September 1967

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06. September 1967 – Past lives in a tortured body

I have made discoveries these last few days.... I have discovered that in past lives (I don't know which ones), my psychic was several times in a tortured body. And it comes back for (how should I put it?) a collective action in the world, on the earth, so that the possibility of the thing may disappear. It's a rather interesting work.

But I noticed it because I said to myself, "But why is my attention constantly turned to that?" Then I looked carefully and saw that the psychic had been in a tortured body several times, long ago at the time of the Inquisition, but also in political cases (much more recently, probably). Real tortures, you know, those inventions in which men are worse than monsters — no animal is more monstrous than human consciousness like that.... And it came back with the "law," the principle of the thing, of the distortion of consciousness, and once I had understood, I looked at myself (I was wondering, "Why? Why is my attention turned to that?"), I then looked and I saw. And I started doing the needful so that it may no longer exist in the creation — some things will not exist any longer.

But nothing in the creation that belongs to the mineral world, the plant world, or the animal world, need disappear. There were those monstrous animals: they disappeared materially, but not ... not the principle of the creation. It's since man came with the mind — when the mind was twisted, deformed by the adverse forces. That is really ugly.

Oh, for all really monstrous things, there is only one force — only one force that can dissolve them. I knew it in principle, but now I know it in practice: it is the force of Love. Love is truly all-victorious — but true Love, not what men call "love," not that: true, divine Love.

You see one drop of "That" in its perfection, and all shadows disappear — all disharmony disappears. It can only be in its perfection, in its essential purity.

It truly is all-powerfulness.

And without... without the sense of victory, that's what is so, so wonderful! It's the All-Victorious which doesn't at all have the sense of being victorious — not at all, at all, at all.

(silence)

This morning for more than an hour, there were veritable scenes (of torture) in their entirety, with all the details, and then... that wonderful Thing.

Even while the torture is taking place, in that Consciousness it disappears. And it disappears not only for the one who's subjected to it, but for the one who's doing it. And the Thing in itself. It was interesting.

There were all the details of the scene, with such precision! The words uttered, the gestures... To such an extent that if it had been written simply it would have made an extraordinary novel! That's what surprised me, because I am not a writer, and it doesn't generally interest me, so why did it come back like that, presented so completely?... Until... until the fulfilment — the end was a marvel: That.

(Mother goes into contemplation)

A head as big as this... He was smiling, and showing us both something that was the symbolic image of these Talks. It was very interesting! His head was big like this (about fifty centimetres), wholly luminous with that supramental light which is... it's golden, but with red in it — not red: pink, but... it's inexpressible. It's almost like a flame, but not dazzling; and it gives the sense of a force — a really all-powerful force. He was there like this (gesture between Mother and Satprem), between the two of us, with his hand outstretched (it was all the same colour), and in his hand was a cube. And that cube was all those Talks. So he showed the cube, which was of a transparent light... (how can I put it?) a steady transparent light — not still, but steady. And there were kinds of veins in it: blue veins, silvery veins... It was a cube, you see, a perfect cube, but it was all moving about: blue, silvery, red veins, and sometimes too, a small dark line. And he was showing it as if to say, "Here is how it is." The whole thing was a cube of colourless, transparent light — purely transparent and purely luminous; and there were kinds of currents passing through it: sometimes in one corner (but it was shifting about, not still), and it was now dark blue (not dark, but blue — really blue), now silvery, now white, and in places, from time to time, here or there (gesture to various points), there was in a corner or at an edge (laughing), a small black line!

He held it out in his hand and laughed!

It was very good! (Mother laughs) The exact representation of these Talks.

But he meant (it certainly looked like that), he meant that the whole thing was the cube — a well-organized cube, with a transparent light, very pure, very luminous, like that, and then (laughing) it was all moving about inside it!

I saw him in profile (he was just between us), I saw him in profile, and his hand, which I saw, was just in between us, like that, and he showed that so we would both see it — and he smiled and smiled.... I think he wanted to laugh!

09. September 1967 – Uprising contraries

As soon as you want to do something, everything contrary rises up in a mass... to a degree of stupidity beyond all measure. You want to create Harmony: everyone quarrels! Intelligent people seem to become foolish, they do foolish things — since morning I have been spending my time writing to stop people from doing foolish things Strange. They are intelligent, responsible people, people who have worked for a long time — but... nonsense.

