Tejbabu has come from Orissa. He has come to meet Dada. This is his first meeting with Dada after the devastating cyclone in Orissa. Dada had naturally made enquiries about his well-being earlier.
Gangaram-da remarked:
'We must have tried calling you at least ten times on that day to have your news.'
Tejbabu laughed.
'I was quite safe. There were, however, some problems with food, a little rice, a negligible quantity of some vegetable and dal (lentils). I would look at the dal and vegetable, dip my finger in them to pick up a little and eat the plain rice with water.'
Dada handed over to Tejbabu a comment that he had written on 18th November in English about the cyclone in Orissa. Here is the text of that comment:
What I felt after the "Super cyclone" hit the Orissa
coast on 29.10.99
The Mother had poured Her infinite Love, Grace and Compassion on Orissa and its people in response to their aspiration for the Life Divine.
Steadily and gradually the people of Orissa started awakening and opening to the Mother's Light and their inner and outer activities turned towards an Integral progress and Integral transformation.
A good progress was made and slowly the work started growing in various fields of human activities.
But there were many defects and shortcomings in the process and the Mother wanted a very fast progress. So She unleashed Her "Mahakali" aspect and allowed Nature to smite a terrible and crushing blow on Orissa and its people in order to break their pettiness, selfishness and all other weaknesses that were coming in the way of their progress.
Now the whole of Orissa is becoming conscious about its shortcomings and seeing the loving, kind and compassionate
Page 31
hands of the Mother that had smitten them, a prayer rises from them:
O Mother! Lead us from darkness to light, unconscious ness to consciousness, weakness to strength, and make us your perfect instruments in your work of Integral transformation so that we are ready for the advent of the Superman, who is coming to our rescue.
Let Thy Will be done.
Pranab
18.11.99
After reading Dada's comment Tejbabu reacted enthusiastically:
'It's really marvellous, Dada. It is the absolute truth, pure and straight.'
After a few more words Tejbabu looked at someone in a dramatic sort of way and said:
'There, my greetings to you, sir. You write books, don't you? Let me ask you something. Answer honestly and in one word. Say yes or no.'
Everyone looked at Tejbabu a little taken aback. Dada's eyes were also on him.
The gentleman was a little unsettled but he said:
'Go ahead, tell me what you wish to ask.'
Like a lawyer conducting a trial, Tejbabu raised his finger and asked:
'The Mother is Divine. Do you believe this? Say yes or no.
'Yes, I do.'
'Do you accept the Mother's words as the words of the Divine?'
'Do you accept them totally?'
'Yes, of course.'
Then Tejbabu opened I Remember and began reading.
'Listen, this is what the Mother has written in Her own hand on Dada's birthday on 18.10.49:
Page 32
You are our joy of everyday
Our hope of to-day
Our victory of to-morrow.
And she ends it with this:
Let this wine of immortality
be the wine of your complete victory.'
Tejbabu opened another page and continued reading:
'This morning I saw your back when you were walking away from the balcony. It was very interesting. Your back and your steps were full of decision and resolution. I was seeing somebody going straight to his purpose, filled with the strength to conquer all obstacles, the power of victory.
TheMotherwrotethison24.11.58.
Listen to this. The Mother writes:
You lead us by the surest and fastest path towards the integral Transformation.’
Tejbabu continued:
'Mind the words, the Mother is saying "In the integral Trans formation" Dada is being asked to give "the surest and fastest" leadership.
The Mother says again:
I did not see in thee the man, but the human being cap able of supramentalisation, the aspiration for physical perfection, the effort towards total transformation, the will to divinise the body and a natural and spontaneous capacity to do so...'
Page 33
Tejbabu observed:
'Read and see what the Mother is saying here:
To thee whom my love selected when the time had come to start my work on the most material level.’
Tejbabu was greatly moved and asked:
'All this is in the Mother's own Hand, her Divine Testament. Then why is it that we do not want to accept it, we do not believe in it? Why do we doubt, then?'
When Tejbabu was asking these questions, he was not referring to an individual but talking to everyone:
'Do you agree or you don't? Do we believe in it or we don't?'
Then the person he had questioned said:
'Tejbabu, it isn't just a question of accepting or not accept ing, believing or not believing. It is a question of divine Grace. The one who receives this divine Grace can alone believe and accept totally in his mind and being and in all the parts of the being. Why, even Arjuna who was an unmistakable part of God, his loved friend, when he wished to see the divine form of Sri Krishna, Sri Krishna replied: Na tu mam shakyashey drishtum anena eva swachakshushya. You will not be able to see my real form with your human eyes.
