity and Humility
Gratitude and Faithfulness
Integral gratitude: the whole being offers itself to the Lord in absolute trust.
There is no better way to show one’s gratefulness to the Divine than to be quietly happy.
Always joyfully accept what is given you by the Divine.
The nobility of a being is measured by its capacity of gratitude.
There is no better way to show one’s gratefulness to the Divine than to be quietly happy.
Always joyfully accept what is given you by the Divine.
The nobility of a being is measured by its capacity of gratitude.
Will and Perserverance
WILL
Will: power of consciousness turned towards effectuation.
A persevering will surmounts all obstacles.
One must have an unvarying will to acquire what one does not have in one’s nature, to know what one does not yet know, to be able to do what one cannot yet do. One must progress constantly in the light and the peace which come from the absence of personal desire. If one has a strong will, he has only to orient it properly; if he has no will, he has first of all to build one for himself, which always takes long and is sometimes difficult.
My lower nature continues to do the same stupid things.
You alone can change it. What are Your conditions?
1) to be convinced that you can change.
2) to will to change without accepting the excuses of the lower nature.
3) to persist in the will in spite of every fall.
4) to have an unshakable faith in the help you receive.
AGNI
The true Agni always burns in deep peace; it is the fire of an
all-conquering will.
Let it grow in you in perfect equanimity.
RESOLUTION
Resolution: nothing can stop its development.
We must gather ourselves in a calm resolution and an unshakable
certitude.
Keep firm in your resolution and everything will be all right.
Love.
Let your resolution be integral and constant and little by little
your future will be revealed to you.
With love and blessings.
DETERMINATION
It is difficult to get rid of all habits. They must be faced with a
steady determination.
It is not because a thing is difficult that one should give it up, on
the contrary, the more a thing is difficult the more determined
should one be to succeed in it.
Determination knows what it wants and does it.
STEADY EFFORT
Ambitious plans generally fall flat. It is better to go slow and
steady.
Be steady and patient—everything will be all right.
You must keep your aspiration steady and be patient in your endeavour—and you are sure of success.
Steady efforts always bring great results.
No effort is lost. There is always an answer, even if it is not perceived.
Personal effort is indispensable; without it nothing can be done.
When the personal effort is sincere the help is always there.
All sincere effort to progress and get rid of dangerous habits is answered and supported by an active help from the Grace—but the effort must be steady and the aspiration must be sincere.
Will: power of consciousness turned towards effectuation.
A persevering will surmounts all obstacles.
One must have an unvarying will to acquire what one does not have in one’s nature, to know what one does not yet know, to be able to do what one cannot yet do. One must progress constantly in the light and the peace which come from the absence of personal desire. If one has a strong will, he has only to orient it properly; if he has no will, he has first of all to build one for himself, which always takes long and is sometimes difficult.
My lower nature continues to do the same stupid things.
You alone can change it. What are Your conditions?
1) to be convinced that you can change.
2) to will to change without accepting the excuses of the lower nature.
3) to persist in the will in spite of every fall.
4) to have an unshakable faith in the help you receive.
AGNI
The true Agni always burns in deep peace; it is the fire of an
all-conquering will.
Let it grow in you in perfect equanimity.
RESOLUTION
Resolution: nothing can stop its development.
We must gather ourselves in a calm resolution and an unshakable
certitude.
Keep firm in your resolution and everything will be all right.
Love.
Let your resolution be integral and constant and little by little
your future will be revealed to you.
With love and blessings.
DETERMINATION
It is difficult to get rid of all habits. They must be faced with a
steady determination.
It is not because a thing is difficult that one should give it up, on
the contrary, the more a thing is difficult the more determined
should one be to succeed in it.
Determination knows what it wants and does it.
STEADY EFFORT
Ambitious plans generally fall flat. It is better to go slow and
steady.
Be steady and patient—everything will be all right.
You must keep your aspiration steady and be patient in your endeavour—and you are sure of success.
Steady efforts always bring great results.
No effort is lost. There is always an answer, even if it is not perceived.
Personal effort is indispensable; without it nothing can be done.
When the personal effort is sincere the help is always there.
All sincere effort to progress and get rid of dangerous habits is answered and supported by an active help from the Grace—but the effort must be steady and the aspiration must be sincere.
Enthusiasm and Straightforwardness
Our courage and endurance must be as great as our hope and our hope has no limits.
Our hopes are never too great for manifestation. We cannot conceive of any thing that cannot be.
Straightforwardness shows itself as it is, without compromising.
Integrality is super-sincerity.
Our hopes are never too great for manifestation. We cannot conceive of any thing that cannot be.
Straightforwardness shows itself as it is, without compromising.
Integrality is super-sincerity.
Nobility and Refinement
I don’t think that one can ever smile too much. Someone who
knows how to smile in all circumstances is very close to true
equality of soul.
knows how to smile in all circumstances is very close to true
equality of soul.
Happiness and Joy
CHEERFULNESS
Mental cheerfulness: it knows how to take delight in everything.
Keep a cheerful mind and a peaceful heart. Let nothing disturb your equanimity and make every day the necessary progress to advance with me steadily towards the goal.
HAPPINESS
Be happy, my child, it is the surest way of progress.
Try to be happy—immediately you will be closer to the Light.
Indeed he is happy who loves the Divine because the Divine is always with him.
Spiritual happiness: calm and smiling, nothing can disturb it.
The happiness you give makes you more happy than the happiness you receive.
To be concerned for one’s happiness is the surest way of becoming unhappy.
JOY
Joy comes from submission to the divine command.
Once a man has tasted the joys of inner life nothing else will ever satisfy him.
No joy is comparable to the feeling of the eternal Presence in one’s heart.
BEATITUDE
The immutable Beatitude of the Divine is translated in the consciousness
by an impelling force of progress of an incomparable intensity.
This force is transformed in the most external being into a
calm and assured will which no obstacles can overthrow.
To know beatitude is to know the Divine.
To know the Divine is to know beatitude.
They are intimately and eternally united in an indissoluble
identity.
Mental cheerfulness: it knows how to take delight in everything.
Keep a cheerful mind and a peaceful heart. Let nothing disturb your equanimity and make every day the necessary progress to advance with me steadily towards the goal.
HAPPINESS
Be happy, my child, it is the surest way of progress.
Try to be happy—immediately you will be closer to the Light.
Indeed he is happy who loves the Divine because the Divine is always with him.
Spiritual happiness: calm and smiling, nothing can disturb it.
The happiness you give makes you more happy than the happiness you receive.