Oh, as soon as there is a little power — the power of light, power of truth, power of love (the aspect of power in things) — as soon as that manifests (gesture of uprising), it creates a terrible confusion: everyone feels full of energy, and with that energy does foolish things!... Then, if you withdraw the Power... (gesture of flattening) flat out — no one does anything anymore!

Anyway...

16. September 1967 – Confrontation with the own difficulties

You know, in olden days you were put through ordeals — they were symbolic things, naturally, but you were aware that they were ordeals, so you were on your guard. But now... I remember, in the very beginning, when I started working with Sri Aurobindo, he warned me (I had already noticed it long before) that the circumstances of life are at each minute organized in such a way that the one who is destined to do the work is confronted with his own difficulties, which he must conquer, and with the difficulties of the world he works in, which he must conquer too. If he has the necessary humility to see in himself what must be transformed so he can become capable of doing the Work, then all goes well. Naturally, if he is full of pride and vanity and believes the whole fault lies outside and there is none in him, then naturally things go wrong. And the difficulties become more pronounced. And for as long as I did the work, for... (how many years?) the thirty years I worked with Sri Aurobindo and he was there, I was like this (gesture hidden behind Sri Aurobindo), so comfortable, you know — I was in front, I seemed to be the one doing the work — but for my part, I felt completely protected, behind him like this (same gesture); I was very tranquil, not trying to understand or know or anything — I was simply attentive to... what had to be done, what had to be done. It was rarely necessary to tell him; sometimes I was faced with a difficulty then I would tell him, but he didn't need to answer: it was immediately understood — thirty years like that.

And when he left, there was a whole part — the most material part of the descent of the supramental body down to the mind — that visibly came out of his body like that and entered mine, and it was so concrete that I felt the FRICTION of forces passing through the pores of the skin.... I remember having said at the time, "Well, anyone who has had this experience can, by this experience, bring the proof of afterlife to the world." It was... it was as concrete as if it had been material. So naturally, after that it was there in the field of consciousness.... But I have seen more and more, more and more, that all that happens, all the people we meet, all that happens to us personally (that is, taking this little body as being the person), all of that is ALWAYS a test: you stand firm or you don't; if you stand firm, you make a progress forward; if you don't, you have to go through it again.

Now it has become that way FOR THE BODY: when it hurts, when it gets disorganized, when it threatens to fall apart.... And then, there is always that Consciousness inside, straight as a sword, that says, "Now, will you stand firm?" And the cells are really touchingly good willed: "Oh, is it like that? Well, very well." So you remain very quiet, very peaceful, and then you call — you call the Lord. And you repeat the mantra, which comes automatically, and... Peace establishes itself. And after a while the pain has disappeared — everything, just everything, all the threats disappear one after the other That's how it is: "Lord, You are there..." And you know, such dazzling, indisputable proof of this Presence, which is so wonderful and so simple, so simple, so total, in all that comes, all that happens, down to the smallest detail, so as to lead you as fast as possible to the transformation.

And all that comes near — comes near at a greater or lesser distance, but that comes near, is borne along in the Movement, without even knowing it.

When I read her letter and learned the whole story, as always I did like this (gesture of immobile offering upward), and then the TRUE thing came (not at all what she thinks or what the Pope thinks, but the TRUE thing): an essential unity that will manifest on earth, but not just for this particular religion — for ALL religions, all the religions that were manifestations of a... (let us say, to understand each other clearly), an Avatar, that is, something that was sent down from above, that came to earth to bring a message, and a religion came out of it (I am not talking about all the forms of superstition and ignorance). Those religions are destined to go back to their Origin and form a complex unity, complete, total, that is to say, the essence of all human aspirations for... the unknown Divine. And that has not only been sanctioned: it EXISTS. In other words, it's ready to descend.

In egoistic and limited human consciousnesses, it finds expression in this or that person, or it finds expression in the Pope who, naturally, would like to.... That's his whole raison d'être, otherwise he would just be one little man among many others. In other words, there is the whole motivation of human egoism that is there. That's what distorts everything. But there is a "something" (which they talk about without knowing what they talk about), a something ready to manifest. And at the same time I seem to be told, "Don't worry, be in peace, you don't need to do anything: it WILL BE, and as usual you will spontaneously say what you need to say, without knowing it." There.

But what I wanted to say is that if she comes materially, you shouldn't try to fight or convince her or change her, you should... be a manifestation: you know, the shining Light, WITHOUT INTENTION. Then the work will be done in order. To be the shining Light — without intention. Simply the shining Light. Then you quite spontaneously say what you have to say, but without intention, without mental intention. You do what you have to do, say what you have to say — the Lord is there.

