object:0.12 - Letters to a Student
book class:Some Answers From The Mother
author class:The Mother
subject class:Integral Yoga
class:chapter
Series Twelve
Series Twelve
Letters to a Student
To a student in the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education who began writing to the Mother at the age of sixteen.
Sweet Mother,
I used to have the habit of reading Savitri or one of
Your books before going to bed at night. But now I have
lost the habit and I do not even go to the Samadhi very
regularly. I do not understand the true value of these
things. Should one do them regularly or only when one
feels like doing them? Why should one do these things
and how should one do them?
One reads Savitri to develop one’s intelligence and to understand
deeper things.
One concentrates at the Samadhi to grow in devotion and
to put oneself in contact with Sri Aurobindo in order to receive
his help.
If these things have any value for you, you must do them
regularly, because it is the laziness of unconsciousness that keeps
you from doing them.
You are born for a spiritual and conscious life — but perhaps
you are still too young to have the will to realise it.
Blessings.
23 July 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
Each time I decide to work well, I see that my effort
does not last more than two days. What do You think I
should do so that I do well what I have decided to do? I
think there is something in me that refuses to obey me.
It is the same for everybody as long as one has not consciously
unified the whole of one’s being around the psychic centre.
This unification is indispensable if one wants to be the
master of one’s being and of all its actions.
It is a long and meticulous work that requires much perseverance, but the result is worth the trouble, for it brings not
only mastery but also the possibility of the transformation and
illumination of the consciousness.
Do you want to do it?
If so, I will help you.
Blessings.
28 August 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
How can one remember at every moment that whatever one does is for You? Particularly when one wants
to make a complete offering, how should one proceed,
never forgetting that it is for the Divine?
To achieve that, one must have an obstinate will and a great
patience. But once one has taken the resolution to do it, the
divine help will be there to support and to help. This help is felt
inwardly in the heart.
Blessings.
9 September 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
I would like to know the true meaning of birthdays,
for it is an important day here.
Series Twelve – To a Student
From the viewpoint of the inner nature, the individual is more receptive on his birthday from year to year, and thus it is an opportune moment to help him to make some new progress each year.
Blessings.
25 September 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
You wrote to me that it is not easy to come in contact
with the psychic being. Why do You consider it difficult?
How should I begin?
I said “not easy” because the contact is not spontaneous — it
is voluntary. The psychic being always has an influence on the
thoughts and actions, but one is rarely conscious of it. To become
conscious of the psychic being, one must want to do so, make
one’s mind as silent as possible, and enter deep into the heart
of one’s being, beyond sensations and thoughts. One must form
the habit of silent concentration and descent into the depths of
one’s being.
The discovery of the psychic being is a definite and very
concrete fact, as all who have had the experience know.
Blessings.
6 October 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
I have seen that I am not able to force my physical
body to do a little better than my actual capacity. I would
like to know how I can force it. But, Sweet Mother, is it
good to force one’s body?
No.
The body is capable of progressing and it can gradually learn
to do what it could not do before. But its capacity for progress
is much slower than the vital desire for progress and the mental
will for progress. And if the vital and the mind are left in charge
of action, they simply harass the body, destroy its balance and
upset its health.
Therefore, one must be patient and follow the rhythm of
one’s body, which is more reasonable and knows what it can
and cannot do.
Naturally, some bodies are tamasic and need a little encouragement in order to progress.
But in all things and in all cases, one has to keep a balance.
Blessings.
13 October 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
Why do we believe in rebirth? What were we before
our present state?
Those who have had the memory of past lives have declared the
reality of rebirth.
There have been — and there still are — beings whose inner
consciousness is sufficiently developed for them to know for
certain that this consciousness has manifested in bodies other
than their present one and that it will survive the disappearance
of this body.
It is not a theory to be discussed — it is an indisputable
experience for one who has had it.
5 November 1969
Blessings.
*
Sweet Mother,
When we are in the midst of Nature, what should
we think about? Does being in contact with Nature help
us in any way?
Series Twelve – To a Student
It is not by thinking that one can be in contact with Nature, for
Nature does not think.
But if one deeply feels the beauty of Nature and communes
with her, that can help in widening the consciousness.
Blessings.
9 November 1969
*
Love of Nature is usually the sign of a pure and healthy being uncorrupted by modern civilisation. It is in the silence of a
peaceful mind that one can best commune with Nature.
Blessings.
13 November 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
How can one get rid of, or rather correct, jealousy
and laziness?
It is selfishness that makes one jealous; it is weakness that makes
one lazy.
