You remember that man who had left for Israel, the Indian Embassy has refused him a visa to come back here!1… So he is forced to go to America (America is his country, he is American), he is going to return to America, there he tells me he will make some money so he can come and bring it to me!
Another boy here was to go and work in Germany with E., everything was arranged, then Germany said, “No, we don’t want any Indians.” So there’s universal brotherhood.
But with the Israel affair and the stand they have taken, the Indians haven’t made many friends.
No.
Oh, but from Holland, a woman who was here wrote to me (during the events), “I have never in my life seen such a display of hatred as the one we have here against Israelites!…” In Holland!
And in Germany, God knows it’s the same thing. So it’s not localized. It’s the PRINCIPLE OF HATRED manifesting, senselessly, without rhyme or reason.
In France, too, it seems there has been a widespread anti-Semitic movement, very violent.
In France it’s not a majority, it’s a small minority.
Is it?… I don’t know.
It’s the same minority that was on the side of Vichy during the war.
What was that Marshal’s name?
Pétain. Yes, it’s that whole side.
Yes, the one who behaved like … He seemed to want to imitate Hitler as much as he could!
No, but the incoherence of it all … Some resent India’s attitude during the war, others resent Israel’s victory in the war! So, never mind the most contradictory things in the same line of thought—it’s the need … to hate. To be unpleasant, as unpleasant as possible.
***
Soon afterwards
I’ve had a rather strange dream.
Oh, Tell me.
But I don’t know if it’s not a fabrication, because it was all going on in a rather dark and confused atmosphere…. I remember that Sri Aurobindo was lying down and had to undergo a serious operation: an operation on his two feet, and on all his toes. Then he left for the operation (in fact, he left on his own for the operation, unaided). After a few moments I saw him come back (yet it was a long operation), I saw him come back with his two feet heavily bandaged: there were big bandages on his two feet. Then I was quite astonished, because I saw him walk very soon afterwards: he no longer had any bandages and was wearing new shoes.
Oh!
New shoes, I can still see them … they seemed to me rather peculiar, cream-coloured. And he who didn’t use to wear shoes had shoes on! But that was very soon afterwards.
Cream-coloured?
Yes, the colour of … like this box, if you like. Not really cream, it was a pink … a mixture of pink and cream.2
Ah!
The feet are the symbol of physical life, and according to what I once saw (your dream seems related to that), EACH part of his body represented someone—or rather represented his, Sri Aurobindo’s, MODE of expression in someone.3
One night I saw him like that, I told you. But it was extremely complex; I only noted two or three important things, but there didn’t seem to be even one small part of his body that wasn’t represented by someone…. So if we take the symbol of the feet to be the physical … Not only the feet, but all the toes, did you say?
All the toes, yes.
That is to say, a certain number of people.
In my vision, his two feet were me. But in my vision, his feet had white tabis on, to make me clearly understand that it was me. And in my vision, he walked on the edge of a path strewn with bare flint stones, so it was very hard and sharp-edged, and he said, “No, this is not the way it should be, let’s walk higher up on the road where it’s smoother,” and he came back to the middle of the road. So if it’s like that, if it’s the same symbol carrying on, it would mean something concerning me—possibly.
The shoes are a covering. A covering … Pinkish cream, did you say?
Yes, pinkish cream.
It’s the colour of the supramental in the physical. That is how I have seen it.
So I would have a supramental covering?… I would put on a supramental covering? That would be amusing!
Your dream is very interesting, you know; it’s not a dream, it’s much better than a dream.
But there was a serious operation.
Yes, mon petit, I know that quite well! (Mother laughs) But it took one minute. You said he came back almost immediately.
Yes, he came back almost immediately. Then I was quite astonished to see him walk very soon afterwards.
Yes, that’s right!(Mother laughs)
He came back with big bandages on his two feet.
(After a silence) When did you have this dream?
Two days ago, during the night of Sunday to Monday.
That’s right.
