WORDS OF THE MOTHER
II
02. June
1934 – The True Aim of Life |
Why
are we on earth? To
find the Divine who is in each of us and in all things. 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. Life
is meant for seeking the Divine. Life is realised when finding the Divine. Let
this be our one need in life, to realise the Divine. Yes,
to live in the consciousness of the Divine Presence is the only thing that
matters. |
05. April 1935 – The True Aim of Life |
To
want only what the Divine wants in us and for us, is the one important thing. |
30. October 1951 – The True Aim of
Life |
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. |
27. July 1954 – The True Aim of Life |
We
are upon earth to manifest the Divine’s will. |
15. November 1954 – The True Aim of
Life |
The
only important thing is the goal to be attained. The
way matters little, and often it is better not to know it in advance. |
07. December 1954 – The True Aim of
Life |
Whatever
we do, we must always remember our aim. |
20. January 1964 – The True Aim of
Life |
The
aim of our life on earth is to become conscious of the Divine. The
true purpose of life ― To live for the Divine, or to live for the
Truth, or at least to live for one’s soul. And
the true sincerity ― To live for the Divine without expecting any
benefit from Him in return. |
22. October 1964 – The True Aim of
Life |
The
true destiny is to reach the Divine Consciousness. What
is my true worth in this life? To
serve the Divine. |
January 1966 – The True Aim of Life |
The
only thing worth living for is to serve the Divine. |
02. October 1969 – The True Aim of
Life |
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. What
you must know is exactly the thing you want to do in life. The time needed to
learn it does not matter at all. For those who wish to live according to
Truth, there is always something to learn and some progress to make. |
28. March 1970 – The True Aim of Life |
The
true aim of life is to find the Divine’s Presence deep inside oneself
and to surrender to It so that It takes the lead of the life, all the feelings
and all the actions of the body. This
gives a true and luminous aim to existence. |
03. July 1970 – The True Aim of Life |
Life
has a purpose. This
purpose is to find and to serve the Divine. The
Divine is not far, He is in ourselves, deep inside and above the feelings and
the thoughts. With
the Divine is peace and certitude and even the solution of all difficulties. Hand
over your problems to the Divine and He will pull you out of all
difficulties. |
11. June 1971 – The True Aim of Life |
There
is a purpose in life ― and it is the only true and lasting one ―
the Divine. Turn
to Him and the emptiness will go. Blessings. 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. |
25. July 1971 – The True Aim of Life |
To
be and to become more and more what the Divine wants us to be should be our
greatest preoccupation. |
March 1972 – The True Aim of Life |
Consider
the Divine Life as the most important thing to obtain. Happiness
is not the aim of life. The
aim of ordinary life is to carry out one’s duty, the aim of spiritual
life is to realise the Divine. In
the world, as it is, the goal of life is not to secure personal happiness,
but to awaken the individual progressively towards the truth-consciousness. It
is not in order to be happy that we are upon earth, for in the present
conditions of terrestrial life happiness is an impossibility. We are upon
earth to find and realise the Divine, for the Divine Consciousness alone can
give true happiness. Do
not live to be happy, live to serve the Divine and the joy that you will
experience will be beyond all expectations. |
02. June 1972 – The True Aim of Life |
The
life of a man is unfulfilled unless he has found the Divine. |
17. September 1972 – The True Aim of
Life |
The
Divine is everywhere and in everything; and we are created to discover the
Divine and to unite with the Divine for his manifestation. |
26. December 1972 – The True Aim of
Life |
Man
was created to express the Divine. His duty is therefore to become conscious
of the Divine and to surrender himself entirely to His Will. All the rest,
whatever the appearance, is falsehood and ignorance. |
06. January 1973 – The True Aim of
Life |
We
seek not our personal salvation but the absolute surrender of our being to
the Divine. Concentration
on the Divine is the only truly valid thing. To
do what the Divine wants us to do is the only thing valid. |
No Date – The True Aim of Life |
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. |
27. September 1951 – 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. Have faith and He will do everything for 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. |
17. April 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
It
is in the Divine that we shall always find all that we need. |
18. April 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
Alone
the Divine can give us a perfect safety. |
22. April 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
Let
the Divine Consciousness be the leading power in your life. |
27. April 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
Let
the Divine Presence be always with you. |
05. May 1954 – The Divine is with You |
Whatever
you do, always remember the Divine. |
10. June 1954 – The Divine is with You |
The
Divine manifests upon earth whenever and wherever it is possible. |
16. June 1954 – The Divine is with You |
In
each heart, the Divine’s Presence is the promise of future and possible
perfections. |
05. July 1954 – The Divine is with You |
It
is only in the Divine that we can find perfect peace and total satisfaction. |
07. August 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
Behind
the surface of things there is a sea of perfect consciousness in which we can
always dip. |
11. August 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
The
Divine Consciousness must be our only guide. |
12. August 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
The
Divine Consciousness is the only true help, the only true happiness. |
09. September 1954 – The Divine is
with You |
The
Lord has said, “The time has come” and all the obstacles will be
overcome. |
10. September 1954 – The Divine is
with You |
The
Divine is the savour of all life and the reason of all activity, the goal of
our thoughts. |
12. September 1954 – The Divine is
with You |
The
Divine’s Presence is for us an absolute, immutable, invariable fact. |
14. September 1954 – The Divine is
with You |
In
the Divine, by the Divine all is transfigured and glorified; in the Divine is
found the key of all mysteries and all powers. |
22. September 1954 – The Divine is
with You |
In
all there lacks the unchanging peace of the Divine’s sovereign
contemplation, and the calm vision of the Divine’s immutable eternity. |
01. October 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
In
the Divine’s light we shall see, in the Divine’s knowledge we
shall know, in the Divine’s will we shall realise. |
02. October 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
Outside
the Divine all is falsehood and illusion, all is mournful obscurity. In
the Divine is life, light and joy. In the Divine is the sovereign peace. |
04. October 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
All
our strength is with the Divine. With Him we can surmount all the obstacles. |
07. October 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
The
Divine’s voice is heard as a melodious chant in the stillness of the
night. |
09. October 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
The
Divine’s triumph is so perfect that every obstacle, every ill-will,
every hatred rising against Him is a promise of a vaster and still completer
victory. |
10. November 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
For
the plenitude of His light we invoke the Divine to awaken in us the power to
express Him. |
18. November 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
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. |
19. November 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
How
calm, noble and pure is the splendour of the Divine’s contemplation. |
23. November 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
To
live in the Divine with a life quite new, a life solely made of the Divine,
of which the Divine should be the sovereign Lord ― and so all troubles
will be transformed into serenity, all anguish into peace. |
24. November 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
We
feel the Divine so living in us that we await events with serenity, knowing
that His way is everywhere since we carry it in our being. |
09. December 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
The
Divine’s glory transforms defeats into eternity’s victories,
shadows have fled before His radiant brightness. |
13. December 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
The
Divine’s Presence gives us peace in strength, serenity in action and an
unchanging happiness in the midst of all circumstances. |
22. December 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
The
Divine is the unalloyed happiness, the blissful felicity, but this felicity
is perfect only when it is integral. |
23. December 1954 – The Divine is with
You |
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. |
06. August 1963 – The Divine is with
You |
The
Divine alone is the support that never fails. The
only response that never fails is the Divine’s. The
only love that never fails is the Divine’s. Love
the Divine alone and the Divine will always be with you. |
11. February 1970 – The Divine is with
You |
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. |
No Date – The Divine is with You |
Take
the Divine alone into your soul’s confidence. 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. Without
the Divine life is a painful illusion, with the Divine all is bliss. The
ideal attitude is to belong only to the Divine, to work only for the Divine
and above all to expect only from the Divine strength, peace and
satisfaction. The Divine is all-merciful and gives us all that we need to
lead us as quickly as possible to the goal. 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. Remember
always the Divine and all you do will be an expression of the Divine
Presence. In
activity and in silence, in taking and in giving, always the glad remembrance
of Thee. All
our thoughts, all our sentiments will move towards the Divine as a river
towards the sea. Let
all thoughts, all feelings, all actions, all hopes be turned towards the
Divine and concentrated on Him. He is our only help and our only safety. Yes,
my child, it is quite true that the Divine is the sole refuge ― with Him
is absolute safety. |
07. September 1952 – “The Divine”
and “Man” |
For
those who are afraid of a word: This
is what we mean by “Divine”: all the knowledge we have to
acquire, all the power we have to obtain, all the love we have to become, all
the perfection we have to achieve, all the harmonious and progressive poise
we have to manifest in light and joy, all the new and unknown splendours that
have to be realised. |
08. November 1969 – “The Divine”
and “Man” |
The
Divine is indeed what you expect of Him in your deepest aspiration. What
is God? God
is the perfection that we must aspire to realise. |
17. December 1969 – “The Divine”
and “Man” |
The
Divine is the perfection towards which we move. And
if you like, I shall lead you to Him very willingly. Have
confidence. |
02. October 1951 – “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. |
29. November 1954 – “The Divine”
and “Man” |
The
individual existence is a canticle perpetually renewed, that the universe
offers to the inconceivable splendour of the Divine. |
24. April 1964 – “The Divine”
and “Man” |
With
regard to the Truth, we are all divine; but we hardly know it. And in us, it
is precisely that which does not know itself as divine which we call “ourselves”. Our
worth lies only in the measure of our effort to exceed ourselves, and to
exceed ourselves is to attain the Divine. Human
mediocrity is intolerable. We
aspire for a knowledge truly knowing, for a power truly powerful, for a love
that truly loves. 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. |
1966 – “The Divine” and “Man” |
Who
am I? The
Divine under many disguises. |
18. May 1954 – Relationship with the
Divine |
All
is relative except the Supreme. The Supreme alone is absolute; but as the Supreme
is at the centre of each being, each being carries in himself his absolute. After
all, it is very simple, we have only to become what we are in the depths of
our being. |
13. November 1954 – 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. None
can say to the Divine, “I have known Thee”, and yet all carry Him
in themselves, and in the silence of their soul can hear the echo of the
Divine’s voice. |
15. December 1954 – Relationship with
the Divine |
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. |
17. December 1954 – Relationship with
the Divine |
For
him who is in union with the Divine, everywhere is the Divine’s perfect
felicity, in every place and in every circumstance it is with him. |
13. July 1966 – Relationship with 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. Take
conquer in the sense of “acquisition” or “possession”. You
might say ― the conquest of the Divine’s consciousness is a
difficult task. Commentary:
For human beings to become conscious of the Divine and to possess His nature
is difficult. As
we progress and purify ourselves of our egoism, our friendship with the
Divine becomes more and more clear and conscious. Friendship
with the Divine: delicate, attentive and faithful, ever ready to respond to
the smallest appeal. Closeness
to the Divine will always grow with the growth of consciousness, equanimity
and love. God
cannot be taken by violence. It is only through love and harmony that you can
reach God. Be
in peace ― my blessings are with you. |
No Date – Relationship with the Divine |
Attachment
for the Divine wraps itself around the Divine and finds all its support in
Him so as to be sure never to leave Him. Affection
for the Divine: a sweet and confident tenderness that gives itself
unfailingly to the Divine. Intimacy
with the Divine: complete surrender to the Divine and total receptivity to
His influence, without any conditions to this intimacy. Intimacy
with the Divine in the physical is possible only for the one who lives
exclusively by the Divine and for the Divine. Intimacy
with the Divine in the vital: only a pure, calm and desireless vital can hope
to have access to this marvellous state. Intimacy
with the Divine in the psychic: the natural state of the fully developed
psychic. Integral
intimacy with the Divine: the entire being no longer vibrates except with the
Divine’s touch. It
pleases Him to be like that. He is like that. And
simply, the secret is to be in the “it pleases Him”. Not
to be only what is objectified; to be also in That which objectifies. That is
everything. The
Omnipresent, Eternal Spirit remains immutably One. The
various ways of serving and understanding It make no difference to Its
Reality. (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 To
give oneself to the Divine, to receive and be the Divine, to transmit and
spread forth the Divine: these are the three simultaneous movements which
constitute our total relation with the Divine. |
23.
September 1956 – 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. |
25. January 1958 – The Ways of Working of the Lord |
It
is quite evident that for some reason or other ― or may be for no
reason at all ― the Supreme has changed His mind about it. |
09. February 1958 – The Ways of Working of the Lord |
The
Supreme must have changed His decision in order to try your faith and see if
it depended on such an external thing. |
1958 – The Ways of Working of the Lord |
Surely
the Divine, like everybody else, has a right to change His mind. |
21. September 1964 – The Ways of Working of the Lord |
Does
God ever become angry with us? If yes, when? When
you believe He is angry. If
we shed tears for God, does He ever shed a tear for us? Surely
He has deep compassion for you, but His eyes are not of the kind that shed
tears. |
22. August 1966 – The Ways of Working of the Lord |
It
may be that the Divine does not see things in the same way as humans do. A
sudden show may be very useful for Sadhana. |
November 1966 – The Ways of Working of the Lord |
According
to the law of man the guilty ought to be punished. But
there is a law more imperative than the human law. It
is the Divine law, the law of compassion and mercy. It
is because of this law that the world is able to endure and progress towards
Truth and Love. |
25. July 1970 – The Ways of Working of the Lord |
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. |
24. May 1972 – The Ways of Working of the Lord |
It
is not God who made man wicked. It
is man who makes himself wicked by separating himself from God. The
Divine may very well lean down towards you, but to understand Him rightly you
must come up to Him. To
understand the Divine we must have no more preferences. To
understand the Divine one must become the Divine. |
07. June 1972 – The Ways of Working of the Lord |
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. |
29. February 1952 – The Path |
The
mountain path leads always in two directions, upward and downward ― all
depends on what we put behind us. 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. |
27. October 1952 – The Path |
In
each one’s life a moment comes when he has to choose between the Path
and the muddle. You
cannot put one foot here and one foot there. If you try to, you will be torn
to pieces. A
heart that does not choose is a heart that will die. You
take up the spiritual path only when you feel you cannot do otherwise. |
19. August 1954 – The Path |
When
the path is known it is easy to tread upon it. |
04. September 1954 – The Path |
To
follow the path to the end, one must be armed with a very patient endurance. |
05. September 1954 – The Path |
On
the spiritual path each step forward is a conquest and the result of a fight. |
11. April 1965 – The Path |
The
road to the Divine: always long, often dry in appearance, but always abundant
in its results. Ascension:
stage by stage one climbs towards the Consciousness. Spiritual
ascension: fearless, regular, uninterrupted. One
will pass through as many stages as it is necessary to take, but one will
arrive. The
intellectual attitude comes first and practice follows little by little. What
is very important is to maintain very alert the will to live and to be what
one knows to be the truth. Then
it is impossible to stop and even more to fall back. All
human beings have a spiritual destiny which is near or far depending on each
one’s determination. One
must will in all sincerity. |
19. September 1967 – The Path |
All
depends upon the choice of the force that you allow to make use of you as its
instrument. And
the choice has to be made at every moment of your life. It
is the conflict in you between what is attached to ordinary life and what
aspires for the divine life. It
is up to you to choose which is the strongest in you and to act accordingly. |
No Date – The Path |
You
can follow the meanderings of innumerable reincarnations or choose the steep
and rapid path of intensive “sadhana”. He
who follows the steep path that climbs the heights can easily slip down into
the abyss. 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. |
06. November 1963 – 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). 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. |
No Date – Yoga |
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. Yoga
is commensurate with all life. True
spirituality transforms life. |
24. February 1936 – The Integral Yoga |
Three
Conceptions of the World 1)
Buddhist and Shankarite: The
world is an illusion, a field of ignorance and suffering due to ignorance.
The one thing to do is to get out of it as soon as possible and to disappear
into the original Non-Existence or Non-Manifestation. 2)
The Vedantic as very commonly understood: The
world is essentially divine, for the Divine is omnipresent there. But its
exterior expression is distorted, obscure, ignorant, perverted. The one thing
to do is to become conscious of the inner Divine and remain fixed in that
consciousness without troubling about the world; for this external world
cannot change and will always be in its natural state of unconsciousness and
ignorance. 3)
Sri Aurobindo’s view: The
world as it is, is not the divine creation it is meant to be, but an obscure
and perverted expression of it. It is not the expression of the divine
consciousness and will, but this is what it is meant to become; it has been
created to develop into a perfect manifestation of the Divine under all His
forms and aspects ― Light and Knowledge, power, Love and Beauty. This
is our conception of it and the aim we follow. |
24. September 1953 – 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. To
make this purpose possible, the Ashram is organised so that all its inmates
find their reasonable needs satisfied and have not to worry about their
subsistence. The
rules are very few so that each one can enjoy the freedom needed for his
development, but a few things are strictly forbidden: they are (1) politics,
(2) smoking, (3) alcoholic drink and (4) sex enjoyment. Great
care is taken for the maintenance of good health and the welfare and normal
growth of the body of all, small and big, young and old. |
05. April 1960 – The Integral Yoga |
What
we are doing now is a new thing; it has nothing to do with the past. We
want the divine conquest of this world, the conquest of all its movements and
the realisation of the Divine here. It
can be called an adventure because it is the first time that a yoga aims at
transformation and divinisation of physical life instead of escape from it. We
want to translate into physical terms, as perfectly as possible, the
inspiration sent by the Lord for the accomplishment of His work upon earth. And
for that, each individual soul is a help and a collaborator; but each human
ego too is a limitation and an obstacle. |
12. June 1965 – The Integral Yoga |
To
those who want to practise the integral Yoga, it is strongly advised to
abstain from three things: 1)
Sexual intercourse 2)
Smoking 3)
Drinking alcohol |
09. October 1966 – The Integral Yoga |
The
more I go, the more I know that it is in work that Sri Aurobindo’s
integral yoga is it best done. |
1971 – The Integral Yoga |
It
is not what you do but the spirit in which you do it that is important for
the integral Yoga. |
24. March 1964 – 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. |
10. August 1966 – Yogic Action |
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. Whatever
one does, it becomes useful if one puts a spark of true consciousness into
it. The
consciousness one has is much more important than the act one performs. And
the most apparently useless acts can become very productive if they are
performed with the true consciousness. |
No Date – Yogic Action |
It
is the spirit and the consciousness from which it is done that makes an
action yogic; it is not the action itself. |
04. February 1932 – Aspects of Sadhana |
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 ― 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. |
12. November 1957 – Aspects of Sadhana |
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. 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. |
12. November 1957 – Aspects of Sadhana |
Each
time you have to make progress, you have to undergo an examination. |
1970 – Aspects of Sadhana |
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. (To
someone returning to the West) Everything
can be part of “sadhana”; it depends on the inner attitude. Naturally,
if one lets himself be invaded by the Western atmosphere, farewell to the
sadhana. But
even in the most materialistic milieu, if one retains one’s aspiration
and one’s faith in the Divine Life, the sadhana can and should
continue. |
09. March 1972 – 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. |
No Date – Tapasya |
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. |
05. October 1934 – 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. |
06. September 1935 – Ascetic
Practices |
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. |
16. December 1940 – Ascetic
Practices |
One
thing we want to know is how much you are eating and whether you sleep
regularly and sufficiently. These two points are of great importance, for a
sadhana of this kind demands in order to bear it that the mind and body and
nervous system should not be weakened by undernourishment and lack of sleep. |
18. January 1953 – Ascetic
Practices |
It
is not by fasting but by improving the will that one obtains the Truth. |
31. August 1953 – Ascetic
Practices |
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. |
12. May 1969 – Ascetic
Practices |
Here
sensibleness is indispensable and the integral yoga is based on balance, calm
and peace and not on an unhealthy need to suffer. |
30. March 1970 – Ascetic
Practices |
As
long as it is an austerity there are reactions. When
it becomes an imperative need, it is good. (About
solitude) If
the need is a true one, the means to do it will come spontaneously. |
24. January 1971 – Ascetic
Practices |
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. |
October 1971 – Ascetic
Practices |
According
to my experience people fall into tamas when they go into solitude. |
No Date – Ascetic Practices |
To
be by oneself very much needs a certain force of inner life. It may be better
to vary solitude with some kind of its opposite. But each has its advantages
and disadvantages and it is only by being vigilant and keeping an inner poise
that one can avoid the latter. Entire
physical retirement is seldom healthy, although a temporary retirement is
often helpful. But the main thing is the inner detachment and complete
turning to the Divine. |
13. April 1935 – Concentration |
The
movement that stores up and concentrates is no less needed than the movement
that spreads and diffuses. |
11. April 1935 – Concentration |
The
Yogi knows by his capacity for a containing or dynamic identity with things
and persons and forces. |
20. May 1955 – Concentration |
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. |
16. October 1964 – Concentration |
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. 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. All
should be done and each one when it comes spontaneously. |
26. January 1935 – 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. |
17. October 1939 – Meditation |
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. 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. |
05. July 1957 – Meditation |
To
keep constantly a concentrated and in-gathered attitude is more important
than having fixed hours of meditation. Keep
your thought focused upon it in a concentrated way. Yes,
concentration on the Presence is enough. (Examples
of subjects for meditation) New
birth. Birth to a new consciousness. The psychic consciousness. |
26. July 1957 – Meditation |
How
to awaken in the body the aspiration for the Divine. |
02. August 1957 – Meditation |
Turning
one’s gaze inward. Looking within oneself. |
09. August 1957 – Meditation |
The
ill-effects of uncontrolled speech. |
18. February 1935 – Experiences and
Visions |
Spiritual
experience means the contact with the Divine in oneself (or without, which
comes to the same thing in that domain). And it is an experience identical
everywhere in all countries, among all peoples and even in all ages. |
04. July 1939 – Experiences and
Visions |
One
must always be greater than one’s experience. 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 error was 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. After
a happy and favourable experience it is necessary to rise from the human to
the divine, otherwise one risks falling into the infernal and diabolic. It
can be useful for a time to have certain inner experiences, but this attitude
is not to be kept permanently as it is only a partial truth and far from the
whole truth of the integral yoga. The
true revelation is the revelation of the Divine. 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. |
04. July 1939 – Experiences and
Visions |
The
best attitude is to be quiet and calm, and to let the experience follow its
course, observing it without thinking about it. Blessings. |
28. March 1944 – Experiences and
Visions |
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. It
is much better to stop the experiences altogether. They seem to take you into
levels which are undesirable and most unsafe; they are not at all necessary
for any opening in the yoga. |
19. May 1944 – Experiences and Visions |
Certainly
I have not given you up, not in the least. You are quite capable of the
realisation if you make up your mind to it, and the experience you relate
seems to me a valid promise that it will come. As
for what I meant in my last letter it was simply that there were things which
might act to delay your spiritual realisation and might be otherwise
dangerous for you. This does not mean that the realisation will not come. |
20. November 1949 – Experiences and
Visions |
You
had the experience you describe when the force was acting chiefly in the
mind, the vital and, through it, in the physical. It is long since this time
has passed. The force has come farther down in its action and now it is at
work not only in the material but also in the subconscient and even in the
inconscient. Unless you follow this descending movement and allow the force
to act in your body and these material regions of the consciousness, you find
yourself stranded on the side of the road without being able to advance any
further. And to allow this working of the force it is a detailed surrender of
all movements, habits, tastes, preferences, sense of necessities, etc. that
is urgently required. Read
carefully Sri Aurobindo’s article in the Bulletin: it will help you to
understand. |
1969 – Experiences and Visions |
It
is a withdrawal from the most external consciousness into the Purusha, the
witness in the physical. One
finds there a great repose, indeed. Unquestionably
yes. It is an important step towards the psychic depths. |
No Date – Experiences and Visions |
Your
observation is very crude. No rule can be laid down about suggestions and voices
coming from “within”. Your “within” may mean
anything. You must train your observation and try to distinguish between the
sources from which the suggestions come. The voice or the suggestion may come
from your own subconscient or it may come from something higher. If you know
from where it comes, then you can decide whether you should follow it or not. |
21. January 1955 – The 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. |
23. June 1960 – The Guru |
If
you have faith and confidence, it is not the human form of the guru that you
worship, but the Supreme Lord who manifests through him. Be
not troubled and give yourself unreservedly to the Supreme Lord through
whatever channel helps you. With
love and blessings. I
am not at all convinced by X’s theories. This seems to me to be merely
the old human “animal” trying to satisfy its desires by
mentalising them. Generally
speaking, when a man starts building yogic theories on his own particular
work, one should always be wary. All
work can and should be done in a yogic spirit. But the “sacrifice”
should be made to the Supreme Divine and not to a human being. |
March 1973 – The Guru |
To
each one things are said according to his or her capacity of understanding. It
follows that the knowledge given to one may not be useful or good for
another. That is why the personal teaching of the Guru must not be disclosed
to others. The
disciples judge the forms by the Master, others judge the Master by the
forms. The
Indians believe (or have the experience) that the Divine lives in the human
being. The Europeans don’t believe it. For them, he is somewhere above.
He has incarnated only in Jesus Christ. So they don’t bow down to any
human person. But if one bows down to a person who has embodied the Divine
Consciousness ― of course with faith ― then that person can more
easily transmit his consciousness (or experience) to the other. |
16. January 1935 – General |
Well-known
or unknown has absolutely no importance from the spiritual point of view. One
man who earnestly pursues the yoga is of more value than a thousand well-known
men. |
30. May 1966 – General |
Of
those who possess a true value the power of Yoga will increase the value, but
from one who has only some false appearance of art, even that appearance will
vanish or else lose its appeal. Yoga
can not be spread by any exterior means. |
06. July 1966 – General |
Those
who feel lonely in the world are ready for union with the Divine. |
21. February 1930 – Sincerity |
Sincerity
is the key of the divine doors. Be
sincere. Sincerity
is the gate to Divinity. Sincerity
means to lift all the movements of the being to the level of the highest
consciousness and realisation already attained. Sincerity
exacts the unification and harmonisation of the whole being in all its parts
and movements around the central Divine Will. |
22. November 1934 – Sincerity |
To
be sincere, all the parts of the being must be united in their aspiration for
the Divine ― not that one part wants and others refuse or revolt. To be
sincere in the aspiration - to want the Divine for the Divine’s sake,
not for fame or name or prestige or power or any satisfaction of vanity. Be
perfectly sincere in your consecration to the Divine’s work. This will
assure you strength and success. Be
sincere and absolute in your consecration to the Divine and your life will
become harmonious and beautiful. Fear
not, your sincerity is your safeguard. |
08. June 1954 – Sincerity |
If
earnestly you say to the Divine, “I want only Thee”, the Divine will
arrange the circumstances in such a way that you are compelled to be sincere. |
03. June 1958 – Sincerity |
Simple
sincerity: the beginning of all progress. To
reach your spiritual goal, be sincere, that is to say, make of it the single
purpose of your life. |
March 1962 – Sincerity |
An
uncompromising sincerity is the surest way to spiritual achievement. Do
not pretend ― be. Do
not promise ― act. Do
not dream ― realise. Be
perfectly sincere and no victory will be denied to you. In
sincerity is the certitude of victory. Sincerity!
