The Mother’s correspondence with six members of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.
The Mother : correspondence
Ce volume réunit la correspondance de la Mère avec six personnes, des disciples et des élèves de l’école de l’Ashram. La Mère y répond à leurs questions sur la vie et le yoga.
This volume contains the Mother's correspondence with six members of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. The material covers a thirty-five year period, from 1932 to 1968. All the correspondences are presented in chronological order. Two of them were written in English; four were written wholly or partly in French and appear here in translation.
THEME/S
To a disciple who joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1944 at the age of eight. She worked for almost thirty years in the Ashram's Department of Physical Education, becoming one of its first captains at the age of eleven.
Sweet Mother,
Are You with us during the collective meditation at the Playground?
Certainly, I am always there.
To benefit from it, what should we meditate on? And how?
The method is always the same. Gather together the energies in you that are usually dispersed outside; concentrate your consciousness within, beneath the surface agitation, and establish, as far as possible, a perfect quietness in your heart and head; then formulate your aspiration, if you have one, and open yourself to receive the divine force from above.
Write something for me that I can remember throughout the year.
Our aim is to realise the perfection of our being and to change the human animal into the divine man.
With my blessings.
5 July 1960
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If a soul has taken birth as a boy in one life, does it always remain a boy in future lives, or can it be born as a girl?
Theories differ greatly according to school and sect, and each teaching gives excellent reasons to support its contentions.
Certainly there is an element of truth in all these statements; and not only are all cases possible, but they must have occurred in the course of the earth's history and still do.
The only thing I can speak of with certainty on this subject, is my own experience.
According to my experience, the soul is divine, an eternal portion of the Supreme Divine, and therefore it cannot be limited or bound by any law whatever, except its own. These souls are emanated by the Lord to do His work in the world, and each one comes on earth with a particular purpose, for a particular work, and with a particular destiny; each has its own law which is binding on itself alone and cannot be made a general rule.
So in the eternity of the becoming, every possible case, imaginable and unimaginable, must obviously occur.
My brother has started working in the Sports Ground at night along with some other boys. I do not know if this is all right for him after all the studies during the day and the physical education activities in the afternoon. He does not even take rest after lunch. He says he does not feel tired. Last night he returned from the Sports Ground at midnight, but he says that in future he will return earlier.
Mother, if you think it is all right, then I can let him continue.
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If he does it with pleasure, it does not matter much at his age, provided it does not last for too many days. In any case, as soon as he feels tired, he must take rest.
Blessings.
A generous heart always forgets the past offences and is ready to reestablish harmony.
Let us all forget all that is dark and ugly in the past, in order to make us ready to receive the luminous future.
With love and blessings.
I have gathered my dreams in a silver air Between the gold and the blue And wrapped them softly and left them there, My jewelled dreams of you. "A God's Labour", SRI AUROBINDO
I have gathered my dreams in a silver air Between the gold and the blue And wrapped them softly and left them there, My jewelled dreams of you.
"A God's Labour", SRI AUROBINDO
The silver air is the spiritual realm. The gold is the supramental and the blue is the mind.
The "dreams" means all the unrealised expectations that have to be realised in future—these "dreams" are kept softly and lovingly protected for the possibility of their realisation.
(1) It is said that "A God's Labour" describes Sri Aurobindo's own experiences on earth. Is that true?
(2) You have explained that "the 'dreams' means all the unrealised expectations that have to be realised in future". In the last line of the stanza Sri Aurobindo says
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"My jewelled dreams of you". For whom does the "you" stand?
It is better to keep what Sri Aurobindo wanted us to understand: God speaking to his creation, the earth.
My dear child,
I know that it is impossible to change one's nature overnight, but what you can understand and accept immediately is that losing your temper and getting upset is a sign of great weakness. And, as I told you, my force is with you from the moment you decide to overcome this weakness which is unworthy of you. So I ask you, from now on, to use this force I am giving you to control your reactions and to remain quiet until your anger has passed. This is the first indispensable step. Afterwards, I shall gradually help you to understand that your anger is unjustified and has no basis.
With all my love, I ask you to please make the effort necessary for this great progress to be achieved; it will open the door to transformation.
My love and my blessings are with you.
How should we choose the kind of things that we ought or ought not to read? Is it good to do "light reading"—newspapers and magazines, for instance?
Ordinary newspapers, magazines and books such as novels are meant for lazy-minded people who do not read in order to learn anything, but simply for amusement and relaxation. This is a pursuit for people who take life as it comes and are quite unconcerned about progress or a deeper understanding of things.