To be concerned for one’s happiness is the surest way of becoming unhappy.
JOY
Joy comes from submission to the divine command.
Once a man has tasted the joys of inner life nothing else will ever satisfy him.
No joy is comparable to the feeling of the eternal Presence in one’s heart.
BEATITUDE
The immutable Beatitude of the Divine is translated in the consciousness
by an impelling force of progress of an incomparable intensity.
This force is transformed in the most external being into a
calm and assured will which no obstacles can overthrow.
To know beatitude is to know the Divine.
To know the Divine is to know beatitude.
They are intimately and eternally united in an indissoluble
identity.
Heroism and Bravery
Heroism is to be able to stand for the Truth in all circumstances, to declare it amidst opposition and to fight for it whenever necessary.
And to act always from one’s highest consciousness.
Heroism:
(1) To do always what is most beautiful and most noble.
(2) To act always from the height of one’s consciousness.
Heroic action fights for the beautiful and the true without fear of obstacles and opposition.
Heroic thought goes to the conquest of the unknown without fear of difficulty and incomprehension.
Only he is never vanquished who refuses to be vanquished.
We aspire to be the valiant warriors of the Lord so that His glory may manifest upon the earth.
Bravery fears nothing and knows how to hold tight against adversaries.
BOLDNESS
Boldness: do fearlessly what must be done, not dreading any difficulty.
Mental boldness: let your mind be capable of foreseeing the perfections of tomorrow.
Spontaneous boldness: one of the results of perfect trust in the Divine.
COURAGE
Courage is a sign of the soul’s nobility.
But courage must be calm and master of itself, generous and benevolent.
In true courage there is no impatience and no rashness.
Never mistake rashness for courage, nor indifference for patience.
There is no greater courage than to be always truthful.
Have the courage to be completely frank with the Divine.
Whosoever has courage can give courage to others, just as the flame of the candle can light up another.
It is quite necessary that those who have courage should have some courage for those who have none.
And to act always from one’s highest consciousness.
Heroism:
(1) To do always what is most beautiful and most noble.
(2) To act always from the height of one’s consciousness.
Heroic action fights for the beautiful and the true without fear of obstacles and opposition.
Heroic thought goes to the conquest of the unknown without fear of difficulty and incomprehension.
Only he is never vanquished who refuses to be vanquished.
We aspire to be the valiant warriors of the Lord so that His glory may manifest upon the earth.
Bravery fears nothing and knows how to hold tight against adversaries.
BOLDNESS
Boldness: do fearlessly what must be done, not dreading any difficulty.
Mental boldness: let your mind be capable of foreseeing the perfections of tomorrow.
Spontaneous boldness: one of the results of perfect trust in the Divine.
COURAGE
Courage is a sign of the soul’s nobility.
But courage must be calm and master of itself, generous and benevolent.
In true courage there is no impatience and no rashness.
Never mistake rashness for courage, nor indifference for patience.
There is no greater courage than to be always truthful.
Have the courage to be completely frank with the Divine.
Whosoever has courage can give courage to others, just as the flame of the candle can light up another.
It is quite necessary that those who have courage should have some courage for those who have none.
Prudence and Balance
Vigilance: indispensable for all true progress.
In each human being there is a beast crouching ready to manifest at the slightest unwatchfulness. The only remedy is a constant vigilance.
Prudence: very useful for weakness because weakness needs prudence; strength does not need it.
Sobriety has never done harm to anyone.
Equanimity: immutable peace and calm.
In the deep peace of equanimity the love will grow to its full blossoming in a sense of pure and constant unity.
Perfect balance: one of the most important conditions of a growing peace.
In each human being there is a beast crouching ready to manifest at the slightest unwatchfulness. The only remedy is a constant vigilance.
Prudence: very useful for weakness because weakness needs prudence; strength does not need it.
Sobriety has never done harm to anyone.
Equanimity: immutable peace and calm.
In the deep peace of equanimity the love will grow to its full blossoming in a sense of pure and constant unity.
Perfect balance: one of the most important conditions of a growing peace.
Truth and Speech
TRUTH
Effort towards the truth should exist in every man of goodwill.
*
Our life ought to be governed by the Love for Truth and the
thirst for Light.
*
Absolute truthfulness must govern life if one wants to be close
to the Divine.
*
Only those who are perfectly truthful can be my true children.
13 December 1933
*
Let the light of Truth be born upon earth from today and for
ever.
21 February 1953
*
The Light of Truth broods over theworld to permeate andmould
its future.
*
Everything must be transformed by the knowledge of the Truth.
6 May 1954
*
Take Truth for your force, take Truth for your refuge.
28 April 1954
*
The only important thing is to follow the Divine’s truth with
love and joy.
9 May 1954
*
The truth is in us, we have only to become aware of it.
17 May 1954
*
Blessed will be the day when the earth, awakened to the Truth,
lives only for the Divine.
28 August 1954
*
The Truth is in you—but you must want it, in order to realise
it.
29 August 1954
*
The Divine’s Will is that the mind should know and He says,
“Awake and be conscious of the Truth.”
22 October 1954
*
Let the Lord of Truth be always with you.
17 September 1958
*
Let the flower of Truth blossom within you.
Let the Truth be your master and your guide.
16 December 1967
*
Let your consecration to Truth be complete and constant.
*
Be more eager for truth than for success.
12 February 1969
(Message for the Rayagada Study Circle, Orissa)
The moment approaches when the Truth will govern the world.
Will you work to hasten its coming?
Blessings.
FALSEHOOD AND TRUTH
Once falsehood is conquered, all difficulties will go.
*
In all human beings is not falsehood always mixed with Truth?
*
Falsehood is the great ally of Death.
There is one Truth but a million ways of distorting it in the
attempt to express it.
Simultaneous with the progress and intensification of the sadhana,
there is increasingly felt the imperative need that all
hypocrisy and compromise should stop.
May the Truth be invincible, overwhelming, all-powerful, leaving
no room for falsehood anywhere and for ever.
1956
*
Such is life!
The world is a place of falsehood and it is only in the silent
depths of the Divine that one can find the peace of truth.
15 December 1964
*
Truth is stronger than falsehood. There is an immortal Power
that governs the world. Its decisions always prevail. Join with it
and you are sure of the final victory.
*
Worship Truth.
It will cure you of Falsehood.
*
When men will be disgusted with the falsehood in which they
live, then the world will be ready for the reign of the Truth.
It is only the Truth that can save us; truth in words, truth
in action, truth in will, truth in feelings. It is a choice between
serving the Truth or being destroyed.