On Sunday (evening), before going to bed, I complained (I can’t say I complained very seriously, but you know, like when one is in a grumpy mood), I complained, saying, “But since You want me to manifest You, why do you allow me to feel so out of sorts!” There were all kinds of inconveniences—small ones, naturally, but when there are lots of them they add up to inconvenience full stop. So (laughing) I was grumbling! It lasted for the space of a second or two, after that I laughed! But I grumbled, I protested. As if it (the body) were telling me, “Why all these—yes, why all these painful operations?” So I immediately gave myself a sound slap, saying to myself, “You are still full of vanity, you’ve got what you deserve!” Then it was over.
But that’s indeed the way it is and it’s true, it’s true, everything looks, oh, very serious, very difficult, very complicated, very … while if we were less stupid, it could probably be very easy and swift! It’s clearly because of our own stupidity, without a shadow of doubt.
(long silence)
Just these last few days (because of all kinds of things—people, and things that happen), I have been increasingly seeing that the human concept of divine Omnipotence is the concept of an omnipotence which would operate without rhyme or reason, through a succession of whims, any old how—that’s what people call “Omnipotence”: being able to do the most stupid things at will.
Obviously, that doesn’t quite conform to a higher Harmony (!) Human beings are like that: if the god they worship or the divine they want to manifest isn’t willing to do, to execute whatever comes into their heads in a totally incoherent and arbitrary way, he isn’t all-powerful!
I am exaggerating it to make it more perceptible; it’s not like that: they deceive themselves (if you tell them that, they protest), but they deceive themselves, and it comes down to what I’ve just said.
When you succeed in going into that Consciousness of Harmony (but not an individual or local harmony), a Universal Harmony—even ultra-universal, in which the universe is only one part—then values change completely, completely….
(Mother shakes her head and remains in contemplation)
All things are so simple and at the same time so COMPLEX….
For instance, that relationship of simplicity (like that of a child) in which you very simply ask for the thing you feel the need for, but without mental complications; without explanations, without justifications, without all that useless farrago—simply, “Oh, I would like …” You have, for instance, quite a special feeling towards someone or something and you would like that someone or something to be perfectly harmonious, happy (which physically is expressed by good health or favourable circumstances), and so, spontaneously, simply, you say, “Oh!…” (you pray), “Oh, may it be like that!” And it happens. Then the thought (the general human thought): “This has happened, therefore it’s the expression of the Truth.” And it becomes a principle: “This is true, this is the way things should be.” But up above, in that Consciousness—that global Consciousness—in that total Harmony, those things in themselves, in their material expression (“good health,” “favourable circumstances”) are of no more than minor importance, so to say, of almost nonexistent importance: things may be this way or that or this (they may be a hundred different ways), without its making any difference to the Harmony; but this particular way is chosen because of the simple, pure, candid beauty of the aspiration—that is lovely, that is powerful in its simplicity. And, you know, without mental complication, without hypocrisy of any sort, without pretence of any sort: very simply, but from a luminous, pure, loving heart, without any egoism, “just like that.” So that’s a lovely light which has its place; and because of it, things may be this way or that (good health, favourable circumstances), it doesn’t matter, it’s unimportant. Human beings attach importance only to the external form, to what has manifested; they say, “Oh, this is true, since it is”—and it’s … a passing breath of air. But the cause of it, its origin has a place in that total, universal Harmony: a disinterested goodwill, love devoid of egoism, trust that doesn’t argue or reason, simplicity—ingenious simplicity for which evil doesn’t exist.4 If we could catch hold of that and keep it … That trust for which evil doesn’t exist—not “trust” in what takes place here: trust up above, in that all-powerful principle of Harmony.
(long silence, then Mother repeats this prayer:)
Glory to You, O Lord, all-triumphant Supreme,
Grant that nothing in us shall be an obstacle to Your work,
Grant that everything in us may be ready for Your manifestation.
Because India does not "recognize" Israel. ↩
In fact, the best definition would be pale orange, or salmon pink. ↩
Mother had said several times that she "was" Sri Aurobindo's feet (see in particular Agenda VI, March 10, 1965). ↩
This is the pure cellular mind. ↩
***
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