It's interesting.

These people (laughing), we could say that their ego has taken the attitude of being the Divine's instrument — but it's the ego. So naturally, they don't see clearly: they see what they want to see, do what they want to do. And for them, "I am God's instrument."

(long silence)

It's this extraordinary experience that when you take all that comes as the means to learn to be what you should be — to increase your receptivity, increase your effectiveness — you immediately feel a wonderful, all-powerful Presence, but concrete, "like that."

20. September 1967 – The Divine Consciousness

There is no other consciousness than the Supreme Consciousness.
There is no other will than the Supreme Will.
There is no other life than the Supreme Life.
There is no other personality than the Supreme Personality, the One and the All.

All the usual platitudes all over again!

I thought it would teach them a lesson.

(Soon afterwards)

I had many things to say, but now I don't remember.

Only an observation, which is really very interesting: it's that everyone has said the same thing, all those who have had the Experience have said the same thing... but each one in his own way, so it looks like something different. Yesterday it was so clear, and again the whole morning, from early morning: this way, that way, this one here, that one there (Mother shows different facets), the philosophers, founders of religions, sages of all countries — they have always said the same thing. For instance, the Buddha's teaching and, say, the Christian teaching, seem to be so different, but it's always the same thing. That is to say, there is ONE state (if you catch hold of it), ONE state in which you are conscious of the divine Consciousness (not "conscious of": "conscious through" or "conscious with," I don't know how to explain... it's the divine Consciousness which is conscious, that is, the Consciousness in its essence), and there are no more problems there, no more complications, no more explanations, nothing anymore — everything is as clear as can be. So then, each one has tried to explain that, and naturally it has become confused, incomplete, incorrect, with one explanation clashing with another — while everyone is talking about the same thing!

It came yesterday in relation to a boy who sent me the letter from one of his friends, in which he said the usual nonsense: "I don't believe in God because I can't see him." The usual little stupidity. And in that connection, I saw (I looked, like that, looked for a long time), I saw that the one who rejects, the one who asserts, the one... all that, all of it is (how could I put it?) variations on the same theme, even when it appears to be saying the contrary.

Yesterday it was interesting, because the observation was the same for the materialists who feel that the only truth is a "concrete" truth, the truth that can, according to them, be seen or heard or touched.... And it's the same thing, the same state — the same state reflected in different between mirrors. But the difference in mirrors is not an essential and radical difference, it's only... (gesture showing facets in movement), yes, that's what some have called the "play," but it's not even a play; I could almost say it's a difference of position.

Everything you can say about it is nothing, it's part of that enormous jibbering that tries to express the inexpressible "something." But when you are IN it, it's so clear, so obvious — simple, without problems. And the world is no longer a problem.

Even that apparently rather fundamental difference between those who regard the Manifestation as divine and essential and those who consider that in order to reach the essential Divine you must leave the Manifestation (because it's an "error" — that is, an error that took place in the Consciousness), even those two positions are the same thing! But how can you explain it? When you say that, it seems foolish, yet up above it's true. It's true — true and full. It's full, not hollow — here everything rings hollow, so hollow; the hollowness of inadequacy. But up above...

It's almost like a kaleidoscope: you turn it and get one picture, turn it again and get another picture, turn it again... yet it's always the same thing!

But now, it's the body that has the Experience. In a certain state, the state which corresponds to That, the essential state, everything is harmonious, with a living, smiling, happy peace; then as soon as there is... a nothing, you know, a mere trifle, simply the coming into the atmosphere of something conflicting — a mere nothing — it's felt like something extremely acute and painful. But not in the way of the pain of Ignorance, it's more like... you could call it an uneasiness, but it's not even that.... Everyone has explained it in his own way: some have called it "falling from the Truth into Falsehood," others "falling from the Light into Darkness," others "falling from Ananda into suffering," yet others... Everyone has given his explanation, but it's something else.... As for me, I have no words for it, but the body feels it, feels it very acutely, and it sees that at the end of it, the consequence of it, is disintegration. And its whole effort is to strive to reestablish that inner harmony, that harmonic state in which everything becomes harmonious, everything — and in their appearance things haven't changed! Yet in one way they are marvellous, and in the other detestable.

The opposition between the two things is becoming more pronounced every minute: one moment everything is divine, the next moment everything is detestable — yet it's the same thing.