For those who are eager to get rid of falsehood
here is the way
Do not try to please yourself, do not try either to please others.
Try only to please the Lord.
Because He alone is the Truth. Each and every one of us,
human beings in our physical body, is a coat of falsehood put
on the Lord and hiding Him.
As He alone is true to Himself, it is on Him that we must
concentrate and not on the coats of falsehood.
*
There is only one solution for falsehood:
It is to cure in ourselves all that contradicts in our consciousness
the presence of the Divine.
31 December 1972
*
Let us offer our falsehood to the Divine so that He may change
it to joyous Truth.
TRUTH IS ABOVE MIND
Truth is eternally beyond all that we can think or say of it.
10 December 1954
*
Truth cannot be formulated in words, but it can be lived provided
one is pure and plastic enough.
*
When the gates of true knowledge are crossed, no words are left
to express what is known.
He who has crossed the gates of the true Knowledge has nothing
more to say or to teach.
*
To come closer to the Truth, you must often accept not to
understand.
Because there is no true right and wrong — the only Truth is the
Lord and He remembers everything.
26 January 1963
*
Each idea (or system of ideas) is true in its own time and place.
But if it tries to be exclusive or to persist even when its time is
over, then it ceases to be true.
Intellectually, the Truth is the point where all the opposites meet
and join to make a unity.
Practically, the Truth is the surrender of the ego, to make
possible the birth and manifestation of the Divine.
Doubt is the best arm used by the ego to protect itself from
extinction.
These are remarks on the way which may lead you a little
further.
They are sent with blessings.
Truth is above mind; it is in silence that one can enter into
communication with it.
To pray to the Divine and to surrender oneself entirely and
in all sincerity to Him are the essential preliminary conditions.
24 October 1971
*
He who sincerely wants to serve the Truth will know the Truth.
OPINION AND TRUTH
In the Ignorance mental opinions always oppose one another.
In the Truth they are complementary aspects of a higher
knowledge.
*
All opinions are an aspect of the Truth that can be reached
only when you can make a comprehensive whole with all these
aspects.
Naturally, all these discussions (or exchanges of opinion) are
purely mental and have no value from the viewpoint of the
Truth. Each mind has its way of seeing and understanding things,
and even if you could unite and bring together all these ways
of seeing, you would still be very far from attaining the Truth.
It is only when, in the silence of the mind, you can lift yourself
above thought, that you are ready to know by identity.
From the viewpoint of outer discipline it is indispensable,
when you have an opinion and express it, to remember that
it is only an opinion, a way of seeing and feeling, and that
other people’s opinions, and ways of seeing and feeling are as
legitimate as your own, and that instead of opposing them you
should total them up and try to find a more comprehensive
synthesis.
On the whole the discussions are always pretty futile and
seem to me to be a waste of time.
To know how to listen: to be attentive and silent.
It is always better to tell the truth rather than give a pleasant
and sweet smile. But what you are saying is not the truth. It is
only an expression of your opinion.
To tell the truth is not to utter whatever crosses your mind.
HONESTY
Honesty is the best protection.
*
A peaceful heart is the best reward of honesty.
*
Be sincere and honest and your mind will be at rest.
SPEAK ALWAYS THE TRUTH
To speak always the truth is the highest title of nobility.
*
One drop of truth is worth more than an ocean of false information.
*
Never tell a lie: absolute condition for safety on the path.
Each lie uttered is a step taken towards disintegration.
*
I have always and will always forbid lies.
*
If you do not wish to say something which is true, instead of
lying just keep silent.
*
Let nothing be written with this pen except what is perfectly
true.
14 June 1934
*
If we allow a falsehood, however small, to express itself through
our mouth or our pen, how can we hope to become perfect messengers
of Truth? A perfect servant of Truth should abstain even
from the slightest inexactitude, exaggeration or deformation.
*
Silence is far superior to inexactitude.
CONTROL OF SPEECH
It is the control over oneself that is the first thing needed, and
especially the control over one’s tongue! If people could learn to
keep silent how many troubles would be avoided!
Be quiet and gather strength and force not only to do work
but also, chiefly, to achieve the Transformation.
If only people did remain a little quiet before speaking, acting or
writing, much trouble could be avoided. So many things are said
uselessly, they bring misunderstandings and bad feelings which
could have been saved with silence.
If were spoken only the words that needed to be spoken, the
world would be a very silent place.
The world is deafened with useless words.
There is a great strength in the power to keep silent.
You must always do what you say, but it is not always wise to
speak about everything you do.
When you speak, you must always speak the truth; but
sometimes it is better not to speak.
When speaking of physical things one should have a lively,
pleasant, witty style.
When speaking of vital things the style should be eloquent.
When speaking of mental things the style should be clear,
precise, exact.
When speaking of psychic things one must be inspired.
Spiritual speech: all-powerful in its simplicity.
It is always a sign of strength to be able to say things gently and
it is always weakness that bursts out into unpleasantnesses.
18 April 1956
*
Anger has never made anyone say anything but stupidities.
*
Never boast. By boasting you dissipate your capacity for realisation.
*
Boasting, boasting—one of the greatest obstacles to progress.
It is a foolishness one must carefully avoid if one aspires to a
true progress.
M´edire est une chose tr`es vile. I don’t know how to translate
m´edire into English. It is not exactly “speaking ill”. Crooked
mind, crooked tongue, crooked heart: this comes out in speech
that looks like honey but tastes like poison.
Every word spoken uselessly is a dangerous gossiping.
Every malicious word, every slander is a degradation of the
consciousness.
And when this slander is expressed in a vulgar language and
gross terms, then that is equivalent to a suicide—the suicide of
one’s soul.
When, in ignorance, one speaks ill of others, he debases his
consciousness and degrades his soul.
A respectful and modest silence is the only attitude befitting
a disciple.
To cure a critical sense that manifests by incontinence of speech:
1) When you are in this state, absolutely refuse to speak--
if need be, make it physically impossible for yourself to speak.
2) Study yourself without pity and realise that you carry in
yourself precisely all the things that you find so ridiculous in
others.
3) Discover in your nature the opposite way of being (benevolence,
humility, goodwill) and insist that it develop to the
detriment of the contrary element.
True strength and protection come from the Divine Presence in
the heart.
If you want to keep this Presence constantly in you, avoid
carefully all vulgarity in speech, behaviour and acts. Do not
mistake liberty for licence and freedom for bad manners. The
thoughts must be pure and the aspiration ardent.
Be careful always to keep the living Presence and Protection
around you when you speak to people and speak as little as
possible.