Sincerity! How sweet is the purity of thy presence! Those
who are earnest and sincere have always the Divine for companion. |
25. March 1963 – Sincerity |
The
only salvation is in an absolute sincerity and truthfulness. |
21. February 1965 – Sincerity |
Absolute
sincerity is required. Sincerity,
Fidelity are the two guardians of the Way. |
19. December 1967 – Sincerity |
We
want to be sincere in spite of all contrary opinions; sincerity is our safeguard. |
25. February 1970 – Sincerity |
Develop
― sincerity (that is, an integral adhesion to the Divine’s way). Reject
― the pull of the old human habits. |
01.
January 1934 – Insincerity, Pretension and Self-deception |
Be
perfectly faithful and sincere towards your true Self. Allow
no deception to creep into your consecration to the Divine. |
12. May 1939 – Insincerity, Pretension and
Self-deception |
Insincerity
leads on the path to ruin. In
your sadhana what is important is sincerity at every point; if there is that,
mistakes can be rectified and do not so much matter. If there is any
insincerity, that pulls down the sadhana at once. But whether this constant
sincerity is there or there is any falling off from it at any point, is a
thing you must learn to see in yourself; if there is the earnest and constant
will for it, the power to see will come. Sincerity does not at all depend on
satisfying other ― it is an inner matter and lies solely between you
and me. |
17. June 1954 – Insincerity, Pretension and
Self-deception |
Be
sincere and I am ready to correct your mistakes a thousand times if
necessary. Those
who are sincere, I can help and turn easily towards the Divine. But where
there is insincerity I can do very little. I
feel sincerely that I want the Divine and nothing else. But when I am in
contact with other people, when I am busy with things without any value, I
naturally forget the Divine, my one goal. Is it insincerity? If not, then
what does it mean? Yes.
It is insincerity of the being, in which one part wants the Divine and
another part wants something else. It
is through ignorance and stupidity that the being is insincere. But with a
persevering will and an absolute confidence in the Divine Grace, one can cure
this insincerity. As
long as there is within a person the possibility of an inner conflict, it
means that there is still in him some insincerity. Any
inner conflict is the sign of a lack of sincerity. Only
those who are already very sincere know that they are not completely sincere. |
07. July 1957 – Insincerity, Pretension and
Self-deception |
When
you are sure that you have attained absolute sincerity, you may be certain
that you have plunged into falsehood. It
is no use thinking that one is very sincere. It is useless to think that one
is not sincere. What is useful is to be sincere. All
division in the being is an insincerity. The
greatest insincerity is to dig an abyss between your body and the truth of
your being. When
an abyss separates the true being from the physical being, Nature fills it up
immediately with all kinds of adverse suggestions, the most formidable of
which is fear, and the most pernicious, doubt. Allow
nothing anywhere to deny the truth of your being ― this is sincerity. |
25. June 1963 – Insincerity, Pretension and Self-deception |
Before
the Eternal Consciousness a drop of sincerity has more value than an ocean of
pretension and hypocrisy. I
need not seem if I am. It
is better to be than to seem. No
need of seeming when one is. I
need not appear to be good if my sincerity is perfect. It
is better to be than to seem. Be
honest towards yourself―(no self-deception). Be sincere towards the
Divine―(no bargaining in the surrender) Be
straightforward with humanity―(no pretence and show). |
20. April 1966 – Insincerity, Pretension and Self-deception |
Human
beings for the most part have the inveterate habit of deceiving themselves.
They deceive themselves in hundreds of different ways, each more slyly tricky
and subtle than the other, and all this with at once a perfect candour and a
perfect insincerity. Whoever
does Yoga sincerely is bound to have the calm and the strength needed to face
all circumstances. But
innumerable are those who deceive themselves, believe they are doing Yoga but
only partially do so and are still full of contradictions. |
17. February 1968 – Insincerity, Pretension and
Self-deception |
Be
wholly sincere, never try to deceive others. And
try never to deceive yourself. Blessings. |
09. March 1968 – Insincerity, Pretension and Self-deception |
Do
not try to deceive the Divine. The
important point is to be more and more sincere, always more sincere so that
you never deceive yourself in the integrality of your aspiration. This
sincerity brings the sure help of the divine Grace. Blessings. It
is easy to see that the mistakes are due to a lack of sincerity in the being ―
the only way out of it is to become sincere. You have been given the power of
will and of knowledge for that purpose. |
09. March 1968 – Insincerity, Pretension and Self-deception |
It
is not necessary to wait for the others to become sincere in order to become
sincere yourself. |
No Date – Insincerity, Pretension and Self-deception |
The
greatest enemies of a perfect sincerity are preferences (either mental, vital
or physical) and preconceived ideas. It is these obstacles that must be
overcome. |
12. January 1934 – Aspiration |
What
is exactly meant by a sincere aspiration? An
aspiration which is not mixed with any interested and egoistic calculation. |
20. October 1934 – Aspiration |
It
is to the sincerity of your aspiration that the Love answers spontaneously. |
02. February 1935 – Aspiration |
Let
your aspiration leap forward, pure and straight, towards the supreme
consciousness which is all joy and all beatitude. We
must aspire with all our being for the manifestation to come soon and
complete. |
07. April 1954 – Aspiration |
Prayer
of Aspiration Let
us go to sleep with a prayer and wake with an aspiration for the New and
Perfect Creation. 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. Aspiration
is always good, and if some demand is mixed up with it, you can be sure that
it will not be granted. Go
on aspiring and the necessary progress is bound to come. |
15. April 1954 – Aspiration |
Daily
we must aspire to conquer all mistakes, all obscurities, all ignorances. |
29. April 1954 – Aspiration |
We
must always aspire to be free from all ignorance and to have a true faith. |
21. May 1954 – Aspiration |
A
constant aspiration conquers all defects. |
23. May 1954 – Aspiration |
Day
after day our aspiration will grow and our faith will intensify. |
15. July 1954 – Aspiration |
When
the aspiration is awake, each day brings us nearer to the goal. |
17. July 1954 – Aspiration |
Each
one is responsible only for the sincerity of his aspiration. |
01. November 1954 – Aspiration |
Our
aspiration rises always identical, supported by a concentrated will. |
06. November 1954 – Aspiration |
All
is mute in the being, but in the bosom of the silence burns the lamp that can
never be extinguished, the fire of an ardent aspiration to know and to live
integrally the Divine. |
07. November 1954 – Aspiration |
The
flame of the aspiration must be so straight and so ardent that no obstacle can
dissolve it. |
05. March 1955 – Aspiration |
Beyond
words, above thoughts the flame of an intense aspiration must always burn,
steady and bright. My
love and blessings are with you. |
31. August 1957 – Aspiration |
In
the silence of the heart burns the steady fire of aspiration. Keep
the fire burning steadily and wait quietly for the sure result. Flame
of aspiration: a flame which illumines but never burns. An
integral and exclusive aspiration is sure to bring the Divine’s
response. |
24. April 1966 – Aspiration |
If
in man the seed of aspiration is watered with the true spirituality then he
will grow into Divinity. |
12. December 1967 – Aspiration |
As
usual I will tell you to be quiet and peaceful. Our
only aspiration must be for spiritual progress. It
is only for that that we must pray. With
love and blessings. |
08. June 1969 – Aspiration |
Increase
steadily your own aspiration. Try
to perfect your consecration to the Divine and your life will be arranged for
you. |
03. August 1970 – Aspiration |
A
constant and integral aspiration. |
22. May 1971 – Aspiration |
Aspiration
and will. Mental
aspiration: its expression is clear and precise and very reasonable. True
aspiration is not a movement of the mind but of the psychic. |
1972 – Aspiration |
Psychic
aspiration: constant, regular, organised, gentle and patient at the same
time, resists all opposition, overcomes all difficulties. Spiritual
aspiration rises like an arrow caring for neither obstacles nor laggards. Let
the sun of aspiration dissolve the clouds of egoism. (Message
for a seminar organised by the Maharastra Sri Aurobindo Centenary Celebration
Committee) Be
sincere in your aspiration for progress. Love
and blessings. |
20. February 1973 – Aspiration,
Calling and Pulling |
To
aspire and to call for help are quite indispensable. Mother,
what is the difference between an ardent aspiration and a pulling down of
force? It
is the vital that pulls down and the psychic that aspires. |
No Date – Aspiration, Calling and
Pulling |
There
is certainly a great difference between calling and pulling ― you can
and must always call for help and the rest ― the answer will be
proportionate to your capacity of reception and assimilation. Pulling is a
selfish movement that may bring down forces quite disproportionate to your
capacities and thus are harmful. |
02. May 1949 – Faith |
Faith
is spontaneous knowledge in the psychic. Faith
is a certitude which is not necessarily based on experience and knowledge. 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. |
16. August 1954 – Faith |
Faith:
you flame up and triumph. Faith
is the surest guide in the darkest days. |
03. September 1954 – Faith |
In
an unshakable faith lies all our hope. |
18. October 1954 – Faith |
The
night always is full of promises and we must face it with full faith and
confidence. |
03. November 1954 – Faith |
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. |
05. November 1954 – 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. |
10. November 1971 – Faith |
Keep
an immutable faith. Truth will triumph. |
07. April 1972 – Faith |
Have
faith in the Divine, and go deep inside yourself. My help is always with you. |
13. July 1972 – Faith |
Have
faith and go on. |
No Date – Faith |
Our
best help is faith ― the Divine is all merciful. With
love and blessings. |
17. November 1954 – Confidence |
There
is a great power in the simple confidence of a child. |
05. December 1954 – Confidence |
It
is with the confidence of a child that our heart implores the Divine. |
13. August 1966 – Confidence |
The
best way of meeting difficulties is a quiet and calm confidence in the Grace. |
03. September 1972 – Confidence |
Keep
faith and confidence and remain cheerful. Any
advice? Be
steady and confident. |
17. December 1972 – Confidence |
Everybody
is imperfect and has to progress. Keep firm and confident. |
No Date – Confidence |
Be
confident, you will become what you have to be and achieve what you have to
do. One
must have entire confidence in the Victory of the Divine ― and this
general Victory will include in itself the personal victory of all who will
have remained faithful and confident. With
confidence we shall advance; with certitude we shall wait. |
06. July 1954 – Certitude |
We
must march on with the quiet certitude that what has to be done will be done. |
No Date – Certitude |
Certitude:
assured and calm it never argues. Certitude
of victory: it is not noisy but it is sure. |
15. January 1933 – The Divine
Grace |
The
Supreme has sent his Grace into the world to save it. It
is the Divine Grace that must be prayed for ― if justice were to manifest,
very few would be those who could stand in front of it. Justice
is the strict logical determinism of the movements of Universal Nature.
Illnesses are this determinism applied to the material body. The medical
mind, basing itself upon this ineluctable Justice, strives to bring about
conditions that should lead logically to good health. The moral consciousness
acts in the same way in the social body and tapasya in the spiritual domain. The
Divine Grace alone has the power to intervene and change the course of
Universal Justice. The great work of the Avatar is to manifest the Divine
Grace upon earth. To be a disciple of the Avatar is to become an instrument
of the Divine Grace. The Mother is the great dispensatrix ― through
identity ― of the Divine Grace, with a perfect knowledge ―
through identity ― of the absolute mechanism of Universal Justice. And
through her mediation each movement of sincere and confident aspiration
towards the Divine calls down in response the intervention of the Grace. Who
can stand before Thee, Lord, and say in all sincerity, “I have never
made a mistake”? How many times in a day we commit faults against Thy
work, and always Thy Grace comes to efface them! Without
the intervention of Thy Grace, who would not often times have come under the
merciless blade of the Law of Universal Justice? 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. |
07. April 1939 – The Divine
Grace |
Divine
Grace, Thy goodness is infinite. We bow before Thee in gratitude. The
Divine Grace cannot be explained through words and mental formulas. |
30. November 1954 – The Divine
Grace |
It
is only the Divine’s Grace that can give peace, happiness, power,
light, knowledge, beatitude and love in their essence and their truth. |
No Date – The Divine Grace |
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. Right
use of the granted Grace: no deformation, no diminution, no exaggeration ―
a clear sincerity. Call
of the Divine Grace: not noisy but persistent and very perceptible to those
who know how to listen. |
19. April 1954 – The Divine Help |
Whenever
there is sincerity and goodwill, the Divine’s help also is there. |
07. June 1954 – The Divine Help |
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. |
28. December 1972 – The Divine Help |
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. |
No Date – The Divine Help |
Those
who will be able to become receptive by the mastery of the psychic upon the ego,
will know what this help is and will have the full benefit of it. Everyone
is given his chance and the help is there for all ― but for each the
benefit is proportionate to his sincerity. Divine
help: modest in appearance, powerful in action. |
06. November 1934 – Faith in the Divine Grace
and Help |
Have
a steady faith in the divine Grace. Continue
to have full faith in the Divine’s Grace, Will and action and all will
be all right. |
30. May 1935 – Faith in the
Divine Grace and Help |
All
depends on the intensity of the faith and the firmness of the right attitude. |
10. May 1954 – Faith in the Divine
Grace and Help |
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. Once
more, the lack of faith of the human mind brings complications and pain where
with a quiet faith in the Divine Guidance all could be very simple and easy. It
is for the growth of this faith and confidence that I have been working for
many years. Obviously
the resistance is obstinate. Why
disappointing? If there is one in a hundred who has a true faith, it is
already a miracle! The
Grace will never fail us ― such is the faith we must keep constantly in
our heart. |
30. July 1954 – Faith in the
Divine Grace and Help |
It
is our lack of faith that creates our limitations. |
17. August 1954 – Faith in the Divine
Grace and Help |
The
Divine Grace is with us and never leaves us even when the appearances are
dark. |
23. August 1954 – Faith in the
Divine Grace and Help |
The
Supreme’s power is infinite ― it is our faith that is small. |
08.
October 1954 – Faith in the Divine Grace and Help |
At
each moment of our life, in all circumstances the Grace is there helping us
to surmount all difficulties. |
01. December 1954 – Faith in the Divine Grace
and Help |
In
failure as well as in success, the Divine’s Grace is always there. |
15. August 1955 – Faith in the
Divine Grace and Help |
The
closer you come to the Divine, the more you live under a shower of
overwhelming evidence of His immeasurable Grace. |
July 1956 – Faith in the Divine Grace
and Help |
Our
faith in the omnipotence of the Grace is never equal to what the Grace itself
is. |
15. August 1956 – Faith in the
Divine Grace and Help |
An
absolute faith and trust in the Grace is, in the last analysis, the Supreme
Wisdom. |
13. October 1956 – Faith in the Divine Grace
and Help |
Through
this apparent chaos a new and better order is being formed. But
to see it one must have faith in the Divine Grace. Cheer up. |
02. November 1956 – Faith in the Divine Grace
and Help |
In
the present growing conflict what should be our attitude? Faith
and total confidence in the Divine’s Grace. |
28. January 1970 – Faith in the Divine Grace
and Help |
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. |
29. August 1972 – Faith in the Divine Grace and Help |
I
mean, act according to our inner conviction regardless of all consequences
and keep our faith unshaken in spite of the apparent so-called proofs to the
contrary. Surely,
all this comes to teach us to have a quiet faith that what is truly needed we
shall have and that, for the rest, we must not bother. 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. In
an ardent faith lies salvation. In
the final analysis, it is the Supreme Lord who does all. We
must be faithful instruments. |
No Date – Faith in the Divine Grace and Help |
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. Keep
good faith in the Grace. She is the doer of all miracles. We
must learn to rely only on the Divine Grace and to call for its help in all
circumstances; then it will work out constant miracles. However
long the journey may be and however great the traveller, at the end is always
found exclusive reliance on the Divine Grace. The
divine Grace alone shall be our support. |
15. March 1935 – Trust in the
Divine Grace and Help |
The
Grace is infinite for him who sincerely trusts the Grace. |
11. October 1936 – Trust in the Divine Grace and Help |
The
Divine Grace is always with you and by your trust you allow its action to be
effective. It
is in proportion to our trust in the Divine that the Divine Grace can act for
us and help. Integral
trust in the Divine: the trust that gives the true support to life. Our
trust in the Divine must not depend upon outward circumstances. Very
few are those who can stand firm on the rock of their faith and trust in the
Divine. |
20. April 1954 – Trust in the
Divine Grace and Help |
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. |
15. May 1954 – Trust in the Divine
Grace and Help |
When
we trust in the Divine’s Grace we get an unfailing courage. |
04. June 1954 – Trust in the Divine
Grace and Help |
Have
full trust in the Divine’s Grace and the Divine’s Grace will help
you in all ways. |
27. September 1954 – Trust in the Divine Grace and Help |
Like
the child who does not reason and has no care, trust thyself to the Divine
that His will may be done. |
25. October 1954 – Trust in the Divine Grace
and Help |
Whatever
happens we must remain quiet and trust the Divine’s Grace. |
05. May 1958 – Trust in the Divine
Grace and Help |
Keep
a cool head, strong and very quiet nerves, and a complete trust in the Divine
Grace. 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. |
04. July 1962 – Trust in the Divine
Grace and Help |
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. |
No Date – Trust in the Divine Grace and Help |
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. |
09. February 1930 – Trust in the Divine Grace
and Help |
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. |
1962 – Trust in the Divine Grace and
Help |
When,
in your life, you meet with a hardship, take it as a Grace from the Lord and,
indeed, it will become so. |
14. January 1963 – Trust in the Divine Grace and Help |
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. |
09. February 1964 – Trust in the Divine Grace and Help |
What
can be done will be done, but it is a matter of regret that you waited so
long for the warning. In
any case, the only thing which is really effective is to will what the Divine
wills, and to keep an unshakable confidence in the supreme compassion of the
Divine Grace, for through that it is always the best that happens; not the
best according to human ideas but the best according to the supreme Truth. Be
calm and full of a solid and pure faith. I
have received your letter and understand your aspiration. But
the doctor says you have fever still and it is impossible to let you go,
because it would be dangerous for your health. So,
the only thing to do is to accept quietly the conditions in which you find
yourself, knowing that for him who has faith in the Divine it is always the
best for him that happens. The Divine does not want human beings to suffer,
but, in their ignorance, human beings react in such a way that they bring
suffering upon themselves. In peace, quietness and surrender is the only
solution. |
23. April 1964 – Trust in the Divine
Grace and Help |
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. |
19. June 1966 – Trust in the Divine
Grace and Help |
For
those who have given themselves to the Divine each difficulty that confronts them
is the assurance of a new progress and thus must be taken as a gift from the
Grace. |
26. May 1967 – Trust in the Divine
Grace and Help |
When
difficulties besiege you, know that the Divine Grace is with you. 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. |
No Date – Trust in the Divine Grace
and Help |
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. |
No Date – Devotion |
Devotion:
modest and fragrant, it gives itself without seeking for anything in return. Devotional
attitude: moderate and self-effacing, it gives remarkable fruit. A
devotion that keeps concentrated and silent in the depths of the heart but
manifests in acts of service and obedience, is more powerful, more true, more
divine, than any shouting and weeping devotion. Sincere
devotion is much more effective than the Ganges water. |
No Date – Worship |
Worship:
the form or outer expression of your devotion. True
worship: total and constant without demand or exigence. |
24. August 1954 – Offering |
Life
must blossom like a flower offering itself to the Divine. The
only offering that truly enriches is the one made 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. The
offering of our being we make to the Divine must be integral and effective. |
No Date – Offering |
Integral
offering: the surest road to realisation. Unconditional
integral offering: the joy of offering oneself without asking for anything in
return. |
26. April 1937 – 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. It
is in a sincere consecration to the Divine that we can find relief from our
too human sufferings. 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 lead much quicker to the Divine than an arduous
Tapasya. |
13. January 1952 – 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. Give
yourself, all that you are and what you do, to the Divine, and you will have
peace. Give
yourself entirely to the Divine and you will see the end of all your
troubles. It
is a sincere self-giving that saves one from all difficulties and dangers. Never
say, “I have nothing to give to the Divine.” There is always
something to give, for always you can give yourself in a better and more
complete way. To
the Divine you are worth no more than what you have given Him. 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. Entire
self-giving: fully open, clear and pure. Do
not confuse the psychic realisation with the spiritual realisation, because
the psychic realisation will leave you within time and space, within the
manifested universe. Whereas
the effect of the spiritual realisation will be to project you outside all
creation, outside time and space. 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. |
11. May 1954 – Self-giving |
How
beautiful, grand, simple and calm everything becomes when our thoughts turn
to the Divine and we give ourselves to the Divine! |
28. December 1954 – Self-giving |
We
must know how to give our life and also our death, our happiness and also our
suffering. |
21. March 1965 – Self-giving |
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. |
05. March 1966 – Self-giving |
Above
all words, above all thoughts in the luminous silence of an aspiring faith
give yourself totally, unreservedly, absolutely to the Supreme Lord of all
existences and He will do of you what He wants you to be. With
love and blessings. |
14. May 1954 – Service to the Divine |
No
joy can be greater than that of serving the Divine. There
is no greater joy than to serve the Divine. |
31. October 1954 – Service to the
Divine |
We
must be always, solely and exclusively, the servitors of the Divine. |
January 1966 – Service to the Divine |
We
should be in no other service but in God’s alone. Above
all preferences we want to be at the service of the Divine. To
be at the Divine’s service is the surest means of attaining
realisation. (About
service to the Divine and meditation) Both
are equally good. Nevertheless,
through service one can attain a fuller realisation than through meditation
alone. All
service done sincerely to the Divine is sadhana. And
all increase in the urge to serve is a sure sign of progress. |
1966 – Service to the Divine |
Whatever
you do in life must be done as a service to the Divine and nobody else. Whatever
you are, think or feel, you are responsible for it to the Divine and to
nobody else. He
is the sole Master of your being and your life. If
in all sincerity you surrender entirely to Him He will take charge of you and
your heart will be in peace. All
the rest belongs to the world of Ignorance and is governed by ignorance which
means confusion and suffering. Blessings. |
12. December 1967 – Service to the
Divine |
Energy
is in perpetual movement. It enters and leaves your physical being (mental,
vital and material) and it is during your stay in what you call “you”
that you must make of it an offering to the Divine and put it at His service. Then
automatically you will do at each instant what the Divine wants you to do. |
30. January 1973 – Service to the
Divine |
The
whole life turned towards the Divine, offered to the Divine, at the service
of the Divine, to become little by little an expression of the Divine. |
13. May 1954 – 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. To
surrender to the Divine is to renounce your narrow limits and let yourself be
invaded by It and made a centre for Its play. 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. True
surrender enlarges you; it increases your capacity; it gives you a greater
measure in quality and in quantity, which you could not have had yourself. Detailed
surrender: a surrender which does not forget anything. 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. |
02. December 1954 – Surrender |
Perfect
surrender: the indispensable condition for identification. In
the integrality and absoluteness of bhakti and surrender, we find the
essential condition of perfect peace leading to uninterrupted bliss. |
13. October 1965 – Surrender |
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. |
20. May 1954 – To Will What the Divine
Wills |
Surrender:
to will what the Divine wills is the supreme wisdom. To
will what God wills ― that is the supreme secret. 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. |
27. June 1954 – To Will What
the Divine Wills |
We
must be satisfied with what the Divine gives us, and do what He wants us to
do without weakness, free from useless ambition. |
05. August 1954 – To Will What the
Divine Wills |
Whenever
there is any difficulty we must always remember that we are here exclusively
to accomplish the Divine’s will. |
06. August 1954 – To Will What
the Divine Wills |
And
when our adhesion to the Divine’s will is total then also our peace and
joy become total. |
16. October 1954 – To Will What the
Divine Wills |
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. |
17. October 1954 – To Will What
the Divine Wills |
Our
will must always be a perfect expression of the Divine’s will. |
28. October 1954 – To Will What the
Divine Wills |
Our
constant prayer is to understand the Divine’s will and to live
accordingly. |
20. November 1954 – To Will What
the Divine Wills |
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. |
22. November 1954 – To Will What the
Divine Wills |
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. |
26. November 1954 – To Will What
the Divine Wills |
We
must see only through the Divine’s eyes and act only through the Divine’s
will. |
29. November 1954 – To Will What the
Divine Wills |
We
must know how to depend for everything and in everything on the Divine. He
alone can surmount all difficulties. |
03. December 1954 – To Will What
the Divine Wills |
In
a total surrender to the Divine there can be no longer errors or faults or
any insufficiency since it is what the Divine has willed that he does and it
is done as the Divine has willed it. |
16. December 1954 – To Will What the
Divine Wills |
Always
the Supreme Will remains the eternal mystery calling for all our wonder and
marvelling. |
18. December 1954 – To Will What
the Divine Wills |
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. July 1955 – To Will What the Divine
Wills |
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. The
only thing you have to do is to remain quiet, undisturbed, solely turned
towards the Divine, the rest is in His hands. |
16. August 1962 – To Will What
the Divine Wills |
One
of the main problems of the present world is that the population has
increased enormously in the last 100 years. (1)
How have so many souls evolved in such a short time? (2)
What will be the destiny of the world in regard to its population? Will the
numbers go on increasing with the current speed or will there be at a certain
period a drop without any artificial means? (3)
In case the population decreases in the future, what will be the fate of so
many souls that have evolved so far? There
is a Supreme Consciousness that governs the manifestation. His wisdom is
certainly much greater than ours. So we need not bother about what will
happen. Blessings. The
Lord is always victorious ― in his own way, not in the human way ―
according to his own will, not according to the will of men. The
Lord is always present ― only we do not realise it. 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. |
03. August 1968 – To Will What the
Divine Wills |
Be
quiet and offer yourself calmly and confidently. All
that happens is always the effect of the Supreme’s Will. Human
action can be the occasion but never the cause. |
15. April 1931 – 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. How
many efforts and struggles again to give ourselves, to surrender, once the
individuality is constituted! For
if the struggle is not an actual one, that does not mean that it will not
come one day in one form or another. For
always, at least once in our life, we are placed in some circumstance to test
whether we are ready for an entire surrender to the Divine Will; whether we
are, before all, human beings striving to attain and manifest the Godhead;
ready to renounce everything in the world ― what seems to us good as
well as what seems bad ― for that supreme conquest. In that ascent
towards the heights, both virtues and duties ― that is to say our
mental prejudices and preferences ― stand far more in our way than our
exterior weaknesses and faults. An error can always be used as a
spring-board, whilst a virtue is more often a limit, a barrier that must be
surmounted. I
will add, quoting a passage of The Synthesis of Yoga, “All these are
within us waiting to wall in the spirit with forms; but we must always go
beyond, always renounce the lesser for the greater, the finite for the
Infinite; we must be prepared to proceed from illumination to illumination,
from experience to experience, from soul-state to soul-state, so as to reach
the utmost transcendence of the Divine and its utmost universality.” The
way in which most people surrender: Let
God manifest his will but let it be the same as mine. |
13. August 1960 – Difficulties of
Surrender |
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. |
01. April 1963 – Difficulties of
Surrender |
The
time is come to rely only on the Divine will and to let it work freely
through you. I
repeat, the time has come at last not to rely any more on one’s own
petty will, to hand over the whole affair to the Divine’s will and let
it do its work through you, not only your mind and feelings but mainly
through the body; and if you do it sincerely, all this body nonsense will
disappear and you will be strong and fit for your work. When
men will understand that the Divine knows better than they do what is the
best for them, many of their difficulties will disappear. |
22. June 1963 – Difficulties of
Surrender |
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. |
07. May 1954 – Divine Love |
In
the Divine’s love we always find all support and all consolation. |
20. July 1954 – Divine Love |
When
you reach the contact with the Divine’s love you see this love in
everything and all circumstances. |
24. July 1954 – Divine Love |
The
Divine’s love and knowledge must always govern our thoughts and
actions. |
29. October 1954 – Divine Love |
May
the Divine’s love dwell as the sovereign Master of our hearts and the
Divine’s knowledge never leave our thoughts. |
27. November 1954 – Divine Love |
The
Divine’s love can generate in all peace and the satisfaction that comes
from benevolence. |
21. July 1955 – Divine Love |
The
Divine’s love is an eternal truth. |
14.