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Some people read to find out what is going on in the world and is indicative of human progress; in addition to reading, they may go to the cinema and listen to the radio.
People who read in order to develop a good style ought to read a lot, and they should choose books of literary merit.
Some people read in order to learn. They should choose instructive books on the subject or subjects they are interested in: philosophy, science, art, etc.
And then there are the very few who want to understand life, its purpose and its goal. For them, Sri Aurobindo's books are the best reading of all.
Help me to become your true child.
This is a good resolution. You can be sure of my help and of the presence of my consciousness which is with you to light your way and to guide you whenever you call on it. It is in silent aspiration that you can become conscious of this presence and be able to receive its aid.
Why have You started to allow marriage in the Ashram?
I have allowed it to people who declare that they do not want any sexual relationship—in the hope that they are sincere. It is a matter between them and their conscience.
23 December 1969
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Why do we celebrate Christmas here? What special meaning does this day have for us? And why is a distinction made here between Europeans and Indians on Christmas Day?
Long before the Christian religion made December 25th the day of Christ's birth, this day was the festival of the return of the sun, the Day of Light. It is this very ancient symbol of the rebirth of the Light that we wish to celebrate here.
As far as I know, everyone in the Ashram is allowed to come to the Christmas tree and the distribution.
The custom of sending special baskets to the Europeans and Americans comes from the fact that in those countries they usually give presents to each other on Christmas Day, instead of on January first. That is all.
In the New Year message, are you referring to the physical transformation when you say "The world is preparing for a big change"? And how can we help?
It is the advent of the being that will succeed man, the being that will be to man what man is to the animal, that is being prepared. And the work has already begun with the action of a new consciousness which came on the first of January 1969 and is at work in all who are ready. The action of this consciousness has intensified and is becoming more and more material. It is up to us to be receptive if we want to hasten the outcome of its action.
1 January 1970
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Today it is exactly nine years since X left his body. Where is he now? Has he been reborn?
X's psychic being has entered into rest and is still there.
When the psychic being has left the body and entered into rest, is it possible to have any contact with it? I often dream of X and usually these dreams are very vivid. Is it because there is a contact with him, or does it come from my subconscious?
Most probably these are subconscious activities which have risen to the surface during your sleep.
The psychic rest is inactive, by definition.
But if you remember any of your dreams very exactly, you can tell me and I will see.
In my recent dreams of X, I always see him in a very familiar setting, such as in our house, or at the Playground, or in the Ashram. And when I see him, I always have the impression that he has come back after a long time, from very far away. I never see him for very long, it is always just for a few moments, and even then he never speaks. Twice I asked him where he had been, but he just smiled without answering.
When I wake up in the morning, I remember him
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very clearly, although I have no recollection of the rest of the night's dreams.
In this case, your dreams seem to indicate that he has recently taken a new body without my being informed of it, which is quite possible.
It cannot be among the children I have seen, for I would have recognised him, but there are so many others!
Isn't there any way to find out definitely whether a particular psychic being has taken a new body or not?
There is a way.
You must go consciously into the psychic world and see whether you find the psychic being in question. If you see it, the matter is settled. If you don't see it, you must concentrate on it in order to make contact, and ask it to show you which human body it is in. This can be a long and delicate task.
Would you like to try to do it?
I would very much like to try this experiment if You guide me.
I am ready to help you.
The first step is to consciously unite with your psychic being. Have you tried? If you have, tell me what happened to you.
24 March 1970
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My mind is in such a turmoil these days that I don't feel any contact with my psychic being. I don't think that I have a psychic being any more.
Don't be sad, my dear child; your psychic being is still there, for if it had gone away, your body would not be able to live.
You may no longer be very conscious of its presence because your mind has become rather noisy, so you are no longer quiet enough to feel the psychic presence. But this can be cured. And since you told me that you would like to try, yesterday I chose this quotation from Sri Aurobindo to send to you:
"Aspiration, constant and sincere, and the will to turn to the Divine alone are the best means to bring forward the psychic."
Fix a time every day when you can be free and undisturbed; sit comfortably and think of your psychic being with an aspiration to enter into contact with it. If you don't succeed immediately, don't be discouraged; you are sure to succeed one day. I only ask that you let me know what time you have chosen so that I can help you more consciously.
With all my love and blessings.
I will try to do it every day from 12:45 to 1:00 p.m. I will write to you if I succeed in doing anything. Help me, sweet Mother.