You are right in keeping quiet in front of those who do not
understand, because the Divine is with you, and that is the only
thing that matters.
With love and blessings.
You need not go to apologize. But as your words were misunderstood
you do right to resolve to be more careful about what
you say.
For writing, evenmore than for speaking, if you aspire to remain
in the best attitude for advancing swiftly towards the Divine,
you should make it a strict rule to speak (and even more to
write) only what is absolutely indispensable. It is a marvellous
discipline if you follow it sincerely.
Neither too many nor too few words—just what is needed.
SPEECH AND PRACTICE
It is not enough to know, you must practise.
It is not enough to pretend, you must be.
On the path of Truth, in order to know more you must put into
practice what you already know.
A little bit of sincere practice is worth much more than a lot
of written or spoken words.
July 1953
*
A drop of practice is better than an ocean of theories, advices
and good resolutions.
Speak less, act more.
To listen is good, but not sufficient—you must understand.
To understand is better, but still not sufficient—you must
act.
To speakwell is good. To act well is better. Never let your actions
be below your words.
29 July 1970
*
It is better to state a truth than to disregard it; but it is much
better still to live it than to state it.
*
One speaks a great deal about this teaching but one does not
follow it.
*
People who do not live what they think are useless.
*
It is good to read a Divine Teaching.
It is better to learn it.
The best is to live it.
To live the Supreme Truth, if only for a minute, is worth
more than writing or reading hundreds of books on the methods
or processes by which to find it.
To realise a progressive truth, theory must be moulded according
to the practice and not practice made to suit the theory.
*
Before acting, know what you have to do.
Effort towards the truth should exist in every man of goodwill.
*
Our life ought to be governed by the Love for Truth and the
thirst for Light.
*
Absolute truthfulness must govern life if one wants to be close
to the Divine.
*
Only those who are perfectly truthful can be my true children.
13 December 1933
*
Let the light of Truth be born upon earth from today and for
ever.
21 February 1953
*
The Light of Truth broods over theworld to permeate andmould
its future.
*
Everything must be transformed by the knowledge of the Truth.
6 May 1954
*
Take Truth for your force, take Truth for your refuge.
28 April 1954
*
The only important thing is to follow the Divine’s truth with
love and joy.
9 May 1954
*
The truth is in us, we have only to become aware of it.
17 May 1954
*
Blessed will be the day when the earth, awakened to the Truth,
lives only for the Divine.
28 August 1954
*
The Truth is in you—but you must want it, in order to realise
it.
29 August 1954
*
The Divine’s Will is that the mind should know and He says,
“Awake and be conscious of the Truth.”
22 October 1954
*
Let the Lord of Truth be always with you.
17 September 1958
*
Let the flower of Truth blossom within you.
Let the Truth be your master and your guide.
16 December 1967
*
Let your consecration to Truth be complete and constant.
*
Be more eager for truth than for success.
12 February 1969
(Message for the Rayagada Study Circle, Orissa)
The moment approaches when the Truth will govern the world.
Will you work to hasten its coming?
Blessings.
FALSEHOOD AND TRUTH
Once falsehood is conquered, all difficulties will go.
*
In all human beings is not falsehood always mixed with Truth?
*
Falsehood is the great ally of Death.
There is one Truth but a million ways of distorting it in the
attempt to express it.
Simultaneous with the progress and intensification of the sadhana,
there is increasingly felt the imperative need that all
hypocrisy and compromise should stop.
May the Truth be invincible, overwhelming, all-powerful, leaving
no room for falsehood anywhere and for ever.
1956
*
Such is life!
The world is a place of falsehood and it is only in the silent
depths of the Divine that one can find the peace of truth.
15 December 1964
*
Truth is stronger than falsehood. There is an immortal Power
that governs the world. Its decisions always prevail. Join with it
and you are sure of the final victory.
*
Worship Truth.
It will cure you of Falsehood.
*
When men will be disgusted with the falsehood in which they
live, then the world will be ready for the reign of the Truth.
It is only the Truth that can save us; truth in words, truth
in action, truth in will, truth in feelings. It is a choice between
serving the Truth or being destroyed.
For those who are eager to get rid of falsehood
here is the way
Do not try to please yourself, do not try either to please others.
Try only to please the Lord.
Because He alone is the Truth. Each and every one of us,
human beings in our physical body, is a coat of falsehood put
on the Lord and hiding Him.
As He alone is true to Himself, it is on Him that we must
concentrate and not on the coats of falsehood.
*
There is only one solution for falsehood:
It is to cure in ourselves all that contradicts in our consciousness
the presence of the Divine.
31 December 1972
*
Let us offer our falsehood to the Divine so that He may change
it to joyous Truth.
TRUTH IS ABOVE MIND
Truth is eternally beyond all that we can think or say of it.
10 December 1954
*
Truth cannot be formulated in words, but it can be lived provided
one is pure and plastic enough.
*
When the gates of true knowledge are crossed, no words are left
to express what is known.
He who has crossed the gates of the true Knowledge has nothing
more to say or to teach.
*
To come closer to the Truth, you must often accept not to
understand.
Because there is no true right and wrong — the only Truth is the
Lord and He remembers everything.
26 January 1963
*
Each idea (or system of ideas) is true in its own time and place.
But if it tries to be exclusive or to persist even when its time is
over, then it ceases to be true.
Intellectually, the Truth is the point where all the opposites meet
and join to make a unity.
Practically, the Truth is the surrender of the ego, to make
possible the birth and manifestation of the Divine.
Doubt is the best arm used by the ego to protect itself from
extinction.
These are remarks on the way which may lead you a little
further.
They are sent with blessings.
Truth is above mind; it is in silence that one can enter into
communication with it.
To pray to the Divine and to surrender oneself entirely and
in all sincerity to Him are the essential preliminary conditions.
24 October 1971
*
He who sincerely wants to serve the Truth will know the Truth.
OPINION AND TRUTH
In the Ignorance mental opinions always oppose one another.
In the Truth they are complementary aspects of a higher
knowledge.
*
All opinions are an aspect of the Truth that can be reached
only when you can make a comprehensive whole with all these
aspects.
Naturally, all these discussions (or exchanges of opinion) are
purely mental and have no value from the viewpoint of the
Truth. Each mind has its way of seeing and understanding things,
and even if you could unite and bring together all these ways
of seeing, you would still be very far from attaining the Truth.
It is only when, in the silence of the mind, you can lift yourself
above thought, that you are ready to know by identity.
