Blessings of the Grace

BLESSINGS OF THE GRACE

TO BECOME MORE AND MORE SINCERE

Bonjour!

Bonjour, Douce Mère.

. . .

Mother, I want to know: what we can do when You are not well The Mother writes:

Le plus sûr moyen de rendre mon travail moins difficile est de devenir de plus en plus sincère, scrupuleusement sincère, pour que rien ne reste en contact avec l’obscurité.

[The most sure means to make my work less difficult is to become more and more sincere, scrupulously sincere so that nothing remains in contact with the obscurity.]

This is the only thing to be done — to be absolutely sincere; then there is no attack on me …

Even then, Mother, will our prayers have some effect?

No. Almost nothing. The prayers? … not much…. You know, each thing that we do has always some effect and if it is done sincerely, from there (the heart)… It is not the prayers, they cannot reach…. It is better to remain calm like this — equal — (horizontal movement) an equanimity. This is the best thing, the prayers do not help. They have a negligible effect. Remain calm and do sincerely what you have to. Do what I have written, — one has to be scrupulously sincere if you have the intention of helping me a bit in my work. If you want to render my work a bit less difficult, the only thing to be done is to be sincere.

If, from your side, you are sincere, then nothing can touch me — sincere in purifying all the parts of the being. It must be understood that it is this impurity in you which enters in me or through your insincerity…

You know, my child, if each one of you took the trouble to purify his or her being, it would be that much less difficult for this body because all that you leave behind, or else what remains impure in you, I am obliged to do this work of purification in you and it is that much more work for this body. Or, if each one did his little effort of purification in himself — it is that much effort and time gained by me and inversely when everyone neglects his own duty of purification then it is that much more work for this body. Therefore, if you make your own personal effort, it makes my work easier and I am free — that means that this body is free of these attacks. And nothing can touch me, if you are pure and sincere. Well, then, with this effort and the time gained, I can occupy myself with other things, which have to be manifested.

Mother, this is something to be repeated as a prayer! It is so beautiful. Could you write it, Mother?

What?

If each one took up his own work of purification then it would be that much less effort for You, and …

You want that I should write this?

Yes, Mother.

But how to express myself in writing — it is He, the Lord … or me — what is it? It is not clear when one writes. We can talk about these things but it cannot be written. Then it is not that precise.

But, Mother, it is a thing to be repeated to oneself.

But who represents me? How to express … no … I do not write anything … It is not possible.

Not even a sentence, Mother?

No … no…. If something comes I shall write and send it to you. If really something comes, then I shall see.

… Then, Mother, write my name on this paper.

Why?

Otherwise, You may forget, Mother.

I… forget ? I never forget. It is not necessary to write. (In a teasing tone) But if you want that I should return your paper like this (Mother hits me on the head with the paper) here it is, take it.

Never, Mother, unless You write something on it.

Oh! let us see if something comes …

Au revoir.

Au revoir, Douce Mère.

May 26, 1968

(Later, the Mother sent back the answer on the same paper. She had written:)

By the widening of its consciousness, this body is more or less identified with those who are around it.

All effort made for the purification of one’s physical consciousness is so much less work for this body.

May 26, 1968

BLESSINGS OF THE GRACE

(These are some of the Mother’s written answers to the questions I sent to Her in my diary.)

Mother,

Write a small prayer for me to recite always.

A subject for daily meditation:

“I aspire to be delivered of all egoistic weakness and of all unconscious insincerity.”

with my blessings

December 30, 1950

How can one be frank? By telling you all that one does?

Yes, but on condition that one speaks very sincerely.

May 15,1951

*

Mother,

The day I went to Cuddalore, I felt miserable. Why?

For those who live in the Ashram, the outside world always seems to be dark and without life.

Here, in the Ashram, one lives in a constant consciousness and light, and as they are always present one gets habituated and the outside seems without light and without life.

March 23, 1951

*

Mother,

When we concentrate on something, does it not mean that we concentrate on You?

Certainly not, if one concentrates on the appearance of a thing. It is only when one seeks for the One truth behind each thing that one can find me thus. But the method is difficult and it is simpler to concentrate on the truth itself.

January 21, 1951

*

Mother,

Tell me, what should I try to do.

It is an inner reversal which is necessary.

Turn towards the Divine with an ardent aspiration and the Divine will be with you.

May 3, 1951

*

Mother,

What does it mean “to be the work”? Is it only concentrating on the work?

It means — to identify oneself with what one is doing, instead of seeing oneself doing.

April 27, 1951

*

Mother,

What is that will which can govern the vital, the mind and also the physical? Does it belong to the Divine?