November 1955 – Divine Love |
The
Divine Love is the essence of Truth and cannot be affected by human
confusions. An
Old Chaldean Legend Long
ago, very long ago, in the desert land that is now Arabia, a divine being
incarnated on earth to awaken it to the Supreme Love. As one would expect, he
was persecuted by men, misunderstood, suspected, hunted after. Mortally
wounded by his assailants, he wished to die alone, quietly, so that his work
might be accomplished; and, pursued by them, he fled. Suddenly in the broad
barren plain, a tiny bush of pomegranate appeared. The Saviour stole under
its low branches in order to give up his body in peace; and at once the bush
expanded miraculously, increased itself, widened, became deep and luxuriant
in such a way that when the pursuers passed by they did not even suspect that
the One whom they were chasing was hidden there, and they continued on their
way. While,
drop by drop, the sacred blood fell, fertilising the soil, the bush covered
itself with marvellous flowers, scarlet, enormous ― clusters of petals,
innumerable drops of blood… These
are the flowers that, for us, express and hold the Divine Love. |
17. January 1965 – Divine Love |
Yesterday
morning I distributed petals of “Divine Love”. The previous night
was, here, the darkest of the year and in India it is a great festival. Its
true significance is that the Divine’s Love is at the base and core of
all manifestation, even where it seems most completely inconscient. When
Consciousness separated from its Origin and became Inconscience, the Origin emanated
Love to reawaken Consciousness from the depth of the Inconscience and bring
it back into touch with its Origin. It
may be said that at its origin love is the supreme power of attraction which
awakens, in response, the irresistible need of an absolute self-giving; they
are the two poles of the urge towards complete fusion. No
other movement could, better and more surely than this, throw a bridge across
the abyss dug by the sense of separation that comes from the formation of the
individual. It was necessary to bring back to itself what had been projected
into space without destroying for this purpose the universe created thus. That
is why love sprang up, the irresistible power of union. When
the baker wants to make the dough of his bread rise, he puts some leaven into
it, and it is from within that the transformation takes place. When
the Divine wanted to rouse Matter, awaken it and make it rise towards God, He
threw Himself into Matter under the form of love, and it is from within that
the transformation takes place. So
it is by living from within an organisation that one can help it to become
enlightened and rise towards the Truth. |
26. November 1971 – Divine Love |
Consciousness
is a state and a power. Love
is a force and an action. The
Divine has an equal love for all human beings, but the obscurity of
consciousness of most men prevents them from perceiving this divine love. Truth
is wonderful. It is in our perception that it is distorted. |
No Date – Divine Love |
Only
he who loves can recognise love. Those who are incapable of giving themselves
in a sincere love, will never recognise love anywhere, and the more the love is
divine, that is to say, unselfish, the less they can recognise it. To
become conscious of the Divine Love, all other love must be abandoned. |
02. September 1939 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
Lean more exclusively on the Divine’s love. When one receives the Divine’s love, of what value can be any human love? |
05. May 1945 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
There is always a bitter taste behind the human love ― it is only the Divine Love which never disappoints. |
15. February 1950 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
Do not grieve. Human love is fugitive. It is only the Divine’s love that never fails. 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 you must 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. The need for human love, to the extent that it is not merely in obedience to the instinct of Nature or to a vital attraction, is the need to have a Divine for oneself alone, at one’s entire and exclusive disposal, a Divine who is one’s personal property and to whom one gives oneself totally only if the gift is reciprocated. Instead of enlarging oneself to the size of the Divine and having a love as vast as the universe, one tries to reduce the Divine to one’s own size and have His love for oneself alone. Therefore, human love is not a need of the soul, but rather a concession it makes for a time to the ego. I have postponed my answer to give you time to look carefully into the problem and to face it with more quiet and detachment. One thing only I can tell you that whatever the sincerity, simplicity and purity of the relation between two human beings, it shuts them off more or less from the direct divine force and help and limits their strength, light and power only to the sum of their potentialities. I cannot say that this is very
advisable in your case. |
04. December 1954 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
You lose a great part of your strength, energy and capacity due to your so-called human love. It is a great hindrance in your progress. If there is, somewhere in some part of your being, still the need for human affection and love, it is better to go through the experience of life; it is the best preparation for Yoga. The thirst for affection and love is a human need, but it can be quenched only if it turns towards the Divine. As long as it seeks satisfaction in human beings, it will always be disappointed or wounded. There is a thirst for Love
which no human relation can quench. It is only the Divine’s love that
can satisfy that thirst. |
15. August 1955 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
They always speak of the rights of love but love’s only right is the right of self-giving. Without self-giving there is
no love; but self-giving is very rare in human love which is full of
selfishness and demands. |
08. December 1960 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
So long as the ego is there, one cannot love. Love alone can love, Love alone can conquer the ego. Self-love is the great obstacle. Divine love is the great remedy. One is outwardly alone only if
one is closed to the divine love. |
11. April 1966 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
You feel lonely because you feel the need to be loved. Learn to love without demand, to love just for the joy of loving (the most wonderful joy in the world!) and you will never again feel lonely. |
15. April 1966 – Divine Love and Human
Love |
The Rungs of Love At first one loves only when one is loved. Next, one loves spontaneously, but one wants to be loved in return. Then one loves even if one is not loved, but one still wants one’s love to be accepted. And finally one loves purely
and simply, without any other need or joy than that of loving. |
20. March 1967 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
There is a love in which the emotion is turned towards the Divine in an increasing receptivity and growing union. What it receives from the Divine it pours out on others, but truly without demanding a return. If you are capable of that, then that is the highest and most satisfying way to love. It is not the love that
someone feels for you that can make you happy, it is the love you feel for
others that makes you happy: for you receive the love that you give from the
Divine, who loves eternally and unfailingly. |
23. March 1967 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
All the forms that love has taken in the human consciousness on earth are but awkward attempts, deformed and incomplete, to find once again true Love. |
19. April 1967 – Divine Love and Human
Love |
True love has no need of reciprocation; there can be no reciprocation because there is only one Love, the Love, which has no other aim than to love. It is in the world of division that one feels the need of reciprocation ― because one lives in the illusion of the multiplicity of Love; but in fact there is only One Love and it is always this sole love which, so to say, responds to itself. |
20. April 1967 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
Indeed,
there is only one Love, universal and eternal, as there is only one
Consciousness, universal and eternal. All
the apparent differences are colorations given by individualisation and
personification. But these alterations are purely superficial. And the “nature”
of Love, as of Consciousness, is unalterable. |
01. May 1967 – Divine Love and Human
Love |
When one has found divine Love, it is the Divine that one loves in all beings. There is no longer any division. |
06. May 1967 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
Once one has found divine Love, all other loves, which are nothing but disguises, can lose their deformities and become pure ― then it is the Divine that one loves in everyone and everything. |
15. May 1968 – Divine Love and Human
Love |
True love, that which fulfils and illumines, is not the love one receives but the love one gives. And the supreme Love is a love
without any definite object ― the love which loves because it cannot do
other than to love. |
05. March 1970 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
There is only one love ― the Divine’s Love; and without that Love there would be no creation. All exists because of that Love and it is when we try to find our own love which does not exist that we do not feel the Love, the only Love, the Divine’s Love which permeates all existence. |
14. March 1970 – Divine Love and Human
Love |
When
the psychic loves it loves with the Divine Love. When
you love, you love with the Divine’s love diminished and distorted by
your ego, but in its essence still the Divine’s love. It
is for the facility of the language that you say the love of this one or that
one, but it is all the same one Love manifested through different channels. I
have given you the clue to find the love you are seeking for since many
years; but it is not a mental clue; and it is only if your mind falls silent
that you can feel what I want to convey to you. Blessings. |
22. May 1971 – Divine Love and
Human Love |
As for true love, it is the Divine Force that allows consciousnesses to unite themselves with the Divine. |
21. June 1971 – Divine Love and Human
Love |
True love is something very deep and calm in its intensity; it may quite well not manifest itself in any exterior acts sensational or affectionate. Divine Love, true love, finds its delight and its satisfaction in itself; it has no need to be received and appreciated, nor to be shared ― it loves for the sake of loving, as a flower blooms. To feel this love in oneself
is to possess an immutable happiness. |
06. October 1952 – Love and Sexual
Desire |
Love
is not sexual intercourse. Love
is not vital attraction and interchange. Love
is not the heart’s hunger for affection. Love
is a mighty vibration coming straight from the One, and only the very pure
and very strong are capable of receiving and manifesting it. To
be pure is to be open only to the Supreme’s influence and to no other. I
do not like that the word love should be polluted to speak of sexual desire,
the human inheritance of the animal. You
are making a great confusion between maternal sentiment which is, in the
physical, an expression of the force of the universal Mother, and the
physical act of procreation which is something wholly animal, most often even
bestial, and which is only a means that Nature has found to perpetuate the
different species. |
23. March 1968 – Love and Sexual
Desire |
Sexual relations belong to the past, when man was closer to the animal than to the Divine. All depends on what you expect from life, but if you sincerely want to do the Yoga, you must abstain from all sexual activities. |
1933 – Love and Sexual Desire |
A decisive choice has to be made between lending the body to nature’s ends in obedience to her demand to perpetuate the race as it is, and preparing this very body to become a step towards the creation of a new race. The two cannot go together; at every minute you have to decide whether you wish to remain within the manhood of yesterday or belong to the supermanhood of tomorrow. Sex seems rather to be more of
the body. It is only when you pass from the lower to the higher hemisphere
that you can completely erase the thing. Sex belongs to Nature in her lower
working and as long as you belong to that Nature, her working will be there
automatically in you. |
07. June 1964 – Love and Sexual
Desire |
When you will think no more of sex at all and see no more women as women but only as human beings, then and then only I will know that you are beginning to get cured. Sexual desires do not come
from eating well but from thinking wrongly and concentrating on that. The
less you think about it, the better it is. You should not concentrate on what
you do not want to be, but on the contrary on what you want to become. |
No Date – Love and Sexual Desire |
Instead of being dominated by the sexual impulsions, they must be put under the domination of the highest will. Passion: it is a force, but is dangerous and cannot be used unless it is perfectly surrendered to the Divine. Human passions changed into love for the Divine: may they become a real fact, and their abundance will save the world. Perfect attachment to the
Divine replaces all vital attractions and passions. |
09. March 1932 – Love for the Divine |
Greed,
greed, always greed… is the response of material nature. In
whatever way the Divine manifests there, it becomes at once an object of
covetousness. A rush to appropriate, an endeavour to rob, exploit, squeeze,
swallow and in the end crush down the Divine, this is the receptivity of
matter to the divine touch. O
my Lord, Thou comest as the redeemer and these would make of Thee a dupe!
Thou comest for union, for transformation, for realisation, and they think
only of absorption and selfish increase. |
May 1946 – Love for the Divine |
No half-measure would be enough to please you. In short, what you want is a Divine for yourself, who would have no other occupation than to satisfy you, a Divine whom you could see physically at every hour of the day or night, whom you could argue with at your leisure, whom you could live with, marry ― for in its ideal principle, marriage is nothing else but that. But for it to be so, this Divine would have to be of your own size, your own stature. And towards what could He lead you if not towards yourself as you are. Is this what you really want in the truth of your being? I refuse to believe it. Child, you say to me, “To love me is to do what I want.” But I say to you that for the
Divine to love truly is to do what is best for the one He loves. |
28. May 1946 – Love for the Divine |
Each and every one, when he turns to the Divine, demands that He should do for him exactly what he asks. Whereas the Divine does for each one what is best for him from all points of view. But man, in his ignorance and blindness, revolts against the Divine when his desire is not satisfied, and says to Him, “You do not love me.” |
27. November 1952 – Love for the
Divine |
You
say of your God: “I have loved Him so much and yet He did not remain
with me!” But what kind of love have you given Him? In its essence,
love is one, just as consciousness is one; but in the manifestation, it is
coloured and differentiated by each individual nature. If you are impure and
egoistic, love in you will become impure and egoistic, narrow, sectarian,
limited, ambitious and possessive, violent, jealous, vulgar, brutal and
cruel. Is this the kind of love that can be offered to God? If you want your
love to be worthy of the one you love, if you want to enjoy love in its eternal
perfection, become perfect, break out of the limitations of your ego, partake
of eternity. And then you will always be close to the object of your love,
for you will grow into his likeness. |
28. December 1955 – Love for the
Divine |
It is said that one grows into the likeness of what one loves; but with regard to God it is also true that one can remain always with Him only when one grows into His likeness. It is not through human love
that one can learn to love the Divine, for the love is of quite a different
nature. First learn to give yourself sincerely to the Divine and then the joy
of love will come afterwards. By giving yourself sincerely all your
difficulties will disappear. |
No Date – Love for the Divine |
The
true love for the Divine is self-giving, free of demand, full of submission
and surrender. It makes no claim, imposes no condition, strikes no bargain,
indulges in no violences of jealousy or pride or anger - for these things are
not in its composition. When
the true and sacred love is there (love from the Divine and for the Divine),
whatever happens is always utilised as a means for increasing and perfecting
the union. This leaves no place for worry, regret and depression, but, on the
contrary, fills the consciousness with the certitude of victory. Integral
love for the Divine: pure, complete and irrevocable, it is a love that gives
itself for ever. Flaming
love for the Divine: ready for all heroism and all sacrifice. To
love truly the Divine we must rise above attachments. |
1957 – General |
Love is with all, working for the progress of each one equally ― but it triumphs in those who care for it. (Message for the World Vegetarian Congress) Love alone can overcome hate and violence. Let the divine compassion express itself through you always and in all circumstances. The divine compassion reaches
out not only to the one who is eaten but also to the one who eats, not only
to the one who is tortured but also the one who tortures. |
13. July 1963 – General |
Divine
Love can overcome the evil and the cruel ― the tiger does not attack
the yogi. Unmanifest
Divine Love: the splendour of the marvellous love which the Divine keeps for
the pure heart. Indeed,
all life is love if we know how to live it. |
July 1966 – General |
Sweetness is within every heart. Bitterness is an illusion that
melts in the Sun of Divine Love. |
09. March 1933 – Calm |
Be
very careful to remain always calm and peaceful and let an integral equanimity
establish itself more and more completely in your being. Do not allow your
mind to be too active and to live in a turmoil, do not jump to conclusions
from a superficial view of things; always take your time, concentrate and
decide only in quietness. You
know that it is indispensable to be calm; you must try hard to become calm.
Then in the calm, pray to Sri Aurobindo to give you the right consciousness;
pray in all sincerity, with faith and trust. Your prayer will surely be
granted one day. It
is an excellent state which one can keep quite easily, but it must be
sincere; I mean, it should be not a mere appearance of calm but a real and
deep calm which spontaneously keeps you silent. |
28. September 1937 – Calm |
The first step is perfect calm and equanimity. |
1960 – Calm |
You must learn to be calm and quiet even in the midst of difficulties. This is the way to overcome all obstacles. Can “calm” give a solution to all problems? Yes, but for this the calm must
be perfect, in all the parts of the being, so that the power may express
itself through it. |
26. June 1967 – Calm |
So that the experience does not become dangerously distorted and painful, you must keep an absolute calm. It is only in peace and calm
that the Divine Force expresses itself and acts. |
No Date – Calm |
It is very good to have recovered the calm. It is in the calm that the body can increase its receptivity and gain the power to contain. Do not confuse calm with inertia. Calm is self-possessed strength, quiet and conscious energy, mastery of the impulses, control over the unconscious reflexes. In work calm is the source of efficiency and an indispensable condition for perfection. Increase the inner rest, it
must become a rest always present even in the midst of the greatest activity
and so steady that nothing has the power to shake it ― and then you
will become a perfect instrument for the Manifestation. |
17. July 1935 – Quiet |
Surely
to be quiet is not tamas. In fact it is only in quietness that the proper
thing can be done. What I call quietness is to do work without being
disturbed by anything and to observe everything without being disturbed by
anything. Be
quiet. We have only to work patiently without being disturbed by anything and
keep unshaken the faith in the inevitable Victory. Quietness,
quietness, a calm and concentrated strength, so quiet that nothing can shake
it ― this is the indispensable basis for the integral realisation. The
more a person is quiet in front of all occurrences, equal in all
circumstances, and keeps a perfect mastery of himself and remains peaceful in
the presence of whatever happens, the more he has progressed towards the
goal. In
quietness you will feel that the divine force, help and protection are always
with you. At
the hour of danger a perfect quietness is required. When
one remains perfectly quiet and without fear, nothing serious can happen. The
only thing you have to do is to remain quiet, undisturbed, solely turned towards
the Divine; the rest is in His hands. |
06. June 1937 – Quiet |
That is always the best thing to do. To keep quiet, open and call or wait for the descent. Be quiet always, calm,
peaceful, and let the Force work in your consciousness through the transparency
of a perfect sincerity. |
03. November 1937 – Quiet |
It is only in quietness and peace that one can know what is the best thing to do. |
28. May 1954 – Quiet |
The storm is only at the surface of the sea; in the depths all is quiet. |
21. June 1962 – Quiet |
You
told me all that last night between 10 and 11, and as you were somewhat
restless, I told you, “First of all you must be quiet.“ The whole
thing was very vivid and I appreciate the power of your thought ― but I
insist on the necessity of being calm and quiet. It is indispensable. With
love and blessings. |
14. May 1967 – Quiet |
Do not get agitated. Keep quiet and everything will be all right. Love and blessings. |
February 1971 – Quiet |
It is in quietness, peace and silence that the spiritual forces act. All agitation and excitement
come from an adverse influence. |
21. October 1972 – Quiet |
The true Power is always quiet. Restlessness, agitation, impatience are the sure signs of weakness and imperfection. Keep quiet, try to detach yourself and observe as a witness, to prevent all possibility of acting on impulse. It is not in the outward circumstances that you must look for quietness, it is from inside yourself. Deep inside the being there is a peace that brings quietness in the whole being down to the body, if we allow it to do so. It is that peace you must seek and then you will get the quietness you wish for. Quietness is always good and even indispensable for a true and lasting progress. Blessings. |
26. July 1936 – Peace |
The peace must be immense, the quietness deep and still, the calm unshakable, and the trust in the Divine ever – increasing. It is by a quiet, strong and persistent peace that the true victories can be won. It is only in tranquillity and peace that one can know what is the best thing to do. Truly peace is badly needed ― without peace the simplest thing makes at once a big fuss. Nowhere will you be able to find peace unless you have peace in your heart. If you ask from within for peace,
it will come. |
26. July 1936 – Peace |
When the heart and the mind are at peace, the rest naturally follows. |
11. September 1937 – Peace |
There is no greater peace than that of a pure mind. Solace in the mind: a silent peace. The vast peace and the calm
are there, ready for you to open to them and receive them. |
08. May 1954 – Peace |
Let the vast peace of the Divine penetrate you entirely and initiate all your movements. Let the Peace be manifested in you more and more constantly and integrally. Let the Divine’s peace
always reign in your heart and mind. |
12. May 1954 – Peace |
In peace and inner silence you will more and more become conscious of the constant Presence. In peace and silence the Eternal
manifests. Let nothing trouble you and the Eternal will manifest. |
13. June 1954 – Peace |
It is in an unshakable peace that can be found the true power. |
11. September 1954 – Peace |
It is in peace that knowledge and power are truly effective. The Divine’s Peace must
dwell constantly in our hearts. |
26. September 1954 – Peace |
It is in the most complete peace, serenity and equality that all is the Divine even as the Divine is all. |
18. March 1960 – Peace |
Peace
of mind must be acquired not through favourable circumstances but through
inner transformation. |
14. November 1969 – Peace |
It
is from the Divine that a sadhak receives peace, a peace quite independent
from outward circumstances. Turn more towards the Divine, aspire for the real
inner peace and you will get enough peace to carry on your work without
disturbance. Blessings. Be
peaceful, confident in the divine working. |
27. May 1954 – Silence |
Silence: the ideal condition for progress. It is in Silence that true progress can be made. It is only in silence that a true progress can be made; it is only in silence that one can rectify a wrong movement; it is only in silence that one can be of help to somebody else. If you have found out a truth, or rectified a mistake in yourself, or made a progress, to speak or to write about it to anybody else than the Guru is to lose at once the truth or the progress. A silent help seems to be more effective and sure, more constant and detailed. In silence is the greatest respect. In the silence of the heart, you will receive the command. In the silence of our heart
there is always peace and joy. |
18. June 1954 – Silence |
In a quiet silence strength is restored. |
15. October 1954 – Silence |
Let us adore in silence and listen to the Divine in a deep concentration. |
27. October 1954 – Silence |
In the perfect silence of the contemplation all widens to infinity, and in the perfect peace of that silence the Divine appears in the resplendent glory of His light. |
08. November 1954 – Silence |
In concentration and silence we must gather strength for the right action. |
05. January 1955 – Silence |
Certain silences are revelations and are more expressive than words. MEDITATION We sat together in silence for
a few minutes, enjoying the company of our soul, and we witnessed the gates
of Eternity opening wide before us. |
07. June 1958 – Silence |
It is in silence that the soul best expresses itself. |
October 1969 – Silence |
It is in the silence of complete identification with the Divine that true understanding is obtained. |
No Date – Silence |
With words one can at times understand, but only in silence one knows. Silence: the condition of the being
when it listens to the Divine. |
09. May 1934 – Openness |
Openness
is the will 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. Opening
is a release of the consciousness by which it begins to admit into itself the
workings of the Divine Light and Power. Open
to the consciousness which is working on and in you and keep always as quiet
and peaceful as you can. I
pray that I may serve you consciously and sincerely, without the least
encroachment or hampering by the ego, and be inspired by you in everything. Open
yourself more and more to the Consciousness and you will receive inspiration. |
12. June 1939 – Openness |
The opening to the Divine Light cannot be made through coercion. |
02. August 1962 – Openness |
“To open more to love and to the light.” This is exactly the answer I send to your last letter. Rise higher in the consciousness, love more widely, open to the light—and all divergences will disappear. You must be as vast and comprehensive as the world to do the Yoga. |
14. December 1963 – Openness |
If you open yourself to the Force and the Help, there will be no strain. |
No Date – Openness |
Opening: the help is constant in all the domains. It is for us to know how to benefit from it. Integral opening of the being towards
the Divine: the first step of the ascent. |
13. November 1957 – Wideness |
Widen yourself to the extreme limit of the universe… and beyond. Always take upon yourself all the necessities of progress, and resolve them in the ecstasy of Unity. Then you will be divine. |
07. December 1964 – 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. |
No Date – Plasticity |
Plasticity: always ready for the progress demanded. |
22. December 1934 – 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 one-pointedness of the
aspiration that the receptivity increases. |
29. January 1964 – Receptivity |
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. Consciousness? Be
receptive ― it is there. Love
and blessings. 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. |
12. July 1965 – Receptivity |
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. How can we know that we are receptive? When we feel the urge to give
and the joy of giving to the Divine’s work, then we can be sure that we
have become receptive. |
No Date – Receptivity |
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. |
24. September 1945 – Purity |
Purity is the best of powers. This is purity, to accept no other influence but only the influence of the Divine. On earth, true purity is to
think as the Divine thinks, to will as the Divine wills, to feel as the
Divine feels. |
No Date – Purity |
If one lives only for the Divine and by the Divine, there follows a perfect purity. Purity is perfect sincerity and one cannot have it unless the being is entirely consecrated to the Divine. Mother, tell me how I can keep Your service holy and free from the slightest stain of human impurity. By wanting it and always aspiring for it. Integral purity: the whole being is purified of the ego. Power of integral purity: the power to accept nothing but the divine influence. Mental purity: a mirror which does not distort. Perfect mental purity: a spotless mirror constantly turned towards the Divine. Integral mental purity: silent, attentive, receptive, concentrated on the Divine ― this is the path to purity. Vital purity: it begins with the abolition of desire. Collective purity: a very precious achievement but one difficult to obtain. Divine purity: it is happy
just to be, in all simplicity. |
06. March 1971 – Simplicity |
There is a great beauty in simplicity. Integral simplicity: the simplicity which is the consequence of perfect sincerity. Spirituality is supreme
simplicity. |
06. March 1971 – Simplicity |
True spirituality is it very simple. |
No Date – Simplicity |
To express Harmony, of all things Simplicity is the best. |
04. June 1956 – Humility and Modesty |
Humility: adorable in its simplicity. The greater beings are always the most simple and modest. Correct self-evaluation: simple and modest, does not try to push itself forward. Modesty is satisfied with its own charm and does not draw attention to itself. The more we advance on the
Path, the more modest we become and the more we see that we have done nothing
in comparison to what remains to be done. |
No Date – Humility and Modesty |
We
must learn that whatever our efforts, whatever our struggles, whatever even our
victories, compared with the path still to be traversed what we have already
travelled is nothing. Do
not think yourself big or small, very important or very unimportant; for we
are nothing in ourselves. We
must only live to become what the Divine wills of us. You
are becoming very wise and approaching the realisation that we are nothing,
we know nothing and we can do nothing; only the Supreme Divine knows, does
and is. True
humility consists in knowing that the Supreme Consciousness, the Supreme Will
alone exists and that the I is not. To
be humble means for the mind, the vital and the body never to forget that
without the Divine they know nothing, are nothing and can do nothing; without
the Divine they are nothing but ignorance, chaos and impotence. The Divine
alone is Truth, Life, Power, Love, Felicity. Therefore
the mind, the vital, and the body must learn and feel, once and for all, that
they are wholly incapable of understanding and judging the Divine, not only
in his essence but also in his action and manifestation. This
is the only true humility and with it come quiet and peace. This
is also the surest shield against all hostile attack. Indeed, in the human
being it is always the door of pride at which the Adversary knocks, for it is
this door which opens to let him enter. Whatever
is your personal value or even your individual realisation, the first quality
required in yoga is humility. A
true and sincere humility is our safeguard ― it is the surest way to
the indispensable dissolution of the ego. Humility
and sincerity are the best safeguards. Without them each step is a danger;
with them the victory is certain. |
23. April 1954 – Gratitude |
Gratitude: it is you who open all the closed doors and let the Grace which saves penetrate deeply. Gratitude A loving recognition of the Grace received from the Divine. A humble recognition of all that the Divine has done and is doing for you. The spontaneous feeling of obligation to the Divine, which makes you do your best to become less unworthy of what the Divine is doing for you. Detailed gratitude: the gratitude that awakens in us all the details of the Divine Grace. Integral gratitude: the whole being offers itself to the Lord in absolute trust. Mental gratitude: the gratefulness of the mind for what makes it progress. The best way to express one’s
gratitude to the Divine is to feel simply happy. |
No Date – Gratitude |
There is no better way to show one’s gratefulness to the Divine than to be quietly happy. To accept gladly what I give is never selfish. There is no better cure for egoism than a happy gratefulness. Always joyfully accept what is given you by the Divine. A self-willed man cannot be grateful ― because when he gets what he wants he gives all the credit for it to his own will, and when he gets what he does not want he resents it badly and throws all the blame on whomever he considers responsible, God, man or Nature. It is very difficult to keep up your gratitude; for a time it comes very strongly and again it goes back. The Divine can go on tolerating everything in spite of your ingratitude because He knows fully the how and why and wherefore of everything. He knows why you are doing a certain thing. He knows the full working and that is why He can tolerate it. The nobility of a being is
