Guidance from Sri Aurobindo - Volume 2

MOTHER'S ROLE IN OUR SADHANA

      Why do we hear that the Mother experiences this or that? Has she still to go on experiencing?

      Experiencing what? She has her own experiences in bringing down the things that have to be brought down — but what the sadhaks experience she had long ago. The Divine does the sadhana first for the world and then in others.

      Sometimes a sadhak feels as if not only he but also the Mother goes through a certain experience in us. The poet Harin often speaks of such a happening as "I am thrilled by Thee and Thou art thrilled by me. I am happy by Thee and so Thou art by me", etc. I cannot understand how such experiences take place.

      Naturally, the Mother does the sadhana in each sadhaka — only it is conditioned by their need and their receptivity.

      I request a little more elaboration of your answer: "She has her own experiences in bringing down the things that have to be brought down..."

      I have said that the Divine does the sadhana first for the world and then gives what is brought down to others. There can be no sadhana without realisations and experiences. Both myself and the Mother have done sadhana. The Prayers and Meditations are a record of Mother's experiences.

      Is not the Mother far above what we feel as experience?

The Mother is not an "experience", she is the Being and

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the Consciousness and the Power that contains the experience.

      At present my inner being wants to impose one simple and straight attitude on my outer being — "Accept heartily whatever the Divine Mother does." This indeed is a very essential thing to be realised if any real or lasting progress is to be achieved.

      Yes, it is essential.

      Early in the morning, among the flood of ideas, particularly this one flashed through me very clearly: "Your inner being should now adopt this attitude to any difficulty, fall or attack: 'It is not of your own nature, if belongs to the general Nature.' One who is accepted by the Mother gets an automatic protection from such things. Be always at ease and one with the Mother."

      Very good — it is the attitude I wanted you to take.

      The waves of subconscient tamas rose up today. Becoming detached I invoked the Mother's help. Then I watched her Force fighting it out. This experience proves the deeper urge of my Prakriti: "Whatever the confrontation with the lower nature, it will be met by the Mother. And I shall remain as a dynamic and luminous channel."

      Quite right.

      One who is sincere and open exclusively to the Divine Mother would refuse to believe that this Yoga is the most arduous and difficult. It is so for only those who refuse to take her as their all. When she is our all, she travels with us and saves us from hardships and falls which are of our

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own making. Is it not so?

      Of course; but most do not find it easy to take the Mother as their all.

      I wrote to you the other day that after some time the dark and the ignorant part of my subconscient would also come under the Mother's control. Some people would perhaps laugh at such a premature prayer; but then is it not true that when a child cries for his Mother she always comes to him? Moreover, this Mother is not merely a human mother, but a Divine Mother, who is more sensitive to the crying of her child than any human being could be. She is always eager to remove him from the grip of the ordinary nature and lift him wholly into her light. The ordinary human being is under the impression that if is only he who feels such an unbearable separation from her. And he thinks too that it is he who is doing the entire sadhana in order to reach the Divine while she just remains above and aloof. We sadhaks should realise this most important truth: that it is she who first docs the sadhana for us, for each one of us, that without her there would be no sadhana done — at least not the supramental one.

      The anti-Divine forces arc always trying to throw thorns on our path; and yet how is it that we find it clean and luminous? It is just because the Mother has done the sadhana first for us that all the obstructions and darkness have been swept away and the path made clear.

      Some people who have fallen into the habit of struggling may well ask: "Why do we then find the journey full of difficulties, gloom and despair? All sorts of suggestions and attacks surround us from all sides to drive us out of the path." They undergo all these because they take an indirect road, not the one made ready for us by the Mother. After a long strenuous

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labour she has hewn a special path, which leads more or less straight to the goal. Not that failures, depression etc. never approach those who tread it; but these difficulties do not trouble them very much, as they are clearly seen to be foreign to this path — as if coming from the side like some solitary gust of sand.

      Yes, that is the right Knowledge.