All individual will is a limitation and a deformation of the Divine Will; just as the individual consciousness is a limitation and a deformation of the Divine Consciousness.

April 26, 1951

*

Mother,

Would it not be better to sit for meditation and to devote one part of the day to concentrate upon You?

If you give five minutes, three times per day: on waking, at noon and in the evening before sleep, to concentrate upon me and establish a conscious relation with my consciousness, it will be good.

My blessings

January 4, 1951

*

Mother,

You know that I have not done pranam at the tomb [the Samadhi]; but when I see the others doing it I think I am unfortunate and that I do not offer Him any homage.

But Mother, I have never felt that I should do pranam.

It is not a rule that one must do pranam. Only those who feel the need of doing it, should do it. It is much more important to be faithful to the spirit and to the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and to do nothing which is contrary to His teaching, rather than prostrating at a tomb.

January 27, 1951

Mother,

It is not often that we think we are here to do yoga. Most of the time our actions are frivolous, and it is only for some time that we think of You. Is this sufficient to be ready for the realisation? So what effort must we make?

To remember always and always to be sincere.

December 21, 1950

*

Mother,

What is the difference between realisation and identifying oneself with You?

Remember my explanation: first identification, then realisation.

January 2, 1951

*

Mother,

When one says that something has happened by chance, what does “by chance” mean?

Simply that one does not know the reasons or the causes of the event, or else that one is not willing to take the trouble to find out or to express the causes. It is a laziness of the mind.

March 4, 1951

*

Mother,

When something happens by chance, and keeps happening, we say that God is happy — that is, all went well. What are the reasons?

Your question is not properly stated. I told you that when we say: he is fortunate, or it is luck, it simply means that what has happened is the effect of the Divine Grace. This is beyond all the reasons which the human mind can conceive.

March 5, 1951

*

Mother,

The other day You said that the history which we study is not correct; then why don’t You write the correct history? And why should we study what is not true, if our aim is to realise the Truth?

In our relative world all is relative, and without the transformation of the consciousness one cannot arrive at the absolute truth.

In the history which is taught in schools, the broad lines are relatively correct. It is in the details that inexactitudes creep in.

March 2, 1951

*

Mother,

The dreams that we see, are they always true?…

No.

Or are they the things to come?…

No.

Or are they meaningless things?…

Not that either.

It could be one or another of these things, or many others too. Read the article on dreams in Paroles d’Autrefois (Words of Long Ago).

January 14, 1951

*

Mother,

You spoke about dreams in Your class, but why can’t we distinguish whether we have seen something or thought about it?

It is because of a lack of consciousness. One must learn to distinguish the different planes of the being: psychic, mental, vital and physical; when this is done, then one can understand on which of these planes one is active in sleep as well as in the waking state.

February 3, 1951

*

Mother,

Can palmistry always foretell the truth?…

No.

Palmistry is a very interesting art, but it depends almost entirely on the value of the one who is practising it. Moreover, almost exclusively it puts one in contact only with the material destiny, and this destiny can be altered by the intervention of the higher forces.

January 1, 1951

*

Mother,

When one sees a shooting star, does it signify something? Or is it a superstition?

There is nothing in the world that does not signify something, or rather, each circumstance in life has a significance. What is needed is to go deep enough in the being to discover it.

As for the ordinary explanations, most of the time they are superstitions.

January 11, 1951

*

Mother,

Do You mind my asking You all sorts of question? Let me know if I am misusing the liberty You have given me.

You can ask all the questions you want but be prepared for any sort of answer.

February 25, 1951

*

Mother,

The books that we read, do they not leave an impression on our character?

The books that we read have a lot of influence on the thought and through the thought on the character. Bad books are like poison which destroys the good aspirations in the being. One must scrupulously avoid them.

January 23, 1951

*

Mother,

When we think of doing something, why is it that it is the contrary that occurs?

Because by thinking we disturb the concentration, the thought itself absorbs a portion of the energies. And it is by the concentration of energies that one can do something.

March 11, 1951

*

Mother,

If we do not blink, does it spoil our eyes?

All depends on the time that one does not blink. If it is only for a few minutes, it is of no importance. What is harmful is habitually not to blink enough.

April 4, 1951

*

April 1950

Mother,

Explain to me what you wanted to tell me about getting hurt.

The aura of the most material vital and of the subtle physical acts as a protection for the body — that which changes it the most is

1. an excessive fatigue, physical or mental overwork,
2. worries, tension and depression.

An altered aura no longer protects properly.

January 15, 1951

*

Mother,

When one makes a lot of effort to bear physical pain, does it not increase the will power?

