Selection of letters on day-to-day matters. Sahana Devi : '..it is beyond one's imagination how much time Sri Aurobindo gave to write such letters..'
Sri Aurobindo : corresp.
THEME/S
(To me, they are more a history of my life here; how the Mother moulded me with love, care and consideration under her guidance — how she taught me to follow her instruction at each step, in each case — how to be constantly aware and conscious of each movement, each incident —the inspiration to go Within and grow inwardly— to be close to the Divine.
In her teaching I found the hidden light of the spirit of self-surrender for the awakening of the soul.
— Sahana)
27.7.32
I asked the Mother — "What about my practising 'Mira Divinite' with Lalita tomorrow?"
(The Mother's reply:) No, it is better to rest. For these days you must not sing. Otherwise you would spoil your voice.
22.9.32
Sahana,
You ask where was your mistake; your mistake began just when you got hurt and upset; otherwise there was nothing wrong in asking for a plantain if you were hungry; but Dyuman was not wrong either in refusing it as he was simply obeying a general rule and there was in this nothing personal against you.
If you had not been upset you would certainly have thought of a very simple thing — coming up the steps of the Meditation House and passing a note in these terms: "Mother, I am very hungry, I have asked a plantain from Dyuman who did not give it; what am I to do?" I would have given you a plantain and all would have been all right.
I am sending you one just now with a smile for the childish tears.
17.5.33
I shall be waiting for you at 9.30 and expect you to come.
I accept none of your excuses which surely do not come from any psychic source.
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13.12.33
"Seuls ceux qui sont parfaitement véridiques peuvent être mes enfants véritables."
11.5.35
I am sending 3 packets for 3 times' treatment. Each time 1 packet must be used in one litre of hot water — you foment the place with this solution for 10 or 15 minutes.
6.10.37
Cheer up and keep steady — it will go.
My love and blessings are with you.
7.12.37
I am very glad to hear of this new opening and fine experiences. Always when one faces difficulties and over-comes them it brings a new spiritual opening and victory.
Our love and blessings are with you.
19.4.39
I fully approve of your singing in your room and see no necessity to stop it.
As for the change in the vital, it will come by itself when you will take the habit of remaining in your higher consciousness where all these petty things and movements are tasteless.
With my love and blessings.
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17.5.39
Love and blessing to my dear child Sahana — Let this day be for you the day of a new birth and a new start in your sadhana.
29.1.41
What I told Nolini was that there is nothing constitutionally wrong with your body and no illness. This haemorrhage therefore is a remnant of sex desire that has come up whether you are conscious of it or not — if you have become conscious of it that is all right, for you can now bring the light upon it and throw it out altogether.
29.6.46
Sweet Mother,
Once more I come with a prayer to you to allow meto keep twelve rose plants instead of six. I shall take all the care about the roof.
May I know, Mother, whether you will grant this or not?
{The Mother writes:) "Surely you can have the 12 pots if you take all precautions as you say.
My love and blessings."
5.11.47
My dear child,
Once more this is a perfectly gratuitous shock ... I never knew that it was your sitar you were asking back from R; from what he told me it seemed clear that it was his own sitar that was in question. I see that it was a mistake and he must give it back to you if you need it.
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But for your own sake I must tell you that you are bound to receive shocks and hard blows too as long as you indulge in such false ideas as "my taking sides" with one or another etc. This is completely wrong and baseless and you must get rid of this way of thinking altogether if you wish to feel close to the Divine.
9.4.60
Sahana, my dear child,
You have indeed passed from one life to another; but it is in your body that this new birth took place, and now the road is wide open before you for a new progress.
2.2.63
What is this? There is nothing to fear — all is the Lord— there is nothing else than the Lord; the Lord alone exists and all that tries to frighten is only a silly and meaningless disguise of the Lord.
Cheer up — the way is open before you, shake off this obsession of illness and bring down the Divine Calm. Then everything will be all right.
With love and blessings.
(This letter has already been published.)
No date
Do not be so sad — it is not as bad as all that. I mean ...at most it is a misunderstanding. I never doubted you wished to do according to my own decision — the fact is that in the matter I could not take a decision without
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seeing things for myself and circumstances did not allow me to see them, so they were left to what they were until Jotindra told me that everywhere (not only for your gar-den) it was very dangerous for the buildings — then I was obliged to interfere, because safety must come first. You know I sincerely appreciated your beautiful roses and felt sorry to have to be without them — but there is no other go.
At any rate the only thing I said to Jotindra is that In ever approved of too many pots put on a roof or a terrace because it endangers the building. This is general and not meant for one or another person.
Of one thing you can be sure that I am not in the least displeased — so you must not be sad also —
It is much better to give up the work in G.G. and to go back to the sewing work where your presence — according to me — has always been indispensable.
To Sahana,
Sri Aurobindo says: Better to put behind you your past altogether and not reestablish broken ties.
It would be better if the mind also did not meddle with others' affairs and still more if the vital took no interest in them.
My love and blessings.
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I am sorry for what happened in the hospital. Certainly in future I shall not ask you to go there.
For the moment it would be better to wash carefully the part with warm water with a solution of potassium permanganate.
About our musical programme (of eastern and western together before the Mother) the Mother wrote to me:
Nandini and Lalita have asked that their music should beat the beginning as they can't see properly at the end and I have agreed. Let Nandini write the title and as composers of these pieces they will play before giving to Nolini for typing. (Nandini plays on the Cello and Lalita on the Piano.)
This feeling of an empty head is quite natural after what has happened. You must be careful to rest and eat well until you have recovered. It is better also to postpone all lessons, French, English and music, until you feel once more quite strong.
Sadhana is always difficult and everybody has conflicting elements in his nature and it is difficult to make the vital give up its ingrained habits-
That is no reason for giving up sadhana. One has to keep up the central aspiration which is always sincere and
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go on steadily in spite of temporary failures, and it is the inevitable that the change will come.
Our help is always with you.
In a letter of SriAurobindo's, there was mention about the Mother's speaking of the steps of the dance of" Radha". Here, about the same dance the Mother herself gave me the instruction in writing.
Sahana, to complete what I told you yesterday about Radha's dance I have noted this down as an indication of the thought and feeling Radha must have within her when she stands at the end in front of Krishna:
'Every thought of my mind, each emotion of my heart, every movement of my being, every feeling and every sensation, each cell of my body, each drop of my blood, all, all is yours, yours absolutely, yours without reserve, you can decide my life or my death, my happiness or my sorrow, my pleasure or my pain; whatever you do with me, whatever comes to me from you will lead me to the Divine Rapture!'
It is always better to control an experience of this kind rather than to be controlled by it. I mean that the experience in itself is good and useful but it must come when we want it and not at any time whenever it chooses to come— it seems to me that it is better to allow this experience to come only when you are quietly at home or during the time of meditation — when you are at work it is always better to remain fully aware of your body and its action.
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It is very good to have recovered the calm. It is in the calm that the body increases its receptivity and gains the power to contain. With my love and blessings.
Faith is spontaneous Knowledge in the psychic.
Faith is a certitude which is not necessarily based on an experienced knowledge.
Certainly, you can stop the sewing work on Sundays and take up again your singing class.
Bonne annee!
With my blessings.
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