measured by its capacity of gratitude. |
02. June 1935 – Faithfulness |
Faithfulness: we can count on you. You never fail us when we need you. Incorruptible faithfulness: nothing can turn you away from the duty you have chosen. This is faithfulness, to admit and to manifest no other movements but only the movements prompted and guided by the Divine. The strength is always with
you to be always faithful to the Divine Will. |
05. August 1955 – Faithfulness |
In the present condition of the world an absolute faithfulness to the Divine has become an indispensable need. Surely when unfaithfulness prevails all around, it is time to be truly faithful and to stand untouched and unmoved in the storm. Faithfulness is a condition
for peace and protection. |
28. May 1959 – Faithfulness |
Without faithfulness in one’s consecration to the Divine there can be no peace in the heart. Be faithful to the Divine and you will enjoy a constant peace. Be always faithful to your faith and you will feel no sorrow. Be simple, sincere and
faithful in front of the Grace which is constantly with you. |
No Date – Obedience |
The obedience to the Divine Will must be total. Perfect obedience: obedience to the divine order with joy and without hesitation or reserve in all parts of the being. To learn to obey is good; to
obey only the Divine is better. |
22. March 1934 – 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. |
18. November 1951 – Will |
Even the most beautiful thoughts will not make us progress unless we have a constant will for them to be expressed in us through nobler feelings, more exact sensations and better actions. |
07. April 1969 – Will |
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. |
No Date – Will |
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. Agni: the flame of purification
which must precede all contact with the invisible worlds. |
09. November 1954 – Resolution |
Resolution: nothing can stop its development. We must gather ourselves in a
calm resolution and an unshakable certitude. |
28. October 1966 – Resolution |
Keep firm in your resolution and everything will be all right. Love. |
09. February 1969 – Resolution |
Let your resolution be integral and constant and little by little your future will be revealed to you. With love and blessings. |
19. July 1954 – Determination |
It is difficult to get rid of all habits. They must be faced with a steady determination. |
01. July 1955 – 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. |
No Date – Determination |
Determination knows what it wants and does it. |
22. May 1934 – Steady Effort |
Ambitious plans generally fall flat. It is better to go slow and steady. Be steady and patient ―
everything will be all right. |
08. May 1937 – Steady Effort |
You
must keep your aspiration steady and be patient in your endeavour ― and
you are sure of success. |
25. April 1954 – Steady Effort |
Steady efforts always bring great results. |
26. October 1954 – Steady Effort |
Remaining steady in our effort and quiet and firm in our determination, we are sure to reach the goal. |
03. October 1966 – Steady Effort |
Effort well-directed breaks down all obstacles. Be steady in your aspiration and it is sure to be granted. Love. |
07. December 1969 – Steady Effort |
No effort is lost. There is always an answer, even if it is not perceived. |
15. October 1972 – Steady Effort |
Personal effort is indispensable; without it nothing can be done. When the personal effort is sincere the help is always there. |
No Date – Steady Effort |
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. |
12. September 1934 – Persistence |
Do not worry, be patient and persistent in your aspiration. Persist in your aspiration and it will be fulfilled. |
12. June 1971 – Persistence |
Persist in your aspiration and your effort and you will succeed. |
No Date – Persistence |
Continuity: knowing how to persist in one’s effort. |
14. June 1954 – Endurance |
Endurance: going to the very end of the effort without fatigue or relaxing. Endurance is the capacity of bearing without depression. Cheer up, all will be all right, if we know how to last and endure. To know and be able to bear and endure, undoubtedly produces a firm and fixed joy. The most important is a steady, quiet endurance that does not allow any upsetting or depression to interfere with your progress. The sincerity of the aspiration is the assurance of the victory. A quiet endurance is the sure way to success. |
20. August 1954 – Endurance |
The
things we cannot realise today we shall be able to realise tomorrow. The only
necessity is to endure. |
06. September 1954 – Endurance |
The victory is to the most enduring. |
07. January 1966 – Endurance |
Endure
and you will triumph. Victory goes to the most enduring. And
with the Grace and divine love nothing is impossible. My
force and love are with you. At
the end of the struggle there is Victory. |
No Date – Endurance |
In silent endurance, one step forward towards victory with the help of eternal love. Open to the Divine Grace and
thou shalt endure. |
09. March 1934 – Patience |
Patience: indispensable for all realisation. Patience: the capacity to wait steadily for the Realisation to come. Accomplishment is without any doubt the fruit of patience. With patience one arrives always. It is not in a day that one can overcome one’s own nature. But with patience and enduring will the Victory is sure to come. With patience any difficulty
can be overcome. |
09. August 1934 – Patience |
Everything will come in its time; keep a confident patience and all will be all right. |
04. February 1938 – Patience |
With patience and perseverance all prayers get fulfilled. |
21. October 1951 – Patience |
With sincerity, make an effort for progress, and with patience, know how to await the result of your effort. |
10. November 1961 – Patience |
To
know how to wait is to put Time on your side. Yes,
it is not good to be impatient and agitated ― you must do everything
peacefully and quietly without excessive haste. If
the mind remains quiet in all circumstances and happenings, patience will be
more easily increased. Yoga
cannot be done in a hurry ― it needs many many years. If you are “pressed
for time” it means that you have no intention of doing yoga ― is
it so? It
is not the soul, but the ego and its pride that feel “defeat and
humiliation”. |
04. July 1962 – Patience |
One
goes much faster when he is not in a hurry. To
really move forward, one should feel, with complete confidence, that eternity
lies before him. |
19. May 1968 – Patience |
To
realise anything one must be patient. And
the vaster and more important the realisation, the greater the patience must
be. Blessings. |
08. May 1971 – Patience |
One must be patient and stubborn in order to reach the goal. |
29. May 1956 – Perseverance |
Perseverance:
the decision to go to the very end. Perseverance
is patience in action. Perseverance
breaks down all obstacles. Persevere
and all obstacles will be conquered. Persevere
― it is the surest way to success. What you have not been able to
achieve in you last year, you will do this year. With
my love and blessings. Persevere
in your Aspiration and effort, do not allow yourself to be discouraged by
setbacks. This always happens in the beginning. But if you continue to fight
without paying any attention to them, a day will come when the resistances
give way and the difficulties vanish. My help is always with you, but you
must learn to use it and to rely on it rather than on your own resources. |
1961 – Perseverance |
What you are not able to do today, you will achieve tomorrow. Persevere and you shall conquer. It is by persevering that one conquers difficulties, not by running away from them. One who perseveres is sure to triumph. Victory goes to the most enduring. Always do your best and the Lord will take care of the results. |
29. May 1971 – Perseverance |
What is obstinacy? How can one use it best? It is the wrong use of a great quality ― perseverance. Make a good use of it and it will be all right. Be obstinate in your effort
towards progress, and your obstinacy will become useful. |
1971 – Perseverance |
I
already told you that my help is with you and will continue to be so ―
you are sure to reach the goal but you must be very perseverant. To be
constantly in contact with the Truth is not easy and needs time and a great
sincerity. But you can be sure of my guidance and my force. With
love and blessings. |
30. September 1954 – 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. |
No Date – Heroism and Bravery |
Bravery fears nothing and knows how to hold tight against adversaries. |
No Date – 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. Vital boldness must surrender to reason. Physical boldness does not know the impossible in its consecration to the Divine. Spontaneous boldness: one of
the results of perfect trust in the Divine. |
04. November 1951 – Courage |
Courage: bold, it faces all dangers. Integral courage: whatever the domain, whatever the danger, the attitude remains the same — calm and assured. 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. |
01. May 1954 – Courage |
Vital
courage must be controlled to be helpful. A
noblest courage is to recognise one’s faults. There
is no greater courage than that of recognising one’s own mistakes. |
31. July 1954 – Courage |
There is no greater courage than to be always truthful. |
22. July 1955 – Courage |
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. The
moral courage and endurance are often much more difficult to get than the
material courage and endurance. |
04. May 1954 – Strength, Force and
Power |
The true strength is always peaceful. |
16. January 1955 – Strength, Force
and Power |
All who are truly strong and powerful are always very calm. It is only the weak who are restless. True calmness is always a sign of forcefulness. Integral silence: the source of true force. An exterior power has value
only in proportion of its expression of the power of Truth. |
No Date – Strength, Force and Power |
Individual power: limited in its capacity and action. Enlightened individual power: limited in its action but of a very high capacity. Mentalised power: power becomes utilisable. Dynamic power: indispensable
for progress. |
18. August 1954 – 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. |
05. October 1934 – Prudence and
Balance |
Prudence: very useful for weakness because weakness needs prudence; strength does not need it. Common sense: it is very practical and avoids any mistakes, but it lacks light. 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. |
20. August 1935 – Prudence and Balance |
The loss of money is of small importance, but the loss of equipoise is a much more important thing. |
10. August 1954 – Prudence and
Balance |
All mischief comes from a lack of balance. So, let us keep our balance
carefully, always, in all circumstances. |
No Date – Prudence and Balance |
Perfect balance: one of the most important conditions of a growing peace. |
02. August 1954 – Enthusiasm and
Straightforwardness |
Joyous enthusiasm: the best way of facing life. True enthusiasm is full of a peaceful endurance. Our courage and endurance must
be as great as our hope and our hope has no limits. |
15. August 1954 – Enthusiasm and Straightforwardness |
A steady hope helps much on the way. |
22. August 1954 – Enthusiasm and Straightforwardness |
Our hopes are never too great for manifestation. We cannot conceive of any
thing that cannot be. |
17. December 1972 – Enthusiasm and Straightforwardness |
Straightforwardness shows itself as it is, without compromising. Transparency can come only as a result of perfect sincerity. Illumined transparency: an effect of the Divine Grace. Integral transparency: it is the result of perfect goodwill and sincerity. Integrality is
super-sincerity. |
22. September 1934 – Nobility and
Refinement |
Nobility: the incapacity for any pettiness either of sentiments or of action. Aristocracy: incapable of baseness and pettiness, it asserts itself with dignity and authority. Dignity affirms its worth, but demands nothing. Dignity of the emotions: not to permit one’s emotions to contradict the inner Divinity. Dignity in the physical: above all bargaining. Psychic dignity refuses to accept anything that lowers or debases. Refinement: gradually grossness is eliminated from the being. Sensitivity: one of the results of the refinement of the being. Gentleness: always gracious and wishing to give pleasure. Charm envelops and conquers by an inexhaustible sweetness. Sweetness adds its smiling touch to life without making a fuss. Sweetness itself becomes powerful when at the service of the Divine. A smile acts upon difficulties as the sun upon clouds ― it disperses them. 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. |
07. November 1946 – Nobility and
Refinement |
Generally speaking, man is an animal who takes himself terribly seriously. To know how to smile at oneself in all circumstances, to smile at one’s sorrows and disillusions, ambitions and sufferings, indignation and revolt ― what a powerful weapon with which to overcome oneself! |
07. November 1946 – Nobility and
Refinement |
Learn to smile always and in all circumstances; to smile at your sorrows as well as your joys, your sufferings as well as your hopes, for in a smile there is a sovereign power of self-mastery. |
06. October 1960 – Nobility and
Refinement |
If you can always smile at life, life also will always smile at you. |
06. October 1960 – Nobility and
Refinement |
If one can smile eternally, one is eternally young. |
No Date – Nobility and Refinement |
Eternal smile: a kindness only the Divine can give. You can smile genuinely at an enemy if you are above all insult and offence. This is the primary condition for the yogic attitude. To smile at an enemy is to
disarm him. |
29. October 1934 – Cheerfulness |
Cheerfulness: a joyous smile of Nature. Cheerful endeavour: the joy that one finds in the effort towards the Divine. 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. |
06. May 1933 – Joy |
Joy comes when you take the right attitude. Joy comes from submission to
the divine command. |
04. July 1954 – Joy |
Joy of spirituality: the reward of sincere effort. 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. |
No Date – Joy |
Joy of integral peace: calm and tranquil, a smile which does not disappoint. Joy’s call: it is modest
and rarely makes itself heard. |
19. October 1954 – Beatitude and
Bliss |
There is no greater bliss than that of being like a newborn child in front of the Divine. |
21. October 1954 – Beatitude and
Bliss |
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. |
30. August 1967 – Beatitude and
Bliss |
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. |
05. October 1932 – Happiness |
Happy heart: smiling, peaceful, wide open, without a shadow. You must never forget that you
are much more helpful when you are quietly happy than when you become
dramatic. |
12. April 1934 – Happiness |
Be happy, my child, it is the surest way of progress. |
25. October 1934 – Happiness |
Happiness is as contagious as gloom ― and nothing can be more useful than to pass on to people the contagion of a true and deep happiness. |
11. July 1935 – Happiness |
Try to be happy ― immediately you will be closer to the Light. |
07. March 1937 – Happiness |
Indeed he is happy who loves the Divine because the Divine is always with him. |
19. October 1941 – Happiness |
The only way to a true and lasting happiness is a complete and exclusive reliance on the Divine’s Grace. |
13. October 1951 – Happiness |
Always be good and you will always be happy. |
24. May 1954 – Happiness |
Let us always do the right thing and we shall always be quiet and happy. |
05. June 1954 – Happiness |
Let us seek our happiness only in the Divine. |
05. October 1954 – Happiness |
When the Divine grants the true inner happiness nothing in the world has the power to snatch it away. |
02. June 1963 – Happiness |
Spiritual happiness: calm and smiling, nothing can disturb it. Always remember that on the happiness
you give will depend the happiness you get. |
04. July 1965 – Happiness |
The happiness you give makes you more happy than the happiness you receive. |
No Date – Happiness |
To be concerned for one’s happiness is the surest way of becoming unhappy. If we want to keep our happiness intact and pure, we must do our best not to attract upon it the attention of unfriendly thoughts. To be always happy, with an
unclouded, unfluctuating happiness — of all things this is the most difficult to
accomplish. |
20. July 1935 – Harmony |
Harmony: let us strive that the day may come when this will be the means and the end. Harmony is my aim and all that leads to harmony makes me happy. Integral harmony: harmony between things, harmony between people, harmony of circumstances and above all harmony of all aspiration directed towards the Supreme Truth. A harmonious collective aspiration can change the course of circumstances. Collective harmony is the work undertaken by the Divine Consciousness; It alone has the power to realise it. There is a deep and true consciousness in which all can meet in love and harmony. It is only in union with the
Divine and in the Divine that harmony and peace can be established. |
04. July 1966 – Harmony |
Surely we must always want peace and harmony and work for it as much as we can ― but for that the best field of action is always within ourselves. Look for the inner causes of disharmony much more than the outer ones. It is the inside which governs
the outside. |
April 1970 – Harmony |
Do not worry or be impatient ― all the disharmonies will disappear, but it must be on the true basis of a settled luminous consciousness leaving no room for the play of the ego. For all to agree, each one
must rise to the summit of his consciousness: it is on the heights that
harmony is created. |
04. March 1971 – Harmony |
You must rise so high in your consciousness that it dominates the opposition. This is the solution. |
02. July 1954 – Collaboration |
Collaboration: ever ready to help and knowing how to do it. Collaboration does not mean that everybody should do the will of the man who asks for it. True collaboration is a non-egoistic union of all personal efforts to express and realise the Divine’s Will. We must replace competition
and strife by collaboration and fraternity. |
No Date – Collaboration |
Substitute the spirit of rivalry and competition by the goodwill of collaboration and mutual understanding. It is when things are going
wrong that it is the best opportunity to show one’s goodwill and spirit
of true collaboration. |
16. December 1966 – Goodwill |
Indeed,
the good will hidden in all things reveals itself everywhere to the one who
carries good will in his consciousness. This
is a constructive way of feeling which leads straight to the Future. One
should keep goodwill and love constantly in his heart and let them pour out upon
all with tranquillity and with equanimity. |
14. August 1969 – Goodwill |
Good will for all and good will from all is the basis of peace and harmony. |
No Date – Goodwill |
Goodwill: of modest appearance, it makes no noise but is ever ready to be useful. Mental goodwill likes to show
off a little, but is very useful. |
No Date – Benevolence |
Benevolence makes life fragrant without attracting attention. A tireless benevolence, clear-seeing and comprehensive, free from all personal reaction, is the best way to love God and serve Him upon earth. I mean a benevolence sincere
and spontaneous in thought and speech and not a supposed benevolence in acts
which is accompanied most often by a dreadful sense of condescending
superiority serving chiefly as a platform for human vanity. |
09. August 1969 – Tolerance |
Tolerance is full of a sense of superiority; it should be replaced by a total understanding. Tolerance is only the first step towards wisdom. The need to tolerate indicates the presence of preferences. He who lives in the Divine
Consciousness regards all things with a perfect equanimity. |
28. March 1932 – Freedom |
Liberty is to depend only on
the Divine. |
24. August 1955 – Freedom |
If
you have a strong and conscious will and your will is centred around the
psychic then you can have a taste of liberty, otherwise you are the slave of
all the outside influences. |
31. August 1966 – Freedom |
Freedom does not come from outer circumstances but from inner liberation. Find your soul, unite with it, let it govern your life and you will be free. Blessings. |
21. September 1969 – Freedom |
Freedom is to do only what the Supreme Consciousness makes us do. In every other case one is a
slave, whether of the will of others, or of conventions, or of moral laws, or
of vital impulses, or of mental fancies, or, above all, of the desires of the
EGO. |
26. July 1971 – Freedom |
Freedom is far from meaning disorder and confusion. It is the inner liberty that we must have, and if you have it nobody can take it away from you. The only true liberty is that obtained by union with the Divine. One can unite with the Divine
only when the ego is mastered. |
No Date – Freedom |
Liberation: the disappearance of the ego. |
13. December 1933 – 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. |
21. February 1953 – Truth |
Let the light of Truth be born upon earth from today and for ever. |
06. May 1954 – Truth |
The Light of Truth broods over the world to permeate and mould its future. Everything must be transformed
by the knowledge of the Truth. |
28. April 1954 – Truth |
Take Truth for your force, take Truth for your refuge. |
09. May 1954 – Truth |
The only important thing is to follow the Divine’s truth with love and joy. |
17. May 1954 – Truth |
The truth is in us, we have only to become aware of it. |
28. August 1954 – Truth |
Blessed will be the day when the earth, awakened to the Truth, lives only for the Divine. |
29. August 1954 – Truth |
The
Truth is in you ― but you must want it, in order to realise it. |
22. October 1954 – Truth |
The Divine’s Will is that the mind should know and He says, “Awake and be conscious of the Truth.” |
17. September 1958 – Truth |
Let the Lord of Truth be always with you. |
03. November 1965 – Truth |
Let the flower of Truth blossom within you. We must all be the faithful
army of the Truth. |
16. December 1967 – Truth |
We aspire for the Truth and its triumph in our being and our activities. |
16. December 1967 – Truth |
Let the Truth be your master and your guide. |
12. February 1969 – Truth |
Let your consecration to Truth be complete and constant. Be more eager for truth than
for success. |
July 1971 – Truth |
Cling
to Truth. O
Splendour of eternal Truth I call Thee. I salute Thee, O Sun of the morrow. |
June 1971 – Truth |
Supreme
Lord, Eternal Truth Let
us obey Thee alone and live according to Truth. |
1971 – Truth |
(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. |
03. May 1972 – Truth |
Let us all work with a growing sincerity for the manifestation of the Divine Truth. |
No Date – Truth |
Salute to the advent of the Truth. |
09. August 1954 – 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. Hypocrisy
and pretension are the homage ignorance pays to the truth. Hypocrisy
and pretension are the first signs of the inconscient’s aspiration
towards consciousness. Simultaneous
with the progress and intensification of the sadhana, there is increasingly
felt the imperative need that all hypocrisy and compromise should stop. This
earth is still governed by ignorance and falsehood. But the time has come for
the manifestation of Truth. |
1956 – Falsehood and Truth |
May the Truth be invincible, overwhelming, all-powerful, leaving no room for falsehood anywhere and for ever. |
15. December 1964 – Falsehood and
Truth |
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. |
14. August 1971 – Falsehood and Truth |
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. |
26. November 1972 – Falsehood and
Truth |
Before dying falsehood rises in full swing. Still people understand only the lesson of catastrophe. Will it have to come before they open their eyes to the truth? So I ask an effort from all so that it has not to be. 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. |
31. December 1972 – Falsehood and
Truth |
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. |
No Date – Falsehood and Truth |
Let us offer our falsehood to the Divine so that He may change it to joyous Truth. |
10. December 1954 – Truth is above
Mind |
Truth is eternally beyond all that we can think or say of it. |
25. November 1961 – Truth is above
Mind |
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. |
26. January 1963 – Truth is above
Mind |
When I am right, no one remembers. When I am wrong, no one forgets. Because there is no true right
and wrong ― the only Truth is the Lord and He remembers everything. |
06. October 1965 – Truth is above
Mind |
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. If any element of this totality is taken separately and affirmed as the sole truth, however central or comprehensive it may be, it necessarily becomes a falsehood, for then it denies all the rest of the total Truth. This is precisely what constitutes an indisputable dogma, and this is why it is the most dangerous type of falsehood, because each one affirms that it is the sole and exclusive truth. The absolute, infinite, eternal Truth is unthinkable for the mind which can only conceive that which is spatial and temporal, fragmentary and limited. Thus, on the mental plane, the absolute Truth is divided into innumerable fragmentary and contradictory truths which strive in their entirety to reproduce the original Truth as best they can ― for each is a truth that attempts to affirm itself as the sole truth, to the exclusion of all the other truths, which, through their innumerable totality, express progressively in the becoming the Infinite, Eternal and Absolute Truth ― that is how they deny the total Truth. The truth is neither in separation nor in uniformity. The truth is in unity manifesting through diversity. 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. |
24. October 1971 – Truth is above
Mind |
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. |
No Date – Truth is above Mind |
He who sincerely wants to serve the Truth will know the Truth. |
11. January 1967 – 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. |
05. June 1967 – Opinion and
Truth |
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. |
No Date – Opinion and Truth |
In all opinions there is something true and something false. It is indeed a great and useful thing to be able to listen to the opinions of others without losing one’s temper. 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. |
10. December 1959 – Opinion and
Truth |
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. |
No Date – Opinion and Truth |
Vital honesty: not to allow our sensations and desires to falsify our judgement and determine our action. Mental honesty: one does not try to deceive others or to deceive oneself. Mental sincerity: the
essential condition for integral honesty. |
14. June 1934 – 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. |
30. December 1972 – Speak Always
the Truth |
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. |
05. March 1933 – Control of
Speech |
Control over what one says is more important than complete silence. The best is to learn to say what is useful in the most exact and true way possible. |
03. March 1934 – 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. |
29. December 1934 – Control of
Speech |
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. |
09. January 1938 – Control of
Speech |
The world is deafened with useless words. Yes, it is very good to know how to remain silent and not take part in discussions that are always useless and unwholesome. There is a great strength in the power to keep silent. It is always better not to listen to talks especially on so-called spiritual matters. Each one must follow his own
way and the others have nothing to do with it. |
22. November 1951 – Control of
Speech |
An atmosphere of spirituality sometimes helps much more than an exchange of words. |
18. December 1951 – Control of
Speech |
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. |
23. January 1953 – Control of
Speech |
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. |
18. April 1956 – Control of
Speech |
Spiritual speech: all-powerful in its simplicity. Frankness says candidly what it has to say without caring for the result. It is always a sign of
strength to be able to say things gently and it is always weakness that
bursts out into unpleasantnesses. |
09. August 1957 – Control of
Speech |
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. The
criticising habit is more destructive than many bad habits. Médire
est une chose très vile. I don’t know how to translate médire 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. |
11. October 1958 – Control of
Speech |
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. |
26. February 1965 – Control of
Speech |
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. |
03. November 1965 – Control of
Speech |
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. |
June 1966 – Control of Speech |
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. It is certainly very bad to
speak about the faults of others; everyone has his defects and to keep on
thinking of them surely does not help to cure them. |
27. July 1966 – Control of
Speech |
For
writing, even more 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. |
29. July 1967 – Control of
Speech |
Neither too many nor too few words ― just what is needed. I think the tendency to gather information is not bad? It is bad and harmful and
lowers not only the consciousness of those who gossip, but also the general
atmosphere of the place. |
12. October 1967 – Control of
Speech |
To gossip about what somebody is doing or not doing is wrong. To listen to such gossip is wrong. To verify if such gossip is true is wrong. To retaliate in words against a false gossip is wrong. The whole affair is a very bad way of wasting one’s time and lowering one’s consciousness. Unless this very nasty habit is eradicated from the atmosphere, never will the Ashram reach its goal of Divine Life. I wish all would repent like
you and take the resolution of stopping this unhealthy activity. |
15. November 1940 – Speech and
Practice |
It
is not enough to know, you must practise. It
is not enough to pretend, you must be. |
July 1953 – Speech and Practice |
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. |
No Date – Speech and Practice |
A drop of practice is better than an ocean of theories, advices and good resolutions. |
24. November 1969 – Speech and
Practice |
Speak less, act more. Talk little, be true, act sincerely. To listen is good, but not sufficient ― you must understand. To understand is better, but
still not sufficient ― you must act. |
29. July 1970 – Speech and Practice |
(Message for the inauguration of Sri Aurobindo’s Action) To speak well is good. To act
well is better. Never let your actions be below your words. |
No Date – Speech and Practice |
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. A
teaching can be profitable only if it is perfectly sincere, and that means if
it is lived at the moment when it is given. Words often repeated, thoughts often
expressed cannot be any longer sincere. All
theories, all teachings are, in the last analysis, nothing but ways of seeing
and speaking. Even the highest revelations are worth no more than the power
of realisation that comes with them. 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. |
No Date – Circumstances: Results, Not
Causes |
It is an error or superstition to believe that an external thing or circumstance can be the cause of anything. All things and circumstances are the accompanying results of a Force that acts from behind the veil. The Force acts and each thing reacts according to its own nature. One must not take consequences for causes. Never take physical happenings at their face value. They are always a clumsy attempt to express something else, the true thing which escapes your superficial understanding. Do not mind the apparent
contradictions. There is a truth to be found behind. |
11. July 1939 – Circumstances: Results of Past
Actions |
I am full of sympathy but unshakably convinced that each one meets in this life the circumstances which he has, inwardly and outwardly, built for himself. |
04. December 1939 – Circumstances: Results of Past Actions |
Each one is the artisan of his own miseries. |
28 July 1954 – Circumstances: Results of Past
Actions |
It is always a mistake to complain about the circumstances of our life, for they are the outward expression of what we are ourselves. |
16. November 1954 – Circumstances: Results of Past Actions |
It is in oneself that there are all the obstacles, it is in oneself that there are all the difficulties, it is in oneself that there are all the darkness and all the ignorance. |
24. April 1969 – Circumstances: Results of
Past Actions |
Addressed
to People of Ill Will The
evil you have wilfully done always comes back to you under one form or
another. |
01. March 1971 – Circumstances: Results of
Past Actions |
Each one is free to do whatever he likes, but he cannot prevent his acts from bearing their natural consequences. It is only what is done with the Divine and for the Divine that is free from the slavery of consequences. There is a Supreme Divinity
witness of all our actions and the day of consequence will come soon. |
03. March 1971 – Circumstances: Results of
Past Actions |
Each one brings upon himself the consequences of his acts. |
No Date – Circumstances: Results of Past Actions |
About what you say on the last page of your letter. Things are not altogether what you think them to be. For some years already, I have had much to say on the subject. But what is the use? There are certain waters which are best left unstirred. In any case, I would like you never to forget this: What each one meets in life is always exactly in accordance with what he is. Not in the way ignorant human justice understands it, but according to a law that is much more subtle, more deep, more true. Let us never forget that the supreme Lord is behind everything and that it is He who is the master of our destinies. |
26. July 1954 – Circumstances and One’s
Inner Condition |
Satisfaction does not depend on outer circumstances but on an inner condition. |
29. March 1958 – Circumstances and One’s Inner Condition |
People
think that their condition depends on circumstances. But that is all false.