From the viewpoint of outer discipline it is indispensable,
when you have an opinion and express it, to remember that
it is only an opinion, a way of seeing and feeling, and that
other people’s opinions, and ways of seeing and feeling are as
legitimate as your own, and that instead of opposing them you
should total them up and try to find a more comprehensive
synthesis.
On the whole the discussions are always pretty futile and
seem to me to be a waste of time.
To know how to listen: to be attentive and silent.
It is always better to tell the truth rather than give a pleasant
and sweet smile. But what you are saying is not the truth. It is
only an expression of your opinion.
To tell the truth is not to utter whatever crosses your mind.
HONESTY
Honesty is the best protection.
*
A peaceful heart is the best reward of honesty.
*
Be sincere and honest and your mind will be at rest.
SPEAK ALWAYS THE TRUTH
To speak always the truth is the highest title of nobility.
*
One drop of truth is worth more than an ocean of false information.
*
Never tell a lie: absolute condition for safety on the path.
Each lie uttered is a step taken towards disintegration.
*
I have always and will always forbid lies.
*
If you do not wish to say something which is true, instead of
lying just keep silent.
*
Let nothing be written with this pen except what is perfectly
true.
14 June 1934
*
If we allow a falsehood, however small, to express itself through
our mouth or our pen, how can we hope to become perfect messengers
of Truth? A perfect servant of Truth should abstain even
from the slightest inexactitude, exaggeration or deformation.
*
Silence is far superior to inexactitude.
CONTROL OF SPEECH
It is the control over oneself that is the first thing needed, and
especially the control over one’s tongue! If people could learn to
keep silent how many troubles would be avoided!
Be quiet and gather strength and force not only to do work
but also, chiefly, to achieve the Transformation.
If only people did remain a little quiet before speaking, acting or
writing, much trouble could be avoided. So many things are said
uselessly, they bring misunderstandings and bad feelings which
could have been saved with silence.
If were spoken only the words that needed to be spoken, the
world would be a very silent place.
The world is deafened with useless words.
There is a great strength in the power to keep silent.
You must always do what you say, but it is not always wise to
speak about everything you do.
When you speak, you must always speak the truth; but
sometimes it is better not to speak.
When speaking of physical things one should have a lively,
pleasant, witty style.
When speaking of vital things the style should be eloquent.
When speaking of mental things the style should be clear,
precise, exact.
When speaking of psychic things one must be inspired.
Spiritual speech: all-powerful in its simplicity.
It is always a sign of strength to be able to say things gently and
it is always weakness that bursts out into unpleasantnesses.
18 April 1956
*
Anger has never made anyone say anything but stupidities.
*
Never boast. By boasting you dissipate your capacity for realisation.
*
Boasting, boasting—one of the greatest obstacles to progress.
It is a foolishness one must carefully avoid if one aspires to a
true progress.
M´edire est une chose tr`es vile. I don’t know how to translate
m´edire into English. It is not exactly “speaking ill”. Crooked
mind, crooked tongue, crooked heart: this comes out in speech
that looks like honey but tastes like poison.
Every word spoken uselessly is a dangerous gossiping.
Every malicious word, every slander is a degradation of the
consciousness.
And when this slander is expressed in a vulgar language and
gross terms, then that is equivalent to a suicide—the suicide of
one’s soul.
When, in ignorance, one speaks ill of others, he debases his
consciousness and degrades his soul.
A respectful and modest silence is the only attitude befitting
a disciple.
To cure a critical sense that manifests by incontinence of speech:
1) When you are in this state, absolutely refuse to speak--
if need be, make it physically impossible for yourself to speak.
2) Study yourself without pity and realise that you carry in
yourself precisely all the things that you find so ridiculous in
others.
3) Discover in your nature the opposite way of being (benevolence,
humility, goodwill) and insist that it develop to the
detriment of the contrary element.
True strength and protection come from the Divine Presence in
the heart.
If you want to keep this Presence constantly in you, avoid
carefully all vulgarity in speech, behaviour and acts. Do not
mistake liberty for licence and freedom for bad manners. The
thoughts must be pure and the aspiration ardent.
Be careful always to keep the living Presence and Protection
around you when you speak to people and speak as little as
possible.
You are right in keeping quiet in front of those who do not
understand, because the Divine is with you, and that is the only
thing that matters.
With love and blessings.
You need not go to apologize. But as your words were misunderstood
you do right to resolve to be more careful about what
you say.
For writing, evenmore than for speaking, if you aspire to remain
in the best attitude for advancing swiftly towards the Divine,
you should make it a strict rule to speak (and even more to
write) only what is absolutely indispensable. It is a marvellous
discipline if you follow it sincerely.
Neither too many nor too few words—just what is needed.
SPEECH AND PRACTICE
It is not enough to know, you must practise.
It is not enough to pretend, you must be.
On the path of Truth, in order to know more you must put into
practice what you already know.
A little bit of sincere practice is worth much more than a lot
of written or spoken words.
July 1953
*
A drop of practice is better than an ocean of theories, advices
and good resolutions.
Speak less, act more.
To listen is good, but not sufficient—you must understand.
To understand is better, but still not sufficient—you must
act.
To speakwell is good. To act well is better. Never let your actions
be below your words.
29 July 1970
*
It is better to state a truth than to disregard it; but it is much
better still to live it than to state it.
*
One speaks a great deal about this teaching but one does not
follow it.
*
People who do not live what they think are useless.
*
It is good to read a Divine Teaching.
It is better to learn it.
The best is to live it.
To live the Supreme Truth, if only for a minute, is worth
more than writing or reading hundreds of books on the methods
or processes by which to find it.
To realise a progressive truth, theory must be moulded according
to the practice and not practice made to suit the theory.
*
Before acting, know what you have to do.
Part Four: Difficulties
Difficulties
THE CAUSE AND UTILITY OF DIFFICULTIES
The difficulties are always due to a resistance, some part or several parts of the being refusing to receive the force, the consciousness and the light put upon them and revolting against the divine influence. It is rare that somebody can surrender entirely to the Divine’s Will without having to face one or another of these difficulties. But to keep steady one’s aspiration and to look at oneself with an absolute sincerity are the sure means to overcome all obstacles.
Surely all these troubles come from a resistance somewhere, something that opposes the work of transformation.
Always circumstances come to reveal the hidden weaknesses that have to be overcome.
Difficulties are sent to us exclusively to make the realisation more perfect.
Each time we try to realise something and meet with a resistance or an obstacle or even a failure—what seems to be a failure—we should know, we should never forget that it is exclusively, absolutely, so that the realisation may be more
perfect.