In either case the only truly effective remedy is conscious
union with the Divine. Indeed, as soon as one becomes conscious
of the Divine and is united with Him, one learns to love with
the true love: the love that loves for the joy of loving and has no
need to be loved in return; one also learns to draw Force from
the inexhaustible source and one knows by experience that by
using this Force in the service of the Divine one receives from
Him all that one has spent and much more.
All the remedies suggested by the mind, even the most
enlightened mind, are only palliatives and not a true cure.
Blessings.
16 November 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
At times I talk in my sleep. It is a sign that the mind
lacks control, isn’t it? So what should I do to keep it
quiet at night?
Generally when the body is asleep at night, the mind goes out
because it is difficult for it to remain quiet for a long time; and
that is why most people do not talk.
But your mind seems to remain in your body, so you must
ask it to remain perfectly quiet and silent so that your body
can rest properly. A little concentration for that, before going to
sleep, will surely be effective.
Blessings.
29 November 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
When the body is asleep, is it better for the mind to
go out of the body? Where does the mind go?
The possibilities are different for each person: there are as many
cases as there are persons. But each one can learn which conditions are best for his rest.
You can become conscious of your nights and your sleep
just as you are conscious of your days. It is a matter of inner
development and discipline of the consciousness.
Blessings.
1 December 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
What do You mean by “becoming conscious”? Is
becoming conscious of the Divine Presence in oneself the
only thing or does becoming conscious of one’s movements, of one’s speech, etc. also count?
Series Twelve – To a Student
You may be sure that becoming conscious of the Divine Presence
in oneself considerably changes one’s whole way of being and
gives an exceptional control over all activities, mental, vital and
physical.
And this control is infinitely more powerful and luminous
than anything one can obtain through external means.
Blessings.
9 December 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
Is our vital formed solely of desires, selfish feelings,
etc., or is there something good in it too?
Energy, strength, enthusiasm, artistic taste, boldness, forcefulness are there too, if we know how to use them in the true way.
A vital converted and consecrated to the Divine Will becomes a bold and forceful instrument that can overcome all
obstacles. But it first has to be disciplined, and this it consents
to only when the Divine is its master.
Blessings.
11 December 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
What does Sri Aurobindo mean when he speaks of
change of consciousness?
Passing from the general ignorant human consciousness to the
yogic consciousness founded on the knowledge of the Divine
Presence.
Blessings.
13 December 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
Why is it better to go to bed early and to get up
early?
When the sun sets, a kind of peace descends on earth and this
peace is helpful for sleep.
When the sun rises, a vigorous energy descends on earth and
this energy is helpful for work.
When you go to bed late and get up late, you contradict the
forces of Nature, and that is not very wise.
Blessings.
21 December 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
Do astrology and other studies always predict things
correctly, or are men still unable to do that?
Human incapacity is necessarily behind all that men do. Only
he who has become conscious of the Divine and become His
faithful instrument can avoid error, if he is careful to act only at
the divine command and to add nothing personal to it.
It must be said that this is not easy. Only he who no longer
has any ego can do it correctly.
Blessings.
25 December 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
What are knowledge and intelligence? Do they play
important roles in our life?
Knowledge and intelligence are precisely the higher mental qualities in man, those that differentiate him from the animal.
Series Twelve – To a Student
Without knowledge and intelligence, one is not a man but
an animal in human form.
Blessings.
30 December 1969
*
Sweet Mother,
In the new race, will our body change form?
Between the body of the supramental being and the body of
man, there will surely be a difference comparable to that which
exists between man and the most advanced ape; but what this
difference will be we can hardly know until the new species
appears on earth.
Blessings.
13 January 1970
*
Sweet Mother,
What is the difference between sports and physical
education?
Sports are all the games, competitions, tournaments, etc. that
are based on competition and lead to placings and prizes.
Physical education means principally all the various exercises for the development and maintenance of the body.
Naturally, here we have combined the two. But this is mainly
because human beings, especially in their childhood, still need a
certain excitement in order to make effort.
Blessings.
14 January 1970
*
Sweet Mother,
What should our attitude be towards the captains
and teachers here?
An obedient, willing and affectionate attitude. They are your
elder brothers and sisters who take a lot of trouble to help you.
Blessings.
1 February 1970
*
Sweet Mother,
Why has the Creator made this world and human
beings? Does He expect something of us?
This world is Himself. He wants everything — ourselves and the
world and the whole universe — to become conscious once more
of being Him.
Blessings.
5 February 1970
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