Then the Lord bestowed His Grace on Arjuna: Divyam dadami tey chakshu pashyamey yogamaishwaram. I grant you divine eyes so that you can see my divine form. (Gita 11.8)
Without this divine Grace even if He were to reveal Him self people would not believe, they would refuse to acknowledge. Even if the resplendent Divine were to be standing before our very eyes in person people would not accept it.
Duryodhan did see Sri Krishna's cosmic form in the assembly of Kauravas. But even after seeing Him with his own eyes he refused to accept Him. Contemptuously he dismissed it as merely illusion or magic.
Page 34
Moreover, just before the battle of Kurukshetra, Dhritarashtra, Sanjay and all the rest requested and implored him to accept Sri Krishna and take refuge in His Grace. Disaster would follow if he didn't.
But like one who is morally degenerate Duryodhana retorted:
"No, I will not accept Him. Even if I know Sri Krishna to be God Himself, even if He can create or destroy in a flash the universe, I will still refuse to accept Him."
Sorrowfully Gandhari and Dhritrashtra asked:
"Why, dear son, but why?"
"Why is He then the Panda vas' and Arjuna's friend?" he replied.
So you can imagine how pride and arrogance and ignorance can veil the truth.
Krishna's Grace was on Arjuna at that time. That's why after getting the vision of the cosmic form he exclaimed:
Nashto mohah smritirlabdha tvatprasadanmayachyut. Sthitosmi gatasandehah karishye vachanam tava. By Your Grace all my doubts and attachments have vanished and I have recovered my memory. I seek refuge in You. I shall obey Your commands. (Gita 18.73)
You know, Tejbabu, in order to know the Divine you need the Grace of the Divine. He who chooses the Divine has been chosen by Him. Just knowledge and erudition, why, not even severe tapasya (askesis) can grant you this. Hasn't Sri Aurobindo clearly said in Savitri:
God shall grow up while the wise men talk and sleep.
With the arrogance of knowledge and of the intellect we can only talk and sleep. And during that time beyond the ignorant sight of people God shall grow up and manifest Himself.'
Page 35
Someone asked Dada the other day:
'Why do tantriks do their tapasya in the total solitude of cremation grounds on the night of the new moon?'
Dada answered:
The very essence of Tantra is that one must not run away from the fearful and the perilous but face up to them and fight them. One must overcome them fearlessly and turn difficulty into opportunity.
The Mother and Sri Aurobindo's yoga is the same. We have to face difficulties, fear and the undesirable. We must not shy away but stand up to these and overcome them, transform them. This is not a path for the weak and the cowardly. Nayamatma balaheenena labhya. There are many who fail, who get defeated.
In the outside world there is a need for discipline and control over many things in ordinary life: the social, collective control, the legal control, mental and ethical do's and don'ts. Thanks to this the various temperaments of human nature, the different inner urges and movements are kept in check. Life thus goes on undisturbed with a superficial calm and order.
But for us here, especially in this Ashram, the ordinary controls and rules and restrictions were removed. Life thus got an unhindered, free cadence. The Mother always repeated that without absolute freedom Her work could not be possible. When there are no outer rules or laws or control, what happens is first there is a sense of unlimited liberation but along with it all the inner physical, vital, mental suppressed desires and feelings and obscurities and passions come out into the open. There is no more any suppression of any kind, you see. And everything in our nature needs to be purified and transformed. There are many who can't keep steady. Good people often end up doing things here that they would not have done outside had they lived there. Many lose their mental balance.
I remember, Champaklal once told me that living in the Ashram was living in a state of uncertainty:
Page 36
"I myself, Champaklal, do not know what I will do tomorrow or what will happen to me."
But if we will it from within then Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's Force and Consciousness will protect us till the end and assist us to overcome all obstacles and difficulties. It is like rowing a boat in the dark during a cyclone.'
*
Dada is in a very happy, jovial mood today, talking, laughing and making everybody laugh. Just then Jog arrives from the Sports Ground and, as is his wont, bows to him at the door.
'How are you?' Dada enquires.
'I have gone a little deaf, Dada.'
'In which ear?'
The right one, Dada.'
'Did any water get in? You didn't try to clean your ear with something, did you?'