If somebody is a “nervous wreck”, he thinks that if circumstances
are favourable he will improve. But, actually, even if they are favourable he
will remain what he is. All think they are feeling weak and tired because
people are not nice to them. This is rubbish. It is not the circumstances
that have to be changed: what is required is an inner change. If
you feel that a change is needed, it can be in the attitude, giving
importance to what is to be said and realised and using the past as a
preparation for the future. This is not a very difficult thing to do ―
and I am quite sure that you will easily do it. You
have this trouble. It is an indication that there is something in you that
needs an immediate change. There is something that is refusing to come into
the Light. If you can change your consciousness, the trouble will disappear. When
one is in need of outward changes, it means that he is not progressing
within; for he who progresses within can live always under the same outward
conditions: they constantly reveal to him new truths. All
outward change should be the spontaneous and inevitable expression of an
inner transformation. Normally, all improvement of the conditions of physical
life should be the blossoming to the surface of a progress realised within. |
22. October 1964 – Circumstances and One’s Inner Condition |
There can be no physical life without an order and rhythm. When this order is changed it must be in obedience to an inner growth and not for the sake of external novelty. It is only a certain part of the surface lower vital nature which seeks always external change and novelty for its own sake. It is by a constant inner growth that one can find a constant newness and unfailing interest in life. There is no other satisfying way. By changing house you cannot change character. If you change your character
you need not change your environment. |
19. August 1966 – Circumstances and One’s Inner Condition |
Exterior things must be of little importance when one does “sadhana”. The needed inner peace can be established in any surroundings. With love and blessings. |
No Date – Circumstances and One’s Inner Condition |
Mother,
I want to ask you why the life we lead is so dependent on material objects. This
need not be; if the consciousness is centred elsewhere, more deeply, physical
things lose much of their importance. |
06. October 1958 – Circumstances and One’s Inner Condition |
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. Simply
tell yourself: “We don’t know how to do things as they ought to
be done; well, they are being done for us, come what may!” And if we
could see to what extent all that seems to be, yes, a difficulty, a mistake,
a failure, an obstacle ― all that is just to help us, so that the
realisation may be more perfect. Once
you know that, everything becomes easy. |
22. February 1965 – Circumstances and One’s Inner Condition |
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. |
18. January 1967 – Circumstances and One’s Inner Condition |
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? |
13. December 1967 – Circumstances and One’s Inner Condition |
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. |
22. February 1968 – Circumstances and One’s Inner Condition |
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. |
12. September 1969 – Circumstances and One’s
Inner Condition |
You
can say to X, on my behalf, that he must look at this apparently unhappy
circumstance as the proof that the Lord considers that he is ready for
spiritual life and that he must no more be attached to any exterior or
material thing. If
he takes things that way, he will soon feel that all sorrow is gone away from
him. What
I meant was, not to worry about it. Let him take what comes to him without
getting upset or sorry, excited or nervous. For
the aspirant and the “sadhak”, all that comes in his life comes
to help him to know the Truth and to live it. Be confident, you will conquer;
and it will mean a big step forward. With
love and blessings. |
November 1969 – Circumstances and One’s Inner Condition |
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. |
November 1969 – Circumstances and One’s Inner Condition |
The hours preceding Victory are most often the most difficult. For the individual’s surrender, it is the last resistances, sometimes quite insignificant, that are the most obstinate and difficult to conquer. But with a greater obstinacy a
victorious conclusion of the fight is certain. |
28. May 1954 – Never Complain
about Difficulties |
He
who wants to advance on the path of perfection must never complain about the
difficulties on the way, for each is an opportunity for a new progress. To
complain is a sign of weakness and insincerity. Where
the two extremes meet, to complain of anything at all, of oneself, of others
or of circumstances, is a weakness and an insincerity towards one’s
supreme Self. The
two extremes meet in their effect on the attitude towards the circumstances
of life: the total surrender to the Divine Will manifested in all things; and
the consciousness of the supreme power that organises all things according to
its all-powerful conception. In either case there is no place for complaint:
if one is completely surrendered to the Divine, how can one complain about
His Will, whatever form it takes? And on the other hand, if one feels the
power of organising the world according to the supreme truth of life, how can
one complain about the state this life is in, since it depends only on
oneself to change it? Never
grumble. All sorts of forces enter you when you grumble and they pull you
down. Keep smiling. I seem always to be joking but it is not mere joking. It
is a confidence born from the psychic. A smile expresses the faith that
nothing can stand against the Divine and that everything will come out all
right in the end. |
12. March 1958 – 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. |
05. August 1932 – Never Worry about
Difficulties |
Never worry. Do with sincerity all you do and leave the results to the Divine’s care. Let us live each day without anxiety. Why worry beforehand about something that will probably never happen? Anxiety is a lack of confidence in the Divine’s Grace, the unmistakable sign that the consecration is not complete and perfect. Don’t foresee
difficulties ― it does not help to surmount them and helps them to
come. |
No Date – Never Worry about
Difficulties |
It is better not to worry about progress, because worrying only hinders the advance. It is better to open in all trust and simplicity to the divine help and to have faith in the Victory. Live in the consciousness of
the Eternal and you will have no more worry. |
06. April 1934 – Forget about
Difficulties |
One
must not attach too much importance to these little things. What is important
is always to keep in view the ideal that one wants to realise and always to
try one’s best to realise it. |
29. September 1937 – Forget about
Difficulties |
Yes, after all, these small superficial
things are of very little importance if compared to the mission we have to
fulfil upon earth. |
25. November 1954 – Forget about
Difficulties |
We must always keep in mind the big ideal and work that is to be achieved so that we should not give too much importance to small details, trifles that must not draw our attention; let them come, let them go like small clouds in the sky, which do not affect the fine weather. Do not attach undue importance to unimportant things. We must be freed from all care
for contingencies, we must be delivered from the ordinary outlook on things. |
14. April 1958 – Forget about
Difficulties |
Never think of a difficulty ―
you give it strength. |
05. June 1961 – Forget about
Difficulties |
Do
not concentrate on an obstacle; that only strengthens it. If
you go on thinking of the trouble, it will go on increasing. If you
concentrate upon it, it will swell up, it will think that it is being
welcomed. But if you don’t pay any attention, it will lose interest in
you and go away. The
best remedy is to stop thinking of yourself and your defects and
difficulties. Let
us think only of the big work to be done, the ideal that Sri Aurobindo has
given us to realise. The
work and NOT how we do it. I
will help. |
05. March 1968 – Forget about
Difficulties |
Forget
your difficulties. Think only of being a more and more perfect instrument for
the Divine to do His work and the Divine will conquer all your difficulties
and transform you. With
love and blessings. |
05. March 1968 – Forget about
Difficulties |
Forget
your difficulties. Forget
yourself… And
the Lord will take care of your progress. With
love and blessings. |
1971 – Forget about Difficulties |
Do
not give any importance to that part and it will lose its strength and little
by little even its existence. My
love and blessings are always with you. |
03. February 1931 – Face and Overcome
Difficulties |
Be grateful for all ordeals, they are the shortest way to the Divine. The joy one experiences in living for an ideal is the sure compensation for all the difficulties of the path. Have faith in your destiny and your road will be lit. For each one and for the whole world anything becomes useful if it helps to find the Divine. The grace and protection are always with you. When in any inner or outer difficulty or trouble, do not allow it to oppress you; take refuge with the Divine Force that protects. If you do that always with
faith and sincerity, you will find something opening in you which will always
remain calm and peaceful in spite of all superficial disturbances. |
24. November 1932 – 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. |
13. March 1935 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
It is good to turn a
difficulty into an occasion for a new progress. |
15. December 1936 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
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. |
19. April 1937 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
If you keep your faith
unshaken and your heart always open to me, then all difficulties, however
great, will contribute to the greater perfection of your being. |
14. November 1937 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
Try to withdraw from your
outward circumstances which alone can be upset by such things and find the
peace inside which remains always untouched. |
07. December 1937 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
Always when one faces
difficulties and overcomes them it begins a new spiritual opening and
victory. |
03. May 1939 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
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. This
is the right attitude. Stick to it and you shall conquer. Sadhana
is always difficult and everybody has conflicting elements in his nature and
it is difficult to make the vital give up its ingrained habits. That
is no reason for giving up sadhana. One has to keep up the central aspiration
which is always sincere and go on steadily in spite of temporary failures;
and it is then inevitable that the change will come. With
my love and blessings. |
27. December 1941 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
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. Perfect
mental balance: indispensable for facing the difficulties of life. To
conquer the difficulties there is more power in a smile than in a sigh. |
11. April 1954 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
Ordeals are there for everybody. It is the way in which one faces them that makes the difference. Some have a smile, some make a fuss. Whenever things become
difficult we must remain quiet and silent. |
08. August 1954 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
Whatever is the difficulty, if
we keep truly quiet the solution will come. |
08. December 1954 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
The errors can become
stepping-stones, the blind gropings can be changed into conquests. |
10. May 1955 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
To keep steady one’s
aspiration and to look at oneself with an absolute sincerity are the sure
means to overcome all obstacles. |
13. June 1956 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
All difficulties are there to
test the endurance of the faith. |
19. September 1956 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
Look
life in the face from the soul’s inner strength and become master of
circumstances. |
14. May 1963 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
Do
not let the view of the part hide the perception of the whole, and the
details of one step obstruct the concentration on the Goal. Blessings. |
02. February 1964 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
What I meant is that life is always full of difficulties, hardships and sufferings; this is a common fact and each one has to face his own lot of them. The only way to face them properly is to endure and to put one’s interest, hope and faith in the inner life and consciousness turned towards the Divine, aspiring for the Divine and capable of receiving the Divine’s Force and Help. But often the vital being or some part of it takes a kind of perverse pleasure in giving a dramatic importance to each and every difficulty and thus cuts the contact with the inner being and the Divine’s Force. This bad habit which is common
to many people must be stopped and then each one can and will feel that he
receives very concretely the help he needs to go through the ordeals of life. |
12. July 1966 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
Our
ordeals never exceed our capacity of resistance. The
difficulties are for the strong, and help to make them stronger. Persevere
and you will conquer. You
can be sure that my help, force and blessings are always with you. With
love. |
21. April 1967 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
The
ordeals are for everybody ― it is the way of meeting them that differs
according to individuals. With
love and blessings. |
06. April 1969 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
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. |
07. November 1970 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
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. |
26. July 1971 – Face and
Overcome Difficulties |
To live within, in constant aspiration towards the Divine — that renders us capable of regarding life with a smile and remaining in peace whatever the external circumstances. Live within, do not be shaken
by external circumstances. |
No Date – Face and Overcome
Difficulties |
To live only for the Divine: this means to have overcome all the difficulties of the individual life. He who lives to serve the
Truth is not affected by outward circumstances. |
24 April 1964 – 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. |
No Date – Mistakes Can Be Effaced |
Sin belongs to the world and not to yoga. If you make one mistake in
life, then you may have to suffer all your life. It does not mean that
everybody suffers like that. There are people who go on making mistakes and
yet they do not suffer. But those who are born for a spiritual life have to
be very careful. |
04. February 1933 – Mistakes Can Be
Effaced |
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. |
04. January 1934 – Mistakes Can Be
Effaced |
One must not torment oneself
over errors that one may commit, but one must keep a perfect sincerity in one’s
aspiration and in the end everything will be all right. |
07. February 1934 – Mistakes Can Be
Effaced |
Thinking too much about one’s impurities does not help. It is better to keep the
thought fixed on the purity, light and peace that one wants to acquire. |
12. May 1934 – Mistakes Can Be
Effaced |
It is always our weaknesses that
make us sad, and we can easily recover by advancing one step more on the way. |
13. July 1934 – Mistakes Can Be
Effaced |
You must not worry about these
little things ― they have no importance in themselves; their value is
to show us where unconsciousness still exists in our nature, so that we can
bring the light there. |
22. January 1935 – Mistakes Can Be
Effaced |
It is all right to see the
imperfections and deficiencies but only on condition it brings a greater
courage for a new progress, an increase of energy in the determination and a
stronger certitude of victory and future perfection. |
06. February 1935 – Mistakes Can Be
Effaced |
These ideas of incapacity are
absurd, they are the negation of the truth of progress ― what cannot be
done today, will be done another day, if the aspiration is there. |
11. November 1936 – Mistakes Can Be
Effaced |
Even
if things are not as they ought to be, worry does not help to make them
better. A
quiet confidence is the source of strength. |
13. October 1943 – Mistakes Can Be
Effaced |
Whenever
you have made a mistake I always told you very frankly without hiding
anything from you. Everybody makes mistakes and everybody has to learn and to
progress. Moreover I have given you a big responsibility. I appreciate fully
what you have done but there is still much to learn and I am sure that you
will be quite glad to acquire knowledge and experience. With my love and
blessings. |
No Date – Mistakes Can Be Effaced |
It
is quite wrong to go on brooding about the past. The true attitude is to
remember that nothing happens but by God’s will and to submit to that
will quietly. If you have made mistakes in the past it is by lack of true
surrender and the only way to repair the mistakes is to surrender truly. But
it is not a reason for being upset about it. There
is only to remain quite cool and do our best within the limits that the human
nature ascribes to us. After
all, the whole, entire responsibility is the Lord’s and nobody else’s.
So there is nothing to worry about. It
is good to recognise your mistakes, but you must not torment yourself. You
must not suffer, you must correct yourself instead. Mother,
I am tired because every day some new catastrophe befalls me. My
dear child, You
must not torment yourself about these little mishaps. Keep
very calm and these accidents will not happen any more. My
blessings are always with you. You
must not worry about these little things, and above all do not believe in
fatality. These little failures always have a cause that can be avoided with
a little more experience, which is sure to come. My
blessings are always with you. |
06. April 1937 – Mistakes: Recognise and
Correct Them |
When
a mistake is made, it must always be used as a means for progress; once the
necessary change is realised, the mistake and its cause disappear and there
can be no repetition. |
23. January 1938 – Mistakes: Recognise and
Correct Them |
It is very good that you have become conscious of the mistakes and defects of the nature. Once you are conscious it is
always possible to rise out of them and to change the nature. |
14. October 1939 – Mistakes: Recognise and
Correct Them |
It seems to me, on the contrary, that the best way is to remain where you are and make an effort to discover your own faults ― you are bound to have some as everybody has ― and try to correct them. To be conscious of one’s own mistakes is the surest way to come out of a difficulty. A mistake recognised is a
mistake pardoned. |
20. June 1954 – Mistakes: Recognise and Correct Them |
A mistake one denies is a mistake one refuses to set right. Repentance: the first step towards rectifying mistakes. It is no use excusing yourself; you must have the will never to fall back into the faults you have committed. Before going to sleep every
night, we must pray that the mistakes we may have committed during the day
should not be repeated in future. |
30. December 1954 – Mistakes: Recognise and
Correct Them |
In this last day of the year,
let us take the resolution that all our weaknesses and obstinate obscurities
will drop from us along with the finishing year. |
28. February 1955 – Mistakes: Recognise and
Correct Them |
A strong and effective
resolution not to commit the same faults any more and a complete trust in the
Divine’s Grace are the only remedy. |
27. October 1937 – Fear |
Fear is always a very bad adviser. It is the fear ― more or less conscious ― which does almost all the mischief. Without fear nothing can happen. Do not fear, keep your confidence, all these troubles will leave you. With my love and blessings. Stop fearing and the bothers will stop also. A child of mine cannot fear. Blessings. My protection is always with you and nothing bad can happen. But you must take the decision
to shake off the fear and then my force can work fully. |
24. July 1945 – Fear |
Do not torment yourself, do
not worry; above all try to banish all fear; fear is a dangerous thing which
can give importance to something which had none at all. The mere fear of
seeing certain symptoms renew themselves is enough to bring about this
repetition. |
09. March 1949 – Fear |
This fear comes from weakness of nerves and of the vital. This fear must be got rid of,
before any attempt is made to follow the path of Yoga. |
14. October 1954 – Fear |
Yoga and fear do not go together. You are frightened because your breathing seems to stop when you try to concentrate. Don’t enter this path if you are so full of fears. Suppose it comes to the worst; then what will happen? You may die ― and then? What great harm will be done if you are dead? Our Yoga is not for cowards; if you have no courage, better leave it ― your fears will bring disaster. What can he fear who belongs
to the Divine? Can he not walk, his soul expanding and his brow illumined,
upon the path the Divine traces for him, whatever it may be, even if it is
altogether incomprehensible to his limited reason? |
06. June 1955 – Fear |
All fear must be overcome and
replaced by a total confidence in the Divine Grace. |
09. May 1963 – Fear |
If you are not frightened,
there is no harm ― it is not the moon, it is the fear which harms. |
15. October 1966 – Fear |
Nothing
can harm you if you do not fear. So,
fear not, be quiet and calm ― all will be all right. With
love and blessings. |
09. October 1967 – Fear |
The
first thing from which you must cure yourself once for ever, is Fear. It
is more dangerous than the worst disease. With
love and blessings. |
08. March 1972 – Fear |
There
is nothing to fear ― all is the Lord ― there is nothing else than
the Lord; the Lord alone exists and all that tries to frighten us is only a
silly and meaningless disguise of the Lord. Cheer
up ― the way is open before you, shake off this obsession of illness
and bring down the Divine Calm. Then
everything will be all right. With
love and blessings. You
must not be afraid. Have
full trust in the Divine who is Love, Light and Life. |
No Date – Fear |
Go safely to Siddhapur and do not fear. It is only fear which hurts, not the “spirits”. When people who have left their body appear in front of you, you must not fear ― it is generally because they are restless and lack peace ― give them a good thought and wish them to be in peace and it will be over. In any case you can tell them to go to Mother and they will not bother you any more. Go to Siddhapur and avoid unpleasant company if there is any, but always remember that it is only fear which harms and that with confident faith in the Divine’s Grace you are safe. You can be entirely free from fear only when you have driven out of you all violence. Get rid of all violence and you will no longer have any fear. Fear is hidden consent. When you are afraid of something, it means that you admit its possibility and thus strengthen its hand. It can be said that it is a subconscient consent. Fear can be overcome in many ways. The ways of courage, faith, knowledge are some of them. Fear is slavery, work is
liberty, courage is victory. |
29. July 1954 – Doubt |
Doubt is not a sport to indulge in with impunity; it is a poison which drop by drop corrodes the soul. We must decide to get rid of
all doubts, they are among the worst enemies of our progress. |
31. March 1934 – Depression |
How to avoid attacks of depression? Do not pay attention to the
depression and act as if it was not there. |
06. September 1935 – Depression |
My
heart feels arid, sad and gloomy, Mother. Why
don’t you try to read something beautiful and interesting and turn your
attention away from yourself? That is the best remedy. |
09. October 1937 – Depression |
Do not indulge in such ridiculous ideas. “Madness” and “hell” and “dark cell” are all in your imagination. You had better replace them by
the sense of my love and blessings. |
30. January 1946 – Depression |
My
dear child, I hope your poem is only a poem and that you are not truly
suffering from depression. Indeed, depression is the worst of all illnesses
and we must reject it with as much energy as we use to get rid of a disease. With
my love and blessings always. |
20. October 1950 – Depression |
It is the devil of depression
and despondency that we shall slay tonight ― so that all those who have
the sincere will to get rid of this disease will receive the necessary help
to conquer. |
31. May 1955 – Depression |
A depression is always
unreasonable as it leads nowhere. It is the most subtle enemy of the Yoga. |
28. October 1967 – Depression |
I
have only one thing to say: Depression is a bad adviser. My
love is always with you. Have
faith and you will be all right. It
is the depression that gives you bad health. Blessings. |
18. August 1971 – Depression |
It is the ego that gets depressed. Do not mind it. Go on quietly
with your work and the depression will disappear. |
19. May 1952 – Depression |
At these moments of depression or of revolt, no fresh decision must be taken under the impulse of the wrong movement, but practically one must go on with the usual routine, quiet and undisturbed. When you feel unhappy like that, it means that you have a progress to make. You can say that we always need to progress, it is true. But at times our nature gives its consent to the needed change and then everything goes smoothly, even happily. On the contrary sometimes the part that has to progress refuses to move and clings to its old habits through inertia, ignorance, attachment or desire. Then, under the pressure of the perfecting force, the struggle starts translating itself into unhappiness or revolt or both together. The only remedy is to keep quiet, look within oneself honestly to find out what is wrong and set to work courageously to put it right. The Divine Consciousness will
always be there to help you if your endeavour is sincere; and the more
sincere your endeavour the more the Divine Consciousness will help and assist
you. |
No Date – Depression |
Periods
of obscuration are frequent and common; generally, it is enough to keep quiet
without worrying, knowing that these are spiritual nights which alternate
with the full light of the days. But to be able to remain in peace you must
keep in your heart gratitude towards the Divine for all the help He gives. If
gratitude also is veiled, the obscure periods last much longer. There is,
however, a swift and effective remedy: it is to keep always burning in your
heart the flame of purification, the aspiration for progress, the intensity,
the ardour of consecration. This flame is kindled in the heart of all who are
sincere; you must not let ingratitude cover it up with its ashes. You
must remember one thing: the dark periods are inevitable. When your psychic
is active, you feel a delight without any apparent reason. It continues for
some time and again the same mental or vital reactions come in and you go
back to the darkness. This will continue. The brighter days will become
longer and the dark periods will come after longer intervals and for shorter
duration till they finally disappear. Till then you must know that the sun is
there behind the clouds and you need not worry. You must have the confidence
of a child ― a confidence that there is someone who takes care of you
and you can entirely depend on him. |
10. May 1932 – Suffering |
My word to you is: Do not
cherish suffering and suffering will leave you altogether. Suffering is far
from being indispensable to progress. The greatest progress is made through a
steady and cheerful equanimity. |
10. October 1970 – Suffering |
The world is full of sufferings and sorrows. One should try never to be the
cause of any additional suffering. |
No Date – Suffering |
The only remedy for all human suffering: divine love. Turn towards the Divine, all your sufferings will disappear. Do not take the sorrows of
life for what they seem to be; they are in truth a way to greater
achievements. |
30. July 1936 – Laziness, Tiredness,
Fatigue, Tamas |
It is a dangerous illness:
laziness. |
22. October 1936 – Laziness, Tiredness,
Fatigue, Tamas |
Tiredness shows lack of will for progress. When you feel tired or fatigued that is lack of will for progress. Fire is always burning in you. Fatigue comes from doing without interest the things you do. Whatever you do you can find interest in it, provided you take it as the means of progressing; you must try to do better and better what you are doing, the will for progress must always be there and then you take interest in what you do, whatever it is. The most insignificant occupation can prove interesting if you take it that way. But even the most attractive and important activity will soon lose all its interest for you if the will for progress towards an ideal perfection is not there while you act. Take no notice of fatigue and exhaustion and go on with your programme as usual. It is the quickest way of getting rid of it. It is because you are receptive to the force when you work and that sustains you. But when you are not under the strain of the work you are less receptive. You must learn to be receptive in all circumstances and always ― especially when you take rest ― it must not be the “rest” of inertia but a true rest of receptivity. The forces behind the cyclone
were not hostile but full of transforming power. You did the right thing, and
I can assure you that to go inward and to receive the force is more helpful
than to throw oneself into an agitated action. Certainly tamas is not good,
but it is only through surrender to the Divine Consciousness that tamas can
be changed. |
03. June 1970 – Material
Desires |
Do not expect any satisfaction from physical life and you will no more be tied to it. For our passage in the material world, what is indispensable to our life and action is put at our disposal according to the place we should occupy there. The more we are consciously in
contact with our inner being, the more exact are the means we are given. |
No Date – Material Desires |
What is truly needed will surely come. Things must be asked for only when truly needed. What is bad is slavery. Slavery to abstinence as well as slavery to needs. What comes we take but always
ready to let it go, if it goes… |
04. April 1937 – Greed (for
Food) |
Greed for anything concerning physical consciousness, so-called necessities and comfort of whatever nature ― this is one of the most serious obstacles to sadhana. Each little satisfaction you get through greed is one step backward from the goal. When you have a desire you are governed by the thing you desire, it takes possession of your mind and your life, and you become a slave. If you have greed for food you are no more the master of food, it is the food that masters you. A sadhak must eat to satisfy
the needs of his body and not to meet the demands of his greed. |
27. April 1937 – Greed (for
Food) |
If you prefer the pleasures of the palate to the union with the Divine, it is your own look-out and I have nothing to say, except that I do not approve, but each one must be free to choose whether he will rise above his lower nature or sink down in the material pit. My help is always for those who choose the higher path. It is an inner attitude of
freedom from attachment and from greed for food and desire of the palate that
is needed, not undue diminution of the quantity taken or any self-starvation.