      Beside the path prepared by the Mother, there are many sidetracks which try to attract the seeker of the Truth. They use deceptive means to pull the sadhak towards their side, separating him thereby from the Mother, his true Guide and Light.

      Quite right.

      What is the Mother's physical touch if not a self-giving to each of us? But its importance is lost to our ordinary consciousness because, when it is given often, this consciousness turns every opportunity into a habit or a mere formality.

      That is what most have made of it.

      With the Mother I seem to be stationed over the head, floating or rising all the time, while below the body hangs like a coat.

      It is very good.

      What is meant by becoming the Mother's instrument if not to think, move and act as she makes one think, move and act?

      Yes, that is right.

      When the Mother's higher action came over all my head

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I began to lose my balance and merge in her consciousness.

      I do not know what you mean by losing the balance. To merge in there one need not lose any balance; though one may become unconscious of the physical body.

      After the meditation, I found my consciousness filled with the Mother's inner gifts. Does it not indicate that she is making up for my lapse of the last four days when I was so much externalised?

      Very often the working begins more strongly after a period like that.

      I would very much like to know about the nature of the Mother's action on the sadhaks here. The human vital is so stupid and self-centred. In the beginning has she not to start working by slightly allowing the vitals indulgence and then slowly put some pressure either directly or indirectly for its change? Are these notions at all valid?

      You attributed too many motives — e.g. that the Mother tries to allow the vital by indulging it in the beginning. She has no such intention. She behaves naturally and simply with the being — whatever change there is is in the vital's impressions about her action rather than in the action itself — except in so far as there is a change necessitated by the change in the consciousness.

      Many try to judge the Mother from her outer actions without some inner or higher basis. This method would obstruct us from arriving at the right destination.

      Yes, that is the mistake all the sadhaks make. How can they understand the Mother's actions unless they are united in consciousness with the Mother, have in fact the same

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consciousness as hers?

      When a certain aspect of the Mother is powerfully prominent the other aspects withdraw into the background. In fact that was what happened to me yesterday. With the arrival of a powerful muteness the love stood back. This, I suppose, happens in the early stages — afterwards it will be possible to feel all the aspects together and at the same higher pitch.

      Yes.

      This withdrawing of one or more aspects into the background is, I think, to give prominence to one particular aspect, so that it can carry out certain important things.

      Yes, that often happens.

      My psychic feels that whatever be our condition — be it full of difficulties, darkness or attacks — all will evaporate as soon as we get the Mothers physical touch. Why then do so many disciples say that they return from her with the same bad state they had before approaching her? Is it not because of their lack of faith in her divinity?

      Naturally, when there is not the opening they will feel nothing, for the consciousness will not respond — the force then works behind the veil to prepare things, but gives no immediate visible result.

      What are these stupid waves moving about the Ashram atmosphere? They say: Non-pranam day¹ means a day of

      1 During this period the Mother used to give us Pranams every day except Mondays. So Monday was called a non-pranam day, when she used to wash her hair and then walk on the small terrace above Dyuman's room in order to dry it.

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rest for the sadhana. Does marching on with the Mother bring fatigue? As for the 'rest' do we really need it?

      It is the ordinary attitude of the physical consciousness — but once the fundamental consciousness is fixed, there is no reason why the sadhana should stop for a single day or need rest.

ABOUT PRANAM

      So many sadhaks arc not able to understand the Mothers seriousness at Pranam. Could you not kindly clarify the real cause of the seriousness?

      It is the wrong idea that if the Mother is serious it must be because of some personal displeasure against 'me' — each sadhak who complains of being the 'me'. I have repeated a hundred times to complainants that it is nonsense, but nobody will give up his idea. It is too precious to the ego. The Mother's seriousness is due to some absorption in some work she is doing or, very often, to some strong attack of hostile forces in the atmosphere.

      But everybody is not conscious of any such thing in the atmosphere.