'No, Dada, nothing of the sort but there is a buzzing sound in the ear.'
'Be very careful. Never poke anything into the ear. Don't they say, "don't put anything into your ear smaller than your elbow"?'
As soon as Jog left a girl arrived. She used to study at the Ashram. After finishing her studies she now lives in Madras with her husband.
'So how are things with you? Are you fine?' Dada asked with a smile.
'I'm fine, Dada.'
Dada looked at her for a while and then remarked laughingly:
'So you got married in a flash? Without any thought or worry, you got married in just two days.'
The girl shyly lowered her head and smiled.
Dada went on :
Page 37
'Marriage is like gambling. Like buying a lottery ticket. Lakhs of people buy a ticket but only two or three win a prize among them. The others lose all their money. There is a story that in former times the creator had created husband and wife in one body. Every one was very happy. Everyone was so happy that even the gods could not equal human happiness. So one day the Creator got a little jealous. He then separated man and woman from one body. So they remained half each. From then on every man and woman has been looking for the other half during their life. Nobody is able to find the other half that corresponds and so each one is unhappy. If the corresponding other half is found then there is happiness.
When I came to the Ashram for the first time in 1942, Chimanbhai had already settled here. He was married and his wife and mother lived in his hometown. The mother cried so much for her son that she became blind and his wife's health deteriorated out of sorrow.
One day Chimanbhai while telling me about his inner anguish said:
"Pranab, if ever you come to the Ashram then never get married."
The one who walks on the spiritual path doesn't know what his fate will be, how his life will unfold. How can one take the responsibility of another person's life? It is very painful both for oneself and for the person one marries.
Then when I came back to settle in the Ashram, after a long time I told Chimanbhai:
"Chimanbhai, do you remember, you had told me that if I wished to come to the Ashram I should not get married. Well, I didn't get married."
Chimanbhai heard me and then asked:
"Do you have any regrets?"'
Everyone laughed hearing Dada say this.
Then Dada recited an amusing folk-rhyme about a chacha (an uncle) who had just got married. He was thrilled in the beginning as he sang with joy:
Page 38
'Tairey nairey tairey na
Roimu ghorey, bairey na .
Shokal shondhya dupurta
Khaibo daibo pohatta. (...)
Tairey nairey tairey na
My home I love, the world ha! ha!
Morning, evening, afternoon
I'll make merry till I swoon!
A few days later the chacha was singing a different tune:
Aday ar kanchkolar milon
Modeyr shamistritey
Shokal theykeyi thukthak
Chhutor rajmistritey.
Tairey nairey tairey na-
Ar to biha korbo na.
Ginger, raw plantain don't mix
Husband, wife in a lousy fix
The squabble starts from break of day
Like mason and carpenter bray
Tairey nairey. Good Heavens, no!
Marriage I'll till death forego!'
Everyone was enjoying this amusing rhyme when Jyoti-di from Corner House turned up. She told Dada :
'My daughter is coming with her children from Calcutta. I'm sending a car to the station. But no one knows them nor do they know anyone from here.'
'Only eleven people,' Dada observed. 'A football team! And you're the referee? The driver will stand with the nameplate at the station. But, it's true I'm told that the station has become very big now. If for some reason they cannot find each other then there will be a real problem.'
So Jyoti-di asked:
'Shall I go, then, Dada? I will be able to locate them.'
Page 39
'Okay, go then.'
'Then Chandranath teased Jyoti-di by saying:
'Jyoti-di, do one thing. Wear a pair of trousers and a shirt with a cap on the head. You'll look very young and smart. Your grandchildren will be stunned to see you.'
'Let me tell you a story, then,' Dada said. 'A boy found a very good job in America. He had to go to America for two years for special training. But there was a condition. He could not keep any link with his family during this period. Nobody was to know anything about him during these two years, where he was or what he was doing. On his return home from the training after two years he could re-establish links with his family.
So the boy prepared to leave for America. His parents came to see him off at the airport. The boy told his parents:
"Two years from now when I return please come to fetch me at the airport."
And so the boy left and the parents returned back home.
What happened in the meantime was that a miracle-drug was invented. This drug could reduce your age by half.
After two years had gone by the son returned home. At the airport he started looking for his parents.
"Where are they? Have they not come?"
He scoured the whole place looking for them.
Just then a youngish-looking lady came towards him. She was holding a little boy in her arms and feeding him with a milk-bottle. The lady stopped in front of him with her baby and said:
"So sonny, you're back!"