Since the 15th of August, since that experience at the balcony, it has become very clear.

But then, it has nothing to do with thought, or even with sensation: it's purely material (Mother touches the skin of her hands), and it's the difference between a progressive and unbroken harmony that has no reason to stop, which becomes more and more conscious, more and more harmonious, and also more and more... we say blissful, happy and all that — but it's not that! It's "something"... something SO NATURAL, so natural and... with the rhythm of eternity. So it is THAT, and then suddenly (gesture of reversal) you fall back into... exactly the SAME THING, everything is the same, yet everything is the opposite!

To such an extent that you have a perception, a material perception, inexpressible because it's hardly mentalized, of a perfect Harmony which can, in the consciousness, turn into a serious illness! Things of that sort.

There is the vision, an extremely complex and at the same time complete vision, that those, for instance, who have tried to explain the power of imagination, of thought or will or faith (all those things: the direct action on matter), the vision that each of those things has caught hold of one little aspect of the Thing, but in the Thing, there are no divisions; it's something which, when you perceive or conceive it, is divided into scores of little things, but it's essentially... (how should I put it?) a way of being, a state of consciousness — it's a WAY OF BEING, not even a "state of consciousness" because that implies "being conscious OF something" and it's not that: it's a way of being. And that way of being is what, in the human consciousness, expresses itself as "Ah, the Divine!" — by opposition, you understand. It's a PERFECTLY NATURAL and spontaneous way of being — but how, how does That become this? How does That become distorted?... You constantly, constantly (gesture as of tiny reversals) switch from one to the other, back and forth, over and over again, as if to learn — to learn how That becomes this (the mechanism of the passage). To us it looks like (to us, to all this poor consciousness that has gone through innumerable woeful experiences), it looks like a "relapse" into the old state; therefore it's not that. But what's the mechanism?...

In the end, we would have the solution only if we found the how and the why.

Constantly, constantly... (same gesture of tiny reversals).

All the explanations people give are nothing but explanations. They are not THAT.

Knowing the why or the how probably implies the power to change everything....

In that case, it will come one day.

30. September 1967 – Letting the Divine Consciousness act

(After a long meditation, Mother, still deep within and half in trance, starts speaking:)

Did you feel anything special?... Because the last two or three days, but especially last night and this morning, it was the body learning, the cells have learnt... I told you that the work till now has been the change — the transfer — from acting out of habit and reaction to letting the divine Consciousness act. And this morning, for a part of the night and the whole morning until people started coming, with every action, every movement, every gesture, all the tiny little things (when, for instance, a problem is put by someone or a decision has to be taken, since years the answer comes from above), but now with all material movements, also the inner movements, with the attitude of the body, the attitude of the cells, the absolutely material consciousness, with everything, everything — the old method was gone.

It began with the perception of the remaining difference between how things were and how they should be, then that perception disappeared and there only remained "that".... Something (how can I explain?)... The English word smooth is the most expressive; everything is done smoothly, everything without exception: bathing, brushing one's teeth, washing one's face, everything (eating, since long has been worked on in order for it to be done in the true way). It always begins with this sort of (Mother opens her hands) surrender (I don't know the right word, it's neither abdication nor offering but between the two; I don't know, there is no French word for it), the surrender of the WAY in which we do things: not of the thing in itself, which is quite unimportant (in that state there is no "big" and "small," no "important" and "unimportant"). And it's something so... (even gesture) uniform in its multiplicity, there is nothing that clashes or grates or causes difficulties anymore or... (all those words express things so crudely): it's something that moves forward, on and on in a movement so... (same even gesture) the nearest word is smooth, that is, without resistance. I don't know. And it's not an intensity of delight, it's not that: that also is so even, so regular (same even gesture), but not uniform: it's innumerable. And EVERYTHING is like that (same gesture), in one same... rhythm (the word "rhythm" is violent). It's not uniformity, but something so even, and which feels so sweet, you know, and with a TREMENDOUS power in the smallest things.

For several days there was (I told you the other day) the vision of cruelty in human beings, and a very active work to make it disappear from the manifestation. That's part of the general work, with such a concrete power (Mother clenches her fist) for it to disappear. It began with visions of horrors (almost memories), which were seen — more than seen, you understand: things that aroused that reprobation, horror.... Then it organizes itself in its totality and the whole thing was taken up like that (Mother opens her arms), all those movements in time (time and space merge into something... an immensity — immensity, infinitude, and, I might say, "multiplicity," but the words are poor), anyway it was a totality taken up in the consciousness — a totality of ways of being and vibrations — and as if presented to the Supreme Consciousness so it may be transformed, so it may cease to exist.