So this habit of cringing, of getting discouraged or even of feeling uncomfortable, or of abusing yourself and telling yourself: “There! Again I have made a mistake”—all that is absolute foolishness.
Shocks and trials always come as a divine grace to show us the points in our being where we fall short and the movements in which we turn our back on our soul by listening to the clamour of our mental being and vital being.
If we know how to accept these spiritual blows with due humility, we are sure to cover a great distance at a single bound.
Be absolutely convinced that everything that happens, happens in order to give us precisely the lesson we needed, and if we are sincere in the “sadhana”, the lesson should be accepted with joy and gratitude.
For one who aspires to the divine life, what can the actions of a blind and ignorant humanity matter to him?
If truly you love the Divine, prove it by remaining quiet and peaceful. All that comes to each one in life, comes from the Divine to teach us a lesson, and if we take it in the right spirit, we make rapid progress.
Try to do so.
Difficulties come because there are possibilities in you. If in life everything was easy, then it would be a life of nothing. Because difficulties come on your way it shows you have possibilities. Do not be afraid.
The difficulties come always to make us progress. The greater the difficulty, the greater can be the progress.
Be confident and endure.
With love and blessings.
The hours preceding Victory are most often the most difficult.
NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT DIFFICULTIES
The more you grumble, the more your pains will increase.
If you are not satisfied with what you are, take advantage of the Divine’s help and change yourself. If you haven’t the courage to change, submit to your destiny and keep quiet. But to constantly complain about the condition you are in, without doing anything to change it, is a waste of your time and
energy. The difficulties can disappear only when the egoistic concentration upon desires and conveniences disappears.
FACE AND OVERCOME DIFFICULTIES
Those who are sincere I can help and turn easily towards the Divine. But where there is insincerity I can do very little. And as I have told you already, we have only to be patient and wait for things to become better. But surely I do not see why you should get disturbed and in what way your disturbance would
help things to be better. You know by experience that there is only one way of getting out of confusion and obscurity; it is to remain very quiet and peaceful, firm in equanimity and to let the storm pass away. Rise above these petty quarrels and difficulties and wake up once more in the light and the power of my love which never leaves you.
All unpleasantness should be faced with the spirit of Samata[equality]
It is good to turn a difficulty into an occasion for a new progress.
Surely you could not believe that sadhana could be done without facing some difficulties. As your aspiration is sincere, whatever was in the subconscient standing in the way of the Divine Realisation, has come to the surface in order to be transformed. There is nothing there to make you sad or depressed—on the contrary you ought to rejoice at these occasions to make progress and never forget to lean for support and help on my love, force and blessings.
When you want to make a progress, the difficulty you wished to conquer increases tenfold in importance and intensity in your consciousness. You have only to persevere. That is all; it will pass away.
What do obstacles matter? We shall always go forward.
That doesn’t matter! The difficulties are there for the pleasure of surmounting them.
Go forward, keep confident and all will be well.
I have always the same thing to say: quiet confidence and courage is the only way of getting out of difficulties.
To conquer the difficulties there is more power in a smile than in a sigh.
All difficulties are there to test the endurance of the faith.
Our ordeals never exceed our capacity of resistance.
The only way out of your difficulty is to find the psychic being and to live entirely in its consciousness.
Life upon earth as it is now is full of miseries and any sensitive heart is full of sorrow because of that. To get in contact with the Divine Consciousness and to live in its mercy, its strength and its light is the only truly effective way to get out of this difficulty and suffering and by uniting with the psychic we can
obtain this condition.
My help and blessings are with you for this purpose.
All difficulties are solved by taking rest in the Divine’s arms, for these arms are always opened with love to shelter us.
When everything goes wrong, one must know how to remember that God is all-powerful.
The Divine is present among us.When we remember Him always He gives us the strength to face all circumstances with perfect peace and equanimity. Become aware of the Presence and your difficulties will disappear.
The difficulties are always due to a resistance, some part or several parts of the being refusing to receive the force, the consciousness and the light put upon them and revolting against the divine influence. It is rare that somebody can surrender entirely to the Divine’s Will without having to face one or another of these difficulties. But to keep steady one’s aspiration and to look at oneself with an absolute sincerity are the sure means to overcome all obstacles.
Surely all these troubles come from a resistance somewhere, something that opposes the work of transformation.
Always circumstances come to reveal the hidden weaknesses that have to be overcome.
Difficulties are sent to us exclusively to make the realisation more perfect.
Each time we try to realise something and meet with a resistance or an obstacle or even a failure—what seems to be a failure—we should know, we should never forget that it is exclusively, absolutely, so that the realisation may be more
perfect.
So this habit of cringing, of getting discouraged or even of feeling uncomfortable, or of abusing yourself and telling yourself: “There! Again I have made a mistake”—all that is absolute foolishness.
Shocks and trials always come as a divine grace to show us the points in our being where we fall short and the movements in which we turn our back on our soul by listening to the clamour of our mental being and vital being.
If we know how to accept these spiritual blows with due humility, we are sure to cover a great distance at a single bound.
Be absolutely convinced that everything that happens, happens in order to give us precisely the lesson we needed, and if we are sincere in the “sadhana”, the lesson should be accepted with joy and gratitude.
For one who aspires to the divine life, what can the actions of a blind and ignorant humanity matter to him?
If truly you love the Divine, prove it by remaining quiet and peaceful. All that comes to each one in life, comes from the Divine to teach us a lesson, and if we take it in the right spirit, we make rapid progress.
Try to do so.
Difficulties come because there are possibilities in you. If in life everything was easy, then it would be a life of nothing. Because difficulties come on your way it shows you have possibilities. Do not be afraid.
The difficulties come always to make us progress. The greater the difficulty, the greater can be the progress.
Be confident and endure.
With love and blessings.
The hours preceding Victory are most often the most difficult.
NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT DIFFICULTIES
The more you grumble, the more your pains will increase.
If you are not satisfied with what you are, take advantage of the Divine’s help and change yourself. If you haven’t the courage to change, submit to your destiny and keep quiet. But to constantly complain about the condition you are in, without doing anything to change it, is a waste of your time and
energy. The difficulties can disappear only when the egoistic concentration upon desires and conveniences disappears.
FACE AND OVERCOME DIFFICULTIES
Those who are sincere I can help and turn easily towards the Divine. But where there is insincerity I can do very little. And as I have told you already, we have only to be patient and wait for things to become better. But surely I do not see why you should get disturbed and in what way your disturbance would
help things to be better. You know by experience that there is only one way of getting out of confusion and obscurity; it is to remain very quiet and peaceful, firm in equanimity and to let the storm pass away. Rise above these petty quarrels and difficulties and wake up once more in the light and the power of my love which never leaves you.