One must take sufficient food for the maintenance of the body and its
strength and health, but without attachment or desire. |
No Date – Greed (for Food) |
It would be a hundred times more effective to never waste food than to cut down one meal as a show and to eat more before and after. A strong, ardent, sincere campaign against the waste of food is essential and full-heartedly I approve of it. Let the inmates of the Ashram show their goodwill and collaboration in never eating more than they can digest and never ask for more than they can eat. There is no easy way to get
over physical animality and vital greed. It is only an obstinate perseverance
that can succeed. |
29. April 1930 – Desires,
Impulses and Self-Control |
If each one took the resolution of mastering oneself and controlling one’s impulses, the situation would become more clear. When people allow their consciousness to remain in a turmoil, all their life becomes a turmoil. An impulsive person who cannot control himself has a disordered life. First learn to know yourself perfectly and then to control yourself perfectly. You will be able to do it by aspiring at every moment. It is never too early to begin, never too late to continue. Control over the lower impulsions is the first step towards realisation. Renunciation of desires: the essential condition for realisation. Yes, we must keep the seat of our consciousness in the higher being and do whatever we are doing from there, not allowing the lower, blind and selfish movements and reactions to spoil our work. To accept the uglinesses of the lower nature under the pretext that they exist ― if this is what is meant by realism ― does not form part of the sadhana. Our aim is not to accept these things and enjoy them, but to get rid of them and create a life of spiritual beauty and perfection. That cannot be done as long as we accept these uglinesses. To be aware that they are there and to reject them, not to let them touch us is one thing; to accept them and submit to them is quite another. Beware of what pulls you downward. Do not yield to any lower instinct. Keep intact your aspiration for the Divine. Yielding to desires is not the way of getting rid of them. There is no end to desires ― each one which is satisfied is at once replaced by another one and they go on clamouring more and more. It is only by conquering the
desires that you can get rid of them, by coming out of this consciousness of
the lower nature and rising to a higher consciousness. |
18. October 1934 – Desires, Impulses and
Self-Control |
Refuse to do anything
whatsoever which leads you away from the Divine. |
03. September 1935 – Desires, Impulses and Self-Control |
If
you want to become conscious of my presence in you and to be delivered from hostile
attacks, you must renounce any attempt to satisfy your desires. Only when the
vital has lost all hope of seeing its desires satisfied does it consent to be
spiritualised. My
help and blessings are with you. |
18. March 1936 – Desires, Impulses
and Self-Control |
A desire which knows that it will never be satisfied at once vanishes. All the lower movements have
to be conquered if ever anything divine is to be established upon earth. |
03. May 1954 – Desires,
Impulses and Self-Control |
There
is no greater victory than that of controlling oneself. |
19. September 1956 – Desires, Impulses and
Self-Control |
It is indispensable to
perceive the lower movements of your being, in a detached and scientific
manner, as a witness with clear vision and insight. But you must never allow
these movements to express and assert themselves as if they had the right to
exist and govern the rest of the being. In other words, you must never act
under the impulse of these movements, never physically translate their
suggestions into speech or action, never permit their orders to be carried
out in any inner or outer gesture. |
20. September 1960 – Desires, Impulses and
Self-Control |
Keep quiet, try to detach yourself and observe as a witness, to prevent all possibility of acting on impulse. Do not act under an impulse. Never forget that, as much
outside as in the Ashram, if you want to lead a happy life, you must be the
master of your lower nature and control your desires and vital impulses;
otherwise there is no end to the miseries and the troubles. |
13. September 1961 – Desires, Impulses and
Self-Control |
At every moment of life you
are put in the presence of a choice between the Grace and your personal
satisfaction. |
07. June 1964 – Desires, Impulses
and Self-Control |
One cannot overcome one’s
desires by making oneself weak but only in strength, balance and peace. |
22. August 1964 – Desires,
Impulses and Self-Control |
If one is not master of one’s
desires, one cannot be master of one’s thoughts. |
30. May 1968 – Desires,
Impulses and Self-Control |
Sometimes you say “all right” even to our desires and ambitions. The Grace works for progress on the path. The satisfaction of desire may also serve that purpose in showing the inanity of desire. And the good of yesterday may no more be good tomorrow. So follow your inspiration and
my blessings are with you. |
16. June 1971 – Desires,
Impulses and Self-Control |
You have my love and grace and blessings. But if you are to feel them you must be disciplined, attentive and concentrated; above all you must not listen to any of your desires and fancies. In life, one must choose
between a disordered and useless life of desires and that of an ascent into
the light of aspiration and mastery of one’s lower nature. |
No Date – Desires, Impulses and
Self-Control |
No
self-indulgence and no desire. To
conquer a desire brings more joy than to satisfy it. Self-mastery
is the greatest conquest, it is the basis of all enduring happiness. Continence:
control over oneself. To
be continent is to allow no other movements in the being (mental, vital and
physical) than those strictly indispensable to manifest the Divine’s
Will. |
23. October 1935 – EGO |
The ego thinks of what it wants and has not. This is its constant preoccupation. The soul is aware of what it is given and lives in endless gratitude. Abolition of the ego: one exists only by the Divine and for the Divine. All bitterness in life always comes from the ego refusing to abdicate. All that happens is to teach us one and the same lesson, unless we get rid of our ego there is no peace either for ourselves or for others. And without ego life becomes such a wonderful marvel!… We can contemplate the divine smile when we have conquered our ego. Without the play of ego, there would be no conflicts; and if there were not in the vital a tendency to drama, there would be no dramatic happenings in life. Yes, those who live in their ego live constantly in an ugly drama. If people were a little less selfish things would not be so bad. Meanwhile we must meet all
these adverse circumstances with patience, endurance and equanimity. |
23. March 1957 – EGO |
The extent of your
difficulties gives you the measure of your ego. |
No Date – EGO |
To get over our ego is not an easy task. Even after overcoming it in
the material consciousness, we meet it once more ― magnified ― in
the spiritual. |
15. May 1944 – Selfishness |
How
can one get rid of one’s vanity and selfishness? By
a complete consecration to the Divine and a loving surrender to the Divine’s
Will. Blessings. |
25. August 1944 – Selfishness |
Each thought turned towards
oneself veils the Divine. |
26. May 1954 – Selfishness |
We must be free of all selfishness to serve properly the Divine’s Cause. |
25. March 1965 – Selfishness |
Selfishness and self-pity lead
nowhere. You would do better to get rid of them ― for it is these two narrow
movements which prevent you from feeling the Divine’s help and love. |
No Date – Pride |
Pride: a great obstacle to progress. It is not the soul but the ego
and its pride that feel defeat and humiliation. |
No Date – Vanity |
Vanity: one of the most frequent forms of falsehood. It is better to be than to seem to be. Vanity is the most serious obstacle to true greatness. There was a time when your amour-propre was a great help. It saved you from doing many stupid things by telling you that they were beneath your dignity. But now it is the greatest
obstacle in your way. |
16. May 1934 – Ambition |
Ambition is always a source of
disturbance and confusion. |
No Date – Ambition |
Certainly, action without ambition and egoistic calculation is the condition of peace and felicity ― both inner and outer. Behind all ambitions there is a Truth waiting for the opportune time to manifest. Now that the ambition is gone, it is time for the truth (the capacities and abilities) to manifest. Take great care not to become “swollen”;
but I am with you, helping you, in order to do something interesting. |
16. April 1934 – Jealousy |
Certainly ― but then you
must do it in all sincerity and not accept these movements of jealousy in any
way. |
20. April 1934 – Jealousy |
There
is never any reason for jealousy. It is a very low and ignorant movement. |
No Date – Jealousy |
Jealousy comes from a narrowness of the mind and a weakness of the heart. It is a great pity that so many are attacked by it. Jealousy with its escort of slanders is the output of the weak and the small. It deserves more pity than
anger, and must leave us perfectly indifferent to it, enjoying the bliss of
our unshakable certitude. |
23. September 1932 – Quarrels |
You cannot expect the whole world to be at your service and everything to happen as you fancy it to be more convenient for you. You must stop quarrelling with
everybody and about everything; otherwise how can you expect to make any
progress in yoga? |
18. September 1934 – Quarrels |
Keep this attitude - never
side with anybody nor take up any personal quarrel — think only of the
Divine Peace, Harmony, Light and Happiness and become more and more their
purified and quiet instrument. |
01. October 1943 – Quarrels |
You must never forget that I disapprove of quarrels and always consider that both sides are equally wrong. To surmount one’s
feelings, preferences, dislikes and impulses, is an indispensable discipline
here. |
21. July 1947 – Quarrels |
Of course, X told me the story
in a very different way — but I am used to the fact that each one tells
me things from a particular angle, the one which is most favourable to him —
and I do not give much importance to that. There is only one thing I always
regret: the useless quarrels that make life so difficult when, with a little
mutual goodwill, everything could be settled harmoniously. |
26. October 1948 – Quarrels |
Pardon and blessings are there, but one way or another a different arrangement must be made to stop these quarrels. Love and blessings. |
23. September 1951 – Quarrels |
This is a very good opportunity to test the value of the relation. You must absolutely stop all quarrels. They are harmful for the sadhana of both of you. Try your level best, and if
you cannot succeed, then you will have to give up the relation. |
10. May 1953 – Quarrels |
In quarrels I never interfere,
because surely both are wrong. |
22. July 1954 – Quarrels |
When two persons quarrel, always both are in the wrong. It is always wrong to quarrel, even if one is not the aggressor. When you start a quarrel it is as if you were declaring war on the Divine’s work. Yes, all these quarrels are a very sad thing — they interfere terribly in the work and make everything more difficult. Before getting angry at the
mistakes of others one should always remember one’s own mistakes. |
06. October 1960 – Quarrels |
You must get rid of all inner as well as all outer movements of anger, impatience and dislike. If things go wrong or are done wrongly, you will simply say, “The Mother knows” and go on quietly doing or getting things done as well as you can without friction. That one feels sad for one’s own faults, — this may, if necessary, be useful to strengthen one’s resolution to correct them. But that one can be offended by another’s bad conduct, this has truly nothing to do with the spiritual life and the service of the Divine. To be above offence or insult makes one truly great. As for ill-will, jealousy,
quarrels and reproaches, one must sincerely be above all that and reply with
a benevolent smile to the bitterest words; and unless one is absolutely sure
of himself and his reactions, it would be better, as a general rule, to keep
silent. |
1960 – Quarrels |
As usual, it is only a misunderstanding, and also as usual, the ego of each one, by its reaction, magnifies the thing and aggravates it. But it is easy to arrange, and, with the goodwill of all, I am sure that all will be well. I consider that we are at an excellent occasion for collective and individual Sadhana and that is why I engage myself in it and take special interest in it. We do not work for the success of X’s play, or of Y’s dance, or of Z’s scenario. We want to render in physical terms, as perfectly as possible, the inspiration sent by the Lord for the accomplishment of His work upon earth. And for that each individual
soul is a helper and a collaborator, but each human ego is a limitation and
an obstacle. |
18. September 1963 – Quarrels |
It is obviously very regrettable to allow oneself to be upset by such little things, and if each one gave more thought to his work as the really important thing, all these little quarrels would be seen for what they are, that is, as utterly ridiculous. I hope that everything will be settled soon and that harmony will reign once more among the bakery-workers. With my blessings. |
18. September 1963 – Quarrels |
My blessings and my help are always with you and with those who work in the bakery, so that harmony may reign among you more and more. This world is full of pitiable
miseries. But of all beings those are the most to be pitied who are so small
and so weak that they cannot avoid being nasty. |
14. September 1969 – Quarrels |
This is just what the Supreme Lord says to Himself when He sees the life of men upon earth. Love and blessings. |
12. March 1972 – Quarrels |
We
speak of union and say we are working for it. But the spirit of quarrelling
is in our midst. Shall
we not conquer this insincerity? I
am here to ask you to do it. And the best way is to join in the service of
the Divine. Blessings. |
No Date – Quarrels |
No disputes, no quarrels —
the sweetness of a life without clashes. Take the division out of the
heart and then speak of no division. |
June 1931 – Narrowness and
One-sidedness |
The whole trouble comes from the fact that you cannot harmonise with someone unless he is in agreement with your own ideas and his opinion and way of doing things are in conformity with yours. You must widen your consciousness and understand that everyone has his own law. It is necessary to find the ground of understanding and harmony in a happy combination of individual wills and not to try that all may be the same in an identical will and action. One of the chief obstacles to the establishment of a progressive harmony is our eagerness to prove to an opponent that he is wrong and we are right. It depends on how much each one cares more for harmony than for the triumph of his own will! How do you expect others to keep to an arrangement when you are not doing it yourself? How do you hope to get out of your
shallowness if you remain always one-sided in your perception of things? |
24. September 1953 – Narrowness and
One-sidedness |
X is quite justified in thinking and feeling as he does, but he must understand that the others also are justified in their thinking and feeling although it differs from his and he ought not to despise them and call them bad names. Among human beings, the most widely spread disease is mental narrowness. They understand only what is
in their own consciousness and cannot tolerate anything else. |
28. August 1971 – Narrowness and
One-sidedness |
A person who considers only his own opinion becomes more and more narrow. For each problem there is a solution that can give satisfaction to everybody, but for finding this ideal solution each one must want it, instead of meeting the others with the will to enforce one’s own preference. Enlarge your consciousness and
aspire for the satisfaction of all. |
17. September 1971 – Narrowness and
One-sidedness |
You see only your side of the question,
but if you want to widen your consciousness it would be better to look from
all sides impartially. Later you will discover that this attitude has great
advantages. |
No Date – Narrowness and
One-sidedness |
As long as you are for some
and against others, you are necessarily outside of the Truth. |
12. April 1932 – Judging Others |
The more a mind is ignorant, the more easily it judges everything it does not know or is incapable of understanding. I want the peace to come into your mind and also the quiet, patient wisdom which prevents one from jumping to hasty conclusions and judgments. It is always better to keep a
quiet mind and to abstain from rushing to conclusions before you have the
necessary information. |
14. November 1952 – Judging Others |
Tell your vital not to judge on appearances and to collaborate. All is well in the long run. You were wrong to be disturbed; that shows that suspicion was in your mind and heart. And if one is perfectly pure
oneself, one cannot have any suspicion. The mind is incapable of knowing; it
judges by appearances and not even by their totality but by what it can
perceive of them, and its judgment is necessarily false. Only the
truth-consciousness can know the truth, and it never suspects or judges. |
18. July 1954 – Judging Others |
Before deciding that something is wrong in others or in circumstances, you must be quite sure of the correctness of your judgment — and what judgment is correct so long as one lives in the ordinary consciousness that is based on ignorance and filled with falsehood? Only the Truth-Consciousness can judge. So it is better, in all circumstances, to leave the judgment to the Divine. Whenever somebody is not just according to the usual pattern, if all the parts and activities in him have not the usual balance, if some faculties are more or less missing and some others are exaggerated, the common and easy habit is to declare him “abnormal” and to have done with him after this hasty condemnation. When this summary judgment is passed by somebody in a position of power the consequences can be disastrous. Such people ought to know what true compassion is, then they would act differently. The first necessity is to abstain from thinking of anyone in a depreciatory way. When we meet a person, our criticising thoughts give to him, so to say, a blow on the nose which naturally creates a revolt in him. It is our mental formation that acts like a deforming mirror to that person, and then one would become queer even if one were not. Why cannot people remove from their minds the idea that somebody or other is not normal? By what criterion do they judge? Who is really normal? I can tell you that not a single person is normal, because to be normal is to be divine. Man has one leg in animality and the other in humanity. At the same time he is a candidate for divinity. His is not a happy condition. The true animals are better off. And they are also more harmonious among themselves. They do not quarrel as human beings do. They do not put on airs, they do not consider some as inferiors and keep them at a distance. One must have a sympathetic outlook and learn to cooperate with one’s fellows, building them up and helping them instead of sneering at whatever seems not up to the mark. Even if somebody has a deficiency and is hypersensitive and self-willed, you cannot hope to improve him by summary measures of compulsion or expulsion. Do not try to force his ego by your own, by behaving according to the same pattern. Guide him gently and understandingly along the lines of his own nature. See whether you can place him where he can work without coming into conflict with others. If those who are in power are puffed up with their own importance, they disturb the true working. Whatever their abilities, their achievement is not the real thing. But it is not that they are always lacking in good-will. They have false ideas of what is proper. If they become more conscious of the divine aim, they can surely succeed in carrying it out. With our own perfection grows
in us a generous understanding of others. |
1957 – Judging Others |
Do not trouble yourselves with what others do, I cannot repeat it to you too often. Do not judge, do not
criticise, do not compare. That is not your lookout. |
27. June 1964 – Judging Others |
You have no right to judge a
man unless you are capable of doing what he does better than himself. |
25. July 1971 – Judging Others |
And what is X’s criterion of judgment? Has he become divine? Only the Divine knows the true
value of each one. |
No Date – Judging Others |
She has climbed on the heights of a too recently acquired purity to judge and criticise with undue severity an elder brother who has always been very kind to her. Be severe to yourself before being severe to others. Do not mind the stupidity of others, mind your own. It would be better if the mind also did not meddle with others’ affairs, and still more if the vital took no interest in them. I would suggest to you for your future guidance not to meddle in matters which do not concern you. If X is still here, it is because I choose to keep her with me. It is one of the highest
virtues — not to poke your nose in the affairs of others. |
07. June 1958 – Helping Others
and the World |
Suffering inflicted on others is not a good base on which to build spiritual realisation. To advance alone on the path
can be a form of egoism. One can liberate oneself alone only if the others
refuse to follow. One must therefore first offer to lead them along. And if
this burdens the advance and increases the difficulties, one should take it
as the effect of a special Grace that tests the sincerity of the consecration
in this way. The capacity to receive the divine help is in proportion to this
sincerity. |
23. August 1952 – Helping Others
and the World |
To help others is the best way of helping oneself. For, if you are sincere, you will soon discover that all their difficulties and all their failures are the sure signs of the same corresponding deficiency in you. Indeed, they prove that something in you is not perfect enough to be all-powerful. We find in others what is in us. If we always find mud around us, it proves that there is mud somewhere in us. It is only egoism that is shocked to find egoism in others. Each of those who are around us can be for us, provided we are attentive, a mirror in which one or more aspects of our being are reflected. If we know how to profit by it, it is a powerful help for our progress. And when the mirror is sincere and of goodwill, the value of the help becomes considerable. If you have sympathy for them and a true understanding of their difficulty, you can always help them. You bring help to him who knows how to use it. Humanity is a sick child always wanting what is bad for him. Philanthropy is like a mother who, in order to satisfy her child’s demands, would give him the very thing that will make him worse. It is a mistake to consider service to humanity as the highest expression of service to the Divine. To do so is to remain far too confined within the limits of an exclusive human consciousness. The best way of helping others is to transform oneself. Be perfect and you will be in a position to bring perfection to the world. Rise to a higher consciousness for the world to be saved. Change your consciousness for the world to be saved. Change yourself if you wish to change the world. Prove by your inner transformation that a truth-consciousness can take possession of the material world and that the Divine Unity can be manifested upon earth. Organisations, however vast
and complete they may be, can achieve nothing permanent unless a new force,
more divine and all-powerful, expresses itself through a perfected human
instrument. |
21. February 1955 – Helping Others
and the World |
No material organisation, whatever its degree of preparation, is capable of bringing a solution to the miseries of man. Man must rise to a higher
level of consciousness and get rid of his ignorance, limitation and selfishness
in order to get rid also of his sufferings. |
July 1965 – Helping Others and the
World |
The best way to help the world
is to transform oneself by an integral and intensive yoga. |
16. August 1967 – Helping Others
and the World |
The world will be made better only in proportion as we make ourselves better. The Vedantic truth that the world is only a projection — a function — of our consciousness is as pragmatically true as it is spiritually true. The ills that humanity suffers from — collectively and individually — stem from the errors that lie at the roots of our ignorant nature. We must be cleansed of these evils — individually first of all — if we ever hope to see a clean world outside. A yoga of self-purification is the condition precedent to a yoga of perfection. But, in the end, a Higher
Destiny leans over earth’s children and its ways are beyond
calculation. |
No Date – Helping Others and the
World |
So long as you do not have the power to change the world, it is useless to say that the world is wrong. And if you abolish in yourself the things that are wrong in the world, you will see that the world will no longer be wrong. When you are truly changed,
everything around you will also be changed. |
30. April 1933 – Opinions of
Others |
You are quite right in not allowing the moods and fancies of people to effect you. You must soar above all that in the constant feeling of the Divine’s Presence, Love and Protection. Don’t let anything from
outside approach and disturb you. What people think, do or say is of little
importance. The only thing that counts is your relation with the Divine. |
22. March 1934 – Opinions of
Others |
It is always regrettable when one is open to the influence of another person. One shouldn’t admit any
influence except that of the Divine. |
04. April 1934 – Opinions of
Others |
To feel hurt by what others do or think or say is always a sign of weakness and proof that the whole being is not exclusively turned towards the Divine, not under the divine influence alone. And then, instead of bringing with oneself the divine atmosphere made of love, tolerance, understanding, patience, it is one’s ego that throws itself out, in response to another’s ego, with stiffness and hurt feelings, and the disharmony is aggravated. The ego never understands that the Divine has different workings in different people and that to judge things from one’s own egoistic point of view is a great mistake bound to increase the confusion. What we do with passion and intolerance cannot be divine, because the Divine works only in peace and harmony. You are distressed because instead of listening to the voice of your soul, you have accepted the suggestions of vulgar minds and obscure consciousnesses who see ugliness and impurity everywhere because they are not in contact with the psychic purity. Refuse to listen to these wrong suggestions, turn deliberately to the Divine and rekindle your faith in His Supreme Guidance. The vital of some people calls always for confusion and disharmony, petty quarrels and confusion; they generally have also a kind of mania of perfection and believe that everybody is against them. To cure that is most difficult and requires a radical transformation of the nature. The best when dealing with them is not to mind the reactions and go on doing what one has to do with simplicity and sincerity. Do not worry about the reactions of people, however unpleasant they may be — the vital is everywhere and in everybody full of impurities and the physical full of unconsciousness. These two imperfections have to be cured, however long it may take, and we have only to work at it patiently and courageously. Who has told you that your
nature is inferior to X’s? Each one has his own nature and follows his
own path, and comparisons with others are always useless and most often
dangerous. |
17. September 1953 – Opinions of
Others |
Timidity is a form of vanity. When you are timid, it means that you attach much more importance to the opinion others have of you than to the sincerity of your action. It is not necessary to attach any importance to the opinions of people because they are the passing results of passing impressions; other times and new impressions will easily change them. He who is faultless does not care for the opinion of others. Why should he listen to threats? He must act according to the inner command and not according to public opinion. When you give yourself to the accomplishment of an unselfish aim, never expect ordinary people to praise and support you — on the contrary, they will always fight against you, hate and curse you. But the Divine will be with
you. |
19. September 1953 – Opinions of
Others |
To be plastic towards the Divine means not to oppose Him with the rigidity of preconceived ideas and fixed principles. And this requires a great strength, for the more you are plastic to the divine will, the more you come in conflict with the human wills that are not in contact with the divine will. Give your will entirely to the
Divine and it will feel free from the imposition of any human will. |
1972 – Opinions of Others |
Even if you were the only person in the whole world to give himself entirely and in all purity to the Divine — and thus being alone, misunderstood naturally by everyone upon earth — even if it were so, there is no reason why you should not do it. This is exactly the kind of treatment the Divine received from the world. Even Sri Aurobindo was not spared. So you see that you are in good company and there is no reason to despair! Do not do your own will, but the Divine’s will. Do not either do other people’s
will, for you will be torn apart. |
21. July 1935 – Attachment to
Others |
All that is based on human
relationship is unstable and transient, mixed and unsatisfactory; it is only
what is established in the Divine and through the Divine that can last and give
satisfaction. |
29. August 1950 – Attachment to
Others |
I am sure that in the conscious part of your being your relationship with X is what you say it is. But one must always be wary of the subconscious and that is why it is always preferable to have no [ … ] friendships and intimacies, because in the subconscious vital, ties are established which form an obstacle to the sadhana. My dear child, my blessings are with you. A friendship free from desire and attachment might be the ideal solution, but to be carried out it requires a perfect mastery over oneself and an unshakable discipline of the vital and the body. And as for the moment it is not yet the case, it is wiser not to tempt the devil and to cut all relations. There was a time when you were very passionate and your affections degenerated immediately into passions with all the disequilibrium that this entails. But now you are more sober and undoubtedly you are more calm and quiet, until the day there will be no attachments any longer but luminous and sweet sympathies without any demand or egoism. All depends upon the kind of attraction. If it is a physical attraction, the need, the instinct of the animal pushing it to reproduction, the best thing is that you leave the place and not see X again. For this would mean that this person’s influence awakens and encourages the lower instincts. If it is a vital attraction you can try to purify and control it, by avoiding a too close intimacy and cutting down your relation to what is indispensable when living in the same house. If it is a sentimental and emotional attraction, it is easier to channelise and turn it to the Divine by confining your relations to a common seeking for the Divine and the spiritual life. Then all will depend on your sincerity and reciprocal goodwill. I very much appreciate your
frankness and your sincerity. It is true that it is extremely difficult to
keep free from vital mixture any close relation with human beings. But the
remedy is not to cut all such relations, but to be constantly vigilant (on
one’s guard) and not to allow the vital attractiveness to rule one’s
actions. |
06. June 1954 – Attachment to
Others |
Keep yourself free from all
human attachment and you will be happy. |
17. April 1956 – Attachment to
Others |
Remembrance is a dangerous ally of attachment. For the time being, it is
better to keep quiet and concentrate on your inner development. Later, when you
feel free from every trace of attachment, you will be able to resume your
correspondence spontaneously and without difficulty; it will then be useful
and profitable. But the rule is always to realise yourself what you wish to
give to others. |
No Date – Attachment to Others |
Take advantage of the circumstances to get rid of all attachment to the members of your family. You must learn that you have
no more brothers, sister, father, mother, except Sri Aurobindo and myself,
and you must feel free and unconcerned whatever happens to them. We are your
whole family, your protection, your all in all. |
13. June 1937 – Duty towards
the Divine and Others |
Duty towards the Divine is far more sacred than any social or family duty; it is all the more sacred because within the human collectivity it is almost wholly ignored or misunderstood. One who has given himself to the Divine has no longer any other duty than to make that consecration more and more perfect. The world and those who live in it have always wanted to put human — social and family — duty before duty to the Divine, which they have stigmatised as egoism. How indeed could they judge otherwise, they who have no experience of the reality of the Divine? But for the divine regard their opinion has no value, their will has no force. These are movements of ignorance, nothing more. You should not attempt to convince; above all, you should not let yourself be touched or shaken. You must shut yourself carefully within your ivory tower of consecration and await from the Divine alone help, protection, guidance and approbation. To be condemned by the whole world is nothing to him who knows that he has the approval of the Divine and his support. Besides, has not mankind
proved its utter incompetence in the organisation of its own existence?