The young man was a little surprised and asked:
"Excuse me but who are you?"
"What's happened to you? Can't you recognise me? I'm your mother, dear."
"My mother? What are you saying? My mother is much older. How can you be my mother?"
Page 40
"But I am your mother, son. A new drug has come out. Thanks to this drug I've lost half my years."
"Is that so? But father? Where is he? Hasn't he come?"
"This little boy in my arms is your father," replied the lady showing the little boy. "In his old age he was longing to become a little boy. And so without telling me he took three or four doses of that drug. And that's why he has become a baby!"
The baby-boy took the feeding bottle out and softly murmured:
"Yes, dear, it's true."'
Everyone had a good laugh listening to Dada's story. Jyotidi too could not help laughing and covered her mouth with her sari.
We were talking about the beneficial qualities of trees and plants. The leaves of neem are extremely valuable. The Mother called the neem-flower Spiritual Atmosphere.
Gangaram-da recounted:
'I once went very far in a jeep to get some good cactus plants. I began having a terrible headache because of the sun and the heat. I came back and told the Mother about it at the Playground:
"Mother, I've got a terrible headache because of roaming in the sun."
The Mother told me:
"Go and get some neem-leaves along with the branch."
There used to be a neem-tree in the Playground then. So I went and got a branch of neem-leaves and gave it to the Mother.
She Said:
"At home wash these leaves well and eat them."
I told myself that it would not be before eight or half past eight that I would get back home so I cleaned the leaves with
Page 41
good water in the Playground itself and chewed them up. Surprisingly, within a short time my headache disappeared. I went and informed the Mother:
"Mother, my headache's gone with those neem-leaves."
The Mother laughed:
"You have already eaten them!"'
'Yes, the neem-tree has got a lot of positive qualities,' Dada added. 'There was a kaviraj (ayurvedic doctor) who was a very good physician. However, his young son did not believe in all these herbs and roots.
So the kaviraj, in order to educate his son, gave him a cloth-bundle and told him:
"Go to this distant village and deliver this to one so-and so. You'll have to walk quite some distance. Do one thing:
wherever you find a tamarind-tree, rest a little under its shade. But never stop under the shade of any other tree except the tamarind. On your return, sit down and rest in the shade of a neem-tree. Don't rest under the shade of any other tree except the neem."
So the young boy set off in the sun for this village. Wherever he spotted a tamarind-tree he would sit and rest under its shade. And then resume his walk.
It was almost the end of the afternoon. When he reached the village, the boy was burning with fever. But, nevertheless, he decided to return home.
On his return wherever he spotted a neem-tree he would sit down and rest a little under its shade. And then set off again. By evening he was back home. And his fever also had disappeared.
And in this way the young boy could understand through personal experience the truth of what his father used to tell him. There is fire in the shade of a tamarind-tree and many positive qualities in the shade of a neem-tree.'
Page 42
Dada was telling us about Bula-da, the head of the electrical department of the Ashram:
'He was a man of considerable authority and rather severe. There was not the slightest scope for any modification in his organisation.
At one time the electric bills of the Ashram were turning out to be very high. Bula-da instructed that low-power bulbs should be used in all the houses so that the electric-metre did not run too much. And so in accordance with his instructions a dim bulb burnt in every house. He would make rounds to check.
One day he saw a very powerful light burning in Venkatesh's room. Bula-da was furious with Venkatesh.
"What is this? When everyone is using a low-power bulb, why are you using a high-power one? This cannot be tolerated. Switch off your light at once!" Someone asked Bula-da why he was getting so angry.
"Shouldn't I," replied Bula-da, "just imagine when Sri Aurobindo is in darkness, why should Venkatesh light such a bright bulb?"
He kept repeating "when Sri Aurobindo is in darkness" to drive home his point.
Venkatesh had no other option but to quickly replace the high-power bulb with a low-power one.
Such was Bula-da's authority, then. Everyone used to respect him a lot.
In his work, Bula-da was extremely sincere. If anyone came to inform him about the slightest inconvenience he would immediately go and set the problem right. Whether the department was closed or the workers of the department had all gone, if someone turned up to complain about any electrical problem in his house, Bula-da would set off with a ladder on his shoulder.'
Page 43
A non-Bengali gentleman came to see Dada and bowed respectfully to him before introducing himself. In the end he implored:
'I want to put my son in the school. Will you kindly help?'
