Integral Yoga
THEME/S
My help
is always with you
to help you
in your progress
and your work.
The Mother
The Worker -Work in the Ashram
Yoga
Yoga is communion with God for knowledge, for love or for work.
Sri Aurobindo
The object of the Ashram
This Ashram has been created with another object than that ordinarily common to such institutions, not for the renunciation of the world but as a centre and a field of practice for the evolution of another kind and form of life which would in the final end be moved by a higher spiritual consciousness and embody a greater life of the spirit.
Cradle of the new world
The Ashram has been founded and meant to be the cradle of the new world.
Ardent aspiration
It is ages of ardent aspiration that have brought us here to do the Divine's Work.
Unselfish work
Would it not be better to continue the work even if one feels lazy?
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That depends on the work; there we enter another domain.
If it is a work that you are doing for the collectivity and not for yourself personally, then you must do it, whatever happens. It is an elementary discipline. You have undertaken to do this work or have been given the work and have taken it up, therefore you have accepted it, and in that case you must do it. At all times, unless you are absolutely ill, ill in the last degree and unable to move, you must do it. Even if you are rather ill, you must do it. An unselfish work always cures you of your petty personal maladies.
Impossibilities into realisations
Each one here represents an impossibility to be resolved, but as for Your Divine Grace all things are possible. Your work will be, in the detail as in the ensemble, the accomplishment of all the impossibilities transformed into divine realisations.
Laziness
It is not that there is a dearth of people without work in the Ashram; but those who are without work are certainly so because they do not like to work; and for that disease it is very difficult to find a remedy - it is called laziness...
Better to do than to speak
"I beg of you, don't speak so much about what we
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are doing: do it." That is all.
It is always better to do than to speak, and in the least details also.
Lazy people
I am afraid that the Grace has no effect on lazy people.
Every work a representation
Here every work represents something of the universe. When a new work is started here, new problems of the world come in. That is why I do not invite new problems, but if they come I do not avoid them. I have to bring down the highest consciousness; for that I must organise below and tackle all the problems.
A special reason
Mother, if for instance in the long jump one makes an effort to jump a greater and greater distance, how does one do the divine work?
Eh? Excuse me, it is not for the pleasure of doing the long jump, it is to make your body more perfect in its functioning, and, therefore, a more suitable instrument for receiving the divine forces and manifesting them.
Why, everything, everything one does in this place must be done in this spirit, otherwise you do not even profit by the opportunity given to you, the circumstances given to you. I explained to you the other day, didn't I ? that the Consciousness is here, penetrating
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all things and trying to manifest in all movements? But if you, on your side, tell yourself that the effort you are making, the progress you are making, you make in order to become more capable of receiving this Consciousness and of manifesting it, the work will naturally be much better and much quicker. And this seems to me even quite elementary, to tell you the truth; I am surprised that it could be otherwise! Because your presence in an Ashram organised as it is organised would have no meaning if it were not that! Of what use would it be? There are any number of universities, schools in the world which are very well organised!
But if you are here, it is for a special reason! It is because here there is a possibility of absorbing consciousness and progress which is not found elsewhere. And if you don't prepare yourselves to receive this, well, you will lose the chance that's given to you!
The opportunity
It is the moment when great things are done. One must not miss the opportunity.
Dedicating the work
Be faithful to your ideal and dedicate your work to the Divine.
Strength and Grace
Here, for each work given, the full strength and Grace
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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.
An ineffable joy
Work for the Divine and you will feel an ineffable joy filling your being.
Self-discipline
No life can be successful without self-discipline.
Discipline
Discipline is indispensable to be a man. Without discipline one is nothing but an animal.
Strict discipline
Without discipline it is impossible to realise anything on the physical plane. If your heart were not willing to submit to the strict discipline of beating regularly and constantly, you would not be able to live upon earth.
Mastering one's lower nature
To be a man, discipline is indispensable.
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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.