Yes, but one must always do it within limits in order not to damage the body.

January 22, 1951

*

Mother,

Is it true that extreme happiness is followed by unhappiness?

All depends on the kind of happiness. If it comes from the vital and therefore brings an excitement, the reaction and the depression are bound to follow.

It is only the peaceful and luminous psychic joy which does not have reactions.

June 27, 1951

*

Mother,

The wrong we have done, can it always be rectified or can it be effaced by concentration or by any other method?

Both are possible (to rectify and to efface), but in both cases, although in different degrees, a transformation of the nature, of the character, is necessary.

The part which has done wrong must first be changed in oneself before hoping to be able to change the consequences of one’s actions.

January 9, 1951

*

Mother,

During the concentration should we fix the thought on one thing or should we think of nothing and remain silent also within, that is, without thinking?

Certainly if one is capable of ceasing to think, it is the best possible thing.

March 28, 1951

*

Mother,

Does the light You put upon us remain till we make use of it? And once acquired, does it remain always?

The light that I give is not taken back, but one is not always in a state to feel it or to use it.

February 1, 1951

*

Mother,

Have You noticed that when You are a bit serious I cannot stay in front of You? But why?

I did not notice this, for the simple reason that what you describe as “a bit serious” is due to the fact that I am concentrating on some work. It is this concentration which gives me this serious look and at the same time prevents me from noticing the condition of the person who is outwardly with me.

February 28, 1951

*

Mother,

When You go into trance, is it the beings of the world who call You?

(The Mother underlined the words “the beings of the world”, added a sign next to it and wrote:)

Which beings and which world? The men and the earth? Or else the beings of the invisible worlds?

Or while concentrating You go into trance?

There is a large number of reasons for which I go into trance and I cannot explain to you all that here.

February 6, 1951

*

Mother,

I had thought that it was the people of this world. But do the beings of the other world also call You?

I could be called from everywhere according to the needs.

February 7, 1951

*

Mother,

Have You practised all types of yogas, whether Indian or others? Or do You have mastery in all these yogas?

All the methods which came to me, I have tried them to find out what they could give; and there is a state of consciousness in which one masters all these things when it is necessary.

June 11, 1951

*

Mother,

You wrote last time “to find out what they could give”. Does that mean, whether they help us for the supreme realisation?

Yes, to know to what extent each of these methods could help on the way.

June 12, 1951

*

Mother,

If it is not forbidden to tell, then tell me, how does one feel when one realises the Divine?

Certainly, these are not things of which it is easy to speak, and even if one speaks, they are still more difficult to understand for those who have not had the experience.

But I can formulate it briefly like this: One feels perfectly free, perfectly happy, perfectly conscious.

June 16, 1951

1. Hibiscus mutabilis. Changeable rose, Confederate rose, Cotton rose. Large double flower with soft delicate petals, opening pure white, gradually turning pink.[↩]
2. Flowers, Mother has said, are the manifestation of the psychic in the vegetal kingdom. She has explained the spiritual significance of about 900 flowers. The exchange of flowers thus assumed a special role in the Ashram. The sadhaks would offer to Her the flowers that best expressed their aspiration and She would give them Her answer through appropriate flowers.[↩]
3. The flower ‘Divinité’ (in English, ‘Godhead’) Hibiscus ‘Hawaiian’ — ‘Cromwell’[↩]
4. ‘Attachment for the Divine’ – Belamcanda Chinensis, Orchid.[↩]
5. ‘Unselfishness’ – Beaumontia Grandiflora, Herald’s Trumpet, Easter Lily Vine. It is a bowl-shaped flower into which Mother places the other flowers one by one.[↩]
6. ‘Faith’ – Hibiscus Albo Variegata.[↩]
7. ‘Divine Love’ – Punica Granatum, Pomegranate Flower.[↩]
8. ‘Transformation’ – Millingtonia Hortensis, flower of the Indian Cork Tree.[↩]
9. The conversation took place in the ‘Interview Room’ on the second floor, the one that leads to the Balcony on the Eastern side of the Ashram main building. ‘The Mother’s Room’ which She refers to as ‘my room’ is the one on the same floor, its western windows overlooking the Samadhi.[↩]
10. Mother would sometimes write out a prayer for the disciple.[↩]
11. ‘Without him, I exist not;
    without me, he is unmanifest.’ (CWM, vol. 13, p. 32) [↩]
12. A student who had decided to go abroad for his studies.[↩]
13. Slowly the Light grows greater in the East,
    Slowly the world progresses on God’s road. SABCL Vol. 29 p. 510[↩]