Good; it is a convenient time for me and you can be sure that I will help you.
26 March 1970
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I am curious to know what You are going to do when You say that You will help me during my concentration every afternoon.
I am going to concentrate on you, and if anything in your consciousness responds, I shall lead it into the psychic world to take up the search.
Are you sure that X will come back to the Ashram in his next birth?
No, it is not at all certain.
Do beings who have been in contact with You in one life always come back to You in their new lives?
The number of beings who consciously return to a place of their choice is very small.
Those who have returned are mainly the beings who, before leaving their body, asked to return in a new one.
But everything is possible.
How is it possible to remember one's past lives?
It is through contact with the psychic that one gets fragmentary memories of past lives—the memory of events in which the psychic took part.
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This happens spontaneously when these same elements of the psychic become active again.
Any deliberate mental effort is liable to produce misleading imaginations.
When there are special dates, are there special forces at work in the world on those days?
What special thing is happening today on the 60th anniversary of Sri Aurobindo's arrival?
The forces are always present, waiting to be received. The function of special dates is mainly to awaken sluggish memories and blunted receptivities. Actually it is the town of Pondicherry that should have celebrated this 60th anniversary, for Sri Aurobindo's arrival has altered its destiny considerably.
Even before it is born, the mother can begin educating her child through her attitude and her thoughts.
With my love and blessings.
In the very depths of your being, deep within your breast, the Divine Presence is always there, luminous and peaceful, full of love and wisdom. It is there so that you may unite with it and it may transform you into a luminous and radiant consciousness.
Together you and I shall try to silence all the external noise on the surface of your being, so that in silence and peace you may unite with this inner glory.
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Then that day will become the day of your new birth.
To know how to be silent is sometimes of priceless value.
Silence opens the door to true knowledge.
I have seen your psychic being, standing erect within your being, ready to take responsibility for your life and lead you to the Light and Truth. Its dignity is great, its determination unfailing; it will win the victory.
Your psychic being, immobile as a statue but alert and vigilant, is watching over your life to lead you to the Divine.
Your psychic being in the light and peace... it is radiant.
Your heart is the home of a luminous goodness; let it govern your whole being.
Love.
There is a greater power in silence than in words, however forceful. The greatest transformations have been achieved in the silence of concentration.
To know how to smile in all circumstances is the quickest way to divine wisdom.
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It is the ego that gets angry and upset, and this ego obscures your consciousness and impedes your progress.
The ego does not change because it feels sure that it is always right.
These days I don't have any interest in my group activities. I am doing the work simply as a duty, without any enthusiasm. Wouldn't it be better to let someone else take my place? I feel it is not fair to the children if I cannot give my best. I will do what You tell me.
You have the knowledge and the experience; they are indispensable conditions for teaching well. I believe that you are a very good teacher and that the children would lose a great deal if you stopped teaching them. Continue, and you will see that soon you will begin to enjoy it again.
Love and blessings.
Pacify this tempest in me and establish peace. Calm this violence and make love reign. At this moment I aspire with all my heart to become Your true child. Help me to become worthy of You.
I was very glad to read what you have written.
The day of your birth will truly be your birth into a new consciousness, the true consciousness that will lead you to the Divine realisation.
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But just now I want to tell you that my love and help are always with you to help you on the way.
The victory is the one that we must win over ourselves so that we belong to the Divine alone.
In the creation Mahakali manifests the divine love; but so powerful and sublime is this love that most men are afraid of it.
We are on earth in order to progress and to perfect ourselves in the course of many successive lives. What we cannot do this time, we shall do next time; and every progress we make this time will help us then.
Kali always helps those who call on her, and with her help the progress comes more quickly.
Individual existence has been created to make possible the joy of finding the Divine and uniting with Him.
To have its full value, a step forward should be the outcome of a spontaneous need.
30 November 1971
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By carefully reading what Sri Aurobindo has written on the subject, develop a clear conception of what human perfection must be.
By closely observing your own character, become aware of what needs to be transformed in order to achieve the ideal condition. Then set to work sincerely, observing your inner as well as your outer movements. And each time you discover something that contradicts the ideal you have set for yourself, make an effort to correct it.
What attitude should we take towards the war?1
Psychologically, the only thing to do is to keep a quiet and unshakable faith.
Materially, it will depend on circumstances.
Most of the difficulties that people have are due to a lack of control over their actions, and their reactions to the actions of others.