All unpleasantness should be faced with the spirit of Samata[equality]
It is good to turn a difficulty into an occasion for a new progress.
Surely you could not believe that sadhana could be done without facing some difficulties. As your aspiration is sincere, whatever was in the subconscient standing in the way of the Divine Realisation, has come to the surface in order to be transformed. There is nothing there to make you sad or depressed—on the contrary you ought to rejoice at these occasions to make progress and never forget to lean for support and help on my love, force and blessings.
When you want to make a progress, the difficulty you wished to conquer increases tenfold in importance and intensity in your consciousness. You have only to persevere. That is all; it will pass away.
What do obstacles matter? We shall always go forward.
That doesn’t matter! The difficulties are there for the pleasure of surmounting them.
Go forward, keep confident and all will be well.
I have always the same thing to say: quiet confidence and courage is the only way of getting out of difficulties.
To conquer the difficulties there is more power in a smile than in a sigh.
All difficulties are there to test the endurance of the faith.
Our ordeals never exceed our capacity of resistance.
The only way out of your difficulty is to find the psychic being and to live entirely in its consciousness.
Life upon earth as it is now is full of miseries and any sensitive heart is full of sorrow because of that. To get in contact with the Divine Consciousness and to live in its mercy, its strength and its light is the only truly effective way to get out of this difficulty and suffering and by uniting with the psychic we can
obtain this condition.
My help and blessings are with you for this purpose.
All difficulties are solved by taking rest in the Divine’s arms, for these arms are always opened with love to shelter us.
When everything goes wrong, one must know how to remember that God is all-powerful.
The Divine is present among us.When we remember Him always He gives us the strength to face all circumstances with perfect peace and equanimity. Become aware of the Presence and your difficulties will disappear.
Mistakes
MISTAKES CAN BE EFFACED
If errors and mistakes could not be effaced at every moment,
there would be no hope of salvation for the world.
Do not give too much importance to the little incidents of life.
The importance of these incidents lies in the extent to which
they have served you to make a progress.
And once the progress has been made, the consequences of
past errors, if there are any, disappear through the intervention
of the divine Grace.
For the Supreme Lord, sin does not exist—all defect can be
effaced by sincere aspiration and by transformation.
What you feel is the aspiration of your soul that wants to
discover the Divine and live Him.
Persevere, be more and more sincere and you will succeed.
MISTAKES: NO TORMENT, WORRY OR SADNESS
If the sense of unworthiness fills you with overflowing gratitude
and throws you at Sri Aurobindo’s feet in an ecstasy of joy,
then you can know that it comes from a true source; if, on the
contrary, it makes you miserable and brings an impulse to hide
or to run away, then you can be sure that its origin is hostile. To
the first you can open freely; the second must be rejected.
If errors and mistakes could not be effaced at every moment,
there would be no hope of salvation for the world.
Do not give too much importance to the little incidents of life.
The importance of these incidents lies in the extent to which
they have served you to make a progress.
And once the progress has been made, the consequences of
past errors, if there are any, disappear through the intervention
of the divine Grace.
For the Supreme Lord, sin does not exist—all defect can be
effaced by sincere aspiration and by transformation.
What you feel is the aspiration of your soul that wants to
discover the Divine and live Him.
Persevere, be more and more sincere and you will succeed.
MISTAKES: NO TORMENT, WORRY OR SADNESS
If the sense of unworthiness fills you with overflowing gratitude
and throws you at Sri Aurobindo’s feet in an ecstasy of joy,
then you can know that it comes from a true source; if, on the
contrary, it makes you miserable and brings an impulse to hide
or to run away, then you can be sure that its origin is hostile. To
the first you can open freely; the second must be rejected.
Part Six: Work
Work done as an Offering to the Divine
How can I offer my work?
Usually one works for one’s own profit and satisfaction; instead
of that, one should work to serve the Divine and express His
will.
Everything can be made into a means of finding the Divine.
What matters is the spirit in which things are done.
21 February 1933
*
Work done in the true spirit is meditation.
15 September 1934
*
All depends on the attitude with which you do the work. If done
with the right attitude, it will surely bring you nearer to me.
Your attitude towards work is the right one and I see no changes
to suggest. The work done through love and because of love is
surely the most powerful.
8 June 1942
*
Works of love: the best condition for work.
One can progress through meditation, but through work provided
it is done in the right spirit one can progress ten times
more.
6
Usually one works for one’s own profit and satisfaction; instead
of that, one should work to serve the Divine and express His
will.
Everything can be made into a means of finding the Divine.
What matters is the spirit in which things are done.
21 February 1933
*
Work done in the true spirit is meditation.
15 September 1934
*
All depends on the attitude with which you do the work. If done
with the right attitude, it will surely bring you nearer to me.
Your attitude towards work is the right one and I see no changes
to suggest. The work done through love and because of love is
surely the most powerful.
8 June 1942
*
Works of love: the best condition for work.
One can progress through meditation, but through work provided
it is done in the right spirit one can progress ten times
more.
6
Part Seven: Parts of the Being
The Mind
MIND: ONLY AN INSTRUMENT
Clear mind: the first step on the road to conversion.
Birth of true mental sincerity: with its birth the mind will understand
that it is only a means and not an end in itself.
Power of mental expression has no value unless it is in the service
of the Divine
Work of the enlightened mind: it is very powerful for leading
the being to the Divine and can be very useful for progress.
*
Higher mind: its superiority consists in its capacity to open to
the divine light.
*
Voice of the higher mind: in quest of Truth.
*
The mind attains its full utility when it knows how to listen to
the higher inspiration.
*
Aspiration of the mind for the supramental guidance: the mind
feels that its complexity is powerless and asks for a greater light
to illumine it.
QUIET MIND, CALM MIND, SILENT MIND
Quiet mind: the best way of learning.
*
Perfect quietness in the mind: essential condition for true
progress.
*
Quietness established in the mind: the essential condition of its
transformation.
*
You should not confuse a calm mind with a silent mind. You
can calm your mind and stop its ordinary activity, but it may
still be open to ideas coming from outside and that too disturbs
the calm. And for the mind to be completely silent, you must
not only stop its own activity but shut out all that comes from
other minds. This is not easy.
Moreover, you must learn to distinguish between a phenomenon
of consciousness and a mental phenomenon. One canbe conscious of an experience in such a way that this consciousness
is not formulated into a thought or thoughts. This is very
important if the mind is to remain absolutely quiet and silent.