Governments succeed governments, regimes follow regimes, centuries pass after
centuries, but human misery remains lamentably the same. It will always be
so, as long as man remains what he is, blind and ignorant, closed to all spiritual
reality. A transformation, an illumination of the human consciousness alone
can bring about a real amelioration in the condition of humanity. Thus even
from the standpoint of human life, it follows logically that the first duty
of man is to seek and possess the divine consciousness. |
No Date – Duty towards the Divine
and Others |
Each force or power has an influence on other forces and powers and this reaction is reciprocal. To escape this constant and general confusion or influence, there is only one way, to concentrate exclusively on the Divine Consciousness and to open oneself only to the Divine Consciousness. There can be no true integral surrender to the Divine if any human relations and their habits and attachments are still maintained. All relations must be turned upward and directed to the Divine alone and transformed into means for the union and surrender. Vital relations are always dangerous. A complete, absolute consecration of the vital to the Divine is the only solution. You preferred human friendship
to divine friendship, but human friendship is unsteady and now you feel cut
off from both. Not that the Divine has withdrawn his friendship from you —
never does he withdraw it — but you have got into a state of vital
incapacity for enjoying it. |
No Date – General |
Never keep company with those who follow muddy tracks for it is your own companions who will smirch you. I had to face a very violent person. It had a reaction upon me. Cut connection, suddenly if possible, to let the vibrations fall down. By his way of thinking, feeling, acting, each one emanates vibrations which constitute his own atmosphere and quite naturally attract vibrations of similar nature and quality. There is no better way to become friends than to laugh together. Our best friend is he who
loves us in the best of ourselves and yet does not ask us to be other than we
are. |
01. August 1951 – Men and Women |
SLAVERY No law can liberate women unless they liberate themselves. What makes them slaves is: (1) Attraction towards the male and his strength, (2) Desire for home life and its security, (3) Attachment to motherhood. If they get free from these three slaveries, they will truly be the equal of men. Men also have three slaveries: (1) Spirit of possession, attachment to power and domination, (2) Desire for sexual relation with women, (3) Attachment to the small comforts of married life. If they get rid of these three
slaveries, they can truly become the equal of women. |
No Date – Men and Women |
Women are not more bound to the vital and material consciousness than men are. On the contrary, as they have not, in general, the arrogant mental pretensions of men, it is easier for them to discover their psychic being and to allow it to guide them. In general, they are not conscious in a mental way which can be expressed in words, but they are conscious in their feelings and the best of them are so even in their actions. There have been many outstanding feminine figures in spiritual life. But on one side women are more interested by action than by mentalisation and intellectual expression, that is why very few women have recorded their spiritual experience and thus they have remained unknown. To be truly a good wife is almost as difficult as to be a true disciple. The idea that women should
cook for males is against my principles. Are they slaves? |
March 1933 – Marriage and Children |
To unite your physical lives, your material interests, to become partners in order to face together the difficulties and successes, the defeats and victories of life — that is the very foundation of marriage, but you already know that it is not enough. To be united in your sensations, to have the same aesthetic tastes and enjoyments, to be moved in common by the same things, one through the other and one for the other — that is good, that is necessary, but it is not enough. To be one in your deeper feelings, to keep a mutual affection and tenderness that never vary in spite of all the blows of life and can withstand every weariness and irritation and disappointment, to be always and on every occasion happy, extremely happy, to be together, to find in every circumstance tranquillity, peace and joy in each other — that is good, that is very good, that is indispensable, but it is not enough. To unite your minds, to harmonise your thoughts and make them complementary, to share your intellectual preoccupations and discoveries; in short, to make your sphere of mental activity identical through a widening and enrichment acquired by both at once — that is good, that is absolutely necessary, but it is not enough. Beyond all that, in the
depths, at the centre, at the summit of the being, there is a Supreme Truth
of being, an Eternal Light, independent of all the circumstances of birth,
country, environment, education; That is the origin, cause and master of our
spiritual development; it is That which gives a permanent direction to our
lives; it is That which determines our destinies; it is in the consciousness
of That that you must unite. To be one in aspiration and ascension, to move
forward at the same pace on the same spiritual path, that is the secret of a
lasting union. |
13. October 1940 – Marriage and Children |
It was not at all a selection.
I simply said that this girl looked the best of the three, that is all. In
any case, marriage is not a direct way to prepare oneself for sadhana. It can
be an indirect one if the outward nature needs troubles and disappointments
to get rid of all worldly attachments, but in that case the experiment
usually ends by separation and often a painful one, at least for one of the
two associates. That is all I can tell you on the subject. |
21. July 1960 – Marriage and
Children |
Here also both things must be equally admitted and practised. There are many cases in which it would be a blessing for the baby to be separated from his parents. A minimum of rules. A maximum of freedom. All possibilities must have
equal scope for manifestation, then humanity will progress more rapidly. |
16. November 1968 – Marriage and
Children |
You say that you could not bring up your children properly because although you are well-educated and cultured you have no time to spare for them, and that your wife has time but she is uneducated, uncultured, good for nothing. Will you tell me who is responsible for her condition? For more than twenty-five years she has lived with you. What did you do in these twenty-five years to educate her or give her your “culture” —absolutely nothing. Even the idea did not occur to you. You never thought that even if you had given her one hour daily for her education, it would have made a big difference in twenty-five years. For you she existed only as a machine to look after your comforts and produce your children. You could not take her into your confidence, you could not do anything for her improvement, but there you stand with all your vanity, blaming her for being uneducated and uncultured. I hold you responsible for all her shortcomings. You want your children to do as you bid. What do you know of Truth? You want to impose your will because you are stronger. That way a giant can catch hold of you and you will have to do whatever he says. It is a most difficult thing to bring up children. I have not seen many parents who can do the proper thing. What right have you to impose your will on the children, you who have brought them into the world without giving any serious thought to their problems or making the necessary preparations? Do not beat your children —
It clouds your consciousness and spoils their character. |
18. February 1933 – Work as an Offering to the
Divine |
Let us offer our work to the Divine; this is the sure means of progressing. Consciousness develops best through work done as an offering to the Divine. Indolence and inaction end in tamas: that is a fall into unconsciousness; it is contrary to all progress and light. To overcome one’s ego, to live only in the service of the Divine — that is the ideal and the shortest way towards acquiring the true consciousness. You must do the work as an offering to the Divine and take it as part of your Sadhana. In that spirit the nature of the work is of little importance and you can do any work without losing the contact with the inner presence. Your work is your sadhana, and
it is by doing your work in a spirit of consecration that you can make most
progress. I think it would be better not to tire yourself too much by reading
or drawing. |
21 February 1933 – Work as an Offering to the Divine |
Everything can be made into a means of finding the Divine. What matters is the spirit in
which things are done. |
15. September 1934 – Work as an Offering to the Divine |
Work done in the true spirit
is meditation. |
17. May 1937 – Work as an
Offering to the Divine |
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. |
25. January 1938 –
Work as an Offering to the Divine |
I am quite satisfied with your way of doing the work and it is sure to help you to come nearer to me. I make no difference between
work and yoga. Work itself is yoga if it is done in a spirit of dedication
and surrender. |
08. June 1942 – Work as an
Offering to the Divine |
Yes, it is true that in and through work one can enter into contact with the sun of divine light and force. 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. |
11. December 1945 – Work as an Offering to the Divine |
Works of love: the best condition for work. Let us work as we pray, for
indeed work is the body’s best prayer to the Divine. |
06. April 1954 – Work as an
Offering to the Divine |
To work for the Divine is to pray with the body. One can progress through
meditation, but through work provided it is done in the right spirit one can
progress ten times more. |
16. July 1955 – Work as an
Offering to the Divine |
The progress in sadhana comes
from the rectification of the inner and outer attitude, not from the nature
of the work one does — any work, even the most humble, can lead to the
Divine if it is done with the right attitude. |
21. August 1955 – Work as an
Offering to the Divine |
It is not so easy to do work. In
true work you have to do all that is done in Sadhana and much more. |
22. August 1955 – Work as an
Offering to the Divine |
You have to do all that a yogi
does, you have to reach the highest heights and bring down those conditions
of consciousness, light and peace and manifest them in your everyday work.
For you no job is insignificant or trivial. |
May 1963 – Work as an Offering to the
Divine |
Go and prepare yourself and
the best preparation is to be useful to the Divine’s work. |
13. April 1965 – Work as an
Offering to the Divine |
Should I try meditation? It
is not necessary if your work is a constant offering to the Divine. |
23. June 1965 – Work as an
Offering to the Divine |
Usually one works for one’s
own profit and satisfaction; instead of that, one should work to serve the
Divine and express His will. |
02. April 1970 – Work as an
Offering to the Divine |
Whatever is our work and whatever we do, we must do it sincerely, honestly, scrupulously, not in view of any personal profit, but as an offering to the Divine, with an entire consecration of our being. If this attitude is sincerely kept in all circumstances, whenever we need to learn something to do the work more effectively, the occasion to acquire this knowledge comes to us and we have only to take advantage of the opportunity. Now that you are about to take your first steps on the path of action, it is time to decide whether you will consecrate your life to your own personal interest or whether you will make an offering of it for the accomplishment of the work. In either case the field of action remains the same. But the spirit in which it is done is totally different. It must not be forgotten that the offering is made to the Divine’s Work and not to any human enterprise. So the only thing that can be done is to express some appreciation in a few words. (1) Do work as sadhana. You offer to the Divine the work you do to the best of your capacities and you leave the result to the Divine. (2) Try to become conscious first above your head, keeping the brain as silent as possible. If you succeed and the work is
done in that condition, then it will become perfect. |
No Date – Work as an Offering to the
Divine |
Be faithful to your ideal and dedicate your work to the Divine. Work for the Divine and you will feel an ineffable joy filling your being. Disinterested work done for the Divine: the surest means of progressing. Disinterested work: work done with no other motive than of doing as well as possible the Divine’s work. You have only to unite and
identify yourself with the Divine. |
07. October 1934 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
You will become more and more
perfect in your work as the consciousness grows, increases, widens and is
enlightened. |
12. April 1947 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
In all action, all work done, the degree of perfection depends upon the degree of consciousness. Certainly you must not stop
working for me. It is by working that the perfection of the working comes. |
06. January 1952 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
Try to enjoy doing everything you do. When you are interested in what you do, you enjoy doing it. To be interested in what you do, you must try to do it better and better. In progress lies true joy. |
12. May 1952 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
When work becomes attractive and is done with joy, how much better it is. It is true that my force is
always with him to help him to do his work; but my force is essentially a
force for perfection, and to be able to allow it to work fully, one must have
a constant will for progress in the work. |
08. April 1954 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
It is by combined and patient
effort that all good work is done. |
12 April 1954 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
Perfection in the work must be
the aim, but it is only by a very patient effort that this can be obtained. |
11. June 1954 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
Open yourself more and more to
the Divine’s force and your work will progress steadily towards
perfection. |
27. August 1954 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
Let us constantly aspire to be
a perfect instrument for the Divine’s work. |
23. August 1955 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
Let nothing short of perfection be your ideal in work and you are sure to become a true instrument of the Divine. There must be order and
harmony in work. Even what is apparently the most insignificant thing must be
done with perfect perfection, with a sense of cleanliness, beauty, harmony
and order. |
14. February 1959 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
With method, order and care there is no difficulty that cannot be solved. Organisation: indispensable for all good work. Regularity: indispensable for all serious accomplishment. For the work steadiness and regularity are as necessary as skill. Whatever you do, do it always carefully. Always do what you do with care. Any work done with care becomes interesting. Nothing is too small to be neglected, the same care meets all circumstances. To undo one thing in order to build another is not a good policy. Those who are consecrated and want to work for the Divine must be patient and know how to wait for things to be done at the right moment and in the right way. |
May 1959 – Progress and Perfection in
Work |
It is better to use the energies received from the Divine for perfection rather than for aggrandisement. The perfection of the work
done is much more important than its bulk or the bigness of its scope. |
13. May 1959 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
When one works for the Divine,
it is much better to do perfectly what one does than to aim at a very big
work. |
05. July 1959 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
It is better to do well than to do quickly. To begin a work and to leave
it half done and to start another work elsewhere, is not a very wholesome
habit. |
October 1961 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
In works, aspiration towards
Perfection is true spirituality. |
01. November 1961 – Progress and Perfection in
Work |
Whatever work you do, do it as
perfectly as you can. That is the best service to the Divine in man. |
04. January 1966 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
I was intending to write to you that this neglected work must be carried out immediately. I accept your explanation that it is not bad will but negligence. But I must tell you that for me negligence is the worst form of bad will, for it is the refusal to surrender to the divine inspiration and consciousness which demand a constant vigilance. I hope that this new year will bring you all the breadth of mind and generosity of heart which will make such unfortunate incidents impossible. Blessings. |
23. December 1971 – Progress and Perfection in
Work |
Faultless planning of work cannot be obtained except with the consciousness of the Divine. If men had to stop work when they are not perfect, everybody would stop working. It is in the work that we must progress and purify ourselves. Continue to do the work you
are doing but never forget that it can and must become better. |
18. May 1972 – Progress and
Perfection in Work |
To do the work that one does
with all sincerity, as perfectly as one can, is certainly one of the best
ways to serve the Divine. |
No Date – Progress and Perfection in
Work |
When the instruments of work — hands, eyes, etc. — become conscious and the attention is controlled, the capacity for work seems to have no bounds. Skilful hands, a clear vision, a concentrated attention, an untiring patience, and what one does is well done. Skilful hands, precise care, a sustained attention and one compels Matter to obey the Spirit. To know how to observe in silence is the source of skilfulness. Skill in works must be used
knowingly. |
23. May 1934 – Collaboration
and Harmony in Work |
The field of work does not
change. What you are doing now, you will continue to do. It is in the
attitude in the work, especially in the relation with the other workers, that
the change must take place. Each one sees the work in his own way and
believes it is the only true way, the only way that expresses the Divine
Will. But none of these ways is completely true; it is only by rising above
these divided conceptions that one can reach a better understanding of the
Divine’s Will. This means mutual understanding and collaboration
instead of opposition and clash of wills and feelings. |
25. January 1937 – Collaboration and Harmony
in Work |
For harmony and better work, it
is not by changing men that things can get better, but by changing one’s
own consciousness and character. |
07. October 1937 – Collaboration and Harmony
in Work |
As a general rule it is better
not to intervene in things that do not fall within one’s own work. |
19. April 1938 – Collaboration and Harmony in
Work |
If in the work you meet with some difficulties, look sincerely into yourself and there you will discover their origin. The difficulties in work come
not from circumstances or petty outer occurrences, they come from something
which is wrong in the inner attitude, especially in the vital attitude:
egoism, ambition, fixity of mental conceptions regarding work, vanity, etc.
And it is always good, in order to correct the disharmony, to look for the
cause in oneself rather than in others. |
17. August 1938 – Collaboration and Harmony in
Work |
To recognise the presence of a “disharmonious atmosphere” is useful only so far as it wakes in each one the will to change it into a harmonious atmosphere and to do that the first important step is for each one to get out of his own limited point of view in order to understand the point of view of others. It is more important for each one to find the mistake in himself than to insist on the mistake of others. I add that all those to whom I have given responsibility in the work are expected to be faithful to this responsibility and, without allowing of any “hurt feeling” to creep in, do their best to carry on successfully their duty. My blessings are with all those who are sincere and have goodwill. Indeed I have allowed X to shift her rose plants there. But I do not think she needs the whole place for them. Moreover, in the present food-crisis it is not wise to use for flowers a place where vegetables have always grown very well. It seems that the place where tomatoes were grown is now ready for beans — these beans must be sown and well looked after so that they may be productive. The trees and shrubs must be left in place and the sitaphal tree (custard apple) must be very carefully attended to as it gives excellent fruits. In consequence I wish that this garden should be looked after by both X and Y, each one taking care of the things with which they are concerned reciprocally. I hope they will take advantage of this occasion to show that work can be done unselfishly and harmoniously, putting in first place the welfare of the work itself and checking in themselves all wrong movements that could stand against this achievement. With my love and blessings. Psychic work: a work governed by harmony. I came to the bindery to explain to all of you what you had to do, and expect that you will do accordingly. I want you to work all together harmoniously, helping one another as much as you can. Everyday programme The university work goes first, then the library work, then the individual work, if there is time. Blessings. Without discipline, no good work can be done. Each one to his place, doing
conscientiously the work assigned to him, and all will be well. |
25. July 1947 – Collaboration
and Harmony in Work |
Organised teamwork: each one at his place and all together. To make any change in a work, I require before taking any decision that both parties should write to me explaining their case and the proposed change and then I shall decide. My love and blessings. |
22. August 1949 – Collaboration and Harmony in Work |
I do not believe that to change work will help you to change your character; it has never proved successful before. The reasons for which you ask
to change your work are psychological and do not depend on the work itself.