A field for the inner opening
The work in the Ashram was not meant as a service to humanity or to a section of it called the sadhaks of the Ashram. It was not meant either as an opportunity for a joyful social life and a flow of sentiments and attachments between the sadhaks and an expression of the vital movements, a free vital interchange whether with some or with all. The work was meant as a service to the Divine and as a field for the inner opening to the Divine, surrender to the Divine alone, rejection of ego and all the ordinary vital movements and the training in a psychic elevation, selflessness, obedience, renunciation of all mental, vital or other self-assertion of the limited personality. Self-affirmation is not the aim, the formation of a collective Vital ego is also not the aim. The merging of the little ego in union with the Divine, purification, surrender, the substitution of the Divine guidance for one's own ignorant self-guidance based on one's personal ideas and personal feelings is the aim of Karmayoga, the surrender of one's own will to the Divine Will.
The true yogic way
The work here is not intended for showing one's
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capacity or having a position or as a means of physical nearness to the Mother, but as a field and an opportunity for the Karmayoga part of the integral yoga, for learning to work in the true yogic way, dedication through service, practical selflessness, obedience, scrupulousness, discipline, setting the Divine and the Divine's work first and oneself last, harmony, patience, forbearance, etc. When the workers learn these things and cease to be ego-centric, as most of you now are, then will come the time for work in which capacity can really be shown, although even then the showing of capacity Will be an incident and can never be the main consideration or the object of divine work.
All is the Mother's work
In work there must be a rule and discipline and as much punctuality as possible in regard to time.
What is good work and what is bad or less good work?
All is the Mother's work and equal in the Mother's eyes.
Being here is not enough
No, it is not enough to be in the Ashram; one has to open to the Mother and put away the mind which one was playing with in the world.
The spirit of Karmayoga
Work here and work done in the world are of course
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not the same thing. The work there is not in any way a divine work in special - it is ordinary work in the world. But still one must take it as a training and do it in the spirit of Karmayoga -what matters there is not the nature of the work in itself, but the spirit in which it is done. It must be in the spirit of the Gita, without desire, with detachment, without repulsion, but doing it as perfectly as possible, not for the sake of the family or promotion or to please the superiors, but simply because it is the thing that has been given in the hand to do. It is a field of inner training, nothing else. One has to learn in it these things, equality, desirelessness, dedication. It is not the work as a thing for its own sake, but one's doing of it and one's way of doing it that one has to dedicate to the Divine. Done in that spirit, it does not matter what the work is. If one trains oneself spiritually like that, then one will be ready to do in the true way whatever special work directly for the Divine, (such as the Ashram work) one may any day be given to do.
Being wholly objective
It may happen that the very nature of your occupation makes it your duty to report what is taking place in a particular department, undertaking or communal work. But then the report should be confined to the work alone and not touch upon private matters. And as an absolute rule, it must be wholly objective. You should not allow any personal reaction, any preference, any like or dislike to creep in. And above all, never introduce your own petty personal grudges
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into the work that is assigned to you.
Living examples
Now, all depends on your will and your sincerity. If you have the will no more to belong to ordinary humanity, no more to be merely evolved animals; if your will is to become men of the new race realising Sri Aurobindo's supramental ideal, living a new and higher life upon a new earth, you will find here all the necessary help to achieve your purpose; you will profit fully by your stay in the Ashram and eventually become living examples for the world.
To find the Divine
We are not here to lead an easy and comfortable life.
We are here to find the Divine, to become divine, to manifest the Divine.
What happens to us is the Divine's affair, not ours.
Working eight to nine hours
If you worked regularly eight to nine hours a day, you would be hungry and you would eat well and sleep peacefully, and you would have no time to wonder whether you are in a good or a bad mood.
Freedom and the inner liberty
Freedom is far from meaning disorder and confusion.
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It is the inner liberty that one must have, and if you have it nobody can take it away from you.
An austere truth
The freedom of which I speak is the freedom to follow the soul's will and not that of mental and vital whims and fancies.
The freedom of which I speak is an austere truth which tends to surmount all the weaknesses and desires of the lower, ignorant being.
The freedom of which I speak is the freedom to consecrate oneself entirely and without reserve to one's highest, noblest and most divine aspiration.
Who amongst you follows sincerely that path? It is easy to judge, but it is more difficult to understand and still much more difficult to realise.
Working together with Sri Aurobindo's help
We are here in the Ashram to do this work together with the help of Sri Aurobindo's knowledge and force, in an attempt to realise a community that is more harmonious, more united, and consequently much more effective in life.