      It does not matter whether he feels an attack or not — the attack is there. In fact for the last several months the atmosphere is full of the most violent attacks threatening the very existence of the yoga and the Ashram and the sadhaks personally or the body of the Mother. If he is not touched that is a matter for which he ought to be grateful to the Mother instead of his vital getting upset because she is doing her work.

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      Is not the wrong reaction at Pranam due to my own little ego?

      It is doubtful whether that is the personal ego. The ideas, demands etc. about Pranam are usually suggestions of the hostile Force. They come to each person in the same form.

      It was the vital ego that once took pleasure in these reactions and indulged them — but once they have been rejected by the vital as you have recorded, they belong no more to it. Still a hostile Force brings them back by suggestions and represents them as your own, trusting to the old habit to accept the suggestions or at least vibrate and make a response.

      Why is that hostile Force allowed by any part of my nature?

      Force of habit of old nature responding to these things. But they do not come any more from the nature itself. They come from outside — only the outer nature is still unaccustomed to resist the impact so as to feel it as absolutely foreign.

      What is the aim of the hostile Force in saying, "The Mother does not love you and therefore you cannot love her"?

      Obviously, it is in order to destroy the sadhana and get you under its control. These suggestions are made to many in the Ashram and a few are from time to time possessed by them — and become dark and revolted, stop eating, threaten suicide etc.

      Which are the parts that accept those suggestions?

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      The outer mind and vital that were accustomed to think and act according to the ideas and feelings of the Ignorance.

      The hostile Force says: "All your sadhana is useless since the Mother does not love you."

      Exactly. It is what it says to each person who will listen.

      Is it not possible to throw out such suggestions of the hostile Force?

      It should be possible. If such suggestions come — for one cannot always prevent suggestions — they should be outer and passing things only which one notes with a perfect contempt and indifference.

      It is a realised fact that at Pranam the Mother could offer us all that we need for our spiritual life in a moment. For in the inner or higher worlds our earthly time does not exist. There, we can see or feel a lot of things within the fraction of a minute. To see the same things we may need here several days or even years.

      Obviously, the time has nothing to do with it. One hour's touch or a moment's touch — as much can be done by the one as by the other.

      It is when the advanced sadhaks approach the Mother that she is more at rest. For she knows that whatever is granted to them the reception will be spontaneous. She does not need to press anything on them as their opening widens automatically before her.

      All that is perfectly correct. People's notions about these things are quite topsy-turvy. It is possible to give all that is needed in a few seconds.

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So many are still burdened with difficulties, depression and frustrations. This happens, I suppose, because they try to seek oneness with the Mother through her most material part - the outer body. They seem to be searching more and more for her physical nearness, touch, presence etc. But the fact is that the union of our consciousness with her physical self will be actually the last in our sadhana.

Quite right. To live inside is the first principle of spiritual life and from inside to reshape the physical existence. But so many insist on remaining in the external and their relation with the Mother is governed by the ordinary reactions of the external unspiritualised nature.

Could I have an interview with the Mother? Two or three difficulties have been troubling me right from the beginning of the sadhana. I want to discuss them and get at least a verbal solution.

This method of asking questions and getting solutions in an interview is one of which the Mother does not approve. She finds it useless and it forces her to come down to meet a superficial mental consciousness which she has long left.

Is it not quite wrong of a sadhak to judge the Mother from her outward expression of smile or seriousness; and then make his sadhana depend on such reactions?

The personality of the Mother is not limited by her body or face nor can the movements of her personality be interpreted by ordinary human mind and vital feelings from her physical and outward appearances as they see it. To rely for the sadhana on that means to rely on one's own mind and vital reactions and not on the Mother.

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I feel my head burdened with unknown riches. The agelong separation culminates now in unity with the Divine Mother. Only they who have tasted this experience can know what a profound joy, happiness and bliss this oneness brings. The Silence there is a silence beyond the silence!

      Is this a correct description of my unity and silence?

      That is how it is felt.

      In this Ashram one does not need to search for the divine Grace. It is there in abundance. Only a sincere opening is needed from us.

      Yes.

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