Letters on Himself
and the Ashram

Ordinary Life and Yoga

Faith and Knowledge

Is it true that only those who have obtained a clear knowledge of their spiritual possibility through a definite glimpse, received by the Grace of the Divine, are able to stick to the path till the end?

At least I had no such glimpse before I started Yoga. I can't say about others—perhaps some had—but the glimpse could only bring faith, it could not possibly bring knowledge; knowledge comes by Yoga, not before it.

Those who had no such glimpse may get some experience but will not be able to stick to their sadhana.

I repeat that all one needs to know is whether the soul in one has been moved to the Yoga or not.

5 May 1933

Education, Belief and Yoga

I suppose I have had myself an even more completely European education than you and I have had too my period of agnostic denial, but from the moment I looked at these things I could never take the attitude of doubt and disbelief which was for so long fashionable in Europe. Abnormal, otherwise supraphysical experiences and powers, occult or Yogic, have always seemed to me something perfectly natural and credible. Consciousness in its very nature could not be limited by the ordinary physical human-animal consciousness; it must have other ranges. Yogic or occult powers are no more supernatural or incredible than is supernatural or incredible the power to write a great poem or compose great music. Few people can do it, as things are,—not even one in a million; for poetry and music come from the inner

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being and to write or to compose true and great things one has to have the passage clear between the outer mind and something in the inner being. That is why you got the poetic power as soon as you began Yoga—Yoga-force made the passage clear. It is the same with Yogic consciousness and its powers; the thing is to get the passage clear,—for they are already there within you. Of course the first thing is to believe, aspire and, with the true urge within, make the endeavour.

2 September 1931

Ordinary Consciousness and Awakening

Somebody writing a biography of Confucius in Bengali says: "Why do the Dharmagurus marry, we can't understand. Buddha did and his wife's tale is heart-rending [হৃদয়-বিদারক]."

Why? What is there বিদারক in it?

He goes on: "Aurobindo Ghose, not a Dharmaguru, though he may be called Dharma-mad [ধমর্পাগল]"—how do you feel about that, Sir?—"has done it too."

Well, it is better to be ধমর্পাগল than to be a sententious ass and pronounce on what one does not understand.

"We don't understand why they marry and why this change comes soon after marriage."

Perfectly natural—they marry before the change—then the change comes and the marriage belongs to the past self, not to the new one.

"The wives of Buddha and Ramakrishna felt proud when they were deserted."

Then what's the harm?

"If married life is an obstacle to spirituality, then they might as well not marry."

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No doubt. But then when they marry, there is not an omniscient ass like this biographer to tell them that they were going to be ধমর্গুরু or ধমর্পাগল or in any way concerned with any other than the biographer's.

So, according to the biographer, all of you, except Christ, showed a lack of wisdom by marrying.

Well, if a biographer of Confucius can be such an unmitigated ass, Confucius may be allowed to be unwise once or twice, I suppose.

I touch upon a delicate subject, but it is a puzzle.

Why delicate? and why a puzzle? Do you think that Buddha or Confucius or myself were born with a prevision that they or I would take to the spiritual life? So long as one is in the ordinary consciousness, one lives the ordinary life—when the awakening and the new consciousness come, one leaves it—nothing puzzling in that.

27 April 1936

Meditation as a Means

What do you call meditation? Shutting the eyes and concentrating? It is only one method for calling down the true consciousness. To join with the true consciousness or feel its descent is the only thing important and if it comes without the orthodox method, as it always did with me, so much the better. Meditation is only a means or device, the true movement is when even walking, working or speaking one is still in sadhana.

10 June 1933

Meditation and Purification

In an article Krishnaprem says that meditation can't be fruitful for those who have not achieved a high degree of inner development and purification.

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I do not know what Krishnaprem said or in which article, I do not have it with me. But if the statement is that nobody can have a successful meditation or realise anything till he is pure and perfect, I fail to follow it; it contradicts my own experience. I have always had realisation by meditation first and the purification started afterwards as a result. I have seen many get important, even fundamental realisations by meditation who could not be said to have a great inner development. Are all Yogis who have meditated to effect and had great realisations in their inner consciousness perfect in their nature? It does not look like it to me. I am unable to believe in absolute generalisations in this field, because the development of spiritual consciousness is an exceedingly vast and complex affair in which all sorts of things can happen and one might almost say that for each man it is different according to his nature and that the one thing that is essential is the inner call and aspiration and the perseverance to follow always after it no matter how long it takes or what are the difficulties or impediments—because nothing else will satisfy the soul within us.

17 May 1936

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