Young people here
All you young people here have had a very easy life, and instead of taking advantage of it to concentrate your efforts on spiritual progress, you have amused
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yourselves as much as you could, without creating too much scandal, and so your vigilance has been lulled.
Guidance and help
Be sure that I am always present among you to guide and help you in your work and your sadhana.
My help is with you
My help is always with you to help you in your progress and your work.
The difficulties you cannot overcome today will be overcome tomorrow or later on.
The cradle of the new world
I know that from the external point of View we are below many of the present achievements in this world, but our aim is not a perfection in accordance with the human standards. We are endeavouring for something else which belongs to the future.
The Ashram has been founded and is meant to be the cradle of the new world.
The inspiration is from above, the guiding force is from above, the creative power is from above, at work for the descent of the new realisation.
It is only by its shortcomings, its deficiencies and its failures that the Ashram belongs to the present world.
None of the present achievements of humanity have
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the power to pull the Ashram out of its difficulties.
It is only a total conversion of all its members and an integral opening to the descending Light of Truth that can help it to realise itself.
Preparing for a Divine life
People who feel miserable here and find that they have not the comfort they require ought not to stay. We are not in a position to do more than we do, and after all our aim is not to give to people a comfortable life, but to prepare them for a Divine Life which is quite a different affair.
A true child of the Ashram
What qualities are necessary for one to be called "a true child of the Ashram"?
Sincerity, courage, discipline, endurance, absolute faith in the Divine work and unassailable trust in the Divine Grace. All this must be accompanied by a sustained, ardent and persevering aspiration, and by a limitless patience.
Being a sadhaka
What is the use of being a sadhak if, as soon as we act, we act like the ignorant ordinary man?
An example
We are expected to give to the world an example of
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better life but surely not of misbehaviour.
To do sadhana a control is indispensable
Most of the people who live in the Ashram forget too easily that they are not here to live a quiet and pleasant life, but to do sadhana. And for doing sadhana a certain control upon one's inner movements is indispensable.
Rising to the height
To do properly the work of the Ashram one must be strong and plastic enough to know how to utilise the inexhaustible Energy which is backing you all.
I expect everybody here to rise to the height of the needs.
If we are not able to do even that much, how can we hope to be ready for the descent of the Light of Truth when it will come to manifest upon earth?...
The best means
When I give work to someone it is not only for the sake of the work but also as the best means to advance on the path of Yoga. When I gave you this work, I was quite aware of your difficulties and short-comings, but at the same time I knew that if you opened yourself to my help and force you would be able to surmount these obstacles and at the same time to increase your consciousness and open your-self to the Divine's Grace.
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Equal opportunity
I do not give positions to the sadhaks - I give them work; and to all I give an equal opportunity. It is those who prove to be most capable and most sincere, honest and faithful that have the biggest amount of work and the greatest responsibility.
Whatever the external circumstances, they are, without exception, the objective projection of what is inside yourself. When in your work you find something giving trouble outside, look within and you will find in yourself the corresponding difficulty.
Change yourself and the circumstances will change.
Honesty and capacity
There are honest people but they do not have the capacity to work. There are capable people but they are not honest in their work. When I find someone both honest and capable he becomes very precious.
Negligence
In the Ashram, negligence in work is treachery.
The collective work
...the collective work should not suffer because of personal work.
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Entire consecration to the Divine
You seem to forget that by the fact that you are living in the Ashram, it is neither for yourself nor for a boss that you are working, but for the Divine. Your life must be entirely consecrated to the Divine Work and cannot be governed by petty human considerations.
Divine Love, Grace and Care
The reason for people to come and settle here is surely not to find comfort and luxury - this can be found anywhere if one is lucky enough. But what one can get here, that is not got in any other place: it is the Divine Love, Grace and Care. It is when this is forgotten or disregarded that people begin to feel miserable here. Indeed whenever somebody feels unhappy and discontented, it can be taken as a sure sign that he is turning his back on what the Divine is always giving and that he has gone astray in pursuit of worldly satisfaction.
One single aim
Whatever is done here, must be done in a spirit of complete collaboration with one single aim in View - the service of the Divine.