Wherever you will go, you will carry them with you and nowhere will you be
able to find peace unless you have the peace in your heart. |
30. May 1953 – Collaboration
and Harmony in Work |
When one has work to do for a community, to take a decision for personal motives and to abandon one’s work is a serious mistake. You mention faults committed which cannot be corrected: this is wrong. Any fault can be corrected if you sincerely set to work to correct yourself. To run away from the progress to be made is an act of cowardice and I cannot approve of it. First of all make a sincere
and complete confession of faults committed. Afterwards I shall see what is
to be done. |
11. August 1954 – Collaboration and Harmony in
Work |
Collaboration and reciprocal
goodwill are indispensable for good work. |
21. December 1957 – Collaboration and Harmony
in Work |
To concentrate on a close collaboration in the work would be obviously a more useful attitude than to concentrate on mutual grievances. The most important point is
that the work should be quickly done and well done. |
20. June 1959 – Collaboration
and Harmony in Work |
To the Bangavani Workers No great work can be done without co-ordination and discipline. A true and organised
collaboration is the condition of success. |
29. March 1966 – Collaboration and Harmony in Work |
It is only in harmonious collaboration that effective work can be done. The important thing is to find
the point on which you can all agree — and after this is firmly
established, each one must be ready to yield his personal will in order to keep
intact this point of harmony. |
No Date – Collaboration and Harmony in Work |
When we have to work collectively, it is always better to insist, in our thoughts, feelings and actions, on the points of agreement rather than on the points of divergence. We must give importance to the things that unite and ignore, as much as possible, those that separate. Even when physically the lines of work differ, the union can remain intact and constant if we keep always in mind the essential points and principles which unite, and the Divine Goal, the Realisation which must be the one unchanging object of our aspiration and works. If anyone were capable of seeing the welfare of the work quite independent of his preferences and without turning everything into a personal question, then most of the difficulties would be solved. If people could stop speaking of the work as their work it would put an end to a lot of trouble. Here, all work is the Divine’s. It is the work which is important, not the way in which our little self does the work. Unless you can rise above your personal ideas, opinions and preferences, you cannot become a good worker. As long as you have your personal preferences, you will not be able to do the exact thing needed. |
11. February 1933 – Difficulties in
Work |
All manual work is tiring the
first few times one does it. But gradually the body gets used to it and
becomes strong. However, when you feel really tired, you must stop and rest. |
27. February 1935 – Difficulties in
Work |
With consecration the work can
be done much more easily and happily. But nobody must be asked a greater
effort than what he can do. |
29. July 1935 – Difficulties in
Work |
The best way to work without getting tired is to offer the work you do (whatever work it is) to the Divine and to find in the Divine the support you need — for the Divine’s Force is inexhaustible and He answers always to whatever offer is made to Him sincerely. Then, when you will feel that it is the Divine’s Force that has done the work in you and through you, in your sincerity you will know that the merit is His and not yours — so there is no more reason to be proud. Blessings. Do not worry about the work;
the more you will do it quietly and calmly, the more it will become
effective. |
06. January 1942 – Difficulties in
Work |
But through work the nature becomes less rigid, more plastic and supple. I trust you fully and know you
are capable of fulfilling quite well your responsibilities. As for the
difficulties and deficiencies, everybody has some and one is here to overcome
them. This is the meaning of the sadhana of works. Go on courageously with
your duties, keeping all faith in the Divine and relying only on the Divine’s
help and grace. |
01. May 1944 – Difficulties in
Work |
I do not see why you should feel oppressed. It is not an easy job to run an establishment like X Garden and many bitter experiences may be necessary before you learn the job. I only ask that you should keep a good will to learn and to improve your capacities. For the rest, that is to say the results, we must be patient. With my love and blessings. |
01. October 1952 – Difficulties in
Work |
Here, for each work given, the
full strength and Grace are always given at the same time to do the work as
it has to be done. If you do not feel the strength and the Grace, it proves
that there is some mistake in your attitude. The faith is lacking or you have
fallen back on old tracks and old creeds and thus you lose all receptivity. |
10. October 1954 – Difficulties in
Work |
The resistance with which we
meet in the accomplishment of our work is proportionate to its importance. |
21. December 1954 – Difficulties in
Work |
For work the present is the
most important thing: the past must not come in the way and the future must
not pull you away. |
13. August 1955 – Difficulties in
Work |
Your work can never be good if you go on thinking of the next thing. For work, it is the present that is most important. The past should not drag you behind, the future should not pull you forward. You must be fully concentrated on the present, on what you are doing. You must be so concentrated on what you are doing that it is as if the salvation of the whole world depended only upon your work. Unless you work hard you do
not get energy, because in that case you do not need it and do not deserve
it. You get energy only when you make use of it. |
14. April 1959 – Difficulties in
Work |
Be sincere in the work you
have undertaken and the Grace will always be there to help you. |
10. September 1961 – Difficulties in
Work |
Concentrate on your work — it is that that gives you strength. Blessings. |
21. April 1965 – Difficulties in
Work |
Continue doing your work with a simple and peaceful heart and a quiet mind. The aspiration will come
gradually according to the need. |
09. October 1966 – Difficulties in
Work |
If you leave the department, the work will be ruined! As soon as I have a moment free I shall call you in the morning and we shall talk it over. The more I grow, the more I know that it is in work that Sri Aurobindo’s integral yoga is best done. Love and blessings. |
07. August 1969 – Difficulties in
Work |
It would be so good if you were not affected and continued the work just now that there is so much to do and the help of all is so badly needed. If you want to see me, I shall be glad to see you, but you know that I am never alone and it is difficult to speak. In any case, be sure that my
love and blessings are with you always. |
03. May 1970 – Difficulties in
Work |
You are not only wanted but indispensable for the work which would not be done properly without you. So I ask you to be patient and not to attach importance to the difficulties on the way. Love and blessings. |
24. December 1971 – Difficulties in
Work |
Take up the work and have faith, the force will come in proportion to the need; and your receptivity depends on your faith and confidence. Love and blessings. |
07. January 1933 – Work Silently |
For the sake of sadhana and for the sake of work, it is always better to work silently. When there is some work to do, the less one speaks of it the better it is. Talk as little as possible. Work as much as you can. X has a very bad habit of coming and talking to people while they are working. If he does not work himself, he should at least allow others to work conscientiously. So if he comes again to talk
while you are working, you had better tell him–”No, not now, we
can talk when I have finished my work.” |
No Date – Work Silently |
This is exactly what I have tried to make them understand — but the tendency to plan and talk seems to be too strong to be checked. Let us hope some work also will be done. I don’t quite understand
your question. Certainly the work should be done as conscientiously as
possible. But that does not mean that you have to be grave. What is necessary
is to be always peaceful and full of calm energy. |
17. May 1955 – Care of
Material Things |
Because you do not keep things sufficiently in your consciousness. It is always very good to make use of things instead of uselessly destroying them. It was an act of ignorance. Received in the right spirit the curtains could have lasted two or three years more. Received wrongly they might have gone to pieces within a month. Things also have a consciousness of their own. The Divine is in things also
and that is why they must be treated with care. |
No Date – Care of Material Things |
Not to take care of material things which one uses is a sign of inconscience and ignorance. You have no right to use any material object whatsoever if you do not take care of it. You must take care of it not
because you are attached to it, but because it manifests something of the
Divine Consciousness. |
19. January 1933 – General |
What would you say if a
temple, built according to the design of some great artist, were to boast: “Admire
my merits; am I not beautiful, well-built, solid and durable? Truly I am
worthy of all praise!” — just as if it were the author of its own
perfections. We would find that very silly and ridiculous, and yet that is
what we are doing constantly. We, like the temple, are ignorant of the great
conscious power that has made us what we are, and because we do not perceive
the labour of the Sublime Worker, we ascribe the merit of the Work to
ourselves. |
17. December 1933 – General |
Power of action: the power which results from a true surrender to the Divine. Once the consciousness is
settled in the aspiration, it cannot depend on work or absence of work. |
13. July 1935 – General |
There is a time for action and there is a time for concentration; if, by mistake, one chooses the time for concentration to start an action, the action is bound to fail. But if one keeps faith alive, even failure can become a short-cut for reaching the Divine. It is true that the divine protection is always around us, but it fully works only when we are faced by dangers which were unavoidable; that is to say, if dangers suddenly rise on the way when we are doing some work for the Divine, then the protection works at its best. But to take up some work which is, after all, not at all indispensable and not even surely useful and which is extremely dangerous, counting on the divine protection to save us from all possible consequences, this is a movement which is like a challenge to the Divine, and the Divine will never accept it. When action is initiated by the Divine Will, it is pure. If in all sincerity one acts only to express the Divine Will, all actions without exception can become unselfish. But as long as this state has not been reached, there are actions which are more favourable for the contact with the Divine. Each must find the activity favourable to his progress. A good material work not exceeding normal capacities is most useful for keeping a good physical and moral poise. |
30. January 1945 – General |
Have you no intention of
working physically yourself? Yet, it is quite indispensable for the welfare
of the body. |
16. May 1954 – General |
With a quiet mind and a peaceful
heart, let us do the work happily. |
12. July 1957 – General |
All work must be play, but a divine play, played for the Divine, with the Divine. To work for the Divine is very good, it is a delight. But to work with the Divine is
a felicity infinitely deeper and sweeter still. |
06. November 1960 – General |
There is no existence without
labour — if you want to get out of labour you must get out of
existence. The only way to accomplish that, is the way to Nirvana, and that way,
to follow it, is of all labours the greatest. |
29. March 1966 – General |
We have, every one of us, a role to fulfil, a work to do, a place which we alone can occupy. (Anniversary message for the Ashram Typewriting Service) Blessings for all who work
with conscience, good will, regularity and good taste and for all who want to
learn and progress. |
12. May 1971 – General |
Do the work with all your
heart and as best you can and my help and my blessings will always be with
you. |
23. September 1941 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
The soul is that which comes out of the Divine without ever leaving Him and goes back to Him without ever ceasing from manifestation. The soul is the Divine made individual without ceasing to be divine. In the soul the individual and the Divine are eternally one. Thus to find one’s soul is to be united with the Divine. It can therefore be said that the role of the soul is to make of man a true being. Theories differ according to schools and sects, and each one puts forth excellent reasons to support what it asserts. There is certainly truth in whatever one affirms and any case is not only possible but has existed in the history of the earth. The only thing I can speak of is my own experience: the soul is divine, an eternal portion of the Supreme Divine and therefore cannot be limited or bound by any law whatever, other than its own. These souls are emanated by the Lord to do His work in the world and each one comes upon earth with a special purpose, for a special action and with a special destiny, carrying in itself its own law which is imperative for itself alone and cannot be a general law. Thus, in the eternity of becoming, any case imaginable or unimaginable must evidently exist. The soul is eternal and universal, and all these incapacities and impossibilities have no reality for it. When one speaks to the soul of
a man, one always speaks to the same soul, whatever may be the differences of
body, race or culture. |
26. December 1954 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
The soul cannot think the
Divine but knows Him with certitude. |
30. May 1956 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
Your soul blossoms to the
Light as a flower opens to the sun. |
23. August 1964 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
How can I make my soul progress? To have any action on your soul you must be first conscious of it. And then when you will be
conscious of your soul, you will probably find out that instead of you making
your soul progress, it is your soul who will help you to progress. |
August 1966 – The Soul (the Psychic) |
What is soul and in what form does it exist in us? The first form of the soul is a spark of light from the Divine. By evolution it becomes an
individualised being and then it can take the form it wants. |
25. September 1934 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
The mind, the life and the body must become and live what the Soul knows and is. When one has an awakened soul, it is not easy to get rid of it; so it is better to obey its orders. Obey your soul, it alone has the right to govern your life. Psychic centre: luminous and calm, it is made to govern the human being. The psychic gets its power of expression when it governs the whole being. The psychic power organises the activities of the nature to make them progress. Under the psychic influence all activity becomes balanced. The psychic influence compels the physical to turn towards the Divine. Let this house be a symbol of the psychic, the temple of the eternal divine Presence. Live in the consciousness of
the psychic centre; thus your will will express the Divine’s Will alone
and your transformed being will then be able to receive and manifest the
Divine Love. |
26. June 1949 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
The centre of the human being is the psychic which is the dwelling-place of the immanent Divine. Unification means organisation and harmonisation of all the parts of the being (mental, vital and physical) around this centre, so that all the activities of the being may be the correct expression of the will of the Divine Presence. Unless and until the whole of the individual consciousness is organised around the central Divine Presence, the movements are fugitive, although recurrent, and we cannot expect them to have any permanence. Nothing is permanent in a terrestrial being except the psychic. (A sadhak wrote that after bright periods of sadhana, dark periods returned again and again.) This is a proof that your whole being is not united around the central psychic Presence. This is a personal task that each individual must do for himself. The help is always there but the effectivity of its action is in the measure of the receptivity and the conscious appeal. After all it is a question of patience in the endeavour. A human being is made of many
different parts and it takes time and conscious effort to harmonise and unify
all these parts. When you surrendered, it is not the whole of your being that
did so. Little by little some other part that had not surrendered came to the
surface and the joy of the surrender vanished and was replaced by dullness
and indifference. But after some time this part also gets converted and thus
the happy condition comes back. |
03. December 1959 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
Your letter has just come, bringing me your problem which, by the way, is the problem of the life of all human beings, especially when they have reached a certain degree of inner development but are not yet on the summit of spiritual freedom through the unification of their being around their conscious soul. For it is the lack of unification which is the cause of all problems. One part of the being pulls one way, another pulls the other way, sometimes one is stronger and gives a certain orientation to life, sometimes it is the other and then the orientation suddenly changes, and the result is an incoherence. And as it is the unsatisfied part which usually comes to the surface to express its want of satisfaction, so, unless one is a sage, one is never satisfied with the life one leads and always misses the life one could have led — whether in one direction or the other. In your case there is something more. As your soul remains very closely linked with my being, as the contact with the supramental consciousness grows more and more total and constant, it acts very strongly on your soul like an almost irresistible attraction. This is what happened in 1958. To conclude, “an easy
and pleasant life” can only satisfy the outer being; but what answers
in the physical being to the soul’s influence needs for its flowering a
life more in conformity with the soul’s needs and “languishes”
when it cannot find it. |
29. October 1960 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
It is because an individual is not made all of one piece, but of many different entities which sometimes even contradict each other; some want the spiritual life, others are attached to the things of this world. It is a long and difficult work to reconcile all these parts and unify them. The force and light received
by the most developed parts gradually spread to the rest of the being by a
process of assimilation, and during this period of assimilation the progress
of the parts that are in front seems to be interrupted. This is what Sri
Aurobindo was speaking about. |
March 1961 – The Soul (the Psychic) |
In fact all your different parts are correct in their argument, and the wisdom is to go deep enough in the consciousness to find the place where they meet and agree, completing one another rather than contradicting. As for the actual action, a smooth, harmonious working is generally better than the difficulties created by too rigid principles, but that also is not absolute - and the ideal condition is at each occasion to receive in the inner silence the guidance from above. With constant practice and goodwill, it becomes possible. The psychic inspiration alone
is true. All that comes from the vital and the mind is necessarily mixed with
egoism and is arbitrary. One should not act in reaction to outer contact, but
with an immutable vision of love and goodwill. Everything else is a mixture
which can only have confused and mixed results, and perpetuate the disorder. |
17. March 1968 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
It is not the psychic being that suffers for personal reasons, it is the mind, the vital and the ordinary consciousness of ignorant man. This is because the contact between the outer consciousness and the psychic consciousness is not well established. He in whom the contact has been well established is always happy. The psychic being works with perseverance and ardour for the union to be made an accomplished fact, but it never complains and knows how to wait for the hour of realisation to come. The outer being, left to
itself, is not very responsible; it is most often the plaything of the forces
of Nature. But the inner or higher being, the deeper consciousness, is the
master and builder of our destiny. That is why it is so important to discover
this sovereign consciousness and unite with it in order to put an end to all
the incoherences of life and all the conflicts of Nature. |
05. April 1972 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
To find the psychic one must conquer the desires of the vital and silence the mind and then make a sincere submission to the Divine of whom the psychic is the instrument in man. The inner contact with the
psychic is a concrete and undeniable fact which imposes itself on all sincere
consciousness. |
01. May 1972 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
The psychic is always there, and it is strong. It is the receptivity that is
weak. |
08. May 1972 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
The best way to get rid of the rule of the ego is to find the psychic being, instrument of the Divine in human beings. Go deep into yourself (i.e. the heart region) and aspire steadily. The true meeting of the
psychic is unmistakable. |
24. June 1972 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
It is indispensable that each one finds his psychic and unites with it definitively. It is through the psychic that
the supramental will manifest itself. |
July 1972 – The Soul (the Psychic) |
Why is there this dark and idiotic personality in me? Does it lie hidden in everyone or am I an especially difficult case? Certainly you are not the only
one. Many are like this. Only those who have centred their whole being around
the conscious control of the psychic can cure themselves of it. |
10. August 1972 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
When the inner state is ready for the next step, you will guide it directly or indirectly the way you wish. The next step is finding your
psychic being and uniting with it. |
05. October 1972 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
The human being is made of different parts, sometimes clearly separated. They can unite only under the psychic influence and action. Persist in your endeavour and you are sure to succeed. Blessings. |
21. March 1934 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
What you seek is always there ready for you. Let the psychic turn grow complete and it will of itself bring you to that for which you aspire. The psychic is never
depressed. |
22. March 1934 – The Soul (the
Psychic) |
I tell you that the psychic does not know depression because its nature is divine and in the Divine there is no depression. The psychic can observe with
regret the stupidity of the other parts of the being, but by its very nature
it is impossible for it to be depressed. |
No Date – The Soul (the Psychic) |
In the psychic is the source of constant happiness. Psychic purity: the condition natural to the psychic. By its very nature the psychic is calm. Psychic peace: it is spontaneous and knows no difficulties. Psychic prayer: spontaneous and fervent. Psychic offering: it is the spontaneous attitude of the psychic in relation to the Divine. Psychic generosity gives for the joy of giving. Psychic perfection means to
smile at everything. |
No Date – The Mind |
Mind:
Only an Instrument Mind: its true worth depends on its surrender to the Divine. Purified mind: mind ready to surrender to the Divine. Mental surrender: this happens when the mind has understood that it is only an instrument. Conversion of the mind: the mind has liberated itself from its arrogance and knows it is 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. The mind must learn to express only what is dictated by the Divine. Power of mental expression has no value unless it is in the service of the Divine. Reason: an excellent instrument when at the Divine’s service. Physical mind becomes a good instrument of action when it is content to be that alone. When the mind turns towards the Divine, it becomes a powerful instrument. 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. Response of the mind to the supramental light: represents an important step towards realisation. Victory in the mind is the reign of the supramental Truth in the mind. Supramentalised mind: mind has
become an instrument for transformation. |
31. May 1935 – The Mind |
Mental
Limitations and Weaknesses Does one enter a temple with dirty feet? Likewise, one does not enter the temple of the spirit with a sullied mind. In human beings, along with the growth of the mental activities grows the subtlety of self-deception. The more they are intellectual the more they are, in their self-deception, completely candid and insincere at the same time. [There is] the habit of always furnishing in the presence of a mistake a favourable explanation — this favourable explanation seems to jump out from the mind spontaneously and automatically — trying to obviate any sincere recognition of the error. Your mind is driven by passion and to support the passion it gives a twist which prevents you from seeing the truth of things. Guard against the twist, be conscious of the passion. Action perverted by such a twist looks like insincerity. Be always on your guard against this persistent defect. This is my gift for the New Year. May this new year bring you the liberation and enlightenment of an ignorant and arrogant mind which thinks it can judge everything without even having the elements of the problems that it judges according to its own preferences and attachments. The whole world may perish provided my whims are gratified! Such is the attitude of the egoistic mind which seeks to impose its principles upon all. In the divine sight, principles and desires are one and the same thing: principles are whims of the mind just as desires are whims of the vital. Mental fantasy: wild, disorderly, it usually lacks coordination. Imagination: abundant and varied, it may be charming but must not be substituted for the Truth. Those who think falsely will live in falsehood and misery. Get out of wrong thinking and you will get out of suffering. An old wise man in China has written, “Thought creates for itself its own suffering.” Ugly thoughts bring ugly feelings — ugly feelings take you away from the Divine and throw you defenceless into the arms of the devil who wants only to swallow you up — and that is the source of endless sorrow and suffering. Most often these attacks are
the result of bad thoughts you have had, which fall back on you. |
02. September 1937 – The Mind |
We are always surrounded by the things of which we think. Your mind also is full of doubts and has to be blamed as much as the vital because it believes in falsehood. One of the chief functions of the physical mind is to doubt. If you listen to it, it will always find a thousand reasons for doubting. But you must know that the physical mind is working in ignorance and full of falsehoods. It is only love that can understand and get at the secrets of the Divine Working. The mind, the physical mind especially, is incapable of seeing correctly and yet it always wants to judge. It is only a true, sincere humility in the mind, allowing the psychic to rule the being, that can save human beings from ignorance and obscurity. Each time that I try to rise a little, there is a setback. As for your progress — it is because you are trying mentally and the mental is always a limitation to the consciousness. It is only the aspiration from the heart and the psychic that can be effective. (And when you stop trying, you let me work in you and I know the proper way!) Your mind is too active. It
comes in the way of your being automatically guided by my will. |
29. December 1962 – The Mind |
Above all the complication of so-called human wisdom there is the luminous simplicity of the Divine Grace ready to act if we allow it to act. Life could be quite simple and
easy if man’s mind did not introduce in it so many useless
complications. |
03. April 1965 – The Mind |
Once the mind has started its
working, it hampers the action of the Grace. |
26. August 1966 – The Mind |
Formative faculty in the mind: it is a natural and very spontaneous gift. You want to make me speak and mentalise the experience until a new “system” is established and you can sit down comfortably in your new mental construction. Mind is so lazy that it wants convenient answers. But it is not like that. Each one is different. Perhaps there is an explanation which can give peace to your mind. In fact there is probably an explanation for each case — and the explanations also can be contradictory!… Poor mind! This is indeed a test!! To make progress you must throw aside all the old constructions, demolish all the preconceived ideas. Preconceived ideas are the innumerable habitual mental constructions in which you live, which are fixed and therefore have no plasticity and cannot progress. All this must be thrown aside. Then new ideas are born, active thought which is creative. Energy of a plastic mind does not draw back from any effort to progress. Mental plasticity: indispensable for true knowledge. In modern civilisation, men work on the surface. The mind is the surface of existence; they work on the surface and they try to find the Truth that is behind by studying more and more deeply. Whereas the true method is to enter into direct contact with the inner Truth, and impelled by that, guided by that, to make an outer construction which is not a seeking for the Truth, but a creation of the Truth; that is to say, the Truth-force realises itself outwardly through the human instrument. Men always make plans, mental
constructions and attempt to create on that basis, but not one human creation
is a total realisation of their mental construction. They always add
something, or else it is always altered by a force they do not understand;
they think it is chance, fortune, circumstances, all sorts of things, but it
is in fact the Truth-force which is trying to manifest on earth and which is
exerting a pressure, and naturally this changes the mental and vital
creations which are only superficial ones. In the Bulletin there was a
quotation from Sri Aurobindo on this subject. He said: first one must know
and then act, whereas men act and then try to know through their action. |
26. September 1963 – The Mind |
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 can be 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. |
12. April 1964 – The Mind |
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. |
16. June 1966 – The Mind |
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. |
29. May 1971 – The Mind |
It is only in mental silence
that you can hear the voice without distorting it—be very peaceful. |
13. September 1972 – The Mind |
Don’t torment yourself, and keep your mind very quiet. True knowledge comes from beyond. Blessings. |
05. January 1973 – The Mind |
(A sadhak asked how to get rid of the invasion of wrong suggestions.) The only radical way is to concentrate and go beyond your mental. Silence and contemplation. Blessings. |
08. January 1951 – The Heart |
In the silence of a simple and
faithful heart one can understand the mystery of incarnation. |
16. April 1954 – The Heart |
A great joy is always deep in
our heart, and always we can find it there. |
15. June 1954 – The Heart |
A simple and faithful heart is
a great boon. |
01. July 1954 – The Heart |
Our mind must be silent and
quiet but our heart must be full of an ardent aspiration. |
14. July 1954 – The Heart |
Look into the depths of your
heart and you will see there the Divine Presence. |
28. November 1954 – The Heart |
Our heart is purified from the
trouble and anguish; it is firm and calm, and sees the Divine in everything. |
23. July 1955 – The Heart |
The Divine is always seated in
your heart, consciously living in you. |
18. January 1962 – The Heart |
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. |
14. January 1972 – The Heart |
The guidance is in your heart.
Go ahead according to your inspiration. |
No Date – The Heart |
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. |
15. December 1933 – The Vital |
It came to my realisation that Life-Force and the Force to create movements in the body is seated deep within behind the upper abdomen. Yes, there is a seat of
creative vital force there. |
03. May 1971 – The Vital |
The vital is the seat of our power, energy, enthusiasm, effective dynamism. It needs a systematic education. Vital centre: passionate and strong, it asks for control. It is the vital that gives enthusiasm, but the vital by nature is unsteady and always wants new things. Unless it is converted and becomes a docile servant of the Divine, things are always fluctuating. Power of vital expression is useful only when the vital is converted. Conversion of the vital: enthusiastic and spontaneous, it gives itself unstintingly. The day the vital will be converted it will have much to give. Generosity in the vital gives itself unstintingly. Strength in the vital likes to show its beauty and power. Consent of the vital: amiable, smiling, ever ready for action, with a great goodwill. Vital consecration: delightfully modest and fragrant, it smiles at life without wanting to draw attention to itself. Steadfast vitality: the vitality which depends on integral consecration. Stability in the vital: one of the important results of conversion. Vital transparency: indispensable to conversion. Vital patience: indispensable for all progress. Vital progress: organisation around the Divine Will and a progressive surrender to this Will. The vital governed by the Presence: the vital force rendered peaceful and disciplined by the Divine Presence. Formative faculty in the vital: spontaneous but not always happy, it needs to be disciplined. Candid simplicity in the vital: one of the most difficult qualities for the vital to acquire. Trust in the Divine: very indispensable for the impulsive vital. Vital trust in the Divine: full of courage and energy, no longer fears anything. Vital joy in matter: the reward for abolishing selfishness. Peace in the vital: the result of abolishing desires. Silence in the vital: a powerful help for inner peace. Sincerity in the vital: the sure road to realisation. Light in the vital: one of the first steps on the long road. Spiritual awakening of the vital: it soars towards the heights in the hope of reaching them. In the vital even a little victory has great consequences. To harmonise the vital is a psychological masterpiece. Happy is he who accomplishes it. I am disgusted with this world of battling egos. This is natural: the world of the human vital is an ugly one; it greatly needs to be changed. The egoistic vital reactions
must disappear before anything serious can be done. |
No Date – The Vital |
Vital will manifesting in life: it is often the cause of the greatest disorders. Vital sensitivity is excessive if not controlled. I have become very sensitive and get upset for the slightest reason. These are vital perturbations which show themselves in the course of the Sadhana and have to be eliminated. They must not be regarded as natural movements justified by the wrong actions of others and bound to continue so long as there is an external cause. The real cause is internal and it can be got rid of by yogic discipline, vigilance, self-detachment and a quiet but strict rejection. As for the change in the vital, it will come by itself when you form the habit of remaining in your higher consciousness where all these petty things and movements are worthless. By the surrender of the vital, its opening to the light, and by the growth of consciousness. Right attitude in the vital: self-confidence — mental
and vital quiet faith — in your own realisation and in the Divine’s
help. |
No Date – The Senses |
The senses are liars — they do not convey to us the truth of things but only an incomplete and even falsified appearance of things. It is extremely ignorant to think that the eyes and ears never deceive us. Every psychologist knows that they do; it is a fact known to all that one cannot rely on human evidence based on the eyes and ears and that human deductions founded on them can lead to gross errors. The same incident reported by ten different persons elicits ten different versions. Accurate perception: a perception which does not deform the Truth. Purified senses can be
obtained only by a total surrender to the Truth. |
25. June 1935 – The Body (the
Physical) |
Physical centre: occupied mainly with material things, it likes to have an ordered life. The physical nature is obscure and recalcitrant everywhere; it is very difficult for it to become conscious of the divine Presence. That is why we must be patient and keep on aspiring with the certitude of Victory. My blessings are always with
you. |
16. June 1941 – The Body (the
Physical) |
Each victory we win over the obscure physical Nature is the promise of a greater one to come. In the physical the joy of being
is the best expression of gratitude towards the Divine. |
22. May 1954 – The Body (the
Physical) |
The Divine is present in the
very atoms of our body. |
29. May 1954 – The Body (the
Physical) |
The physical being itself can be
the seat of perfect existence, knowledge and bliss. |
23. June 1954 – The Body (the
Physical) |
For the body, to know means to
be able to do. In fact the body knows only what it can do. |
16. June 1961 – The Body (the
Physical) |
Peace in the physical: to want what God wills is its best condition. Peace in the cells: the indispensable condition for the body’s progress. Light in the cells: the first step towards purity in the cells. Purity in the cells cannot be obtained except through conquest of desires; it is the true condition for good health. It is the resistance of the mentalised substance in the cells of the body and can be overcome only by an integral and total conversion. Blessings. |
January 1966 – The Body (the
Physical) |
It is quite possible as the “sadhana”
is done now in the body itself. |
No Date – The Body (the Physical) |
The inner progress has been sufficiently rapid for the exterior being to find it difficult to follow. Now the body must learn to receive the Divine Force and to keep it. Transparency in the physical: the physical prepares itself for transformation. Ananda in the physical: may it be welcome, even if it manifests itself rarely. Ananda in the physical body: purified of all desire and all repulsion, in a perfect equality and surrender, the physical body is ready to enjoy the divine Ananda. Ananda in the centres: this will be one of the good results of the conversion of the physical. Integral even basis in the material: when all your material movements are organised, harmonised and co-ordinated and when all things find themselves in you in their respective places and your entire material basis is thus prepared and becomes ready to receive the Light and the Power. The material consciousness has
a firm and solid steadfastness. |
April 1932 – The Subconscient |
(Mother told a sadhak that his hatred of someone was due to a strong attraction for the person. When asked to explain, she wrote:) I was referring to some evidently subconscient movement — but you need not worry about it nor fix your attention upon It — one day the understanding will come spontaneously. These are the explanations, the excuses the mind always finds in such cases; but these mental explanations follow or at the most accompany the movements to be explained, they never precede them. What starts the movement is an
obscure impulse, instinctive, almost mechanical and unconscious in its
origin, something that contradicts without knowing why. (It is this
unconsciousness which repels X although it is not a legitimation for
repulsion or shrinking — these being themselves movements of
unconsciousness.) |
01. July 1935 – The
Subconscient |
If the subconscient were to accept the Consciousness, it would no longer be the subconscient, it would become consciousness. I think that you mean: has the subconscient submitted to the rule, to the law of the higher Consciousness? This is not done as a whole, for the subconscient is vast and complex; there is a mental subconscient, a vital subconscient, a physical subconscient, a bodily subconscient. We have to wrest the
subconscient fragment by fragment from its ignorant and inert resistance. |
02. February 1938 – The
Subconscient |
These small physical
inconveniences can also be made use of to hasten the progress. The seat of
all these resistances is in the subconscient. We must enter there with a
conscious will and establish the rule of the Divine even in semi-conscious
matter. |
06. January 1939 – The
Subconscient |
Your first attitude of detachment was the true one. The weakness that you are experiencing now is the result mostly of collective suggestion acting through subconscient memories of old ideas and feelings. Our help and blessings are
with you. |
04. July 1955 – The
Subconscient |
Subconscient remembrance must be purified of all that is useless. Power of the truth in the subconscient: it can act only when sincerity is perfect. 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; and you must
rejoice at these occasions to make a progress. |
13. April 1970 – The
Subconscient |
Can one learn to control one’s subconscient as one controls one’s conscious thought? It is especially during the body’s sleep that one is in contact with the subconscient. In becoming conscious of one’s nights, control of the subconscient becomes much easier. The control can become total
when the cells become conscious of the Divine in them and when they open
themselves voluntarily to His influence. This is what the consciousness that
descended on the earth last year is working for. Little by little the
subconscient automatism of the body is being replaced by the consciousness of
the Divine Presence governing the entire functioning of the body. |
1971 – The Subconscient |
The Divine Will acting in the subconscient: the rare moments when the Divine asserts Himself visibly. About accidents: can one say that unconsciousness and disharmonious vibrations attract accidents and that the mistake is never one-sided? This is why it would be better, after an accident, to stop driving for a time, until one has made “great progress in self-mastery and in consciousness”. This should be done and it is
indispensable to enlighten one’s subconscient. |
No Date – General |
There is a psychological health as much, as a physical health; there is a beauty and harmony of the sensations as much as a beauty of the body and its movements. Get out of your mind to have the true intelligence. Get out of your sensations to have the true feelings. Get out of your sensitiveness to have the true dynamism. For the mind — knowledge. For the heart — love and joy. For the life — power. For the matter — beauty. |