At the feet of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo

07 November 1932

MYSELF: Mother, my morning-letter was full of self-defence, wasn’t it? I am making the same mistake again and again; I am really very sorry for it.

SRI AUROBINDO: It is very good that you see clearly in yourself, it is the first necessary step for the entire change.

MYSELF: What is the use of only seeing in oneself if there is no sincere effort to rise above what one sees? The will, determination and mental strength by virtue of which all kinds of obstacles can be surmounted or what had to be done is done — are not these things needed? My efforts go no further than just giving you my word and resting contented there. What then is the remedy?

SRI AUROBINDO: There is nothing to be discouraged about. The fact is that after having lived so long on the mental and vital plane you have become aware of the physical consciousness, and the physical consciousness in everybody is like that. It is inert, conservative, does not want to move, to change — it clings to its habits (what people call their character) or its habits (habitual movements) cling to it and repeat themselves like a clock working in a persistent mechanical way. When you have cleared your vital somewhat, things go down and stick there. You see, if you have become self-conscious, you put pressure, perhaps, but the physical responds very slowly, hardly at first seems to move at all. The remedy? Aspiration steady and unchanging, patient work, coalescing the psychic in the physical, calling down the light and force into these obscure parts. The light brings the consciousness of what is there; the force has to follow and work on them till they change or disappear.

(7.11.32)