Never forget where you are
Sweet Mother, How can one make use of every moment of this unique
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privilege of living here in the Ashram?
Never forget where you are.
Never forget where you are living and the true aim of life. Remember this at every moment and in all circumstances. In this way you will make the best use of your existence.
Judgment
Sweet Mother, When department heads or superiors make mistakes or commit an injustice towards their subordinates, what should be the attitude of those affected by these errors? Should one keep silent and say, "It is none of my business", or should one try to point out the mistake to them?
Neither the one nor the other.
First and always, we must ask ourselves what our instrument of judgment is. One must ask, "What is my judgment based on? Do I have perfect knowledge? What in me is judging? Do I have the divine consciousness? Am I completely disinterested in this matter? Am I free of all desire and all ego?"
And since the answer to all these questions will be the same, namely, "NO", the honest and sincere conclusion must be: "I cannot judge, I do not have the - elements needed for a true judgment; therefore I will not judge, I will keep quiet."
Reading Sri Aurobindo's books
It seems to me that apart from the work at the Building
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Service, if you feel like studying, it would be better to read Sri Aurobindo's books seriously and carefully, without hurrying. This Will help you more than anything else for your sadhana.
To be turned only to the Mother
I see no reason therefore why you should care so much if anybody is not behaving well with you. I have told you already that people in the Ashram - it is true even of those who have inner experiences and some opening - are not yet free in their outer selves from ego and wrong ideas and wrong movements. It is no use getting distressed or depressed by that. What you must do is to be turned only to the Mother and relying on her go forward quietly with your work and Sadhana until the time when the Sadhaks are sufficiently awakened and changed to feel the need of greater harmony and union with each other. Let only your spiritual change and progress matter for you and for that trust wholly in the Mother's force and her grace which is with you - do not let things or people disturb you, - for compared with the truth and the journey to the full Light of the Mother's Consciousness these things have no importance.
No independent work
Independent work does not exist in the Ashram. All is organised and interrelated, neither the heads of departments nor the workers are independent. To learn subordination and co-operation is necessary for
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all collective work; without it there will be chaos.
Difficulties do not cease
By coming to the Ashram difficulties do not cease - they have to be faced and overcome wherever you are. For certain natures residence in the Ashram from the beginning is helpful - others have to prepare themselves outside.
Perfect perfection
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.
Preparing for the transformation of the earth
Nobody comes here for his own salvation because Sri Aurobindo does not believe in salvation; for us salvation is a meaningless work. We are here to prepare the transformation of the earth and men so that the new creation may take place, and if we make individual efforts to progress, it is because this progress is indispensable for the accomplishment of the work.
Work and solitude
If someone comes and says, "Well, here I am, I feel that I should consecrate myself to the divine Work, I
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am ready to do any work at all that you give me", then I say, "Good, that's all right. If you have good-will, endurance, and some capacity, it is all right. But to find the solitude necessary for your inner development it is better to go somewhere else, anywhere else, but not here."
Doing everything with care
Everything one does with care necessarily becomes interesting.
Divine help
You must be sincere in your perseverance; then the things you cannot do today, you will one day be able to do, after regular and persistent efforts.
Give yourself to the Divine absolutely, and the Divine Help will always be with you.
Serving the Divine
The only thing worth living for is to serve the Divine.
Changing the consciousness
People are here to change their consciousness. Unless they become, all of them, true to their aim, nothing true can be done.
Correcting one's own faults
If each one were more concerned with correcting his
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own faults than with criticising those of others, the work would go more quickly.
The inner contact
Now that you are here, the only thing to do is to forget the past and to concentrate on your work here. It is true that for the moment I cannot see you regularly, but you must learn to get the inner contact (it is one of the chief reasons of my retirement) and then you will know that I am always with you to guide you and to help you and that you can have no better conditions than here to do properly your sadhana.
An outside view
An outside view may find many things to criticise and criticise much, but from the inner view what has been done has been done well. In an outside view, you come with all kinds of mental, intellectual formations and find there is nothing uncommon in what is done here. But thereby you miss what is behind: the Sadhana. A deeper consciousness would see the march towards a realisation that surpasses all. The outside view does not see the spiritual life; it judges by its own smallness.
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