That's how it began.

Then, once that was done, it was as if concretized, concentrated on this little point of a body, so that, there too, certain things, certain vibrations of unconsciousness can no longer exist. And today the outcome was that transfer, which was constant — constant, unadulterated for about four hours. Afterwards... It's mostly the invasion of outside things that cuts off the experience. Yet there is no reproval of that invasion; the transformation — the TRANSFER — must continue AMID the contact with all that comes. Then it will be fine.

There are two things. There is all this crowd I see constantly, and since long (a "long" time, that is in human terms), as soon as I am there, as soon as the body is there to see the people, it becomes no more than a channel, a kind of... (gesture showing the Force flowing down through Mother to the people), for the Consciousness of the Lord to flow through it and go. There isn't even, or there is as little need to receive as possible: it's an Action like this (same gesture through Mother), the Force passing through. And when it happens in that room over there which is reserved exclusively for seeing people, the room fills with the Presence, and it's as if that Presence opened its arms to receive people, took them, enveloped them, and then let them go out.

But as regards the things personal to this body, like all that has to do with bathing, food, all that now no longer takes place in the same way. I don't know how to explain... Here, it's an activity; over there, it's simply like that, a Presence. Here, it's an activity: you have to fill a glass with water, put toothpaste, brush your teeth — they are all activities. And, well... there are no more memories, no more habits; things aren't done because you learned to do them that way: they are done spontaneously by the Consciousness. In the transition between the old and the new movement there is a difficult little moment when the old habit is no longer there, and the new consciousness is not there permanently, so... For example, it results in apparently clumsy gestures, movements that are not exactly what they should be. But it doesn't last, it happens once in a while for a particular thing, just for the lesson to be learned — there is always a lesson waiting to be learned.

To replace memory, the remembrance, the action, with... For instance, if you want to know where someone lives, his address or house (that was last night's activity), the old method, the mental method has to be replaced with the new method of consciousness that knows the thing just when it has to be done: "This needs to be done." It's not, "Ah, I have to go there," no: you are at each moment where you should be, and when you come to the place you had to go to: "Ah, here it is."

It's really very interesting.

So, between the moment when you act like everyone and the moment when you act — when it's the Lord that acts, between the two, there's a little transition: you no longer quite know this, and don't yet quite know that, so this poor body has moments of uncertainty and awkwardness. But it's learning its lesson very fast.

Really interesting.

(long silence)

One can well understand why saints and sages, those who wanted to feel themselves live constantly in this divine atmosphere, had got rid of all material things — because they weren't transformed, and so they fell back into the old way of being. And there comes a moment when it's... unpleasant. But if you transform that... it's incomparably, vastly superior, in the sense that it gives an extraordinary STABILITY and consciousness and REALITY. Things become the TRUE vision, the TRUE consciousness; it becomes so concrete, so real!

Nothing — nothing else, nothing else can give that fullness.

Escaping, fleeing, dreaming, meditating, going into... all that is very nice, but how poor it looks in comparison, how poor! So poor.

(silence)

The most difficult thing left is talking, it's what is the most difficult, it takes a great effort. This morning, while in that experience, there was almost a kind of entreaty from the body: "Oh, don't talk, don't tell him." I didn't intend to talk, but (gesture from above) I am compelled to. The body doesn't intend to talk, it doesn't like to, but something obliges it to.

That's the only difficult thing.

Words are so inadequate! I have been asked that, too: how will they communicate, the wholly supramental beings (I mean, without the mixture of this material origin), how will they communicate? Simply like this? (gesture of inner exchange)

Talking takes such an effort.

And it's not a "thought communication" like what they call telepathy, it's not that: it's... movements of consciousness. That too, without resistance: movements of consciousness [in Matter]. If, for instance, something needs to be done but not by this body, by another, we are still obliged to say, "This needs to be done in such and such a way," and that represents... you feel as if you have to lift a mountain, whereas if the other person were in the same state, it would get done quite naturally and spontaneously. I've had examples: now and then I SEE (not "think," but see), I see: "This needs to be like that" (very small things) and I don't say anything — the other body does it. It happens now and then, rarely — but it ought to be the constant state.... Oh, what an admirable life!