Dada replied:
'I'm not on any committee of the school. For admission to the school, the registrar, Manoj Dasgupta, has a council of twelve advisers. It is they who decide about admissions. I am responsible only for physical culture: dand (push-throughs), baithak (squats), wrestling, marching, body building, etc. I have absolutely no role to play in admissions.'
In order not to disappoint the gentleman, Dada recited an amusing rhyme:
'Chahtey ho jab tagda haath
Tab chala aao hamara saath .
Kusti, baithak, dand lagao,
Mugdar, bhala, teer chalao.
Mardka bhushan hai vyayam.'
If what you wish is a robust arm,
Then come and walk with me in calm;
Squat and dip and grapple strong,
With mace and lance and bow work Long-
Man's best ornament is exercise.
Today is Praveen's birthday. The Corner House (the students' canteen) is serving special food today. Everyone is fond of Praveen. 'It is our captain's birthday,' they say. Everyone is giving a hand in the Corner House work today.
Someone remarked:
'Dada, Praveen is a tireless, silent worker. He does everything himself. He puts in a lot of effort. One moment he is serving milk at the counter, the next he is sweeping
Page 44
and mopping the floor. He will even clean the drains. Wherever there is a shortage of workers, Praveen is there.'
Dada has written a song in English for Praveen's birthday and given it a tune himself. He wants everyone to hear this song. This time too in Dada's composition the tune came first and then came the lyrics. Here is the song:
A Birthday Song
Happy Day, Happy Day,
Happy Birthday,
Round and round
With a bound
It must come
What may!
Today is the Birthday of
Praveen dear,
We have come to greet him from
Far and near;
May he progress well
On the Sunlit Path,
May he get his full
In the Golden Light bath.
All good things must
Come on his way.
Our dear Praveen-bhai,
Hero of the Day!
3.4.2000
Gopal from the Corner House is reading out to Dada from the Mother's Notes on the Way. In the May of 1962, the Mother fell very ill. Her condition was very serious. The
Page 45
Mother says that She has left the protection of Her physical body to one person:
I entrusted it to the person I walk with. In other words, it is not my responsibility: the other person has to make sure it does not fall...
As soon as Dada heard this he exclaimed:
'But that's me. The Mother is speaking about me.'
Someone observed:
'Yes, we all know that, Dada. The Mother would always ask you to protect Her body, especially when she entered a state of meditation or trance. You would protect the Mother's body in an occult way.'
'The Mother once thought that She would leave Her body,' Dada told us. 'She asked me to go and call Nolini.
"I would like to say something before leaving my body," She informed me.
Dr Prabhat Sanyal motioned to me to indicate that the Mother's body was in good health and everything was fine with Her. There was nothing to worry or get upset about.
However, I went and called Nolini-da.
The Mother started telling Nolini-da things which he began noting faithfully. When, after he had finished writing, the Mother wished to hear what had been noted down, Nolinida was unable to read his own handwriting.
From then on it was arranged to tape the Mother's words. The Mother wanted Satprem to participate in some specific work and so the responsibility for taping was placed on him after this.'
In the course of the conversation Dada mentioned that the Mother's sight and hearing were very sharp.
'Noise coming from faraway would seem to the Mother to be coming from very close. What other people could not see the Mother could and She would exclaim: "Surprising, people can't see it!"
Once on a Kalipuja-day there were some very loud crackers being burst at quite a distance.
Page 46
The Mother exclaimed:
"Pranab, what is this you are doing inside the room? '.You're making so much noise that I cannot do anything!"
"Mother, I am not making any noise in the room. They are bursting crackers outside. That is what you can hear."
The Mother said nothing after that.'
A visitor from America has come. He is somewhat short and stocky. He showed photographs of his children and told us about their jobs. They all held important posts in their work. Dada looked at the photographs and laughed.
'Your children are all quite tall and handsome. They are much taller than you are. You know what the Mother used to say jokingly:
"If sons are taller than the father, then sons can put plates on their father's head and eat their breakfast!"'
The visitor couldn't help laughing at the Mother's humour. And Dada laughed too.
Dada told us:
'Maharaja Jogindranarayan Rao of Lalgola in Berhampore was my great-grandfather's friend. He would visit our house. He once came on a visit and stayed for about ten days. The Maharaja had strange eating habits: one plate full of thick rotis and a big bell-metal bowl of melted ghee. He would dip the roti in the bowl of ghee and eat. That was all he ate.