According to one's own nature and weaknesses, one must set for oneself a discipline that is invariably to be followed; for example, never to quarrel, never to reply when someone says or does something unpleasant, never to argue when one disagrees. Obviously one should never lose one's temper when things or people are not the way one would like them to be.
Naturally, if a person is not used to controlling himself, it takes a good deal of effort to acquire the habit. But this is quite
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indispensable if one wants to make any progress.
The path is long. That is why one must have patience and an unfailing sincerity towards oneself.
In order to be able to live in peace with others, self-control is essential, and it ought to be practised even by those who do not aspire for transformation.
When one gives one's love to another human being, the first mistake one generally makes is to want to be loved by the other person, not in his own way and according to his character, but in one's own way and to satisfy one's desires. This is the number one cause of all human miseries, disappointments and sufferings.
To love means to give oneself without bargaining—otherwise it is not love. But this is rarely understood and even more rarely practised. And the consequences are painful.
When some progress needs to be made, you must set to work to make it, without excusing yourself on the grounds that others are not making it.
Each one is responsible first for himself; and if you aspire to help others, it is by giving an example of what one should be that you can help them most effectively.
And the Divine Grace is always there, marvellously effective for all those who are sincere.
Give us faith in a glorious future and the capacity to realise it.
Lord, Supreme Truth,
We aspire to know You and to serve You.
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Help us to become Your worthy children.
And for this, make us conscious of Your constant blessings, so that gratitude may fill our hearts and govern our lives.
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.
When one loves the Divine truly and totally, then one also loves His creation and His creatures; and naturally, among His creatures, there may be some that one feels closer to and loves more specially. But then the love that one feels is not a selfish love of the ordinary human kind; it is no longer a love that wants to hold and possess, but a love that gives itself without asking anything in return.
To love for the joy of loving is the best condition for a peaceful and happy life; it amounts, in other words, to loving the Divine in all things.
If this culminates in wanting only what the Divine wants, then there is perfect peace.
The figure 100 in itself has no special significance for the length of a human life. But simply because human life has become so complex, it has also become relatively short, and it is now rare to live to be a hundred.
When man lived in harmony with Nature, his life lasted longer.
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When man lives by and for the Divine, his life will be longer, and one day the Divine will reveal to him the secret of immortality.
It is the invocation of the people who are celebrating Sri Aurobindo's centenary which makes his presence more active and effective. But for those who are always with him, this hardly makes any difference.
The same phenomenon occurs when people concentrate on him at the Samadhi: he is always there, but in response to their call his presence becomes more active.
All those students who want to learn how to succeed in life and make money are not wanted here. We want only those who want to live a higher life. The children have to decide whether they want to belong to the new life or to be "successful" and live an ordinary life. I think that some of the children will go away.
Protect us from the ignorant goodwill that thinks it is serving us but only debases us.
Purify our consciousness of all ignorance, so that we may serve You in the Truth.
I have asked the Supreme Lord to help you to find Him, and I am ready to give you a moment every day to help you to make this discovery.
All I ask is that you try to remain silent during the time we are concentrating together.
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If you can relax and feel at ease, it will be very good; if you can enter into the silence, that will be perfect. Every day we shall begin with the prayer: "Grant that I may become conscious of Your presence"; and together we shall aspire for a moment in the silence and ardour of our aspiration.
The Divine whom we seek is not far off and inaccessible. He is at the very heart of His creation, and what He wants us to do is to find Him and, through personal transformation, to become capable of knowing Him, uniting with Him and finally of manifesting Him consciously.
We must consecrate ourselves to this; it is the true reason for our existence.
And our first step towards this sublime realisation is the manifestation of the supramental consciousness.
To take this step towards the new creation, one must learn to silence the mind and rise above into Consciousness.
In silence, the consciousness grows. It aspires to know You more and more perfectly.
In silence lies the greatest aspiration.
We pray that the greatest receptivity may also be there.
Thank You, Lord, You respond miraculously to every sincere aspiration.
5 April 1972
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In silence lies the greatest devotion.
When the consciousness is fully awakened to Your Presence, a moment comes when in silence also lies the most powerful action.
To want what You want always and in every circumstance is the only way to enjoy inviolable peace.
We are never alone: the Divine is always with us. It is up to us to become conscious of His Presence.
I am with you always, and will be with you throughout your journey to help you to find the Divine—the only way to have lasting happiness. I expect to see you on your birthday; pray for this grace which is the true aim of your life.
I ask only that you have faith and trust.
I am putting myself into your heart so that you may always find me there.
Undated
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