26 September 1963
*
But one thing is indispensable if they want a result: the mind
must be silent. Then there is hope for the consciousness to be
concentrated.
To begin with, they must know by experience the difference
between mind and consciousness, two quite different things.
Unless they have the experience of it nothing can be done.§
12 April 1964
*
Practise silence of mind, it gives power of understanding.
*
Always I answer your letters but rarely I have time to put my
answer on paper. You are capable of receiving these answers
directly, but for that you must learn to keep your mind silent
—this is the true meditation—the brain blank, immobile and
turned upward. This is the necessary condition to receive the
answers. If you can hand over the care of your existence and
your development to the Supreme Consciousness, then peace
will enter your heart and your problems will be solved.
16 June 1966
What exactly should I do to accelerate the sadhana?
Wait quietly for the exact indication; all mental intervention and
decisions are arbitrary. The clear indication comes in the silence
of the mind.
31
Clear mind: the first step on the road to conversion.
Birth of true mental sincerity: with its birth the mind will understand
that it is only a means and not an end in itself.
Power of mental expression has no value unless it is in the service
of the Divine
Work of the enlightened mind: it is very powerful for leading
the being to the Divine and can be very useful for progress.
*
Higher mind: its superiority consists in its capacity to open to
the divine light.
*
Voice of the higher mind: in quest of Truth.
*
The mind attains its full utility when it knows how to listen to
the higher inspiration.
*
Aspiration of the mind for the supramental guidance: the mind
feels that its complexity is powerless and asks for a greater light
to illumine it.
QUIET MIND, CALM MIND, SILENT MIND
Quiet mind: the best way of learning.
*
Perfect quietness in the mind: essential condition for true
progress.
*
Quietness established in the mind: the essential condition of its
transformation.
*
You should not confuse a calm mind with a silent mind. You
can calm your mind and stop its ordinary activity, but it may
still be open to ideas coming from outside and that too disturbs
the calm. And for the mind to be completely silent, you must
not only stop its own activity but shut out all that comes from
other minds. This is not easy.
Moreover, you must learn to distinguish between a phenomenon
of consciousness and a mental phenomenon. One canbe conscious of an experience in such a way that this consciousness
is not formulated into a thought or thoughts. This is very
important if the mind is to remain absolutely quiet and silent.
26 September 1963
*
But one thing is indispensable if they want a result: the mind
must be silent. Then there is hope for the consciousness to be
concentrated.
To begin with, they must know by experience the difference
between mind and consciousness, two quite different things.
Unless they have the experience of it nothing can be done.§
12 April 1964
*
Practise silence of mind, it gives power of understanding.
*
Always I answer your letters but rarely I have time to put my
answer on paper. You are capable of receiving these answers
directly, but for that you must learn to keep your mind silent
—this is the true meditation—the brain blank, immobile and
turned upward. This is the necessary condition to receive the
answers. If you can hand over the care of your existence and
your development to the Supreme Consciousness, then peace
will enter your heart and your problems will be solved.
16 June 1966
What exactly should I do to accelerate the sadhana?
Wait quietly for the exact indication; all mental intervention and
decisions are arbitrary. The clear indication comes in the silence
of the mind.
31
The Heart
In the silence of a simple and faithful heart one can understand
the mystery of incarnation.
8 January 1951
*
A great joy is always deep in our heart, and always we can find
it there.
16 April 1954
*
A simple and faithful heart is a great boon.
15 June 1954
*
Our mind must be silent and quiet but our heart must be full of
an ardent aspiration.
1 July 1954
*
Look into the depths of your heart and you will see there the
Divine Presence.
14 July 1954
*
Our heart is purified from the trouble and anguish; it is firm and
calm, and sees the Divine in everything.
28 November 1954
*
The Divine is always seated in your heart, consciously living in
you.
All help is given to you always, but you must learn to receive it
in the silence of your heart and not through external means.
It is in the silence of your heart that the Divine will speak
to you and will guide you and will lead you to your goal.
But for that you must have full faith in the Divine Grace and
Love.
18 January 1962
*
The guidance is in your heart. Go ahead according to your
inspiration.
14 January 1972
*
When I pray to You and open my heart to Your light
and put my will in accord with Your divine will, I feel
at ease; I have the belief that my being is placed in tune
with Your universal Force, and for some moments I feel
assured that Your presence is with me and that You have
understood and replied to my prayer. It seems as if I
am bathed in Your light, and I become very happy. But
at other times, my physical mentality begins to question,
and I wonder if it is really so easy to enter into
a living contact with the Divine in Its essence. What
is the truth of the matter, Mother? Kindly enlighten
me.
Experience goes far beyond the reasoning mind. Evidently the
reasoning mind finds it very difficult to reach the Divine, but a
simple heart can enter into contact with Him, almost without
effort.
*
It is the heart that has wings, not the head.
Read with your heart and you will understand.
Blessings.
352
the mystery of incarnation.
8 January 1951
*
A great joy is always deep in our heart, and always we can find
it there.
16 April 1954
*
A simple and faithful heart is a great boon.
15 June 1954
*
Our mind must be silent and quiet but our heart must be full of
an ardent aspiration.
1 July 1954
*
Look into the depths of your heart and you will see there the
Divine Presence.
14 July 1954
*
Our heart is purified from the trouble and anguish; it is firm and
calm, and sees the Divine in everything.
28 November 1954
*
The Divine is always seated in your heart, consciously living in
you.
All help is given to you always, but you must learn to receive it
in the silence of your heart and not through external means.
It is in the silence of your heart that the Divine will speak
to you and will guide you and will lead you to your goal.
But for that you must have full faith in the Divine Grace and
Love.
18 January 1962
*
The guidance is in your heart. Go ahead according to your
inspiration.
14 January 1972
*
When I pray to You and open my heart to Your light
and put my will in accord with Your divine will, I feel
at ease; I have the belief that my being is placed in tune
with Your universal Force, and for some moments I feel
assured that Your presence is with me and that You have
understood and replied to my prayer. It seems as if I
am bathed in Your light, and I become very happy. But
at other times, my physical mentality begins to question,
and I wonder if it is really so easy to enter into
a living contact with the Divine in Its essence. What
is the truth of the matter, Mother? Kindly enlighten
me.
Experience goes far beyond the reasoning mind. Evidently the
reasoning mind finds it very difficult to reach the Divine, but a
simple heart can enter into contact with Him, almost without
effort.
*
It is the heart that has wings, not the head.
Read with your heart and you will understand.
Blessings.
352