The Maharaja used to help the country's revolutionary movement by giving money which would be sent to my grandfather in our house. This is how the revolutionary group collected money.
Page 47
It was said that the Maharaja's ancestors were very powerful pirates and robbers. When they had made a lot of money from the robberies they became zamindars and settled down. In those days a lot of kings in East and West Bengal were descended from robbers.
The kings of Lalgola originally came from Bihar^and their title was Rao. But they became Bengali and from Rao they became Ray.
The 'Edward Recreation Club' of Berhampore was called 'Maharaja Jogindranath Club' and plays used to be staged there.
An amusing incident once took place there. Motakaka and his friends were playing at this club. The play was about Indian revolutionaries and Motakaka was playing the role of the leader of the revolutionaries.
There is a scene in the play where the police arrest some revolutionaries and take them away. Suddenly the leader of the revolutionaries appears and pats the captive revolutionaries on their backs to congratulate them.
So Motakaka, who was playing the part of the leader, began, by mistake, back-slapping the police instead of the revolutionaries. The spectators were a little confused at first but when they realised that Motakaka had made a mistake they all burst into laughter.'
Dada reminisced one day:
'Before coming over to settle in the Ashram, Motakaka had tried all sorts of ideas for doing business. And so one after the other he would start ventures and one after the other they would all fail. And in this way a lot of our houses were sold away in trying to save these businesses. For each business that Motakaka started a house was sold away. The losses were continuous and so were the borrowings. In the end he was declared insolvent. After that he "came away to the Ashram.
Page 48
Motakaka had a very inventive mind and an enthusiasm to match. But be that as it may, the Divine had chosen for him a life of sadhana at the Ashram and so he did not achieve any success in the life outside. Whatever he took up failed. We can see this sort of divine lila in some people's lives. Even after having everything one meets but failure in the outside life. This happens because the Divine has reserved for him success in the inner spiritual life. He on whom the Divine bestows I Grace, his outer life He devastates. There is a saying in the Bible: "He that loseth life shall find life." The Mother used to sometimes say:
"Don't ask for my Grace. My Grace is fire. It will burn up everything."
That's why one day I told the Mother:
"Mother, it is difficult to understand how you pull different people in different ways. You are very clever."
The Mother became angry and remarked:
"No, it is not cleverness, it is Divine wisdom."
In another context the Mother once told me:
"You know, Pranab, how stupid I am? I make a payment once when I order something and when the ordered thing has been supplied to the department I pay for it a second time."
I replied:
"Mother, this too is your Divine wisdom. You know that there is theft, there is embezzlement and yet you do not see You keep pretending that you do not see or know. In fact to catch the theft is not your work. Your work is to change the thief."
Dada was told that Usha had lung-cancer. He observed
'Usha has always led a very pure, sattwic, ashram life. She would never eat anything from outside. She has led a very orderly, clean life. There was no irregularity anywhere. When I started the physical culture activities after forming the
Page 49
groups, Usha was one of the girls of the first batch. She then became a captain. Among the many women-captains, Usha was one of them.
This is a deadly disease. It is difficult to predict when or where it will strike. And it has become very widespread now.
Then Dada remained silent for some time as if in deep thought before remarking:
'In fact the real root of this disease is man's psychological pressure, stress, tension, anxiety and depression. These days almost everybody suffers from depression, anxiety, stress and tension. Little by little it eats you up. When this reaches a point where it becomes unbearable, this deadly disease breaks out. To be able to break free from this disease one must be free from all psychological stress. One needs to bring down peace and delight into the body. While doing physical exercise one must keep this in mind. One must consciously feel this peace and delight in the body while taking part in physical culture. This is the great difference between physical culture elsewhere and here. One must exercise with this feeling of Sachchidananda in every part of our body. It is no use to exercise in a mechanical way without turning our consciousness to this.
A porter keeps lifting weights all day but his muscles do not develop all that much. His body does not develop because his attention is all the time on the load that he is carrying and not on his body. If you take up body-building in a regular way keeping this spirit of invocation, then within a few days you will see how the body develops. The body becomes graceful and beautiful.
Dr Datta remarked to me yesterday that while doing physical exercise the consciousness does not remain focussed on this all the time and we begin exercising mechanically.'
Page 50
Home
Disciples
Pranab Bhattacharya
Books
Share your feedback. Help us improve. Or ask a question.